The Population Studies and Training Center (PSTC) at Brown University, formally established in 1965, is an internationally respected demography research and training center offering an outstanding interdisciplinary graduate training program. Research interests include social demography, economic demography, anthropological demography, and population health.
Recent News
While the 65+ population soars, Rhode Island is the only state that experienced a decrease. PSTC Director Andrew Foster comments on the reasons why in this US News and World Report article.
Brown researchers now have access to IndiaStat (http://www.indiastat.com), a Web site that provides national and state-level socio-economic statistics about India culled from various secondary level authentic sources. This site includes statistics on population, health, higher education, economy, agricultural and industrial production. It also provides data on sectors like banking and financial institutions, companies, co-operatives, crime and law, environment, foreign trade, labor and workforce, housing, media, energy and power, transport, urban-rural settlements, telecommunications, tourism, and other areas. For more information, see our Communications Core page.
We are pleased to announce that PSTC has two openings for one or two-year postdoctoral positions starting as early as July 1, 2012. One position is for a Postdoctoral Research Associate and the other is for an NICHD-Funded Postdoctoral Fellow. Screening of applications will begin on February 1, 2012, and will continue until the position is filled (for full consideration please submit materials by February 29, 2012). Please visit our Job Opportunities web page for the full job description of each position and distribute this news widely.
PSTC recently created a Facebook page to share news, events and other important information online. Like us on Facebook.
PSTC Alumna Sela Panapasa, Assistant Research Scientist at the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, received a 2011 Health Disparities Research Leadership Award for her contributions to improving Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander health. Her research examines the role socio-demographic change plays in the health and well-being of island populations across the life course. Congratulations, Sela!
A new study conducted by Susan Short, Professor of Sociology, and Hongwei Xu, a former PSTC trainee, of health insurance in nine Chinese provinces shows that individual coverage surged within a two-year time frame, from 2004-2006. The findings coincide with new government interventions designed to improve access to health care. The changes were most dramatic in rural areas. See the Brown press release for more information or the article in China Daily.
When the world population reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011, PSTC Associate Director Leah VanWey discussed the consequences of this population boom with Deborah Baum. When asked if the planet can support this much humanity, social demographer VanWey said she was optimistic. Click here to read the interview. We now host Afternoon Tea (and Cookies) at PSTC every Monday at 3 pm in the Mencoff Hall foyer. Please join us! PSTC Associate Glenn Loury talks to John McWhorter of the New Republic about what motivates young black people to engage in flash mob violence such as that recently seen in Philadelphia, in this bloggingheads.tv video. Loury says that while it’s hard to discern what drives them, they may be at least partly motivated by anger at police for what they perceive to be unfair treatment. For the full report online, click here.
PSTC Associate John Logan recently completed two reports that measure differences by race/ethnicity in people's local environments, one on neighborhood indicators and the other on schools. Both are available on the US 2010 Census Web page, and back-up data on metro areas across the country are available for each one. The underlying idea in both studies is that segregation is not just about living separately, but it places blacks and Hispanics in worse conditions. This is a continuing theme in his work. Check out this link to download both reports.
In a recently published Demography article entitled “The Relationship History Calendar: Improving the Scope and Quality of Data on Youth Sexual Behavior,” PSTC associate Nancy Luke and her colleagues discuss the tool Luke and her collaborators designed that reduces social desirability bias and improves reporting of sexual activities. To read the article, visit this link.
Margot Jackson, PSTC Associate and assistant professor of sociology, has been chosen as a 2011-12 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow. This year, 20 fellows were selected to receive the $55,000 award out of a highly competitive pool of 170 applicants. The fellowships are administered by the National Academy of Education, an honorary educational society. They are funded by a grant from the Spencer Foundation.
PSTC Associate Mark Lurie discusses how South Africa could save lives and money in this press release.Former PSTC Director Michael White talks to USA Today about trends in Rhode Island demographics. See the article here.
The MacArthur Foundation announces nine grants totaling $5.6 million for research that explores the role housing plays in the long-term health and well-being of children, families, and communities. PSTC Associate Justine Hastings, Associate Professor of Economics, will receive $500,000 over three years to study the impact of housing subsidies in Mexico on family outcomes. For more details, click here.
The PSTC now has a page on Facebook! You can join the group by clicking here
