The November 2006 Research Commentary from Population Action International examines population age structure in Nigeria.

Despite ongoing violence, Iraq’s birth rate has increased to well above the average for the Middle East (Cleveland Plain Dealer).

Urban Agglomerations 2005 and Urban and Rural Areas 2005 are now available from the United Nations Population Division.

Maternal Mortality in India: 1997-2003: Trends, Causes and Risk Factors (Microsoft Word format) is now available from the Census of India. The report shows that maternal mortality has declined over the period 1997-2003, but progress is still needed to meet Millenium Development Goals by 2007 and 2012.

The Tanzanian government is reviewing the Marriage Act to raise the age of consent for girls from 15 to 18 years (IRIN via Reuters AlertNet).

The following grant announcements are new this week on the Population Research Institute Funding Announcements web page.

Funding for Faculty Investigators

Understanding Risk and Protective Factors for Sexual Violence Perpetration and the Overlap with Bullying Behavior (U49) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Post-Doctoral Opportunities

David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality - Library of Congress, Kluge Center

Kluge Center Fellowships - Library of Congress, Kluge Center

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will host an online technical assistance meeting on November 28, 2006 for applicants to RFA-RM-07-004, Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research via Methodological and Technological Innovation in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R21). Attendees must pre-register. For details, see the NIH notice.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) requests comments from applicants, reviewers, and other interested members of the research community on a proposal to reduce the research plan section of R01 applications from the current 25-page limit. The change is being considered to focus more on key ideas and scientific signifance rather than on experimental details. Comments must be submitted by January 5, 2007. For details, see the Federal Register notice.

Beginning in January 2007, standard receipt dates for applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will change. The changes are designed to ease congestion at applicant institutions’ research administration offices as well as at Grants.gov and NIH. For details, see the Federal Register notice.

The newly released MEPS 2004 Full Year Consolidated Data and documentation is now available in PopNet Unix and the PRI MEPS SodaPop Collection.