The 20th anniversary of the journal: editor's introduction.

Zavadskas, Edmundas Kazimieras ; Antucheviciene, Jurgita

The current year--the 20th anniversary--is a significant milestone for the Journal of Civil Engineering and Management.

The Journal was launched in 1995 as a per-reviewed quarterly journal under the title "Statyba" (Civil Engineering). In March 2002, the current title "Journal of Civil Engineering and Management" with the sub-title "International Research and Achievements" was assigned.

Journal of Civil Engineering and Management (JCEM) is a peer-reviewed bimonthly journal that provides an international forum for the dissemination of the latest original research, achievements and developments in many areas of civil engineering and management. The topics include building materials and structures, structural mechanics and physics, geotechnical engineering, road and bridge engineering, urban engineering and economy, constructions technology and economy and management, information technologies in construction, fire protection, thermoinsulation and renovation of buildings and labour safety in construction.

The Journal aims to provide a multidisciplinary forum for researches, designers, users and manufacturers involved in the different fields of civil engineering and management. Papers published in the Journal of Civil Engineering and Management are original articles presenting new information and reviews. These publications provide essential ideas and information that will help new scientific inquiries and improve competency, efficiency and productivity in global markets.

In 1995-2001, papers in Lithuanian, English, German and Russian were published in the Journal. In the period, 34 Journal numbers were produced and 545 papers were published.

Since 2002, the Journal has been published entirely in English, which promoted its wider dissemination. In the period of 2002-2007, twenty-four issues of the Journal were produced containing 238 papers. The Journal was abstracted/indexed by international databases, including SCOPUS, COMPENDEX, INSPEC, Cambridge Scientific Abstract, EBSCO Publishing, etc.

Since 2008, the Journal reached a new stage of development. In 2008, JCEM was indexed by Thomson Reuters Science Citation Index Expanded, Web of Science and the Impact Factor (IF) by the Thomson Reuter's Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was provided in 2010 (IF = 3.711). Since 2010, it has been encouraged by CIB (International Council of Research and Innovation in Building and Construction).

The latest currently available Journal ranking is as follows: ISI Impact factor (2012), IF = 2.016; SCOPUS SCImago Journal Ranking (2012), SJR = 0.725; SCOPUS Source Normalized Impact per Paper (2012), SNIP = 1.360.

The Journal is currently ranked in the twelfth position worldwide among 122 journals in "Engineering, Civil" category of the ISI Web of Science, based on the values of Impact Factors (IF) published by the Thomson Reuter's Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Knowledge Journal Citation Reports. JCEM entered the first quartile (Q1) of journals based on its worldwide impact in "Engineering, Civil" category of the ISI Web of Science. The Journal's IF is more than 2.5 times higher than the average IF (0.786) for this civil engineering category.

Since 2011, the Journal has been co-published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) Press and Taylor & Francis. The design of the Journal was changed, electronic peer review and publishing platforms were launched, the number of submissions as well as internationalization of authors and reviewers increased. In addition, the Journal's visibility expanded in the international academic world.

In the period 2008-2013, 28 Journal numbers and one supplement (in 2013) were produced and 393 papers were published. International visibility of the Journal and its impact on the scientific community increased. Resumed information about the internationalization of the Journal suggests that although the Journal "Statyba" was published in four languages, since 2002, it has contained 81 percent of publications authored by Lithuanian scholars and only 17 percent of publications by foreign authors and 2 percent of joint manuscripts. Following the reorganization, the Journal of Civil Engineering and Management had received 49 percent of publications authored by Lithuanian scholars, while 45 percent had been submitted by foreign authors and 6 percent had been joint papers of Lithuanian and foreign authors in 2008-2012. 6 years of abstracting in WoS database resulted in 24 percent of papers authored by Lithuanian scholars, 70 percent --foreign authors and 6 percent--joint papers in 2013.

Assignment of published papers to institutions was also analysed in 1995-2010. Results showed that in the period 1995-2003, the majority of articles were still produced by researchers of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU). In 2009, already 30 articles were published with co-authors of other Lithuanian and foreign institutions and 26 papers were authored by foreign scholars. In 2010, the number of papers authored by other scholars was two times greater than that of VGTU authors, while VGTU scholars co-authored 21 papers with colleagues from other institutions.

In the beginning of 2014, a survey was made in order to determine the further development of volume of assignments to Lithuanian and foreign institutions in the period 2008-2013, i.e. since JCEM has been indexed by WoS database. In 2008-2013, there were assignments to 47 different countries in Authors affiliations in published papers in the Journal. China and Hong Kong accounted for 27%, Lithuania--22.8%, Poland--8.5%; U.S.--6.9%, Taiwan and Iran--6.4% each, Malaysia and Turkey--6% each, the United Kingdom--4%, South Korea--2.4%, India--2%, Austria and Australia--1.6% each, followed by Egypt, Nigeria, Ukraine, Sweden, Canada, Croatia, Spain, Uganda, Algeria, Jordan, Italy, Belarus, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Slovenia, Israel, Kuwait, Russia, Thailand, Oman, Bangladesh, Singapore, Belgium, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Finland, the Arab Emirates, Palestine, Latvia, Indonesia, Tunisia and Slovakia.

Information on the distribution of papers by continents in the period 2008-2013 is as follows: 49.2% papers were from Europe, 37.8%--Asia, 8.3%--North and South America, 3.4%--Africa, 1.3%--Australia.

The Editors are pleased that Journal of Civil Engineering and Management is becoming better known, popular and appreciated not only in Lithuania but also in other countries of the world. The number of published as well as received papers of high scientific quality is growing rapidly and the journal internationality and global dispersion are increasing.

We are thankful to our editorial staff who have been contributing to the success of the Journal. Editors--research-active and reputable scholars--help to ensure the scientific quality of the Journal: Professor Gintaris Kaklauskas, who supervises the reviews and publications of papers in the area of building materials and structures; Professor Arturas Kaklauskas, responsible for papers in construction technology and management; Professor Rimantas Kacianauskas, responsible for papers in structural mechanics, building physics, and information technologies. It is worth to be mentioned that all editors are Members of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and winners of the Lithuanian Science Award in Technical Sciences. The North American editor Professor Miroslaw J. Skibniewski is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and other international organisations. He contributes to internationalization and dissemination of the Journal outside Europe.

We are proud of Journal's numerous and respectable Editorial Board. JCEM Editorial Board consists of 61 members, including 23 Lithuanian scientists and 38 (62 percent) meritorious scientists from other European countries (Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Austria, the United Kingdom, Finland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Portugal) and other countries of the world (USA, Israel, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and South Africa).

It should be noted that a very large number of scientists contribute to the effective peer-review process. In 2012-2013, papers were reviewed by over 500 reviewers, 14 percent of them were Lithuanian scientists and the rest 86 percent were reputed scientist from other countries of the world. The Editors of the Journal would like to express their sincere appreciation to all experts for their contribution to the quality of papers.

Finally, the Editors once again would like to express their sincerest gratitude to all those who have contributed to the success of the Journal, its quality and significance in the academic world.

We are thankful to our publishers, i.e. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, for supporting and funding the production of the Journal; VGTU Press--for immense daily efforts in publishing the issues; Taylor & Francis as a reputed publisher--for following good business practice and influencing the quality and wide dissemination of the Journal.

We are grateful to members of the Editorial Board for many years of cooperation and contribution in ensuring the quality of the Journal.

We greatly appreciate efforts of a large number of Reviewers in providing valuable comments and suggestions aimed at improving the quality of submissions.

Special thanks goes to Contributors for choosing the Journal of Civil Engineering and Management to publish their research findings.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude and look forward to our further successful scientific cooperation.

doi: 10.3846/13923730.2014.925274

Editor-in-Chief Edmundas Kazimieras ZAVADSKAS, Managing Editor Jurgita ANTUCHEVICIENE

Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Sauletekio al. 11