| |
| |
C/II/110
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS EDITORIAL BOARD HELD AT 1 LOWTHER GARDENS, PRINCE CONSORT ROAD, LONDON. S.W.7,•ON
THURSDAY, 2ND DECEMBER 1965 AT 2.30 P.M.
PRESENT : Mr. H.V. Beck (in the Chair), Dr. D.G. Avery,
Professor A.R. Boothroyd, Dr. S. Bradbury, Dr. J. Dyson,
Mr. T.P. Flanagan, Mr. T. Mulvey,
Mr. D.A. Patient and Mr. J. McA. Steele.
Dr. A.C. Stickland, Miss H. Carcas and Miss B. Croft were in attendance.
The Chairman welcomed Mr. J. McA. Steele as a new member of the Editorial Board.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
II.246 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
An apology for absence had been received from Professor B.H. Flowers.
Dr. L.A. Sayce was unable to be present at the meeting, and had asked to be
released from serving on the Editorial Board. This matter would be dealt
with at the general meeting on the 15th December 1965.
|
|
II.247 |
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The Minutes of the
meeting held on 24th September 1965,paper C/II/98, which had
been circulated, were taken as read and confirmed.
|
|
II.248 |
FUTURE POLICY FOR J.S.I
The Chairman introduced the discussion by suggesting that detailed examination be made
of the present content, readership and presentation of the Journal, its relation to other periodicals, in order to assess the value of the existing Journal, and
determine the changes that would be necessary. The Agenda and its accompanying papers had been drawn up to indicate and to clarify the variety and extent of the considerations involved, and in the ensuing discussion the following comments and recommendations were made.
|
| |
CONTENT OF THE JOURNAL |
|
II.249 |
Classification
The opinion had been
expressed that the Papers and Notes published in the Journal were useful for reference but difficult to locate. |
| |
|
Recommended that a system of classification be adopted
(a) In broad categories for the monthly contents list;
(b) Under detailed references within the broad categories for the Annual Index. Some work to be carried out to determine the most appropriate system of classification.
|
|
II.250 |
Contributors
Generally, it was considered that contributors tended to be not
instrument designers, but physicists devising instruments for specific
purposes. There was a lack of contributions from the instrument industry. It
was not considered that this arose from reasons of secrecy or security, but
might be due to
|
|
|
|
(a) |
Most instruments developed for commercial sale
do not incorporate novel features of interest to the physicist and are
therefore considered inappropriate for description in J.S.I. |
|
|
|
(b) |
that publication
of work in industrial
laboratories not leading to commercial use
would not be encouraged by the
Company concerned. |
| |
|
(c) |
the existence of more appropriate journals for
publication of work in the electronics field. |
| |
It was also noted
that there was a
tendency for some establishments to adopt a particular journal for
publication of their work: in some cases this appeared to be J.S.I. |
|
II.251 |
Special Fields
It was suggested that a single
issue (either one of the regular monthly issues or an additional number)
might be devoted to a specific field, to be publicised well in advance to
encourage the submission of papers; authors might accept some delay in
publication in order to have their papers included in such an issue. One or
two feature articles might be invited. Conferences organised by the
Institute and Society might provide a suitable basis for a special issue. |
|
II.252 |
Review Articles
In addition to
the
present level of invited review articles published, similar articles
directed to the non-specialist which would be readily understood by the
inexpert, would be valuable.
An increase in the fee offered to authors would be one means of exerting
control over the content and presentation of the article invited. |
|
II.253 |
Reviews of Instruments. Technical Notes.
Information It had previously been suggested
that the former information on new instruments might be replaced by critical
reviews of instruments.
Dr. Dyson stated that he would
probably be in a position to report on the proposed Instrument Information
Service at the March policy meeting.
It was not considered that the mere
listing of techniques or modifications to instruments giving the authors'
names and addresses for details would be useful. Some details were
essential. Monthly commentaries and abridged notes on the lines published in
"Instrument Review" and "Research Techniques and Instrumentation" might be
studied in this connection.
Further consideration should also
be given as to when it was necessary to include circuit values when
reproducing circuit diagrams.
Information on meetings and exhibitions was appreciated and might be expanded. |
|
II.254 |
READERSHIP It was noted that the
overseas
circulation considerably exceeded that of the U.K. circulation.
The results of enquiries
made by members of the Editorial Board as to readers' views of the Journal
indicated that it was regarded as a source of useful practical information
for the laboratory technician or for the senior laboratory scientist
(particularly those with a physics background) requiring a technique or instrument for a
specific purpose. These readers were reasonably satisfied with it in its
present form. The Journal was not regularly read or consulted by
engineers. Technical managers and research workers in the instrument
industry made little use of the Journal. |
|
II.255 |
PRESENTATION
The Board considered that there could be considerable improvement in
the layout and appearance of the Journal, and recommended that an expert
typographer should be consulted. Dr. Bradbury's offer to place at the
disposal of the Board the results of his recent experience in revising the
Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, and the name of the
typographer responsible, was gratefully accepted.
|
|
II.256 |
ADVERTISEMENTS
It was
reported
that the Institute and Society's new Advertising Assistant, Mr. J. Hind,
had now been appointed, and it should now be possible for the Institute
and Society to take over responsibility for advertising in J.S.I. and
B.J.A.P. It would be necessary to give the present agents six months'
notice of termination of contract.
|
|
|
Agreed |
(i) |
that permission be sought for such termination; |
| |
|
(ii) |
that Mr. Hind be invited to the next Policy
meeting of the Editorial Board on 10th March 1966, and to defer discussion
of advertising until that meeting. |
|
II.257 |
THE AIM OF THE JOURNAL
The points raised in discussion
and the comments received suggested that the Journal should be developed on
the following lines : |
| |
(1) That its content should be concerned with
principles and practice relating to scientific instruments and measurements,
and the applications of scientific devices and techniques.
(2) That the Journal
should
be directed to |
|
|
|
(a) |
maintaining the interest of the physicist; |
|
|
|
(b) |
increased usefulness to the research workers in scientific fields not
directly related to physics; |
|
|
|
(c) |
including items of interest to the engineer. |
|
|
(3) That
consideration be given to extending its coverage by |
|
|
|
(a) |
review articles for the specialist and
non-specialist (II.252) |
|
|
|
(b) |
by special issues (II.251) |
|
|
(4) That further
consideration be given to defining
the term "scientific instruments" in relation to the coverage of the
Journal. |
|
II.258 |
and it was agreed
That the new policy for the Journal in regard to content and
presentation be initiated at one time; an appropriate date would be
January 1967.
|
|
II.259 |
DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS
The next general meeting would be held on Wednesday, 15th December 1965
at 10.30 a.m.
The discussion on policy would be continued on Thursday, 10th March, at
2.30 p.m.
|
|
|