Ann. occup. Hyg., Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 1, 2004
© 2004 British Occupational Hygiene Society
Published by Oxford University Press
Editorial |
Editorial
Editor-in-Chief, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, Suite 2, Georgian House, Great Northern Road, Derby DE1 1LT, UK
On 29 September 2003, our on-line submission system went live via our Manuscript Central site http://annhyg.manuscriptcentral.com/ and on that day we had our first submission by the new route. Submissions should now be uploaded to that site, where they are automatically turned into pdf files. From the site we e-mail potential peer reviewers and, if they agree to help, we give them access to the pdf, and they post their comments on the site. Subsequent steps are all on-line, and there is no need for a paper step until the print edition of the journal is produced. The unpublished manuscripts, reviewers’ comments and correspondence remain secure and confidential, of course. At the time of writing, the system has been live for 3 weeks, and one of the on-line submissions has already been peer-reviewed and returned to the authors for revision. It all seems remarkably easy, and for a journal like ours, with two editorial offices and a global spread of authors and reviewers, a very natural step. Did we really used to mail multiple hard copies of papers round the world? What a waste of trees, aviation fuel and, above all, time! The new system should give a much faster service to authors, and the electrons don’t wear out.
Although there is indeed no need for a paper step, most of us feel that, with current presentational technology, ink on paper still has a lot going for it. Searching on-line is far easier, quicker and more flexible, and the Annals has therefore not had a print index for the last 2 yr. However, most of us prefer reading the hard copy of the journal, and members of the British Occupational Hygiene Society will continue to get both print and on-line editions as part of their membership benefits.
With the BOHS conference in Stratford-upon-Avon this April, thoughts may well turn to the English-language literary heritage. A distinguished member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association once echoed Longfellow by referring to their journal as the Society’s ‘footprints on the sands of time’. The Annals can hardly claim to stand with either Shakespeare or Longfellow, and it seems unlikely, unfortunately, that our technological improvements will give our authors more time to enjoy either. Perhaps the best we can hope for is that they make us a little faster and more efficient in our aim of reducing work-related ill-health.
Full instructions on the new submission system are accessed through the journal site http://www.annhyg.oupjournals.org
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