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IAG Publications
In IAG Newsletter 12(4/1995) there was published a position report on publications. This was largely an attempt to classify IAG publications into a series of categories (A-I) and to provide an inventory of publications to date. There was also a statement about IAG recognised international journals of geomorphology which have been publishing the IAG Newsletter on a routine basis since volume 11 (1994). At the Fourth International Conference held last year in Bologna an attempt was made to focus the publications from the Conference in these IAG recognised journals in addition to the Abstract, Field Guide and Plenary Lecture volumes published via the host country's flagship journal "Geografia Fisica e Dinamica Quaternaria". In an effort to clarify the opinion of international geomorphologists, Olav Slaymaker invited Professors Hanna Bremer and Michael Thomas to write short statements on their views of the desirable characteristics of an IAG publication policy. This has nothing to do with classification and inventory but raises broader questions of principle that should govern our emerging policies. Our Publication Secretary will be pleased to receive your suggestions and comments so that the Executive Committee will be able to make informed decisions at its meeting in Lisbon on August 30, 1998. Here are the two solicited statements to open the discussion:OLAV SLAYMAKER
1. Reasons for defining regular outlets for IAG conference papers.
1.1 Increased access for those who do not regularly attend conferences, especially for young geomorphologists and colleagues working in other fields.
1.2 Libraries with the defined journal subscription will have a complete set of the IAG conference publications and therefore within the core fields of geomorphology change and progress will be more thoroughly documented.
1.3 The continuity and standing of the IAG will be increased.
1.4 This will prevent different standards occurring under the IAG logo.
1.5 Arguments among congress organisers concerned with publishing outlets will be prevented.
1.6 Authors that present a paper will know where and in which style their paper will be published.
2. General publication policy.
If the outlets are more or less selected by the editors by chance or by an advance offer by the publisher few of the points under 1 will be satisfied. Therefore the following alternative possibilities exist:
2.1 All congress publications are contained in one new series. This seems to be inopportune. It has the disadvantage of being costly, few libraries will subscribe due to the world wide savings campaigns. Usually one can buy only the whole set and not specific sections. Collected congress publications tend to come out very late for two reasons: the editors are overworked; one or more of the main lectures - which really should be included as they demonstrate the scope of the congress - are late, thereby delaying all the other papers. Thus there should be a breaking up.
2.2 The opening address and the panel lectures could go to a national journal of the host country if the local organisers wish so. The Binghamton Symposium is printed by "Geomorphology" (Elsevier). For further contributions there are ESPL and the Wiley Series or Zeitschrift. There could be an alternation from one congress to another between sessions and symposia.
2.3 There is also a wide range of international and national physical geography journals such as Catena and Geo-Eco-Trop, which always contain geomorphological papers. The same is true of neighbouring journals like Quaternary Research, Glaciology, Soil Science etc. Should some of these journals be included in the list of regular outlets? If so, which, and where is the line drawn?
2.4 These proposals pertain only to congress publications; proceedings of the intermediate conferences or workshops as well as working committees could go to a non-listed journal if the organisers wish so.
2.5 There is a general question associated with costs: Should the costs be as low as possible or should the publisher pay royalties to the IAG and/or the author? The latter increases the price of publication. There exists an inequality: The Zeitschrift (without the Supplementary volumes) has 4 issues per year (about 550 pages) and costs $US 150, ESPL with 13 issues (about 1300 pages) costs $US 1335, Geomorphology is not comparable at present as 2 or 3 volumes may appear in one year, the 1996 volume consisted of about 780 pages and cost $US 814. All journals offer concessionary prices for members of the IAG, if the journal is ordered for their private collection.
3. Procedures of publication.
3.1 None of the lectures or posters is automatically accepted for publication but subject to peer-review first.
3.2 A final date for submission of the contributions will be set by the IAG board. This should be two to three months after the congress, affording the author opportunity to consider discussion remarks. It should not be later than three months to ensure publication as soon as possible.
3.3 The standard of the publication is the responsibility of the IAG Board which therefore has a decisive power. It should, however, delegate editorial work to well-versed colleagues e.g. chairpersons of the session or symposium. It would be advisable to have two chairpersons or co-operating editors from the particular field.
HANNA BREMER
As a basic principle, I think an author has the right to decide which journal to choose for submission of a paper for publication. Equally, a journal editor must retain the power to accept or decline to publish a paper for reasons of quality or editorial policy.
I think that it is undesirable to commit regular issues of major journals to publish a large number of papers from a conference, since this implies (or might imply) that a lower priority will be afforded to more important papers arriving in the normal way. I find it alarming to think that most journal titles in geomorphology are likely to be jammed with conference papers for two years out of every four. This (if likely) is not sustainable. Publication delays are very frustrating and bad for our science.
Therefore, journals might be invited to bid for special issues to contain thematic groups of papers, and editors and authors then have the choice of which papers should be selected or offered to these issues.
The fact that many papers will not fit into thematic issues is only a problem if you want to include all publishable papers from the Conference (see below). This might be seen as a political problem, but it is not an issue for myself.
In deciding which journals should be included in pre-conference negotiations, I think that IAG has a duty to be inclusive, where the boundaries of the subject are concerned, but careful to maintain its international profile within leading titles. I should have thought that session/symposium conveners should be asked to advise or interact with the IAG committee on this matter.
Commercially published books have been previously used and are possibly a parallel outlet with any others for the future (as for Binghamton Symposia).
In many ways, the basic problem is the desire to see a vast amount of material from conferences into print; in some way replicating Conference Proceedings, but in a cost-free (to IAG and members) format. In reality, this cannot be achieved by conventional means and is probably not desirable.
I sometimes wonder whether we need to go beyond the Conference Abstracts as a conference output. A major conference should, and surely always will, produce groups of papers for special publication. IAG can continue to encourage conveners to organise these, without causing the problems that have led to this debate.
Notwithstanding the above, consideration might be given to electronic publication of conference papers, as an IAG publication. I have no idea how this might work, but if we are looking at 2001, then an internet solution may be much clearer by then.
It might be possible to publish extended abstracts with say 1 or 2 diagrams or tables. But, for this to happen, the submission date would need to be closer to the conference date (most abstracts submitted long in advance are works of imagination). The final point must be to ask what is (or should be) the driving policy from IAG regarding publications. For me it should be to raise the scientific standing and profile of geomorphology, by publishing the best papers in prominent outlets, and by highlighting really important advances or problems in the science by thematic treatment. Beyond this, I suspect that well produced Conference Abstracts might be the way to satisfy the need to be inclusive and achieve political balance.
MIKE THOMAS
IGU Regional Conference 1998
The 1998 IGU Regional Conference "The Atlantic: Past, Present and Future" will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, August 30 - September 2, 1998. Contact: Prof. Carminda Cavaco, Universidade de Lisboa, Centro de Estudos Geograficos, 1699 Lisboa-Codex, Portugal. Fax: (+3511) 7838690. E-mail: ceg@mail.telepac.pt. Conference web site: http://www.geography-lisbon-98.com/The programme of the Conference will focus on five themes with various sub-themes, among which the following may be of interest to geomorphologists:
Three post-conference excursions within Portugal and two post-conference excursions to the Atlantic Islands of the Azores and of Madeira/Porto Santo Islands will be organised.
- Theme 2: The Atlantic: the nature and management of the ocean and its coastlines and
- Theme 5: The oceans in geographical research: comparative studies and perspectives.
A full day meeting of the Executive Committee of the IAG is scheduled for August 30.
Other forthcoming conferences of International Scientific Unions
7th International Conference on Permafrost; June 23-27, 1998, Yellowknife, N.W.T., Canada; J.A. Heginbottom, Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0E8, Canada; Fax: 1 613 992 2468; permafrost.conference@gsc.nrcan.gc.ca8th Congress of the International Association of Engineering Geology; Sept. 21-25, 1998, Vancouver, B.C., Canada; K. Meidal, C/- BC Hydro, 6911 Southpoint Dr., Burnaby, V3N 4X8, Canada; Fax: 1 604 528 2558; kim.meidal@bchydro.bc.ca
Editor's Note
News items for publication in the Newsletter and comments on the desirable features of an IAG publication policy are very welcome.Please send all material to C. EMBLETON-HAMANN, Institut fuer Geographie der Universitaet Wien, Universitaetsstrasse 7, A - 1010 Wien, Austria. Fax: (+431) 4277 9486; E-mail: christine.embleton-hamann@univie.ac.at.
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