April 2012.2

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109Low Graduate School of Arts and Sciences | Columbia University

My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Dissertation
On developing a writing process that works for you.

You Are Not Alone — how joining a writing group, virtual or otherwise, can help with writer's block
Write, Damnit

Redefining Placement
A scholar argues that schools and departments should improve their tracking of graduates' non-academic jobs and update their notion of placement.

As VersatilePhD notes in the comments, "Counting, recording, tracking and naming are forms of valuing. What we count is what counts for us."

Screening Out The Introverts
With the publication of Susan Cain's Quiet and other studies of introversion, introverts are having a cultural moment.

One scholar reflects on academia's twin poles—the long periods of solitude inherent in research and writing and the brief periods of intense social engagement at conferences, exams, or in the classroom—and wonders if introverts might be discouraged from pursuing it further.

Show Us The Grant Money
The ability to secure research grants is increasingly being used as a criterion for hiring in the sciences.

Model Class at the Copenhagen Academy, Wilhelm Bendz

Graduate School is Art School
A current grad student suggests that altering your perspective about graduate study in the humanities can prove salutary.

Road Warriors: Tips on Surviving Conferences
Practical advice to make it through conferences, from managing your presentation to remembering breath mints.

Teaching Future Scientists to Talk
A new program aims to help young scientists develop the ability to explain their research plainly and compellingly.

The Odd Link Between Commute Direction and Marital Satisfaction

Whose Career Matters More?
Negotiating "career unevenness" among couples, academic or otherwise.

The Link Between Commute Direction and Marital Satisfaction

The Three Laws of Future Employment
Technology will allow people to specialize in jobs computers can't do—but those jobs will exist in a hypercompetitive global marketplace.

A Universe of Self-Replicating Code
What's missing in discussions of the Internet? Examinations of its biology and cosmology.

Photo by Keith Edkins.

Researcher's Findings in the Amazon Pit Him Against Noam Chomsky

Angry Words
A new book questions Noam Chomsky's notion of universal grammar; controversy ensues—and reveals more about the difficulties of challenging entrenched orthodoxy than the nature of language.

Her Rightful Place
When influential philosopher Ruth Barcan Marcus died, her obituary was not published by The New York Times—until a group of philosophers protested the omission.

How Freud Canonized Himself
"We should hurry to study psychoanalysis whilst we can, for we will soon no longer be able to discern its features—and for good reason: because it never was."

How Modern Physics Was Invented in the 17th Century
What was the epistemological break that separated modern and classical physics? And why did modern physics take root in Europe, rather than elsewhere in the world? Some scholars think it might be a Christian worldview positing that there are unbreakable laws governing all of Nature and that humans have the discern those laws by means of their senses, language, and intellect.

A Cultural History of Physics

Oh, My Hand
A brief summary of comments found in the marginalia of medieval manuscripts.

New Scholarly Books by Field
(requires Columbia connection or subscription to CHE)

Dissertation Proposals Filed

Art History and Archaeology
Andrei, Talia. Mapping sacred spaces: Representations of pleasure and worship in Shoji sankei mandara.

LeRoux, Colette S. The land of the three rivers? Tracking the Urukean footprint through time and place.

Silveri, Rachel. The art of living in the historic avant-garde.

Business
Torfason, Bjarni. The dynamics of currency crashes and fundamental reversions.

Classics
Hanses, Mathias. The life of comedy after the death of Plantus: The Fabula Palliata in Roman life and letters.

Computer Science
Cui, Ang. Area of specialization: Computer security.

Smith, Breannan. Area of specialization: Computer graphics.

Mechanical Engineering
Okman, Oya. Nanoporous gold: Fabrication, applications, and mechanics of a novel material.

Political Science
Cronin-Furman, Kathleen. Accountability for mass atrocity: State behavior and normative change.

Moller, Sara Bjerg. Fighting friends: Multinational warfare in the modern age.

Sociology
Mann, Allison. Beyond medicalization: Explaining the increased prevalence of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

Dissertations Defended

Art History and Archaeology
Basciano, Jessica Ruth. Architecture and popular religion: French pilgrimage churches of the nineteenth century. Advisor: Barry Bergdoll

Miller, Jeffrey Alexander. The building program of Archbishop Walter de Gray: Architectural program and reform in the province of York, 1215-1255. Advisor: Stephen Murray

Powell, Olivia Shannon. The choreographic imagination in Renaissance art. Advisor: David Rosand

Watson, Mark James. Diplomatic aesthetics: Globalization and contemporary Native American art. Advisor: Elizabeth W. Hutchinson

Yerkes, Carolyn Yorke. Drawing as a way of knowing: Architectural survey in the late Renaissance.Advisor: Hilary Ballon

Biological Sciences
Yu, Linda Po Chu. Structural and functional studies of pyruvate carboxylase. Advisor: Liang Tong

Biomedical Engineering
Khanarian, Nora Theresa. Regeneration and maintenance of calcified cartilage for osteochondral interface repair. Advisor: Helen H. Lu

Chemistry
Cheng, Liwen. Diffusion related processes in nanoconfined liquids and in proteins under force. Advisor: Bruce J. Berne

Computer Science
Merler, Michele. Multimodal indexing of presentation videos. Advisor: John R. Kender

Earth and Environmental Engineering
Karamperidou, Christina. The interacting dynamics of tropical and extra-tropical climate: Insights from observations, and low-order and general circulation models. Advisor: Upmanu Lall

Economics
Shigeoka, Hitoshi. Three essays on health care. Advisor: Douglas Almond

Yildiz, Izzet. Sources of inefficiencies in the financial sector. Advisor: Joseph E. Stiglitz

English and Comparative Literature
Buthelezi, Mbongiseni. ‘Sifunaumlando wethu’ (We are looking for our history): Oral literature and the search for pasts in South Africa. Advisor: Joseph R. Slaughter

Fenn, Jessica Ruth. The hidden life of speech. Advisor: Susan Crane

Genetics and Development
Arora, Ripla. Vessels, branches, and cartilage rings: The role of T-box genes. Advisor: Virginia E. Papaioannou

Germanic Languages
Falk, Annie Elizabeth. The imagination of the Jewish table in German and German-Jewish literature, 1530-1914. Advisors: Dorothea von Mücke and Mark Anderson

Nordmann, Julia. Childhood bonds: Günter Grass, Martin Walser, and Christa Wolf as writers of the Hitler Youth generation. Advisors: Andreas Huyssen and Mark Anderson

Mathematics
Jacob, Adam Joshua. Limiting properties of certain geometric flows in complex geometry. Advisor: Duong H. Phong

Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies
Hadad, Shira. ‘A thousand names they called Him’: Naming and proper names in the work of S. Y. Agnon. Advisor: Dan Miron

Music
Chernosky, Louise Elizabeth. Voices of American musical experimentalism on National Public Radio: Radio Net, RadioVisions, and Maritime Rites. Advisor: Ellie M. Hisama

Physics
Li, Xuejing. Using machine learning to predict gene expression and discover sequence motifs. Advisor: Szabolcs Márka

Political Science
Beckley, Michael Charles. The unipolar era: Why American power persists and China’s rise is limited. Advisor: Richard K. Betts

Sociomedical Sciences
Giang, Le Minh. Governing masculinity: How structures shape the lives and health of dislocated men in post-Doi Moi Vietnam. Advisor: Richard Parker

Ramjohn, Destiny Quiana Simone. ‘I’m trying to find out who I am. Because [since being diagnosed with HIV] I feel like I lost my identity...’ A qualitative examination of HIV-positive identity and vocational identity development among female adolescents and young adults living with HIV in New York City. Advisor: Helen-Maria Lekas

TC – Clinical Psychology
Bullock, Ashley Brown. The expression and regulation of sadness in complicated grief. Advisor: George A. Bonanno

TC – Comparative and International Education
Newkirk, Pamela Therese. Tuskegee, Achimota, and the construction of black transcultural identity. Advisor: George C. Bond

TC – Counseling Psychology
Fisher, Lauren Dyan. Antecedents and outcomes of sexual orientation disclosure in the workplace among lesbians. Advisor: George V. Gushue

Hall, Schekeva Pamela. The role of racial socialization and ethnocentrism in racial identity development. Advisor: Robert T. Carter

Watkins, Nicole L. Disarming microaggressions: How Black college students self-regulate racial stressors within predominantly White institutions. Advisor: Derald Wing Sue

TC – Economics and Education
Diaz Hadzisadikovic, Karla J. Selectivity, transferability of skills, and labor market outcomes of recent immigrants in the United States. Advisor: Francisco Rivera-Batiz

TC – Educational Leadership
Rosen, Rachel Beth. Shortage field incentives: Impacts on teacher retention and recruitment. Advisor: Douglas David Ready

TC – English Education
Porter, Julie LaRue. Beyond McPoetry: Contemporary American poetry in the institutionalized creative writing program era. Advisor: Janet L. Miller

TC – Mathematics Education
Causapin, Mark Gabriel Alday. Mathematics self-efficacy and its relation to proficiency promoting behavior and performance. Advisor: Erica N. Walker

Charles, Abigail Sheena. Statistics for learning genetics. Advisor: Bruce R. Vogeli

Leong, Kwan Eu. Good mathematics teaching: Perspectives of a beginning teacher. Advisor: Alexander P. Karp

TC – Measurement and Evaluation
Cheng, Zhifen. The relation between uncertainty in latent class membership and outcomes in a latent class signal detection model. Advisor: Lawrence T. DeCarlo

Wang, Zijian Gerald. On the use of covariates in a latent class signal detection model, with applications to constructed response scoring. Advisor: Lawrence T. DeCarlo

TC – Politics and Education
Gyurko, Jonathan Sullivan. Teacher voice. Advisor: Jeffrey Henig.

TC – School Psychology
Johnson, Kamauru Rasheed. The effects of goal orientation and feedback on the notetaking habits of college students. Advisor: Stephen T. Peverly

Teaching Center Workshop

Making The Transition From Grad Student To Faculty Member
Tuesday, April 24, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 301 Philosophy
The transition from grad student to faculty member is a difficult one, involving adjusting to a radically different workday, learning to multitask, teaching subjects one doesn't know well, and navigating departmental politics—all while meeting the institution's publication expectations. Learn how to make this transition as smooth as possible.

Lunch will be provided at all workshops. For more information, please contact Steven Mintz. Sponsored by GSAS.

Upcoming Software Workshops From the Digital Humanities Center
Workshops run from Tuesday, April 17 to Friday, May 4 and include

EndNote (bibliographies)
Filemaker Pro (database management)
FinalCut (film and video editing)
NVIVO (qualitative analysis)
RefWorks (bibliographies)
Zotero (citation and resource management)

Bike to Campus Day
Friday, April 20, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Free bike tune-ups and registration with the NYPD and Public Safety. Discounted bike locks will be available. Map of Columbia bike racks (.pdf)

Fulbright Scholarship Workshop
Wednesday, April 25, 12-1 p.m. 301 Philosophy Hall
The IIE-Fulbright Fellowship supports students who wish to travel abroad to study, research, or teach in one of over 50 participating countries.

The Art, Science, And Ethics Of Negotiating The Job Offer
Wednesday, April 25, 4-5:30 p.m. 302 Philosophy Hall
What is negotiable? How much time do you have before accepting or declining an offer? How can you ask for more (salary, start-up costs, time to decide, etc.)? What happens to those who fail to negotiate successfully? How can multiple offers help (or hurt) in negotiating?

An Insider's Guide to Getting a Job at the UN
Thursday, April 26, 7-8:30 p.m. Hungarian Mission to the United Nations
An overview of the UN Secretariat, types of posts, employment routes, national competitive exams, language exams, recruitment for peacekeeping missions, the UN Volunteer program, Associate Expert Program and UN internships.

Graduate Asst. Positions at CC/SEAS Office of Multicultural Affairs (.pdf)
Application deadline: Friday, April 27
Positions are available in leadership and advisement, diversity education and training, LGBTQ programming and training, and at the Intercultural Resource Center.

Laptop Exam Proctors Needed for the Law School
Exam dates: Monday, April 30-Friday, May 11
Responsibilities include administering law school exams, maintaining order, and assisting students in the exam room. Proficiency with any word processing software, as well as basic computer troubleshooting skills required (training will be provided). Salary: $10-12/hour. Graduate students preferred. Email resume to registrar@law.columbia.edu.

LEEFS Fellowship Program (.pdf)
Application deadline: Monday, April 30
Columbia's Learning through Ecology and Environmental Field Studies program places graduate students in public middle and high schools.

Data Management Practices for Successful Researchers
Friday, May 4, 12-1 p.m. 414 Schapiro
Open to PhD students and Postdocs. Lunch will be provided.
Managing your data is critical to the success of your research and your career. From the moment you conceive of a research project, there are management issues about your data that you need to be aware of.

What counts as data?
Who owns your data?
Who can use? For what purposes?
How should data be stored? For how long? In what format?
How much of your data do you need to make available to other researchers?
What do funding agencies require?

Institutional Review Board: New Policy and Upcoming Events

The Columbia University IRB has released a new policy that clarifies which research projects or activities conducted by students require review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB has also released a very important guidance document for student research at Columbia University that should significantly facilitate the submission of proposals by students to the IRB.

The new policy and guidance document are available on both the Morningside Campus IRB website and the Medical Center IRB website.

Upcoming Events

IRB Education Conference
Monday, May 7 - Tuesday, May 8
Our annual conference is designed to provide advanced level education and training on the challenges faced by IRBs and investigators. The conference will focus on how the protection of human subjects will need to evolve over the next decade, due to multiple factors such as expanding public health concerns, increasing demands and diminishing resources, the explosion of social media, and potentially a changing regulatory environment.

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