Triggering Specialised Knowledge in the Software Development Process

Many factors determine the success of software development projects. The exchange and harnessing of specialized knowledge amongst and between the project team members is one of these. To explore this situation, an ethnographic case study of the product-testing phase of a new human resources management system was undertaken. Extempore verbal exchanges occur through the interplay of project team members in weekly meetings, as the software was tested, analyzed, and altered in accordance with the customer's needs. Utilizing tacit knowledge from the project members as well as the group, new tacit knowledge surfaces and spirals, which allows it to build over time. Five extempore triggers surfaced during the research generated through explicit stimuli, allowing project members to share and create new knowledge. The theoretical development places these learning triggers in an interpretive framework, which could add value to other software development and project management contexts.

Expert Group Knowledge Triggers

Specialised knowledge is a key component of success in an organisational context that resides in the expertise of the organisation's personnel. To explore this situation, an ethnographic case study was chosen in which data was collected from a software development project. Extempore verbal exchanges occur through the interplay of project team members in weekly meetings, as the software was tested, analyzed, and altered in accordance with the customer's needs. Utilizing tacit knowledge from the project members as well as the group, new tacit knowledge surfaces and spirals, which allows it to build over time. Five extempore triggers surfaced during the research generated through explicit stimuli, allowing project members to share and create new knowledge. Through the use of ideas developed by Husserl and Heidegger, this study has cast some light on verbal exchanges that, through their interjection, allow significant learning to take place. The theoretical development places these learning triggers in an interpretive framework, which can add value to other software development projects.

Co-living (as a way of life): The Urbanism of the New Urban Crisis in Los Angeles and Beyond

The 21st century global city is in the midst of a new urban crisis: while it holds an increasing monopoly on employment opportunities, it has become harder to access. In this article, I argue that young urban aspirants are still accessing the global city in crisis through the practice of co-living. Co-living can be understood as an emergent collection of residential commoning practices employed by in-bound urbanites to access in-demand parts of the city and attain employment, housing and community. Through a relational ethnographic case study of the PodShare co-living space in the global city of Los Angeles, I argue that co-living is as an urbanism arising to stabilize the new urban crisis on both the level of the individual and the city, guiding individuals to grin at their condition and be increasingly mobile between multiple global cities in an attempt to maximize their chances of securing longer-term residency.

Accepting automated news as “low-quality” journalism

This ethnographic case study explores how developers, editors, and reporters in two Norwegian newsrooms evaluate automated news and which logics underlie their assessments. Despite automation being described as the most disruptive data-centric practice of journalism, the observations and in-depth interviews show that all three groups define automated texts as journalism. At the same time, they characterize automated news as simplistic, lacking creativity and a critical approach, and argue that today’s machine-written texts are incapable of fulfilling central professional ideals such as critical scrutiny and advocating on behalf of the citizenry. Accepting automated news as journalism while simultaneously stressing its low quality shows a growing gap between what the newsroom groups are willing to accept because of organizational demands and what they ideally want journalism to be. The conflicting assessments may indicate financial motives gaining ground within Nordic media companies.

Transition Into LTRC During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Ethnographic Case Study

COVID-19 has affected long-term residential care (LTRC) disproportionally due to the high-risk population, lack of resources and insufficient preventative measures. Protective measures, including quarantine and strict visitation restrictions have made transitions into LTRC more challenging. Further insight is needed to understand how residents, relatives and staff have experienced this during the COVID-19 pandemic. During four months of fieldwork in a LTRC facility in Switzerland, a rapid ethnography consisting of interviews, observations, informal conversations and document analysis was conducted. This study included a total of 14 residents, 21 healthcare staff from varying departments and 7 relatives of residents. First results indicate that protective measures interfere with a resident’s ability to find meaningful activities and interactions within LTRC as well as the possibility to maintain mobility. This and limited family contact following a move into LTRC prevents a smooth transition from home to LTRC and impacts overall resident quality of life.

An Ethnographic Study on the Non-Material Impacts of the Educated Youth Program

In a movement that led to over a million civilian deaths and the persecution of millions more, the Chinese Cultural Revolution mobilized all aspects of state in order to upheave traditional hierarchy and maintain a Maoist regime. During this time, under the Educated Youth Program, nearly 17 million students of varying societal backgrounds moved to rural locations to develop “proper” values and skills. Through a qualitative ethnographic case study, twelve narrative interviews conducted with participants of the program, representing multiple regions in China, were examined under the principles of thematic analysis in order to discover overarching themes about the immaterial impacts that occurred as a result of this wide-scale emigration and whether these changes were positive or negative. Data indicated that (1) because of the rural environment and hard-working people around them, many participants gained perseverance, and (2) increased interactions with those of ethnic and economic different backgrounds led to greater acceptance of others. The findings of the study suggest that the Educated Youth Program was ultimately beneficial for its participants in regards to their overall life. These results help build a more comprehensive understanding about the impacts of rural education in China through the direct incorporation of participants’ perspectives.

An ethnographic case study: Analysing students’ learning goal orientations at a lower-middle decile secondary school

<p>In Aotearoa/New Zealand young people generally commence their secondary school education at Year 9. The numerous changes associated with this transition can include new subjects, larger school populations, unfamiliar learning environments, different day-to-day structures and routines; all of which can affect students’ motivation and confidence in their learning. Research focusing on students’ transition from primary to secondary schooling has tended to indicate a lessening in students’ motivation and has shown the types of learning goal approaches of these students can also change. As a teacher with13 years’ experience of teaching at secondary school level, I noticed that achievement at NCEA levels, in my current school, have remained static since my arrival seven years ago. This drove my interest in exploring further the influence of achievement goals on student learning at Year 9. Goal theory research in the field of motivation has increased dramatically over recent decades. Contemporary theories on learning goals have focused on whether mastery, performance or multiple goals best suit the learning needs of students, and whether students develop certain preferences with regards their goals when it comes to learning and achievement. More recently, the relevance of social goals in relation to learning and achievement, and therefore to learning goal theory, has identified that students do not use learning goals in isolation. The type of goal or multiple goals student adopt in their learning has important implications for their motivation, engagement or success and by implication, teachers’ approaches to their teaching. This ethnographic case study explores how 26 Year 9 students at a lower-middle decile secondary school set their learning goals. The study establishes whether students intentionally adopt a specific type of learning goal and explores the reasons for particular preferences. It also examines whether social goals have any impact on the type of goals students preferred or adopted. Through a questionnaire and then semi-structured interviews, students reported their views on their learning and social goals. In addition, five students from the study formed a Student Advisory Group to offer advice and recommendations on issues relating to the research instruments used. This study found that participating students did not intentionally prefer a specific goal over another. Further to this, students were generally not aware of the particular types of goals that were available to them and therefore were not consciously adopting a learning goal to any extent or purpose. The students were unclear of how different learning goals supported their learning. However, these students were more perceptive when understanding the implications of how social goals influenced their learning. The results from this research show that heightened awareness and understanding associated with the adaptive nature of learning goals by students and teachers would support student achievement. This would enable students to make intentional and logical choices regarding the strategies related to learning goals. Teachers may find these findings useful when considering how their students set their learning goals, and what influences these decisions. It may also serve as a starting point for a discussion with students on how they focus their learning and why.</p>

Reconsidering the Resilience of Pastoralism from the Perspective of Reliability: The Case of Conflicts between the Samburu and the Pokot of Kenya, 2004-2009

This article explores an overlooked aspect of the 'resilience of pastoralism' in crises through an ethnographic case study of a series of conflicts between the Samburu and the Pokot in Kenya that erupted in 2004. Emery Roe's concepts of reliability professionals and real-time management of pastoralists are utilised as theoretical frameworks for this study. It was observed that the 'logic of high input variance matched by high process variance to ensure low and stable output variance' occurred through the formation of clustered settlements and an inter-ethnic mobile phone network. This case illustrates how pastoralists endured the conflict as reliability professionals.

English Learners’ Access to Postsecondary Education

This book provides an in-depth look into the systemic undereducation of high school English learners and the role of high schools in limiting ELs’ postsecondary options, despite the availability of resources and the best of intentions, through a longitudinal ethnographic case study of a diverse high school in Pennsylvania.