Newsletter
Volume 31| 2008 | Number 2
The Analysis of Verbal Behavior
By Dr. Caio Miguel
This report covers activities of TAVB for the calendar year of 2007–2008 (Vol. 24). After serving as an associate editor for the past two years, I was appointed to serve as the Senior Associate Editor (AE) beginning in October 2007. Dr. Jack Michael’s electronic files were transferred to me between October and November after which I assumed editorial responsibilities for the upcoming issue.
Journal Mission
The Analysis of Verbal Behavior is for the original publication of experimental or theoretical papers relevant to a behavioral analysis of verbal behavior. Manuscripts are typically relevant to at least one of the following topics: the elementary verbal operants, autoclitics, multiple control, private events, rule-governed behavior, epistemology, scientific verbal behavior, language acquisition, language assessment and training, second languages, pedagogy, the verbal behavior of nonhumans, and verbal behavior research methodology.
Manuscript Processing
At the time I assumed editorial responsibilities for Vol. 24; fourteen (14) manuscripts had been submitted for publication in TAVB. Of the 14 articles submitted for publication in 2007, two articles had been sent for review before I assumed the Senior AE position. Therefore, 12 manuscripts were processed between the months of November 2007 and January 2008. Each manuscript was assigned to an AE who then sent the article to at least two independent reviewers. I served as the AE for six manuscripts, and assigned the remaining manuscripts to others (two guest AEs). Reviewers were given between two to four weeks to return their comments. AEs, reviewers, and authors worked very hard to meet the publication deadline set by ABAI. Twelve manuscripts were accepted for publication and will appear in Vol. 24.
Three papers were already submitted for Vol. 25 and are currently being processed. Unfortunately, many authors who have recently inquired about submissions to TAVB were discouraged by the news that if accepted, their articles would notbe printed until 2009.
The reduced number of submissions to the journal may be partially a product of its periodicity.
Papers Published in Volume 24
Volume 24 was published in May 2008. It contains 12 manuscripts: 10 full research articles and two discussion/conceptual papers. The issue reached its page limit (around 200).
Board of Editors
TAVB’s editorial board has not substantially changed in many years. For Vol. 24, Dr. Barbara Esch and Dr. Anna Petursdottir were added to the editorial board. I was also added as the Senior AE. Regrettably, Dr. Scott Wood’s name was removed. In addition, 20 individuals served as ad hoc or guest reviewers for one or more of themanuscripts. My suggestion is that a rotation system for editorial board members and AEs be created for TAVB. I will be happy to follow up on this.
Below is the current Editorial Board (Vol. 24):
Editor
Jack Michael, Ph.D., Western Michigan University
Senior Associate Editor
Caio F. Miguel, Ph.D., BCBA, California State University, Sacramento
Associate Editors and Advisory Board
Genae Hall Ph.D., BCBA, Behavior Analysis and Intervention Services
Sam Leigland, Ph.D., Gonzaga University
David C. Palmer, Ph.D., Smith College
William F. Potter, Ph.D., BCBA, California State University, Stanislaus
Henry D. Schlinger, Ph.D., BCBA, California State University, Los Angeles
Mark L. Sundberg, Ph.D., BCBA, Sundberg and Associates
Editorial Board
James E. Carr, Ph.D., Western Michigan University
Thomas S. Critchfield, Ph.D., Illinois State University
Jeffrey S. Danforth, Ph.D., Eastern Connecticut State University
Michael J. Dougher, University of New Mexico
Barbara E. Esch, MA, BCBA, Esch Behavior Consultants, Inc.
John W. Esch, Ph.D., BCBA, Esch Behavior Consultants, Inc.
Debora Grossett, Ph.D., BCBA, Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County, TX
Bruce E. Hesse, Ph.D., BCBA, California State University, Stanislaus
Michael D. Hixson, Ph.D., Central Michigan University
Terry J. Knapp, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Barry Lowenkron, Ph.D., California State University, Los Angeles
Carmen Luciano, Ph.D., Universidad de Almeria, Spain
John Mabry, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Richard W. Malott, Ph.D., BCBA, Western Michigan University
Jay Moore, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Matthew P. Normand, Ph.D., University of the Pacific
Joseph A. Parsons, Ph.D., University of Victoria
Anna I. Petursdottir, Ph.D., Texas Christian University
Cynthia Pietras, Ph.D., Western Michigan University
Kurt Salzinger, Ph.D., Hofstra University
Ted Schoneberger, Ph.D., BCBA, Stanislaus County Office of Education
David Sidener, Ph.D., The Garden Academy
Joe Spradlin, Ph.D., University of Kansas
Kenneth Stephens, Ph.D., Operant WebSites, Inc.
Janet S. Twyman, Ph.D., Headsprout, Inc.
Julie S. Vargas, Ph.D., West Virginia University
Margaret Vaughan, Ph.D., Salem State College
Stuart A. Vyse, Ph.D., Connecticut College
Acknowledgements
Drs. Barbara and John Esch are to be commended for their assistance during the period of editorial transition. They also mediated initial communications between Dr. Michael and the authors before editorial responsibilities were transferred to me. I would also like to express my gratitude to Jack Michael, my former mentor and dear friend who has entrusted editorial responsibilities to me. I hope I did not let him (or ABAI) down.
I would also like to thank Majda Seuss for mediating my communications with the managing editor. Volume 24 wouldn’t have been published on time without her help.
Additional Projects
My main goal for TAVB over the next three years is to decrease processing times. There is no reason why articles could not be processed in two months (average). I have recently created new routing sheets for TAVB and a new system for organizing submitted manuscripts. These new systems’ changes may resolve some of the problems faced this past year.
I would also like to increase the number of quality TAVB submissions by personally inviting authors to submit their work, and also organizing special issues surrounding topics in the analysis of VB. Additional submission formats may encourage authors to consider TAVB as a publication outlet for their research. These may include brief research reports, clinical reports, and didactic papers. I would like to be given the opportunity to implement some of these changes.