The times they are a-changin'.

The words Bob Dylan sang so many years ago ring even more true today. The times are changing, the world is shrinking, and the employee assistance profession is becoming ever more complex.

To thrive in this complex and changing environment, we need the right information at the right time. We need to hear the opinions and predictions of thought leaders in our own profession and in related professions. We need to know about research in our field, innovations that are proving themselves in other countries and cultures, and developments that may affect our own workplaces and careers.

With this inaugural issue, we are launching the Journal of Employee Assistance to meet these needs. The Journal is new, but it comes from a distinguished family tree. Our association's first publication was the ALMACAN, which began as a newsletter about alcohol-related public policy. In 1985, the ALMACAN evolved from a newsletter into a magazine; four years later, in 1989, it became the EAPA Exchange. Now, the Exchange has been retired to make way for the Journal and its new sister publication, the Exchange On-Line.

If you haven't yet seen the Exchange On-Line, check out the first issue now on the EAPA Web site (www.eap-association.org). And be sure to tell your colleagues about it, even if they're not members of EAPA, because the first issue is accessible to everyone (future issues will be fully accessible only to members and partially accessible to non-members). Each issue of the Exchange On-Line will feature several brief articles, a selected audio clip, links to additional resources for further information, and other features not possible in a printed publication. Its interactive members' forum allows readers to comment on articles and the issues raised by them and participate in a dialogue with other readers.

The Exchange On-Line will facilitate the sharing of information among colleagues around the world in a format suited to the World Wide Web. The Journal of Employee Assistance, meanwhile, will provide a more in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities confronting the EA profession. Each issue of the Journal will examine a particular topic of importance to the profession. In this first issue, we focus on how to position EAPs to wield more influence by providing greater value within work organizations.

Each issue of the Journal also will include a research paper that has been through a rigorous peer review process coordinated by EAPA's Research Subcommittee. The research paper in this issue reviews the literature on fatigue management programs and takes a flesh look at the impact of fatigue on shift workers and their families. Feature articles in this inaugural issue examine suicide (especially among men) and its effect on the workplace, the potential workplace ramifications of the sex abuse scandal unfolding within the Catholic Church, and the impact of the war in Iraq on employers, employees, and families.

As you read this issue, you may think of perspectives that are not discussed in the articles or you may disagree with the arguments the authors make. In either case, we invite you to comment through our "Letters" department. Please forward your letter to any member of the EAPA Communications Advisory Subcommittee.

"Yes, the times they are a-changin', and we are changing right along with them. On behalf of the Communications Advisory Subcommittee, welcome to the Journal of Employee Assistance.

EAPA Communications Advisory Subcommittee

John Maynard, Chairman

Boulder, Colo.

[phone]

Mark Attridge

Minneapolis, Minn.

[phone]

Nancy Board

Seattle, Wash.

[phone]

Tamara Cagney

Pleasanton, Calif.

[phone]

Maria Hartley

Columbia, S.C.

[phone]

James M. Oher

Chappaqua, N.Y.

[phone]

Allyson O'Sullivan

EAPA Headquarters

[phone], ext. 315

Deanna Petersen

Coronado, Calif.

[phone]

Bruce Prevatt

Tallahassee, Fla.

[phone]

Robin Smith

Sydney, Australia

011-61-2-9221-1166