Text b call for tolerance towards some 'stem cell tourism'

05 July 2009

THE internet may be awash with bogus or untested stem cell-based treatments targeted at unwary patients, but that is no reason to condemn all "unofficial" therapies. So say researchers who last year drafted a set of international guidelines designed to crack down on "stem cell tourism".

The team insist their new plea for more tolerance of unsanctioned trials and treatments is no U-turn (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1171749).

They argue that companies making scientifically justifiable attempts to treat patients should not be condemned, provided a new treatment has a clear clinical rationale, along with evidence that it should not cause serious side effects.

Companies making justifiable attempts to treat patients should not be condemned "What patients care about is getting better and surviving, and demonising stem cell tourism will never squelch this vital instinct," says Olle Lindvall of Lund University Hospital, Sweden.

(http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327153.700-call-for-tolerance-towards-some-stem-cell-tourism.html)

Task 5. This passage (Text C) includes instructions for scientists who are looking for a journal to publish the results of their research: (http://www.scientificjournals.org/submission.htm). Read it carefully and answer all questions that follow. Use detailed reading.

Text c general guidelines

All of our peer-reviewed journals are bi-annual (Fall and Spring).  There are no deadlines for submissions. We do not accept letters of inquiry, abstracts or topic proposals.  Please submit your finished work for peer review.  The length of a manuscript can be up to 50 pages long including tables, graphs, diagrams, photographs, and equations. 

SJI employs a quadruple-blind review system, where the authors, referees and editors remain anonymous throughout the peer-review process. Each submission is reviewed by three to seven peer reviewers with final decisions reported to the author, usually within two months.  This is possible because SJI has a growing review board with more than 3,500 active reviewers. When the majority of reviewers recommend publication of a paper, and one reviewer recommends rejection, SJI seeks additional reviewers' opinion to make the final decision. For specific submission guidelines for individual journals, please click the link for each journal listed below.

If your paper is accepted for publication, you will be asked to submit the License to Publish agreement along with a processing fee. The fee is in the range of $99.95 to $199.95 (add $99.95 for each additional author).  Authors in developing countries are eligible to apply for a reduced fee. To be considered for the discount, you must reside in a developing country, and be affiliated with an institution in your country of residence.  Please send your request via email with the following information: full names of authors, mailing address, phone number, email address, occupation, position or title, company or organization where you work. 

Your manuscript must be polished to high professional standards. Extremely poor quality work with numerous grammatical errors will not be sent out for peer reviews. We strongly recommend that you have your manuscript edited by an experienced author or a professional editor with experience in your area of research before submission to SJI. 

There are many online professional editing services that maintain rapid electronic submission and turn-around times.  To help the authors, we have compiled a list of online services as examples.  Please note that SJI has no affiliation with any of these companies, and that SJI makes no endorsement of the same. An author's use of such services in no way guarantees that his or her submission will ultimately be accepted by SJI.  Any arrangement an author enters into will be exclusively between the author and such a company, and any costs incurred are the sole responsibility of the author.

1. How many issues do journals usually have?	4. How much time does it take the author to get reviewers’ final decision if they recommend to publish the manuscript or not?
2. How long could be a manuscript?	5. How much does it usually cost to publish the material for an author?
3. What kind of manuscript review do they employ?	6. Is there any rule to be followed by every author who sends his manuscript to a journal?

Task 6 (out-class activity). Using the list of journals find the information in the Internet how to get published in the jornal you are most interested in. Share your findings with your peers, make a short presentations of the gathered data (5 slides). Prepare the questions to your fellows about their findings about the journal’s publication submission.

Specific Guidelines Agriculture, Environmental and Allied Sciences Journal of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences Journal of Ecology, Ecosystems and Ecophysiology Journal of Forestry, Horticulture, and Soil Science Journal of Fisheries, Poultry and Wildlife Sciences Journal of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science Journal of Environmental Science, Policy and Planning Engineering, Computer Science and Architecture Journal of Engineering, Computing and Architecture Journal of Mechanical, Aerospace and Industrial Engineering Journal of Biomechanics, Biomedical and Biophysical Engineering Journal of Chemical, Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Journal of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Journal of Computer Science, Informatics and Electrical Engineering Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics Journal of Petroleum and Geosystems Science and Engineering Mathematics, Physical and Natural Sciences Journal of Physical and Natural Sciences Journal of Mathematics, Statistics and Allied Fields Journal of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Journal of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal of Physics, Astrophysics and Physical Cosmology Journal of Geology, Geophysics and Geosystems Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Journal of Dissertations Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Research Journal of Research Methods and Methodological Issues Journal of Unconventional Theories and Research Journal of Innovation, Research and Development Journal of Conference Proceedings Journal of Patents & Trademarks Journal of Electronic Books Journal of Encyclopedia Journal of Reviews

Model of a presentation

The title of the journal you would like to publish your article in, its electronic address

Additional information: the number of issues per year, the cost of a publication

Review system, how long does it take

Rules to be followed by an author

Any services provided for an author

Task 7. Opinions. This type of question is “open-ended”. It means you have to say what you think. There is no right or wrong answer.

1. Ali is a good reader in his native language, Arabic. Do you think he can learn to be a good reader in English? Why or why not?