Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment
Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
The Encyclopaedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) is a source document for knowledge, as well as a document that contains discussions encompassing the interactions and interplay in human activities, and associated infrastructure. As a source book for students, researchers, and professional practitioners concerned with integrated approaches to sustainable development through management of natural and human engineered resources, the EOLSS will satisfy five critical needs:
These objectives will be facilitated by the publication of EOLSS on the Web and in CD-ROM format, which permits a higher degree of interactivity. They will also benefit greatly from the inclusion of a comprehensive Study Guide and by appropriate use of bibliographies and cross-references.
The following is a reminder of the objectives and target audiences for the EOLSS.
The knowledge portrayal in the EOLSS will have the following objectives fulfilled at different levels of writings.
There are five major target audiences for the EOLSS:
EOLSS contributions will be written at different levels of hierarchy in increasing order of specialization, in order to provide increasing depth of knowledge reflecting the overall structure of educational curricula.
The contributions should be informative and instructive for formal use and also be helpful for self-study. The presentation of knowledge should progress gradually, covering principles, paradigms, methodologies, examples, practices, case studies, and perspectives. Contributions should render the EOLSS as an expert advisory associate that summarizes the state of the art and presents formal knowledge principles, knowledge practices, and future perspectives.
In addition, contributions will suggest bibliographic sources for further study. Information that is vital for the process of decision-making must be provided wherever possible. Therefore fundamental principles, paradigms and methodologies should appear throughout the three distinct levels of writings of each Theme, with varying emphasis on the complexity of presentation, bearing in mind the five target audiences mentioned above.
These establish the scope of the Topics that will follow. Theme-level contributions are not intended to offer in-depth detailed presentations of the micro-level details of a particular subject, but rather to integrate all aspects of the Topics that are found within the Theme. Popular appeal and lucidity should be major characteristics of these writings, such as to cause them to suit a broad audience.
Theme-level contributions may include broad historical perspectives, foundations of the discipline and future-oriented (towards sustainable world development) discussion. The length of Theme-level contributions is expected to be in the range of 15,000 to 20,000 words, with a split of approximately 75% pure text and 25% non-text (Figures, equations etc).
These may include detailed perspectives, providing a broad summary and evaluation of the subjects to be covered by a group of Articles. Topic-level contributions will provide in-depth summaries and indicate where progress is being made in the field. Thus, Topic level contributions will generally be more specialized than Theme-level writings.
The length of Topic-level contributions is expected to be in the range of 10,000 to 15,000 words, with a split of approximately 75% pure text and 25% non-text (Figures, equations etc).
Most of the contributions in the EOLSS will be written at the Article level. Articles will cover a subject in depth and contain relevant and necessary details of the established knowledge associated with it.
Articles should have a self-contained Introduction that presents background information that allows the reader whether student, practitioner or researcher, to gain a relatively complete picture of the subject.
The main part of the Article should then describe the state of the art of the subject treated, in an increasing degree of detail, and should tell an expert in a related field what they need to know about the subject of the Article.
The length of Article-level contributions is generally expected to be in the range of 5,000 to 10,000 words, with a split of approximately 75% pure text and 25% non-text (Figures, equations etc).
General
There are three basic types of citations commonly used in literary
works:
A few encyclopaedias use all three forms of citations. Since the EOLSS is intended to be useful to a wide audience, and to be as self-contained as possible, it has been decided to encourage use of citation forms 2 and 3, and not to allow citations of form 1. It is felt that the latter are more appropriate to a research journal where it is necessary to avoid repeating such items as detailed derivations that may be found in other papers in the literature. This editorial judgment is necessarily applicable to all writings in the EOLSS.
The bibliographic items should, therefore, not be cited in the body of the contribution. This is to ensure presentation of the relevant material in the contribution itself to render it stand-alone and useful for self study. This decision has been made considering the undesirable possibility of the writings carrying undue diversions to outside sources, with the onus of further information and/or explanation being on the reader. Such writings could become sketchy by merely directing the reader to other sources; we feel this should be avoided in an encyclopaedia.
Direct quotes may be identified in the running text, without a reference in parenthesis.
Editors and authors are strongly encouraged to include cross-references to other parts of the Theme and the EOLSS as a whole. Cross-references link parts of knowledge that are related but placed in different writings and thereby integrate the EOLSS body of knowledge. You are also asked to provide an Annotated Bibliography listing literary works on important related subject matter. Significant Websites may also be listed after the bibliography, but please limit this list to no more than five.
The policy of EOLSS is as follows. A statement does not require a reference if it expresses a fact that can be found in any standard textbook or in any of the well-known treatises on the subject. Many readers of the EOLSS will be very interested in the initial sources of knowledge, especially those discussions that go beyond "common knowledge", and those which cannot be verified by reference to commonly available sources.
These items are appropriate for the Annotated Bibliography. Often, subjects that you are discussing will also be considered in other contributions within the EOLSS. It is certainly desirable to include these within the text as cross-references. One of the many duties of the in-house editors will be to look for, enhance, and verify internal cross-references.
The purpose of the Annotated Bibliography is to serve as a guide to related sources of background reading. It can be used to acknowledge earlier seminal contributions, especially textbook writings. Annotations are intended to provide precise information on the nature and importance of the items cited.
All recent worthy books that deal with the subject can be included. Journal articles of significance and relevance may also be worthy of inclusion. Even simple annotations such as [Exceptionally fine reference] or [Contains extensive bibliography], can be helpful. Only relatively widely available published material should be included. Unpublished work should only be cited if it is in press, or to be published by the time that the EOLSS appears, so that a full citation may be included at page proof time.
Format of bibliographic items.
Please follow the format illustrated below:
Al-Sulami S.A. and Hodgkiess T. (1997). Investigation of the chemistry of alkaline scale formation: influence of vacuum, heat flux and some antiscalants on the thermal decomposition of bicarbonate. IDA World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse (Proceedings of the IDA World Congress, Madrid, 1997), Vol. 3 (ed. Centro de Estudios y Experimentacion de Obras Publicas), pp. 519530. Madrid: Ministerio de Fomento Centro de Publicaciones. [This paper investigates scaling phenomena in seawater desalination systems with focus on the formation of alkaline scales and the influence of various conditions of the plant]
Skirrow G. (1975). The dissolved gases carbon dioxide. Chemical Oceanography, Vol. 2 (ed. J.P. Riley and G. Skirrow), pp. 1183. London, New York, San Francisco: Academic Press. [This presents a comprehensive discussion on carbon dioxide as a dissolved gas in water]
Somlyσdy L. (1991). Application of systems analysis in water pollution control: Perspectives for Central and Eastern Europe. Water Science and Technology 24(6), 7387. [This work provides extensive data concerning water pollution in a major part of Europe]
Stumm W. and Morgan J.J. (1981). Aquatic Chemistry. An Introduction Emphasizing Chemical Equilibria in Natural Waters, 780 pp. New York, Chichester, Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons. [This book introduces all the essential aspects of aquatic chemistry with special focus on chemical equilibriums in naturally occurring water sources and bodies]
Cross-references
Cross-references to other contributions within the EOLSS are strongly encouraged. These serve as links to items in any part of the EOLSS body of knowledge. Cross-references enhance the integrity of the body of knowledge and assure the reader of the availability of related information within the EOLSS itself. A contribution may require supporting knowledge and/or further elaboration that is not possible within the contribution itself, so that a cross-reference is needed to other locations within the EOLSS. With good cross-referencing, EOLSS can be rendered a truly independent and comprehensive source of knowledge.
Cross-referencing to other contributions within the EOLSS will be an important feature of EOLSS contributions. Every Honorary Theme Editor and all his/her authors will have the content information as it relates to their theme, so that cross-references to writings in the same Theme can be made with the precise titles. The cross-reference should appear in the most appropriate place within the text, and should not include the hierarchical number. Please insert the precise titles in appropriate places within the body of your contribution and highlight them in yellow background so that they can be easily noticed for editing and linking.
An example of how such a cross-reference should appear, is as follows:
In total, CO2 emissions from the transportation sector have grown from 5.5 to 5.9 tonnes per capita in U.S.A. between 1973 and 1996, and from 4.3 to 4.6 in Canada (see Environmental Pollution from Road Vehicles, Trains and Aircraft).
If the cross-referencing is to contributions in a Theme other than yours, you are requested to insert suggestions for cross-references to relevant subjects (or subject domains) at the end of a section or subsection within the contribution in normal font (no italics). Please again highlight such items in yellow, as follows:
1. .
.
Reductions of fossil fuel use also reduces health threatening urban and regional smog and release of toxins such as mercury. It is important to note that the balance of costs and benefits in this definition are for society as a whole, and not for individual emitters. Many businesses have dismissed "no regrets" measures as illusory since they consider the issue from the perspective only of the bottom line for the company, and not the balance sheet for society as a whole. The need for government intervention to capture "no regrets" options is obvious.(see: greenhouse gases, urban pollution, heavy metal pollution)
The editorial department of EOLSS will use these cues and will replace them with the precise titles of the most appropriate contributions. The user of the EOLSS will be able to click on the cross-reference items and directly access the desired contribution.
Finally
The Instructions for Authors have been expanded and are well illustrated at the EOLSS Website whose address is http://www.eolss.com .
Honorary Theme Editors should advise all the members of their team to make frequent visits to the site, for updates and information.
