At 22:26 11/08/2005 -0400, you wrote:
>Listserv for the International Society
>for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology
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>To the Society Membership:
>
>Shortly before the Guelph meeting in July, the Council was presented with 
>the opportunity for ISHPSSB to assume the editorship and joint sponsorship 
>of the journal History and Philosophy of Life Science, published by the 
>Stazione Zoologica in Naples and printed by Taylor and Francis. This 
>venerable journal of the Stazione will cease publication at the end of 
>2005 unless additional funding and personnel support is found.
>The opportunity for affiliation arose from discussions between the 
>Stazione and the leadership of ISHPSSB in the spring of 2005.  As a result 
>of the open discussion of this opportunity at the general business meeting 
>at Guelph, an ad hoc committee of Council and non -Council members has 
>been appointed to survey the Society for its opinion on this matter.  Due 
>to the need for a rapid decision on this matter if the journal is to 
>maintain publication continuity beyond December 2005, we have been asked 
>to have a report based upon membership opinions ready for the Council by 
>mid -September when major decisions will be made on the future of the 
>journal by the Stazione Zoologica.  Please return your questionnaire 
>promptly so that your opinion can be taken into consideration.
>
>Discussion of the financial obligations implied by this arrangement have 
>been conducted within the Council.  If ISHPSSB assumes this 
>responsibility, it will entail a contribution from the Society of 
>approximately $12,500/year. The Treasurer of the Society has assured the 
>Council that these funds are available.  With our support, the Naples 
>Laboratory will continue to support the journal at a rate of 20,000 Euros 
>for at least two years and it will supply staff assistance. The Society 
>and the Stazione will make joint appointment of the Advisory and Editorial 
>Boards. It is also understood that with ISHPSSB commitment, the Stazione 
>would likely continue its support indefinitely.
>
>If approved, the Society will commit itself to a two-year joint leadership 
>of the journal.  However, it should be assumed that this will likely 
>entail a longer-term commitment with the assumption that HPLS will serve 
>as the journal officially sponsored by the Society, similar to the 
>relationship that Isis has to the History of Science Society.  It will be 
>made part of the membership packet of the Society, with an increase in 
>annual dues after 06-07 of $20 for the first two year cycle, increasing 
>after this to a final projected cost of $90 per two year cycle (i.e. 
>$45/year).  HPLS is considered to be a fully international journal and it 
>currently has a substantial subscription base.  It also has published in 
>languages other than English.  If the society does assume leadership of 
>HPLS, its venue and title would also be expanded to include the social 
>studies of biology.
>
>  Some of the pros and cons of this arrangement discussed within Council 
> or at the Society Business Meeting are summarized:
>
>Advantages of Affiliation with HPLS:
>* It provides additional visibility for the Society within an 
>international scientific and scholarly community with a regular 
>publication. In addition, it creates an additional outlet for papers 
>presented at ISHPSSB meetings beyond those now provided by the Journal of 
>the History of Biology, Biology & Philosophy, and Studies in History and 
>Philosophy of the Biological and the Biomedical Sciences, especially 
>collections from a session that fit particularly well together.
>
>* HPLS is a recognized journal with a long history and a substantial 
>subscriber list. Affiliation with HPLS would preserve and revitalize a 
>significant international journal, one that many members of ISHPSSB 
>consider to be the main outlet for their work, and it would emphasize the 
>international dimension to ISHPSSB.
>
>  * HPLS can develop an editorial policy that clearly differentiates it 
> from existing journals with which it might be seen as a direct 
> competitor. It will also incorporate the "social studies of science" 
> somehow into its title ( e.g. History, Philosophy and Social Studies of 
> the Life Sciences). To demarcate it from B&P, JHB, and Studies, 
> preference will be given to interdisciplinary work- for example, by 
> emphasizing collaborative papers by authors from different disciplines, 
> something no other journal in the field explicitly promotes.
>
>  * It is much easier and less expensive in today's difficult publishing 
> environment for the Society to assume an existing journal rather than to 
> establish a new one. The journal could also incorporate the semi-annual 
> Newsletter, hence saving those publication costs as a separate item (ca. 
> $ 4,000 annually)
>
>Disadvantages of Society Responsibility for HPLS:
>
>  * A sponsored journal will be a standing expense to the Society, and it 
> will require a membership fee increase (above).
>
>  * Once leadership is assumed, the Society will assume major 
> responsibility for this journal, although the present proposal would 
> provide a disassociation clause in two years. This will mean additional 
> work for the Council in directing the journal.
>
>  * HPLS has declined in subscriptions and reputation in recent years. It 
> will take sustained effort to reverse this trend and restore it to its 
> former position in the ranks of top-line publications.
>
>* Although it is desirable to have a multi-language journal reflecting our 
>international membership, the publishers under discussion are strongly 
>against multi-language publication. The impact of moving to an 
>English-only format on its subscription base is unknown.
>You are asked to review these pros and cons and respond to the following 
>questionnaire.
>Thank you
>
>Ad Hoc Committee on Publication:
>Phil Sloan (Notre Dame), Chair [log in to unmask]
>Jason Baker (Indiana University, Grad Student Representative. 
>[log in to unmask]
>Kathy Cooke (Quinnipiac University) [log in to unmask]
>Soraya de Chadarevian (Cambridge Univ & MPI) [log in to unmask]
>Astrid Juette (Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition 
>Research)   [log in to unmask]
>Staffan Müller-Wille (Exeter) [log in to unmask]
>Lynn Nyhart (Wisconsin) [log in to unmask]
>Edna Suarez (UNAM, Mexico) [log in to unmask]
>
>
>MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE:
>PLEASE COMPLETE THIS E-MAIL QUESTIONNAIRE AND RETURN IT BY MIDNIGHT 
>PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME SATURDAY AUGUST 20 TO PHIL SLOAN AT [log in to unmask] 
>If you wish to preserve anonymity in your response, you may detach and 
>mail the Questionnaire to Phil Sloan, Program of Liberal Studies, 215 
>O'Shaughnessy Hall, University of Notre Dame 46556. The mail Questionnaire 
>must be postmarked by August 20. You may also send your response as an 
>attached document without your name indicated. Please send these in MS 
>Word format or in Rich Text Format if using other word processors.
>
>
>1. Should the Society sponsor a journal? (This need not be HPLS.)


>Approve
>
>
>If (1) is affirmative:
>
>2. Should the official journal of the Society be HPLS?
>
>Approve
>
>
>
>If (2) is affirmative:
>
>3. Do you agree to an English-only publication policy?
>
>Approve
>
>
>
>Other Comments (Brief)


Proposed title is cumbersome, even acronymically.  Metabiology?  Thinking 
about biology?  Bioscience studies?









>Please return by the end of the day PDT, August 20
>
>
>
>
>
>*** End of announcement
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>Professor Roberta L. Millstein
>Listserv Moderator, International Society for
>History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology
><http://www.ishpssb.org/>
>
>Listserv archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/ishpsb-l.html
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