This month begins a series of periodic updates by the president of happenings at the ISG.
 
First, let me say how delighted I am to have been elected to serve as your president.  My predecessor, Professor Sixsmith, left large shoes to fill and we owe him a great debt of gratitude for the fine work he and the Executive Committee performed during their tenure.

Today’s environment is a challenging one for academic societies; there are many competing opportunities for emerging professionals to publish their works and receive recognition that will earn them tenure.  For many the choice of journal has come to resemble an exercise in accountancy where the impact factor in Scopus or Web of Science is the major determinant of where to publish. 
 
Related to the quest to maximize the impact factor is the propagation of specialized academic society websites addressing the interests of highly diverse subgroups, such that one can find a publishing venue for any particular point of view by conducting a simple Google search.  Because of this, large organizations, such as the American Psychological Association, have seen their division memberships decline as smaller organizations with more focused missions have acquired members and offered their own journals.
 
The ISG is in a prime position to grow significantly in the coming years; our flagship journal Gerontechnology, abstracted and indexed in Scopus, has passed from the highly capable guidance of Editor-in-Chief and Grand Master Annelies van Bronswijk to our new Editor-in-Chief, Professor Yeh-Liang Hsu.  Editor-in-Chief Hsu also heads the ISG’s Information Technology department and manages the ISG’s new website, which will play a key role in attracting new members in the years to come as we make the most of the capacities of the Internet and automation to more effectively serve the needs of our members and our constituents.