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Six professors discuss state of Public Anthropology

Published on November 12, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, development empowerment

The Tufts Daily

Nina Kammerer, David Guss, and Mark Auslander (L-R) were three of the six professors from four different schools engaged in a roundtable discussion over the growing field of Public Anthropology. In her presentation, Wellesley professor Sally Engle Merry pushed for a return of the kind of public intellectual exemplified by Margaret Mead. “Anthropology has been doing much less of that,” she said.

Due to their extensive research and connections to the community, anthropologists may be qualified to participate in community decisions. “There’s somewhat of a shift between the researcher and the activist, which is interesting and sometimes uncomfortable,” Merry said. >> continue

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More info on this conference

The Tufts Daily

Businesses, advertising firms turn to commercial ethnography

Published on November 9, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, corporate & business anthropology, fieldwork / methods

The Grand Island Independent

Eight O’Clock Coffee Co. wanted its advertising push to hit people right where they live: in their own homes, just waking up in the morning, craving that first cup of coffee. To get the right look, the company turned to an increasingly popular form of research known as commercial ethnography, which combines marketing and the kind of observations done by anthropologists.

Kaplan Thaler’s director of strategic planning and research, Chris Wauton, says a milestone in developing commercial ethnography came in 1979 with a book written by anthropologist Mary Douglas and economist Baron Isherwood titled, “The World of Goods: Towards an Anthropology of Consumption.” (no longer available online)

Found via Bits and Bytes by Fazia Rizvi who writes:

The (quoted) article goes on to add:

“It was difficult for some in the business world to turn from quantitative, survey type information to qualitative, interpretive research, she said.”

This has probably been the biggest hurdle for me to overcome. I have over 15 years of qualitative research experience with people’s use of the Internet and Internet technologies. I find my observations and conclusions confirmed and validated over and over again. But managers and executives usually only trust quantitiative data and it’s hard to make the argument for directions that are informed by the qualitative approach.”

>> Bits and Bytes: Businesses Wake Up To Anthropology (Link updated 28.1.2022, her new blog ishas moved to https://www.faziarizvi.net/blog/)

The Grand Island Independent

Eight O'Clock Coffee Co. wanted its advertising push to hit people right where they live: in their own homes, just waking up in the morning, craving that first cup of coffee. To get the right look, the…

Anthropologists at Pitney Bowes seek new product ideas in email communication

Published on November 8, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, corporate & business anthropology

AP / The Advocate

HARTFORD, Conn. — The culture and customs of work are under scrutiny by a pair of anthropologists at Pitney Bowes Inc. trying to improve product designs by watching customers on the job. One prototype Jill Lawrence and Alexandra Mack are helping to develop is a secure mail locker for people frequently on the road.

“It’s understanding the work people are actually doing, not what they’re saying they do,” Mack said. There’s a difference between the two, as the anthropologists tell it. They discovered, for example, a group of lawyers who use e-mail to compile lists of projects as much as they use it to communicate electronically, Lawrence said.

Adapting anthropology to industry is becoming more common, said Ghita Levine, spokeswoman for the American Anthropological Association in Arlington, Va. It’s helping companies better market their products while boosting interest in the social science. Applied anthropology has grown so fast that in 2002, the anthropological association added it to the basic branches that comprise the discipline, she said. (no longer avaiable online)

AP / The Advocate

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The culture and customs of work are under scrutiny by a pair of anthropologists at Pitney Bowes Inc. trying to improve product designs by watching customers on the job. One prototype Jill Lawrence and…

The Poorbuthappy Guide to Ethnography in Design and Business

Published on November 5, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, corporate & business anthropology, fieldwork / methods, websites

This site’s layout looks like as if it was last updated in the early 90s, but this is because it is a traditional wiki – a site that everybody is allowed to edit. Besides the guide “How to do Ethnographic Research”, you’ll also find a list of “Companies That Do Ethno” >> continue

This site's layout looks like as if it was last updated in the early 90s, but this is because it is a traditional wiki - a site that everybody is allowed to edit. Besides the guide "How to do Ethnographic…

“Anthropologists must get more involved in IT design and security

Published on November 2, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, applied anthropology, corporate & business anthropology, design anthropology, technology

ZDNet UK

People are the biggest security threat facing IT, a report says. That is not where the problem lies. People should come first, programmers second. We especially see it in online security, where the user is supposed to remember all manner of things – tiny yellow padlocks, checking URLs for https://, and a different password for every site.

Computer security is designed by engineers and sold by marketing departments. Neither group is known for its deep insights into human behaviour. There are two groups of people who must get much more involved in IT design, security: Humanities experts are one group – anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, graphics designers, even dramatists – while the other is the user base itself. >> continue

ZDNet UK