JASA excess page charges (at)


Subject: JASA excess page charges
From:    at <BOBCEPVAX.SUSSEX.AC.UK>
Date:    Wed, 27 Oct 1993 15:10:55 BST

Many of you will know that JASA has introduced a 12-page limit on the length of the articles it publishes, above which a mandatory excess page charge of $120 per page must be paid. I have been present at a number of discussions of this issue, both at ASA meetings and elsewhere. During these discussions it has become clear that there are a number of valid objections to this policy: (i) It encourages authors to split their articles up into "minimum publishable units (MPUs)", rather than presenting a coherent argument based on a series of experiments. The effect of MPUs is to INCREASE the total amount of printed space used up (ii) It means that the decision to publish is no longer based purely on scientific merit, but also on ability to pay: many institutions based outside the U.S. have no funds to meet page charges, mandatory or otherwise. (iii) It discriminates against researchers in psychological, musical, and physiological acoustics, where articles require more discussion (but fewer expensive-to-typset formulae) than in, say, underwater acoustics. The policy is under review, and it occurred to me that, if no-one in our field makes their opinions known, it may well be here to stay. I have therefore written to the editor-in-chief expressing the above views, and would encourage anyone who shares them to do likewise. His address is: Daniel W. Martin, 7349 Clough Pike, Cincinnati, Ohio 7349, U.S.A. cheers, Bob Carlyon


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DAn Ellis <dpwe@ee.columbia.edu>
Electrical Engineering Dept., Columbia University