Wading Through the Red Tape
This section contains
all the boring details that you will eventuallygrow accustomed to and some that
you will only have to deal with once.
Keys
- Bridget Boring
is the Keymaster.
- You
should get at least two keys when you get here
- One
for for the graduate student area (455 wing)
- This
key opens the photocopy room and the student lounge too (they are
supposed to get locked after 5:00 PM)
- For
those who need access, this key also will get you into the rat labs
- One
for your office
- You'll
probably pick up others as you go along.
Photocopying
- Until
our priviledges are abused, we have essentiall free access to photocopiers
and laser printers.
- At
some point, you will get a code for the copy machines.
- The
libraries have coin-operated photocopiers
- It's
probably a better idea to sign out whatever you need copies of and bring
it to the psych building (free; better quality). Journals can be taken
out for to 2 hours.
Miscellaneous
Here
is a list of some of the things Rochelle
C. in the central office does for everybody in the department:
1) Reserve meeting rooms
2) Monthly paycheck distribution
3) Assign user #'s for photocopiers
4) Assist in photocopier problems
5) Distributes postage stamps
6) Assists in Express Mail Shipments
7) Assists in distribution of office supplies
8) Assists in distribution of incoming and outgoing mail
9) Assists in sending fax's
10) Submits all Facilities Management Inquires to the
Facilities Management
Department. Send
all "Fix-It" problems to:
fix-it@andrew.cmu.edu
**** Please note there are TWO Rochelle's in this
department...I am
"Rochelle C" and Bobbie's secretary is referred
to as "Rochelle
S".....***************
Libraries (there are 3)
- http://www.library.cmu.edu
- Hunt
Library has most of the social sciences stuff. It is the ugly blue and
aluminum building off the uphill end of Baker Hall.
- Engineering
and Science (E&S) If the librarians think that the book or journal
is "science" as opposed to "social science," then it
will be found here.
- It's
on the 4th Floor of Wean
Hall
- This
has a math/engineering/computer science flavor
- Mellon
Institute Library houses materials pertaining to biology and
Chemistry. It is located in Mellon Institute. (The building with the
hugecolumns on 5th Avenue at Bellefield, in Oakland).
- CaMeO
catalog
- Just
a book is listed in the catalog, doesn't mean you will (ever) be able to
find it.
- You
can ask the library to recall the book
- You
can look elsewhere (Pitt; a friend) if you need it quickly
- Jean
Alexander (8-5018; jeana@andrew.cmu.edu)
- Psychology
Department Library Liason
- Send
suggestions for books to him
- He
will try to straighten out any library-related problems you might have
- The
Psychology Department gets copies of the tables of contents of a
largenumber of journals. These are kept in a binder in the lounge.
- Other
Library Sources
- CMU
has a reciprocal agreement with other area libraries.
- Per-semester
renewable guest card at Pitt's Hillman
Library
- Two-week
limit for sign-outs
- Sorry,
no journals
- Other
Pitt Libraries (for Psych stuff)
- The
Carnegie Library (Pittsburgh's Public Library
- Don't
tell them you are a student
- Take
a phone bill or something with your address that `proves' that you are a
Pittsburgher and you'll get a permanent card
- Inter-library
Loans
- Allow
at least a couple of weeks to get the material
- Loan
period is usually about 2 weeks for books
- Journal
articles will be photocopied free of charge (unless it's over $20.00)
- Check
the reference desk at the library for other information
Phone Calls
- For
on-campus calls (268-####) you only need to dial 8 plus the last four numbers
- Often,
you will see these numbers written as x8112; extensions are the same as
the last four numbers of the seven-digit version
- For
residence halls (862-####) you only need to dial 2 plus the last four
numbers
- Long
distance calls
- All
of the phones are set up for long distance calling
- Assume
the general rule of "You make it, you pay for it."
- The
department, or your advisor may pick up the bill for
"business" calls, but check first to be sure.
- At
some point, you will get a code for the copy machines.
- The
libraries have coin-operated photocopiers
- It's
probably a better idea to sign out whatever you need copies of and
bring it to the psych building (free; better quality). Journals can be
taken out for to 2 hours.
Conference Funds
- Funds
are provided for attending conferences for 3 years, beginning after your
first year
- $300
a year for attending conferences OR
- $500
a year to present (no more than $400 a year will be given)
- Check
with Joan Meyers if you are planning to attend a conference
- Who
knows when this policy will change
- She
has the paperwork that you need to fill out
- Those
with outside funding may be eligible to receive more money (APPLY FOR
FUNDING)
- CNBC
students also have funding available through the CNBC
- Popularly
attended conferences
- Psychonomics,
Midwestern Psychological Assn. (MPA), Cognitive Science, Eastern
Psychological Assn. (EPA), Society for Research in Child Development
(SRCD), American Education Research Assn. (AERA--every two years, next is
Spring 1993), American Psychological Assn. (APA), and American
Psychological Society (APS)
Research Groups, Colloquia, Brown Bags and Seminars
- The
department has a colloquium series which occurs weekly during the academic
year
- There
are approximately six invited speakers
- Other
speakers are CMU faculty, post-docs, visiting professors, or job
candidates
- Run
by graduate students
- Graduate
students are responsbile for hosting them
- Picking
them up from the airport
- Taking
them to their hotel, meetings, etc.
- Taking
them out to lunch
- It
attracts prominent speakers and is an awesome opportunity to get to
know them
- On-campus
Research Groups
- ACT-R
Group (Anderson)
- Parallel
Distributed Processing Group (McClelland)
- CogBog
- Meets weekly to discuss current articles from the Cognitive Psychology
literature
- Developmental
Discussion Group (DDG) - Meets weekly to discuss current articles from
the Developmental Psychology literature
- Computer
Science holds a weekly AI and HCI colloquia and occasional
"distinguished lectures."
- Pitt
holds regular linguistic, philosophy, neuroscience and psychological
colloquia. They also hold a distinguished lecture series in psychology.
- The
CNBC has frequent colloquia, where speakers present their recent
neuroscience research. A schedule is available on the web at http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu/announcements/schedules/index.html
- The
CNBC also has bi-weekly "Brain Bags", in which CNBC grad
students present their research. The schedule is available from the URL
above.
- Note
that if you are a CNBC grad student, you are expected to give a brain
bag by the end of your second year!
Parking
- Parking
on campus
- If
you want to buy a parking permit, arrange for one well before you arrive
- Be
forewarned that parking permits for CMU are $40+ per month!!
- You
will have to enter a "lottery"
- The
deadline is generally in early August
- Late
applications go on a waiting list - First-come-first-served
- Get
information from the university
parking office
- You
are not guaranteed to get a spot (student spots aren't always
available), so don't depend on it
- Parking
at night (i.e. after 6 PM) is generally not a problem
- Weekend
parking usually isn't too bad either, but beware that meters are in
effect on Saturdays
- Other
parking alternatives
- There
is free parking in Schenley Park beginning at Westinghouse Fountain
- Car
break-ins and vandalizations are not uncommon here
- In
winter, it gets dark well before 6:00, and there are no streetlights
here
- I
park here, and I have personally not had a problem yet (-GG, knocking on
wood)
- Metered
Spots
- Behind
Baker Hall (Frew Street)
- Check
the time limit. It may be 2, 4, or 10-hr
- Feed
the meter. Tickets are $15.00 and it is enforced
- Broken
meters are not necessarily free for the day
- If
you are parked there for longer than the limit, they will ticket you
- There
are other spots on campus and by Phipps Conservatory. The same rules
apply
- Parking
in the Community
- The
areas around campus all require permits
- Without
a permit, a one-hour limit is enforced (park at your own risk)
- Don't
park illegally!!
- Pittsburgh
is notorious for ticketing with impunity
- The
shuttle bus
- CMU
runs a couple of shuttle lines. These are a convenient way to get back
and forth between Oakland and Shadyside.
- Unfortunately,
the buses do not go to the other neighborhoods
- Get
information at the information desk in the University Center
- City
Buses
- Your
CMU ID (be sure it is validated) allows you to use the Pittsburgh City
buses at no charge
- These
are great for getting to/from school
- Also
great for going to events downtown