UBC Research Commons – October 2016 Workshops & Events

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Research Commons October Events

This month, the Research Commons is offering tons of workshops and events for grad students, including Thesis Formatting, Citation Management, NVivo and SPSS, R Study Group, the Grad Student Writing Community and more! Read on for workshop dates, descriptions and links to register. If you would like to schedule a 1-on-1 consult for Thesis Formatting, Citation Management, SPSS or NVivo, please fill out our Consultation Request Form.

1-on-1 Consultations

To request an appointment for Thesis Formatting, Citation Management, SPSS, and NVivo:

  1. Check the consultation schedule to find available time slots for your requested service.
  2. Fill out the Consultation Request Form.

SPSS

Need assistance with analyzing your quantitative data? Attend one of our SPSS workshops, where our student experts will get you acquainted with using SPSS for your statistical analysis. Workshops are located in Koerner Library, room 217. Upcoming SPSS Workshops: SPSS (Part 1) – Environment, Data Entry, and One Variable Analysis Tuesday, October 4th 10am-12pm SPSS (Part 2) – Data Management & Bivariate Analysis Friday, October 21st  12pm-2pm SPSS (Part 1) – Environment, Data Entry, and One Variable Analysis Tuesday, October 25th 10am-12pm

 

NVivo

Improve your research results and gain new insights into your data by learning to use NVivo, a powerful qualitative data analysis software. Workshops are held weekly, in Koerner Library, room 216. Upcoming NVivo Workshops: NVivo (Part 2) – Classifications & Datasets Wednesday, October 5th 11am-1pm NVivo (Part 1) – Getting Started with NVivo Wednesday, October 12th 10am-12pm NVivo (Part 2) – Classifications & Datasets Wednesday, October 19th 10am-12pm NVivo (Part 1) – Getting Started with NVivo Wednesday, October 26th 10am-12pm

Thesis Formatting Support

Thesis formatting can be tricky – we’re here to help. Register today for one of our weekly two-hour workshops that cover the basics of the thesis template, and useful resources for thesis writing and formatting. Fall sessions run Wednesdays at 10am-12pm in Koerner 217 . Upcoming Thesis Formatting Workshops: Thursday, October 6 (*Note: this session takes place on a Thursday) Wednesday, October 12 Wednesday, October 26 *Please note, there is no session on Wednesday, October 19th 

Don’t forget to also check out our Thesis Formatting resources, including templates and guides!

Citation Management Support

Need some help when it comes to managing your citations, and compiling your bibliography? Join our weekly Citation Management workshops for help with Mendeley, RefWorks and Zotero! Get tips on organizing your research, formatting bibliographies, and creating in-text citations. Workshops run every Thursday at 3-5pm in Koerner Library, Room 217. Upcoming Citation Management Workshops: Citation Management Using RefWorks Thursday, October 6th Citation Management Using Zotero Thursday, October 13th Citation Management Using Mendeley Thursday, October 20th Citation Management Using RefWorks Thursday, October 27th

Data Cafe – Data Privacy & Security

This presentation will cover best practices for data privacy and security throughout the data life cycle, including guidance and tools for researchers to safeguard their data, and ensure compliance with institutional and legislative policies and standards.  Tuesday, October 11 1pm-2pm  Sherrington Room, Woodward Library

Systematic Review Search Methodology

Learn all about the search process for systematic reviews at this upcoming workshop, which will include an introduction to locating relevant studies and recording the methodology.  Tuesday, October 11th 1pm-4pm Woodward Library Computer Lab, Room B25

Literature Reviews – Great Literature Starts Here

Do you want to know what a Lit Review is? Do you need help with finding the right search strategies and databases, or with locating scholarly articles, theses, dissertations, and books? Attend our Literature Reviews workshop to find out, and get resources to help you keep track of your research. Wednesday, October 19 10am-12pm Koerner Library, Room 217

Copyright Workshops

The Scholarly Communications and Copyright Office is offering a series of weekly copyright education workshops. Topics include copyright in the classroom, copyright in the digital environment, scholarly publishing, funding mandates, open access, and more! Workshops will take place in Koerner Library, Room 216, at 10am-11am.  Upcoming Workshops: Copyright for Authors & Creators Tuesday, October 4 Navigating Copyright in the Digital Environment Tuesday, October 11 Copyright for the Classroom Tuesday, October 18 Copyrigth & Conference Presentations Tuesday, October 25

Multi-Disciplinary Grad Student Writing Community

When writing your thesis, it is important to write regularly, and be a part of a writing community. You can do both at our weekly Monday meetings, starting September 26th. Each session will be facilitated by a Peer Writing Consultant from the Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication, and will be held in Koerner Library, Room 153.

Upcoming Sessions: Monday, October 3 2:00pm-3:30pm Monday, October 17 2:00pm-3:30pm Monday, October 24 2:00pm-3:30pm Monday, October 31 2:00pm-3:30pm

Pixelating: A Digital Humanities Mixer

Thursdays | 12-2pm | Koerner Rm 153

UBC scholars are invited to attend our drop-in sessions of Pixelating: A Digital Humanities Mixeran opportunity for DH scholars across campus to meet colleagues, talk tools, brainstorm ideas and network with others who use digital tools to explore and visualize their research. Join us in Koerner 153, Thursdays at 12-2pm. Upcoming Sessions: Practical Support for Research Data Management (RDM) in Digital Humanities Thursday, October 6 Eugene Barsky, Research Data Librarian, will present on ways the UBC Library is supporting the DH community with RDM. Social Media Mining and Natural Language Processing Thursday, October 13 Get hands-on instruction on mining social data using NLP and machine learning technologies. Co-Working Session Thursday, October 20 Work collaboratively on your DH projects and skills, and gain moral and technical support. TBD Thursday, October 27 Check back on our events page for details on this session.

R Study Group

Join the UBC R Study Group and learn how to code and collaborate with others on open science projects. Graduate students, scientists and researchers are welcome to attend (almost) weekly drop-in meetings, Mondays at 3pm-4:30pm in Koerner 216. Upcoming Sessions: R Utility Belt: Data Manipulation with dplyr Monday, October 3  An intro to manipulating and rearranging data in R. R Utility Belt: Rendering code with knitr and Rmarkdown Monday, October 24 An intro to rendering your code with a combination of knitr and RMarkdown in R.

 

GSS NEWS

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Looking to Connect with Other Graduate Students?

CONTRIBUTE to your graduate student community by volunteering to serve on a GSS Committee!

Whether you are in your first year or final year at UBC, you can still make a difference in graduate student life.

YOU can sit on a GSS Committee, provide input and gain valuable work experience about organizational operations and advocacy issues.

GSS Committees:

  • Academic and External Committee
  • Code and Policy Committee
  • Discrimination and Harassment Committee
  • Executive Oversight Committee
  • House Finance Committee
  • Human Resources Committee
  • Services Committee
  • Strategic Planning Ad hoc committee

Application deadline: Thursday, October 20, 2016, at 5:30pm

Committee details & how to apply

GSS Catch Up

Your GSS VP External, Nicholas McGregor (far left) was at the BC Legislature on Tuesday with the Alliance of BC Students (ABCS) to demand funding for more student housing from the provincial government as part of the Where’s the Housing? campaign. Many legislators came out to show support, including John Horgan (leader of the BC NDP) and Andrew Weaver (Leader of the BC Green Party). If adopted, our proposal will expand student housing in BC by 20,000 additional units by 2026

We’re Hiring! PT Event Production Assistant (EPA)

Gain essential work experience on campus. Help us provide event support services for events held at the Graduate Student Centre and the GSS Loft located in The Nest. Application deadline: October 14, 4pm.

Job posting details

Represents Your Department as a GSS Councillor

Be the voice of your program as a Councillor on the GSS Council!

ELECTIONS will be held over the next three or four weeks in the departmental graduate student organizations (GSA).

View list of GSAs with GSS Councillor openings

GSS Councillor details & how to apply

Join the Grad Council

Make new friends and represent your fellow graduate students on the UBC Graduate Council this year!

The Grad Council oversees the administration of UBC graduate programs and consists of UBC faculty, program staff, Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies representatives, as well as GSS representatives (maybe that’s you!).

The GSS representatives engage in many academic topics, including academic policies and graduate-level course curricula. Recent topics include tracking the outcome of UBC PhD graduates, changes to the traditional thesis dissertation format to best prepare graduates for non-academic careers, and policies on graduate student leaves of absence.

Nomination deadline: Thursday, October 20, 2016, at 5:30pm

Grad Council position details & how to apply

Where’s The Housing?

As a graduate student, were you stressed over finding an affordable place to live?

The ongoing housing crisis in BC has prompted the Alliance of BC Students and your GSS to develop a campaign called Where’s the Housing?

We are calling on the provincial government to cut the red tape preventing post-secondary institutions from financing housing projects on their campuses. We are also calling for the province to provide these institutions with the funding necessary to get housing projects off the ground.

Ultimately, following our recommendations, we believe that the province will be able to add 20,000 more housing units in BC over the next 10 years. This will reduce overcrowding in the off-campus housing market, shorten the housing wait-lists at UBC, and help make post-secondary education more affordable and accessible for students across BC at minimal cost to the BC tax payer.

As part of this campaign, we at the GSS would very much appreciate your support.

  1. Sign the petition
  2. Share it with anyone you know in BC who is being affected by the lack of affordable housing (Hashtag #WTHbc)

It is important that we get as many people involved in this conversation as possible!

For more information about the Where’s the Housing? campaign, visit:

wheresthehousing.ca

GSS Programs & Events

Kick It with the Whitecaps

Sun., Oct. 2, 5-8pm, BC Place

Ticket sale ends Sep. 30. Get your tickets now!

Join fellow grad students and cheer on Vancouver’s soccer team, the Whitecaps as they battle out for a spot in the playoffs for the Western Conference.

Game info & tickets

Craft Untapped

Tue., Oct. 4, 5:30-7pm, Koerner’s Pub

With discounts on advance tickets

Craft Untapped is back and better than ever! We’re teaming up with Koerner’s Pub and Driftwood Brewery to bring you a guided tasting of the best of Driftwood’s lineup.

Event details & tickets

Camping

Oct. 15-16 (Weekend; Overnight), Golden Ears Provincial Park

Mark your calendars! Join fellow grad students for a BYO-Gear weekend camping trip under the starry sky. Details to come!

Live Webinar: 5 Most Frustrating Mistakes that Can Keep You Stuck in Grad School

Mon., Oct. 24, 10-11:30am, Thea’s Lounge / Your Laptop, FREE

Learn The 5 Most Frustrating Mistakes that Can Keep You Stuck in Grad School – and how to avoid them with Thesis & Career Coach, Dora Farkas, PhD.

Webinar details & sign up

Zumba Class

Mondays, until Dec. 5, 5:30-6:30pm, GSS Ballroom

Registration open until October 7!

Ditch the Workout, Join the Party! Open to all levels! Whether you are just learning your way around two left feet or are spinning like a top, everyone will be challenged at the appropriate level.

Class info & sign up

Yoga Class

Thursdays, until Dec. 8, 5:30-6:30pm, GSS Ballroom

Registration open until October 7!

Time to get bendy and relieve stress. Open to yogis of all levels! Whether you are just getting acquainted with downward dog or have that toe stand nailed, everyone will be challenged at the appropriate level.

Class info & sign up

LFS-GRADSTUDS: confirmation required (454B10A4)

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There is still space available in this week’s sessions:

Submitting your Thesis, Tues, Sept 27, 9:00 – 10:15 AM, Register at https://www.grad.ubc.ca/about-us/events/15454-submitting-your-thesis

Copyright for Your Thesis: How to Use Images and Other Material, Tues, Sept 27, 10:30 – 12:00 PM, Register at https://www.grad.ubc.ca/about-us/events/15663-copyright-your-thesis-how-use-images-other-material

Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, Thurs, Sept 29, 9:00 – 4:30 PM, https://www.grad.ubc.ca/about-us/events/15595-intellectual-property-technology-transfer

 

Registration is now open for:

Time Management (Mitacs)

Do you find yourself frequently running out of time on a project? Are impending deadlines making you anxious? In this workshop you will learn how to create achievable plans and schedules, based on project management best practices.

Tuesday, October 4 | 9:00 AM to 5.00PM

For further information or to register, visit https://www.grad.ubc.ca/about-us/events/13349-time-management  

Direct link community.grad.ubc.ca/gps/event/13349

Postdoctoral fellows may register at www.postdocs.ubc.ca/event/354-time-management

 

Business Writing for Today’s Professional (Mitacs)

No matter what field you’re working in, written communication is a critical part of your day-to-day duties. Regardless of your comfort or skill level, you can benefit from learning techniques to entice your readers and achieve your goals. This workshop will help all professionals hone their writing skills using proven techniques and processes.

Wednesday, October 5 | 9:00 AM to 5.00PM

For further information or to register, https://www.grad.ubc.ca/about-us/events/13372-business-writing-todays-professional. Direct link: https://community.grad.ubc.ca/gps/event/13372

Postdoctoral fellows may register at https://www.postdocs.ubc.ca/professional-development-events

 

Please visit the community.grad.ubc.ca forums and event calendar for other graduate student opportunities including:

Tips & Tricks for Formatting your Thesis, Sept 28, 10:00 AM https://community.grad.ubc.ca/event/2795

What is Consulting? (Presented by the Boston Consulting Group), Oct 17, 5.00PM https://community.grad.ubc.ca/forum/2878

Free Learn to Teach Workshops hosted by the UBC CIRTL (Centre for Integration of Research, Learning and Teaching). https://community.grad.ubc.ca/forum/2875

Sharing your experiences using Open Access with the Library https://community.grad.ubc.ca/forum/2879

Please let me know if you have questions
Jacqui 

Jacqui Brinkman
Manager, Graduate Pathways to Success Program
Office of the Dean | Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus
170 – 6371 Crescent Road | Vancouver BC | V6T 1Z2 Canada
Phone 604 827 4578 | Fax 604 822 5802
jacqui.brinkman@ubc.ca | @ubcgradschool
https://www.grad.ubc.ca/

Faculty of Forestry new graduate seminar course

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If you’re looking for a course to take in Winter Term 2 (January-April 2017), please be aware of the new Geoinformatics Seminar Series (i.e., FRST 580C 201).  This 3-credit course focusses on interactive lectures/Q&As/discussions with a cross-section of guests representing commercial, consulting, government, academic and NGO applications of geomatics for environmental management.   

We will meet once a week, Tuesdays from 14:00-17:00. 

If you have any questions, please email:

Trevor Jones

Trevor.jones@ubc.ca

Student Seminar: Explore Public Policy Issues

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Saturday, October 22, 2016 | Vancouver
Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel  | 9 AM – 5 PM 

Join us for a day of fun-filled discussion and inquiry – free of charge. Explore ideas while listening and conversing with leading policy experts and peers.

Speakers and Topics: 

The Sharing Economy is Going to Eat the World, and We’ll all be Better for it.
Christopher Koopman 
Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University

The rise of the sharing economy has been a story of how technology is disrupting (and destroying) industries. But what is often lost in that story is that the disruption is actually making existing competitors better. It is also forcing each of us to be better consumers. And, if government wants to survive, it is being forced to become better too.

Poverty Inc.
 Good Intentions Are Not Enough
Paul J. Bonicelli
Director of Programs, Acton Institute

Concern in the West over poverty in developing countries has increased exponentially. Governments, religious organizations, and student groups engage in various efforts to alleviate poverty that have been tried repeatedly but without much success. What does work is human liberty; that is, the freedom to self-govern and to be an entrepreneur. Why do people keep trying the wrong things? The answer has a lot to do with admirable sentiments combined with faulty thinking about economics and the human condition.

The Power of Gratitude: How Looking on the Bright Side can Change your Life
Janice Kaplan
Bestselling Author and Consultant

Based on her New York Times bestselling book, Janice Kaplan explores how the power of gratitude can transform your life and career. Kaplan discovered through a major survey that some 90 percent of people believe gratitude makes them happier, yet less than half actually express gratitude. It turns out that grateful people are more successful at work and in relationships, despite the commonly held view that being grateful makes people seem less powerful. Her pioneering research was praised in People and Vanity Fair and hailed on TV shows including Today, The O’Reilly Factor, and CBS’s The Talk.

How to Make Vancouver More Affordable
Dr. Tom Davidoff
Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate


Tom Davidoff examines Vancouver’s housing supply problem and offers solutions to make Vancouver more affordable. Prof. Davidoff calls for increased property taxes, lower income and sales taxes, and decreased municipal zoning power.

Counting Votes: Issues and Consequences of Electoral Reform
Taylor Jackson
Senior Policy Analyst, The Fraser Institute

With the federal government proclaiming that the last election will be the final under first-past-the-post, electoral reform has become a hot topic across the country. This presentation will provide an overview of the current system and its potential successors, as well as discussing some of the possible consequences of electoral reform.

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/education-programs/students/post-secondary-policy-seminar-vancouver-fall-registration-form

For more information, please contact Carolyn McCarthy at 604-688-0221 ext. 526 or email carolyn.mccarthy@fraserinstitute.org

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Justice Centre 2016 National Essay Contest

Enter the Justice Centre’s essay contest for your chance to win cash prizes.

Essays should be no more than 2,500 words and the deadline to enter is Saturday, October 15, 2016. For complete details, visit: https://www.jccf.ca/essaycontest/