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Respond to Federal Register Notice Regarding Use of Census Bureau Data Products

IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series) has requested that researchers comment on Federal Register Notice 83 FR 34111, regarding the use of Census Bureau data products. The comment period expires on November 8, 2018. See request below:

“The Census Bureau is planning a fundamental revision of its procedures for ensuring the confidentiality of public use data. The proposed new disclosure avoidance system relies on injecting noise with formal privacy rules, based on theories of differential privacy. It is not clear how this new disclosure avoidance system will be implemented, but there is significant danger that it will reduce or even eliminate the usability of public use data for many common research and policy applications.

It is crucial that the research community responds to the call for comments by explaining how we use the American Community Survey (ACS) and decennial census data. Although the Federal Register Notice only addresses 2020 census products, the Census Bureau is planning to use similar techniques for ACS, and it is vital that they take uses of the ACS microdata into account. Complex applications that use data from multiple levels—such as the characteristics of individuals, their family members, community characteristics, and so on—may be especially relevant to the discussion.

The stakes are high. If we lose statistically valid public census data, it will be an enormous setback to government transparency, social science, and policy formation. I hope that comments from the community will persuade the Census Bureau to proceed with caution and to engage in robust discussion with the research community about the costs and benefits of new disclosure avoidance methods.

Please send at least a brief comment describing your work with microdata or summary files from the ACS or the decennial census. You may respond to the Federal Register Notice by emailing POP.2020.DataProducts@census.gov, referencing Federal Register Notice 83 FR 34111. I would appreciate it if you copy us at ipums@umn.edu.”

David Swanson Invited to Be Visiting Professor at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo

CSDE Regional Affiliate, David Swanson, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at University of California Riverside, will be a Visiting Professor at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo from October 27 to November 12, 2018. Swanson was invited by Dr. Takashi Inoue, Professor in the Department of Public and Regional Economics, who arranged funding and logistics.

During this time, David will work with faculty and students at Aoyama Gakuin University, as well as give three invited lectures on different applications of the cohort change ratio method. The lectures will be at The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (October 31), Kyoto University (November 5) and Aoyama Gakuin University (November 7).

Throughout his career, David Swanson has concentrated on applied demography while also keeping up with academic demography. David has given hundreds of presentations before professional associations. In addition to his presentations, he has authored or co-authored over 85 refereed journal articles, mainly dealing with demography, especially methods for doing small area estimation and forecasting.

 

Smart Cities: Critical Infrastructure Protection – Opportunities and Challenges (Northeastern University Symposium, 11/29/2018)

What is the future of smart cities?

Join us in South Lake Union for our fall symposium. Smart Cities: Critical Infrastructure Protection – Opportunities and Challenges .

The future for cities is smart: urban areas where people and systems are more connected than ever before. Head to toe, from home to the office to the grocery store, technologies like wearable sensors, autonomous systems, and augmented reality are transforming the way we connect with each other and our surroundings in new and exciting, but also potentially challenging, ways.

We will explore the public and private sector perspective on technology and policy opportunities and challenges facing the smart city evolution.

This symposium is organized by Ann Lesperance, Director of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Northeastern-Seattle campus.

What: Smart Cities: Critical Infrastructure Protection – Opportunities and Challenges

 

Request for Information on Proposed Provisions for a Draft Data Management and Sharing Policy (NIH Informational Webinar, 11/7/2018)

The NIH is requesting information from researchers and interested others relating to its development of a policy on Data Management and Sharing. There is no draft policy as yet. Rather, the NIH is soliciting input on the definition of Data, policy requirements and implementation timing. The announcement below provides a link to the official notice, references some of the sources of information NIH is consulting as it moves to draft a policy, and announces an informational webinar to be held on November 7.  Anyone who wishes to submit information may do so, as instructed in the official notice, by December 10, 2018.

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Request for Information on Proposed Provisions for a Draft Data Management and Sharing Policy for NIH Funded or Supported Research

On October 10, 2018, the NIH released a notice in its Guide to Grants and Contracts to solicit public input on proposed key provisions that could serve as the foundation for a future NIH policy for data management and sharing.  Comments will be accepted until December 10, 2018.  The feedback we obtain will help to inform the development of a draft NIH policy for data management and sharing, which is expected to be released for an additional public comment period upon its development.  NIH will also host an informational public webinar regarding this request for information on November 7, 2018.  A link to the webinar registration can be found below.

Webinar

Respondents are free to address any or all of the topics listed below, or any other relevant topic for NIH to consider.  Respondents should not feel compelled to address all items.

Section I The definition of Scientific Data
Section II The requirements for Data Management and Sharing Plans
Section III The optimal timing, including possible phased adoption, for NIH to consider in implementing various parts of a new data management and sharing policy and how possible phasing could relate to needed improvements in data infrastructure, resources, and standards

NIH will consider all public comments before taking any next steps. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response.  Comments received, including any personal information, will be posted without change to here.  Comments may also be mailed to: Office of Science Policy, National Institutes of Health, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301-496-9838.

To ensure consideration, responses must be submitted by: December 10, 2018 11:59:59 PM EDT.

Mathematics of Gerrymandering (CSSS Seminar, 11/7/2018)

Mathematics of Gerrymandering

Christopher Hoffman

Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Washingtonhttps://sites.math.washington.edu/~hoffman/

The US Constitution maNdates that every decade each state legislature must draw a set of districts for seats in Congress and state legislature. For at least the past 200 years some legislatures have been doing this in a way that they think will favor their own party. The round of redistricting following the 2010 elections had much more aggressive redistricting for partisan gain than there had been in previous decades. This has led to many academics studying the redistricting process from mathematical perspectives. I will survey the results of these studies and talk about the undergraduate research project on redistricting that I have been supervising over the past year.

Prayers, Pills, and Paisanos: Transnational Responses to Barriers in Health Care in Rural Mexico (MAGH Lecture, 11/7/2018)

On Wednesday 7 November 2018, the Medical Anthropology and Global Health Seminar Series is pleased to present

“Prayers, Pills, and Paisanos: Transnational Responses to Barriers in Health Care in Rural Mexico.”

Jessica Lozano, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington

Jessica Lozano’s lecture will explore the case study of Yahualica de González Gallo, Jalisco, as a microcosm of a larger health phenomenon seen in rural Mexico. In rural areas like Yahualica, there are few State public health resources of quality that are accessible to citizens. What sets Yahualica apart from other rural areas is that it is a transnational village – the majority of its population resides in the United States but is very active in the everyday life of the village. Yahualica has extensive social networks and social capital that have been institutionalized as formal clubs and organizations that have a presence on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border. Lozano’s lecture will delve into how the failure of the nation state to guarantee the health of its citizens have led to the mobilization of these same citizens, via social networks and social capital, to strategize, mobilize, and secure funds, medicine, medical infrastructure, and other medical supplies needed to take care of themselves, their families, and their community.

Jessica Lozano is a sociocultural anthropologist specializing in AlterNative and Critical Medical Anthropology. She received a B.A. in sociocultural anthropology in 2005 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a M.A. in the same field from the University of Washington in 2013. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate with a defense date of June 2019. She is descended from Mexican immigrant parents and her indigenous roots are Caxcan/ Tecuexe Chichimeca.

CHIP Health Policy Writing Contest

Center for Health Innovation & Policy Science’s 1st Annual Health Policy Writing Contest

Do you have policy writing chops?

Submit a policy brief at the beginning of Spring Quarter for cash prizes of up to $1,000 and some serious bragging rights!

We are looking for brief, succinct writing on a health-related topic (broadly defined). The winning submission will incorporate high quality writing and visual communication appropriate for their stated audience. Submissions can be based on or actually be a class assignment. You can also team up on a submission, but you have to share the prize money if you win!

The winners will be recognized briefly at the School of Public Health’s award ceremony in early May. The first place winner receives $1,000 and the second place winner will walk away with $500. Both award-winners and their briefs will be featured on the CHIPS website. You’ll also have bragging rights of winning the first Health Policy Writing Contest! See the attached PDF for full contest details.

Deadline: March 29, 2019 at 5:00pm

Submit your submission with the completed form (attached Word document) to: uwchips@uw.edu, with “2018-19 CHIPS Policy Writing Contest” in the subject line.

Associate Service Fellow, Division of Health Care Statistics

NCHS and the National Institute of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) have partnered to develop and test a short questionnaire focused on physician awareness of national and other guidelines on prescribing opioids for pain management. The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to evaluate survey questions that ask physicians about their knowledge, awareness, and adherence to these guidelines; (2) to assess the feasibility of a nationally-representative panel survey of physicians to gain a better understanding of their practices regarding opioid prescription for pain management; and (3) through a small pilot survey collect data on physician knowledge, awareness, and adherence to guidelines for opioid prescription for pain management. The Associate Fellow will work with NCCIH and other NCHS staff to develop and test this survey questionnaire, implement and conduct the survey, analyze survey data, prepare statistical files and related documentation for release, and prepare written reports and publications.

Associate Service Fellow/Survey Statistician, Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

The Division of National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (DHANES) at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), located in Hyattsville, Maryland, is seeking a full-time Associate Service Fellow/Survey Statistician in the DHANES Office of the Director. As the nation’s principal health statistics agency, NCHS’ mission is to provide statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people. The survey statistician will have an opportunity to work on a range of topics including designing and leading nonresponse-bias analyses, sample selection, and sample weight construction.

Demography Statistician

The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking employees with a wide range of skills to help carry out and then evaluate the results of the 2020 Decennial Census, and to serve in other critical positions. The census is the foremost source of information on the U.S. population and is the basis for political representation and for how tax dollars are allocated over the following decade. Along with a broad range of social and economic surveys, the Census Bureau also produces the nation’s official population estimates and is responsible for international work around the globe.

We are looking for qualified U.S. citizens with backgrounds in demography, sociology, mathematics, statistics, or related fields. Experience with demographic analysis, population estimates and projections, survey research, and quantitative data analysis of large data sets is a plus. Candidates should have good communication skills and be able to work as part of a team.

Successful candidates may be hired at the GS 7 to GS 14 levels. See opm.gov for salary information for the Washington, D.C. metro area. The jobs are located in Suitland, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. that is accessible by mass transit (the use of which is subsidized for Census employees).

Those interested in the Decennial Census and other positions should apply at USAJobs.gov. Several job postings are planned for entry-level and more advanced positions. The following job postings are currently available and can be applied to now.

Statistician Demography: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/514801300https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/508810500