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21. How Human Subjects Research Rules Mislead You and Your University, and What to Do About it

Author:
Gary King and Melissa Sands
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Universities require faculty and students planning research involving human subjects to pass formal certification tests and then submit research plans for prior approval. Those who diligently take the tests may better understand certain important legal requirements but, at the same time, are often misled into thinking they can apply these rules to their own work which, in fact, they are not permitted to do. They will also be missing many other legal requirements not mentioned in their training but which govern their behaviors. Finally, the training leaves them likely to completely misunderstand the essentially political situation they find themselves in. The resulting risks to their universities, collaborators, and careers may be catastrophic, in addition to contributing to the more common ordinary frustrations of researchers with the system. To avoid these problems, faculty and students conducting research about and for the public need to understand that they are public figures, to whom different rules apply, ones that political scientists have long studied. University administrators (and faculty in their part­time roles as administrators) need to reorient their perspectives as well. University research compliance bureaucracies have grown, in well­meaning but sometimes unproductive ways that are not required by federal laws or guidelines. We offer advice to faculty and students for how to deal with the system as it exists now, and suggestions for changes in university research compliance bureaucracies, that should benefit faculty, students, staff, university budgets, and our research subjects.
Topic:
Education, Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Bureaucracy, and Academia
Political Geography:
Global Focus

22. First Response: Initial COVID-19 Actions from the IIENetwork

Author:
Clare Overmann, Lindsay Calvert, and Sylvia Jons
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, IIE launched the IIE Network Engagement Series, which consists of thought leadership webinars and interactive small group discussions, called Day-by-Days. These events offered a platform for practitioners and leaders from the field to share their experiences from the first weeks and months of the crisis. These responses and others are captured in this publication to highlight the practices that worked during COVID-19 and to act as an informal reference on how to handle future crises.
Topic:
Education, Crisis Management, Higher Education, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

23. Broadening Opportunities for Study Abroad: U.S. Government Funded Scholarship Programs

Author:
Leah Mason and Jodi Sanger
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
This paper explores U.S. government scholarship opportunities available to U.S. students interested in an international experience, highlighting different sponsoring agencies. It analyzes how the scholarships support U.S. government programming goals of encouraging citizen diplomacy, strengthening national security, and building a globalized workforce. Case studies presented in this paper demonstrate the contributions of U.S. government scholarship programs to study abroad and the international experiences of U.S. students.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Education, Globalization, Government, National Security, and Study Abroad
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

24. The Rise of Remote Global Internships: Promising Practices and the Implications for Career Readiness

Author:
Leah Mason and Mirka Martel
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
This paper provides insight into the role of remote global internships in providing experiential educational opportunities for university students and the potential role these internships have in developing students' skills acquisition, global citizenship, and career readiness. The first section provides an overview of the definitions used to describe in-person and remote global internship experiences including relative benefits and challenges. It then outlines the three analytical frames of remote global internships: skills acquisition, global citizenship, and career readiness. Through an analysis of recent findings from global internship program providers as well as others, we describe promising practices for supporting remote global internships applicable to all members of the international education community – universities, employers, and third-party providers alike. This paper aims to contribute to the conversation on the possible role of remote global internships to widen the space of availability for students to gain international work experiences while remaining in their home country and the relative benefits of these experiences both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Topic:
Education, Employment, Study Abroad, and Internships
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

25. To Rescue Scholars is to Rescue the Future

Author:
IIE Scholar Rescue Fund
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
In 2002, IIE’s trustees launched the Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) as the only global program that arranges and funds academic fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars worldwide. Nearly twenty years later, we are delighted to release a new study – made possible through the generous support of IIE Chairman Emeritus and IIE-SRF co-founder Dr. Henry Kaufman – that documents the far-reaching impacts and achievements of over 200 IIE-SRF alumni from 38 countries on their host and home communities and academic disciplines.
Topic:
Education, Higher Education, and Academia
Political Geography:
Global Focus

26. Simulation framework for practical cybersecurity training in the public service sector

Author:
Veronika Deák
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:
War Studies University
Abstract:
The public service sector is a key target of cyberattacks. In order to prevent and effectively tackle such attacks, organisations should continuously develop their defence capabilities. As part of developing such capabilities, public service cybersecurity training is required to teach students about cyberattacks. The present study uses quantitative research techniques including (i) how to identify key requirements for the practical aspects of public service cybersecurity training and (ii) sampling to utilise international best practices from cybersecurity education and conceptual architectures from existing public service organisations. A schematic structure with a two-level practical training course is proposed. On the first level, the students learn about the defence mechanisms of their own info-communication devices and try to prevent attacks in a simulated environment. On the second level, the students apply protection strategies against cyberattacks in organisational infrastructure. Finally, a technical framework is defined to simulate cyberattacks against (a) personal devices and (b) a fictional organisational infrastructure. The specification of a public service cybersecurity training programme should not only focus on theoretical education but also provide practical knowledge to students. By simulating specific attacks, theoretical and practical knowledge can be combined. As a result, students will be able to recognise threats and potential risks from cyberspace.
Topic:
Education, Cybersecurity, Training, Public Service, and Simulation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

27. IR Theories (Syllabus Resource)

Author:
Peace and Security (GIWPS) Georgetown Institute for Women
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
The following is material to consider for your syllabus related to: Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Feminism, Postcolonialism. Specifically, there is: Scholarly writing on IR theories written by diverse scholars and experts. Scholarly writing providing geographic variety and geographically varied perspectives. Studies and analyses examining diversity, equity, and inclusion-related dimensions of IR theories.
Topic:
International Relations, Education, Post Colonialism, Realism, International Relations Theory, Feminism, Constructivism, Liberalism, and Syllabus
Political Geography:
Global Focus

28. A quarter century of ‘The Proper Scope of Government’: Theory and Applications

Author:
Oliver Hart
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Abstract:
A quarter-century ago in a seminal paper, Hart, Shleifer, and Vishny (NBER1996, QJE1997) developed a theory of the ‘Proper Scope of Government.’ Oliver Hart, 2016 Nobel Laureate, reflects on that framework and its place in economics, as well as the inspiration for his more recent work on norms, guiding principles, and contracts as reference points. In discussion with Karen Eggleston, Hart answers questions posed by economists who have built upon Hart, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) and offers insights on how the theory applies to understanding public and private roles in healthcare, education, and other publicly-financed services.
Topic:
Education, Privatization, Political Theory, Governance, Health Care Policy, Social Services, and Public Service
Political Geography:
Global Focus

29. Let’s Take the Con Out of Randomized Control Trials in Development: The Puzzles and Paradoxes of External Validity, Empirically Illustrated

Author:
Lant Pritchett
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
The enthusiasm for the potential of RCTs in development rests in part on the assumption that the use of the rigorous evidence that emerges from an RCT (or from a small set of studies identified as rigorous in a “systematic” review) leads to the adoption of more effective policies, programs or projects. However, the supposed benefits of using rigorous evidence for “evidence based” policy making depend critically on the extent to which there is external validity. If estimates of causal impact or treatment effects that have internal validity (are unbiased) in one context (where the relevant “context” could be country, region, implementing organization, complementary policies, initial conditions, etc.) cannot be applied to another context then applying evidence that is rigorous in one context may actually reduce predictive accuracy in other contexts relative to simple evidence from that context—even if that evidence is biased (Pritchett and Sandefur 2015). Using empirical estimates from a large number of developing countries of the difference in student learning in public and private schools (just as one potential policy application) I show that commonly made assumptions about external validity are, in the face of the actual observed heterogeneity across contexts, both logically incoherent and empirically unhelpful. Logically incoherent, in that it is impossible to reconcile general claims about external validity of rigorous estimates of causal impact and the heterogeneity of the raw facts about differentials. Empirically unhelpful in that using a single (or small set) of rigorous estimates to apply to all other actually leads to a larger root mean square error of prediction of the “true” causal impact across contexts than just using the estimates from non-experimental data from each country. In the data about private and public schools, under plausible assumptions, an exclusive reliance on the rigorous evidence has RMSE three times worse than using the biased OLS result from each context. In making policy decisions one needs to rely on an understanding of the relevant phenomena that encompasses all of the available evidence.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, and Public Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

30. Increasing Aid and Development Financing Volumes for the Advancement of Education in Lower-Middle-Income Countries

Author:
Christian Novak
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
To advance education in lowermiddle-income countries, official donors and multilateral development banks must increase their financial support to address the financial gap. Specific recommendations: • Expand the use of innovative development financing solutions. • Expand the use of innovative aid solutions. • Multilateral development banks to increase financing volumes and to strengthen efforts to maximize financial additionality and private capital mobilization. • Review the classification of LICs and LMICs. • Increase domestic budget allocation. Implementing the recommendations require coordinated efforts of all stakeholders. In addition, it is paramount that lower-middleincome countries design and fully implement effective long-term education programs and systems. Benchmarking and feedback must be constant, prompting sustained improvement and the adoption of international best practices.
Topic:
Development, Education, United Nations, Foreign Aid, Finance, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus