UCLA Communication

CS Information Session @ 2pm in Royce 362
2016-11-09 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles)

Graduation! Sunday, June 12th, 2016 at 10:30am - Royce Hall
2016-06-12 10:30

Professor Mario Biagioli on Tuesday, May 3 from 11-12noon in 2125 Rolfe Hall.
2016-05-03 11:00 - 12:00
The Department of Communication Studies presents Professor Mario Biagioli on Tuesday, May 3 from 11-12noon.

Professor Von Blum featured presenter in UC-AFT Showcase
2016-02-25 12:00 - 14:00
Librarians, lecturers, and other non-senate faculty engage in research, develop innovative teaching methods, create academic resources, and much more. This may take the form of books, articles, online resources, graphic arts, sound recordings, films, edited volumes, plays and other theatrical works, articles about scholarly work in trade/popular magazines, and websites.

UCLA vs. Chinese Debate Team
2016-02-18 12:00 - 14:00
Chinese Debate Team vs. UCLA Debate Team! Debating the entry of Syrian refugees into the U.S. With an afterword by Comm Studies Professor Paul Von Blum, J.D.

China versus UCLA Debate on Syria
2016-02-18 12:00 - 14:00
Admitting Syrian Refugees Debate with the Chinese International Debate TeamOn February 18th, from 12-2 PM, the UCLA Debate Team will engage the Chinese International Debate Team at the UCLA School of Law, Room 1457. The topic: whether or not the United States should continue to allow Syrian refugees into the country. The debate will feature an afterword by UCLA Communications Studies professor Paul Von Blum, JD.For more information click the link

CS Information Session
2016-02-17 10:00 - 11:00

Methods Workshop with Professor Tim Groeling
2016-02-08 15:30 - 17:00

UCLA Department of Statistics Seminar Series
2015-06-09 14:00 - 15:00
Dr. Kirk E. LohmuellerDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUCLAWhy do deleterious mutations persist in populations?Many mutations that arise in protein coding regions of genes are deleterious, resulting in a decrease in reproductive fitness. While such mutations are often eliminated from the population by natural selection, sometimes they can remain. In this talk I will examine the population genetic factors leading to the accumulation of deleterious mutations. First I will use Wright-Fisher population genetic simulations to show how recent demographic history has affected patterns of deleterious variation across different human populations. Second, I will present an analysis of deleterious genetic variation across dog and wolf populations using more than 80 genomes. I will describe a maximum likelihood approach to estimate heterozygosity from next-generation sequencing data that we used on these low-coverage genomes. These data show that the ratio of amino-acid changing to silent genetic variants is significantly higher in dogs than wolves, suggesting that, compared to the reduction of neutral levels of variation, less deleterious variation has been removed than expected. Finally, I will show how the artificial selection for specific traits during domestication and breed formation has affected patterns of deleterious variation in dogs. In sum, this work demonstrates how population history and strong positive selection can shape deleterious variation across genomes.

BEC Speaker Series: Aurelio Figueredo - "A Sequential Canonical Cascade Model of Social and Cognitive Biogeography"
2015-06-01 12:00 - 13:30
Aurelio FigueredoUniversity of Arizona, Department of Psychology “A Sequential Canonical Cascade Model of Social and Cognitive Biogeography” “A sequential canonical cascade model, detailing the hypothesized biogeography of human life history (LH) and intelligence (IQ), derives elevated levels of IQ through a series of causal steps, starting with the evolution of slower LH strategies based on both the physical ecology (climatological factors) and community ecology (population density and parasite burden). This model then examines the social ecology of slow LH strategy through the establishment of cooperative and mutualistic social systems with enhanced levels of social equality, within-group and between-group peace, and sexual equality. These social sequelae, in turn, lead to the strategic differentiation of resource allocation profiles among slower LH strategists (the SD-IE effect) that foster socioecological niche-splitting through intraspecific character displacement and produce mutual competitive release among individuals in saturated, resource-limited environments. By producing cooperative systems of specialists that each efficiently exploit different social micro-niches, the mutual exchange of resources so derived inevitably triggers the action of Ricardo’s Law of Comparative Advantage, producing greater aggregate wealth through these emergent social properties than would otherwise be attainable to equal numbers of generalists. We track this hypothesized mediating mechanism through the relations among three major macroeconomic indicators at the national level of aggregation. Finally, we explain how this combination of powerful macroeconomic forces inevitably produces massive increases in aggregate wealth that elevate the collective human capital of the entire society, enhances physical brain volume, and contributes to higher overall levels of human cognitive abilities.” 12:00-1:30 PM Monday June 1st, 2015Haines Hall 352Lunch will be served on a first come, first serve basis; we request a $6 donation.

Comm Studies Application
2015-06-01 11:00 - 2015-06-30 16:00
Application ProcedureThe Communication Studies Application will be available on June 1, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. and will close on June 30, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.The Admissions Committee will arrange to receive your UCLA transcripts from the Registrar through the end of Summer Session A 2015. General Information Students not admitted at the sophomore or junior level may reapply the following year. If you have 140 units or more, please consult with a counselor before applying. Prospective double majors must be independently accepted into the CS Department; there is no automatic acceptance. The Admissions Committee gives detailed attention to every application it receives, and its decisions each year are final. Other than to correct an error in the information it originally evaluated, the Admissions Committee is not able to comply with appeals from applicants for a second review.Please DO NOT submit letters of recommendation — they will not be accepted.Dear prospective Comm Studies majors:We are delighted to announce a major improvement in the way in which UCLA students apply to the Comm Studies major. As you already know, Comm Studies has been one of the most sought-after majors at UCLA since its creation nearly 40 years ago, with more and more outstanding students applying each year. Choosing our students from among the very best people at UCLA has been our privilege, but also our great challenge, so we have decided to improve our admissions decisions by…Giving students an incentive to take more challenging courses prior to entering the major. In our discussions with students, many told us that they had delayed taking difficult classes prior to applying for fear that receiving a lower grade might harm their chances of getting into the major–a strategy that had the unfortunate effect of making them less prepared for some of the difficult courses within the major. To ensure that students are well-prepared for the major, we have adjusted the way we evaluate the GPA of applicants, ensuring that students who take challenging courses are not penalized compared to students who take so-called “Easy A” classes.Getting to know you beyond grades. While our traditional application process has relied heavily on looking at your performance in UCLA courses, our new process will give you a chance to make a case for your admission through a series of very concise essays. The essay questions –presented below– give us a chance to better understand your experiences, attitude, accomplishments, and connection to Comm Studies. One of the most important parts of the new application is a chance for you to impress us with your best work by uploading a short creative work sample.Letting you make your case… in person: While the many applicants will still be selected and notified online before the start of Fall Quarter, our admission process will now allow some students to make their case in face-to-face interviews with an admissions committee at the start of Fall Quarter. We think giving our admissions advisory committee a chance to hear our applicants communicate will allow us to better understand how they could flourish in Comm Studies.These changes represent a lot of additional work for our applicants–and ourselves–but we truly believe they will give great students the best opportunities to be admitted to our great major. We look forward to hearing from you soon!Essay Questions:In your application, you will be asked to tell us in no more than 750 characters (each):Why do you want to be a Communication Studies major?Communication Studies is a highly selective major. Tell us briefly why you believe you should be chosen for the major.Communication Studies is a challenging major. Tell us briefly how you have overcome obstacles or adversity to achieve a goal.Communication Studies is a diverse major. Tell us briefly how you would contribute to that diversity.Communication Studies majors are leaders. Tell us briefly about a specific instance where you have successfully led others to achieve a goal.Communication Studies is a creative major. Tell us briefly about a project, short movie, writing sample, or other creative work you have completed of which you are especially proud.Creative Work:All applicants must upload a sample of your creative work for a valid application. A sample can be any format or type (e.g., special project, short film, blog, research project, writing sample, photo(s), audio file) you like, but should be something uniquely creative or exceptional. (We will also ask you to tell us about the project and explain why you are especially proud of it). For more information and instructions on uploading your creative work click here.-Tim Groeling,Associate Professor and Chair

[Marschak Colloquium] Science as social learning: Computational, mathematical, and experimental investigations
2015-05-28 15:00 - 16:30
The Jacob Marschak Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Mathematics in the Behavioral Sciences at UCLA

BEC Speaker Series: Jacob Foster "The Unknown Known: Science, Social Learning, and Cultural Evolution"
2015-05-18 12:00 - 13:30
Jacob FosterUCLA, Department of Sociology “The Unknown Known: Science, Social Learning, and Cultural Evolution” “Science is an incredibly successful instance of social learning. Its practices produce and subtly organize the attention, effort, and creativity of millions of scientists, leading to rapid and cumulative cultural evolution. In this talk, I outline the striking convergence between this view of science and the one developed in science studies. Using data from millions of scientific papers, I illustrate how scientists use social cues to select research problems and how these heuristics lead to more (and less) efficient discovery. I then argue that formal theories of learning and cultural evolution shine new light on old puzzles in the sociology of science–while the study of science provides provocative problems, parallels, and paradigms for theories of cultural evolution.” 12:00-1:30 PM Monday May 18th, 2015Haines Hall 352Lunch will be served on a first come, first serve basis; we request a $6 donation.

UCLA Alumni Day
2015-05-16 15:45 - 16:30
Professor and Chair Tim Groeling invites you to his State of the Departmentaddress for alumni where he will provide an update on academic programs and other important department happenings. Join other graduates of Communication Studies and learn about successes and future goals for the program.3:50 to 4:35 p.m.203 Covel CommonsEven if you have already registered for Alumni Day, please feel free to come by; you’re part of our family regardless of what box you checked. Click here for registration.

[Marschak Colloquium] The interface theory of perception
2015-05-14 15:00 - 16:30

BEC Speaker Series: Laurie Santos "The Evolution of Irrationality: Insights from Non-Human Primates"
2015-05-11 12:00 - 13:30
Laurie SantosYale, Department of Psychology “The Evolution of Irrationality: Insights from Non-Human Primates.”“I will explore the evolutionary roots of some of our species’ irrational decisions. I will start by reviewing some classic biases in the field of judgment and decision-making and will then turn to the question of how these biases came about in the first place by exploring some recent experiments in exploring similar biases in monkeys. I will then discuss new work suggesting ways that the human species is uniquely irrational.”12:00-1:30 PM Monday May 11th, 2015Haines Hall 352Lunch will be served on a first come, first serve basis; we request a $6 donation.

BEC Speaker Series: Lera Boroditsky "How the Languages We Speak Shape the Ways We Think"
2015-05-04 12:00 - 13:30
Lera Boroditsky USCD, Department of Cognitive Science “How the Languages We Speak Shape the Ways We Think” “How do the languages we speak shape the ways we think? Do speakers of different languages think differently? Does learning new languages change the way you think? Do bilinguals think differently when speaking different languages? Does language shape our thinking only when we’re speaking or does it shape our attentional and cognitive patterns more broadly? In this talk, I will describe several lines of research looking at cross-linguistic differences in thought.” 12:00-1:30 PM Monday May 4th, 2015Haines Hall 352Lunch will be served on a first come, first serve basis; we request a $6 donation.

[Marschak Colloquium] Climate forcing and infectious disease dynamics in changing human landscapes
2015-04-30 15:00 - 16:30

PAC-12 Student Training Program
2015-04-18 08:00 - 12:00
• Gain hands-on behind-the-camera experience• Tour full production truck• Learn to operate equipment• Shadow the crew at a Pac-12 live event• Gain the opportunity to be hired for future events• Lunch will be providedWhen: Saturday, April 18Where: Easton StadiumTime: 8:00AM – 12:00PMTo Sign Up: www.pac-12.com/studenttraining OR wgulley@athletics.ucla.edu 310-825-2476For more information visit: www.pac-12.com/studenttraining

[Marschak Colloquium] Collective computation and social evolution
2015-04-16 15:00 - 16:30

[Marschak Colloquium] Two faces of subjective uncertainty
2015-04-02 15:00 - 16:30

[Marschak Colloquium] When morals matter in economic decision making
2015-03-05 15:00 - 16:30

[Marschak Colloquium] The art and science of high-fives: Field experiments at the intersection of social, developmental and educational psychology
2015-02-19 15:00 - 16:30

[Marschak Colloquium] Leveraging the science of health development: Designing systems that help children thrive
2015-02-05 15:00 - 16:30

Voice Studies Now Conference at UCLA
2015-01-31 09:00
Professor Greg Bryant and lecturer Kasia Pisanski will talk about the evolution of vocal emotion perception at the Voice Studies Now conference hosted at UCLA the last weekend in January.9:00 AM-4:00 PM: Conference Panels4:00 PM: Prof. Jody Kreiman (Keynote)

Voice Studies Now Conference at UCLA
2015-01-30 08:30
Professor Greg Bryant and lecturer Kasia Pisanski will talk about the evolution of vocal emotion perception at the Voice Studies Now conference hosted at UCLA the last weekend in January.8:30 AM-4:00PM: Conferecne Panels4:00 PM: Diamonda Galas (Keynote)

Voice Studies Now Conference at UCLA
2015-01-29 18:30
Professor Greg Bryant and lecturer Kasia Pisanski will talk about the evolution of vocal emotion perception at the Voice Studies Now conference hosted at UCLA the last weekend in January.6:30 PM: Conference Registeration7:30 PM: Concert

[Marschak Colloquium] The origin of ideas: Blending, creativity, and the human spark
2015-01-22 15:00 - 16:30

[BEC Speaker Series] Nature versus Nurture in the Inheritance of Social Status
2015-01-12 12:00 - 13:30
Most work studying the inheritance of aspects of social status across societies suggests two things. The first is that this inheritance is weak. Most social status for people is not determined by inheritance from parents. The second is that the strength of inheritance of status varies markedly across societies, so that status inheritance must be largely socially determined. In recent work using surnames as a means of measuring status inheritance across as many as twenty generations we show that in practice status inheritance is very strong, and that it varies surprisingly little across the societies and social systems. In this talk I propose that these surname results are compatible with genetics being the principle determinant of social status in most societies.

[Marschak Colloquium] Counting the many: The origins and limits of supermajority rule
2015-01-08 15:00 - 16:30
