The U.S. Census Bureau is convening a virtual Workshop on Advancing Research on Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality on November 14 and 15, 2023. This event will bring together new perspectives on how data resources can be better leveraged to both measure the dimensions of race and ethnicity within the U.S. population, and to investigate how systemic inequalities by race/ethnicity can be identified within U.S. society.  

Visit the conference website for more details and to register.

An Updated Measure of Poverty: (Re)Drawing the Line is a new report from the National Academies, Committee on National Statistics. The report offers recommendations for updating how poverty is measured in the U.S. On Thursday, September 28, five members of the committee that produced the report presented their assessment of the Supplemental Poverty Measure and what a change to a new Principal Poverty Measure would accomplish.

The report is available here.

A recording of the presentation is available here.

RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Request for Articles: "Asians in America Beyond Education: Career Choices, Trajectories, and Mobility Strategies."

Abstracts due December 11

For complete information, see https://www.russellsage.org/request-articles-asians-america-beyond-education-career-choices-trajectories-and-mobility-strategies

(Via COSSA) On September 22, the Biden Administration announced the establishment of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The office is expected to accelerate executive action and prioritize legislation that reduces gun violence in the United States. 

In February of this year, the COSSA blog "Why Social Science?" addressed the issue with an essay, "Because Gun Violence Requires Social Science-Solutions."

Also in September,  the Bureau of Justice Statistics hosted a public seminar celebrating 50 years of the National Crime and Victimization Survey (NCVS). The survey is the only crime and victimization survey in the United States that addresses underreported crime through survey collection rather than police reporting. The NCVS is used to understand crime patterns and the impact of that crime in different households, recognizing victims that may have been indirectly affected by the crime.

A Hybrid Conference Hosted by Howard University, Tuesday, November 14–Friday, November 17, 2023. Deadline for Submission: Friday, September 29, 2023 by 5:00pm (EST)

Conference Theme: “My Story – Who Can I Tell? Disclosure… Harm… Healing…”

This hybrid conference aims to increase awareness of the stigma of HIV and other health conditions and to explore interventions to eradicate this stigma. This conference also serves to educate healthcare providers and the general public about stigma as both a major barrier to prevention and treatment of illnesses and a human rights violation.

For more information, see the conference website (https://www.whocanyoutell.org/) and the attached flyer.

The Metropolitan Policy Center at American University is co-sponsoring a book event Wednesday, September 6th at 3pm in the School of International Service (SIS) Building, Room 300.

This event will feature author Katie J. Wells presenting key findings from her  new book, Disrupting D.C.: The Rise of Uber and the Fall of the City (Princeton University Press.

This position is located in the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) as a supervisory statistician for the Justice Statistics Unit. You will have responsibilities for maintaining, enhancing, and expanding major statistical series and programs to ensure that the knowledge created has utility to stakeholders and that BJS's data collection activities are implemented in ways that maintain the trust and confidence of its data providers. (https://www.usajobs.gov/job/741933400)

Note: This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies, as was also noted in the Twitter announcement from BJS on 8/21.

 The Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division at the Census Bureau is hiring for a number of positions. The division compiles and analyzes data on the socioeconomic characteristics of households, families and individuals including rates of home ownership and statistics on income, poverty and health insurance, family and fertility statistics, labor force participation, social program participation and measures of community resilience.

They are especially interested in candidates with strong social science skills in survey methodology and using large demographic surveys for research.

• GS 7/9 - ideal for those with a bachelor's or master's in sociology, demography, economics, public policy and other social science disciplines.

• GS 11/12 - ideal for those with a master's and some work experience, ABD, and PhDs

The current vacancy announcement at USAJOBS closes August 31. The next vacancy posting will not be until around October 2023. Several other areas at the Census may also use the same vacancy announcement for hiring.

If you or anyone you know are attending the American Sociological Association meeting in Philadelphia from Aug. 17-21, Census staff will be there and can share more information about their work in the main exhibit hall.

Interested candidates are also welcome to reach out to Lynda Laughlin, PhD, Chief, Industry and Occupation Statistics Branch (and former DCSS President) for more information (lynda.l.laughlin@census.gov)

From the Consortium of Social Science Associations:

Congressional appropriators are currently considering fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills that would decimate funding for federal science and statistical agencies. It is critical that we raise our voices in support of robust investment in social and behavioral science research.

For our members in Maryland and Virginia in particular, now is the time to write to your members of Congress to urge their support for social science research funding in FY 2024.

Take action via COSSA: https://cossa.org/action-center/take-action/#/

The Public Sociology Association (PSA) at George Mason University is hosting the 8th annual PSA Conference September 14-15, 2023. This conference will take place remotely with potential opportunities for in-person networking within the DC area. 

This year's topic is "Institutional Change in the Face of COVID-19." We are open to submissions from undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professors and other professionals interested in the topic. The submission deadline is July 31. Participants need no more than an abstract to submit. Please click here for more details or to access the submission link.  

The PSA is a student-led organization committed to building community among and advancing the scholarship of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as scholars and practitioners engaged in public sociology. The PSA will host traditional paper presentations, poster presentations, organized panels, and workshops at this year’s conference.