Editor-In-Chief Position - Bioelectromagnetics

Gloria L. Parsley
Executive Director
The Bioelectromagnetics Society
2412 Cobblestone Way
Frederick, MD 21702

A screening committee composed of members of the three above societies will begin reviewing applications on or about September 1, 2005; while applications will be received until the position is filled, late applications may not receive as full consideration.

Job Qualifications and Description

General Qualifications

• Full member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society or eligible and willing to become a Full Member for the duration of his/her term.
• Expertise in the area of bioelectromagnetics and a combination of broad acquaintance, willingness to learn, and flexibility of mind to achieve a level of understanding of other aspects of the science and its underlying biological, medical, engineering and physical sciences.
• Fluent in written and spoken English at the level of being able to edit for clarity. Since the Journal is published in English, English fluency must be at or near the .native speaker. level.
• Able to work with a wide variety of people.authors, readers, associate editors, clerical assistants, publisher.s personnel, Society office personnel, etc. , including organizing and administering editorial office and coordinating work of associate editors.
• Able and motivated to commit enough time to keep current with tasks without external reminders, while ensuring that staff assistant and associate editors keep up with theirs. Editorial tasks probably will consume an average of at least 10 hr/wk (there is a large variation, range: ~5-15+ hr/wk). The editor.s staff assistant will spend about the same amount of time with correspondence, maintaining data bases, receiving and sending mail, email, etc. (Time commitment will be somewhat larger at first, until procedures are established. Advent of the on-line editing and handling system for manuscripts may or may not change editorial or staff time eventually, but could increase it at the beginning.)

Duties

1. Editorial Tasks: The overall task is to ensure quality of papers, proper balance and scope of materials published in the journal, and fair, smooth and appropriately speedy handling of papers.
   • Receive papers submitted to Editor.s office (some are sent directly to Associate Editors (AEs)). Screen and assign to AE (or self) for review; reassign if paper sent directly to AE is judged inappropriate. Editor or AE may reject or return for revision without review a paper that seems inappropriate, missing vital information, is deeply flawed, etc.
   • Act as AE for a share of submissions. As such, find reviewers; evaluate reviews; accept, reject or communicate with authors for needed revisions on basis of reviews and own assessment. Send reminders to late reviewers and authors slow with revisions; replace late reviewers as appropriate. For papers which AE.s have less or no expertise the Editor has been .reviewer of last resort.; Editor sometimes reviews papers in order to balance loads. Editor also handles all Comment/s and Letters to the Editor, generally soliciting replies.
   • Assist and oversee AEs by getting periodic updates on status of papers, answering questions and sending suggestions about difficult papers, facilitating communication with authors, etc.
   • Acting as final appeal authority when authors dispute AE decision (or appointing AE to handle appeal if Editor acted as AE of paper in question), seeking both author.s and AE.s views, occasionally seeking advice from an additional reviewer.
   • Final editorial review of all papers accepted or rejected by AEs, including review of reviewers. comments and correspondence with authors. Usually involves light editing for clarity or style (Wiley does this, too; but as part of typesetting process performed by non-experts, currently in India), including correcting some stylistic inconsistencies since many people, a few of whom are not familiar with bioelectromagnetics, seem to share the typesetting. Sometimes requires email contact with author concerning minor problems, for instance, if AE didn.t catch lack of assurances about animal care, Editor sees color figures in the paper that won.t reproduce well in black/white, the author used the wrong reference format, etc. Occasionally requires contact with author concerning clarifications or serious questions of substance not caught by AE or reviewers (most commonly, questions may arise about confusing or inconsistent dosimetry in a paper written only by biologists with no engineering help).
   • Read the proof of all typeset articles.
   • Write and publish Editorials from time to time, either presenting Editor.s opinion on a pertinent topic or announcing changes in policy or in the editorial staff. Drafts of the first type have most often been circulated for comment to AEs, Editorial Board (EB, which includes AEs), and/or others of the Editor.s choosing.
   • Recruit promising authors to contribute research papers or reviews. This often occurs when attending BEMS Annual Meetings and at other meetings attended on behalf of Journal (small travel budget permitting; it has included EBEA, sometimes SPRBM, sometimes others) or as part of personal research program.
   • Seek advice and receive suggestions from EB and AEs from time to time concerning policy and candidates for AE and EB. Discussion may occur via email or at the annual EB dinner meeting. At this meeting, there is also a review of the past year and an opportunity to discuss policy, trends, and members. suggestions at length.
2. Administrative Tasks: Overall task is to ensure efficient operation of Journal, including keeping items on schedule and running within budget.
   • Manage editorial office, including clerical assistant and budget of Society.s contract with editor.s institution.
   • Maintain data base showing status of all papers submitted to journal, whether in Editor.s or AE.s hands (actual maintenance done by staff assistant; now done on Editors. computers but will probably migrate to publisher.s on-line manuscript handling and editing system).
   • Construct Table of Contents for each issue at request of Wiley Production Editor, who sends list of papers that are proofed and ready for publication. Balance backlog of papers, which should be neither too long nor too short; with budgeted pages and authorized extra pages (approved by and paid for by Society).
   • Recruit and evaluate candidates for AE and EB and coordinate nomination and approval by affiliated societies and BEMS Board. (AE candidates are nominated by a Society.BEMS. two by Publications Committee (Cte), generally at Editor.s suggestion, EBEA.s two and SPRBM.s by their Boards, sometimes using Editor.s suggestion or advice. Joint Journal Committee gives advice. BEMS Board approves. EB candidates generally suggested by Editor, passed by Journal Cte, and Pub. Cte, and approved by BEMS Board.)
   • Act with Executive Director as Society.s liaison with publisher and with other sponsoring Societies on various matters, excluding strictly financial matters (page charges, subscriptions, profit share, all of which Executive Director handles) but including, e.g., publishing contract renewal, day-to-day work with Wiley production editor, editorial policy issues with Wiley acquisitions editor, promotion of the journal, special supplemlents or dedicated issues, etc.
3. Tasks as Society Officer:
   • Ex officio member of Board of Directors, participating in June and February Board meetings (as service continues, Editor can become a source of institutional memory on the Board).
   • Report on Journal to June and February Board meetings and Society.s Annual Business Meeting in June (Wiley acquisitions editor is usually invited and sometimes attends, sometimes sends information).
   • Serve on Board committees as mutually agreed between Editor and President (usually minor commitment, due to heavy editorial duties).
   • Advise the Board of plans to resign or not to accept another term in a timely manner and assist in finding a replacement.

Other Provisions: