Letter from the Editors
WELCOME to Blackwell's Geography Compass, the first purpose built, on-line geography journal. Geography Compass will rapidly (typically within 8 to 10 weeks from receipt of the final version) publish peer reviewed, state-of the-art survey articles from across and outside the discipline, to the same high standards as Blackwell's print journals. Other journals purport to publish across the entire field of geography, but the reality is that these publications appeal to specific parts the discipline. Extant review journals also tend to have a sub-disciplinary (human or physical) focus and, therefore, lack the breadth needed to chart progress made within and between the two primary sub-disciplines and in related fields. Geography Compass is aimed at senior undergraduates, postgraduates and academics, and will provide a unique reference tool for researching essays, preparing lectures, writing a research proposal, or just keeping up with new developments in a specific area of interest.
To achieve the widest possible coverage, Geography Compass will be managed by two Editors-in-Chief, one for human geography (Mike Bradshaw) and one for physical geography (Basil Gomez). They will be supported by an international team of 17 specialist Section Editors who will represent distinct areas of the discipline and commission the majority of articles (though we also welcome submissions), and by a cosmopolitan Editorial Board. Most of the 14 sections are aligned in a traditional sense (to either physical or human geography), but we seek to preserve a 'middle ground' in areas (such as 'Geographic Information Systems' (GIS), 'Methods', and 'Environment and Society') where holistic, as opposed to fissiparous tendencies tend to be preserved. There is no ideal way to sub-divide the discipline and the most provocative research often crosses sub-disciplinary boundaries, accordingly we anticipate that close cooperation between the editorial team will insure that the boundaries between the sections remain permeable. To this end Geography Compass aims to be inclusive, it will not privilege any one perspective over another, it will be open to all authors, and will publish articles that are both theoretical and practical in orientation, or concerned with methodology, as well as issue-oriented reviews. The journal's emphasis is upon state-of-the-art reviews, supported by a comprehensive bibliography, written in such away as to make them accessible to an international readership of geographers and scholars in related disciplines. Once an article is published it will be accessible on-line by 'key words' and, thus, the 'section' will become less significant as an organizing framework. The rapid production process will insure that the reviews are timely and up-to-date, but once published articles will be accessible on-line indefinitely, creating an invaluable reference archive. For this reason we anticipate Geography Compass will quickly become an indispensable resource.
Why should you write for Geography Compass and who will read your review? Geography Compass is unlike any other geography journal and will develop quickly to become an indispensable reference tool for teachers, researchers, and students in Geography and related disciplines. The launch date is January 2007 and by this time we aim to have some 150 review articles available on-line. With this goal in mind, the editorial team already is soliciting and receiving articles. Once the journal is on-line, articles typically will be produced in 8 to 10 weeks from receipt of the final version. The publication process is continuous, so that an article will be published as soon as the production process is complete. Our objective is to produce timely reviews of the key and provocative areas of geographical research, as identified by the Section Editors, their Editorial Boards, and the community at large. Because the articles will only be published on-line (though authors will receive a pdf file of their article), it will be possible to include colour illustrations, as well as links to websites and other supporting media. Compass authors will also have their own profile page on the journal site, and receive free personal access to the journal.
Geography Compass will combine the quality of a traditional scholarly journal with the speed and flexibility of electronic publishing. If you are interested in joining the Geography Compass community please don't hesitate to contact us.
Mike Bradshaw
Editor-in-Chief (Human Geography)
mjb41@leicester.ac.uk
Basil Gomez
Editor-in-Chief (Physical Geography)
bgomez@indstate.edu
Geography Compass