A shameless plug: Given that cheap and disposable trainees — PhD students and postdocs — fuel the entire scientific research enterprise, it is not surprising t

A shameless plug: Given that cheap and disposable trainees — PhD students and postdocs — fuel the entire scientific research enterprise, it is not surprising that few inside the system seem interested in change. A system complicit in this sort of exploitation is at best indifferent and at worst cruel. http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110302/full/471007a.html http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110302/full/471007a.html Potential missing staff in some areas is a separate issue, and educational programmes are not designed to make up for it. On-the-job learning and training are not separated but dynamically linked together, benefiting to both parties. In my three years of operation, I have unfortunately witnessed cases where CERN duties and educational training became contradictory and even conflicting. http://ombuds.web.cern.ch/blog/2013/06/lets-not-confuse-students-and-fellows-missing-staff http://ombuds.web.cern.ch/blog/2013/06/lets-not-confuse-stud... Resolution of the Staff Council - the Management does not propose to align the level of basic CERN salaries with those chosen as the basis for comparison; - in the new career system a large fraction of the staff will have their advancement prospects, and consequently the level of their pension, reduced with respect to the current MARS system; - the overall reduction of the advancement budget will have a negative impact on the contributions to the CERN Health Insurance System (CHIS); http://cds.cern.ch/journal/CERNBulletin/2015/46/Staff%20Association/2063669?ln=en http://cds.cern.ch/journal/CERNBulletin/2015/46/Staff%20Asso... And a warning to non-western members: "The cost [...] has been evaluated, taking into account realistic labor prices in different countries. The total cost is X (with a western equivalent value of Y) [where Y>X] source: LHCb calorimeters : Technical Design Report ISBN: 9290831693 cdsweb.cern.ch/record/494264 A shameless plug: The Dangers of Self-Reference Public relations pioneer Edward Bernays refined the creation and use of press releases. Propaganda was used by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and others to rally for domestic support and demonize enemies during the World Wars, which led to more sophisticated commercial publicity efforts as public relations talent entered the private sector. Most historians believe public relations became established first in the US by Ivy Lee or Edward Bernays (he felt this manipulation was necessary in society), then spread internationally. Many American companies with PR departments spread the practice to Europe when they created European subsidiaries as a result of the Marshall plan.