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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

CSDE Affiliates Awarded UW Population Health Initiative Pilot Research Grants

CSDE Affiliates Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, Karen Fredricksen-Goldsen, and Marieka Klawitter were members of teams recently awarded Population Health Initiative grants. The Rowhani-Rahbar project examines lethal means assessment for suicide prevention.  The team led by Fredricksen-Goldsen examines health disparities in Washington State and the role of social and economic inequities in intersectional marginalized populations. CSDE also provided matching support to the Fredriksen-Goldsen and Klawitter project proposal.

These faculty-led teams have been awarded $50,000 to address the critical components of population health. Affiliate Ali Mokdad, Professor of Global Health and Vice Chair of the Population Health Initiative, said of the awardees: “We believe each of these projects has the potential to make significant progress towards reducing disparities and improving population health at the local, national and international levels.” Other team members include:

  • Lethal Means Assessment in Psychiatric Emergency Services for Suicide Prevention
    – Affiliate Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, Epidemiology
    – Paul Borghesani, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
    – Jennifer Stuber, Social Work
    – Anna Ratzliff, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
    – Frederick Rivara, Pediatrics
  • Addressing Health Disparities in Washington State: The Role of Social and Economic Inequities in Intersectional Marginalized Populations
    – Affiliate Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen, Social Work
    – Barbara Cochrane, Family and Child Nursing
    – Corinne S. Heinen, Family Medicine
    – Affiliate Marieka Klawitter, Public Policy & Governance
    – Charles A. Emlet, UW Tacoma
    – Hyun-Jun Kim, Social Work

The Population Health Initiative seeks to expand University of Washington’s capacity to address challenges to the health and well-being of of populations through collaborative and interdisciplinary research. Learn more about the Initiative and its pilot research grant awardees below.

Highlights & Awards from Winter CSDE Lightning Talks & Poster Session

Last Friday, five population scientists in training shared their work at CSDE’s Winter Lightning Talks and Poster Session, held in the Research Commons at Allen Library.

The talented pool of graduate students from the Departments of Economics, Global Health, Sociology, Health Services, and Statistics presented unique research that contributes to the field of population science. The presentations covered a number of timely topics in demography, from methods for estimating child mortality and forecasting fertility, to studies of trust, Internet and vaccines, reports of sexual assault and labor market outcomes in Bangladesh, and determinants of vigilante justice in Chile.

At the conclusion of the event, CSDE Trainee Nikki Eller received an award for best poster. Eller, a student in the Department of Health Services was recognized for her poster “Trust, Epidemiology, and Vaccines”. Eller’s project tested the following hypotheses: 1) mothers with lower levels of trust in their child’s health care provider will list more vaccine information sources compared to mothers with higher levels of trust, and 2) mothers’ level of trust in their child’s health care provider will be associated with the type of vaccine information sources, with low trust associated with non-provider vaccine information sources as a main source. In support of hypothesis 1, Eller found that that trusting mothers report fewer average information sources than less trusting mothers. Meanwhile, only 61% of less trusting mothers reported their child’s pediatrician as their main source of vaccine information, and these mothers were more likely to rely on the internet, other parents, parents of vaccine-injured children, other friends and family, and practitioners of alternative medicine as information sources. Overall, Eller’s findings indicate that while most mothers seek out information on vaccines, the level of trust they place in individual information sources may affect their prioritization of these sources.

Marieka Klawitter and Anjum Hajat Examine the Relationship Between Banking and Health

Affiliate Marieka Klawitter, Professor at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, and affiliate Anjum Hajat, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology—along with two graduate students in the department of Epidemiology—recently authored an article that examines the effects of fringe banking and being unbanked on health. In the article, published in Health Affairs, the authors use propensity score matching with Current Population Survey data, and find that both fringe loan use and unbanked status are associated with a higher likelihood of poor or fair health outcomes. The full article is available below.

Paula Nurius and Anjum Hajat Explore Psychosocial Stressors, Air Pollution, and Cardiovascular Disease

Affiliate Paula Nurius, Professor at the School of Social Work, affiliate Anjum Hajat, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, and a colleague recently published an article in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that assesses the relationship between psychosocial stressors, air pollution, and cardiovascular disease. Using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from Washington, the authors measured adverse child experiences at the individual and neighborhood level, along with exposure to three air pollutants. Their findings indicate modest association between air pollution and neighborhood-level stressors, and that adverse childhood experiences may affect health by way of selection into disadvantaged neighborhoods. The full article is accessible below.

 

Spring Quarter Seminar Schedule

We are pleased to announce our Spring 2018 Seminar Schedule, featuring an exciting lineup of speakers from a variety of disciplines and institutions! All are welcome to attend these free, informative, and engaging events.

The series will kick off on Friday, March 30 with Jevay Grooms, who will discuss the effect of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs on opioid prescribing trends for a given provider in various medical specialties.

Going Public: Connecting Research and Community (hosted by UW Libraries, 4/7/18)

About

Are you interested in involving community in your research process but uncertain where to start?  Do you already involve members of the public in your research process and would you like to connect with like-minded people around your experience?

Join us for “Going Public: Connecting Research & Community” where we’ll explore engaging community in the research process through public scholarship, citizen science, community-engaged research, and participatory research.  This interdisciplinary event offers an opportunity to expand your skills through several workshop offerings, to hear from researchers and community participants on their experiences through our “Research & Community Connections” panel presentation, and to see the different shapes this research can take through our graduate student poster display.

This event is free and open to all: faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students, and community members from outside the university.

Free Registration

Schedule and Program

Assistant/Associate Professor and Postdoctoral Researchers in Migration

Background

An Assistant or Associate Professor and Postdoctoral Researchers are sought to conduct research and teach in the School of Sociology at Shanghai University. Successful candidates will be based in the international migration of the Asian Demographic Research Institute (ADRI).

The highly rated School of Sociology and Political Sciences at Shanghai University is one of only four `National Key Disciplines` for Sociology in China. The School also has been awarded the `Peak Discipline` (高峰学科) and `Double Excellence Discipline` (双一流学科) national titles.

The Asian Demographic Research Institute, founded in 2015 by the School of Sociology and Political Sciences, aims to be a leading centre for demographic research in the Asia region. Currently comprised of four research pillars, funding is in place for ADRI to grow to approximately 20 research positions, to be filled by a mix of Chinese and foreign scholars. ADRI is the new headquarters of the Asian MetaCenter with MSc and PhD programs in Demography. English is the working language at ADRI. More details can be found online: http://adri.shu.edu.cn/ or on Twitter @ADRIshanghai.

Job Description

The Assistant or Associate Professor will develop their own research agenda focusing on international migration. He/she will work in collaboration with other scholars in the international migration pillar, led by Guy Abel (National Youth 1000 Talent, Shanghai 1000 Foreign Expert), investigating a range of international migration patterns including one or more of; global migration patterns, comparative studies of international migration in Asia, non-Chinese populations in China, Chinese population abroad and the role of migration in population projections. They will be expected to develop their research for publication in leading demographic journals, be capable of teaching courses on the ADRI graduate program and explore external funding opportunities.
The Postdoctoral Researcher will be expected to work on similar topics with less teaching and funding responsibilities.

Requirements

The successful candidate will have a background in the study of migration (internal or international) with a PhD in demography, sociology, geography, economics or a related disciple. Applications from current doctoral students close to finishing their studies will also be considered. He/she should have a quantitative research orientation to complement the other members of the international migration pillar. The Assistant or Associate Professor position requires candidates to at least one publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Conditions of Employment (All Posts)

Basic employment packages follow standard Chinese government guidelines. Assistant or Associate Professor are permanent positions. Postdoctoral Researcher contracts lengths are offered for two years. Start dates are negotiable. All posts including an apartment on the university campus or a housing bursary of equivalent value. Significant bonus payments are awarded for each successful lead-author publication in SCI or SSCI registered journals.

ADRI will support suitable candidates with applications to Shanghai and National schemes for high skilled researchers. These schemes further boost employment packages to match equivalent positions in top US or European institutes. ADRI has already been successful in supporting a range of similar applications by new staff members.

Application and Further Information

Only electronic submissions in standard document formats (preferably PDF) via the relevant email (below) will be accepted. The following application materials are expected:

1. A cover letter detailing the position of interests (Postdoctoral Researcher, Assistant or Associate Professor) and suitability for the job. 2. Curriculum Vitae. 3. One English language writing sample. Published journal articles are preferred.

The search for candidates will remain open until the position is filled. General enquiries and applications should be sent via email to guy.abel@shu.edu.cn

Call for Papers: US 2050

What will America look like at mid-century?  US 2050, an initiative of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and the Ford Foundation, will examine and analyze the multiple demographic, socioeconomic, and fiscal trends that will shape the nation in the decades ahead. Engaging leading scholars in the areas of demographics, poverty studies, labor economics, macroeconomics, political science, and sociology, US 2050 will create a comprehensive view of our economic and fiscal future – and the implications for the social and financial well-being of Americans.

Project Description

In the coming decades, a transformational wave of foreseeable demographic changes will create a new American tapestry. Social, economic, and technological changes will reshape the domestic and global economy, and the nation’s fiscal condition will face increasing challenges resulting from a range of factors, including an aging society and a structural mismatch between spending and revenues. These interconnected trends will have significant, but not yet fully understood, implications for the social and financial well-being of Americans. US 2050 will explore these issues and their link to the country’s fiscal and economic health.

The project’s goal is to foster a clearer vision of America’s future and spur a sense of urgency to address pressing policy concerns, thereby laying the groundwork for better outcomes. In 2050, today’s newborn will be entering her prime working years, and one out of every four of today’s 65-year olds will still be living. All of us have a stake in the trends that will unfold in coming decades.

The project will engage leading scholars and provide grants to support research. The insights and learnings gained from the new work will be shared at gatherings that will bring together authors of papers, academic and substantive experts, and, ultimately, policy leaders.

A distinguished Advisory Committee is guiding the project, bringing valuable expertise across the key research disciplines. The Committee is coordinated by the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution, and will assist with the framing of research questions, selection of successful proposals and the review of submitted papers.

March 2018 Call for Proposals: Research Topics and Questions

US 2050 is issuing a new, second call for papers to expand upon and complement the areas of focus in paper submissions already received through our November 2017 call for papers. In this March call for papers, we have defined additional questions and topics as outlined below. Economists, political scientists, sociologists, demographers and other scholars are invited to submit proposals for US 2050.

The broad questions below outline areas we are most interested in, but we invite your ideas or suggestions for alternative topics and approaches to the material. We are particularly interested in proposals that go beyond the national median and aggregate trends to examine differences and similarities among sub-groups in the population.

Research areas for March Call for Papers

I. Political Institutions
II. Individual and Family Wealth
III. The Response of Social Welfare and Social Insurance Systems to Changing Labor Markets
IV. Global Perspectives on Jobs and Work and the Future Supply of Immigrants to the US
Visit the link below to learn more and apply.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics

The Department of Economics and Business at Colorado College announces a one semester Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics positions to begin in August 2018. A PhD in economics is required, but ABD candidates will also be considered.

Colorado College is distinctive for it modular “Block Plan” calendar.  The academic year is divided into eight 3-1/2 week blocks.  The semester-long visitor would be expected to teach three blocks.

A successful candidate must exhibit the potential for excellence in teaching and for contributing to the department’s scholarly activities. The application should include a cover letter, statements describing both your commitment to teaching and scholarly interests, a curriculum vita, graduate school transcripts (unofficial transcript is acceptable, and if considered for employment an official transcript will be required), and contact information (email addresses are required) for a minimum of three references (at least one of which should address teaching ability). To apply for this position please submit your application at https://employment.coloradocollege.edu/postings/3215

The department will hold phone/skype/on-campus interviews in the spring of 2018. We will continue to consider applications until the position is filled.

Additional information about Colorado College and the Economics and Business Department is available at http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu

Visiting Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology

Position Description

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology seeks a full-time one-year visiting assistant professor of cultural anthropology to begin August 2018. We seek a ethnographically grounded cultural anthropologist who specializes in medical anthropology. The successful candidate will be required to teach a 2/3 teaching load. In addition, the candidate must work effectively with colleagues and students in an interdisciplinary setting.

Minimum Qualifications

The successful candidate must have
• a PhD in Anthropology in hand by the start of the appointment.
• ability to teach Introduction to Cultural Anthropology and Medical Anthropology.
• excellent oral and written communication skills.
• effective interpersonal skills.
• demonstrable record of effective teaching experience at the university level.
• strong research agenda

Preferred Qualifications

The department is looking for a colleague who can complement the scholarship of current faculty members. The program and department value interdisciplinary work, therefore preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate an ability to work in an interdisciplinary setting, as well as with programs such as Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Studies (TIPS) and Women and Gender Studies (WGS). In addition, preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate a commitment to promoting and enhancing diversity.

Visit the link below to learn more and apply.