Digital Commons Network^™

Ethnographic Approach To Efl/Esl Research, Nikolaus Pasassung

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This article shows that ethnography, as an approach, is a very useful tool to be applied in research attempting a good understanding of EFL/ESL classrooms. With reference to work done by anthropologists and classroom researchers, the present article argues that education, including EFL/ESL classrooms, can be well understood by using ethnographic approaches. This is done by elaborating the relevance of ethnography and the classroom context in the sense that ethnographic principles are applicable in describing and understanding the culture of a classroom, and EFL/ESL teaching in particular.

The Culture Of Skydiving, Steven Wade

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

ABSTRACT

The culture of skydiving is made up of a community of individuals who regularly jump at a given drop zone. This culture places a high value on individual achievement, self-reliance, and adherence to routine, and it promotes a strong sense of community among its members. The relationships formed between skydivers through the common experience of skydiving go beyond the activity itself. Skydive Kentucky in Elizabethtown supports its community through several unique rites of passage as an individual gradually becomes a member of the group. This drop zone also hosts cookouts and card games for its regular members. Throughout this …

Ending The Cycle Of Child Sex Slavery In Cambodia, Carmen Marie Murphy

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

As I had the chance to visit Cambodia and talk to actual victims, I planned to use ethnographic methodology to incorporate testimonies and personal interaction to supplement the lack of specific research in this field. I believed ethnography would be an effective method as it takes a holistic perspective of all contributing factors, such as history, geography, religion, government, and population. My plan was to conduct an ethnographic case study of Cambodia using current scholarship on these areas, and then contribute my personal experiences. To ensure quality control and unbiased research. I used contextualization by conducting my research in Cambodia, …

The Transformation Of A Shire: Local Negotiation In The Society For Creative Anachronism, Suzanne Barber

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, I am examining how a small branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Loch an Fhraoich, whose values and identity center around camaraderie and narrative and aesthetic coherence, attempts to balance these two often contradictory principles. To better illustrate the negotiations taking place, I have used ethnographic fieldwork to focus on the areas of material culture, ethno-kinetics, persona, knowledge, and events. These areas are tightly interwoven, and almost never operate independently, but the exercise of isolating them is useful in seeing the complexities of choices that members must make to navigate the social world of the Society …

Home/Land: Kiowa, New Mexico- A Grassland's Story, Heather R. Yaryan

Architecture and Planning ETDs

The purpose of this thesis was to illustrate how cultural and natural histories inform place-based community planning. Utilizing both cultural and natural histories, the planner may begin to see patterns of habitancy as they correlate to ecological fluctuations. I focused my research on Kiowa, New Mexico the community my family homesteaded in the grasslands of Northeastern New Mexico and took an auto-ethnographic approach to conducting my research. The story of Kiowa is both unique and universal. The intricacies of the land and people are, indeed, woven into a specific place and times. It is the intersection of Place and of …

Corporate Ethnographers: Master Puzzlers, What They Do, And Their Value To The Business Sector, Alice Obenchain-Leeson

The Qualitative Report

Melissa Cefkin's book Ethnography and the Corporate Encounter is the fifth volume in a six-volume series on studies in public and applied anthropology by Berghahn Publishing. Cefkin unearths the world of corporate ethnography by explaining how the field evolved from the larger field of anthropology. Through collecting a variety of corporate ethnography studies conducted at Intel, Microsoft, and others, Cefkin brings to life the work of corporate ethnographers as master puzzlers as she attempts to answer the questions: What are corporate ethnographers and under what conditions do they work? What value does ethnography bring to the understanding of complex business …

Madre An Ethnographic Study Of Feminism, Social Change And Women's Human Rights, Erica Lindegren

Theses & ETDs

This thesis is an ethnographic exploration of how the staff members of one New York City-based nongovernmental organization, MADRE Inc., effect transnational social change. MADRE is a self-proclaimed women�s human rights organization that works with grassroots women�s organizations worldwide to provide �rights, resources, and results.� Using anthropological and feminist theoretical frameworks, I draw from interviews with staff members, observations from my internship experience, and research from MADRE and its partner organizations to analyze how MADRE serves as a conduit for social transformation through two partners in Sudan and Colombia. I examine how feminist goals have informed women's human rights, and …

Citizenship And Punishment: Situating Death Penalty Jury Sentencing, Sarah Beth Kaufman

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Research

Although capital punishment in the United States is subject to much social scientific scrutiny, there has been little ethnographic study of death penalty trials. This is not only an empirical lacuna, but also a theoretically and politically important one: by failing to take capital trials as primary objects of inquiry, the practices of lawyers, witnesses, judges, and others are viewed as products of, rather than implicated in, the institution of criminal justice. Based on an ethnography of fifteen death penalty sentencing trials across the United States during 2007, 2008, and 2009, this article seeks to understand the role of juries …

Boundary Work: An Interpretive Ethnographic Perspective On Negotiating And Leveraging Cross-Cultural Identity, Noriko Yagi, Jill Kleinberg

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

The complexity of global organizations highlights the importance of members’ ability to span diverse boundaries that may be defined by organization structures, national borders, and/or a variety of cultures associated with organization, nation-based societal and work cultures, industries, and/or professions. Based on ethnographic research in a Japan–US binational firm, the paper describes and analyzes the boundary role performance of the firm's Japanese members. It contributes toward theory on boundary spanning by introducing a “cultural identity negotiation” conceptual framework. We show boundary spanning as a process shaped through the interplay of the contextual issues that make a boundary problematic; an individual's …

The Accessibility Of Adulthood, Hilary Finedore

Honors Papers

Among individuals with developmental disabilities, an individual's needs and self perceptions interact continually with mainstream expectations about adulthood and disability, altering the very way in which the concept of adulthood is expressed. Fieldwork at a county agency serving the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities (consumers) suggests that at the agency's adult day center, unique kinds of social interaction can develop as a result, reflecting the reconciliation of these specific needs and abilities with mainstream expectations.

This county agency seeks to recreate social and economic aspects of mainstream life for individuals that attend this day center, and thus through these …

The Culture Of A Public School's Approach To Children With Asd: An Ethnographical Study, Lisa Mccarthy

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic study is to understand the culture of Westridge Elementary School (WRE), and its approach to the increasing numbers of mainstreamed students with special needs; in particular students identified with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The researcher examined the language, norms, and rituals of WRE, and how children with ASD are involved. Data from this research was collected through five face-to-face interviews, as well as participant observations, which were collected over a 2-3 week period in the spring and fall of 2010. Photographs of the school environment, along with the collection of artifacts, were also used to …

Culture For Sale? An Exploratory Study Of The Crow Fair, Thomas D. Bordelon, Marie Opatrny, Wendy G. Turner, Steven D. Williams

The Qualitative Report

This paper describes an ethnographically-oriented participant-observation study conducted during the annual Crow Fair, held in south central Montana. Data collected included audio-recorded interviews with participants, participant observations, photographic and video recordings. Narrative interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparison method. Multiple data sources improved the veracity of this study through triangulation, and four themes emerged from the data: commercialization, alcohol abuse, spirituality, and community. The researchers discuss these themes and their conclusions regarding the "selling" of Native American culture as a form of cultural transmission. Theme analysis revealed the researchers recognized that the principal researcher had changed his …

Choque Cultural In Higher Education: The Lived Experiences Of Two Transnational Doctoral Students On The U.S. Mexico Border, Lyn Mckinley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the experience of transnational students in higher education in a U.S. public university. The setting for the study is the U.S.-Mexico border between Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas. While numerous studies examine the experience of transnational K-12 populations in U.S. schools, there is limited research on students in advanced levels of higher education in this context.

The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth perspective of the experiences of two transnational doctoral students enrolled at the doctoral level at a U.S. university on the U.S.-Mexico border. The …

Representing ‘The Real’: Realism And Visual Culture In Tourism, Leisure And Ethnography, Ian Gilhespy, Dave Harris

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

The collection and use of visual evidence is widespread in a wide range of academic and professional activities. The paper explores the similarities and differences of a range of related phenomena: realism, documentary and authenticity. The status of the ‘realism effect’ is evaluated in a range of leisure activities with an emphasis on tourism and the significance of realist texts in popular culture in narrative and nonnarrative forms. The creative treatment of the representation of reality in the documentary tradition is highlighted. The paper emphasises the pleasures to be gained from ‘experiencing the real’ using semiotics and film theory, in …

Making Reproductive Health Meaningful: An Anthropological Study Of Planned Parenthood Personnel In Lexington, Ky, Hannah M. Wohltjen

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This thesis focuses on how reproductive health is made meaningful in the context of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kentucky. Using ethnographic field methods, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews, the paper explores how staff members negotiate definitions of reproductive health as employees of Planned Parenthood health center. The analysis addresses reproductive health discourse among the clinic staff and how reproductive health is used as a site of intervention. It also explores the sociocultural processes and interactions the staff members engage in at the national and local levels and the role these play in shaping the conceptualization of reproductive health …

Between Tolerance And Talk: Idiomatic Kinship And Ethnography In The Multiethnic Pacific, Ping-Ann Addo

Pacific Studies

This paper examines the interplay between identity politics and ethnographic practice among indigenous and mixed-race transnational scholars. Using a genealogical framework, the author explores how kinship—formed through fieldwork—shapes solidarity, tension, and the politics of racial categorization within Pacific research communities. The work reflects on personal experiences navigating complex ethnic identities in Tongan society, revealing how cultural perceptions and adopted kinship challenge dominant race frameworks. Ultimately, the study advocates for a more reflexive and dialogic anthropology that centers mutual racialization, layered identity, and political economy as key to understanding and improving ethnographic engagement.

Vol. 33 No. 2/3 (2010): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 33, No 2/3-Aug/Dec 2010 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Vol. 33 No. 2/3 (2010): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US $40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, …

Netnography: A Method Specifically Designed To Study Cultures And Communities Online, Gary M. Bowler Jr.

The Qualitative Report

With many people now using online communities such as newsgroups, blogs, forums, social networking sites, podcasting, videocasting, photosharing communities, and virtual worlds, the internet is now an important site for research. Kozinets' (2010) new text explores netnography, or the conduct of ethnography over the internet - a method specifically designed to study cultures and communities online. Guidelines for the accurate and ethical conduct of ethnographic research online are set out, with detailed, step-by-step guidance to thoroughly introduce, explain, and illustrate the method to students and researchers. Kozinets surveys the latest research on online cultures and communities, focusing on the methods …

Recognizing Indians: Place, Identity, History, And The Federal Acknowledgment Of The Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation, Philip Blair Laverty

Anthropology ETDs

Long considered extinct,' in 1992 the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation (OCEN) began its bid to achieve federal acknowledgment as an American Indian tribe. This dissertation is a study of the history of the Native peoples of the Monterey Bay region and the current recognition efforts of OCEN. Using ethnographic and ethnohistorical methodologies and the fieldnotes of John Peabody Harrington as a key archive, it focuses on social and cultural aspects of identity change and community persistence, particularly in relation to land and place. It explores contemporary understandings of precontact political organization as they presently affect the Esselen Nation in the context of …

Ethnography Of Communication: A Case Study Of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, “Air Command South”, Gregory B. Long

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study is an ethnography of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization‟s (NATO), “Air Command South” (ACS). Using components from Dell Hymes‟ (1964) Ethnography of Communication, this five month ethnography describes the organization and the communication that occurs within ACS, a multinational and multicultural military extension of NATO. Made up of members from seventeen nations, ACS fosters a uniquely diverse environment where a mix of cultures collide within the organization to create a new organizational culture complete with communication codes, practices, norms, and routines. The review of literature covers subjects and issues that assist in understanding the issues involved in such …

A Woman’S Nature: Addressing Violence Against Women Through Femininity In Poland, Abby Drwecki

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article is an investigation of women’s self-defense courses in post-communist Poland. I focus on WenDo, a women’s self-defense seminar which is based on feminist principles and which seeks to empower women through changes in body culture: i.e. their physical capabilities, posture, demeanor and vocalizations when in a position of interpersonal threat or danger. Through an ethnographic study of this self-defense method, I show how WenDo’s pedagogy is designed to lead to these changes. In addition, I question whether WenDo can be conceptualized as a form of women’s empowerment which is disconnected from an organized feminist movement and is based …

Book Review Forum: Reverse Anthropology: Lndigenous Analysis Of Social And Environmental Relations In New Guinea, Conservation Is Our Government Now: The Politics Of Ecology In Papua New Guinea, Jamon Halvaksz

Pacific Studies

Kirsch, Stuart. Reverse Anthropology: Indigenous Analysis of Social and Environmental Relations in New Guinea.

West, Paige. Conservation Is Our Government Now: The Politics of Ecology in Papua New Guinea.

Review: JAMON HALVAKSZ

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO

Book Review Forum Response: Reverse Anthropology Redux, Stuart Kirsch

Pacific Studies

Kirsch, Stuart. Reverse Anthropology: Indigenous Analysis of Social and Environmental Relations in New Guinea.

West, Paige. Conservation Is Our Government Now: The Politics of Ecology in Papua New Guinea.

RESPONSE: STUART KIRSCH

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Don't Tease Me, I'M Working: Examining Humor In A Midwestern Organization Using Ethnography Of Communication, Ajay K. Ojha, Taimmy L. Holmes

The Qualitative Report

Within organizations, the communicative phenomenon of humor is commonplace. Humorous talk is just as important and frequent to regular discourse that takes place between organizational members. In this inquiry we examine humor as a particular way of communicating between members of a small Midwestern United States organization. Specifically, we examine how three functions of humor (i.e., joking, sarcasm, and teasing) are used amongst members during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). Using ethnography of communication, we conduct both fieldwork and interviews discovering that this organization exemplifies humor as a socially constructed phenomenon to complete the typical workday.

마케팅과 Ethnography, Chang Jo Yoo

Asia Marketing Journal

This article challenges necessity of interdisciplinary studies between anthropology and marketing for more effective applications of ethnography in marketing fields. Anthropologist, Yong Sook Lee recently submitted an article about "application of ethnography in marketing fields" to open plaza at Korean Journal of Marketing. While she provides anthropologist` perspectives about applications of ethnography in marketing fields, this article attempts to enhance the marketers` understanding about ethnography by providing marketers`s perspectives about the same issues.

Challenging Stereotypes, Testing Hypotheses, And Presenting Truths About Santeria, Christina Goldstein

Theses & ETDs

This exploration challenges the stereotypes attributed to Santeria by the dominant Protestant culture and media of the United States, examines the observations of bygone and contemporary anthropologists, and offers new insights on the religion. It employs material from interviews with santeros and santeras living in Tampa, sacred stories, songs, and poems, and personal anecdotes to convey that the popular depictions of Santeria are not founded on reality, and that charges of irrationality and darkness and criticism of embodiment in the religion as primitive are unjustified, to test the hypotheses of Santeria�s new openness, Afro-centrism, syncretism, and growing racial and ethnic …

Decolonizing Development Through Indigenous Artist-Led Inquiry, Christine Ballengee-Morris, James Sanders, Debbie Smith, Kryssi Staikidis

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

In this article four university art educators explore theories of self-determination and describe decolonizing, approaches to research that are built on mutual trust. As researchers we recognize that (re)presenting the stories of others—especially across international and transcultural boundaries—is both problematic and an ethical challenge. We acknowledge the risks that participants assume when sharing their stories, and follow the culturally sensitive strategy of having collaborating indigenous artists lead the research.

Policing: A Sociologist’S Response To An Anthropological Account, Peter Moskos

Publications and Research

Social science writing should not ape quantitative science in format, structure, or style. If we can’t explain ourselves to others in a style both illuminating and interesting, we won’t and don’t deserve to be taken seriously. Too many in the Ivory Tower cling to the belief that research and academic writing must conform to a “scientific” format. Quality writing is more art than science. To be relevant, writing need not be – indeed should not be – rooted in a limited model of “hypothesis, replicable experiment, findings, discussion.” The more jargon and sociobabble we anthropologists, sociologists, and ethnographers spew out, …

Traditional Place And Feminist Space The Japanese Tea Ceremony Makes Room For Empowerment, Morgan Boecher

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines the tradition of the Japanese tea ceremony as a place for feminist empowerment. I use participant observation and interviews in order to show how this feminine practice can enable women to build their own projects as agents. Tokyo and Kawaguchi, Japan are important sites for the creation and reproduction of traditional and contemporary meaning. The tea ceremony practices of those cities exist within a globalized landscape that adopts binary interpretations that contrast East from West, traditional from modern, and feminine from masculine. This thesis investigates how women doing tea ceremony within this matrix become agents defining their …