Call for Book Chapters: "Academic Burnout: Mental Health among Scholars and Researchers"

Vernon Press cordially invites scholars to submit book chapter proposals for an upcoming scholarly volume on Academic Burnout: Mental Health among Scholars and Researchers, edited by Dr. Christine L. Cook.

The path of the academic is not an easy one. As the world digitalizes and the internet provides increasing resources and information to a wider range of people, the pressure on scholars to not only produce that research but teach an ever-growing group of students the absolute latest about every topic imaginable increases as well. Empirical studies, as well as anecdotal evidence from all sectors of academia, indicate that this is causing a massive global downturn in the mental health of scholars worldwide, particularly pertaining to the concept of burnout. The objective of this volume is to provide insight into the mental health of practicing scholars from all disciplines in universities and research institutions from around the globe. Because of the personal nature of the topic, we will be accepting a wide variety of methodologies in terms of from where your topics come. Autoethnographic work, clinical studies, case studies, surveys, experiments, critical theory pieces, longitudinal studies, interviews, focus groups, traditional ethnographic work, descriptive studies, and pure observation studies are all welcome and encouraged, irrespective of whether these methodologies are typical for your field. Our goal is to cover as much ground as we can in terms of both disciplines and regions of the world.

This volume will focus on the following thematic threads: experiences of burnout and other negative mental health experiences (pathological/clinical or otherwise) among students, staff, or scholars within academia or research institutions, and factors that contribute to either positive or negative mental health in academia and research communities. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• Prevalence and/or consequences of mental health disorders in academia/research
• Academic systems and mental health (i.e., publication pressure, KPIs, etc.)
• External factors to mental health struggles in academia (i.e., caregiving roles, physical illness or disability, etc.)
• Mental health in academic families (found families or blood/adopted/marital relations)
• Social interactions between scholars as a source of either positive or negative mental health (i.e., social media, conferences, email lists, departmental meetings, etc.)
• Persecution within academia (religious, racial, methodological, topical, due to activism or lack thereof, etc.) and its mental health consequences
• Student mental health – opportunities and challenges, as well as best practices
• Mental health throughout the academic career (or research career)
• Burnout in academia/research – antecedents, experiences, and consequences
• Comparisons of academic and research mental health across regions/disciplines

Prospective authors are kindly requested to submit their chapter proposals by July 1, 2024 (a 500 word-maximum abstract) 

Proposal acceptance will be notified by August 01, 2024.

Contributors whose abstracts get selected will receive the Vernon Press submission guidelines to prepare a chapter.

Full chapter submissions are to be delivered by February 10, 2024.

For further details and submission guidelines, please contact the volume's editor, Dr. Christine L. Cook at: christinelcook@outlook.com

Notes:

Please follow the APA style of referencing. The acceptance of the abstract is provisional. The acceptance of the complete manuscript will be decided only after a peer review process. The maximum word limit for the complete chapter is 5000 words. The plagiarism must be below 10 percent. The chapter must not be published anywhere else before.

Editor Information:

Editor's Name: Dr. Christine L. Cook
Qualification: Ph.D. (Communication Science)
Institution: International College of Innovation, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan
Designation: Visiting Assistant Professor for the Global Communication and Innovation Technology Master’s Program (GCIT), International Liaison for the Communication and Technology (CAT) Division of the International Communication Association (ICA)