What’s in a Title?

Abstract

Welcome to Volume 8, Number 1.  Surprise!  We have a new title.  Our decision to change the title of our journal was not easy, nor was the process of selecting a new title easy either.

And, ‘No’, we are not numerologists.  We aren’t superstitious, hoping our journal may have better ‘luck’.  Of course, this is not to discredit the many valid personal reasons why some people find it necessary to change their identity.

Our editorial team and close friends of the Journal had been discussing the many developments taking place around us and in our region.  E-banking, high speed rail transportation, plastic pollution, aging populations, lower fertility rates, increasing child obesity, new addictions including ‘on line’ gaming – to name some.

We wondered, too, about how those developments are impacting the lives of everyone – young children, families, university students, the unskilled, and retirees.  We wondered if our governmental institutions are responding in a timely manner – and appropriately?  Are scientists being supported in their efforts to study the impact of shifts that are already underway?  Are there new technologies that can improve the lives of our citizens?

And, we wondered if our post-secondary institutions can move away from traditional departmental systems that prevent students from undertaking cross-disciplinary studies: biology students studying law; business administration students minoring in human psychology; chemical engineering students studying public administration; and so on.  

Can universities find ways to develop fast-track systems, shortening the time spent from 4 years to 2 ½ years?  Can universities find a way to provide advance credit for students who have had relevant work experience?  Can universities find ways to deliver learning that does not require attending classes on campus?

For these reasons (and others) we decided that our journal should have a new title. We looked at who were our contributors and where they work.  We concluded that our journal is not just our university’s journal.  It has been and will continue to be a journal for researchers and writers from other institutions in many parts of the world.  And, we want to emphasise the present time, not ages past.

We wish to invite all who work in the sciences and in the technologies – all whose work aims to help us better understand the times in which we are now living, and to those whose discoveries can make a positive difference to our interconnected lives.

Welcome to the first issue of the Journal of Current Science and Technology, Volume 8, Number 1.