Enabling Designers

I find it interesting that Donahue, in Enabling Design, tries to distance himself from a comparison of design research to ethnography. I understand why he differentiates it from market research. The process he advocates seeks to approach subjects on their own terms and in the process develop new design methods and forms. Market research seems to revel in reification and interpellation of the subject. Design research, according to Donahue, is dimension, not synergy. However, his own "immersive investigation" with the low-sight community bears resemblance to ethnographic participant observation. They also seem to share goals in how they treat the research subject, though Donahue stops short of involving himself in the community as a low-sight participant.
I bring this up because there are some issues involved with participant observation that may affect enabling design research as well. First of all, no matter how hard you try you can never completely close the gap between researcher and subject. I do think that Donahue has a sincere interest in the community that he addresses, and the goal is to offer choices that the community deems appropriate and desirable. He speaks "to" low-sight people in his design. However, he does attempt to speak "for" the community in this article. This is not a complaint, but a critique that design research can somehow empower the community by speaking for them. It really is more of a political issue than a practical one.