I've generally stayed away from this discussion as I've beentransitioning to a new company, but the following items did peak myinterest. comments are interspersed.
peterk
On 8/13/05, John J. O'Brien <[log in to unmask]> wrote:> Why must we meet only once a year and only in North America. Why can’t we> do what the ICA does and have a meeting on a different continent or region> every year?> > Good question, Carol!
Well the problem as i see it is that approximately 80-90% of the ARMAmembership is located in North America. And having conferences inCanada every so often does cause problems for some in the US. If I'mnot mistaken US govt employees have a difficult time justifyingattendance at conferences outside of the US even if it is in Canada.
Some companies do not allow for travel outside of the lower 48 (sorryAlaska and Hawaii). I've even heard some employers/managers refer toconferences as boondoggles.
Rather than holding conferences outside of North America, ARMA needsto look at utilizing more webex technology. Why couldn't the folks inOz or other countries be able to attend sessions via internetwebcasts? They could attend for reduced fees and conference materialswould be available for download from the web> > * In order to be international, should ARMA allocate funds to the> translation of all documents and publications into languages other than> English, and, if so, which languages?> > Caution: some documents reflect solutions appropriate to the US and may not> "attract" beyond.
Unfortunately for many English is becoming the lingua franca of thebusiness world. Even French businesses have come to realize thatEnglish is the language by which business is conducted. Frenchbusinesses are encouraging their employees to learn English. now thatsaid that doesn' t mean that the publications shouldn't be translated,however I don't see that there is much market demand for it. (but Imay be wrong). What I would like to see is more of the publicationsmade available for download via the web. I would also like to seeselected articles from back issues of the Records Management Quarterlyscanned and made available for download from the web. out of printmaterials should be scanned and made availalble for download e.g. therecent interest in the Project ELF publication is a classic example.

-- Peter KurileczRichmond, Va

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