Editorial

This is the last editorial before the departure of our current editor of the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal (AOTJ), Janet Fricke. I have had the privilege to have worked with Janet since she became the editor in 2001. Janet has demonstrated both outstanding leadership and wise management to the journal, leading to many significant changes. These changes have led to the AOTJ being described as a leader in the field of international peer-reviewed occupational therapy journals (Rodger, McKenna & Brown, 2007). This enormous achievement could not have taken place without Janet's tireless and resolute determination for the journal to become a leader rather than a follower. As Janet steps down from the role at the end of 2007, I want to take this time to name a few of the achievements that have taken place during her role as editor, and on behalf of the collective profession, to thank her and wish her well. In 2001 Blackwell Publishing assumed the full administration of the journal, and Janet held several meetings to develop strategies to streamline the editorial process. Being fully affiliated with Wiley-Blackwell has meant that our journal has access to the most current technological advances in journal publishing. Janet has worked collaboratively with several of their staff over her time as editor to provide innovations that have increased the functionality and accessibility of the journal, as well as to increase our international profile. For example, although manuscripts were available electronically before 2001, the recommendation to offer On-line Early means that the time from submission to online publication has been dramatically reduced. As the readership has grown, online downloads have also grown. From 2005 to 2006, online downloads have increased from 91 287 to 135 939 (49% per annum increase), which demonstrates the increasing use and significance of AOTJ as a professional, clinical, educational and research resource. International circulation through subscriptions and consortia has grown from 5150 in 2005, to 5605 in 2006, which reflects a significant 9% per annum increase. Wiley-Blackwell also provides AOTJ to many developing countries free, or for a discounted fee. Janet has also supported other AOTJ innovations. Manuscript Central is an electronic database used by AOTJ for administering the submission, review process and selection of manuscripts for the journal that has streamlined, and made the editorial process more transparent for authors. The keywords used for selection of reviewers have been refined substantially as has the list of voluntary reviewers. To attest to the vibrancy of the voluntary support of AOTJ, in the last 18 months, there have been 140 reviewers, with some people reviewing multiple manuscripts. She has also solicited regular guest editorials from local and international authors. As AOTJ has become increasingly respected, there has been a corresponding increase in submission rate of papers over the last 2 years. While this benefits OT AUSTRALIA members who are able to access high-quality research evidence and professional literature through AOTJ, yet how to manage the increasing number of quality manuscripts received has been problematic. Janet initiated and recommended several significant formatting changes to the AOTJ which have allowed more articles to be published per issue. At the same time, the cost per OT AUSTRALIA member for a volume per year has decreased. However, behind the scenes, this remarkable accomplishment has been achieved because Janet has, on numerous occasions, compiled comprehensive data related to past, current and projected journal pages, comparisons with other journals, as well as potential solutions to the challenges of managing the increase in manuscripts, to present to the OT AUSTRALIA Council when asking for further support. Janet was instrumental in the development of the Critically Appraised Papers (CAPs) into the journal starting in 2002. CAPs provide an alert to practitioners to important advances in occupational therapy by selecting from the scientific literature those original and review articles whose results are most likely to be both valid and useful. These articles are summarized in abstracts and commented on by occupational therapy experts. Such is the perceived benefit of CAPs to professional journals that their incorporation has been followed by other occupational therapy professional associations such as the Canadian, British and Dutch. In 2002, Janet was instrumental in recommending international occupational therapists to join the AOTJ Advisory Board. These members have contributed to the journal in providing advice, committee membership, writing editorials, and reviewing manuscripts. Another spin off from the wider exposure of AOTJ to the international community has been the increase in the number of manuscripts submitted from international authors (23 in 2005, to 29 in 2006, an increase of 26% per year). Janet also organized a meeting of editors from a number of international occupational therapy journals at the WFOT Congress in Stockholm and again in Sydney. This group has shared ideas and strategies to advance occupational therapy through our professional journals. The group also provides a forum for support and enhanced editorial communication. One important issue discussed by the international editor group has been the difficulties of achieving, and strategies to address gaining Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) listing after several journals, including AOTJ, were unsuccessful in their applications. Currently, only two occupational therapy journals are listed in ISI, meaning that other occupational therapy journals cannot receive a journal impact factor, one indicator used to evaluate research quality. The increasing international profile of AOTJ is likely to increase the chance of being listed by ISI in the future. In summary, Janet Fricke has provided AOTJ with a vision that has made the journal a leader in the field of international peer-reviewed occupational therapy journals. It has been an enormous achievement. Janet leaves the journal in good health to be taken on by a new editor in 2008. We thank Janet for her outstanding dedication and commitment to excellence on behalf of OT AUSTRALIA and wish her well in her future endeavours. Would members please note that the Vice President (Finance) has asked that all members be advised that the Annual General Meeting will be held at 5.30 pm on May 2, 2008 in the OT AUSTRALIA head office at 340 Gore St, Fitzroy, VIC 3065. This date has been set to avoid school holidays.

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