Collaborative ethnography- the perks and the pitfalls

Recently, I explored the personal experiences of my family with television. Through this study I uncovered that television played a large role in family bonding and that this bond was strengthened with the introduction of colour TV.

Intrigued by my personal experience, I delved into the blog’s of my peers to learn of their personal discoveries. Here, I partook in collaborative ethnography.

Source: Pinterest https://au.pinterest.com/brookiesuee/anthropology-humor/

As stated by Luke Eric Lassiter, “To collaborate means, literally, to work together, especially in an intellectual effort. While collaboration is central to the practice of ethnography, realizing a more deliberate and explicit collaborative ethnography implies resituating collaborative practice at every stage of the ethnographic process, from fieldwork to writing and back again. Many ethnographers have done this before, and their collaborative work—regardless of their theoretical trajectories—provide us a point of departure for beginning an in-depth exploration of the history and theory behind a collaborative ethnography.”

Through collaborative ethnographic study, I found that my peers experiences with television provided great insight into the history of television. As a whole, society’s experience with television has experienced a progressive trend in the past 50 years. Some peers referenced grandparents who knew television before colour. Those people could recount the greatest progression of television in the family and provided the most interesting recounts of events.

Elderly interview participants stated the transition from black and white to colour television to be iconic. The introduction of colour television brought with it a culture surrounding television, emphasising togetherness. Almost unanimously, it was identified that people watched colour television together and that rather than a pastime, television became a hobby and a point of conversation among families and friends.

This reported trend is supported by a study conducted by the Australian Beuro of Statistics, which found that:

• Total income for Subscription broadcasters and channel providers ($5,352.1m), including subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), exceeded that of Commercial free-to-air broadcasters($3961.4m) in 2015-16.
• Total production costs for film, television and videos were $3,436.1m in 2015-16, an increase of 15.5% compared to 2011-12. This increase was driven by Broadcasters and channel providers who saw growth of 44.9% as they completed greater numbers of productions and broadcast hours.

My experience with collaborative ethnographic study into television history has been positive. Although my personal beliefs were at time challenged, upon greater investigation, my ideas and knowledge were enhanced. Through collaboration of experience surrounding television, my knowledge and understanding of television and television culture has been enhanced and hence, my social and cultural literacy as well.

For more information on collaborative ethnography and television history see below:

• http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/468909.html
• http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats%5Cabs@.nsf/0/305292A649D1E49FCA2568A9001393B4?Opendocument
• https://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/History%20of%20Television%20page.htm

Until next time, that’s this week Pinned.
Emma.

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Oh the irony. ‘Fitspo’ in a screen-filled society. -Project pitch-

‘Fitspo’ is a culture that has risen with the expansion of digital and social media. ‘Fitspo’ is a term short for ‘Fitspiration’. The concept of ‘Fitspiration’ is online profiles promoting healthy living in the attempt to inspire their audience. ‘Fitspo’ personas post content online including workouts, clean eating and daily life in an attempt to gain a following and inspire others. The concept of ‘Fitspo’ has boomed over the last five years, especially through the platform of Instagram. In a society where people are spending more and more time in front of screens, fitness moguls are becoming increasingly present in young people’s online feed.

‘Fitspo’ personas promote healthy, happy, ‘perfect’ life…. but does this create a notion of disbelief among audiences? Has promoting inspiration become so curated that ‘Fitspo’ is loosing its integrity?

Instagram profile of famous fitness moguls.

 

Ashy Bines, Sophie Guidolin, Tammy Hembrew and Khloe Kardashian, just to name a few. Influencers of behaviour, attitude and actions, promoting a healthy lifestyle and workout programs. We have access to fitness moguls through the internet and social media platforms such as Instagram, but we can only interact with this content when we’re in front of a screen….

Ironic? Yes.
Bad? Not necessarily.

Through my investigation I intend to uncover the extent to which ‘Fitspo’ personas influence the actions and behaviours of their audience. I intend to investigate whether fitness models on social media prompt audiences to put down their devices in order to go exercise or whether they just make their audiences spite health trends due to unrealistic body expectations.

This project will assess the effect of media, audience and place. I personally have experienced the influence of ‘Fitspo’ personas and will conduct an ethnographic study by completing fitness classes and assessing the effect of a different media, audience and place on overall inspiration and attitude.

One factor I will consider in my investigation is ethics, through which I will adhere to the MEAA Code. The MEAA code is a set of practices to be used by researches that ensure research is conducted ethically. In my investigation, it is especially important that I remain unbiased when interpreting findings and that I am conscious of differing opinions between genders. To find more information on the MEAA code of ethics, see here.

To see examples of fitness inspirations and information on ‘Fitspo’, see the links below:

• https://www.instagram.com/ashybines/?hl=en
• https://www.instagram.com/sophie_guidolin/?hl=en
• https://www.instagram.com/tammyhembrow/?hl=en
• http://theconversation.com/why-the-fitspo-movement-is-damaging-to-women-60453
• http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/11/what-do-all-those-fitspo-hashtags-actually-mean-6568305/

Until next time, that’s this week Pinned.
Emma.

 

 

Perceptions of television… Baby Boomer vs. Gen X vs. Gen Z

As a member of Generation Z, I have grown up in a world where television and technology are a given. I have established that I do take modern technology for granted, and in my quest to uncover life before digital technology I investigate older generations experiences with television.

The year was 1975. Australia’s experience with television was transformed forever with the introduction of colour television into society. My mother’s family was not fortunate enough to purchase a colour television until the late 70’s, when my mother was around 12 years old. Unsurprisingly, my mother and grandmother both vividly remember the day their family brought home their very first colour television.

“It was such an exciting day. A colour television is something the kids had wanted ever since they were released and now we could afford one. My husband’s pride and the smile on my kids faces was the highlight of the day for me. It sounds so silly, but its a day I’ll never forget.”
-Nanna (Baby Boomer)

Colour television as introduced in the 1970’s. Source: http://www.golden-agetv.co.uk/equipment.php?TypeID=3

In my mother and grandmother’s experience, the introduction of colour television arose a strong television culture in the home. From the late 70’s, my grandmother experienced a shift in her family’s behavioural patterns. Colour television made television viewing a far more engaging experience and as a result, the family watched a wider range of programs including ‘Hey Hey it’s Saturday!’. Although my grandmother recalls reduced communication among the family of a night, she states remembering enjoying ‘family time’ spent together watching television. She also recalls television creating a topic of conversation among her family and created more shared interests, hence bringing the family closer together.

The transition from black and white television was hugely significant in television as we know it. However television still had a long way to come before it reached the television that I (Generation Z) have grown up with.

As according to my mother and grandmothers recount of events, over the 20 years following the release of colour television, the physical appearance of television units underwent drastic physical changes.

Colour television as of the late 90’s/early 2000’s. Source: Telix.pl

“It was such a quick progression. Every few years the shape of television consoles was changing. With these physical changes also came cultural changes with how we watch television and I feel like television culture has almost done a 360 now.”
– Mum (Generation X)

Colour television as of the mid 2010’s. Source: ericssonbroadcastandmedia.com

The world of television is constantly evolving. Since the year 2000, television has transformed from analog broadcasting to digital providing a wider variety of and better reception for viewers.

Advancing technology however, is quickly superseding the culture surrounding television. With the introduction of streaming programs through the internet, television viewership has fallen. Increasingly, younger generations such as Generation Z use the internet to access television shows instead of watching through a television. Much of the reason behind this has to do with viewing on demand. The largest benefit of online viewing as that the program can be played whenever the viewer wishes and can be paused, skipped or rewound, a feature only previously available through recordings or pay TV. Features like these are becoming increasingly popular because they allow far more flexibility than traditional television viewing.

I personally still enjoy traditional television viewing and partake in a combination of traditional and online viewing. The migration to online viewing has me thinking however… in a society where lounge rooms are centred around a television, what comes next? My experience with television differs greatly to my mother and grandmothers. My grandmother who did not grow up with a television, to my mother who grew up with the family sat around one console watching the same program together, to my experience with several viewing devices in the house with the family watching different programs on different devices as according to our individual preferences.

My mother and grandmother’s recount of their experiences with television has me acknowledging just how far television has come in the last 50 years and wondering where television culture will go from here.

For more information on the conversation surrounding television, see below:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aIc7dOSUQA&t=2s
• ‘The evolution of television – TV’s migration to the cloud’ https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/_qs/…/evolution-of-tv-migration-to-the-cloud.pdf
• ‘The future of TV – Medium Migration’
  https://valueprop.com/2017/01/future-tv-medium-migration/

Until next time, that’s this week Pinned.
Emma.

Growing up in the digital age…can you imagine life before technology?

As a baby of the late 90’s, I consider myself to have grown up in the semi-digital age. As a child I played with dolls and made towers out of video cases. I remember the day I got my first Tamagotchi and thought WOAH. As I grew older I witnessed advancing technology emerge.

Image of a Tamagotchi. Source: Project TamaShell

Recently I went skiing with friends and my mum also happened to be at the snow with her friends on this same weekend, however skiing on opposite sides of the resort. My friends and I were skiing in Blue Cow and my mum was skiing in Perisher when a debacle arose that got me thinking.

Let me paint you a picture………

Saturday 1pm in Blue Cow: Unfortunately, the weather was far from ideal, with 80km/h wind gusts and blizzards. My friends and I were skiing in ‘Blue Cow’, where the lifts eventually shut down due to the extreme conditions.  In an attempt to contact my mum I discovered that my phone battery has died in the cold and realise I am cut off. As a result of the shut down, my friends and I simply caught the tube to the other side of the resort and continued skiing.

Candid pic of me in the blizzard, blissfully unaware of my mother’s panic.

Saturday 1.30pm in Perisher: Skiing in Perisher, my mum receives news that “Blue Cow is being evacuated”. Panicked and confused, my mum attempts to contact me with no success. My mum spends the afternoon worried due to the fact that she has not heard from me since the so called “evacuation”.

Eventually (approximately 5pm) I arrived back at my hotel and had access to my phone charger. I texted my mum to recount the afternoon’s events, to realise my mum had spent the afternoon worried for my safety.

This experience got me thinking…How was life before technology in scenarios such as this? Due to such reliance on technology, this situation became a much more significant event than it had to be. My mum’s lack of ability to reach my phone created a scene of panic, and it had me thinking ‘What if technology wasn’t around? How would she reach me then? How did scenarios like this play out 50 years ago?’ If I had no access to technology, I would have had no ability to contact my mum and she would not have heard from me for another two days until I arrived home from my trip.

I feel as though as a young adult living in the digital age, I do take advantage of digital technology. I took my experience at the snow as a reality check, which has sparked an interest to investigate life before digital technology.

I hereby embark on an endeavour. In the coming days I will be discussing with my parents how they experience life with access to technology and how having kids grow up in the digital age affects their perception of technology.
It is my hope that through this investigation I will gain insight into life before technology and my attention to the significance of digital communication will be heightened.

Until next time, that’s this week Pinned.
Emma.

 

Hey you! Go drop those daily duties! BCM212 Reflection.

“I’m a realist. Yes, taking a year off life meant my friends are now a year ahead of me at Uni, but I don’t see myself as having fallen behind. Experiences abroad have allowed me to grow so much as a person and have greatly broadened my perspective. I was exposed to such a range of experiences that I don’t care so much about the little things anymore. I think that although taking the initial leap is scary, if you always dream of it but never do it, you’ll regret it.”

– Interview Participant No.2

 This post (yes, this one right here) marks the conclusion of my BCM212 project! As you (hopefully) already know, I have recently been undergoing a research project on ‘What prevents people from taking time off life in order to live to the fullest’ 

A key learning I take from this assignment: Never underestimate the importance of communicating with your audience and conducting ethical research techniques.

Through this assignment, I realised that just involving an audience wasn’t enough. These participants are stakeholders in my study!

As a result of this, I used my blog and Twitter account as a medium through which I could openly communicate with my participants. (What’s that? But how did my participants know to communicate with me this way?) GOOD QUESTION

Throw back to my questionnaire… before commencing questions, I stated that those who wish to keep updated can see updates at ‘THE PIN BOARD’ i.e. emmapinfold.wordpress.com or on my Twitter handle emma_pinfold.

In my secondary research, I ensured to read up on sources detailing ethical research practices. An example of this reading is the journal article ‘Conducting Respectful Research: A Critique of Practice’. This source acted as a Bible of sorts. A dictionary of all information surrounding ethical research techniques.  The article discusses the importance of ethical research and the implications on both the researcher and the study if improper techniques are used.

In my research, I ensured that participants understood that their valuable opinions were being put to use and that their time was appreciated. In my research, I also made the decision to have all participants remain anonymous. Before participants began both methodologies (Questionnaire and Interview) I ensured to provide a disclaimer that their answers provided will be used in my report, however that their identity will at all times remain anonymous. This was vital in ensuring that I was an ethical researcher at all times.

I also found critical judgement to be of great importance in my study. I gained majority of my methodology information from secondary sources, so it was imperative that I used close critical judgement of the articles, to ensure that the information was reliable. This process was made easy by using the CRAAP test, as taught in BCM212. The CRAAP test was introduced to us as a means to test the credibility of a source. The CRAAP test investigates the article’s Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose. If a source met the CRAAP criteria, I rendered it reliable and found it usable in my research.

My research also exposed me to the importance of flexibility! Throughout the course of my study, I found it necessary to trim and change my question and my research techniques in order to reach the most succinct results possible.

The findings: Success or Failure?
I consider my findings to be a success!
As hoped, I was able to conclude all posed questions within my research project.
Overall, my research concluded that 88% of people (as assumed from a sample of 100 people) have experienced the urge to take time off life. Of these 88%, only 45% actually pursue this urge to take time off life. The remaining 55% do not act on the urge to take time off for many reasons.

My research concluded that people are prevented from taking time life to pursue personal goals because of three primary reasons:

• Commitments to work
• Commitments to education
• Lack of monetary resources

As stated in interview 1 however, those who experience the urge to take time off life but do not act on this urge know that they will regret not ‘taking the leap’ later in life.

Overall, this project has allowed me to grow both as a researcher and as a professional. Experience gained through conducting interviews and analysing findings has allowed me to expand my knowledge and widen my perspective to the concept of ‘taking time off life’.

Until next time, that’s this week Pinned.
Emma.

 References:

Tilley. S, (1998) ‘Conducting Respectful Research: A Critique of Practice’ Canadian Journal of Education, Vol. 23, No. 3, pages. 316-328
Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1585942?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Accessed: 23/05/2017

California State University (2010) Evaluating Information Applying the CRAAP Test
Available at: http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf 
Accessed: 23/05/2017

 

 

Enmore Theatre website redesign…COMPLETE!

I have now completed the design of Enmore Theatre’s website!

This week, I was faced with the task of recreating all of my buttons, as they malfunctioned previously. I was able to successfully re-do my buttons in a fast enough time that I also created pages for all navigation options presented in the menu bar.

I added content to the ‘History’ page, the ‘Hire the Enmore’ page and the ‘FAQs’ page. The designs created are displayed below:

The addition of the extra three pages allowed my design to improve in usability and aesthetic. This addition mad my prototype operate more like an actual website rather than a set assignment.

From this project I take out many key learnings. One learning that greatly influenced my process was the importance of performing usability tests. My prototype was the subject of alteration after each usability test, in order to create the most efficient process.

To see my working prototype, see here:

file:///Volumes/EMMA/enmore%20prototype2.html

I have now submitted my finished report and working prototype and will await results!

I found this project very enjoyable and I endeavour to complete further projects like this in my future!

Until next tim, that’s this week Pinned.
Emma.

Take time off life…I dare you

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

My research project on ‘taking time off life in order to actually live’ is going very well!

Thus far, I have collected 70 survey responses which I have analysed in-depth in order to identify trends and patterns among responses. I have also conducted 2 interviews that provided extremely useful qualitative data for analysis.

Through my research, I am ensuring to remain ethically considerate and unbiased. I am now beginning the writing of my report itself and will have completed the process within 1-2 weeks.

My next post regarding this report will be an overall reflection on the research process and my final results!

Until next time, that’s this week Pinned.
Emma.