There is so much we are juggling in these times, however, don’t let slip this very important national effort – the 2020 Census. It shapes our future and means so much for our communities.  The census count determines federal funding which underwrites vital public services and public goods for all of us. The census count informs congressional redistricting. And, the census count contributes towards valuable basic scientific research and research for evidence based policy and more…!  

You might be wondering why is April 1st Census Day, when this year’s census data collection began March 12, 2020 and continues until August 14, 2020. There is a good reason. When you complete the census (via mail, online or phone), you will be asked about your normal place of residence on April 1st of this year. Hence the label! 

There are many reasons why this year is very unusual and challenging for the decadal census.  The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many challenges.  It will take extra efforts among all of us to encourage and facilitate census participation.  Visit this link  to find ways to help the effort or participate yourself.  

For college students, completing the decennial census form has always created confusion—and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this confusion.  College students are supposed to be counted at their “normal” place of residence on April 1. For many students, this is the location of their college or university. Students should still be counted as residents at their “normal” address during the academic year even though they have left campus. Students who normally live in on-campus or college-owned housing are counted as part of the Census Bureau’s group quarters enumeration. Students who live at home normally should be included in their household’s response form.

The Census Bureau has produced a short video and fact sheet to clarify how college students are to be counted.  For more information, a prominent demographer authored an article on this topic in a recent issue of The Conversation.

Another challenge for the census was last year’s very public debate about the inclusion of a citizenship question on the census form.  Everyone should know that the U.S. courts ruled against the inclusion of a citizenship question on the census form. It is NOT on the census form.  Furthermore, your census information is kept confidential and your responses are kept anonymous.  The Census Bureau is bound by law to protect your answers and your answers may not be used against you. For more information on this please visit this link.

A third challenge is the additional and new online mode for census data collection. The online guide for the census form offers information in a number of languages and offers you a preview of the census questions you will be asked.  It can help to familiarize yourself with the questions before you complete the form.  

For all of us with demography running deep in our veins, join along by sending a tweet or instagram post indicating you’ve completed the census and link to @CSDE_UW.  Let’s join the #Census2020 team!

In light of public health measures, the CSDE Spring 2020 Seminar Series is now completely virtual via Zoom. We have an excellent array of speakers and topics and are excited to continue our tradition of sharing critical demographic insights via this new format. To register for the Zoom seminars, please visit our seminar webpage and select any seminar to register for it. Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to enter the seminar. But don’t worry, even if you lose that email confirmation, when you click on the seminar registration link you will be automatically directed into the zoom meeting. Please do not hesitate to contact us at csde@uw.edu should any concerns arise. CSDE wishes that you stay safe, healthy, and energized for this new Spring quarter!

Despite the consistent gun violence crisis in the US, a lack of funding for gun violence research and roadblocks for firearm policy implementation exist. This is why CSDE Affiliate Ali Rowhani-Rahbar co-authored a recent editorial titled “US Gun Violence and Deaths” for The BMJ. In the editorial, Rowhani-Rahbar and his co-authors welcome funding from Congress for gun research—as gun violence is a public health crisis, Congress must allocate the federal funding quickly. However, Rowhani-Rahbar details how research alone will not suffice. As political divides create obstacles for implementation of policies to reduce gun violence, research “must include how to release the logjam of politics federally and how best to implement laws in communities”.

Rowhani-Rahbar and his co-authors conclude the editorial by stating, “federal research funding is welcome and long overdue. But until the research can spur action, the funding will do little to stop the crisis”.

The NIH is well aware of the challenges being felt in the research community as institutions are closing, people are being asked to practice social distancing, and resources and attention are justifiably focused on public health needs. NIH is currently working quickly to develop answers to many questions through the following links: NIH recently updated its Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Information for NIH Applicants and Recipients website with a slew of additional FAQs, new funding opportunities, as well as a video message where they address some of the most common questions. Additionally, NIH has published a notice announcing that grant applications submitted late for due dates between March 9, 2020, and May 1, 2020, will be accepted through May 1, 2020. This notice applies to all relevant funding opportunity announcements, including those that indicate no late applications will be accepted. A cover letter providing a justification is not required. NIH will be extending the expiration date of most FOAs expiring between now and May 1. Be sure to read the notice carefully for details.

NIH also encourages you to monitor their website frequently. To help you identify updated content, the page now includes a link to page update history so you can easily see what’s new. 

This Friday, CSDE Affiliate Bo Zhao will present results from a study on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and GIScience. The recent convergence of AI and GIScience has been hailed for its transformational capacity in intelligentizing geospatial technologies, and such capacity could also unintendedly or purposefully generate problematic geospatial data. The more recent emergence of “Deep Fake” – an especially controversial use of AI, although not widely applied in GIScience yet, has stimulated widespread attention to its severe social and political impacts. In this presentation, Zhao and co-authors encourage GIScientists, geospatial data users, and the public to adjust the pure optimism about AI’s merits or pessimism of its drawbacks, thereby recognize and understand AI’s complex implications on individuals and human societies.