This issue topic of Advances in Nursing Science (21:1) is the only issue topic that we have repeated with some regularity. It first appeared in Volume 7, No. 4, July, 1985. This issue, like the three subsequent issues focusing on "Critique and Replication," included some of the most well-known and frequently cited articles to appear in ANS. The important works that appear in each of these issues affirm a long-standing premise of the development of science, namely that knowledge develops as strong and worthy when it is subjected to the challenges of critique and replication. The announcement for each of these issue topics requests manuscripts that focus on previously published works in ANS, based on the premise that a journal will be stronger when it turns inward and examines its own contents, and extends and develops that which was previously put forth. In some instances, authors have provided critique or recent development of work they authored in previous issues of ANS. In other instances, authors have critiqued or extended the work of other authors.

There is a unique feature of this particular issue of ANS. Four of the articles that appear here are authored or co-authored by individuals outside of the United States. The countries represented are Canada, Australia, and Japan. Consistent with recent trends in authorship in ANS, we are beginning to develop a truly international scholarly community, where rich and diverse perspectives and ideas are exchanged. The process of critique is unending exactly because it is a process that continually seeks new and different perspectives. In extending this process and the discourse of ideas beyond the bounds of a single country, to a global level, we are entering a new and exciting phase of possibility in the development of nursing knowledge.

Nursing has long been known as a worldwide occupation, with significant common threads that bring us together from around the world. The efforts of many nurse scholars who work internationally to develop our common understandings of theoretical and philosophical ideas have resulted in the development of a worldwide discipline, science, and art. At the same time, my own international experience has demonstrated that nurse scholars in other countries hold theoretical and philosophical perspectives that challenge and enrich my own parochial understandings. Sometimes I have found it difficult to comprehend meanings that derive from cultural experiences that are outside of my realm of experience. But when I have been able to step in to a different realm of understanding. I have found valuable and important insights.

I would be delighted to see this discourse extended even further in the pages of this journal in the form of "Letters to the Editor." This is a valuable means of providing exchange of ideas and perspectives. Letters can be published within a reasonable time frame, providing timely exchange of perspectives within the nursing scholarly community. As you read and reflect on the ideas in this and other issues of the journal, I hope that you will be inspired to write a brief letter to share your thoughts with others who read ANS. Send your letters to:

Peggy L. Chinn, RN, PhD, FAAN

University of Connecticut School of Nursing; 231 Glenbrook Rd., U-26; Storrs, CT 06269-2026;

I look forward to hearing from you!

Peggy L. Chinn, RN, PhD, FAAN

Editor