Thank you everyone for your replies on the topic of measuring time using the Internet. I am carrying out a project comparing online (email) mentoring with traditional face-to-face mentoring for new graduate midwives and nurses. One of the elements I want to look at is time, comparing the time of face-to-face meetings with the amount of time spent reading and replying to emails. Your replies have helped me think about the issues in greater depth. regards Sarah Sarah Stewart PhD Candidate Senior Lecturer School of Midwifery Otago Polytechnic Forth St Private Bag 1910 Dunedin New Zealand Tel: 0800 762786 sarahs@tekotago.ac.nz