CENSUS IN THE CLASSROOM 1997 WORKSHOP AND WEB ACCESS
William Frey of the University of Michigan
announces a 1997 summer workshop and Internet
access to undergraduate teaching materials available with the SSDAN (Social Science Data Analysis
Network). Funded by NSF and the Department of Education FIPSE, the Network enables college
teachers to introduce "userfriendly" analysis of census data in their classes.
Data sets, from the 1950 thru 1990 US Censuses, and the Current Population Surveys, can be used for a variety of social science classes dealing with population related topics. SSDAN staff will help instructors tailor exercises for their own classes, and make them available to other professors in the Network. Interested faculty can request a "startup" package, free of charge, by registering through the homepage (http://www.psc.lsa.umich.edu/SSDAN/), emailing William.Frey@umich.edu, or writing to the address below. The homepage describes the project, available data sets and exercises, and permits downloading of census data sets, that can be accessed with Chipendale software in both IBM and MAC formats. A fiveday workshop will be held in Ann Arbor, June 1520, for instructors interested in adopting census data analysis exercises in their classes. For an application, contact SSDANSTAFF@umich.edu, apply via our web page (above), or write to: William Frey, Director SSDAN, Population Studies Center, 1225 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.
FREE ACCESS TO LARGE DATA SETS
Public Data Queries, Inc., announces its new data access system, PDQExplore. The system, opti-mized for social scientists who use large data sets, supports interactive access via the Internet to a
variety of public census and survey data sets. The system is available free to nonprofit users during
the development period, through 1998. This system generates tabulations and statistical summaries
quickly and easily from a variety of public data sets, including (PUMS) and the Integrated PUMS
(IPUMS) files from the Social History Research Laboratory (SHRL). Selection/rejection filters may
be specified to define precisely the universe desired for analysis. The development of PDQExplore
has been funded, in part, through grants from NICHD and NIA. PDQExplore can be accessed via
telnet to PDQ facilities in Ann Arbor or by installing a client on a desktop that is connected to the
Internet. For information about the system, its use, and the data available, see the PDQ homepage at
http://www.pdq.com or Email info@pdq.com
DHS announces the availability of findings from three new surveys: Egypt (ENG), Kazakstan(RUS/ENG), and Mali (FRE). The Egypt report includes chapters on female circumcision (FGM) and women's status. The Kazakstan report has information on anemia and induced abortion. The Mali report presents data on young children that points to increasing levels of malnutrition. Further information about these and other DHS surveys is available by contacting Dara Carr (carr@macroint.com) or Daniel Vadnais (vadnais@macroint.com) at Macro International, Phone: 301.572.0200; Fax: 301.572.0999. DHS data files are now available for downloading free of charge through the Macro International web site (www.macroint.com/dhs/). Interested users can go to the web site and follow the Download DHS Data link to register to use the files. Authorization takes only 2-3 days; users will be notified by email when the files are available for downloading.
The NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (NAS) COMMITTEE ON POPULATION (CPOP) was established in 1983 to bring the knowledge and methods of the population sciences to bear on major issues of science and public policy. The Committee's work includes both basic studies of fertility, health and mortality, and migration; and applied studies aimed at improving programs for the public health and welfare in the United States and in developing countries. Visit the CPOP home page at http://www2.nas.edu/cpop/ for further information and links to on-line publications.