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lrogers{at}ajroffice.org
Admittedly, change may be unsettling and troublesome. But take heart! In time, adjustments are made, accommodations occur, and a certain level of comfort ensues. Life goes on.
The winds of change are up at the AJR. Significant changes are underway: a new editor, Robert J. Stanley, has been named, a new mast-head will appear in January of the upcoming year, and a new way of doing things is being put in place. The AJR is going paperless, changing from hard-copy snail mail to real-time electronic manuscript submission and review.
Paper has served the AJR well but the time has come. The change to an electronic format holds the potential for significant reduction in manuscript turnaround times, faster editorial decisions, and even earlier publication of accepted manuscripts while decreasing costs for both authors and the Journal's sponsoring organization, the American Roentgen Ray Society. Laudable goals!
The change will affect all authors and reviewers, to say nothing of the editors. By now, you may have read Dr. Stanley's announcements regarding manuscript submission that have appeared in the Journal since the August issue. As of October 1, all hard-copy submissions should be mailed to a new address:
Robert J. Stanley, MD Editor in Chief, AJR 44211 Slatestone Court Leesburg, VA 20176-5109
Although hard-copy submission will continue to be accepted for a limited time, Dr. Stanley has announced that electronic submissions are preferred. He has chosen the time-tested and well-established software called Rapid Review marketed by Cadmus KnowledgeWorks for the electronic submission, review, and tracking of AJR manuscripts.
Log on to www.arrs.org for more information regarding electronic submission.
Submitting manuscripts electronically is not difficult if you are willing to read and follow instructions. Admittedly, some of us are better at that than others.
When first submitting a manuscript, go to the Web site and read and re-read the instructions. Take time to familiarize yourself with the procedure and I am certain you will get the hang of it.
However, skip reading the instructions while talking on your cell phone or experiencing similar au courant distractions that will likely lead to errors and frustration. The choice is yours. We advise that the first time you submit a manuscript electronically, you give the task your full attention. We are certain that this will make it easier for you and your coauthors and any secretarial assistants involved, and all will be happier with the results.
The transition to electronic submission and review offers even greater opportunity for international authors and academic radiologists. As chronicled by Chen et al. [1] in this issue, academic radiologists residing outside the United States are making more and more contributions to the AJR; indeed, in 2002, 54% of submissions to our Journal were the product of international researchers [2].
Although electronic submission will make it even easier for our international authors to submit manuscripts to the AJR, electronic submission and review offers added prospects for international academic radiologists. Before electronic transmittal of manuscripts, it was difficult for international radiologists to serve as manuscript reviewers because of the time and expense of mailing manuscripts. Electronic transmission removes this barrier. Dr. Stanley plans to introduce international reviewers to the AJR and ultimately to add international academic radiologists to the Editorial Advisory Panel of the Journal.
Traditionally, membership on the AJR Editorial Advisory Panel has been a true meritocracy, a reward for services rendered to the Journal as an author or manuscript reviewer or both. International authors are deserving of such greater recognition in view of their outstanding contributions to the AJR as described in this issue by Chen et al. [1] and Jenkins [2]. Electronic submission and transmission of manuscripts offer the opportunity for such recognition. And our international radiology colleagues have gotten this opportunity the old fashioned way—they've earned it. Watch closely for Dr. Stanley's announcement concerning international reviewers in a future issue of the Journal.
For the next 3 months of our transition, two AJR Editorial Offices will be in operation: a new one in Birmingham and the old one in Winston-Salem. Dr. Stanley and his staff will handle the new manuscript submissions while we in Winston-Salem will continue to work through the manuscripts that are already under review as well as those that have previously been accepted pending satisfactory revision. The Winston-Salem office will then close at the end of the year.
Although change may be troubling, change can be good. The changes underway at the AJR offer the opportunity to improve our Journal. Please join me in wishing our new Editor in Chief, Dr. Stanley of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and his associate editors, Drs. Howard Forman of Yale, James Provenzale of Duke, and Eric Stern of the University of Washington, all the best in this endeavor.
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