COMMUNIQUE

SADJ Editorial board

SADA Head Office

It was somewhat of a special occasion when the Editorial Board of the South African Dental Journal met on 25th February. This was the first meeting of the Board for some years. It had been an anomalous situation for the Journal had in fact over those years faithfully recorded a list of members of the Board. The imperative to reconstitute the Board was first muted about a year ago and in the nature of these long standing dilemmas, there was slow progress. First a reasonable mandate was formulated, then debate ensued around membership and how the Board should be constituted. In the event membership was confirmed late last year and finally this month the new members gathered as a Board for the first time.... some in person at Head Office, others telephonically from Cape Town and East London,

There is no doubting the enthusiasm of members who arrived fairly bristling with concepts, innovations and ideas, all positive,, and mostly quite practical and ""do-able", Importantly there was evident an air of commitment and readiness to roll up the sleeves and get down to work, All of which is Good News for the Association and the members, An active Editorial Board can have a significant effect on the Journal,

Membership was carefully constructed so that as far as was possible all aspects of dental interest cou ld be represented on the committee... and more importantly so that the committee could disperse amongst themselves responsibilities for the diverse facets of the profession, The list of current... ie new... members appears on the Contents page of the Journal, It will quickly be recognized that this a much larger Board, There will be an endeavour to ensure continuity in the Committee and some members may find themselves serving for a few years.

The Editorial Board will report to the Operations Committee, as indeed does the Managing Editor.

For the membership and for prospective authors the Members of the Board offer sound advantages, for incoming papers will rapidly be assessed by knowledgeable colleagues and the process of handling the referee stages will be greatly facilitated, Access to Board Members will be easy and direct so that enquiries may be handled quickly, Some Members may assume special responsibilities to allow more effective management.

The Mandate under which the Board will operate is open and succinct, unlike some Journals in which most detailed roles are described and set down, The central key to the role of the SADA Editorial Board is emphasized in paragraph one of the Mandate:

• The Board will serve as a source of expert advice in all matters pertaining to the South African Dental Journal but in particular as a group of experienced professionals who will peruse incoming papers with a view to determining their suitability for possible publication in the Journal.

The Association may be confident that members of the Board are eminently well qualified to be "sources of expert advice in ALL matters pertaining to the Journal", And perhaps a relevant coincidence is that the inauguration of the Board occurs just as the Association is set to have a fully electronic Journal, This month marks a milestone ,,in common with so many professional publications the South African Dental Journal will be on the web, Whilst there has been some apprehension that difficulties had been experienced with downloading, the staff at Head Office have been working diligently with our experts and a trial exposure of the new system has proven that problems are being overcome, There is great confidence that members will enjoy not only ready access but also will celebrate the quality of the visual representations, As we become accustomed to the fully electronic publication, innovative options will present and there is an anticipation that the Journal is heading into exciting times.

The Board membership appears as a list on the Contents page, The Association wishes the Board Perspectivity, Productivity, and Positivity.