I put this proposal together as part of my final coursework for my Master's Degree in Applied Anthropology. The original proposal was developed for a specific museum, but I reworked it a tad to be more broadly applicable. Introduction Virtual collections require special considerations apart from their physical form. Although some consider a virtual collection … Continue reading Preliminary Proposal for An Online Virtual Museum Collection
Maschio, T. J. (2016). Culture, Desire and Consumer Culture in America in the New Age of Social Media (Summary)
In this opinion paper, Maschio draws from their 20 years of experience in conducting ethnographic research. The goal is to stress that the concept of desire should be a more central focus in consumer research. Desire drives not only the consumption of products and experiences but also status and fulfilling ones’ destiny. In this perspective, … Continue reading Maschio, T. J. (2016). Culture, Desire and Consumer Culture in America in the New Age of Social Media (Summary)
LaSalle, D., & Britton, T. (2003). The Journey Begins: The Experience Engagement Process. In Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences (Summary)
This chapter examines different stages of consumer consumption. The five stages presented in this chapter were adapted from a decision model from John Arndt. The basic idea of this chapter is that through study of these stages, a business can better learn how to find their true value to customers in each stage of their … Continue reading LaSalle, D., & Britton, T. (2003). The Journey Begins: The Experience Engagement Process. In Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences (Summary)
Inal, Y. (2016). User-Friendly Locations of Error Messages in Web Forms: An Eye Tracking Study (Summary)
Understanding optimal error message placement is important, because users need to be able to recognize and fix their errors as per Nielsen’s essential design heuristics. This study examined 32 users’ reactions to four different error message locations on webforms. The researchers used eye-tracking to measure how long it took participants to recognize and correct their … Continue reading Inal, Y. (2016). User-Friendly Locations of Error Messages in Web Forms: An Eye Tracking Study (Summary)
Gothelf, J., & Seiden, J. (2013). Principles. In The Lean Series. Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience (Summary)
This chapter begins by introducing the three foundations of Lean UX which are design thinking, agile software development, and the lean startup method. In summary, the Lean UX process emphasizes collaboration and experience over in-depth documentation. There is still a large amount of data and design artifacts to use, but this process culls the expectation … Continue reading Gothelf, J., & Seiden, J. (2013). Principles. In The Lean Series. Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience (Summary)
Burgh-Woodman, H. de, & Brace-Govan, J. (2007). We do not live to buy: Why subcultures are different from brand communities and the meaning for marketing discourse (Summary)
This conceptual paper describes a literature review and case study that the authors utilized to inform a discussion on the differences between surfing communities and consumption driven subcultures. The article begins with a section on the subculture discourse. Subcultures are assumed to be separate from, or beneath mainstream culture. The authors make the argument that … Continue reading Burgh-Woodman, H. de, & Brace-Govan, J. (2007). We do not live to buy: Why subcultures are different from brand communities and the meaning for marketing discourse (Summary)
Twine, F. W. (2016). Visual Sociology in a Discipline of Words: Racial Literacy, Visual Literacy and Qualitative Research Methods (Summary)
This article makes the argument that visual literacy is neglected. There is a need for more training on film and photography methods. The author likens this to a form of academic apartheid. According to Twine, visual methods are typically considered to be a specialty, only employed when an individual graduate student chooses to focus for … Continue reading Twine, F. W. (2016). Visual Sociology in a Discipline of Words: Racial Literacy, Visual Literacy and Qualitative Research Methods (Summary)
Rapley, T. (2012). Analysing Conversation (Summary)
Conversation analysis was derived from ethnomethodology. The focus for research is on the local production of society through conversations. This type of analysis breaks down every nuance of conversation by reviewing recorded conversations and focusing on how people interact. Often, the data is coming from prerecorded sources, which leaves researchers with only so much context … Continue reading Rapley, T. (2012). Analysing Conversation (Summary)
Making the Strange Familiar (An Introduction to Paranormal Anthropology)
This is a brief lecture I put together in 2016 while I was assisting with a course on the Anthropology of Religion. This post is my outline for the lecture, and I've also included a link to my recorded version below. What is Paranormal Anthropology? Paranormal Anthropology- -An interdisciplinary branch of anthropology with close ties … Continue reading Making the Strange Familiar (An Introduction to Paranormal Anthropology)
Wiles, R., Crow, G., & Pain, H. (2011). Innovation in Qualitative Research Methods: A Narrative Review (Summary)
This article reviews the concept of innovation as it has been presented through qualitative research studies. After reviewing 57 papers that made claims of innovative methods, the authors assert that the concept is overused. The studies revealed that most innovation refers to adapting existing methods or adopting methods from other fields. There are six categories … Continue reading Wiles, R., Crow, G., & Pain, H. (2011). Innovation in Qualitative Research Methods: A Narrative Review (Summary)
Tombstone Condition Survey (2013)
This project documented deterioration of the older tombstones in Saint Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. To accomplish this, I first created a data dictionary using GPS Pathfinder software, and uploaded this dictionary to my Juno Trimble unit. I chose to use points for the tombstone survey. The fields in my dictionary included Name, Year of birth, Year … Continue reading Tombstone Condition Survey (2013)
