Major changes for NIH grant applicants! Shorter page limits, restructured forms,  new instructions, enhanced peer review. For application submissions due on or after January 25, 2010, the time is now to find out how –

http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/restructured_applications.html

New from NIH: Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Interactive Textbook

Under a contract from the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (http://obssr.od.nih.gov ), The New England Research Institutes (NERI) (http://www.neriscience.com/web/default.asp ) has developed an interactive, online course on research methods and tools for researchers engaging in behavioral and social sciences (BSS) research on health-related topics.

Reflecting this mission, the e-Source online resource for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research advances the methodological skill set of new and established researchers on the latest research methods, approaches and translation of BSS research. It also provides an easy means by which investigators can efficiently obtain answers to emerging methodological concerns. Specifically, it:

• Demonstrates the considerable potential of BSS research to enhance biomedical research;
• Serves as a resource center for the most current and high quality BSS research methods with references to and examples of well designed studies in BSS research and information on how to easily and efficiently obtain authoritative answers to methodological questions;
• Provides information on how to integrate BSS research into a variety of biomedical research activities; and
• Updates and strengthens the impact of BSS research by identifying consistent and high quality standards for the research community.

To view this course, go to http://www.esourceresearch.org . Recognized international experts in their fields are developing the 16 modules for this web-based learning site:

• Determining Appropriate Methods (John B. McKinlay, PhD)
• The Concept of ‘Science’ in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (Jeffrey Coulter, PhD)
• Theory Development and Construction (Stephen Turner, PhD)
• Concepts in Sample Surveys (Sarah M. Nusser, PhD and Michael D. Larsen, PhD)
• Do’s and Don’ts of interviewing Steve Woodland, PhD)
• Administrative Data Systems in Behavioral and Social Science Research on Health and Aging (Vincent Mor, PhD)
• A Reporting Checklist for Observational Studies (Richard Berk, PhD)
• Using Qualitative Methods to Study Health and Illness (David Silverman, PhD)
• Conversation Analysis as an Approach to the Medical Encounter (John Heritage, PhD)
• Integrating Software and Qualitative Analysis (Eben Weitzman, PhD)
• Clinical Trials (Duolao Wang, PhD and Ameet Bakhai, MD, MRCP)
• Cluster Unit Randomized Trials (Allan Donner, PhD)
• Multi-level Modeling: A Conceptual and Methodological Overview (S. V. Subramanian, PhD)
• Operationalizing, Measuring and Defining Psychosocial Variables (Keith Widaman, PhD)
• Ensuring Conceptual Cultural and Equivalence (Leo Morales, PhD)
• From Quality of Life to Patient-Reported Outcomes (Donald L. Patrick, PhD and Gordon Guyatt, PhD)

The mission OBSSR is to:

• enhance behavioral and social science research in the NIH,
• integrate a bio-behavioral perspective across the research areas of the NIH, and to
• encourage the study of behavioral and social sciences across NIH’s institutes,centers, and offices.

For further information: http://obssr.od.nih.gov

Symposium on the Anthropology of Health: 38th Alaska Anthropology Association Annual Meeting March 24-27th, 2010 Anchorage, AK , Millennium Alaska Hotel

A growing number of anthropologists who are working and being educated in Alaska are exploring human health and healing systems while applying recent theoretical and methodological advances made within the sub-discipline of medical anthropology. By engaging in discussions of medicine and health as viewed through an anthropological lens we can illuminate, problematize, troubleshoot and otherwise come to develop a greater understanding of the ways in which health and healthcare impact the cultures in which we all live and conversely, the ways in which those cultures affect our health and the implementation and practice of medicine. Appropriate discussions are not limited strictly to those in the anthropological sphere, but might also address the interdisciplinary studies in which medical anthropology methods and theory are applicable. Discussion in the Anthropology of Health are encouraged to present inquiries into the dynamic margins of medical anthropology and related fields which employ the use of qualitative, quantitative and ethnographic methods in clinical health and epidemiological research, public health initiatives, health care analysis and health care delivery.

Please submit your abstract of not more than 100 words to Sally Carraher (carrahs@mcmaster.ca) or Kim Fleming (kimberly_fleming@fws.gov) on a paper which discusses issues related to medical anthropology or the anthropology of health. Multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary papers and encouraged and welcomed and papers need not be limited to Alaska. Abstracts are due no later than January 30th, 2010.

Full-time faculty who have recently completed a research study or innovative project but have not yet crafted an article for publication are invited to apply for the third National League for Nursing Scholarly Writing Retreat, sponsored by the NLN and the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education. The retreat will take place the weekend of May 14 to May 16, 2010 at the Indiana University School of Nursing in Indianapolis. By the end of the weekend, you will have a complete, edited paper ready for submission to a scholarly journal.

Space is limited to nine participants who will be selected through a competitive application process. The registration fee (which includes tuition, meals, and two nights suite accommodations) is $750.

Deadline for submission is February 17, 2010. Applications postmarked after that date will not be considered.

The William & Mary Policy Review is seeking scholarly articles and essays in the areas of legal, globalization & development, environmental, health, and social policy. Papers submitted before January 31, 2010 will be considered for our April 2010 edition. Contact: Meagan Nunley, College of William & Mary, 140 Morton Hall, Williamsburg, VA 23188; Email: policyreview@wm.edu

Visit the website at http://www.wmpolicyreview.org/submissions

CALL FOR PAPERS FOR SPECIAL ISSUE ON RACE AND HEALTH

Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race

“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line”–With those words, W.E. Du Bois discussed the racial progress in the United States and foreshadowed the critical part race would continue to play in understanding inequality, mobility, and quality of life in American society.

This quote serves as a springboard for this special call of the Du Bois Review (DBR) soliciting abstracts for papers that describe novel and exciting research directions for studying how race and ethnicity affect health in the twenty-first century. That is, what are the next big ideas that can potentially unpack how and why race is so strongly associated with physical and mental health? What are the most promising new directions for the study of racial inequality and health? What are the key unanswered questions that researchers and policy makers should invest in? What is needed to make more progress in effectively addressing racial inequalities in health?

The DBR is truly multidisciplinary, spanning economics, political science, psychology, sociology, history, public health, and more. If you are not already familiar with the journal, we encourage you to go to the Cambridge University Press website and examine previous issues: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=DBR

Guest editors for this special issue are David R. Williams (Harvard University) and David T. Takeuchi (University of Washington).

Submission Process: Two-page proposals for papers are due January 25, 2010. Two types of papers will be accepted for this special call: (a) state of the discipline presents lead essays that synthetically critique broad areas of research regarding race and health ; and (b) state of the art, is dedicated to observations and analyses of empirical research.

Proposals should state a tentative title, the type of paper to be written, listing of authors, contact information, and a synopsis of the paper idea. We will select papers that hold the most promise for advancing the field and that best combine, as a collection of papers, into a synergistic whole appropriate for this special call. We expect to make our final selection of proposals by February 15, 2010. Final papers will be due July 31, 2010 with publication of the special issue expected for early 2011.

DBR is a blind peer-reviewed journal and publishes only original, previously unpublished whether hard copy or electronic work. Submitted manuscripts may not be under review for publication elsewhere while under consideration at DBR. Please send an electronic version of proposals for papers to both David Williams (DWILLIAM@hsph.harvard.edu ) and David Takeuchi (dt5@uw.edu ).

About DBR: DBR is an innovative journal that presents and analyzes the best cutting-edge research on race from the social sciences. It provides a forum for discussion and increased understanding of race and society from a range of disciplines, including but not limited to economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, law, communications, public policy, psychology, linguistics, and history. The editors of this peer-reviewed journal are Professor Lawrence D. Bobo (Harvard University) and Professor Michael C. Dawson (University of Chicago). Published by Cambridge University Press, and sponsored by the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University, each issue of the DBR contains between 200 and 225 pages.

Typically you wouldn’t expect to find nurses at the annual meeting of the Modern Language Association (the MLA, celebrating its 125th year). But then, normally you wouldn’t expect to find a professor of English appointed to a school of nursing either, but I am one.

The times they are achangin’ and interdisciplinarity is the key word. This year’s MLA theme is Translation, and among the Presidential Theme panels is a special session on translational medicine featuring Anne R. Bavier, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Connecticut, and Elizabeth Lee, PhD, RN, a recent UConn graduate.

Dean Bavier will offer a historical analysis of the forms of translation that nurses, the modern nursing profession, and nursing theory have engaged in. Dr. Lee will present her work on translating into Chinese the Beck Postpartum Depression Screeing Scale.

The session will be held on Tuesday, December 29, 2009, from 9:00 to 10:15 pm, in room 308 of the Philadelphia Marriott.

Journal of Management & Organization (Published by eContent Management in association with The Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management)

Healthcare Management: Progress, problems and solutions (Special Issue : 08/11)

Edited by : Y.Brunetto, (SCU), R. Farr-Wharton (USC) and K. Shacklock (GU), R.Beatie (Glasgow Caledonia)

The Journal of Management & Organization (JMO) is currently seeking academic papers for this Special Issue. Submitted papers should provide a greater understanding of the complexity of healthcare management in either the public or private sectors, with particular emphasis on capturing the HRM issues emerging for healthcare managers in the 21st Century. Healthcare managers face many challenges in delivering quality healthcare. Numerous OECD countries face a challenge in retaining healthcare professionals – particularly doctors and nurses. In the case of Australia, the nurse shortage is equivalent to 3% of the practicing registered nurses, which is approximately 10,000 nurses, just to meet present demand. The situation is similar for medical practitioners. This predicament is exacerbated by the aging population and the high percentage of older healthcare professionals working in the system. Past research has identified that healthcare professionals reporting dissatisfaction with management policies and practices have a 65% higher probability of leaving than those reporting satisfaction, plus the retention of skilled employees is a key factor affecting organisational effectiveness.

The special issue invites research contributions about the factors affecting the retention of professional healthcare workers and the factors affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system.

Included below are examples of possible topic areas:

• The challenges associated with managing different age cohorts of healthcare workers
• The challenges associated with attracting, recruiting and/or retaining healthcare workers
• SHRM issues in healthcare management practice
• The link between healthcare workers level of job satisfaction and client’s level satisfaction
• The quality of management practices in healthcare
• The value of employing particular age cohorts of healthcare workers

Submissions: Abstracts addressing one or more of these themes/topics or further questions should be emailed to a guest editor – Yvonne Brunetto, yvonne.brunetto@scu.edu.au by 2 March 2010. Manuscript submissions are invited by the submission deadline, observing the Author Guidelines. All papers will undergo a double or triple-blind peer review process. The special issue will include 6-8 articles of approximately 8,000 words each, and will publish in the Journal of Management and Organization volume XX/Y (August 2011).

The journal’s Web site: http://jmo.e-contentmanagement.com/

Call for Papers for the 8th international interdisciplinary conference on COMMUNICATION, MEDICINE AND ETHICS (COMET) to be held in Boston, MA USA, June 28 – June 30th, 2010

The conference will bring together researchers, practitioners and administrators from different disciplines concerned with issues of communication and ethics in the fields of health care and the human and social sciences. The conference is hosted by the School of Public Health and Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. We would like to invite abstracts and proposals to be submitted online by 31st January 2010. The All abstract submissions will be online. Please visit http://www.bu.edu/comet  for further details regarding submission procedure, registration, program of events etc. If you would like to be added to the distribution list to receive updates automatically, please email comet@bu.edu. Registration details will be available shortly on the COMET 2010 website. If you have inquiries not addressed by the information on the website, please direct your messages to comet@bu.edu

For the eighth consecutive year, nurses have been voted the most trusted profession in America according to Gallup’s annual survey of professions for their honesty and ethical standards. Eighty-three percent of Americans believe nurses’ honesty and ethical standards are either “high” or “very high.”

“It is with great pride that the ANA recognizes the trust placed in us by the patients we serve,” commented ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR. “At this time, when issues regarding the quality and availability of care are at the forefront of the national debate, we find it especially rewarding to see that nursing’s integrity and commitment continues to be acknowledged.”

Since being included in the Gallup poll in 1999, nurses have received the highest ranking every year except in 2001, when fire fighters received top honors. Results were based on telephone interviews with more than 1,000 adults.

Source: American Nurses Association