Search Results: AI
COSSA and Partners Urge Support for International and Foreign Language Education for FY 2015
On November 19, COSSA joined a Coalition for International Education letter to House and Senate appropriators in support of strong funding levels for the Department of Educationās international and foreign language education programs (Title VI and Fulbright-Hays) as Congress attempts to wrap up funding for fiscal year (FY) 2015. As the letter notes, āTitle VI and Fulbright-Hays are the nationās longest-serving, most comprehensive programs that develop and maintain a strong, world-class foundation for international education and foreign language studies.ā Back to this issueās table of contents.
FY 2015 Funding Bills Approaching December 11 Deadline
As previously reported, the 113th Congress still has more work to do to complete the fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations process before adjourning at the end of the month. At the time of this writing, negotiations between House and Senate appropriators and leadership continue, all working toward some form of final agreement to fund the federal government before the current temporary spending measure expires on December 11. Latest reports suggest that an omnibus appropriations bill that consolidates most of the 12 appropriations bills is still the preferred option, but a hybrid approach that includes an omnibus for some bills and…
Deadline Extended for Applications to SBE Leadership Posts
As previously reported, the National Science Foundationās (NSF) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) is seeking to fill a number of leadership positions. Deadlines for applications have been extended through December 31. The open positions include: Deputy Assistant Director Division Director, Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) Division Director, Social and Economic Sciences (SES) Back to this issueās table of contents.
Reminder: Comments on Proposed Elimination of ACS Questions Due December 30
On October 31, the U.S. Census Bureau within the Department of Commerce issued a request for public comment related to the 2014 Content Review of the American Community Survey (ACS). According to theĀ Federal Register Notice, the 2014 review āis the most comprehensive effort ever undertaken by the Census Bureau to review content on the survey, seeking to understand which federal programs use the information collected by each question, the justification for each question, and assess how the Census Bureau might reduce respondent burden.ā The review looked at the ACSās 72 questions and proposed removal of seven from the annual questionnaire….
ERS Reports on Fast Food Purchasing Behavior
The Department of Agricultureās Economic Research Service (ERS) has released a report, āThe Role of Time in Fast-Food Purchasing Behavior in the United States,ā which examines the factors impacting how Americans consume fast food. The study, conducted using data from the Bureau of Labor Statisticsā American Time Use Survey, assessed the impact of time-use behaviors, prices, sociodemographic characteristics, and labor-force participation on fast food purchases. It finds that those who purchase fast food on a given day spend less time engaged in āprimaryā eating (eating while not doing something else), sleeping, doing housework, and watching television than the population average….
AHRQ Data Shows 50,000 Lives, $12 Billion Saved
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released a report, āInterim Update on 2013 Annual Hospital-Acquired Condition Rate and Estimates of Cost Savings and Deaths Averted From 2010 to 2013ā which provides preliminary 2013 estimates for hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), which include adverse events like falls, pressure ulcers, infections, and adverse drug events acquired during a patientās hospital stay. The report finds a 17 percent decline in HACs from 2010 to 2013, equaling 1.3 million fewer patient harms over the three years. The decline also resulted in 50,000 fewer patients dying in a hospital as a result of a HAC,…
NIH: Family and Interpersonal Relationships in an Aging Context
The National Institute of Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applications designed to expand understanding of the role and impact of families and interpersonal relations on health and well-being in midlife and older age.
NIJ: Bridging Research and Practice Program
The National Institute of Justiceās (NIJ) Bridging Research and Practice Program (BRP) provides funding to former NIJ grantees to disseminate and share their findings with practitioner audiences. The goal of the program is to ensure that the research reaches as broad an audience as possible.
Events Calendar
Webinar: Producing Government Data with Statistical Confidentiality Controls, American Statistical Association Privacy and Confidentiality Committee, December 17, 2014 COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, Washington, DC, March 9-10, 2015 A list of COSSA membersā annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA web page. Back to this issueās table of contents.
Leiden Statement: āSocial Sciences and Humanities Indispensable to Understanding and Addressing Global Challengesā
āThe social sciences and humanities are indispensable to understanding and addressing contemporary global challenges, and to grasping emerging opportunities. Every challenge the world faces has a human dimension, and no solution can be achieved without enlisting the support and efforts of individuals, communities and societies,ā according to the Leiden Statement: The Role of the Social Sciences and Humanities in the Global Research Landscape, released in November. The Statementās signatories are the League of European Research Universities (LERU), the Association of American Universities (AAU), the China 9 grouping of leading Chinese universities (C9), the Australian Group of Eight research-intensive universities (Go8),…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 33 Issue 21
Featured News More Questions than Answers Following Midterm Elections COSSA in Action COSSA & Partners Urge Congress to Complete FY 2015 Omnibus Spending Bill Scientific Community to Congress: Close the Innovation Deficit Congressional News Congress Returns for Lame Duck Session Federal Agency & Administration News Aging and Mental Health Institutes Seek Comments on Draft Strategic Plans NSF Releases Report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science White House Releases Issues Report on Expanding Opportunity and Addressing Unique Challenges Facing Women and Girls of Color Publications & Community Events Policy Roundtable Seminar Focuses on Stimulating Innovation in Government IOM…
More Questions than Answers Following Midterm Elections
Following last weekās midterm Congressional elections, Republicans have gained control of both chambers of Congress when the 114th Congress is seated in January. Congress returned last week for the start of a month and a half-long lame duck session. On their plate includes must-pass legislation such as the fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations bills and defense authorization bill. However, with the party calculus significantly changed starting next year, action on spending bills and other legislative issues in the lame duck will be all but easy. See the articles that follow for more information.
COSSA & Partners Urge Congress to Complete FY 2015 Omnibus Spending Bill
On November 12, COSSA joined the biomedical and behavioral science community in signing the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research letter to Congress. The letter, which was signed by 303 organizations, urges Congress to ācomplete an omnibus spending package [that] includes a Labor-HHS-Education bill that restores funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to at least pre-sequestration levels.ā The letter also notes, āAn omnibus spending bill with a Labor-HHS appropriation restoring NIH to at least pre-sequester funding levels would mark an important step toward a more sustainable, predictable research environment for patients and their families, as well as for…
Scientific Community to Congress: Close the Innovation Deficit
On November 12, COSSA joined 133 partners throughout the scientific, higher education, business and patient communities on a letter to Congress urging passage of an omnibus fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations bills addresses the āinnovation deficitā by including increased investments for scientific research and higher education. As the letter states, āthe innovation deficit is the widening gap between the actual level of federal government funding for research and higher education and what the investment needs to be if the United States is to remain the worldās innovation leaderā¦ [T]oday, our leadership faces a serious challenge from other nations that are…
Congress Returns for Lame Duck Session
Congress returned to Washington on November 12 for the start of the post-election lame duck session. Among the must-pass actions in this lame duck session are the fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations bills. The current continuing resolution (CR) that has kept the federal government in operation since the start of the fiscal year on October 1 expires on December 11. Leadership and staff of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have been working behind the scenes on an omnibus bill that would package all twelve of the unpassed appropriations measures into a single package. The goal is to bring the…
NSF Releases Report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science
The National Science Foundationās National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) has released its biennial report, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, which provides statistical details on women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering education and employment. The data in the 2013 Digest, which is released every two years as mandated by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (Public Law 96-516), are publicly accessible online and organized by the following themes: enrollment, field of degree, employment status, occupation, academic employment, and persons with disabilities. Back to this issueās table of contents.
White House Issues Report on Expanding Opportunity and Addressing Challenges Facing Women and Girls of Color
On November 13, the White House Council on Women and Girls (CWG) released a report, Women and Girls of Color: Addressing Challenges and Expanding Opportunity. The Council is chaired by Valerie Jarrett. The report highlights the tremendous achievements women of color have made; it also examines the inequities and ādistinctā challenges facing women of color and looks at efforts underway to close the gaps in educational outcomes, pay, career opportunity, and health disparities, among other areas.
Academies Board Seeks Nominations for āHow People Learn IIā Study Committee
The National Academiesā Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences (BBCSS) is seeking nominations for individuals to serve on the study committee for a new project, āHow People Learn II: The Science and Practice of Learning.ā The study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, will build on the 2000 National Research Council report How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School āby reviewing and synthesizing research that has emerged across the various disciplines that focus on the study of learning from birth through adulthood in both…
NIH: Cancer Prevention, Control, Behavioral Sciences, and Population Sciences Career Development Award
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently issued a funding opportunity announcement, Cancer Prevention, Control, Behavioral Sciences, and Population Sciences Career Development Award (PAR-15-033). The award supports the career development of junior investigators with research or health professional doctoral degrees who want to become cancer-focused academic researchers in cancer prevention, cancer control, or the behavioral or population sciences. The award provides salary and mentored research support for a sustained period of “protected time” to junior investigators who are interested in developing academic and research expertise in these health-related fields. NCI will contribute up to $100,000 per year toward the salary of…
Events Calendar
Aging with HIV/AIDS: Challenges and Successes of a Lifetime Defined by the Epidemic, American Psychological Association, December 3, 2014 Webinar: Producing Government Data with Statistical Confidentiality Controls, American Statistical Association Privacy and Confidentiality Committee, December 17, 2014 A list of COSSA membersā annual meetings can be found on the COSSA web page.