Dear Research_Practice Members,

We have decided to publish JRP with the Canadian electronic publisher
ICAAP (International Consortium for the Advancement of Academic
Publication), which is an initiative of the Athabasca University,
Canada's Open University. ICAAP's Web site is at:
http://www.icaap.org/

The following factors helped us decide upon this publisher:

* strong orientation towards open-access
* vast experience in electronic publishing
* Web-based editorial support system
* relatively lower annual fees (further reduction from the second
year)
* copyediting/proofreading service (available for an additional
price, CAD 0.01 per word)

The first-year cost would be (publishing cost CAD 3880 +
copyediting/proofreading cost as per actuals)

The second-year cost would be (publishing cost CAD 2530 +
copyediting/proofreading cost as per actuals) (the second-year cost
can change due to system changes)

[N.B. Currency conversion: CAD 1 = USD 0.817, approx]

For the inaugural issue, some of the accepted manuscripts are pending
for final correction by authors. The authors need to send their
revisions soon, by 15 Feb 2005. We should have the journal appearing
as scheduled, in Mar/Apr 2005.

I request you to help JRP by doing the following on a priority basis:

(i) Inform about JRP to every research-inclined person you know
(irrespective of age, sex, caste, creed, discipline!) and seek their
involvement in the journal by first becoming a member of this
YahooGroup
(ii) Give a link to JRP from your Web site (when the journal is up
and running with ICAAP, it will most likely have the following URL:
jrp.icaap.org)
(iii) Plan to write for JRP yourself (we are still short of
manuscripts under various categories)

We have to experiment with different methods of recognising and
rewarding the silent effort of our reviewers. We will certainly carry
their names in the journal (not with each paper, but separately in a
list). We will also evolve a method of recognising the quality of the
review. The regular high-quality reviewers will be invited to play a
greater role in the journal.

Some changes will be made to the current Web site (i.e.,
www.ximb.ac.in/~dpdash/JRP.htm) to reflect the latest information.
The Guidelines for Contributors will also be modified according to
the electronic publication system we adopt.

Looking forward to your enthusiastic support,

DP