JOE Reviewers Rock

JOE Reviewers Rock

Okay, so "contribute" may be a more appropriate verb than "rock" to describe the service JOE reviewers perform for their colleagues and the journal. But contribute they do.

I receive countless notes from authors telling me that their reviews have helped them strengthen their articles, that they were "right on," and that they raised thought-provoking, challenging points. That doesn't surprise me, and it shouldn't surprise you.

If you are interested in finding out who those generous and accomplished colleagues are, just check out the Peer Reviewers list that's a link at the end of every issue. If you are interested in joining their ranks, visit JOE FAQ #12 <http://www.joe.org/ques1.html#Q12>, and follow through.

Not only do JOE reviewers contribute by reviewing journal submissions. They also contribute by submitting articles themselves and having them undergo evaluation in our blind peer-review process. In fact, seven JOE reviewers are among the authors of articles in the October issue. And an eighth very qualified author has just submitted an application to join the JOE Peer Reviewers Committee.

JOE reviewers review up to 12 submissions a year. It's hard work, and they do it well. We owe them a huge vote of thanks.

This is mine.

A "Freebee" for Extension Professionals

Many of you are familiar with George McDowell's excellent and influential Land-Grant Universities and Extension into the 21st Century, and you may be disturbed to learn that it is out of print. But I recently received this message from Professor McDowell:

"Here is a freebee for Extension professionals. I have retired, and my 2001 book, Land-Grant Universities and Extension into the 21st Century, is out of print. It is also somewhat out of date, at least with respect to some of the details about Extension. However, I think the analysis and arguments made are still relevant and perhaps useful to the continuing discussion about the evolution/survival of Extension.

So when it went out of print, I asked that the book copyright be reassigned to me. I have put the entire book on my Virginia Tech Web page <http://www.aaec.vt.edu/faculty/mcdowell/book/> as an accessible resource for anyone to use. It is in PDF form, but excerpts can be copied, or the entire document can be copied. Obviously, reference to the book or quotations require the usual attributions, but there are no copyright restrictions. It's a freebee!"

"Still relevant and useful"? I'd say so.

October JOE

After almost 6 years and 34 Editor's Pages, I've just about run out of superlatives, so I'll simply proceed to calling your attention to a few of the fine articles in this issue.

We have a Feature on the "Change Agent States for Diversity Project: The Catalyst Team Approach." The next two articles, "Conflict as a Form of Capital in Controversial Community Development Projects" and "Pfiesteria Hysteria, Agriculture, and Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay: The Extension Bridge over Troubled Waters," suggest that conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. Difficult, granted, but not necessarily bad.

We also have a handful of interesting articles that deal in one way or another with livestock, with how to identify livestock and how to reach livestock producers. I've chosen a new way to emphasize them. Check out the last Feature, the last Research in Brief, the last Ideas at Work, and the last Tools of the Trade to find those articles.

We have a couple of articles about international work, too--and so much more.

Laura Hoelscher, Editor

joe-ed@joe.org