7th meeting [Extraordinary] – November 06, 2020

The committee responsible for BRaS met online on Friday, November 25, 2020, at 1 pm (Berlin time) in an extraordinary session replacing the one previously scheduled for October 30. The meeting was conducted by Anna Bennech and Giovanna Imbernon was in charge of the minutes. Professor Doctor Thomas Kestler, Matheus Zago, Matheus Hebling, Cláudia Pires, Lucas Fraga, Eric Nogueira, Jayane Maia, Thaís Cavalcanti, and Guilherme Souza also attended the meeting.

The meeting started with some announcements and with Anna Bennech explaining why the meeting was postponed: due to the impossibility of Cláudia Pires and other members participate on that date. The started with the following agenda:

• Institutional Affiliation
• Organizational Chart
• Research Groups
• Updates on BRaS-J
• Updates on BRaS-Blog
• New Members and Interns
• General

Institutional Affiliation

The first topic under discussion was if the University of Würzburg could issue some kind of certificate indicating BRaS affiliation to the institution. On this matter, Professor Doctor Thomas Kestler affirmed that Professor Doctor Hans-Joachim Lauth could write one, but it would still have not an official framework. If the group wants and/or needs that, an official agreement between both parties would be necessary. That said, Professor Kestler thinks it is not possible for now. He also added that to have a more institutionalized status, BRaS could opt for an NGO registration or similar, but it would imply lots of bureaucracy, paperwork, and having an accountant.

Related to this topic previously mentioned, Matheus Zago added that for that formal agreement some other standards should be complied with by BRaS, e.g., matters regarding the hosting server.

On this aspect, Matheus Hebling outlined that once they have BRaS-J all set, BRaS would have a more institutionalized status due to the ISSN and being possible to issue certificates. Professor Thomas Kestler added that in Academia, is not necessary to have legal status to publish something; only a responsible person is needed.

After the discussion, Anna Bennech suggested to include this subject in the next monthly meeting so the group can think about BRaS future.

Organizational Chart

The second subject under discussion was the Organizational Charta that has to be under assessment by all members for a few weeks. Anna Bennech introduced the topics saying that the group needs to decide who will be in charge of what. Matheus Zago suggested that the positions should not be permanent. In this regard, Anna Bennech acknowledged the importance of having the positions assigned occupied so they can discuss and define the rules.

With that being said, the group was consulted regarding the positions and candidates on the sheet and the following was decided unanimously as written on the sheet. Matheus Hebling made a last comment on the subject highlighting the importance of having a professor occupying the position of VP and that the group considers the importance of having minorities and different groups represented on the BRaS structure.

Research Groups

An introduction on how the RG will be organized was made by Anna Bennech who also pointed out that the group would discuss who will be in charge of each one of them. One other important subject related to the RG was the separation or not of people in charge of RG and ADM processes.

Matheus Hebling added that the RG should work more independently, that is, the group could also invite groups already formed to be part of that promoting BRaS as well as giving them more visibility (e.g. Ph.D. students). Professor Thomas Kestler suggested that those groups could be integrated as “Associate Groups” and Anna Bennech reminded that the objective of BRaS with that would be having a horizontal and not hierarchical structure.

Updates on BRaS-J

Matheus Zago presented the group with some updates on BRaS-J. First, he mentioned that almost all the guidelines were written and that he had already changed the front page and included the new logo of BRaS-J.

A subject from a previous meeting was brought up, the division of BRaS into the RG. Matheus Hebling questioned that the decision was made without his presence and that this would be a major aspect of the journal. Professor Thomas Kestler explained that the division into groups going out of the website does not mean that I will affect BRaS-J structure in RG. In his point of view, this is a minor change, and the public will not get confused when accessing the website and/or submitting an article.

Updates on BRaS-Blog

Matheus Hebling presented the group with the work that has been done on the Blog and how BRaS team managed and is managing the partnership with Boletim Lua Nova. He also pointed out that it is not only important but crucial that all members contribute to the blog, so LN has texts to publish on their website.

New members and Interns

The group also discussed how new members will be integrated into BRaS. Anna asked the group about how the process should be done. Giovanna Imbernon said she endorses interviewing the candidates and Professor Thomas Kestler said it would not be necessary and that knowing the person personally would be enough to invite them to the group. Matheus Zago agreed with the Professor saying that doing the interviews would take much time. That said, the group agreed with the following process: sending the candidate’s CV and Cover Letter to the board, the discussion is made by e-mail and they vote.

General

For last, some general information was given as Anna Bennech presented the group with the experience and participation in Professor Lucas Mássimo’s online event, and Matheus Zago presented a first layout of the website including the partnership with LN.

After all the aforementioned subjects being discussed the next meeting was scheduled for November 27.