Special Bilingual Issue on Engineering in the Americas

Abstract

As the ASCE’s first bilingual peer-reviewed technical journal publication, this special issue on engineering in the Americas represents a new era for ASCE publications. ASCE is a global organization with 15 international sections, 16 international groups, and thousands of international members. Through the publication of this bilingual issue, ASCE is developing a platform to collect and disseminate work on a global basis inmultiple languages. The hope is that this effort will pave the way for ASCE to develop other bilingual technical journal special issues and, eventually, journals dedicated to publishing in this format. This publication is a collaborative effort between many dedicated members of the civil engineering community. The ASCE International Activities Committee proposed the idea and made financial resources available for translations from the bequest of Robert B. Lea to support the “foreign relations activities” of the society. ASCE then partnered with the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and their journal, Revista Ingenieria de Construccion (RIC), to turn the idea into reality. The Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (JCEM) and RIC editorial staffs took on additional work to pursue this endeavor. The JCEM provided an exceptional stage for this bilingual issue test case. Civil and construction engineers throughout the Americas are dealing with similar challenges in design, construction, operations, and maintenance of capital facilities, as will be discussed this October when ASCE conducts its 144th Annual Conference in Panama. Similarly, construction researchers in North and South America are addressing these challenges with a variety of unique approaches. By breaking down the language barriers that can inhibit publication opportunities and hinder the dissemination of research, the JCEM has opened new doors for authors to publish their work. As the Department of Construction Engineering and Management of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile’s first collaborative peer-reviewed journal publication, this special issue represents a milestone in internationalization. Published since 1986 by the Department of Construction Engineering and Management of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, RIC was the ideal platform for carrying out this effort because it has earned important international recognition, particularly among Latin American researchers. The collaboration agreement was the start, and the process then required a large number of peer reviewers from North and South America. This project became a reality only through this collaborative effort. To maintain the rigorous standards of the JCEM and RIC, a dual peer review process was undertaken through which authors from multiple countries were allowed to submit their work in their native language. Authors originally submitted papers in their native language for peer review. Accepted papers were then translated and reviewed again in the second language. Authors were required to address comments from both sets of reviewers. The papers were accepted for publication in this special issue only after being reviewed and approved by this dual review process. This special issue contains 14 pairs of papers that address a wide variety of research on engineering in the Americas. The articles cover an impressive scope of topics that are unified by their importance to the Americas. The issue publishes articles on earthquakes and the resulting structural responses, and others addressing knowledge management and sustainability. Construction design and methods, performance modeling, and reflections on how to improve engineering education are also included in this issue. We would like to thank Charles T. Jahren, who as Editor of JCEM in 2009, wholeheartedly supports this endeavored with the concurrence of Associate Editor (at the time) Jesus de la Garza and Senior Specialty Editor Carl Haas. The support of these individuals made this special issue possible. We would like to further thank Angela Cochran and Jennifer Parresol at ASCE journals, who worked tirelessly to overcome many obstacles in shepherding these first bilingual manuscripts through the peer review and publication process. We also thank Ximena Araya at RIC journals, who managed the Spanish peer review and translation process. As guest editors of this special issue, we hope that this journal breaks down barriers to publishing in multiple languages. We anticipate that this JCEM example will serve as a model of new avenues for authors to internationally disseminate their innovative research.