The Role of Local Journals in Advancing Information Technology Research in the Philippines by Dr. Rafael Saldaña

PHILIPPINE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL (PITJ)
Volume I. Number 1. February 2008. p. 2.

A Publication of the Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP), Inc. and the Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators (PSITE), Inc.


Editor’s Notes:

The Role of Local Journals in Advancing Information Technology
Research in the Philippines*


Rafael Saldaña
Editor-in-Chief
Philippine Information Technology Journal
raffysaldana@gmail.com

There is no doubt that information technology (IT) plays a vital role in today’s society. Every facet of one’s life is practically linked to IT. The Internet, one of the marvels of modern society, has spawned several industries and fueled considerable economic growth. But the Internet did not develop overnight. It is a product of academic researchers who made such revolutionary technologies possible.

Information technology contributes immensely in advancing knowledge in many fields of endeavor. For example, information technology enables scientists and academics to collaborate remotely on common research projects which speed up the process of discovery and the search for new knowledge.

Sadly, many schools and institutions in our country lack access to one key ingredient in the promotion of information technology research -- the availability of local journals in information technology.

It is for this reason that in the year 2005 the Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP) founded a local journal dedicated to advancing computing research in the country. Thus, the Philippine Computing Journal (PCJ), the official publication of the Computing Society of the Philippines was born. The PCJ is primarily the outlet of research papers presented during annual conventions of the CSP – the Philippine Computing Science Congress (PCSC), and other CSP-initiated research fora such as the Symposium on Mathematical Aspects of Computer Science (SMACS) and the Workshop on Modeling, Simulation and Scientific Computing (MODEL).

But what about IT educators that are not yet within the sphere of CSP?

To help further develop IT research in the country, the Computing Society of the Philippines has teamed up with the Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators (PSITE) to produce a journal of information technology, the PITJ or Philippine Information Technology Journal, which is aimed at promoting greater participation from IT educators in doing IT research in our country.

We recognize the important role of local journals in advancing IT research in the Philippines. In evaluating IT programs in schools, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) looks for the schools’ subscriptions to local IT journals. Now, schools in the Philippines are given more options.


We hope that with the publication of local journals such as the Philippine Computing Journal and the Philippine Information Technology Journal, IT research in the Philippines will prosper.

(*Excerpt from a talk given during the 10th National Convention of the Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators (PSITE 2008), February 22, 2008, Heritage Hotel, Pasay City, Philippines.)

PITJ EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in- Chief: Rafael P. Saldaña, Ph.D. (Ateneo de Manila University)

Associate Editors:

Jaime DL. Caro, Ph.D. (University of the Philippine-Diliman)

Caslon L. Chua, Ph.D. (De La Salle University)

Regional Representatives:

LUZON:Allan A. Sioson, Ph.D. (Ateneo de Naga University)

VISAYAS:Gregg D. Gabison, Ph.D. (University of San Jose-Recoletos)

MINDANAO:Emmanuel M. Lagare, Ph.D. (MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology)

For more information, contact:

Dr. Raffy Saldaña
Rm. 317, SEC Bldg. A,
Ateneo de Manila University,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108
PHILIPPINES
Tel./Fax.: (02) 7090907, (02) 4266125
Mobile: 0928-5043121
E-mail: raffysaldana@gmail.com
Website: http://www.math.admu.edu.ph/pitj