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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 36
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1-2 |
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Chance and responsibility for the Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry
Winston W Shen M.D
Department of Psychiatry, Wang Fang Medical Center; School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| Date of Submission | 27-Jan-2022 |
| Date of Decision | 28-Jan-2022 |
| Date of Acceptance | 29-Jan-2022 |
| Date of Web Publication | 26-Mar-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Winston W Shen
No. 111, Section 3, Shing Long Road
Taiwan
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | 2 |
DOI: 10.4103/TPSY.TPSY_1_22
How to cite this article:
Shen WW. Chance and responsibility for the Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2022;36:1-2 |
“Chance favors the prepared mind.”
– Louis Pasteur, 1822–1895
A French chemist and microbiologist
In the 2021 Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry (TJP), we have published 4 editorials, 6 reviews, 16 original articles, 4 brief reports, and 12 letters-to-the editor in four issues of the entire volume 35 of the TJP. Four invited international reviews in 2021were published on mental health and psychiatric care from Japan [1], South Korea [2], Spain [3], and Singapore [4]. The authors of those reviews were invited from members of the international advisory board of the TJP. This kind of reviews has been a standard feature of the TJP in the past several years, in an attempt to educate the readers of the TJP about what psychiatry is happening outside of Taiwan.
We published 3 international articles for each of the first three issues and 4 international articles in the fourth issue of the TJP in 2021. In the last issue of the TJP (Volume 36, No. 4) in 2021, we published two international original articles – one on “psychological burden on cancer patients and their caregivers” from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India [5], and another one on “perceived stress and its correlates among medical students from Sultan Qaboos University” from Muscat, Oman [6], as well as one international brief report on “psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic and its coping” from Kolkata, West Bengal, India [7], besides the invited review on positive psychiatry from Singapore [4]. It means that about 30% (13/42) of all articles of the TJP in 2021 were from international contributors. The TJP received 73 submitted manuscripts totally for the whole year in 2021.
The coronavirus was first identified in 1998 as RNA virus family due to the transmission from animals to human [8]. In 2003, we in Taiwan first dealt with the severe acute respiratory coronavirus syndrome (SARS) originated from China due to SARS-CoV-1. Learned from that anti-SARS experiences in 2003, we in Taiwan have been prepared to deal with waves of the 2019 new coronavirus infection originated again from China due to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) [9]. Before vaccines were available, Taiwanese defended COVID-19 successfully through pure nonpharmacological interventions, such as wearing masks, frequent hand-washings, and keeping social distances. Thanks for the cooperation of decent citizens in Taiwan. “The Taiwan model” of infection prevention of COVID-19 pandemic for a democratic country has worked and keeps working at this writing time. What we do in the Taiwan model includes encouraging to have good hygiene habits, using nonpharmcological intervention, tracing the new infection cases to contain the spreading of virus, campaigning for quick vaccinations to get mass immunity, etc.
In a ranking of “the 2021 annual democracy index” [10], Taiwan is ranked as No. 8 (after Norway at No. 1, New Zealand at No. 2, Finland at No. 3, Sweden at No. 4, Iceland at No. 5, Denmark at No. 6, and Ireland at No. 7) of 167 countries in the world, as well as the top “fully democratic” country) in the whole Asia. Furthermore, in another country ranking of “the 2022 index of economic freedom,” (Heritage Foundation in Washington DC, USA, www.heritage.org), Taiwan has the score of 80.1; has been ranked No. 6 (as the same ranking last year) after Singapore at No. 1, Switzerland at No. 2, Ireland No. 3, Luxemburg No. 4, New Zealand No. 5); and has been included in the top “free” category for the first time. Comparing to other countries in the world, the lives in Taiwan have been less disrupted due to COVID-19. As of February 20, 2022, the total cumulative number of patients who have contracted infection of COVID-19 is less than 20,000 (www.CDC.org.tw). All psychiatrists in Taiwan have been able to see their patients in persons in the clinics and in the hospital. The success of preventive work in COVID-19 has made Taiwan highly visible to the people all over the world [11].
The gross domestic product growth in Taiwan has also been satisfactory with 3.06% in 2019, 3.36% in 2020, and 6.28% in 2021 (Accounting Office of Executive Yuan, Taiwan), which is the highest record in the past 11 years. Both investments in and export from Taiwan have been impressive. At this writing, the ranking of values of export from Taiwan is thirteenth in the world, already having passed that of Spain or Soviet, roughly equal to that of Singapore or Mexico now. Under the proud principle, “Taiwan can help” [9], Taiwanese donated international friends masks and other nonpharmcological intervention (NPI) protective equipment for the infection prevention of COVID-19. In return, Taiwanese had also received generous donations of various vaccines from friends in Czech Republic, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and the United States of America during the vaccine campaign in the summer 2021.
At this time of chance, the TJP started an open-access publication through the great professional help of Wolters Kluwer (Netherlands), Medknow (India), and FlySheet (Taiwan). Everyone can read or down-load any articles published in the TJP from the website (www.e-tjp.org) without paying any fee. The TJP has got an opportunity to attract international authors with many contributed manuscripts. The increased amount of copies of manuscript submissions has given us the luxury to improve the quality of the articles and choices of topics published articles in the TJP. Since the third quarter of 2021, the TJP has been successfully included in the database of Directory of Open-access Journals (DOAJ). Here, I thank the enthusiastic contributors from Taiwan and foreign countries. With the sense of responsibility in sharing international publications [11], I as the editor-in-chief of the TJP would again like to sincerely invite you to contribute manuscripts to the TJP continuously. At this moment, we require no manuscript-processing fee for any articles published in the TJP.
I appreciate their expertise to continuously keep the TJP in good scientific standard. To me, the word “peer” always has two meanings – a noun, a coeval; and a verb, to look for errors diligently [12]. Although the system of peer review is not completely perfect, I am still a firm believer in peer review for the TJP. A copy of approval certificate of the institutional review board and a copy of submitted manuscript are always sent to reviewers for their careful scrutiny. I have learned a lot from the suggestions of those devoted peer reviewers. For this reason, copies of anonymous reviews have automatically been given to other reviewers for their self-edification in continuing education at the time when a review was completed and editorial decision of acceptance or rejection was made. I just also found that almost all the titles of the published articles have been modified according to the suggestions from the peer reviewers.
As I do every year, the names printed in the table “Reviewers in 2021” below are those who functioned as peer reviewers in 2021.
| Financial Support and Sponsorship | |  |
None.
[TAG:2]Conflicts of Interest[/TAG:2]
The author is soliciting manuscript submissions.
| Reviewers in 2021 | | |
Chun-Wei Chang
Chiao-Chicy Chen
Kao-Ching Chen
Nan-Ying Chiu
Po-Han Chou
Ming-Chyi Huang
Tsuo-Hung Lan
Ding-Lieh Liao
I-Choa Liu
Yu-Chih Shen
Huai-Hsuan Tseng
Jen-Pang Wang
Szu-Nian Yang
Hung-Yu Chan
Jane Pen-Chen Chang
Chih-Ken Chen
Kun-Po Chen
Yen-Nan Chiu
Kah Kheng Go
Si-Sheng Huang
Hsien-Yuan Lane
Chao-Cheng Lin
Mong-Liang Lu
Yueh-Ming Tai
Mei-Chih Tseng
Liang-Jen Wang
Yen-Kuang Yang
Chia-Ming Chang
Ta-Jen Chang
Chih-Tsai Chen
Mu-Hong Chen
Frank Huang-Chih Chou
Ming-Hsien Hsieh
Wei-Tsung Kao
Chau-Shoun Lee
Shih-Ku Lin
Yi-Ju Pan
Duu-Jian Tsai
Nian-Sheng Tzeng
Tso-Jen Wang
Tzung-Lieh Yeh
Ching-Jui Chang
Yu-San Chang
Chun-Hsin Chen
Po See Chen
Li-Shiu Chou
Chia-Yueh Hsu
Te-Jen Lai
Shih-Ming Li
Hsing-Cheng Liu
Chi-Yung Shang
Shih-Jen Tsai
Carol Sheei-Meei Wang
Chi-Shi Wu
Yung-Chieh Yen
| References | | |
| 1. | Ikeda K, Ide S, Takahashi-Omoe H, et al.: Required research activities to overcome addiction problems in Japan. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2021; 35: 6-11.  |
| 2. | Chung YC, Park SB, Roh SG, et al.: Mental health services and research and development in South Korea. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2021; 35: 50-8. |
| 3. | López-Muñoz F: The literary works of Miguel de Cervantes from the perspective of psychopharmacology: the four aspects of phármakon. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2021; 35: 103-16. |
| 4. | Kua EH: Positive psychiatry: a dementia and depression prevention program in Singapore. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2021; 35: 160-5. |
| 5. | Nagarkar R, Patil R, Gadade K, et al.: Psychological burden on cancer patients and their caregivers during COVID-19 pandemic in India. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2021; 35: 172-9. |
| 6. | Al Shamli S, Al Omrani S, Al-Mahrouqi T, et al.: Perceived stress and its correlates among medical trainees in Oman: a single-institution study. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2021; 35: 188-96. |
| 7. | Halder S, Mahato SK, Samajdar S: Psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic and its coping: a one-year follow-up study from India. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2021; 35: 203-7. |
| 8. | Wege H: Coronavirus, infection and immunity. In: Wage H (ed): Encyclopedia of Immunology. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier, 1998: 658-61. |
| 9. | Su YS, Shen WW, Lee WS: The prevention of new corona virus infection in Taiwan: a report from participants/observers (in Japanese). Jinmeikai Journal of Psychiatry (Kobe) 2020; 18: 1-10. |
| 10. | Everington K: Democracy index 2021: the China challenge. The Economist Intelligence Business Unit ( EIU). February 10, 2022. |
| 11. | Shen WW: The Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry is becoming more visible and international. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2021; 35: 1-3. |
| 12. | Shen WW: The English version of the Taiwanese Journal of Psychiatry is alive and kicking: going into the seventh year. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2016; 30: 1-2. |
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