Given the enormous amounts written about anthropologists being deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan over the last few years this should be an interesting documentary: BBC – BBC Radio 4 Programmes – Anthropology at War. For those intersted in the subject Lorenz … Continue reading
It is always nice to see something come to fruition. This is especially true of a Ph.D thesis, the production of which I often liken, in terms of its experience quotient, to the excretion of a concrete cabbage. So I … Continue reading
At one level it is a ghastly expression, which only someone in marketing could come up with. And yet, on the other hand, only someone in marketing could alight on a phrase which neatly captures in an instance some of … Continue reading
It’s a bit late in the day to be wrapping up thoughts on EPIC2008, long after it happened but looking through some of the notes I made of some of the sessions that I attended – and it was a … Continue reading
Back from EPIC2008 and the dust is settling. That post-conference euphoria, a sense of existential communitas created by being in seclusion amongst like minded individuals soon dissipates on return to the cube farm. I'm going to commit some more thoughts … Continue reading
If you're in Edinburgh next week, Wednesday 15th September to be precise, and you're interested in ageing and the research that Intel is doing in this space you might like to know I'm doing a seminar at The University of … Continue reading
"How a bunch of Intel researchers, called ethnographers, came up with the innovations…" Tony Salvador explains more on thew work of the researchers and what they ended up with…. [there's more here – I like way this group uses You … Continue reading
The Mass Observation project/movement lives on (new website too). I'm particularly intrerested in the latest directive – call to observers to write in on a specific issue (want to become one?) - which is focused on health and social care experiences – You … Continue reading
There may be no Moore's Law for culture but some countries adopt technology quicker than others. That simple observation provided the germ of a super interesting project run by colleagues at Intel, which was showcased recently at Research at Intel in Mountain … Continue reading
I've done a couple of talks recently about my work as an anthropologist since finishing my PhD. Both have essentially been 'career path' type talks in which some brow-beaten PhD students, progressing through what can often be the drudgery of … Continue reading
1. a. Originally (in form Mentor): a person who acts as guide and adviser to another person, esp. one who is younger and less experienced. Later, more generally: a person who offers support and guidance to another; an experienced … Continue reading
If Maurice Bloch was on Facebook, on his profile, under Religious View, it would probably read: "Humans alone practice religion because they’re the only creatures to have evolved imagination" Well, that’s my take having read this article in the New … Continue reading
Will Davies, on his blog Potlatch, talks about the ‘performative contradictions’ of ‘sole author’ books about mass creativity, crowds and collaboration – noting that their form and claims are in direct tension with each other. This is a simple but … Continue reading
A nice articulation of a role for anthropology: "I think there is a role for anthropology along all of the steps of the design process. But of course I would say that. Anthropology can help inspire new designs by providing … Continue reading
Gillian Tett is a senior journalist at the FT. She also has a PhD in anthropology. Her fieldwork was on Tajik goat herders in the Himalaya. She recently reflected on what that background add to attempts to understand the varying … Continue reading
“Mass Observation is a business venture somewhat on the lines of the Gallop [sic] Poll.” So commented a member of Winston Churchill’s inner circle during the 2nd Word War, expressing serious doubts as to the intentions of the movement set … Continue reading
First anthropologists were hired into government departments (MoD, Cabinet Office, Home Office to name those where I know individuals who describe themselves as such)…then a call from a prominent British historian (of colonialism and Orientalism) that historians should advise Civil … Continue reading
For me, much of this year has been spent understanding the impact of mobility on the lives of older people. My team and I wrote a report on our ethnography with five rural transport projects in Ireland – contact me … Continue reading
Photo Cred In a recent paper at DUX 2007 which engages with an earlier essay on “Implications for Design”, Paul Dourish extends and augment his argument. Responsibilities and Implications: Further Thoughts on Ethnography and Design. It is well worth reading. … Continue reading
Picture Credit I like the 10 things format. I try to use it when appropriate to sum up big or complex projects into bite size gobbets. Jane Fulton Suri, Chief Creative Officer at IDEO, deploys it to some effect in … Continue reading