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- CSDE WEEKLY SEMINAR
- Decision-making by the Children of the NLSY
- CSDE ANNOUNCEMENTS
- CSDE affiliate, Martina Morris, has been invited to give
the NIH WALS lecture on April 25
- CAMPUS SEMINARS & EVENTS OF INTEREST
- WCPC Seminar -- Perspectives on Economic Citizenship
- CSSS Seminar -- How to Read 100 Million Blogs (and How to Classify Deaths
without Physicians)
- UW Disabilities Studies program film screening -- X-Men: The
Last Stand
- Critical Medical Humanities lecture -- Cuba's Successful
Revolution: Primary Health Care and Public Health
- Department of Medical History and Ethics lecture -- The Wide,
Wide World of Bioethics: Cultural Sensitivity and Ethical Relativism
- RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
- New Policy Briefs from the National Poverty Center
- New National Poverty Center Working Papers
- FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
- Notice regarding DBSB K01 Program
- Darroch Award nominations for Excellence in Sexual and Reproductive
Health Research
- CONFERENCES
- National Poverty Center Conference: The Impact of Religion
and Faith-Based Organizations on the Lives of Low Income Families
- Penn State's 15th Annual Symposium on Family Issues
- TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
- Population Action International Announces Job Openings in its
Research Department
- NLS Summer Workshop on the National Longitudinal Surveys
- Summer Intern Position available at DBSB
- National Poverty Center Visiting Scholars for Academic Year
2007-08
- Assistant Secretary for Children and Families announces two
openings for Social Science Analysts
- OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST
- PRB Discuss Online -- How Can We Reduce the Death Rates From
Pregnancy and Childbirth?
- Video of Recent National Poverty Center Seminars
- Action Alert for NIH Funding
- 2010 Census Subjects Submitted to Congress
- 2010 Census Geography Federal Register Notices
Submit News
CSDE WEEKLY SEMINAR
Decision-making by the Children of the NLSY
Shelly Lundberg (UW Economics) and Jennifer Romich (UW School of Social Work)
Friday, April 20, 2007
12:30-2:00
Parrington Hall Commons
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CSDE ANNOUNCEMENTS
On April 25, Dr. Martina Morris will speak at the NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series held 3pm at Masur Auditorium.
Dr. Morris is an outstanding social scientist and an excellent speaker. As described in the attached flyer, she is
an expert in social networks, HIV/AIDS epidemic dynamics, and social inequalities. With funding from NICHD and NIDA,
she has done creative work in the mathematical modeling of HIV/AIDS and in linking mathematical models to behavioral data.
It is traditional for the WALS speaker to meet with junior scientists over a brown-bag lunch.
Flyer
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CAMPUS SEMINARS & EVENTS OF INTEREST
WCPC Seminar -- Perspectives on Economic Citizenship
Alice Kessler-Harris, R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of American History, Columbia University (Jointly sponsored with
the Evans School of Public Affairs and the Walker-Ames Lecture Series)
11:30 - 2:00 PM
Parrington Hall Forum
CSSS Seminar -- How to Read 100 Million Blogs (and How to Classify Deaths without Physicians)
Gary King, Department of Government, Harvard University
12:30 P.M. - 1:20 P.M.
Savery Hall 209
Abstract: We develop a new method of computerized content analysis that gives approximately unbiased and statistically consistent estimates of quantities of theoretical interest to social scientists. With a small subset of documents hand coded
into investigator-chosen categories, our approach can give accurate estimates of the proportion of text documents in
each category in a larger population. The hand coded subset need not be a random sample, and may differ in dramatic
but specific ways from the population. Previous methods require random samples, which are often infeasible in social
science text analysis applications; they also attempt to maximize the percent of individual documents correctly
classified, a criterion which leaves open the possibility of substantial estimation bias for the aggregate proportions
of interest. We also correct, apparently for the first time, for the far less-than-perfect levels of inter-coder
reliability that typically characterize human attempts to classify documents, an approach that will normally outperform
even population hand coding when that is feasible. We illustrate the effectiveness of this approach by tracking the
daily opinions of millions of people about candidates for the 2008 presidential nominations in online blogs, data
we introduce and make available with this article. We demonstrate the broad applicability of our approach through
additional evaluations in a variety of available corpora from other areas, including large databases of movie
reviews and university web sites. We also offer easy-to-use software that implements all methods described.
The methods for a key part of this paper build on King and Lu (2007), which the talk will also briefly cover. This
paper offers a new method of estimating cause-specific mortality in areas without medical death certification from
"verbal autopsy data" (symptom questionnaires given to caregivers). This method turned out to give estimates
considerably better than the existing approaches which included expensive and unreliable physician reviews (where
three physicians spend 20 minutes with the answers to the symptom questions from each deceased to decide on the
cause of death), expert rule- based algorithms, or model-dependent parametric statistical models.
Copies of the two papers are available at:
http://gking.harvard.edu/files/abs/words-abs.shtml
http://gking.harvard.edu/files/abs/vamc-abs.shtml
UW Disabilities Studies program film screening -- X-Men: The Last Stand
Please join us this Thursday, April 19, 3:30-5:30 p.m., COMM 120, for a screening of the film X-Men: The Last Stand,
and a short discussion to follow. Sponsored by the UW Disability Studies program, with faculty panelists Joanne Woiak
(UW History, Disability Studies) and Jose Alaniz (UW Slavic Languages and Literatures; Comparative Literature).
See
attached flyer for more information on this event, and the next in its series.
Critical Medical Humanities Lecture -- Cuba's Successful Revolution: Primary Health Care and Public Health
The Critical Medical Humanities group is very pleased to present the first of three public lectures coming up in
spring quarter, all on the theme of "global health":
Cuba’s Successful Revolution: Primary Health Care and Public Health
Dr. Linda Whiteford (Anthropology, University of South Florida)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
7:00 pm
Communications 120
...And please join us for the reception to follow!
For those who cannot attend the main evening lecture, Dr. Whiteford will also be speaking on South Campus:
Friday, April 27, 2007
12:00 noon
Turner Auditorium, D-209 Health Sciences Building
Linda Whiteford is an applied medical anthropologist, trained in public health, whose research into problems of
ill-health and poverty is informed by critical perspectives on power, inequality, globalization, and policy. Dr.
Whiteford has carried out most of her research in Cuba. Her earlier research focused on maternal and child health,
and more recently she has worked on infectious, communicable diseases such as cholera, dengue fever, and diarrhea,
and on healthcare systems, policy, and analysis. Her many publications include Globalization, Water and Health:
Resources in Times of Scarcity (2005) and Global Policy, Local Realities: The Fallacy of the Level Playing Field (2000).
Department of Medical History and Ethics lecture: The Wide, Wide World of Bioethics: Cultural Sensitivity
and Ethical Relativism
Dr. Albert Jonsen, Emeritus Professor of Ethics in Medicine
Monday, May 7th, 2007
3:30 p.m. Turner Auditorium, Health Sciences Center, D209
Reception immediately following
Dr.Jonsen is Emeritus Professor of Ethics in Medicine at the School of Medicine, University of Washington, where he
was Chair of the Department of Medical History and Ethics from 1987 - 1999. From 1972 to 1987, he was Chief of the
Division of Medical Ethics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. He is a member of the Institute
of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. He received his doctorate from the Department of Religious Studies, Yale
University, in l967. Professor Jonsen's most recent books are Bioethics Beyond the Headlines: Who Lives? Who Dies?
Who Decides? (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005) and Clinical Ethics (McGraw-Hill, 2006, 6th ed.),
co-authored with M. Siegler and W. Winslade. Dr. Jonsen currently serves as Senior Ethics Scholarin- Residence at
California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.
Abstract: American bioethics has been excessively chauvinistic, concentrating on the ways in which medicine and
science encounter value conflicts within our own culture. A global bioethics must encompass those other cultures
where modern medical science meets very different moral norms and values. The problem of evaluating the ethics of
research, sponsored and designed in Western countries and conducted in developing nations, is particularly acute.
The debate over this problem has just begun.
Download the flyer
For more information, contact
mheinfo@u.wasfhoirn mgtoorne.edu or 206.543.5145. To request disability accommodation contact the
Disability Services Office at least ten days in advance at: 206.543.6450/V, 206.543.6452/TTY, 206.685.7264 (FAX),
or dso@u.washington.edu.
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RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
New Policy Briefs from the National Poverty Center
New National Poverty Center Working Papers
Why Are So Many Americans in Prison?
Steven Raphael, University of California, Berkeley and Michael A. Stoll, University of California, Los Angeles. (2007-10)
The Benefits and Costs of Head Start
Jens Ludwig, Georgetown University, and Deborah A. Phillips, Georgetown University. (2007-09)
The Effect of Criminal Background Checks on Hiring Ex-Offenders
Michael A. Stoll, UCLA School of Public Affairs, and Shawn D. Bushway, University at Albany. (2007-08)
Race and Revitalization in the Rust Belt: A Motor City Story
Reynolds Farley, University of Michigan; Mick Couper, University of Michigan; and Maria Krysan, University of Chicago
at Chicago. (2007-07)
Methodological Frontiers of Public Finance Field Experiments
Jeffrey R. Kling, The Brookings Institution. (2007-06)
The Influence of Early-Life Events on Human Capital, Health Status, and Labor Market Outcomes Over the Life Course
Rucker C. Johnson, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, Robert F. Schoeni, ISR,
Ford School of Public Policy, and Department of Economics, University of Michigan. (2007-05)
The Economic Costs of Poverty in the United States: Subsequent Effects of Children Growing Up Poor
Harry J. Holzer, Georgetown University and the Urban Institute, and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, University of Chicago,
and Greg J. Duncan, Northwestern University, and Jens Ludwig, Georgetown University and National Bureau of Economic
Research. (2007-04)
Children's Time Use And Parental Involvement In Low-Income Families
W. Jean Yeung, New York University and Rebecca Glauber, New York University. (2007-03)
Black-White Achievement Gap and Family Wealth
W. Jean Yeung, New York University and Dalton Conley, New York University. (2007-02)
Maternal Work Hours and Adolescents' School Outcomes Among Low-Income Families in Four Urban Counties
Lisa A. Gennetian, MDRC, and Leonard M. Lopoo, Syracuse University, and Andrew S. London, Syracuse University. (2007-01)
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Notice regarding DBSB K01 Program
The following notice has just been published in the NIH Guide:
Clarification of NICHD Eligibility Requirements for Applications Submitted in Response to PA-06-001 "Mentored
Research Scientist Development Award (K01)" - Population Research Program (NOT-HD-07-010) National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HD-07-010.html
Darroch Award nominations for Excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health Research
Presented by the Guttmacher Institute
Nominations due April 30
The Darroch Award recognizes an emerging leader in the field of sexual and reproductive health, where scientific
evidence is essential to guiding the policies and programs of the future. The award honors Jacqueline E. Darroch,
PhD, whose three decades of directing research exemplifies rigorous and innovative work in this field and commitment
to the practical application of research to policy and programs. The Award Committee encourages you to nominate
candidates who are emerging as leading researchers in the field and whose work demonstrates these strengths.
For more information on the award, visit http://www.guttmacher.org/media/resources/JEDaward.html or contact Ellen
Smith at esmith@guttmacher.org.
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CONFERENCES
National Poverty Center Conference: The Impact of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations on the Lives of Low
Income Families
June 7, 2007
Washington, D.C.
The purpose of this conference is to bring together the growing group of researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners
who are interested in better understanding the role that religion and religious organizations play in assisting low
income families and in affecting their behaviors.
For more information:
http://www.npc.umich.edu/news/events/religion&poverty/
Penn State's 15th Annual Symposium on Family Issues -- Work-Life Policies that Make a Real Difference for Individuals, Families, and Organizations
October 8-9, 2007
The topic will be addressed by 16 top scholars from major universities and work-family research centers. The symposium
is innovative for the integration of perspectives from multiple social sciences as well as for addressing policy
implications. In an era of soaring health care costs, reducing work-life stress is a potential win-win proposition
for employers, employees, and their families. Workplace policies that provide employees with more autonomy and flexibility
in matters such as where and when they work, time off to deal with family concerns, and assistance with child care,
offer opportunities for employers to support employees' lives outside of work. Such policies may result in bottom-line
pay-offs in terms of enhanced recruitment, retention, productivity, and lower health care costs. The state of research
knowledge in this area is sparse, however.Work-family researchers are just beginning to move beyond correlational,
descriptive studies into exciting intervention research that evaluates the consequences of changes in workplace
policies. These new investigations pay attention not only to the effects of formal policies, but to the implications
of changes in the informal culture of the workplace, for employers, employees, and employees' families. As this new
wave of research gets off the ground, it is timely to ask how the research community can inform workplace policy in
this important area.
Symposium sponsors include the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Information and
registration available at http://www.pop.psu.edu/events/symposium/2007.htm or contact Carolyn Scott (814)863-6806, css7@psu.edu.
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TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Population Action International announces job openings in its research department
Vice President-Research-- job description
Senior Research Associate-- job description
Population Action International is an independent and nonpartisan organization which does research-based advocacy in support of increased access to and the funding for family planning and reproductive health services internationally.
PAI's "product" is ideas in that we try to find the emerging issues that can be linked to sexual and reproductive health in order to persuade our target audience, policy makers, that continued and increasing funding for sexual and reproductive health programs is key to sustainable development and poverty alleviation. In our vice president for research, we are looking for a candidate of high intellectual creativity who is well grounded in reproductive health but is able to link our issue to other development issues. For the senior research associate, we are very interested in a candidate with a strong background in economics, demography and statistical analysis.
For more information, contact:
Lindsay Patterson
Chief Operating Officer
Population Action International
Direct 202.557.3404
www.populationaction.org
NLS Summer Workshop on the National Longitudinal Surveys
NICHD and CHRR are sponsoring a User Workshop on the National Longitudinal Surveys in Columbus, Ohio from
July 16 - July 19, 2007.
This workshop is aimed at new users interested in learning about various NLS cohorts including the NLSY79, the
newest NLSY97, and the original cohorts, as well as the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult Surveys. This workshop is
designed to be of interest to graduate students, recent Ph.D.s and more established researchers who wish to learn
more about the NLS. The first day and a half will cover a “core” of topics, after which the following
days will include breakout sessions covering topics of research interest. For experienced users of the NLS wishing
further training on Web Investigator, including how to access and download NLS data on-line, a Refresher Course
will be offered one day only. In the future, the public release data will only be provided over the web, and the
refresher course will cover the web interface as well as offer and opportunity for question and answer.
For more information about the User Workshop on the National Longitudinal Surveys, go to
http://www.bls.gov/nls/userconference/summer2007.htm.
Applicants to this workshop should submit an on-line application form. A letter of recommendation from an
advisor or senior scientist (for pre-doctoral applicants only) may be sent by email to NLSworkshop@chrr.osu.edu
Summer Intern Position available at DBSB
The Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch (DBSB), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
seeks to hire a summer intern for the Summer of 2007 to participate in activities that support our extramural
program of population research funding. The internship is located in Rockville Maryland, just outside of Washington
DC. A full-time commitment of at least 10 weeks is desirable.
As the largest funder of population research in the United States, the branch supports a broad portfolio of research
on topics including fertility and contraceptive use, sexual behavior and HIV prevention, public policy and the well-being
of children, trends in marriage and the family, mortality and health, migration, population and environment, and
population composition and distribution. The branch does not generally conduct formal research and the internship
would not be appropriate for applicants looking for the opportunity to join an on-going research or laboratory project.
Past interns have assisted program staff in monitoring the grants portfolio, conducting outreach activities at
scientific meetings and through the Web, coordinating scientific activities, compiling reports on scientific progress,
and organizing conferences. They have also had the opportunity to learn about the NIH process first hand by attending
review sessions, staff meetings and Advisory councils. This summer, the Branch will also be concluding a long-range
planning activity.
Working in this office is an ideal experience for someone who wants to develop a broad view of the field of
population research and to meet some of its most exciting players. The internship also provides an opportunity
to see how population research is integrated in an interdisciplinary way through collaborations within the NIH
and with other federal agencies (e.g., ASPE, BLS, ACF, and NCHS).
We prefer individuals who are currently enrolled in graduate-level training in a population-related field. Experience
with computing and Web applications is highly desirable. Salary is commensurate with training and experience. U.S.
citizens and non-citizens who have permanent visa status, are from a country allied with the U.S., or have been
lawfully admitted to the U.S. as a permanent resident may apply.
For more information or to send us your vita, please contact Rosalind King (e-mail rozking@mail.nih.gov or call 301-496-1174). Visit our web site:
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/about/org/cpr/dbs/
Intern Position Document
National Poverty Center Visiting Scholars for Academic Year 2007-08
The NPC is now accepting applications for our Visiting Scholars Program for faculty, researchers, and policy analysts.
Applications are available at:
http://www.npc.umich.edu/opportunities/visiting/
Application deadline extended to May 1 (for visits during academic year 2007-2008).
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families announces two openings for Social Science Analysts
ASPE is currently interested in hiring up to two Social Science Analysts in the Division of Data and Technical Analysis
(DATA), within the Office of Human Services Policy (HSP). HSP focuses on programs of the Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Children and Families (ACF) and on cross-cutting income support, employment, and social services
issues. The DATA division provides support for policy development around these issues through the development and
oversight of research and data gathering activities, analysis of data bases, and the development of models and cost
and impact analyses. We are looking for individuals with a graduate degree in the social sciences or public policy.
We are interested in individuals with strong analytical and research skills, including quantitative skills, knowledge
of and experience analyzing large data sets (survey or administrative), and the ability to use data to analyze policy
questions. The ideal candidate would also have knowledge of or interest in human services policies and/or programs
such as cash assistance, work supports, employment programs, food stamps, child care, earned income tax credits,
housing, child support, child welfare, healthy marriage programs, and/or teen pregnancy prevention programs.
Applications should be submitted on-line through
USA Jobs.
The announcement closes May 11.
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OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST
PRB Discuss Online: How Can We Reduce the Death Rates From Pregnancy and Childbirth?
Dr. Fariyal Fikree, Technical Director, Health Communications, Population Reference Bureau
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m., Eastern Time
http://discuss.prb.org.
You may submit questions in advance and during the discussion. A full transcript of the questions and answers
will be posted after the discussion.
In most developing countries, women still face a significant risk of dying or having a serious or life-threatening
complication during pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum. These risks can be dramatically reduced through already known
cost-effective interventions. But political will and resources continue to lag. Discuss with Dr. Fikree the barriers
to implementation and successful strategies for ensuring that women survive pregnancy and childbirth. Go to
http://discuss.prb.org.
Dr. Fikree directs PRB's global health communication strategy focusing on policy communications for key policy
advocates in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She is an internationally recognized researcher and advocate for
safe motherhood with over 20 years experience designing, implementing, and evaluating health programs that address
reproductive health; maternal, infant, and child mortality; capacity building; and communication of health priorities.
Video of recent National Poverty Center seminars
Now available on our website -- Work Over Welfare: The Inside Story of the 1996 Welfare Reform Law
Haskins, Brookings Institution
Coming soon --
Higher Ground: New Hope for the Working Poor and their Children
Greg Duncan, Institute for Policy Research,
Northwestern University.
Action Alert for NIH Funding
A bipartisan group of members in the House of Representatives is circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter to their
colleagues in the House of Representatives. The letter is directed to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House
Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, asking them to support a
6.7% increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in their version of the Fiscal Year 2008 appropriations
bill. The PAA and APC, as members of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research Funding, have endorsed this proposed
increase for the NIH.
If you support the NIH, please contact your member via phone or e-mail in the House of Representatives and ask him
or her to sign onto the NIH Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Representatives Markey, Reichert, Schakowsky,
Shays, Smith, and Waxman . The deadline for signatures is April 23. A copy of the letter is attached. Members who
want to sign the letter are asked to call Katharine Reinhalter in Congressman Markey's office at 202-225-2836 or
katharine.reinhalter@mail.house.gov.
Letter to House Appropriations Committee Leaders
To find your representative's contact information go to:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
2010 Census Subjects Submitted to Congress
The Census Bureau submitted to Congress the subjects for the 2010 Census which include gender, age, race,
ethnicity, relationship and whether you own or rent your home. More information can be found on the Census
Bureau's 2010 Census webpage including the press release:
http://www.census.gov/2010census/
2010 Census Geography Federal Register Notices
Four notices were released for public comment on the Census Bureau's proposals for the 2010 Census Block Group,
Census County Division, Census Designated Place, and Census Tract Programs.
Link to the very large notice for the 2010 Census Tract program
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