SHAPING THE FUTURE FROM A STRONG FOUNDATION

This journal, Advances in Nursing Science (ANS), is approaching the 40th year of publication-a milestone that is significant for any scholarly publication. This milestone is particularly notable for a publication that began with a vision that challenged the dominant mainstream trend focusing on hard-core empirical science as the sole, or at least most important, path to establishing nursing as a bona fide professional discipline. From the beginning, ANS has published articles that not only questioned the dominance of empirical science but has also published material that offered philosophical and theoretical perspectives that reflect the value of all patterns of knowing. Traditional empirical methodologies have never been eschewed in the pages of the journal, but rather than taking empirical knowing and methods as the most important approach, many ANS authors have offered cutting-edge approaches to the development of nursing knowledge. These approaches draw on a wide range of scholarly methods that contribute to knowledge and understanding of the human health experience.

This intrinsic quality of cutting-edge scholarship has remained a steadfast commitment for the journal, even as we recently began to move away from the long-standing tradition of topic-focused articles. About 2 years ago, we began to invite articles on any topic, which we have called "general topic" submissions. This felt, at the time, like a risky step, given the fact that the issue topics of the journal, in and of themselves, have reflected the intent to broaden the scope of nursing science to include all forms of knowing, and all factors that influence the evolution of a science. From the beginning, we have called forth scholarship on such topics as "The Politics of Care," "Energy and Healing," "Critique and Replication," "Feminism and Nursing," "Innovation in Health Care Delivery," "Holistic Health," and many more that prompted nurse scholars to bring their innovative ideas out of the shadows and into the light of day. Once we started inviting "general topic" articles, we very quickly found that the strength of the journal's foundation was well established. The great majority of articles submitted to the journal as "general topic" articles have reflected the journal's fundamental commitment to high standards of scholarship, cutting-edge thinking, and innovative approaches to knowledge development. For the past several issues of the journal, we have included several "general topic" articles-articles not focused on a specific issue topic, but that represent current and notable scholarship.

This issue marks the first time that the journal shifts to content that is not focused on a predeter-mined single topic. It includes some topics that are difficult to address, such as violence against women, female genital cutting, workplace mistreatment, transgender health care, and globalization. This issue includes articles that describe and illustrate methodological approaches that are evolving beyond the margins of traditional science and approaches that embrace complexity and intersectionality.

I have no doubt that even reading the Table of Contents alone will assure any reader that ANS retains a strong tradition of innovative thought. It is my hope that the titles of the articles in this issue will engage your interest to read a number of the articles. We welcome your responses to the content of this issue; each article will be featured on the ANS journal blog (https://ansjournalblog.com/) over the coming weeks, along with messages from the authors about their work. Most of all, we invite you to contribute your ideas by responding to our blog posts and, in so doing, participate in the ongoing journey that is the advancement of nursing science!

-Peggy L. Chinn, PhD, RN, FAAN

Editor