l'etnografia e le ICT: il caso della Nokia

articolo molto interessante, su come alla Nokia progettino il futuro attraverso la ricerca etnografica.

merita una visita!

ecco un breve estratto:
“Social networking is not delivering on the need for intimacy that people have in their daily life,” he warns. In a world of global citizens, there remains a desire for local relationships and local knowledge, he says.

7 unique attributes of generation Y

According to Deloitte U.S. company the key to building a Gen Y customer platform is to first understand the seven unique attributes of this generation:
• As financial freshmen, Gen Yers have easier access to, and more information about, financial products and services than earlier generations did at this stage of life. However, when it comes to implementation, they are still novices.
• Being independently dependent, Gen Yers are self-directed and resourceful in conducting research on financial services products but often seek recommendations from, and validation of, their decisions from family, friends and financial advisors.
• Gen Yers are practically motivated at this stage in life and are naturally concerned with obtaining products and services at an affordable price.
• Tech-savvy Gen Yers grew up as “technology natives” and view technology as an extension of themselves, compared to baby boomers, who view it more as a tool.
• Gen Y has an entrepreneurial spirit.
• The consumer world is becoming increasingly diverse on many fronts and Gen Y embodies this diversity.
• Socially mindful Gen Yers show a propensity for being altruistic and environmentally conscious or “green.”

Ethnographic Research: A Key to Strategy

Ken Anderson (ken.anderson@intel.com) un ricercatore ed antropologo presso Intel, ha scritto un breve articolo per Harvard Business Review sull’importanza dell’etngrafia aziendale.

Ethnography is the branch of anthropology that involves trying to understand how people live their lives. Unlike traditional market
researchers, who ask specific, highly practical questions, anthropological researchers visit consumers in their homes or offices to
observe and listen in a nondirected way. Our goal is to see people’s behavior on their terms, not ours. While this observational method
may appear inefficient, it enlightens us about the context in which customers would use a new product and the meaning that product
might hold in their lives.
Recently, Intel ethnographers have veered into strategic questions. Like many high-tech companies, Intel makes long-term bets on how
markets will play out. Will television and PC technology converge? Are baby boomers retaining their PC and TV habits as they age, or
are they comfortable shifting to new media? Will smartphones take over most of the functions of personal computers?
By understanding how people live, researchers discover otherwise elusive trends that inform the company’s future strategies. Our
job as anthropologists is to understand the perspective of one tribe, consumers, and communicate it to another, the people at Intel. Our
experiences in both worlds make this translation possible. Ethnography has proved so valuable at Intel that the company now employs
two dozen anthropologists and other trained ethnographers, probably the biggest such corporate staff in the world...I believe that ethnography is so beneficial
that it will spread widely, helping firms in every industry truly understand customers and adapt to fast-changing markets.

GENERATIONS, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

GENERATIONS, CULTURE AND SOCIETY
Culture and Society June Edmunds e Bryan S. Turner, 2002

What is the role of generations in social, cultural and political change? How is generational consciousness formed? What is the significance of inter and intra-generational conflict and continuity? Despite the importance of the concept of generations in common sense or lay understanding of cultural change, the study of generations has not played a large part in the development of sociological theory. However, recent social developments, combined with the erosion of a strong class theory, mean that generations need to be reconsidered in relation to cultural change and politics.Moving beyond Karl Mannheim's classical contribution, this book offers a theoretically innovative way of examining the role of generational consciousness in social, cultural and political change through a range of empirical illustrations. On the grounds that existing research on generations has neglected international generational divisions, the book also looks at the interactions between generations and other social categories. The result is a key text for undergraduate courses in social theory, cultural studies and social history, and an essential reference for researchers across these areas, as well as gender, race and ethnicity.

New Millennium Learners (NML) project

Is conducted by Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). The emergence of digital native learners has major potential implications for education. The objective of the NML is to analyse this new generation of learners and understand their expectations and attitudes. The impact of digital technologies on cognitive skills and on learning expectations, and the evolution of social values and lifestyles are important issues.

Initially, the project is intended to focus on the demand side of the NML, thus looking at the main areas of concern resulting from the impact of a continuous use of digital devices and services. In the later stage, the project will deal with the supply side, reviewing what educational institutions have done to accommodate or to struggle with NML characteristics, expectations and needs.

Realted links:
New Millenium Learners Blog

More about Gen Y

Some other articles:

In his The Big Picture bestselling author Bernard Salt tackles some important social and demographic questions facing the Australian nation.

"Dumbest Generation” Debate Featured
On September, 2008, Neil Howe and Mark Bauerlein, author of "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupifies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future", debated the merits of the Millennial Generation and discussed how different technologies have influenced the learning habits of those born after 1982. The program can be viewed online here (but a good quality) or for the short interview here .

Millennials and K–12 Schools: Educational Strategies for a New Generation

In this new application book, Neil Howe and William Strauss explain how the Millennial Generation of students has been shaking up today’s schools—from hyper-involved parents to new issues over school security, from shifting perceptions of “college-ready” and “school-to-work” curricula to the struggle to get pressured, consensus-oriented students to think outside the box. Howe and Strauss also analyze the recent shift from Boomer to Generation X parents and the new Gen-X focus on accountability, transparency, and choice. And they explain still other generational changes shaking up today’s teacher corps. For each issue, the authors offer a hands-on list of “what to dos” for anyone involved in K–12 education.
According to Michael Barone Howe and Strauss’s 1991 predictions about the Millennial Generation have come true. The authors’ seminal book, Generations, “hit the nail squarely on the head,” says Barone . To view the article, follow this link.

Generazione Y

La Generazione Y, la generazione di oggi

Cos'è la Generazione Y? È una denominazione per identificare i giovani di oggi dai 18 ai 25 anni svezzati con personal computer e cellulari.
L'approccio dei giovani oggi avviene in chat, via SMS o in una dimensione virtuale come Second Life, il mondo virtuale di cui tanto si parla da qualche mese. Il rapporto sociale è secondario e ad esso viene preferita invece la multimedialità più diretta e meno impegnativa. Quindi oltre a chat e sms troviamo iPod, blog, BlackBerry, webcam, Skype... Non per questo si deve pensare che il rapporto con le tecnologie sia ossessivo, non per la Generazione Y almeno.
Il Usa Today stima che la Generazione Y comprende oltre 70 milioni di giovani in tutto il mondo, non oltre i 30 anni: ragazzi assolutamente in pace con se stessi, non turbati ma diversamente pronti e informati per il futuro lavoro. (fonte: © pc-facile.com)

Articles :
Generation Y, from Wikipedia
Who's filling Y's shoes - The origin of Gen Y
Generation Next, A PBS Documentary
Generation Y: They've arrived at work with a new attitude
The "Millennials" Are Coming
Generation Y's Goal: Wealth and fame?
The Gen Y Perceptions Study
Attracting the twentysomething worker
China's Generation Y: Understanding the Future Leaders of the World's Next Superpower
What Gen Y Really Wants
A Weekly e-Publication shedding light on Generation Y and their complexities
Generation Y Refuses Race-Gender Dichotomy
GENERATION Y: THE MILLENNIALS READY OR NOT, HERE THEY COME
Recruiting Generation Y: 15 Questions You Will Most Probably Be Asked During a Gen Y Interview
Turning generation Y into generation $

Blogs :
Blogs of Lindsey Pollak: Archive for the 'Generation Y' Category
Blog ” GENERATION Y 2.0 ” in francese
Podcasts :
Engaging Generation Y, Open source LMS, and Mobile culture in education…
Videos:
Interview with a Generation Y Expert - Lindsey Pollak
Harvard Business Managing Generation Y
A Vision of Students Today