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Fyall and Fowle in Seattle Times for Research on Housing Insecurity During Pandemic

CSDE Affiliate Rachel Fyall and CSDE Trainee Matt Fowle recently completed a report on COVID-19 impacts on low income tenants’ housing security in Washington State (report available here). Their report was highlighted on the front page of the Seattle Times on July 21, 2021. With funding from the UW’s West Coast Poverty Center and the Population Health Initiative, Fyall and Fowle find that the pandemic led to downward residential mobility, increased rental debt, and poorer housing quality for low-income households. The pandemic has exacerbated the negative impact of housing insecurity on health as tenants are spending more time in substandard housing that is harmful to their physical and mental health. Overall, households of color have been disproportionately affected by this worsening housing security, in particular Black and Latinx tenants. The eviction moratorium has likely been successful in preventing a surge in formal evictions during the pandemic. However, methods of informal evictions and forced moves, such as landlords changing door locks and refusing to renew leases, have significantly increased. Their study employed a mixed methods approach in partnership with the Tenants Union of Washington State, draws on semi-structured interviews (n=25) and a survey (n=410) with low-income tenants to examine the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and eviction moratoria have impacted housing security in Washington State.

Yuan Hsiao Defends Dissertation on Social Media and Political Action!

On Thursday, July 22, UW Sociology PhD Candidate Yuan Hsiao successfully defended his dissertation entitled, “How social media affects political action: the effects of digital network structures and motivations on movement participation.” His project was innovative and incisive, drawing on the expertise of an excellent committee that included Steven Pfaff (Chair), Kate Stovel, Emilio Zagheni and Jevin West (iSchool). The project takes on the implications of utilizing social media for political purposes, specifically support for and involvement in protest movements. Although most scholars agree that social media can propel political change,  the mechanisms underlying why social media affects political action remain unclear. Yuan’s dissertation uses micro and meso-level perspectives to examine these mechanisms. Drawing on the cases of the Sunflower [pro-democracy and national self-determination] Movement in Taiwan and Black Lives Matter Sacramento in the US, the dissertation assembles original survey data and digital trace data to unravel the psychological and network processes that underlie the mobilizing power of social media. Hsiao had a very productive experience in the Sociology department, publishing more than a dozen papers in top journals in three fields (sociology, communication, political science) and earning an MS in Statistics. He will be joining the Communication Department at the UW in the fall as an Assistant Professor.

*New* UW Synergistic Pilot AIDS Research Center (SPARC) Awards [Due August 9, 2021]

Applications are open for the UW Behavioral Research Center for HIV (BIRCH) Synergistic Pilot AIDS Research Center (SPARC) Awards. Letters of intent are due Monday, August 9, 2021. This award aims to support searchers to conduct work that examines mental health and associated conditions in the context of HIV. Successful awardees will be included in the SPARC Scholars program which includes monthly fellowships meetings, access to mentors across the UW BIRCH network, and opportunities to collaborate with other SPARC scholars. Some key details (please see the attached RFA for full details)
  • Direct costs: $8,000 per year for up to 2 years ($16,000 maximum for the 2-year duration, no more than $8,000/year)
  • Letter of intent due August 9, 2021
  • Eligibility check due August 9, 2021
  • Consultation with the Methods Core due August 13, 2021
  • Final application due August 22, 2021 at 11:59 PM
  • Notice of award by September 10, 2021
  • Period of performance: September 13, 2021 to August 30, 2023

Director, Research Core, University of Washington Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center

Overview: The Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center (HIPRC) is one of nine CDC funded injury control centers, doing impactful injury and violence control work for over 30 years. A dynamic organization, the HIPRC aims to reduce the harm from injury and violence. There is a unique leadership opportunity to lead the HIPRC Research Core.

The Research Core Director oversees respective work aligned with HIPRC mission and vision through research, education, training and outreach, serves on the HIPRC leadership committee, and importantly provide strategic direction to the Research Core. The Research Core Director will be responsible for the overall management and leadership of the Research Core, partnering with the Administrative Core for oversight of the research projects, partnering with the Training Core to strengthen interdisciplinary relationships and practices, partnering with the Outreach Core to translate and disseminate research project findings. The Research Director ensures all projects adhere to regulatory and ethical standards, and evaluates outcomes of the Research Core. The Research Core Director oversees staff and faculty and work products delivered by the Research core. The Research Core Director oversees the work of the HIPRC staff who maintain, assess, and report on basic data regarding Research Core activities, including projects developed, projects funded, success in meeting timelines and deliverables of projects, and academic and community dissemination. The Research Core Director will be a core member of the HIPRC.

The HIPRC Director appoints the HIPRC Research Core Director. Appointments are made for a one-year term and renewed annually based on an annual review. Appointments can be renewed without term limit based on meeting or exceeding expectations as described below.

Eligibility: Have the qualifications (MD, PhD or MD/PhD), expertise and experience to be Research Core Director. The candidate should have strong quantitative methodological skills and demonstrated leadership as well as a strong interest, experience or desire to develop funded research portfolio in injury and violence. The candidate should have excellent communication skills.

Compensation: FTE commensurate with expertise and experience

Duties:

Ø Have a visible and engaged presence at HIPRC

Ø Convene monthly working meetings to advance the work of the research core

Ø Lead development of policies and procedures for the research core

Ø Regularly (average minimum of 50%) participate in weekly work-in progress sessions

Ø Perform annual evaluations of research core staff

Ø Provide oversight of CDC ICRC exploratory projects, and CDC Center grant

Ø Collaborate with Training Core and Outreach Core Directors

If interested, please submit a cover letter and CV to:

Monica S. Vavilala, MD

Director, HIPRC

Email: vavilala@uw.edu

Graduate Student RA, UW Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity

The Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity (CERSE) at the University of Washington is seeking a graduate research assistant to assist with ongoing evaluation and research projects, primarily the assessment of the National Center for Women & Information Technology. CERSE conducts research, evaluation, and consulting on diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields. We are a highly collaborative team committed to increasing the participation of people from systemically marginalized groups in STEM education and careers. Find out more about the CERSE at http://depts.washington.edu/cerse/

Ideally, the position will start as an hourly appointment for 20-40 hours in late summer 2021 so that the candidate can train with the current RA. The position will continue through the 2021-2022 academic year pending satisfactory work performance and grant funding availability. The RA will report to the Director of CERSE. Duties include the following:

 

Responsibilities:

· Contribute to high quality data collection, data management, and analysis;

· Manage assigned research and evaluation tasks, which may include coordinating with participating institutions, conducting literature reviews, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, and writing reports;

· Manage assigned data collection tasks, including creating and distributing surveys and compiling data from a number of stakeholder groups;

· Work collaboratively with CERSE staff on other related projects as needed;

· Maintain organized project files and coordinate with collaborators within and outside of CERSE;

 

Desired Qualifications:

· Excellent data analysis, writing, and oral communication skills;

· Excellent organization skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities;

· Experience using quantitative and qualitative methodologies to collect and analyze data (particularly regression analysis, conducting interviews, and telling stories with data);

· Experience using computer software to perform statistical analyses and data management (particularly SPSS and Stata)

· Ability to synthesize and integrate information from multiple data sources;

· Experience in effectively communicating research results to a wide variety of audiences;

· Commitment to furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion;

· Currently enrolled graduate student at the University of Washington. Preference will be given to candidates from related fields, such as: Sociology, Education, Statistics, Economics, Psychology, Gender Studies, and Anthropology

 

Required Qualifications:

· Currently enrolled graduate student at the University of Washington.

The academic year position includes standard GRSA salary, health insurance, and tuition remission.

 

To apply:

The application deadline is August 9, 2021 (11:59 PM PT). To apply, combine a detailed letter of interest and your resume or CV in a single PDF document with the file name [LastName][FirstName]_NCWIT (example: LitzlerLiz_NCWIT). Using the subject “NCWIT RA application”, please email your combined application materials to: Liz Litzler, Director, Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity, elitzler@uw.edu

 

 

Liz Litzler

Director and Affiliate Assistant Professor

Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity

elitzler@uw.edu