Archive for category News/Announcements
March 2010 NAPA e-Newsletter
Posted by enanas in News/Announcements, Newsletter on March 4th, 2010
National Association for the Practice of Anthropology
e-Newsletter | February/March 2010 (pdf)
In This Issue
- Welcome by Elizabeth Nanas
- On Mary’s Mind by Mary Butler
- Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Change by Emily Altimare
- NAPA Bulletin Summaries: Fall 2009 and Spring 2010
- Anthropology News CFPs
Welcome to NAPA e-News
Living in Hong Kong for the year has been both challenging and exciting. As many of you know, nothing truly prepares you for fieldwork and I must admit that I feel quite taken with the ups and downs, the joys and distress of my experience. But 2010 is The Year of the Tiger! All of the festivities have given me renewed energy and so many opportunities to learn about some similarities and differences between the ways we celebrate the New Year in Detroit’s “Mexicantown” and the ways Mainland and Hong Kong Chinese celebrate the Lunar New Year. We all love any excuse to light off fireworks, spend time with family, and indulge in great food. Yet in Hong Kong, the formal celebrations last longer and I don’t know anyone who is spending time in front of the television watching football. Shops have been closed down and outdoor markets have opened to sell beautiful flowers and miniature orange trees. I am so pleased that I brought home-grown Detroit-dollars to give away.
According to tradition, the powerful grace and brave-independent spirit of the Tiger protects the household from fire, thieves, and ghosts. At the same time, the Tiger often finds trouble in its tendency to take risks and live dangerously. The brave courage of the Tiger is bolstered by the perpetual search for excitement. The Tiger protects and charms, leads and performs, rebels and stands for justice. Contemplating the meaning of the Tiger has me thinking about our own traditions in the United States generally, and Detroit’s Mexicantown specifically. What is the meaning of our celebration? How do totemic identifications shape New Year rituals and traditions? How do we negotiate the work and labor in the context of celebration? What do our symbols, rituals, and practices communicate to us and to others?
I hope you’ll let me know if you have any thoughts or observations about celebratory rituals in the United States or elsewhere. I am particularly interested in the ways that celebration informs or adds-value to the practice of applied anthropology.
In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy this edition of NAPA’s e-News. We have several great volunteer opportunities for you so please contact us. This edition features a great article about fieldwork at General Motors by Emily Altimare as well as information on AnthroNews CFPs and the Fall 2009 & Spring 2010 NAPA Bulletins.
Gong Xi Fa Cai! Kung Hei Fat Choy!
May you make lots of money! Happy New Year!
Elizabeth Nanas @
enanas@wayne.edu
On Mary’s Mind
Well, it’s wintertime everywhere. I’m not sure what your problems may be, but here in the mid-Atlantic it has been the snowiest winter in memory. At the high point I had 40 inches of snow in my yard. The pond was frozen, the geese abandoned me, it was a depressing gray and white world. In the midst of it all, there was an insane robin who was in complete denial of the whole thing. Not a bad idea actually.
We all had a wonderful time at the AAA meeting in Philadelphia in December. There were many NAPA events, including the Annual Business Meeting and the regular meeting of the NAPA Governing Council. Especially productive was the “Stay Connected” Special Event in which many of us came together to talk about what you need from your organization and what we can do for you. Events like this help the NAPA leadership to understand where we are reaching our constituency and where we might look for new ways to help. I met many of you at this event and I kept a list of all who expressed an interest in becoming involved in NAPA’s work. Stay tuned.
We have numerous volunteer opportunities in NAPA right now. NAPA has committees for Communications (the Website among other things), Ethics, Local Practitioner Organizations, Membership, Mentoring, Organizational Relations (the Employer Expo), Program, Publications and Workshops. We especially need people to work on the Communications Committee and on Organizational Relations. However, all committees are eager for new people. The names of committee chairs and the charters describing what their committees do will soon be up on the website. For more information now, you may email me, maryobutler@verizon.net, and I will put you in touch with the chairperson of the committee you are interested in.
NAPA Special Interest Groups (SIGs) try to build community among practicing anthropologists working in specific employment sectors. There are currently three SIGs: the Design Anthropology Interest Group, the Evaluation Anthropology Interest Group, and the Occupational Therapy Interest Group. The Design Anthropology Interest group is gearing up for new activities under the leadership of Chris Miller. The Evaluation Anthropology Interest Group, led by Eve Pinsker, will be working on developing sessions in Evaluation Anthropology at the 2010 American Evaluation Association Meeting San Antonio, Texas as well as the AAA meetings in New Orleans. The Occupational Therapy Interest Group ran a highly successful field school for anthropology and Occupational Therapy in Antigua Guatemala during summer 2009 and will do so again in summer 2010. Gelya Frank is the head of the OT SIG. I urge you to take advantage of these interest groups if they are in areas of interest to you.
NAPA is working hard to improve and deepen the content of the website. I have appointed a Task Force led by Ken Anderson to review the website and make recommendations for improvements. NAPA has hired Mike Scroggins to help the Communications Committee develop content—news and job announcements—for the webpage. I know that there have been some glitches in the startup of the new website. I thank you all for your comments and your patience. We are working on it.
Finally, as much as we would all like to go to the tropics right now, we have cancelled the NAPA Spring Governing Council meeting that was to be held in conjunction with the SfAA meeting in Merida, Mexico. We are replacing this meeting with quarterly conference calls to discuss NAPA business with elected members of the GC, with program chairs, and with anyone else who is interested. These calls—like all NAPA meetings—are open to all of you. I will post announcements of them on the web page. If you would like to call in, email me and I will send you dial in information. The next GC meeting is as yet unscheduled but will be held in May.
Sincerely,
Mary Odell Butler, NAPA President
Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Change: Ethnographic Fieldwork in GM’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant
Emily Altimare
Michigan State University
In the winter of 2009 the future of General Motors (GM) looked bleak. Having worked as an intern at GM’s Research and Development Center in Warren, MI for three consecutive summers under the mentorship of Elizabeth Briody I was both personally and professionally interested in what GM’s potential bankruptcy would mean. After obtaining my master’s degree in Applied Anthropology from Northern Arizona University I decided to pursue my Ph.D. at Michigan State University (MSU). MSU appealed to me for two main reasons. First, it offered me the privilege to work with Marietta Baba, who focuses on organizational culture and who herself has completed research on GM. Second, if I was in Michigan, dissertation research on an element of GM seemed promising.
With insecurity about GM’s future looming, Elizabeth suggested that I propose a research project to Randy Thayer—the plant manager of Lansing Delta Township (LDT) at that time. LDT is one of GM’s most modern and impressive facilities, for which, great care and preparation went into the construction of the physical plant as well as the culture. I petitioned that anthropological investigation of the restructuring efforts offered an opportunity to learn directly from those most affected by the changes. Field work and the cultural analyses resulting from it are designed to describe and subsequently explain cultural phenomena as those phenomena evolve through time. Participants in the culture under study would reveal their beliefs, expectations, values, and behaviors in patterned ways; the patterns could then be examined for consistency and longevity.
In winter 2009, when my project began, LDT had weathered a number of recent challenges, including manpower replacement, work rules, team-build issues, issues with its Global Manufacturing System (GMS), a two-tier wage system, and outsourcing. LDT also experienced a strike in April 2008. In addition, LDT faced turmoil from ongoing uncertainty about GM’s future as well as sweeping changes to be enacted to help keep the corporation viable (e.g., regionalization of plant management, two-tier wage systems). These and other factors created and underscored the state of flux of the plant culture.
After receiving Randy’s permission to conduct my project at LDT, IRB approval, and my committee’s go ahead to collect pre-dissertation data I was allowed to being my fieldwork. Initially, one of the greatest challenges, something my methods class did not explicitly cover, was feeling comfortable in an environment that was so foreign. Despite being a brief twenty minute drive from MSU’s campus, the manufacturing environment felt other worldly—I had been naïve to think I would be exempt from some of the trials of fieldwork that one would anticipate when doing work abroad. Additionally, I lacked a job on the line, and I often felt my comparative inactivity was as overt as someone doing pushups in the middle of a library.
Luckily, these types of challenges were not deal breakers. To date my fieldwork—which is still in process—has been multifaceted. I have been given the opportunity for participant observation on the plant floor of LDT. This has included time spent in the body shop, paint shop, and general assembly. I have completed and continue to conduct formal and informal interviews with both hourly and salaried individuals, and I have participated in countless activities at LDT such as new employee training. As previously predicted the plant has been in a state of flux. In particular, the last calendar year has included the following events for the corporation: loans from the Unites States government, corporate leadership changes, plant closures, product line changes, union concessions, bankruptcy, and finally emergence from bankruptcy. At LDT some of the major changes that have occurred in addition to the large corporate events have included: transitioning from one shift to two with plans for a third shift in March of 2010, a regionalized plant management shared between LDT and the Lansing Grand River Plant, changes in production schedules, and tremendous changes in the workforce—in particular the transfer of nearly 500 employees from the now closed Springhill, TN, plant to LDT. In addition, there have been changes to LDT’s plant management and the loss of many salaried positions. My ongoing ethnographic fieldwork aims to document, analyze, and offer insight on the impact of these changes on the plant culture, the nature of work in a modern manufacturing plant, and the experience of a previously unimaginable event, bankruptcy, on a community that in many ways has been born and raised by GM.
- To discuss applied anthropology in transforming manufacturing settings, please feel welcome to contact Emily at altimare@gmail.com.
- If you have a fieldwork story to tell, please contact Elizabeth Nanas at enanas@wayne.edu.
NAPA Bulletin, Volume 32; Fall 2009
The Global Food Crisis: New Insights into an Age-old Problem
David Himmelgreen, Volume Editor
Satish Kedia, General Editor
The food riots and demonstrations that occurred in more than 50 countries in 2008 signaled the oncoming global economic recession. Skyrocketing food and fuel prices spurred on violence in poorer countries where there is no social safety net and in places impacted by food insecurity and malnutrition. Today, while the prices for some food staples have retracted some, the deepening economic recession poses a threat in wealthier nations including the United States and members of the European Union. The World Food Program (WFP) has cited the increase in world food prices as the biggest challenge in its 45-year history, calling the impact a “silent tsunami” that threatens to plunge millions into hunger. In this volume, practicing and applied anthropologists examine the current global food crisis in a variety of settings including Belize, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, and the United States. Further, they use a variety of theoretical orientations and methodological approaches to understand the chronic nature of food insecurity and the ways in which global food policies and economic restructuring have resulted in increasing food inequities across the globe. Throughout this volume, the authors make suggestions for combating the global food crisis through the application of anthropological principles and practices.
Upcoming NAPA Volume 33: Spring 2010
Intersections of Faith and Development in Local-Global Contexts
Keri Vacanti Brondo and Tara Hefferan, Volume Editors
Satish Kedia and David Himmelgreen, General Editors
Over the past three decades, neoliberal economic models have encouraged states to withdraw from the provision of social and development services. In response, non-governmental organizations have mushroomed to meet the needs and promote the interests of those living in poverty. While scholarship on NGOs has exploded in recent years, anthropological attention to organizations and initiatives grounded in and inspired by religious faith has been scant. Through a case study approach, papers in this NAPA Bulletin engage with a range of religious development initiatives in health and social service delivery in Latin America, Africa, and the United States. Authors consider four central questions in their work: 1) How do the actors involved in faith-based initiatives perceive these endeavors as spaces to negotiate and contest social and economic injustices?; 2) To what extent do the individuals involved in faith-based development see a linkage between the provision of social, medical, and economic support service and evangelism?; 3) How are faith-based models shaped by the specific cultural contexts in which they emerge and evolve?; and 4) What is the role of the anthropologist as practitioner within studies of faith-based development initiatives? In exploring such questions, the volume also hopes to spur additional ethnographic investigation into the complex worlds of faith-based organizations and an expanded awareness of the varied ways that anthropologists are connected with them.
Anthropology News CFPs on Anthropology Education and Disaster Relief
Topic: Anthropology Education (September 2010)
Proposal Deadline: March 25, 2010
Many have argued that we have reached a dramatic transitional moment in education with recent shifts in the global economic climate, developments in communication technologies, and fierce debate on education policy. What do these far-reaching changes mean for the future of anthropology education as it is conveyed and experienced in the classroom? We welcome proposals for In Focus commentaries, Teaching Strategies, Field Notes articles, photo essays, news stories and interviews that examine this topic from the perspectives of teachers, advisors, educational researchers, administrators and students.
Although this series focuses on the anthropology classroom itself, authors can examine the issue on a number of scales, from reflections on personal classroom experiences to critiques of broader educational trends and their impacts. Between these two sides of the spectrum, contributors might discuss the implications of specific recent initiatives, such as the Royal Anthropological Institute’s effort to promote pre-university anthropology education through a new Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, the creation of new anthropology programs (from IUPUI to the Smithsonian) emphasizing hands-on training and practice, or Michael Wesch’s use of YouTube in the classroom.
For complete CFP, see: http://aaanet.org/issues/anthronews/CFP-AnthroEducation.cfm
Topic: Disaster Relief and Recovery (October 2010)
Proposal Deadline: March 25, 2010
On January 12, 2010, a catastrophic earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti, killing over 200,000 people and leaving an estimated 1,000,000 homeless. AAA immediately began receiving inquiries from members seeking information on the status of colleagues in Haiti and how they might contribute to recovery efforts through providing expertise or funds to organizations such as Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health. This outpouring of concern and interest in providing assistance was far from unanticipated, given our members’ frequent engagement with human rights, public health and social justice issues, as well as the involvement of both practicing and academic anthropologists in short- and long-term disaster relief and recover efforts throughout the world.
For the October issue of Anthropology News, we seek proposals for In Focus commentaries, Teaching Strategies, Field Notes articles, photo essays, news stories and interviews on the topic of post-disaster relief and recovery, in Haiti and elsewhere across the globe. Have you been involved in such an initiative through research, advocacy, service provision or program assessment? Do you see opportunities where anthropologists might contribute more or differently to relief efforts, or where contributions are problematic? What types of expertise might anthropologists provide in responding to emergency situations and helping to sustain longer-term development efforts that might mitigate the impact of future disasters or improve quality of life and infrastructure on broader levels? How can work at former disaster sites and longer-term research with previously impacted populations inform present-day situations? We welcome article proposals addressing these themes and more.
Guidelines
To participate, email a 300-word abstract and 50-100-word biosketch to Anthropology News editor Dinah Winnick. Proposals for photo essays should also include five high resolution photographs (tiff or jpg), each with a caption and credit. Selected authors will be notified of their status in early April, and full articles —commentaries of 1000-1400 words or shorter pieces of other article types —will be due early May.
Proposal submission deadline: March 25, 2010
Early submissions are encouraged
NAPA’s e-Newsletter is edited by
Elizabeth Nanas. Ideas & submissions may be addressed to her at:
E-Mail: enanas@wayne.edu
Skype Phone: 313-915-4933
Skype Chat: enanas72
CFP: AAA Registration Waivers for Qualifying Scholars
Posted by enanas in News/Announcements on March 2nd, 2010
Section Assembly Executive Committee (SAEC)
Call for Applications
CFP
As announced at the Section Assembly meeting in Philadelphia, in an effort to facilitate the participation of and increase members’ access to international and community-based scholars at the AAA annual meetings, registration waivers will be made available to all 38 section members of the Section Assembly. The SAEC requests applications from sections to redeem these registration waivers for qualifying scholars they hope to bring to the 2010 AAA meeting, on 17-21 November, in New Orleans. Qualifying scholars need not be current AAA members and cannot hold employment in university-based anthropology departments nor work as practicing anthropologists in any of the discipline’s four main subfields (archaeology, sociocultural, biological, linguistic). Registration and membership fees will be waived for the qualifying scholar nominated by sections to receive this waiver. Sections and individual qualifying scholars are responsible for all other conference-associated costs.
Each section is qualified to receive one waiver on a “use it or loose it” basis. Unused or unallocated waivers will go back into a pool and a lottery held to redistribute them. If you wish or anticipate the need for a second waiver, please let us know when you submit your original request by including information for a second qualifying scholar and rank each scholar accordingly.
Procedure:
Sections should email SA Convenor Mary Gray <mLg@indiana.edu> with a description of the proposed 2010 section-organized session, name of the qualifying scholar nominated to receive the section’s waiver, and a short description of the nature of the scholar’s proposed meeting participation as well as her or his credentials and qualifications (i.e., non-anthropologist, community-based scholar, international scholar, etc).
Deadline: 1 March 2010 (extended to March 12)
Waivers are not transferable. Sections are encouraged to pool resources through co-sponsorships.
NEWS: 2009 NAPA Student Paper Competition Winners
Posted by james mullooly in News/Announcements on February 15th, 2010
The National Association of Practicing Anthropologists is proud to announce the results of the 2009 NAPA Student Paper Contest. All the submitted essays represented the highest level of academic writing and all participants should be proud of their accomplishments. The consensus among the judging panel after reading the collection of essays submitted was that future anthropologists, both professional and academic,will be characterized by an extremely intelligent and scholastically rich group. The resulting winners are as follows:
Andrew Flachs
1st Place Winner
Paper Title “The Capabilities Approach: Navigating Cultural Politics in Human Rights Discourse”
Oberlin College
aflachs@gmail.com
Prize $300
Amy Cooper
1st Runner up
Paper Title “The Preservation of Self in Everyday Life: Temporality and Personhood among Homeless Women in Chicago”
Department of Comparative Human Development
University of Chicago
coopera@uchicago.edu
Prize $100
Kathryn Bouskill
2nd Runner Up
Paper Title: “Practicing Neuroanthropology: Humor as a Coping Mechanism for Breast Cancer”
Emory University
kbouski@emory.edu
Prize $50
Kalfani N. Ture’
NAPA Student Representative
Senior Researcher, User Experience
Posted by jscroggins in News/Announcements on February 12th, 2010
HLB Chicago is seeking a seasoned user researcher (8+ years) to anchor the company’s fast growing User Experience Practice in the Chicago office. This person will bring their intellectual curiosity, analytical rigor, methodological diversity, client savvy, and hard working attitude to our team.
As a Senior Researcher you will employ qualitative and quantitative methods to support product development from discovery through concept preferences and usability testing. Quantitative skills are a must.
RESPONSIBILITIES, include the ability to juggle the following:
· Business development support
· Project delivery and oversight
· Practice Innovation
· Multidisciplinary collaboration
· Contributing to the overall HLB culture
REQUIREMENTS include:
· Educational background in design or anthropology
· Strong skills in programs including PTT, Word, and Excel, Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign
· Excellent presenting, writing and visualization skills
Our client projects are extraordinarily diverse, ranging from medical, consumer and industrial sectors, both domestic and international. Successful candidates will have client-facing experience and a willingness to roll-up their sleeves.
If you are you are willing to get your hands dirty and jump in when needed, but can also provide structure to and facilitate teams and clients, you will be happy in our team environment.
Please send your resume, a visual sample of recent work (within the past year) and/or portfolio, and references to careers@hlb.com . No calls please.
HLB is a product design firm specializing in the design and development of industrial, medical and consumer products. We use design to create products that have meaning worldwide.
TWAIN: Learning Foreign Languages (Ethnography.com)
Posted by james mullooly in News/Announcements, TWIAN on February 10th, 2010
[TWIAN (i.e., This Week in Anthropology) focuses on issues of anthropological practice that are of interest to the NAPA Anthro membership. The following post from Ethnography.com reminds us of the value of languages.
I was reminded of the importance of foreign language learning twice in the last week or so. This morning I read a commentary in the New York Times about how poorly Americans do at foreign languages. Several of the authors remind us that Americans have long done poorly at foreign language learning, and that demands for foreign language learning are declining in the United States, despite attempts by the Chinese government (and others) to get Americans into language classes.
I am also on a Facebook group emphasizing the importance of German language learning in the United States. Last week, someone from the “Standup for German Language” Facebook Group sent me a message reminding me to re-emphasize the importance of that language. Consider this post part of this re-emphasis!
The problem with language learning in the United States is that pragmatic Americans believe that science and math are the fields that have the greatest demand for jobs in the immediate future, and therefore schools are justified in beefing up math and science requirements, and canceling foreign language programs. This may be true in the short-run. But foreign language learning is not divorced completely from the development of cognitive abilities in other fields as well.
The best piece of evidence of this is that the countries which do best in various kinds of cross-national testing in math and science skills, like Finland, and South Korea, also have stiff requirements for foreign language learning. Both require English in primary school, and push their children in to third and fourth languages as well, even as they cram on science and math. While correlation does not always imply causation, it contributes to my belief that language learning as a cognitive process contributes to our abilities in other fields as well.
If nothing else, language learning also contributes to our sense of humility, too, which is always a good thing!
Sourced from: Ethnography.com
TWIAN: AAA’s Profiles in Practice Podcast Series
Posted by james mullooly in News/Announcements, TWIAN on February 1st, 2010
The American Anthropological Associations’s new “Profiles in Practice Podcast Series” is the topic of This Week in Anthropology. Podcasting has finally arrived into the world of Practicing Anthropologists!
In 2007-08, the Practicing Anthropology Working Group (PAWG), with Shirley Fiske serving as an editor, began the “Profiles in Practice” column in Anthropology News. The purpose was to increase awareness of work being done by anthropologists outside of academia. Eleven columns were published. Subsequently, a permanent column was established titled “Anthropology Works.” In 2008, PAWG was replaced by a permanent standing committee of the AAA, the Committee of Practicing, Applied and Public Interest Anthropology (CoPAPIA) .
The Profiles in Practice columns focused on the following questions: (b) What was your career path to getting to where you are? (b) Why are anthropologists or anthropology critical or important? (c) What are the challenges in your work and what are the challenges that a national association, such as AAA, can address? (d) Are there ethical, gender, structural, or political dimensions to those challenges?
CoPAPIA is building upon past Profiles in Practice columns with an online interview series geared towards students interested in anthropology but uncertain about the career paths that await them following graduation. Practicing anthropologists are interviewed about how they obtained their jobs, the usefulness of their anthropological training, important skills to have, etc. The series is hosted by Ruth Sando, owner of Sando and Associates, who is a practicing anthropologist and former board member of the Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists.
The podcast series features interviews with:
- [Listen] Kevin Bialy, an international program officer at the National Institutes of Health
- [Listen] Megan Hawkins, a cultural resource specialist with the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, where she is working with the US Army
- [Listen] Lee Cerveny, a research social scientist at the US Forest Service
- [Listen] Cheryl Levine, a social science analyst at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
If you have trouble listening to the podcasts, please try downloading Quicktime.
If you are interested in participating in this podcast series, please contact Brian Estes at bestes@aaanet.org.
TWIAN: Savage Minds Rewind: The Best of 2009
Posted by james mullooly in News/Announcements, TWIAN on January 25th, 2010
[TWIAN (i.e., This Week in Anthropology) focuses on issues of anthropological practice that are of interest to the NAPA Anthro membership. The following post from Savage Minds is a worderful recap of 2009.
Everyone loves end of year reviews, even if they’re a couple days late. And we’re no exception. Here are some of the most popular posts, notable moments, and contributors’ favorites from the past twelve months.
SM picked up on the world of anthropology- from Dustin’s great post on Human Terrain in Oaxaca, Ethnic Studies Under Attack, Tom’s breakdown of the UK anthropology rankings, the burgeoning Open Anthropology Collective and even the youtube hit The Anthropology Song.
Rex gave advice to graduate students, offering them insight into what professors look for in applications, which he updated in December, told grant-seekers to read Michele Lamont’s How Professors Think, and suggested resources for preparing for fieldwork.
We stocked up on our popcorn, either to watch vividly or to throw it at the screen. Of course, the colonial, anticolonial, racist, liberatory, best thing since sliced bread, worst film ever Avatar got both Rex and Kerim going, but let us not forget that there have been other notable movies in the history of cinema. Rex reviewed the Librarian series…twice! Plus, where to find free documentary films online, Tristes Tropiques, and films for teaching anthropology.
Of course, online technologies constitute our media of choice, and SM had plenty to say about that. From Finding Anthropology on Twitter, to Virtual Worlds as Area Studies, to the profitability of social networking sites and a rereading of Imagined Communities in the digital and multinational age. Plus, Chris gave a rowsing, ‘the internet is dead, long live the internet’ cheer in recounting how his book has faired in the online creative commons.
This year, SM is it unethical to say something about someone that they cannot understand? And could the Henry Louis Gates affair be considered an American rorschach test on race? And there were plenty of opinions. Chris took a dressed-up call for the dismantling of the university to task, while Rex crowned the worst postmodern titlemaker. And Kerim compared Mendeley and other bibliographical tools.
We were lucky to have a number of great guest bloggers this year. Adam Fish wrote on celebrity journalists in North Korea, communes and online communities. Parvis Mahdavi contributed on her work on the sexual revolution in Iran. Anne Allison wrote about precarious socialities of Japanese youth. Ken MacLeish posted on the wounds of war and the dilemmas of stereotype. And Olumide Abimbola wrote pieces on consuming second hand clothing and anthropology in Nigeria.
Finally, we remembered the lives and contributions of Dell Hymes, Epeli Hau’ofa, and of course the one to whom we will always be in debt for our name, Claude Lévi-Strauss.
Sourced from: Savage Minds
Job: Lead Interaction Designer / Design Director
Posted by james mullooly in Jobs, News/Announcements on January 23rd, 2010
Should be local to the SF Bay Area…there is no move package. Must be comfortable in working with a start-up and doing multip;e releases in a year.. You will be the only UX person there for now. Will need to build a team and a lab over the next few years.
Title: Lead Interaction Designer / Design Director
Our client’s Innovation Management Solutions help companies to determine the best products and services to deliver and the best features and functions to include in them. Their SaaS-based solutions cover the product lifecycle from collecting and assessing Voice-of-Customer/Voice-of-Market data through collaborative applications for product planning and requirements management. Their award-winning solutions (Excellence in Product Management Award from the Association of International Product Marketing and Management in 2006, 2007, and 2008) enables our customers to align corporate and product strategies with market needs, gain visibility and control in product planning and development, and thereby successfully execute strategies and plans.
Position
We are seeking a seasoned usability professional with proven track record of creating complex, high-quality enterprise software in a rapidly changing environment.
The role will provide leadership for the development and delivery of the successful software product, responsible for the overall usability of our client’s product suite. In this role, you must be able to understand end-user workflows and design user interfaces that are intuitive and optimize workflow.
We are looking for someone who is passionate about user-centered design and usability in general, with the ability to create both compelling concepts and work through complex details. You should have experience working in collaborative environments, integrating user-centered design, technology, business strategy, and managing clients. You will work closely with Product Management and other Engineering teams located here and abroad. This position reports to the VP of Engineering.
Responsibilities:
- Driving innovation and vision for user interface at the company.
- Creating designs for new functionality as well as revising and improving existing products.
- Designing, prototyping, critiquing, revising, and user testing client’s product user interfaces.
- Reviewing functional specifications, wireframes, and mock ups with product management.
- Work with the technology council to provide architectural leadership with respect to user interface.
Requirements:
- 10+ years of combined experience in large scale software development with
5+ years as lead interaction or usability designer
- Proven experience in designing efficient, scalable, flexible web-based or desktop applications
- Familiarity with modern browser-based user interfaces as well as application user interface guidelines
- Demonstrated ability to write clear technical and design documentation or rich deliverables
- An industry presence in the areas of interaction design, user research, and/or information architecture.
This could include conference presentations, publications, or papers.
- Strong interpersonal skills and oral and written communication skills
- Works independently with strong consultative and instructional skills
- Masters degree preferred in a related discipline (usability, psychology, anthropology, etc.)
Very nice to have:
- Designed products with social interaction issues
- Track record of products developed, known for excellent user experience
- Research into future user experience technology and applying new technologies (e.g. mobile,
multimedia, multi-touch, haptics, etc.)
- Worked for a respected design consultancy
- Determined a common design language for a suite of products
- Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
- Please, no phone calls about this job!
- Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
Job: Lead User Research Specialist
Posted by james mullooly in Jobs, News/Announcements on January 23rd, 2010
Position Summary: Kelley Blue Book is looking for a Lead User Research Specialist to conduct qualitative and quantitative studies that will improve the user experience on Kelley Blue Book’s website, kbb.com. This person will report to the Director of User Research and work closely with other researchers, product managers, and KBB auto industry liaisons to deliver insights about the consumer and customer (auto industry) experience with Kelley Blue Book. The ideal candidate has a passion for user research of all types, is a creative thinker with a strong foundation in research but a flexible approach, open to exploring out-of-the box kinds of research as a member of this growing team. The ultimate goal of the user research team is to help provide user experiences that delight kbb.com users!
Position responsibilities:
- Work closely with peers in User Experience, Product, and other teams to identify and understand research questions and construct qualitative and/or quantitative studies that will provide useful insights.
- Plan and design qualitative research studies, including scheduling, recruiting, and writing research plan that outlines study goals and methodology.
- Identify recruiting requirements, write screeners, and work closely with recruiters to obtain most appropriate users possible for research studies.
- Run qualitative research studies, both formal (e.g., lab, remote) and informal (e.g., person-on-the-street interviews).
- Analyze results from all types of qualitative research and report at various levels, from detailed identification of issues and recommendations for product teams to high level executive overview. Present results of study as appropriate.
- Design, write, and report on quantitative research (surveys). Work closely with Analytics team (who will run appropriate statistical analyses on data) to ensure data will yield what’s necessary to answer questions posed.
- Program surveys using survey tool (for internally run surveys) or coordinate with vendor for externally run surveys.
- Provide innovative, customer centric, information and visual design recommendations that contribute to an enhanced user experience.
- Contribute subject matter expertise in the areas of user behavior, usability testing, and industry standard user research best practices.
- Minimal overnight travel (up to 10%) by land and/or air.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Essential skills, knowledge and abilities:
- Proven ability to be a contributing member of a cross-functional team and inspire team confidence in and respect for the contributions of research to enhance user experience.
- Thorough understanding of best practices in user research, web design and user interface/information architecture conventions.
- Proven experience with techniques in qualitative research, including formal and informal usability testing, ethnographic research, contextual inquiry, etc.
- Proven experience with techniques in quantitative research, including survey construction, understanding results of website analytics and multivariate analysis, etc.
- Strong knowledge of task and use-case analysis, heuristic analysis, and user personas.
- Strong understanding of online design, marketing and advertising.
- Good understanding of the benefits and constraints of current Internet technologies.
- Bachelor’s degree must be in a qualitative research-related field such as Cognitive Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Experimental Design, Human Factors; plus a minimum of 8 years of user research experience for an established, heavily trafficked, consumer facing web site or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Bachelor’s degree (B. A.) from four-year college or university; or four to six years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Please apply online by clicking the following link: https://jobs-kbb.icims.com/jobs/2056/job
News: Ethnographic Field School, Summer 2010
Posted by james mullooly in News/Announcements on January 23rd, 2010
NC State University Announces the Seventeenth Annual Ethnographic Field School, Summer 2010
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
May 28 – July 18, 2010
Environment, Heritage, Identity, and Globalization in Mayan Communities
Field school website: http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/wallace or through the NCSU Study Abroad Office website: http://studyabroad.ncsu.edu/
Objectives: Learn how to design, conduct and write-up your own independent research project while on the shores of a crystal lake framed by volcanoes! During the seven week program time, live and work with an indigenous Guatemalan family in the Lake Atitlán area of the Western Highlands. Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, training as an ethnographic researcher can prove to be beneficial for a variety of majors, such as anthropology, sociology, international affairs, history, education, textiles, natural resource management business and management, political science, psychology, and public health. All students are encouraged to apply, especially students interested in topics concerning the environment, globalization, social justice, tourism, conservation, language, development, poverty and health. Not sure how your interests may fit into the topics listed? The program is tailored individually to maximize the participant’s potential for understanding and developing the skills needed for ethnographic research. Students also will have opportunities to pursue an applied, service-learning project in lieu of a research project. Contact the Program Directors (tmwallace@mindspring.com; carla.pezzia@gmail.com) to discuss potential opportunities for your areas of interest.
The program and eligibility:
Within the supportive framework of the NC State Guatemala Program students learn the fundamentals of ethnographic fieldwork, including project design and management, data collection and report writing. Students also quickly improve their Spanish language skills through intensive, daily interaction with their home stay families and other community members. Guatemalans are friendly and outgoing with an ancient and rich, Mayan cultural heritage. The program is designed for 13-14 participants who may be either undergraduates, graduate students or post-baccalaureate students. Students will learn how the contemporary Maya of the Lake Atitlán area are adapting to changing demographics, the effects of the global economic slowdown on traditional exports such as coffee and traditional textiles, as well as on the continuing presence of more and more tourists and foreign residents. The program is not limited to students of NC State University and many previous participants have come from all over the US, Canada, the UK, and Guatemala. Some Spanish language skills and some course work or familiarity with anthropology are desirable.
The Research Site
Lake Atitlán is one of the most majestic and scenic spots in all of Latin America. Ringed by active and extinct volcanoes and about a mile in elevation, the 55 sq. mi. lake was formed out of an ancient volcanic basin (crater). Dotting the shores of the lake are about a dozen small villages inhabited by the contemporary descendants of the ancient Maya. Panajachel (pop. 9000) is the largest town and will be the headquarters for the program. Students will be located in home stays in one of the ten other towns surrounding the lake shores. The view of the lake from Panajachel and the other towns is magnificent, and the attractive sunsets and views daily lure many tourists over the years. Yet, the region has retained much of their traditional Maya heritage. Guatemala has the largest indigenous population in Mexico and Central America. There are approximately 23 different languages spoken in Guatemala and three of them are spoken around Lake Atitlán (Kaqchikel, Tz’utujil and K’iche’). Despite conquests and civil wars, the Maya have survived for nearly two millennia. Lake Atitlán is one of the best places in Central America to learn about this amazingly durable and vibrant culture.
Six Course Credits (graduate or undergraduate):
ANT 419 Ethnographic Field Methods. (3 cr.) This is a field methods course that emphasizes practical training in ethnographic fieldwork and ethics. Applied research methods such as focus groups and rapid assessment procedures will also be demonstrated. Students learn research design, systematic observation, interviewing, fieldnote-taking, coding, ethics data analysis, report writing, etc.
ANT 431/531 Tourism, Change and Anthropology (3 cr.) This course focuses on tourism and the role of culture as it affects the interactions between hosts and guests. Students learn through seminar discussions and field work the problems underlying the achievement of sustainable tourism and maintenance of cultural traditions.
Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate students will be enrolled in ANT 531, Tourism, Change and Culture (3 cr.) and 610 Independent Study in Anthropology (3cr).
Note: English is the language of instruction, but Spanish is an invaluable tool for a full experience. The focus of all course work is the design, implementation and write- up of an independent research project with an applied focus.
Housing
In concert with each student’s research needs and personal preferences, participants will be housed with a local Mayan family in one of twelve communities around Lake Atitlan. Each student will receive room, breakfast, lunch and dinner and laundry services. Families also help students learn Spanish and establish networks in the community.
Program Costs
The cost of the seven-week program is only $3100. The single fee covers all expenses (except airfare) including:
•room, board (three meals/day), laundry
•tuition for six credits
•full coverage health insurance during stay abroad
•program fees and instruction
•local transportation costs and transfer fees
•national park entrance fees
•research supplies
•free rental of a cellphone (works both in-country and for inexpensive, international calls), and
•in-country excursions (Colonial Antigua, Indigenous markets at Chichicastenango, rituals in Patzún, climbing Volcán Pacaya, and the Mayan ruins of Iximché among others)
Airfare from most US cities is approximately $500-550. Students are strongly encouraged to bring a laptop word processor to the field. Other than a valid passport, US and Canadian citizens need no other documents to enter Guatemala for a stay of up to 90 days.
Applications
Students from any university or country, regardless of major – graduate, undergraduate, post-baccalaureate or post-graduate – may apply. Applications may be accessed through the field school website: http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/wallace or through the NC State University Study Abroad Office website: http://studyabroad.ncsu.edu. Please feel free to contact Dr. Tim Wallace, the program director (tmwallace@mindspring.com), or Carla Pezzia, the assistant director (carla.pezzia@gmail.com) for additional information or any type of inquiry about the program at 919-815-6388 (m) or 919-515-9025 (o). Fax no: 919-513-0866; E-mail: tmwallace@mindspring.com. The applications are submitted online, but if you have any problems, please contact Ms. Kim Priebe at the NCSU Study Abroad Office, Box 7344, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7344 kim_priebe@ncsu.edu, 919-515-2087. The official deadline is February 12, 2010. Applications received after that date will be considered only if there are spaces still available.
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