Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1-3 (1999)
Published by the American College of Nutrition
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
David M. Klurfeld, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief
 |
INTRODUCTION
|
|---|
 TOP
 INTRODUCTION
|
|---|
Transitions are inevitable and the tenure of Fima Lifshitz has given way to a new editorial staff. Dr. Lifshitz did such an admirable job in his five years at the helm that it will take two individuals to carry on the work. Before I describe these changes, the reader should know that the citation impact factor of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition has doubled during Dr. Lifshitz’s leadership and we will do everything possible to continue this increase. The readers of JACN owe Dr. Lifshitz a tribute for the outstanding work he has done as Editor-in-Chief. I thank Dr. Lifshitz for having completed this issue and most of the April issue. He has worked with a number of dedicated staff who have produced the journal over the years and have assisted invaluably with transfer of the editorial office to Detroit. In particular, Sandy Allen, Managing Editor, and Gladys Garcia-Greenberg, Editorial Assistant, have been most helpful. I thank all the staff in Miami who have facilitated the transition.
Because JACN is clearly on the right path of increased visibility and growth, there are no planned shifts in the fundamental editorial policies of the journal. It is my intent to oversee a journal that is useful to its readers and maintains the highest standards for publication. Concurrent with my assuming the position of Editor-in-Chief, I am extremely pleased that David J. A. Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D. of the University of Toronto accepted responsibility as International Editor for JACN. Dr. Jenkins will have full editorial authority for all submissions from outside the United States. The standards for acceptance of papers from within or outside the U.S. will be the same. Reviewers will be the jury and the editors will act as judge when needed.
Although there are no plans to deviate from the current editorial philosophy, a number of innovations are under consideration which will make the journal more effective in conveying timely nutrition research results. We hope to have titles and abstracts available via the World Wide Web sometime this year; full text is also a possibility. In addition, we are discussing the introduction of a series of short opposing viewpoints on controversial issues in nutrition, inclusion of nutrition software reviews, objective reviews of the current status for unproven nutrition modalities, and compilation of a list of editors who will rewrite manuscripts on a fee for service basis for those authors who need help with English grammar and vocabulary prior to submission of a manuscript to the editorial office.
There are a number of minor changes in the instructions for contributors, some of which I would like to highlight. We are now asking that authors submit their manuscripts on disk in addition to the paper copies at the beginning of the editorial process. This is particularly important for authors outside the United States as communication between the two editorial offices will be primarily via the Internet. Inclusion of a disk will increase speed of manuscript processing and keep costs down for the journal. When a manuscript is accepted, a revised disk with only the final version will be required in accordance with previous policy. Also, we are now asking that conflicts of interest be disclosed on the title page rather than in the acknowledgments section. If there are no conflicts to disclose, this should be stated in the cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief. Finally, the cover letter for submissions should state that all coauthors accept responsibility for the content of the manuscript; only the signature of the corresponding author is needed. These last two modifications are necessary, I reluctantly believe, as a result of the heightened awareness and publicity surrounding the many cases of scientific misconduct with which we are all too familiar.
I consider Dr. Jenkins and myself custodians of your journal. One of the long-standing attractions of JACN has been that it is both author and reader friendly. There are no intentions to deviate from this approach. One way of ensuring that the journal continues to flourish is for the membership of ACN to remain, or become, active in the publication process. Consider submitting your best work to the journal. We are always in need of qualified reviewers. Feel free to volunteer as a manuscript reviewer, a book reviewer, an abstract writer, or in other capacities.
At the time this editorial is being written, a new managing editor has not yet been chosen. Before you read this, however, there will be someone already at work on the production of the journal. We will have a new telephone number and e-mail address for the journal but because of the long lead time for this editorial I am asking people to contact me directly at dklurfe{at}sun.science.wayne.edu with any concerns about the future of JACN.
