In the following the term ‘Publications’ shall include magazines, transactions, conference proceedings, individual books, and book series intended for delivery in any and all media. The terms ‘series publications’ shall refer to magazines, transactions, and book series, ‘periodical publications’ shall refer to magazines and transactions, and ‘individual publications’ shall refer to conference proceedings and individual books.
9.1.1 Logos
All society publications are to bear the names and logos of both the IEEE Computer Society and the IEEE prominently on their covers.
9.1.2 Candidate Statements
Space shall be provided in Computer magazine or another society publication that reaches the total society voting membership for statements by candidates for the Board of Governors or for officers elected by the membership.
9.1.3 Peer Review Process
Works published by the society periodicals should undergo rigorous peer review prior to acceptance for publication. Review policies appropriate for the specific publication shall be developed by the Publications Board in conjunction with the TOC, MOC and POC, and should generally be typical of the review processes of respected scientific, scholarly, and technical societies. The procedures should provide for appropriate author appeals, but the anonymity of the reviewers should be maintained.
9.1.4 Publication Timeliness
Without compromising the peer review process, the Publications Board and the applicable editorial board, or review committee of each publication shallmake every effort to speed the process so as to minimize such delays for authors and maximize the timeliness of the technical material delivered to the membership.
9.1.5 Discriminatory Material in Publications
Material in society publications should be accurate. Any discriminatory or derogatory statement suggesting age, sex, race, or other types of discrimination is unacceptable.
9.2 Publications Board
9.2.1 Membership
The membership of the Publications Board shall be as provided in the bylaws.
9.2.2 Publication Review and Planning
The Publications Board shall:
1. review each of the society's series publications at least once every five years;
2. consider changes of scope and name to evolve publications with changes in the field;
3. consider terminating or combining of series publications when necessary; and
4. plan for and recommend new publications to the Board of Governors.
9.2.3 Budgeting Responsibilities
The Publications Board will review annual page budgets as proposed by the editors-in-chief(EICs) and as recommended by Transactions Operations Committee (TOC) and Magazine Operations Committee (MOC). Additionally it is responsible for preparing and recommending its annual budget to the Board of Governors. The Publications Board is responsible for presenting its recommended budgets, including editorial page budgets, prices and frequencies of periodical publications, to the Finance Committee and the Board of Governors.
9.2.4 Publications Handbook
The Publications Board shall create and be responsible for maintaining a Publications Handbook, which sets forth detailed procedures for the operation of the Society's overall publication program. This manual will be the primary means of ensuring appropriate quality and continuity in the operation of the society publications. The Publications Board may modify its procedures without Board of Governors approval provided that its procedures are consistent with these policies and procedures and with applicable policies and procedures of the IEEE. However, all changes to publications procedures shall be published in the Agenda Bookprepared for the next Board of Governor's meeting following the change. The vice president for publications is responsible for seeing that a copy of the then-current manual is distributed to each member of the Publications Board, TOC, MOC, POC, CPOC and the Board of Governors at the beginning of each calendar year.
9.2.5 Mentoring Future EICs
The bylaws establish that the Publications Board is responsible for recommending EIC candidates to the president. To carry out this process, the Publications Board shall establish and maintain a mechanism for mentoring future EICs in order to produce a pool of candidates with experience that permits them to assume an EIC position.
9.2.6 Editor-in-Chief Appointments
1.For publications solely sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, Editor-in-Chief Search Committees shall be used to evaluate all applicants and nominees following the process defined in 9.2.7. Reappointment considerations shall follow the process defined in 9.2.7.
2.For jointly sponsored publications with steering committees, the steering committee shall recommend candidate(s) for each Editor-in-Chief position to the Publications Board for their review and further recommendation to the President.
3.Editor-in-Chief appointments for Computing in Science & Engineering shall follow the process defined in 9.2.10.
4.Editors-in-Chief appointments for Press shall be selected using the process in 9.2.7. Reappointments shall follow the process defined in 9.2.8.
9.2.7 Editor-in-Chief Search Process
The Vice President for Publications shall establish an ad hoc EIC Search Committee for the open position with the approval of the President-Elect. The Committee shall consist of at least three members, at least fourteen months in advance of the known vacancy. This time can be less in the case of extraordinary vacancies (e.g., the resignation, severe or prolonged illness, or death of an EIC). In such extraordinary situations, the Vice President for Publications, in concurrence with the Publications Board, would, as expeditiously as possible, recommend to the President for appointment an “acting” Editor-in-Chief, while the EIC search is conducted.
The search committee shall develop a list of applicants through open solicitation, including recommendations from the corresponding operations committee. The applicants are most likely to be drawn from people being mentored for EIC positions, from former or present associate editors, from people who have editorial experience outside of the IEEE Computer Society, and from those nominated as a result of the open solicitation. Nominations and applicationsshall be sought from technical committees, conferences, and other editorial boards.
As the search progresses, the search committee shall keep the Vice President for Publications and President of the society aware of the candidates being considered. The functions of each body and officer need to be well understood by all involved: the search committee’s function is to identify and evaluate applicants, and to select and recommend candidates from the applicants; the Publications Board reviews those candidates and makes its recommendations to the President; the President evaluates, selects and appoints the EIC from the candidates brought forward by the Search Committee; and the Board of Governors reviews and consents to the appointment.
Early in the search process the committee shall ask each applicant to prepare a dossier including:
a)a letter of institutional/employer support for this editorship, should the position be offered.
b)a plan or vision statement that details the prospective course of action that the applicant projects to take with respect to the publication. This plan shall include:
(1) the applicant’s perspective of the publication including challenges and opportunities,
(2) the tasks of the EIC to meet the challenges and to exploit the opportunities,
(3) the objective milestones associated with the intermediate and final accomplishment of these tasks,
(4) the projected schedules for the accomplishment of these milestones,
(5) the projected organization which will accomplish these tasks, and
(6) the funding requirements to accomplish these tasks.
c) a resume, including publications and editorial experience.
These are necessary conditions for an applicant to be considered as a candidate.
The Search Committee will use a standard “scoring matrix” to ensure that its members consider all relevant experience and abilities of each candidate and to ensure that these are treated similarly for all candidates.
The Search Committee shall recommend two or more candidates to the Publications Board. In exceptional cases where the Search Committee recommends only one candidate, the committee must report on attempts to find other qualified candidates.
After the Search Committee selects its top candidate(s), the chair shall discuss the committee’s recommendations with the Vice President for Publications and the President and prepare the Committees report. The report shall provide an overview of the search process and recommend the candidate(s) for the EIC position. The committee report along with the dossiers of the candidate(s) shall be securely distributed electronically to the members of the Publications Board at least 15 days before the meeting at which the recommendations are to be considered. The Publications Board shall maintain the confidentiality of the information. In extraordinary circumstances the Vice President for Publications may waive or reduce the time allotted for Publications Board review.
The Search Committee reports its findings and recommendations to the Publications Board in executive session. Those included in the executive session are the voting and non voting members of the Publications Board, the President of the society, and members of the search committee.
The Publications Board reviews the recommendations of the Search Committee and endorses all, some or none of the candidates. The Publications Board shall make its recommendation to the President in confidence. No public disclosure of the candidates’ identities shall be made until after the new EIC has been notified of his/her appointment.
As provided in the bylaws, the final step in the process occurs when the President selects an appointee from the candidates brought forward by the search committee and presents the appointment to the Board of Governors for concurrence. This should include a copy of the appointee’s plans. The Vice President for Publications shall provide a written executive summary of the search process to the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors may consent to the appointment of the President’s appointee, in which case the President shall make the appointment. If the Board of Governors refuses consent, then they may bring forward a second candidate that has been recommended by the search committee. If the President is unable to identify an acceptable appointee from those candidates presented, the Board of Governors shall be informed and a new search initiated.
Editors-in-Chief may be appointed for a maximum of two consecutive terms for a given position. A term is two years but may be extended to no more than three years in the case of a new publication, the unexpected replacement of an EIC, termination of a publication, or other extenuating circumstances. The exact duration of an extended term will be indicated at the time of appointment of the new EIC. At the discretion of the Vice President for Publications, the first two-year term of office of the Editor-in-Chief shall begin with the appearance of that publication.
9.2.8. Reappointment of an Editor-in-Chief
1.An Editor-in-Chief who is serving his/her first term is eligible for reappointment. The Vice President for Publications shall ask his/her willingness to serve a second term fourteen months before the end of the first term. If the Editor-in-Chief is not willing to serve a second term, the process defined in 9.2.7 shall be followed in selecting a new Editor-in-Chief.
2.If the Editor-in-Chief is willing to serve a second term, the Vice President for Publications shall appoint an Evaluation Committee to evaluate the
Editor-in-Chief’s performance. The EIC shall prepare and submit his/her dossier as defined in 9.2.8.4 and include his/her accomplishments during the past year.
3.The Evaluation Committee shall seek input from the periodical’s editorial board, the IEEE Computer Society Publications’ staff, and the Publications Board and prepare its report with a recommendation on reappointment. The report along with the dossier of the Editor-in-Chief shall be securely distributed electronically to the Publications Board at least 15 days before the meeting at which it will be considered (normally the first meeting of the year). In extraordinary circumstances the Vice President can waive or reduce the allotted time for Publications Board review.
4.The Evaluation Committee’s recommendation on reappointment shall be presented to the Publications Board in executive session. If the Evaluation Committee recommends reappointment, the Publications Board endorses reappointment and the President elects to reappoint the Editor-in-Chief for a second term, the reappointment shall be presented to the Board of Governors for their consent. If there is not agreement on reappointment, then a Search Committee shall be appointed and shall follow the procedures in 9.2.7 in seeking and recommending additional candidates. The current Editor-in-Chief may be considered as one of the candidates.
9.2.9 Editorial Board Member Selection Process
Editorial Board members for each periodical are appointed by the respective EICs with the consent of the Publications Board, utilizing the following procedures:
1. The EIC shall send in plain ASCII format through regular e-mail (not as an attachment) the following:
a. A lead paragraph by the EIC explaining the need for and justifying the nomination.
b. The candidate’s technical biography similar to what appears at the end of a paper: a short paragraph or two describing the nominee’s main qualifications and accomplishments. Emphasis should be given to the candidate’s qualifications that are relevant to his or her duties as and Editorial Board member.
c. Selected list of relevant publications (maximum of 10).
d. A hyperlink to a location where additional information may be found. If a Web address is not available, other contact information should be included.
2. Publications Board members have 30 days to reply to the proposed appointment.
3. If no objections are received within the time limit, the appointment is de facto confirmed; the EIC shall send a notice of the confirmed appointment to the candidate.
4. If there are objections to the appointment, the appointment shall be deferred until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Publications Board, at which time the appointment may be discussed and decided.
9.2.10 Editor-in-Chief Appointments of Computing in Science & Engineering
1. The Search Committee for the Editor-in-Chief of Computing in Science &Engineering will be appointed jointly by the IEEE CS and the American Institute of Physics (AIP).
2. The Search Committee will bring forward one candidate for appointment or reappointment. This recommendation will be communicated in advance to the AIP appointment officer before it is discussed by the Publications Board.
3. The Publications Board will recommend one candidate for joint appointment by the IEEE CS and the AIP.
9.2.11 Editorial Workshops
The Publications Board will organize EIC planning, orientation and leadership session as necessary.
9.2.12 Evaluation Procedures for Periodicals
It is the duty of the Publications Board to review publications and decide their fate. If the review of a publication determines that it is no longer viable, then the Publications Board has the responsibility to recommend to the Board of Governors that it should be either, closed, merged with another publication, or dealt with in some other way so that it neither detracts for the society’s reputation or becomes a drain on the society’s resources.
The evaluation of publications shall use the criteria below:
1. Objective Criteria. Examples of items to be evaluated include current and projected financial health (net revenue and contribution margin), current and projected circulation, subscriber, retention, peer review and publication cycle times (submission to first decision and final acceptance to publication), submission and acceptance rates, citation indices, and usage in all digital collections.
2. Subjective Criteria. Examples of items to be evaluated include the scope and breadth of coverage, sampling of readership opinion, sampling of authors’ opinions and editorial overlap with other publications.
When possible, the evaluation of a publication should be done in conjunction with a search for a new EIC for the publication.
9.2.13 Editorial Budget Policy
The IEEE Computer Society and the home institution of an EIC together shall supply the support required to perform the functions of the EIC. The EIC should use funds from the host institution or other available sources in preference to the funds of the IEEE Computer Society where a choice is possible. The IEEE Computer Society shall assure sufficient funding to perform the following when the home institution funds are insufficient to support these activities:
Secretarial Support: An EIC needs secretarial support proportional to the workload, based on the number of submissions and page counts. Secretarial Support is provided by the IEEE Computer Society.
Office Expense: Office expenses include the cost of communications and supplies. The expenses related to phone, fax, mail, filing, copying, and so forth are reimbursable.
Travel Policy: Each EIC shall have budgeted funding for the EIC or the EIC's designee to travel to up to three Publications Board meetings annually. In addition, each EIC shall have budgeted funding for the EIC or the EIC's designee for travel to an EIC meeting with staff editors and to an Editorial Board Meeting. Each EIC shall have budgeted funding to hold and annual Editorial Board meeting. If an EIC chooses to hold an Editorial Board meeting, the EIC is encouraged to hold it at a major conference that is normally attended by many members of the Editorial Board, and for which travel support can readily be obtained from sources other than the IEEE Computer Society.
Publication-specific expenses: When identified by an EIC and endorsed by the vice president for publications, some publication-specific expenses can be included in the budget. Among the items that qualify as publication-specific are travel of some editorial board members to a meeting for a specific purpose, assistance to associate editors, and special activities for particular publications that are not generic to all publications.
9.3 Operations Committees
9.3.1 Membership
The membership of the Magazine Operations Committee (MOC), the Transactions Operations Committee (TOC), the Press Operations Committee (POC), and the Conference Publications Operations Committee (CPOC) shall be as specified in the bylaws. These four committees collectively shall be referred to as the Operations Committees (OCs).
9.3.2 Duties
The OCs are responsible for collecting budget information from the EICs, analyzing and recommending EIC budgets for approval by the Publications Board, providing such other assistance to the vice president for publications as may be required, and overseeing all of the operational aspects of the publications within their scope.
1. The OCs will review the budgets proposed by their respective EICs and assist the EICs in preparing them as required. Once a budget is approved by the applicable OC, it will be forwarded to the Publications Board with a recommendation for approval or amendment. The budget will become the official operating budget for the publication upon its approval by the Board of Governors.
2. The OCs are responsible for all of the operation aspects of their publications -- dealing with insufficient or overabundant backlog, soliciting manuscripts, refereeing processes, copy editing processes, monitoring the timeliness of publication, and other issues.
3. The OCs will encourage publications with common technical interests and overlapping scopes to (a) sponsor joint publications and explore ways to collaborate that might help in reducing backlog and publishing manuscripts with minimum delay and (b) provide useful, complementary coverage of important topics for the reader.
4. The OCs will establish an effective interface between the EICs and other activities of the society.
5. The OCs will assist the Publications Board and the periodical EICs in recognizing outstanding technical leaders and achievers (EICs, editorial board members, guest editors, quality referees, authors of outstanding manuscripts, et al). and assist the EICs and vice president for publications in submitting the necessary documentation for nominating candidates for the various IEEE and IEEE Computer Society awards.
9.4 SCOPE STATEMENTS FOR PUBLICATIONS
The current scope statements for all publications shall be included in the Publications Handbook. Scope statements will be reviewed and, if necessary, refreshed during the periodical review process.
9.5 Advertising in IEEE Computer Society Publications
Advertising may be accepted in society magazines. The publisher has full discretion to accept or reject any advertising. Guidelines for determining acceptable and unacceptable advertising are:
Acceptable:
* Products or services of direct interest and usefulness to members. Examples include electronics and electrical materials, components, and systems; positions available and wanted.
* Products which in consensus are deemed socially valuable and which complement the members' business needs or a vocational bent. Examples include technical or high-technology hobbies (audio equipment, photographic equipment), auto rental companies, and airlines.
Unacceptable:
* Tobacco, liquor, get-rich-quick schemes, venture capital available, questionable educational opportunities, and diploma mills.
* Any advertisement presented in a format or illustrated in a manner not in keeping with the professional image of society magazines.
* Any advertisement suggesting age, sex, or other types of discrimination.
9.6 Magazine Copy Editing Policy
IEEE Computer Society magazines are intended to focus on the needs of the reader. These needs can only be met if the magazines are understandable and readable. Both technical and copy editing at some level for author-submitted technical material are essential in producing an understandable, readable, and technically accurate article in the style of the magazine. Technical editing involves the author and editor-in-chief, and copy editing involves the author and copy editor. Both processes impact the technical content, understandability, readability, and magazine style and quality. A set of general guidelines shall be developed and incorporated in the society's EIC Manual. They shall necessarily be general in nature because of the diversity of situations encountered.
9.7 SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
9.7.1 Promotional Subscriptions and Sales at Conferences
Responsibility for negotiating the terms and conditions for the provision of promotional subscriptions to periodicals and sales of books and conference proceedings at conferences resides with the vice president for publications.
9.7.2 Block Subscriptions
The sale of block subscriptions and sales of books and conference proceedings to sister societies is permitted. A block subscription or sale is defined as 100 or more subscriptions or copies of a single book or proceedings shipped to the same address, or shipped to different addresses, where mailing labels have been provided by the sister society. The sister society would handle all collections. A "total membership" block subscription will be billed to the sister society at a rate of at least the IEEE entity member rate. A "member option" block subscription will be billed at a rate of at least 1.2 times the member rate. It will be required that the sister society bill individual members in the "member option" case at the sister society rate or greater.
9.8 REUSE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The IEEE Computer Society is committed to the exchange and dissemination of technical information. This may be accomplished through the publication of conference proceedings and periodicals. The secondary use of the intellectual property from the publications shall follow the guidelines given in this section.
9.8.1 The IEEE requires that all technical, educational and professional publications of the Institute, except newsletters, but including society and Technical Council Newsletters, be copyrighted by the IEEE (IEEE PPM 6.3.1.A.2). In the case of jointly sponsored conferences, IEEE recognizes the right of another qualified sponsored to hold the copyright and administer all copyright matters on behalf of the IEEE and its author, provided, however, that such right shall be the subject or written agreement between the IEEE and the qualified sponsor. Except in the case of a conference which is sponsored and maintains its own permanent administrative office, a conference is not considered a sponsor and may not hold a copyright to IEEE material (IEEE PPM 6.3.1.A.2).
9.8.2 Conference Proceedings
1. Each conference shall be allowed to post its proceedings on its official conference Web site, according to policies stated in the Technical Meetings Handbook.
2. The IEEE Computer Society shall collect the accepted papers for every conference it sponsors and cosponsors and shall have the right to place them in its digital collections, according to policies set by the IEEE-CS Publications Board.
3. Conferences may not offer individual papers or collections of papers for reuse without the written permission of the IEEE, in accordance with the IEEE copyright policy.
4. Revenues generated from the inclusion of proceedings in the Digital Library or other collections shall be distributed in accordance with policies set by the Finance Committee and the Board of Governors.
9.8.3 Periodicals
1. The IEEE-CS invests heavily in the development of the content of periodicals and shall control the reuse of this intellectual property.
2. Except for authors posting their work on their own Web sites, individual papers or collections of papers from the IEEE-CS periodicals shall not be posted on servers other than the official society dissemination servers.
3. Any reuse of intellectual property from periodicals in collections shall require the written permission of the IEEE.
