Please see below for an interesting upcoming webinar. Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies Harvard University 617-495-4037 http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/ Webinar: By the Numbers: Quantitative Data Sources in Eurasian Studies DATE: Friday February 10th, 2PM EST Please join the SSRC Eurasia Program for a basic, informal, and open discussion of issues relating to the availability of quantitative data sources for social scientists interested in Eurasia, including how to access these data, where to obtain training in quantitative analysis, and how to integrate cultural, linguistic, and experiential insights with quantitative approaches in the study of continuity and change across Eurasia. Topics to be covered include: Data Availability and Access Linking Available Data to Research Questions The Importance of Engaging with Quantitative Data Training Opportunities AUDIENCE: graduate students, practitioners, faculty GOALS: To raise awareness, provide links to sources, spur interest in further research and training, and discuss upcoming Title VIII SSRC summer workshops in quantitative methods for graduate students and faculty. Moderator: Cynthia Buckley, Program Director, SSRC; IC2, University of Texas at Austin Speakers: Nicole Butkovich Kraus, Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Ani Sarkissian, Political Science, Michigan State University Christopher Whitsel, Sociology, North Dakota State University To register for the webinar, please follow the following link: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/797961182 Please forward this message to anyone who might be interested in this event. If you are unable to attend at the scheduled time, contact us for information on how to watch a recording of the event. About the speakers: Trained as a social demographer, Cynthia Buckley has experience in data collection, sample design, and secondary data analysis in the U.S. and several regions of Eurasia. A faculty member at the University of Texas, Austin, she has taught numerous seminars related to research methodology, quantitative, and qualitative analysis in the US, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Her research on Eurasia includes several peer reviewed articles using the World Bank Living Standards Monitoring Surveys, the UN Gender and Generation Survey, the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, secondary statistics in the area of public health, and the Demographic and Health Surveys. Nicole Butkovich Kraus is a Sociology PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison currently completing her dissertation, entitled, "The Construction of Xenophobia in the Russian Federation." Her work, presented at a number of national conferences, explores the causes and correlates of xenophobic attitudes in the Russian Federation. In addition to experience teaching undergraduate and graduate statistics, Nicole is well versed in a broad variety of cross sectional and multilevel statistical approaches. She has established a strong network within the Russian public opinion and human rights fields, as well as familiarization with both polling and survey resources in the Russian Federation. She is currently completing work on Russian nationalism and xenophobia entitled: "Does Pride equal Prejudice?" with Professor Yoshiko Herrera. Ani Sarkissian is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2006. Her cross national research focuses on the effects of religious regulations, organizations, beliefs, and practices on political development and regime change. Drawing on substantial fieldwork and detailed knowledge of secondary statistics in Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey, she has published well- received articles in several journals including Democratization, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Journal of Church and State, and Religion, State, and Society. She is currently completing a book manuscript entitled Authoritarian Politics and the Varieties of Religious Repression. Christopher Whitsel is Assistant Professor of Sociology at North Dakota State University. His research focuses on post-Socialist transition and the increase in educational inequality in Central Asia. He recently published an analysis of compulsory education policy and attainment in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan and is working on a new project outlining costs of education in the region. Professor Whitsel has worked extensively with economic, educational, and health surveys in Central Asia, integrating these findings with his ethnographic insights from wide-ranging fieldwork in Tajikistan and other regions of Central Asia.