Hackers, Makers & Engineers


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  • Stories abound of the translation work that ethnographers in industry do to make the experiences of those they observe – the ‘users’ – legible to engineers, designers, marketers, and others in the businesses that employ them. Lucy Suchman, one of the first and most inspiring critical ethnographers in industry, referred to the expectations she encountered for this translation-work in her own job at Xerox PARC as ‘throwing results over the wall.’ These results may take the form of the dreaded ‘implications for design’ that ethnographers are sometimes asked to generate, whether for employers or ACM conferences.

Making! The Other Story: Robot#10, Twins Separated at Birth, and Hacker Mama

Making! The Other Story: Robot#10, Twins Separated at Birth, and Hacker Mama

Engineering obsolescence

Engineering obsolescence

Ethnography as Diaspora

Ethnography as Diaspora

Measurements: The Qualitative Work of Quantitative Work

Measurements: The Qualitative Work of Quantitative Work

Falling in: how ethnography happened to me and what I've learned from it

Falling in: how ethnography happened to me and what I’ve learned from it

Studying Up: The Ethnography of Technologists

Studying Up: The Ethnography of Technologists

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