Acta clin Croat 2000; 39:3-4 Editorial
In the eve of the new millennium, and looking forward to the 40th volume of our journal, the editors have decided to make some improvements in it. The journal was initiated by Professor Vladimir Hudolin at the beginning of the sixties, under the name Anali Kliničke bolnice "Dr. Mladen Stojanović". In the beginning, the journal mostly published papers written by in-house authors. During the first few years, it was sometimes very difficult to collect an adequate number of papers to cover four issues per year. With time, however, the authors from other institutions started submitting contributions to be published in the journal, thus allowing four issues to appear per year. Over all these years, many renowned experts have honored the journal by taking over the position of its editor.In 1992, the name of the journal was changed into
Acta clinica Croatica, whereafter the graphic appearance was redesigned, including a new front page, and some new sections were introduced. During the past few years, a number of eminent professionals from various parts of the world have become members of the Editorial Council. We hope indeed it will be a constant trend, and many other respected scientists will accept membership in our Editorial Council with time. Beside improving the logistics, the editors have also initiated changes to improve the contents of the journal, making efforts to include ever more contributions from abroad, in order to make the journal a truly international publication.Biomedical journals generally are of paramount importance indeed, as the biomedical science would not exist without them. These journals are needed because "... one of the strictures of the scientific ethos is that a discovery does not exist until it is safely reviewed and in print"
1,2. Issuing a biomedical journal appears to be nearly like an art performance, or an intellectual exercise, and an enormously complex task. However, having those discoveries safely reviewed and in print in a journal depends directly on a very large cast of characters: editors, statisticians, production and support staff, peer reviewers, advertisers, editors, sponsors, journal publisher, etc.1. So, W.L. Lanier, Editor-in-Chief of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, says that "the journal will promote the advancement of clinical medicine that results from integrated progress in medical practice, research and education"3. Jerome P. Kassirer, in his farewell editorial as Editor-in-Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, uses the term 'university without walls' to describe that journal4. We agree with these quotations and think that our efforts to improve Acta clinica Croatica will proceed in these directions.
The success of a journal depends on the actions and interactions of many individual players, linked together dynamically in circles of causality, which is often called reinforcing feedback loops1,5. The appearance of good papers attracts better papers, better papers mean that reviewers are more willing to review; stronger reviews further increase the quality, thus leading to greater journal utility and credibility, and more readers1. This dynamic state of journal life, which is the source of journal's vigor and growth, makes the journal vulnerable. If something goes wrong, the entire operation can rapidly unravel _ positive cycles can become vicious ones. The words "you're only as good as your last performance" capture exactly the fragility of life in the theater but it also applies to journals1.
In the ongoing endeavors to improve our journal, the editors have decided to introduce some news starting from this volume. Since the world is becoming ever more computerized, the editors have proposed the journal to have its own web page on the Internet, and all papers published in the journal will be accessible there. Also, some new sections will be introduced, which will hopefully further improve the quality of our journal, while our readers may find it more appropriate and more interesting. However, the editors will greatly appreciate and welcome any suggestion or comment from the readers, as a successful journal primarily needs a dedicated audience. We strongly believe that cooperation among the editors, authors, reviewers and readers is the best way to make the journal better.
The truth is that the editors, editorial council and editorial board do not create articles. The journal basically depends on the contributors, who are invited to submit the best possible papers from which the editors then select those to be published upon a proper reviewing process. We express our thanks to all authors who have submitted their papers to be published in Acta clinica Croatica, and take this opportunity to invite them to continue doing so. We also call others to join them and submit their papers to our journal, as this is the best way to improve the quality of the journal. And the last but not the least, we appreciate the precious assistance of all reviewers who have reviewed the papers, thus allowing their publication. The editors thank them for their past efforts and hope they will continue doing so in the future, to the benefit of our journal and, which is most valuable, of our readers.
The editors do believe that this is the best policy to make major improvements in the eve of the new millennium and of the 40th volume of our journal.
1. DAVIDOFF F. The making and unmaking of a journal /Editorial/. Ann Intern Med 1999;130:774-5.2. WILSON EO. Consilience: the unity of knowledge. New York: Knopf, 1998:59.
2. LANIER WL. Leading Mayo Clinic Proceedings into the future /Editorial/. Mayo Clin Proc 1999;74:104.4. KASSIRER JP. Goodbye, for now /Editorial/. N Engl J Med 1999;341:686-7.5. SENGE P. The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday, 1990:68-92.
3. LANIER WL. Leading Mayo Clinic Proceedings into the future /Editorial/. Mayo Clin Proc 1999;74:104.
4. KASSIRER JP. Goodbye, for now /Editorial/. N Engl J Med 1999;341:686-7.
5. SENGE P. The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday, 1990:68-92.