Sources of technical information and communications

The team decided that the system software should be selected from a source that was well-established in the field of technical information. In addition, if one software and one command language could be used for the entire system, i.e., both text and chemical structure, it would be advantageous to the technical community. Because the thesaurus, a hierachical list of controlled terms, was the key to the text or document file, thesaurus software was also necessary. Search software for chemicals had to have the capability to search by substructure or full structure, by name, by compound number, by molecular formula, and by class descriptor. Continuity in both systems support and staff was a very important consideration. Another criterion was that the system be kept up-to-date with enhancements resulting from ongoing research in information science. 

Few books attempt to cover the area of automatic chemistry. Technical papers which relate to automation have most often been presented in analytical journals dealing with the basic subject area, and the details of the automation are less well documented than the chemistry. Aspects of management, education and economics are given scant treatment despite their importance. The Journal oj Automatic Chemistry [8] was launched to fill this void in the literature and experience has shown that there is a wealth of technical experience awaiting publication. In addition, it is vital for the suppliers of automatic instrumentation and computer systems to set up adequate lines of communications with their customers. User groups are a valuable asset so that experiences, good and bad, are shared and any problems resolved. A user who becomes frustrated for lack of support or information will become a source of bad reference. A satisfied user, on the other hand, will provide valuable input which may benefit future users and assist the company in providing instruments that the user needs. 

House organs and trade publications constitute a large and important body of useful information not duplicated in other sources. Although their primary objective is to sell products or enhance a company s prestige, they successfully communicate the latest technical infonnation on uses, physical properties, specifications, and physiological data (2). The chief problems in this area are how to get this literature and what to do with it once obtained. This paper has provided answers to these two questions. No list of trade publications has been compiled, as it is impossible to make a selection in accord with the interests of more than one company. 

Once a procedure has been developed that encourages supervisors and workers to openly discuss questions of risk, support stractures such as training, information sources and communications systems can be developed to complement the purely technical aspects of risk identification. Commitment in the workplace to a problem-solving mechanism is likely to be determined by the level of involvement of those actually... 

Technical information Was adequate, accurate information about energy sources, barriers, and targets known Was it communicated effectively to all of the individuals needing the information Were aU avaUable information sources used (for example, external data banks, consultants, studies, and current research) ... 

Another source of information on doctorates in chemistry and chemical engineering deserves mention. Since 1946, the National Academy of Sciences has maintained a Doctorate Records File (DRF) containing information on all PhD recipients in the United States since 1920. Administered by the Commission on Human Resources of the National Research Council, the Doctorate Records File is complemented by the Comprehensive Roster of Doctorate Recipients, which includes information on over 400000 PhDs. The Comprehensive Roster is composed of the DRF and the National Science Foundation s National Roster of Scientific and Technical Personnel. Since 1958, the DRF has been augmented annually by a Survey of Earned Doctorates, and the Comprehensive Roster is the basis for a biennial Survey of Doctorate Recipients. (For the results of the most recent published survey, see Science, Engineering, and Humanities Doctorates in the United States 1981 Profile (IB. 1982)). Over the past 35 yr, the NAS has sponsored a number of analyses of the demography of the doctorate community in the United States. The 1978 NRC report on A Century of Doctorates (IB) is an extremely valuable summary of this work (and it contains an annotated bibliography of other studies based on the DRF and the Comprehensive Roster). 

---