by James | May 12, 2014 | Exploration I
What types of research will the community endorse?
As long as the research does not go against the ethical oath [e57] of the community it should be allowed. Initially there will be limitations of scale and time constraints, represented disciplines e.t.c. But personal research should be given as much autonomy as possible. When it comes to resource usage, available equipment or problems of costs, there must be a meeting with the head of the relevant departments to request a loan, grant or new equipment. A project requirements document is needed [e62]. Conversely while projects can be endorsed that tackle similar subjects there is a focus on collaboration, so having 3 people doing the same thing seems like a waste. There should be a clear database of projects that are currently in progress to avoid such problems (or at least a list of projects internal to the country not including others).
[note: Massive projects and subjects require hundreds of concurrent teams collaborating, projects can also be approached from a number of novel angles. We could take cancer cure research or A.I as two examples where there are a vast variety of methods being applied to try and discover the best way to solve the problem. Similarly pure research into subjects such as climate change have thousands of teams researching a whole host of elements, while two teams doing precisely the same thing is not useful (unless of course there are multiple teams working on replicating research for peer review) there are a number of reasons that multiple avenues of research may run in parallel.
The database of current projects though is a great idea, more than this a list of potential project or research ideas could be added to the list allowing people to browse research that is considered open for review or investigation.]
by James | May 9, 2014 | Exploration I
What methods of self promotion or publicity will the community employ? There are three reasons, which immediately occur to me, to publicise oneself; reason one, is to find new members; the second is to find work and the third is to let people know what services you offer.
Secondary reasons are that such publicity can help correctly tell society who we are and what our motivations are.
As mentioned in previous entries it is necessary that we interact with the local community this word of mouth and actively approaching organisations is in itself a form of promotion. Offering cheap services to businesses and open source solutions to local administration and civil institutions, or simply providing free supplementary teacher aids to teach subjects like science, computing or debating skills, allowing the public to be members of the community dojo e.t.c. All of the above will be methods to promote the community.
Active ventures will include stalls at career days for colleges and universities showing people and the alternatives to the traditional systems. Conferences on subjects to engage the public interest writing peer reviews for the scientific community or a free science column for local newspapers.
Essentially, promotion should not be done simply for the sake of promotion or self praise, but should occur out of genuine effort to help the general public and offer advice, education and help.
[note: since I wrote this in a book over 2 years ago, I have been struggling to create a language school, learning a great deal about promotion, sales, attracting attention and all that implies. While this the core reason I haven’t been writing up my community notes I realise how naïve I was when I wrote the above. It is an incredibly difficult process to sell something new to the public. This doesn’t negate what I said, public promotion selling our services and reaching out to the public is necessary but a solid plan of how to do that is very necessary. Also any teacher help, courses and writing science columns would only be accepted once the community has managed to establish itself as a reliable organisation without an agenda.]
by James | Jun 27, 2013 | Exploration I
What interactions will happen between the community and the society at large?
There should be a healthy level of interaction between the community and locals especially in a business, social, care, aid and education sense. Open classes available to all would be an appropriate venture, helping local homeless shelters with time and excess food, promoting educative systems and programs, organizing public debates between contentious groups or on serious issues like immigration, vaccination, global warming etc. Hopefully showing to people how real science works in opposition to hyperbole and media misrepresentation.
Public conferences, science fairs, supporting local teachers and students should all be considered reliable services which the community provides.
by James | Jul 5, 2012 | Exploration I
What standards will be used to decide entrance into the community?
While there is an open door policy there must be some form of standards or at least trial period to avoid abuse and allow proper evaluation of new members. Highly skilled lay persons or transitory members will obviously require a different set of standards, if any, in comparison to someone wanting to make a lifetime commitment.
There should be an elected committee and official, both of which are created by draws of random lots, who decide new members. Each case from a retired university professor or a student who dropped out of school should be considered on their skills, situation and their motivations.
[note:the community is meant to help the next generation and should believe in the ability for all humans, without mental disorders, when given the opportunity have the ability to change themselves.]
by James | Jul 3, 2012 | Exploration I
What balance of time will there be between duties, research, training and leisure?
It should be as much as possible a balance between work and pleasure with exercise simply being considered as part of a daily routine. Regular sabbaticals and times of relaxation and mindfulness should punctuate the working day, week and year and these should be considered as mandatory as physical exercise.
Consistent over-workers should be closely observed to ensure they aren’t destroying themselves out of some perceived obligation; However, some people are workaholics and passionate about what they do, as long as it isn’t detrimental to their performance and health making people relax should be seen as a guideline not an enforcible standard. Work can remain a static amount but shifted between personal research, training and duties.
Study time should also be factored in outside of normal working hours. Regularly, say, every 2 years, members should take at least a month long holiday travelling and absorbing other cultures. Or a quiet retreat to friends and family, a long sojourn in a private retreat. The vacation or retreat would be subsidized by the community and the only rule is that the holiday must recorded and a journal be written of things learnt, This will then be placed into the communities library / wiki / openstreetmap e.t.c. Every map and experience will in this way help add to the whole.
