About this issue

THE PROBLEM of how to handle one´s own research publications often poses a dilemma for the editor of a journal. The editor of this Transactions has struggled with this problem for years and has still not resolved it. The first paper, jointly authored with two of his colleagues, represents at least a temporary resolution. It was, of course, reviewed in the usual manner and is first in this issue for alphabetical reasons (happily for the editor´s opinion of its importance and relevance to the management of RD&E). This paper is one of the first reports of a long term study of the origination, flow, and disposition of ideas for new projects in research and development laboratories, which started at Northwestern in 1962. It emphasizes some of the critical psychological, sociological, and political factors that are critical in a process that is often thought of as primarily rational and economic.