MSU Social Science Research Center

Come see us at Booth 1416.

We're looking for a part-time accounting assistant to join our team! Find the complete position information and application portal at https://bit.ly/3RDhgMe

📢Our Systems Change Lab recently released the 2024 Mississippi Child Care Market Rate Survey Report, commissioned by the MS Dept. of Human Services.

The study captures current market rates for child care in the state to comply with Federal Child Care and Development Block Grant guidelines. The findings, along with estimates of actual child care costs, will determine state and federal financial assistance levels through the MS Child Care Payment Program.

➡️Read the report at https://bit.ly/45AkgyO
➡️Learn more about SCL at scl.ssrc.msstate.edu/

(Segment 1, Discussion Panel) Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP24) The twenty-fourth meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, in 2024, will, in its deliberations on the Report of the Secretary-General on oceans and the law of the sea, focus its discussions on the theme "The ocean as a source of sustain...

Our Dr. Gina Rico Mendez will be presenting at a UN event this afternoon. Learn more below!

MSU faculty member dives into sustainable aquatic food-based solutions at United Nations event Contact: Alaina Dismukes Gina Rico Mendez (Photo by Megan Bean)

New from our researchers! ⬇

New database features 250 AI tools that can enhance social science research A new database of AI tools could help social scientists revolutionize the way they do their research, from scanning large datasets to aiding in literature reviews.

Rural Schools Collaborative is delighted to welcome the Mississippi Rural Education Association - MSREA as our newest Regional Hub partner! MSREA is a partnership between Mississippi State University Mississippi State University and William Carey University William Carey University, created to advance rural education in the Magnolia State. To read more about how the MSREA supports teachers, schools, and communities across Mississippi, and for ways in which RSC and MSREA are excited to collaborate in the future, read more here: https://ruralschoolscollaborative.org/stories/were-proud-to-announce-rscs-newest-hub-partner-mississippi-rural-education-association

We're excited to partner with these organizations and help advance rural education initiatives in our state!

We’re Proud to Announce RSC’s Newest Hub Partner: Mississippi Rural… The Mississippi Rural Education Association will serve as the lead for RSC’s newest Regional Hub.

Learn more about the Early Childhood ECHO project in their latest newsletter!

EC ECHO Newsletter May Welcome to the May edition of EC ECHO’s newsletter where you will find the latest news and updates about EC ECHO and how to get involved!

Check out the latest from DS3, as Dr. Ben Porter shares about publicly accessible data!

I am Using Other Researchers Data and You Could/Should be Too! - DS3 While there are many factors that explain crime reduction, a recent article published in Crime Science questions the power of the internet

Director Devon Brenner and Dr. Dana Franz have a new article in the Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations. Learn about their work with rural teacher prep!

Collaborative Leadership for Research Investigating STEM Teacher Preparation Across Many Institutions This paper describes the creation of a collaborative research team investigating the impacts of education preparation on the recruitment and retention of science and mathematics teacher candidates in rural settings. Our collaborative research includes a core leadership team across 3 institutions and...

We hit the road in March and April to give presentations on campus and across the U.S. Read about those presentations and other activities in our March and April newsletter!

March & April 2024 Chronicles | Social Science Research Center SCL Website Systems Change Lab underwent a website redesign recently. Check out their new site at scl.ssrc.msstate.edu. In the News Katerina Sergi appeared in the Spring Newsletter Emerging Scholars Spotlight of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Special Interest Group "Online Teac...

Dr. Megan Stubbs-Richardson recently spoke to a group at George Mason University about COPE-ID, a powerful data visualization tool that analyzes millions of social media posts. Check out her work at copeid.ssrc.msstate.edu to learn more!

Check out photos from last month's Undergraduate Research Symposium and see if you spot our SSRC participants! Rachel Adair, Aleah Bradford, and Deja Howard all competed.

Spring 2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium | Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery

Check out the Systems Change Lab's new site!

📢Exciting Announcement: We are thrilled to announce the launch of the brand new Systems Change Lab (SCL) website! 💻

Housed within the MSU Social Science Research Center, the SCL is home to a talented team of multi-disciplinary research scientists, associates, and staff. This dynamic group is dedicated to tackling complex societal problems through innovative approaches, including:
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Policy Research
• Training and Education
• Facilitative Practices
• Systems Change Methodologies, such as Collective Impact

Explore the new SCL website today to:
• Learn more about the power of systems change
• Discover our current and past projects
• Access our cutting-edge research, publications, and products

Visit the Systems Change Lab website now and see how we can help you!
https://scl.ssrc.msstate.edu/

Dr. Gina Rico Mendez recently spent time in Nepal with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish as part of the Feed the Future Innovation Labs Regional meeting.

Today, we celebrated Lisa Moore's 17 years with the SSRC as she prepares for retirement. We wish her all the best for this exciting new chapter in her life!

Our Early Childhood ECHO project is getting ready to connect a second cohort of parents and experts. Learn more about this resource-sharing work at earlychildecho.com!

Early Childhood ECHO - Bringing Early Childhood Professionals and Families Together A virtual learning environment for early childhood specialists, professionals, and families to share knowledge and provide guidance, support, and immediate answers to child behavior and development questions

Director Devon Brenner helps lead this program that is developing university leaders. Read about this year's participants!

Ready to Lead: 19 MSU faculty complete university leadership program Building on a rich tradition of developing university leaders, 19 Mississippi State faculty members completed the Faculty Leadership Program this academic year.

SSRC Project Manager Amanda Tullos has been selected for the Leadership Mississippi Class of 2024, conducted by the Mississippi Economic Council.

Leadership Mississippi announces Class of 2024 Forty Mississippians have been selected for the Leadership Mississippi Class of 2024.

📢 Opportunity alert!
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish is pleased to release a Request for Applications for research activities to promote food security through nutrient-rich aquatic foods. Concept notes are due May 15, 2024. See full guidelines and details here: https://www.fishinnovationlab.msstate.edu/opportunities/current.

Director Devon Brenner just returned from the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Dr. Brenner discussed the Benefits of faculty participation in a research collaborative for rural STEM Educator Preparation Programs, alongside Dr. Chrissy Cross of Stephen F. Austin University.

Adults age 65 and over are needed for a research study to help health communicators create better educational materials about adult vaccines. Participants will receive a $50 gift card for a one-hour session. The session will involve answering questions about health communication materials (such as flyers) and recording some of your bodily responses (such as your heart rate) while you view materials.

Sessions will take place in *Columbus* on Monday, April 15, and Tuesday, April 16. To learn more and sign up for the Columbus location, visit https://calendly.com/wsumurrowcollege/excite-ms-columbus.

Sessions will take place in *Starkville* on Thursday, April 18, and Friday, April 19. To learn more and sign up for the Starkville location, visit
https://calendly.com/wsumurrowcollege/excite-ms-starkville.

Two researchers from the Gender Impacts Lab were among the presenters at the Southern Sociological Society's Annual Conference last week. Research Associate Madeline Burdine and Robert Kolbila, a sociology graduate student, shared their work during the conference.

Dr. Art Cosby, director emeritus, has co-authored a new article in IEEE Xplore. Check it out to learn more!

Predicting County-Level Population from VIIRS Nighttime Light Imagery with Deep Learning | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore Nighttime light (NTL) imagery has been widely used to predict economic impacts, electricity consumption, and light pollution. In this research, we evaluated nig

Final Spotlight on MississippiThrive.com Resources for Teachers & Child Care Providers
Today, we're highlighting the wealth of services, support resources, and professional development opportunities listed on MississippiThrive.com for teachers and child care providers working with young children.

Explore the resources on our site today and discover new ways to make a lasting impact on the children in your care. Together, we can ensure all of Mississippi's kids get off to the strongest possible start!

👉 https://mississippithrive.com/teachers/ 👈

Learn a little about one of our undergraduate research assistants in a new spotlight story!

Student Spotlight: Canon Sbravati | Social Science Research Center Student Spotlight: Canon Sbravati Published on March 26, 2024 A passion for creating brought Canon Sbravati to Mississippi State University and the Social Science Research Center. The native of Cleveland, Mississippi, is a junior computer science major interested in programming—building the blocks...

Last week, Amanda Tullos and Devon Brenner joined this year’s MS Education Policy Fellowship Program participants at the Washington Policy Seminar in Washington, DC. The fellows, education leaders from around the state, learned about federal education policy and appropriations and met with Congressman Bennie Thompson, Congressman Michael Guest, and Julia Cunningham, Director of Rural Engagement at the US Department of Education.

Catch up with our activities from the beginning of the year in The Chronicles!

January & February 2024 Chronicles | Social Science Research Center 2023 Annual Report In 2023, the Social Science Research Center executed new and continuing work. With a total budget of over $13 million, our researchers impacted communities worldwide and around Mississippi. Read online at www.ssrc.msstate.edu/annual-report-2023. Early Childhood Echo Project ECHO f...

🎉 It's a beautiful day for an Excelebration! 🌟 Visit our booth at the Waynesboro-Wayne County Library from 1:00 - 3:00 and explore our Vroom and Mind in the Making materials. See you there! .org