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New Zealand Engineering 1999 September Editorial Peter
King Start the New Year - Write! sounded forth the clarion headline - and following, a 700-word editorial bemoaning the dearth of engineers willing to write and complaining about those few contributors playing fast and loose with deadlines. Reading those words I could not help feeling an overwhelming sense of d�j� vu. And yet this rather sad little New Zealand Engineering editorial was not written recently. It was, in fact, written in January 1961 - before I was even born. We have been very fortunate over the past six years to have had the help of a notable "few"who have written for the magazine. Perennials like Brian Cashin, Carole Durbin, James Cornish and Douglas Hay. Notables like Morrie Love, Morgan Williams and Dame Mary Earle. Enthusiasts like Tuoc Trinh, Ramesh Rayudu, and Simon Bunn. Even board members like Andy Buchanan and John Cunningham; plus many others too numerous to name. These people have freely given of their time to make New Zealand Engineering interesting for other engineers to read. But there are, of course, limits to what anyone can do on a voluntary basis. If it was to develop New Zealand Engineering had to go professional. As an editor the difference between having to beg, borrow and cajole copy or photographs from busy, important people to assigning well-known, professional writers and photographers to cover engineering achievements or developments of note has been marvellous. Now, as projects progress, New Zealand Engineering can react. The gaping holes in our coverage which my predecessor bemoaned almost 40 years ago will start to disappear as we will no longer be reliant on engineers having down-time or needing to sell themselves to write for their magazine. No longer will Anchor Products be able to install a monumental dairy factory upgrade with nary a whisper in the mainstream engineering magazine. Now we can send professional journalists to ask questions and talk to the engineers involved in those projects and products which are reshaping our country. This is not to say we are omniscient, nor that engineers can no longer contribute - merely that they no longer have to. Expect to see some familiar names reappearing in future issues. Meanwhile, for more information about providing story ideas or making contributions to the magazine, please visit the IPENZ web site. Moving to bimonthly has also uncovered a fact which, perhaps, should have been more obvious had we not been on a monthly treadmill. Electronic media are now a good half of Institution publishing. Our web site now boasts more than 1000 files and 5000 links. The electronic jobs service carries over fifty jobs a month and the weekly eZine now requires a significant amount of effort while making respectable money. Transactions is largely published electronically (www.ipenz.org.nz/frames/technical_papers.htm). Combined with a growing number of engineering practice joint venture seminars, forums, conferences and promotional presentations the magazine is no longer the sum total of Institution information services but just a part of an overall strategy. I hope you enjoy reading this magazine as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. We have intended for it, principally, to be a "good read". Feedback, as ever, is welcome. |
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