This post is a part of an ongoing series of publications featuring the reflections of students in the ECDS Digital Scholarship Internship Program (DSIP) and their experiences in teaching and research in digital scholarship.
By Nathalie Angel
This past year I had the pleasure to support the Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation (JHR) during my time at the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship (ECDS). The JHR is a peer-reviewed, multimedia, open-access journal published in collaboration with ECDS. The purpose of this journal is to raise the consciousness and deepen the intellect of the humanistic relationship in the rehabilitation sciences. The journal seeks to provide an avenue to promote dialogue among rehabilitation professional, patients, families, and caregivers. In 2017, the JHR had a total of 36,000+ views from 123 countries around the world.
Due to my interest in marketing, I mainly supported the JHR by developing materials to increase awareness and engagement with the journal. In the fall of 2017 the JHR and the Consortium for Humanities, Ethics and Professionalism of the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy partnered to bring about a nationwide essay contest for physical therapy students. The finalists for this contest would go on receive to a cash prize and their piece would be published in an upcoming JHR issue. Throughout this process I produced our online and print campaign to spread the word about the contest at upcoming conferences and on various online platforms. A total of 33 submissions from 18 universities across the U.S. were received for this inaugural essay contest.
The JHR is a journal dedicated to knowledge accessibility. This is why the editorial board has decided to not charge its readers or authors any fees for subscribing or publishing. However, this in turn means the journal relies on external funding sources. In order to continue supporting the mission of the journal I produced a comprehensive sponsorship packet, which provides an overview of the journal and information on the various types and tiers of sponsorships. This will be distributed to companies and potential donors interested in supporting the journal financially.
During my year supporting the JHR, I have gotten an intimate look at what the publishing process looks like and have been able to develop skills that I will carry forward with me. I only wish I had more time here at Emory to continue supporting the journal and the good work of the editorial staff!
Nathalie Angel is a 2018 graduate of Emory University. Congratulations Nathalie!