illustrative studies

In this study I considered interaction at the front desk of an art gallery, where customer pay to enter. On the face of it, nothing seems to be going on. But dig a little deeper and you find the work involves staff subtly navigating all manor of quite delicate issues, such as customers' age, generosity, and knowledge.

With Christian Greiffenhagen and Li Rougyu I have been analysing video recordings of mobile payments in street markets, shops, restaurants, in mainland China. We are interested in the uses, functions and  implications of new monetary media - how new forms of money re-configure relations between buyers and sellers. 

This work draws on data collected by Robin Burrow and has been published in the Sociology of Health and Illness, we consider collaboration between the client and the vet, which is fast paced, unscripted, and risky. The client assembles and manipulates the animal to enable the vet to perform their work.

Working with Sae Oshima, and her amazing data, we considered interaction in the hair salon, and the ways in which customers navigate encouragements and obligations to provide positive and somewhat effusive assessments of the cut, e.g., "oh I love it", and the kinds of troubles that arise when they don't! 

Here we look at interaction in a busy city location, and how big issue sellers try to sell their magazines to passers-by. Working with Robin Burrow, we were fascinated in the tricks and traps sellers laid for passers-by, and the sweet and artful ways people dealt with the delicate business of both buying and also donating money.

Working with Jean Clarke, this project looks at meetings where entrepreneurs pitch to investors. They are intriguing encounters where entrepreneurs present positive stories, and try to affiliate and build alignments with investors who are occupationally skeptical and pessimistic about their claims.