Newsletter: February 2001
Ann Miles and Fred Bloom Co-Contributing Editors
Call for SMA Invited Session Proposals: 2001 Annual Meetings, November 28-December 2, Washington D.C.
SMA members are encouraged to submit proposals for SMA Invited Sessions for the 2001 AAA Annual Meeting, the theme for which is “100 Years of Anthropology: Transformations of the Discipline.” Proposals selected for Invited Session status are ensured a spot on the meeting schedule and receive special designation in the printed program. Invited Sessions are reviewed in advance, and proposals must be received no later than March 19, 2001. Proposals should be sent directly to Andrea Wiley, Anthropology - MSC 7501, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807. Do not send registration forms and fees to the program chair. If your panel is selected, you should send in the materials to AAA by the deadline for all proposals (April 2, 2001) along with our letter of acceptance.
For more information, and to discuss your proposal ideas, contact Andrea Wiley (wileyas@jmu.edu; 540-434-5764).
How to Write an Effective Abstract for the SMA Program
By Ruthbeth Finerman (U Memphis)
Having served on the 1999 and 2000 SMA program committees, I wanted to pass along some brief suggestions that could help your proposal compete for a spot on the 2001 annual meeting program. Admittedly, no volunteered paper or organized session abstract can be guaranteed a place on the program, since the ultimate decision to accept or reject submissions lies with the AAA Program Chair. It's also worth noting that AAA Program Chairs must contend with a number of restrictions, including equity in representation among the various AAA Sections, and unpredictable variations in the total volume of submissions and meeting room space. Nevertheless, proposals that are highly ranked by the SMA's program committee are likely to receive approval on the final program.
Since program committees are generally unreceptive to bribery or extortion, your best bet to win support for the SMA program is to write a superior proposal. A high quality submission should accomplish all of the following:
First, be sure you follow directions on all materials for submission. AAA Headquarters will not even forward your proposal to the SMA if it arrives after the deadline or if the paperwork is faulty. This means that you must meet the AAA time table and complete all required sections on proposal cover sheets and registration forms. I particularly encourage individuals preparing paper abstracts to check the box agreeing to chair their session; this makes it easier for committees to create panels from volunteered papers.
Second, and I can't stress this enough: make sure your proposal is as specific, detailed and well-constructed as possible. Your paper or session will receive a higher rating if the committee understands precisely what it is that you intend to accomplish with your presentation or panel. Delineate key topics, note if presentations will be based on original research (vs. secondary sources) and, if possible, include an overview of the data and methodology. It is also helpful to identify the location and time frame for research. Papers and panels may choose to address the AAA meeting theme, but they are not required to do so.
Third, ensure that paper and session abstracts are well-written and carefully proofed. Proposals that are poorly composed and troubled by fundamental errors in spelling and grammar are disheartening to review and, even if accepted, can become a lingering embarrassment to the author once published in the AAA Meeting Abstracts.
Fourth, session organizers should constitute the best possible panel. Make sure that all abstracts are well written, closely match the session theme, and combine to form a cohesive whole. Also, recruit the proper number of high caliber presentations. While you should never "pad" sessions with unsuitable papers, proposals with just 3 or 4 participants can appear weak when reviewed along with panels featuring a rich array of well-matched abstracts. Above all, avoid creating double sessions unless truly merited; it is far preferable to limit your proposal to a single session of up to 7 exceptional papers. Double sessions that contain just 8 to 10 presenters, that feature a full roster of weak abstracts, or that address a topic of limited appeal will receive a lower rating from the program committee. Session organizers are also cautioned most emphatically to avoid "inbreeding" among panelists; be as inclusive as possible in recruiting presenters. While there are some exceptions, the SMA and AAA alike strongly discourage panels with numerous presenters affiliated with the same agency or institution.
Finally, be aware that fresh and innovative proposals are greeted with particular enthusiasm by the SMA Program Chairs. Individuals are encouraged to develop papers and sessions that address a cutting edge or underrepresented topic, offer inventive approaches to issues, and/or feature a creative format for exchanging insights.
Research Report: Rapid Assessment and Syphilis
By Fred Bloom (CDC)
Near the end of 1998 a rapid ethnographic assessment of Maricopa County, Arizona (including metropolitan Phoenix) was conducted. The Maricopa County Health Care Department in collaboration with the Arizona State Health Department and the Division of STD (sexually transmitted disease) Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the assessment in response to a local outbreak of syphilis. Ethnographic observation and interviews (semi-structured and open-ended) were conducted with 77 persons across a broad range of demographic and behavioral risk categories and among 44 traditional and non-traditional care providers. The persistence of syphilis in the United States has been called a “sentinel health event” reflecting a failure in the existing health care system in areas of persistence and re-emergence of the disease. Results of the assessment indicated that there was a significant breakdown in the local health care system suggesting the relevance of syphilis as a sentinel event. Importantly, the assessment also identified local strengths within the health department and with other providers (both traditional and non-traditional) which have since been drawn upon to correct existing challenges to more effective identification, prevention, and treatment of syphilis in the county.
During the months following implementation, rates of syphilis increased as a result of increased screening facilitated by several recommendations of the assessment. Preliminary data suggests that the ratio of primary and secondary syphilis (indicating recent infection) cases to early latent syphilis (indicating a longer period between infection and identification) is changing where the former is decreasing with respect to the latter. This may indicate that the number of new infections in the county is decreasing, and that older infections are now being identified and treated with a resultant decrease in the overall incidence of syphilis. Current evaluation of syphilis rates in the area will evaluate these and other suspected changes in syphilis rates in Maricopa County.
Importantly, other factors may have influenced these changes in the disease rates. However, the implemented recommendations based on findings of this assessment resulted in improvements in local STD health care and prevention services. This suggests that such improvements in STD health care and delivery will play an important part in the control of syphilis in Maricopa County. Additional rapid assessments of syphilis outbreaks in other areas of the US will provide additional information to broaden our understanding of the relationship of syphilis persistence and re-emergence to local health care systems and continue to provide recommendations to improve STD health care and prevention. Further developments and a more detailed account of the rapid assessment, implementation of recommendation, and epidemiological evidence will be discussed in an upcoming [...]
Acog-Ortho Fellowship in the History of American Obstetrics and Gynecology
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Corporation jointly sponsor two $5,000 fellowships in the History of American Obstetrics and Gynecology each year. ACOG members and other qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. The recipients of the fellowships spend one month in the Washington DC area working full-time to complete their specific historical research project.
Although the fellowship will be based in the ACOG History Library, the fellows are encouraged to use other national, historical, and medical collections in the Washington DC area. The results of this research must be disseminated through either publication or presentation at a professional meeting.
Winners for 2001 were David Pent, MD,FACOG whose research project is “The Thalidomide Tragedy: The End of the Myth of the Placental Barrier and the Beginning of Women’s Reproductive Rights, and Leslie J. Reagan, Ph.D. Department of History and College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, researching the topic, “Ambiguous Motherhood: The Impact and Investigation of Miscarriage in Twentieth Century America.”
Applications must be received by October 1, 2001. For more information contact
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Mrs. Susan Rishworth, Historian
409 Twelfth Street
Washington DC 2004-2588.
(202) 863-2578
fax 202-484-1595
srishwor@acog.org
Rivers and Hughes Student Prizes-Call for Submissions
To recognize and reward scholarly achievement in medical anthropology, the Society for Medical Anthropology has created the WHR Rivers Undergraduate Student Paper Prize and the Charles Hughes Graduate Student Paper Prize. The Rivers Prize will be given for the outstanding paper in medical anthropology written by an undergraduate student; the Hughes Prize will be awarded for the best paper written by a graduate student. Both prizes carry a $250 cash award, and the journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly will have the right of first refusal on winning manuscripts. Prizes are awarded during the Business Meeting of the Society for Medical Anthropology.
Entries for the Rivers and Hughes prizes must be postmarked by June 15,2001. Entries should not exceed 20 double-spaced pages, not including bibliography. Submissions for the Rivers and Hughes Prizes should follow the authors' guidelines for the Medical Anthropology Quarterly or the American Anthropologist. Further details can be found on the SMA website at:http://www.cudenver.edu/public/sma. Submit 5 copies along with a brief biographical sketch and social security number to the SMA Prize Committee Chair: James Trostle, Anthropology Program, Trinity College, 300 Summit St., Hartford, CT 06106-3100 phone 860/297-2564; fax 297-5358 james.trostle@trincoll.edu.