On October 15, President Biden announced his intent to appoint the newest class of National Science Board members, which includes sociologist and former White House official Alondra Nelson.

The National Science Board (NSB) is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF) that also serves as an independent advisor to the President and Congress on federal science policy. The board consists of 24 members who serve staggered six-year terms and new members are appointed by the President.

Alondra Nelson is a sociologist who served as the first Deputy Director for Science and Society at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the Biden Administration and was the first social scientist and woman of color to serve as interim OSTP Director. She left OSTP in 2023 and returned to academia at the Institute for Advanced Study. 

Source: Consortium of Social Science Associations Washington Update, October 29, 2024

The Center for Integrated Latent Variable Research (CILVR) at The University of Maryland is pleased to announce the following popular online short courses open to the public:

ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX SURVEY DATA (from NCES)
Dr. Laura Stapleton, University of Maryland
November 7-8, 2024

MULTILEVEL MODELING
Dr. Tracy Sweet, University of Maryland
December 12-13, 2024

For more information on the complete CILVR course catalog and to register, see the UMD Open Learning website.

"Loka Ashwood is a sociologist examining the intersection of environmental injustice, corporate and state power, and anti-government sentiment in American rural communities. Ashwood reveals how state support for some corporate interests can come at a high cost for rural residents. She draws from her own experience on her family’s farm and ethnographic research in rural communities facing ecological, economic, and social challenges. By analyzing specific local issues in the context of larger institutional structures, she sheds light on rural identity, culture, and politics."

See Ashwood's complete profile on the MacArthur Foundation website.

"Ruha Benjamin is a transdisciplinary scholar and writer illuminating how advances in science, medicine, and technology reflect and reproduce social inequality. By integrating critical analysis of innovation with attentiveness to the potential for positive change, Benjamin demonstrates the importance of imagination and grassroots activism in shaping social policies and cultural practices. In People’s Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier (2013), Benjamin examines the persistent gap between those who contribute to new medical technologies and those who actually benefit from them."

Read Benjamin's complete profile on the MacArthur Foundation website.

[Ed. note: This article was published in October 2022 but was recently reprinted by the Consortium of Social Science Associations. The study was based in Canada but provides useful lessons for US educators, as well.]

By Sandra Lapointe Ph.D. (McMaster University)

Future graduates face complex global challenges like climate change, as well as ethical, social and cultural implications of emerging new technologies like artificial intelligence.

The urgency of these challenges — and the complexity of skills and capabilities needed to address them — has prompted a revisiting of the role of social sciences and humanities programs in equipping students for civic engagement and as future leaders. 

[Read the complete article at The Conversation]

by John W. Curtis, DCSS Treasurer

I received an e-mail with the above subject line on October 2. The sending e-mail address shows a domain of "nihproposals.org" but the offer comes from a website of the "National Funding Foundation." (see a screenshot from the e-mail header below)

A quick visit to the "National Funding Foundation" website left me highly skeptical. I could not find the offered workshop listed and the "Foundation" does not list any staff. The overall look of the website seems much more spare than what I would expect from a legitimate organization.

A Google query led me to this entry from the Brown University IT Department, listing a similar e-mail from NFF in October 2023 under the heading of "phishing e-mail."

I would advise caution. If you have additional information or comments, please feel free to e-mail me at dcsociologicalsociety@gmail.com

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 now October 4, 2024. See complete details online.

The Joint Program in Survey Methodology offers a variety of short courses. Short courses are open to the public and admission to the University of Maryland is not required.

Short courses for 2024-2025 will be delivered online through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous instruction, with the exception of Introduction to Survey Sampling.

See the complete schedule, pricing, and registration links at the JPSM website.

The Population Reference Bureau has released its 2024 World Population Data Sheet, featuring the latest demographic data on more than 200 countries and territories and a focus on primary health care. You can view the report on the interactive website and also download poster and booklet versions.

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.