As you may know, BGA is a member of the Federation of Behavioral,
Psychological, and Social Sciences. Jack McArdle is current President
of
the Federation. The Federation promotes the interests of a variety of
societies
and associations similar to our own. This past December I attended a
meeting
of the Federation Council as a representative of BGA. One issue that
was discussed
concerned the need for better communication between the Federation and
individual members of member societies about Federation activities. To
that end, I'm forwarding you the following Director's Report.
Mike Neale
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 16:47:29 -0500
From: "O'Toole, Patrice" <pxo.apa@email.apa.org>
Organization: APA
Hello to members of the Federation Council! As suggested at the
meeting in December, I have edited the Director's Report for 1997.
I'm sending it to you, so you can send it to your members as an
overview/update of who we are and what we are doing. If you or your
members have any questions, please contact me. Thanks. Patrice
O'Toole
Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences 1997
Director's Report About the Federation and its Membership
The Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences is
a cooperative. It was incorporated in 1981 by eight scientific
societies to represent the disciplinary interests of behavioral,
psychological and cognitive scientists. By sharing the cost of
Federation activities, the societies are able to support services to
themselves that few single societies could support on their own.
Through its close working relationship with the Consortium of Social
Science Associations (COSSA), the Federation provides a means by which
all the behavioral and social sciences may speak with one voice before
governmental bodies.
The Federation has grown to include 17 societies and approximately 150
affiliates. The affiliates include university departments of
psychology, schools of education, research centers, regional
psychological associations, and a number of divisions of the American
Psychological Association.
The Structure of Federation Services
The Federation provides three broad categories of service: Advocacy,
education, and information. Advocacy is the representation of
specific positions on specific legislation or regulations. Our
advocacy often is directed at gaining funding for the Federal agencies
that support behavioral research. We also work on getting provisions
and language into authorizing and other policy-oriented legislation
that strengthens behavioral research. Sometimes our advocacy efforts
are aimed at defeating legislation that would harm science or
teaching. The Federation comments on proposed regulations to make
clear how such regulations might affect the scientists we represent.
When opportunities arise in the government for researchers to fill
important job slots or advisory positions, the Federation often
suggests individuals who would be appropriate to fill these positions,
or advertises the position to encourage members of our scientific
community to apply. Advocacy sometimes extends beyond the government
to the news media. The Federation responds, when appropriate, to
slanted, distorted, or well balanced stories about research,
researchers or events related to research.
The term "education" in this context describes Federation activities
intended to inform policy makers in both the legislative and executive
branches of the Federal government about the research of our
scientists and the relevance of that research to matters of national
concern. Our educational efforts are an attempt to ensure that the
Federal government will always have a cohort of policy makers who
understand and value behavioral research. Our goal is to educate
those who will be in their positions for only a short time and those
who spend many years in key positions.
Our informational activities are directed at our own scientists. We
strive to communicate to scientists in a timely manner those
developments in legislation, regulation, and funding that are likely
to have immediate impact on research or teaching. We also attempt to
explain longer-term systemic changes whose effects may not be felt
immediately but which may result in enduring, fundamental change.
Advocacy Activities
Federation Director David Johnson testified before several House and
Senate appropriations subcommittees during the first half of 1997.
Oral and written testimony were given before the VA, HUD, and
Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee in both the House and
Senate regarding National Science Foundation (NSF) funding. Testimony
on behalf of behavioral research funding in the armed services was
given before the House and Senate Defense Appropriations
Subcommittees. Testimony before the Labor, Health and Human Services
and Education Subcommittee is decided by lottery in the House, and
only written testimony was accepted in the Senate. Because the
Federation did not "win the lottery," written testimony was submitted
to the House and Senate subcommittees. David Johnson also prepared
the written version of testimony for the Transportation Appropriations
Subcommittee regarding human factors research funding at the Federal
Aviation Administration. The testimony was submitted jointly by the
Federation, APA, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
Deborah Boehm-Davis of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
delivered the oral version of the testimony.
Overall, advocacy efforts were successful this year. The Federation
joined an effort spearheaded by the biological research community to
support a seven percent increase for the NSF and a similar percent
increase advocated by the chairs of the House and Senate Labor, HHS,
Education Appropriations Subcommittees for the National Institutes of
Health (NIH). Both agencies received increases of slightly more than
7 percent. The Federation also worked hard for more than a year in
league with APA and the American Sociological Association to save the
Army Research Institute (ARI), the main Army funding source for basic
behavioral research. This victory was especially sweet because ARI
started the budget cycle with no funding at all and completed the
cycle with funding that is only slightly less than its FY 1997
allocation.
A somewhat similar fight to save behavioral research funding at the
Air Force is now underway. The most disappointing advocacy outcome
this year had to do with the Department of Education. The House and
Senate conferees increased funding only slightly above the 1997 level.
Education Activities
The Federation's long-running Capitol Hill Science and Public Policy
Seminar Series also had a successful year. Seven well-attended talks
were given. In all cases, many more people signed up for the talks
than could be accommodated by the size of the room---one of the
largest public meeting rooms on Capitol Hill. No one was turned away,
however.
These talks were given in 1997: Jon Krosnick, October, "Miraculous
Accuracy in Political Surveys: The Keys to Success." Albert Bandura,
September, "Self-Efficacy in the Exercise of Personal and Social
Change;" James Stigler, July, "Mathematics Teaching in Germany, Japan,
and the United States: An Introduction to the TIMSS Video Study;"
K. Warner Schaie, June, "Slowing the Aging Process: Implication for
Social Policy;" Jerome Singer, Kim Cameron, and Dan Druckman, May,
"The Making of Effective Organizations;" Kenneth Kendler, April,
"Mental Illness and Drug Addiction: Nature Meets Nurture;" And,
Marilyn Jager Adams, April, The Literacy Crisis: Causes and Cures."
In 1995, the Federation Council instructed the central office to
expand the reach of the seminar series. Acting on that instruction,
then-President Lyle Bourne and David Johnson negotiated a contract
with Sage Publications to produce the "Leaders in Psychology" book
series based on the seminar talks. The first book was published this
year. "Minorities and Girls in School: Effects on Achievement and
Performance," features the research of Janet Schofield, Diana
Slaughter-Defoe, Jacquelynne Eccles, and Nancy Betz. The second book
will have to do with industrial-organizational psychology and should
be published in late 1998. And the third book in the initial contract
will be on developmental psychology and is expected to be published in
1999. If the books sell reasonably well, the contract will be renewed
and the "Leaders in Psychology" series will go on.
Informational Activities
The Federation's newsletter returned to regular production in 1997
after missing several issues due to a staff shortage in 1996.
Three meetings of the Forum on Research Management (FORM) were held
this year. The purpose of FORM is to bring government science
managers together with researchers to work on problems of research
management. FORM was designed as an apolitical setting where
participants are free to focus on problems to be solved rather than on
official representation of agency positions (which often stands in the
way of serious examination of a problem). Each meeting of FORM has a
central focus. The three themes for 1997 were: "Structural and
Programmatic Trends and Forces Shaping Federal Support of Behavioral
and Social Science Research" (April 7); "Longitudinal Databases II:
Maintenance, Change, Sunsetting, and Creation" (July 31-August 1); and
"Increasing the Participation of Scientists in Federal Multi-Agency
Initiatives (November 6-7).
The Federation updated and redesigned its web page in 1997.
Consequently, we are able to make frequent updates of the home page.
We have added a current information section to the home page. Our
goal is to change the information in this section weekly. The new
home page is also interactive so that readers can send in their
comments. We also have the capacity to collect data in questionnaire
format. This feature has not been used yet, but the capability is in
place.
Links to other sites of interest to behavioral scientists have been
added as well as links to the web sites of our member societies and
affiliates. Our aim is to make the Federation home page a preferred
site for "jumping off" to a variety of information useful to
researchers and to students considering a career in behavioral
research.
One of the ways we communicate about behavioral, psychological and
cognitive science is by raising the public visibility of outstanding
scientists. So we are pleased to report that our nominee for the
National Medal of Science, Bill Estes, was chosen to receive the
award. The National Medal of Science is the country's most
prestigious recognition for scientists. Bill Estes received this
award from President Clinton in early December 1997.
In a similar vein, the Federation also has an award program, the
Richard T. Louttit Award. It is given to individuals in government
who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the
behavioral, psychological and cognitive sciences. This year the award
was given to Dr. Alan Leshner, Director of the National Institute on
Drug Abuse. Alan is a psychologist and has been a leader of two
Federal science agencies and an influential professional staff member
of a third. The Louttit award is not given annually, but rather is
bestowed as warranted.
The Federation website address is: http://www.am.org/federation/
------- End of Forwarded Message
-- Cheers MikeDr. Michael C. Neale Dept. of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University Phone: 804-828-3369 Virginia Institute for Psychiatric & Behavioral Genetics Fax: 804-828-1471 800 East Leigh St. Suite 1-115, Richmond VA 23219-1534