2003

CONSORTIUM OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATIONS PRESENTS

A Congressional Briefing  

Rebuilding the World Community:

Global Institutions and Interactions in an Era of Terrorism (More)

Thursday, September 25, 2003

12:00 - 2:00 pm.

B-369 Rayburn House Office Building

Lunch will be served

For more information contact COSSA

CONSORTIUM OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATIONS PRESENTS

A Congressional Briefing 

ENHANCING EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE: 

SOCIAL, MOTIVATIONAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS (more)

Thursday, July 17, 2003

12 noon to 2 p.m.

2325 Rayburn House Office Building

Lunch will be served.

For more information contact COSSA

The Consortium of Social Science Associations Presents

Obesity, What Can Be Done Now?

Examining Environment and Lifestyle  

 A Congressional Briefing 

Friday, March 21, 2003

12:00 - 2:00 pm

B-369 Rayburn House Office Building

(lunch will be served)

Executive Summary

For more information contact COSSA

2002

CONSORTIUM OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATIONS PRESENTS 

A Congressional Briefing

Ethnicity and Religion in International Politics:

The Middle East, the Balkans, and India-Pakistan

 September 19, 2002 

       The importance of ethnicity and religion to the creation of international trouble spots is enormous.  Whether it is Serbian Muslims vs. Catholic Croats in the Balkans, Indian Hindus vs. Pakistani Muslims in South Asia, Israeli Jews vs. Palestinian Muslims in the Middle East, or Shiite Muslims vs. Sunni Muslims vs. Kurds in Iraq, these fissures have long plagued attempts to arrive at diplomatic solutions to all too-often violent clashes.  Three distinguished social scientists will examine these various conflicts and discuss how they can possibly be resolved and what the implications are for U.S. foreign policy.  (more)

Executive Summary

A Congressional Briefing in Support of the Decade of Behavior 

Reactions to Terrorism: Attitudes and Anxieties 

Tuesday, June 18, 2002

11:45-2:00 pm*

2325 Rayburn House Office Building

How has our world changed since the attacks on 9/11 and the anthrax incidents that followed so closely thereafter?  Social scientists have found that Americans are less secure and more likely to spend time with their families, and that they feel vulnerable to biological terrorism but that perceived susceptibility can be ameliorated with education about how to minimize risk.  They also have found that it is not only Americans that have changed: so too have attitudes towards the West among the Islamic public in the Middle East.  more

Executive Summary

The Genetic Revolution and the Meaning of Life: How Will Society Respond to the Explosion of Knowledge?

 Science and technology are advancing faster than society’s ability to understand and cope with new discoveries.  These sweeping advances in scientific and medical knowledge have also fostered changes in our social and cultural landscape.  As a result, the current explosion of information and its social implications confront individuals and society with a complex array of challenges. 

At the forefront of this knowledge revolution are the rapid advances being made in genetics.  In 2001, the National Human Genome Research Institute completed a working draft of the DNA sequence of the human genome, a milestone in the never-ending pursuit to better understand ourselves and the wonder of life. The completion of the Human Genome Project is expected to comprise one of the most powerful and direct approaches to the study of a wide range of biological questions.  It will allow researchers to identify genetic contributions to many common disease and disorders, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.  But in order to realize that potential, the accompanying ethical, legal, and social implications must be addressed.  How will individuals, health professionals, and policy makers interpret, understand, and use the findings of this research?  How will society react to information suggesting the possibility of group differences with respect to individual genetic risk for common, complex disorders?  Three distinguished scientists will address some of the issues and concerns associated with this rapid increase in knowledge for society.  MORE

Executive Summary

Welfare, Families and Children -- May 17, 2002

The Three City Study is examining the consequences of welfare reform on the well-being of children and families. The study is tracking 2,400 low-income families, about 40% of whom receive welfare in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio.  A primary focus is the health and development of children. The four-year project consists of three components: 1) A longitudinal survey of mothers and preschoolers (0-4 years) and adolescents (10-14 years); 2) A developmental study of children ages 2-4 that includes videotaped interaction with their mothers, interviews with their fathers, and observations while at childcare settings; and 3) An ethnographic study of the three cities, which will provide a more in-depth picture of 215 families and show the influence of welfare reform on neighborhood resources and state and local child services.   The briefing will present results from the study.   read more

Executive Summary

2001

As Congress begins debate on the next Farm bill, Rural America still faces a number of challenges. To bring the results of important research on rural prosperity to the policy community, The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) is sponsoring a Congressional seminar entitled, Rural and Community Prosperity, on Friday, July 20, 2001 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in Room 2168 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

Some rural areas are experiencing significant growth, as suburban sprawl invades the countryside. Others continue to decline as young people leave and the remaining elderly population places large pressures on health and social services.

Rural communities try to develop economic capacity in many different ways. While farming continues to dominate rural policymaking, rural America continues to diversify. Five distinguished social scientists will tackle these issues when they present their research findings to the policy community on July 20.

Executive Summary

Amidst all the talk about the aging of the baby boomers and the costs that this imposes on social security and health care, there is less discussion of the actual health of older Americans. To bring to light the data being compiled by federal agencies on the health and well-being of the elderly, COSSA sponsored a Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill on April 27 entitled, Living Longer, Staying Well: Promoting Good Health for Older Americans.

COSSA invited three distinguished scientists to discuss the trends outlined in the report, Older Americans 2000: Key Indicators of Well-Being (which can be viewed at www.agingstats.gov), by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics (see Update, September 25, 2000), and their own research on the health of the elderly.

Executive Summary

8:30 to 10:30 am

Friday, March 16

Rayburn House Office Building

Executive Summary

The 2000 vote resulted in loud cries for reforms in the way our nation conducts its election contests. The different types of ballots, some confusing, the delays in counting, the access problems, the greater use of absentee forms, the experiments with mail balloting, early and mistaken calls by the media, combined with an extremely close presidential contest have led to several commissions and other efforts to review and revise our system of voting in national elections. To help formulate solutions to the perceived problems, COSSA, along with the American Psychological Association, and the American Political Science Association, will sponsor a Congressional Briefing on March 16 in Washington. This briefing will feature four distinguished scientists who will present research results that focuses on various aspects of the activities described above.

*Edited transcript available -- contact COSSA

2000

(more)

Executive Summary

*Edited transcript available

Executive Summary

*Edited transcript available

More

Monday, June 26, 2000

12:00 - 2:00 pm

2168 Rayburn House Office Building

Executive Summary

(More)

Monday, September 25, 2000

8:30 - 10::30

B-340 -  Rayburn House Office Building

Executive Summary

1999

       Is Welfare Reform Working?  The Impacts of Economic Growth and Policy Changes*, March 12, 1999

Executive Summary

Sheldon Danziger, Ph.D., University of Michigan

Robert Moffitt, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University

LaDonna Pavetti, Ph.D., Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Not What the Doctor Ordered: Challenges Individuals Face in Adhering to Medical Advice/Treatment,*  April 16, 1999

Executive Summary

Margaret Chesney, Ph.D., University of California at San Francisco

Noel J. Chrisman, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of Washington

Karen Luftey, M.A., Indiana University, Bloomington

Bernice A. Pescosolido, Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington

moderated by

Norman B. Anderson, Director of NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research

  Do Americans Care About and Trust Their Government?*   July 16, 1999

Executive Summary

John Hibbing, Ph.D., University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Pippa Norris, Ph.D., Harvard University

Wendy Rahn, Ph.D. University of Minnesota

moderated by

The Honorable David Price, U.S. House of Representatives

1998

Growing Up Poor:  The Effects on Achievement, Parenting and Child Care,* May 15, 1998

Executive Summary

Greg Duncan, Ph.D., Northwestern University

Aletha Huston, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

Vonnie McLoyd, Ph.D., University of Michigan

Information Technology and Social Change:  The Effects on Families, Communities, Workplaces and Civil Society,* June  19, 1998  

Executive Summary

Philip Agre, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego

Jan English-Lueck, Ph.D., San Jose State University

David Hakken, Ph.D., State University of New York, Institute of Technology

What Do We Know About Adolescent Health?:  Findings From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health,* July 17, 1998

Executive Summary

J. Richard Udry, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Peter Bearman, Ph.D., Columbia University

Kathleen Mullan Harris, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

James Jaccard, Ph.D., University at Albany, State University of New York

1997

Juvenile Crime: A Research Perspective*  

Executive Summary

Richard Rosenfeld, Ph.D., University of Missouri, St. Louis

Simon Singer, Ph.D. SUNY-Buffalo

Denise, Gottfredson, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park

Using the Census:  What It Tells Us About America's People, Workforce and Small Communities

Suzanne Bianchi, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park

Reynolds Farley, Ph.D., University of Michigan

Paul Voss, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison

1996

Aging Well:  Health, Wealth, and Retirment

F. Thomas Juster, Ph.D., Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

Raynard S. Kington, Ph.D., RAND Corporation & University of California, Los Angeles

Olivia Mitchell, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Beth Soldo, Ph.D., Georgetown University

Fostering Resiliency in Kids:  Overcoming Adversity

Executive Summary

Emmy E. Werner, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Suzanne M. Randolph, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park

Ann S. Masten, Ph.D., University of Minnesota

Fostering Successful Families 

Andrew J. Cherlin, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University

Frank F. Furstenberg, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Susan E. Hanson, Ph.D., Clark University

*Edited transcripts available.  For copies E-Mail COSSA