Delegates to the Fifth International Conference of Scientific Editors discussed that problem and others at a recent meeting here organized by the International Federation of Scientific Editors' Associations (IFSEA). Participants proposed various ways to encourage efforts by journal editors from Third World nations to increase access to the scientific literature.
"The problem with scientific journals in a developing country is simply that they are not accepted by scientists in that country," said Mohammad Ilyas, a Malaysian delegate. "Authors want to publish their work in internationally recognized journals rather than local ones."
Quite different, but equally difficult, problems can arise when standards are raised and personnel trained accordingly, said Paul Stapleton of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. Stapleton went to Indonesia in 1983 on behalf of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization to run an aid program for the Australian government. Its aim was to promote science publishing, ...
