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Abstract
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On the occasion of the advent of the Fourth Annual Conference of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) and in anticipation of the publication of the first issue of the AAS journal, Life Threatening Behavior (LTB), some observations may be pertinent.
If it be assumed that the AAS is a scholarly and professional association, then it may be assumed that its two mechanisms of communication, the Conference and LTB, are intended as well-refereed arenas in which knowledgeable scholars and professionals are to present solid research findings and informed opinions for critical review and dissemination. What might be some relevant data available for examination to help evaluate these assumptions?
Shortly after the Third Annual Conference of AAS a request for a copy was sent to the first author of each of the 33 papers presented. About two months later a second request was sent to those from whom copies had not been received. Copies were received from 18 or 55% of the respondents. Replies were received from 5 or 15% of the authors, of whom 4 stated that copies would be forthcoming at a later time: none were ever received. Of the 33 authors, 10 or 30% made no reply of any kind to the requests.
Since LTB is the journal of AAS with the stated purpose of serving as publication medium for papers presented at the conference it might be anticipated that its consulting editors might be unusually productive, responsible and actively involved members of AAS and would thus display exemplary conduct in this regard.
Of the 33 papers read at the Conference only 6 or 18% were presented by consulting editors of LTB. Conversely, of the 40 consulting editors only 6 or 15% presented papers at the conference. Of the 6 only 2 responded; 4 or 67% made no reply, a failure rate more than twice that for all conference participants combined.
Perhaps AAS communication might be improved. The LTD editor in the selection of consulting editors might attempt to give more consideration to current productivity in AAS. The program chairman might require prior submission and insure subsequent availability of papers presented at the conference. In keeping with the practice of other organizations, both conference and journal presentations should be recognized as media for archival publication.
Language: en |