In brief

HARVARD-AFFILIATED STUDY RUNS IN JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY

A new, Harvard-affiliated study on effective community partnerships (titled “Staying at the Table: Building Sustainable Community-Research Partnerships”) appears in the August 2008 issue of the Journal of Community Psychology. Authored by Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Nancy Rappaport, director of school-based programs at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA); Margarita Alegría, director of the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at CHA and professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School (HMS); Norah Mulvaney-Day, research associate at the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research and instructor in psychology at HMS; and Barbara Boyle, principal at a public elementary school in Cambridge the study analyzes the key principles to establish successful partnerships and build an alliance for educational systemic change.

The researchers were driven to action by the significant learning gaps seen in immigrant students. Frustrated by the lack of services available to address the achievement gap, the researchers worked to define problems in collaboration with school staff. Interventions were piloted, school resources were reviewed, and many project participants were interviewed at length to identify the barriers in serving these students.

Over the course of the study, which ran for four years, the researchers found that the management of expectations, particularly maintaining optimism in the face of negative experiences, is a key component of successful community-based partnerships. Learned optimism is a concept that helps to counteract feelings of despair by challenging the belief that a situation is permanent and pervasive. Reframing disappointments and identifying incremental positive change allow progress on seemingly large and entrenched problems.

DOCENTS SOUGHT FOR SEMITIC MUSEUM

The Semitic Museum is currently seeking volunteer docents for the coming year. Docents will provide guided tours to school groups and the general public on the museum’s collection of archaeology of the ancient Near East. The current exhibits include artifacts from ancient Israel, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Cyprus. The initial training program will provide guidance from experts in the field. The full training program runs from Sept. 9, 2008, to May 12, 2009. For more information, contact Dena Davis at davis4@fas.harvard.edu. Applications are due by Sept. 1 and can be found athttp://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic/docentintro.html.

HUCTW CHILDCARE FELLOWSHIPS AVAILABLE

The Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) has announced that applications for the 2009 Childcare Fellowship are now available for download athttp://www.huctw.org/fund_childcare/2009_application.pdf. The fund covers a portion of day care, after-school care, and vacation/summer day camps. Please note that this fund does not cover private school tuition with the exception of preschool.

HUCTW accepts applications only once a year. Applications are due Sept. 26. For more information, visit https://news.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/2009_instructions.pdf.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SALE BEGINS AUG. 23

The annual Harvard Habitat for Humanity (HHH) stuff sale is back again for 2008! The event features thousands of pieces of furniture, rugs, chairs, school supplies and books, and more. All proceeds support HHH’s mission to aid disadvantaged families who wish to become independent homeowners. The sale will be held on the Harvard Science Center lawn on the following dates: Aug. 23, 24, 30 and 31, and Sept. 6-10, 13, and 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information or to view items before the sale, e-mail Irina Perjar, iperjar@harvard.edu.

HMS TO HOST SECOND ‘FREECYCLE’ EVENT, DONATIONS SOUGHT

Organizers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) will host the School’s second “freecycle” event on Sept. 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those interested in participating are encouraged to donate any unneeded office supplies to the Tosteson Medical Education Center Building on Tuesdays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and Thursdays (2 to 5 p.m.) prior to Sept. 10. The big event, meanwhile, will be held at the Courtyard Café at HMS.

Accepted donations include typical office supplies as well as books, coat hangers, desk organizers, lamps, light bulbs, magazines, mugs, and paper or plastic cups and plates.

HMS TO HOST QUANTITATIVE GENOMICS CONFERENCE, POSTER COMPONENT

The second annual Conference in Quantitative Genomics will be held Sept. 23-25 at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Hosted by the Program in Quantitative Genomics at the School, “Emerging Quantitative Issues in Parallel Sequencing” is supported with a grant from the National Cancer Institute and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The conference will be held in the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and is co-sponsored by HSPH, HMS, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as corporate sponsors.

The focus of the conference will be to examine the interplay between emerging sequencing technologies, basic and population sciences, and data analysis methods. Geneticists, computational biologists, and statisticians will participate in discussions regarding applications of massive parallel sequencing.

All registrants are encouraged to participate in submitting abstracts for a poster session. The top abstracts will be selected for short talks to be presented at the conference or for abstract awards for travel assistance. To register or submit an abstract, visithttp://www.hsph.harvard.edu/research/pqg-annual-conference/index.html.

DEADLINE FOR FIRST PRINT ISSUE

The Harvard Gazette’s first print issue will be Sept. 11 (news.harvard.edu/gazette/). The deadline for this particular issue is two weeks prior to publication. Send news items to terry_murphy@harvard.edu. Send Calendar items to calendar@harvard.edu.

For the latest in Harvard news, visit www.harvard.edu.