well, my impression was that at least some of participants of this
discussion strongly emphasized that at least some blackboard / overhead
lectures were much better, implying that the medium used to lecture is of
such high importance, with electronic media being usually worse ... ;-) I'm
strongly convinced that - as somebody put it before - the message is the key
issue, not the messenger ...
Piotr
*********************************************************************
Dr Piotr KRZYWIEC
Polish Geological Institute tel: +48-22-8495351 ext. 498 (office)
ul. Rakowiecka 4 +48-605-242791 (mobile)
00-975 Warsaw, Poland fax: +48-22-8495342
email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.pgi.gov.pl/
http://www.pgi.gov.pl/www/geofizyka/pkrzyw/
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list [mailto:GEO-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Frisch, Thomas
> Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2006 4:52 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Academe
>
> Piotr,
> It wasn't Powerpoint that was being criticized. It was some of the
> pedlars of PPT that were being taken to task.
> Tom
> _________________
> Thomas Frisch
> Geological Survey of Canada
> 601 Booth Street
> Ottawa, ON K1A 0E8
> Canada
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Piotr Krzywiec
> Sent: March 9, 2006 5:28 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Academe
>
>
> Alan and others,
>
> Extremely good and well-balanced comment I suppose, I fully agree with
> you.
>
> I'm bit puzzled by all the criticisms poor PowerPoint suddenly received on
> this discussion group - after all it is all about us presenters that are
> giving horrible / good/ excellent talks and lectures, not the medium we're
> using ... Finally, can anyone imagine overhead / blackboard talk or
> lecture
> based on or directly describing e.g. 3D seismics and other leading edge
> technologies being extensively used these days in the Earth sciences ...
> As
> imprefect PowerPoint (and Adobe and other similar software, do not blame
> poor Gates for everything) is, it does provides a lot of functionality
> that
> should be simply wisely used, that's all.
>
> cheers,
>
> Piotr
>
> *********************************************************************
> Dr Piotr KRZYWIEC
> Polish Geological Institute tel: +48-22-8495351 ext. 498 (office)
> ul. Rakowiecka 4 +48-605-242791 (mobile)
> 00-975 Warsaw, Poland fax: +48-22-8495342
> email: [log in to unmask]
> http://www.pgi.gov.pl/
> http://www.pgi.gov.pl/www/geofizyka/pkrzyw/
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list [mailto:GEO-
> > [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alan Gibbs
> > Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2006 9:06 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Academe
> >
> > Hi, I don't know the answer to this one but for what its worth:
> >
> > Any institution exists only because society sees some sort of value in
> it
> > and successful ones tune their behaviour to optimise that value.
> > Darwinianism I guess.
> >
> > Right now we want as many of our young folk as possible to get the
> chance
> > of
> > a University education rather than in the 60's and 70's with just a few
> in
> > university and the rest going into the commercial world through
> apprentice
> > schemes, or some on the job training. We have to accept that, and not
> > think
> > we can turn the clock back to some Utopian dream of a past perfection -
> > which I expect was illusory.
> >
> > My kids are currently going the rounds of Universities looking for the
> > place
> > to go, and there is no doubt that there are some very good departments
> as
> > well as some absolute crap out there. No difference there then. But
> there
> > is
> > a big difference in that they are much more critical, and able to judge
> > what
> > they see than I was at a similar stage.
> >
> > At the other end, as an employer I recruit PhD s. and use some of the
> > research that comes out of the system. Some fantastic people, and some
> > research work that is as good as anything we've done before. A lot of
> > dross
> > too, but there are ways to weed that that weren't around before.
> >
> > I too think that Universities need to sit back and take a real hard look
> > at
> > themselves, and some are. There seems much less of the academic
> > complacence
> > that was the norm 30 years ago and that can't be bad.
> >
> > As one of the "grumpy old men" I hate some of the things I see in
> > Universities and some of the changes that have occurred like the sausage
> > machine publications. ( I can supply a list to anyone who wants to
> > listen!)
> > But I do remember that as one of the "angry young men" I hated a lot of
> > the
> > things I saw too. It's the nature of beast, John.
> >
> > On the whole I'm pretty optimistic about it all, and I think that if it
> > does
> > go to hell and perdition that Darwin and the smart young folk out there
> > will
> > find a way to sort the mess we've made.
> >
> >
> > Alan
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Malcolm McClure
> > Sent: 09 March 2006 00:03
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Academe
> >
> > Well said, John.
> >
> > The entire academic system is like the Vatican before the Reformation.
> > What is needed in each university a Martin Luther to nail 95 useless
> PhD.
> > Theses to their Vice-chancellors' respective doors. Perhaps if they read
> > the
> > rubbish, then someone will get the message.
> >
> > Seriously if you expand the university population to 50% and still cream
> > the
> > PhD students on the Bell curve you are going to have theses produced by
> > people who wouldn't have got Hons. under the old, decrepid but effective
> > 5%
> > system.
> >
> > Peer review is no longer an effective deterrent, so anyone with tenure
> > should be allowed to publish what they dare directly on the internet
> then
> > the entire geological community can respond with appropriate criticism.
> > That
> > will soon sort the sheep from the goats.
> >
> > Malcolm
> >
> >
> > On Mar 8, 2006, at 10:43 PM, John F. Dewey wrote:
> >
> > > Grenville Draper makes important additional points. Academe is
> > > becoming a big artificial unscholarly game driven by government
> > > bean-counters . Part of the problem is recognized in the novels of
> > > David Lodge. Many researchers are not engaged in scholarship but work
> > > at a rapid, quick and dirty way, do not read or know the literature
> > > before five or less years ago, and push out as many papers as they can
> > > on a wide variety of topics, which they cannot know or understand in
> > > depth.
> > > There are far too many meetings and conferences, many designed for the
> > > aggrandizement of the conveners, from which poorly-conceived and
> > > unoriginal publication volumes result. There are also too many people
> > > competing for scarce resources. In structure and tectonics, one could
> > > easily become a Morris Zapp flying around the world to an endless
> > > string of useless conferences from which one learns little or nothing.
> > > Science, geology included, needs to move from the present frantic
> > > random motion mode into a more contemplative, quieter, scholarly mode
> > > in which people are given the breathing
> > > space to do long term quality research. The science will benefit,
> > > people will not feel the pressure to push out garbage onto the
> > > conveyor belt, and we will not have to read much of the trash in
> > > journals. However, our government and university masters and
> > > paymasters have generated a new growth industry of constant review,
> > > assesssment, and accountability resulting partly from the fact that
> > > mutual trust has vanished from academe. This growth industry pays the
> > > salaries of armies of non-productive paper-shufflers in quangos and
> > > universities, who have a vested interest in keeping and expanding such
> > > a system. Hence, it may be too late to reverse the progressive
> > > deterioration of universities in Britain and one has, therefore to
> > > play the ridiculous game. We need a system where clever people just
> > > get on with the research that they wish to do without interference and
> > > being constantly reviewed and assessed , to change direction whenever
> > > the see a new idea or opportunity and to be given a modest background
> > > level of funding to do it, rather like the South African system. Just
> > > as in the NHS, where it is time again for medics to take over and run
> > > the system again, it is time for academics to take over their
> > > institutions and run them as universities, peaceful havens of
> > > scholarly research and teaching, not businesses. Irish universities
> > > seem to do be doing well in this regard.
> > >
> > > John Dewey
> > > --
> > >
> > > -----------------------------------
> > > John F. Dewey, Professor of Geology
> > > Department of Geology
> > > UC Davis
> > > One Shields Avenue
> > > Davis CA 95616
> > >
> > > Telephone Nos:
> > > 530 754 7472 (office)
> > > 530 757 7915 (home)
> > > 530 752 0915 (Fax: )
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