A systems approach to the management of a scientific journal

A model is proposed of the scientific journal as a specialized communication medium embedded in a highly unstructured communication process, its characteristics are found in its specialized process for continuously sampling, filtering, and converting the flow of ideas into a stable and visible form. Its the immediate (and long range) readership, and the purpose of the journal, which may range from current event reporting to archival, from theory to application, from tutorial to dialectic, and the like. A wide variety of both old and innovative techniques are presented which may be useful in making improvements, and especially in establishing and maintaining a shared view of function with both contributors and readers. Not only the editorial and content sections of the journal but also supplementary means, such as instructions to authors, are discussed.