Key Findings from Ambassadors data
➢ All existing/convergent themes were evident to some degree.
➢ CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT was clearly the most common existing/convergent theme (especially if references to a lack thereof are included).
o “Most of the times people make out that Shanksville is really different, but I think there’s a lot of communities in our country that are very much like this and would respond in a similar way. But the fact that we did respond in a positive way, I think that we’re providing a positive role model by maybe encouraging other communities to take individual action. What we did in the community and also what people did on that plane, I think is an inspiration to other people that it’s individuals often times that make a difference, and I think that’s a really strong message to get across. If you wait for politicians to try and do it or a consensus to build it could take forever. But often times there’s occasions where things need to be done quicker and individuals can do that.”
➢ PATRIOTISM was the least common existing/convergent theme.
➢ Divergent themes were coded twice as often as existing/convergent themes.
➢ Divergent theme THE STORY was by far the most common overall when grouped together with related divergent sub-themes. The most common sub-theme in this group described or exemplified the way people talk about their personal experiences of the events of Flight 93 or 9/11.
o “Often times the people that come there had things happen to them that they just need to talk to somebody about it, and it’s important to them to have somebody there to listen. If you want to get into a long conversation just ask them, ‘Well where were you? What happened to you that day?’”
➢ Divergent theme REVERENT PLACE was conspicuously prominent, including a less common but perhaps particularly salient sub-theme of children being respectful at the memorial.
o “I don’t think that place is necessarily the same for everybody who approaches it.”
o “It’s just so quiet and serene that the site, it just opens up for the interpretation of the story. It doesn’t take over and it’s serene and sometimes it’s stark…Anybody who comes here that really cares, it just seems to give them whatever they need. No more, no less.”
o “I think part of the power of the [memorial] is the sky that you get so much of when you come over the hill. I always try to bring people back to the idea that…the crash site, the place where the plane ended up, that’s really the postscript that is really irrelevant. What is relevant is what they did up there. And it’s such a variable sky, [so] dramatic…”
o “One thing we’ve noticed more than anything else, I think, is the kids… Kids are running and screaming and making noise, and the parents are clueless as to what’s going on, but when they come to that site, those kids are so well behaved, it’s unbelievable. That’s a big difference.”
➢ Divergent theme PERSONAL IMPACT was common, reflecting claims of the way the events and/or place of Flight 93 led to new personal growth, insight, or meaning.
o “[Some people are] just overcome by sadness when they leave. It’s such a sad, sad place. And then, you know I think a lot of them have some kind of a transformation while they’re there and they realize that there’s a hope in that story, too, and an inspiration in that story. So, it’s not simply a sorrowful place.”
➢ The process of the meaning making conversations was generally well received.
o “Many of us will be more sensitive to visitor responses as a result of this evening.”
1. All original primary interpretive themes were evident to some degree.
2. CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT was clearly the most common original primary interpretive theme (especially if references to a lack thereof are included).
3. PATRIOTISM was the least common original primary interpretive theme.
4. Divergent themes were coded twice as often as original primary interpretive themes.
5. Divergent theme THE STORY was by far the most common overall when grouped together with related divergent sub-themes. The most common sub-theme in this group described or exemplified the way people talk about their personal experiences of the events of Flight 93 or 9/11.
6. Divergent theme REVERENT PLACE was conspicuously prominent, including a less common but perhaps particularly important sub-theme of children being respectful at the memorial.
7. Divergent theme PERSONAL IMPACT was common, reflecting claims of the way the events and/or place of Flight 93 led to new personal growth, insight, or meaning.
8. The process of the meaning making conversations was generally well received.
Analysis of Ambassadors Findings
1. Both the content and the process of the meaning making conversations with Ambassadors reflect the importance of providing a space for people to talk about what Flight 93 and the associated events and places means to them personally. This notion of storytelling and focused reflection is not currently represented in the original theme statements.
2. Some version of the CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT theme likely does warrant continued inclusion in the list of existing themes. This idea (like many ideas) often showed up in conversations through description of its opposite (i.e. a lack of engagement). The audience-based approach to I&E model should probably come up with a way to systematically address the issue of theme ideas versus their opposites when doing data analysis.
3. While the data from this Ambassadors strand do reflect the collected experiences of several Ambassadors who have spent hundreds of hours with visitors at the temporary memorial, the results of this within-strand analysis should be interpreted conservatively for two methodological reasons: A) The analysis reflects only one coder, as opposed to the other strands which had at least two people systematically reviewing and coding text; and B) Due to recorder malfunction in some of the small groups, it is not clear to what extent the analyzed data represent the sentiments of the Ambassadors group as a whole.
