California Center for Population Research

Reproducibility of Statistical Results
2015-11-13 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | CCPR Seminar Room, 4240 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Presented By:

Mark S. Handcock
(Professor, Statistics)
Jeffrey B. Lewis
(Professor, Political Science)
Marc A. Suchard
(Professor, Biomathematics, Biostatistics and Human Genetics)

Reproducibility is one of the main principles of the scientific method. This panel of scholars will discuss issues in the importance of replication of statistical results. Increasing attention is being paid to improve reporting and hence reproducibility in the social and medical sciences. This panel will discuss some key concerns in study replication, initiatives for increasing replication, and then open the floor to discussion of how we move forward as a scientific community.

Rachel Goldberg, UC Irvine
2015-11-04 12:00 - 13:30 | CCPR Seminar Room, 4240 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
“Immigrant Generation and Adolescent Childbearing in the United States”
Abstract: Despite recent declines, the teen birth rate in the United States is still the highest among high-income countries. Immigrant youth can be expected to increasingly shape US trends in adolescent childbearing as their share of the youth population continues to grow. About one in four US children has foreign-born parents currently, up from 6% in 1960; this share is projected to rise to one-third by 2050. In this study, I use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine how the risk of early childbearing varies by immigrant generation; to what extent generational variation reflects discrepancies in the timing of sexual onset (versus post onset factors); and what family, neighborhood, and individual-level social factors underlie generational differences. I will also describe a new data collection project called the mDiary Study of Adolescent Relationships, which pairs a year-long diary study with an ongoing birth cohort study to increase understanding of the content and quality of teen partnerships over time, and of the childhood precursors and health and developmental consequences of teen relationship behavior.
If you are interested in meeting with or joining the speaker for lunch, please send email to Seminars@ccpr.ucla.edu
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Seminar
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Proseminar Lunch:

Mirna Safi, Sciences Po, Paris
2015-10-28 12:00 - 13:30 | CCPR Seminar Room, 4240 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
“Immigrant Spatial Desegregation Trends and Inequality Along Ethnoracial Lines in France”
*Co-Sponsored with The Program on International Migration
Abstract: This article describes patterns of ethnoracial and socioeconomic neighborhood attainment among North African, sub-Saharan African and European immigrants in France. We use the French Trajectories and Origins Survey, containing rare assimilation variables (length of stay, immigrant generation, parental length of stay, mixed ascendance, socioeconomic status). Findings highlight the weak potency of these variables in accounting for spatial trajectories compared to the predominance of ethnoracial origin. Simultaneous equations models are used to show how ethnoracial and socioeconomic desegregation overlap, delineating distinct patterns of neighborhood attainment across immigrant groups, with intense spatial disadvantage among North Africans and sub- Saharan Africans. The conclusion discusses the implications of these findings for understanding the ethnoracial dimension of socio-spatial stratification in France.
If you are interested in meeting with or joining the speaker for lunch, please send email to Seminars@ccpr.ucla.edu
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Seminar
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Proseminar Lunch

Chad Hazlett, UCLA
2015-10-21 12:00 - 13:30 | CCPR Seminar Room, 4240 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
“Kernel balancing: a weighting approach for causal inference and sample adjustment”
Abstract: When making causal inferences from observational data under the assumption of no unobserved confounders, matching and weighting estimators are used to adjust the joint distribution of observed covariates for treated and control units to be the same. Similarly, investigators often have data from an observed sample, which they wish to adjust to make more similar to a target sample or known population. However, existing weighting and matching approaches for both problems have important limitations: matches are generally not exact, and standard weighting approaches ensure that the observed sample is similar to the target sample/population only on a finite set of pre-specified moments. I introduce kernel balancing, first in the context of causal inference and then as a solution to the general sample-adjustment problem. The method works by taking a high-dimensional expansion of the observed covariates, and choosing weights on the control group (or observed sample) such that it has equal means to the treated group (or target sample) on this high-order expansion of the covariates. By using kernels, it is possible to choose an expansion such that all continuous functions of the covariates are linear in that expansion. This proves very desirable, as the weighting then ensures that any unspecified but plausibly important continuous function of the covariates (such as a ratio of two variables) will automatically have the same means for the two groups as well. I provide empirical examples, and show that this method also implies that a particular estimator of the entire multivariate density of covariates is the same for the two samples at every observed location in the covariate space. An R package implementing the procedure is available from the author.
If you are interested in meeting with or joining the speaker for lunch, please send email to Seminars@ccpr.ucla.edu
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Seminar
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Proseminar Lunch:

So you want to be a researcher? Principles and practical data tools to help you fly transparently
2015-10-16 14:00 - 16:00 | SSC Computing Lab 2400, Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, 90095, United States
Researchers go through fundamental steps in a data analysis project. This workshop highlights key steps in a data analyst’s workflow and encourages transparency in each of the steps. Throughout this workshop, we go through hands on exercises that integrate: a transparency engine, obtaining federal API data, producing useful intermediate data structures, and sharing analysis results. We will use [R] and Stata.
slides ipynb

Aude Hofleitner, Facebook
2015-10-15 12:00 - 13:30 | CCPR Seminar Room, 4240 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
“Inferring and understanding travel and migration movements at a global scale”
Abstract: Despite extensive work on the dynamics and outcomes of large-scale migrations, timely and accurate estimates of population movements do not exist. While censuses, surveys, and observational data have been used to measure migration, estimates based on these data sources are constrained in their inability to detect unfolding migrations, and lack temporal and demographic detail. In this study, we present a novel approach for generating estimates of migration that can measure movements of particular demographic groups across country lines.
Specifically, we model migration as a function of long-term moves across countries using aggregated Facebook data. We demonstrate that this methodological approach can be used to produce accurate measures of past and ongoing migrations – both short-term patterns and long-term changes in residence. Several case studies confirm the validity of our approach, and highlight the tremendous potential of information obtained from online platforms to enable novel research on human migration events.
If you are interested in meeting with or joining the speaker for lunch, please send email to Seminars@ccpr.ucla.edu

William Dow, UC Berkeley
2015-10-14 12:00 - 13:30 | CCPR Seminar Room, 4240 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
“Why does Costa Rica outperform the United States in life expectancy? A tale of two inequality gradients”
Abstract: Costa Rica is among the few low or middle income countries with high quality adult vital statistics mortality data. We link these mortality records with census data to create a Costa Rican National Longitudinal Mortality Study, and compare adult mortality patterns to those in the United States. We find that mortality in the U.S. is 18% higher than in Costa Rica among adult men and 10% higher among middle-aged women, despite the several times higher income and health expenditures of the U.S. The U.S.’s underperformance is strongly linked to its much steeper socioeconomic (SES) gradients in health. Although the highest SES quartile in the U.S. has better mortality than the highest quartile in Costa Rica, U.S. mortality in its lowest quartile is markedly worse than in Costa Rica’s lowest quartile. Further examination of cause-specific mortality and risk factors suggest that these patterns are strongly related to behaviors leading to lung cancer and heart disease.
If you are interested in meeting with or joining the speaker for lunch, please send email to Seminars AT ccpr.ucla.edu
9:00 am – 9:30 am: Prof. Hiram Beltran-Sanchez
9:30 am – 10:00 am: Prof. Adriana Lleras-Muney
10:30 am – 11:00 am: Prof. Anne Pebley
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Seminar
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Proseminar Lunch:
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Prof. Jessica Gipson

Welcome and Introductions
2015-10-07 12:00 - 13:30 | CCPR Seminar Room, 4240 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Come and learn all about the California Center for Population Research!

All California Labor Economics Conference 2015
2015-09-17 - 2015-09-18 | UCLA Carnesale Commons
The All-California Labor Economics Conference (ACLEC) brings together the top labor economists in California annually to present recent research. This year’s conference will be hosted by UCLA on Thursday, September 17 and Friday, September 18. Leah Boustan (Economics) and Sarah Reber (Public Policy) are co-organizing. The local planning committee consists of Leah Boustan, Sarah Reber, Manisha Shah, Till von Wachter and Wes Yin, all CCPR affiliates.

http://aclec2015.luskin.ucla.edu/#program

Annual UCLA Research Conference on Aging
2015-07-09 08:00 - 12:00 | Ackerman Grand Ballroom, UCLA

Annual UCLA Research Conference on Aging
2015-07-09 08:00 - 12:00 | Ackerman Grand Ballroom, UCLA
“Annual UCLA Research Conference on Aging”

Annual UCLA Research Conference on Aging
2015-07-09 08:00 - 12:00 | Ackerman Grand Ballroom
Ackerman Grand Ballroom, UCLA

Bayesian Statistical Modeling Using Stan
2015-06-23 10:00 - 12:00 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Daniel Lee
June 23, 2015
10:00 AM-12:00 PM

4240 Public Affairs Building

Stan is an open-source, Bayesian inference tool with interfaces in R, Python, Matlab, Julia, Stata, and the command line. Users write statistical models in a high-level statistical language. The default Bayesian inference algorithm is the no-U-turn sampler (NUTS), an auto-tuned version of Hamiltonian Monte Carlo. Stan was developed to address the speed and scalability issues of existing Bayesian inference tools. The goal of the workshop is the practical application of Stan to different models starting with ordinary linear regression and ending with more complex models such as generalized linear mixed and hierarchical models.

Longitudinal Data Analysis
2015-05-21 14:00 - 17:00
Michael Tzen
May 21, 2015
2:00pm-5:00pm
2400 Public Affairs Building

An increasing number of longitudinal datasets are being made available. The longitudinal nature of the dataset may be represented as a hierarchy of stages, say, measurements across time nested within an individual. We’ll discuss how hierarchical models account for the nested structures and how Generalized Linear Models account for different outcome-response data types. Through hands-on exercises, the workshop will give a brief overview of the motivation and intuition of longitudinal data analysis.

slides

Identifying and Accessing Datasets for Studies on Health and Aging
2015-03-13 12:00 - 13:00 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Sharon Stein Merkin and Mei-Hua Huang
March 13, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
4240 Public Affairs Building
This presentation outlines the general approach to identifying and accessing datasets for secondary data analyses related to health and aging. Within this framework, we will outline the services provided by the UCLA Older American Independence Center’s Data Access Pilot Project (DAPP). We will provide a brief overview of several datasets, including MIDUS (Mid-Life in the US), MESA (Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) and SWAN (Study of Women’s Health across the Nation).

How to Effectively Talk About Your Research with Diverse Audiences
2014-12-10 11:00 - 12:00 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Shelley Wiseman and Prof. Jennie Brand
December 10, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
4240 Public Affairs Building
When you are asked to talk about your research, many of the challenges are the same no matter who your audience and what your communications medium (PowerPoint or not). How to get and keep the audience on board. How to choose what to say and what to leave out. How to identify and reinforce take-away messages. With your peers, you can assume some shared understanding and common language. Start at Point C and with your help the audience will hop on board and follow along. But what are the pitfalls? How can your presentation be more effective? Non-academic audiences pose other challenges. How to establish context and explain complicated concepts. How to tweak main messages for high-stakes audiences such as policymakers and the media.

Leaping the Hurdles and Navigating the Maze: Getting NIH Funding
2014-10-23 11:00 - 12:00 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Susan Newcomer, PhD
NIH Extramural Program Staff
October 23, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
4240 Public Affairs Building
Co-sponsored with The Williams Institute
This is an introduction to the culture of the US National Institutes of Health. I will talk about how the NIH functions, describe the process of an award from application to review to funding and provide some suggestions on grant writing including mechanisms, tips and things to avoid. There will be time for questions.

Introduction to Stata
2014-10-03 12:00 - 13:30
Andrew Hicks (UCLA)
October 3, 12:00-1:30pm
Bunche Hall A258

The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey Data Users
2014-09-12 - 2014-09-13 | UCLA
September 12-13, 2014
California Center for Population Research, UCLA Campus

Agent-Based Modeling Using AnyLogic Workshop
2014-07-28 - 2014-08-01
Prof. Nathan Osgood, University of Saskatchewan
July 28–August 1, 2014
University of California, Los Angeles

Research Using Restricted Data: Ethics and Access Issues
2014-05-19 12:00 - 13:30 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Gary Gates (UCLA), Elizabeth Stephenson
May 19, 12:00 PM-1:30 PM
4240 Public Affairs Bldg.

Publishing in a Social Science Journal: Advice for Graduate Students and Early Career Scholars
2014-04-18 12:00 - 13:30 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Merril Silverstein, Syracuse University, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences
April 18, 12:00 PM-1:30 PM
4240 Public Affairs Bldg.

Learn About New Datasets in Health and Aging
2014-04-11 12:00 - 13:30 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Sharon Stein Merkin, Mei-Hua Huang
April 11, 12:00 PM-1:30 PM
4240 Public Affairs Bldg.

NBER Cohort Studies Meeting
2014-04-04 09:00 - 17:30 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
April 4, 9:00 AM-5:30 PM
4240 Public Affairs Bldg.

Econ Mini-Conf: Perspectives on Health and Aging
2014-03-07 09:00 - 15:30 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Robert Willis (University of Michigan), Mark Hayward (UT Austin), and Robert Pollak (University of Washington, St. Louis)
March 7, 9:00 AM-3:30 PM
4240 Public Affairs Bldg.

Exploring Contextual Dimensions of Behavioral and Mental Health Interventions in Diverse Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations
2014-03-06 13:30 - 17:30 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
March 6, 1:30 PM-5:30 PM
4240 Public Affairs Bldg.
Co-sponsored with the UCLA BRITE Center

Introduction to Methods for Longitudinal Survey Analysis using Stata
2014-01-31 12:00 - 14:00
Andrew Hicks (UCLA)
January 31, 12:00 PM-2:00 PM
SSC Computer Lab 2035H, located on the second floor in the Public Affairs Building.

How to be an Effective Researcher
2013-10-22 14:30 - 16:00 | Bunche 9383
Xi Song, Devin Bunten, Malia Jones, Andrew Hicks, Jennie Brand (CCPR)
October 22, 2:30 PM-4:00 PM
Bunche Hall 9383

Introduction to Stata
2013-10-11 12:30 - 14:00
Andrew Hicks (UCLA)
October 11, 12:30 PM-2:00 PM
Bunche Hall A258

Balancing Work and Family
2013-06-07 12:00 - 13:00 | 4240 Public Affairs Bldg
Gilbert Gee, Meredith Phillips, Till von Wachter (UCLA)
June 7, 12:00-1:00pm
4240 Public Affairs Building
