mark – Ethnography.com

Why I Chose Not to Get a PhD

Posted on February 15, 2015May 29, 2015 by mark

This was originally published here on ethnography.com in April, 2012. Why did you choose to get a PhD (or not)?

I got to spend some time with a friend recently that decided some time ago to restart her PhD work. She is already ABD, but is starting the dissertation over from scratch. My question was “Why?” She is a well-respected professional, and within the her field a PhD will likely be of limited benefit professionally compared to the mountain of work ahead of her, not to mention the expense involved.…

Why I chose not to get a PhD

Posted on April 17, 2012April 19, 2012 by mark

I got to spend some time with a friend recently that decided some time ago to restart her PhD work. She is already ABD, but is starting the dissertation over from scratch. My question was “Why?” She is a well-respected professional, and within the her field a PhD will likely be of limited benefit professionally compared to the mountain of work ahead of her, not to mention the expense involved.

In the course of the conversation I was reflecting on my own choice to not get a PhD and thinking that it might provide food for thought for a larger audience.…

American Anthropological Association Reassures Worried Nation faced with Mayan Apocalypse

Posted on April 1, 2012December 20, 2012 by mark

1 APRIL 2012 (Ethnography.com Newswire) Washington, DC – American Anthropological Association Reassures Worried Nation faced with Mayan Apocalypse

In light of the coming end of the world, The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has announced its official Continuity Plan to insure the nations vital resource of cultural anthropologists remains intact during the cannibalistic orgy of violence immediately following the end of days on December 21, 2012.

According to AAA President Charles Gusmallian “Cultural Anthropology is uniquely positioned to explain the coming Apocalypse. …

Applying Rolling Cohort Analysis to Unstable countries

Posted on March 3, 2012March 3, 2012 by mark

A few year ago, I was working at Kodak and friend and I were talking about the idea of Rolling Segmentation. More recently, we have been talking about how it relates to how that thinking can be applied to issues of instability and insurgency.

I have not given the idea much thought for the last few years, and on rethinking about rolling segmentations/cohorts now, I have more questions than answers. …

Undergrad Seminar: Time Management

Posted on February 27, 2012 by mark

Here we are in the 2nd half of the academic year. If the 1st half got off to a rocky start, maybe this is a good time to talk about time management. Not the “The 7 habits of that smugly overambitious go-getter” variety. This is aimed more at the “How can I squeeze school into my hectic schedule of procrastination and binge drinking” style. In other words, for the rest of us.…

When do IEDs quit being IEDs? Why are we still treating insurgent munitions as folk arts?

Posted on February 25, 2012 by mark

I started as a university student, I was studying folklore and material culture, and IED’s certainly qualify as material culture that has the potential to tell you something beyond basic forensics. In this entry I am looking at IEDs using the language of business, innovation and ___________ ? The idea is to see what insights can be gained from thinking about IEDs outside of the military language.

We still read about IED’s in the popular media as if they are a folk art or the equal of some kind of primitive booby-trap.…

EPIC 2012 Call for Submissions

Posted on February 23, 2012 by mark

If you have never been to EPIC or submitted for it, it is a great conference for anthropologists, engineer, designers, government types, or anyone else interested in how to bring user experience into the decision making process.

Here is the notice:

You can access it on the website here: http://epiconference.com/2012/
To join the EPIC mailing list, go here: http://eepurl.com/hSU-c

We also recently added some information about the conference hotel and wonderful Savannah to whet your appetite & help you plan ahead.…

Another year, another round of blogging…

Posted on February 13, 2012February 13, 2012 by mark

It is no surprise to anyone that has read this blog in the past that am an applied anthropologist, particularly work that I consider directly applied. By that I mean the use of anthropological theory and method as a tool to move the goals of an organization further. Applied anthropology that focuses on studying the culture of organizations or focuses on assessments I think of as indirectly applied anthropology. The primary difference being that with indirect applied work, the primary goal is to create what could be considered an academic product or publication.…

Now Avaliable: Anthropologists in the SecurityScape: Ethics, Practice, and Professional Identity

Posted on November 29, 2011 by mark

It has landed for all your holiday needs. I have a chapter in the new book “Anthropologists in the SecurityScape” now available from Amazon.

Description

As the military and intelligence communities re-tool for the 21st century, the long and contentious debate about the role of social scientists in national security environments is dividing the disciplines with renewed passion. Yet, research shows that most scholars have a weak understanding of what today’s security institutions actually are and what working in them entails.…

Position Announcement: Senior Research Associate with Ethnographic Research Experience at Vera Institute of Justice

Posted on October 18, 2011 by mark

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE AT VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE

Center on Youth Justice
The Vera Institute of Justice, founded in 1961, is an independent, non-partisan, nonprofit organization that combines expertise in research, technical assistance, and demonstration projects to assist leaders in government and civil society, examine justice policy and practice, and improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety. Vera has offices in New York City, Washington, DC, and New Orleans, and its projects and reform initiatives, typically conducted in partnership with local, state, or national officials, are located across the United States and around the world.…

Ethnography.com sold to FOX News Corp for $123.6 million as part of new media strategy.

Posted on April 1, 2011March 30, 2011 by mark

1 APRIL 2011 (Variety Newswire) NEW YORK – FOX News Corp and Ethnography.com has announced the acquisition of Ethnography.com by the conservative news network for $123.6 million dollars in cash and stock. According to the agreement jointly released by Fox and Ethnography.com, the network assumes all rights to the domain, the content of the website and the copyrights to the phrases “ethnography” and “ethnography.com.” The current authors of Ethnography.com will join a number of popular FOX news hosts to contribute a social and cultural context to reporting; ranging from American eating habits to explaining how the cultural factors of “President” Obama’s birth in Indonesia affects how he rules US citizens. …

Call for Videos–Applied Video Festival at the Society for Applied Anthropology

Posted on November 7, 2010 by mark

Call for Videos–Applied Video Festival at the Society for Applied
Anthropology, Seattle 2011

The Society for Applied Anthropology will hold a one-day Applied Video
Festival at the 71st Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. The
festival is on April 1, 2011. One video producer will win a cash prize
of $250 and free registration ($120) to attend the conference.

This open call for video submissions welcomes all genres ranging from
the ethnographic to the expository and experimental.…