If anyone is interested... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 16:27:16 -0600 From: Paul Dholakia To: contact@plug.phoenix.az.us Subject: Request from acacedmic researcher Dear Mr. Carruth: I am a faculty member in the Jones school of management at Rice University in Houston, Texas. We are conducting an academic research project, studying social interactions online, and how communities organized around products or brands are formed, from a sociological perspective... In this regard, the entire open-source movement, and particularly LINUX user groups and online bulletin boards provide a wonderful context to study these sociological issues. We are conducting a survey of members of LINUX user groups/ online bulleting boards seeking information on different elements of their thoughts, feelings, and motivations of participating in such groups, and the value of the group to them... The survey can be completed via email or mail, as the participant prefers... Of course, this research is strictly academic, and has no commercial links or interests. We hope to publish this research in a sociology journal. As a small token of our appreciation for participants' time, and in the spirit of the philosophy underlying the open-source movement, we will donate $500 total to the five favorite organizations/ groups of our participants' choice (we ask the participant’s to nominate their favorite groups in the survey). I am writing to seek your help in conducting this research, first through participating, and second, through encouraging your user group members to participate in the research.. This will not take more than ten minutes of your (and their time). We welcome all help, and look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes, Paul Dholakia ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Paul Dholakia Assistant Professor of Management Rice University 314 Herring Hall - MS 531 6100 Main Street Houston TX 77005-1892 Tel: 713-348-5376 Fax: 713-348-5251 http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~dholakia -----------------------------------------------------------------------