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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 40
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1-2 |
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Editorial
M Jayaram
Department of Speech Pathology & Audiology, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar Karnataka, India
| Date of Web Publication | 06-Sep-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. M Jayaram
220, 7th Cross, Poornaprajna Nagar, Bangalore 560061, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jose.JOSE_101_21
How to cite this article:
Jayaram M. Editorial. J All India Inst Speech Hear 2021;40:1-2 |
The Journal of the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (JAIISH), now in its 40th volume, has completed 52 years. Starting from Prof M N Hegde who did the preparatory work for the publication of the first volume of the journal in 1970, successive editors of the journal have been ambitious about the scope, role, and punctuality of publication of the journal. Only time will tell the extent to which the journal has fulfilled these aspirations. One satisfaction is that we have managed to keep floating in the not so ‘fluid’ waters.
I too started with a dream when I took over the reins of the journal as Editor in Chief, but very soon realized that I am dreaming big. We solicited articles from the professional fraternity, but none was coming. There is a group of professionals, mainly audiologists, who are publishing quite extensively in journals published from North America and Western Europe. They were reluctant to submit their manuscripts to JAIISH because the latter has no impact factor or indexing in any database. Moreover, publishing in some of American journals brings greater recognition for our professionals and thus, the reluctance of Indian speech and hearing professionals to publish in JAIISH. It is a vicious cycle. Unless our professionals publish good manuscripts like those that they do in other international journals, the ‘standard’ (impact factor, citation index and indexing) of our journal will not go north. Until the journal gets international recognition, our scientists will not publish in the journal. I hope that our professionals will balance these issues with national pride and contribute at least one manuscript every year to our journals in the future. Such a gesture will surely elevate not only the credentials of the journal, but also the standing of Indian professionals in the world scenario.
One another issue that complicated our mission was Covid 19. Thanks to lockdown of different degrees in different regions of the country, research efforts/projects had dried up. Thus, our scientists did not have publications to share. Now that Covid is almost a thing of the past (?), I hope the situation will improve in the coming months.
Despite these impediments, I am happy that we are able to bring out an issue (Volume 40, 2021) though delayed. I requested Prof. Hegde, my teacher, for a manuscript and he readily obliged with a treatise on phonological theories. He critically evaluates the natural phonological theories and optimality theory and brings out the superior scientific validity of the latter in explaining acquisition of speech sounds. The behaviorist that he is, Prof. Hegde talks of the limitations of generative phonological theories and brings out the greater power of ‘social interaction’ theories in explaining / mastering of speech sounds and language structures by children.
Similarly I solicited an article from Dr Kalyanai Mandke specifically on the impact of Covid 19 on our training and clinical programs in speech and hearing in the country. While agreeing that Covid 19 did seriously impact our programs and that it took us away from the traditional classroom teaching protocols, Dr Kalyani has drawn the attention of the readers to how Covid 19 promoted alternate technology. The question is whether the alternate technologies and modes promote learning and are user friendly.
Two articles address issues relating to use of hearing aids. One article is on speech perception and the other pertains to behavioral thresholds predicted from aided ASSR. Both articles provide some valuable information useful in clinical practice. We also have an article – a systematic review on auditory and cognitive functioning in hidden hearing loss arising because of exposure to noise or aging, or tinnitus. We wish to promote writing of systematic reviews / meta-analysis as they provide valuable data for evidence-based practice, be it in research or clinical domain.
One important development during the year was the recognition of JAIISH by University Grants Commission and inclusion in the UGC care list. This would be a stepping stone for more recognitions for the journal in the coming years. We have also made some changes in the appearance and protocol of the journal. The design of the cover page is different. There are many changes in the way manuscripts are prepared by the authors and experts review them. We are asking references in the APA 7 style. In short, the manuscript preparation and submission standards are nearer to global practices this time than in the previous years. Volume 40 of JAIISH will be the first one to be published through Medknow Publishers. In addition, JAIISH now has a dedicated website, a dedicated manuscript management system, and open access doctrine.
I do hope that the speech and hearing community, particularly of Indian origin, will appreciate these changes/efforts, accept the journal as one of their own, and contribute many more articles in the coming years. JAIISH should be one important channel through which we showcase our expertise to the rest of the world. More articles and timely publication is what we cherish.
Dr M Jayaram
Department of Speech Pathology & Audiology, SDUAHER, Tamaka, Kolar
Karnataka, India
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