Assistance with a school project, anyone? *UPDATED*
 

Good evening, guys! :) I am currently attending the University of Maryland majoring in Anthropology. This is my last semester of major-focused material (huzzah!) and for one of my classes, I have to study a sub-culture and write a paper on it.

I was having trouble coming up with ideas and my professor suggested to study a hobby I have...and since exploring orchids is the only hobby I have besides completing mountains of homework, I thought it would be interesting to interview some of you folk, if you felt so inclined to let me do so.

My professor was also intrigued by the suggestion, this was his response to me (we had to clear our topic with him over the weekend): "My inclination is actually towards your second topic in that it is an issue you are already invested in but is also something that I don't believe I have ever seen written about before. Every community of practice reflects different kinds of articulations with power and materiality and those looked at the least often have the best kinds of insight into the lived world. Orchids are not necessarily the easiest to grow and the rate of 'blooming' is far less than other flowers (as I'm sure you know). Why one would undertake such a challenge is very interesting and perhaps a mystery to those not interested in this kind of hobby.

I think conducting interviews online could be accomplished most easily over Skype or a similar platform or, in a worst case scenario, over the phone."
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If anyone is interested in assisting me with my project, I will soon be coming up with a list of questions. I do have Skype and a telephone, and I will also see what else he lets us do since it seems a lot of us are looking into internet sources for our final project. Also, I will probably be able to add in responses via this forum so if you don't want to speak to me face to face, you can still participate and I'm sure I could use the information. :)

My personal questions were along the lines of: Why orchids? For those of you who have been propagating them this long, when did you start, and why have you been at it for such a long time? What drew you to the flowers? What was your first orchid? (Mine are all phals, hehe...for now). What encourages you to continue to collect them? What would you say the best thing you've learned while growing orchids is?

Some of you guys astound me with your ability to identify from a picture or a description what an orchid is by its botanical name. The best I can do is name all of the evolutions of humans for the last few million years, but that's not as exciting nor lovely as orchids.

I will be coming up with more questions later, but for now I just wanted to put some feelers out to see if anyone would be interested.

Also for any of you who are in Maryland or the DMV area, if you ever wanted to meet up for coffee or something, I promise I'm not a serial killer. :)

Thanks in advance, guys!

---------- Post added at 10:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:17 PM ----------

PS! Anyone who would like to private message me could do so also :)

UPDATE: I forgot to specify that all of your identities will be kept anonymous and if you do not want me to use your real name, but instead your handle or another pseudonym to identify you, I will. =) Also, anyone who does not want to do face to face, email and instant messaging/chat is acceptable for collecting data as well. =) So don't be shy! Tell me why this hobby appeals to you! :D

I would be happy to help but being on the opposite side of the world phone isn't practical. I have skype but would also be happy to type a response for you to questions you supplied.(and if you then wanted to ask further questions or clarify you could send another email).

Awesome, thank you! :) I should find out in the next few days what other means of online interviewing he will accept, I am actually leaving for class in a few minutes. =) Thanks!

I'm in NJ and could be interviewed by phone. I've never used skype, buy do have a webcam on a just purchased laptop.

You might also want to consider a survey on this Board or use something like Survey Monkey to get a lot of responses to some simple questions. This could then form the basis of some of your interview. Just a thought.

That's a good idea, thank you. I'm still fairly new to the board and to orchids, so I am still learning my way around. =) I think a phone interview would suffice, or maybe emails. I know there are people on this board all over the country and the world, so I think it would be fantastic to get views from everyone and everywhere. I assume that because of this fact, we wouldn't be limited to just phone or skype. ^__^ Thanks!

I had another thought. ... Try contact The American Orchid Society (aos.org for contact info). They probably have some research on this topic that might be of use to you, or at least some articles...

Good luck!

Thank you1 I just spoke to my TA and he said that email interviews and instant messaging would also be okay, so anyone who is too shy to talk to me face to face or via phone can still talk to me =)

I would say that at a bare minimum, an email questionnaire might be a good "first step", to both open the conversation and to let you be selective about your "interviewees" so you can avoid overloading one perspective at the expense of others.

It might be interesting to see how the responses differ with age and/or years of growing experience.

Lol, Ray, you were one of the people I was going to ask via email if you'd be willing to participate, as I've seen you around this board a lot and you have been growing for a long time. I also know you are a very respected authority on these matters, as it were. :) I was really hoping to talk to you!

Have you read Michael Pollan's "Botony of Desire?" It is a fascinating book that looks at the relationship between plants and humans over millennia. There is one section that explores the Dutch tulip craze of the ?17th century, where people were paying the equivalent of 100's of dollars for new and rare tulip hybrids. In the book, he tries to understand why people have become obsessed with certain plants (in addition to tulips, he examines the apple, the potato, and cannabis). I think the punch line of the book is that, as much as we humans think we have control over plants and cultivate them for our own needs, the plants may be the ones who are in- control, causing humans to spend great time and resources trying to cultivate and breed certain plants.

It's a fun book, quick to read, and may be applicable to your project.

Not sure why I'm orchid obsessed... maybe the challenge of growing them?

Good luck!