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Penn State participates in Social Science Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.
Penn State researchers recently attended the Consortium of Social Science Association’s (COSSA) 2019 Social Science Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., taking part in a full schedule of events to bring awareness to social and behavioral sciences. During the advocacy day, COSSA members met with…
U.S. Births Fell To A 32-Year Low In 2018; CDC Says Birthrate Is In Record Slump
The U.S. birthrate fell again in 2018, to 3,788,235 births — representing a 2% drop from 2017. It's the lowest number of births in 32 years, according to a new federal report. The numbers also sank the U.S. fertility rate to a record low. Not since 1986 has the U.S. seen so few babies born. And it'…
'A Conference on the Study of Lives through Time' to be held at Penn State
The Center for Life Course and Longitudinal Studies (C2LS) will host “It’s About Time: A Conference on the Study of Lives through Time,” on Wednesday-Thursday, May 29-30, at the Penn Stater Conference Center on the University Park campus. All those who are interested are welcome to attend.…
Why communicate social sciences?
Bringing attention to and communicating the social sciences effectively is just as important as the research and findings scientists work so diligently to uncover. This is the message Alan Leshner, CEO Emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), relayed to the…
Sleep and exercise affect new moms differently than new dads
Sleep and exercise are vital to the wellbeing of new parents, but these essentials affect new moms differently than new dads, according to researchers. In a study looking at the daily lives of new parents, a team led by Penn State researchers found that in general, getting more physical activity…
Health behavior and social science data among projects winning strategic support
Initiatives that include studying the sustainable management of forests using Penn State forestland as a living laboratory; developing professional development and instructional tools for educators to teach difficult historical and social subjects; and a summer program designed to prepare…
Accomplishments of the Behavioral and Social Sciences
For a number of years, OBSSR has made available a fact sheet that lists some key accomplishments of health-related behavioral and social sciences research. That fact sheet, developed in 2013, is becoming dated and is a short list of only a few key accomplishments resulting from behavioral and…
Why Social Science? - Because It Helps to Address Graduate Unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa
By Joseph K. Assan, PhD, Assistant Professor of International Political Economy of Sustainable Development, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University Social scientists are actively involved in working with government officials, academics, the private sector, NGOs and…
Researchers to compare Twitter opinions on climate change with real-world views
How do regional opinions on Twitter represent real-world attitudes toward climate change? A team of researchers will work to find out, thanks to a recent seed grant from the Social Science Research Instituteat Penn State. In their study, the researchers will construct a Twitter-driven regional…
Chi publishes first book on spatial regression methods
After taking ten years to complete research and writing, SSRI co-fund Guangqing Chi recently published his book, “Spatial Regression Models for the Social Sciences” with co-author Jun Zhu. The book serves as a primer type of textbook for social scientists who would like a quick start to learning…
Register Today for the CCSA Conference
There is still time to register for the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse's first annual conference, Envisioning a Future Free from Addiction: Research, Programs, and Practice to Prevent Substance Abuse, to be held Monday, April 29, on Penn State’s University Park campus at the Hetzel Union…
Penn State represented at Congressional briefing addressing child maltreatment
Yo Jackson, associate director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and professor of psychology at Penn State, recently provided testimony on strengthening prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect to the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor’s subcommittee on Civil Rights…
NIH Releases Protocol Template for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Involving Humans
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a new protocol template to help behavioral and social science researchers prepare research protocols for human studies measuring social or behavioral outcomes. The protocol template is an effective resource for communicating the science, methods…
Why Social Science? - Because Social Science Equips Us with Tools We Will Need to Face Down the Biggest Issues of Our Time, Including the Growing Global Threat of Climate Change
By The Honorable Paul Tonko, United States Representative, New York’s 20th Congressional District, U.S. House of Representatives Our Earth is in crisis. More frequent and severe droughts, rising sea-levels, extreme weather and ecological damage are already here, with more loss and hardship on the…
Housing is health: 'Ask the Experts' addresses social determinants of health
The latest episode of the “Ask the Experts” series features Ann Kunkel and Dianna Benaknin of WellSpan Health. In a discussion highlighting WellSpan's interest in addressing social determinants of health, Kunkel and Benaknin focus on the impact of housing on health and describe a number of programs…
Social Scientists Encouraged to Explore NSF's Ten Big Ideas Solicitations
Arthur Lupia, Assistant Director for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) of the National Science Foundation (NSF), is calling on social and behavioral scientists to learn more about, and consider applying for, the funding opportunities associated with the NSF Ten Big…
Introducing Data Science for Social Impact
By Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President, The Rockefeller Foundation While private-sector businesses have been building and deploying data science capabilities for many years in the tech age, most organizations in the non-profit, civic, and public sectors are far behind. They have a strong appetite to use…
News Topics: Computational and Data SciencesSocial Science
Why Social Science? - Because Social Science Research and Education Are Critical for National Security
By Claudia Brugman, PhD, Research Scientist and Technical Director for Language in Social Systems, Center for Advanced Study of Language, University of Maryland Each of the social sciences contributes irreplaceable content knowledge and methodologies to our collective understanding of other…
Why Social Science? - Because It Helps Build Resilience in the Face of Disasters
By Brandi Gilbert, Ph.D., Research Associate, Urban Institute & Nnenia Campbell, Ph.D., Research Associate, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado, Boulder We are dedicated to using social science to improve disaster recovery for those on the margins of society—in particular on the…
The Future of Higher Education Is Social Impact
By Adam Gamoran Over the last decade, universities have faced steady criticism for elitist practices such as political bias, hoarding wealthy endowments, and providing insufficient economic returns for students. In light of this, institutions that turn their attention to serving the public good may…
Why Social Science? - Because It’s Proliferating
By Alondra Nelson, President, Social Science Research Council Social scientists and the research we pursue with such passion are being buffeted on all fronts, a fact not unknown to frequent visitors to this space. Today social scientists confront scarcities: of funding, of career opportunities in…
Why Social Science? - Because Social Science Can Have an Impact on Public Policy
By Peter B. Wood, Professor of Sociology and Criminology, Eastern Michigan University Why Social Science? Because social science can—and should—have a real impact on public policy at the federal, state, and local levels. More than a decade ago, while serving as President of the Southern Criminal…
Why Social Science? - Because It Can Challenge Conventional Wisdom
By Olugbenga Ajilore, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, University of Toledo Social science research provides evidence that helps us understand the drivers of social problems. A lot of times, this evidence is in contrast to the conventional wisdom and may on the face of it seem…
Using social media to solve social problems
Social scientist rely on data to study social problems, however data from traditional surveys can be difficult and time consuming to collect, as well as inaccurate since not all factors can be measured well. A National Science Foundation-funded Penn State project will evaluate the accuracy of using…
Why Social Science? - Because It Helps Us Identify and Combat Misinformation
By Melanie C. Green, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University at Buffalo To make good decisions, we need good information. Every day, people form opinions on health treatments, political policies, and consumer products. Social sciences help us understand how people can…