Science Community News
AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows to Host Live Chat
On August 20, Science and Technology Policy Fellows from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will host a live chat session to answer questions about the fellowship. The session is geared in particular towards those with backgrounds in the social sciences who want to learn more. More details and a link to watch are available on the AAAS website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
AAAS Collecting Stories to Highlight the Importance of Scientific Conferences
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has launched a campaign to illustrate for policymakers the positive impacts scientific and technical conferences have on research. Over the past several years, federal regulations and policies have made it increasingly difficult for scientists and researchers employed by the federal government to attend conferences. AAAS is asking for stories that “highlighting the importance of conference participation to a healthy scientific and technical community,” particularly stories that involve collaboration with scientists from federal agencies, national labs, or research institutes. Stories may be submitted on the AAAS website. Back to this issue’s table…
AAAS Seeks Nominations for Science Diplomacy Award
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is seeking nominations for its annual AAAS Science Diplomacy Award, which is presented at the AAAS Annual Meeting in February. The award recognizes individuals or small groups in the scientific and engineering community that have “contributed to the role of science cooperation in building stronger links between and among societies.” Past recipients can be viewed on the AAAS website. Nominations are due by September 1. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
2015 Marks the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of OBSSR
The past two decades have seen increasing recognition of the importance of behavioral and social factors in the prevention and treatment of disability and disease. OBSSR’s mission is to stimulate behavioral and social sciences research throughout NIH and to integrate these areas of research more fully into the NIH health research enterprise, thereby improving our understanding, treatment, and prevention of disease. Please join the Coalition for the Advancement of Health through Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (CAHT-BSSR) to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research with a poster exhibition and reception featuring research…
How People Learn II: The Science and Practice of Learning
On June 10, the National Research Council (NRC) Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences (BCSS) held its inaugural meeting to update and extend the 2000 NRC report, How People Learn. The ad hoc committee is chaired by Cora Marrett, former Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation. Marrett observed that many things have changed since the original report was released and acknowledged the “phenomenal group of volunteers” tasked with updating the report.
“Marshmallow Test” Researchers Named First 2015 Golden Goose Award Recipients
The first of the 2015 Golden Goose Awards, which recognize federally funded research that has had unanticipated societal and economic benefits, will go to three psychologists, Walter Mischel, Philip Peake, Yuichi Shoda, for their work related to self-control in children. In the late 1960s, Mischel developed the “marshmallow test” as a simple way to measure children’s ability to delay gratification. However, follow-up studies revealed an unexpected correlation between ability to exert self-control at a young age and success later in life. The work has had an enormous impact on our understanding of human behavior and changed the way we approach…
NRC Board on Children, Youth, and Families Seeks Director
The Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BCYF) at the National Research Council is inviting applications for a new Board Director. The Director is responsible for overseeing activities of the Board, which “brings a multidisciplinary and evidence-based perspective to bear on the development of policies and programs for children, youth, and families, drawing upon the collective knowledge and analytic tools of the behavioral, health and social sciences.” More information and application instructions are available here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
The Census Project Sheds Light on the American Community Survey
The Census Project held an informational briefing, The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey: Ten Years of Delivering Data for Smart Decision-Making, on May 27 that focused on the wide use of data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the reasons to support keeping the survey mandatory. COSSA was one of the cosponsors of this event.
NRC Report Offers Guidance on Team Science
Given the increasing number of scientists engaged in collaborative research, referred to as “team science,” the National Research Council (NRC) appointed the Committee on the Science of Team Science, chaired by Nancy J. Cooke, Arizona State University, to conduct and release a consensus study to provide guidance for these science teams or groups. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Elsevier, and the final report, entitled Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science, was released on April 24.
New AAAS Study Investigates the Social Responsibilities of Scientists
The notion that scientists have a responsibility to society that goes beyond their responsibilities to the profession is long-standing. While there is a growing literature concerning the issues encapsulated by the phrase “social responsibility of scientists,” a review of that literature reveals many and sometimes competing views. What is more, to date there has been no empirical basis on which to define the content and scope of such social responsibilities. It is within this context that the AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition, of which COSSA is a member, and the AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program decided…
COSSA/CPR Sponsor “NIH 101” Congressional Briefing
On February 27, the COSSA-led Coalition to Promote Research (CPR) organized a Congressional briefing designed to provide an overview of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) peer review process and the types of grants funded by the agency. The briefing’s speaker, Keith Yamamoto, vice chancellor for research and executive vice dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, is a leading molecular biologist and has served on the NIH’s Center for Scientific Review’s advisory committee, as well as other NIH advisory panels and peer review committees. Using contemporary biology, Yamamoto discussed the NIH priority-setting process…
Rebecca Blank Named 2015 Moynihan Prize Winner
The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a COSSA member, has named Rebecca Blank, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, winner of the 2015 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize. The prize is awarded annually to individuals “who use sound analysis and social science research to inform public policy, while also contributing to the public discourse on society’s most pressing issues.” Among her many contributions, Blank is being recognized for her work at the U.S. Department of Commerce, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisors during the Clinton Administration, and during her various faculty positions. Blank will give…
NRC Committee on Law and Justice Seeks New Director
The National Academies’ National Research Council (NRC) is conducting a search for a new board director for its Committee on Law and Justice. Established in 1975, the Committee’s mission is to “improve 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.” The director will work with the Committee Chair, senior staff, and Committee members to “provide 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 Academies’ 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 “who have developed creative, original works that address issues and advances in science, engineering and/or medicine for the general public” 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 issue’s table of contents.
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.
NRC Roundtable Discusses Need for Improved Public Understanding of Social Science Research
On January 8, the National Research Council (NRC) Roundtable on the Application of Social and Behavioral Science Research convened its first meeting. Chaired by Arthur “Skip” Lupia from the University of Michigan, the Roundtable brings together a diverse set of stakeholders in the social and behavioral science community to discuss ways to improve public understanding of social science research as well as the research community’s understanding of the uses of research by various sectors, such as industry, military, or public health. Membership includes “those who create SBS research, those who use it, and those who know how to communicate about…
Gilbert White Lecture Focuses on Reducing Losses from Natural Hazards
The National Academies’ Board on Earth Sciences and Resources held its annual Gilbert F. White Lecture in the Geographical Sciences on December 4. Susan Cutter, Distinguished Carolina Professor at the University of South Carolina (and a past president of COSSA), delivered the lecture, which focused on “Why More Knowledge Is Not Reducing Natural Hazard Losses.” She explained that despite huge increases in our knowledge of the physical processes and social forces that interact during natural disasters, losses from such events have only grown.
ERS Reports on Fast Food Purchasing Behavior
The Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has released a report, “The Role of Time in Fast-Food Purchasing Behavior in the United States,” which examines the factors impacting how Americans consume fast food. The study, conducted using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 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 “primary” 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, “Interim Update on 2013 Annual Hospital-Acquired Condition Rate and Estimates of Cost Savings and Deaths Averted From 2010 to 2013” 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 patient’s 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,…
NCHS Releases Report on Drug Overdose Deaths
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released a report on “Trends in Drug-poisoning Deaths Involving Opioid Analgesics and Heroin: United States, 1999–2012,” based on data from the National Vital Statistics System’s multiple-causes-of-death mortality files. The report shows that between 1999 and 2012, the drug overdose (or drug poisoning) death rate more than doubled. The rate of death in evolving heroin nearly tripled. And while the drug poisoning rate involving opioid analgesics more than tripled over this period, it did decrease by five percent between 2011 and 2012—the first decrease in more than a decade. The states with the highest…