Meet the Editorial Board Members
East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal (EASTS)
Get to know the Editorial Board members behind East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal (EASTS) . In this interview, we chatted with five members of the EASTS Editorial Team who gave us valuable insights into their work, day-to-day roles, aspirations and processes of running a journal.
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Please tell us a bit about yourself, your work, and your role on the editorial board for this journal.
Expand each tab below to read each member’s response.
For the past 15 years, I have developed a keen interest in law and science, spurred by my involvement with colleagues in the STS community in a long-running collective lawsuit filed by RCA workers in Taiwan against their former employers for workplace-related cancers. As an Associate Editor, I assist the EiC by screening incoming submissions, finding suitable reviewers, and helping authors navigate the review and revision processes.
I prepare and edit various documents on the EiC’s behalf, such as editorial articles, editorial letters, and meeting agenda for annual international editorial meetings. Along with our Project Manager Ting and the Editorial Assistants, we keep track of the progress of each article, communicate with authors, reviewers, editorial members and special issue guest editors, and report on the progress of the articles at our editorial meeting to ensure smooth operation of the journal.
In my role, I assist the EiC to ensure that these administrative tasks are handled smoothly. This involves facilitating communication between NSTC, the EASTS Editorial Office (including our book review and cover curating teams), and several publisher departments to coordinate online and in-print publications, as well as journal mailings. In addition to the “paper” work, I also coordinate local and international meetings and lectures to promote academic exchange among scholars from different regions and generations.
As Editor-in-Chief of the journal, what do you find most rewarding about your role?
Given that STS is a cross-disciplinary field, we receive submissions spanning across a wide range of topics, including engineering, medicine, energy, and artificial intelligence. It is challenging to find reviewers for interdisciplinary work. However, EASTS serves as a platform where different works pool together, cultivating an excellent community of scholars. As the EiC, I have had the privilege of working with many excellent scholars and engaging in fruitful discussions with them.
In addition to our scholarly achievements, I take great pride in the special effort and attention that EASTS dedicates to aesthetics in curating our articles. Many of our readers have expressed appreciation for the cover images featured in our issues. We have a dedicated team ensuring that each cover image is carefully selected to reflect the theme of the respective issue.
EASTS also serves as a social hub where we bring together scholars with similar interests through various social gatherings. For example, at the annual 4S (Society for Social Studies of Science) meeting, we uphold the tradition of hosting an event called “EASTS Night.” In recent years, we have collaborated with our sister journal, Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society, to host this event. Last year, at the Honolulu conference, we were delighted to welcome over 120 guests, making it a great success.
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Collection of distinctive covers for each issue of EASTS . View full collection here.
And what are some of the long-term goals you have for the journal’s development and impact in Science and Technology Studies (STS)?
For example, the position of traditional medicine in a modernizing and globalizing society is a recurring topic in the Asian STS, although it might not be as mainstream in the global STS discourse. Carrying constant dialogues between EASTS and the global STS community can greatly contribute in defining the field of STS.
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As Associate Editors, what are some key qualities you look for in a strong research paper submitted to EASTS?
As Managing Editor, can you walk us through the typical workflow for a manuscript submission, from initial submission to publication?
Once an article progresses to the next stage, we consult our editorial board to identify potential reviewers. Often, an Associate Editor is appointed as a duty editor responsible for overseeing the article’s review process. Each article follows a unique path once we hear back from the reviewers. We collaborate with duty editors to determine the next steps, often involving multiple rounds of revisions and further reviewing before reaching the publication stage. Given the diverse perspectives among reviewers and editors, terms like “revise and resubmit” and “minor revision” may carry varying interpretations. It is our responsibility at the editorial office to navigate such inconsistencies and strive for balanced decision-making.
Can you share more about your day to day responsibilities in project management, and how you assist authors throughout the submission and publication process from the perspective of a Project Manager?
We also offer English editing services for authors whose first language is not English. Once the article is accepted after its rounds of revision, I will contact the author(s) and the publisher to sign the publishing agreement and production, following typesetting and proofreading.
Supported by NSTC and our publishing partner Routledge, the EAST Editorial Office designates some articles for open access publication without article processing charges, aiming to promote quality East Asian STS articles and to support scholars from economically disadvantaged countries.
We discuss the arrangements for each seasonal issue in our meetings. I will prepare the Table of Contents accordingly, in collaboration with the book review convenor and assistant, and organize the cover design with our cover curating team members (or sometimes guest editors) and designer to fit the specific issue with EiC’s approval. When an issue is typeset, the managing editor and I will double-check the proof for printing.
Even after publication, my responsibilities continue. Sometimes we receive requests about copyright and hear of future book publication plans. We always encourage the authors and publishers to contact Taylor and Francis Group to understand rights and permissions regarding reprinting, translation, and so forth; however, if there is any issue for further discussion, EASTS is also happy to provide assistance. Please feel free to contact [email protected] if you have any inquiries.
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About the Journal
East Asian Science, Technology and Society: an International Journal (EASTS) aims to actively engage with the global STS community and to critically assess how science, technology and society are co-produced and mutually evolve. EASTS includes, but is not limited to, research articles, research notes, review articles, reflective essays, and book reviews.