Search results

The present chapter explores the topic of death in the context of contemporary New Delhi, India. Building upon what I chose to call an ‘expanded ethnography’, it explores the multiple ways in which sensory, visual and digital mediations and tools can help researchers address such an existentially delicate topic. Building on a mix of online visual ethnography (of computer screens and smartphones), of bodily/sensory practices, of sound recording and image-making, my research focussed on retirement homes and shelters amidst a bulging Indian metropolis. I engaged with subjects who, because of personal choices or family difficulties, have ended up finishing their lives in solitude amidst a city forced to co-live with the presence of death. Alternating between photographic portraits, filmic observations and moments of playful exchanges in front of a camera (with me as one of the objects portrayed) my method capitalizes upon the integration (and problematisation) of bodily (sensory and affective) as well as digital techniques. All together these different mediations have granted me access to different layers of connection to the topic of death in Delhi and also to my ageing guides/interlocutors.

Is liberalism premised on an unrealistically individualist anthropology? In one regularly told story about modernity, the earliest liberals grounded their arguments for political liberty in a picture of human nature that centered on our moral autonomy, perhaps epitomized best in Kantian thought. However, a range of critics have now compellingly argued that such accounts of our agency are descriptively inaccurate, and that normative social projects beginning from such flawed foundations are thus unstable. While this paper accepts this criticism of individualist anthropologies, it proposes that this need not identify a problem with liberalism overall. To make this case, this paper turns to Adam Smith, who grounded his early advocacy of liberalism in an anthropology grounded in natural theology that depicts us as morally interconnected, rather than as autonomous, and as always morally impressionable. As it will explain, Smith presumed an account of character as integrally related to and influenced by the agent’s social context, for both better and worse. Furthermore, he wove his attentiveness to this complex interaction between the agent and their context into both his economic analyses and political proposals. Smith’s social vision thus illustrates how a strong regard for individual liberty is fully compatible with a sophisticated anthropology that recognizes our malleability as moral agents – and even with political proposals that capitalize upon this malleability. Smith’s thought thus offers useful resources for contemporary proponents of liberalism who wish to value the dignity of individuals without basing that valuation in unrealistic abstractions, or ignoring the responsibilities engendered by the fact of our ongoing moral formation by our social contexts.

The study aims to identify the perceived authenticity of cheeses by consumers of different sociological generations in Mexico.

An online questionnaire was applied to 1,204 consumers. A Free Word Association (FWA) tool was used to determine the perceived authenticity of cheeses creating categories and dimensions. The sample was segmented into sociological generations. A chi-square test and a correspondence analysis were used to identify differences in the perception between generations. The information was complemented with word clouds of the cheeses mentioned and consumer testimonials about cheese consumption.

A total of 29 categories and ten dimensions revealed consumers' perception of cheese authenticity, most important of which were hedonic, rurality and new consumption. Authenticity is a mix of the pleasure of consuming the product, the link to rural life and new consumer values. Perceived authenticity is different in each sociological generation according to the dimensions of raw material, identity, market, new consumption and distrust, since it is related to the experiences of each generation. The results made it possible to contextualise another vision of the reality of the cheeses in the search for a quality seal.

The information contributes to the typification and promotion of cheeses in the process of patrimonialisation, by creating differentiated marketing tools that allow their valorisation.

This work contributes to the knowledge of the perceived authenticity of cheeses in the sociological generations, due to their differentiation by age, sociocultural, ethical, political and consumer aspects. It enables the knowledge of the consumer's perspective on these products.

This introductory chapter starts off by discussing the differences and interconnections of visual sociology and urban sociology in their quest to understand human settlements. It then moves to argue for expanding the focus to other disciplines that are equally geared toward researching aspects of the city in visual and multimodal ways, since the urban context cannot be studied comprehensively without engaging a multitude of disciplines and trying to make productive connections between them. The chapter continues with a concise overview and discussion of each of the contributions in this first of two volumes of “Visual and Multimodal Urban Sociology” in the “Research in Urban Sociology” series. These twin volumes explore multiple ways in which the city and city life may be approached, studied, and expressed through visual and multimodal means and methods, thereby as much as possible including sensory experiences other than those related to seeing and hearing. It concludes with drawing some contours and challenges of visual and multimodal urban studies and the critical role of technology in advancing this cross-disciplinary field of inquiry.

This study aims to explore brand meaning from a consumer perspective, identifying tangible attributes and intangible associations and their arrangement in brand meaning frameworks. Previous literature has focused on brand meaning flowing from intangible associations, and new insights are offered into the tangible attributes’ contribution to brand meaning.

A phenomenological approach was adopted, and meanings were gathered from lived experiences with consumers of local food brands. Quasi-ethnographic methods were used, including accompanied shopping trips to food fairs and local farm shops, kitchen visits and in-depth interviews in and around the county of Dorset in the south-west of England.

The findings demonstrate that tangible attributes have sensorial and functional brand meanings and are mentally processed. Both hierarchical and flatter patterned approaches are present when connecting attributes and associations. The hierarchical approach reflects both short and long laddering approaches; the flatter alternative offers an interwoven, patterned presentation.

This is a small in-depth study of local food brands, and the findings cannot be generalised across other brand categories.

Local food brand practitioners can promote relevant sensorial (e.g. taste) and functional (e.g. animal welfare) attributes. These can be woven into appropriate intangible associations, creating producer stories to be communicated through their websites and social media campaigns.

A revised brand meaning theoretical framework updates previous approaches and develops brand meaning theory. The study demonstrates that tangible attributes have meaning and hierarchical connections across tangible attributes, and intangible associations should not always be assumed. An additional patterned approach is present that weaves attributes and associations in a holistic, non-hierarchical way.

Exploring subjective experiences of people living with dementia through qualitative research has become increasingly common in recent decades. Nonetheless, researchers have shared a number of ethical challenges in involving people living with dementia in research. A concept that has been influential in discussions about ethics within the field of dementia care, in particular, is person-centredness. A person-centred approach reflects values of respect for personhood and the rights of a person and of building mutual trust and understanding. This chapter presents my experience of adopting person-centred ethical practices in a sensory ethnographic study involving older adults living with dementia. I highlight person-centred ethical considerations at the design stage of my study and occasions during the conduct of my research when research methods and processes were adapted to further meet the needs of the participants. A person-centred approach required that I continually assessed the need to make ethical decisions in every aspect of the research process throughout its duration. Building and drawing on positive researcher–participant relationships to inform those decisions and an adaptable research design allowing research practices to be adapted in situ were therefore essential.

The purpose of this study is to reflect on and analyse the sensory experiences related to the transition to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research seeks to understand how these experiences have influenced the integration of work practices into home and family life and the subsequent adaptations and embodied learning that arise in response.

The authors' research approach incorporates autoethnographic methods to explore the sensory, affective and emotional experiences of transitioning to remote work. The authors draw on principles of embodied learning, as influenced by Gilles Deleuze, and utilise a range of ethnographic tools including note-taking, audio memos, photography, shared conversations and written reflections to gather their data.

The study illuminates the ways bodies learn to accommodate the new organisational contexts that arise when the spaces, affects and forces of home and work intersect. It demonstrates how the integration of work into the private domain resulted in new affective and material arrangements, involving novel sensory experiences and substantial embodied learning.

This study provides a distinct, sensory-oriented perspective on the challenges and transformations of remote work practices amid the pandemic. By focussing on the affective resonances and embodied learning that emerge in this context, it contributes to the emerging discourse around post-lockdown work practices and remote work in general.

Understanding the role of emotion, landscape, involvement and storytelling related to wine is the basis for understanding the wine tourist experience. The purpose of this study is to analyze the validity and reliability of the wine experience scale in Spain.

The scale validation comprised translation, cultural adaptation and validity, in which 250 wine tourists (45.6% male and 54.4% female) from 17 Spanish wineries participated. Data was collected on different days during three consecutive months. To carry out the analyses, IBM SPSS and JASP software were used.

The statistical procedures used allowed the verification of psychometric properties as well as adjustment indices and reliability measures. The analyses carried out retained 16 items and ensured grouping into four factors: wine storytelling, wine involvement, winescape and wine tasting excitement.

By providing this instrument, it will be possible to create a promising path of commercial knowledge. Its application will contribute to establishing a more accurate profile of wine tourists and, simultaneously, to adapting a sustainable tourist offer.

This study aims to describe and evaluate various visual and creative tools for supporting the in-depth biographical interview aimed at analyzing educational communities and their stakeholders.

Researching educational spaces today requires new ways of understanding, analyzing and studying. The complex characteristics, functions and realities demand research that responds to educational singularities. It is a matter of deeply understanding the educational phenomenon's peculiarities. For these purposes, instruments and research paradigms are needed to extract data and reach information saturation regarding the data obtained from the proposed objects of study. With this in mind, the following paper suggests reflecting on data collection tools that can complement the interview and biographical-narrative research approach. The authors highlight the use of photo-elucidation, the biogram-based timeline, the organigram and the flight of the geese, all of which are instruments endowed with a visual character that allows a deeper understanding of the object studied.

The main contribution of this paper is to unpack the uses and applications of four visual tools that support the interview technique. First, photo-elucidation is presented as a sensory strategy to stimulate the narrative during the dialogical exchange of the interview. Next, the timeline is described as a visual concretization of the traditional biogram widely used in educational research. Next, the authors unravel the uses of the organizational chart in educational research, which, due to its nature and utility, provides a glimpse of the organizational functioning of an institution and is particularly suitable for research in institutional frameworks. Finally, the tool known as the flight of the geese is presented. This tool is recommended for use in educational leadership and teamwork studies due to its simplicity and high representativeness of the hierarchy of roles and functions.

Researching educational spaces today requires new ways of understanding, analyzing and studying. The complex characteristics, functions, and realities demand research that responds to educational singularities. It is a matter of deeply understanding the educational phenomenon's peculiarities. For these purposes, instruments and research paradigms are needed to extract data and reach information saturation regarding the data obtained from the proposed objects of study. With this in mind, the following paper invites us to reflect on data collection tools that can complement the interview and biographical-narrative research approach. The authors highlight the use of photo-elucidation, the biogram-based timeline, the organigram, and the flight of the geese, all of which are instruments endowed with a visual character that allows a deeper understanding of the object studied.