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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

Author Meets Critic: “Health Care as a Right of Citizenship: The Continuing Evolution of Reform”

Gunnar Almgren, School of Social Work, UW
Paul Burstein, Department of Sociology, UW

While the Obama administration’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has expanded health care coverage for millions of Americans, it has fallen short in offering universal health care to all. In Health Care as a Right of Citizenship, Gunnar Almgren argues that the ACA’s primary significance is not in its expansion of health care entitlements but in its affirming by an act of Congress the idea that comprehensive health care must be available to all as a right of citizenship. The mainstream American public now views access to affordable health care to all citizens as a crucial function of just and effective governance—and any proposed alternative to the ACA must be reconciled with that expectation. This ambitious book examines how the American health care system must be further reformed to bring it closer in line with the ideals of a modern democracy, as well as how the ACA may change in the coming years. It suggests the next, natural step in the realization of health and well being as a fundamental human right.

Based on a close analysis of the writings of sociologist TH Marshall and philosopher John Rawls, this book examines the theoretical foundations for health care as a social right of citizenship. Almgren then translates these theoretical principles into core health care policy aims. Throughout, he argues that the ACA is but an evolutionary step toward a more radical and fundamental health care reform. Almgren suggests how such a restructured health care system might operate, with specific proposals for its financing and delivery systems. He also explores the special issues and considerations that all nations must grapple with as they seek to provide a sustainable social right to health care.

Pre-PAA African Population, Environment and Health Mini-Conference

The CU Population Center at the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder is pleased to host an African Population, Environment and Health Mini-Conference immediately prior to the 2018 Population Association of American conference in nearby Denver. The mini-conference will feature a keynote address, presentation sessions and small discussion workshops focused around key themes in African population, environment and health. There will be ample time for discussion and exchange.

The mini-conference will take place on Wednesday, April 25th from 9am-5pm. Transportation to and from the PAA hotel in Denver will be provided on Wednesday morning and evening. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for participants.

Applications are required to ensure adequate space and to identify key thematic areas for workshops. In your submission, please indicate interest in participating in workshops and/or presenting. Participants will be selected based on the quality of the abstract and research alignment with thematic areas that emerge in the selection process.

To apply, please submit a CV and a brief statement of research interests in African population, environment and/or health. If interested in presenting, please also submit an extended abstract (2-pages) of your research manuscript.

The deadline for application is January 10, 2018. Please submit application materials to Jessica.LaRue@colorado.edu. Decisions will be made by February 1, 2018.

For additional information, contact Sara.Yeatman@ucdenver.edu.

Sarah Elwood Discusses Approaches to Addressing Poverty

Affiliate Sarah Elwood, Professor of Geography, was quoted last week in a Yes! Magazine article on the science behind reducing inequality. In the article, Elwood discusses how big data is changing the way social scientists and activists approach poverty-related work. “We’re seeing more of these sorts of practices that sort of try to get at the behaviors of individual people and try to get them to do something different,” she said. Elwood also addresses nudge policies, which she believes are capable of influencing individual behavior to drive change, but not of fixing the structural issues that contribute to poverty. “It’s important to differentiate between questions of inequality and questions of impoverishment. You can change the degree of inequality in a society without having acted to change the big processes of impoverishment.” The full article is accessible below.

Training Spotlight: Jessica Godwin and Adrian Raftery Evaluate Projection Method for Life Expectancy in Nations with HIV/AIDS Epidemics

CDSE Fellow Jessica Godwin—a graduate student in the Department of Statistics—and affiliate Adrian Raftery—Professor of Statistics and Sociology—recently published their article “Bayesian projection of life expectancy accounting for the HIV/AIDS epidemic” in Demographic Research. In the article, Godwin and Raftery expand Bayesian probabilistic projection methods previously developed by Raftery and colleagues in order to include measures of HIV prevalence and antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage for adults in life expectancy projections for countries suffering from generalized HIV/AIDS epidemics. Their findings demonstrate that the projection method that accounts for HIV prevalence and ART coverage in these countries performs better than methods that do not. Moreover, these projections indicate that broad ART coverage in these countries would not only improve life expectancy to pre-epidemic levels, but also lead to a continued increase in life expectancy over the course of the century. The full article is available below.

René Flores on How Policy Affects Anti-Immigrant Sentiments

Affiliate René Flores, Assistant Professor of Sociology, was quoted in a recent KMALAND article regarding his study “Do Anti-Immigrant Laws Shape Public Sentiment? A Study of Arizona’s SB 1070 Using Twitter Data,” published in the American Journal of Sociology in September. In the study, Flores finds that anti-immigrant sentiments in Arizona increased once the bill was passed, demonstrating how policies can affect public behaviors. In the article, he explains, “Some people, especially those who are more critical of immigrants, began tweeting more. They became energized, they became activated and this was what caused the change in the distribution of sentiment after (the) law was passed. So, it’s really in agreement with my own prior research that showed this activation effect.” The full article is available below.

Conference on the Postponement of Parenthood

Call for Papers
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Bocconi University cordially invite submissions to a conference on the Postponement of Parenthood, with support from the European Research Council.

Please visit http://www.demogr.mpg.de/go/costpost2018 for more information and the latest updates.

Venue and Dates
The conference will take place September 3-6, 2018 at Villa Vigoni, Lake Como, Italy.

Meeting Description
The secular increase in the mean age at childbearing is one of the most notable demographic developments of recent decades. This conference will take a multidisciplinary stance to explore the causes and consequences of this process, in order to assess its costs and gains. We welcome the submission of research papers on the potential consequences of childbearing at older ages for the health and well-being of parents, children, and populations, as well as the cultural, socioeconomic, technological, and policy factors that may explain why parents are delaying childbearing to older ages. Submissions from all disciplines are welcome. The conference will feature keynote speeches, oral presentations, poster sessions, as well as formal and informal opportunities for group discussion and exchange.

Submission Process
We invite you to submit extended abstracts (2-4 pages) or full papers. Please direct all submissions to costpost2018@demogr.mpg.de by February 15th 2018.

Any conference related inquiries may also be directed to costpost2018@demogr.mpg.de.

Submitters will be notified about selection decisions by March 15th 2018.

Financial Support
Participants are expected to seek their own funding for travel to the conference venue. Accommodation costs and meals at Villa Vigoni during the conference will be covered by the organisers. Financial support for travel may be available for junior scientists, but this will be assessed on a competitive basis and the request for such funding must be indicated at the time of abstract/paper submission.

Organising Committee
Mikko Myrskylä (MPIDR, LSE, Helsinki)
Kieron Barclay (MPIDR, LSE, Stockholm)
Sebastian Klüsener (MPIDR, Vytautas Magnus University)
Alice Goisis (LSE, MPIDR)
Francesco Billari (Bocconi University)

Fall CSDE Trainee Lightning Talks and Poster Session

Please join us for our Fall CSDE trainee lightning talks and poster presentations!
The following CSDE trainees will be presenting their research:

  • Erin Carll, Sociology: Sociodemographic and Housing Market Predictors of Residential Disadvantage for Households with Children
  • Youngjun Choi, Social Work: Can Internet Use Buffer Older Adults’ Cognitive Decline? Findings from the Health and Retirement Study
  • Lee Fiorio, Geography: Regularities in Mobility Patterns at Different Time Scales
  • Connor Gilroy, Sociology: Extending the Demography of Sexuality with Digital Trace Data
  • Chris Hess, Sociology: Black Hypersegregation, Neighborhood Compositions, and Zillow Housing Value Trajectories 2000-2016
  • Yuan Hsiao, Sociology: Gender Networks of Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Ecological Fallacy
  • Yicheng Li, Statistics: Accounting for Smoking in Probabilistic Projections of Life Expectancy
  • Neal Marquez, Sociology: Estimating Small Area Changes in Child Mortality Over Time in Mexico

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, Princeton University
Paul and Marcia Wythes Center on Contemporary China, Postdoctoral Research Associate Position, 2018-19

The Paul and Marcia Wythes Center on Contemporary China of the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) invites applications for a postdoctoral or more senior research associate for the 2018-19 academic year for a 12-month appointment with the possibility of renewal contingent on satisfactory performance and continued funding. Preferred start date September 1, 2018. The position is open to a scholar who would be in residence and participate in all of the Center’s activities, including student-faculty seminars, workshops, and public lectures. The ideal applicant will have received a Ph.D. within the past three years and studies aspects of contemporary Chinese society from a social science disciplinary perspective. He/she will have opportunities to collaborate with the Center’s faculty. This position is subject to the University’s background check policy.

Applicants must apply online at: https://www.princeton.edu/acad-positions/position/4781.

Applications should include:

1. A cover letter
2. A statement of research plans and their relation to CCC activities (1-3 pages)
3. A current curriculum vitae
4. Contact information for two references
5. Two writing samples.

Application deadline: February 2, 2018, 11:59 p.m. EST.

Questions about the application process for this position may be directed to Yan Bennett at ybennett@princeton.edu. More information on the Center can be found at ccc.princeton.edu.

Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Humanities

St. Lawrence University invites applications for an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Humanities. This is a one-year, postdoctoral teaching fellowship to begin August, 2018.

St Lawrence was recently awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant to incorporate the health humanities into the newly approved Public Health Minor. The postdoctoral fellowship is an interdisciplinary position, requiring the fellow to teach 3 undergraduate-level health humanities courses in the academic year and contribute to the ongoing development of the public health minor curriculum. The fellow will be required to give one public lecture based on their own scholarly work. Additionally, the successful candidate will assist the grant director in facilitating grant-related activities, such as arranging and hosting speakers. The fellow will have the opportunity to pursue scholarly work while at St Lawrence with University support for professional development.

Minimum qualifications include a PhD or another terminal degree in the humanities or public health. Applicants should have completed their terminal degree within the last 3 years. Applicants who have not yet completed their terminal degree must fulfill all degree requirements by August 1, 2018. Candidates must also have scholarly interests in public health and provide clear evidence of a humanities-based approach to current issues in this field. Humanities-based approaches to health may include, but are not limited to artistic, literary, philosophical, cultural, or historical perspectives on health, or a focus on ethics and social justice, or discourses and rhetoric of health. Candidates in the creative and performing arts are especially encouraged to apply.

By filling this position, St. Lawrence University aims to increase the humanities-based perspectives in our public health curriculum and strengthen our interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching in the field. The successful applicant will show a clear history of scholarly work in the health humanities, as well as evidence of effective teaching practices. We are especially interested in applicants who will strengthen the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in our curricular and extracurricular community life.

Interested applicants must apply online at http://employment.stlawu.edu uploading all required materials which are defined in the “special instructions to applicant” section.  Review of applications will begin on January 8, 2018. Questions about the position may be sent to Professor Samuel Byrne, Search Chair at sbyrne@stlawu.edu.

Assistant Professor in Geography and/or Anthropology

The Geography and Anthropology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside seeks applicants for a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Geography and/or Anthropology, scheduled to start in the 2018-2019 academic year.

Responsibilities include teaching either introductory anthropology or introductory geography courses; GIS courses; as well as other courses as needed and in keeping with the applicant’s knowledge and competence. This position will teach 24 credits annually (4/4 standard fall/spring course teaching load) in the Geography and Anthropology programs. This position will teach classes in both the undergraduate and graduate programs as assigned by the Geography and Anthropology Department Chair. Opportunities to teach additional courses in the summer and winterim semesters may be available in both programs for additional compensation depending upon the needs of the Geography and Anthropology Department. The focus of this position is expected to establish and maintain an active research program in their field, either Anthropology or Geography, with emphasis on incorporating research into the classroom. In addition, the position will be expected to contribute service to UW-Parkside, the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies, the Geography and Anthropology Department, their profession and community including advising students in the Geography or Anthropology programs.

Qualifications 

Required:

  • A PhD in anthropology, Geography, or related discipline
  • Expertise in and Ability to teach new and existing GIS courses
  • Ability to teach introductory courses in either Anthropology or Human Geography

Preferred:

  • Knowledge and ability to teach undergraduate courses in modern human biocultural diversity
  • Teach Introduction to Culture and Environmental Sustainability
  • Any of the following areas of expertise:
    • Climate Change
    • Medical Anthropology or Medical Geography
    • Ethnoecology

Applications received by 11:59 PM January 16, 2018, are ensured full consideration. Position is open until filled.

Visit the link below to learn more about the position and apply.