JASA excess page charges

[BOBC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

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