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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Social Science Research Council (SSRC)
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231114T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231114T170000
DTSTAMP:20231116T213759Z
CREATED:20231116T213442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231116T213759Z
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SUMMARY:Research AMP Webinar
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s Research AMP program hosted a webinar on November 14\, 2023 to introduce prospective users to the platform. In it\, SSRC program staff gave some background on the development of Research AMP\, outlined its central features and how they can be used\, and went over some tips on how to begin planning a Research AMP site.  \nResearch AMP is a free\, open-source technology for building scholarly communities\, collecting research\, and sharing insights with new audiences. \nWebinar Recording
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/research-amp-webinar/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231116T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231116T153000
DTSTAMP:20240111T165040Z
CREATED:20231116T173357Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240111T165040Z
UID:10000846-1700145000-1700148600@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:What Have Megastudies Taught Us about Successfully Encouraging Increased Vaccination?
DESCRIPTION:About the Lecture\nIn this lecture\, Professor Milkman will discuss three massive field experiments testing dozens of different ways of encouraging increased vaccination. First\, she will discuss a “megastudy” encouraging flu vaccination at doctor’s appointments among 47\,306 patients of two large U.S. health systems in which 42 scientists worked in teams to design a total of 19 different text reminders using a variety of different behavioral science principles. Next\, she will describe a megastudy encouraging in-pharmacy flu vaccinations among 689\,693 Walmart pharmacy patients in which 44 scientists worked in teams to design a total of 22 different text reminders using a variety of different behavioral science principles. Finally\, we’ll look at a megastudy encouraging COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccination among 3.5 million patients of a national pharmacy chain in which 13 scientists worked together to design a total of 8 different interventions including text reminders and free round-trip rides to the pharmacy. \n\nWebinar Recording\n\nAbout Katy Milkman\nKaty Milkman is the James G. Dinan Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania\, host of Charles Schwab’s popular behavioral economics podcast Choiceology\, and the former president of the international Society for Judgment and Decision Making. She is also the co-founder and co-director of the Behavior Change for Good Initiative\, a research center with the mission of advancing the science of lasting behavior change. Over the course of her career\, Katy has worked with or advised dozens of organizations on how to spur positive change\, including Google\, the White House\, Walmart and the U.S. Department of Defens
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/what-have-megastudies-taught-us-about-successfully-encouraging-increased-vaccination-centennial-lecture-series/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231117T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231117T170000
DTSTAMP:20231121T201136Z
CREATED:20231121T200538Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231121T201136Z
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SUMMARY:2023 Just Tech Fellowship Application Info Webinar Recording
DESCRIPTION:The SSRC’s Just Tech program is seeking applications for the third cohort of its Just Tech Fellowship for the 2024–26 period. This informational webinar was recorded on November 17 to provide those interested with relevant information regarding the application process and fellowship. \nLearn more and apply to the Just Tech Fellowship here. \nApplications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The last day to submit Full Application Materials is January 31\, 2024\, at 11:59 p.m. EST. \nEvent Recording\n \n—– \nThe SSRC’s Just Tech program foregrounds questions of power\, equity\, and the public impact of new technologies\, investigating evidence of bias and harm while centering the perspectives of historically marginalized communities. The Just Tech Fellowship provides two-year awards of $100\,000 annually\, as well as supplementary funding\, for researchers and practitioners imagining radically different tech futures that embrace joy\, hope\, self-determination\, and equity. \nLearn more about Just Tech at https://www.ssrc.org/programs/just-tech/ \nContact us at just-tech@ssrc.org
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2023-just-tech-fellowship-application-info-webinar-recording/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231117T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231117T130000
DTSTAMP:20231019T202911Z
CREATED:20231018T195943Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231019T202911Z
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SUMMARY:Just Tech Fellowship Public Information Session 2024
DESCRIPTION:The SSRC’s Just Tech program is proud to host a public information session answering your questions about the new Just Tech Fellowship\, a two-year\, full-time\, $100\,000 per year (plus supplementary funding) remote fellowship supporting a diverse community of researchers and practitioners investigating the intersection of technology and social justice. \nThe public information session is scheduled for Friday\, November 17\, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET. The session will cover details on application guidelines and eligibility requirements and answer any questions that participants may have. Register here.\n\nJust Tech is supported by the Ford Foundation\, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur\nFoundation\, the Surdna Foundation\, and the Democracy Fund.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/just-tech-fellowship-public-info-session-2023/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231128T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231128T170000
DTSTAMP:20241213T152654Z
CREATED:20231211T182338Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241213T152654Z
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SUMMARY:2023 Next Gen Post-Doctoral Virtual Writing Fellowship Workshop\, November 28\, 2023.
DESCRIPTION:On November 28th\, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) Program hosted the Next Gen Post-Doctoral Virtual Writing Workshop. The workshop brought together Next Gen Post-Doctoral Writing Fellows and program mentors to discuss their draft manuscripts\, strategies\, and plans for publication. The event was convened to facilitate the finalization of fellows’ manuscripts based on their Next Gen-supported research projects for publication in peer-reviewed journals\, book chapters\, or the completion of book proposals/manuscripts. \nThe workshop began with welcome remarks by the APN and Next Gen program director\, and the introduction of workshop participants. The presentations by each fellow in sessions one and two were followed by feedback from their peers and mentors. This aimed to refine the scope and quality of the draft manuscripts presented by the fellows. Their presentations encompassed diverse discussions of the Next Gen-supported PhD research findings that drew on cases focusing on South Africa and Nigeria from interdisciplinary perspectives\, including History\, Development\, Anthropology\, Peace\, and Cultural Studies. \nIn the first of the three presentations of session one\, Dr. Rosette Sifa Vuninga\, of the University of Cape Town\, spoke to her draft manuscript on “Congolese Refugees in South Africa: Contests around Identity Politics and State Documentation\,” which highlighted the main arguments of the paper on the agency of Congolese migrants living in South Africa. She explored divisions and contestations that marked relations within Congolese migrants over place and identity in their destination country of South Africa. Participants raised questions about the evolution and single\, transient\, changing\, or multiple identities of Congolese migrants in South Africa. \nIn the second presentation\, Dr. Simbarashe Nyuke\, of the University of the Witwatersrand\, presented his draft manuscript on “The Price of Hope: Sacrificing and ‘Seeding’ for Churchizenship in Johannesburg” drew on ethnographic research to explore the impact of Pentecostal churches on migrant communities. He examined how these Pentecostal churches provide a space of survival for migrants in a city. He analyzed how recent migrants adopt and use “Churchizenship as they seek out identity and belonging. The paper establishes the vibrant Pentecostal presence in Johannesburg and how this offers migrants a sense of belonging\, protection\, and hope based on a sense of planting to receive. The presentation elicited positive feedback\, with some fellows and mentors suggesting the need to reflect some more on the relationship between the church and the state and seeking further clarification on what hope and belonging meant to migrants in this and other contexts. \nNext\, Dr. Thatshisiwe Ndlovu from the University of the Witwatersrand spoke on her draft manuscript titled “Standing their Ground while Seated: The Birth of Widowhood Activism.” She interrogated readings of widowhood practices in patriarchal societies that often represented widows as hapless victims who suffered from gruesome mourning and funeral practices after the loss of their spouses. Thatshisiwe uses the concept of “ sitting\,” a widowhood rite where widows are traditionally expected to mourn the loss of their spouse by sitting in seclusion\,  while also expressing a sense of loss\, obedience\, subservience\, and humility in silence. This practice of making widows sit in seclusion  was usually followed by the loss of rights to property and\, sometimes\, children. The author argued for a more intimate understanding of the sitting and standing (resistance) and for more importance to be paid to the widows’ agency. She then explained how some widows reassert their agency by “standing their ground\,” thereby subverting the practice of “ sitting” by resisting oppressive widowhood rites and holding on to the legal deeds of their property. The discussion that followed focused on the relevance of the paper to the theorization of African feminism past and present\, the role of other women in some of these practices\, and the importance of contextualizing traditional cultural rites and the significance of post-colonial dynamics in the analysis. \nIn the second session\, Dr. Gloria Naantoe Alli\, of the University of Jos\, presented her draft manuscript on “Beyond hybrid conflict management: Impact of landgrabs on conflict resolution in Central-Nigeria.” The paper applied a political economy-centered analysis in explaining prolonged land-grabbing in Central Nigeria and its impact on ‘hybrid conflict management’ systems\, including the role of state and non-state actors. She examined the drivers of conflict\, including cattle rustling\, religion\, settler-indigene conflict\, land grabs\, and internal displacement and its implications for conflict management. The feedback received after her presentation included the need for a deeper theoretical framing and historicizing the conflict dynamics. \nThis was followed by Dr. Tsitsi Jane Mpofu-Mketwa\, of the Future Water Institute at the University of Cape Town\, who presented her draft manuscript titled “’Vuku’zenzele!’: The pivotal role of agency in alleviating urban poverty\, lessons from Cape Town’s Langa Township women informal traders.” The paper explored the agency of women traders in the Langa Township and disrupted common notions of women’s roles in informal economies\, including the kinds of networking taking place and how women informal traders were organizing themselves and considering the varied forms of cooperation\, collaboration\, and competition. By doing so\, Dr. Mpofu-Mketwa highlighted the critical role of women’s agency in urban poverty alleviation. \nIn the last presentation\, Dr. Kgomotso Samuel Moshugi\, of the University of the Witwatersrand\, presented his draft manuscript titled “Mobility and Dispersed Collaborations through Localisation.” His paper explored performative ways of being and the role of culture and arts in framing peace. It focuses on music in the mobilities and dispersals of people and how these were connected to local peacebuilding. The feedback received pointed to the importance of an artistic approach to peacebuilding and the need to provide a stronger empirical basis for localization for the study. \nDuring the plenary sessions\, several mentors offered broad feedback to all the presenters. The following issues were highlighted: the importance of contributing to existing knowledge in the field\, connecting data to theory\, infusing greater clarity into the framing of research questions and the place of originality in research\, considering the relevance of decolonial frameworks\, and making data speak to specific audiences. Other issues raised included writing on complex subjects or phenomena that change and working on using clear and accessible language. Mentors also shared their publication experiences\, urging young scholars to be intentional with the themes of the journals they submit to. Additionally\, these senior scholars encouraged fellows to aim to publish their papers in highly-ranked publications. \nThe workshop ended on a positive note\, underlined by the presentations by the fellows\, productive peer-to-peer and mentor exchanges\, and feedback aimed at strengthening the manuscripts of the Next Gen post-doctoral writing fellows ahead of submission for publication. \nThe APN-Next Gen program thanks the Next Gen Post-Doctoral Writing Fellows and their mentors for their hard work and dedication to the program.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2023-next-gen-post-doctoral-virtual-writing-fellowship-workshop-november-28-2023/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231130T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231202T170000
DTSTAMP:20241213T152649Z
CREATED:20231219T201314Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241213T152649Z
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SUMMARY:66th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA)
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC’s) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program hosted a panel at the 66th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA)\, held in San Francisco\, USA from November 30 to December 2\, 2023\, on the theme: “Envisioning Africa in Text and Deed”. The panel was organized under the “Peace\, Law & Security” subtheme of the conference on the topic: “Contestations and Solidarities for Peace and Development in Africa: Towards Conflict Transformation and Security?.” The panel was an opportunity for former fellows of the program to showcase their research findings\, connect with peers from across the world\, and receive feedback from conference participants. It was a well-attended event\, featuring a set of excellent presentations\, followed by a highly engaged Q & A session with members of the audience.   \nIn the first presentation on “Justice as Utu: The Theory and Practice of Alternative Systems in Kenya\,” Dr. Steve Akoth (2012 Next Gen Doctoral dissertation completion fellow) explored Kenya’s homegrown procedures and institutional practices for administering and achieving justice by adopting a moral and human-centered approach known locally as Utu. He discussed the efficacy of Utu by drawing on the case of widows seeking justice\, including how Utu enabled some to gain dignity and acceptance within their families and communities.   \nDr. Simbarashe Gukurume (2015 Next Gen doctoral dissertation research fellow; 2021 APN IRF fellow) spoke on “The market is mine too:’ Youth Contestations\, Violence\, Conviviality at an Urban Market in Harare\, Zimbabwe.” His presentation explored ongoing contestations over ownership of spaces in an urban market in Zimbabwe’s capital city. He explores how violent conflict within urban markets also reflects political cleavages\, including within various levels of municipal boards. The paper also examines the role of local peacemaking and peacebuilding initiatives that seek to mediate and resolve such conflicts\, including the holding of sports events featuring teams formed by youth to foster peaceful co-existence\, harmony\, and reconciliation within urban markets in Harare.  \nThe third presentation by Dr. Muema Wambua (2019 Next Gen doctoral dissertation research fellow and 2020 Next Gen doctoral dissertation completion fellow) spoke on “African Union (AU) Infrastructure for Peace in Regional Interventions: Gaps\, Challenges and Opportunities.” The presentation examined the AU’s peace intervention initiatives in different states and subregions of the continent\, and the extent to which such initiatives have effectively responded to emerging threats to peace and security. His presentation also unpacked how the competing interests of AU member-states have delayed\, worked against\, or undermined such peace interventions. He also made recommendations directed towards implementing a set of reforms aimed at strengthening the capacity of the AU to intervene in conflict situations\, arrest the slide towards democratic regression\, and reinvigorate the participation of non-state actors in implementing the goals of peace infrastructure established within the framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).   \nDr. Ophelia Soliku (2022 APN IRF fellow) gave a presentation on “Navigating Conservation Conflicts: Historical Roots and Power Structures Shaping Conflicts and Peacebuilding in Ghana’s Premier Conservation Areas.” Her presentation addressed the conflicts in communities surrounding one of Ghana’s premier nature conservation parks\, the Mole National Park. Based on her analysis of the conflicts between local communities and the authorities of the national park over access to and the management of natural resources\, she emphasizes the need to go beyond ad-hoc investigations of the sources of conflict and the efficacy of mitigation strategies\,  by making a strong case for more holistic and comprehensive studies of the history\, antecedent factors and power structures that drive conflict as important steps towards building sustainable peace in Ghana’s Mole national park and similar conservation areas.     \nThe panel concluded with a lively panel-audience interaction\, which made clear that the presentations and the questions raised around conflict\, peacebuilding\, natural resource governance\, peace\, security\, and development in Africa elicited insightful responses from the panelists. The discussions also allowed panelists to refine their concepts\, analyses\, and conclusions\, respond to questions posed by members of the audience\, and clarify their research findings\, including their implications for scholarship and policy.  \nOver the three days of the conference\, APN and Next Gen fellows also participated in other panel discussions at the ASA conference\, formed new networks and collaborative relationships among peers and colleagues from across the global scholarly community. 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/66th-annual-meeting-of-the-african-studies-association-asa/
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