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Hi Ann,

It might interest you to know that MO asked the panel to 'design an MO 
directive' in  Summer 2000. The response for this directive was 48% - as 
Bill points out, rather average for a MO directive.

Jessica


--On 24 July 2007 22:50 +0100 Ann Hopkins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

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>
> I have always thought that it must be pretty difficult to keep coming up
> with topics which are of interest to a broad spectrum of mass observers
> year in, year out.  Perhaps it would be helpful if we all sent in our own
> ideas for topics?
>
> Ann Hopkins
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dorothy Sheridan" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 3:37 PM
> Subject: [MASSOBS] Debates about the Directive themes
>
>
>> This message has been sent through the MASSOBS discussion list.
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>>
>> Dear Jiscmailers,
>> Thought you might like to see - and join in with - the discussion I have
>> been having with one of our Mass Observers about the themes we shoose
>> for  the directives.
>>
>> Mr Marshall doesn't mind you seeing his name.... and has given me
>> permissiont o put this on the JISCMAIL discussion list so I shall
>> include  that. I have suggested he join the list so he can see what
>> others say so  please don't write directly to me on this. The idea is to
>> share the  discussion and broaden it out. I shall be reading it!
>> Best wishes,
>> Dorothy Sheridan
>> MOA Director
>>
>> Below four messages - two from Mr Marshall and my replies.
>>
>> From Mr John Marshall (1st message)
>>
>>>> Thank you for the Summer Directive 2007 and the long and informative
>>>> letter from the Director, Dorothy Sheridan.  I am answering the
>>>> question on page 3 - 'Do you want to stay on our mailing list?'  Yes
>>>> please, even though I have not responded to recent Directives.  I
>>>> think it is more than a year since I made a contribution.  There are
>>>> two reasons for this.  The main one has been demands on my time for
>>>> other writing projects, as well as being away from home on a series of
>>>> lengthy overseas trips.
>>>>
>>>> The second reason is that the subjects chosen recently - with two
>>>> possible exceptions - have not really grabbed my interest.  Take the
>>>> last three Directives.  Autumn 2006 - 'home and contents' and
>>>> 'quotations'.  Neither is likely to set the world on fire.  I did
>>>> attempt the other offering, some thoughts on 'age', but other, more
>>>> pressing demands made me put it to one side.  Some day it might be
>>>> finished because I did a deal of background research.
>>>>
>>>> Spring 2007 - The smoking ban.  An excellent measure - and that's about
>>>> all there is to be said.  I haven't smoked for 40 years.  'Domestic
>>>> violence' - so predictable and I have no personal experience.
>>>>
>>>> Summer 2007 - Shopping - no thank you.  'Gardens and gardening' - no
>>>> interst in either subject.
>>>>
>>>> With respect I would suggest that the subjects chosen over the last
>>>> twelve months could have been lifted from an editorial meeting of
>>>> 'Woman's Own.'
>>>>
>>>> Because I enjoy contributing my thoughts to the Mass Observation
>>>> Archive,
>>>> and wish to continue doing so, I would beg you to provide your
>>>> contributors with worthwhile subjects which go far beyond the Virago
>>>> feminist agenda.
>>>>
>>>> For the record I shall send you my thoughts on Age and Mourning,
>>>> together
>>>> with a form to renew my membership of the Friends, by separate letter.
>>>>
>>>> And I do wish to remain on the mailing list.   With best wishes -
>>
>>
>>
>> Reply from Dorothy
>>
>>
>>>> Dear XXXX,
>>>> Thanks for your email and thoughts on the themes. I appreciate you
>>>> giving
>>>> us time to comment and I take your critique seriously although I think
>>>> your allusion to "Women's Own"  and "feminist virago" (what's that?)
>>>> were uncalled for! Do I detect a bit of male chauvinism? Actually
>>>> women's
>>>> magazines often tackle very important issues - certainly as far as
>>>> women are concerned.
>>>>
>>>> You are a fairly new correspondent with us and I wonder whether you've
>>>> seen the full range of themes that we have covered since 1981?
>>>>
>>>> See
>>>>
>>> www.sussex.ac.uk/library/speccoll/collection_catalogues/massnewprojectd
>>> at e.htm> l
>>>> Maybe you could tell me which themes  would stimulate you to write
>>>> more? Send us a list!!!!
>>>> Also we are always happy to receive contributions independently of
>>>> directive themes.
>>>>
>>>> It is ironic that all the themes you cite have all been the basis of
>>>> serious academic research projects. I don't just dream them up and I
>>>> think quite hard before accepting a commission on a theme. We have been
>>>> collaborating with researchers in other universities on the directives.
>>>> Can I just defend the themes you mention for a moment?
>>>>
>>>> The gardening one is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council
>>>> and
>>>> is the concern of a team from the University of Brighton who see
>>>> gardening as a way of understanding the changing nature of time use,
>>>> leisure, social meanings and social practices. It feeds into
>>>> understandings of gender, economics, work and life style.
>>>>
>>>> Domestic violence is a very difficult to research area. It is easy to
>>>> look at police records and statistics or at alarmist press coverage
>>>> but harder to get at the less public experiences. Most people would be
>>>> nervous or cautious about opening up to a stranger interviewing them on
>>>> this subject. This is where the stories sent in by Mass Observers are
>>>> gold dust for researchers.  Of course (and thank goodness for that)
>>>> lots of people don't have direct experience to report. We are still
>>>> interested in their views.
>>>>
>>>> Shopping is something everyone has to do and may be regarded as trivial
>>>> but in fact this directive which had at its heart the theme of Fair
>>>> Trade goods was looking at how we make moral choices and it allows
>>>> people with political or ethical views to describe their experiences.
>>>> It raises issues about attitudes to global poverty and inequality in
>>>> the world.... I see that as being a very important issue.
>>>>
>>>> The Smoking ban - well that does affect everyone ebven non-smokers and
>>>> will have an impact on the health services. Personally I have never
>>>> smoked  and loathe the practice and the smoke so am enjoying the new
>>>> smoke-free atmospheres. My parents both died of smoking related
>>>> illnesses so I have strong feelings on the subject. the social practice
>>>> of smokinbg has so many links - health services, advertising,
>>>> economics, tax, business and the interaction between people in social
>>>> settings. fascinating for the anthropologist, the health specialist,
>>>> the economist and so on.
>>>>
>>>> Home and contents  was also commissioned by an academic - issues of
>>>> life style, spending, fashion, family relationships, economics,
>>>> design,  social
>>>> policy on housing..... key issues.
>>>>
>>>> Quotations is a complex question - understanding how people communicate
>>>> is important, and written communication is changing rapidly - again of
>>>> interest to sociologists, anthropologists and educationists.  You say
>>>> it doesn't set the world on fire but MO is precisely about the details
>>>> of everyday life - again that's why researchers use us.
>>>>
>>>> Finally - if you are still with me in this long reply, would you mind
>>>> if we put this correspondence (yours and mine but of course without
>>>> your name appearing)  on the MOA email discussion list as maybe other
>>>> people would like to comment on our choice of themes. I will also show
>>>> your letter to the researchers who collaborated with us on these
>>>> subjects. I am sure they'd be interested in hearing what you feel
>>>> would be good subjects for directives.
>>>> Let me know!
>>>>
>>>> And glad you are staying with us after all,
>>>> Dorothy
>>
>>
>> Mr Marshall's second letter
>>
>> Dear Dorothy,
>>
>> Thank you for taking the trouble to write such a detailed reply to my
>> views on recent directives.  However, having read the reasons you put
>> forward in their defence, I still maintain the subjects are relatively
>> trivial in nature.
>>
>> In paragraph 4 you say the themes 'have all been the basis of serious
>> academic research projects.'  That this may be so endorses my view -
>> which  I suspect is also held by other non-academics - that no matter
>> how these  topics may be dressed up in jargon-laden gobbledygook, they
>> are,  neverthless, are of no value to the general good of the nation.
>> It also  leads to the occasional media stories that is possible to
>> attend certain  colleges and eventually graduate with a diploma in
>> flower arranging or  ballroom dancing.
>>
>> Phrases used in favour of the gardinging project, such as 'understanding
>> the changing nature of time use, leisure, social meanings and social
>> practice' illustrate my point.  People have been gardening since Adam
>> was  a lad.  It cannot be argued that over the centuries the nature of
>> 'time  use' in gardening has changed.  Gardeners dig over and prepare
>> the ground;  they plant the seeds;  they tend the shoots;  and,
>> eventually, they  harvest the crops and enjoy their flavours in a meal,
>> or they cut the  flowers and display them in a vase.  It is an activity
>> which gives our  many gardeners a sense of pride and satisfaction in a
>> job well done.  That  is enough for them.  They can exisit quite happily
>> for the remainder of  therio fulfilled lives without feeding 'into
>> understandings of gender,  economics, work and life style' - whatever
>> that may mean.  Perhaps the  Arts and Humanities Research Council would
>> benefit from a breath of fresh  air while undertaking a spell of manual
>> work in the garden.
>>
>> Similar comments could be made about researchers in their ivory towers
>> expressing interest in domestic violence or shopping.   I think it may
>> be  for the best if we agree to differ.
>>
>> You ask for a list of subjects which would stimulate myself (and other
>> contributors) to write more.  I'm only too happy to oblige.  When
>> discussing shopping (paragraph 7) you mention the moral choices
>> involved.  There are several subjects, listed in no particular order of
>> preference,  where moral choices have a genuine significance.
>>
>> Dafur  The new Prime Minister and the new French President have
>> demonstrated their concern about the plight of the hundreds of
>> thousandsof  wretched souls living and dying in abject squalor and
>> poverty while the  Sudanese Government denies - as it has done for many
>> years - that any  problem exists.  It is a complex problem with (as is
>> so often the case)  religious bigotry a root cause of hatred between
>> people.
>>
>>
>> Zimbabwe  What a frightening place must be.  Rampant inflation.  Chronic
>> widespread unemployment.  Brutal intimidation of any opposition to
>> Mugabe  and his fat-cat bullies.  A lack of any information about daily
>> life.  A  brave Catholic archbishop as a lone voice of protest.  A lack
>> of will  among neighbouring African states unwilling to criticise Mugabe
>> (particularly South Africa which should know better after years of
>> apartheid).  And Britain, the former Colonial power which helped bring
>> Mugabe to office after the racisit Ian Smith had been toppled, washing
>> its  hands of the whole sorry affair.
>>
>> The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan  Now Tony Blair has gone how much
>> longer do our young men and women  in the Armed Services have to
>> continue  giving their lives in these futiler conflicts?
>>
>> As unforgivable as having military personnel locked into these dangerous
>> places is the way we, as a nation,treat these brave people and their
>> families.  There is the scandal over the delayed inquests on those who
>> are  killed in these conflicts.  There is the scandal over the
>> apparently  indifferent attitude by the authorities to those who are
>> wounded (many of  them seriously, both physically and mentally).  All
>> the military hospitals  were closed down years ago.  The strap-cashed
>> NHS finds itself carrying  this additional burden (and the state of the
>> NHS is another subject upon  which all your contributors must have a
>> view).  There is the scandal of  the slims they call 'married quarters'
>> where Service families are housed  while their loved ones often face
>> unnecessary danger, hardship and  equipment shortages.
>>
>> Multi-cultural Britain  A vast subject which would possibly call for
>> several directives covering religious issues, asylum seekers, workers
>> from  the new EU countries taking jobs the indigenous population scorn,
>> lack of  English-speaking skills, styles of dress, policing the
>> minorities - are  they treated differently because of the colour of
>> their skins?  The  millionaire business men with dubious backgrounds who
>> are taking over our  football clubs, our public utilities, our
>> supermarkets, our enegy  supplies.
>>
>> Politicians - lack of public trust  Honours for cash donations.  Dodgy
>> dossiers about weapons of mass destruction which didn't exist.  Promises
>> made and never kept.  Spin.  When mistakes are discovered blaming the
>> media for getting the story 'out of context.'  A reluctance to say
>> 'Sorry.'  An even greater reluctance to resign when mistakes have been
>> made.  A general attitude of treating the public with contempt except
>> once  every five years when their votes are required.  Increasing
>> corruption at  elections.  A general tendency to explain away bad
>> election results as  'encouraging trends.'  And a general inertia among
>> all politicians to seek  solutions to any of these problems.
>>
>> Climate change  The local perspective - flooding, drought, seasonal
>> difference, the relevance of individual 'carbon footprints'.  Does being
>> 'Green' make any difference?  And the wider picture of melting ice caps,
>> deforestation, Bush's denial that climate change is a problem.  There
>> are  also the 'Great Polluters' - India and China.  Is it too late to
>> conserve  the future for our children and grand-children?  Within fifty
>> years will  the planet still be habitable?  How will the suvivors regard
>> us.  Might we  have done a great deal more to ensure their future was
>> worthwhile?
>>
>> The terrorist threat (which I separate from multi-culturalism).  Two
>> years  ago 52 people were murdered in London by a small group of
>> British-born  fanatics.  A short time before July 2005 hundreds more
>> died on commuter  trains entering Madrid.  Scores of young people died
>> in a fire bombed  nightclub in Bali.  Two thousand plus died horrible
>> deaths when the World  Trade Center and other US icons were attacked.
>> The world has become an  increasingly dangerous place.  How do we cope
>> with these images always at  the back of our minds?
>>
>> Just a few items which ought to attract a decent response because
>> everyone  can relate to them.  We are all involved.
>>
>> I would be delighted if this correspondence appears on the MOA e-mail
>> discussion list.  I can see no reason why my name should not be attached
>> to my contribution.
>>
>> It has been a most stimulating exchange of views.  With best wishes -
>> John  Marshall
>>
>>
>> And my reply:
>>
>> Dear John,
>> I have no argument with you about the importance of the international
>> events and major national issues you list. We have - as you will have
>> seen from our list - covered many similar issues in the past from the
>> war in Iraq, 9/11, the bombing of the underground in London, the floods
>> in New Orleans, the Tsunami, through to immigration, race, crime, the
>> middle East and the Gulf War. Because the number of directives is
>> necessarily limited, we will never be fast enough to coincide with
>> current affairs as they happen and we rely on people to to write
>> spontaneously if they feel an issue is crucial.
>>
>> My own analysis is that all these issues are related. What we feel about
>> ethical shopping,  for example, links to our attitudes to global poverty,
>> war, racism. I saw a film about US interests in South America last week
>> by John Pilger. Perhaps you have seen it ? It begins by focussing on
>> Venezuala. So much of what happens in the world is determined by the
>> power of vested interests. I see personal and plitical issues being
>> completely intertwined.... and I think that the researchers who use us
>> also work within this framework. It's the relationship between the macro
>> and micro.... and thew ay we are individuals navigate our ways through
>> the broader sweeps of ecomonic and political history. MO in the 1930s
>> was a pioneer in understanding this relationship.
>>
>> But bear in mind that many media and polling organisations ask for
>> opinions
>> on these issues all the time. There is no shortage of quantitative data
>> on UK public opinion around for the present or future researcher.
>>
>> MO aims at something very different and is set up to document  direct
>> life
>> story *experience*.  That's our particular strength as I said before. And
>> that is what most writers for us seem to prefer to do. It's harder for
>> some
>> people to write about things that are not part of their direct
>> experience. The issues are still important - eg health and domestic
>> violence seem to  me
>> to be crucial issues for all of us. I am a bit shocked at your critique
>> of our including domestic violence. But maybe that's one of the problems
>> - some men don't take it seriously.  Your response in itself will
>> contribute to the research data!
>>
>> I must repeat that you are welcome to set your own themes and write about
>> those. Many of our correspondents do just that from time to time and we
>> welcome unprompted contributions.
>> Thanks for giving me permission to put our correspondence  on the
>> discussion list. It will probably appear next week. If you want to
>> join,see
>> www.massobs.org.uk/join_our_email_list.htm
>>
>> I must stop here as I must do other work..... on the Jiscmail i am sure
>> others will take over the discussion!
>>
>> All the best
>> Dorothy
>>
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Jessica Scantlebury
Special Collections
The Library, University of Sussex,
BRIGHTON BN1 9QL, UK

Tel. +44 (0) 1273 878157
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