We just posted an update with the following changes:

• Group Subscriptions - Groups can now subscribe to other groups. When you subscribe, your group will pull in the public content from the group you're subscribe too.  This provides a great way for groups to share content with one another without having to post content in two different groups.  Spotlights, News, Events, Discussions and Media are supported, but the content must be marked "public" to be seen in another group.
• Groups Page - The Groups page now looks a little better with more emphasis on publicly visible groups.
• Dashboard Tweak - To address some confusion we changed the name of "Groups" to "Activity" and gave it a cool lightning bolt arrow icon.  This was done to better reflect what this dashboard will show you... recent activity.  Our plan is for this dashboard to show you new content in your groups, and comments/paws on your public content.
• Events Tweaks
• Events now default to an hour long if you change the time, instead of just 5 minutes.
• You can now add up to 99999 seats for an event instead of 99.
• Bug Fixes
• You can no longer post empty comments... whew
• Group Pages should no longer throw errors
• Fixed a bug that send you to calendar view when browsing group events.
• Miscellaneous typos and fixes

Later this week...

• Media is shaping up nicely and should be available before the end of the week.  We think you're gonna like it.
• We'll add the ability for groups to subscribe to external content like RSS, YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr feeds

As with all blogs, new campus sustainability blogs are popping up and old ones are falling into disuse all the time. If you know of a blog that should be included or think one of the blogs we have is defunct, please let us know by sending an e-mail to webmaster@aashe.org. Blogs are listed in alphabetical order.

We've added three new status indicators to iTunes Connect which give you a more precise indication of the state of your app when you are submitting your binary for approval.

Prepare for Upload indicates that you have created a new version, but you have not yet clicked the Ready to Submit Binary button, which indicates that you are ready to deliver a binary through Application Loader. This state's status color is yellow.

Pending Developer Release indicates that the version of your app has been approved by App Review and you have turned on the Version Release Control, but have not yet clicked Send Version Live. This state's status color is yellow. You should also see a pending action symbol on the version. Your version will remain in this state, and thus will not be live on the App Store until you click Send Version Live.

Processing for App Store indicates that the version is being processed to go live on the App Store. Once the processing is complete, the version state will change to "Ready for Sale." This state is very temporary (1-2 hours). This state's status color is yellow.

For more information, refer to the App Store Resource Center, App Store Approval Process section.

We've added three new status indicators to iTunes Connect which give you a more precise indication of the state of your app when you are submitting your binary for approval.

Prepare for Upload indicates that you have created a new version, but you have not yet clicked the Ready to Submit Binary button, which indicates that you are ready to deliver a binary through Application Loader. This state's status color is yellow.

Pending Developer Release indicates that the version of your app has been approved by App Review and you have turned on the Version Release Control, but have not yet clicked Send Version Live. This state's status color is yellow. You should also see a pending action symbol on the version. Your version will remain in this state, and thus will not be live on the App Store until you click Send Version Live.

Processing for App Store indicates that the version is being processed to go live on the App Store. Once the processing is complete, the version state will change to "Ready for Sale." This state is very temporary (1-2 hours). This state's status color is yellow.

For more information, refer to the App Store Resource Center, App Store Approval Process section.

The New Student Book Experience welcomes all members of the campus community to read and discuss The Translator by Daoud Hari, this year's campus book. The book discussion gives new students the opportunity to meet other incoming students and make connections with faculty. Discussions will take place during Welcome Week on Monday, August 30th from 11:00AM - 12:00PM and will continue in fall and spring English 100 classes. For more information: http://www.umbc.edu/undergrad_ed/book/current_book.html

Visit the largest indoor antique show in the nation on Sept 2nd through the 5th! You will come across artful finds from all over the world right in our Baltimore area. Admission is $12 located in the Baltimore Convention Center. Take a friend with you and explore all the different pieces of art from all over the globe.

Find/Post by Liz.

Contact:
Chelsea Haddaway
Communications Manager
(410) 455-6380
chaddaway@gmail.com

Susan McDonough, assistant professor of history, has been awarded a Fellowship at the Newberry Library by the Audrey Lumsden Kouvel/Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow Fund. The fellowship provides funding for her to spend the 2010-2011 academic year at Chicago’s Newberry Library.

While at the Newberry, McDonough will continue work on her book, entitled Judging Your Neighbor: Making a Culture of Neighborliness in a Late Medieval Port Town. The book examines the fifteenth century civil court records from a small town in France.

“The witness testimony from Marseille’s court records offers a small window into the neighborhoods of Marseille, but more, the testimonies reveal how humble people, often women, used the role of witness to become the arbiters of their communities,” she said.

“The fellowship is a great recognition of her status as a promising young scholar,” said Kris Lindenmeyer, chair of the history department. McDonough has been teaching at UMBC since 2005, when she received her Ph.D. from Yale. Judging Your Neighbor is a continuation of her dissertation project.

McDonough is examining records of trials in which witnesses provided testimony.

“There's a magic to reading words spoken by a sailor's widow or a woman suing her cousin for control over a sizeable estate. Even if the words are translated [from the vernacular into Latin] by the notary, I think it's possible to get a sense of the person behind the words.”

In addition to giving McDonough time to focus on her research, the fellowship will provide McDonough with access to the Newberry’s extensive collection of medieval manuscripts. McDonough plans to use these sources to to contextualize the behavior that she has found in the witness testimony.

“It is also a place known for the generosity of the scholars in residence, so it will be a great place for me to work out my ideas in a community of folks who are able to focus on their research,” she said.

McDonough will head to Chicago in September, and be there until June. While in Chicago, McDonough will also be looking for a publisher for the book.

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Advancing Science

For their prestigious scholarship, Robert Provine, professor of psychology, and Michael Summers, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, were named fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS fellowship is an honor shared only by top leaders in science.

Provine is a neuroscientist engaged in studies of the development, evolution and neural mechanisms of behavior. His approaches are comparative and interdisciplinary, and, at various times, he has studied the neural basis of embryonic behavior, the development and evolution of bird flight and machine intelligence and control. His recent work, which has been highly praised in numerous international publications, is focused on laughter, yawning, tickling and behavior contagion in terms of long-term behavior development and evolution. His work has been mentioned in The New York Times, Time and Newsweek, among others.

“I believe in following the path of discovery – wherever that leads – regardless of discipline,” said Provine. “AAAS represents that same spirit as does their prestigious journal, Science.”

Summers is unraveling the internal architecture of HIV (the retrovirus that causes AIDS), striving to understand how it and other retroviruses assemble and how they package their genetic material so that they can infect other cells. He and his team have solved the three-dimensional structures of three proteins that make up the virus, and they are now using this information to decipher the way HIV proteins interact with each other and with the cells they infect. Recently, they have made discoveries in terms of understanding how parts of the virus get to proper sites in the cell. In addition, two of his National Institute of Health grants were competitively renewed.

“This means an enormous amount to me,” said Summers. “AAAS is one of the few national organizations that pays attention to issues of education and policy in the U.S. as they pertain to science.”

AAAS seeks to advance science, engineering and innovation throughout the world. Provine and Summers join the ranks of other well-distinguished UMBC researchers and educators who are AAAS Fellows including President Freeman Hrabowski; Sandra Herbert, professor emerita of history (and Darwin expert); Anthony Johnson, professor of physics; Thomas Cronin, professor of biological sciences; Govind Rao, professor of chemical and biochemical engineering; and G. Rickey Welch, dean emeritus.

Both Provine and Summers feel honored to the join the fellows. AAAS includes a variety of science disciplines and issues – something important to both Provine and Summers. They share their recognition with all undergraduate and graduate students, past and present, who have worked in their labs.  

“I look forward to contributing to AAAS,” said Summers, “and I hope to take information with me about what our students – what the young people in science do here – that can help the nation do the same.”

(7/30/10)