Month: June 2013

1. WEEKLY SERVICES IN THE GLC

• GLC Café: 3:30-5:00 every Thursdays, Reading Room – year round!

Other regular GLC services are on hiatus for the summer. Please contact Career Services and the Writing Center if you need assistance.

 2. SUMMER YOGA SERIES IN THE GLC
Tuesdays and Thursdays, now through August, 12:45-1:45pm, GLC Multipurpose Room
Based on popular demand the yoga series has been extended through August. Taught by graduate student Susan Beck, yoga sessions will be offered in the GLC twice a week (check with Susan about a couple of off dates). Bring your own yoga mat and wear comfortable clothes.

3. GLC CAFÉ FEATURING COLD DRINKS ON THE SIDE PATIO
Thursday, June 27, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Reading Room
The GLC Café is offered throughout the year with free coffee, tea, and cookies in the company of your graduate-student and Grad-School colleagues. If the weather is nice (=not raining), the café moves out to the side patio on the Bookstore side of the GLC, behind the hedges. We are still looking for the perfect name for this location. Most recent entries include: Grad Pad, GLC Green, GLC Commons, GLC Gardens. Cold drinks will be served.

4. GSA SUMMER HIKE TO McAFEE’S KNOB
Saturday, Jun 29, 12:00pm
The Graduate Student Assembly would like to plan a hiking trip to McAfee’s Knob this Saturday at noon. Please complete the following survey to help them gauge interest in this trip: https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1371245219859. Please contact Mordecai Harvey, VP of Programs, at mordie02@vt.edu if you have any questions.

 5. WRITING CENTER SUMMER HOURS
The Writing Center is located in the Learning Commons (2nd floor of Newman Library). Summer hours are: Summer I May 28-Jul 3, 12:30-1:30 and 5:00-8:00pm Mondays-Thursdays. Summer II Jul 9- Aug 15, 6:00-8:00pm Mondays-Thursdays. To make an appointment stop by, or call 231-5436.

6. STATS SHORT COURSES THIS SUMMER
LISA (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis) is providing a series of evening short courses to help graduate students use statistics in their research. The focus of these two-hour courses is on teaching practical statistical techniques for analyzing or collecting data. See www.lisa.stat.vt.edu/?q=short_courses for instructions on how to register and to learn more. Summer 2013 Schedule:

• Monday, Jun 24 & Tuesday, June 25: Basics of R;
• Monday,  Jul 1 & Tuesday, July 2: Statistical Analysis in R;
• Monday, Jul 8 & Tuesday, July 9: Graphing with R;
• Monday, Jul 15: SAS Programming I; Tuesday, Jul 16: SAS Programming II;
• Monday, Jul 22: Model selection in R featuring the lasso;

 A schedule of available LISA short courses may be found here: www.lisa.stat.vt.edu/?q=short_courses. Follow LISA on Facebook.

7. ON-CAMPUS GRAD HOUSING STILL AVAILABLE FOR 2013-14
If you haven’t made plans for housing accommodations for the 2013-14 year yet,  consider  on-campus housing and dining services. Limited space is available for graduate students on campus. Visit http://www.housing.vt.edu/contracts/apply/graduate.php to learn more about grad communities and options. If you are interested in signing up for graduate housing, visit https://systems.housing.vt.edu/grad/ to put your name on the waitlist. Graduate housing offers are made from the waitlist on a first-come, first-served basis until spaces are filled. Please contact the Housing and Residence Life office at (540)231-6205 or housing@vt.edu for any questions.

8. FULBRIGHT APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN – 3rd posting
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistantships.  A candidate will submit a Statement of Grant Purpose defining activities to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Grant lengths and dates vary by country. Please consult the specific country summary for details. The application is open at http://us.fulbrightonline.org/. VT deadlines: Jul 1 – Priority candidates; Sep 14 – Regular candidates. You will not need letters of recommendation, transcripts or affiliation letter(s) for the priority deadline. Priority candidates will be matched with a Fulbrighter (VT faculty or alumnus) mentor to help them continue to develop their content and prepare for the campus interview,  and will be interviewed before fall semester or during the first week of classes. Regular candidates will be interviewed the last week in September and will have less time to respond to feedback.

9. GRA OPENING FOR 2013-14 – 1st posting
The Center for Applied Technology in the Humanities seeks a graduate research assistant to provide technical support for ongoing initiatives in the digital humanities. Potential projects include digitizing literary texts, developing websites to support scholarly communities, text mining and data visualization on large datasets, and GIS mapping. The ability to quickly learn new technical skills is essential; previous experiences with TEI, XML, XSTL, eXist-db, MySQL, Drupal, or WordPress is a plus. 20 hrs/wk during 2013-14 academic year; full tuition scholarship and stipend. Interested students should submit a résumé and a brief description of their technical skills. For more information, or to apply for the position, contact Quinn Warnick, English Department, 427 Shanks Hall, qwarnick@vt.edu, 231-8321.

10. MALE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR MUSCLE METABOLISM STUDY – 1st posting
Volunteers are needed for a VT research study on how diet influences muscle metabolism. Participants must be: males between the ages of 18-40; not currently taking any medications; non-smokers; free from major medical issues; willing to eat a high fat diet for 4 weeks. You may benefit by receiving extensive health information and up to $500 to compensate you for your time. Please contact the Human Physiology Lab via email at heartlab@vt.edu or call (540) 231-8299 if you meet the above criteria and are interested in participating.

11. FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN SOUGHT FOR STUDY – 2nd posting
The VT C.A.P. Lab in the Psychology Department is conducting a new study focusing on children’s developing ability to control their actions during games like Simon Says. Researchers are looking for 4-year-old children to visit the lab for about two hours. During this visit, researchers will play some fun word and movement games with participants. In addition to the games, they are interested in collecting information about the physiological components of the children’s abilities to control their actions.  If you are interested in this study, please contact Amanda Watson by phone (research lab—231-2320) or by e-mail (watsonaj@vt.edu). This study was approved by VT IRB, #13-440.

12. GRAD HOUSING SURVEY STILL OPEN
If you haven’t filled out the housing preferences survey yet, the Graduate School invites you to do it this week. Recently, the Graduate School was contacted by local developers for our thoughts and suggestions about ways to improve the variety and availability of graduate housing within the Town of Blacksburg. A site has already been identified and the local developers intend to begin construction of new housing in the South Main Kroger vicinity within the next 18-24 months. The survey will take approximately 10-12 minutes. The information you provide will help us better understand the housing needs of our current and future graduate student community. Access the survey at https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1368026258216.

1. WEEKLY SERVICES IN THE GLC

• GLC Café: 3:30-5:00 every Thursdays, Reading Room – year round!
• Other regular GLC services are on hiatus for the summer. Please contact Career Services and the Writing Center if you need assistance.

2. STATS SHORT COURSE: DESIGNING EXPERIMENTS AND COLLECTING USEFUL DATA
Monday, Jun 17, 4:00-6:00pm, 3060 Torg
LISA (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis) provides a series of evening short courses to help graduate students use statistics in their research. The focus of these two-hour courses is on teaching practical statistical techniques for analyzing or collecting data. Instructions on how to register and to learn more>>.

3. SUMMER YOGA SERIES IN THE GLC
Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting May 30, 12:45-1:45pm, GLC Multipurpose Room
Taught by graduate student Susan Beck, yoga sessions will be offered in the GLC twice a week. Bring your own yoga mat (there are some at the Information Desk for check out while supplies last) and wear comfortable clothes. Sessions have been scheduled for 6/4, 6, 13, 20, 25, 27. Further sessions may be scheduled based on participant interest and instructor availability.

4. GLC CAFÉ
Thursday, June 20, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Reading Room
The GLC Café is offered throughout the year with free coffee, tea, and cookies in the company of your graduate-student and Grad-School colleagues. If the weather is nice (=not raining), the café may move out to the side patio on the Bookstore side of the GLC, behind the hedges. Lemonade and a game of cornhole? Email to grads@vt.edu if you want that to happen.

5. WRITING CENTER SUMMER HOURS
The Writing Center is located in the Learning Commons (2nd floor of Newman Library). Summer hours are: Summer I May 28-Jul 3, 12:30-1:30 and 5:00-8:00pm Mondays-Thursdays. Summer II Jul 9- Aug 15, 6:00-8:00pm Mondays-Thursdays. To make an appointment stop by, or call 231-5436.

6. STATS SHORT COURSES THIS SUMMER
LISA (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis) is providing a series of evening short courses to help graduate students use statistics in their research. The focus of these two-hour courses is on teaching practical statistical techniques for analyzing or collecting data. See www.lisa.stat.vt.edu/?q=short_courses for instructions on how to register and to learn more. Summer 2013 Schedule:

• Monday, Jun 24 & Tuesday, June 25: Basics of R;
• Monday, Jul 1 & Tuesday, July 2: Statistical Analysis in R;
• Monday, Jul 8 & Tuesday, July 9: Graphing with R;
• Monday, Jul 15: SAS Programming I;
• Tuesday, Jul 16: SAS Programming II;
• Monday, Jul 22: Model selection in R featuring the lasso;

A schedule of available LISA short courses may be found here. Follow LISA on Facebook.

7. ON-CAMPUS GRAD HOUSING STILL AVAILABLE FOR 2013-14
If you haven’t made plans for housing accommodations for the 2013-14 year yet,  consider  on-campus housing and dining services. Limited space is available for graduate students on campus. Visit http://www.housing.vt.edu/contracts/apply/graduate.php to learn more about grad communities and options. If you are interested in signing up for graduate housing, visit https://systems.housing.vt.edu/grad/ to put your name on the waitlist. Graduate housing offers are made from the waitlist on a first-come, first-served basis until spaces are filled. Please contact the Housing and Residence Life office at (540)231-6205 or housing@vt.edu for any questions.

8. FULBRIGHT APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistantships.  A candidate will submit a Statement of Grant Purpose defining activities to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Grant lengths and dates vary by country. Please consult the specific country summary for details. The application is open at http://us.fulbrightonline.org/. VT deadlines: Jul 1 – Priority candidates; Sep 14 – Regular candidates. You will not need letters of recommendation, transcripts or affiliation letter(s) for the priority deadline. Priority candidates will be matched with a Fulbrighter (VT faculty or alumnus) mentor to help them continue to develop their content and prepare for the campus interview,  and will be interviewed before fall semester or during the first week of classes. Regular candidates will be interviewed the last week in September and will have less time to respond to feedback.

9. FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN SOUGHT FOR STUDY – 1st posting
The VT C.A.P. Lab in the Psychology Department is conducting a new study focusing on children’s developing ability to control their actions during games like Simon Says. Researchers are looking for 4-year-old children to visit the lab for about two hours. During this visit, researchers will play some fun word and movement games with participants. In addition to the games, they are interested in collecting information about the physiological components of the children’s abilities to control their actions.  If you are interested in this study, please contact Amanda Watson by phone (research lab—231-2320) or by e-mail (watsonaj@vt.edu). This study was approved by VT IRB, #13-440.

10. GRAD HOUSING SURVEY STILL OPEN
If you haven’t filled out the housing preferences survey yet, the Graduate School invites you to do it this week. Recently, the Graduate School was contacted by local developers for our thoughts and suggestions about ways to improve the variety and availability of graduate housing within the Town of Blacksburg. A site has already been identified and the local developers intend to begin construction of new housing in the South Main Kroger vicinity within the next 18-24 months. The survey will take approximately 10-12 minutes. The information you provide will help us better understand the housing needs of our current and future graduate student community. Access the survey>>.

1. WEEKLY SERVICES IN THE GLC

• GLC Café: 3:30-5:00 every Thursdays, Reading Room – year round!
• Other regular GLC services are on hiatus for the summer. Please contact Career Services and the Writing Center if you need assistance.

2. STATS SHORT COURSE: STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING (SEM) USING AMOS
Monday, Jun 10, 4:00-6:00pm, 3060 Torg
Structural equation modeling (SEM) encompasses such diverse statistical techniques as path analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, causal modeling with latent variables, and even analysis of variance and multiple linear regression models. This short course features an introduction to the logic of SEM, the assumptions and required input for SEM analysis, and how to perform SEM analyses using the AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structures) software. Instructor Khaled Bedair will cover time–related latent variables, the use of modification indices and critical ratio in exploratory analyses, computation of implied moments, factor score weights, total effects, and indirect effects. The first two hours of this course covers the concepts of structural equation modeling with an application to the data set. The last hour of the course will be AMOS lab session and basics of the power analysis using R.

3. SUMMER YOGA SERIES IN THE GLC
Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting May 30, 12:45-1:45pm, GLC Multipurpose Room
Taught by graduate student Susan Beck, yoga sessions will be offered in the GLC twice a week. Bring your own yoga mat (there are some at the Information Desk for check out while supplies last) and wear comfortable clothes. Sessions have been scheduled for 6/4, 6, 13, 20, 25, 27. Further sessions may be scheduled based on participant interest and instructor availability.

4. GLC CAFÉ
Thursday, June 13, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Reading Room
The GLC Café is offered throughout the year with free coffee, tea, and cookies in the company of your graduate-student and Grad-School colleagues. If the weather is nice (=not raining), the café may move out to the side patio on the Bookstore side of the GLC, behind the hedges. Also, if the rain ever stops, we may have lemonade from freshly squeezed lemons too.

5. WRITING CENTER SUMMER HOURS
The Writing Center is located in the Learning Commons (2nd floor of Newman Library). Summer hours are: Summer I May 28-Jul 3, 12:30-1:30 and 5:00-8:00pm Mondays-Thursdays. Summer II Jul 9- Aug 15, 6:00-8:00pm Mondays-Thursdays. To make an appointment stop by, or call 231-5436.

6. STATS SHORT COURSES THIS SUMMER
LISA (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis) is providing a series of evening short courses to help graduate students use statistics in their research. The focus of these two-hour courses is on teaching practical statistical techniques for analyzing or collecting data. Instructions on how to register and to learn more>>. Summer 2013 Schedule:
Monday, Jun 17: Designing Experiments and Collecting Useful Data;
Monday, Jun 24 & Tuesday, June 25: Basics of R;
Monday, Jul 1 & Tuesday, July 2: Statistical Analysis in R;
Monday, Jul 8 & Tuesday, July 9: Graphing with R;
Monday, Jul 15: SAS Programming I;
Tuesday, Jul 16: SAS Programming II;
Monday, Jul 22: Model selection in R featuring the lasso;
A schedule of available LISA short courses may be found here. Follow LISA on Facebook!

7. FULBRIGHT APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistantships.  A candidate will submit a Statement of Grant Purpose defining activities to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Grant lengths and dates vary by country. Please consult the specific country summary for details. The application is open at http://us.fulbrightonline.org/. VT deadlines: Jul 1 – Priority candidates; Sep 14 – Regular candidates. You will not need letters of recommendation, transcripts or affiliation letter(s) for the priority deadline. Priority candidates will be matched with a Fulbrighter (VT faculty or alumnus) mentor to help them continue to develop their content and prepare for the campus interview,  and will be interviewed before fall semester or during the first week of classes. Regular candidates will be interviewed the last week in September and will have less time to respond to feedback.

8. GRAD HOUSING SURVEY STILL OPEN
If you haven’t filled out the housing preferences survey yet, the Graduate School invites you to do it this week. Recently, the Graduate School was contacted by local developers for our thoughts and suggestions about ways to improve the variety and availability of graduate housing within the Town of Blacksburg. A site has already been identified and the local developers intend to begin construction of new housing in the South Main Kroger vicinity within the next 18-24 months. The survey will take approximately 10-12 minutes. The information you provide will help us better understand the housing needs of our current and future graduate student community. Access the survey >>.

1. WEEKLY SERVICES IN THE GLC

• GLC Café: 3:30-5:00 every Thursdays, Reading Room – year round!
• Other regular GLC services are on hiatus for the summer. Please contact Career Services and the Writing Center if you need assistance.

2. SUMMER YOGA SERIES IN THE GLC
Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting May 30, 12:45-1:45pm, GLC Multipurpose Room
Taught by graduate student Susan Beck, yoga sessions will be offered in the GLC twice a week. Bring your own yoga mat (there are some at the Information Desk for check out while supplies last) and wear comfortable clothes. Sessions have been scheduled for  6/4, 6, 13, 20, 25, 27. Further sessions may be scheduled based on participant interest and instructor availability.

3. GLC CAFÉ – WE NEED YOUR INPUT!
Thursday, May 30, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Reading Room or outside on the GLC side patio (near Bookstore)
The GLC Café is offered throughout the year with free coffee, tea, and cookies in the company of your graduate-student and Grad-School colleagues. If the weather is nice (=not raining), the café may move out to the newly furnished side patio on the Bookstore side of the GLC, behind the hedges. We need your input for finding a good name for this outdoor location that would help graduate students instantly identify where and what it is.

4. NOTES FROM EXTERNAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTATION
Graduate students in the liberal arts and human sciences seeking external funding in the form of travel grants or dissertation fellowships may be interested in resources now available online: a copy of Tom Ewing’s presentation in April and a list of external funding opportunities. In addition, students who wish to be involved in writing groups related to external fellowship applications can register their interest by completing this survey. Before participating in this proposal writing group, graduate students must consult with their faculty advisor(s), who should be kept informed of these efforts. The online resources will be updated, and more information sessions and workshops will take place during the fall semester. Questions may be directed to CLAHS Associate Dean Tom Ewing (etewing@vt.edu).
 
5. NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES DATABASE – 2nd posting
The Office of Research announces the availability of the Grant Forward funding database to VT faculty, postdoctoral associates, staff, and students. This service allows anyone with a VT e-mail address to search for research funding by entering key words. In addition to research funding, the Grant Forward database includes fellowship and scholarship opportunities, travel grants, etc. with an inventory  8,000+ federal  and 6,000+ foundation funding opportunities in academic fields including the arts, medical sciences, education, humanities, social sciences, business, engineering and technology, physical sciences, law and more. Grant Forward can be accessed directly from a campus computer, or from an off-campus computer by setting up an account using your VT e-mail address: http://www.grantforward.com/. 

6. WRITING CENTER SUMMER HOURS
The Writing Center is located in the Learning Commons (2nd floor of Newman Library). Summer hours are: Summer I May 28-Jul 3, 12:30-1:30 and 5:00-8:00pm Mondays-Thursdays. Summer II Jul 9- Aug 15, 6:00-8:00pm Mondays-Thursdays. To make an appointment stop by, or call 231-5436.

7. STATS SHORT COURSES THIS SUMMER
LISA (Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis) is providing a series of evening short courses to help graduate students use statistics in their research. The focus of these two-hour courses is on teaching practical statistical techniques for analyzing or collecting data. Go online for instructions on how to register and to learn more. Summer 2013 Schedule:

• Monday, Jun 10: Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Using AMOS;
• Monday, Jun 17: Designing Experiments and Collecting Useful Data;
• Monday, Jun 24 & Tuesday, June 25: Basics of R;
• Monday, Jul 1 & Tuesday, July 2: Statistical Analysis in R;
• Monday, Jul 8 & Tuesday, July 9: Graphing with R;
• Monday, Jul 15: SAS Programming I;
• Tuesday, Jul 16: SAS Programming II;
• Monday, Jul 22: Model selection in R featuring the lasso;

A schedule of available LISA short courses>> . Follow LISA on Facebook!

8. VT CREW TEAM SEEKS COACH – 2nd posting
The VT Crew team is a club sport organization, run by students and through the VT Recreational Sports Department.  Currently, they are looking for coaches for the upcoming seasons. Must have coxing/rowing experience; coaching experience not required. Contact snolta92@vt.edu for more information.

9. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR A LOWER BACK LOADING STUDY – 2nd posting
Grad student researchers are conducting a study to investigate how biomarkers change with lower back lifting. The study will include multiple experimental sessions, each lasting about 3 hours. Compensation is $10/hour + $10 for completion. Qualifications are: normal weight (BMI: 18.5-25), have no current or recent (≤3 years) history of musculoskeletal disorders, and have no conditions that limit your mobility. The protocols used in this study have been approved by the VT IRB (IRB #13-059). If you are interested please contact Marc Christian, 536F Whittemore Hall, (234) 788-3939.

10. SMART PHONE USERS SOUGHT FOR RESEARCH STUDY – 2nd posting
Volunteer smart phone users are sought to install an Android application (available on the Google Play Store ) on their daily-use Android smart phones, and allow it to run without interruption for an IRB-approved study. The application collects anonymous usage data (e.g. location, browsing, communications, connectivity, etc). The application does not collect any identifying information, and the data collected cannot be tracked back to the user. URLs, email addresses, and phone numbers are encrypted (hashed and salted) locally on the phone before being sent to the server. After the first run, the application hardly requires any further interaction from the user. Before installing the application, please read the recruitment letter at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7bc1n6iTHrGM0tWSDhxcjhROFU/edit for more details and instructions. Contact Amr Abed,  540-449-3336 for any details or concerns.

11. UPCOMING EVENTS:

STATS SHORT COURSE: STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING (SEM) USING AMOS
Monday, Jun 10, 4:00-6:00pm, 3060 Torg
Structural equation modeling (SEM) encompasses such diverse statistical techniques as path analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, causal modeling with latent variables, and even analysis of variance and multiple linear regression models. This short course features an introduction to the logic of SEM, the assumptions and required input for SEM analysis, and how to perform SEM analyses using the AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structures) software. Instructor Khaled Bedair will cover time–related latent variables, the use of modification indices and critical ratio in exploratory analyses, computation of implied moments, factor score weights, total effects, and indirect effects. The first two hours of this course covers the concepts of structural equation modeling with an application to the data set. The last hour of the course will be AMOS lab session and basics of the power analysis using R.