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DRAFT ONLY: DO NOT COPY v2 May 15 2014

Mediated Humanitarian Knowledge; Audiences’ reactions and moral actions

Public Perceptions of NGOs and Responses to Individual Humanitarian Communications

Summary Findings of Focus Groups Conducted in the UK in 2011 – Interim Report 1

Bruna Seu, Dept. of Psychosocial Studies, BIRKBECK, University of London, UK.

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http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/


AcknowledgementsThis report presents findings from the three-year research project entitled: Mediated Humanitarian Knowledge; Audiences’ Responses and Moral Actions (‘KARMA’), launched in 2010 by Dr Bruna Seu and colleagues, Dr Shani Orgad and Professor Stan Cohen (LSE). This project was kindly funded by the Leverhulme Trust: reference grant number F/07 112/Y.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the non-profit agencies and participants who took part in this study, without whose generous cooperation and time the research would have been impossible.

We are also very grateful to the researchers – Dr. Frances Flanagan, Dr. Mastoureh Fathi, Dr. Rachel Cohen, Dr. Rodolfo Leyva - who have assisted with data collection and project management. .

More information can be found on the project website:http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychosocial/our-research/research-projects/mediated-humanitarian-knowledge

This report may be cited as:Seu, I.B. (2014) Public perceptions of NGOs and responses to individual communications.Contact details: Bruna Seu, Dept. of Psychosocial Studies, BIRKBECK, University of London, 30 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5DT.Email: [email protected]

Copyright © KARMA Project: Mediated Humanitarian Knowledge; Audiences’ Responses and Moral Actions

DisclaimerThe views discussed in this report do not necessarily represent the views of the author, but are the expression, as objective as possible, of the public’s opinions and observations communicated during the focus group discussions. This notwithstanding, any analysis involves a certain amount of interpretation and particularly with qualitative data, is never totally objective.

While every effort has been made by the author to ensure that the contents of this report are factually correct, neither the Leverhulme Trust nor the author accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this Interim Report, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be caused directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this report.

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Table of ContentsSummary Statement-Introduction 4Executive Summary 5

Key Messages 51. Public Perception of NGOs 7

1.1. Positive Views of NGPs; The Good Samaritan 71.1.1 NGOs ‘on the ground’ 71.1.2 NGOs Committed to Beneficiaries Over Time 81.1.3 NGOs Actions Visibly Effective and Enabling Beneficiaries 81.1.4 NGOs As Good People Deserving of Trust and Respect 8

1.2. Concerns and Negative Views of NGOs 91.2.1. Misuse of Money 91.2.2. Administration Costs vs. Beneficiaries 101.2.3. NGOs Perceived Affluence 11

1.3. NGOs and their Worker-3 Models 111.3.1 The ‘Professional’ Model 111.3.2. The ‘Glamour’ Mode 121.3.3. The ‘Pure Business’ Model 12

2. Responses to Individual Communications 162.1. Style and Presentation of Communications 162.2. Picture or Text? 182.3. Content of the Appeal 20

2.3.1. Should it Depict Children? 21 2.4. Conclusions and Recommendations 22Appendix A: KARMA’s Research Aims, Methodology and Ethics 24Appendix B: Table of Participant Demographics 28Appendix C: NGO Communications 35Appendix D: Interview Schedule for Focus Group Participants 40

SUMMARY STATEMENT-INTRODUCTIONPage 3 of 45


Four preliminary reports will be compiled on the basis of the audience data that has been gathered from focus group with over 180 participants from the British public, in-depth interviews with 10 members of the British public, and in-depth interviews with NGO practitioners (see Appendix A for the KARMA project’s full research scope and methodology, and Appendix B for full participant demographic information). Three reports will focus on the audience data and the 4th will focus on interviews with NGO practitioners. This first report addresses the components of the KARMA study concerned with exploring:

British public perceptions of NGOs and responses to individual humanitarian communications.

The data used for this exploration was gathered from 20 focus groups who discussed 12 communications from the following NGOs: Oxfam, Save the Children, DEC, PLAN UK, ActionAid, MSF, UNICEF and Amnesty International (see Appendix C for images of the exact communications). In what follows, the key messages and findings related to the above exploration will be summarised and then unpacked in more detail and empirically substantiated with excerpts from the focus group interviews in subsequent sections. Correspondingly the findings are presented in thematic order and should not be taken to represent their relative importance. The selection is nevertheless based on frequency and unless stated otherwise, it should be assumed that the selected themes were mentioned frequently, by several participants and across different focus groups. This report is thus divided into the following three sections.

1. Public Perception of NGOs: This section describes some of the positive and negative views, feelings and concerns that participants have about NGOs.

2. Responses to Individual Communications: This section explores participants’ immediate cognitive and emotional reactions to the humanitarian communications that they were shown, i.e. their thoughts and feelings in response to these messages.

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Executive SummaryKey Messages: The following characteristics seem to produce two important outcomes in how

participants responded to humanitarian communications. First there is a clear sense that displaying these characteristics engenders trust and respect in the NGOs. Second, NGOs’ ‘positive commitment’ towards victims and beneficiaries is mirrored by donors’ continuous support and commitment to NGOs.

1. Visibility and Effectiveness. NGOs actions should be visible and identifiable, both through agencies’ reports and feedback, and through independent media, such as news items and documentaries. The actions and interventions should also be transparently effective.

2. Continuity Over-Time. NGOs actions and performance need to operate over time, both in terms of longevity of the organisation and in the form of ongoing support for beneficiaries.

3. Selfless and Other-centred. It is crucial that NGOs activities are not perceived as motivated by self-interest but, rather, as prioritising and responding to the needs of the victims and beneficiaries. This is positively reinforced by visual documentation of workers neglecting their own safety for the sake of helping others in need.

4. Closeness and Approachability. NGOs ability to be close to and approachable both to victims and donors is highly valued. These qualities apply both in concrete terms (e.g. being physically proximal to victims, particularly in situations of danger and physical need), and metaphorically (e.g. in being available to donors to answer questions and provide information).

Correspondingly, the majority of participants agreed that effective NGO communications should:

1. Be aesthetically stylistic and well-put together, but should not be lavish or appear to be wasteful of resources.

2. Contain short but informative massages that educate the reader, as well as information on how resources are being utilised.

3. Contain manageable amounts of facts and basic (not necessarily simplistic) information.

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4. Make an emotionally manageable impact, without guilting or being otherwise emotionally manipulative.

5. Offer practical, manageable and effective actions and solutions to the problem depicted (crucial as it offers a release from the difficult emotions evoked by the appeal). This applies to both what the reader is asked/invited to, and what the agencies are proposing to do with donations.

6. Connect to the reader’s foundational values and moral principles.

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SECTION 1: PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF NGOsParticipants’ perceptions were distinctly polarised into two key characterisations of NGOs: one positive and one negative. The summaries provided below illustrate positive views of NGOs and their activities, which typically organised around a perception of NGOs as Good Samaritans, while strong negative views were expressed in terms of accountability and the increased marketization of NGOs. The two sets of views were not equivalent in their expression across the groups.

1.1. Positive Views of NGOs; The Good Samaritan: Whilst negative views were continuously and consistently mentioned within

and across different focus groups, the Good Samaritan characterisation of NGOs only appeared in 4 out of the 18 focus groups. These preliminary findings illustrate that, however powerful and cherished, this view of NGOs is far from dominant and widespread in terms of how humanitarian agencies are perceived.

1.1.1. NGOs ‘On the Ground’: Of this small subset of participants, several of them expressed the perception

of NGOs as being in direct contact with victims and beneficiaries, as well as with donors. According to this view, NGO workers are approachable, physically and humbly present wherever they are needed, sometimes to the detriment of their own safety.

Belinda: And I saw this one, Médecine Sans Frontières. I've always admired them for the same reasons that have already been discussed, that we know they're on the ground, you know, and lots of them... most of them are doctors, I believe, and they're actually administering the medicines and doing the wounds and all that, so I like it. I don't know a lot about it; I know it’s French, so there's that one. And then these two, funnily enough I didn’t realise they were both Amnesty. […] So these I really, really like. Amnesty, I do subscribe... I've been subscribing to Amnesty for many years because with their work, you know, you can even ring the Amnesty office and find out exactly what's going on in a particular situation and they send something, I think, monthly, don't they?

Cathy: Number eight (UNICEF) because they do try to help the ones that are starving and on the streets abroad and all that. There are different people go out and get these buildings and house them

Jonathan: This one, is number seven, the Medicine Sans Frontier […]I remember I’ve seen some stuff from Medicine Sans Frontier before, and they actually go, I know for a fact that they go some places that a lot of people just won’t go to, because they go into war zones and stuff, so they’re pretty hardcore, so to speak.

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1.1.2. NGOs Committed to Beneficiaries Over Time: The quality of continuity over time was also mentioned as being important in

terms of NGO’s continual support of victims. As the following extract suggests, both emergency interventions and the continuing support of beneficiaries are important in establishing a positive view of NGOs.

Bruna: Bridget, which ones did you pick?Bridget : This one. (MSF) basically, yes, because I've heard of doctors in that and you do feel as though they go there and they stay there and they’ve got some kind of positive commitment that they are with people.

1.1.3. NGOs Actions Visibly Effective and Enabling Beneficiaries: Another characteristic of this view relates to evidence of effectiveness,

particularly over time. In this particular case, the NGOs’ continuing involvement with beneficiaries is perceived to have the lasting effect of making them self-sufficient.

Caroline: […] one of the charities that I’ve supported for a long time is Oxfam and what I’ve always like about them is its, you know, helping people to get themselves out of poverty. So when you get a report from Oxfam, you know, they’ve helped this village to build a well or solar heat or whatever and now they are doing this for themselves…

Chloe: [..] but Amnesty International if you are in trouble at least you know the money is going to a solicitor or whatever to go and help them.

1.1.4. NGOs As Good People Deserving of Trust and Respect: A sense of trust and respect for agencies seemed to be a natural result of the

visible effects of the mentioned NGOs’ actions. In particular, consistency over time and the selfless, almost heroic, quality of the actions of NGO workers seem key to the participants’ commitment to the NGOs.

Bruna: But Christina it sounds like you trust Amnesty.Christina: I think... I think, yes, when you see what they do.Bruna: Okay, that’s what I was trying to get at, right.Christina: And they go with whaling, you know, to stop the whaling. I just wish they’d get into these Muslim countries and stop them from beheading women and things like that but then I’m afraid they’d very likely shoot them.

Iris: Because it's, they're very (MSF) well known and that's not too distressing. And very often on the news you see them in action, you know, particularly in war zones and you recognise them and I feel I've got a lot of respect for people who work for them. And they put themselves in danger and they've had quite a few deaths and.

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Isabella: Those programmes are very emotive and again, you know, you can see how people, they're good people, they deal with doctors.

1.2. Concerns and Negative Views of NGOs: Participants expressed concerns over a number of issues, but two overarching

themes emerged distinctly in all focus groups. The first related to how NGOs use donations, both in relation to beneficiaries and to their own running costs. The other overarching theme focussed on negative views of NGOs in terms of their identity, role and actions.

1.2.1. Misuse of Money: The issue of how monetary donations are used by NGOs was one of the most

recurrent, and was expressed in different forms.

Most participants in all of the focus groups raised the issue of mismanagement of funds. More specifically, the participants expressed concern that monetary donations were used to support NGOs and their administration, rather than reaching the beneficiaries.

Omar: Oxfam creams off 80%; some charities cream off more. You know, none of these, let people help themselves. Yes, help infrastructure and so on but, you know, and disasters, yes, but to, these people are just there, you know. We can give the money with the best intention but it doesn’t get to the right place.

Regardless of the accuracy of these statistics, these extracts illustrate the public’s widespread preoccupation with NGO’s misuse of monetary donations. It also highlights the importance of agencies’ accountability, and exemplifies a popular perception of agencies as self-serving. Some participants held particularly strong views on these particular issues and judged NGOs as being deceitful and corrupt: It is worth noting how even when a particular NGO is identified, this was perceived to be common practice amongst most NGOs.

Damien: If you’re giving £10, you’re thinking you’re giving that £10 to help that child, you know, in that situation whatever, you’re not sort of thinking, well, like £9 of it is going to administration charges or to pay some ...you know, to pay someone, you know, 40 grand a year, you know.UM: With Oxfam isn’t it, with Oxfam, a lot of theirs goes to …Dominic: Administration.UM: Administration and that, yes.Damien: So in a sense, that’s a kind of corruption, you know, I mean, it’s hard to trust, even a charity, you know.

Another way in which NGOs management of funds was considered wasteful or misdirected was in their tendency to communicate information that audiences

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already have, or can get from other sources such as the media, (the report will return to this theme later in the discussion of responses to communications).

Betty: I’d like to know how much this cost to sponsor a child. Half the money that goes to sponsorship gets taken up with rubbish. You know, it doesn’t feed the people, it pays peoples’ wages, it pays for paper like this. You don’t need that to tell somebody there’s a poor man in Africa. We all know that. We get it on the news every single day of the week. This is absolute nonsense.

There was considerable consistency on these negative views of NGOs financial administration and activities across all of the focus groups.

1.2.2. Administration Costs vs. Beneficiaries: Participants tended to view salaries and other administrative costs as an

impediment to the care of victims, rather than as being complementary and necessary for this. This questioning of a failed correspondence between, not just what is given and what reaches beneficiaries, but also between what donors are led to believe and what actually happens, was a recurring theme, appearing in many guises across the groups, particularly in relation to child sponsorship.

Lane: Because, I don't know, from what I understand with some of the bigger companies such as Oxfam, you donate money and the actual percentage of that money that actually goes on the ground where it's needed is not what you... If you're donating... if I'm giving £10 to a child I want that child and the child I'm being led to believe I'm donating, I want that child to receive that money. And I think a lot of these, if you actually read the small print, it's not quite like that.

In this context, participants believed that the size of an organisation aggravates this kind of problem. It appears that the size of the organisation is not a problem in itself, but that its relevance is contextually dependent. Where there is trust, as illustrated in the previous section, size, visibility and longevity of the organisation support a positive and lasting relationship between donors and NGOs. Conversely, where there is distrust, the size of the organisation is seen as proof of self-serving management of funds.

Although concern was consistently expressed across the groups about administrative costs, participants varied in terms of the amount they believed agencies do and should allocate to administrative costs.

Larissa: But I think the other thing for me is like what Lane was just saying, the whole admin costs and how much... you know, how much does go to the charity. That's the only thing that I would think twice about.Bruna: And would you feel more or less what Lane said about it?Larissa: Yes, I think so. I think that you've got to appreciate that a percentage would go for admin fees, because I'm sure, you know, all this marketing and

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printing and all the people that are there doing their job, but you'd like to think probably 75%, I think is probably fair.Bruna: Should go to the victim.Larissa: Yes, definitely, yes, because that's what you're giving it for, isn't it,

ultimately?

1.2.3. NGOs Perceived Affluence: As part of this general picture of the mismanagement of funds, some people

expressed specific criticisms about the perceived inappropriate affluence of NGOs’ working surroundings.

Oliver: I think as well, why do all these organisations [have] such glossy places, massive buildings and... You know, that’s costing them a massive amount of money and it’s not necessary. All this could be done from a very, you know, small places but they all are...[...] Why? There’s no reason for the money to be there, is there? The money is for these kids, which they never see it.

Others believed NGOs workers are paid too much. This view was repeatedly expressed in different focus groups, sometimes criticising the amount per se, others its meaning in terms of NGOs’ identities and missions. These views are discussed in detail in the next sub-section.

1.3. NGOs and their Worker-3 Models: Participants talked about NGOs in a myriad of ways which I have categorised

into 4 models: the ‘charity’, the ‘professional’, the ‘glamour’ and the ‘pure business’ model.

1.3.1. The ‘Professional’ Model: As an alternative to the conceptualisation of salaried staff as wasteful, some

participants believed in the benefits of a professionally trained management of NGOs, provided that the costs were kept reasonable. Thus, taking a diametrically opposite view to the ‘charity’ model, they believed that paying NGO workers a salary was a sign of their professionalism.

Caroline: I wouldn’t be against paying administrators of charities. I mean, for example, most of the high street charity shops actually have paid managers now and I have no problem with that because I think that brings a degree of professionalism into the charity so that it is, you know, run more efficiently as long as the administrative costs aren’t excessive.

Others focused on how to maximise the effectiveness of NGOs’ operations and how this could only be guaranteed through the work of highly trained staff. Within this model, high salary was seen as a good investment of funds.

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Adam: But they have to, to employ the best people. Obviously we’d all like an ideal kind of communal situation where everyone works just because it’s the right thing to do. But you know, running a charity like Oxfam or Amnesty International or Save the Children, it is probably a serious, important, busy, difficult job, and in order to attract the best people so that they can raise the most money and give the most money to those who need it, they need to employ the best and they need to be able to offer a competitive wage.

1.3.2. The ‘Glamour’ Model: In contrast with the above examples, other participants saw NGO workers as

being motivated by the glamour and perks of the job, rather than being driven by altruistic motives. In this type of account, working for an NGO is ‘the job to have’:

Hugh: I’ve just been over to Cambodia and there’s a big discussion there about all the NGOs over there driving round in their big, flash cars, and it’s the job to have. And even the Cambodian people who are wealthy enough to get an education, that’s what they aspire to be, to work with the NGOs, because that’s where the money is. So, you hear… I mean, you hear all these stories. There was something recently about in Africa, about the money there.

It is clear from the data that this kind of motivation to join an NGO is frowned upon and reinforces the distrust towards agencies.

1.3.3. The ‘Pure Business’ Model: The view exemplified in the extract below from Alistair was the most recurrent.

It portrays NGOs as corporate businesses, in competition with each other, preoccupied with targets, and striving towards expansion. Such construction of NGOs as corporate businesses is contrasted with an alternative and preferable view of NGOs as cooperating rather than competing. Together with the expectation that charity workers should donate their time for free, this view points to an expectation from some members of the public that NGO practices should apply the same principles underlying their campaigns and communications; i.e. they should practice what they preach.

Alistair: I think honestly, I used to work for a humanitarian aid group quite a while ago, and I think a lot of people within the humanitarian aid groups also make too much money themselves. I think most of these adverts are actually there to actually keep directors in jobs, to keep the organisation going, also to – how do I say – make the organisation bigger. I think too many organisations nowadays, they’re competing with each other, which is wrong when it comes to charity. They should be working together and actually helping people instead of competing, oh, our organisation can get more funding than this one, because at the end of the day they’re not reaching the target they are supposed to. While they’re competing,

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they’re spending too much money on advertising on TV or newspapers when that could have been going to whatever they are campaigning about.

This type of characterisation of NGO workers seems to have a negative effect on a potentially trusting relationship between NGOs and the public. Due to the extent of the distrust expressed towards the agencies - especially the lack of accountability and the mismanagement of funds referred to by many participants - it cannot be addressed and repaired simply by accounting for the use of resources. See for example the following exchange:

Bruna: Would it make a difference if any of these organisations reported back to you with a breakdown of how much they spent…?Hugh: I think so, but I don’t know whether I’d believe it or not.

This was far from being an isolated incident. In fact there was widespread sensitivity about trust and alertness of manipulation. Some, like Harold below, likened NGOs to manipulative con artists.

Harold : In my view about charity at home is that I’ve got just as much suspicion about those who collect at home in equal amount to those who collect for overseas charity, because, I tell you for what, I’m an avid watcher of Crime Watch and over the years there’s been a massive amount of fraudsters who go around with collection tins, rah-rah-rah, go in the pubs and all that, manipulating… They’re no different to the people that go on people’s doorsteps and manipulate them out of their money. I just have a real low disdain for people like that. So I don’t have a different image for the ones who collect locally in the UK compared to the ones who collect for, you know, overseas charities at all.

According to some participants, lack of accountability and, for others, suspect morals are exacerbated by the size of the organisations, as mentioned already. There seemed to be the view that the size of the organisation makes a difference in terms of both losing touch with the original aim of the charity and the amount of resources that end up helping victims. This was one of the key characteristics of pure ‘business’ model:

Hugh: The bigger the charity, the bigger the business, I feel like, the less actually gets to where it’s intended. If you’ve got some… I don’t know; you get some, like, small Christian charities who actually collect stuff and actually take it over to India, and it might be just a family and they do it, or it might be a church and they do it, but once you get to this stage there’s less going. That’s all it becomes - a business venture employing X amount of people. I mean, it’s… and then they’ve got all the laws that they have to pay, obviously - basic wages and all that.Harold : It’s like this…Hugh: The higher they get up the more they earn.

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Other participants expressed the view that while NGOs need professional fundraisers to procure funds to help people, this ‘marketisation’ of NGOs is antithetical to helping others.

Alan: Going back to what Alistair said, I think I agree with him 100% in the way the businesses are set up, the charities are set up, because they’re set up as businesses, and you’ve got the people at the top who go in, go into that position as a general manager or, you know, as an administrator, whatever you go in as. They are going in as a job, they’re not actually going in for the sake of helping it. I mean I don’t know if you went in... I mean, I'm just guessing, like, because just, you know, the way they advertise in the papers, they are advertising for, you know, a successful career or whatever, rather than actually helping someone. Adam: What makes you think that though?Alan: Just, I mean...ms3: It’s all about money at the end of the day. Adam: Of course it is. It’s about raising money to help people, so if they didn’t think like a business, they wouldn't raise as much money, and they wouldn't make any profit. Alan: But for the middle men, I think it’s all about money for them. ms2: If they have competitive like wages, then obviously they are taking...

This long interaction contains two significant components that are worth reflecting on. Firstly, it illustrates the polarisation between a market ideology and motivation, and what is implied as the true spirit of charity, which is about helping selflessly. It is particularly important to reflect on this, in light of the data provided in the first part of this report. It points to a strong expectation that NGOs should be driven by traditional principles of charity and altruism, and the disappointment that this is no longer the case. Thus the few examples in section one suggest that while only few people believe that NGOs are good Samaritans, the majority of participants still hold these values. This suggests an important gap between public views on humanitarian principles and those principles they perceive to drive NGOs activities.

Secondly, the widespread concern that the business side of NGOs is antithetical to the original and ‘true’ aims of charity was believed to affect NGOs’ activities in many ways. Whilst some were primarily concerned with the self-serving quality of NGOs as a self-serving ‘middle man’ between donors and beneficiaries, others worried about the effects on the relationship with the beneficiary. Some suggested that as the size of the NGO grows, the distance between the agency workers and the beneficiaries also expands. As a consequence, many participants believed that the operations of large NGOs are in danger of becoming impersonal and saw NGOs’ communications as forms of marketing and advertising.

Keith: You see there… there again… It's Keith. It’s, when you think about it, whoever produced these [the communications],(has) done a good job, because

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that's the idea of producing things like this, is to actually get to people, especially the older generation, older than me. And they are doing a good job of actually putting these type of photographs on the […] It's how they get you. I think personally, yes, it is. It’s is a form of advertising, marketingBruna: What do you think they're advertising?UM: Well, they're preying for your money, aren’t they?Keith: They're advertising to get your money. It’s like a car, or something. They're advertising for you to go and buy that car. I think they're advertising for money, really. That's it.Bruna: So it’s like a business?UM: Yes.UM: I think so personally. It is a business. I think it is a business.

These findings provide important information on how the public perceives NGOs and their operations, and it also begins to shed light on some of the reasons why members of the public resist donations. For example:

Bruna: So are you saying it’s not so much the issue of where the victim is and the need is; it’s more that there’s something about the intermediary, the charity, that is the problem?Harold : Yes, I think it’s a risky… Sometimes… I see charity donation as 1sometimes a risky thing to get into.Hamish: It’s lack of trust now.Bruna: Lack of trust?Hamish: No one trusts them.

1

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SECTION 2: RESPONSES TO INDIVIDUAL COMMUNICATIONS

The findings discussed in this section came up in the context of naturally occurring talk (i.e. the categories were not predetermined, emerged from the data and therefore were not discussed individually). As a consequence, many of the listed categories appear together in different combinations. The purpose of this part of the report is not to scrutinise the meaning of the combinations, but to list the key ways in which communications impacted positively and negatively on audiences in terms of engaging with the issue, with the agency, and their willingness to donate in responses.

2.1. Style and Presentation of Communications: The communication should be graphically striking, arresting and intriguing.

There was an overall consensus that the presentation of the appeal mattered. Participants responded to and commented on the role of the style and presentation of the communications in grabbing people’s attention and stimulating their interest in the topic. This is particularly relevant in the context of a general ‘fatigue’ as a response to communications that are perceived to be formulaic and repetitive. It also suggests that branding might be necessary but it is not a sufficient condition for positive response.

Damien: [...] they need to grab the attention, because most people aren’t, oh, it’s got ActionAid in the corner, but it doesn’t tell you, you know, it just doesn’t say anything, it’s not enough, but the ones, I mean, all the others, they all sort of, you know, hit me, but number nine, which is the one you said you didn’t particularly, I mean, I read that, you know, first the layer of fat under the skin breaks down etc, and I said, what’s this, I was assuming that this was for some …Yes, I was assuming, what is this disease, you know, and then, it just hit me, all they’re describing is the symptoms of starvation, you know, and that was like bang, you know, that really sort of shocked me, I have actually read it before, but I didn’t remember right until the punch line, you know.Bruna: So would it work or wouldn’t work for you?Damien: Yes, it would work, yes, you know, I find that really distressing, you know.

Lane: Yes. I haven't actually heard of those and... but I saw the picture on the back first and it's quite a, like, compelling picture, makes you look.

The communication should be visually ‘well put together’ (e.g. fonts, colors and graphics of the communications) and should work as ‘good advertising’. There were several ‘aesthetically savvy’ comments which made reference to this kind of detail in the appeal. Some came from professional photographers or similar expertise, but not exclusively. This points to the public’s visual sophistication and the prevalence of not just of a critical appreciation of visual

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Bruna Seu, 28/05/14,

Rudy, can you please replicate the headings of these findings in the executive message and key findings. I suggest you have 2 sets of executive messages.You will need to compress the findings relating to responses to individual communications into overarching categories. Give it a go and let me have a look. Thanks


communication, but also of a ‘consumerist’ deconstruction of the function and purpose of the imagery.

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Rachel: They’re asking you to kind of sign a petition, or give them a text, basically. So yes, it feels more immediate, but it also feels…I think this poster (n.2)is bizarre, because it’s got this horrible image, and then this lovely blue bottom bit, which looks quite happy and cheery, which I just think is weird. Like it…I find this image completely confusing. And it’s about children dying, but there’s a child in the picture, like, that’s not. So it’s just a bit weird. Like, he’s still got a mother, but ….

Regina: She’s comforting herself, doesn’t look as though she’s comforting the child. It sort of feels as if she’s going to strangle him.

Leaving aside the probably idiosyncratic attribution of blue as ‘cheery colour’, the above extracts highlight the need for an appeal to have a style and presentation which are consistent with the message it is trying to convey. It also suggests that humanitarian communications are expected to convey immediately (i.e. at first impact) a negative ‘mode’ and mood (I will return to this later in terms of when this is resisted or normalised). When this expectation is not met, the communication comes across as dissonant and confusing.

The communication should contain a good picture that makes the reader want to know more. The following extracts highlight the importance of first impressions and the important role played by the picture in making an initial impact and ‘hooking’ the reader. However, as Jonathan spells out, this does not guarantee a positive response when the initial interest is lost amidst formulaic contents. It is nevertheless important, particularly for readers who are not regular donors, are not existing supporters of the agency, and or don’t already know the agency. This theme is developed further in the next category.

Jonathan: Yes, number eight. Just amazing picture of a kid. I know I’m contradicting myself because I said earlier that it’s just a picture of a kid, blah, blah, but that’s a particularly good picture, and it did make me look inside. I have to say that as soon as I then started to look inside, it was nothing new, so it was kind of, just hit straight away with the thing, give us money. Here’s direct debit and all this.

Lia: I didn't really find the picture, like, compelling to look at really.

The first page in the communication should be original, stand out from the many others, to intrigue the reader to look inside and continue reading it, rather than dismiss it as formulaic.

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Jonathan: All the other ones in there, for whatever reason, I just, I wasn’t trying to think about them too much. I just had an initial reaction to them, and I put them to one side, because I didn’t think about, and a lot of those, I have to confess, are because they were pretty, there was nothing. I almost couldn’t get into what they were actually about, because the way it was approached, I’ve seen a thousand times, and I think there’s something to be said for the fact that when people keep churning over the same ground, we have this, I think, just naturally, we start to build up this immunity.

Lucy: It would definitely make me look at it again and see... like, out of all of them, I actually read all of that one because it's quite short, which sometimes when it's too much I think you just get bogged down in it. But also, because it was... it had that different slant on it, it made me more intrigued about what it actually said.

All the extracts so far illustrate the importance of good quality and intriguing

‘first impressions’. However, this was counteracted by concerns about the function of ‘intriguing’ and ‘arresting’ pictures.

The communication should not be edited for ‘maximum effect’. Because of the widespread alertness to the possibility of being manipulated, whilst audiences are attracted by a good quality picture, they resist and resent the use of Photoshop. The comments below suggest that when the manipulation is too blatant, it has a negative effect on audiences’ response and further feeds into the distrust in agencies and their perceived manipulative intentions. This particularly from visually sensitive/savvy participants.

Nick: (n.8) However, going to the shock tactics with the child with the very big white eyes I feel that’s enhanced somewhat. I don’t think it’s the true picture and I don’t like that at all. I don’t trust it one little bit. [...] I don’t like that one little bit, no. It looks like it’s been edited and...Bruna: So you think that that child doesn’t actually look like that.Nick: It’s just the eyes and the way the camera flashes. The camera flash is very bright in the face but then the railings behind her have got no light on them whatsoever and it’s definitely enhanced I would say, but that’s just my opinion.

2.2. Picture or Text? There were mixed results from the groups as to whether pictures were more

effective than text.

Nick: Just... this might be off the topic a bit but thinking about this as a leaflet I think it is just words and words are obviously easily forgotten. I think if it’s an advert I think it would be a lot better. I think it would have brought across the message a lot better.

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Marianne: I think, I agree with Melissa in the first, that the photos are more instantly shocking. I think that gets your attention very instantly. I think the text, although it is shocking what you’re reading, it takes that little bit longer, you’ve got to process it. I think you have to think about it more whereas something visual is an immediate impact and that takes your breath away and I do agree, like I say, with Melissa that the images of the children, certainly the malnourished and the, you know, obviously very poor and obviously unkempt are the more extreme in my shocking radar.

Overall, comments on this topic suggest that pictures might be more effective for new donors, while text is more suitable for existing donors (those who have already subscribed to the depicted cause)

In terms of format it should be simple, small, and appealing. Many participants in different groups made reference to the importance of the format. A small format was overwhelmingly preferred and it was suggested that it invites audiences to read the appeal (but not necessarily to act). This implicitly makes reference to another issue that makes an appearance in different modalities in the vast majority of extracts: what kind of demand is made on the audience? In this particular case it’s a demand in terms of time and attention. Many agreed that if the appeal is too long, i.e. if it demands prolonged attention from the reader, it discourages them from reading it.

Francesca: I think that this Action Aid one (n.11), there's too much information, to be honest. It’s like a little book. I don't know if anyone thinks that, but it’s just.[...] It’s just too much information so they’ve got another one which is a bit smaller. But this one, I didn’t like this one at all; there was too much information. [...]

It should not be lavish or appear to be wasteful of resources. Several participants reacted very strongly to communications which appear to be too expensive, flashy, and extravagant. Conversely, signs that agencies are careful with resources (including natural resources, e.g. using recycled paper) were appreciated as agencies ‘doing their bit’.

Dennis : That one, disgusting, don’t like, that one, I don’t like it because, number 11,because they can spend so much advertising that and then not put the money to better use.Bruna: May I say that that is not used for advertising actually, it only gets sent ...Dennis : Even sending it out, justifying the price of actually doing all of that and then that’s where my money is probably going, to actually pay for all that being printed, stuff like that, that’s quite infuriating

Eamon: How much would that cost (n.11)? Presentation; I’m not in printing but I knew... I know, for instance that might have cost 20 quid – that cost about... yes, [...]so if that costs me... that one there is 20 quid, there’s nine of us, that’s 180 quid straightaway..

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Florence: I think from reading one of them, it said 100% recycled paper, which I really liked because it made me think that you should, they're doing their little bit, which would make me a little bit more likely to give, even though I wouldn’t. It’s nice to feel that they're doing something and they're not just telling me to do something and they're not doing something themselves.

Despite evidence that audiences are visually savvy, as discussed earlier, the overarching view of communications is that they are essentially a means to an end. What is conveyed by all the comments above is that, while the visual qualities of the appeal are noted, priority should be given to what the appeal should ‘do’ rather than its appearance. As the quotes illustrate, adherence to this principle has a significant effect not just on reactions to the individual appeal, but on the perception of the agencies’ capacity for administering donations wisely.

2.3. Content of the Appeal: The content should be ‘short and sweet’. It should not be too verbose,

but well worded, to the point and punchy.

Dennis : Then number 3 appealed because of its impact, it’s short, it’s sweet and it works

Ernie: When I was looking at it and just says, I like the message, it’s a simple, small and appealing leaflet, and it makes you want to read it, and so I read it.

Communication should go ‘back to basics’, and be clear and straightforward.

Hank: I think the Oxfam one (n.1) quiet one is simple, straight to the point, and it gets you. [...] Yes, it’s enough for what you need, rather than like the other guy said about the other one; it’s… there’s a lot in it and I think that’s just… that serves the purpose.BS: So that would work for you?Hank: Yes.Harry: Yes.BS: And how would you react to that?Hank: Well, I would read through it, and if I wanted to donate or whatever, I probably would do, because, you know, it’s about, obviously, disasters and that, and I think it’s straight to the point.

It should speak to the reader, rather than being out of touch with audiences (which in turn makes them lose interest, lose respect for the agency and feel insulted, irritated and infuriated).

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Hugo: I was looking through this one here, this, number seven, and it’s like… starts at £20 a month and goes up to £100 a month! I’m like… yes, I’m going to laugh? What… it’s like, what’s all that? UM: It’s supposed to be donate what you can afford!Hugo: You know, like…I suppose if they said, donate what you can…but, I mean, it starts at, what, $20 [sic] a month! I mean, [...]But I mean, I just… as I was flicking through them all, I just thought, they’re having a laugh, aren’t they [...] At this time, I think, like, you know, you’d have to be earning a lot of money, wouldn’t you, to be giving that sort of money away a month?Bruna: Does it mean that you feel that they’re not speaking to you?Hugo: Definitely, that’s not speaking to me. I wouldn’t…Hamish: Yes, I mean, I don’t think any of us would be putting, like, 100 pound a month into a charity. Definitely not talking to me.

It should not just ask for money but it should also educate the reader. This presents a challenge for fundraisers because of immediate negative response to requests for donations, beyond emergency communications.

Jonathan: but this one, number 12, which is, I think, out of the lot, was the best one.Jerry: Yes, definitely.Jonathan: Easily.Jerry: A hole in the hand, like makes you think, what…?Jonathan: It’s not just that. I saw that and I thought, I didn’t particularly think that was an amazing picture, but obviously, like, it’s okay, and then I turned over and saw the thing on the next thing, that artillery destroyer.Jerry: Yes, that’s…Jonathan: At first I thought it was, like, fireworks or something, and then I read it and I was like, oh my God. That’s, like, a cluster bomb attack or something, isn’t it? And, then you realise these people are running for their lives, and that really hit home, and then that made me want to read all of this, and then what I realised is, as I was reading it, I didn’t feel like when I read these things. I didn’t feel like it was trying to get money out of me. I felt like it was trying to educate me, and so that made me want to read more. In fact, I didn’t finish reading all of it, because I didn’t have enough time, so…if you’ve got a spare one, I’ll take it away.

The content should be facilitative; it should enable the reader to engage with the communication and respond.

Jonathan: I picked loads, but another one (n.9), this is ironic, because it doesn’t have a picture on it, but number nine. This one, it started to, because there isn’t a picture, I just started to read it, and it was quite, “ it’s the first layer of fat under the skin breaks down and then muscles start to waste away. Without nourishment, the liver, spleen”, it’s quite graphic, and for some reason, when I started to read it, it almost sounded…it was, I read a lot of poetry as well, and kind of, I started to read it, and it kind of like, almost put a rhythmic tempo to it, and I started to read it, and it struck a chord with me a little bit.

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Bruna: So, it’s the poetics of what is written?Jonathan: Well, it isn’t a poem at all, in any respect, but I said, I naturally started, just the way I read it, and I sped up and then the whole thing a bit fading out slightly as well. I quite liked it as well. [...]Yes, and that for me was a hell of a lot more effective than something that had a picture of a crying kid on the front.

2.3.1. Should it Depict Children? Opinions on this point were divided: most people recognised that a

communication containing a child has immediate impact. However, while some (mainly but not exclusively women) did not resist this stimulus, others felt it to be an overused mode of communication. Out of this group, in some it evoked a ‘tired’ reaction (over-exposure) while others felt irritated at being manipulated. It is therefore crucial for agencies to acknowledge that there is widespread public awareness that using children is a successful manipulative tool and that audiences are beginning to resist these strategies outright.

Melissa: Yes. I find it rather upsetting when you see a child that’s looking starved, unkempt, usually very think and malnutrition and so forth. So that, yes, I would want to, I think, do something or help there.

Quincy: Look, I mean, I think some in particular sort of pull at you. What pull at me? Oh, they all pull at me. I suppose when, especially when you, sort of, see things with children, as well, which tends to get to you the worst, well, especially because I’ve just got a young child myself, so they tend to pull you a bit. They also have a… some sense whether or not… you don’t know about what’s really going on in the true sense but...

Daniel: Without being horrendous, you know, it’s bad obviously, but yes, again, [...]that one is obviously horrible, but as I say, I’m afraid, starving children, I tend to overlook it, I’m really sorry, you know, I think it’s been done quite a lot, personally.

Dominic: I’m like everybody else, number three I should say, I don’t look at the children’s one, it’s in your face every day of the week, so I just switch off, [...] the children’s’ one, I’m like, you walk down the street, there’s a billboard, you walk down ten minutes later, there’s another billboard, and it’s on the telly, and I’ve timed it, every advert that comes on TV, it’s Help The Children, Help The Children, you get to the stage you just turn and walk away, it’s too much in your face, the kids, kids is a selling point, I had two, you know, you want selling points, go to your grandparents, they will give you it, and sure as hell, they bought it, you know, children will sell, they will sell you anything, and that’s why they’re using, and it just turns me ff

2.4. Conclusions and Recommendations:Participants unanimously agreed that communications should have the following four qualities.

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It should contain manageable amounts of facts and basic (not necessarily simplistic) information.

Becky: And this one (N.5) I picked because it’s simple, and it’s telling me how I can help. […] But this specifically I picked because it’s direct, it’s simple and it’s telling you how and who I can help. I liked it.Bianca: It’s number five, it’s straightforward, it’s giving you a few facts without overdosing you. UF: It’s very straightforward.Bianca: Straight talking, this is the simple truth about poverty, what are you waiting for, things you can do that are realistic. I’m going to read this. If I get a booklet that’s three or four... or humungous, I’m not going to read it. I’ll probably skip through this.

It should make an emotionally manageable impact. (this is particularly important in connection to the next point).

It should offer practical, manageable and effective actions and solutions to the problem depicted (crucial as it offers a release from the difficult emotions evoked by the appeal). This applies to both what the reader is asked/invited to, and what the agencies are proposing to do with donations.

Francesca: It’s (n.5) got a full comprehensive list of things that you could do in order to, you know, donate money, but one of them was, you know, hold an event which is cake-baking or, you know, bike riding and stuff like that, so it’s got a good list and I thought that was clever because some people think, well, I don't want to give money directly and you can do fundraising. So I thought that was good, so this is one of my favourites.

It should connect to the reader’s foundational values and moral principles.

Caroline: You just sort of get a sinking feeling when you realise there are so many people in the world suffering so much and, you know, with your limited resources you can only help a certain amount and I started to look through and I am quite interested in politics and I thought, well a lot of the reasons for poverty in the world are political and for that reason I got a bit distracted by this one (N.2) in particular about the conflict in Gaza.

Jonathan: Yes, it’s the one about Burma, and the only reason I looked a bit deeper with this is because I know a little bit about it, and so I recognised the picture on the front, and I know that she’s like effectively a leader in exile, or not in exile. She was imprisoned. That’s wrong, and like, yet nobody really does anything about it, you know? Internationally, and I know that Amnesty are, sort of like, trying to bring attention to it, kind of thing. That’s the only reason I looked at that one, is

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because I had some background in it, and so I put the note on it that I remembered it.

Appendix A: KARMA’s Research Aims, Methodology and EthicsBackground:The frequency and scale of humanitarian disasters is increasing, as reflected in their high visibility in the global media. Whilst still responding generously to humanitarian emergencies, the British public seems to be increasingly critical of and reluctant to commit to on-going support of humanitarian and international development agencies. In these highly challenging times for the humanitarian sector and humanitarianism more generally, it seems ever more urgent to understand how the public relates and responds to humanitarian crises and international development causes.

The KARMA study sought to shed new light on the UK public’s understandings and reactions to humanitarian communications, including campaigns about international development issues and humanitarian communications. To do so this study explored how people make sense of the images and narratives of distant suffering that agencies generate and how ideologies, emotions and biographical experiences shape those responses. This study also explored how agencies plan and think about their communications. The specific research questions addressed by this study are as follows:

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What are the public’s immediate responses to humanitarian messages and what do people do with their knowledge?

What kinds of motivations and influences inform their actions? How do people justify and explain their responses?

What biographical and emotional factors might facilitate or discourage moral action?

How do the public's moral responses correspond (or not) with what humanitarian agencies hope for, and with their thinking about the communications they produce?

Methodology: The data collection for this study was spread over the following three phases: A series of 20 demographically representative focus groups throughout the UK

(total 182 people) Interviews with members of humanitarian agencies, which will allow for an

investigation of the relationship between the production and reception of humanitarian messages.

A series of in-depth one-on-one interviews with 10 audience members.

Ethics:To ensure the protection of participants’ sensitive information and privacy, all of their names have been replaced with pseudonyms in all publications, and their information has been kept confidential and only accessible to members of the research project. Additionally, all participants were informed of the nature of the project and given the following information sheet and consent form.

Information SheetSmall world: Attitudes towards and perceptions of what goes on around us in the world

We would like you to take part in this research project. It is funded by the Leverhulme Trust and is carried out independently by the Psychosocial Studies Department, Birkbeck, in collaboration with the Media and Communications Department, LSE.

You have been contacted at random by interviewers from The Field Department to help us with this project. Your participation is voluntary and much appreciated. We would like you to participate in this study as we believe that you can make an important contribution to the research. If you do not wish to participate you are free to drop out at any time.

If you are happy to participate, please read this information sheet and sign the consent form. We will then ask you to participate in an informal focus group discussion with eight other people like yourself. The group discussion will be lead by Dr. Bruna Seu and/or Dr. Frances Flanagan from Birkbeck, University of London. At the discussion you will be given an information pack and you will be asked to describe and discuss your responses and your thoughts. The discussion should last approximately an hour and a half and refreshments will be served. The discussion will be

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audio and videotaped for internal use by the researchers only, and will not be seen or heard by anyone outside this study.

After the focus group discussions are completed some people may be given the opportunity to take part in a follow-up discussion at a future date just on a one-to-one basis with Bruna where they have the chance to express their views in greater detail. We very much hope that people will want to take up this offer and have found in the past that it is something past participants have enjoyed doing very much. If you are requested to participate in this follow-up interview, you will be given a detailed explanation of the process at that stage, a separate consent form, as well as an additional incentive payment.

What are the possible disadvantages and risk of taking part? Some of the material you will look at in the focus group may be disturbing, and may stir up emotions or thoughts that you find uncomfortable in the same way as some people find some newspaper or TV coverage uncomfortable.

What are the possible benefits of taking part? People enjoy these discussions very much – it’s a place where many different viewpoints are exchanged and where there are no right and wrong answers. You will receive £35 as a token of our thanks for your participation once the discussion is finished. You may also find the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the issues interesting and informative, and by giving your time in this way you will have made a contribution to an important research field.

What will be done with the research?We are hoping to write a book and a number of articles based on the research.

Will my responses be kept confidential?All the personal information you provide to us will be kept strictly confidential at all times, and only members of the research team will have access to that information. The responses you give to our questions will be anonymised. Identifiable responses will not be provided to any other third party. Information emanating from the study will only be made public in a completely unattributable format or at the aggregate level in order to ensure that no participant will be identified.

All data collection, storage and processing will comply with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the EU Directive 95/46 on Data Protection.

Who can I contact with any questions about the study?If you have any questions about the study or any information you wish to add after the focus group is complete, please contact Dr Frances Flanagan on 020 7631 6678 or [email protected] or Dr Bruna Seu on 020 7631 6539 or [email protected] . Dr Flanagan and Dr Seu’s mailing address is School of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet St, London WC1 E7HX.

Thank you in advance for all your help.

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mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Participant Consent Form

I have read the participant information sheet for this research project and understand the following:

1. That I am free to withdraw at any time

2. That all information I provide will be dealt with in a confidential manner

3. I agree that the researcher may contact me after the focus group

Signed…………………………………………………………………………………..

Print name ……………………………………………………………………………

Address…………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Email address ……………………………………………………………………….

Telephone Number………………………………………………………………

Date……………………………………………………………………………………..

Appendix B: Table of Participant DemographicsPage 28 of 45


PseudonymSocio-economic grouping

Sex [M/F]Age Occupation Ethnicity Sexuality

Marital Status and age of children (if any)

Albert C1 Male 19 Administrator White British Straight Single

Allen B Male 25 Financial Controller Bengali Straight Co-hab

Andrew B Male 21 Quantity Surveyor White British Straight Single

Alex C1 Male 18 Student White British Gay Single

Aaron C1 Male 25Corporate Travel Consultant White British Straight Single

Adam C1 Male 23 Media Operations Black African/White Mixed race Straight Single

Anthony C1 Male 20 Retail Supervisor Black Caribbean Straight Single

Alistair B Male 25 Credit Manager Black African Straight Single

Adrian C1 Male 18 Student White British Gay Single

Bridget C2 Female 60 Avon Lady White British StraightWidow, empty nester

Bonnie C2 Female 64Complimentary Therapist Afro-Caribbean Straight

Co-hab, Empty Nester

Belinda C2 Female 60Part-Time Yoga Instructor Black British Straight

Separated, 2 kids ages 18 & 22

Becky E Female 65 Retired White British StraightSeparated, empty nester

Barbara D Female 56 Market Trader White British StraightMarried, kid age 19

Betty C2 Female 56 Cook White British Straight Single

Blanca C2 Female 56 Teaching Assistant White British StraightMarried, 2 kids ages 18 & 19

Billie C2 Female 60Music Teaching Assistant White British Straight

Widow, empty nester

Brenda E Female 65 Retired White British StraightMarried, empty nester

Candice C1 Female 65 Cleaner White British Straight Co-hab

Caroline C1 Female 65 Retired Teacher White British Straight Divorced

Cathy C2 Female 73 Retired Appliance Fitter White British Straight Widow

Cordelia C2 Female 65 Retired House Cleaner White British Straight Married

Carmen C1 Female 65 Retired Antiques Dealer White British Straight Married

Cynthia C2 Female 68Retired NHS Maintenance Worker White British Straight

Divorced, kid age 44

Chloe C1 Female 65 Book Keeper Jewish Straight Single

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Christina C! Female 70 Retired Book Keeper White British Straight Married

Claire C1 Female 73 House Sitter White British Straight Divorced

Dwight C2 Male 35 Bricklayer Irish White Straight Single

Daniel C1 Male 37 Credit Admin White British Gay Single

Darren C2 Male 41 Painter and Decorator White British StraightSingle, 2 kids ages 2 & 13

Damien C1 Male 45 Sergeant Major Scottish White Gay Single

Dennis C1 Male 37 Bar Manager White British Gay Single

Desmond C1 Male 45 Artist White British Straight Divorced

Dominic C2 Male 44 Printer White British Straight Co-hab

Don C2 Male 39 Train Driver White British Gay Co-hab

Doug C2 Male 37 Block Paver White British Straight Married

Edward C1 Male 56 Civil Servant White Gay Married

Edgar C1 Male 56 Manager White Gay Married

Edmund C2 Male 56 HGV Black StraightMarried, empty nester

Ernie C2 Male 56 Builder White StraightMarried, empty nester

Eamon C2 Male 60 Retired Electrician White StraightCo-hab, empty nester

Eddie C1 Male 64 Retired manager, White StraightMarried, empty nester

Edison C1 Male 63Retired Company Director White Straight

Married, empty nester

Earl C1 Male 65 Retired Police Officer, White Straight Married, empty nester

Florence C2 Female 20 Student Black Straight Single

Francesca C2 Female 22 Housewife Black Straight Single, kid age 2

Francine D Female 20 Domestic Cleaner White Straight Couple

Fawzia E Female 25 Housewife White Straight Single, kid age 5

Felicity C2 Female 25 Housewife White StraightCouple, 2 kids ages 9 & 3

Felicia D Female 25 Unemployed White Straight Couple

Fiona D Female 22 Counter Assistant White StraightCouple, 2 kids ages 3 & 1

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Flora C2 Female 21 Sales White Straight Single

Freda E Female 21 Housewife White Straight Single, 6 months

Gabrielle B Female 65Retired Accounts Secretary Jewish Straight


Gail B Female 65Retired Box Office Cashier White British Straight


Gemma C1 Female 67 Retired Nurse White British StraightMarried, empty nester

Genevieve B Female 66 Retired Secretary Jewish StraightMarried, empty nester

Georgia C1 Female 70 Retired Deli Owner White British StraightWidowed, empty nester

Gaynor C1 Female 71Retired Senior Administrator White British Straight

Widowed, empty nester

Geraldine B Female 66Retired Property manager Jewish Straight

Divorced, empty nester

Gita B Female 65 Housewife Jewish StraightMarried, empty nester

Gertrude C1 Female 68 Retired Retail Manager White British StraightDivorced, empty nester

Harry D Male 50 Panel beater White British StraightMarried, kid age 15

Hal E Male 46 Unemployed Printer White British StraightMarried, kid age 18

Hamid E Male 47 Unemployed Builder White British StraightMarried, 2 kids ages 9 & 10

Hamish D Male 46 Taxi driver Black Caribbean StraightCo-hab, 2 kids ages 4 & 6

Hank D Male 52 Wagon Loader Mixed Race StraightMarried, empty nester

Hans C2 Male 48 Painter/Decorator White British StraightMarried, empty nester

Habib C2 Male 46 Publican White British StraightCo-hab, 3 kids ages 15, 17 & 18

Halim C2 Male 47 Joiner (self-employed) White British StraightMarried, 2 kids ages 4 & 20

Hanif C2 Male 47 Painter/Decorator White British StraightMarried, 3 kids ages 15, 17 & 19

Ingrid AB Female 47 Care home manager White British Straight Co-hab, kid age 9

Iris AB Female 54 Accountant White British StraightMarried, empty nester

Ida C1 Female 56 Sales Administrator White British StraightDivorced, kid age 16

Ianthe C1 Female 50 Administrator White British StraightDivorced, kid age 18

Imogen C1 Female 47 Estate Agent White British StraightMarried, 2 kids ages 18 & 16

Indigo AB Female 53Telecommunications Manager White British Straight

Married, 2 kids ages 13 & 19

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Isabella AB Female 52 Lawyer White British StraightDivorced, 2 kids ages 8 & 14

Isla C1 Female 50 property manager White British Gay Single

Julian C2 Male 35 Painter/Decorator White British Straight Co-hab, kid age 2

Jonathan E Male 29 Registered Disabled White British Straight Married, kid age 4

Jack C2 Male 35 Windscreen Fitter White British StraightMarried, 3 kids ages 5, 7 & 16

Jeremy D Male 26 Sales Assistant Black Straight Single

Joshua D Male 34 Steel Polisher White British Straight Married

John C2 Male 33 Musician White British Straight Single

Jerry D Male 28 Packer White British Straight Co-hab

James E Male 35 Unemployed White British Straight Co-hab

Jim D Male 28 Call Centre Assistant White British Straight Single

Kevin D Male 70 Gardener White StraightMarried, empty nester

Kieran D Male 66 Retired Groundskeeper White StraightMarried, empty nester

Kai D Male 72 Retired Factory Worker White StraightMarried, empty nester

Kaleb D Male 66 Gardener White StraightMarried, empty nester

Kane C2 Male 65 Painter/Decorator White StraightMarried, empty nester

Keanu D Male 65 Retired Postman White StraightMarried, empty nester

Keith C2 Male 67 Retired Tool Setter White StraightMarried, empty nester

Ken C2 Male 69 Retired Toolmaker White StraightMarried, empty nester

Keon C2 Male 65 Retired HGV Driver Italian StraightMarried, 3 kids ages 37, 15 & 13

Lucy B Female 35 Teacher White Gay Co-hab

Layla C1 Female 26 Administrator Black British Straight Single

Lane B Female 31 Teacher White Straight

Married, expecting first baby

Lara C1 Female 32 Data Analyst White Straight

Married, expecting first baby

Larissa B Female 30 Office Manager White Straight

Co-hab, 2 kids ages 3 & 9 months

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Latifa B Female 30 Accountant White Straight Co-hab

Leanne C1 Female 33 Financial Investigator White Straight Married, kid age 2

Lia C1 Female 26 Student Mixed Race Caribbean Straight Co-hab, kid age 3

Melissa B Female 26 Accountant White Straight Married

Mary C1 (C2) Female 47 School Support Worker English StraightMarried, 2 kids ages 17 & 15

Marianne C2 Female 46 Housewife Pakistani Straight Married

Michelle C1 Female 46 Social Worker English StraightSeparated, 2 kids ages 17 & 14

Michaela C1 Female 50 Sales Assistant English StraightDivorced, kid age 10

Monica C2 Female 47 Merchandiser English Straight Married

Milly C1 Female 55 Sales Assistant English StraightMarried, kid age 28

Meg C2 Female 43 Hospital Technician English Straight Married

Marcie C2 Female 49 Theatre Technician English StraightMarried. 2 kids ages 24 & 26

Nathan C1 Male 19 Call Centre Assistant English Straight Single

Nigel C2 Male 18 Student English Straight Single

Nick C2 Male 23 Mechanic English Straight Single

Neil C1 Male 22 Carer Special Needs Pakistani Straight Single

Neville C1 Male 18 Window Cleaner English Straight Single

Newman C1 Male 20 Student English Gay Single

Nelson C2 Male 20 Security Guard English StraightCo-hab, kid age 10 months

Nathaniel C1 Male 21 Student English Straight Single

Nachman C1 Male 21 Manager English StraightCo-hab, 2 kids ages 1 & 3

Oliver B1 Male 56-65 Lecturer Welsh Straight

Married, kids (ages not specified)

Oscar C1 Male 56-65Retired Agriculture Officer Welsh Straight

Married, kid age 16

Otto C1 Male 56-65Retired Financial Advisor Welsh Straight

Married kids (ages not specified)

Oberon B Male 56-65 Retired Police Inspector Welsh Straight

Married kids (ages not specified)

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Octovio B Male 56-65 Retired Maths Teacher Welsh Straight Married

Ogden B Male 56-65Retired Museum Administrator Welsh Straight


Omar C1 Male 56-65 Hostel Manager Welsh Straight


Orion B Male 56-65Retired Agricultural Chemist Welsh Straight Married

Orlando B Male 56-65 Retired Banker Welsh Straight


Polly C2 Female 45 Housekeeper Welsh Straight Single

Patricia D Female 42 Unemployed Welsh Straight Single, kid age 17

Penny D Female 43 Kitchen Assistant Welsh StraightMarried, 2 kids ages 7 & 9

Pearl D Female 43 Shop Assistant English Straight Single

Pam C2 Female * Shop Manager Welsh Straight Married

Pattie D Female 45 not working Welsh StraightMarried, 3 kids ages 16, 15 & 13

Paula C2 Female 42 classroom assistant Welsh Straight Married, kid age 7

Quincy B Male 36 Account Manager White Gay Co-hab

Quinn C1 Male 44 Fire-fighter Indian StraightMarried, kid age 18

Qadair B Male 41 Property Agent White Straight Married, kid age 2

Quimby B Male 36 Teacher Indian Straight Engaged

Quigley C1 Male 42 Prison Officer White StraightMarried, 3 kids ages 8, 12 & 15

Quennel A Male 44 Operations Director White StraightMarried, 2 kids ages 16 & 18

Quasim B Male 39 Chartered Surveyor White StraightMarried, 3 kids ages 8, 11, & 13

Quade B Male 36 Architect White Straight Single

Quimat B Male 36Management Development White Straight Married, kid age 1

Rachel C1 Female 26 Freelance Illustrator White British Straight Single

Rebecca C2 Female 29 Barmaid White British Straight Co-hab, pregnant

Regina C2 Female 35 Housewife Indian StraightMarried, kids (age not specified)

Rita C1 Female 26 Student White British Straight Single

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Raina C1 Female 35 Horticultural Therapist White British Straight Single, kid age 11

Renee C2 Female 33 Part-time Jeweller White British StraightMarried, 2 kids ages 4 & 6

Rana C1 Female 33 Civil Servant White British Straight Married, kid age 3

Reba C2 Female 29 Administrator White British Straight Co-hab

Sebastian C1 Male 28 Manual labour White - -

Stewart C1 Male 28 Handyman White - -

Sean C1 Male 19 Student British/Bangladesh - -

Scott C1 Male 22 - Bangladeshi - -

Saul C1 Male 24 Forklife driver White British / Irish - -

Steven C1 Male 30 Unemployed British - -

Simon C1 Male 18 Student British/Bangladeshi - -

Spencer C1 Male 25 Sculptor White Irish - -

Samuel C1 Male 19 Sales Assistant Bangladeshi - -

Tabatha C2 Female 33 Full-time mother African - 3 children

Trisha C2 Female 26 Full-time mother African - 1 child

Tamara C2 Female 21 Unemployed Mixed/English - -

Theresa C2 Female 23 Childcare PractitionerMixed Black/White/African - -

Tavi C2 Female 30 Artist White - -

Tania C2 Female 28 Student Black British - 1 child:

Taylor C2 Female 26 - Black Caribbean - -

Thea C2 Female 27 Barista White - -

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Appendix C: NGO CommunicationsThe following are images from the 11 NGO communications packages that were used during the focus group interviews with members of the UK public.

1. Oxfam

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2. Save the Children

3. Disasters Emergency Committee

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4. Plan UK

5. Actionaid

6. Actionaid

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7. Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

8. UNICEF

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9. Save The Children

10. Amnesty International

11. Amnesty International

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Appendix D: Semi-Structured Interview ScheduleI would like to get a general idea of your response to what you have seen. Any kind of comment will be really helpful; it can relate to one particular appeal or campaign you have seen now, or to more than one, or to something else you have seen or heard even though it is not covered here.

This part of the discussion will be free flowing and I will say little at this stage apart from asking for clarification. Feel free to respond to each other without coming back to me at this stage.

What is your reaction (thoughts, feelings) in reading this information?

a. What gut reaction did you have when you read this information?

b. Could you give me two or three words that would summarise your main feelings after seeing the information?

c. How do you feel about the victims?

d. Are there any elements to the communication which arouse a particularly strong emotional reaction in you?

e. Which of these feelings makes you want to do something?/ which instead makes you want to turn away?

What kind of thoughts did you have when you saw the information in your pack

Could you summarise your general attitude/the way you think about these issues?

Often people comment that we should look after our own first – do you agree? What are your thoughts on this - do you think we are responsible for distant strangers? Do you think we, as individuals and communities, ought to help other people, like the ones described in the leaflets, who are so distant from us?

In what circumstances do you think it is appropriate for people from other countries to help people suffering in faraway places?

Some people say that money won’t help, but also that giving money is not the best way to help the humanitarian cause. What is your opinion on this? Do you have any thoughts on what else people could do to help?

Do you feel you can help or make a difference in any way? What do you think would make you feel you can make a difference?

What do you think are the factors the prevent people from doing more about these issues?

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If you were in a humanitarian crisis or a victim of HR abuse, what do you think you would want happen?

I imagine you have seen this kind of information before, right? Let’s start with few general questions:

a. What is your ordinary response to information of this kind: (prompts: what are your thoughts and feelings when you get one of these?) Remember, there isn’t a right or wrong answer; please be as honest as you can.

b. Does any of these appeals produce guilt in any of you? How do you react to guilt? Does it spur you into action?

c. If not guilt, what do you feel would help you to contribute or/and act?

d. What are your feelings when you see appeals of this kind on a train, in a newspaper or when it comes through your letterbox? Were the feelings you experienced today different to what you experience in those circumstances?

e. Does it make a difference where you see them (e.g. do you have a different response if the appeal comes through your letterbox rather than seeing it on a train?)

f. What do you ordinarily do when you get it? (Prompts: do you read it? Bin it? Put it away to read it later? Ignore it? Donate? )

I would like you to go back to your information pack and go through the information more carefully. Feel free to scribble on them if something in particular strikes you and/or highlight particular words. When there is text to read, I would like you to behave as you would ordinarily: read it to the end if that’s what you would normally do or make a note of where you stopped reading and, if you can, why you stopped at that point.

a. Which, if any, of these leaflets would you pay attention to if you received them through your letterbox or saw them in the street? Which ones would you read? Why?

b. Do the appeals speak to you? What do you understand their message(s) to be?

c. Is the message in some of the appeals clearer than in others? You might want to give different answers for different appeals.

d. I want to ask you now about the amount of information contained in these appeals. Do you feel it would make a difference to have more/less information? How does it?

e. Does the individual story make a difference? In what way?

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f. Does it make a difference if there is a visual image? Does it matter if the image is realistic rather than staged?

g. Does it make a difference if the situation is an emergency rather than an ongoing situation?

Before I have asked you to describe your reactions in general, now I would like you to be more specific. I am going to ask you about specific actions in relations to the information in your pack:

a. Which appeals you would ignore or throw away – why?

b. Which ones would make you donate (this include one-off donations) – why?

c. Which ones would motivate you to find out more about the issue or the organization?

d. Which ones would motivate you to do something else (volunteer, join an organization, read more about independently, write a letter or anything else) – what would that be?

e. Which ones would stay with you; is likely to make you think about it tomorrow/ in a week’s time?

f. Does it make a difference if the problem is a natural disaster rather than something caused by other human beings?

g. Some people say that it helps them to respond if the appeal mentions a clear solution. Do you feel the same? How does it work for you?

h. What do you think of the solutions that the leaflets recommend?

i. Is there anything that you would like to see in appeals that would stimulate you into action?

j. If you decide to act (by donating, volunteering, writing a letter etc) how does that action make you feel? (possible prompts: relieved, proud, excited, empowered, as though I have been true to my values/faith/obligations, connected to others, informed)

k. Do you think these organizations have given a fair representation of the issues in these leaflets?

l. Are any of the organizations who have produced these leaflets familiar to you? Do their values accord with your own?

m. Are there any organizations here you do not trust?

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n. A lot of these leaflets mention money – how do you think the money will be spent? Does it matter to you to know how the money gets spent?

o. Do you trust these organizations to spend the money they are given appropriately?

Some people say it’s a miracle that we care and help others in the first place. What do you think makes people get involved in these kind of issues?

1. Do you think of yourself as a moral person? Why? (remember, I am not assuming you are not; I’m fascinated by how people think about these things)

2. Which of these institutions, if any, do you see as part of your moral community: family, friends, church, the state, charities, workplace, the media?

3. I am sure you currently are or have in the past taken care of others in some way (e.g. friends, partners, elderly relatives, children, neighbours, pets etc.), but do you feel personally involved in any of the issues described by the leaflet? Do you feel the appeals speak to you personally? In short, do you feel this is your business?

4. I am sure you know or have known people in the past who have been in need of care of some kind (eg. friends, partners, elderly relatives, children, neighbours). What do you do to express your concern? Why?

5. Have you ever given time or money to a charitable organisation? Which one, why, do you still do? Why not? (possible prompts: to make a difference; because my values/religion oblige me to; to meet likeminded people; to be part of something bigger than myself; to make me feel less guilty; to develop as a person)

6. Do any of your friends or family give time or money to charities? Does that influence your decision to give/not give, and who to give to?

7. What, if anything, would make you give to a charitable organisation?

8. If you have children, would you like them to give to a charity (/when they are older)? Why/why not?

9. Do you think the way that Governments deal with these issues has an impact on the way you think about them?

10. What about the media?

I would like you to get into pairs and ask each other the following questions. You have about 10 mins – at the end you will tell us what your partner has said. Please do take notes if it helps.

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1. Tell us about a time when you first became aware of moral issues beyond your family (e.g. cruelty to animals, homelessness, world poverty etc.) Tell us what happened (e.g. how it happened, how you felt, what you did)

2. Do you remember the first time you responded to a humanitarian/charity appeal or any other request for help to others who were suffering? Can you tell us about it?

3. Where or from whom did you learn to do this/ who inspired you/ set the example for you? (parents, teachers, friend, relatives, spiritual leader, historical figure, historical event?)

4. Have you always thought/felt/behaved the way you do now, or can you identify something that made you change in respect to these issues?

Again in pairs:

5. Do you remember any time in your life when you helped a stranger in need? It could be when you were a child or at any time in your life. What happened? What made you do it?

6. Can you think of an instance when you have been helped by a stranger?

7. Can you think of a time in which you were vulnerable and required assistance in order to function independently? (eg. childhood, a time when you were sick or disabled, lacking in skills or education, poor or marginalised). What happened? Did anybody help?

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Documents

€¦ · Web viewThe data used for this exploration was gathered from 20 focus groups who discussed 12 communications from the following NGOs: Oxfam, Save the Children, DEC, PLAN