[psych-hr] Fwd: A message from the Science Directorate

Hello Friends,

FYI,

Anne Anderson
National Coordinator
Psychologists for Social Responsibility
2604 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 745-7084
(202) 745-0051 fax
psysrusa@cs.com or psysripn@aol.com
www.psysr.com

--------------------

In a message dated 09/24/2001 3:25:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
EKlint@apa.org writes:




          September 24, 2001

          Dear President Gottsegen:

          As you no doubt know, the APA has been active in providing
  clinical information and services to those affected by the recent terrorist
  events through the Disaster Relief Network (see:
  http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep01/trauma.html).

                In the Science Directorate, we are working to make
  public additional science-based information in the aftermath of the attack.
  We have already begun part of that by applying our expertise in human
  factors to improve aviation security policy and public safety. Another part
  deals with psychology's contribution to the larger issues. Combating
  terrorism longer term and dealing with the social, economic, cognitive,
  behavioral and emotional causes and consequences of these events will be a
  daunting task but one to which many psychology subdisciplines can
  contribute.

          I am writing to you as president of an APA Division to
  obtain a description of what you believe members of your Division could
  contribute.  I would also appreciate your providing the names of experts in
  this case so that we can develop a resource network and an action plan for
  offering information and help to government agencies and Congress.  Given
  the international nature of the terrorist act, we are particularly
  interested in hearing from psychologists of different countries and
  cultures. In order to send this message as far and wide as possible, we
  would also appreciate your asking members on your listserv to respond to our
  note.

          Examples of relevant information we could use might consist
  of the following:

  *    how to prevent ethnic/racial hate crimes and other violence against
  members of other groups (e.g., reducing aggressive acts against innocent
  individuals seen as similar to terrorists)
  *    means of altering public attitudes and beliefs about other groups
  (e.g., altering the attitudes of those in countries inimical to the US)
  *    predictive models of violent fanatical behavior (e.g., analysis of
  what leads potential terrorists to become active)
  *    risk assessment -- how to help decision makers accurately assess the
  potential risks and values of prevention strategies

              I am also enclosing information about two funding
  sources available for you to conduct research related to the recent events.
  Thus, for example, if you have data on a group of subjects collected before
  September 11th, and they have subsequently been affected by the terrorist
  acts, you could get some funds on a rapid enough basis to collect the data
  to study those effects. Please see the NSF and NIMH links below:

          http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpg
          (See Chapter II, section 11 dealing with Small Grants for
  Exploratory Research) http://www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/research/910004.cfm

              Finally, I am taking the liberty of enclosing a
  description of our op ed initiative in which we urge all scientist
  psychologists to write op ed pieces about their research or, as in this
  case, about the implications of their research for the recent terrorist
  events.

              Please send your responses to me at
  ksalzinger@apa.org. Other comments or questions are of course welcome.


          Kurt Salzinger
          Executive Director for Science





          The Science Directorate Asks You to... Be an Op-Ed Author!
  Would you like to share the excitement of psychological science with others?
  Do this by writing op-ed pieces for local or national newspapers. Such
  pieces can have a broad impact on influencing the understanding and
  appreciation for psychological science by the general public and policy
  makers. Your op-ed piece can be about the implications of your own research,
  news topics of the day, or about the applications of psychological science
  in general. Your contribution can have a lasting effect -- first, it is read
  by the public; then, it can be accessed in a data bank by journalists and
  other media specialists who look for ideas for feature articles and TV
  programs. An op-ed contribution is generally 600-1000 words. The Science
  Directorate and the Office of Member and Public Communications will provide
  advice and assistance -- look for examples of published op-ed pieces and
  tips on how to write them to be added to this page soon! Rhea Farberman
  <mailto:rfarberman@apa.org?subject=Science Op-Ed Article>, APA Executive
  Director for Member and Public Communications (rfarberman@apa.org
  <mailto:rfarberman@apa.org?subject=Science Op-Ed Article>), is willing to
  help shape op-ed articles for publication. If you have questions, comments,
  or advice about this idea, please contact Kurt Salzinger
  <mailto:ksalzinger@apa.org?subject=Science Op-Ed Article>, APA Executive
  Director for Science, at ksalzinger@apa.org
  <mailto:ksalzinger@apa.org?subject=Science Op-Ed Article>. *




          Kurt Salzinger
          Executive Director for Science
          202 336-5938
          KSalzinger@apa.org
          Fax 202 336-5953
          Cell 347 613-2780
          www.apa.org/science
          www.decadeofbehavior.org