Population Science News

Weekly News — August 10, 2020

EVENTS
As in-person events are on hold, be sure to check out virtual talks and webinars.
No Demography Brown Bag this week. Enjoy your summer!

View past talks on our Population Sciences channel. The Brown Bag talks have been organized into playlists: http://bit.ly/2kZvaME.

EVENTS
As in-person events are on hold, be sure to check out virtual talks and webinars.
No Demography Brown Bag this week. Enjoy your summer!

View past talks on our Population Sciences channel. The Brown Bag talks have been organized into playlists: http://bit.ly/2kZvaME.

SAVE THE DATE
Disrupting Upstream Determinants of Family and Community Violence in the COVID-19 Era

Wednesday, August 19, 2020. Sponsored by the Goldman School of Public Policy. For more information and registration, visit: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/calendar/event/disrupting-upstream-determinants-of-family-and-community-violence-in-the-covid-19-era.

Thursday, August 27, 2020 at 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM PDT LIVE: Fireside Chat with Dr. Anthony Fauci at the Berkeley Forum. The event will be livestreamed to the Berkeley Forum Facebook Page. The event will begin on Berkeley Time – 10 minutes after the hour. Per Dr. Fauci’s request, the question submissions for the moderated Q&A portion will be limited to ONLY UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty. Description: Can UC Berkeley have an in-person spring semester? Will commencement be virtual? Perhaps, most importantly: When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? These are some of the questions top-of-mind for college students amidst the current crisis.  Come listen to one of the leading experts on the American response to COVID-19 and learn what the country is doing to control the disease’s spread. Dr. Anthony Fauci will discuss how the coronavirus could affect the abilities of colleges to re-open safely and the broader impact of the virus on our country. Following Dr. Fauci’s fireside chat, questions will be fielded from the UC Berkeley audience.  https://www.facebook.com/events/855786601612832.

Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) at UC Berkeley issued a Call for Applications for our upcoming virtual Research Transparency and Reproducibility Training (RT2) on Sep. 21-25. BITSS will hold its next Research Transparency and Reproducibility Training (RT2) online and sessions will take place 8–11:30 am PT (GMT-7) daily. RT2 provides participants with an overview of tools and practices for transparent and reproducible social science research. We encourage applications from researchers across the social sciences and will grant tuition fee waivers to 40 of the 50 participants. The deadline for applicants who want to be considered for a tuition fee waiver is August 16; we will review submissions from self-funded participants on a rolling basis through September 6. A tentative agenda is downloadable from here. Visit the website here: event page

OFF CAMPUS EVENTS

ICAA Grant Workshop Submission Extended to Aug 15: Emerging scholars (students, postdocs, or assistant professors) conducting research – regardless of topic or methods – focused on Latino Aging in the U.S. or Latin America are invited to submit grants for the grant workshop. Sponsored by the International Conference on Aging in the Americas (funded by a NIA R13) and the Texas Resource Center on Minority Aging Research. Apply by August 15 for September 17, 2020 workshop. More information here: https://rcmar.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ICAA-Call-for-Grants_-2.pdf.

Introduction to Social Network Data Collection with an Emphasis on Social Survey Methods, August 11, 8-10 AM PDT. Presenter:  David Tindall, University of British Columbia. This workshop is intended for relative newcomers to social network analysis. The workshop will provide an introduction to social network data collection with an emphasis on social survey methods. The workshop will consider a variety of related methodological issues such as research design, measurement, sampling, data analysis, and ethics, as well as the linkage of these issues to data collection. Different types of data collection techniques will be illustrated such as the name generator, position generator, and name roster. The different opportunities and constraints associated with data collection for whole versus ego-networks will be considered. Some discussion of non-survey techniques may also be provided. Some attention may also be given to mixed methods. Registration is open to INSNA members (US$10) and non-members (US$20): https://www.insna.org/events/introduction-to-social-network-data-collection

AGING FOCUS
This new section 
is for those specifically interested in demography and economics of aging, and are likely to be affiliates of our Center for Economics in Demography of Aging (CEDA: ceda.berkeley.edu). Look here in the future for aging-specific funding opportunities, events and more.

Inclusion Across the Lifespan-II (IAL-II) workshop. September 2. IAL-II will provide a new, crucial opportunity to share evidence-based practical advice and lessons learned regarding the inclusion of children and older adults in clinical studies. For registration and more information: https://www.nia.nih.gov/Inclusion-Across-Lifespan-2020#Registration.

Registration Now Open for the Summit Virtual Meeting Series: 2020 National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers. This series will include three meetings, with research presentations, panelist remarks, sharing of the draft research gaps and opportunities, and moderated discussion/Q&A. These draft gaps and opportunities, developed by the Summit Steering Committee with input from stakeholder groups and organized into six themes, are intended to identify important potential areas for future research in the fields of dementia care and caregiving. The dates of the Summit Virtual Meetings Series are:
Summit Series Virtual Meeting 1 – Friday, July 10, 2020, 1:30-4:30 pm EDT
Summit Series Virtual Meeting 2 – Thursday, July 21, 2020, 1:00-4:30 pm EDT
Summit Services Virtual Meeting 3 – Thursday, August 13, 2020, 1:30-4:45 pm EDT
For full information visit: https://www.nia.nih.gov/2020-dementia-care-summit.

FUNDING

NIH Project Reporter Matchmaker:  An important first step in developing a grant application is understanding which institute or center is appropriate, and which program officer one should contact.  NIH recently added a ‘matchmaker’ tool where you can search on key words and get links to successful grants in the directory.  Here’s the link: https://projectreporter.nih.gov/.  Click on the Matchmaker tab, add your keywords in the text box, and at the bottom of the box click on either similar projects or similar officers. It’s a fairly intuitive tool.

RWJF: Research to Advance Models of Care for Medicaid-Eligible Populations, 2020 Call for Proposals. Application Deadline: Wed, 2 Sep 2020. The goal of the program is to conduct original research and evaluate the extent to which health system models of care are advancing health equity for the Medicaid-eligible populations they serve. Projects may be generated from health systems—defined as facility-based provider organizations, or other provider organizations (e.g., public or essential hospitals; federally qualified health centers; integrated delivery systems; community-based organizations)—which primarily serve a high percentage of Medicaid-eligible individuals. Researchers, as well as practitioners and public and private partners working with researchers, are eligible to submit proposals through their organizations. Researchers do not have to be affiliated with a health system but are expected to partner with a health system for the purposes of this project. Learn more HERE.

RWJF: Equitable Parks and Green Spaces in Small and Midsize Cities: Planning Grant

2020 Call for Proposals. Application Deadline: Wed, 9 Sep 2020. RWJF seeks an organization (or up to three collaborating organizations) to plan an initiative, which, by influencing policy and systems change, rectifies the inequitable distribution of parks and green spaces in low-income communities and communities of color in urban regions, including small and midsize cities. This work will build on the Foundation’s several years of field learning. We seek applicants that have experience, expertise, and missions related to elevating equity in decisions, plans, and programs that affect the community conditions in which low income people and people of color live. This includes organizations with experience in community power building, community-led planning and programming, and community-driven decision-making. We also expect that the applicant team (not necessarily the lead applicant) will possess content knowledge about parks and green spaces and related topics, such as climate resilience. Applicants should have the capacity to implement the planned effort, which will be funded separately. Learn more HERE.

Digital Healthcare Interventions to Address the Secondary Health Effects Related to Social, Behavioral, and Economic Impact of COVID-19 (R01 – Clinical Trial Optional) https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-20-243.htmlDue August 20, 2020; December 2, 2020; March 2, 2021. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) aims to support research to strengthen the healthcare response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and future public health emergencies, including pandemics. While research related to the direct clinical effects of COVID-19 are supported by other funding opportunities, the purpose of this funding opportunity is to focus on the role and impact of digital health interventions [e.g., mobile health (mhealth), telemedicine and telehealth, health information technology (IT), and wearable devices] to address access, reach, delivery, effectiveness, scalability and sustainability of health assessments and interventions for secondary effects (e.g., behavioral health or self-management of chronic conditions) that are utilized during and following the pandemic, particularly in populations who experience health disparities and vulnerable populations.

US Israel Binational Science Foundation: BSF Regular Research Grants Program. Deadline for applications is November 18, 2020. The website will open on September 1, 2020. The regulations can be found here. Offers funding for partnerships in sociology, economics and other fields in ‘even’ years, and biological sciences in ‘odd’ years.

Community Interventions to Address the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Health Disparity and Vulnerable Populations https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-20-237.html Due August 28, 2020; December 1, 2020 This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages applications to implement and evaluate community interventions testing 1) the impacts of mitigation strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission in NIH-designated health disparity populations and other vulnerable groups; and 2) already implemented, new, or adapted interventions to address the adverse psychosocial, behavioral, and socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic on the health of these groups.
 

Fertility Status as a Marker for Overall Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional). The purpose of this funding opportunity (FOA) is to support research that explores the premise that fertility status can be a marker for overall health. Chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity can impair fertility; however, less is known about the extent to which fertility status can impact or act as a marker for overall health. Data suggest that infertility is not necessarily a unique disease of the reproductive axis but is often physiologically or genetically linked with other diseases and conditions. Recent epidemiologic studies demonstrate links between fertility status in both males and females and various somatic diseases and disorders. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that fertility status can be a window into overall health. Advancing this premise will require substantive involvement of experts in reproductive health/fertility along with expert in another non-reproductive specialty appropriate to the area of overall health being investigated, for example, in other fields such as epidemiology, or the somatic disease in question. This FOA focuses on studies evaluating fertility as a marker for overall health, and therefore applications that look at the effects of the disease or disorder on fertility are outside of the scope of this program. Recruitment of new cohorts will not be supported by this FOA. This also has an R21 vehicle. For more information, visit: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-20-281.html.

California Grants Portal: The California State Library is excited to announce the launch of the California Grants Portal, a single website to find all state grant and loan opportunities offered on a first-come or competitive basis. Visit the grants.ca.gov now!

Mellon Foundation: Future of Higher Learning in Prison. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is accepting applications for their Future of Higher Learning in Prison funding opportunity. For the purposes of this call, “prison education” encompasses a range of program types that keep the humanities as their focus; are devoted to the highest-quality, university-level instruction; prioritize a view of each student as deserving education as a fundamental human right; and remain as accessible as possible to every incarcerated student regardless of the circumstances of their incarceration. Prize Amount: $250K – $1M (over 2 years). Deadline: Applications due August 28, 2020. Interested applicants must partner with Margaret Guerrero (mguerrero@berkeley.edu).

CALL FOR PAPERS
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH). Please see the call for papers for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health entitled “Social Network Interventions for Health Behaviours. Submit your papers – ideally by December 2020. For more information, visit: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph/special_issues/social_network_interventions.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
BITSS Announces: Sign up on the Social Science Prediction Platform (SSPP) and test your forecasting skills as part of the Forecasting Challenge! We are offering $25 Amazon gift cards to the first 200 graduate students who complete 10 surveys. In order to receive a gift card, you need to be registered with an academic email address and must complete the basic background questions associated with your profile. What’s the SSPP? The SSPP is an online tool that allows social science researchers to systematically source and collect predictions about the results of research, as motivated in this piece, and supported by the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS). Who is the SSPP for? The SSPP can be used by researchers and anyone interested in providing forecasts on the results of social science research. There are two types of accounts: Basic, which allows users to view available studies and make predictions, and Researcher, which are restricted to researchers at academic or other institutions and allow users to upload and distribute surveys as well as make predictions. Can I run my own surveys? Yes, we will be adding more surveys soon. Please let us know if you would like to add a survey. Also check out our Forecasting Survey Guide to find details on key features of forecasting, how to configure your survey on the platform, and a template survey (downloadable as a Qualtrics file here). Questions? Contact Nick Otis at support@socialscienceprediction.org. Follow us on Twitter @socscipredict using #socsciprediction to stay up to date with developments on the platform

CONFERENCES
2020 FCSM Fall Conference Registration Now Open. The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) and the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS) are pleased to announce that the 2020 FCSM Fall Conference, September 21, 2020, is now open for registration! The entirety of this year’s conference will be held virtually. The preliminary program is available for you to view here. Register at www.fcsm2020.org

The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) and the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS) are pleased to announce that the 2020 FCSM Fall Conference is now open for registration! This year’s policy sessions will focus on the Evidence Act and using statistical data for evaluation purposes. The research sessions will highlight the work being done on nonresponse bias, administrative data and several other topics. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. John Friedman, Brown University. Dr. Friedman will be addressing the question: “Using Federal Data to Evaluate and Inform: A Case Study on Increasing Upward Mobility in the U.S.” Dr. Friedman is a professor of economics, international affairs and public policy. www.FCSM2020.org.

WEBINARS
How Data Collection has Changed During COVID-19, September 15, 2020, 1-2:30pm EST. A Webinar presented by DC-AAPOR. Registration is open for an exciting webinar presented by DC-AAPOR. In this webinar, representatives from various sectors (government, non-profit, private sector) will share how their organization’s survey data collection methods had to change in the time of COVID-19. Each panelist will present followed by a Q&A with attendees. Panelists include: Jaki McCarthy (USDA-NASS); Jenny Hunters Child (Census); Pat Moynihan (Pew Research Center); Eran Ben-Porath (SSRS). Please click the link below or copy and paste the URL into your browser to register.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-data-collection-has-changed-during-covid-19-tickets-114325486608. DC-AAPOR Members Free; Non-members $20 (includes DC-AAPOR membership.

PAA Webinars:
Data Collection during the Pandemic: Challenges and Opportunities. August 18 – 11:30pm EDT. Register now.

COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa. October 15 – 12:00pm EDT. Register now.

ON THE WEB
Background about the schedule for the Census and the impact of the pandemic on enumeration can be found in a recent GAO report: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-551R. The report begins with a 2-page highlight section that outlines the challenges of completing the Census during a pandemic.  The report assumes that Census would have until October 31st to finish data collection.  The report finds that even with that date completing the Census would be a daunting task. GAO is the non-partisan, independent, investigative arm of Congress.  GAO reports regularly on the progress of the Census.  Their most recent report came out in June, before Census cut back its deadline to Sept 30th. 

DATA
Navigating IPUMS Geography, Tuesday, August 11, 11:00am-1:00pm CDT. 
Drop in any time to meet with IPUMS geography geniuses to pose your questions on aggregate data available through IPUMS, GIS files, or other features of our geography and small area data.

Census and Survey Microdata from IPUMS, Tuesday, August 11, 12:00-2:00pm CDT. Ask questions of members of the IPUMS microdata teams that make IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS, IPUMS Time Use, and IPUMS International possible.

GRADUATE STUDENTS
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for NSF 20-587, Applicants to FY 2021 Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).  Learn more here:

D-LAB
All D-Lab workshop instruction, events, and consultation are moving to online delivery for the rest of the semester. The D-Lab Collaboratory and Convening Room will be closed to the public during this time. We will assess and share decisions at a later date about how and when we will return to in-person delivery. Be sure to check the D-lab calendar at the website, dlab.berkeley.edu. D-Lab offers training, individual consulting and data services for the UC Berkeley community – faculty to undergrads.

RELATED LISTS
Jobs

All jobs and postdoctoral fellowships are posted as we receive them on the Demography Department Jobs Listserv, http://lists.demog.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/jobs. This list advertises positions of all sorts relevant for social and behavioral scientists with advanced degrees.

Migration Mailing List
Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative (BIMI.berkeley.edu) is a research center for the study of immigrants and immigration. BIMI has a mailing list which is where a good deal of immigration and migration announcements are posted, and only some of that material is posted on the PopSciences Weekly News. Sign up for it with this link

School of Public Health Mailing List
Tue$day Top Tip$ for SPH Research is a listserv with research funding opportunities and other information pertinent to public health researchers who are not necessarily population researchers. To subscribe, write to Dr. Lauren Goldstein, lhg@berkeley.edu.
 

Posted in Newsletter.