Ethnographic Case Study Research Research Articles

De etnografische casestudy-methode in de studie van ondernemersgedrag

The ethnographic case study method in the social study of entrepreneurship This article discusses the merits of the ethnographic case study method with special reference to the social study of entrepreneurial behaviour. It does that by scrutinizing three important methodological problems that usually crop up in case study research concerning entrepreneurship: (a) how the case refers to broader, more abstract frames of reference (or: its generalizability); (b) the role of observation in constructing the social facts that are represented in the case; and (c) how to generate social theory based on the detailed descriptions that are typical of case study reporting. The article concludes with a short discussion of the place of ethnographic case study research in the broader, social science landscape, thereby subscribing to an image of professional collaboration that resembles a symphony orchestra.

‘It’s music and we came to play instruments’: teaching for engagement in classroom music

ABSTRACT This paper presents findings from ethnographic case study research that investigated teacher practices and student engagement in classroom music. The data collection was undertaken in a primary (elementary) and a secondary school in Australia and focussed on the classroom practice of two teachers and four classes of students aged 10 to 16 years. The two teachers invited to participate in the study had been identified as being influenced by the Musical Futures approach following their participation in a Musical Futures professional learning workshop. The findings draw on participant-observation of music lessons, interviews, and focus groups. From this research, a model of teaching for engagement in classroom is proposed. This paper discusses three over-arching themes that comprise the model, illustrated with classroom snapshots from secondary Year 10 and Year 7 music classes and primary Year 5/6 music classes.

Exploration of Malay Language Acquisition and Learning Experience among Orang Asli Students

Orang Asli, the indigenous community in Malaysia, is among minority groups facing difficulties acquiring the Malay language as a second language. Poor achievement and lack of research on the secondary school level among indigenous students have motivated the inquisition for this study. Using an ethnographic case study research design, a qualitative research approach was used to explore indigenous students' Malay language acquisition and learning experience. A total of 13 participants were chosen by purposive sampling technique in this research, comprising eight Orang Asli students from the Temiar tribe, two teachers and three of the students' parents. To acquire an in-depth picture of the phenomena, the data was collected using observation methods, interviews, and field notes at the only secondary boarding school of indigenous people on the Malay Peninsula's west coast. The study findings were analysed using the continuous comparison method to identify the themes and subthemes involved. The findings revealed that the learning and acquisition of the Malay language as a second language were among the skills learned in school, just like any other subjects. This study shows that efforts to cultivate the use of the Malay language were found challenging due to the less conducive school and social environments for a second language acquisition process. Thus, this study contributes to a better understanding of indigenous students perceive their second language, which has implications for improving Malay language teaching and learning practices as a second language, particularly among the Orang Asli community in Malaysia.

Thinking in Stories: Narrative Reasoning of an Occupational Therapist Supporting People with Profound Intellectual Disabilities’ Engagement in Occupation

This article illustrates narrative reasoning using the findings from research into an occupational therapy intervention promoting changes in the ways a staff team facilitated meaningful engagement in occupation. Qualitative critical ethnographic case study research explored a single case over one year of an occupational therapist working with five people with profound intellectual disabilities and their support network. Data were collected using participant observation, interviews and document analysis. Illustrated by an ethnodramatic vignette, the findings demonstrate how the occupational therapist reasoned narratively by eliciting, telling and creating stories and how this supported individualization of her intervention to the specific context. Creation of a prospective story that the support network were invited to share, guided and propelled the intervention toward its hoped-for ending. Narrative reasoning was particularly apparent in opportunities to reflect aloud, supporting occupational therapists’ need of opportunities for reflection through story-sharing and story-making. Case study and ethnographic research methodologies may be useful in further clinical reasoning research to better understand narrative reasoning.

Integrating road information modeling (RIM) and geographic information system (GIS) for effective utility relocations in infrastructure projects

PurposeTransportation infrastructure projects are inevitably delayed due to delays in the completion of underground utility relocation. Unfamiliar location, difficulty in utility identification and use of ineffective coordination practices hamper timely completion of utility relocation works. This paper aims to develop integrated road information modeling (RIM) and geographic information system (GIS) models to assist early identification of utilities and effective coordination during utility relocation in infrastructure projects.Design/methodology/approachAn ethnographic action-based case study research methodology was adopted in this paper. Two ongoing infrastructure projects with significant utility relocation delays are chosen as case studies and integrated RIM-GIS models are developed to assist utility relocation. To verify the applications of developed RIM-GIS models, a focus group discussion was conducted with 10 field experts from the considered case studies.FindingsThe application of the developed RIM-GIS models enabled 3D visualization of existing underground utilities and enabled identification of utility conflicts before the start of the construction. They also enabled facilitating coordination and reduce utility relocation delays. The evaluation of the developed models shows that the RIM-GIS model approach enabled early planning and coordination and facilitates effective management of utility relocations.Practical implicationsThe current practices of using CAD and GIS for utility relocations are inadequate due to the difficulties in characterizing utilities and ineffective coordination practices. The proposed RIM-GIS approach can be adopted as a suitable alternative for effective management of utility relocations.Originality/valueSeveral studies have contributed toward integrating BIM and GIS for the analysis of highway and utility infrastructure projects. Efforts on integrating RIM and GIS for the support and management of utility relocations in highway and utility infrastructure projects remain unexplored.

Perceiving those who are gone: Cultural research on post-bereavement perception or hallucination of the deceased.

Experiencing the continued presence of the deceased is common among the bereaved, whether as a sensory perception or as a felt presence. This phenomenon has been researched from psychological and psychiatric perspectives during the last five decades. Such experiences have been also documented in the ethnographic literature but, despite the extensive cross-cultural research in the area, anthropological data has generally not been considered in the psychological literature about this phenomenon. This paper provides an overview aimed at bridging these two areas of knowledge, and approaches the post-bereavement perception or hallucination of the deceased in cultural context. Ongoing debates are addressed from the vantage point of ethnographic and clinical case study research focusing on the cultural repertoires (in constant flux as cultures change) from which these experiences are labelled as desirable and normal, on the one hand, or as dangerous and pathological, on the other.

Blending the Focused Ethnographic Method and Case Study Research: Implications Regarding Case Selection and Generalization of Results

In this article, we present the benefits of blending the methodological characteristics of the focused ethnographic method (FEM) and case study research (CSR) for a study on auxiliary work processes in a hospital in Barcelona, Spain. We argue that incorporating CSR logic and principles in the FEM produces a better form of inquiry, as this combination improves the quality of data and the ability to make comparisons in addition to enhancing the transferability of findings. These better outcomes are achieved because the characteristics of the case study methodological design reinforce many of the strengths of the FEM, such as its thematic concreteness and its targeted data collection. The role played by the theoretical framework of the study thus makes it easier to focus on the key variables of the initial theoretical model and to introduce a logic of multiple case comparison.

Speaking cooperation, acting competition: Supply-side subsidies and private schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts in Buenos Aires

Few studies have explored how schools respond to competition in socially embedded education quasi-markets. This study focuses on how state-subsidized privately-run low-fee schools (S-LFPSs) compete with free public schools in some of the poorest neighborhoods of the City of Buenos Aires. In particular, we explore how S-LFPSs follow different logics of action to attract (and shape) enrollment profiting from their extended autonomy and some regulatory gaps. We applied discourse analysis on data from eight months of ethnographic case study research in nine S-LFPSs. Student selection and operational changes (e.g., increasing the student/teacher ratio) prevail over academic and curricular changes. Selection is operated by means of aptitude tests and screening interviews, and other symbolic artifacts aimed at signaling differences with state-run schools and the potential fit between schools and families. We present a heuristic typology of the different logics of action systematizing the schools’ responses as their leading orientations toward the competitive environment. We suggest that policy inconsistencies and deficient governmental oversight tilt the field against state-run schools. Rather than ensuring equality of educational opportunity, the policy contributes to shape and deepen a highly segregated and inequitable educational landscape.

Opting for Private Education: Public Subsidy Programs and School Choice in Disadvantaged Contexts

Sociological research on school choice has mostly been dominated by studies analyzing the experiences of middle-class families rather than marginalized or minority populations. Drawing on 8 months of ethnographic case study research, this article explores the school choice experiences of disadvantaged families accessing publicly subsidized low-fee private schools (S-LFPSs) in Buenos Aires. We built a bounded-rationality framework to understand how disadvantaged families deal with structural constraints and negotiate their preferences to produce different, but predominantly reflexive rationalities of school preferences. In detailing our findings, we intend to provide “a realistic look at the cognitive and social processes of choice making” while addressing the equity implications of these dynamics—that is, whether S-LFPSs increase educational opportunities for students in economically disadvantaged areas or not—and problematizing the gaps, ambiguities, and enforcement shortcomings of the public subsidy for private schools’ policy.

Manukau Symphony Orchestra: Reflections on a sustainable model for a community orchestra in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract The Manukau Symphony Orchestra has continued to thrive for 25 years as a community orchestra based in the multiethnic region of South Auckland in New Zealand. Its continued success is partly attributed to its ability to maintain a negotiated ‘middle ground’ and dialogue within the community and also the way it has valued both musical and human aspects in its daily life. This study, written collaboratively by the researcher and music director and conductor, reports on recent ethnographic case study research conducted with the orchestra, its leaders and its administrators, and seeks to uncover key themes and actions that have enabled the orchestra’s ongoing sustainability. The case study found that an active and thriving space for dialogue with the community has continued over the years and this has sustained positive relationships with cultural groups, changing financial and policy strategies, a sense of ownership in the orchestra, a built-in mentoring structure, a community of care and a contemporary philosophy of community music making within a semi-professional orchestral context.

Young children’s use of their setting’s internal floor space affordances: evidence from an ethnographic case study

ABSTRACT Young children’s use of their Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) environment affordances, and especially the affordances of the floor, is an under researched area, both in Greece and internationally. This paper draws on findings from an ethnographic case study research conducted in Greece and presents an account of children’s multidimensional use of their settings and particularly the floor space within the settings. Ten children, under the age of three, participated in the study. Data was collected using an adaptation of the Mosaic Approach (Clark & Moss, 2001, Listening to young children: The mosaic approach. London: Jessica Kingsley) and analyzed using data-driven thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998, Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. London: Sage). The findings suggest that the case study children value, more than adults, the floor’s affordances and the vast opportunities it offers for play, exploration and socialization, whilst it also assists them to express agency.

Defining and delivering ‘sustainable’ agriculture in the UK after Brexit: interdisciplinary lessons from experiences of agricultural reform

ABSTRACTDefining and achieving sustainability in the context of complex, multi-scale, and constantly changing agricultural systems is a challenge for research and policy. In UK agriculture, the European Union and its Common Agricultural Policy has been a key source of funding for and approaches to sustainability in the agriculture and rural development sectors. The decision to leave the European Union represents a significant moment in UK agriculture and rural development policy, and both an opportunity and responsibility for the UK government to set out and commit towards achieving sustainability goals for the sector. In this study, a combination of ethnographic case study research, focusing on the case of upland farmers in the Yorkshire Dales, policy analysis and national agricultural sector data is referred to in describing experiences of agricultural policy reform over recent decades. From these experiences, lessons for the design and delivery of future agriculture and rural development are drawn out. It is argued that the integrated assessment of multiple sources of knowledge can provide a means to critically reflecting on evidence about sustainability in complex systems, better understanding trade-offs, and creating a more complete and inclusive knowledge base from which to define sustainable agriculture.

The effect of leadership behaviours on followers’ experiences and expectations in a safety-critical industry

Background: Motivation for this study was found in concern expressed by civil aviation organisations that specialists in the air navigation services provider sector require appropriate and beneficial organisational leadership to encourage, enable and manage transformation within this highly structured setting. Also, academic research puts emphasis on a need for investigations of the roles, expectations and requirements of followers in the leadership–followership relationship. Followers’ experiences and expectations of leadership behaviours in an air navigation service provider (ANSP) organisation were investigated and served as orientation and setting applicable to this study.Aim: The aim of the research was to identify and understand how follower experiences and expectations of leadership behaviours in a safety-critical commercial environment can affect leadership training and growth. The above-mentioned motivated this investigation of leadership traits and behaviours within an explicit context and from a follower’s viewpoint.Setting: The setting for the study was twenty two Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company sites where followers’ experiences and expectations of leadership behaviours in an air navigation service provider (ANSP) organisation were investigated and served as orientation and setting applicable to this study.Methods: An ethnographic case study research style was adopted and followed because it allowed for an all-inclusive, holistic narrative report and interpretation. The samples for the quantitative and qualitative components of this study were parallel and methods employed addressed different aspects of the phenomenon, which allowed for a mixed methods research design. A one-way causality in the research design was observed because traits of followers that might influence leaders’ behaviours were excluded. Data were collected by means of a Leader Trait and Behaviour Questionnaire completed by participants, individual interviews and focus group consultations.Results: Research findings dispensed a deeper appreciation of followers’ epistemological and ontological views, within a specified context, which were supported by a common need to achieve organisational safety objectives. A practical managerial benefit was found in the insights presented by followers of leadership, which can possibly benefit leadership development and training needs, along with training and advancement of followers.Conclusions: Research findings potentially add to enhancing understanding of leadership development theory, synonymous with a safety-critical commercial setting. A critical insight into the ‘unexplored’ leadership behaviour qualities found within a safety-critical milieu is subsequently offered.

Insiders and incomers: how lay public health workers' knowledge might improve public health practice.

Since 2005, health trainers and other lay public health workers (LPHWs) have been increasingly active in the UK. Although elsewhere in the world LPHWs are expected to come from the communities within which they work and know that their knowledge is valued, neither is the case for LPHWs in the UK. This study sought to discover the lay knowledge of health trainers and other LPHWs, aiming to ascertain how this knowledge might more effectively be utilised within UK public health services. This paper describes a participatory and ethnographic case study research project undertaken on an anonymised urban estate in North East England. Findings were generated by a range of means including by participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Seven LPHWs took part, as did 32 other community members. This study found that the lay health knowledge of an individual UK LPHW is determined primarily by his or her position within, or in relation to, the community within which he or she works. Insider LPHWs possess an embodied knowledge and incomer LPHWs possess an experiential knowledge which, although different from one another, are essentially interpersonal in nature. Lay health knowledge can take different forms, and different LPHWs can provide different forms of lay health knowledge. Public health structures and services in the UK should make better use of all forms of LPHW knowledge, and should seek from LPHWs training on how to engage the most 'hard-to-reach' or 'difficult-to-engage' groups. Services recruiting LPHWs should decide whether they are seeking embodied insider LPHW knowledge, experiential incomer LPHW knowledge or a mixture of both.

Digital making with “At-Risk” youth

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how a small group of adolescents in an alternative care and treatment program develop digital literacy skills over time while immersed in a rich media setting. It also explores how the students use new media tools and affordances to “perform” their identities and to present themselves within their classroom community.Design/methodology/approachThis ethnographic case study research involved seven students from a Canadian alternative school that provides educational programming for students from government approved care, treatment, custody and correctional facilities. Through an integrated arts-based curriculum, with a thematic focus on community and identity, the students used a variety to digital tools and media to create an “All About Me” book.FindingsThe students used inquiry-based learning and multiple modes of expression, facilitated by the multimodal, multimedia nature of digital media, including both screen-based and tangibles as essential components of knowing and communicating. The maker pedagogies employed in this intervention facilitated self-directed learning, as well as the development of perseverance and self-confidence.Originality/valueIn many work environments individuals are required to have knowledge of emerging technologies, and to employ this expertise in their work. Teaching students how to navigate their way through unfamiliar technology, to reflect on the process, and to communicate effectively, are important in both academics and future work environments. The authors continue to work with this group of students in the STEAM-3D Maker Lab and emphasize learning through discovery, design and the development of important skills such as perseverance, troubleshooting, resilience and collaboration.

Selling Spirituality: Issues in Tourism

This article seeks to address the somewhat contentious issue regarding the marketing and selling of spirituality as a highly sought-after commodity in the West at present. Findings of ethnographic case study research conducted at two spiritual retreat tourism sites in New Zealand are presented. Spirituality will be framed though the conceptualizations and definitions provided by tourist and tourist host participants. The perceptions of people engaged in spiritual retreat tourism will be discussed alongside issues surrounding the commoditization and commodification of spirituality. The critical analysis provided in this article has led the researcher to conclude that it may be a condition of modern capitalist society that people feel comfortable and are willing to pay for spiritual experiences. The case studies presented may be considered best practice examples of when spirituality is commodified in an ethical way according to the consumers involved.

Social capital as a heuristic device to explore sociocultural sustainability: a case study of mountain resort tourism in the community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA

While many social theories and concepts have been used within the sustainable tourism literature to identify key elements, stakeholders, and relationships that are central to sustainable tourism development and the tourism–community relationship, there has been limited use of the social capital concept for examining the sociocultural dimension of sustainability, despite its growing appeal within the social sciences as an analytical tool. Based on ethnographic case study research within the mountain resort community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, this paper adopts social capital as a heuristic device for examining tourism development's sociocultural sustainability. It explains the foundations of the social capital concept with networks, norms, and resources as key components, and the existence of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. Findings suggest that mountain resort tourism has affected such social capital outcomes and sociocultural sustainability indicators as quality of life, community participation, and the associated notions of democracy, equity, and empowerment, in both positive and negative ways, leading to a spirit of community cooperation, friendliness, grass-roots initiatives and community action group development running alongside social exclusion, transience, and political powerlessness. These findings give empirical weight to using social capital as a guiding construct for the qualitative examination of socioculturally sustainable tourism.

A multilingual learning community: Researching funds of knowledge with children, families and teachers

AbstractThis article describes the learning which takes place between children, teachers and parents in a multilingual learning community. It centres on a community-based, supplementary/complementary Saturday class where – slightly differently from the usual pattern – the aim is not heritage language maintenance as such, but to enhance the pupils’ mainstream school learning and their chances for success by promoting a “bilingual pedagogy”. This recognises the funds of knowledge that the children bring to their learning and affords opportunities for them to use their home languages in their learning. The article is based on findings from ethnographic case study research, which traces the experiences of language and learning in the home, complementary class and mainstream school of twelve children who have attended the class regularly for at least a year, and often more. In order to illuminate the scope of the data as well as the tensions entailed from different perspectives, the article foregrounds the individual voices of participants in the research. The theoretical frameworks related to language and learning that explain the findings include ecological perspectives, funds of knowledge and the dimensions of time across the generations. The key argument of the article is that the multilingual learning community has grown from and links with the history of the community as a whole. The article ends with some conclusions in relation to mainstream education and implications for the future.

Young Malaysian Children's Silence in a Multicultural Classroom

In a multicultural classroom, second language learners’ silence has always been related to the lack of understanding the target language or psychological or linguistics withdrawal. However, the findings of the study reported in this paper presented a different explanation. The study employed an ethnographic case study research design exploring the second language acquisition experiences of three six year old Malaysian children who were attending a mainstream multicultural classroom in the United Kingdom. Data were gathered through interviews with the children, their class teacher and their mothers.Classroom and home observations were also carried out as a means of triangulation. Findings from the teacher and parents’ interviews illuminated that the silence was due to cultural practices as well as a display of personality. Meanwhile the children's responses as well as observations of their behaviours indicated their silence as a coping mechanism in their language learning process as well as their way of expressing their identity. This implies that teachers of multicultural classrooms need to understand and be aware of the different meanings of silence and be better prepared in dealing with children from different cultural backgrounds.

Spiritual Retreat Tourism in New Zealand

This article presents qualitative ethnographic case study research conducted at two spiritual retreat tourism sites in New Zealand. Data were collected from interviews with trustees, a retreat manager, workshop facilitators, and retreat-goers at the two sites. Participants also contributed visual data which have been analyzed using a semiotic approach. The research question asked: why do people engage in spiritual retreat tourism and what do they gain from their experiences? The retreat sites at the centre of this research offer group workshops for those wishing to pursue an area of interest, usually with a spiritual element, such as yoga for example. This type of tourism is more broadly referred to as wellness tourism. Four themes emerged: community, escape, therapeutic landscapes and spirituality. These themes make up the body of this article with the first three described in detail and the last theme of spirituality linked into each of these sections. This article contributes to understandings of holistic well-being and the importance of spiritual retreat tourism to consumers.