This workshop is a 2 hour introduction to the free, open-source statistical programming language R. It assumes no prior experience with R.

Robert Plotnick, CSDE Affiliate and UW Professor of Public Policy, is retiring this spring, and we’d like to highlight some of the remarkable work he’s done for demography over the course of his career. From his assessment in his 1975 publication, Progress Against Poverty, of the War on Poverty’s impact to his recent role in Seattle’s Minimum Wage Study, Dr. Plotnick has tirelessly and meticulously studied the world around him to help us all better understand it. Scott Allard, fellow CSDE Affiliate and Professor at UW, recapped the significance of some of Dr. Plotnick's work in a blog post--you can read it below.

Congratulations on a decorated career, and thank you for your invaluable contributions to population science!

Alexes Harris, CSDE Affiliate and UW Associate Professor of Sociology, recently discussed the systemic factors at play in the case of 15-year-old Bresha Meadows, who spent 9 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter after killing her abusive father. Harris, author of A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions as Punishment for the Poor, explains that the financial costs of such an ordeal extend well beyond prison time. She traces when and why the US justice system began employing these sanctions on defendants and outlines how the practice can have unintended effects on certain demographic groups.