The Russell Sage Foundation requests Letters of Inquiry for a new initiative that integrates knowledge from the biological and social sciences.  According to the Foundation, the initiative will support innovative social science research on social and economic outcomes that improves our understanding of the interactive mechanisms by which environmental influences affect biological mechanisms, and vice versa. This includes research that: (1) estimates how the structured nature of the social environment and intra- and intergenerational social inequalities affect biological processes, (2) identifies which indicators of biological processes interact with the social environment to affect different life domains and how, and (3) yields new conceptual frameworks that holistically characterize the complex relationships among biological, psychological and environmental factors to predict a range of behavioral and social outcomes. They are primarily interested in research that explores and improves our understanding of social and economic predictors and outcomes. For more information, visit the original posting below.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) seeks a social demographer or economist to be a Demographer in the Population Dynamics Branch. The Demographer will manage and develop a portfolio of innovative grant-supported research and research training and identify scientific opportunities to generate new knowledge supporting the NICHD mission.

Responsibilities include:

• Providing administration and scientific evaluation of funded research;
• Advising NICHD leadership on significant research findings and proposing future program emphases;
• Representing the branch at review meetings and scientific conferences;
• Presenting and justifying funding plans to NICHD leadership and the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council; and
• Responding to inquiries from Congress, NIH leadership, and others and explaining research results and priorities to multiple audiences.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management locates the Demographer position within the Sociology series 0184. The ideal candidate will possess a Ph.D. in Demography or in Sociology, Economics, or Public Policy with substantial expertise in Demography. The work site is Bethesda, Maryland. Salaries will be competitive and commensurate with experience; excellent benefits will be provided. All applicants will receive consideration without regard to ethnicity, gender, national origin, age, religion, disability, or sexual orientation. The position will be posted at the GS-14 federal government salary grade, producing an annual salary range of about $108,887 to $141,555.

Interested parties are strongly urged to contact Drs. Rosalind King and Regina Bures (Program Directors, Population Dynamics Branch). This is a pre-announcement of the vacancy, which will be posted on www.usajobs.gov. Applications must be submitted through that website to be considered. Please check that website regularly for updated postings, as positions are only open for 10 days.

Rutgers University School of Social Work seeks a postdoctoral scholar to work on a collaborative, multi-year, multi-faceted project focused on understanding the role of fathers in reducing inequality in outcomes between children from low and high income families and on the impact of social and economic policies on father involvement. The project, led by associate professor Lenna Nepomnyaschy with colleagues from Boston and Cornell Universities, involves quantitative analyses of several large national datasets and the collection of state-level data on employment, wage, criminal justice, and child support arrears policies.

The scholar will contribute to and assist with all aspects of the research including study conceptualization, collection of social and economic policy data across years and states, planning and carrying out quantitative analyses, presenting results at research conferences, and preparing manuscripts for publication. In addition, the scholar will contribute to and gain experience with the preparation and submission of a proposal for federal funding for subsequent analyses building on the knowledge gained from the current project. The scholar will also have opportunities to work on other projects of mutual interest.

The successful candidate has a PhD in Social Work or a related field, has a strong research interest in the study of social policies and their effects on child and family well-being and the role of fathers, has training in advanced quantitative methods, and experience working with large datasets. The successful candidate is also highly motivated, interested in forging collaborative relationships with faculty and doctoral students, and has a strong committed to social justice. Candidates from groups underrepresented in higher education are strongly encouraged to apply to be a part of our supportive and dynamic community of scholars.

Please apply by submitting a letter of interest, curriculum vita, writing sample, and 3 letters of reference through the University’s online job application system using the link below.  Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until a suitable candidate is identified. The position will be a twelve month position starting in July 2017 for one year, with the potential of extension to a second year subject to a review during the first year.

With support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Michigan State University (MSU), NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Awards are given to students, postdocs, and junior researchers (e.g., assistant professors) cover expenses associated with attending the meeting of US-IALE (U.S. Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology) in April 9 – 13, 2017, in Baltimore, Maryland. The program will enter its 20^th anniversary in 2017.

The application materials include a cover letter, application form, abstract (as it was submitted to the US-IALE meeting site), resume/CV, and budget.  Applications are judged based on the merits of the applicants’ abstracts, financial needs, and professional backgrounds and goals.

Presentations (oral or poster) should focus on telecoupling (environmental and socioeconomic interactions over distances, such as human and animal migration, species dispersal, species invasion, disease spread, sound/noise transmission, spread of pollutants and wastes, trade of goods and products, flows of ecosystem services, environmental and hydrological flows, foreign investment, technology transfer, water transfer, and tourism). Topics may include applications of the telecoupling framework to address issues across landscapes or coupled human and natural systems (e.g., dynamics, pattern, process, structure, function, and sustainability).

Awardees will also have opportunities to attend a workshop and a symposium on telecoupling at the US-IALE meeting.

Applicants from around the world (except former award recipients) are encouraged to apply.

The David L. Boren Fellowship provides up to $30,000 to U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study, or increased language proficiency. Boren Fellowships support study and research in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Boren Fellows represent a variety of academic and professional disciplines, but all are interested in studying less commonly taught languages, including but not limited to Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Swahili. In addition to language study, graduate applicants have the option to propose research, academic study, professional internship, or any combination of the above.

Boren Fellowships are funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), which focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security. Applicants should identify how their projects, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security, broadly defined.  NSEP draws on a broad definition of national security, recognizing that the scope of national security has expanded to include not only the traditional concerns of protecting and promoting American well-being, but also the challenges of global society, including sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population growth and migration, and economic competitiveness.

Fellowship recipients are responsible for fulfilling a NSEP Service Requirement within two years of graduating, within one or more of many eligible federal agencies.

Eligibility:

• S. citizens only
• Must be matriculated into your graduate program
• May not graduate until the fellowship is complete

Applications are submitted online. UW applicants are not required, but are highly encouraged to submit by the early campus deadline in order to participate in an on-campus interview process. The interview process is intended to provide applicants with valuable feedback from relevant faculty and staff on campus; all UW applicants will move onto the national competition.

The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) is now accepting applications for its 2017-2018 U.S. Policy Communication Training Program. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – National Institute of Health (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). It is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents pursuing doctoral programs at reputable U.S. academic institutions and who are between their 3rd and 5th year of studies. PRB gives priority to applicants who are current or previous trainees of NICHD-supported population centers in the United States.

Applicants may be in any field of study, but their research focus must be related to demography, reproductive health, or population health. Demographic topics include population dynamics, distribution, growth, and decline; migration; fertility, nuptiality, and family demography; mortality and morbidity; or the causes and consequences of demographic change. Reproductive health studies of interest are limited to behavioral and social science research. Population health areas include human health, productivity, and development at the population level. The populations of concern may be U.S. or non-U.S. populations.

Through the U.S. Policy Communication Training Program, participants will:

• Understand the process by which research informs the policy environment.
• Learn various ways to communicate findings to U.S. policy audiences.
• Improve their ability to communicate in written and verbal formats.

The U.S. Policy Communication Training Program builds on PRB’s 40-year legacy of training researchers to bridge the gap between research findings and the policy development process. While research often has profound policy implications, it must be communicated effectively to a variety of non-technical audiences in order to have an impact. The U.S. Policy Communication Training Program prepares researchers to influence policymaking through effective communication. To that end, the core training sessions cover:

• The research to policy gap
• Communication strategies to link research to policy
• Writing for policy and nontechnical audiences
• Effective content for and delivery of presentations

The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) invites applications to its Postdoctoral and Ph.D. program. BIGSSS is an inter-university institute of the University of Bremen and Jacobs University Bremen and is funded by the German Excellence Initiative.

BIGSSS is part of an international network of highly acknowledged graduate programs. It supports its doctoral and postdoctoral fellows in achieving early scientific independence and provides funds for the conduct, presentation, and publishing of their research. The language of instruction is English. Fellows are expected to choose Bremen as their place of residence.

Up to three Postdoctoral Positions

BIGSSS offers up to three postdoctoral positions. The BIGSSS Postdoc Program provides Postdocs with the opportunity, resources, and support to

• present their research at international conferences and build up international networks,
• disseminate their research finding in scientific publication outlets
• write grant proposals,
• organize a conference or workshop,
• teach and supervise,
• participate in transferable skills training (e.g., didactics, media, career) and establish a mentoring relationship with senior faculty.

BIGSSS expects their Postdocs to

• engage with the BIGSSS PhD-fellows (discussion, mentoring, supervision),
• actively participate in BIGSSS courses (doctoral colloquium, lecture series) as well as academic and social events,
• produce a significant scientific output (e.g. to publish a journal article or book, write a grant proposal, organize a conference or workshop).

Postdoctoral positions are paid in line with TV-L E13 and may be taken up for a period up to 24 months. We expect our candidates to conduct English-language research projects and to have full professional proficiency. Competition is open to candidates who have received a doctorate in political science, sociology, psychology, or related social science disciplines within the last three years. Applicants need to have graduated prior to commencing their postdoctoral stay and have to apply to one of BIGSSS’ three Thematic Fields:

1. Global Governance and Regional Integration
2. Welfare State, Inequality, and Quality of Life
3. Changing Lives in Changing Socio-Cultural Contexts

Two Ph.D. Stipends/Fellowships

BIGSSS offers two fellow positions in its Ph.D. program. Successful applicants will pursue a topic in BIGSSS’ Thematic Field:

1. Changing Lives in Changing Socio-Cultural Contexts

We seek candidates with innovative, interdisciplinary research topics who are interested in the interplay of individual attitudes, capabilities, and behavior with changing demographics, cultures, and institutions. BIGSSS seeks candidates with strong academic abilities and a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in psychology, sociology, political science, or a related social science discipline. We offer Ph.D. stipends of € 1300/month for 36 months, contingent on successful completion of each year.

Application

More information and lists of required application materials can be found at www.bigsss-bremen.de. For additional inquiries, please check the online FAQ and feel free to contact our Admissions Officer at admissions-officer@bigsss-bremen.de.

Postdoctoral positions and Ph.D. fellowships will start on September 1, 2017. Non-German students are strongly encouraged to apply. As an equal opportunity employer, BIGSSS particularly encourages applications from women and persons with disabilities.

Applications must be submitted online at https://admissions.bigsss-bremen.de until January 31, 2017.

This year’s unpredictable and groundbreaking presidential campaign inspired hyperbole, hysteria, and plenty of historical comparisons. How history-making *was* this year’s race?  How does it relate to broader trends around the world?

Join four UW History faculty as they situate the US election amid broader global and historical trends. Moving from Duterte’s Philippines to Fujimori’s Peru to post-Brexit Europe to the America of Clinton and Trump, our panel will explore the broader historical forces shaping today’s political landscape, and what it means for the global future.

Seminar on Topics of Diversity and Justice: Engaging Privilege

GRDSCH 640 SLN: 21886 1 credit CR/NC

Instructors: Gino Aisenberg, PhD, MSW & Adaurennaya C. Onyewuenyi, M.Ed.

Tuesdays, 4:30pm-5:50pm, Odegaard Library Active Learning Classroom (ACL) 141

This course is centered in the diverse and common experiences, strengths, and needs of multicultural and marginalized communities. Through active participation in guest presentations, facilitated discussions, small group work and other dynamic learning, the class will gain

1. a deepening critical understanding of factors that perpetuate power and privilege;
2. understanding of the impact of power and privilege at individual and systemic levels; and
3. skills to engage in dialogue and promote just action that dismantle systems of power.