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Talk21 consists of a network of researchers. As ethnographers, we represent a new group of researchers within the commercial space. Besides think tanks, our clients also include mobile phone networks, banks and the public sector. Although ethnography is difficult to define, I will attempt to explain our role.
Initially, ethnography emerged as a research methodology in the early 20th Century. Designed by anthropologists to overcome the second hand insight emerging on other cultures, ethnology focuses on the study of other people. The concept of rich description remains at the heart of the idea of bringing to life the everyday life of various cultures. However, placing oneself inside the culture being observed becomes more difficult than usually thought. In general, mainstream and technology companies avail of our expertise to understand facts that reach beyond normal research questions. Fundamentally, we attempt to understand why people act in a certain manner rather than what they say they do. Usually, quite a large gap exists between these two concepts.
The relationship between ethnology and technology has become well established. In the words of Genevieve BELL from Intel, a culture is best absorbed by being there and doing it. In practice, we imitate consumers and, as much as possible, find out what it is like to be a consumer. Although this approach raises many issues of subjectivity, we plan to create a new perspective. In today’s presentation, I will explore our perspectives gained from working with mobile users in the United Kingdom. Despite the British context of my research, ethnographers operate in most European countries.
Ethnographical observation can focus on a person, a friendship group, a place or...
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