• DEVEX 2011 Review
• Oxfordshire Fossils Field Trip Review
• London Field Trip Review
• London Evening Lecture Review
• Norwegian Barents Sea

Plus much more inside

President’s Page- Steve Garrett

PESGB are continuing to increase our use of online communication (PESGB website, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube) and we hope that you are finding this useful. In addition to this, the
monthly Newsletter retains a central role in serving the membership. There is a challenge to find the right complementary balance between online and paper content. Online publication can become very useful in keeping up to date on topical issues. Examples of timely online publication include the response to the BGS core store decision in 2010, or the submission regarding the impact of NERC cuts in 2011.
One logistical constraint is the publishing schedule for the Newsletter. The deadline for each month’s issue is generally the first day of the month before publication. As a result, the news published in the Newsletter may be somewhat mature by the time of delivery to your letterbox. Nevertheless, the Newsletter is a valuable reference for the membership. European and international industry news sections are contributed by courtesy of organisations who sell this information on a subscription basis. The current publication arrangement allows the members to benefit without affecting the contributors’ subscription revenues gained from immediate publication.
Some members have suggested it is time to let more Newsletter material cross the line from ‘informative’ to ‘stimulating and controversial’. For example, back in 2001, the PESGB published a number of articles under the heading of “Opinion Pieces” which were neither Editorial nor Presidential meanderings but other pieces on topics of interest to the membership. The first two were contributed by Henry Allen [“Can We Manage Oil Industry Cyclicity More Effectively?”] and Giancarlo Rizzi [“Who speaks for our new graduates?”]. Both articles stimulated some debate amongst the membership of the time and all subsequent contributions were accepted. Council and this editor are more than happy to resurrect the series. A standard page in the Newsletter will hold around five hundred and twenty words of your thoughts – considerably longer than any tweet and with a longer residence time on your bookshelf. It is also possible that we could enable online follow-up comments from members.
The online and paper publications are intended to support the charitable educational objectives of the Society so please be reminded that publication will not include items which could be seen to be political in nature. It is also worth clarifying that, while conference abstracts are made available, PESGB will not publish technical papers as the Society has no desire to compete with other journals or learned societies.
Opinion pieces will be published by the PESGB with a view to engaging members of the Society in a debate around issues which affect their industry and themselves. The views expressed in Opinion Pieces as published in the Newsletter will be entirely the responsibility of the individual authors alone, and will not imply an opinion of the Council or publisher of the Newsletter.
Please tell us what’s on your mind in the form of an Opinion Piece. Take note of the deadlines shown on page 33. Contributions should be sent to Rebecca Wade (rebecca@pesgb.org.uk).