Share Your Opioid Story: A Community Conversation at Schlow Library on May 30
May 15, 2019
The Share Your Opioid Story initiative is hosting a Community Conversation at the Schlow Centre Region Library in State College to tell the stories behind the statistics of the opioid crisis. This community event will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 30 in the Downsbrough Community Room. To…
Change for ITS sponsored accounts
May 15, 2019
There is no longer a charge for ITS sponsored accounts. If email (o365) is requested for the person on the sponsored account they are charged for that. These accounts are typically used by researchers who have non-Penn State collaborators or former graduate students to access the Penn State VPN.
New research details increasing segregation in a transformed school population
May 13, 2019
As the nation prepares to mark the 65th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional, the UCLA Civil Rights Project and the Penn State Center for Education and Civil Rights today (May 10) published new research detailing…
Project on rural communities benefits from collaboration with Highmark Health
May 9, 2019
A project to better understand the issues facing rural communities and address a decline in American life expectancy is benefiting from a partnership between Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Highmark Health Enterprise Analytics Data Science Research. The Data Science…
Sending a 'We Are!' to these Penn Staters
May 7, 2019
As part of our regular "We Are!" feature, we recognize four Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what's asked of them in their work at the University. Do you know someone who deserves a shout-out? If you do, consider taking a minute to nominate that person by filling out a short online form…
Conference, podcast examine school segregation 65 years after Brown decision
May 6, 2019
In the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote that integrated public education was an important part of a democratic society and the "very foundation of good citizenship." Integrated schools, the court argued, would expose children to new cultures and…
First annual conference to address substance misuse held at Penn State
May 3, 2019
Pennsylvania is in the midst of a full-fledged, substance misuse epidemic, with one out of every four families encountering this issue. Penn State is combating the crisis by drawing upon the expertise of researchers, educators, practitioners and policymakers, who gathered recently for the…
DeJong Discusses 50 years with the State College Choral Society
May 3, 2019
Gordon DeJong, co-founder of the Population Research Institute and a distinguished professor emeritus of sociology and demography, is celebrating 50 years with the State College Choral Society. He has served on the organization’s board for eight years and has established the DeJong Oratorio…
Sleep and exercise affect new moms differently than new dads
May 2, 2019
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…
New project to study link between sleep and cognitive decline
May 1, 2019
The number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease is projected to triple by 2050. A $3 million grant from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) will fund Penn State researchers to study the relationship between sleep and cognitive decline and impairment.The project will build upon the…
Just 16 minutes of sleep loss can harm work concentration the next day
Apr 30, 2019
This article was co-written by Orfeu Buxton, professor of biobehavioral health, and David Almeida, professor of human development, for The Conversation.Have you had a less-than-stellar performance review lately? Do you daydream, or are you making bad decisions?
It might not be about your job but…
Health behavior and social science data among projects winning strategic support
Apr 30, 2019
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 students…
$1.2 million NSF grant funds interdisciplinary Child Study Center project
Apr 24, 2019
“STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] skills have not been a priority in early childhood education,” said Evan Pugh University Professor Karen Bierman, director of the Penn State Child Study Center housed in the Department of Psychology in the College of the Liberal Arts. “…
Accomplishments of the Behavioral and Social Sciences
Apr 24, 2019
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
Apr 23, 2019
By Joseph K. Assan, PhD, Assistant Professor of International Political Economy of Sustainable Development, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis UniversitySocial scientists are actively involved in working with government officials, academics, the private sector, NGOs and…
LinkedIn Learning coming to Penn State
Apr 23, 2019
The online learning and professional development platform long used by Penn State students, faculty and staff will be upgraded in August when Lynda.com becomes LinkedIn Learning.Despite the name change, LinkedIn Learning will retain features popular with Lynda.com users while adding new…
Understanding opioid users' views on fentanyl could help reduce overdoses
Apr 23, 2019
Opioid users fear accidental overdoses from street drugs laced with fentanyl, but unpredictable drug quality means they often lack reliable strategies to avoid it, according to a team of researchers who suggest that fentanyl test strips may reduce overdose deaths."The opioid crisis is one of the…
Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse Conference adds speakers
Apr 17, 2019
Still on the fence about coming to the conference? We just found out that Anne Herron, acting director in the Office of the Director at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) at SAMHSA will also be joining us! The activities of her office include working to close the gap between…
Researchers to compare Twitter opinions on climate change with real-world views
Apr 15, 2019
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
Apr 11, 2019
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…
Registration now open for seminar on generalizability of Twitter data
Apr 11, 2019
Guangqing Chi, associate professor of rural sociology and demography and public health sciences and SSRI co-funded faculty, will present “The Generalizability and Replicability of Twitter Data for Population (and Health) Research” at the next Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD)…
Register Today for the CCSA Conference
Apr 10, 2019
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
Apr 10, 2019
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…
National symposium to mark 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
Apr 9, 2019
To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Center for Education and Civil Rights and the Africana Research Center at Penn State will convene Brown@65, a national symposium of education, law and policy scholars and practitioners, May 10 on Penn…
PRI announces seed grant recipients
Apr 9, 2019
The Population Research Institute (PRI) announced its recent seed grant winners, Mary Shenk, Molly Martin and Sarah Damaske.Shenk is an associate professor of anthropology and demography and is a faculty affiliate of PRI. She submitted her project “How objective and subjective environmental…