Hi all

If you are looking for a nice, clean, quiet place to live , this is an ideal apartment. The rent is $556 plus utilities (BGE, internet) it comes to around $620. Its a three bedroom apartment with washer/dryer right outside your bedroom. We are two females in their late and early twenties working and studying in grad school.

What we are looking for

-clean

-pays rent on time

-graduate student preferred

- no parties or large gatherings

If you are interested . Please let me know.

arya1@umbc.edu

410 599 2874

Center Stage seeks an Artistic Administrator. The Artistic Administrator is a member of the artistic staff, primarily responsible for the communication and fiscal management of the artistic budget. They are the primary point of contact and responsible party with Actors Equity Association, Society of Stage Directors, the local musicians union and the contracts associated with each, as well as the contracting of miscellaneous artistic consultants. Additionally responsible for the organization of local and union required auditions.

Kate Drabinski, lecturer of gender and women’s studies, was a guest on WYPR’s Maryland Morning on July 10 to discuss how slavery and the Civil War is represented in public spaces in Maryland. Drabinski was joined by Karsonya (Kaye) Wise Whitehead ’09, Ph.D. LLC, an assistant professor in the department of communication at Loyola University-Maryland.

The discussion helped listeners think about how the history of slavery is conveyed in Maryland memorials and parks as Gov. Larry Hogan has decided to stop issuing license plates with the Confederate symbol and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is appointing a task force to review the city’s Confederate monuments and other historical sites.

The conversation covered a wide range of issues, including thinking about symbols of the Civil War in the context of present day America. “We are long past slavery, but we are still working through the issues of the relationship between freedom and slavery, between white Americans and black Americans, and these different periods of history. We’re still fighting over the meaning of the war,” Drabinski said.

To listen to the complete discussion, click here.

SEEKING MARKETING INTERN

Single Carrot Theatre is seeking current college students and recent college graduates for a Marketing Intern to work 10-20 hours a week during the 2015/2016 season.

The Erickson School and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology were featured in a recent Baltimore Sun article about the opening of senior emergency departments at St. Agnes and Holy Cross hospitals. Both hospitals turned to The Erickson School for assistance and consultation in developing the programs.

Erickson School Dean Judah Ronch was quoted in the article and shared insight into the growing demand for senior emergency departments. He also discussed how the new facilities are calmer, safer, and targeted to geriatric conditions. “The pediatric emergency room was really the genesis for senior emergency rooms,” said Ronch. “The need was pretty evident, and places that saw success with that said OK what is the next opportunity.”

John Schumacher, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology, was also quoted in the article and said that there are 85 emergency departments across the country doing some type of senior-focused emergency medicine, less than 2 percent of hospitals nationwide. He added that implementation varies, with about 30 percent of departments having a separate space for seniors, while the rest designate beds within the existing emergency room.

The Erickson School’s work with St. Agnes was also recently featured in the Baltimore Business Journal.

In an article published July 7 in The Conversation, School of Public Policy Professor John Rennie Short explained the value of unplugging during an age where technology is so prevalent in our daily lives. “The age of distraction is dangerous,” he wrote. “A recent report by the National Safety Council showed that walking while texting increases the risk of accidents. More than 11,000 people were injured last year while walking and talking on their phones…texting while driving resulted in 16,000 additional road fatalities from 2001 to 2007. More than 21% of vehicle accidents are now attributable to drivers talking on cellphones and another 5% were text messaging.”

Beyond the statistics showing the dangers of distracting driving, Short also outlined cognitive impairment that can result from being “plugged in” to technology. “We are more efficient users of information when we concentrate on one task at a time. When we try to do more than one thing, we suffer from inattention blindness, which is failing to recognize other things, such as people walking toward us or other road users.”

Short provided his thoughts on what can be done to further prevent negative impacts of digital distractions. “We are witnessing a cultural shift occurring with the banning of devices, cellphone usage being curtailed in certain public places and policies banning texting while driving. This is reactive. We also need a new proactive civic etiquette so that the distracted walker, driver and talker have to navigate new codes of public behaviors.”

Professor Short has written several articles for The Conversation on sustainability, climate change, and response to the recent unrest in Baltimore.

With Puerto Rico currently $72 billion in debt, School of Public Policy Ph.D. student Justin Vélez-Hagan has been in the news recently explaining the severity of the situation and its potential impact on the world economy.

Vélez-Hagan, who is executive director of the National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, shared his views on what has contributed to the debt crisis and what can be done to help get the economy back on track. “Not being able to have autonomous control over all of its policies puts Puerto Rico at a major disadvantage over other economies that it competes with for labor, business investment, and tourism,” he wrote in an op-ed for Fox News Latino.   

Vélez-Hagan was also a guest on “The Takeaway with John Hockenberry,” a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with the New York Times and WGBH Boston, to discuss the debt crisis. “The best solution is really a court overseeing restructuring through Chapter 9 bankruptcy. I think would be the best way to start,” he said during the segment.

Update: Watch an interview with Vélez-Hagan that aired July 13 on the Al Jazeera English world broadcast about his analysis on Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis. 

Need a place to achieve career-life balance? A place to de-stress, relax, and rejuvenate? Come to the Mind Spa.

The Mind Spa offers several resources, including, but not limited to: a massage chair, and oil diffuser, a biofeedback device, books, and a meditation area. Photo Credit: Shawnisha Hester

The Mind Spa is a room that offers a stress-free environment to anyone who visits.  The ceiling is covered with fabric, giving the perception of clouds. Upon entering the room, there is a welcoming small table with a teapot, paper cups, and assorted tea bags. At each corner of the room, there are three different relaxation resources. In one corner, there is a meditation area where the floor is covered with fabric and cushions. At another corner is a full body massage chair. In the third corner, there is a computer connected to an EmWave device, biosensors that clip onto your fingers to measure your heart rate. On the computer, you can play games and guided simulations, such as breathing techniques, where the EmWave device would provide biofeedback as a measure of the participant’ stress level and inside harmony. Inside this room, there are also other resources to provide a calm, stress-free environment: sandboxes, stress-free balls, small plants, vertical paper lanterns, and an oil diffuser.

Services from the Counseling Center are open to all registered UMBC students.  Everyone (including faculty, staff and administration) can feel free to stop by and check out the amazing Mind Spa! The Counseling Center is open Monday through Friday 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. There are no fees and no limits as to how many times you access these resources! Feel free to walk in and use the resources at The Mind Spa, or, reserve a resource in The Mind Spa in advance by calling 410-455-2472.

We learned about The Mind Spa through Dr. Susan Han and Dr. Emilie Stuber-Lawson, who served as guest speakers for the PROMISE AGEP’s  Dissertation House at UMBC earlier this week. Learn more about the beneficial resources that the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Counseling Center has to offer. Located between the Susquehanna Hall and the Chesapeake Hall dormitories on campus, the Counseling Center provides free counseling services to the entire UMBC community, including: individual counseling, couples counseling, and group counseling. If you are unsure about setting up a counseling appointment, fear not! There is an “Interactive Screening Program” on the Counseling Center’s website (http://counseling.umbc.edu/resources/) where you can anonymously contact a campus counselor.

For students who are writing a dissertation at other universities, we encourage you to check your campus Counseling Center. Similar resources may be offered at your university.

Submitted by Amanda Lo (Graduate Assistant for the Career-Life Balance Initiative and the PROMISE AGEP team)