Advancing the Value of Ethnography

Tag: representation

The Org Chart as Political Map-Making

The Org Chart as Political Map-Making

A senior leadership team gathers in the executive boardroom. The doors are closed; the glass is opaque. Sparkling water is served. Projected on the conference screen is not a financial statement, or an operating report, but instead, an intricate diagram resembling a map or relational lineage. The...

Expedience, Exigence and Ethics

Expedience, Exigence and Ethics

This is a cautionary tale featuring a well-structured memo and an effective, carefully designed infographic. Both of these artifacts could be considered excellent examples of their respective crafts—the first of technical communication, and the second of graphical information design. Both are also...

Understanding Users: The Extensions of Expectant Systems

Understanding Users: The Extensions of Expectant Systems

This paper provides an ethnographic understanding of users in the Persian blogosphere through the framework of the carnivalesque. The repertoire of concepts provided by the carnivalesque draws attention to (1) the significance of the material, (2) the dynamic, transforming nature of things, and...