The annual meeting of the PAA will be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C. from Thursday, March 27 through Saturday, March 29. There will be 140 sessions and approximately 180 poster presentations. Members already should have received the preliminary program containing housing and registration forms. Copies are available from the PAA Administrative Office.
Social Events. The popular PAA Welcoming Mixer will take place on Wednesday, March 26, 8:30-11:00 p.m. Your registration fee includes admittance and complimentary beverage tickets for two. Come dance to the dynamic, high energy sound of FANCY PANTS at the Alumni Night Party on Thursday, March 27, 9 pm to 12 am. The Presidential Cocktail Party on Friday, 6-7 pm follows the Presidential Address.
Research Grants at the National Institutes of Health: Emphases and Process, Thursday, March 27, 7-9pm. This workshop offers an opportunity to learn about extramural funding opportunities in the behavioral sciences at NIH, and the treatment of human subjects in social science research. Panelists include: Norman Anderson, Ph.D., Associate Director for the Office for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, NIH; J. Thomas Puglisi, Ph.D., Division of Human Subject Protections, Office for Protection from Research Risks, NIH; Christine Bachrach, Ph.D., Chief, Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch, Center for Population Research, NICHD; Barry Lebowitz, Ph.D., Chief, Mental Disorders of the Aging Research Branch, NIMH; Richard Suzman, Ph.D., Chief, Demography, Population and Epidemiology, and Director, Office of Demography, NIA; and Robert Weller, Ph.D., Scientific Review Administrator, Biobehavioral and Social Sciences, Division of Research Grants, NIH.
NLSY Young Adult Interest Group, Friday, March 28, 78 pm, location to be announced. This meeting will highlight the new (beginning in 1994) data collection and seek advice and guidance regarding priorities for future data collection of this subset of the NLSY79 children. Since 1986, with the support of NICHD, the children of NLSY women have been completing a variety of cognitive and socioemotional tests on a biannual basis. Beginning with 1994, there has been a shifting of gears for the older children (age 15 and above) born to these women and they now complete an hourlong personal interview about their educational, employment, family and related personal behaviors and attitudes. About 980 and 1640 children age 15 and over completed their interviews in 1994 and 1996 respectively. All the data from these young adults can be linked with their complete histories as well as those of their mothers covering the 19791996 period. The primary purpose of this meeting will be to inform interested users about the data and to elicit ideas about which directions to take with this sample in the years ahead in terms of data collection priorities and sampling possibilities. Those who would like additional material about this data set prior to the meeting may contact Frank Mott and the Center for Human Resource Research, the Ohio State University, 921 Chatham Lane, Suite 200, Columbus, Ohio, 43221. Phone 614.442.7378; Fax 614.442.7329; Email Mott.1@osu.edu.
Ticket Events (Pre-registration required)
Census in the Classroom: Analyzing Census Data in College-Level Courses, Wednesday, March 26,1:305:00 pm (meet in Grand Hyatt lobby; return by 5:30 guaranteed). Instructors: William H. Frey, University of Michigan, and Kimberly Crews, Population Reference Bureau. Cost: $30 (includes materials, refreshments, and transportation). Maximum enrollment: 24. This workshop will focus on how analysis of US Census data canbe integrated in relevant, userfriendly ways into a variety of collegelevel classes, such as population, social problems, the family, race and ethnicity, social stratification, and introductory sociology. Participants will learn about the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan, and publications available from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). The workshop will provide an overview of SSDAN data analysis materials and PRB publications followed by a "handson" session during which teams of two participants will conduct analysis of pretailored datasets from the 195090 censuses using the Chipendale software. The workshop will also demonstrate the new InternetExplore software that enables instantaneous classroom census data analysis off the World Wide Web. How to obtain classroom datasets from SSDAN free of charge if participants agree to try them in their courses will also be covered. All participants will receive a copy of Investigating Change in American Society (Wadsworth, 1997) bundled with an IBM or Mac diskette; additional exercises and datasets usable for their courses; and selected PRB publications.
Professional Workshop on Communicating Population Research to Policymakers, Wednesday,March 26, 26 pm (at Hyatt). Instructors: Rhonda Smith, Population Reference Bureau, and Sidney B. Westley, EastWest Center. Cost: $20 (includes materials and refreshments). Maximum enrollment: 25. This workshopwill introduce a variety of communications approaches and skills that can help bridge the gap between researchers and policymakers. From planning policyrelevant research projects to preparing for interviews with the media, the workshop will emphasize both the longterm thinking and the specific skills that help enhance the policy impact of population research. Through a mix of presentations and interactive exercises, participants will move from an analysis of the broad principles of the researchtopolicy process to specific techniques for reaching policy audiences. Discussions will cover barriers to using research, lessons learned in policy communications, and the formulations of a communications strategy, including writing effective policy briefs and short media communications, making effective presentations to a policy audience, handling interviews with the media, and using computer graphics to help convey policy messages. Presentations and exercises will be accompanied by publications from the Population Reference Bureau, the EastWest Center, and other organizations illustrating the use of different formats to reach busy policymakers.
Restaurants. PAA members who want to do some advance planning for dining and entertainment at this year's annual meeting need only go online. The Washington Post home page has a dining guide with restaurant reviews by DC's preeminent critic, Phyllis Richman (go to the Style section at http://www.washingtonpost.com). The Washingtonian Magazine has a selection of restaurant reviews including readers' favorites and cheap eats (http://www.washingtonian.com).