Re: Shadowlake Village Resident research project | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Martin Sheehy (martinsheehyyahoo.com) | |
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 15:49:35 -0800 (PST) |
Go for it, Lisa. I have a certain discomfort level at ' someone ' who is " appointed " ' research coordinator '. Sort of like ' appointed ' Presidents of Republics, or Lorenzo De Medici, The Great. Smells of Machievelli. Are there studies which should NOT be done?. Who decides? As a physician-executive, I am aware of MANY studies not done ( because it is ' felt ' that the conslusion might run adverse to certain parties), or, done, and when the conclusions seem to point to a route of action unpalatable to some, to a few, the results are tidily LOST. Go for it, Lisa, remembering that MDs & PhDs are just that, fellow-cohousers with a few meaningless letters & degrees after their names, but not conferring upon them any ' co-ordinator ' privileges. Marty. Marty. Lisa Poley <lpoley [at] vt.edu> wrote: I am a resident and founding member of Shadowlake Village Cohousing in Blacksburg, Virginia and also a PhD student at Virginia Tech. I have been one of the silent 'lurkers' on the CL for many years now and have tremendously appreciated the discussions here. I am finally coming 'out of the shadows' to ask for some help from those of you who are willing .. Naturally - my PhD dissertation involves Cohousing: My study investigates issues of trust, social cohesion and civic engagement in the Cohousing context, particularly as compared to national levels and those of people interested in Cohousing but not yet living there. My main interest in pursing this topic as a scholar is to contribute to bringing cohousing more prominently into academic and policy debates about housing options, community development, democracy and social change. As a cohouser I am also committed to sharing my results with the broader cohousing community (or at least with those who are interested.) I also think it is appropriate for actual coho residents to be involved in the formal study of cohousing - rather than always being the research specimens of those entirely outside of the experience. We of course have to be very careful to keep ourselves honest as scholars- but we may bring a level of insight that would be very difficult to achieve by someone who has not directly experienced coho life. Now - where you (may) come in. In the first part of my study I hope to administer a short, internet-based survey to as many respondents as I can muster from two cohousing populations: a) residents of completed communities and b) members of forming cohousing groups who have not yet purchased their land. The survey itself will begin accepting responses on May 1st and takes about 10 minutes to complete on-line through my website (it can also be made available in paper form if requested). The survey is based very closely on one developed at Harvard University (in conjunction with Robert Putnam of "Bowling Alone" fame) to indicate levels of trust, social capital and civic engagement among respondents. I have started to contact communities about participation in this survey and have had some good responses (and thoughtful feedback) so far - but I still have many miles to walk before I sleep. What I very much need are people who may be willing to forward information about this survey to other members of their community or to their forming group. (The second part of my study will involve in-depth research in a handful of communities to look at these same issues in a much more qualitative and participatory way.) To anyone willing to be a point of contact - I will forward you an email with a link to the survey (which opens for response on May 1st and remains open until May 22nd) which can in turn be forwarded on to your neighbors. I can also send you some flyers and handouts with the URL that could be placed on a community bulletin board or mailroom (if you are willing to give me a mailing address). I would have no expectation for you to pressure anyone in your community to complete the survey. Participation must be entirely voluntary. I know that many cohousers already feel studied to death and would just like to be left in peace to live their lives thank you, without being constantly poked and prodded by pesky researchers. This I can certainly understand, and can only make a plea for your generosity and forbearance. (One community member I contacted suggested that I offer to put all responding communities into a raffle and offer to come cook a delicious gourmet-organic-vegetarian common-meal for the winner. I am now beginning to seriously contemplate this suggestion if only that will make a difference!) If you are willing to act as a contact person for your community or forming group on this survey please email me directly at lpoley [at] vt.edu or by phone at 540-951-7717. You can also access the website where the survey will eventually be made available at www.shadowlakevillage.org/cohosurvey. There is some more information on the study there. (If you have already responded to me - please ignore this request.) Thanks so much - and I look forward to hearing from folks out there in coho land. Best regards - Lisa Poley (PhD in training) Shadowlake Village Cohousing Blacksburg, Virginia. ______________________________________________________________ Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at: http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/ _________________________________________________________________ Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at: http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
- Re: Shadowlake Village Resident research project, (continued)
- Re: Shadowlake Village Resident research project Martin Sheehy, March 21 2006
- Re: Shadowlake Village Resident research project Craig Ragland, March 21 2006
- Re: Shadowlake Village Resident research project Ann Zabaldo, March 22 2006
- Research on Cohousing [was Shadowlake Village Resident research project] Sharon Villines, March 22 2006
- Re: Shadowlake Village Resident research project Martin Sheehy, March 21 2006
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