NEW PhD program in Network Science at Northeastern University

The PhD program in Network Science at Northeastern University is a new interdisciplinary program that provides the tools and concepts for understanding the structure and dynamics of networks across diverse domains, such as human behavior, socio-technical infrastructures, or biological agents. Students have the opportunity to work with some of the most prominent network scientists in the world, and can participate in cutting edge research activities and work with unique large-scale network datasets. Network Science is deeply interdisciplinary, yet shares a common core, and students in this program both develop expertise in these core concepts, and interact and learn from members of the network science community across a wide range of fields, including computer science, information science, complexity, physics, sociology, communication, organizational behavior, political science, and epidemiology.

Northeastern University is a world leader in Network Science, with prominent faculty in the field such as Albert-László Barabási, Alessandro Vespignani, David Lazer, and Alan Mislove; numerous affiliated faculty; and multiple centers and labs with scores of researchers. A key element of the program involves careful mentoring from these faculty and immediate involvement in the cutting edge research taking place at Northeastern. Current formal concentrations of study, in addition to the core material, include the physical sciences, the social sciences, health science, and computer and information sciences.

We offer a generous complete package for the first year that includes a full tuition waiver, full medical coverage and a competitive yearly stipend as long as the student remains in good standing at the end of the academic year.

More information available at:  http://www.northeastern.edu/networkscience/

Resources for Thesis Writers First Edition

First of an occasional series.  This from my wiki pages "Resources for Students."  Here's a list of sources of data for students who might be interested in doing research related to families.

• The Centers for Disease Control have sponsored a data collection effort called National Survey of Family Growth. Info about data access is here. The site also contains useful reports and a bibliography.

• Pew has just released a dataset called Gender and Generations that might be useful to a student interested in family. It's among many datasets they make available.

• The MIT "Reality Commons" project at the human dynamics lab makes some data available. Some of it looks like it might have a family connection.

• The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study is a joint effort by Princeton University’s Center for Research on Child Wellbeing (CRCW) and Center for Health and Wellbeing, the Columbia Population Research Center and The National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) at Columbia University. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study is following a cohort of nearly 5,000 children born in large U.S. cities between 1998 and 2000 (roughly three-quarters of whom were born to unmarried parents).

• The National Center for Children in Poverty published an inventory of datasets in 2009.

• The Kinsey Institute maintains a page on datasets and a list of data archives

How to Read More Faster Better

From Inside Higher Ed

Click image to read more

And two more "tricks of the trade" handouts making similar points.

Another Summer (not free) Excursion with Scholarship Opportunities

Course Evaluations: Can AnthSoc Win the ResponseRate Challenge?

Dear Sociology and Anthropology Students,

The deadline for online course evaluations is almost upon us!

Course evaluations really do matter.  It's a place where you get your say and can tell it like it is.  And we do actually listen.  Your instructors don't get to see the results until after grades are submitted, of course, but each of us looks forward to the feedback as we plan how to teach in coming semesters.  Here are mine over time if you'd like to have a look.

Evaluations are VERY especially extremely important for part-time instructors as it is a factor in whether they get hired to teach at Mills in the future.  

Please take a few minutes and evaluate each of your courses.  Can you help to make our department the one with the highest response rate on course evaluations?  

We thank you in advance.

Dan

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, Dec 4th

Sociology Senior Thesis Showcase

4:00-6:00 in GSB 110 

Come hear presentations about conscious consumption, transgender fashion, changing attitudes toward birthing, Latino college students, race and class disparities in health outcomes, and online urban legends!

We will have food and celebration! Everyone is welcome!

Thursday, December 5

Barbara Voss, Anthropology @ Stanford Univ.

"Postcolonial and Queer Perspectives on the Archaeology of Sexuality"

6:30-7:30 pm, GSB 110, snacks served

Wednesday, Dec 11th

End-of-the-Semester Party!

Enjoy dinner, dessert and fun with the 

Sociology & Anthropology Department

Take a break from studying and join us!

All are welcome, bring a friend!

Another Possibility: Grad School in Europe

This particular program requires a masters (as do many), but it's worth getting programs like this on your radar screen of possibilities.  European PhD programs are often a lot more streamlined and focused than conventional US programs.

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The European University Viadrina (EUV) and the German Graduate School of Management and Law (GGS) are inviting applications for six PhD positions starting in April 2014 in their joint Doctoral Program in Dynamic Capabilities and Relationships (www.dcr-research.eu).

6 PhD Positions (Fully-Funded for 3 Years)

The aim of the doctoral program is to create knowledge about how organizations achieve and sustain competitive advantage in rapidly changing environments through the development of critical competences in relationship with other organizations and stakeholders.

What can you expect from the PhD program?

• You will be thoroughly educated as a management or marketing scholar.
• This is a structured PhD program. You have the opportunity to complete your degree within three years, part of which is training and part of which is work on your own dissertation.
• This is an international program and the language of instruction and coursework is English. You will be able to interact with the international research community at leading conferences and other research forums (e.g., summer schools).
• You will spend the first semester at EUV in Frankfurt (Oder) near Berlin and the second semester at GGS in Heilbronn near Stuttgart. Subsequently, you may choose between either one of the two locations.

What do we offer?

• A monthly scholarship based on the guidelines of the German Research Foundation (www.dfg.de). This corresponds to about 1,300 Euros per month.
• A laptop and access to the research software required for your work.
• A personal research budget to fund participation in conferences and workshops.
• The opportunity to develop your own research project in the area of dynamic capabilities and relationships.

What do we expect from you?

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent) in business studies, social or behavioral sciences, or a related field.
• Proficiency in English (some knowledge of German is beneficial, but not required).
• Proven ability and drive to conduct an independent research project and to contribute to the overall efforts of the research group.
• The submission of a complete application package (see http://www.dcr-research.eu/index.php/application for details).

The closing date for applications is January 6th, 2014. For further information and to get some insights into the program from current PhD students, please contact Peggy Zimmer at pzimmer@europa-uni.de or +49-335-5534-2362.