Personally, as someone with an interest in Caribbean archaeology (I've
worked on the 17th-century and later pottery from Port Royal in Jamaica),
I welcome the journal. I couldn't possibly afford to subscribe to all the
likely print journals that might include relevant papers and know that
Jamaican archaeologists could not (ten years ago anyway) afford to publish
in colour. I am, however, unhappy that they've gone down the pdf route:
The first thing that strikes me is the amount of time required to
download a paper. The mockup paper (mockup2.pdf) is 985k and on my slow
connection (28.8baud) this is ten minutes or more downloading time before
you can start reading. They'll need to supply a fair amount of online
abstracting and indexing to encourage potential readers to download the
papers. Amazingly, when the paper is finally downloaded its only 2 pages
long, with a line drawing and colour photo. Neither of these is at any
higher definition than can be achieved in a web document. So for me at
least, there's no contest: HTML with inline images is a much more
efficient way of transferring information.
On the plus side, pdf files are marketed as the way to go to distribute
papers that will end up being printed, as the entire design and layout is
controlled whereas with HTML without the use of style sheets a paper's
appearance is out of the publisher's control. Even here, though, the
benefits are arguable since this mockup was prepared for an 8.5 by 11 inch
page rather than the European A4 standard (210 by 297 mm) whereas web
pages are formatted for printing locally and will therefore match the
available paper source. Most, but not all, of the layout of the jca
mockup could be achieved using HTML tables.
I could go on (and on and on) and don't want to suggest that I am
complacent about the look and usability of Internet Archaeology or other
HTML-based ejournals. However, this particular site hasn't changed my mind
about the relative merits of the two approaches I'm afraid.
Alan Vince
***********************
On Thu, 11 Mar 1999, Judith Winters wrote:
>
>Please find the call for papers for a new e-journal on Caribbean
>Archaeology below.
>
>Unlike Internet Archaeology, they will be publishing papers as pdf files
>only, since they see HTML journals as being "difficult to archive and
>difficult to cite specifically". I find it interesting that although they
>note the advantages of HTML, they feel that they are not worth pursuing.
>
>Comments anyone?
>Judith
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>Judith Winters, Assistant Editor, Internet Archaeology
>http://intarch.ac.uk
>King's Manor, University of York, YO1 7EP, UK
>[log in to unmask] | Tel: +44 1904 433955 | Fax: +44 1904 433939
>
>Join our mailbase discussion group 'intarch-interest' - details at
> http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/intarch-interest/
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 11:25:01 -0500
>From: Chris Clement <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Journal of Caribbean Archaeology
>
>CALL FOR PAPERS
>
>Announcing the Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, a refereed journal devoted
>to archaeological research in the Caribbean and surrounding areas.
>
>The Journal of Caribbean Archaeology is intended to provide a refereed
>publication outlet for archaeological research in the Caribbean and
>surrounding area. The development of our understanding of both the historic
>and prehistoric past in the Caribbean has been hampered by the lack of a
>journal devoted expressly to archaeology in the region, and archaeologists
>have resorted to publishing in a variety of venues. Many of these are not
>widely or readily available or are typically associated with another
>discipline. There is no journal devoted specifically to Caribbean
>archaeology, and it is this void that the Journal of Caribbean Archaeology
>seeks to fill.
>
>Visit the JCA web site at http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/jca/ for additional
>information, and feel free to contact me off list with any questions or to
>discuss submissions.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Chris Clement
>
>
>Christopher Ohm Clement, Ph.D.
>Co-editor, Journal of Caribbean Archaeology
>http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/jca/
>
Alan Vince, Archaeological Consultant, Digital publication, ceramic
analysis, report writing. http://www.postex.demon.co.uk/dar/index.htm
Phone: 01522 589992 (Office), 0976 763251 (Mobile)
and
Managing Editor, Internet Archaeology. http://intarch.ac.uk
Phone: 01904 433955 (York)
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