Anthropology -- Short and Long

Anthropology -- Short and Long Definitions

Fieldwork -- a type of anthropological (and other discipline-specific) research that involves data collection through direct observation of study subjects and face-to-face interviews.

Participant Observation -- a type of anthropological (and other discipline-specific) research that involves extensive direct involvement with specific populations of study subjects; typically, the researcher lives with them.

"Culture as a Text" -- Refers to the conceptualization of culture as a readable text that provides understanding of the society or culture through it analysis. Anthropologists rely on this conceptualization extensively.

Ethnocentrism -- a perspective in which the individual worldview is substantially a function of the influence of social learning of subjective values and beliefs.

Ethnocentric Fallacy -- the erroneous assumption that cultures and societies can be evaluated by reference to the values and beliefs of the society of the researcher. It necessarily presumes that the observing culture or society is more advanced or better than the observed culture.

Rich Points -- Are the specific elements of linguistic encoding and expression within respective individual cultures that interfere with a mutual understanding between those cultures.

Metaphors -- Generally, a manner of conceptual description that employs representations and indirect comparisons.

Key Metaphors -- Those specific conceptual descriptions employing representations and indirect comparisons that are particularly important to the culture and society.

Myth -- Specific stories and historical narratives passed down to successive generations to maintain long-term cultural beliefs. Typically, culturally important myths relate to beliefs about foundational narratives about the origin of the society, mankind, and the world.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis -- the idea that the way language encodes perceptions determines the way that individual experience and express those perceptions.

Revitalization -- Refers to cultural change that is attributable to the purposeful choice or action of members of the society.

Cultural Relativism -- Refers to the critical analysis of different cultural practices and social norms and behaviors within a foreign society by reference to those of the observer's society.

Techne -- Refers to culture-specific artistic and other creative efforts that reflect society-specific characteristics.

Syncretization -- Refers generally to the coexistence of multiple belief systems or values within a given society and to the manner in which those multiple belief systems or values are reconciled. More particularly, it refers to the manner in which diametrically opposite values or belief systems are reconciled.

Cultural Construction -- Fundamental beliefs, definitions, behaviors, and relationships that are attributable to social learning and culture-specific expectations rather than to biology.

What is participant observation and what are the advantages of it (please use the virtual reality game (Second Life) as an example.

Participant observation is a type of anthropological, sociological, and other research-based disciplines in which the researcher can become directly and intimately involved with specific populations of research subjects. In its traditional format, researchers from one culture live with foreign societies as a method of increasing their understanding of their cultures through direct first-hand, face-to-face experiences as temporary members of those cultures.

In the context of the study of virtual-reality-game societies such as Second Life, participant observation takes the form of participating in the virtual reality game and interacting exclusively with Second Life characters within that virtual context. The advantage of this type of research is that it reduces the influence of the researcher's biases and maximizes the experiential aspect of the research.

Explain "humans always virtual" and virtual worlds (Please use Second Life virtual reality game and relate it as an example).