PPN Brief on COVID19 and the aging population in PA
New from the Pennsylvania Population Network (PPN) is the PPN Brief "COVID19 & The Commonwealth: Vulnerable Populations in Pennsylvania: Aging". Key findings include:
Median Age of PA is 40.7 with 23.7% of the state being 60 Plus
11 counties report having zero ICU beds, seven of which are…
Applied Demography Special Issue on COVID1-19
The work of applied demographers and population research scientists addressing the COVID1-19 pandemic is the focus a special issue of Applied Demography, the official publication of the Population Association of America. The editorial was written by SSRI cofunded faculty member Alexis Santos, while…
Helping families as service members transition from military to civilian life
Military service is often associated with change and uncertainty for many military families, but one thing is certain — the service member will leave the military one day. Penn State researchers are working to help military spouses prepare with their service member for that transition.
Led by the U…
Research-to-Policy Collaboration awarded funding through the Coronavirus Research Seed Fund
In response to the expanding COVID-19 crisis, Penn State’s research community launched an initiative called the Coronavirus Research Seed Fund (CRSF) to “support research with the potential for significant and rapid impact on human health with respect to the disease (COVID-19) and the causal virus…
Noll one of five receiving Faculty Scholar Medals
Five University faculty members have received 2020 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement.
They are Iliana Baums, professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science; Carina Curto, professor of mathematics in Eberly College of Science; Jennie Noll, professor of human development and…
Validation may be best way to support stressed out friends and family
In uncertain times, supporting your friends and family can help them make it through. But your comforting words can have different effects based on how you phrase them, according to new Penn State research.
The researchers studied how people responded to a variety of different messages offering…
Health services and programs being used by post-9/11 veterans
Providing quality healthcare to veterans with mental health issues is complex, especially given that there are some delays in receiving care from the VA system and veterans have a wider choice of healthcare options under the Veterans Choice Act/Veteran Community Care program.
A recent study asked…
Penn State sociology professor coauthors new book on foster care
An examination of the foster care system and its effects on children is the focus on a new book authored by Sarah Font, assistant professor of sociology at Penn State, and Elizabeth Gershoff, professor of human development and family studies at the University of Texas at Austin
The book, “Foster…
New study identifies which veterans are using programs to gain employment
Compared to veterans of other wars, those who have served since 9/11 have the highest unemployment rate, particularly among young male veterans. Within the first three months of disconnecting from active duty service, more than half of post-9/11 veterans reported using at least one program designed…
New podcast bridges the gap between academia and policymakers
How can academia and government work together to tackle problems? That’s the question that a new podcast launched by the Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative, a unit of Penn State's Social Science Research Institute, is trying to answer.
The podcast, aptly titled the “Evidence-to-Impact Podcast,”…
Achievement gaps may explain racial overrepresentation in special education
U.S. school districts may be flagged as over-identifying students of color as having disabilities when other factors, such as achievement gaps, may explain these disparities, according to new Penn State research published in Exceptional Children.
Federal legislation and regulations require U.S.…
University Town Halls March 24
As Penn State has taken numerous measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and protect the health and well-being of faculty, staff, students and communities, University leaders are convening two separate hour-and-a-half Town Halls on Tuesday, March 24, to provide updates and answer…
Coronavirus Research Seed Fund
Due to unprecedented interest in the Coronavirus Research Seed Fund, there will only be one more round of proposal evaluation. To give all applicants sufficient time to apply, that final review will begin on Friday, March 27th at 5 p.m. All applications submitted between now and then will be…
OBSSR Seeks Research Community Input for Next Strategic Plan
The OBSSR is seeking broad input on important new directions for health-related behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR). On February 18, we released a Request for Information (NOT-OD-20-059) and launched a crowd-source submission website seeking your input on research directions that will…
Family Symposium book series releases latest edition - 2020
The most recent volume in the National Symposium on Family Issues book series, “Rural Families and Communities in the United States” is now available from Springer Publishing. This volume specifically focuses on the implications of rural residency for American families, especially minority families…
Underlying factors affect children's early reading and math achievement
Underlying individual and environmental factors may better explain inter-relations between children’s early reading and mathematics achievement, according to new research that fails to support prior work suggesting that increasing children’s math skills might help increase their reading skills.…
Report offers recommendations for protecting children from trafficking, abuse
Penn State faculty with expertise in public health, nursing, sociology and criminology are working to better protect children from trafficking and sexual abuse. The researchers said they hope that by gaining a better understanding of the complexities of human trafficking and commercial sexual…
Making School Choice More Equitable in an Era of Rising Inequality by Erica Frankenberg
By Erica Frankenberg for the Equity Alliance Blog
In April 2019, the Education and Labor Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing about the legacy of school integration efforts and the federal government’s role 65 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision that…
Morgan cited in CDC report
Paul Morgan, Paul Morgan, Harry and Marion Eberly Fellow, professor of education and demography, and director of the Center for Educational Disparities, was cited in a CDC report on prevalence rates for ADHD and learning disabilities in the U.S. The story was picked up by the New York Times, ABC…
How Siblings’ Gender Can Affect a Child’s Development
When you talk about sibling issues, everyone takes it personally. Whether it’s birth order and the supposed advantages of being the oldest (or youngest, or middle), or the question of having (or being) the favorite child, people tend to respond immediately with their own sometimes very individual…
Community factors influence how long you’ll live, study shows
While lifestyle choices and genetics go a long way toward predicting longevity, a new study shows that certain community characteristics also play important roles. American communities with more fast food restaurants, a larger share of extraction industry-based jobs, or higher population density…
Device helps deliver electronic cigarette vapors for research
The increased use of electronic cigarettes and vaping products has increased the need to better understand how and if addiction to these products is different than in traditional cigarettes. One way to objectively measure addictive potential is through changes in the brain, but researchers say a…
Coronavirus Research Seed Fund call for proposals
The emergence of COVID-19 has reminded the world of our hyper-connectivity and susceptibility to pandemics. An effective response to SARS-CoV-2 and other future emerging pathogens, requires the scientific community to rapidly assess key knowledge gaps and respond with research to improve prevention…
Penn State stands out as 'exception' for team research collaboration
The faculty at Penn State may view their extensive interdisciplinary research collaborations as normal, but it turns out that Penn State’s successful culture of innovation through interdisciplinary collaborations is anything but normal. It is an exception.
In December 2019, a research team led by…
TEDxPSU Talk with Nate Brown
Penn State hosted its tenth-annual TEDxPSU Conference recently with 11 speakers, including Nate Brown, professor of mathematics and principal investigator of the STEM Diversity Lab.
This year’s TEDxPSU focused on continuum — a sequence of events that don’t appear to be different from one…