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Dear Friends This is a chase-up 'call' to ask if anyone has papers they'd like published in the journal Diversity .... we're trying to get it back on track now! I understand that some people have been a bit concerned about this move to the "Open Access, Author Pays" model. Personally, I can understand that - as I've always found it hard to raise the extra costs - but equally, many people object to not being able top access the journal articles because their University or other Institute does not pay a subscription! Consequently, journals and publishers like BMJ, BioMed Central, and PLoS have been making great strides forward and achieving spectacular Impact Factor ratings. No-one seems to mind it when they levy an 'article processing charge' - which is usually around £1800-2000. OMICS is suggesting a much lower fee! The new Publisher is iMedPub, an independent publishing house within the OMICS group, but which has agreed to continue the journal's standards and approach as before, with only our nominees as Editorial Board members! A NOTE ABOUT Open Access Publishing and Article Processing Charges Increasingly, at least in UK, funders of research such as the NHS NIHR, Charities and Research Councils, insist that work they support is published in 'open access' format, rather than only in subscription journals which are behind a 'pay-wall'. This means that the publishers have to charge the authors instead of the readers. It does NOT mean that 'what gets paid for gets published'. OMICS and DEHC have agreed that we shall continue to apply our usual strict peer-review scrutiny process to ensure quality assured publication and maintain standards. We are aware that not all research is funded, especially when it is innovative or community-led, and have agreed also that in such cases we will consider offering a 'fee waiver' or discounted price for processing and providing offprints etc. If authors cannot identify funding for publication, they should say so in their letter of submission, and we shall engage with them to find a solution - no payment will be required before the paper has been reviewed and accepted in principle for publication. Open Access publishing will increase your Impact! If you have not yet replied to Paula's enquiry about your continued membership of the Board, please can you confirm that you will be happy to continue to support us in this endeavour! Please share this information and the attached files with your friends and colleagues who might write for us! Many Thanks and Happy Christmas / New Year ..... Mark Johnson & Paula McGee