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Editorial

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2015

Jenny Fleming  and
Grahame Simpson
Jenny Fleming
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Grahame Simpson
Affiliation:
Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research

Extract

This year is a year of significant steps in the evolution of Brain Impairment. As outlined in the Editorial for Issue 16.1, a new team has been handed the baton from foundation editors Dr Jacinta Douglas and Dr Robyn Tate. The second major development occurring in 2015 is the move from hard copy to an exclusively on-line journal. From the beginning of this year, Brain Impairment will only be available on-line. This development reflects broader moves in academic publishing to an ever increasing footprint within the on-line universe. Many new journals have been launched as purely on-line publications. Established rehabilitation journals that pre-existed the on-line revolution are also joining the trend, adopting hybrid models, with a mix of hard copy and e-articles, all documented in the Issue Contents. Furthermore, most journals have now created e-archives of all past issues, increasing the ease of access for practitioners and scholars alike, and reducing even further, the need for hard copy.

Type
Editorial
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , September 2015 , pp. 79
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2015 

This year is a year of significant steps in the evolution of Brain Impairment. As outlined in the Editorial for Issue 16.1, a new team has been handed the baton from foundation editors Dr Jacinta Douglas and Dr Robyn Tate. The second major development occurring in 2015 is the move from hard copy to an exclusively on-line journal. From the beginning of this year, Brain Impairment will only be available on-line. This development reflects broader moves in academic publishing to an ever increasing footprint within the on-line universe. Many new journals have been launched as purely on-line publications. Established rehabilitation journals that pre-existed the on-line revolution are also joining the trend, adopting hybrid models, with a mix of hard copy and e-articles, all documented in the Issue Contents. Furthermore, most journals have now created e-archives of all past issues, increasing the ease of access for practitioners and scholars alike, and reducing even further, the need for hard copy.

This move to a purely on-line presence provides both opportunities and challenges for Brain Impairment. In terms of opportunities, it should be possible to use colour figures at no extra cost; include supplementary information in the form of additional Tables; and to start to develop a more interactive experience between authors and their readers (e.g., spoken abstracts, author blogs, special e-issues for conferences and the like). As editors, we will be exploring these options with Cambridge University Press in the times ahead.

The challenges include the loss of that concrete reminder of each new issue arriving through the mail. We need to ensure that all members of ASSBI and other subscribers receive e-mail alerts each time a new issue is published, so that the journal is able to compete for attention in the ever-growing e-publishing world. Make sure you sign up for the Brain Impairment Contents alerts. We look forward to the journey in exploring the new opportunities that arise from this change, and invite all our readers to “get on board” for the ride.