Editor's Introduction to Volume 3 

Much has changed since we began to publish the Journal of World-Systems Research in 
1994. We have gone from ftp to gopher to the World Wide Web. Ourlogo is a now 
anachronistic piece of "ascii art" that we keep to remind ourselves of old times. And yet, 
some things arc becoming more similar to the past, and part of this is due to our efforts to 
smooth the transition from print to electronic. Volume 3 of JWSR will change to an 
"issue" format and will be paginated consecutively to be more like journal~ that arc 
printed on trees and to make citation more conventional. Despite these efforts to ape the 
print age we also aspire to convince our authors and readers to use the capabilities of 
hypermedia for scientific communication. W c arc not interested in bells and whistles. But 
we do want to use the changes in the economics of communication to employ new 
possibilities. W c encourage authors to use graphics, photographs, audio, video and 
animated graphics in the presentation of their research results. We also continue to 
encourage appendices that include data sets and bibliographics. These appurtenances arc 
now easily accomodatcd and can facilitate the purposes of cumulative social science. 

The general goal~ of JWSR have not changed. We seek to promote research on and 
scientific understanding of the modern world-system and earlier intcrsocictal networks. 
And we seek to communicate the results of these activities for educational purposes. We 
arc proud of the contents of Volumes I and 2, and seek to keep the same high standard~ 
for Volume 3. ln August of 1996 the Editorial Board decided that the Editorship of JWSR 
should be limited to five year terms. 

l wish to thank all those who have contributed to JWSR: 

* the authors, the referees, the graduate assistants, and the board members for their 
good counsel, 

* Salvatore Baboncs, the Assistant Editor (who has given freely of his considerable 
talents), 

* Dale Wimberley, the book review editor, 
* Nick Kardulias for editing the special thematic section on Anthropology and World-

Systcms, 
* Don Roper and Lynn Schaper of Communications for a Sustainable Future (CSF). 

These have made it possible. 

Chris Chase-Dunn 
February 4, 1997 


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