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The creativity of everyday uncertainty

The creativity of everyday uncertainty Drawing on ethnographic research in selection of urban households in Providence County, Rhode Island, the purpose of this paper is to define uncertainty as an everyday experience embedded in material and social worlds and explore the relationship of uncertainty to creative improvisation and well-being.Design/methodology/approachThis research was anthropological and ethnographic, drawing on an everyday material culture approach to the home. Participant observation and interviews began in April 2015 and ended in April 2016. The data presented in derived from interview transcripts, field notes and photography.FindingsResponses to uncertainty are embedded in habits and practices that help sustain well-being. During uncertain periods marked by transition, change and disappointment, participants draw on domestic practices as well as narrative frameworks to foster stability. Security, well-being, uncertainty, and improvisation emerge as an important intersection in everyday life.Originality/valueThis paper offers a perspective on uncertainty at the intimate level of the home, helping nuance the difference between collective creative improvisation and the economic expectation of individual adaptability. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Organizational Ethnography Emerald Publishing

The creativity of everyday uncertainty

Bird, Tess
Journal of Organizational Ethnography , Volume 9 (1): 16 – Mar 2, 2020
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16 pages

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2046-6749
DOI
10.1108/joe-12-2017-0073
Publisher site
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Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic research in selection of urban households in Providence County, Rhode Island, the purpose of this paper is to define uncertainty as an everyday experience embedded in material and social worlds and explore the relationship of uncertainty to creative improvisation and well-being.Design/methodology/approachThis research was anthropological and ethnographic, drawing on an everyday material culture approach to the home. Participant observation and interviews began in April 2015 and ended in April 2016. The data presented in derived from interview transcripts, field notes and photography.FindingsResponses to uncertainty are embedded in habits and practices that help sustain well-being. During uncertain periods marked by transition, change and disappointment, participants draw on domestic practices as well as narrative frameworks to foster stability. Security, well-being, uncertainty, and improvisation emerge as an important intersection in everyday life.Originality/valueThis paper offers a perspective on uncertainty at the intimate level of the home, helping nuance the difference between collective creative improvisation and the economic expectation of individual adaptability.

Journal

Journal of Organizational Ethnography – Emerald Publishing

Published: Mar 2, 2020

Keywords: Creativity; Uncertainty; Improvisation; Home; Material culture

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