I was struck this morning by two parts of blogposts written by Anne Galloway. First on the Touch's project blog for which Anne now collaborate:

I’m a social researcher working at the intersections of technology, space and culture. (...) When Timo and I first started talking about the project, I was working through some ideas about the relationship between design and social science, and more specifically, about how social and cultural research could serve as materials for design. When I was offered the opportunity to put some of this thinking into practice, I simply couldn’t refuse!

Second, in her blog, about a talk she'll sooner give:

my objective wasn't to suggest abstract guidelines for the development of new technologies, but rather to articulate and explore specific arenas on-the-ground in which intervention and action are possible and productive

Why do I blog his? since I am interested in how research can inform/enrich/help/... design, I appreciated how Anne describes what she wants to do in those projects. That's also what my work aims at, even though my perspective is less about cultural anthropology and more related to psychology (situated , social and cognitive). The words she's using ("material", "articulate and explore specific arenas on-the-ground in which intervention and action are possible and productive") are compelling to me.