The Washington Institute for the Study of Inequality and Race (WISIR) at the University of Washington is seeking applications for a one-year Andrew W. Mellon Sawyer Seminar Postdoctoral Fellowship on the topic of “Capitalism and Comparative Racialization.” We invite recent Ph.D.s from the humanities and social sciences to apply for the 2017-2018 academic year. The fellowship carries a salary of $55,000 a year (plus health benefits).
This Sawyer Seminar will examine the relationship between race and capitalism through the historical case studies of the United States, the Philippines, Brazil, and South Africa. Recognizing the lacunae in scholarship that examines race-making and capitalism, we have designed an investigatory approach that aims to understand how the two are interrelated: how processes of race-making fueled capitalism at its onset, how systems of racial domination led to the building of global empires, and how racial and capitalist orders are linked theoretically, historically and empirically.
The postdoctoral fellow will take a leading role in the coordination of the Sawyer Seminar. The Sawyer fellow will participate in all scholarly activities associated with the seminar, which will include workshops and lectures; will help organize speaker visits for public lectures and coordinate the related reading groups; and will advance the fellow’s own research agenda while contributing to the seminar’s scholarly output through a public lecture. The fellow will be mentored by the seminar organizers and additional members of the UW faculty as appropriate, depending on specialization.
Successful applicants should demonstrate a research agenda that examines the intersection of race and capitalism. Candidates must have their Ph.D. degree (or foreign equivalent) in hand prior to the appointment start date, and must have received their Ph.D. within the previous five years. To apply, please click below and submit: (1) a two-page cover letter that includes a summary of the dissertation and discusses how the candidate’s research aligns with the seminar’s theme of “Capitalism and Comparative Racialization”; (2) a current CV; (3) one writing sample (limit 30 pages); (4) three letters of recommendation. Candidate materials should be submitted electronically. Priority will be given to complete applications received before February 10, 2017.
The Russell Sage Foundation will sponsor the first Summer Institute in Computational Social Science in June 2017 at Princeton University. The purpose of the Summer Institute is to introduce graduate students and beginning faculty in the social and data sciences (broadly conceived) to computational social science—the use of digital-age data sources and methods to conduct social research. The intensive program will involve lectures, group problem sets, and student-led research projects – topics covered will include text as data, website scraping, digital field experiments, non-probability sampling, mass collaboration, and ethics. There will also be outside speakers with relevant expertise from academia, industry, and government.
The early-career research fellowship supports emerging scientists as they take risks on research ideas not yet tested, pursue unique collaborations, and build a network of colleagues who share their interest in preventing oil spills and in the well-being of coastal communities and ecosystems. These two-year fellowships are awarded to tenure-track faculty (or equivalent) at colleges, universities, and research institutions. Because the pretenure phase of a researcher’s career is a critical time, the unrestricted funds and mentoring this fellowship provides help recipients navigate this period with independence, flexibility, and a built-in support network.
Abstract: Head Start was designed to combat disadvantages in early learning and development faced by children in poverty, and to reduce income-based opportunity and achievement gaps between haves and have-nots. However, the national Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) found that an offer of one year’s attendance in the Head Start program had small impacts on children’s language and literacy. More interestingly, the HSIS reported that an offer of program attendance produced larger impacts among Latino Dual Language Learners (DLL,) but the question remains why these particular children benefitted from the program more than did their English-speaking peers. Additionally, the evaluation did not investigate whether changes in parenting practices mediated these program impacts on children’s learning. In this presentation, I argue that a study of the key mechanisms through which the program impacted child outcomes remains central to understanding why Head Start improved children’s language and literacy. A central aim of my research was to contribute to the body of early childhood research and inform policy directions and program development by: (a) investigating whether Intent-To-Treat (ITT) effects on early child language outcomes were mediated through parent-child language-and-literacy activities, and (b) conducting multi-group comparisons to test whether the impact of these mediational pathways differed by the child’s DLL status. I conclude with findings and important directions for how early childhood programs can improve parental investment in early learning for diverse groups of children, and explanations for why mediated effects differed by language status.
Roderick Theobald uses data from six Washington State teacher education programs to investigate the relationship between teacher candidates’ student teaching experiences and their later teaching effectiveness. His primary finding is that teachers are more effective when the student demographics of their current school are similar to the student demographics of the school in which they did their student teaching. While descriptive, this suggests that the school context in which student teaching occurs has important implications for the later outcomes of teachers and their students, and that teacher education programs and school districts should consider placing student teachers in schools that are similar to the schools in which they are likely to teach once they enter the workforce.
Anna Zamora-Kapoor–CSDE Affiliate, Assistant Research Professor at IREACH, and Affiliate Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at UW–recently published work on breastfeeding and its link to BMI in adolescence across racial divides. The study found that the length of breastfeeding was inversely associated with BMI in adolescence in American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and non-Hispanic Whites. This newly uncovered link between breastfeeding and lower mean BMI has significant implications for those attempting to reduce BMI in various ethnic groups. To read the full report and read about Zamora-Kapoor’s methodology, click below.
Bob Plotnick, UW professor of public policy and governance and former CSDE Director, was recently featured in a discussion about Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s proposed carbon tax. The tax aims to reduce the region’s environmental impact by taxing gasoline and use of other fossil fuels, although such taxes often have additional effects. Plotnick observes that the plan will disproportionately affect the poor, given the demographic group’s heavier reliance on private transportation. The governor’s office acknowledged this unintended impact and is currently brainstorming ways to counteract it. The full article is below.
In 2017, INED will recruit 2 new researchers (permanent position). INED’s main mission is to study the national and international demographic situation and to analyse population trends. Multidisciplinary by vocation, its range of expertise covers both the study of purely demographic phenomena, such as nuptiality, fertility, mortality, migration, etc., and demography applied to social life, the economy, public health, human geography, history and more…
INED is offering TWO researcher positions (category 2, CR2) in 2017. The candidate’s specialty shall concern one of the following disciplines or topics (no order of priority):
- Speciality A: Causes of death and long-term mortality trends
- Speciality B: Effects of migration, integration and anti-discrimination policies on mobility and living conditions
- Speciality C: Forced population displacements
- Speciality D: Demography and societies in the southern Mediterranean
- Speciality E: Demography and associated disciplines
The first annual Poverty Tracker Data Training Workshop will be held at Columbia University in New York City on May 18-19, 2017. The workshop is designed to familiarize participants with the data available in the New York City Longitudinal Survey of Well-being, a repeated panel study which is conducted by the Columbia Population Research Center and which tracks the dynamics of poverty, hardship, and well-being among representative samples of New York City residents.
The 2017 workshop will include an introduction to the Poverty Tracker data, hands-on sessions for scholars to work with the data, introduction to sensitive data elements and associated data access policies, and other topics. The workshop is targeted toward early- and mid-career scholars from social science disciplines. Underrepresented scholars are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants must possess basic quantitative data analysis skills. Approximately 25-30 applicants will be selected. Accepted out-of-town candidates will receive travel support.
Additional information about the Poverty Tracker is available at http://povertytracker.robinhood.org/#home. The online application is available below.
The deadline for application submission is Tuesday, February 21, 2017, at 5:00pm (EST).
The post-holder will be expected to conduct empirical analysis of secondary data from the ALPHA Network, and manage fieldwork projects intended to improve estimation methods in selected partner sites in sub-Saharan Africa. The position is funded by the MeSH Consortium (http://mesh.lshtm.ac.uk/).
The MeSH Consortium is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop, test and implement innovative and efficient methods for routine HIV measurement and surveillance among both adults and children. MeSH is administered by The Department of Social and Environmental Health Research in the Faculty of Public Health and Policy. The ALPHA Network is coordinated by the Department of Population Health in the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, where the position will be held. The post-holder will be expected to work flexibly in supporting both projects and other HIV-related surveillance initiatives at LSHTM.
The successful candidate will have a Master’s degree and/or PhD in demography or related discipline; expertise in the analysis of large and complex (longitudinal) datasets; proven ability to use statistical analysis software (preferably Stata or R); a good publication record commensurate with seniority; excellent interpersonal and communication skills (oral and written); good organisational and administrative skills; and research experience that includes working in teams. Expertise in HIV research, the analysis of human mortality, fieldwork management (in resource constrained settings), demographic surveillance systems, and teaching experience at the post-graduate level would be an advantage. Further particulars are included in the attached job description.
The post will be based in London at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine with occasional national and international travel. The post-holder will be a member of the Department of Population Health which is part of the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health. The appointment is available immediately and is for 12 months with the possibility of an extension conditional on funding availability. The appointment is full-time and will be made on LSHTM’s Academic Pathway Research Fellow Scale Grade 6, £37,889 – £43,028 per annum inclusive. The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part time staff. In addition to this there are discretionary “Director’s Days”. Membership of the Pension Scheme is available.
Applications should be made online via http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk . Online applications will be accepted by the automated system until 10pm on the closing date (1 Feb 2017). Any queries regarding the application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk. Interested applicants may contact Georges Reniers (georges.reniers@lshtm.ac.uk) or Basia Zaba (basia.zaba@lshtm.ac.uk) for more details about the position.