Re: FED UP!!!


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Posted by Rick Denney at his most verbose if that's possible on March 23, 2001 at 13:12:39:

In Reply to: FED UP!!! posted by Dennis AsKew on March 23, 2001 at 11:23:06:

Dennis, your appeal is obviously heartfelt and grows out of not only a love for tuba playing but also a desire to see the organization succeed. I hope that I have not contributed to your frustration with my comments heretofore, but there are reasons I haven't joined the group. They are:

1. The Journal is neither beast nor fowl. If it is a scholarly journal that would appeal to tenure committees (I am extremely sensitive to that need, by the way, having close connections to academia in my field of engineering), then they should set up a committee of respected jurists and apply the same sorts of standards as they do to the conference performance competitions. Some space can be set aside for historical papers, some for papers on pedagogy, and so on, and some for papers of general interest to non-academic readers that may be subjected to a less rigorous review. But those articles and spaces that are intended to be scholarly should clearly state that they have been juried, and the jury process should be formally and publicly described. That is what appeals to tenure committees more than the name. When I publish a paper in an engineering journal (I have done so about 20 times), I usually have to revise the work several times or write lengthy defenses of my position. The reason for this is that the reviewers don't take things at face value. That's why these publications really shine on my resume. I've also published for society newsletters, and those don't get the same respect because they were not subject to the same reviews. Note that the organization of which I speak has both kinds of publications, and its membership is not much, if any, larger than ITEA. The copies of the Journal I received when I was a member, and those copies I've looked through since, never seemed to go into the sort of depth that I craved, and that leaves me wondering if I as a hobbyist do deeper research into the issues that interest me as do professional academic researchers. Surely that cannot be the case, and if not, the articles should reflect that deeper knowledge.

2. There are very few objective and critical reviews of equipment in the issues I have seen, including detailed explanations of why things are the way they are. These are the sorts of reviews that are as valuable to makers as they are to players.

3. The advertising has not been the problem for me, because I expect advertisements to advertise, not to explain or critique. So advertising does not a journal make, and the editors cannot depend on the advertisement to handle discussions of equipment.

4. The organization has no life outside the journal and the annual conferences. I have attended one of these conferences many years ago, and it was pretty similar, though larger, to the Army conference I attended in January. They are fun and I enjoy them. But as a hobbyist, I'm not going to travel across the country to a conference, unless doing so meets my needs on more levels than just listening to players I cannot match and playing horns I cannot afford. So, what would get me to a conference? The answer is next...

5. The organization has no local chapters. I know that these will only exist if local members want them to, but I also know that some national leadership can help encourage that. It creates a grass-roots network for tuba players who don't care about the journal and who cannot travel to an international conference. My engineering society is strong locally in some areas and not in others. In the places with strong local chapters, the organization is also strong, and those folks go on to key roles at the national level. If being a member of ITEA meant occasional (say, quarterly) get-togethers where I could hobnob with pros and see equipment (new and historical) that I couldn't see otherwise, then I'd be much more apt to join.

6. With all due respect to those of you working hard against what seems like bashing, I respectfully submit that it is non-members and the reasons why they don't join that should impress you the most. Few are willing to undertake the effort to create an organization that meets their needs on their own efforts. I have already done so in other groups, and frankly I have other priorities now. I don't need to be an activist within ITEA. I suspect that many share that view. But with a little careful understanding of why those people don't join, the ITEA leadership could steer the organization such that it would provide a valuable service to these people and attract their membership without obligating them to devote heavy effort to make those changes themselves. Not everyone can be an activist, nor should they have to be.

7. Don't ask for a straw poll on a subject that has already been decided, and then hide the results. The reasons you gave for changing the name were valid enough to stand on their own, in my opinion, if they had been effectively presented. By bringing in false issues, and then by asking for but not really wanting a vote on the subject, the leadership has, inadvertantly perhaps, shown disrespect for the members. They have done more damage (visible in these threads, by the way, if you look) than they would have by unilaterally effecting the change and stating simply why they did so, assuming the rules of the organization allow that.

All this is bound up in the concept of respect. Any time a member or a prospective member feels that the organization does not respect them or their needs, they are pushed away. No words, however well-spoken, can make up for erratic renewals, slow processing, no acknowledgement of dues paid, and parsimonious treatment of members who expect to get journals with their membership. An organization exists for its members, and when member's needs are placed behind other priorities, no matter how noble seeming, the organization will lose strength.

I have tried to offer these comments in the spirit in which you solicited them, and I hope that the leadership will take them to heart. I had a run-in with TUBA many years ago over a financial issue not unlike the reports we are seeing now, and have not been a member since. But I would set that aside and join again if I thought the organization would provide me opportunities for learning and social interaction that I don't already have. People work for organizations that they respect, but that respect must be earned.

Rick "trying not to bash" Denney


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