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PHOTO OF THE WEEK
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Heading Home. San Matías Cuijingo, México. April 2012. Photo by Emma Gaalaas Mullaney
GOOD NEWS
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NEWS
January 25 Coffee HourConstructing a Climate Change Logic: An Institutional Perspective on the “Tragedy of the Commons”
Speaker: Barbara Gray
Coffee Hour To Go
Spring 2013 Coffee Hour Schedule
Join the Geog-Coffee-Hour-L list
Despite increasing interest in transnational fields, transnational commons have received little attention. In contrast to economic models of commons, which argue that commons occur naturally and are prone to collective inaction and tragedy, we introduce a social constructionist account of commons. Specifically, we show that actor-level frame changes can eventually lead to the emergence of an overarching, hybrid ‘commons logic’ at the field level. Read more.
Time to apply for summer internships; deadlines approaching
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's DEVELOP Program
Deadline: February 4.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's DEVELOP program is looking for several interns to assist with Earth Science research projects during Summer 2013 for a 10 week paid internship, working 30-35 hours a week. The summer 2013 term will start on Monday, June 3, 2013 and end on Friday, August 9, 2013. Students will work with NASA scientists and partner organizations to learn about the use of NASA remote sensing imagery for use in water resources, disaster management, and ecological forecasting applications to address environmental community concerns. More information or to apply. Students need to click on "Apply,” download application, and choose Summer 2013 term at GSFC in Greenbelt, Maryland.
• Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS)
Deadline: February 1
Each summer, SOARS protégés spend ten weeks conducting original research at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) or at laboratories of other SOARS sponsors. By the end of the summer, protégés will prepare scientific papers and present their research at a colloquium. More information or to apply.
• The High Altitude Observatory (HAO)
Deadline: February 1
Students selected for the program will have an opportunity to experience the challenges and rewards of modern scientific research while engaged in carefully tailored studies under the supervision of staff members. Since only one student will be working on a given project, each can expect to receive the full benefit of individual attention. More information or to apply.
Reception during AAG meeting: Send your suggestions!
The Department of Geography will be hosting an alumni and friends reception during the AAG Meeting, April 9–13, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. We are looking for a fun, cool restaurant or bar that is within walking distance of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites (404 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071) If you are familiar with the area, please send your suggestions to geography@psu.edu.
Is red the color of poverty? Part 2: Beyond the red and blue divide
by Lakshman Yapa,
What’s the Matter with American Youth? Leading up to the elections of 2012, the American left heaped scorn on the Tea Party; in an interview with David Letterman on April 26, 2011 Bill Maher called them, "Corporate America’s useful idiots." In my opinion, The Tea Party’s incendiary-circle-the wagons brand of politics should not be held responsible for the Democratic setbacks in 2010 when they have consistently failed to exercise agency over their own electoral fate. Read more.
Recently published
"Spatial and temporal distribution of malaria parasite development rate using different measures of environmental temperature." Blanford, J.I., Blanford, S., Paaijmans, K., Schreiber, K., Crane, R., Mann, M., Thomas, M.B. has been accepted and will be published in Nature Scientific Reports.
"Obesity Disparities Among Elementary-Aged Children: Data From School-Based BMI Surveillance." Michael A. Horst (an alum of the World Campus GIS certificate program) and colleagues in the December 2012 issue of Pediatrics showing how GIS is used to help assess factors associated with childhood obesity in Pennsylvania school districts. Read more.
"From impacts to embodied experiences: tracing political ecology in climate change research" Petra Tschakert in Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography. Vol. 112, Iss. 2, 2012
Political ecology has long moved on from its initial skepticism of big science engagements and cursory critiques of simplistic vulnerability approaches. Its core strengths lie in understanding the contestation of inequalities, marginalization, and injustices in access to and control over resources, neoliberal politics of environmental change, and dominant environmental narratives, while incorporating new insights from development ethics, feminist social theory, and resilience thinking. Read more.
Transportation planning jobs
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission has 2 full-time job openings for a transportation planner and a senior transportation planner.
• Entry-level transportation planner or community planner. Collect and analyze transportation data. This may include field work. Perform studies to evaluate/recommend congestion and safety improvements on Lehigh Valley highways. Assist in the development of transportation plans and programs. More information [PDF].
• The senior transportation planner/modeler/engineer will be responsible for running and maintaining the regional travel model for the Lehigh Valley; managing and performing the technical work needed for highway and transit studies, including evaluation and recommendation for improvements; preparing reports and presenting them to the public; assist in the development of the long range transportation plan and transportation improvement program; compile and analyze Census data relevant to transportation planning; report to the metropolitan planning organization on technical work. More information [PDF].
LOCAL EVENTS AND DEADLINES
(New events and deadlines on this list are highlighted.)January 22 UnderDoGS meeting at 7:00 p.m. in 319 Walker Building
January 23 EMS Relay for Life pizza sale, ground floors of Walker and Deike buildings
January 23 Biogeography summer internship program meeting, 5:45 p.m. in 319 Walker. Contact: Amanda Young.
January 25 Coffee Hour: "Constructing a Climate Change Logic..."
January 25 College of EMS Casino Night
January 31 “Marketing for Scientists” professional development workshop presented by Marc Kuchner, hosted by the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics "SOLD OUT"
February 1 Coffee Hour: "Restoring the American Chestnut ..."
February 8 Coffee Hour: "Estimative Analysis, Strategic Planning, and Geography"
February 12 "Close Encounters of the PSIEE Kind" The Nittany Lion Inn from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. RSVP to Sandy Maitland by February 7, 2013.
February 22 Deadline for abstract [PDF] and T-shirt design [PDF] submissions for 16th Annual Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Student Symposium
February 23 CarbonEARTH Carbon Conference
February 27 Summer at Penn State Fair HUB 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
March 4–8 Spring Break
March 15 SYWIG Day
March 16 EMEX
March 22 Department head deadline for spring 2013 theses and dissertations
March 22–24 The Graduate Exhibition
March 23 no)Boundaries conference
See more events and deadlines on the Student Calendar.
CONFERENCES
(New conferences on this list are highlighted.)
February 1 Mapping Discursive Geographies Symposium at the University of Arizona
February 1 Nature of Spatial Practices
February 16 Speaking Up: A feminist practice conference at Penn State.
For more information: WSGO.officers@gmail.com
March 15–16 Annual Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Student Symposium (ECMSS)
at the University Park campus
March 16 Voices of Resistance: Communication and Social Justice, Communication Graduate
Conference at Penn State. For more information: commgradconference@gmail.com
[PDF]
April 5–7 Workshop on Critical Climate Change Scholarship, University of Minnesota
April 9–13 AAG Annual Meeting
April 16–19 23rd International Mining Congress and Exhibition of Turkey in Antalya
April 23–25 European Navigation Conference in Vienna
May 8 Pennsylvania Groundwater Symposium at Penn State
June 3–5 2013 PA GIS (Geospatial Information Systems) Conference in State College
August 15–17 Asian Urbanism and Beyond
August 25–30 International Cartographic Conference (ICC) in Dresden, German
Comments, questions? geography@psu.edu