First Generation Graduate Students: This Wednesday AT MILLS

Destination Law School Workshop

So much about careers on one night! 

Health Internship (paid) in Boston

The Center for Connected Health (CCH) in Boston is accepting applications for undergraduate and graduate student interns for summer 2014. Although this is a paid internship, it would probably only work for folks who already have some sort of Boston connection since expenses of living in Boston in the summer might not be covered by the internship salary. Note that the deadline is this coming Monday, March 17.

Founded in 1995, Center for Connected Health (CCH) is a division of Partners HealthCare in Boston, founded by Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospitals. CCH is working to create a new model for healthcare delivery, by developing programs and innovative strategies to move care from the hospital or doctor’s office into the day-to-day lives of patients.  Leveraging information technology – cell phones, computers, networked devices and simple remote health monitoring tools – CCH is helping providers and patients manage chronic conditions, maintain health and wellness, and improve adherence, engagement and clinical outcomes. By collecting and presenting accurate physiologic and behavioral data to both patients and providers, our connected health initiatives are facilitating data-driven coaching and as-needed provider involvement to help achieve patient care goals.

As a summer intern at CCH, you will be a member of an interdisciplinary research team comprised of clinicians, social and behavioral scientists, public health and healthIT professionals. Interns will participate in day-to-day CCH activities, including meetings with collaborators from affiliate institutions, other Partners centers, and corporate sponsors.

Undergraduate interns will have a general interest in healthcare delivery and technology. During the summer, undergraduate interns will work with the CCH research staff and graduate interns on a variety of programs and research projects. Tasks could include, but are not limited to literature reviews, survey design, focus group coordination, data analysis, team presentations, patient recruitment/retention and overall administrative support. At the conclusion of the summer, undergraduate interns will complete a two-page summary of their activities and describe what they have learned during the internship program. CCH is planning to accept between two and five undergraduate interns.

Who Should Apply?

Internships are open to students enrolled across the full spectrum of disciplines, including, but not limited to:

•  Clinical (medical, nursing, or other healthcare professions), physiology and biology
•  Public health, health communication, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science
•  Business, economics, health care organization and policy, and marketing
•  Computer science, information technology (IT), human computer interaction (CHI), health informatics, and social media
•  Internships are open to students at different levels of academic study including those in bachelor’s, master’s, medical school, and Ph.D. programs. Exceptional high school students will also be considered.
•  Summer interns need not be U.S. residents or in school in the U.S.; indeed, we encourage international students to apply.

Time Commitment, Office Hours, Pay and Benefits

Summer internships are part-time positions (20 hours/week) for 10 weeks. Our Summer 2014 program runs from about Monday, June 2 through Friday, August 8. Interns will have regularly scheduled office hours and be expected to attend weekly meetings to receive training and update mentors on work in progress.

Undergraduate interns are paid $11.50 an hour. Limited support may be available for graduate students.

Please be forewarned that you will be required to cover all of your living expenses during your stay in the Boston area. No other benefits are provided, and interns must make their own housing, insurance, and transportation arrangements.

Summer 2014 Research Opportunities

CCH is focused on the following research topics during Summer 2014.

(1) Clinical Outcomes and Interventions to Improve Healthcare – CCH has a long history of creating innovative programs using CHT to improve healthcare and clinical outcomes. This research includes the use of remote teleconsultation services, remote monitoring and care for patients with chronic conditions, and using wireless activity trackers to provide tailored feedback to encourage physical activity and weight management. CCH is making increasing use of social media platforms to target interventions and connect people with similar health issues to create communities to provide social support and tailored information. In this focus area, you may be expected to evaluate completed programs, create evaluation plans for on-going programs, or assist with data collection, transcription, analysis or manuscript preparation. Current projects at CCH include:

•  Evaluation of existing remote monitoring programs to determine cost effectiveness and impact on clinical outcomes.
•  Mobile application to improve cancer pain management; adherence to oral anti-cancer medications.
•  Text messaging programs aimed to improve knowledge and self-care among pregnant women.
•  Programs using social media (e.g., Facebook) for nutrition and weight management programs aimed at women with young children and women in disadvantaged communities.

(2) Patient Engagement, Technology Adoption and Acceptance, Health and Digital Lifestyles – The rapid diffusion of mobile devices and wireless Internet connectivity presents a tremendous opportunity to create new connected health systems designed to empower patients to be proactive in managing their health and medical treatment. To ensure the success of these new healthcare systems, CCH is beginning a multi-year survey project designed to collect patient data on to understand patient’s current needs, preferences, and adoption of CHT. We are particularly interested in research investigating:

•  Creation and validation of a survey instrument to assess technology acceptance and likelihood of engagement with CHT
•  Identifying key social, demographic, ecological, and psychological factors that limited the effectiveness of CHT interventions (e.g., how health literacy may limit the usefulness of  CHT)
•  Patient adoption of self-tracking to monitor physical activity and health status.
•  Research investigating how to improve the adoption, usability, and satisfaction with new CHT among patients.

(3) Mapping Theories of Motivation Psychological Well-Being, and Behavior Change – Understanding human motivation is central to developing effective health behavior programs, including those using technological tools. This project aims to create a concept map that brings together some of the more widely studied theories and models of motivation and behavior change (e.g., Transtheoretical Model, Self-Determination Theory, BJ Fogg's Behavior Model, Social-Cognitive Theory, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, etc.). Deliverables for this project would include both a visual map as well as a written document communicating how these different theories connect, overlap, and offer distinct perspectives on motivation and health behavior.

•  A review of the literature on theories and models of motivation and behavior change.
•  Review of available research/program funding opportunities and the development of a proposal seeking to secure funds for future research or program.
•  Design and pilot testing of programs designed to increase motivation for sustained behavior change.

(4) mHealth and Smartphone Application Development – CCH is working on a number of projects that make use of smartphones and tablet computers to collect data, deliver actionable information to patients and clinicians, and enable communication between patients (peer-to-peer) or between patients and healthcare providers. We are seeking interns with skills and experience in computer science, human computer interaction, and related fields to aid in generating research proposals, identify new ways to use smartphones and tablet computers to improve healthcare, and the development and testing of mHealth applications (apps).

How To Apply

Complete the required application materials listed below for either the undergraduate or graduate internship position. Email Word documents or PDFs to tmhale@mgh.harvard.edu before the application deadline.

The deadline is Monday, March 17 at 12:00 pm (noon) Eastern Time.

Be advised, we receive a large number of applications. To ensure that we have time to review all of the applications, we cannot consider applications that arrive after the deadline. It is recommended that you submit your application prior to the deadline. A confirmation email is sent to notify applicants that the email and attachments have been received.

Required application materials

Undergraduate students, we require the following application materials:

1. A cover letter describing your interests and skills. You should consider the following questions in drafting your letter: What are your academic and career goals? Why are you interested in the internship at CCH? What specific research topics or projects are you most interested in studying? What do you hope to gain from your experience at CCH and what will you contribute? How will this internship contribute to your academic and career goals? Feel free to address any other issues or topics that you think are relevant.
2. A current resume or curriculum vitae.
3. Contact information for two references, academic or professional.

What Happens After I Apply?

Applications submitted before the deadline will be carefully reviewed by the research team at CCH. Top candidates will be contacted by Friday, March 28 to arrange for a phone interview to discuss their qualifications and interest in the CCH Summer Internship Program. Interviews will take place in late March and early April. The announcement of the selected interns will be made in early April. We ask those offered an internship to make a decision to accept or decline in 7 days, so that we have time to offer the opportunity to another candidate.

Do You Still Have Questions?

If you have questions about the Center for Connected Health, please review the Center’s website (http://www.connected-health.org). If you have questions that are not answered on the website or in this Call for Applications, email Tim Hale at: tmhale@mgh.harvard.edu

Designing Your Own Language

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science is pleased to host a talk by Guido van Rossum, the creator of Python, one of the world's most popular programming languages. The talk should be accessible to anyone with even a modest amount of programming experience.

So you want to create your own language?

Designing a new programming language is many programmers' dream project. After all, as a programmer, programming languages are your most important tools, and after using any tool for several projects, you will surely get some ideas on how to improve it. But programming languages are also among the most complex tools of our trade, and I can assure you that a lot of thought and effort went into every programming language ever invented (even as a joke). In this talk I will present some advice for budding language designers, explaining the basic what, how and why of programming language design and implementation. If you don't have aspirations in this direction, you will still be informed and entertained, so in the future you can complain about programming languages with a basis in fact (or at least my opinions :-).

Thursday, March 13, 2014

4 PM

NSB 213

This event is free and open to the public.

In recognition of Pi Day Eve, pie (and other refreshments) will be served.

For further information, please contact Prof. Almudena Konrad:

akonrad@mills.edu.

Reproductive Justice Workshop This Thursday

Free Workshop for Future Women Political Leaders

Mills College and Ignite Presents

Political Training for the Women of Mills College

POLITICAL POWER IN EVERY YOUNG WOMAN

Saturday, March 15, 2013, 10am-4pm

Faculty Staff Dining Room, Rothwell Center

*Lunch Provided*

Change begins with you.  Come learn WHY more women need to run for elected office, as well as HOW to launch your political leadership career. 

Curriculum Includes:

• Fundraising

• Public Speaking

• 5-7 Year Plan for Candidacy

Invited Speakers:

• Jumoke Hinton Hodge, Oakland School Board

• Frieda Edgette, Executive and Political Coach, Novos Consulting

RSVP to Ife Tayo Walker at ppol@mills.edu

Visit Ignite: www.igniteca.org

For more about the Mills Public Policy Graduate Programs, visit http://www.mills.edu/publicpolicy/

HOSTED BY: Mills College Public Policy Program with the Fem Dems and Division of Student Life 

Paid Summer Research in GIS for Rising Juniors and Seniors

NSF summer programs like this are among the most awesome opportunities around for undergraduates.  I learned more one summer in upstate New York than in a whole year in school when I did one of these many moons ago.  Alas, graduating seniors are not eligible (you have to be going to be enrolled as an undergrad next fall).

Note the logistical details: (1) not the whole summer, (2) you get stipend plus room and board plus travel, (3) you get conference money!  

If you took GIS last fall and your summer is not all planned out yet, you should apply. 

Description: This summer at Georgia State University in Atlanta will host a "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" program on the topic "Addressing Social and Environmental Disparities through Community Geography and Geographic Information Systems. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Georgia State University Honors College. Working with faculty mentors in one of three research tracks, selected undergraduates will engage in community-based research and fieldwork to quantitatively and qualitatively examine neighborhood change, property markets, social geographies, air and soil quality, urban green spaces, and neighborhood visioning in partnership with neighborhood residents and community groups in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Compensation: Each REU student will receive a competitive funding package, including: a $3000 stipend, up to $250 in travel support to/from Atlanta, up to $750 for conference presentations, free room and most meals at GSU, and 3 required texts.

Eligibility: Each student must be an undergraduate enrolled in a college or university in the United States in the fall of 2014. Students graduating prior to the start of the REU program are not eligible to apply.  As a program funded by The National Science Foundation, the student must also be a U.S. citizen.

Application Process: Applications are due Friday, March 28 5 PM EST Complete application instructions and the application form can be found at http://csaw.gsu.edu/nsf-reu/application-instructions/ 

To Learn More: Visit http://csaw.gsu.edu/nsf-reu/ Any questions can be directed to Dr. Timothy Hawthorne (PI) at thawthorne@gsu.edu or Dr. Katherine Hankins (Co-PI) at khankins@gsu.edu

Data Driven Women Event in SF

About Data Driven Women 

Data Driven Women is a networking series and speaker event that brings together women (& men) passionate about building a stronger female tech community. Their name doesn't mean they discuss only data, rather it's about a data driven approach that brings metrics and measurement to topics ranging from innovation to entrepreneurship and technology.

Read more at MeetUp.com

Career Night 12 March Wednesday NEXT WEEK!

• When did you take a professional risk that paid off?
• How have you dealt with "failures" in your career?
• How do you network?
• What skills do you wish you learned while you were still at Mills?
• What are your thoughts about the "balance" of work and family?

Come to Career Night to hear the answers to these questions and more!!

Career Night!

Wednesday, March 12th 

6:00-8:00

Vera Long Lobby

Dinner will be served!

Hear from Mills grads about how they use their Anth/Soc degrees!

Get career tips and advice!

Mix and mingle with alums and faculty!

Have a great dinner with faculty and classmates!