About the course: The course has two major aims – to stimulate interest in good scientific writing and to encourage the production of quality publications by the use of modern desktop publishing facilities.

In many less developed countries few if any scientific journals and reports are produced at present. Indeed, some countries that produced them in the recent past no longer do so today. Consequently, the studies carried out at local research stations and universities are often not published and the work of the scientists is not disseminated. Similarly, manuals and newsletters may not be published for local advisory staff. In addition, many may not be aware of the opportunities for dissemination of information opened up by the use of the World Wide Web and other types of electronic publication.

This lack of communication by the written word results in a considerable waste of the money spent on research which remains unpublished. As a result, many local scientists, often expensively educated in foreign universities, are unable to properly fulfil the role for which they have been trained. In addition, the population of such countries suffers because they are unable to benefit from the application of the work of their scientists.

This problem of lack of communication of information would best be overcome if each country had a cadre of scientists and administrators trained in editing and publishing techniques. Few people realise how easy and cheap it is today to produce satisfactory publications using desktop publishing software on microcomputers plus laser or inkjet printers or the world wide web.

Course content: The course is designed for all those concerned with the dissemination of information in the written form, particularly in the rural sector. These will include any who wish to produce written information in the form of annual reports, journals and newsletters. In 1999, the amount of time given to electronic publication will be increased as will the number of visits to modern printing works, public relations departments, publishers and newspapers, and appropriate museums dealing with the history of printing. Some weekends will be occupied with cultural visits and other activities such as to The University of Edinburgh’s Outdoor Recreation Centre at Firbush in the Scottish Highlands.

Programme

The course will be based at a centre which is part of Edinburgh’s Centre for Rural Research and will include inputs from specialists in all the areas mentioned above. Students will have access to desktop computers and will be able to use them to gain skills in using word processing packages, databases, spreadsheets and graphics. They will also work with desktop publishing programs and be shown how to produce home pages on the Net. Visits will be arranged to publishers and printing works of various types. Arrangements can be made for students who pay the appropriate fee to be provided with a desktop publishing package consisting of a microcomputer, printer and appropriate software.

Course fees and accommodation

The course will run for 10 weeks. Registration takes place on the first day of the course.

Funding

Intending participants should discuss their application with their employers, and international funding agencies involved in projects in country who may be able to advise on the availability of funds. Previous sponsors have included EC, FAO, World Bank and The British Council.

Checklist when applying for funding

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is one of the largest and most distinguished teaching and research institutes in the world. While its roots are in the past, its sights are on the future and its studies comprehend both the traditional and historical disciplines of the 1990s.

The Edinburgh Centre for Rural Research (ECRR) was instituted in 1989 as a "facilitating organisation" to assist some twenty member organisations to work together for their mutual benefit, by sharing specialised facilities, promoting interdisciplinary research and relating closely to The University of Edinburgh through its various Faculties, Divisions, Schools and Departments. The common theme linking ECRR’s members is research closely connected to the use and ecology of the land, whether the land be farmed, under water, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest or in some other manner for the public good.