Author Archives: johnsojg

Startup Weekend 2018

The dean would love to see increased representation from CAS students at this annual event, and Psychology majors in particular have valuable skills that could contribute meaningfully to any number of potential ventures. This year’s event is February 23-25.

Calling all Miami University Arts and Science students who want to turn ideas into reality! The Institute for Entrepreneurship is hosting its annual Miami University Startup Weekend. Pitch your idea, form a team, and bring it to life – all in one weekend! No business idea? No problem. Jump on to a team and contribute your skills and talents!

  • Develop idea from concept to reality in 48 hrs
  • Gain coaching and mentorship from entrepreneurs
  • Food provided throughout the weekend
  • Receive 1 hr of course credit
  • Open to all students!
  • The standard FSB surcharge applies for the course credit

For more information or to sign up, use this link.

Faculty development topic tables

From Amanda Diekman, chair of the Faculty Development & Welfare Committee:

The Faculty Development & Welfare Committee organized two successful topic tables in Fall 2017 (“grants from a Miami perspective” and “making time for what matters”; takeaways available here), and we request your ideas for topic tables this semester. Please email Amanda with suggestions about what discussions would be helpful in your professional development.

Wrap-up from career panel

Students are increasingly seeking advice during advising sessions about the value of their psychology major after graduation. Ginger hosted a panel to explore these topics with industry leaders and alumni, from which she reports:

On Wednesday, November 1st, 2017 from 12-1 PM, the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department (Regionals), Psychology Department (Oxford), and Career and Professional Services Office (Regionals) invited a panel of local experts to address these topics and answer students’ questions about breaking into the for-profit world, including human resources, industrial/organizational psychology, and business leadership.

Joining us for the panel were Mr. Tim Beatty (President, Bullen Ultrasonics), Mr. Brian George (Personnel Technician, Academic Personnel Services department – Miami University and Miami Regionals alumnus), and Mr. Justin Gregg (Manager, Predictive Analytics – CareSource, Inc. and adjunct professor at Miami). The panel members were wonderfully lively and candid, sharing their personal successes, struggles, and journeys as to how they arrived at their current professions. Among their key take-away messages:

  • Psychology is applicable in a wide array of job opportunities – you do not just have to be a psychologist to benefit from psychology classes or a psychology major. Businesses run better when leaders are thoughtful, considerate, and attentive to their employees’ and colleagues needs and goals, which are the things psychology emphasizes.
  • It is OK to switch careers and not necessarily have a “perfect life” or professional plan fully mapped out. All of these gentlemen have worn many different and varied hats at different stages of their lives and careers. The important thing is to be a life-long learner and never stop growing.
  • Experience and strong performance in statistics and research methods classes matter. Bosses will want to see that you are a critical thinker and problem solver, and these are tools to demonstrate those skills, whether or not you want to do research after you graduate. You still need to be able to understand the benefits of rigorous, detailed testing of ideas.
  • In both interviews and professional documents (e.g., cover letters and resumes), employers are looking for responsible, hard-working individuals who show initiative/leadership, strong interpersonal and conflict management skills, and self-motivation. Seek out and describe opportunities you have had both in and outside the classroom to provide evidence of claims you make about yourself. For example, if you say, “I’m a good leader,” your in-class, work, and volunteer experiences should clearly back-up your position. Build your skill set and have examples ready.

If you missed this event and but would like to see the panel for yourself, please contact Ginger for a weblink to watch the full video of this very helpful session.

Many thanks to our panelists, sponsors, and partners for helping us host this wonderful event. Special thanks to Ms. Christina Fitzpatrick, Dr. Beth Dietz, and Mr. Jacob Robinson for assisting with the WebEx and video-recording logistics for the session.

Opportunity for research participants in Chicago

This came across the Judgment & Decision Making listserv, but it is potentially more broadly applicable. In short, it is an opportunity for you to recruit participants through the University of Chicago for simple protocols and surveys:

The Center for Decision Research (CDR) at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business is renewing our “Call for Studies” for Winter and Spring 2018. We offer researchers at other institutions an opportunity to conduct behavioral science research in two of our laboratories – one on the UChicago campus (college student and community participants), and the other in downtown Chicago (≈50% college students from colleges and trade schools, ≈50% general public; very diverse in ethnicity and age).

Join a community of researchers from 30 institutions in ten countries who have taken advantage of this exciting opportunity!

Eligible studies will be added to our labs’ offerings to our participants, and we will cover the bulk of the overhead costs associated with conducting the study (i.e., facilities and equipment costs, costs of RA time spent in actual data collection). You will only be responsible for the generation of the materials, the payment of participant compensation (typically, we pay $1 per every 5 minutes of participation), and the cost of minimal RA time spent in preparing your study to run (a flat rate of $50 per study for our RAs’ time spent in preparing and submitting materials to our IRB, and other study-related preparations)

For more information, or to request participation please use this link.

Diversity events next week

From the Diversity & Inclusion committee, with thanks to Laurel Sarfan:

*Black Mental Health Night

When: February 6th, 2018 @ 7:00PM
Where: McGuffy Hall, 210 East Spring Street, Oxford, Ohio

“Join the Association of Black Psychologists for a mini-poster session with presentations and a speaker about issues relating to Black people in psychology.”

*Chinese New Year Festival

When: February 9th, 2018 @ 3:00PM to 10:00PM
Where: Marcum Conference Center, 951 E. Withrow Street, Oxford, OH, 45056

“All students and scholars are welcome to come and join with foods, traditional games, and celebrate Spring Festival (Chinese New Year Festival).”

*Taste of Soul

When: Saturday, February 10th, 2018 @ 6:00PM to 9:00PM
Where: Harry T. Wilks Conference Center

Enjoy traditional soul food, a silent auction from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m., and entertainment by Authorized Personnel from Dayton featuring an eclectic Soul blend of R&B, Pop, Blues, Funk, Rock, Reggae, and Jazz.

Tickets may be purchased in cash at the door. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for Miami students, and free for children under 12.

*Penny: Justice in Local Crime & Punishment

When: February 12th, 2018 @ 6:00PM to 8:00PM
Where: Upham Hall Room 001

Department of Global and Intercultural Studies presents the 2018 Critical Inquiry Penny Lecture Series. This years theme is, “Global Identities and Social Movements.” Lectures are open to the public. Veronica Sanders, a Prosecutor in Brownsville, TX will present her lecture entitled, “Justice in Local Crime & Punishment Interfacing a Global Environment.

*The New Golden Age of Latin Music ft. Orkesta Mendoza and Las Cafeteras

When: February 15th, 2018 @ 7:30PM to 9:30PM
Where: Hall Auditorium, 101 S. Campus Ave, Oxford, OH, 45056

“Top producer of global music, globalFEST, has paired two of today’s most exciting bands, forging inspired new paths for the fabled Latin sound.”
Buy tickets: Bit.ly/WanderPAS

Overview of CTE grants & awards

I’ve mentioned previously that in general I will not post here emails sent to the CTE mailing list, but would encourage those interested to sign up directly. However, this seminar many of you might find useful since it provides an overview of some available CTE resources for ideas you might have. Space is limited to the first 20 registrants.

Who: Ellen Yezierski, Director, CTE
Date: ​Tuesday, February 6
Time: ​9:00 am – 10:30 am
Place: 320 Laws Hall

RSVP: Register Here

Grants awarded by CTE support curricular and pedagogical innovations to improve student learning. This seminar introduces faculty to the application components, submission process, and evaluation criteria for CTE major and minor grants. Features of successful proposals and examples will be presented. Participants are encouraged to bring early ideas for innovations to make the most of the seminar and progress in the development of successful proposals.

Assistance with data analysis

Michael Hughes, manager of the Statistical Consulting Center, is soliciting proposals for analysis projects for his STA 475 course this semester. If you have current or backlogged data that might benefit from a supervised team of students, please let Michael know; he writes:

Advanced undergraduate statistics students (most in their final semester) enroll in STA 475. These students have had regression and experimental design (ANOVA) training, a statistical programming class, and other topics courses. Students in STA 475 work on problems brought to them by faculty members, graduate students and staff from university offices, and produce both oral and written presentations for clients and based on their analyses.

I am casting my net far and wide for projects. This could include, but isn’t restricted to: study design (e.g. determining sample sizes for a study, providing input on a survey or experimental design, etc.); data analysis (descriptive summaries, formal modeling);
report write-up and data visualizations

 

Student travel grants

The Council on Undergraduate Research sponsors travel grants for students who will be presenting research, and as an institutional member we are eligible to nominate students for these awards:

  • For the Psychology Division travel grant, there are two funding cycles annually but note that the deadline is February 15 for the current cycle (presentation at a spring conference, such as MPA).
  • For the Social Science Division travel grant, exclusively for those in social psychology, awards are made on a first-come, first-served basis. Note that we will be able to provide the matching funds required for this award through either Miami’s UPA or the department.

Qualtrics user group

If you are interested in joining a user group for Qualtrics, which would involve a mailing list and other possible events, workshops, etc. , please contact Lisa Sheard (CTE) who is organizing.