SECRETARY'S Economic Survey Progress The 1955 Professional and Economic Survey now in progress has shown again that ACS members respond well to a survey which they consider valuable; their interest in professional and economic status is well known. Nearly 47,000 of the 65,120 questionnaires mailed to ACS members in the United States, its territories and possessions have been returned. More will be received after the cutoff date New Textof July 12 but these few would not affect results if a later ending had been set. This is about a 7 2 % return, which according to experts is extremely good. Our consultant on this project, Andrew Fraser, Jr., has directed many surveys for scientific and professional groups Unique design of |»-lc twin and from his experience this one sets a shell blenders allows exact new high in percentage of response. scale-up of lab tests The explanation lies in part in the opento production runs ing sentence. A contributory factor is the infrequency of Society surveys and Here's the one piece of blending equipthe importance of the few authorized. ment that has everything: a mixing action Numerous comments and suggestions that blends most materials perfectly in were made by the 47,000 who re3 to S minutes . . . large access openings and smooth baffle-free interiors for fast turned questionnaires. They vary and easy charging, discharging and cleangreatly in nature. Many expressed ing . . . interchangeable shells and accesapproval of the survey and were highly sories that give exceptional versatility . . . complimentary of the questionnaire. and . . . a unique, patented design that One unidentified member, however, exprovides identical mixing results in all sizes, from one pint lab models up to 500 pressed complete disapproval of the cu. ft. production units. undertaking—he tore his questionnaire |»4c twin shell lab blenders are used for into small bits, sealed it in the return small production runs as well as research envelope, and sent it back; w e paid the in hundreds of plants. Priced low and return postage. available from stock. Dust-tight, corrosion and abrasion-resistant Lucite shells are Not everyone was satisfied with the standard. Also available in stainless steel. questionnaire. Several complained Lightweight cast aluminum base has about the instructions and one person sturdy grey crackle finish, adjusts for 4 went so far as to recommend a superviand 8 quart shells and yokes. G.E. motor is 1/20 HP, single phase, 115 volts, 60 sor of semantics for the ACS. Many of cycle, AC. Chain guard furnished. the comments from members will be helpful in improving the questionnaire and the procedure when another survey is made, and we are grateful for this. In so far as possible, we have acknowledged these comments and suggestions. However, perhaps because the questionnaire was anonymous, certain people apparently felt that their comments also should b e anonymous. Perhaps the greatest number of complaints came from those who had difficulty in categorizing themselves. Question No. 9 contained 34 fields of specialization, but if there had been 134, probably we would have failed to describe the specialty of certain ACS members. Chemistry and chemical engineering are extremely broad and Write for |»-fc catalog 13. The Patterson-Kelley there appears to b e no limit to the Co., Inc., 982 Lackawanna Avenue, East number of areas of work concentration. Stroudsburg, Pa. N e w specialties are being born every year—a sign of a healthy profession. How were the 34 fields selected? Offices: New York, Chicago/ Philadelphia» From previous ACS surveys, from the Boston and other principal cities
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scientific roster data being gathered by the ACS for the National Science Foundation, from job classification records of our members, and from the experience of our consultant, w e knew the relative number or proportion of ACS members in various categories. Only those containing an adequate number of members to be of statistical importance were listed. Many of our own proposals were eliminated because data indicated the field too small to provide usable figures. It is only natural that each ACS member is proud of his own field of specialization. Therefore we consider questions and comments such as the following to be proper: "I am an independent inventor in the chemical field. Has the clan become entirely extinct?" "The Society fails to recognize that a number of its_ members are engaged in the manufacture of chemical specialties." "The questionnaire apparently does not recognize the activities of most cosmetic chemists as a field of specialization of an ACS member. Don't w e want them in the ACS?" Even members of the ACS technical staff, some of whom helped prepare the questionnaire, found no proper category for their jobs. Of course we want the cosmetic chemists, the manufacturers of chemical specialties, the independent inventors, and numerous others from a variety of fields as members of the ACS. We consider our own work important. This does not mean that these specialties should be listed in a questionnaire if the number of respondents will be so small that their data cannot be treated statistically in the final report. The ACS is proud of the healthy growth of the profession as shown by the continuous development of new specialties. Certainly it is not suffering from a hardening of the categories. Mr. Fraser, the Committee on Professional Relations and Status, and the ACS staff thank everyone who cooperated so splendidly in this survey. All information has now been coded on punched cards and machine runs are being made to tabulate data. Mr. Fraser has promised a report as promptly as possible; yet all of us must remember that this is a large project involving a tremendous number of correlations. Therefore, a report probably will not be made until late September or early October. Results will be published promptly because we know interest is high.
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