The Chimpanzee & Human Communication Institute (CHCI) is currently taking applications for our Summer Apprentice Program. Graduates, undergraduates, and post-graduates from various academic backgrounds (e.g. Anthropology, Biology, Psychology, Linguistics, Philosophy, Communication, etc.) and all nationalities are encouraged to apply. The dates of the program are June 27 - August 20, 2010.

The research at CHCI involves a group of chimpanzees who use the signs of American Sign Language (ASL). Washoe, Moja, Tatu, and Dar were part of the cross-fostering research that began in 1966 with Drs. R.A. & B.T. Gardner. Each chimpanzee was raised in an enriched environment in which his or her human family members used only ASL, much like the environment in which a deaf human child grows up. Loulis was adopted by Washoe in 1978 and learned his signs from chimpanzees. Currently, Tatu, Dar, and Loulis reside at CHCI on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA in a large state-of-the-art facility.

Apprentices are at the institute daily -- cleaning enclosures, preparing meals and enrichment, making observations of the chimpanzees, and participating in one or more research projects. The first week is intensive training in laboratory jobs and chimpanzee behaviors. After several weeks each apprentice becomes more autonomous and has responsibilities in research and husbandry. The philosophy of CHCI is that the needs of the chimpanzees come first. Apprentices are trained in humane care and research techniques.

The program fee is $1800 and there is a non-refundable $25 application processing fee. The costs do not include housing and transportation. Inexpensive housing is available on campus. A course in ASL is highly recommended but not required. For more information on the program and the application please see our web page or contact Dr. Mary Lee Jensvold, CHCI, CWU, Ellensburg, WA 98926 jensvold@cwu.edu. The deadline to apply is March 15, 2010.

The Anthropology Department at Durham University is offering a number of bursaries (£2000 - U.K. students; £2500 - overseas students) to study for an MSc in Evolutionary Anthropology.

The Durham MSc in Evolutionary Anthropology:

- For students with an undergraduate degree in anthropology, psychology, biology or a related discipline.

- Offers an advanced investigation of evolutionary processes through the study of primates (human and non-human, living and fossil) including paleontology, social behavior, culture, and evolutionary psychology.

- Taught by an active, interdisciplinary research group involved in cutting-edge work on primate behaviour, morphology, cultural transmission, and evolution.

- Provides the theoretical background, subject-specific knowledge, and practical skills that provide a perfect foundation for PhD-level research in primate and human evolution and behaviour.

Why come to Durham?

- Durham is one of Britain’s top universities. The Anthropology Department is one of the largest in the world. It is also one of very few in the UK that includes both biological and socio-cultural anthropology and is notable for its efforts to integrate the two sub-disciplines.

- Research in Durham Anthropology is consistently ranked as internationally excellent. For example, in the 2008 UK Research Assessment Exercise, we ranked 2nd in the UK for volume of research rated as world-leading and internationally excellent.

- We deliver the highest quality teaching (Quality Assurance Agency, UK, 2004).

Visit:

http://www.dur.ac.uk/anthropology/postgraduate (for MSc information)

and

http://www.dur.ac.uk/anthropology/postgraduate/taught (for bursary information)

The Ethnographic Database Project (EDP) is a web-based interface for the standardisation of comparative ethnographic data. The EDP enables anthropologists to enter information about their field research using a set of standard codes developed for cross-cultural application; the codes relate to a society's organization, kinship and marriage practices, subsistence economy, and pattern of sexual division of labor. The EDP is in the form of a web-based questionnaire, which can be accessed from any computer connected to the internet.

The EDP aims to complement widely-used comparative ethnographic datasets such as the Ethnographic Atlas and the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample by: (i) obtaining data directly from anthropologists who conducted field research in the societies of interest, (ii) using standard codes developed for cross-cultural application for all societies, (iii) expanding the range of societies for which coded ethnographic data are available.

The first stage of the EDP includes societies speaking Indo-European languages, which are underrepresented in the existing ethnographic databases. We welcome contributions from researchers who have conducted fieldwork in societies speaking these languages.

Visit the EDP website at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucsalfo/EDP to read more about this project, to view a sample version of the EDP, and to find out how to contribute. Please forward this link to anyone who may be interested in this project!