Paper Sessions

Paper Session #1: Defining the value proposition: Some ways that ethnographic praxis can move closer to the heart of business

Curator: 
Jerry Lombardi
Event Time
Monday, September 19, 2011
10:30-12:30

The story of ethnographic praxis in industry is a story of practitioners and their methods drawing ever closer to the heart of business. The field's well-documented evolution has taken it from the status of an intriguing new perspective a few decades ago, to a must-have element in strategic decision-making today.

Paper Session #2: An Angel at my Table: How ethnographers can help organizations to deal with the challenges of evolution and revolution

Curator: 
Doerte Toellner
Event Time
Monday, September 19, 2011
13:30-15:45

In need of an agent provocateur or unifier, a cultural translator, tour guide or decoder of corporate culture? There is a multitude of surprisingly diverse ways in which organizations can benefit from ethnographers – at their boardroom table and beyond. In our session, we aim to present and to scrutinize best practice examples of ethnography-based added value from a wide range of areas and industries. We hope to spark a vivid debate surrounding the potential for growth of successful ethnographic research in navigating the vagaries of evolution and revolution.

Paper Session #3: Looking beyond the individual: New sightings on service and social systems

Curator: 
Shelley Evenson
Event Time
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
14:30-16:45

Looking beyond the individual: New sightings on service and social systems

Paper Session #4: The New "Local": Evolving Use of Theory in Ethnographic Research

Curator: 
Susan Squires
Event Time
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
09:00-11:15

Traditionally ethnography has been a local-level method for gathering direct, first-hand participant-observations and interviews in order to investigate the daily lives of a group of people, and to discover unmet needs. With the emergence of “digital communities,” “local” has taken on a new meaning for participants and researchers alike. Further, practitioners are now challenged to provide insights and recommendations, which provide value beyond product innovation and design.