DetroitYES Research, Part II

[Dirtyrat]

Hello all,

For those of you who remember my previous posts about our research, you might recall that we are conducting focus groups with members of the DetroitYES! web community. Ultimately, we're interested in how alternative cityscapes are constructed through interactive media. And if you recall those previous posts, you may skip the following paragraphs...they will be redundant. Anyway, we've conducted one focus group and a few interviews, and we are looking to do some more. If you would be interested in taking part in one such focus group somewhere in Detroit [[Cass Cafe?) feel free to contact either me [[jatkins@bgsu.edu) or Dr. Rosati [[crosati@bgsu.edu) and let us know that you are willing to get involved. We'll buy nachos and non-alcholic beverages for those who participate! How's that for incentive?

For those of you who are not familiar with our work: My name is Joshua Atkinson and I am an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at Bowling Green State University. I am working with Dr. Clayton Rosati [[also of BGSU) on a research project concerning the DetroitYES! web community. In particular, we are interested in the way in which the users of the DetroitYES! discussion forum construct an “alternative cityscape� through their online and offline interactions. Oftentimes, the “cityscapes� that people collectively recognize are constructed through imagery and representation found in popular mass media. Some cityscapes have been constructed as glamorous and exciting, as in the cases of New York and San Francisco. In the economic climate that has existed for the past thirty [[or more) years, however, many cities and communities have been adversely depicted in terms of job loss, decreasing population, and high crime: St. Louis, Cleveland, and Detroit. Such depictions have become the negative imagery that is often used by economic and cultural elites to construct “cityscapes� that become collectively recognized as deteriorating and unsafe.

Interestingly, we have found that the Fabulous Ruins of Detroit and the attached discussion forum seem to provide Detroit residents with the opportunity to share information, and imagery, in a way that allows for the emergence of an alternative cityscape. We feel that your web community can provide valuable insight about how average citizens can use the Internet and other forms of interactive media to bypass economic and cultural elites, and effectively shape their cities and communities on their own.

Specifically, we seek to conduct one to three hour focus groups with members of DetroitYES! If anyone is interested in taking part in such focus groups in the Detroit area, your participation will be greatly appreciated. Your participation will be voluntary as you may withdraw at any time without prejudice and you may refuse to answer any questions. In addition, your name will not be included in the final report, thus retaining your confidentiality. Feel free to contact us at the following email addresses.

Thank you very much,

Joshua Atkinson, PhD: jatkins@bgsu.edu

Clayton Rosati, PhD: crosati@bgsu.edu

[Dirtyrat]

One point that we think that we should make...we would like to conduct any focus groups or individual interviews during the weekend of May 15-17. Hopefully this provides some time frame for those who might be interested in participating in the research. If you have any questions about our research or the focus groups, feel free to contact us. Thanks alot!

josh