UCL Institute of Archaeology

Who Stole my Milk?

3. Team Progress

2012

UCL Institute of Archaeology

Who Stole my Milk?

3.1 Documenting Student Homes Team
Hannah Brown, Riccardo Fazzalari, Chao-Chieh Wu, and Li Wang

2012

TABLE OF CONTENT
3.1. Documenting Student Homes Team Appendix 3.1.1 Meeting Minutes 11 February 2012 Appendix 3.1.2 Recruiting Participants Appendix 3.1.3 Visiting & Documenting Student Homes Appendix 3.1.4 DSHT Timetable Appendix 3.1.5 Project Photographers Role Appendix 3.1.6 Data Back-up & Handover Appendix 3.1.7 Participant Representation in Exhibition & Web Resource Appendix 3.1.8 Accessioning Permission Form 391 393 394 395 397 399 400 401 403

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APPENDIX 3.1.1 Meeting Title Facilitator Location Attendees

MEETING MINUTES 11 FEBRUARY 2012 DSHT Group meeting DSHT members IoA DSHT members, Elizabeth Date Time Note Taker 11.02.2012 13:00 Chao- Chieh Wu

KEY POINTS DISCUSSED Discussion of detail for first interview Discussion of the list of responsibility (See the table below) Discussion of potential participants Brick Lane Jamie Riccardo and Elisabetta's Italian friends King's Cross (Suguru's friends) Discussion of available time of DSHT members

ACTIONS PLAN No 1. 2. 3. Action Item(s) First Interview Second Interview Borrow camera, Recorder, Tripods from IoA Assigned Project Member/s DSHT members DSHT members Jill Target Date 12.2.2012 20.2.2012 11.2.2012 20.2.2012 11.2.2012

4.

Borrow Recorder and Microphone from Geffrye Museum

Riccardo

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APPENDIX 3.1.2

RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS

In order to develop an exhibition, a museum requires material. DSHTs role was to collect data on student homes in London for display in the GM. Knowing it would not be an easy task, DSHT set out to recruit willing participants. GM staff supplied DSHT with guidelines: the museums staff believed the project would require input from approximately fifteen participants living in four different households (minimum three per house). The GM also hoped to attract international participants. DSHT approached personal student contacts through word of mouth with the intent of engaging them with the project. DSHT soon realised a larger network was required in order to reach the set target. DSHT produced written documents outlining the project and its intentions, which team members sent out via email to friends and acquaintances. Although finding potential candidates was not difficult, recruiting them into the project required further effort. By the end of January, DSHT had recruited a total of fourteen participants from four different households.

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APPENDIX 3.1.3

VISITING & DOCUMENTING STUDENT HOMES

DSHT estimated that the documenting process photographs & interviews of each student home would require a minimum of two hours. The difficulty lay in scheduling a single day when all participants and DSHT members were available. DSHT hoped to visit the student homes during the daytime in order to capture prime photos using natural light. However, this was inconvenient for the participants. With limited options, DSHT members decided to make themselves as available and flexible as possible. DSHT produced a document outlining the documentation process procedures and timescale. Team members emailed this document, along with the individual and group interview questions, to each participant prior to the visit in order to make them feel as comfortable as possible. DSHT hoped that participants would have the opportunity to reflect upon the questions and their answers offering the project deeper insight. The interview questions were discussed in detail. DSHT initially obtained sample questions from GM staff, which they modified significantly in order to capture the Student Homes Projects themes. DSHT discussed the wording of each question to ensure that participants understood and offered relevant responses. GM staff approved the questions prior to the beginning of the documentation process. DSHT estimated the time of individual interviews at one and a half hours, while the group interviews were scheduled to take forty-five minutes. DSHT practiced the interview questions amongst themselves acquiring the above-mentioned data and honing in their interview techniques. Hannah Brown, Riccardo Fazzalari and Chao-Chieh Wu undertook interview technique training at IoA prior to the beginning of the documentation process. As time was limited, DSHT aimed to acquire as much information as possible in the initial interviews making them a success. On February 12th, 2012, DSHT visited their first student home in Islington. DSHT estimated the visit would last approximately three hours; DSHT finished in less than two and a half hours. All team members felt the visit went well. Everyone arrived and left as a unit. ChaoChieh Wu and Riccardo Fazzalari were responsible for installing the audio and video recording equipment, while Hannah Brown briefed the participants on the project and the GMs archives, and acquired signed clearance forms, as well as drawn floor plans. The group interview was conducted first followed by the individual interviews. One participant, Echo, brewed traditional Chinese tea to share with DSHT. All student homes were very hospitable. DSHT member, Chao-Chieh Wu, translated into Chinese some of the difficult concepts for the participants: this was a great help.
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On February 20th, 2012, DSHT visited the second student home in Tower Hamlets. Due to the participants availability, DSHT was forced to structure the visit differently. The first participants to arrive home were interviewed individually in their bedrooms. Once all house members had arrived, DSHT conducted the group interview in the living room adopting the same roles as before. DSHT member, Chao-Chieh Wu, however, took on more interviewing responsibility than Hannah Brown as the latter was acquainted with the participants and did not want to impact on the answers given. The documentation process took place during the evening between 19:00 and 21:45. In addition to regular data collection, the Project Photographer, Li Wang, took photos of one participant cooking dinner in the kitchen. On February 21st, 2012, DSHT visited the third student home in Barnet. DSHT arrived at 20:00 as one of the participants was getting ready to prepare a meal for the team members. In the meantime, DSHT interviewed the other participants individually in their bedrooms. After everyone enjoyed the meal together in the dining room, DSHT proceeded with the group interview in the living room followed by the last individual interview. By participating in the home environment, DSHT gained good insight into the participants lives. On February 22nd, 2012, DSHT visited the fourth and last student home in Camden. Even as a last minute appointment, DSHT members were prepared and efficient. Team members arrived at 18:30, briefed the participants, obtained signed consent forms, and gathered drawn floor plans. The group interview was conducted in the kitchen, and the individual interviews took place in each participants bedroom. DSHT experienced some discomfort while in the kitchen, as some of the flatmates who did not want to participate in the project, were anxious to cook. However, DSHT felt that experiencing this tension and potential conflict was very interesting from the projects point of view.

DSHT members, Riccardo Fazzalari and Hannah Brown, get ready to visit their first student home.
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APPENDIX 3.1.4

DSHT TIMETABLE

DSHT created a detailed timetable organising visits to student homes. As time was limited, DSHT had to be as efficient as possible. By creating a timetable and discussing each team members role and responsibility prior to the visit, DSHT succeeded in its desired efficiency. DSHT had pre-established explanations about the project and the data collection so that they might pre-empt any questions from the participants. Arrival of DHST and set up of recording equipment. Explanation of the project and why we are collecting: (5 mins) We are documenting student homes because the 'student home' is viewed as different from the family or the permanent home. Student homes are generally temporary and shared with non-relatives. Living in a temporary, shared home can have a huge impact on the way people behave and we want to find out how people living in student homes make a home a home. We hope to create an archive of images and recorded testimony on the student home in 21st century London. ' And what will happen to data: The data will become part of a project on the Student Home at the GM. This includes an exhibition and event. Furthermore the museum would like to put a selection of the interviews, photographs and films from the study into their Documenting Homes collection. This is an archive of still and moving images, written and oral testimony about homes. The collection is used as a permanent public reference resource for research, exhibitions, publications (web and printed) and education. A member of the research team will re-contact you in March with a list of the material the museum would like to put it the collection and we will then ask you to sign a clearance form giving the GM permission to use the material in the ways stated. The form also allows you to place restrictions on information or particular parts of your contribution for a period of 30 years. Draw floor plans and fill out short questionnaires. (10 mins) Group Interview with video recorder. (30-45 mins)
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Individual Interviews with voice recorder. (30 mins each) Some extra time to make sure all photographs required have been collected. - Each participant will spend about 1 hour and 30 minutes in the project. - DSHT will spend 3-4 hours in the flat/house depending on the number of participants in each flat/house. Task Arrival and set up and explanation of the project. Floor plans and filling out short questionnaire. Group Interview Equipment Video recorder, voice recorder, camera. A4 paper and pre-printed questionnaires. Video recorder, voice recorder, camera, interview questions. Individual Interviews Voice recorder, camera, interview questions. Photograph time Camera 20 minutes - depending on what hasnt been photographed during interviews. 30 minutes. 30-45 minutes. 10 minutes. Time Taken 5-10 minutes.

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APPENDIX 3.1.5

PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHER`S ROLE

The Project Photographers role was to shoot photos for the projects outputs (exhibition, web resources, promotional material), as well as reportage photographs of the entire process. According to GM requirements, the Project Photographer was familiar with the functions of a professional camera and the style of photo needed. The Project Photographer browsed the museums photo archives and practiced operating the camera thus feeling confident in the role and its required tasks. The biggest challenged faced was time management; balancing the requirements of data collection and the needs of DSHT members. After collecting all the photographs, the Project Photographer edited the images using Photoshop to ensure maximum quality. After the completion of the data collection, the Project Photographer began capturing reportage photographs of events, such as the Family Days, and panel meetings. The Project Photographer also participated in accessioning the collected data as a member of DSHT. Due to extenuating circumstances, the Project Photographer was not present during the first weeks of January. As it was unclear as to whether or not the Project Photographer would be able to return, DSHT members, Riccardo Fazzalari and Chao-Chieh Wu, were trained by GM staff and UCL faculty on how to photograph objects for the documenting process. Fortunately, the Project Photographer was able to return to the team before the first house was documented; with the exception of the a few photographs that were either taken by Chao-Chieh Wu as a Reportage Photographer for DSHT or by the participants themselves when time was running short and there was no time to arrange another photographing visit, all images in the exhibition, web resources, and submitted to the GM archive were taken by the Project Photographer.

Li Wang takes a photo of a participant in the kitchen

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APPENDIX 3.1.6

DATA BACK-UP & HANDOVER

DSHT integrated all collected information into four packages (CDs & written summaries) for ET and WRT. DSHT created two CDs for each household one for photographs and the other with audio and video interviews. Meetings with the teams GM counterpart helped outline the ideal manner to present the information in a written format. The information was divided into three different documents: an abstract of individual interviews, and single page summaries of participants and households outlining data such as descriptions, restrictions, related material, and interesting stories. The documents were combined with floor plan drawings and copies of the clearance forms. DSHT met with WRT, ET, and PMT on February 28 th to handover the collected data.

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APPENDIX 3.1.7

PARTICIPANT REPRESENTION IN EXHIBITION & WEB RESOURCE

DSHT emailed each participant in order to inform him/her of the manner by which ET & WRT had chosen to represent them in the different project outputs. Each participant received a similar email with accompanying file. Hello _______, I'm on of those students who visited your house last month on behalf of the UCL, to take photographs and do individual and group interviews. The project, which now has a name "Who stole my milk? Exploring student homes in London", is going smoothly, and the entire UCL team would like to take this opportunity to thank all the participants for their time and the information you gave us. The material collected is proving invaluable in creating an informative and fun exhibition on student homes. I'm writing you this email to show you the main information which has been selected by the Exhibition team, and that are likely to appear in the exhibition at the Geffrye Museum . Due to the limits of space, not all the material can be used, and we may not be able, in the end, to use detailed material from all the participants. In the attached file you can find the information that we would like to use, the selected photographs, and the broader context in which this material would be used. This is currently provisional though. We welcome feedback from all of you on how you are being represented in the exhibition. Could you let us know by the 26th of this month if you are happy with the material we have picked out? I also would like to inform you that the exhibition will open on May 15th. A private view, to which you'll be invited will be held the following evening. You will receive an official invitation on a later date. In addition, in the upcoming weeks you will be contacted again in order to ask your permission to incorporate the material you contributed into the museum's archive. Meanwhile, you can follow our progress on the blog: www.whostolemymilk.blogspot.com. We hope you are looking forward to seeing the end result in the Geffrye Museum as much as we are! Thank you in advance, Riccardo and the entire "Who stole my milk?" project team
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Camden Representation in the Exhibition

Summary The exhibition team is very interested in using material gathered from Camden. In particular this would be within the context of the style of home decoration within temporary student homes, and the importance of practical objects such as kitchen equipment to students. Individual Participants: 1. Natasha Within the context of student homes, as a temporary space, lacking the decoration and style of their personal or more permanent homes we would like to use Natashas reference to her bedroom not being in a style we would have chosen. We would also like to use Natashas reference to her personal mug which she prefers to keep in her room, within the context of practical objects that are of special importance to students. Its incredible how I wont take it out, just because if they break it, I really like it. On the importance of food within the home, and the differences in food between student homes and their previous homes we would like to use the quote: Home is where you come back and find your mother cooking Photographs: Natasha holding her mug, picture of Natashas bedroom showing the style and storage General photographs: Flowerpots on the windowsill & Suitcases Group profile photograph:

Individual profile photographs:

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APPENDIX 3.1.8

ACCESSIONING PERMISSION FORM

DSHT gave each household and participant a series of forms from the GM, including the following, enabling the museum to accession the information into their archive. Each DSHT member took responsibility of accessioning a single household; first, an Excel document was created (see DSHT project outcomes section 2.1.12) followed by a summaries Word file (see DSHT project outcomes section 2.1.13).

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