NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #27/NN_1992_27.iso/spool/sci/environm/12766

Internet Message Format | 1992-11-16 | 17.0 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!ai-lab!ai-lab!not-for-mail
From: MIT Presidential Information Service <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: sci.environment
Subject: Usage of Online Campaign Materials
Date: 16 Nov 1992 12:44:41 -0500
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab
Lines: 396
Sender: [e-mail]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: life.ai.mit.edu


Explanation: Please answer this survey as best you can and return it to:

            [e-mail]

Purpose: This survey is intended to measure the impact of computer
networks in the 1992 Presidential Campaign, with particular reference to
the MIT Information Service experiment.  Your responses will help us
assess the usefulness of these services and will inform future efforts
of this type.  The results of this third of four surveys will sketch
your usage of email connections to the Presidential campaigns, and
ascertain your views on several current questions of national
information policy.  We will post the results of this survey to the
respondents when they become significant.

Redistribution:  If you redistributed on-line campaign materials to
other people on the network, please also send this survey to them.

Directions: Try to answer all the questions as best you can in order
make this survey as accurate as possible.  Be sure to put your answer
AFTER the PROMPT for each query BUT NOT on a new line.  You need only
provide enough characters to distinguish your answer from the
alternatives.  For multiple choice questions with letter or numeric
labels, you need only provide the letter or number for your answer.  Be
careful NOT TO DELETE the FORM IDENTIFIER and SPECIFIER appearing at the
beginning of the survey, or the system will have trouble figuring out
which survey you are submitting.

If you are unsure how to complete this survey, you can learn how to fill
out our computerized forms by sending mail to:

            [e-mail]

Eligibility: People who have interacted with this system or received
on-line materials during the recent presidential campaign are eligible
to participate.


Comments: If you wish to register comments on this survey or other
aspects of these experiments, you may send them to:

            [e-mail]

Duplicates: If you receive duplicate copies of this survey, you may be
registered with this system under more than one email address.  You can
check on this by sending the subject line STATUS to

            [e-mail]

No Surveys:  If you wish to receive no more surveys (there is one left
to do), simply send the subject line REMOVE SURVEYS to

            [e-mail]

No Further Contact: If you wish never to hear again from this service,
simply send the subject line REMOVE CONTACTS to [e-mail]

                         --------------------

PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE NEXT LINE!
:FORM: SERVICE-USAGE

Question: Do you consider yourself politically active?
Answer:  Yes or No.
:POLITICALLY-ACTIVE: No

Question: Were you more politically involved in this campaign than in previous
campaigns?
Answer:  Yes or No.
:MORE-ACTIVE: No

Question: How would you describe your principal geographic location during the
campaign, on a metropolitan to rural continuum?
Answer: Select one of:  1  Metropolitan (over one million population)
                        2  Urban (less than one million population)
                        3  Metro-Suburban (near Metropolitan area)
                        4  Suburban (near urban area)
                        5  Rural Town (under 50,000 population)
                        6  Rural Village (Under 1,000 population)
                        7  Rural
:LOCATION-TYPE:

Question: If you were located in the United States during the campaign,  in
what state were you principally located?
Answer:  Unambiguous State name, or NONe (don't forget about North Dakota)
         Note that standard state abbreviations do NOT work here.
:US-LOCATION:

Question: If you are located in the United States, what is the zipcode
where you vote?
Answer:  U.S. Zipcode or None.
:ZIPCODE:

Question: If you are located outside the United States, what country were you in
during the campaign?
Answer:  Type the full name of the country on one line.
:FOREIGN-LOCATION:

Question: If you obtained obtain on-line campaign materials during the
presidential campaign, did they come to you directly or indirectly via
the MIT Presidential Information Service?  You can tell by looking in
headers of a message for the received from field, e.g., ``Received: From
<host domain name>....''  Answer yes if you find any hosts whose domain
name ends with the domain AI.MIT.EDU.
Answer:  Yes, No, or Unknown.
:RECEIVED-FROM-MIT: Yes

Question: Did you obtain on-line campaign materials during the presidential
campaign?  If so, please list the sources you used in DECREASING order
of use. Rank the most often used sources first.
Answer:  Select some integers from:
            6  Local Bulletin Boards
            4  MIT Campaign Packages
            3  MIT Campaign Distribution Lists
            7  Sent to me by a friend via email
            2  Usenet/NETNEWS Discussions
            1  FTP Sites
            5  Mailing lists
            8  Don't know
:RECEIVED-ONLINE-MATERIALS:

Question: Did you print hardcopies of any on-line campaign materials?
Answer:  Yes or No.
:HARDCOPY: No

Question: If you redistributed copies of the campaign literature, what
distribution methods did you use?
Answer:  Select some letters from:
            E  Displayed/distributed hardcopy locally (e.g. work, school, churches, clubs)
            J  Newspaper or radio in local area
            C  Recommended online sources to others
            G  Electronic distribution (PLEASE SEND THIS SURVEY TO THE SAME LISTS)
            A  Personal use (immediate family)
            H  US Mail
            F  Hand redistribution
            B  Face-to-face discussion with others
            I  Local campaign office
            D  Telephone canvassing
            K  Major market TV or radio (more than 500,000)
            L  Distribution to class or lecture audience
            M  Not applicable
:SECONDARY-DISTRIBUTION:

Question: If you redistributed copies of the campaign literature, how many people
received any of the redistributed material?
Answer:  Select one of:  1  1 - 5 people
                         2  5 - 20 people
                         3  20 - 100 people
                         4  100 - 500 people
                         5  500 - 1,000 people
                         6  1,000 - 10,000 people
                         7  10,000 - 100,000 people
                         8  over 100,000 people
:SECONDARY-AUDIENCE:

Question: If you redistributed copies of the campaign literature, do you believe
those people in turn redistributed the material, and if so, what
distribution means do you believe they used?
Answer:  Select some integers from:
            A  Personal use (immediate family)
            C  Recommended online sources to others
            I  Local campaign office
            D  Telephone canvassing
            K  Major market TV or radio (more than 500,000)
            G  Electronic distribution (PLEASE SEND THIS SURVEY TO THE SAME LISTS)
            F  Hand redistribution
            H  US Mail
            B  Face-to-face discussion with others
            E  Displayed/distributed hardcopy locally (e.g. work, school, churches, clubs)
            L  Distribution to class or lecture audience
            J  Newspaper or radio in local area
            M  Not applicable
:TERTIARY-DISTRIBUTION:

Question: If you redistributed copies of the campaign literature, to how many
people do you believe those people in turn redistributed the literature?
Answer:  Select one of: 1  1 - 5 people
                        2  5 - 20 people
                        3  20 - 100 people
                        4  100 - 500 people
                        5  500 - 1,000 people
                        6  1,000 - 10,000 people
                        7  10,000 - 100,000 people
                        8  over 100,000 people
:TERTIARY-AUDIENCE:

Question: How carefully did you read the document that you read the MOST
CAREFULLY?
Answer:  Select one:  1  Never looked at it
                      2  Skimmed it
                      3  Read it
                      4  Read it carefully
                      5  Debated the key points from it
:READING-DEPTH:

Question: Did the on-line campaign material help you decide how to vote?
Answer:  Yes or No.
:DECISION-EFFECT: No

Question: Which presidential candidate did you vote for?
Answer:  Select one:  3  Ross Perot   - Independent
                      2  Bill Clinton - Democrat
                      4  Andre Marrou - Libertarian
                      6  Other
                      1  George Bush  - Republican
                      7  Did not Vote
                      5  John Hagelin - Natural Law Party
                      8  Not US Citizen
:VOTED-FOR:

Question: Did the on-line campaign material change your opinion of any of the
candidates?
Answer:  Yes or No.
:OPINION-EFFECT: No

Question: Did you try to change anybody's mind about any of the candidates?
Answer:  Yes or No.
:CHANGE-MINDS: No

Question: Did you use electronic mail to successfully communicate with the
headquarters of a presidential campaign?
Answer:  Yes or No.
:HQ-COMMUNICATION: No

Question: Are you a member of any political organizations that
engage in lobbying or advocacy activities?
Answer:  Yes or No.
:ORGANIZATION-MEMBERSHIP:

Question: Which campaign(s) put out material with more factual errors?  List the
campaigns in DECREASING order of factual errors, from most error-prone
to most accurate.  If you noticed no factual errors in the campaign
literature, skip this question.  If you believe a campaign made no
significant factual errors, omit them from the list.
Answer:  Select some of:  2  Bill Clinton - Democrat
                          3  Ross Perot   - Independent
                          1  George Bush  - Republican
                          4  Andre Marrou - Libertarian
                          5  John Hagelin - Natural Law Party
:FACTUAL-ERRORS:

Question: How many hours per week on average did you devote to reading online
campaign materials during the last two weeks of the campaign?
Answer:  Specify number of hours (an integer).
:HOURS-READING: 0

Question: How many hours per week on average do you spend viewing, listening to,
or reading off-line news (conventional news sources)?
Answer:  Specify number of hours (an integer).
:NEWS-HOURS: 0

Question: How many hours per week on average would you devote to on-line policy
discussions if the relevant government officials were participating?
Answer:  Specify number of hours (an integer).
:GOVT-LISTENS: 0

Question: Please list the media to which you generally pay any attention in
DECREASING order of familiarity. Rank the most familiar media sources
first.  Omit any unfamiliar media sources.
Answer:  Select any letters from:
            O  Professional/Trade Publications
            G  Foreign Broadcasts (e.g., BBC, VOA, other national services)
            D  Foreign Newspapers (e.g., Le Monde, Manchester Guardian)
            R  Mailing lists (e.g., clinton@marist)
            B  Weekly News Magazines (e.g., Time, Newsweek)
            C  Expert News Weeklies (e.g., The Economist)
            M  Local TV News
            Q  Usenet/NETNEWS
            J  Cable News (i.e., CNN, CNBC)
            L  CSPAN
            N  Scientific Journals
            H  Local Radio
            F  Public Radio (i.e., NPR)
            K  Public TV (e.g., McNeil/Lehrer News Hour)
            E  Local Newspapers
            A  Newspapers of Record (e.g. New York Times, Wallstreet Journal)
            I  Network News (i.e., ABC, NBC, CBS)
            S  MIT Information Service
            P  FTP Sites
            T  Online Newspapers (e.g. Clarinet)
:MEDIA-SOURCES:

Question: Please order the media sources according to their focus on issues that
concern you.  List only the media familiar to you in DECREASING order of
relevance for you.  Rank the most relevant first.
Answer:  Select any letters standing for media sources.
:MEDIA-FOCUS:

Question: Please order the media sources according to their depth of analysis.
List only the media familiar to you in DECREASING order of their depth
of analysis. Rank the media with deeper analysis first.
Answer:  Select any letters standing for media sources.
:MEDIA-ANALYSIS:

Question: Please order the media sources according to their level of bias FOR or
AGAINST a candidate. List only the media familiar to you in DECREASING
order of their bias. Rank the media with greater bias first.
Answer:  Select any letters standing for media sources.
:MEDIA-BIAS:

Question: If you communicated directly with the headquarters of a campaign
via email, what was the nature of your communication?  If you did not communicate
directly with headquarters, skip this question.
Answer:  Select any letters from:
            I  Proposed political strategy
            D  Delivered insults or hate mail
            A  Asked questions for clarification
            G  Offered moral support, congratulations, or condolances
            C  Complained about INTERNET usage
            E  Failed to establish communication
            J  Reviewed resumes or recommended personnel
            H  Imparted specialized knowledge or private information
            F  Other activity
            K  Sought direction/advise from HQ for partisan activity
            B  Critiqued policy positions
            L  Supplied expert/technical services or advise
            M  Informed HQ about local campaign efforts
:HQ-COMMUNICATION-NATURE:

Question: Should future political campaigns use electronic mail
to communicate issue positions and receive feedback from the public?
Answer:  Yes, No, or Unknown (don't know).
:CAMPAIGN-EMAIL: Unknown

Question: Should the U.S. Presidency use electronic networks to communicate policies
and receive feedback from the public?
Answer:  Yes, No, or Unknown (don't know).
:PRESIDENT-EMAIL: Unknown

Question: Should the U.S. Congress use electronic networks to publish pending
legislation, the Congressional record, and communicate with constituents?
Answer:  Yes, No, or Unknown (don't know).
:CONGRESS-EMAIL: Unknown

Question: Should the agencies of the U.S. Federal Government use electronic
networks to publish government information and field questions or
suggestions from the public?
Answer:  Yes, No, or Unknown (don't know).
:AGENCY-EMAIL: Unknown

Question: Should the full text of the Library of Congress as well as other
government databases be available over electronic networks?
Answer:  Yes, No, or Unknown (don't know).
:ONLINE-INFO: Unknown

Question: Should the government charge on a per-use basis for the information
resources made publicly available over electronic networks?  Assume a
fair, competitive price.
Answer:  Yes, No, or Unknown (don't know).
:INFO-PRICE: Unknown

Question: Would you use networked information resources significantly less if
you, or your institution, had to pay for each transaction, billed like
telephones?  Assume a fair, competitive price.
Answer: Yes, No or Unknown (don't know)
:INFO-USAGE: Unknown

Question: What would be the effects if the Federal Government spent billions of
dollars to create newer, faster, more extensive computer networks and make
available over those networks major new information resources, such as
the Library of Congress and all major public databases?
Answer:  Select any letters from:
            I  Not relevant for industrial competitiveness
            H  No effect on the way business is done
            C  Makes information access more uneven
            E  No change in the quality of education
            O  Stimulates advances in computers
            P  Strengthens industrial competitiveness
            J  Opens vast new markets in information and knowledge services
            N  Spreads information rights more evenly
            K  Provides crucial public goods that business cannot supply
            F  No effect on basic research
            G  No effect on progress in computers
            A  Increases productivity
            B  Improves the quality of education
            L  Quickens the pace of basic research
            D  No effect on productivity growth
            Q  Usurps business opportunities from the private sector
            M  Represents a wise investment for the 21st century
            R  Squanders scare government resources on a boondoggle
:INFO-VALUE:

                         --------------------

The Presidential Campaign Information Service is a non-partisan
service operated at M.I.T to make campaign information available,
facilitate electronic discussion of the issues, and to study the
use of electronic mail as a component of a presidential campaign.
The service can neither control who reads what you write in public,
nor how they may use your written words.  For our part, we store
most messages, and we will make them available after the election
for scientific study.  Names and any other identifiers will not be
released; they will be omitted or replaced with random symbols.

Eric Loeb and John Mallery
M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory