Hello Fellow CBSM Section Members!
Here are some holiday announcements.
1. CFP—Internet and Social Movements Datasets—Jennifer Earl.
2. Arizona Methods Workshop—Jennifer Earl.
3. ASA Session on Food and Agriculture–Michael Haedicke.
4. Job opportunity, University of Texas at El Paso–Sara Grineski.
All the best,
Edwin
1. CFP—Internet and Social Movements Datasets—Jennifer Earl.
CFP for Use of Internet, Activism, and Social Movements Datasets
From 2006-2012, I had a NSF CAREER Award to collect data on online protest across 20 different issue areas. That effort produced two time-series datasets: a panel dataset tracking about 1,200 websites across 5 years, and a cross-sectional dataset tracking new samples of websites each year for five years. Each of these datasets is really two nested sets: one on the overall websites and one on all protest actions that were hosted or linked to from study websites.
After discussions with potential users at the CBSM pre-conference in Las Vegas, several data collection team members and I designed a data release process based directly on potential user input that is engineered to develop a strong and informed user base and reviewing community for the dataset. The first step in that data release process is a limited use period in which potential users can apply to use the data while it is still embargoed. In exchange for early access, these early users will agree to support the development of a user community around the dataset in a variety of ways. (For folks that don’t want to support a user community and just want their hands on the data, they will get that chance when the data is publicly released at the end of 2015.)
I invite you to read about the data release program at: http://jearl.faculty.arizona.
That page contains a call for proposals, which has an upcoming deadline on February 1st (with other deadlines following on a quarterly basis). Other pages linked from that page will take you to pages on how the data is being used already, potential collaborators from the data collection team, and detailed information on the dataset and documentation. It also contains an email address where you can send questions about the data and data release program (please don’t send to my UA email account).
I hope many of you will consider contributing to this effort by submitting proposals and agreeing to join the user community. It’s a complicated dataset that over 60 people have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into building. We are eager to help develop a community that appreciates the complexity of these data and is prepared to use these data in scientifically appropriate ways. By doing so, we hope to not just introduce new data, but introduce the needed skills to use the data wisely.
2. Arizona Methods Workshop—Jennifer Earl.
Re: Learn Something New in the Desert this January: the Arizona Methods Workshop
I think one of the truly great things about being academic is that we are always learning. But, one thing that has surprised me about this is how inefficient learning new areas and tools can be once you are out of graduate school. With the exception of a few well-known, but often pricey, statistical workshops, and an occasional ASA preconference workshops, there are not a lot of structured courses for faculty to take to efficiently learn new areas or tools.
Arizona Sociology has been working to change that. We have hosted the Arizona Methods Workshop for the past three years, and will hold the Fourth Annual Arizona Methods Workshop from Jan 9-11, 2014. We hold it in January before most folks are back in classes to make it convenient and also to make Tucson an attractive refuge for folks from colder climates. I took two of the seminars last year (one on R and one on theoretical simulations) and both were excellent and really efficient ways to learn new material.
I am writing to invite you to consider registering and attending this year. There are four seminars to choose from (and discounts for taking more than one seminar, as well as discounts for students), covering Atlas.ti, QCA, an introduction to R, and (my course) Managing Projects.
You can find more details about the workshops at: http://sociology.arizona.edu/
The workshop I am leading, “Managing Research Projects and Teams,” was offered last year and was quite successful. It is designed for faculty who are about to scale up the size of project(s) they are working on and need some really practical ways to manage their research teams, and covers topics such as scalable training platforms (e.g., video-based training and computerized training modules) and communication and coordination platforms (e.g., project wikis, servers, and efficient collaborative tools in Google and other private providers). The seminar should also be helpful for younger investigators will benefit from a thorough introduction to key features of project management such as hiring, training, evaluation, time management, and coordination.
The workshops are priced so that each additional workshop you take is less expensive than the prior one, and are scheduled to also encourage people to take multiple workshops. This can help folks get more “bang for their travel buck.”
You can also contact me with questions, or the lead organizer, Erin Leahey (methods@email.arizona.edu) with questions.
I hope to see some of you there!
3. ASA Session on Food and Agriculture–Michael Haedicke.
ASA Regular Session about Food and Agriculture
Increasingly, sociologists who attend the ASA meetings have found that research about food and agriculture affords leverage on conceptual puzzles that touch on the heart of the discipline, including the role of culture and consumption in producing social inequalities, the relationship between social movements and non-state actors such as corporations, and patterns of uneven global development. Simultaneously, scholars in the field of rural sociology have engaged with researchers in other subfields, such as the sociology of culture and the sociology of science, in their work to understand the dynamics of organic farming, Fair Trade certification, and other contemporary food movements. Given the diversity and dynamism of contemporary sociological research about food and agriculture, this topic will attract submissions that explore a wide range of theoretical and empirical puzzles. Submissions will be organized into panels that bring together scholars working in similar thematic areas (such as food consumption and social inequality or the global political economy of agriculture). Priority will be given to papers that are theoretically sophisticated and that employ creative and rigorous means of collecting and analyzing data. Especially interesting are papers that draw from multiple subfields (sociology of culture, rural sociology, social movements research, etc.) to construct theoretical arguments and to frame empirical puzzles. I also encourage papers that examine strategies for teaching the sociology of food, since it is currently one of the more popular topics in undergraduate sociology programs and is making headway in graduate sociology programs. Papers must be submitted through the ASA submission portal, accessible through the ASA website, by January 8, 2014. Please direct questions to session organizer Michael Haedicke (michael.haedicke@drake.edu).
4. Job opportunity, University of Texas at El Paso–Sara Grineski.
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGIST
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
POSITION DESCRIPTION: The University of Texas at El Paso is seeking a social scientist as a strategic hire in the area of quantitative methodology at the rank of Associate Professor (higher rank considered). A scholar capable of catalyzing funded collaborative research on campus is desired. Potential substantive research areas could include health and well-being, environment, social networks, borders, migration, Latinas/os, work/poverty/economic development, human security, and human rights. Quantitative methods of particular interest are (a) demography, (b) network analysis, (c) multilevel or hierarchical linear modeling, (d) structural equation modeling, (e) event history or longitudinal analysis, and/or (f) systems dynamic modeling. The candidate must have demonstrated success in publication and external funding and will be appointed in the appropriate academic department. Responsibilities also include teaching and mentoring at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
ABOUT UTEP & EL PASO: The University of Texas at El Paso is an emerging national research university at the heart of the U.S.-Mexico border region committed to the ideals of access and excellence. UTEP ’s nearly $80 million in research spending a year ranks the University among the top 200 universities in the nation, and its more than $40 million in federal research spending ranks fourth among all Texas public universities. In 2013, UTEP was ranked #7 in the nation by the Washington Monthly in its annual “College Guide and Rankings.” UTEP enrolls more than 23,000 students – about 78 percent of them Hispanic – and is the only doctoral research university in the nation with a student body that is a majority Mexican-American. UTEP offers 71 bachelor’s, 75 master’s, and 20 doctoral programs – with more in development. For more information about UTEP, please visit our website: www.utep.edu.
El Paso County is a highly livable, bi-cultural community of 800,000 people that offers affordable homes and attractive neighborhoods; El Paso is the safest large city in the United States. Shielded by mountains on three sides it enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine annually and a dry climate, making it possible to engage in outdoor activities year-round. It adjoins both the state of New Mexico and the country of Mexico, making it one of the largest international communities in the world.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants should have an earned doctorate in Social Sciences with demonstrated success in research (publication and funding), and experience teaching and mentoring students. The successful candidate must be able to work effectively with faculty, staff, and students from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
APPOINTMENT DATE AND SALARY: Anticipated appointment date is fall 2014. Salary will be competitive for rank and commensurate with experience. The position comes with an attractive start-up package and excellent fringe benefits.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Only electronic submissions will be accepted, sent tosegrineski@utep.edu. Please submit as separate documents (1) a letter of application, (2) curriculum vita with full and accurate citation of publications and funded research projects, (3) complete contact information for three references, and (4) one sample of scholarly work.
FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Sara Grineski, Associate Professor of Sociology and Search Committee Chair, at segrineski@utep.edu .
The University of Texas at El Paso is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or sexual orientation in employment or the provision of services.