Studying social practices and global practice change using scrapbooks as a cultural probe

Abstract

Empirical work on household consumption informed by theories of social practice has grown exponentially in the last few years. This is partly due to conceptual developments positing practices as being comprised of materials, meanings and skills. Such formulations are readily applied to empirical investigations. As the aim of a growing body of empirical work with theories of social practice is to present evidence for how practices can, should, have or might change in the future towards improved sustainability, greater questioning and broader reflection about methods and approaches would be helpful. In the interests of contributing to such methodological discussions and broadening out the range of tools available, this paper is concerned with how to study the processes and dynamics involved in the globalisation of practices. We do so by adapting a method of scrapbooking used as a cultural probe in human-computer interactions research.We apply this method in a qualitative study with international students studying in Australia where we combined interviewing techniques with a purpose-designed practice memory scrapbook containing a variety of images of current and historical practices. Practices of interest were those related to keeping warm, cool, laundering and bathing. We found the scrapbook useful in four main ways: it facilitated discussion about mundane everyday practices; it uncovered assumptions about "normal" ways of carrying out everyday practices; it foregrounded the absence/presence of material elements; and it facilitated reflection on how practice entities are changing. We conclude that the practice memory scrapbook is a useful and complementary qualitative research method to consider in studies seeking to understand the practice dynamics involved in globalisation. K E Y W O R D SAustralia, globalisation, migration, scrapbooking, social practice change, students 1 | INTRODUCTION Empirical work on household consumption informed by recent variations of theories of social practice has burgeoned in recent years. Studying the practices of everyday life rather than everyday "behaviours" has revealed significant new insights into how demand for scarce resources like energy and water is constituted by and distributed across daily routines. Theories of social practice are by no means new, but they have enjoyed a recent resurgence thanks to the work of Shove et al.

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‘Almost Everything in the House Now Is Plastic’: Foregrounding Plastic Materiality in Household Routines and Practices

“…The initial research design involved collecting data through face-to-face interviews and home tours in two households. Maller and Strengers (2016) contend that a home tour ‘not only prompts participants’ memories but allows the material dimensions and skilful performance of practices to become more prominent’. Participants recounted how materials are utilised in their daily activities and showed the researcher the locus of plastic-related practices within the household.…”

Sustainable Water Use Practices: Understanding and Awareness of Masters Level Students

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