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About H-France

BY-LAWS OF H-FRANCE

Nature and Purpose Membership Organization Scholarly Misconduct Policy Stipulations Revisions


By-laws ratified 1 December 2004

I. NATURE AND PURPOSE

H-France is a permanent organization whose purpose is to promote scholarly work and discussion on the history and culture of the Francophone world and to disseminate information of interest to scholars of the Francophone world through electronic communication. H-France is a bilingual organization operating in French and English. It chiefly fulfills its purpose through the management of an electronic discussion list, a book reviewing program, and a web page.

II. MEMBERSHIP

The H-France web page, which includes copies of all H-France book reviews, is accessible publicly without limitation. Subscription to the H-France discussion list is open to those prepared to participate in scholarly discussions, such as teachers, professors, scholars, librarians, graduate students, and others knowledgeable in French history and culture. Undergraduate students may join the list but must be sponsored by an instructor who is a list member.

III. ORGANIZATION OF H-FRANCE

A. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is the governing body of H-France. It establishes goals and editorial policies for H-France, determines all technological issues, and must approve all funding and budgetary decisions. It may adopt any rules or procedures for the conduct of its business that are not contrary to the by-laws. The Executive Committee operates through electronic correspondence and is presumed to be always in session. The full names of the members of the Executive Committee are listed on the H-France web site and published annually to the H-France list. The Executive Committee is composed of an Editor-in-Chief, the most recent past Editor-in-Chief (for two years following retirement from office), a Chief List Editor, a Chief Book Review Editor, a Chief Web Editor, a Financial Officer, and three at-large members.
1. Editor-in-Chief
  • a. Appointment
    The Editor-in-Chief serves a renewable three-year term beginning on January 1st. Appointment to the position of Editor-in-Chief is made by nomination of the Executive Committee and approval by the H-France Editorial Board and the Executive Committee of the Society for French Historical Studies. At the time of appointment to the position of Editor-in-Chief, the individual must be serving as an editor for H-France. The Editor-in-Chief remains a member of the Executive Committee for two years following the expiration of the term of office.
  • b. Duties
    The Editor-in-Chief is the chief executive officer of H-France and is responsible for implementing the policies and decisions set by the Executive Committee and for coordinating activities among the three primary branches of H-France operations (list, book reviewing, and web page). The Editor-in-Chief serves as chair of the Executive Committee, with the responsibility to prepare its agenda, establish committees and sub-committees for special projects, call for votes, or establish other organizational procedures as may seem fit. Working with the Financial Officer, the Editor-in-Chief is responsible to obtain funding for H-France as needed. The Editor-in-Chief conducts correspondence on behalf of H-France with interested parties, such as the host institutions of the list and the web page, other scholarly organizations, and any associated organizations, particularly the Society for French Historical Studies, and is the only individual authorized to speak for H-France. Any contractual agreements entered into by H-France must be signed by the Editor-in-Chief and the Financial Officer. The Editor-in-Chief prepares an annual report on H-France operations and membership. This report, which includes a general financial statement, is presented to the Editorial Board and is made available publicly on the H-France web page. The Editor-in-Chief also serves as chair of the Editorial Board and directs its activities.

2. Chief List Editor, Chief Web Editor, and Chief Book Review Editor

  • a. Appointment
    The Chief List and Web Page Editors are nominated by the Executive Committee and approved by the Editorial Board from among the current editors in those functions and after consultation with the current editors serving in those functions. The Chief Book Review Editor is nominated by the Executive Committee from among the book review editors and after consultation with the current editors serving in those functions and consultation with the Editors of French Historical Studies. The Chief Book Review Editor's appointment is approved by the H-France Editorial Board and by Executive Committee of the Society for French Historical Studies. The renewable appointments last for three years and are staggered among the three offices.
  • b. Duties
    The Chief List, Chief Web, and Chief Book Review Editors are responsible for the day-to-day operations in their respective areas, overseeing the assignment and fulfillment of duties among the various editors in each area and ensuring that policies established by the Executive Committee are implemented. The Chief List, Web, and Book Review Editors bring to the Executive Committee issues that arise in their respective areas that require new or clarified policies and are responsible to coordinate the editorial activities in their respective areas of responsibility. Each January, the Chief List, Web, and Book Review Editors provide to the Editor-in-Chief synopses of the activities accomplished in their areas of responsibility the previous calendar year to aid in the preparation of the annual report.

3. Financial Officer

  • a. Appointment
    The Financial Officer serves a renewable three-year term beginning on January 1st. Appointment to the position of Financial Officer is made by nomination of the Executive Committee and approval by the H-France Editorial Board and the Executive Committee of the Society for French Historical Studies. At the time of appointment to the position of Financial Officer and during the term of office, the individual may not serve as an editor for H-France.
  • b. Duties
    The Financial Officer serves as treasurer of H-France and has custody of all of its funds. The Financial Officer receives all monies due H-France, disburses sums owed by H-France, and administers surplus operating funds, if any exist. The Financial Officer maintains and administers a bank account into which all H-France funds are deposited and from which all H-France expenditures are disbursed. The Financial Officer advises the Executive Committee concerning the financial status of H-France and presents an annual report in January each year to aid in the preparation of the H-France annual report.

4. At-Large Members

  • a. Appointment
    Three at-large members serve three-year staggered terms beginning January 1st. Appointment to the position of at-large member is made by nomination of the Executive Committee and approval by the H-France Editorial Board and the Executive Committee of the Society for French Historical Studies. In choosing nominees to at-large member positions, the Executive Committee seeks to have the Executive Committee generally reflect the diversity of the H-France membership.
  • b. Duties
    At-large members of the Executive Committee have no specific duties but may be appointed to serve on committees at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

B. Editors

1. Appointment
H-France editors are appointed to three-year renewable terms. Appointment to the position of H-France editor is made by nomination of the Executive Committee and approval by the H-France Editorial Board and the Executive Committee of the Society for French Historical Studies. The Executive Committee determines the number and duties of H-France editors.

2. Duties
H-France editors work within the policies established by the Executive Committee and under the leadership of a Chief Editor for a specific area. Editors are responsible to implement H-France policies and to bring to the attention of the appropriate Chief Editor difficulties raised by those policies or other issues of concern with regard to H-France operations. For every four-year period of working as an H-France editor, editors are entitled to a six-month sabbatical from their editorial duties.

C. Editorial Board
1. Appointment
The Editorial Board is composed of the Editor-in-Chief (who chairs the body), eight at-large members who serve staggered four-year terms, and any institutional sponsors. Members of the H-France Executive Committee will serve as non-voting, ex officio members of the Editorial Board. Appointment to the Editorial Board for the at-large members is made by nomination of the Executive Committee and approval by the H-France Editorial Board and the Executive Committee of the Society for French Historical Studies. Individuals who serve as the official sponsors for H-France operations at specific institutions serve on the Editorial Board as either voting or ex officio members, as they wish. The names of Editorial Board members are published annually to the H-France list and are listed on the H-France web page. In choosing nominees to the Editorial Board, the Executive Committee seeks to have the Editorial Board generally reflect the diversity of the H-France membership.

2. Duties
The Editorial Board members are responsible to approve the appointment of all members of the H-France Executive Committee and all H-France Editors, based upon nominations from the Executive Committee. The Editorial Board also serves as an advisory panel to the Executive Committee on issues of editorial policies, procedures, resolution of disputes, and other issues for which the Executive Committee desires advice. Members of the Editorial Board may be asked by the Editor-in-Chief to serve on committees as appropriate. The Editor-in-Chief will submit to the Editorial Board an annual report on H-France by March 1st of each year. The Editor-in-Chief does not vote on approval of editors nominated by the Executive Committee.

D. Removal of Officers and Editors

In the event that an officer, editor, or board member of H-France becomes unable or unwilling to exercise the duties of the position or performs those duties in a manner deemed inadequate, the individual may be removed from that position upon a joint two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee and the Editorial Board.

IV. SCHOLARLY MISCONDUCT POLICY

The following outlines the procedures used when a reviewer brings an accusation of Misappropriated Scholarship in a review commissioned by H-France for publication in H-France Review.

  1. A reviewer brings evidence of misappropriated scholarship in a book that he/she has been asked to review.

  2. The Chief Book Review Editor and Editor-in-Chief make an initial determination, based upon the reviewer's presentation of this evidence, as to whether or not there is substantial evidence that the author of the book has made unattributed use of other scholars' ideas and arguments.
    1. If the evidence is not substantial, the editors communicate such to the reviewer and arrange for the review to be re-written or cancelled.
    2. If the evidence is substantial, the Chief Book Review Editor and Editor-in-Chief work with the reviewer to prepare a review that provides clear evidence of the allegation being made. Since H-France reviews are not limited by space considerations, appendices can be provided that use side-by-side text comparison to demonstrate appropriated material. In addition, the Editors can guide the reviewer towards wording that expresses the problems of scholarly integrity within a work without using inflammatory language.

  3. The Editor-in-Chief appoints two persons from the Editorial Board, to be joined by two persons appointed by the Executive Director of the Society for French Historical Studies (SFHS), to a Review Committee to have authority over any publication decisions.

  4. The Editor-in-Chief presents the review to the Review Committee, seeking its authorization to proceed with publication. The Committee will seek legal counsel if it believes it should.

  5. The Review Committee may:
    1. A. reject publication of the review if it concludes that the review does not substantiate its charges or that the review's allegations are excessive.
    2. pass the review back to the Editors, requiring revisions before publication, which the Editors will pursue with the reviewer.
    3. approve the review for publication.

  6. Once the Review Committee approves publication of the review, the Editor-in-Chief will contact the author of the book in question, offering him or her the opportunity to prepare a timely response essay. In addition, the author of the book may request that the Review Committee reconsider its authorization to publish based upon evidence that the author provides which demonstrates that the evidence provided by the reviewer in the review misunderstands or misrepresents the material presented in the book. If the author of the book chooses not to write a response essay or fails to write one in a timely manner (generally within three weeks), The Editor-in-Chief may proceed with publication of the review.

  7. Once the response essay is submitted to the Editor-in-Chief, the Editor-in-Chief and the Chief Book Review Editor edit the response essay in consultation with the author of the book.

  8. When the Editors and the author of the book agree on a final text for the response essay, the response essay is given to the Review Committee for its approval before publication.

  9. The Review Committee may approve or seek revisions of the response essay. Once the Review Committee authorizes publication, the Editor-in-Chief will then seek final preparation for publication to the list and web page of the review and the response essay.

V. STIPULATIONS

  1. H-France shall engage in exclusively "educational" activities as these terms are used in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States of America.

  2. In the event of H-France's disbanding, any remaining funds or assets will revert to the Society for French Historical Studies or its heirs as long as such organization(s) remains a tax-exempt organization under section 501 (c)(3) of the united states internal revenue code or the corresponding section of any future tax code. In the event that the society for french historical studies or its heirs no longer exists or no longer holds tax-exempt status, the executive committee of h-france will distribute any remaining funds or assets to a tax-exempt organization with a tradition of supporting scholarly study of the history and culture of the francophone world selected by the Executive Committee.

  3. The H-France Executive Committee may establish associations and affiliations with other scholarly organizations as deemed fit and approved by the Executive Committee and approved by the Editorial Board and the Executive Committee of the Society for French Historical Studies.

  4. H-France commissioned works (such as book reviews and essays) and the H-France web page are copyrighted by the Society for French Historical Studies.

  5. Authors who post items to H-France assign to the Society for French Historical Studies only the right for re-distribution for non-profit educational purposes.

VI. REVISION OF BY-LAWS

Revisions to the H-France by-laws must be proposed and approved by the Executive Committee and approved by a two-thirds majority of the Editorial Board.

Subscribing and Unsubscribing to H-France:

To SUBSCRIBE, send the following email message to LISTSERV@LISTS.UAKRON.EDU:
subscribe h-france your name
(First Name Middle name or Initial Last Name)
e.g.: subscribe h-france Jacques F. Bontemps

**Be sure to leave the subject line blank.

To UNSUBSCRIBE, or signoff and thus terminate your membership in H- France and receive no more postings, send the following email message to LISTSERV@LISTS.UAKRON.EDU:

signoff h-france

**Again, leave the subject line blank.

Please unsubscribe from H-France and all other mailing lists if you are terminating a particular computer account.

Posting Messages to H-France.

Messages can be short questions or long documents. Please sign your name and email address to each contribution (we will add the name/address otherwise.) There are two kinds of messages (not to be confused with listserv commands) you can send: originals, or replies to someone else's posting.
  • To send an original, email directly to H-FRANCE@LISTS.UAKRON.EDU
  • To reply to someone else's posting, use the reply command in your mail system.

In either case, simply describe the subject of your post in the "subject" area and compose your message in the body of your email.

Other Useful Commands

The University of Akron offers a very good Listserv User's Manual on the World Wide Web, which lists all the possible options for your account. You can find it at http://lists.uakron.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe

The most common commands are those listed below. They should be sent to

LISTSERV@LISTS.UAKRON.EDU

In the body of your message, use CAPITAL LETTERS in a single line:

  • SET H-FRANCE DIGEST (Causes you to receive all your H-France mail in a single post each day.) To reverse, send SET H-FRANCE NODIGEST.
  • SET H-FRANCE NOMAIL (Stops delivery of H-France mail.) This is a very useful command when you are going on vacation or will be away from your computer for a period. To reverse, send SET H-FRANCE MAIL.
**Leave the subject line blank.



Copyright © 2007 by the Society for French Historical Studies, all rights reserved. The Society for French Historical Studies permits the electronic distribution for nonprofit educational purposes, provided that full and accurate credit is given to the author, the date of publication, and its location on the H-France website. No republication or distribution by print media will be permitted without permission. For any other proposed uses, contact the Editor-in-Chief of H-France. The views posted on the H-France list, in H-France Review and H-France Forum, and on the H-France web site are not necessarily the views of the Society for French Historical Studies.

ISSN 1553-9172

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