Challenges to Comprehension Implied by the Logo of Laetus in Praesens
Laetus in Praesens
4th March 1988

International Organization Information / Research: 1988

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Prepared for Union of International Associations (Executive Council, 4th March 1988)
Based on report to General Assembly, 27 November 1986; amendments marked (***)
See also searchable PDF version (original titles, sub-headings, order and typography); also reports 1959-2006
Document also in segmented format in the Kairos indexed database

Organization profiles / networks

Yearbook of International Organizations: An overview of this series is given in Annex A, and composed of the following 3 volumes.

Organization descriptions and index (Volume 1): This volume was successfully completed on schedule for publication in July 1986. This was the first time that the publication was produced through the new computer system. No use was made of the external service bureau on which the UIA has been dependent for the past 14 years.

A number of innovations or improvements were made, partly to facilitate the integration at the computer level which the computer system makes possible:

International Organization Participation (Volume 2): This publication was completed on schedule for publication in August 1986. It was produced for the first time on the in-house computer using a specially commissioned set of programmes.

Global Action Networks (Volume 3): Editorial work was completed in October, slightly behind the schedule necessary to ensure publication before the end of 1986. It is hoped that this will still be possible. Reasons for the delay were in large part due to the fact that a completely new approach was taken to the editorial work on this publication which takes maximum advantage of the in-house system. An extensive suite of programs had to be debugged under production conditions in addition to discovering the best way to make use of these tools under editorial conditions. The main visible differences to this publication are as follows:

World problems / Strategic potential

Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential: The first copies of this publication were delivered in June 1986, following a number of delays in completing the editorial work. The delays were partly due to the innovative nature of the publication and partly due to the problems in testing out the new computer system. In effect this publication was used to debug the editorial, software and hardware problems of the in-house network prior to its use for Volume 1 of the Yearbook.

Methodology: Although this publication follows the (earlier) experimental Yearbook of World Problems and Human Potential, it is perhaps appropriate to review its function in relation to the Yearbook of International Organizations. The Encyclopedia is essentially based on the perceptions of international bodies and constltutencies as reflected in their documents.

"Problems": Especially in the case of the world problems section, entries are built up from paragraphs selected from such documents in order to portray the preoccupations of organizations in as clear and concise a manner as possible, whether or not those perceptions are accepted by other international constituencies. Juxtaposing contradictory perceptions is seen as a means of reflecting the global problematique such that different constituencies can identify with different parts of it, recognize the parts they do not accept, and develop an understanding of how these differences of perception affect coherent response to the global problematique as a whole. This section is therefore an extension of the editorial approach already developed by the UIA, and in fact would be extremely difficult without that foundation. As with the Yearbook organizations, the UIA does not take a position on the "seriousness" of the problems documented, but endeavours to reflect the importance attached to that problem by the constituency sensistive to it.

Other sections: To counterbalance the focus on the "negative" characteristics of the world system, six other sections focus on different ways of engendering a more effective "positive" response. Each of these would tend to be favoured by a different international constituency, which might well reject the other sections as inappropriate or irrelevant.

The justification for a number of these sections has been reinforced by the UIA's participation (from 1978 to 1982) in the UN University project on Goals, Processes and Indicators of Development launched by Johan Galtung. In the absence of appropriately structured information:

Risks: As explicitly stated in an introductory warning to users (Annex 4), the publication remains experimental and deliberately takes risks consistent with a sense of urgency in the face of.the global problematique. Clearly such risks go beyond what is considered "acceptable'' by any one international constituency, whether academic or otherwise. But in doing so, the publication as a whole does reflect, to a greater degree than can be found in many other reference books, the diversity of views which contribute to the dynamic of the international community.

Weaknesses: The biases and weakne.sses of the Encyclopedia are explicitly noted therein (see Annex 4 and 5). Many entries could have been considerably improved had the resources been available. But experience with the Yearbook demonstrates that such improvement can be achieved over a number of editions and that it is more useful to provide inadequate information immediately rather than wait until an entry is adequate according to some strict standard.

Reviews and reactions: Review copies have been made available by Saur and by UIA to nearly 100 contacts. Only a few reviews have been received so far, presumably because of the usual delays in the periodical publishing cycle. Reactions have been very favourable. Some have been embarrassingly enthusiastic.

Future edition: At a meeting on 18th February 1987 Mr Saur indicated that in December 1986 he was at -140,000 DM for the Encyclopedia, although he agreed that many reviews had not yet appeared, and their brochure was only available in that month. This figure does not include overheads (distribution costs, promotion, postage). He claims he needs 20% to make a profit and 40% to make a realistic profit.

The original contract provided for editorial costs of 150,000DM and royalties of 50,000DM. He suggests that a contract for a future edition provide for editorial costs of 50,000DM and royalties of 50,000DM.

On the timing, he said that it would not be useful to publish a new edition before June 1989, even if the current edition were out of stock in June 1988. If we needed funds earlier to start preparing the new edition (eg from January 1988), an advance could be arranged and added to the monthly schedule of payments.

Meetings scheduled / Conference organization / Associate Membership

International Congress Calendar (quarterly): The report on the editorial and publishing aspects of this publication will be made separately.

Production of the Calendar, prior to final typesetting, has now been completely transferred onto the new in-house computer system. This work is now much more thoroughly integrated at the computer level with that on the organizations organizing meetings.

A final phase, not yet completed, is the transfer of the computer files (previously maintained by the service bureau) for the period 1981 to 1984 onto the new system.

By-products / CD-ROM / Online

Guides to International Organization: Saur has indicated that, because of difficulties in selling the four volumes so far produced in this series, no further plans can be made at this time. The problem is largely a result of Saur's own policies requiring publications of a certain size (400-600 pages) to be sold at an unreasonably high price, with minimum marketing effort.

In February 1987 Mr Saur indicated that he was still below his technical break-even point (ie not including any overheads or profit as follows: African Arab-Islamic Abbreviations IGO 23,000 DM 12,000 DM 6,520 OM 27,700 DM (August 1985) (August 1985) (December 1986) (December 1986) He used this situation to argue that in terms of any new contract for Guides-type puyblications (and that includes any subject defined mini-directories) the current arrangement of 28.50 DM/page was absolutely impossible. He proposed a figure of 10 OM/page. UIA must evaluate whether this is of interest. Mr Saur also said that he was still interested in the possibility of an Asian directory at that rate. He suggested that for a 500 page publication the royalties remain at 5% up to 500 but 15% above 500.

Mini-directories: Although no mini-directories have as yet been produced independently of Saur, the first of these is currently being planned with UNESCO. This will be a "Directory of NGOs in Consultative Status with UNESCO" (see Annex 6), which is being produced in protype form for review by a committee of the Executive Board prior to any decision on a larger print run. From the UIA point of view, production of this prototype will 6 establish the viability and costs of such an exercise prior to proposing similar directories to other organizations under some suitable collaborative arrangement. Where possible such directories will be sub-sets of the Yearbook Volume 1.

Modifications may however be made, as well as inclusions of information characteristic of the presentation in Volumes 2 and 3, as well as the Encyclopedia.

At the February meeting Mr Saur examined a summary of 17 mini-directory possibilities provided by UIA. He would like to produce four this year if this can be done at the 10 DM/page rate (see paragraph 1.3.1 above). He will inform UIA which ones are required, with the object of producing them after Volume 2.

The checklist of possible subject directories submitted to him is given in Annex 7.

Associations review / journal

Transnational Associations / Associations transnationales (bimonthly)

[NB: Versions of the UIA periodical: La Vie Internationale, 1912-21; Bulletin des associations internationals, 1943-44; Bulletin mensuel, 1951-53; International Associations, 1954-76; Transnational Associations, 1977-2001]

Legal status / Statutes

International Association Statutes: Because of the editorial work load in connection with the production of the 3-volume Yearbook and the Encyclopedia it has proved impossible to complete the editorial proof-correction of the statutes awaiting publication. These have however been transferred onto the new computer system and it is hoped to complete this work over the next six months. The main reasons for the delay are the peculiar nature of the proof reading required (legal documents) and continuing confusion over the currency of the statutes, which are often undated.

Proposal: On the basis of the original agreement with Mr Saur, that his costs would be limited to the keyboarding costs, he agreed to an amount to the order of 550,000 BF (namely, the bill from ICA). The royalties would be paid at the rate of 5% up to 500 copies (non-deductible from amounts already paid?) and 15% over 500 copies. He was prepared to pay an advance of 150,000BF (in addition to and outside of the monthly payments) to cover any final proof reading, however superficial we decided was appropriate.

Collaborative projects / External relations

IERD Series: This 3-volume series is edited by the Institue of Cultural Affairs International and arises from a 1984/86 programme built around the International Exposition on Rural Development (New Delhi, 1984) and its follow-up. The UIA has provided advice on these publications, published by Saur, who tends to market them in association with UIA publications and especially the Encyclopedia. Although UIA derives no direct financial benefit from this series, it does provide a link to those primarily interested in development issues, especially through the ICA interest in drawing the attention of their contacts to the presence of ICA research results in the Encyclopedia. This material was included as a result of a number of editorial contracts concluded with ICA (Brussels) during production of the Encyclopedia.

Research / Statistics

Research publications: The main research effort since 1984 has been directed towards the preparation of the Encyclopedia. Subsequent studies include the following:

Secretariat / Administration / Human resources

Pattern of sales:

(a) Saur and UIA are in general pleased with the sale of the Yearbook series which is now established on a a 3-volume annual basis. Saur claims that sales of Volumes 2 and 3 have stabilized at an acceptable level to justify continuation. He was obliged to print an extra 400 7 copies to fulfil demand for the last edition of Volume 1 which exceeded their estimates. From the UIA point of view sales are definitely not as great could be desired, but Saur points out that these are extremely difficult times for libraries which in most cases have found their budgets severely cut.

(b) Neither Saur norUIA are pleased with the sales of the 4-volume series of Guides to International Organization. The reasons for the poor sales were noted earlier. This has little negative impact on the UIA, but certainly has not had a positive impact as was hoped.

(c) The sales pattern of the Encyclopedia is not yet clear and will presumably be dependent on the reviews which will be appearing in the coming months, as well as on further marketing efforts by UIA.

Contractual relationship with publisher (KG Saur) The contractual relationship has taken the following form:

These contracts stipulated monthly payments by Saur to cover editorial costs, minimum royalties (whatever the sales; payable on publication) and royalties arising from sales above the minimum (payable at the end of a budgetary cycle). This arrangement proved so complicated that it was agree to pay a fixed monthly amount covering all publications and then to balance the accounts at the end of each budgetary period.

The problem with this approach is that in Saur's view the fixed monthly amount gradually ceased to be perceived as a "prepayment" to cover editorial costs. The act of balancing the accounts at the end of a budgetary cycle resulted in 'OIA "owing" amounts to Saur. Negotiations focussed on the size of the monthly amount, irrespective of the production cycle.

Because of the claims by Saur that the library market was in a difficult state, it became possible for him to argue successfully for a reduction in the monthly amounta The complexities of this situation have been clarified under a new contract which covers all publications.

The contractual situation is not particularly satisfactory but it is unclear that any more satisfactory formula could be found, whether with Saur, with another publisher or if the UIA were to return to publishing its own books. such possibilities should of course be explored to anticipate any future change in Saur's fortunes.

Marketing:

Diversification In the light of the semi-stable nature of the contractual relationship with the publisher, K G Saur Verlag, there is clear merit in envisaging ways of diversifying UIA operations to reduce dependence on a single external body over which the UIA has little real control.

Such diversification might well take the form of producing some publications through other publishers or in collaboration with other bodies. The possible need to switch the main publications, or some of them, to a new publisher should be explored.

New forms of information packaging Given the current advances in information handling, attention should continue to be given to such opportunities as online access, laser disk distribution, laser cards, etc., especially in terms of the UIA commitment to making information more readily available at a more accessible cost.

The developing field of "desk-top publishing", for which the U.IA is fully equipped, should be explored. There is no reason why the UIA should not produce newsletters, reports; or directories for other organizations on demand. This does however call for an increased degree of personalized contact with bodies potentially interested in this form of collaboration. The UIA could produce its own periodical in this way, since the procedures have now been fully tested or the UIA could envisage the production of new specialized newsletters.

The whole question of UIA production of mini-directories, extracted from its own database, should continue to be actively explored (as discussed earlier).

Comprehension of information The developing information society is characterized by vast amounts of ir~formation of which it is difficult for an individual to make effective use. This is the preoccupation of a current project of the UN University on "information overload and information underuse", to which the UIAhas contributed. The difficulty for an individual or an institution to comprehend patterns of significance has however been neglected in the rush to exploit the market for information.

The UIA is as much a part of the problem as it is part of the solution. The coverage of the Yearbooks facilitates access to specific items of information. They do not facilitate comprehension of patterns of relationship, except to a modest degree in Volume 3. In a number of respects the Yearbook is unuseable in terms of the needs and budgetary restrictions of the bodies which the UIA aims to to serve.

This question has been explored in a number of UIA studies. Advantage should therefore be taken of the explicit encouragement received from the UN University (Division of Gobal Learning) and from UNESCO (Studies and Programming Office) to continue to explore the possibilities of producing network maps to present the pattern of relationships between organizations, between problems, and between organizations and problems. The UIA London sub-contractor is very interested in convertingUIA data into map form in order to be able to produce "atlases" of network maps. These would attract the attention of bodies otherwise uninterested in UIA information on the international community and its preoccupations.

New edition of Encyclopedia (and its by-products) The original contractual obligation with Saur was for two editions of the Encyclopedia. Clearly there is little point in pushing for a second edition before the sales of the first warrant it. Nevertheless it must be borne in mind that such a publication takes time to prepare.

Immediate advantage can however be taken of the material in various sections of the Encyclopedia, which can be produced or developed as separate publications. One of the advantages of this is that a number of the sections are of interest to quite distinct international constituencies with whom UIA could usefully develop contacts. For example, it is clear from the reaction to the section on metaphors, that this could be developed into an independent publication representing an alternative approach to the problem of comprehension of global society in an information rich environment.

Cultivation of contacts The above points all suggest the need for the UIA to cultivate its contacts more effectively. Hitherto.this has been-very difficult because of the priorities accorded to publication production and the cost of individualized correspondence. With the new computer system a more fruitful approach can be taken (including the possibilities offered by electronic mail in which the UIA is now engaged).

Many organizations take the trouble to write sympathetic and encouraging letters to the UIA expressing interest in UIA activities. It has seldom been possible to respond to these in the manner they deserve. Such neglect in the long run.can only be a disservice to the UIA and to the interests it seeks to serve. In this context, the possibility of the UIA actually hosting an electronic mail system for international organizations should not be ignored. The costs of doing so are relatively low and the long term benefits to participants, including the UIA, make it easily justifiable. such systems are in effect the contemporary concretization of the international networking activity which the UIA seeks to facilitate and for which it is now well-equipped.

Computer-related infrastructure

Current hardware situation. The system currently consists of the following elements:

The initial difficulties with the hardware have been overcome. Continuing difficulties, when they emerge, tend to be maintenance problems. There continues to be some doubt concerning the vulnerability of the equipment to surges in the power supply. The merit of obtaining a surge suppressor is under investigation. Although two of the micro-computers are equipped with co-processor chips to increase the speed 10 of operation, some editorial operations (e.g. on Volume 3) have been hindered by an inadequate rate of access. It is hoped to increase the speed of machines from 4.4 to 8 mH when this becomes feasible.

Current software situation The following software is currently in use:

Data held on the network The current disk capacity of 146 million characters is used for the following purpose:

Whilst it is possible to hold the organization, calendar and problems files on the system simultaneously, this can only be done when there is no need for disk work areas for intermediary production files. However the technique of transferring non-priority files onto backu.p tapes has now been satisfactorily mastered. Whilst a core group of files is always accessible on the network, the pattern of non-priority files held on it changes a great deal from day to day.

Usage of the system A frequent concern with computer systems is whether they are appropriately used. Here the situation may be summarized as follows:

In general the system is fully exploited. Although th.ere are times when work stations are not in use (as with a typewriter), there are periods when the network is in continuous operation, day and night, for several weeks running.

During the period in which the network was installed, there were 3 days on which in was not possible to work with the machines: one day due to installation procedures, and 2 days due to necessary adjustments to the new installation.

Adaptation of working methods All staff working on publication production in one capacity or another have now adapted their working methods to take advantage of the computer system. All editorial work is now done directly onto the network without any intermediate "secretarial" phase. Although programs continue to be developed to facilitate particular tasks, no irritating difficulties remain unresolved.

Knowledge of how to control particular applications is now shared more widely, although each individual has developed personalized methods of work which are not. There is now much less hesitation about how best to derive benefit from the system although new ways of organizing work continue to be discovered as each person's knowledge increases.

Because of the complexities of the many operations involved, it has been considered undesirable to devote valuable time to rationalizing the system beyond a certain degree. Now that the complete cycle of UIA publications has been transferred to the system, procedures will be progresslvely tidied up in the light of experience with the production runs. Documentation has already been built up on the more complex procedures. Further progress on this front is desirable, when time and production priorities permit.

[See Annexes in PDF format] Annexes l. Contents of Volume l 2. Volume l nwarning" 3. Contents of Volume 3 4. Encyclopedia "Warning" 5. Encyclopedia "Biases/Assessment" 6. Contents of UNESCO NGO Directory 7. Checklist of possible subject directories

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