All well and good for the majority of people at the meeting I presume, but for someone like myself (a postgrad student who does the departments web pages, for the fun of doing it) this poses a problem. Basically, I am not believed when I try to convince people that they should be interested in the subjects discussed at the meeting.
dont worry, speaking personally, I received (still receive?) pretty much the same response, and I am not a PG!!
I have seen that most academics only respond when told about/shown something like this from their peers. Hence, I suggest it necessary for the 'fab four' (as the RSC page put it) to spread the word.
Well, I cannot say to have travelled far and wide, but I have given around 15 "live" lectures over the last 18 months. Put bluntly, if a HoD (that Head of Department) though it would serve to increase their research grading, they would jump at it like a shot!! Or to put it even mor bluntly, the first time I was taken semi-seriously is when I raised some money against the theme!!
Obviously, giving demonstration lectures at every institution in the country is not feasible, but possibly key institutions in different areas of the country could be chosen for lectures. It would of course require the involvment of the RSC (probably financially) to stir up sufficient interest in Heads of Departments/managers/lecturers and to convince them that the Web is not a complete waste of time. (This appears to the be the biggest fear at the moment - that the web/internet in general is a waste of time and is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome in convincing the academic masses). I would like to hear any opinions about this. Has anybody any other suggestions as to how the education of the eventual end-users of this new technology should be achieved? Are we trying to do too much too quickly?
Quality is the real issue. Once it starts cranking up, people will obviously become interested! Hence our attempt to introduce a "best of chemistry web" that was recognised by the ACS. Jim Krieger in that regard has done us proud see http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/cenear/951113/pg1.html I hope you all vote!! http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/infobahn/vote.html Dr Henry Rzepa, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, LONDON SW7 2AY; rzepa@ic.ac.uk via Eudora Pro 2.1.3; Tel (44) 171 594 5774; Fax: (44) 171 594 5804. World-Wide Web URL: http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/ ----- chemweb: A list for Chemical Applications of the Internet. To unsubscribe, send to listserver@ic.ac.uk the following message; unsubscribe chemweb List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (rzepa@ic.ac.uk)