17th April 2011, 10:44 AM
I do feel that this issue has to be clarified as there are other issues other than undermining the proffession . You cannot charge a developer a price that is dependant or being able to exploit individuals free labour. If you are charging for providing a service that is dependant on the input of other individuals then you must pay those individuals for their labour and currently there is a minimum wage for that.
If you are designing a project that alows public participation then as I see it it will actually cost more as you need to be able to complete the job to the same standard and time scales if your volunteers do not turn up. You also need to able to complete the post X to the same professional standards. The idea as I see it is public participation in non commercial projects under professional (paid) guidance.
However with the way things are going I do wonder if some curators are thinking along the lines that the only way to ensure any archaeology gets done at all is to allow the amateur groups to take on a widening range of projects. We should not be fighting to exclude public participation but fighting a system were that may be the only way archaeology is done.
I work in both the professional and amateur sectors and I have on occasions had a quite word with some of the amateurs about working for free on commercial projects. Some units are more guilty than others and we are not talking training here we are talking shifting wheel barrows, basic labouring which I do not see as public participation!
If you are designing a project that alows public participation then as I see it it will actually cost more as you need to be able to complete the job to the same standard and time scales if your volunteers do not turn up. You also need to able to complete the post X to the same professional standards. The idea as I see it is public participation in non commercial projects under professional (paid) guidance.
However with the way things are going I do wonder if some curators are thinking along the lines that the only way to ensure any archaeology gets done at all is to allow the amateur groups to take on a widening range of projects. We should not be fighting to exclude public participation but fighting a system were that may be the only way archaeology is done.
I work in both the professional and amateur sectors and I have on occasions had a quite word with some of the amateurs about working for free on commercial projects. Some units are more guilty than others and we are not talking training here we are talking shifting wheel barrows, basic labouring which I do not see as public participation!