Perishing from Publishing? Let this guide help!

We all know that publishing our best work is key to building a scholarly repuation and in turn, a compelling and successful tenure package. But as junior faculty/grad students/etc. it isn't always clear how to build a publishing strategy. Did you even know you needed a "strategy"? You do. Yikes, right?

Tom Boellstorff, current Editor-in-Chief of the American Anthropologist has recently published a really excellent essay on the subject of building your early career publishing strategy. He focuses on the choice of venue for your work and the peer-review process. His concept of the "Journal Triangle" is new to me but makes a lot of sense: publish in general journals (e.g. American Anthropologist, Current Anthropology), area journals (e.g. geographic area, species-centric journal such as Am J Primatology), and specialist journals (e.g. Placenta, Neuroscience, Bone Biology, etc.). Entirely without planning (alas, I did not have a strategy. Boellstorff, where were you??), I've done this and I'm pleased now to learn of the collateral benefits of doing so.

I have broken some rules here, mainly his edict to refrain from or strictly limit publishing in edited volumes as an untenured professor and I can attest to the wisdom of his advice. I have two chapters in print, one in press, and one in prep. I was blushingly gratified to have been invited to participate as a graduate student in one of the volumes and unwisely prepared some dissertation data for publication. The book took over 5 years  to come out and I couldn't publish those data as a journal article. That was dumb. (Note: the book itself is awesome and I'm very proud of my chapter!) That's why I now advise untenured folks looking to build up their pub list to reserve their original data for publication in journals. You can then later refer to it in a chapter, or even reprint the article in its entirety in a book. But if it's in the book first, it's done for.

The second chapter already in print wasn't too big a deal as I was third author in terms of effort. Sometimes you'll be invited to participate as an author because the other authors are leaning heavily on your work to build a section. If you're invited to do this, make it clear to the other authors what your availability to participate really will be. Be very protective of your effort on these kinds of co-authored projects. It's easy to say Yes! and Sure! I'll throw together a table! and No problem! I'll be happy to track down permission to use that figure! but it can be a real pain in the neck to follow through. Be sure you can really do it so as to protect not only your time but your reputation as a responsible collaborator.

Another tip: Don't underestimate the time a book chapter will take to write, even one that's based on previous work.  If you take even a modicum of pride in your work, it will take a lot longer than you expect and if the book is to be peer-reviewed, you might be surprised to find the review process even more exacting than that of a journal. And know going into it that the schedule will deviate from the best intentions. It just will. The slow turnaround is yet another excellent reason to publish your original data in a journal article.

Boellstorff's one easing of the no-edited-volume edict is being the editor yourself. Testify! I'm doing this now and I am lucky enough to have two smashing lady co-editors in Katie Hinde and Kate Clancy but it is a lot of work and has absorbed effort away from some other projects maybe I "should" be doing. That said, it's worth it because I deeply believe in the project, its potential impact on the field, and its timeliness (i.e. "This topic is so timely the book needs to happen NOW!"). AND I am concurrently working on journal articles and grant proposals. You can't just rest on the edited volume - whether it's just a chapter or the whole damn thing - for tenure (for most departments/schools that emphasize research over teaching, or articles over books. Your miles may vary so get smart about your local tenure culture.) So if you're going to do it, it needs to be for more than just vanity. You need to think about impact on the field, the timeliness of the topic, the quality of the contributors, and the potential pros/cons for your own scholarly reputation. Co-editing is a great idea IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT EDITORIAL TEAM.

Good luck to you all as you craft your strategy! Please share your tips and questions in the comment section.

Review of the Smallest Anthropoids

Nice review in the AJPA of the Smallest Anthropoids: the marmoset-callimico radiation, edited by Susan Ford, Lesa Davis, and Leila Porter. This is a roundabout plug for the book, in which I have a chapter. And I am excited to learn you can get the book in Kindle format!

From the review by Jonathan Perry:
"When I took primatology, callitrichids were (more or less) divided into two groups: marmosets and tamarins. This is no longer the case. As detailed in The Smallest Anthropoids, it is clear that the last two decades have seen a surge in research on callitrichids, especially marmosets. The genus Callithrix has been split into two: Callithrix for the Atlantic Coastal Forest species and Mico for the Amazonian basin species. A new species, Callibella humilis, the dwarf marmoset, was discovered in 1998. Moreover, several new species of Mico have been described. This edited volume provides the current state of knowledge for marmosets and their closest relatives, but we still lack adequate adaptive explanations for many important facets of marmoset biology, from reproductive behavior to morphological variation."

Tracy Prowse is awesome!

Dr. Tracy Prowse, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at McMaster University and co-editor Dr. Tina Moffat, Associate Professor in the same department, have just published an edited volume: Human Diet and Nutrition in Biocultural Perspective. Looks like a great collection.

Check it:
Chapter 1. Introduction: A Biocultural Approach to Human Diet and Nutrition
T. Moffat and T. Prowse

PART I: EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVES ON NUTRITION

Chapter 2. Nutritional and Metabolic Influences on Human Brain Evolution
W. R. Leonard, M. L. Robertson and J. J. Snodgrass

Chapter 3. Child Growth among Southern African Foragers in the Past
S. Pfeiffer and L. Harrington

Chapter 4. Infant and Young Child Feeding in Human Evolution
D. W. Sellen

PART II: BREASTFEEDING AND BEYOND: NUTRITION THROUGHOUT THE LIFE COURSE

Chapter 5. The Use of Stable Isotope Analysis to Determine Infant and Young Child Feeding Patterns
T. L. Dupras

Chapter 6. A Community in Transition: Deconstructing Breastfeeding Trends in Gibraltar, 1955-96
L. A. Sawchuk, E. K. Bryce and S. D. A. Burke

PART III: FOOD INSECURITY AND MALNUTRITION

Chapter 7. Dietary Diversity, Dietary Transitions and Childhood Nutrition in Nepal: Questions of Methodology and Practice
T. Moffat and E. Finnis

Chapter 8. Responses to a Food Crisis and Child Malnutrition in the Nigerien Sahel
R. E. Casiday, K. R. Hampshire, C. Panter-Brick and K. Kilpatrick

PART IV: NUTRITIONAL FACTORS IN GROWTH AND DISEASE

Chapter 9. Growth, Morbidity, and Mortality in Antiquity: A Case Study from Imperial Rome
T. Prowse, S. Saunders, C. Fitzgerald, L. Bondioli and R. Macchiarelli

Chapter 10. Examining Nutritional Aspects of Bone Loss and Fragility across the Life Cycle in Bioarchaeology
S. C. Agarwal and B. Glencross

Chapter 11. Obesity - An Emerging Epidemic: Temporal trends in North America
P. T. Katzmarzyk

PART V: CONCLUSION

Chapter 12. Diet and Nutrition in Biocultural Perspective: Back to the Future
T. Prowse and T. Moffat

Congrats to Dr. Ben Auerbach!

Dr. Ben Auerbach,Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, has edited a volume called Human Variation in the Americas: The Integration of Archaeology and Biological Anthropology, published by the Center for Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University. Impressive work from my fellow Miami University undergrad alum.

I have a book chapter in print!

I mentioned in a previous post that I had a book chapter in press but I'm very happy to say the book - Hormones and Reproduction of Vertebrates - Vol 5: Mammals - is now published and available directly from the publisher (Elsevier) as well as Amazon. In addition to throwing myself and my co-authors Wendy Saltzman and Suzette Tardif a little shout out (check out lucky 13 below!), I think the series, and this volume in particular, might be of interest to several BANDITs who explore comparative aspects of reproductive endocrinology in their work.

Contents

1. Sexual Differentiation of the Mammalian Brain

Desiree L. Krebs-Kraft and Margaret M. Mc McCarthy


2. Neuroendocrine Control of Gonadotropins in Mammals

Toni R. Pak and Wilson C.J. Chung


3. Endocrine and Paracrine Regulation of Mammalian Spermatogenesis

Zirkin, B.R., Brown, T.R., Jarow, J.P. and Wright, W.W.


4. Hormonal Regulation of the Ovary in Mammals


5. Hormones and Pregnancy in Eutherian Mammals

Fuller W. Bazer and Thomas E. Spencer


6. The Comparative Physiology of Parturition in Mammals: Hormones and Parturition in Mammals

Ross Young, Marilyn B Renfree, Sam Mesiano, Geoff Shaw, Graham Jenkin and Roger Smith


7. Stress and Reproduction in Mammals

Lynda Uphouse


8. Behavioral Neuroendocrinology of Reproduction: Mammals

Jin Ho Park and Emilie F. Rissman


9. Pheromones and Reproduction in Mammals

Aras Petrulis


10. Hormones and Reproductive Cycles in Prototherians and Metatherians

Bronwyn M. McAllan


11. Hormones and reproductive cycles in rodents

Karen L. Bales and Caroline M. Hostetler


12. Hormones and Reproductive Cycles in Bats

Amitabh Krishna and Kunwar P. Bhatnagar


13. Hormones and Reproductive Cycles in Primates

Wendy Saltzman, Suzette D. Tardif, and Julienne N. Rutherford


14. Endocrine Disruption of Reproduction in Mammals

Katherine E. Pelch, Joseph M. Beeman, Bridget A. Niebruegge, Stacey R. Winkeler, and

Susan C. Nagel

Colleen Nyberg is awesome!

Are you looking for a comprehensive text suitable for graduate students in biological anthropology, evolutionary biology, or the medical sciences? Your wait is over...
Fellow BANDIT member and tenure-track newbie at the University of Massachusetts Boston Dr. Colleen Nyberg has a chapter co-authored with Dr. Thomas McDade in the forthcoming text Human Evolutionary Biology. Edited by Michael Muehlenbein and including contributions from such heavyweights as Doug Futuyma, Paul Ewald, and Nina Jablonski, this volume provides the historical, theoretical, and methodological grounding to understand the themes of phenotypic and genetic variation, reproductive physiology and behavior, growth and development, and human health from evolutionary and ecological perspectives. The final chapter by McDade and Nyberg provides a comprehensive review of Acculturation and Health that disentangles the complexities and contradictions in assessing the localized health consequences of globalization. The book is available August 31, 2010. Congratulations, Colleen!

I am also kind of awesome (a preview)

Since this is my blog, I thought I'd share a fabulous little something about myself. I just got an email today that the book in which I have a chapter will be coming out...in September!! The chapter, Reproductive Cycles in Primates, is co-authored with Wendy Saltzmann and Suzette Tardif, and will appear in Hormones and Reproduction in Vertebrates, Volume 5: Mammals. There are four other volumes: Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, and Birds. This will be an exciting and impressive collection, and I am kinda geeked out to be part of it. Many thanks to Wendy and Suzette for their kind invitation to participate. I will keep you posted on the actual release date.

Spatial Cognition, Spatial Perception: Mapping the Self and Space

Dr. Francine Dolins, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan at Dearborn, is the co-editor of a new collection of works exploring spatial cognition, with an emphasis on human and non-human primates.
Spatial Cognition, Spatial Perception: Mapping the Self and Space

"How does knowledge of the body in space relate to an understanding of space itself? Spatial cognition is discussed from two closely related perspectives: the internal mapping of external stimuli (e.g., landmarks and sensory perception of environmental information) and the internal mapping of internally perceived stimuli (e.g., kinesthetic and visual imagery), and their subsequent effects on behaviour. Clarification of what spatial information is present in most perceptual processes and how this is used cognitively in relation to the self in space is then established. Major points and controversies of the various models are discussed, along with evolutionary perspectives of spatial perception and object recognition and comparisons between human and non-human spatial cognitive abilities and behaviours. Written for postgraduate students and researchers, the authors present theoretical and experimental accounts at multiple levels of analysis - perceptual, behavioural and cognitive - providing a thorough review of the mechanisms of spatial cognition."

New edited volume on the gibbons

Dr. Susan Lappan, adjunct assistant professor of anthropology at Appalachian State University, and Dr. Danielle Whittaker, postdoctoral research associate at Indiana University, are the editors of a wonderful new volume published by Springer: The Gibbons: New Perspectives on Small Ape Socioecology and Population Biology

"The small apes, or gibbons, are among our closest living relatives, yet they have received little attention from the scientific community and the public in comparison with the other living apes. This oversight is not due to lack of appeal; their physical beauty, graceful acrobatic movements, and thrilling songs make it clear why gibbons are always among the most popular animals in zoos. Rather, the inherent difficulties involved in studying or filming gibbons in their natural habitats and, in some cases, the misconception that among apes, smaller means lesser, have led many researchers and filmmakers to focus their attentions elsewhere. Nonetheless, a growing number of intrepid field and laboratory researchers have made steady progress in the study of gibbon behavior and ecology over the last several decades. This volume is a systematic compilation of recent research on gibbon socioecology and population biology with a focus on understanding gibbons in the context of their natural habitats, and includes contributions on a range of topics, including gibbon biogeography, the ecological roles played by gibbons in their ecosystems, the origins and functions of key gibbon social and ecological adaptations, and the conservation status of wild gibbon populations."

Primates in Perspective, Redux

Dr. Rebecca Stumpf of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Dr. Christina Campbell at California State University at Northridge (both assistant professors!) are two members of a great team of editors (including Agustin Fuentes, Katherine C. MacKinnon, and Simon Bearder) that has produced a brand spankin' new second edition of Primates in Perspective. If you meet any of them, be sure to get them to tell you how much fun editing a book is.