Call for PE&RS Articles Practical series on Photogrammetry

At at meeting of the Journal Policy Committee in March, the PE&RS editorial staff agreed to inaugurate a series of short, popular articles on a variety of topics focused specifically on photogrammetry. The list on the right itemizes some of the major topics we want to address. It has been generated by concerned members who seek to improve the balance of technical content in the Journal and who want to rejuvenate its photogrammetric origins. The editorial staff applauds this initiative and is now seeking contributions from the membership on this list of topics, or others you might identify.

The aim of the series is to provide an on-going (perhaps monthly) column for continuing education and discussion in photogrammetry. In the future, the series will be included on the ASPRS web site as a collection for others to browse and use, as appropriate.

Many of the topics have several dimensions. It is likely therefore that readers will have additional information or opinions that are different from those of the author. We encourage dialogue either in the form of "Letters to the Editor" or as subsequent contributions to add to, or clarify, earlier contributions. For example, there are those who believe that scale in the digital era is meaningless, while others argue the opposite. The editors hope there are enough interested members to sustain a regular, if not monthly, Photogrammetric column. There is no prescribed order for publishing these topics. They will appear in the Journal on a "first-in, first-out" basis.

This is a great opportunity for those of you who would like to publish your ideas, but who do not have time to prepare longer, peer-reviewed manuscripts. If you are interested in contributing material on one or more topics, please contact:

Dr. Stan Morain, PE&RS Editor
505-277-3622 ext. 228
505-277-3614 (fax)
smorain@spock.unm.edu

A calendar will be generated based on the number of responses and how quickly the contributions can be prepared. We would like to begin the series in January 1999.

Submission Guidelines
The contributions will not be peer-reviewed, but will be edited for style by the editorial staff, and for publication suitability by the Photogrammetric Applications Division. Technical content and accuracy are the author's responsibility. Each contribution should be approximately 1000 words (roughly 4 double-spaced manuscript pages). They may contain ESSENTIAL black and white line drawings or images that will be reduced to an appropriate size for publication. Color illustrations, if paid for by the author or by a sponsor (but not by ASPRS) are permitted. Copy must be submitted in electronic form (.txt, .doc, .rtf, .wpd). Illustrations must also be submitted in electronic form (.tif, .gif).

The articles will fall under three category headings with ten suggested articles in each category as follows:

Project Design & Specifications
1. The meaning of map scale in the digital age
2. Image (object) resolution and the information resolution from scanned aerial photography
3. Residual errors in digital photogrammetry
4. Photo flight design for terrain modeling, planimetric mapping and “true” orthophotography
5. Image scanning, or digital reproduction by a different name
6. Aerial GPS, digital Aerial Triangulation and the meaning of “bundles.”
7. Wooly worms, “pulling” contours or “land form by the numbers”
8. Digital products and by-products
9. Automatic vs. Autonomous, and the future of a “stereo” operator
10. “...a garden of pixels, a field of dreams”

Project Management & Finances
1. Real Employees vs. Virtual Employees
2. Personnel productivity vs. System output
3. The digital work flow and redundant steps
4. Quality Audit Trails from the contractor’s (and client’s) view point
5. Project estimates, time/material budgeting and non-cost items
6. Management experience vs. management by the numbers
7. New issues in partial delivery and progress payments
8. The cost of a digital workstation
9. Short term vs. long term considerations in the digital world
10. Holistic thinking for the brave, new world

Contractual Matters
1. The ABC’s in a project RFP
2. Computerese, legalese, and digital photogrammetrese
3. Quality audit before, during, and after the fact
4. The importance of being specific
5. Stereo-superimposition or WSYIWYG in contractual disputes
6. How to identify hidden disclaimers in an RFP/Contract
7. How and when to insert your own disclaimers
8. Who is a “third party” and when will he/she be responsible
9. How to avoid common contractual disputes
10. See you in court!

http://www.asprs.org, for assistance select here.
(19 January 1999)