The Institute for Information Technology and Culture (IITC) will complete its series of three seminars on anthropological fieldwork in business, community and government organizations titled, Inside Insights, Mon., Oct. 10, from 1-2:30 p.m. in room 289 of the Student Center Building on the Wayne State University campus. The seminar is free and open to the public.

Fieldwork is critical to gathering qualitative data, not only for those in the social sciences, but in fields from computer science to communication. Gaining experience inside organizations is invaluable for students and professionals alike. Fieldwork presents challenges and obstacles from gaining access to ethical considerations. The Inside Insights series is designed to build upon the experiences of faculty and graduate students who have conducted research inside organizations.

Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson, is an associate professor of Political Science at Wayne State, and Bradley Trainor (PhD in Anthropology WSU) is a policy analyst and program evaluator at the U.S. Government Accountability Office. They will address the challenge of fieldwork in government organizations. The talk will be followed by a discussion moderated by Lyke Thompson, director of the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State.

Sarbaugh-Thompson is the principal investigator of a term-limits research project; she has worked with four WSU colleagues for seven years to produce a comprehensive study of change in Michigan’s legislature. Initial findings have been published recently in a book titled The Political and Institutional Effects of Term Limits (2005).

Trainor’s past projects include an ethnography of veterans hospitals, which focuses on the culture of patient safety. He is currently working on program evaluations in government acquisitions.

IITC is a multidisciplinary group of experts in anthropology, medicine, engineering, social work and computer science, who collaborate to understand the cultural aspects of technology use. IITC has worked with organizations such as NASA, General Motors, Ford, Pitney Bowes, Motorola and Proctor & Gamble to enhance the influence of culture on technology.

For further information regarding this seminar or IITC, please contact Dr. Allen W. Batteau, Director, 313.874.7010 or a.batteau@wayne.edu, or visit www.iitc.wayne.edu.