Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Sensitivity to body language can also be instrumental in ethnographic
research. A clenched fist, a student's head on a desk, a condescending supe-
rior's facial expression, a scowl, a blush, a student sitting at the edge of a chair
with eyes fixed on the lecturer, and many other physical statements provide
useful information to the observant fieldworker. In context, this information
can generate hypotheses, partially confirm suspicions, and add another layer
of understanding to fieldwork.
Folktales
Folktales are important to both literate and nonliterate societies. They crys-
tallize an ethos or a way of being. Cultures often use folktales to transmit crit-
ical cultural values and lessons from one generation to the next. Folktales
usually draw on familiar surroundings and on figures relevant to the local set-
ting, but the stories themselves are facades. Beneath the thin veneer is another
layer of meaning. This inner layer reveals the stories' underlying values.
Stories provide ethnographers with an insight into the secular and the sacred
and the intellectual and the emotional life of a people.
Biblical myths and folktales are used today in Israel to reinforce certain
national values. Similarly, folktales about George Washington and his father's
cherry tree are used to instill certain values in young children and adults in the
United States. Listening to community folktales about dropouts, for example,
provides evidence about how community members perceive dropouts. Student
folktales about gangs may indicate their attitude toward gangs and their
involvement with them.
Folktales are present in all settings. In a study of a hospital pharmacy, I
found folktales to be quite informative about the culture. One of the most seri-
ous financial concerns in a hospital pharmacy is loss of revenue. I identified a
big hole in the operation by listening to and following up on information
derived from folktales. Listening to the medical records employees swap “war”
stories about patient records told me that certain departments had been hoard-
ing records for years. Other stories depicted great fights between medical
departments for possession of certain sensitive (and financially valuable)
records. I learned about ancient records found behind filing cabinets in the
medical records department. This story was told over and over again to comfort
employees: They had an antiquated, labor-intensive, manual system and had
been unsuccessful in efforts to cajole management into adding staff or comput-
erizing the system. The folktales reinforced their subcultural belief that they were
an oppressed or neglected cog in a big, expensive machine. Their stories had more
than a grain of truth. The antiquated manual system was responsible for a signif-
icant loss of revenue. The departments did not have enough employees to process
