The aim of the present article is to probe the functions of the cultural schema of Ta’ne (sarcasm) in Persian. Results from 100 recorded instantiations of Ta’ne accumulated through ethnographic approach indicated that it served different functions including complaint, criticism, insult, contempt, humor, and compliment. The results were then discussed with reference to the cultural differences i...

OBJECTIVE The complexities inherent in understanding the social determinants of health are often not well-served by quantitative approaches. My aim is to show that well-designed and well-conducted ethnographic studies have an important contribution to make in this regard. Ethnographic research designs are a difficult but rigorous approach to research questions that require us to understand the ...

This essay examines cultural and structural patterns of information use in a virtual meeting. An information landscape model provided an abductive approach for guiding ethnographic data collection acquired through participant observation. A political frame of information use was applied to analyze field data. The themes that emerged from the ethnographic componential analysis were governance an...

OBJECTIVE To use a common ethnographic study protocol across five countries to provide data to confirm social and risk settings and risk behaviors, develop the assessment instruments, tailor the intervention, design a process evaluation of the intervention, and design an understandable informed consent process. DESIGN Methods determined best for capturing the core data elements were selected....

We draw on our experiences in an exploratory ethnographic study of Chinese users’ experience of and in online games to reflect on the value of the ethnographic approach in understanding online games as complex socio-technical systems embedded in real-world places, cultures, economies, and politics. We argue that in order to fully evaluate any particular online game in terms how well it satisfie...

This paper reports an aspect of a larger study on literacy practices, needs and perceptions of artisans in a part of the South West region of Nigeria. Using an ethnographic approach to research, it identified a variety of literacy practices, events and mediums, thus confirming the notion of literacy as social practice. The study employed a modified form of ethnographic research which was specif...