Greenberg, D G (1978) Fixing things: A phenomenological study of ten persons. PhD thesis, Union Institute and University, USA.
Abstract
Although marketing research has produced enormous amounts of data about the consumption of household technological devices, very little information exists about household technological repair experience. We can find out how many new homes are built each year, how many people own vacuum cleaners, and even how many service calls were made to fix leaking pipes. It is relatively easy to quantify the production of goods and services. In response to the do-it-yourself movement of the last decade, hundreds of new books about how things work and how to fix them have been published. Libraries and bookstores stock “complete” home repair guides as well as more modest attempts at instructing home owners in the repair of automobiles, appliances, and painting, decorating, and remodelling. In addition, much has been written about the history and philosophy of science and technology. Many of these works focus on the relationship between man and the machine, some suggesting that one is the servant of the other, while some seek to explore that relationship as more of a partnership. Glimpses of the more personal side of the man/machine relationship can be found in books dealing with the world of work. However, I have not been able to locate any published or unpublished material which indicates why some people fix or build things themselves and what they think or how they feel about those processes. Some of the questions that provoked this study include: (1) Why do some people fix or build? (2) How do those people learn fixing or building skills? (3) To what extent, if any, did childhood experiences contribute to one's motivation to fix or build? (4) Do people enjoy fixing or building? (5) Is there any relationship between being able to fix or build and how one feels about oneself? (6) Does being able to fix or build influence the way in which one interacts with the household environment? (7) Does competence in fixing or building influence competence in other areas? This study is a brief look at the lives of 10 people, their experiences, thoughts, and feelings about fixing and building in their homes.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | competence; market; motivation; skills; philosophy; homes; marketing; partnership; owner; phenomenological study |
| Index terms: | do-it-yourself, competence, repair, consumption, history, movement, philosophy, motivation, science, marketing, household, phenomenological study, owner, partnership |
| Subjects: | demography, partnership management, sociology, philosophical studies, design practice, maintenance engineering, methods and analysis, personnel development, psychology, architectural and construction history, business, specialized education, consumer economics, health behaviours and lifestyles |
| Topics: | Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Education, Human Resources, Design Practice, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here