The Modern Modeling Methods (M³) conference is an interdisciplinary conference designed to showcase the latest modeling methods and to present research related to these methodologies. The 8th annual M³ conference will be held May 21^nd-24^th, 2018 at the University of Connecticut. Keynote speakers for the 2018 conference include Dr. Susan Murphy (Harvard University), Dr. Tenko Raykov (Michigan State University) and Dr. Peter Molenaar (Pennsylvania State University). In addition, Susan Murphy and David Almirall will offer a day long pre-conference workshop on Just In Time Adaptive Interventions on Monday, May 21st. Tenko Raykov will offer a post-conference workshop on Item Response Theory: A Latent Variable Modeling Approach on Thursday, May 24th.

Submissions for the 2018 conference are due 2/1/18. We welcome both methodological research papers and papers that illustrate novel applications of methodological techniques in the area of modeling, broadly defined. Papers related to latent variable modeling, multilevel modeling, mixture modeling, longitudinal modeling, and item response theory are especially encouraged. Given the interdisciplinary focus of the conference, it is completely acceptable to present papers that have been published or presented elsewhere. Presenters may select the length of the session that they prefer: 30 minutes, 60 minutes, or 90 minutes.  We also welcome proposals for multi-paper symposia on thematically grouped topics. Generally, symposia sessions are 90 minutes in length. We are also soliciting proposals for the poster session.  Students are also encouraged to submit proposals, especially for the poster session.

Conference proposals for the Modern Modeling Methods conference may fall into one (or more) of four categories: Methodological Innovation, Methodological Application, Methodological Illustration, or Methodological Evaluation. Methodological Innovation proposals introduce a new technique. Methodological Evaluation proposals present the results of empirical research evaluating a methodology. Most often, these will involve simulation studies. Methodological Application proposals present the methods and results of a real research study in which the technique was used. Methodological Illustration proposals provide a pedagogical illustration of when and how to use the technique; these papers are designed to help the audience be able to implement the technique themselves.

There are three different types of presentations: Paper sessions (in which authors submit a single paper), Symposia (in which a group of authors submit a set of related talks/papers), and posters. All papers should include a 150-200 word abstract that will appear in the conference program. Methodological Research paper proposals should be no longer than 1000 words and should include purpose, background, methods, results, discussion, and significance. Methodological Illustration paper proposals should be no longer than 1,000 words and should include a description of the methodology to be illustrated as well as an outline of the paper/talk. Proposals for symposia should be include titles, authors, an abstract for the symposium, and brief descriptions/abstracts for all of the paper presentations within the symposium. Symposium proposals may be longer than 1000 words if needed, but they should be less than 2000 words. Proposals for the poster session need only submit an abstract: the 1000 word proposal is not required for poster session proposals.

Proposals for the 2018 conference are due February 1^st, 2018. Notifications of presentation status will be emailed by February 19^th, 2018.  To submit a conference proposal, please go to MMM2018 . For more information about the 2018 Modern Modeling Methods conference, please visit http://www.modeling.uconn.edu/ .

Kristen Juskiewicz served as a Program Analyst for the Forensic Audits and Investigative Service team during her Summer 2017 internship with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, D.C. She was assigned to the federal audit of the Affordable Care Act, specifically an audit of the applicant enrollment and eligibility-verification process for the Federal Health-Insurance Marketplace. The purpose of this audit was to investigate possible fraudulent or improper enrollments for plan year 2015.

During the course of her 11-week internship, Ms. Juskiewicz assisted in the qualitative analysis of sample cases, interviews with stakeholders, source documentation and management, and the presentation of initial findings. She co-authored a number of internal reports, which served to document legal background, interviews records, and analysis records. Through this internship, she was able to experience portions of the entire GAO audit process via a shadowing program with team directors and assistant directors. Ms. Juskiewicz also forged a relationship with the GAO Applied Research and Methodology team, and aided them in exploration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) via R packages.

The report is available at: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-169

The MEA program is seeking bright, motivated, quantitatively oriented graduate students for our M.A. and Ph.D. programs.  All current faculty will consider accepting new advisees for the 2018-2019 academic year.  We anticipate being able to offer full graduate assistantships to 3-5 incoming graduate students. To learn more about our graduate programs, feel free to email any of the MEA program faculty.

The 2018 Modern Modeling Methods conference will be held at the University of Connecticut May 21-24, 2018. Keynote speakers include Susan A. Murphy (Harvard), Peter Molenaar (Penn State), and Tenko Raykov (MSU).  The proposal submission site is now open.  Proposals are due 2/1/18. Please go to www.modeling.uconn.edu for more details about presenting and attending.