Subject: Re: BHA: JCR coup - an absence?
Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 18:13:13 -0000


Dear Listers,

re : Many absences!

It would indeed be interesting to know why 7 nameless IACR councillors
have taken it upon themselves to relinquish the un paid demonstrably
successful services of the elected sole editor without any resort to the
membership who elected him. Personally, I would like the opportunity to
know the identity of those 7 named individuals,( since it was not a
secret ballot)  their  reasons for their failing to express themselves
about the options they were offered
in the public arena on Council,  and some rationale as to why the
membership that elected them have been specifically excluded from having
any say now over  the immediate future of our journal. To whom do the 7
think they are ultimately accountable? Are there any of them on the list
who could comment?

What IACR members now have is a non existent but soon ( how soon?)
to -be -created   unproven, un-named unelected team to preside over the
next stage of the journal under the leadership of the ex officio deputy
editor. ( rather a lot of absences here!) We also have a launch issue in
the pipeline but that pipeline
seems to be getting longer for reasons that remain unexplained.
I for one as a member of IACR expect a full and principled accounting
from the General Secretary , not some 'business as usual'
'sweep everything under the carpet' ' give them vague  generalities'
'roll out the president to make reassuring noises'  type of response. I
suspect we shall be offered the latter but hope this will not be the
case.

A preferable,  less onerous and perhaps less embarrassing solution for
IACR Council would be to respond to the demands of some members for an
immediate and urgent by- election.

As an IACR member I have requested IACR Council that the members be
allowed under the
existing constitution to have a by election for the vacant elected
editorship.
Through so doing the arguments in favour of and against various
contending options for the future of the journal would be placed in the
public arena which is where they should always have been.

Only thus would this damaging controversy be ended appropriately and the
future editorial arrangements have legitimacy. The outcome may not be
different than what members have now but at least we would know that
this is what the majority of members want.

Listers should know that I am Mervyn's partner and can fully vouch for
the veracity of his account of what he has experienced in the last five
weeks which has been Kafkaesque, to say the least. Other actors would no
doubt have their own interpretations which would differ, but there are
some ontological realities here which remain constant regardless of
interpretations.

Cheers, Rachel


Rachel Sharp
13 Spenser Rd
Herne Hill, London

Phone:0044(0)207 7372892
fax:as above
email: rssharp-AT-btinternet.com
----- Original Message -----
From: John Mingers <John.Mingers-AT-mail.wbs.warwick.ac.uk>
To: <bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: 15 November 2002 10:32
Subject: Re: BHA: JCR coup - an absence?


> There seems to me to be a significant absence occurring here - an
> absence of comment on the list from those who regularly post, and an
> absence of comment from the IACR committee putting forward their side
of
> the matter.
>
> For myself, I am very much an outsider, not being involved at all with
> either the organizations or with Mervyn. What I will say is:
>
> i) I have always found Mervyn's posts extremely knowledgable and
> helpful. Indeed, he sometimes seemed so knowledgable that I wondered
if
> he was actually Roy under a pseudonym! I would certainly not like to
> lose him from the CR world.
>
> ii) The academic world relies on people committed to putting in much
> time and effort for no material reward and marginalising such people
is
> very risky.
>
> iii) I strongly dislike the under-the-counter and distorted
> communications that seems to have occurred here. If critical realists
> cannot have open and honest debates between themselves then what hope
is
> there for us?
>
> I would very much like to hear from IACR committee members and other
> members of the list giving their views and positions
>
> John
>
>
> Dr. John Mingers
> Professor of OR and Systems
>  Warwick Business School
>  Warwick University
>  Coventry CV4 7AL UK
> phone: +2476 522475
> fax: +2476 524539
> email: j.mingers-AT-warwick.ac.uk
>
>




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