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sociology

The LA Times is reporting a shocking finding: men are doing the grocery shopping! In other news, they also apparently buy clothes, change diapers, and book swimming lessons. Will wonders never cease. The Times tells us that the grocery retailers are finally waking up to this supposed gender revolution:
The nation’s biggest food and personal products [...]

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Categories: Blog · culture · feminism · food · home · market research · sociology · women

In our work with Ryerson University, we are uncovering some interesting findings about domestic mobile phone use. For example, mobile phones are affecting family management:
Smartphones bind families closer: some participants told us that their texting increased when they upgraded to a smartphone. A discrete text to one’s spouse is easily tolerated in the workplace, making [...]

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Categories: Blog · culture · ethnography · families · home · market research · mobile · women

I’m thrilled to be managing a research project on mobile technology use through a fellowship at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University. I’ve assembled a research team and we have started initial research. Our “ethnographic stretching” exercise lead to some interesting insights:
“Attachment Paradox”: More than one person we talked to said that [...]

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Categories: Blog · anthropology · culture · design · ethnography · home · market research · mobile · product design · qualitative research · sociology

My column in University Affairs has finally been published. In it, I argue that social scientists have both practical and moral reasons to seek out work in the business world:
Social scientists can improve business outcomes by doing what they’ve been trained to do: examine the social practices around the product or service. We are studying [...]

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Categories: Blog · Popular · home · management · organizations · sociology

Canadians love spring. If you’re not Canadian, I bet you’re thinking, “Of course they do; everyone does.” Ah but you do not “verstehen” Canada if you say such things. Indeed, I didn’t even “verstehen” Canada growing up on the West Coast — we didn’t even have snow!
Spring is approaching in Canada, and we feel it. [...]

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Categories: Blog · anthropology · class · discourse analysis · goffman · social networks · technology design · web analytics

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