Launching Nova Geodesia Journal

 

Paul SESTRAS

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Land Measurements and Cadastre, 72 Observatorului Street, 400363 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; psestras@mail.utcluj.ro

 

Foreword

 

Geodetic education and research in Romania have a rich history and tradition, but going through numerous and profound restructuring, intensified in the modern era. These were imposed both by the development of science and technology in the field and by economic and social restructuring at the national level. The turmoil and evolutions from the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century slowly led to the consolidation of a representative direction for the Romanian geodesy. This direction in which the geodetic field has evolved in the last two decades has been consolidated both at the level of higher education and profile research, and has largely crystallized around modern higher studies programs in several Romanian universities. One of these new programs accredited by an independent quality assurance agency in higher education and recognized by the Romanian Ministry of Education is ‘Land Measurements and Cadastre’, which was born on previous specializations and their restructuration, based on geodesy. According to the latest Official Monitor of Romania - government decision regarding the approval of the nomenclature fields and specializations / study programs, this program operates in 12 universities in Romania, all being state universities (see at the end of this article these universities).

However, even though the field has developed rapidly and harmoniously in higher education, by respecting the ‘Bologna principles’ and the norms of the European Union, academic research has not seen the same progress. It has not adapted to the new conditions imposed by scientific and technical progress, coupled with social change and the free market since the fall of the ‘Iron Curtain’. There was no adequate correlation between education, research, the transfer of research progress on the market, the need for labour and its specialization in different directions of the field, economic agents that appeared on the free market (some with a rapid development), after a long the period of the socialist economy in which only state institutions, the labour market in the field, etc. functioned.

Ineluctable, things are evolving, and the above issues are being considered by teaching staff and researchers at the universities, research institutes and state and private companies and units with concerns and interests in geodesy. An enthusiastic group of their representatives set out, among other things, to found the new journal  Nova Geodesia  through which to support the research in the domain in Romania (as ‘new geodesy’ – especially through: geodesy and cartography; topography and cadastre; photogrammetry and remote sensing), but also in the south-eastern part of Europe (facing similar problems) and around the world, truly considering research and creative innovation as the ‘engine of progress’ of humanity. It is worth mentioning that the members of the group that initiated the founding of the journal Nova Geodesia come from the most recognized universities in Romania, which also runs the abovementioned study license program ‘Land Measurements and Cadastre’. Once the core of the editorial board (see 'Editorial Team') is formed, it will permanently attract collaborators interested in joining the project, both young researchers enthusiastic to contribute to the proposed desideratum, and scientific personalities recognized in the field. It is proposed a permanent consolidation of the status and achievement of the journal’s objectives (see 'Focus and Scope') by attracting foreign members to the editorial board and to continuously report the research published in the journal to international ones, of significant scientific impact.

The journal aims to form a bridge between researchers and people involved in the field (attracting and collaborating between specialists from different countries), transmitting mutual knowledge and reporting to news and discoveries in the field, supporting science and unrestricted dissemination of new and knowledge. Everything, in compliance with the rules of fairness and ethics in scientific publications, but also the rules and methodologies imposed by internationally recognized bodies in scientific research and academic publication (see 'Policies' and 'Submission' sections and subsections).

 

The publication covers the entire range of geodesy, including interdisciplinary and newly emerging areas. Journal accept submissions (especially papers as editorials, review articles, research articles, note – see at the end of this article) in a broad scope of geodesy, with prospects to:

  • Expands and merges national (Romanian), regional (Southeast European) and international borders in the science of geodesy.
  • Provides a reliable platform for substantially growing scientific research in geodesy, cartography, topography, cadastre, photogrammetry and remote sensing.
  • Sustain important and novel results that advance particular research in assumed fields or related ones.
  • Generate and promote interest for all readers with a connection to geodesy.

 

As science evolves to be more collaborative and global, Nova Geodesia aims to meet the needs of the broadest research community, including the next generation of specialists in geodesy and researchers working in related fields. With the journal, we hope to offer new opportunities for students, masters, doctoral students and young researchers for knowledge and professional development.

In addition, our desire is to initiate conversations across traditional boundaries, invite new opportunities for collaboration, and enable future discoveries. The journal is open for submission, with the first issue being published as a "pilot issue".

 

The journal is a peer-reviewed, quarterly, fully open-access (OA), and is supported by  SMTCT  (Society of Land Measurements and Cadastre from Transylvania), which also ensures that manuscripts are published by authors free of charge.

 

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 © Nova Geodesia 

 ©  SMTCT 

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SMTCT encourages the redistribution of the materials included in Nova Geodesia provided that attribution to the source is noted and the materials are not truncated or changed.

 

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Section Policies

 

In the journal will be published papers grouped in the following main sections: editorials, review articles, research articles, notes.

 

Editorials published in the journal will be usually presented as ‘Introduction pages’ of the current issue from the editors. Editorials can be authored by possible contributors addressing different opinions, considerations and perspectives on an issue of specific interest; critical review of some presented ideas or proposals for future studies; thorough coverage of a pre-existing topic etc.

Review Articles provide a comprehensive summary of the research and a perspective on a certain topic of the journal. Usually, are written by recognised scientists in a particular discipline after an invitation from the editors of the journal. Except for standard review on the specific subjects, can be published ‘short reviews’ based on a topic considered by the interest of the authors (generally invited by the editors, or accepted subjects proposed by the authors in a pre-submission enquiry letter).

Research Articles is a generic term for a full-length paper that can be named also ‘Original Article’ and are detailed studies reporting original research conducted by the author(s). This is the most common type of journal manuscript used to publish full reports of original finding data from research. It is structured in the order: Title, Abstract, Key-words, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and References.

Notes are shorter versions of ‘Original Articles’, whose methods, discussion of the results and findings are not so detailed as to be presented as full-length papers. They contain original findings, but are generally much more straightforward and are considered similar to short articles, short reports or brief communications. Depending on the manuscripts’ peculiarities, they can be published also as ‘Short Original Articles’.

Letters can include short original findings, case studies or considerations of the authors in the topics of the journal (e.g. as ‘letter to the editor’), which involve either opinion pieces or snippets of contradictory or supporting research. Like other types of articles (‘Review Articles’, ‘Original Articles’, ‘Notes’), these types of letters are subject to peer review.

 

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Universities in Romania, with study program 'Land measurements and cadastre'

 

 

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For more information about Nova Geodesia, visit the journal website at 

https://novageodesia.ro/index.php/ng/about