Read the research blog Further Findings.
Research Prizes and Honors
[Have you or a colleague won a research-related prize or honor? Let the Research Alert know.]
GOVERNMENT GRAD STUDENT LANDS SOCIAL SCIENCE GRANT
Michael Dennis, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government, has been awarded a $25,000 Dissertation Support Fellowship from the Social Science Research Council’s Eurasia Program.
Grant funds are provided by the U.S. Department of State and will support Dennis’ project: “Attitudes in Transition: War, Displacement and the Roots of Political Violence in Chechen Refugee Communities.”
News and Information
REGISTER BY MARCH 12 FOR NSF WORKSHOP ON COMMUNICATING SCIENCE
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) will hold a free workshop “Communicating Science: Tools for Scientists and Engineers” on Monday, March 22, 2010, at the University of Texas at Austin.
The registration deadline is Friday, March 12, 2010.
The workshop is for faculty scientists, engineers and Ph.D. students who want to learn more about communicating science to news media and the general public, as well as the broader impacts requirement for NSF-funded research.
Find more information about the workshop online.
FUNDING STILL AVAILABLE FROM OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH
Special Research Grants for 2009-2010 in amounts up to $750 are still available for tenured and tenure-track faculty until the funds are expended. Applications will be processed in the order received. Direct questions to Liza Scarborough at liza@austin.utexas.edu or 471-2877.
QuotedUT Researchers in the News
[A sampling of recent quotes by university faculty members and researchers. To be included in this section, let the Research Alert know when you or a colleague have been quoted.]
New York Times
March 4, 2010
HEADLINE: Gambit in Texan’s Battle to Unseat the Governor
To win, Mr. [Bill] White not only needs a high turnout among Democrats, but he needs to persuade most independents in the state to support him, as well as to encourage some defections among Republicans, several political scientists said. That entails finding a set of state issues on which Mr. Perry [Gov. Rick Perry] is vulnerable without walking into the minefield of social issues that usually divide the parties, like abortion and gun control.
”White has got to make a case to fire Rick Perry, to show he’s somehow been negligent, incompetent, corrupt, etc.,” said Daron Shaw, a political scientist at The University of Texas.
Research Opportunities
Important university research deadlines:
Awards and Grants
Limited Submissions
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
The University of Texas at Austin Stimulus Package Web page is online.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
The NIH Director’s ARRA Funded Pathfinder Award to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, April 5, 2010; Application, May 4, 2010
[Please submit your proposal through the Office of Sponsored Projects via the Proposal Review Form. For questions, please call 471-6424 or email osp@austin.utexas.edu.]
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resource and Services Administration
Equipment to Enhance Training for Health Professionals– Graduate Psychology Education
Deadline: March 26, 2010
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
FY10 Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research Program
Find links to the opportunities below at:
http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/tscrp.htm
–Clinical Research Award
Deadlines: Pre-Application, March 31, 2010; Application: June 25, 2010
–Idea Development Award
Deadlines: Pre-Application, April 21, 2010; Application: May 6, 2010
–Career Transition Award
Deadlines: Pre-Application, April 29, 2010; Application: May 20, 2010
–Exploration-Hypothesis Development Award
Deadlines: Pre-Application, April 29, 2010; Application, May 20, 2010
FY10 Prostate Cancer Research Program:
–Population-Based Research Award
Deadlines: Pre-Application, May 5, 2010; Application: May 26, 2010
–Prostate Cancer Training Award
Deadlines: Pre-Application, May 5, 2010; Application: May 26, 2010
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Research on Technology-Facilitated Crimes Against Children
Deadline: May 3, 2010
Research on Policing (Opens PDF)
Deadline: May 3, 2010
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
Advancing Palliative Care Research for Children Facing Life-Limiting Conditions
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, April 17, 2010; Application, May 17, 2010
Neuroscience Research on Drug Abuse
Deadline: June 5, 2010
Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program Small Research Grant Program
Deadline: June 16, 2010
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Ethics in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Online Resource Center
Deadlines: Letter of Intent, April 30, 2010; Full Proposal, June 3, 2010
ARTS, HUMANITIES AND CULTURE
National Endowment for the Humanities
Fellowships
Deadline: May 4, 2010
OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Ad Hoc Grants Outside Competitive Programs (biomedical science and related science)
Deadline: none
[Please submit your proposal through the Office of Sponsored Projects via the Proposal Review Form. For questions, please call 471-6424 or email osp@austin.utexas.edu.]
Research Project
[Let the Research Alert know about your research projects.]
Increased Earning Dispersions and Labor Market Productivity
RESEARCHERS: Arthur Sakamoto, professor, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, principal investigator; and ChangHwan Kim, assistant professor, Department of Sociology, University of Kansas, co-principal investigator
AGENCY: National Science Foundation
AMOUNT: $126,670
This research will provide insight into the nature of rising inequality in the American labor force by investigating patterns of labor market productivity and earnings differentials during the past several decades. Using official data on employment, earnings and productivity in manufacturing industries, this investigation will study the extent to which increased earnings inequalities are associated with improved productivity or, conversely, may be simply aggrandizing the higher salaries of already privileged employees with greater bargaining power which thereby depletes revenues for pay raises among less advantaged workers. The findings will thus shed light on the critical issue of whether rising inequality is necessary to avoid economic stagnation or whether the decline of the middle-class is simply the result of exacerbating salary differentials that do not commensurately promote economic growth.
By identifying which specific groups of workers are not fully compensated for their productivity (and which groups may be significantly overpaid), the results will have important implications for such issues as the minimum wage, the Earned Income Tax Credit, federal income tax rates, industrial and trade policies, family-leave regulations, welfare reform, affirmative action, civil rights law, and immigration legislation.
