Month: February 2011

Leaders of Tomorrow: Brian Leaf

Photo of Brian Leaf and Asian American with short dark hair, medium light skin, wearing a red shirt and smiling.
Brian Leaf

Leaders of Tomorrow is a series of short interviews with new librarians and library school students. These are the people I’m watching and I am sure we’ll see great things from them.

Meet Brian Leaf

Brian is a triple threat who is intelligent, charming, and fun! Brian is currently an Instructional Assistant at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where he is also completing a MSLS.

I met Brain through our mutual participation in ARL’s Diversity Programs and can’t wait to see what he does next!

1. How did you first become interested in librarianship?

I’ve always been interested in contributing to society in some way, and many problems seem to revolve around information. Regardless of our field, we make decisions based on the information we have or are able to get. Those decisions can have both positive and negative consequences. In a hospital, for example, accurate and timely information can mean the difference between life and death. Librarianship–which I perceived as inherently interdisciplinary–seemed to address those issues, or at least have the potential to.

2. How would you describe yourself in 5 words or less?

Tireless lifelong learner.

3. What do you see as some of the major challenges facing librarians in the coming years?

They seem to be the same challenges that the library world has appeared to face the past several years: Deciding how to be who we want to be, and then consistently selling it so we can do our jobs–even in an economic downturn.

4. What would you like to accomplish or work towards as a librarian?

My continuing overall goal is to improve how people receive, seek, and use information–whether it’s in the form of a quality education, personal consumption, everyday decisions, or even policy-making.

5. When you aren’t on the clock how do you like to relax?

Running helps me clear my mind, and the dance floor is where I have my fun. I also enjoy traveling, exploring new places, and trying new things when I can. On the toughest days, sleeping proves to be fairly effective.

50 Sex/Gender & the Brain Titles: #Scio11 Crowd Sourced Science

Image of glasses stacked on top of two books laying down on the left hand side next to 3 books standing against a gray bookend on the right hand side.
Research Mode

As promised here is a summary of my crowd sourced list of Sex/Gender Brain literature, thanks to the #scio11 crowd, the gender studies librarian at UNL, and some neurology friends who wish to remain anonymous for sending in titles for this list.

I’m presenting these title in alphabetical order by year in reverse chronological order. One word of caution, I would do some research if you’re planning on buying any of these titles. This list is a compilation of recommendations, I have not personally researched each and every one of these titles and they may not all be as rigorous in their scientific study as others. Other titles do not focus exclusively on gender/sex issues in the brain. Not sure about a book? Try requesting it through interlibrary loan first, that way you aren’t stuck with it if you don’t feel that it fits your needs.

  1. Brain storm: the flaws in the science of sex difference by Rebecca M. Jordan-Young 2010
  2. Delusions of gender: how our minds society, and neurosexism create Differences by Cordelia Fine 2010
  3. Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation by Simon LeVay 2010
  4. Man and Woman: An Inside Story by Donald W. Pfaff 2010
  5. Mind the gap: tracing the origins of human universals by Peter M. Kappeler, Joan B. Silk (Editors) 2010
  6. The Neuropsychology of women by Elaine Fletcher-Janzen 2010
  7. Sex difference in the human brain, their underpinnings and implications by Ivanka Savic-Berglund 2010 (Volume 186, Progress in Brain Research)
  8. Discovering Human Sexuality by Simon LeVay 2009
  9. Pink brain, blue brain: how small differences grow into troublesome gaps–and what we can do about it by Lise Eliot 2009
  10. Neuroscience of birdsong by H Philip Zeigler, Peter Marler 2008
  11. Sex differences in the brain: from genes to behavior by Jill B. Becker (editor) 2008
  12. Sexualized brains: scientific modeling of emotional intelligence from a cultural perspective by Nicole C Karafyllis and Gotling Ulshoefer 2008
  13. The Gay Gene Discovery by Linda Sones Feinberg 2008
  14. Oxford handbook of evolutionary psychology by R.I.M. Dunbar and Lourise Barrett 2007
  15. The singing neanderthals: the origins of music, language, mind and body by Steven Mithen 2007
  16. Biology of personality and individual differences by Turhan Canli 2006
  17. Olfaction and the brain by Warrick J. Brewer, David Castle and Christos Pantelis 2006
  18. The owner’s manual for the brain: everyday applications from mind-brain research by Pierce J Howard 2006
  19. The Cambridge encyclopedia of child development by Brian Hopkins 2005
  20. Developmental origins of aggression by Richard E Tremblay, Willard W. Hartup, John Archer 2005
  21. Sex differences in lateralization in the animal brain by V.L. Bianki & E.B. Fillippova, Translated from Russian by Tatiana A. Ganf and edited by Robert Miller 2005
  22. Sex in mind: the gendered brain in nineteenth-century literature and mental science by Rachel Malane 2005
  23. Brain gender by Melissa Hines 2004
  24. Psychosomatic: Feminism and the neurological body by Elizabeth A. Wilson 2004
  25. Unzipping gender: sex, cross-dressing and culture by Charlotte Suthrell 2004
  26. Why we love: the nature and chemistry of romantic love by Helen E Fisher 2004
  27. Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex by Olivia Judson 2003
  28. The essential difference: the truth about the male and female brain by Simon Baron-Cohen?? ?2003
  29. Gene Worship: Moving Beyond the Nature/ Nurture Debate Over Genes, Brain and Gender by Gisela T. Kaplan 2003
  30. The female brain by Cynthia Darlington 2002
  31. The science of romance: secrets of the sexual brain by Nigel Barber 2002
  32. Evolutionary anatomy of the primate cerebral cotex by Dean Falk & Kathleen R Gibson (Editors) 2001
  33. Sexing the brain by Lesley Rogers 2001
  34. Brain Injury and Gender Role Strain: Rebuilding Adult Lifestyles After Injury by Sharon A. Gutman 2000
  35. Mood disorders in women by Meir Steiner, Kimberly A Yonkers, Elias Eriksson (Editors) 2000
  36. Sexual differentiation of the brain by Akira Matsumoto (Editor) 2000
  37. Women and Schizophrenia by David J Castle, John McGarth, and Jayashi Kulkarni (Editors) 2000
  38. Lethal Violence: a sourcebook on fatal domestic, acquaintance, and stranger violence by Harold V. Hall (Editor) 1999
  39. Sex on the brain: the biological differences between men and women by Deborah Blum 1998
  40. The Integrative neurobiology of affiliation by C Sue Carter, I. Izja Lederhendler and Brian Kirkpatrick (Editors) 1997
  41. Rethinking masculinity: philosophical explorations in light of feminism by Larry May, Robert Strikwerda, and Patrick D Hopkins (Editors) 1996
  42. S/he brain: science, sexual politics, and the myths of feminism by Robert L. Nadeau 1996
  43. Male / female roles: opposing viewpoints by Jonathan S. Petrikin (Editor) 1995
  44. Sex, Cells, and Same-Sex Desire: The Biology of Sexual Preference by David A Parker 1995 (The Research on Homosexuality Series)
  45. The sexual brain by Simon LeVay 1993
  46. The Science of Desire: The Search for the Gay Gene and the Biology of Behavior by Dean Hamer, Peter Copeland 1991
  47. Effects of neonatal ethanol treatment on subsequent behaviors in male adult rats and their untreated offspring by Anne Jocelyn Ritchie 1990 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9121935/
  48. Pubertal status and psychosocial development: Findings from the Early Adolescence Study by Lisa J. Crockett, Anne C. Petersen 1987 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/psychfacpub/227/
  49. Sexual differentiation of the brain: based on a work session of the Neurosciences Research Program by Robert W. Goy and Bruce S. McEwen (Editors) 1980
  50. Pittfalls in research on sex and gender by Ruth Hubbard and Marian Lowe 1979

Thanks again to the many contributors to this list!