Social Science Data and Software (SSDS) Blog: April 2008 Archives

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April 29, 2008

From IES Newsflash: New IES report from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Teacher Career Choices: Timing of Teacher Careers Among 1992-93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients (NCES 2008-153)."

This report uses longitudinal data from the 1992-93 Baccalaureate and Beyond Study (B&B:93/03) to analyze the teaching career choices of 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients. As of 2003, some 87 percent of graduates reported not teaching in 1994, 1997, and 2003 (nonteachers). Of the 13 percent of graduates who were teaching at one or more of the three follow-up interviews, 31 percent taught consistently, 41 percent were late starters, 16 percent were leavers, and 12 percent were other teachers. The report also provides an in-depth look at the teacher career choices of those graduates with various demographic characteristics, academic backgrounds, teaching assignments, and salaries. Among those who taught, graduates with dependents in each year (1993, 1997, and 2003) taught consistently at higher rates than graduates without dependents. Most graduates who taught consistently had majored in education for their bachelor's degree (77 percent). On the other hand, 40 percent of edu
cation majors were not teaching at the elementary/secondary level in 1994, 1997, or 2003. Many of the 1992-93 graduates who became teachers had earned a master's degree or higher by 2003 and had done so at higher rates than graduates who did not teach: 39 percent of graduates who taught had attained a master's degree or higher by 2003, compared with about one-quarter of those who did not teach. The results in this report may inform research on teacher supply and demand, teacher attrition, and teacher retention.

To view, download and print the report as a PDF file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008153

Posted by ronbo at 08:07 AM

April 28, 2008

From IES Newsflash: Spanish Language Version of College Navigator Now Online / Versión en Español de College Navigator Ahora En Línea

The U.S. Department of Education announces the release of a new Spanish language version of its college search tool, College Navigator.

College Navigator is a free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, high school counselors, and others get information about nearly 7,000 postsecondary institutions in the United States. It provides a wide range of information -- such as programs offered, retention and graduation rates, prices, aid available, degrees awarded, campus safety, athletics, and accreditation -- in a user-friendly tool. College Navigator allows users to:

* Search by programs offered, degrees offered, institution type, price, selectivity, distance from home, school size, institutional mission (historically black colleges and universities, single-sex), extended learning opportunities for adults (weekend and evening degree programs), and intercollegiate athletics programs offered.
* Modify or change their search from anywhere within the website.
* Use a simple and intuitive way of selecting keywords to search among programs at a general level (communications, journalism, and related programs), drill down through a menu to a moderate level of detail, and identify highly specific courses of study (health communication).

Compare

* Make comparisons of up to four institutions in a printer-friendly format, and maintain a list of favorite institutions from different searches

Save

* Save their sessions and receive an email with a link taking them back to where they left off.

Export

* Export search results to easily-used formats, such as Excel.

The College Navigator was developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences. Money Magazine recently named it as one of the magazine's top 28 websites and one of the best places to start a college search. On average, the search tool receives 30,000 visitors a day.

Visit the Spanish language version of the College Navigator:
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?md=1

Posted by ronbo at 08:03 AM

From MAPSS list: 'Bridge to BCG' Info Session

I'm writing to you as a fellow Stanford graduate student to let you know about an exciting opportunity for advanced degree (PhD, MD, JD, residents/fellows, post-docs) candidates interested in a career in consulting, and invite you to an event at Stanford on April 29th. I attended last summer's Bridge to BCG program and will be starting as a full-time consultant in the fall at BCG's Chicago office.

Hope to see you on the 29th!

***Bridge to BCG Workshop***

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) would like to invite all qualified advanced degree candidates to apply to Bridge to BCG: A 3-day consulting workshop for advanced degree candidates. These workshops are specifically for advanced degree candidates (PhD, MD, medical residents/fellows, post-docs) expecting to finish in 2009. This highly interactive experience will provide a view into a career with a strategic management consulting firm. Those selected to participate will:

* Simulate a realistic project experience
* Learn from BCG's thought leaders
* Find out more about BCG
* Network with colleagues

Bridge to BCG workshop dates:

July 28-30, 2008 in BCG’s San Francisco, CA office (West Coast workshop)

To meet current "BCGers", hear about our consulting business, and learn more details about the "Bridge to BCG" program, please attend our upcoming information session:

Stanford Faculty Club, Gold Lounge, on April 29 at 6:30pm.

How to apply to Bridge to BCG:

Please send your resume and cover letter to Bridge2BCG@bcg.com with subject line= "interested in workshop" by May 9, 2008. No business experience required. All workshop expenses will be paid by BCG. More information can be found at www.bcg.com/ADC.

Gaurav Sood
Doctoral Student - Communication

Posted by ronbo at 06:43 AM

April 27, 2008

From MAPSS list: Voting Stratecially? McGill Ph.D. Student Marc André Bodet discusses strategic voting this Tuesday (April 29th)

***Also, if you are eligible for a MAPSS certificate by the end of this quarter, please fill out an application at (http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/cert/index.html) as soon as possible and send an email to Josh Pasek (josh@joshpasek.com) -- MAPSS Certificates will be awarded on May 19th, 2008 for the 2007/2008 year.***

Tuesday, April 29th
12:15 PM
Education Building (Cubberley) - Room 128

Measuring the Propensity to Vote Strategically in a Single-Member District Plurality System

The objective of this paper is to establish a coherent method to measure the propensity to vote strategically in single-member district plurality systems. Using four recent Canadian Election Studies (CES), we propose a series of refinements (survey questions, modelization, estimation) to the approach proposed by Alvarez and Nagler (1998, 2000). We also argue in favor of a random utility maximization nested logit model and a parametric probabilistic simulation method.

Marc André Bodet is a PhD student in the department of Political Science at McGill University. He is the recipient of a Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC) and a member of the research team at the Media Observatory at McGill University. He was previously an associate researcher at the Canada Research Chair in Electoral Studies (CRCEE). His research interests are measurement and estimation methods, elections, and budgetary politics.

MAPSS is an interdisciplinary methodology program designed to expose researchers to diverse modes of data collection and analysis from across the social sciences. MAPSS offers a colloquium series, a workshop, a graduate certificate program, and various research resources. If you would like to learn more about the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), please check out our website at mapss.stanford.edu.

All members of the Stanford community are invited to attend and to RSVP in advance to reserve food (Free Pizza!!).
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html.

Lunch will be served at 12:00 for those who have RSVP'd; the talks start at 12:15. For more information, please contact mapss-info@lists.stanford.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 06:06 PM

April 25, 2008

ICPSR Announces the 2007/2008 Undergraduate Research Paper Competition Winners!

ICPSR would like to congratulate the winners of its annual Undergraduate Research Paper Competitions! These winners were selected out of 10 well-written submissions.

The winning paper titles, students, and institutions are found below. Abstracts and full-text can be found in the 2008 Winners section of the competition website: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/prize/index.html

1st Place – MDRC Competition: Intergenerational Class Mobility by Race: Can the Black Middle Class Reproduce Itself?; Sarah Ireland, Yale University

ICPSR Competition:

1st Place: Examining the Economic Basis of Ethical Vegetarianism; Poh Lin Tan, Princeton University

2nd Place: The Effect of Property Taxes on Elderly Residential Geography: A County-Level Analysis; Corina Mommaerts, University of Michigan

3rd Place: Manipulating the “Truth”: The Unintended Consequences of Truth-in-Sentencing Laws in California, 1992-1996; Caroline M. Savello, Yale University

Please note that the website has been updated to reflect the upcoming competition for the 2008/2009 academic year. We encourage you to share this information with your campus community early and often!

Once again, congratulations to our winning authors and their institutions!

Linda Detterman
Marketing & Membership Director
ICPSR
University of Michigan

Posted by ronbo at 07:26 AM

April 24, 2008

ICPSR Summer Training on Cultural and Ethnic Influences on Mental Health, Methodological Issues in Research on Race and Ethnicity

The deadline for applying for this year's ICPSR Summer Program workshop "Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES): Investigating Cultural and Ethnic Influences on Mental Health" is April 28. If students or faculty on your campus or in your organization are interested, please direct them to the following Web page for information about applying to this 3-day workshop: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/sumprog/course/0044.xml. A four-week course "Methodological Issues in Quantitative Research on Race and Ethnicity" is also offered this summer, and has an April 28 deadline for applying, as well. See the following Web page for more information about this course: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/sumprog/course/0039.xml.

Please forward this information to members of your campus or organization who may be interested. Thank you.

JoAnne O'Rourke

JoAnne McFarland O'Rourke, Research Investigator
ICPSR, Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan

Posted by ronbo at 02:31 AM

April 23, 2008

From IES Newsflash: Deadline approaching for free summer training on SASS and TFS databases

When: July 23-25, 2008

Where: Washington, D.C. (Dupont Circle vicinity)

Please see http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?id=320&cid=2 for details and the application form.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education, will sponsor a 2 1/2-day advanced studies seminar on the use of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) for research and policy discussion.

This seminar is open to institutional researchers, education practitioners, and policy analysts from state and local education agencies and professional associations as well as advanced graduate students and faculty members from colleges and universities nationwide. Since an individual must have a restricted-use (RU) license in order to obtain a copy of the SASS RU dataset, preference is given to applicants who either already have a RU license or are in the process of obtaining one.

Posted by ronbo at 10:21 AM

April 22, 2008

From IES Newsflash: New IES report from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Parent Expectations and Planning for College: Statistical Analysis Report (NCES 2008-079)."

This report uses data from the 2003 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) Parent and Family Involvement Survey (PFI) to examine the characteristics associated with the educational expectations parents had for their children and the postsecondary education planning practices families and schools engaged in. The results presented in this report are based on a sample of students in grades 6 through 12 who represented the 28,182,000 students in grades 6 through 12 in the United States in early 2003. The data revealed that roughly nine out of every 10 students (91 percent) in grades 6 through 12 had parents who expected them to continue their education beyond high school, with about two-thirds (65 percent) having had parents who expected them to finish college. Other findings presented in this report show that about one-third (32 percent) of students had parents who perceived that their child's school did very well at providing information to help their child plan fo
r postsecondary education. Finally, among students whose parents expected them to continue their education after high school, 82 percent had parents who reported that the family was planning on helping to pay for their child's postsecondary education costs, and among those whose parents reported that the family was planning on helping to pay the costs, 66 percent had parents who reported that they had enough information about postsecondary education costs to begin planning.

To view, download and print the report as a PDF file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008079

Posted by ronbo at 06:32 PM

From ICPSR: 2008 Summer Intern Announcement

We are pleased to announce the continuation of the ICPSR Summer Internship Program for undergraduates. The program is ten weeks in duration, June 9, 2008 to August 15, 2008. Interns will learn data processing skills necessary to prepare social science data for permanent archiving and distribution for secondary analysis, including preserving respondent anonymity, reviewing data for consistency and composing descriptive summaries of data collections. They will also gain experience using statistical software including SAS, SPSS and STATA, by working in both Windows and UNIX environments. In addition to working on data processing projects, interns will attend courses in the ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research and learn bibliographic processes. All interns will receive direct oversight by an experienced Research Assistant or Research Associate who will serve as their mentor throughout the program. Also, Interns will be provided with a calendar of activities meant to further enhance their internship experience, which will include presentations by various ICPSR and ISR projects and there will be a number of opportunities for ICPSR Staff involvement.

The objective of the ICPSR Summer Internship Program is to support the educational mission of ICPSR and to encourage the effective use of social science research data. We will encourage the interns to pursue graduate studies or a career in the social or behavioral sciences. With luck, they will be future data depositors, summer program instructors, Official Representatives, or even members of the Council.

This year we will be supporting eight interns and the following projects have agreed to support an intern: Childcare Care and Early Education Research Connections, (CCEERC), Data Sharing for Demographic Research, (DSDR), General Archive, Minority Data Resource Center, (MDRC), National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging, (NACDA), and National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, (NACJD).

We are very pleased to announce that the following students have been selected for the 2008 Summer Internship Program:

Sara Achauer, Calvin College – Assigned to CCEERC, (Julia Roach, Mentor)

Sara is a Sociology major graduating in June 2010 and she has an interest in attending graduate school. Sara enjoys working with data and most recently she prepared SPSS syntax for the Kent County Congregarations Study a project at the Center for Social Research at Calvin College. We understand that she efficiently codes, recodes and analyzes data using Excel, SPSS, Stata and other survey specific software applications like Inquisite, not too shabby for a freshman!

Anne Bordieri, Southern Connecticut State University, Assigned to NACDA, (Joyce French, Mentor)

Anne is Sociology major with a concentration in Family and Gender with a minor in Criminal Justice graduating in December 2008 and she enjoys working with large datasets. Most recently she completed a class project utilizing SPSS and the General Social Survey study.

Paul Condon, Gonzaga University – Assigned to MDRC, (Abay Israel, Mentor)

Paul is a Psychology major with a minor in Mathematics graduating in May 2009. He has recently gained an interest in the field of Quantitative Psychology after attending the American Psychological Association Summer Science Institute and now he is excited to learn more about statistics and data here at ICPSR. Paul is familiar with SPSS and he is currently working on a research proposal titled “Language and the Perception of Emotion. " After graduation, Paul plans to attend graduate school for a Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology and pursue work in behavioral research. Last summer Paul was a participant at the American Psychological Association Summer Science Institute at the University of California, San Diego.

Martha Franquemont, Bradley University – Assigned to General Archive, (Tannaz Sabet-Fakhri, Mentor)

Martha is a Political Science and Economics double major graduating in May 2009. Martha participates in the Honors Program at Bradley and is a Bradley University Presidential Scholar. Martha is very active on campus serving as a Resident Advisor, a Dance Marathon participant, and a Student Admissions Representative. For the last few years Martha has worked on campus as a Political Science Department Assistant and during this time worked on retention election research using SPSS. While working on this project she was utilizing ICPSR’s website and came across the intern job announcement on the careers page and decided to apply for the opportunity.

Gina Kim, Western Washington University – Assigned to General Archive, (Stephanie Windisch, Mentor)

Gina is a Sociology and Political Science double major with a minor in Gender Studies graduating in June 2009. In addition to the minor, she has an interest in pursuing a demography concentration in the Sociology major. Gina has an interest in data analysis and quantitative research methods and most recently she completed courses in Social Science Methodology, Statistics and SPSS Programming. Previous research experience includes working on an ethnographic study performing qualitative data analysis and numerous survey interview opportunities resulting in data to transcribe code and analyze. Last summer Gina was a Fellow at the University of California Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at Berkeley, CA.

Lauren Reed, University of Michigan- Dearborn – Assigned to NACJD, (Julie Eady, Mentor)

Lauren is a Psychology major graduating in May 2009 and she has taken several courses in psychology research design and statistics utilizing SPSS. In addition to her course work, Lauren has participated in psychological research projects where she gained experience in the social science research process and she is currently working on an undergraduate honors thesis. This year Lauren is excited to present two submissions at the Midwestern Psychological Association Regional Undergraduate Conference in May. After graduation, Lauren plans to attend graduate school for a Ph.D. in Psychology concentrating in the area of Clinical or Social Psychology, working with women’s issues and women’s health.

Michael Weaver, University of Chicago – Assigned to DSDR, (Russ Hathaway, Mentor)

Michael is a Political Science and Near Eastern Language and Civilization double major graduating in June 2009. Experience in SPSS and Stata were gained in his role as a student Research Assistant in the Political Science and Sociology Departments where he learned to organize and analyze datasets. During this time he provided assistance on the “Cooperative Congressional Election Study , ” “General Social Survey , ” and “National Health and Interview Survey . ” As you can see, Michael is familiar with ICPSR and frequently made use of the archive to access data and he is now looking forward to learning more about ICPSR during the internship.

Chen Yu “Andy” Wu, Macalister College – Assigned to NACJD, (Julie Xie, Mentor)

Andy is a Sociology major graduating in May 2009 and he has an interest in attending graduate school. Familiarity with SPSS and social science research methods was gained in a variety of courses and by working on a number of university projects to design and analyze survey data. In addition to this experience he has analyzed the development of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples’ movement and summer research funding was sought from the ASIANetwork. Last year Andy completed an independent summer project concerning the effects of secularization on the liberal arts as a Teagle Summer Fellow. Also, Andy has been selected to participate in the American Sociological Association (ASA), Honor’s Program.

Thank you,
Rita Young Bantom, SPHR

ICPSR Human Resources Director
www.icpsr.umich.edu

Posted by ronbo at 05:33 PM

April 21, 2008

SPSS Proactive Notification - SPSS 16.0.2 Patch availability notice

SPSS Technical Support announces the availability of the SPSS 16.0.2 Patch. This scheduled point release is a free incremental update to SPSS 16.0. This update corrects over 100 most commonly requested customer issues, including improvements to the performance and usability of SPSS 16.0 on all supported desktop and server platforms. This patch does not apply to Student Version, Faculty Pack, or
Career Starter. Separate patches will be provided in the coming weeks for these.

For detailed information on the description of this patch, installation instructions, and downloading information, please browse to: http://support.spss.com and click on "Login to Online Tech Support" then enter your user name and password. Select the "SPSS" menu link then on "Patches". SPSS 16.0.2 patch applies to the Windows, Mac and Linux, Client and Server. Select you product to view and download the patch. If you have forgotten your user id or password you can use the Find Password feature on our Web site. This can be found at: http://support.spss.com/password.html

Thank you,
SPSS Technical Support

Posted by yan at 06:25 PM

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2008-04-20

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

New Additions

4475 CBS News Education Poll, June 1990
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04475.xml

4479 CBS News Monthly Poll #2, September 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04479.xml

4623 New York Times New York City Poll, August 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04623.xml

4624 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, September 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04624.xml

4644 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, October 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04644.xml

4645 CBS News/New York Times Ohio Poll, October 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04645.xml

4649 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, December 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04649.xml

4662 ABC News/ESPN Barry Bonds Poll, July 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04662.xml

4689 Current Population Survey, 2005: Unemployment Insurance (UI) Non-Filers Supplement
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04689.xml

20343 Effect of Procedural Justice in Spouse Assault in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1987-1989
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20343.xml

20344 Consequences of Childhood Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence in Chicago, Illinois, 1994-2000
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20344.xml

21380 Voice of the People, 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21380.xml

22240 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Crown Prosecutors' Offices
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22240.xml

Updates

2178 Washington Post/Harvard University/Kaiser Family Foundation Entitlement Poll, March 1997
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02178.xml

2878 Use of Computerized Crime Mapping by Law Enforcement in the United States, 1997-1998
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/02878.xml

3131 American National Election Study, 2000: Pre- and Post-Election Survey
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03131.xml

3522 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children, 1997-1998: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03522.xml

3672 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2000
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03672.xml

3884 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2001
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03884.xml

4022 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04022.xml

6080 CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, July 1992
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06080.xml

6647 National Health and Social Life Survey, 1992: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06647.xml

7735 County and City Data Book [United States] Consolidated File: City Data, 1944-1977
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07735.xml

7837 Current Population Survey: Annual Demographic File, 1979
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07837.xml

7980 Annual Housing Survey, 1977 [United States]: SMSA Files
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07980.xml

8582 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, May 1986
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08582.xml

8890 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, October 1987
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08890.xml

9356 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, September 1989
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09356.xml

20240 Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001-2003
[United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20240.xml

21820 Census of Population and Housing, 2000 [United States]: Documentation
for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21820.xml

21983 Census of Population and Housing, 1990 [United States]: Documentation for Census Bureau Restricted Data
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21983.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/access/recent.html.

Posted by ronbo at 12:45 PM

April 18, 2008

From MAPSS list: Intel Research Team Director Françoise Bourdonnec talks about qualitative methods

When Intel Does Social Science

Tuesday, April 22nd
12:15 PM
Education Building (Cubberley) - Room 128

From Field Sites to Silicon: using ethnography to influence product design

Qualitative social sciences, such as ethnography, are often challenged to influence in heavily data-oriented environments. After reviewing our ethnographic research methods and their theoretical framing, I will explore how to most effectively mobilize the research findings in organizations which are used to dealing in quantitative data. The multiple paths to influence engineering and design teams require different a different presentation of data, and upon occasion different methodologies. Case studies drawn from Intel’s Digital Home Group will illustrate options to achieve the business goals: using research to drive changes in practice and results.

Françoise Bourdonnec is Director of the Domestic Designs and Technologies Research team for Intel's Digital Home Group. This inter-disciplinary team of design, social science and quantitative researchers develops a clear & actionable understanding of daily life in a range of countries all over the world in order to identify platform opportunities & influence corporate and DHG strategic direction and planning. Françoise has done fieldwork in the US, France, Russia and Australia, and has degrees in Anthropology (PSU), International Management (Thunderbird) and Finance (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris). She has been with Intel since 1991.

All members of the Stanford community are invited to attend and to RSVP in advance to reserve food.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html.

Lunch will be served at 12:00 for those who have RSVP'd; the talks start at 12:15.
For more information, please contact mapss-info@lists.stanford.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 06:35 PM

From Medical Expenditure Panel Study (MEPS) list: Recent MEPS Data Updates and Publications (4/18/2008)

MEPS Data Updates:

2006 Household Component Questionnaires
Release Date: March 20, 2008
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/survey_comp/survey_results_ques_sections.jsp?Section=All&Year1=2006&Submit1=Search

HC-098 MEPS P9 Longitudinal Data File
Release Date: February 29, 2008
This file is a two-year longitudinal file derived from the respondents to the MEPS Panel 9 sample. The persons on this data set represent those who were in the MEPS population (civilian noninstitutionalized) for all or part of the 2004-2005 period. The file contains a longitudinal weight variable (LONGWT), all variables from the 2004 and 2005 consolidated full-year files (HC-089 and HC-097, respectively), and the strata and PSU values from the full year consolidated files and the pooled variance data file (HC-036). The weight variable (LONGWT), when applied to the persons who participated in both 2004 and 2005, will enable the user to make national estimates of person-level changes in selected variables (e.g., health insurance, health status, utilization and expenditures). In addition, LONGWT can be used to develop cross-sectional type estimates for the two-year period and for each year individually based on only the Panel 9 sample. The data is available on the MEPS website at:
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data_files_detail.jsp?cboPufNumber=HC-098

Data update for HC-098: MEPS Panel 9 Longitudinal Data File
Beginning in 2008, the Longitudinal Weight File has been expanded to contain more complete and analytically useful variables from the consolidated full-year files. The new file for panel 9 is HC-098, the Longitudinal Data File, and it contains overlapping panel variables that have been renamed to facilitate longitudinal analysis.

MEPS Tabular Data:

2005 Access to Care Tables
Release Date: March 5, 2008
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/quick_tables_results.jsp?component=1&subcomponent=0&year=2005&tableSeries=6&searchText=&searchMethod=1&Action=Search

Recent MEPS Publications:

Methodology Report #22: Sample Design of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component, 1998-2007
Release Date: March 6, 2008
This Methodology Report describes the sample design for the 1998-2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS-HC) and provides updates to the earlier descriptions of the 1996 and 1997 MEPS-HC sample designs. The full report is available on the MEPS website at: http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/mr22/mr22.pdf

Statistical Brief #201: Variation in Ambulatory Health Care Visits and Visits for General Checkup by Demographic Characteristics and Insurance Status, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population Ages 18-64, 2005
Release Date: March 11, 2008
This Statistical Brief examines the differences between men and women in ambulatory health care visits (office based and hospital outpatient) and visits made for a general checkup. The comparisons between men and women are for all non-elderly adults ages 18–64 in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2005 as well as for those ages 18–44 and ages 45–64. The full Statistical Brief is available on the MEPS website at: http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st201/stat201.pdf

Statistical Brief #202: Premiums in the Individual Health Insurance Market for Policyholders under Age 65: 2002 and 2005
Release Date: April 4, 2008
Using data from the 2002 and 2005 Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC), this Statistical Brief examines the changes in premium levels and the population with individual health insurance between 2002 and 2005. The health insurance policies discussed provide coverage for hospital and physician services. The full Statistical Brief is available on the MEPS website at:
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st202/stat202.pdf

Other AHRQ Publications:

Resource Guide to AHRQ Child and Youth Health and Health Services Data, summarizing the Agency’s datasets and tools and providing guidance for accessing and using them.

The datasets are:

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)

Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS)
Kid’s Inpatient Database (KID)
State Inpatient Databases (SID)

Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems (CAHPS™)

The Resource Guide also includes answers to frequently asked questions about the datasets, child-relevant data elements, and other useful information.

Free copies of the printed Resource Guide and CD-ROM are available from the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse. To order the printed version (AHRQ Publication No. 07(08)-0088 or CD-ROM 07(08)-0088-CD, send an e-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov or call 1-800-358-9295 toll-free from within the United States.

Posted by ronbo at 04:13 PM

April 17, 2008

From IES: New IES report from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2005-06 (Fiscal Year 2006) (NCES 2008-328)."

This brief publication contains basic revenue and expenditure data, by state, for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2005-06. It contains state-level data on revenues by source and expenditures by function, including expenditures per pupil.

To browse this report and to view, download and print the report as a PDF file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/expenditures/

Posted by ronbo at 09:05 PM

April 15, 2008

Selections from ESRI Higher Education E-News - April 2008

Software and Data News

Students Can Add a Year to Their Software
ArcGIS ArcView 9.2 with Extensions one-year time-out software offers students an opportunity to work on their GIS education-related projects at home. In the United States, qualified students may purchase this software for $100 at www.academicsuperstore.com or by calling 1-800-447-9778.

Faculty Can Request Free Copies of ArcView 9.2 for Students
ESRI currently offers ArcGIS ArcView 9.2 with Extensions one-year time-out software free for students studying at a college or university that has a campuswide site license for ESRI software. Qualified faculty may request copies at www.esri.com/slpromo and distribute them to their students for use in education.

Disclaimer: Offer is valid for U.S. addresses only. If you are outside the United States and would like to inquire about educational software licenses, please contact your local ESRI distributor.

Support and Training News

Support News

Download ArcGIS 9.2 Service Pack 5
Install ArcGIS 9.2 Service Pack 5 to ensure the highest-quality experience when working with ArcGIS 9.2. This latest Service Pack helps provide support for using ArcGIS software on Vista.

Students using the ArcView 9.2 with Extensions one-year time-out software need to download the Service Pack 5 file for the "ArcGIS Desktop Evaluation Edition."

Student Time-out Software Tips

Registering Extensions: Remind students to register extensions at the same time that they register their ArcView.

If a student has not registered the extensions, it can be done by going to the Start/Programs/ArcGIS/Desktop Administrator menu. From there, the student can click on Register Single Use ArcView and Extensions and follow the registration wizard.

Activating Extensions - Students need to activate the extensions they wish to use in ArcMap and ArcCatalog by going to the Tools/Extensions menu and clicking on the extensions.

Training News

Please visit ESRI Training and Education to see all the ways that you and your students can learn more about getting the most out of ESRI desktop and server products. Many courses are free or are included in course subscriptions that are part of campuswide site licenses.

Posted by ronbo at 12:40 AM

From MAPSS: Studying No Child Left Behind

Stanford Ph.D. Candidate Xin Wei discusses research on educational accountability standards this Tuesday (April 15th).

Pizza will be served at the Education Building (Cubberley) Room 128 at 12:00PM, talk starts at 12:10PM. (RSVP for food at http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html)

Tuesday, April 15th
12:10 PM
Education Building (Cubberley) - Room 128

The Impact of State NCLB Accountability Systems on Student Outcomes: An Analysis of NAEP Results Across States

The stringency level of accountability systems varies greatly by state because of the different combinations of states' decisions in crafting their accountability plans. This study investigates how the stringency level of state NCLB accountability systems is related to student achievement. I developed an accountability stringency measure based on accountability strength, accountability flexibility and minimum subgroup size from each state's 2003 Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook. I conducted both multiple regression analyses on the state-level NAEP data and hierarchical linear modeling analyses on the multilevel student NAEP data sets. Multiple regression models show that a stronger accountability system predicted higher achievement in math for White students in 8th grade, but lower achievement in reading for all students in 8th grade. Adoption of confidence intervals is a significant predictor of lower reading achievement for 4th-grade Hispanic students and lower math achievement for 8th-grade White students. A more lenient retesting policy negatively correlates with math achievement for 4th-grade students. Large minimum subgroup size relates to lower 4th-graders' reading and math achievement and lower 8th-graders' math achievement. Both regression and HLM results show the positive effect of indexing method on student achievement.

Xin Wei is completing a PhD in Educational Psychology from Stanford University and hold a master's degree in Statistics. Her research interest includes applying statistical modeling in educational measurement, evaluation and policy research. Within a multilevel modeling framework, her American Educational Research Association funded dissertation study addresses a very important question of whether more stringent accountability systems improve student achievement and close achievement gap.

All members of the Stanford community are invited to attend and to RSVP in advance to reserve food.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html
.
Lunch will be served at 12:00 for those who have RSVP'd; the talks start at 12:10.
For more information, please contact mapss-info@lists.stanford.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 12:23 AM

April 14, 2008

From GIS Special Interest Group: Lecture on 4/24 - Place: Population and Deforestation in Guatemala

Please join us for the next Stanford GIS Special Interest Group Event.
Apologies for cross-posting. Please feel free to distribute.

----

GISSIG Lecture “Place: Population and Deforestation in Guatemala”

David L. Carr, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara

Thursday, April 24, 3pm
Yang and Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building (Woods Institute
for the Environment) - Room 102

In explaining variability in tropical deforestation, land change scientists have focused almost exclusively on in situ (or “on-farm”) resource use, while population scholars have largely ignored rural-to- rural migration. The ways in which household responses to the human and physical environment in one place may affect land cover change in another place have been inadequately explored. This lecture investigates the primary proximate and underlying causes of deforestation in the humid tropics with a case study from Guatemala. To investigate the first cause of this phenomenon, farmer land use, I collected data from over 500 farmers in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR). To address the second cause of deforestation in the MBR, migration, I conducted interviews with community leaders in twenty-eight communities of MBR settler origin. Evidence suggests that space and place remain essential heuristics to understanding the deforestation process in the tropics. Results from the MBR revealed several factors positively related to forest clearing at the farm level including family size, secure land title, duration on the farm, agricultural intensification, ethnicity, and farm size. Results from areas of origin of migrants to the MBR suggest that larger families, Q’eqchí Maya, landless households, families with small or environmentally degraded plots, households with poor access to labor and produce markets, the least educated, and the exceptionally poor run the greatest risk for migration to the frontier. Evidently, attention to both migration origin and destination areas enhances options for policy interventions aimed at sustainable rural development and forest conservation.

David Carr, Assoc. Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, has served as PI on grants from NASA, NIH, and NSF, enjoyed collaborations with the IHDP, USAID, WWF, TNC, CI, and the IPCC, and has authored over fifty publications on land use/cover change, protected areas, migration, fertility, and health in the tropics.

The GIS Special Interest Group @ Stanford (http://gissig.stanford.edu) is formed around a common interest in GIS, particularly in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Our mission is to facilitate a multidisciplinary network of faculty and students who apply or will be applying GIS, spatial technologies and methods.

Sponsored by the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (iriss.stanford.edu).

Posted by ronbo at 05:09 PM

April 12, 2008

From ICPSR: New Resource Supports FCD's PK-3 Initiative

ICPSR is pleased to announce a new Web site in support of FCD's PK-3 Initiative

* A PK-3 DATA RESOURCE CENTER: THE FIRST SIX YEARS OF SCHOOLING AND BEYOND
* NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

The PK-3 Data Resource Center (http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/PK3/) provides access to four longitudinal datasets selected for their potential to inform PK-3 policy and practice. Resource guides assist researchers in creating extract data files. Links to PK-3 publications provide more information about PK-3.

The datasets are:

* Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K)
* National Head Start/Public School Early Childhood Transition Demonstration Study
* National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), Child Surveys * Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), Child Development Supplement

Research on how well integrated children's learning experiences are across the years from PK through Third Grade, and its impact on children's educational achievement and well-being is needed. PK-3 is the first part of a P-16 education system--from birth through postsecondary education. A PK-3 approach integrates and coordinates learning experiences across the first six years of schooling, PK through Third Grade.

The Foundation for Child Development (FCD) (http://www.fcd-us.org/) announces a small grants program
(http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/PK3/spotlight/rfp.html) to be funded through its PK-3 Research and Evaluation Forum. A maximum of four awards of up to $50,000 each will be awarded to researchers proposing to use one or more datasets from the PK-3 Data Resource Center.

For questions about the RFP contact research@fcd-us.org.

For questions about the PK-3 Data Resource Center pk3@icpsr.umich.edu.

This Web site is hosted by ICPSR with support from the Foundation for Child Development.

Posted by ronbo at 08:20 PM

April 10, 2008

From IES Newsflash: New IES report from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "Findings from the Pilot Teacher Compensation Survey: School Year 2005-06 (NCES 2008-440)."

This brief publication contains summary data from the research and development effort to collect individual salary and demographic data on public school teachers. Seven states participated in this effort: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Data from full-time public school teachers who teach at only one school were included in the analysis. Median salaries and counts for different groupings by experience, age, race, and gender are presented.

To view, download and print the report as a PDF file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008440

Posted by ronbo at 06:59 PM

[SPSS webcast] SPSS Classification Trees: Identify groups, predict outcomes, and communicate results

May 8, 2008

United States
Begins at: 11:00 a.m. CT
Duration: 1 hour

Join us for a demonstration of SPSS Classification Trees and discover how you can create classification trees directly within SPSS 16.0. Learn how to:

Identify patterns, groups, and segments in your data more easily

Create profiles and characterize meaningful segments

Predict future outcomes more reliably

Easily communicate your results to non-technical audiences

This add-on module works within SPSS to create highly visual classification and decision trees. You can then add this information to your data—as a variable—for future use. SPSS Classification Trees includes four established tree-growing algorithms, so you can find specific subgroups and relationships that you might not uncover using more traditional statistics. With SPSS Classification Trees, you can explore results, visually determine how your model flows, and present the categorical results in an intuitive manner.

You can use SPSS Classification Trees to:

Develop a more targeted direct mail program

Create campaigns to increase customer retention

Offer specific products to customers most likely to purchase them

Improve student retention and graduation rates

Develop more effective government programs and services

Assess credit risk

Find out more, visit the organizer Web site: http://spssevents.webex.com

Posted by yan at 03:35 PM

April 09, 2008

Roper Center Newsletter, April 2008

Tip of the Month

Need some assistance converting ASCII files into SPSS? Try this helpful link:
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/ascii_to_spss.html

(And a tutorial for converting ASCII to STATA is on the way, too!)

Topics at a Glance!--"Personal Finances"
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/Roperweb/pom/pom.htx;start=HS_special_topics?Topic=personal_finances

How are your personal finances? Is your financial situation getting better or worse? Is your specific financial worry being able to pay the bills? Is your income able to keep up with rising prices? Find out how others feel about their personal finances and more in this month's

Topic at a Glance--Personal Finances!

Based on a new topic each month, TAG offers a generous free sampling of related polling data and details of survey datasets held by the Roper Center, along with articles previously published in Public Perspective magazine.

Experience the depth of information housed in the Roper Center archives - The complete list of "Topics at a Glance!" http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/Roperweb/pom/pom.htx;start=HS_pom_list

Newly spotlighted datasets http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/roperweb/Catalog40/Catalog40.htx;start=HS_surveyspot
Updated as of April 7, 2008

Special studies of interest recently added to iPOLL. The database now contains nearly a half million questions!
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/ipoll/ipoll.html

Title: Kaiser/Harvard/NPR The Public on Requiring Individuals to Have Health Insurance Survey [February,2008]
Source: Survey by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health, National Public Radio.
Methodology: Conducted by ICR-International Communications Research, February 14-February 24, 2008 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult including oversamples of blacks and hispanics sample of 1,704. Results are weighted to be representative of a national adult population.
Search for: Searched iPOLL for Organization: 'Kaiser'; Date: '02/14/2008 to 02/14/2008'

Title: Kaiser/Harvard/USA Today Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceutical Companies Survey [January,2008]
Source: Survey by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health, USA Today.
Methodology: Conducted by ICR-International Communications Research, January 3-January 23, 2008 and based on telephone interviews with a national adult sample of 1,695.
Search for: Searched iPOLL for: Organization: 'Kaiser'; Date: '01/03/2008 to 01/03/2008'

Additional resources - Web sites with special survey samples

MetLife Survey of American Teachers
http://www.metlife.com/WPSAssets/10124301191202765628V1FTeacherSurveyHomeworkFinal.pdf

ABC News/BBC/NRD/NHK Iraq Poll
http://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/1060a1IraqWhereThingsStand.pdf

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Survey of Journalists
http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/403.pdf

Posted by ronbo at 08:15 PM

April 07, 2008

Recent ICPSR updates and additions - New Releases through 2008-04-06

Below is a list of new data collection additions to the ICPSR data archive along with a list of released data collections that have been updated:

New Additions

4474 CBS News Japan Survey, June 1989
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04474.xml

4555 Current Population Survey, August 2005: Veterans Supplement
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04555.xml

4567 Current Population Survey, October 2005: School Enrollment
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04567.xml

4568 Current Population Survey, January 2006: Displaced Workers, Employee
Tenure, and Occupational Mobility Supplement
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04568.xml

4646 CBS News/New York Times New Jersey Poll, October 2006
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04646.xml

13885 Census of Population and Housing, 2000 [United States]: Voting-Age Population and Voting-Age Citizens (PHC-T-31)
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/13885.xml

20349 Neuropsychological and Emotional Deficits as Predictors of Correctional Treatment Response in Maryland, 2003-2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20349.xml

20354 Impact of Prisoner Litigation Reform, 1992-2000 [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/20354.xml

21441 Voice of the People, 2007
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21441.xml

21640 Evaluation of Children's Futures: Improving Health and Development Outcomes for Children in Trenton, New Jersey, 2001-2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21640.xml

21662 Longitudinal Data on Social Structure and Personality, Based on Interviews With a Random Sample of Men and Women Living in the Urban Areas of Ukraine in 1992-1993, and Re-interviews With a Subsample in 1996
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/21662.xml

Updates

3386 Natality Detail File, 1994: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/03386.xml

4257 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2003
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04257.xml

4431 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2004
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04431.xml

4499 CBS News/New York Times Tokyo Broadcasting System Poll, February 1989
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04499.xml

4626 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2005
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/04626.xml

6652 Natality Detail File, 1989 [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06652.xml

6653 Natality Detail File, 1990 [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06653.xml

6847 Natality Detail File, 1993: [United States]
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/06847.xml

7736 County and City Data Book [United States] Consolidated File: County Data, 1947-1977
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07736.xml

7836 Current Population Survey: Annual Demographic File, 1978
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/07836.xml

8192 Current Population Survey: Annual Demographic File, 1983
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08192.xml

8592 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, October 1985
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08592.xml

8660 Current Population Survey: Annual Demographic File, 1986
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08660.xml

8663 Current Population Survey, May 1985: Work Schedules, Multiple
Jobholding, and Premium Pay
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/08663.xml

9181 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, September 1988
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09181.xml

9939 ABC News/Washington Post Poll, June 1992
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/09939.xml

You can also view a list of all studies added and updated in the last ninety days by visiting the ICPSR Web site at
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ICPSR/access/recent.html.

Posted by ronbo at 07:42 PM

April 05, 2008

From IES Newsflash: ELS-NELS Training Set for June and July

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences will offer two professional development sessions on the use of NCES current high school longitudinal studies data this summer in Washington, D.C. The first session will be held June 16-18, and the second session will take place July 21-23. Both training sessions will cover the same content from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) and the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). Each session, lasting for 2 1/2 days, will include:

* detailed overviews of the ELS:2002 and NELS:88 sample designs, data components, and sample coverage;
* methodological and technological issues relevant to data use;
* instruction and practice on how to analyze longitudinal data; and
* hands-on experience in analyzing the participant's own research problems.

Applications to attend the June 16-18 session are being accepted now and will be competitively reviewed. Most expenses to attend a session will be covered by NCES. For more information, visit this link at the NCES website: http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/conferences/?cid=2

Posted by ronbo at 01:16 AM

April 04, 2008

From Census Update: Hot Tip (4/8/08) - Orange Bar is the Key to the Estimates Web Page

The Population Estimates Program publishes total resident population estimates and demographic components of change (births, deaths, and migration) each year. At the site, don't overlook the important orange navigation bar at the top of the screen. Roll your cursor over each of the menu items to see a number of topic areas relevant to the estimates area. Become familiar with this important web page!

Posted by ronbo at 05:49 PM

April 03, 2008

From MAPSS list: Laurent El Ghaoui - Analyzing the News

How Do We Sort The News? Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Laurent El Ghaoui discusses new tools for sorting and analyzing online text databases this Tuesday (April 8th).

Tuesday, April 8th
12:15 PM
Education Building (Cubberley) - Room 128
(The Same Room as Last Quarter)

Statistical Analysis of News

Each day we are inundated with an avalanche of online news. Yet is is currently hard to obtain a global view of this information. What are the images that various news media project about specific topics, such as global warming, human rights or presidential candidates? How do these images evolve over time? How do they differ across different media sources, scientific or mainstream? What are the dynamics of news events across news networks?

Modern statistical learning and optimization methods are having a great impact in fields where large amounts of data have become recently available, such as biology or finance. With no doubt, such methods can help shed light on the issues above as well, to the benefit of the social scientist or the ordinary citizen. In turn, online news analysis pushes the boundaries of statistics and optimization towards databases, networks, visualization, and calls for a renewed interaction between computer engineering and social sciences.

I will describe a project which aims at providing user-friendly tools for analyzing large amounts of text data residing in online databases, with a focus on online news data and voting records. I will discuss in particular how online learning and sparsity-inducing methods arise as key ingredients, and I will delineate some related fundamental challenges.

Laurent El Ghaoui graduated from Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France) in 1985, and obtained his PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University in March 1990. He was a faculty member of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (Paris, France) from 1992 until 1999, and held part-time teaching appointments at Ecole Polytechnique within the Applied Mathematics department and Université de Paris-I (La Sorbonne) in the Mathematics in Economy program. In 1998, he was awarded the Bronze Medal for Engineering Sciences, from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France. He joined the Berkeley faculty in April 1999 as an Acting Associate Professor, and obtained his tenure in May 2001. He went on leave from UC between July 2003 and September 2006 to work for SAC Capital Management, a hedge fund based in New York and Connecticut.

MAPSS is an interdisciplinary methodology program designed to expose researchers to diverse modes of data collection and analysis from across the social sciences. MAPSS offers a colloquium series, a workshop, a graduate certificate program, and various research resources. If you would like to learn more about the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), please check out our website at mapss.stanford.edu.

All members of the Stanford community are invited to attend and to RSVP in advance to reserve food.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mapss/colloquium/rsvp_signup.html.

Lunch will be served at 12:00 for those who have RSVP'd; the talks start at 12:15.
For more information, please contact mapss-info@lists.stanford.edu.

Posted by ronbo at 10:32 PM

From IES Newsflash: Comparison Between NAEP and State Assessment Results: 2003

Two research and development reports compare state and NAEP assessment results in reading and in mathematics, based on data from 2003 and earlier assessments. For each state, three aspects of student progress are addressed:
* Where the state standards fall on the NAEP scales for grades 4 and 8;
* How much progress the state made toward the NAEP equivalent of the state’s standards, from the earlier assessments to 2003;
* How much the racial/ethnic achievement gaps in each state have changed during this same period.

These two-volume reports also compare the NAEP findings with similar findings reported by each state on its own assessments. In each report, the first volume introduces the strengths and limitations of the study’s methodology and data sources, and the second volume contains detailed findings for each state, introduced by an explanation of the state profiles.

Download these reports:
Comparison Between NAEP and State Mathematics Assessment Results: 2003
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008475
Comparison Between NAEP and State Reading Assessment Results: 2003
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008474

To read more about research comparing NAEP and state and NAEP standards, see
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/statemapping.asp
A related report is available at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/studies/2007482.asp

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 08:43 AM

From IES Newsflash: The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007 Results Released; Online Discussion Scheduled

Results from "The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007" are now available, detailing performance of eighth- and 12th-graders nationally. Improvements were seen across many student groups since previous assessments in 2002 and 1998.

Results are also reported for eighth-graders in 45 participating states, the Department of Defense schools, and 10 urban school districts.

Since the last assessment, 19 states, three districts, and the Department of Defense schools made gains.

For complete results and to download the report, visit
http://nationsreportcard.gov.

Join National Center for Education Statistics Associate Commissioner Peggy G. Carr for an online chat at 2 p.m. today. Submit your questions anytime in advance at
http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/statchat/index2.asp, and come back later to participate in the session.

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 08:00 AM

From Social Science Statistics Blog: Google Charts from R

Late last year Google released the Google Chart API, which gives programmers access to a web service that renders charts. So this url

http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=p3&chd=t:60,40&chs=250x100&chl=Hello|World

will produce a chart like this:

Try it yourself -- copy the url into your browser; change the text from "Hello World" to something else, etc. And the API supports bar plots, line charts, Venn diagrams (!) and even, recently, maps.

People have written libraries in various languages to provide interfaces to the API (here's a list of them), and tonight I hacked together a little R interface to the scatterplot charts. It's quite rough, but I'd be curious if anyone wants to extend it or can show anything cool with it.

Continue reading "Google Charts from R"

Posted by ronbo at 07:52 AM

From MEPS list: MEPS Data User Workshop Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for upcoming Two-day hands-on MEPS (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey) Data User Workshop in Rockville, MD, on May 14-15, 2008. For registration and more information, go to Workshops & Events.

Posted by ronbo at 07:34 AM

April 02, 2008

From IES Newsflash: NAEP 2007 Writing: Your Questions Answered Online

Have your questions about the 2007 writing assessment answered live, online. There will be a StatChat at 2 p.m. on the day of the release, April 3, to discuss the new results. Submit your questions at any time at
http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/statchat/index2.asp
but be sure to return to join in the live discussion.

NAEP 2007 writing results will be released for the nation and for volunteering states and urban districts at 10 a.m. on April 3. The release will be webcast live; see
http://nationsreportcard.gov/ for details.

What will the 2007 results show? In the previous NAEP writing assessment, the average scale scores of students in grade 8 increased between 1998 and 2002, but no significant change in the performance of twelfth-graders was detected. Will that trend prevail? Examine previous national, state, and urban district findings at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/writing/results2002/

NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted by ronbo at 05:55 PM

Introducing the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS)

The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) provides, free of charge, aggregate census data and GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2000. NHGIS offers the following options to obtain data:

The NHGIS Shape Finder provides access to boundary files for mapping data in a GIS software package.

The NHGIS Data Finder provides access to aggregate census data.

Social Explorer allows online mapping of NHGIS data

Funding for the NHGIS provided by the National Science Foundation.

Posted by ronbo at 05:45 PM

April 01, 2008

From IES Newsflash: New IES reports from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has released two new reports:

"Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2004-05 (NCES 2008-335)."

This annual report provides basic information from the Common Core of Data about the nation's largest public school districts in the 2004-05 school year. The data include such characteristics as the numbers of students and teachers, number of high school completers and the averaged freshman graduation rate, and revenues and expenditures. Among the findings: These 100 largest districts enrolled 23 percent of all public school students, and employed 20 percent of all public school teachers in 2004-05. The 100 largest districts produced 20 percent of all high school completers (both diploma and other completion credential recipients) in 2003-04. Across these districts, the averaged freshman graduation rate was 70.2 percent. Four states -- California, Florida, Texas, and New York -- accounted for more than half of the 100 largest public school districts. Current per-pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2003 ranged from a low of $4,351 in the Puerto Rico School District to a high of
$17,337 in Boston, Massachusetts.

To view, download and print the report as a pdf file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008335

Also released: "Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results from the 2005-2006 Private School Universe Survey (NCES 2008-315)."

This report on the 2005-2006 Private School Universe Survey presents data on private schools in the United States with grades kindergarten through 12 by selected characteristics.

To view, download and print the report as a pdf file, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008315

Posted by ronbo at 02:30 PM

From ICPSR Official Reps list: Multiple Versions of TIGER/Line Files Available at ICPSR

1990-2006 versions of TIGER/Line Files are now available for download. The new Web site, TIGER/Line Files@ICPSR offers data no longer available online from the US Census Bureau. TIGER is an acronym for Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing and provides users with the appropriate data to prepare maps through geographic information system (GIS) software packages.

As the Census Bureau states, "The TIGER/Line files are a digital database of geographic features, such as roads, railroads, rivers, lakes, legal boundaries, census statistical boundaries, etc., covering the entire United States. The database contains information about these features such as their location in latitude and longitude, the name, the type of feature, address ranges for most streets, the geographic relationship to other features, and other related information."

The cartographic information in these files reports on all counties and statistically equivalent entities in the United States as well as files for Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. Since its inception in 1988, the TIGER Line Files have been continually improved with updated address and more precise geographic data.

Researchers use TIGER data to build shapefiles that contain geographic attributes for points, lines, or polygons and are used in a variety of mapping applications. Once the shapefiles are loaded into GIS software packages, researchers can input subject matter data, such as Census population and housing information, as overlays on the maps.

ICPSR has the 1990 version of these files available as well as several versions based on Census 2000 information, including the most recent second edition files from 2006. Data for individual counties can be downloaded from special map or table interfaces on the Web site. Data for entire states may also be downloaded.

Posted by ronbo at 12:21 PM