Publication Year: within 10 Years / Topic: Research

Author:: César Rodríguez
Publication Date:: 06-2015
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Dejusticia
Abstract:: Action research combines academic studies, participation in public debates, public policy advocay and the strengthening of institutions (for example, think tanks and nongovernmental organizations). This book explores the advantages and challenges of this type of work. Closely interacting with diverse audiences tends to give the action researcher greater empirical accuracy and relevance, and also serves as as source of motivation. Nevertheless, it can also lead to the risk of dispersion, lack of analytical distance and burnout.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Research, Academia, and Multimedia
Political Geography:: Latin America

Author:: Adel Daoud, Bjorn Hallerod, and Debarati Guha Sapir
Publication Date:: 09-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:: This paper explores the degree to which exposure to reoccurring natural disasters of various kinds explains seven dimensions of severe child poverty in 67 middle- and low-income countries. It also analyzes how certain institutional conditions, namely the quality of government (QoG), have moderating effects on the relationship between disasters and child poverty. Two main hypotheses are tested. The first is that disasters do have an adverse average effect on severe poverty. The second is that disasters reveal a positive coefficient (i.e., more disasters, more deprivation) but that higher levels of QoG negatively moderate this effect, i.e., the adverse effect of disasters is diminished by increasingly high QoG levels. From 70 possible combinations of relationships (7 types of deprivation combined with 10 types of natural disaster measures), 11 have the expected correlation between disasters and child deprivation and only one has the expected interactive correlation between quality of government, disasters, and child poverty. Several unexpected results could also be observed which are discussed in the paper along with recommendations for future research.
Topic:: Economics, Natural Disasters, Governance, Research, and Child Poverty
Political Geography:: Global Focus

Author:: Martin Höpner and Bojan Jurczyk
Publication Date:: 10-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:: This paper reviews Eurobarometer surveys from 1995 to 2010 and shows how Eurobarometer selects and frames questions in ways that systematically produce “integrationist” outcomes. The violations of the rules of good public opinion research concern incomprehensible, hypothetical, and knowledge-inadequate questions, unbalanced response options, insinuation and leading questions, context effects, and the strategic removal of questions that led to critical responses in previous Eurobarometer waves. It is highly unlikely that the violations happen unintentionally. Eurobarometer therefore blurs the line between research and propaganda.
Topic:: Sociology, Public Opinion, and Research
Political Geography:: Global Focus

Author:: Barbara Fulda
Publication Date:: 05-2015
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:: How can we understand subnational differences in fertility rates? The most common explanations see the key to these differences in the socio-structural composition of a region’s population and its structural conditions. However, such explanations fail to account for fertility rate differences in regions with similar populations and structures. This paper analyzes two social milieus in southern Germany and argues that variations in their fertility rates can only be understood through their cultural differences. Family extension patterns as well as opportunity structures (such as the availability of childcare facilities) are substantially influenced by the regionally differing cultural norms formed and held by social milieu members. To better explain differences in fertility rates and to understand the regionally differing effects of family policy measures, demographic research therefore needs to include culture in its understanding of demographic behavior.
Topic:: Demographics, Sociology, Culture, Children, and Research
Political Geography:: Germany and Global Focus

Author:: Daniel Neep
Publication Date:: 04-2015
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:: The sabbatical is a cornerstone of the modern research university. Faculty are granted a semester away from the usual responsibilities of teaching and grading, supervising dissertations, and serving on committees, allowing professors to dedicate their energy to aspects of their work that can be neglected during the academic year. Sabbatical allows professors to immerse themselves in the field, bury themselves in archives, collaborate with colleagues at different institutions, and discover new ideas to enrich their research. At the same time—and this is a closely guarded secret among those initiated into the mysteries of academe—spending a sabbatical in a new place enables us to pursue one of the most sacred, most noble, and most enjoyable duties of our calling as scholars: the copious, hedonistic purchase of piles and piles of books..
Topic:: Research and Higher Education
Political Geography:: Middle East, Arab Countries, and Lebanon

Author:: Ilain Wilson
Publication Date:: 07-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:: Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:: We may expect international exchange programmes to contribute to peaceful international relations, but how strong is the evidence that they actually do? In addition to the intercultural education discussed elsewhere in this issue, I classify mechanisms by which exchanges might contribute to peace into four categories – signaling, attitude change, network formation and institutional transfer – and assess the evidence that exchanges affect international relations through each of these mechanisms. Despite considerable research there are still important gaps in the evidence, and these gaps may have significant consequences for how we organize exchanges and what kinds of mobility we support.
Topic:: Research, Institutions, Peace, and International Exchange
Political Geography:: Global Focus

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