Participant Observation Research Articles

Credentialing care: COVID‐19 and the bureaucratization of doulas

AbstractDoulas in the United States offer embodied, informational, and continuous one‐on‐one care to birthing people. Doulas have historically sought certification to gain knowledge through training and to gain legitimacy for healthcare providers and clients. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, hospitals required doulas to provide proof of certification. The COVID‐19 pandemic, and the proliferation of state‐sponsored doula programs, has sparked a shift in how doulas are viewed and regulated, enabling new forms of bureaucratic oversight and control. Based on participant observation, surveys, and semi‐structured interviews, we examine the connection between certification and care including motivations doulas have for certification, the perceived value of certification, certification as a form of gatekeeping, and increased bureaucratization of doulas. Using a critical feminist approach, we argue that increased bureaucratization and surveillance of doulas has not improved standards of care or led to more equitable access. Indeed, doulas provide a window into the negative impact of bureaucratization on care. While some of these negative impacts are byproducts of policies intended to increase oversight and access to doula care, we argue that increased bureaucratization and surveillance of doulas is also intended to act as a gatekeeping mechanism demonstrating how policies contribute to uneven reproduction.

Harmonious Heritage through the Qualitative Analysis of Northeast Folk Songs in the Evolution of Northeast Drum

This study explores the artistic and cultural significance of the Northeast Drum (Jianban), a traditional Chinese folk art characterized by its unique blend of narrative storytelling, rhythmic musical accompaniment, and audience interaction. The research focuses on the contributions of Liu Guiying, a renowned provincial representative inheritor of the Northeast Drum, and her innovative techniques that have revitalized this art form. Through qualitative methods, including interviews and participant observations, the study examines the structure and themes of Northeast Drum performances, the role of improvisation, and the integration of Northeast folk songs. The findings highlight the dynamic nature of these performances and their cultural resonance within the community. The study also discusses the challenges and opportunities in preserving this intangible cultural heritage, emphasizing the importance of educational programs, digital archiving, and cultural policies. Recommendations for future research include comparative studies, the impact of modern technology, audience dynamics, and longitudinal studies on preservation efforts. This research contributes to the understanding and sustainable development of the Northeast Drum, ensuring its relevance for future generations.

Intangible cultural heritage versus tourism: residents’ reactions to temporal overtourism during the Day of the Dead in Mixquic, Mexico

ABSTRACT Globalisation opens small communities and their traditions to temporal overtourism, causing adaptations in the local dynamics. This study investigates responses to overtourism during the Day of the Dead in Mixquic, a semi-rural community located in Mexico City. Employing rapid ethnography, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and content analysis of social media, it delves into local perceptions and actions regarding temporary overtourism dynamics in a global patrimonialisation context. Results reveal a complex interplay between traditional practices, community resilience, and tourist dynamics. Despite challenges, residents show a positive attitude towards tourists, often incorporating them into ancient traditions while preserving cultural authenticity. Notably, symbolic representations of tradition persist amidst external pressures, showcasing the resilience of community identity. The study underscores the importance of embracing community-centric approaches – observing and considering the community – and innovative tourism strategies to mitigate negative impacts for a better preservation of cultural heritage. By prioritising resident values and needs, tourism can lead to practices that are beneficial to both communities and visitors. Furthermore, the research highlights the importance of observing and listening to local communities.

What is my truth and who decides?: exploring viable social identity scripts and performances with latina/x artivists in an arts-based youth participatory action research troupe

This seven-month critical performance ethnographic study explores the lived experiences of Latina/x youth artivist-researchers. The data collected through participant observations, arts-based elicitation and semi-structured interviews, artifacts, and analytic memos reveal how Latina/x youth utilize artmaking to understand and construct a viable social identity. Their participation in an arts-based youth participatory action research (YPAR) project and intergenerational theatre ensemble we call Estrella Theatre (ET) company indicates how art and social justice-driven inquiry provokes reflection on the identity scripts and performances youth use in our daily lives. Findings reveal that Latina/x youth identity scripts and performances appear across personal, interpersonal, and social planes of identity where they experience identity clashes, artful identity development, new identities, and identity code-switching.

Fluid Modernity and Virtual Communities: An Analysis of the Popularity of MBTI on Social Media

This paper, rooted in Zygmunt Baumans theory of modernity, examines the formation of virtual communities and the characteristics of liquid modernity as manifested in the widespread phenomenon of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) on social media. As a psychological assessment tool, MBTI has pervaded social media platforms, engendering virtual communities characterized by high fluidity and consumerist tendencies. Through participatory observation and online ethnography, this study delves into the MBTI virtual communities on the "Xiaohongshu" platform, exploring their consumerism-driven formation mechanisms and cultural attributes. In modern society, virtual communities exhibit dynamic stability and structural elasticity, with identity constantly being reshaped and redefined within these virtual spaces. The popularity of MBTI underscores the anxieties surrounding identity in contemporary society and reflects the liquid nature of modern identity formation. Under the influence of technology and consumerism, virtual communities have emerged as a significant social form in modern society.

Information Stratification: An Understanding of Rural Governance in the New Media Era

Current research on media governance emphasizes the technological aspect of information as a tool but lacks sufficient attention to the digital transformation of information subjects. This paper aims to focus on the internal information characteristics of rural governance in the digital age, thus understanding the changes of rural governance subjects in the information society under new media contexts. Based on more than a decade of fieldwork in rural areas of Beijing conducted by the research team, this study employs in-depth interviews and participant observation in a multi-case study, exploring the structural representation of rural governance from an information perspective. The research reveals that in the new media era, rural society, under multiple governance bodies, generates differentiated information stratification, specifically manifesting as instrumental rational information in the formal governance layer, proxy implementation information in the semi-formal governance layer, and livelihood-adaptive information in the informal governance layer. Among these, the authority-driven governance information in the formal layer is the core part of the rural governance system. The subjects and structures of information under multiple governance bodies are interconnected and coexist within the internal field of rural governance, subsequently driving the centralization of formal governance information, the collaboration of semi-formal governance information, and the alienation of informal governance information. This leads to the emergence of orderly information stratification within the multi-layered governance structure. Information stratification deepens the explanatory pathway of multi-layered governance in rural social studies and proposes new perspectives for understanding rural governance issues in the new media era.

Refugee recognition: reconsidering Honneth in light of Benjamin and Klein

AbstractUsing data collected from participant observation through creative workshops in two regions of the UK in 2019 and 2020 with participants going through the asylum system, this paper seeks to redress the under-theorisation of Axel Honneth’s use of critical and psychoanalytic theory including the work of Donald Winnicott within Honneth’s book The Struggle for Recognition. Crucially, this approach sees Honneth’s primary intersubjective process of recognition, love, as ambivalent, as opposed to monolithically conceived, a common criticism of Honneth’s early work, and applies this conception to empirical data. Following the work of philosopher Amy Allen, this paper also resolves to apply Jessica Benjamin’s use of the Third to a number of empirical case studies relating to creative workshops conducted with participants going through the asylum system. By taking this ambivalent approach, this paper shows how meaningful recognition might more successfully be achieved beyond the limits of such the punitive regimes of asylum.

Integration of sport and education in China: a case study of a dual career development environment of a Shanghai junior men’s basketball team

ABSTRACT In the context of China’s integration of sports and education (ISE), a Shanghai junior men’s basketball team was established through a collaboration between a district elite sport school and six regular schools. Using the holistic ecological approach, this case study investigated the dual career development environment (DCDE) of the team, aiming to (a) describe the successful DCDE and (b) identify factors influencing its effectiveness (DC-ESF). Data were collected from key stakeholders via participant observations, informal talks, and formal interviews to derive the DCDE and DC-ESF empirical models. The DCDE was characterised by: (a) parents serving as dual career (DC) supporters for their respective children at the micro-level; (b) a supportive and flexible head coach promoting DC development for student-athletes; (c) the ISE Committee bridging the study and sports domains at the macro-level; (d) a shared DC philosophy among parents, providing flexible solutions with the help of the head coach, maintaining the equal importance of sport and study, and viewing student-athletes as developing persons for achieving an optimal DC balance; and (e) helping student-athletes develop multiple identities and DC competencies. In conclusion, this study contributes to the understanding of DCDEs within the Chinese cultural context and supplements the DC discourse.

Intercultural communication, faith and impression management: former Muslims’ engagement with social media

ABSTRACT This study adopts a virtual ethnographic approach to delve into the intercultural communication of eight purposively selected Malaysian former Muslims through social media. It focuses on postings that contest Islamic beliefs while excluding general criticisms of Islam. Data generated, through an extended observation of participants' Facebook and Twitter accounts, were analysed using discourse analysis, focusing on impression management strategies. The findings unveiled the former Muslims' recurrent engagement in and interplay of self-promotion, ingratiation, supplication, and exemplification which elucidated their adept utilisation of IM strategies, particularly humanisation and rationalisation, in shaping their image as advocates of humanity and rational thinking.

‘Mediatized Diaspora’: Modelling the transnational influences of media in diaspora

This article seeks to model the socio-political influences of media use in diaspora. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from Tunisian diaspora members residing in France, Denmark and Sweden. The article proposes ‘mediatized diaspora’ as a new model explaining the transnational intertwining between media and politics in the diaspora. Four sets of influences enabled by multimodal communication were defined and discussed as components of the model: (1) aspirations for the country of origin; (2) political meaning-making; (3) engaging in political actions; and (4) perceptions of social reality.

Negotiating Islam and feminism: the political and social participation of Muslim women in Barcelona

ABSTRACT In secular contexts, the growing presence of Muslim women activists in the public sphere has challenged the stereotype that Islam plays an oppressive role in women’s emancipation and liberation. The relationship between secular feminism and religion is far more complex. This article explores how socially or politically engaged Muslim women understand, negotiate, and challenge secular feminist discourses and practices in Barcelona, Spain. Based upon 28 semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, and participant observation of political events, this article identifies three different positionings towards feminism: (1) women who identify as ‘feminist’, (2) women who identify as ‘Islamic feminist’, (3) women who express ambivalence regarding both feminism and Islamic feminism. Far from being a static classification, these three positionings show the different dilemmas that women face over the course of their lives. I discuss the way they are the result of negotiations and ‘recognition gaps’ in feminist movements.

From industrial territory to sustainable or “green” industrial district? The case of an industrial district’s evolution in Normandy

PurposeThrough participant observation, this paper aims to show how the existing ecosystem has helped to attract new companies that are integrating and enriching this ecosystem, while helping to decarbonize the region’s industry.Design/methodology/approachIn France, industrial and carbon-intensive regions are currently facing the challenges of environmental, energy and digital transition. Against a backdrop of reindustrialization, and to meet the objectives set by the French climate and resilience law, these regions are seeking both to support the existing ecosystem in meeting these new challenges and to diversify their economic fabric by welcoming greener industries.FindingsIn Normandy, in the Caux Seine agglo area, new projects linked to bioplastics have led the region to reflect on the creation and structuring of a greener industrial district bringing together manufacturers, a research cluster and a training center.Originality/valueThe authors are studying an industrial region in Normandy that is considered to be a pilot area, experimenting with new directions in terms of low-carbon industry. Based on the petrochemical industry, this little-studied area wants the industrial zone to become a genuine green energy hub. Strong political will and substantial private and public investment have enabled the emergence of a new green chemistry industry.

Legitimation strategies in emerging ecosystems: The case of advanced air mobility in Hamburg

This study provides insights into the legitimation process of emerging ecosystems and strengthens the conceptual link between entrepreneurial ecosystems and economic geography. It examines existing theoretical frameworks on legitimation strategies in emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems by inquiring into advanced air mobility (AAM), an area in which innovation faces exceptionally high legitimation challenges. The initial integration of drones for logistics and air taxis for passenger transport is surrounded by ambiguous future visions that range from high expectations to concerns about developing a mobility form that is neither sustainable nor socially acceptable and affordable. Empirically, this article offers an analytical understanding of the collective legitimation strategies within the emerging AAM ecosystem in Hamburg, Germany. For this, we used multiple qualitative methods and data sources: (1) a contextualizing network analysis, (2) semi-structured interviews with 22 representatives of tech and policy development, and (3) participatory observation from applied research projects. Based on the empirical material, we find that the current conceptual debate underestimates the public sector's role in ecosystem emergence and legitimation. As AAM depends on fundamental regulatory change, authorities and state-owned companies in the aviation sector have a decisive influence on the emergence of the ecosystem. Furthermore, our findings highlight how global discourses shape local practices and expectations. By combining cross-sectoral knowledge, entrepreneurs and policymakers aim to identify feasible use cases for their place-specific context. Nevertheless, the lack of a collective identity within the ecosystem, which comes largely from the uncertainties of AAM, poses numerous challenges for ecosystem participants addressing their liability of newness.

Investigating Mobility, Place, and Information Access Through an Ethnographic Study of Vehicle Residents’ Information Practices in the United States

Throughout the United States, an approximated one million people currently inhabit vehicles parked in publicly accessible areas as their primary method of housing. This dissertation explores vehicle residents’ information seeking practices and barriers to information access. Library and Information science (LIS) research has not developed theory related to place, mobility, and information access, despite living in a hyper-mobile world. LIS primarily centers online information behaviors, limiting potential impact on larger populations that face unique barriers to information access. While some studies constructed theory to address the function of place in information behavior, few interrogate how place and mobility impact information access despite geographic mobility serving important functions in various theory constructions. To address the importance of place and mobility in the context of information access, I conducted a multi-method, ethnographic study. Completing two rounds of deeply embedded fieldwork from June-October 2023 in Santa Cruz, California (CA) and from January-February 2024 along the Southern CA and Arizona (AZ) border, I used participant observation, information horizon interviews, and guided tours and photographs of participant’s vehicles to explore vehicle residents’ information practices and information source preferences. I determined my key findings in Spring 2024; they reveal that participants experience micro-fractures in their information landscapes when moving through new information environments. Identifying vehicle residents’ information practices and most used information sources can help public libraries and other information institutions implement improved support services for this growing population as public libraries are well positioned to bolster information access on behalf of its communities.

PERAN PENYULUH BERBASIS MASYARAKAT DALAM MEMPERTAHANKAN HUTAN JANDA (KAOMBO OHUSII) DI KABUPATEN BUTON SULAWESI TENGGARA

This study aims to explore the management practices of Widow Forest (Kaombo Ohusii) in Buton Regency through the lens of local wisdom and development communication, by revealing the social, cultural, and environmental dynamics involved in forest management. This study uses a variety of data collection methods. Participant observation allows researchers to be directly involved in Widow Forest management activities, observe the practices carried out, and interact with local communities and other parties involved in natural resource management. In-depth interviews will be conducted with widows, poor women, community leaders, government officials, and non-governmental organizations involved in the management of Widow Forest. The results of the study show that community-based extension by traditional officials in Takimpo Village in the management of Widow Forest (Kaombo Ohusii) is an example of effective local participation in sustainable natural resource management. The involvement of this traditional institution also shows the importance of integrating local values in development, ensuring that decisions taken are in accordance with community expectations, and supporting environmental conservation and community empowerment.

Museum as active aging place for elderly volunteer interpreters:from the perspective of Chinese ‘Family’ and ‘State’

ABSTRACT As global populations age, examining how museums can promote active aging holds practical significance. In China, an increasing number of elderly individuals are entering museums as volunteer interpreters. As they serve the museum, this engagement profoundly impacts their active aging. This paper, based on participant observation and in-depth interviews, analyzes the motivations, behaviors, and impacts of 20 elderly volunteer museum interpreters in China. The study reveals that the dialectical relationship between the individual and the ‘family’ and ‘state’ in Chinese traditional culture serves as an intrinsic motivation for the active aging of elderly volunteer interpreters. It also identifies this relationship as an outcome of the active aging they pursue. Chinese museums have contextual specialties in addressing the issue of aging. The study illustrates the value of museums in challenging the perspective of ageism and underscores the importance of cultural context for understanding elderly people’s active aging.

The materiality of youth representation at climate summits: navigating barriers, routes, and spaces

ABSTRACT Recent decades have seen institutionalized procedures for youth representation in global climate governance, and significant visibility for youth climate activists. Despite these improvements, young representatives continue to bear witness about tokenized forms of participation and a lack of influence. This article seeks to address this ambiguous development by focusing on the materiality of youth representation in United Nations climate conferences. Through interviews and participant observations at COP26 and COP27, as well as COY16 and COY17, we analyse the bureaucratic and socio-economic barriers to representation, the knowledge resources and competitiveness of the routes to representation, and the spatial ordering and subversive tactics on site at the summits. We show that these materialities shape youth’s discursive strategies, thus helping to explain who gets to be a representative and what forms of subjectivities, agendas, claims, and strategies that become possible in the global climate governance regime.

Multicultural Education in Xavier Learning Community, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand

The purpose of multicultural education is not only to preserve cultural traditions among multiethnic students but also to foster critical thinking and reflection on their newly acquired knowledge and on the events occurring around them. While many countries have already focused on the different needs of their student population integrating multicultural education, Thailand’s implementation has been limited, particularly at the preschool and secondary levels in some public schools. This research addresses this gap by focusing on a higher education institution in northern Thailand, Xavier Learning Community (XLC), which caters to students from various religions and ethnic backgrounds. The study aims to understand how XLC implements multicultural education to foster an inclusive learning environment. Employing qualitative research methods, such as participant and non-participant observation, interviews with 25 participants (including Jesuit priests, teachers, lecturers, and students), and document analysis, the research examines the curriculum and activities at XLC that promote multicultural education, critical thinking, and reflection. The research findings indicate that XLC embodies the principles of multicultural education by providing equal educational opportunities, preparing students for a diverse society, and promoting awareness of social justice. XLC’s approach effectively integrates students’ cultural backgrounds into the curriculum, creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment. Notably, critical thinking and reflection courses empower students to address social issues in Thailand. This study provides insights into the effective implementation of multicultural education in higher education settings, emphasizing its potential to establish inclusive and equitable learning environments.

Stigma and fear of schizophrenia and severe mental illness: the positive effect of peer support

Purpose The purpose of this service user narrative is to highlight the stigma and prejudice that is often targeted at people with schizophrenia and severe mental illness, which causes fear and isolation. The therapeutic effect of peer support is further explored as offering hope, connection, aspirations, advocacy, autonomy and openness for service users as well as the possibility of recovery and a reduction in feelings of stigma, prejudice and exclusion. Design/methodology/approach Ben was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2003, so this paper draws on over 20 years of experience of the harmful label of schizophrenia. In the last 15 months, he has been working as a peer worker on a men’s mental health ward in the East of England. He has kept a reflective journal and conducted participant observation on the ward, which informs this paper and its findings. Findings There are observations based on peer support on the ward in the last 15 months and over 20 years as a schizophrenic. People with schizophrenia and severe mental illness are stigmatised and experience discrimination and prejudice. This paper introduces the new idea and neologisms of schizophobia and insanophobia that people with severe mental illness will experience in their daily lives, in health and social care settings (such as the men’s ward), in education and in employment. People with mental illness are also often discriminated against as being a danger or a risk to themselves and others. They are often considered as aggressive or violent. Their diagnosis can stop them from getting a job, a mortgage or even from travelling to some places in the world. But this paper details the violent assault by a nurse on a patient while Ben was working on a long stay ward in a large psychiatric asylum in 1990. It is pertinent to note that things have progressed since the 1990's but there continues to be the stigmatisation of people with a severe mental illness, which requires societal and systemic change. In Ben’s experience, people with mental illness seem far more likely to experience violence upon their person rather than being violent towards other people, such as staff, members of the public, family or carers. Originality/value This service user narrative is a first person account, so it is original. It is of further value because it outlines the ways in which peer support can help with feelings of stigma and exclusion as well openness about hearing voices/ seeing things (hallucinations) and strange thought or beliefs (delusions).

Standing Still, Go Along, and Zooming In: Complementary Strategies of Participant-Observations in Urban Ethnography

This paper seeks to complement conventional ethnographic participant observation methods, proposing the integration of three distinct strategies. Motivated by own ethnographic studies, conducted in an urban supermarket and a food festival site, the paper contends that traditional long-term immersion may not always suffice for investigating transient urban phenomena. The paper advocates for the integration of complementary methodological strategies for participant observation adaptable to evolving contexts and research questions. Firstly, the "standing still" approach involves minimal engagement while observing a specific scene or interaction, offering a detached yet insightful perspective on fleeting moments or events. Secondly, the "go along" strategy entails tracking a particular individual, group, or object through movements and networks, providing valuable insights into routines, relationships, and controversies. Lastly, the "zooming in" technique uncovers unexpected details within scenes, interactions, or subject matter, enriching understanding of what might otherwise go unnoticed. While the first two strategies are practices employed by early pioneers in the field, the latter gains relevance in an era where video recordings are increasingly prevalent. The paper argues for the complementarity of the three strategies, fostering a more advanced comprehension of the supermarket and social landscape at large. This study holds significant implications for the practice of participant observation, encouraging researchers to embrace a repertoire of strategies tailored to the unique demands of each research inquiry and situational context. This attentive and context-driven approach allows for a more nuanced and comprehensive grasp of the social world under scrutiny.