Search Results: AI
NSF Releases Report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering
The National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) has released its biennial report, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. Mandated by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act, the report details the participation of these underrepresented groups in science and engineering. The data is organized by enrollment, field of degree, occupation, employment status, and academic employment. More information, including downloads of the report digest and data, are available on the NCSES website. Back to this issueās table of contents.
ACJS Introduces Policy Notes
The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), a leading authority on criminal justice education, research, and policy analysis, has announced the creation of Policy Notes, a new series of free online, policy-focused abstract summaries that highlight the findings and implications of leading peer-reviewed research from ACJSā flagship publicationĀ Justice Quarterly. The first Policy Notes looks at what the latest research on residence restrictions for sex offenders mean for future housing policy and is available here. Back to this issueās table of contents.
Events Calendar
Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Meeting, Long Beach, CA, February 26-28, 2015 Congressional Briefing – NIH 101: Peer Review & Priority Setting, Washington, DC, February 27, 2015 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, March 3-7, 2015 Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations Annual Meeting, New Brunswick, NJ, March 5-7, 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, Washington, DC, March 9-10, 2015 American Psychosomatic Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Savannah, GA, March 18-21, 2015 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, March 19-21, 2015 Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 25-29,…
21st Century Cures Act Discussion Draft Released
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) released a discussion draft of the 21st Century Cures Act on January 27. The draft bill is the culmination of a year of hearings and roundtable discussions held by the Committee. Its release was accompanied by a section-by-section discussion of the document and a one-pager highlighting the legislative ideas. The Committee has repeatedly stated that the draft is a “starting point in the legislative process to spur discussion.” Accordingly, they are seeking public feedback on the proposals. The Committee also cautioned that the “inclusion of a policy in the draft should…
Accelerating Biomedical Research Act Introduced in House and Senate
On January 26, Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Brian Higgins (D-NY), and Peter King (R-NY) reintroduced the bipartisan Accelerating Biomedical Research Act (H.R. 531).The bill “would allow Congress to restore the purchasing power of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)ās funding to what it would have been if it had kept up with inflation since 2003.ā It would create a new Budget Control ActĀ cap adjustment for the agency. Any funding provided in excess of $29.4 billion would trigger a budget cap increase to accommodate the additional funding provided. The measure would allow appropriators to increase NIH funding by ten percent for the…
Medical Innovation Act Introduced in House and Senate
On January 29, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ben Cardin (D-MD.), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Medical Innovation Act (S.320), which is designed to increase “funding for critical medical research.” A companion bill, H.R. 744, was introduced in the House by Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Kathy Castor (D-FL). According to the press release, the measure would require large pharmaceutical companies that break the law and settle with the federal government to reinvest a small percentage of their profits into the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and…
Senators Release Innovation for Healthier Americans Report, Request Feedback
On January 29, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Richard Burr (R-NC), released Innovation for Healthier Americans: Identifying Opportunities for Meaningful Reform to Our Nationās Medical Product Discovery and Development. The report addresses challenges to getting safe treatments, devices, and cures to patients more quickly and effectively, looking specifically at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
HELP Committee Approves Strengthening Education through Research Act
On January 28, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed the Strengthening Education through Research Act (S. 227). The bill reauthorizes the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA). ESRA authorizes funding for the research activities of the U.S. Department of Education, including the Institute for Education Sciences (IES). The legislation would authorize an appropriation of $612 million for fiscal year (FY) 2016 and $3.2 billion between 2016-2020 to support federal educational research, statistical analysis, and other activities.
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 2
Featured News COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 9-10 ā Register Today! Congressional News Congressional Committees Take Shape Federal Agency & Administration News Presidentās FY 2016 Budget Request Expected February 2 Publications & Community events Rebecca Blank Named 2015 Moynihan Prize Winner NRC Committee on Law and Justice Seeks New Director Science and Human Rights Coalition Explores the Risks and Promise of Big Data Nominations Sought for Science Communication Awards Funding Opportunities NIH: Four Opportunities in theĀ Science of Behavior Changeā NSF: Resource Implementations for Data Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences COSSA Member Spotlight APA Seeks…
COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 9-10 ā Register Today!
Registration remains open for the 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting and Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day scheduled for March 9-10, 2015 in Washington, DC.Ā The meeting is open to the public; however, the advocacy day meetings are reserved for representatives of COSSA member organizations and institutions. The COSSA Annual MeetingĀ brings together representatives from throughout the social and behavioral science community for a day of discussion on federal issues impacting social and behavioral science research. It provides an opportunity for COSSA members and others to engage directly with leaders of federal science agencies, Congressional staff, and colleagues from other associations and institutions.
Congressional Committees Take Shape
Congressional committees with oversight for funding and policy issues impacting social and behavioral science have continued to take shape over the last few weeks. The 114th Congress was sworn in on January 6, though not all of the committees have officially chosen their chairs and ranking members. A number of committee organizational meetings are occurring this week, at which time the membership rolls and leadership appointments will be approved. You can stay apprised of the most current committee leadership appointments here. Back to this issueās table of contents.
Presidentās FY 2016 Budget Request Expected February 2
Reminder: the Presidentās fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress will be released on Monday, February 2. The release of the Presidentās budget serves as the unofficial kick-off to the annual appropriations process. Following its release, the next several weeks and months will see a flurry of Congressional hearings featuring Executive Branch officials on the details of the budget. COSSA will release its analysis of the request as it relates to federal agencies and programs of interest to the social and behavioral science community in the coming weeks. Back to this issueās table of contents.
NRC Committee on Law and Justice Seeks New Director
The National Academiesā National Research Council (NRC) is conducting a search for a new board director for its Committee on Law and Justice. Established in 1975, the Committeeās mission is to āimprove research methods and information to inform and support the development of national and state-level criminal justice policy, and to extend and help advance criminological and criminal justice research.ā The director will work with the Committee Chair, senior staff, and Committee members to āprovide intellectual leadership by identifying current and emerging issues in criminal justice; develop workshops, conferences, and studies by separate panels of experts; and seek funds for…
Nominations Sought for Science Communication Awards
The National Academiesā Keck Futures Initiative has issued a call for nominations for its 2015 Communication Awards. Prizes in the amount of $20,000 are given to individuals or teams āwho have developed creative, original works that address issues and advances in science, engineering and/or medicine for the general publicā in four categories: book, film/radio/television, magazine/newspaper, and online. More information, including nomination instructions and eligibility criteria, is available on the Futures Initiative website. The deadline for nominations is February 9, 2015. Back to this issueās table of contents.
NSF: Resource Implementations for Data Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
The National Science Foundationās (NSF) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate is seeking proposals to develop large-scale data resources and analytic techniques to advance fundamental SBE research. Successful proposals will aim to create databases or techniques that will enable SBE research that would not otherwise have been possible and should have impacts across multiple fields or within broad disciplinary areas. Proposals are due February 23, 2015. The full solicitation is available on the NSF website. Back to this issueās table of contents.
APA Seeks New Executive Director for Science
The American Psychological Association (APA), a COSSA Governing Member, is looking for its next Executive Director for Science (see here). Former COSSA Executive Committee Chair Steven Breckler vacated the position and left APA in late 2014; Howard Kurtzman, current deputy, is serving as the acting executive director until the new head is named. The position oversees the APA Science Directorate. Applications are sought by March 13. Back to this issueās table of contents.
Events Calendar
Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Meeting, Long Beach, CA, February 26-28, 2015 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, March 3-7, 2015 Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations Annual Meeting, New Brunswick, NJ, March 5-7, 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, Washington, DC, March 9-10, 2015 American Psychosomatic Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Savannah, GA, March 18-21, 2015 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, March 19-21, 2015 Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 25-29, 2015 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, March 26-29, 2015 Midwest Sociological Society…
NIH: Four Opportunities in the Science of Behavior Change
Human behavior accounts for approximately 40 percent of the risk associated with preventable premature deaths in the U.S. Researchers are beginning to make progress in understanding some of the basic mechanisms that account for less-than-optimal initiation and maintenance of behavior change. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) via its Common Fund supports a Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) program initiative that āseeks to promote basic research on the initiation, personalization and maintenance of behavior changeā (see Update, February 10, 2014). By integrating work across disciplines, the agency believes that this effort will lead to an improved understanding of the underlying…
Science and Human Rights Coalition Explores the Risks and Promise of Big Data
The AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition, of which COSSA is a member, held its biannual meeting on January 15, focusing on the connections between Big Data and Human Rights. The Coalition brings together organizations and individuals who recognized a role for scientists and engineers in human rights.
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 1
From the Executive Director Featured News COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 9-10 ā Registration now open Congressional News 114th Congress Gavels In; Committee Leaders Appointed Federal Agency & Administration News Presidentās FY 2016 Budget Request to be Released February 2 SACHRP Seeks Nominations for New Members Public Comment Sought for Death Master File Certification Program Profile of New BEA Director in Amstat News Publications & Community Events NRC Roundtable Discusses Need for Improved Public Understanding of Social Science Research Funding Opportunities NSF: Science of Learning Collaborative Networks NIH: BD2K Biomedical Science Training Coordination Center NIH: BD2K MOOC on…