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 | Mar 18, 2013 | Exploration I
What standards will be applied to differentiate a novice from an expert? The present undergraduate, graduate, master, Professor / Doctor system is ultimately misleading. When someone claims “I am a Dr” you must then ask “of what?”, biology, philosophy, humanities etc. being a professor doesn’t suddenly give you a status to talk on every subject. Consider the martial arts and their more gradual system of grading; starting at the basic level and progressing to 1st Dan (the black belt) which, contrary to popular belief, is the where the basic level of training ends and you start to master your skills in earnest.
The difference in professional Go players is also worth noting, it is measured in a similar system from the lowest Kyu grade to the highest Dan grade, however, an even more interesting in this system is the concept that each grade difference between players is considered an extra stone handicap to the weaker player so that they can play a master on an equal footing.
All these systems correctly understand that there is a continuum of ability at knowledge at work here. You start at nothing and then progress over a lifetime to mastery, where systems differ is in how to measure how far along the continuum you have progressed so others can gauge your skill/knowledge/ability/suitability. As things stand standardized tests like GCSE’s, BAC SATs or A-Levels are created to give us a grade of our ability in each subject.
However, many people question how accurate this methodology is and whether it misrepresents or marginalizes students, it certainly only measures academic ability and knowledge, not practical application or personal experience. A much larger range of levels must be devised for the community that reflects the levels of knowledge, experience and usage of a subject, so the level will be a blend of a number of factors. This will be extensively investigated in a future entry.
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.
