The US Census Bureau released new data tables and data files from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates on September 12, 2024. Read an extensive news release, "Nearly Half of Renter Households Are Cost-Burdened, Proportions Differ by Race," including links to further ACS resources. See more information about data files here and here.

The Population Association of America 2025 Annual Meeting will be in-person in Washington, DC, starting on Thursday, April 10 and going through Sunday, April 13. The Call for Papers is now available and the submission system is open. Deadline for submissions is September 29.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is requesting the higher education community’s feedback on its merit review polices and processes. Written comments are due by Friday, September 20, 2024.

NSF is interested in knowing whether there are any misunderstandings or lack of clarity about the Merit Review criteria and process and if so, what the agency can do to provide clarity to the higher education community. In addition, NSF is interested in learning more about the experiences and perspectives of those who have reviewed proposals submitted to NSF, as well as how NSF could better support awardees in demonstrating and documenting outcomes of their awards in advancing knowledge.

The original request for information is published in the Federal Register. (PDF)

Note that the deadline for comments has been extended to 9/20, and the form for comments is online here.

Information on the Merit Review Reexamination Commission is here.

Conference Theme:
“Stigma No More… It’s 2024!”

A Hybrid Conference Hosted by Howard University
Tuesday, November 19, 2024 – Friday, November 22, 2024

Deadline for Submission: Friday, September 27, 2024 by 5:00pm (EDT)

This hybrid conference aims to increase awareness of the stigma of HIV and other health conditions and to explore interventions to eradicate this stigma. This conference also serves to educate healthcare providers and the general public about stigma as both a major barrier to prevention and treatment of illnesses and a human rights violation. The organizers are looking for original research that addresses HIV stigma or other mental or physical health-related stigma to be presented during the conference virtual poster session on November 21, 2024.

For complete information, see the attached PDF.

Time is a health resource but critical gaps remain in understanding how time use is associated with health and well-being. The 2025 University of Maryland Time Use Conference theme is "Time Use as a Social Determinant of Health." They welcome abstract submissions on (a) innovative data, measures, and analyses of daily time use and health and well-being disparities; (b) time use and sleep; and (c) sedentary and physically active leisure across the life course; (d) variations in time-related health behaviors among children, adolescents, and parents; and (e) associations of daily time use behaviors, energy expenditures, and obesity. They also encourage research on other dimensions of time use as a social determinant of health.

The deadline to submit an abstract is September 30, 2024. See complete details online.

Agenda for Social Justice 3: Solutions for 2024 provides accessible insights into some of the most pressing social problems and proposes public policy responses to those problems.

Written by a highly respected team of authors brought together by the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), the book offers recommendations for action by elected officials, policymakers and the public regarding key issues for social justice. Chapters include discussion of social problems related to criminal justice, the economy, food insecurity, education, healthcare, housing and immigration. 

Edited by Kristen Budd, Heather Dillaway, David Lane, Glenn Muschert, Manjusha Nair and DCSS Executive Committee member Jason Smith.

Please send notices of your new publications to dcsociologicalsociety@gmail.com; we will publish brief notices as space permits.

Dear Colleague Letter: Strengthening the Evidence Base Related to Broadening the Participation of LGBTQI+ Individuals in STEM

This DCL aims to advance NSF’s Vision of a "nation that leads the world in science and engineering research and innovation, to the benefit of all, without barriers to participation", which is closely aligned with the NSF 2022-2026 Strategic Plan and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Data Action Plan. NSF is fully committed to the development of a future-focused science and engineering workforce that draws on the talents of all Americans, including those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) communities.

NSF is soliciting four types of proposals, which are described in full on the NSF website.

From the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA):

On July 19, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee passed away at the age of 74. Jackson Lee represented Texas' 18th Congressional District since 1995 and was campaigning for her 16th term in office when she announced she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She was one of the two longest-serving members of the Texas congressional delegation.

Jackson Lee's legislative accomplishments included establishing the Juneteenth federal holiday and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. She served Houston in elective office for close to 35 years, first as a Houston City Council member before winning election to the U.S. House in 1994. Jackson Lee was on three Congressional committees and was a senior member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, Homeland Security and the Budget Committee.

Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa released a statement saying, "Known for her relentless advocacy, the congresswoman dedicated her life to public service, advancing civil rights, healthcare reform, and disaster recovery... And in the spirit of Sheila Jackson Lee's legacy, we will march forward in our fierce commitment to fighting for justice, equality and opportunity for all."

The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced a five-year $67 million investment establishing the Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem (SECURE).

"Research security is a concern because some foreign entities attempt to unethically — or even unlawfully — access and use U.S. research. As mandated in the 'CHIPS and Science Act of 2022,' the NSF SECURE Center, led by the University of Washington with support from nine institutions of higher education, will serve as a clearinghouse for information to empower the research community to identify and mitigate foreign interference that poses risks to the U.S. research enterprise. The SECURE Center will share information and reports on research security risks, provide training on research security to the science and engineering community and serve as a bridge between the research community and government funding agencies to strengthen cooperation on addressing security concerns."

Read the full announcement on the NSF website

By Narayan Sastry, Ph.D. (University of Michigan)

For empirical researchers in the social and behavioral sciences who focus on children, adolescents, and young adults, high-quality survey data are an essential ingredient for studying important scientific and policy research questions. Such data are a public good and foundational infrastructure for the social and behavioral sciences. They are the equivalent of the Hubble Telescope for researchers across all career stages—but especially for new and early-stage investigators. Survey data are typically offered to the research community as a free and shared resource that can answer an untold number of questions. Recent budget cutbacks, however, threaten the future of these essential data.

I direct the Child Development Supplement (CDS) to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) which provides unique and important social and behavioral data on children in the United States. CDS is funded primarily by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It builds on the rich longitudinal and intergenerational data collected in PSID, which is an ongoing survey of a nationally representative sample of US families that began in 1968 and has collected data on the same families and their descendants for 43 waves over 57 years. Since 1997, CDS has collected data on children in PSID families, through interviews with primary caregivers, who are typically a parent, and with adolescents. CDS has also included assessments of reading and math skills, data on time use, and saliva samples for genetic analysis. 

(Read more at the Why Social Science? blog)