Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) has extended the deadline for its 2018 Student Research Paper Contest to 5:00 PM EST on Friday, March 23. PCD is looking for students at the high school, undergraduate, or graduate level and recent post-graduates to submit papers relevant to the prevention, screening, surveillance, or population-based intervention of chronic diseases, including but not limited to arthritis, asthma, cancer, depression, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

The 5 primary goals for PCD’s Student Research Paper Contest are to:

• Provide applicants with an opportunity to become familiar with a journal’s manuscript submission requirements and peer-review process;
• Assist applicants to connect their knowledge and training on conducting quality research with a journal’s publication expectations;
• Develop applicants’ research and scientific writing skills to become producers of knowledge rather than just consumers of knowledge;
• Provide applicants with an opportunity to become first author on a peer-reviewed paper;
• Promote supportive, respectful, and mutually beneficial student/post-graduate―mentor relationships that result in strengthening students’ ability to generate and submit future scholarly manuscripts.

Submission Requirements

PCD uses PCD ScholarOne Manuscripts for manuscript submission and tracking. Before submitting your manuscript, please read the instructions below in addition to the information provided on the PCD website under Manuscript Requirements.

Eligibility

• Student applicants must be currently enrolled in a high school, undergraduate, or graduate degree program. Post-graduate applicants must have received their graduate degree within the past 12 months and be participating in a medical residency, post-doctoral fellowship, or similar training program under the supervision of a mentor, advisor, or principal investigator.
• Applicants should meet the standard to serve as first author. The first author is the person who conducted or led the topic being presented and prepared the first draft of the manuscript. The first author must also ensure that all other authors meet the criteria for authorship.
• Applicants and coauthors are expected to demonstrate the highest ethical standards in submitting scholarly work to the journal for consideration. Applicants and coauthors should become familiar with the journal’s Editorial Policy.
• Applicants (not mentors) must serve as the corresponding author for manuscripts submitted in conjunction with the student research contest. No exceptions will be allowed.
• Manuscripts must report on research done while in one of the qualifying student or post-graduate categories listed above.
• The research must have been completed within the last 12 months.
• Manuscripts must not be published previously or submitted elsewhere for publication.
• Manuscripts must represent original research submitted in Original Research format or GIS Snapshots format. Other article types will not be considered. For a detailed explanation, see information on Original Research and GIS Snapshots articles on PCD’s Types of Articles page.
• Students and recent post-graduates must submit a cover letter indicating their interest in being considered for the contest and the name and contact information of their advisor. The cover letter must also indicate current level of academic enrollment: high school, undergraduate, or graduate degree, or applicable post-graduate residency, fellowship, or other training program. In addition, applicants should address all routinely required disclosures in the cover letter. Learn more about general cover letter requirements on PCD’s How to Submit a Manuscript page.
• Applicants must provide a letter of recommendation from their advisor confirming either the student’s enrollment in a degree program or the post-graduate candidate’s residency or fellowship. The advisor must confirm that the research was conducted while in training under the advisor’s supervision. The advisor’s letter must confirm that the applicant conceptualized the analysis and was the primary author of the manuscript. The advisor’s letter must also acknowledge that the advisor recognizes that no one other than the applicant can serve as corresponding author.
• Applicants should submit the cover letter and advisor letter when they submit the manuscript.

Deadline

Manuscripts must be received electronically no later than 5:00 PM EST on Friday, March 23, 2018.

Manuscript Review Process

• Not all manuscripts submitted for consideration will undergo peer review.
• Applicants and advisors must understand that the decision-making process to identify which manuscripts will advance through the various stages of review is a lengthy process. Therefore, applicants and advisors must have patience as the decision-making process moves through review stages.
• An applicant manuscript receiving comments and suggestions does not mean the manuscript will be accepted for publication.
• Applicants interested in getting a sense of where manuscripts are in the review process are encouraged to contact the journal. Such inquiries should only come directly from the applicant serving as first and corresponding author on the manuscript.

Helpful Hints

Please be sure to visit the Author’s Corner section of PCD’s website for important information on what to avoid when developing the manuscript, tables, and figures.

Award

• The winning manuscript will be recognized on the PCD website and published in a 2018 PCD release with an accompanying editorial, podcast interview, and social media promotion.
• The winning author will be invited to participate in the panel review process for the 2019 Student Research Paper Contest.

Publication

Other manuscripts may be accepted for publication depending on the outcome of the peer-review process. Accepted manuscripts that remain in the contest after the second round of review will be published after the winning manuscripts are published and recognized as submissions to the student contest.

About the Journal

PCD is a peer-reviewed electronic journal established to provide a forum for researchers and practitioners in chronic disease prevention and health promotion. The journal is published weekly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Washington University in St. Louis Department of Sociology Announces Four Postdoctoral Fellow Positions

The Department of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis strives to understand the origins and reproduction of social inequality, especially as it relates to issues of pressing public concern. The Department was re-established in 2015 and now has ten faculty members appointed in sociology, three postdoctoral scholars, and a variety of affiliate faculty across the University. The department is seeking four highly motivated, collaborative postdoctoral scholars with demonstrated excellence in research to join our research community in the Summer/Fall of 2018, one in each of the following areas:

1. The Social Determinants of Population Health and Health Disparities

2. Global-Transnational and/or Economic Sociology

3. Gender Inequality in the Modern Workplace

4. Historical Approaches to the Study of Race and Inequity

The third and fourth positions are funded by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy. The fourth position is also in collaboration with the Department of African and African American Studies. All positions will be linked to a project led by a faculty member or team of faculty members. Additional details about the specific projects and associated faculty for each fellowship can be found using the provided hyperlinks.

Required qualifications include a PhD and training in sociology or related fields. The degree must have been awarded between July 1, 2015 and September 1, 2018. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, protected veteran, or disability status. Salary and benefits will be competitive and include a research/travel stipend for a one-year appointment with a one-year renewal based upon satisfactory performance in the first year. Teaching responsibilities vary based on postdoctoral position. Fellows are expected to be in residence during the fellowship period and to participate in the intellectual life of the Department of Sociology along with other units of Washington University relevant to the Fellow’s research interests.

Fellows will work together in a collaborative setting with faculty mentors and toward the production of jointly published scholarly research. Fellows will have shared office space and will typically be on campus during normal working hours. The fellows will be fully integrated into department colloquia and research and professional development seminars organized specifically for the postdoctoral program. Postdoctoral fellows will also join a vibrant postdoctoral community across the university, including but not limited to the Departments of African and African American Studies, Education, Economics, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Political Science; the Brown School of Social Work and the Institute for Public Health.

Request for Proposals

The Eurasian Migration System is one of the most active global migration networks, including registered and unregistered labor migrants, recognized and unrecognized displaced populations, and victims of trafficking. On June 11-15, 2018, the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be hosting a Sponsored Summer Workshop for Researchers interested in the many questions surrounding this region in motion. We encourage early career and experienced scholars to apply to join us for this Workshop, made possible by funding from the Department of State’s Program for the Study of Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII).

At the workshop, researchers will have an opportunity to share work in progress, build networks, pinpoint potential partners for collaboration in the region, and gain knowledge of available data (state statistics and surveys) and legislation on migration related issues. Ethical and reporting issues related to migration research, generally and in Eurasia specifically, will serve as a core topical focus.

The Workshop will open with two days of collective discussion, led by Professor Cynthia Buckley (Department of Sociology, University of Illinois) and featuring noted consultants from the US and region. Participants will also have the opportunity to join hands-on instructional sessions using the latest digital applications and databases for the study of migration in Eurasia. Alongside this collective work, researchers will also receive housing for a stay of up to ten additional days, allowing for extensive independent research time with Illinois’s rich collection of library and electronic resources. The staff of Illinois’s famous Slavic Reference Service will also be available to provide bibliographical and reference support.

To offset the costs of attending our workshop, participants will receive:

• Stipends for travel to Illinois
• Grants for dormitory housing on the Illinois campus, for up to 12 days
• Generous research stipends of up to $1000

Application Procedures

All applicants must be U.S. citizens. To apply for the workshop, please contact Prof. Cynthia Buckley (buckleyc@illinois.edu) to express your interest. Then please use the 2018 SRL Application and check the box “The Eurasian Migration System: A Sponsored Workshop for Researchers” on the application form. You will not need to pay a registration fee.

The William T. Grant Scholars Program supports career development for promising early-career researchers. The program funds five-year research and mentoring plans that significantly expand junior researchers’ expertise in new disciplines, methods, and content areas. We recognize that early-career researchers are rarely given incentives or support to take such risks, so this award includes a mentoring component, as well as an emphasis on community and collaboration.

Scholars Program applicants should have a track record of conducting high-quality research and an interest in pursuing a significant shift in their trajectories as researchers. Proposed research plans must address questions of policy and practice that are relevant to the Foundation’s focus areas.

The online application will open on April 23. All applications must be received by July 5, 2018 at 3:00 PM EST.

• Download the Scholars Program Application Guide (Updated January 2018)

Focus Areas

We fund research that increases understanding in one of our two focus areas:

• programs, policies, and practices that reduce inequality in youth outcomes, and
• strategies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that benefit youth.

We seek research that builds stronger theory and empirical evidence in these two areas. We intend for the research we support to inform change. While we do not expect that any one study will create that change, the research should contribute to a body of useful knowledge to improve the lives of young people.

Awards

Award recipients are designated as William T. Grant Scholars. Each year, four to six Scholars are selected and each receives up to $350,000, distributed over five years.

Awards begin July 1 and are made to the applicant’s institution. The award must not replace the institution’s current support of the applicant’s research.

Capacity-Building

The Foundation holds annual meetings during the summer to support the Scholars’ professional development. These summer retreats are designed to foster a supportive environment in which Scholars can improve their skills and work. Scholars discuss works-in-progress and receive constructive feedback on the challenges they face in conducting their projects. The retreat consists of workshops centered on Scholars’ projects, research design and methods issues, and professional development. The meeting is attended by Scholars, Scholars Selection Committee members, and Foundation staff and Board members. Scholars are also invited to attend other Foundation-sponsored workshops on topics relevant to their work, such as mixed methods and the use of research evidence in policy and practice.

In years one through three of their awards, Scholars may apply for additional awards to mentor junior researchers of color. The announcement and criteria for funding are distributed annually to Scholars. Our goals for these two-year awards are to build Scholars’ mentoring skills and understanding of the career development issues faced by junior colleagues of color. We also seek to expand their mentees’ research assets and increase the number of strong, well-networked researchers of color doing work on the Foundation’s research interests. The Foundation convenes annual workshops to strengthen these mentoring relationships and support career development.

Eligibility Requirements

• Applicant received his/her terminal degree (e.g., PhD, MD) within seven years of submitting the application. For PhDs this is the date the doctoral degree was conferred. In medicine, the seven-year maximum is dated from the completion of the first residency.
• Project advances the Foundation’s interest in understanding programs, policies, and practices that reduce inequality or improving the use of research evidence.
• Applicant is employed at a tax-exempt organization.

Recruitment Period

Description

Job location

Requirements

Documents

• Curriculum Vitae/Resume
• Cover Letter – Describe your interest in demographic research and how your background, skills and experience relate to this position.
• Statement of Contributions to Diversity (Optional)

References

We are pleased to announce a two-day conference and workshop at UC Berkeley, June 14-15, on the new UC Berkeley Social Networks Study (UCNets). 

• Introduction
  Claude Fischer and Leora Lawton, UC Berkeley
• Cohort-dependent health outcomes of personal networks
  Miranda Lubbers, Autonomous University of Barcelona; and Başak Bilecen, University of Groningen &
  Harvard University
• Religious attendance, substance use, and network satisfaction: differences across age groups
  Tuba Dagdas, University of Alabama-Birmingham
• Racial and political diversity within personal networks: The promise and peril of embracing
  difference in a politically polarized age
• Mark Pachucki and Anthony Paik, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
•  Lunch & Networking
•  Migrant Health Outcomes and Social Support Networks
  Leslie Cofie, University of Texas, Galveston Medical Branch
•  Migration and social support: a comparative study of immigrants’ and natives’ support networks
  Başak Bilecen and Raffaele Vacca, University of Groningen & Harvard University; University of Florida
•  Discussant: Barry Wellman, University of Toronto

• Data Structure
• Documentation issues
• Creating aggregate variables from the names file
• Statistical Methodologies (to be determined).