Jennifer Utrata, Burkhardt Fellow, Visiting Affiliate at CSDE & Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Puget Sound, will present her current research on the undertheorized phenomenon of intensive grandmothering, based on in-depth qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations. The ideology of “intensive mothering” is the dominant standard for American mothering. But most intensive mothering research assumes a nuclear family model, marginalizing intergenerational relations in family life. However, demographic and cultural changes suggest that intergenerational relations and supports are becoming increasingly important for families, especially for those experiencing marital instability or economic anxieties.

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Well-deserved congratulations to CSDE Affiliate Anjum Hajat, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, who won a four-year, nearly $1.4 million research grant (R01) from the National Institutes of Health to examine how declining employment quality, including cuts in employee benefits, may contribute to the widening of health disparities. The research team includes three other CSDE Affiliates: Marco Carone, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Noah Seixas, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and Kyle Crowder, Blumstein-Jordon Professor of Sociology. CSDE provided some support for this initiative in its early stages, through consultation on scientific methods and support of a working group.

CSDE Biodemography Director Ellie Brindle and CSDE Demography Trainee alumnus Julius Doyle, Biocultural Anthropology PhD, recently published “Development and validation of hair specimen collection methods among extremely short‐length Afro‐textured hair” in the American Journal of Human Biology. In their article they show that, although cortisol deposited into growing hair is an important biomarker of psychophysiological stress, current hair sample collection methods are suited only for straighter-textured hair types. They propose an alternative method for collecting samples among participants with Afro‐textured and extremely short‐length hair types.

Yuan Hsiao is a CSDE trainee pursuing both a Ph.D. in Sociology and an MS in Statistics. Under the supervision of CSDE Affiliates Steven Pfaff (Ph.D. advisor) and Jon Wakefield (MS advisor), his research is centered at the intersection of demography and many social science fields. Hsiao’s co-authored paper “Gender network dynamics in prosocial and aggressive behavior of early adolescents,” was recently published in Social Networks and had previously been presented at a CSDE Lightning Talks and Poster Session. The article draws from the concern that aggressive and prosocial adolescent behavior have longitudinal effects on mental health, and delves into the network dynamics of how these behaviors affect friendship selection and are prone to peer influence for adolescents. 

CSDE’s Winter 2019 Lightning Talks and Poster Session is just around the corner! Join us on Friday, March 15, 12:30-1:30 PM in Room Green A, Research Commons, Allen Library South, for short (~2 minute) presentations and posters from the following students:

Erin Carll, Sociology
How Discourse about Tenant Eligibility in Seattle Rental Listings Has Evolved with Tenant Screening Regulations

Xinguang Fan, Sociology
Intimate Partner Violence and Contraceptive Use in Developing Countries: How does the Relationship Depend on Context?

Lee Fiorio, Geography
Measuring U.S. Interstate Mobility Using State of Birth Stocks: 1850 to 2010

Emily Pollock, Anthropology
Relationship Duration and Hazard of Dissolution Among 15-29-year-olds in the National Survey of Family Growth

Hilary Wething, Public Policy 
The Effect of Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance on Workers’ Earnings Trajectories

The Department of Geography and CSDE are excited to host Dr. Bo Zhao, Assistant Professor at Oregon State University. Dr. Zhao is a GIScientist who develops techniques for drawing meaningful conclusions from the unstructured, large value of ambiguous quality data from geospatial apps, interactive online mapping and the geographic functionalities of social media platforms. On 2/28/2019, 3:30-5:00 PM Dr. Bo Zhao will present a lecture titled “Humanistic GIS: An individual’s pursuit of poetic dwelling on Digital Earth” (ECE 042).

Before the lecture, at 10:15-11:00 AM, CSDE will host Dr. Bo Zhao in 114 Raitt Hall. Please join us for a meeting to share ideas and learn more about Dr. Zhao’s research and the possible points of collaboration with your own work.