You might have seen the adverts for the position of a new editor of MEE, to help Rob with the development of the journal. Well, after a gruelling process of interviews I was asked to take up the job. As you might have guessed, I accepted.
We’ll find out how my role will evolve, but it’s basically to be a mini-Freckleton, we’ll be splitting the workload of dealing with papers, and also working on the development of the journal. We had a meeting yesterday, where we discussed some new initiatives to try over the next few months, so stay tuned. Most of them are attempts to use social media (blogs, twitter etc.) more effectively to promote the journal and develop content.
But who am I?
I’ve had a meandering career, covering genetics, statistics, plant pathology, ecology, evolution (you would never have guessed that), and a bit more of all of the above. My main focus is on developing and using statistical methods for ecological and evolutionary problems. This is mostly Bayesian, but honestly that’s only because I find it the easiest way to approach complicated problems.
I did my PhD in Norwich at the same time as Rob, our esteemed editor in chief. After a short post-doc in Denmark I moved to Helsinki, where I stayed for 12 years (not by design, it just happened that way). Now I’m in Frankfurt, working at a new institute called BiK-F, where I’m meant to be focussed on developing species distribution models, when I’m not being distracted by other statistical problems.
I’ve also been active online, I have my own blog called Deep Thoughts and Silliness. I also tweet from @BobOHara, and have the usual Facebook and Google Plus pages, which quite honestly I rarely use. I even have a homepage for work.
I intend to write more on this blog: I’ll leave my more opinionated rants on my personal blog so that nobody confused what I write with the official MEE line. If you have any suggestions for what you want me to write about, or anything else you want to say about the journal and how you’d like to see it evolve please leave a comment below. We want to hear from you. Please.
Please.
Hello? Anyone there?
Methods Blog 
I LOVE YOU BOB. I ALSO HAS SOME GOSSIPS IF YOU’D LIEK.
Wierdo.
🙂
Here! Reporting for duty. How bout doing a post weighing in on this old chestnut?
http://jecologyblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/a-more-rational-alternative-to-blind-usage-of-α-0-05/.
Cheers,
Will
Hmm, it might turn into a rant, though. I’ll have to read the paper carefully first, but my initial reaction is that trying to support NHST by adding another layer to it is just going to make life more difficult.
But I’ll try to look at that paper in more detail first.
My thoughts are similar on the variable alpha approach. Silk purse, sows ear, etc. I really meant that the MEE blog might be a good and authoratative forum for the subject of uses and abuses of NHST more generally. It’s an old discussion and a lot of people are probably sick of it by now. But it is probably one that still needs to be had. Otherwise papers like that JofE wouldn’t still be being written.
You’re right, it does feel done to death but people still use it.
We have discussed a bit how to develop the blog, but I’m cautious about abusing it by writing a rant, which is what anything I write abut NHST could turn in to.
Congratulations Bob!
Suggestions for MEE? Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything. I think the journal is a great initiative.
Cheers,
Mick
Thanks. If you do think of something, pass it along.