After method? Ethnography in the knowledge economy

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mills ◽  
Richard Ratcliffe
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Quantitative Measurement ◽  
Social Research ◽  
New Economy ◽  
Social Anthropology ◽  
Qualitative Social Research ◽  
Accounting Practice ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
Economic Expectations

In this article we argue that the knowledge economy is reshaping anthropological research and popular understandings of ethnography. Interviews with British social anthropologists working in, and outside, academia provide insights into how the practices and meanings of ethnography are being reworked. UK policy expectations that research (and its impact) can be measured, monitored and accounted for in monetary terms place particular demands on qualitative social research. To make our case, we focus on the prominence of the business metaphor of the ‘value chain’ in contemporary accounting practice and its use in the quantitative measurement of social research. Within social anthropology this new economy of measurement can be seen in debates over fieldwork practice. We show that as anthropology departments harden their methodological allegiances to fieldwork, very different understandings of ethnography are being developed beyond the academy. We conclude that methods, and debates over methods, are prisms through which to understand the changing social and economic expectations placed upon qualitative research.

Value creation through appreciation? An exploration of the perception of diversity management in a transnational aviation group

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolai Scherle
Keyword(s):  
Value Creation ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Flight Attendants ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
Qualitative Social Research ◽  
The Face ◽  
Methodological Principles ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
Diversity Strategy

In view of certain socio-cultural and economic meta-processes, workforce diversity or diversity management become an increasingly important entrepreneurial success factor. Yet, the scholarly examination of diversity in the tourism and hospitality sector is still in its infancy; a fact that applies to qualitative studies in particular. This paper addresses the perception of diversity and diversity management within one of the world’s leading aviation corporations, the Lufthansa Group. Following the methodological principles of qualitative social research, this study reports the results of a survey of Lufthansa flight attendants, a stakeholder group that interacts like no other in the area of overlap between the corporation and its customers. Specifically, the survey focuses on Lufthansa’s diversity strategy – based on the principle of ‘value creation through appreciation’ – and how it is perceived by representatives of the cabin crew, in an attempt to identify potential conflicts and prejudices that may arise in the face of employee heterogeneity.

Malaysian Knowledge Society and the Global Knowledge Gap

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Dieter Evers
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
New Economy ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Knowledge Gap ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Industrialised Countries

Knowledge has been widely recognised as the most important factor of production in a "new economy". The production, dissemination and utilisation of knowledge are therefore essential for development. Some countries, Malaysia among others, have embarked on an ambitious plan to use knowledge as a base for economic development, by-passing earlier stages of industrialisation. Some commentators have, in contrast, asserted "that it is doubtful that the knowledge revolution will let developing countries leapfrog to higher levels of development" as "the knowledge economy will actually expand the gap between rich and poor" (Persaud, 2001:108). The paper discusses this controversy by arguing that the knowledge-gap (k-gap) is in fact a precondition for development. It is, however, no natural phenomenon but it is constructed by experts and governments. Socio-economic indicators are used to show that the existing global knowledge gap is widening between Southeast Asia and the OECD countries and within ASEAN. Malaysia, whose government has pursued a vigorous strategy of knowledge development is moving ahead of other ASEAN nations, but falling behind industrialised countries. Factors explaining the situation are outlined in this article.

scholarly journals Etnizando metodologías de investigación social: formación para el fortalecimiento del liderazgo de mujeres indígenas

2018 ◽  
pp. 5-33
Author(s):  
Dra. Dolores Figueroa Romero ◽  
Dra. Araceli Burguete Cal y Mayor
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Anthropology ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Political Contribution ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
America Latina

A partir de la descripción de enfoques y procesos de enseñanza de investigación del Diplomado para el Fortalecimiento del Liderazgo de las Mujeres Indígenas, coordinado por la Universidad Indígena Intercultural del Fondo Indígena y el Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, se desarrollará una reflexión sobre “la etnización” de la investigación social y la producción de conocimiento cultural y políticamente pertinente para el movimiento de mujeres indígenas organizadas en América Latina. En específico, nuestro análisis se centrará en mostrar los escenarios de disputa donde facilitadoras y lideresas se enfrentaron ante el reto de desmontar la colonialidad de la construcción del conocimiento en las dinámicas de enseñanza y procesos de adecuación de métodos de investigación. Las particulares experiencias de conducción del trabajo de campo de las alumnas mostrarán su creatividad al adaptar y adoptar metodologías que les permitieron visibilizar el aporte político de las mujeres indígenas al desarrollo del activismo indígena local.Indigenizing Social Research Methodologies: Training Experience for the Strengthening of Women’s LeadershipAbstractBased on an ethnographic description of the approaches, learning processes and final research products of the Diploma for the Strengthening of Women’s Leadership coordinated by the Indigenous Fund’s Intercultural Indigenous University and the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (UII-CIESAS), this essay reflects upon the indigenization of social research and knowledge production designed to meet the cultural and political needs of the indigenous women’s movement in Latin America. Specifically our analysis will focus on showing scenarios of dispute where facilitators and leaders faced the challenge of dismantling the coloniality of the knowledge construction in teaching dynamics and processes of adequacy of research methods. Finally, the students' own fieldwork experiences show their creativity in adapting and adopting methodologies that allowed them to make visible the political contribution of indigenous women to the local indigenous activism.Recibido: 02 de febrero de 2016Aceptado: 30 de mayo de 2017 

scholarly journals Et Al.: New Voices in Arts Management

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Shimshon-Santo ◽  
Genevieve Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Ethical Challenge ◽  
Arts Management ◽  
Cultural Management ◽  
Qualitative Social Research ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Research Stream ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Pragmatic Strategies

Et Al. imagines kaleidoscopic possibilities for the stewardship of culture and land as decolonizing practices. Culture and the arts can enhance society by strengthening our connections to each other and to the earth. This arts management book was born during a racial reckoning and accelerated by a global pandemic. What exactly is the business of no-business-as-usual? The ethical challenge for arts management is far more complex than asking how to get things done; we must also ask who gets to do things, where, and with what resources? Our task is to generate cultures that refuse to annihilate themselves or each other, much less the planet. Et Al. contributes to the conversation about arts and cultural management by providing rare, behind-the-scenes insights on justice-centered arts management praxis — ideas tied to action. The book makes space for people to publicly reflect, write, and share insights about their own ideas and ways of working. Its polyphonic voices speak to pragmatic strategies for arts management across cultures, genres, and spaces. Its stories are told from the perspective of individuals and families, micro businesses, artist collectives, and civic institutions. As a digital publication, the platform lends itself to multi-media knowledge objects; the experiences documented within it include ethnographies, qualitative social research, personal and communal manifestos, dialogues between peers, visual essays, videos, and audio tracks. This open source, multimedia book is structured into six streams which are numbered for their exponential powers: Stream¹ : Center is Everywhere; Stream² : Gathering Community; Stream³ : Honoring Histories; Stream⁴ : Shifting Research; Stream⁵ : Forging Paths; Stream⁶ : Generative Practice. The book discusses imaginative ways of generating cultural equity in praxis, and is an invitation for further imagination, conversation, and connection. Et Al. presents an interactive landscape for readers, thinkers, and creators to engage with multimedia and intergenerational essays by Amy Shimshon-Santo, Genevieve Kaplan, Gerlie Collado, Abraham Ferrer, Julie House, Britt Campbell, Delia Xóchitl Chávez, Sean Cheng, Yvonne Farrow, Allen Kwabena Frimpong, Kayla Jackson, Erika Karina Jiménez Flores, Cobi Krieger, Loreto Lopez, Cynthia Martínez Benavides, Christy McCarthy, Janice Ngan, Cailin Nolte, Michaela Paulette Shirley, Robin Sukhadia, Katrina Sullivan, and Tatiana Vahan.

Civil Society and the New Economy

2005 ◽  
pp. 107-112
Author(s):  
Susana Finquelievich
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
New Economy ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Postwar Period ◽  
Industrial Economy ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication

During 1990s, the transformations that took place in the world economy, focused mainly on information and communication technology (ICT), were expected to mark the beginning of an era in which recessions would only be a memory of the past. This transformation principally driven by the capacity of ICT was called the new economy (NE). At the early stages of the 21st century, it is increasingly evident that the NE did not accomplish all the marvels that were expected from it. However, Stiglitz (2003) stated that even if it was the basis for a short-term boom and for a recession that overcame even the postwar period rate, the basis for the NE is real. The Internet, technological advances, and the new ways to produce and make business are genuine. “If the 18th and 19th Centuries marked the passage from agricultural economy to the industrial economy, and most of the 20th Century witnessed the change from an industry-based economy to a services-based economy, the last decade of the 20th Century signaled the change to a weightless economy, the knowledge economy” (Stiglitz, 2003, p. 228). In such a situation, information management (Talero & Gaudette, 1996) becomes a window to opportunity.

Changing Value Chain of the Swiss Knowledge Economy: Spatial Impact of Intra-firm and Inter-firm Networks within the Emerging Mega-City Region of Northern Switzerland

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 1113-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Thierstein ◽  
Stefan Lüthi ◽  
Christian Kruse ◽  
Simone Gabi ◽  
Lars Glanzmann
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
City Region ◽  
Northern Switzerland ◽  
Firm Networks

Social Anthropology and Development Planning – a Case Study in Ethiopian Land Reform Policy

1972 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Hoben
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Cultural Integration ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Social Anthropology ◽  
World War ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
Traditional Institutions

Since World War II anthropological research in the new nations has come under increasing criticism on both ideological and pragmatic grounds. To those who regard the creation of a modern life-style and cultural integration as urgent national goals, the concern with traditional institutions seems conservative, if not reactionary, and any interest in ethnicity seems divisive. To those responsible for planning rural development, the anthropologist's detailed report on a single community all too often seems unnecessarily obscured by professional quibbles, devoid of concrete policy recommendations, and of unknown representativeness.

Work in the Knowledge-Driven Economy

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Bayliss
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
New Economy ◽  
Working Life ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

The UK's development as a knowledge-driven economy has become a ‘given’. There are, however, differences of view about what such an economy comprises, and there is some risk that human factors will be neglected as government and business both revel in the excitement of technological change and struggle to keep pace with it. For a gifted science graduate or a born entrepreneur, the opportunities may be limitless. For the one in five people considered functionally illiterate, opportunities are closing down rapidly. But the knowledge economy will not succeed without people, and as the workforce ages employers will be faced with new challenges. It has been clear for some time that the new economy will have an enormous impact on work – indeed this has already started to happen – and that the impact will not be uniform. This paper examines some of the implications of these changes for individuals, business and government, from shifts in the pattern of work and attitudes to work, to the impact on the vast national infrastructures that support working life.

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