From: A.H.Al_ashaab@lut.ac.uk (AH Al_ashaab)
Newsgroups: news.announce.conferences
Subject: Solicitation of Interest and Ideas for New Technical Journal
Date: 24 Dec 92 01:00:09 GMT
Organization: Loughborough University, UK.


I am posting this message on behalf of Barbara Warthen. PLEASE
all the reply and questions go to her. Barbara EMail and postal
addresses are some where in the message.


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Solicitation of Interest and Ideas for New Technical Journal
                           on
            Product/Process Data Technology
                  from Barbara Warthen

      >> Please help us by at least answering the first 3
         questionnaire questions, below. Thank you. <<

People worldwide have been finding Product Data International
(PDI) which we, Warthen Technology Information Services
(formerly Warthen Communications), publish, very worthwhile
for the past several years to obtain comprehensive, on-going
information on IGES, PDES, STEP and related worldwide product
data activities.

Now that the initial release of STEP is achieving Draft
International Standard (DIS) status, however, a number of
individuals and companies are finding a need for more in-
depth and technical information on these activities, as well
as a forum for discussions and debates.

We are planning to start a new professional technical
journal, tentative entitled Product/Process Data Technology
(P/PDT), as a companion to PDI, to satisfy these
additional needs. This will be a technical journal: PDI will
continue on as a comprehensive news report.

Numerous people worldwide have asked for such a publication.
They have stressed (and we agree) the publication must be
refereed (for quality), must turn articles around very
quickly (since the technology is advancing very rapidly), and
must address diverse technical topics centered around its
scope in depth. We are committed to achieving these --
refereed articles, fast turn-around, and diverse, in-depth
topics.

The title, P/PDT, includes product and process data to stress
the focus is on more than physical product data. Topics will
include the work on MANDATE (industrial manufacturing
management data), Part Libraries, non-physical product data
such as functionality, and more. It will cover the
manufacturing, electrical/electronics, and AEC (architecture,
engineering, and construction) disciplines. The focus will be
on technology, not just standards, although of course
standards such as STEP will be covered.

P/PDT will contain longer, in-depth technical articles on
topics such as EXPRESS -- what extensions are required, what
needs to be changed; using SDAI; implementation experiences
-- problems and successes; STEP AP interoperability; can STEP
be used to achieve life cycle integration?; details on
various worldwide projects related to STEP and/or using
EXPRESS; what direction should STEP go in the future?; non-
STEP-related product data topics; and
more. On-going columns will address debates and discussions
in these and other areas. The technical articles will be
refereed by worldwide experts to ensure top quality,
accuracy, timeliness, and relevance.

Our qualifications to publish this?
I, Barbara Warthen, will be the publisher and editor of
P/PDT, as I am of PDI. My entire business focuses on product
data technology, with worldwide contacts and knowledge of
activities for the journal. As convener (director) of
ISO/TC184/SC4/WG3, the STEP Working Group on Product
Modeling, I am responsible for STEP application resource
models and application protocols. I have been involved in
computer systems, CAD/CAM, data integration and exchange, and
standards technology as a vendor, end user, and researcher
for many years. For the past few years I have been a
publisher, educator, and consultant in these areas --
qualifications and experiences necessary to achieve a new,
top-class professional journal, I believe.

Also, the referees and authors will come from industry,
academia, government agencies, research organizations, and
more, from around the world, ensuring diversity, relevance,
breadth of coverage -- which should greatly improve worldwide
communication on product data technology, thus help advance
this important field, this critical component of business
strategies today and in the future.

So that we can decide if P/PDT is to become real, we would
like your inputs. Please send your responses on the
following, as well as any additional comments to Barbara
Warthen at email warthen@cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu, or contact me at
    Barbara Warthen
    Warthen Technology Information Services
    N5303 Broughton Road
    Albany, Wisconsin 53502-9725 USA
    +1 (608) 862-1702 (phone & fax)

Please respond on at least the following three critical
questions:

1. Are you potentially interested in subscribing to P/PDT?
Definitely? Maybe? Probably not? Definitely not?
(No commitment is implied by a positive response.)

2. Are you potentially interested in being a reviewer of
articles prior to publication? (If so, please mention your
specific area(s) of interest or expertise.)

3. Are you potentially interested in contributing technical
articles, discussion and debate letters, etc. to P/PDT?

Please pass these questions on to your associates: if
response to the above three questions is strong enough, we
hope to start the journal very soon.

You can further help shape P/PDT by answering the following
questions.

Questions continued:

4. What topics would you like to see covered/not covered?

5. What columns, on-going features would you like to see or
not see?

6. Do you have any preferences on length of the journal, as
well as any preferences on page size (probably either 8-1/2
by 11 inch, or smaller)?

7. Frequency will be determined by the number of potential
articles, probably 3 or 4 times a year initially: do you have
any preferences on the frequency?

8. Would you like to see advertising of P/PDT related topics
included in the journal? If so, should advertising be
restricted to inside covers only, to separate pages only, or
embedded within the articles? Also, might your company place
an ad?

9. Any other comments, suggestions? Please, we really want to
hear them!

If possible, please respond as soon as possible. When we
gather the responses, we will send out another message on the
status of the journal.

Also, we will greatly appreciate addresses (email and regular
mail) of people not on this email routing who might
benefit from P/PDT (and PDI): if you will send them to us, we
will notify them of this also. And please route this email to
any individuals and/or email lists you believe might be
interested.

Finally, since P/PDT will be a companion to, not substitute
for, Product Data International, if you are not aware of this
publication (PDI), please contact me for subscription
information and/or a sample issue.

Barbara Warthen
Warthen Technology Information Services
N5303 Broughton Road
Albany, Wisconsin 53502-9725 USA
+1 (608) 862-1702 (phone & fax)
warthen@cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu (email)

P.S. No -- pricing has not been set. It will depend on a
number of things, including length, advertising or not,
number of subscribers, etc.
Newsgroups: news.announce.conferences