Guided by a thread that proposed the Journal Club, we evolve these operating notes. These notes are a work in progress, and will evolve as the iMechanica community and the Web technology evolve. Every moderator and architect can edit these notes. Every user can see the editing history. As always, every registered user can make suggestions by leaving comments.

Mission. The mission of the Journal Club is to facilitate discussion at the frontier of mechanics and its applications.

Papers. To be eligible as an entry in the Journal Club, a paper should

1. be obtainable by many mechanicians,

2. have a trustworthy timestamp, and

3. be of interest to mechanicians.

The first two requirements are fulfilled, for example, by any paper published in a journal or in a repository, such as arXiv hosted at Cornell University and iMechanica hosted at Harvard University.

Theme.  A Theme is posted every two weeks, on the 1st and 15th of each month.  The Theme consists of an introduction and 3-5 papers. The Theme will stay as the top entry in the front page of iMechanica until the next Theme is posted.

Discussion. The Theme and the papers are a means to an end: facilitating discussions at the forefront of mechanics among mechanicians. All registered users are welcome to comment on these papers. In the comment on a paper, a user may discuss the ideas in the paper and their relations to other papers, especially the papers that he knows the best: his own papers. He can also relate the paper to a broader context. Or he can simply say that he finds this paper is pointless, and the Theme of the research a waste of time. Such negative comments, thoughtfully made, are just as valuable as positive ones.

Discussion Leader. The Discussion Leader is a registered user that has the full responsibility in articulating a Theme, selecting papers, and motivating discussion. The Discussion Leader should refrain from selecting her own papers, or papers by her students and advisers, or papers by her collaborators. Each Discussion Leader can serve no more than once in a year. The Discussion Leaders are selected by the Editors.

Editor. Each Editor serves a two-year term starting and end on January 1. A new Editor is selected every year, with two Editors serving at any given time. The Editors ensure smooth functioning of the jClub by selecting the Discussion Leaders. Once a new Discussion Leader is identified, an Editor will immediately update the Journal Club Archive. The Editors also remove the old Theme from the top of the front page, and place the new Theme.  The Editors are selected by the Council of the jClub.

Council. In steady state, the Council of the jClub will be composed of the two current Editors and the three immediate past Editors. The current senior Editor chairs the Council. The Council makes all final decisions regarding the jClub. Before making a policy change, however, the Council will seek feedback from users of iMechanica by posting an entry in the Journal Club Forum.

Archive. On the right side of iMechanica is a tab named Journal Club, which links to past Themes, as well as Themes under development. This archive will be maintained by the Editors.

Journal Club Forum. This forum contains matters concerning the Journal Club. Every registered user can propose a paper (including his own), or suggest a Theme, for future inclusion in the Journal Club.

Relevant threads of discussion

• Journal Club:response/feedback requested
• jClub Editor: Election versus Appointment?