this fellow is a long time bus list member, having been on the
vanagon list before it split up into the Type2 list and others.
he posted this to the Type2 list and i asked him if he'd like it
posted to the vanagon and syncro lists ... for a more diversified
subject population. ;)
so any help you could give would, i'm sure, be greatly
appreciated. and when your wife/spouse/SO says you're crazy for
having all those buses, you can honestly reply, "yes, but i'm
seeing a shrink about it." ;)
unca joel

> Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 08:49:37 -0500
> From: Dan  Henry <danhenry@indiana.edu>
> Subject: Help a former list member get a Ph.D.
>
> Dear Folks:
>
> Some of you old-timers may remember me as a member of this
list,
>which I left, with some sorrow, after rolling my newly-restored
>71 Station Wagon, Gumby the Wonderbus. I am completing my Ph.D.
>at Indiana University, and I am engaged in a study of online
>communities.
>
>Over the past year or so, with the permission of the admins,
>I have been analyzing ten thousand or so messages to the list,
>with an eye towards applying a psychological theory that
>examines how a structured community or setting exists (or does
>not exist) online.  This theory, called Behavior Setting Theory,
>has been widely studied in face-to-face settings, but has never
>been applied in an organized way to an online setting, like the
>Type 2 list.
>
> Although I can gather much information from the messages,
>because the idea of the theory is to examine how physical
>objects are related to how people behave, I need some more
>information about that.  I have decided to ask you, in the
>form of a survey, for some data about that, as well as to
>ask what you get out of the list by being a member.
>I will make a copy of my findings available to anyone on the
>list who wants to download it after I am done- it makes for
>some pretty interesting reading, if I do say so myself.
>
> Some questions and answers:
>
> 1. So, where the heck is this survey anyway?
>
> You can find it at
>    http://www.indiana.edu/~spedk305/surveyIntro.htm
>
> 2. What kind of questions will I ask?
>
> They are pretty straightforward and clear, but you can always
either not
> answer a question or e-mail me for clarification.
>
> 3. Is this an elaborate plot to somehow send me SPAM?
>
> No, it is not.  I will not ask you to enter your name,
> e-mail address, or any other identifying information.
> There is a study sheet on the first page of the site
> that will explain the details of the study more fully,
> as well as the anonymous nature of the survey.
>
> 4. How long will you be collecting information?
>
> Because all good things must come to an end, including,
> mercifully, this dissertation, I am hoping to have enough
> data from you folks by the end of March.
>
> Thank you from the bottom of my (formerly) oil-leaking heart
> for helping me out in this endeavor. You will be making a
> real contribution to the field of educational psychology
> and to a better understanding of how lists like this
> organize themselves and function.
>
> Dan Henry