The topic i chose for this assignment is 'What object do people treasure the most and why'. I thought this would be an interesting one to do as it will give me interesting results on how similar or how different people are. I first did a mind map on the topic to see what kind of things i wanted to find out. This helped me to come up with some questions to enable me to collect this information. I interviewed three people for this assignment. I gave them all a Participent Information Sheet and they all signed a Consent form. They were all happy enough to be interviewed and for me to use their answers in my blog. I used a semi-structured approach to the interviews which lead me into different questions and more information which was what i wanted. Here is a ROUGH guide to the questions i asked. ( Where appropriate, i asked other questions relating to the answers my participants gave me).
1.What is the layout of your bedroom?
2.What objects do you have in your bedroom?
3.Do you have anything that was given as a present?
- where do you keep them in your room?
- is there one you like more? why? is it sentimental?
- who gave it to you?
4.Do you have anything you bought yourself?
- where do you keep these things?
- how much did it cost?
- what made you buy this?
The first few questions i asked because i wanted to get a feel of what kind of person they are and the things they like. By telling me about their personal space, i was able to see what kind of things they believe to be of value to them and why.
5.What kind of things do you carry in your handbag? (female), wallet/pockets? (male)
6.Have you ever lost/miss placed or had something stolen from you that made you upset?
- what was it?
- who gave you it? did you buy it ureself?
- did you get it back?
- why were you upset?
7.( I then looked to see if the person was wearing any jewellery and asked if they could tell me about what they are wearing, i.e who is the items from or did they buy the items themselves, is it sentimental, how long have you had them for, etc)
8.If your house was on fire and you were to vacate immediatley!, but you were allowed to grab one item only, what would it be and why?
9.I then asked them the actual question - what object do you treasure the most and why?
The last lot of questions i asked, really told a story about the person's feelings towards certain objects. This helped me to gather the information i needed for my analysis.
THE INTERVIEWS. Part B
The first person i interveiwed, was a female of 18 years that i dont know very well. She is my youngest participent, which I thought would be good to get a range of ages to see how different or how similar their answers would be.
I felt as she was younger than the others i interviewed, her answers were not as descriptive and she was not really sure on what to tell me.However, i encouraged her to tell me what ever she wanted to and this was the results i got; (i will list her answers in the format of the questions and this person will be reffered to as person A).
1. Person A has a bed, her room is small, white and plain.
2. She has a bed, television and dvd combo, chest of drawrs, cd-rack, posters, cd,player, photoframes (all of her friends), jewellery and a jewellery stand. I asked her what cd's she listens to most often and she said, Lady GaGa, Cheryl Cole and JLS.
3. A present that she has been given is her jewellery stand. It is from her sister and she has it on display next to her television. She informed that it is not really of any value to her. It was meerly a gift at christmas time.
4. Things she has bought herself are things like, cd's, jewellery, dvd.s, clothes and a playboy lamp she said is her favourite item in her room.
5. In her handbag she carries, her mobile phone, lipgloss, a mirror, a lighter, perfume and her purse. I asked her if these possetions are important in her day to day life and she replied that she could not go through a day without her phone. The rest of the items she said are to simply fill her bag.
6. Something she had lost that was very upsetting, was her SIM card for her mobile phone. I asked her why this was so upsetting and she replied that everything is on her SIM card like her friends phone numbers and photos. So she felt that she was not in reach with everyone else and felt alone.
So far i have gathered that she uses her phone everyday and could not live without it. It is a possetion that means alot to her.
7. I looked to see if she was wearing any jewellery. She had one ring on her finger. She said it was from her sister and she has had it for about a year. It was her sisters old engagment ring from a previous relationship. She has mentioned her sister a few times now so i asked her if her sister is someone she looks up to and is influenced by. She told me that they are very close and she is a huge influence on her. Everything in her room is influenced by her sister, even the clothes she is wearing. The ring she was wearing is very precious to her and she said she would be very upset if she ever lost it. She explained that her sister is not very well at the moment and the ring is the one thing she has been given by her sister that has ment the most to her.
8. The one thing she would grab from her burning house would be . . . her mobile phone. I was positive she was going to say this! I asked her what about things your sister has given you etc, and she replied that again, everything is on that phone! Phone numbers, photos, videos etc. She said that her reasons for choosing her phone is because she likes looking at her photos for memories of nights out and she couldn't go through a day without texting!
9. When i asked her the actual question, her reply was the same as question 8! her mobile phone.
The second person i interviewed was a male of 25 years. I dont really know this person either. I thought that because he is my oldest participent, he gave more imformation in his answers and he was more relaxed than the younger female. ( I will refer to this person as Person B, where needed).
1. Person B has small bedroom that is shaped like a coomb which he says makes the room even smaller. He has a three-quater bed that takes up most of the space. Behind his bed he has a long shelf where he keeps most of his things.
2. He has a bed, units, television and dvd combi, dvd's, cd's, playstation2, guitar, small pres up grips, washing basket and a waiste bin. In a wooden box that he made by himself, he keeps things like aftershave, cleansing products, hair products, smelly stuff, pens, chalk for pool que and keys for his band room. In a cabinet that he also made by himself, he keeps all his important things like, letters and documents. He has a drawer where he keeps his bracelets, bangles and knecklaces. He aslo has a drawer specifically for his belts. He told me that he keeps his clothes seperated into coloured sections in a precise layout. He keeps all of his white socks in one drawer, and his black ones in another.
I gathered that he is a very organised person and he takes car of his bedroom and the things that are in it.
3. Presents he has in his room are, dvd's, aftershave, cd's and clothes. He said that nothing he has been given is of any sentimental value. They are just gifts. He does not have a favourite present.
4. Things that he has bought himself are basically everything that is in his room he tells me. He says he has spent alot of money over the years on his bedroom and the things that are in it. He said that he loves collecting dvd's! The first dvd's he ever bought were Mall Rats, Chasing Amy, Happy Gillmour and The Waterboy. All of these dvd's have either Adam Sandler or Ryan Reynolds in them. These are his favourite actors he tells me. His collection consists of 162 dvd's, from the last time he counted them.
5. I asked him what he keeps in his pockets on a day to day basis and he replied that he keeps just his wallet and his phone on him at all times. I then asked what he keeps in his wallet, and he said just the same as everyone else, cards, recipts, money and photo's. I asked him what the photos are of, and they are of his friends ans some of his family.
When he said ''just the same as everyone else'' and then he mentioned photo's, i gathered that photos must be of an importance to him beacuse he assumed everyone carries photo's when infact not every one does. So this shows that he ''un-knowingly'' keeps photos that mean something to him.
6. When i asked him this question about something going missing etc, he automatically said dvd's! He said that dvd's go missing out of his room and he hates it!! He does not like people in his room touching his dvd collection. He also told me a story about something that he lost that made him very upset;
A couple of years ago he was in the Merchant Navy and on one occasion, they were to dock at Majorca for a couple of days. When they arrived in Majorca, he went and bought a disposable camera to take photo's of there night out in Magaluf. He said he used up the whole camera that night and it was one of the best nights he has ever had! Unfortunatley, he lost the camera in Majorca and only realised this when they had left to go back to England. He tells me that this was the most upsetting thing he has ever lost as he has no photo's of the experience, and now that he is not in the navy anymore, he does not see many of the friends he made. The photo's were to be a keep sake and a memorabelium of that occasion where all friends were there together.
7. I could not ask this question as he was not wearing any jewellery.
8. For this question he said he would save his photo's. He has photo albums of friends and family, from very young so he would definetly save them. His explanation was that, photo's can not be replaced. They are a memory to look back on. Happy or sad, of loved ones and occasions. Nothing can bring back a photo memory.
9. When i asked him the actual question, he said probably his mobile phone because he uses it every day, and it has all of his music on it, photo's, videos and is a way to keep in touch with people.
The third person I interviewed was a female of 21 years. I sort of know this person but I know nothing about her personal lifestyle. This person was very expressive with her answers and I gathered alot of good information from her. She was very relaxed and willing to share her stories with me. (I will refer to her as Person C when needed).
1. As you walk in to her bedroom there is a double bed straight in front.She has a bed side table with a crib next to it. Then there is a washing basket and a radiator underneath the window.She has a built in double wardrobe with mirrored sliding doos, which faces the bed. There is two large, leather storage boxes in the corner.
2. Objects in her room are, a teil lamp, sented candles, painted teil mirrors, sea grass ornament, oil burner, television, dvd racks, photo-frames, jewellery stand, money bank, tall iron candle holder, white curtains wit teil circles on them, in different shades of teil, three different shades of teil vases on window shelf, minx faux fur throw on bed, silk cushions and a painted canvas.
3. A present she has in her bedroom is her jewellery stand. It is from her best friend for her 18th birthday three years ago. It is on display and she said it is special to her because of who gave her it and why it was given. (18th birthday). Another present in her room is a hand painted canvas on her wall. It is from her best friend again for passing her driving test two years ago. She said it is also on display on her wall and again it is special to her because of who gave her it and when. (passing her driving test). She tells me that her friend means alot to her and any present given by her, will always be special.
4. Bought items in her room she tells me is mainly everything. She has bought quite alot over the years fot her bedroom, which has cost her quite alot of money. She even painted her room by herself. She likes her room to be a certain way, organised and sophisticated. Everything in her room matches she tells me. She likes her candles and teil ornaments, but could not live without her flat screen television which is on the wall.
5. Things in her handbag are, mobile phone, keys, make-up, perfume, baby wipes, hair brush, nail varnish remover, nail file, lip balm, cigarettes, lighter, hairspray and her purse. I asked er if there was anything in her handbag that was used every day and she said, not really they are just things to keep in the handbag that might be needed at some point through the day. I asked her how often she uses her mobile and to my surprise she said she hardly ever uses her phone. It is not something she needs all the time.
6. Things that have been lost/damaged or stolen; she told me that she had three teil ornaments on her window shelf, and her cat jumped up and pushed them on to the floor. They all smashed unfortunatley. She had to by replacements, but she could not find the exact ones, which was upsetting for her. She said they were perfect on her window shelf, they matched all the shades in her bedroom. Another story she told me is that she was given a beautiful siver choker as a present for Christmas, by her mum and dad. She said that she wore it all the time and it was perfect with every outfit. Unfortunatley, while on holiday she lost the choker and she never found it. She said she was really upset, especially because it was from her mum and dad so it ment alot to her. Also, she told me of when she was younger and how her most favourite ornaments misteriously smashed. When she was about 9 or 10 years old, she went to visit her Great Aunt. She said she absoloutly loved this women and was very upset when she was told her Great Aunt was very ill. Person C was given the chance to pick something out of her Great Aunt's bedroom, to have when she dies. Person C chose two ornaments which were of two women in lovely yellow corset dresses with their hair all nicely up in curls. Her Great Aunt soon died after that and Person C was given the ornaments. She said she loved them to pieces and she had them proudly displayed on her unit in her bedroom. Her mother told her she was not allowed them and they were to go in the bin because they were ugly. Person C was very upset and angry with her mother but she cried and cried until she was allowed to keep them. One day Person C came home from school, to find her ornaments missing. She ran through to the living room and demanded them back from her mother. Her mother told her that when she was dusting Person C's bedroom, she ''by accident'' knocked them over and they smashed. Person C was devistated. She knew her mother was lying and she delibiratley did this to get rid of them. Person C said this has to be one of the most upsetting things she has ever had taken from her. It is because it was from her Great Aunt when she died. Person C said that she will never forget that traumatic day, and she has never forgiven her mother, even though she still denies smashing them on purpose.
7. I looked to see what jewellery she was wearing, and asked her to tell me about it. She was wearing a diamond ring that was giver to her for her 18th birthday from her mum and dad. She said she loves it and it is very precious to her. She was also wearing a silver braclet that was given to her for her 16th birthday from her brother. She said it is also very special to her. I noticed she was wearing a silver choker, like the one she had described that she lost on holiday. She told me that her older sister was given the same one by her mum and dad and she saw how upset Person C was when she lost her one, so her sister kindly gave her the one she had to replace it. Person C said this item of jewellery is the most precious out of everything because of the story behind it.
8. Something she would take from her burning house would be . . .a box of bits and bobs she has collected since she was little. In the box are things like photographs, old school reports, baby tags from when she was in the hospital, a gold baby ring she was given by her grandmother, school photo's, a stuffed animal she has had since she was born and a few other things. She said she would have to save this because it is a box of her life and nothing in there can be replaced.
9. I then asked her the actual question and she said the object she trasures the most is a box of old rings that has been passed down the family for generations, and she now has it to pass down to her family.
Part C - The Analysis
After i had done the interviews i read over all of my notes on each particapent. I felt that Person A was a bit too young to understand how to answer my questions in depth. She was very quick with her answers and she did not give me any stories about her possesions. However, from her answers I think that she is very close with her sister, and she tresures things given by or relating to her sister. So this tells me that she values sentimental things, like the engagment ring. Also, i felt that she valued her mobile phone more than anything. This could be because she is a bit younger and a mobile phone is still very precious to her. It is probably the most used object that every one uses on a day to day basis. As she said, important information is kept on a mobile phone, especially contact numbers. I can see why she values this to be most important because i would certainly be upset if i lost my mobile phone. I have important contact numbers also. Person B was much more descriptive in his answers. From his answers i could tell that he treasures his friends and family over anything. So his photographs are very important to him. This is completley different to Person A. Person A was more interested in her mobile phone, than anything else. She did mention her sister, but she was not as enthusiastic about her family, unlike Person B. Person B was devistated when he lost his camera in Majorca. This also shows his feelings towards his friends and his values towards memories. Person C was also very descriptive with her answers. She gave me the most information and alot of stories. Her age is inbetween Person A and Person B, so i feel that because she is in the middle of the age group, she was better at answering the questions. Person C i could tell is a very emational person and she values things that have sentimental value, like the presents from her best friend and the siver choker from her mum and dad. So as my participants got older, their values were much more sentimental. Person B and Person C are a bit older so they can see the more important things in life, like memories of loved ones, friends and objects that are irreplacable.
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