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Vol 16 | No 2 • Autumn 2021 SA Ophthalmology Journal
From t he Editor
SA Ophthalmology Journal attracting submissions from other parts of Africa
W
elcome to our second edition of the SA Ophthalmology Journal for 2021. Thankfully, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have subsided for now, but we do not really know what to expect next. We have also recently had the tragedy of the mountain fire which devastated several historical buildings at UCT and its surrounds. This year, it seems, will continue to be an eventful one. In our second edition of 2021 we have included a few interesting original studies and a case report. We have a study from the South African National Blood Service on serum eye drops; a study which reports a novel technique for corneal epithelial debridement during corneal crosslinking; a RAAB assessment conducted in Zimbabwe in conjunction with the UCT Community Eye Health Institute; a paper on CNV treatment (age-related macular degeneration) in a Ghanaian population; and a report on neuromyelitis optica in children. We have had a few queries from authors regarding the so-called ‘75% rule’. This rule pertains to the guideline that at least three-quarters of published articles in a South African DHET-accredited journal should come from different institutions. SA Ophthalmology Journal has been peer-reviewed since mid-2018 and accredited since the beginning of 2020. During our first year of accreditation, four editions were published and these included articles from several different universities/sites/sources,
viz. UCT (5), Witwatersrand (5), KZN (3), Stellenbosch (2), WSU (1), Kimberley (1), Limpopo (1), Zimbabwe (1) and Nigeria (1). Over these four editions of 2020, the SA Ophthalmology Journal averaged 80% per issue on the above rule. These facts should alleviate the above concerns. As mentioned, we have also included an article from Ghana in this issue. It is clear that the SA Ophthalmology Journal is now attracting submissions from the Southern African region, as well as West Africa. On another interesting note, it is known that there are academic rankings used for universities internationally on an annual basis. The most well-known of these are the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and the Times Higher Education (THE) world university rankings. Between 2004 and 2009, QS produced the rankings in partnership with THE, but from 2010 onwards, THE produced their own rankings in partnership with Thomson Reuters. THE used a slightly different methodology to the original rankings when they split from QS. In partnership with Elsevier, the QS system comprises global overall, as well as subject, rankings. Factors that are considered in creating the rankings are: Academic peer review (weighting 40%); Faculty/Student ratio (20%); Citations per faculty (20%); Employer reputation (10%); International student ratio (5%); and International staff ratio (5%). Based on the above, UCT has consistently (over the past few years – including recent and current rankings – been rated as first in
Africa (QS world ranking 220 – out of 1 000 universities from 80 different locations), with Wits second (QS 403) and Cairo third (QS 411). In the South African context, we find the University of Johannesburg third (QS 439) and Stellenbosch University fourth (QS 456). This is followed by Pretoria, Rhodes, KZN, North-West and the University of the Western Cape. In contrast, THE uses rankings for more than 1 500 universities across 93 countries – in South Africa, these are quoted as (in descending order): UCT (THE world ranking 155), Wits (201–250), Stellenbosch (251–300) and KZN (351–400). This information should make for some healthy competition. Please continue to support us with your valuable submissions. The SA Ophthalmology Journal team encourages all our readers to continue to take care.
Prof Nagib du Toit
MBChB(UCT), DipOphth(SA), FRCS(Ed), FCOphth(SA), MMed(UCT), PhD(UCT)
Editor-in-Chief: South African Ophthalmology Journal
