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42. Study Abroad Matters: Linking Higher Education to the Contemporary Workforce through International Experience
- Author:
- Ashley Stipek, Lindsay Calvert, Wagaye Johannes, Shana Childs, Elaina Loveland, and Catherine Morris
- Publication Date:
- 03-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute of International Education (IIE)
- Abstract:
- In today’s competitive economy, it takes more than a college degree to convince employers that graduates are ready for the workforce. Study Abroad Matters: Linking Higher Education to the Contemporary Workforce through International Experience, from IIE and the AIFS Foundation, synthesizes leading-edge research to demonstrate that in this globalized era, study abroad has become one of the most powerful ways to prove to employers that graduates have in-demand skills for the contemporary workplace. This paper outlines best practices for high education institutions, industry, and graduates to better articulate the value of study abroad for the contemporary marketplace.
- Topic:
- Globalization, Employment, Diversity, Language, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- North America, Global Focus, and United States of America
43. Building Bridges Within and Across Diverse Societies: The Role of States
- Author:
- Zora Popova
- Publication Date:
- 12-2018
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- Can national minorities be successful in bringing societies together by linking communities within and across state borders if states are not supportive to their initiatives? To open a discussion on the topic, the current issue brief focuses on the actor behind the scenes – the state – and its role in the establishment of a sociopolitical environment that if not supportive, as a minimum would not impede their efforts. By identifying and analysing several types of roles that a state can play, the paper introduces analytical models aiming to provoke a critical reflection and to emphasise that understanding complex phenomena needs a comprehensive approach and a focus both on content and structure but also in the dynamics of their interplay.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Nationalism, Governance, Minorities, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Identity
- Political Geography:
- Europe
44. A Better Process, a Stronger UN Secretary-General: How Historic Change Was Forged and What Comes Next
- Author:
- Yvonne Terlingen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- When on October 13, 2016, the General Assembly appointed by acclamation António Guterres of Portugal as the United Nations’ ninth secretary-general, there was a sense of excitement among the organization’s 193 members. For once, so it seemed, they felt they had played an important role not only in choosing the secretary-general but also in appointing a man generally considered to be an outstanding candidate for a position memorably described as “the most impossible job on this earth.”1 The five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council (Perm Five) still exercised the greatest power in the selection process, as they always had in the past. Yet the candidate chosen appears, surprisingly, not to have been the first choice of either the United States or Russia, two of the Perm Five that until then had effectively chosen the secretary-general between them in an opaque and outdated process. It is doubtful that António Guterres would have been appointed if the General Assembly had not embarked on a novel process to select him. All previous secretaries-general were chosen on the basis of a haphazard and secretive process that occurred behind closed doors and was not merit based. The method to select the UN secretary-general is laid down in a few words in the UN Charter. Article 97 allocates responsibility for appointing the secretary-general to all members of the General Assembly acting on the recommendation of the Security Council. However, for the last seventy years—with one circumstance-specific exception2—the General Assembly has had no say in the selection: its member states merely rubber-stamped the decision of the Perm Five, which recommended just one candidate each time for the General Assembly to appoint. All previous secretaries-general were chosen on the basis of a haphazard and secretive process that occurred behind closed doors and was not merit based. The process was geared toward appointing the lowest common denominator candidate,3 but nevertheless produced a few outstanding secretaries-general. There has never been a female secretary-general, and until 2016 only three women had ever made it on a Security Council shortlist.4 The entire process lacked transparency and accountability and fell far short of the UN’s own standards and ideals, let alone the current recruitment practices for top international positions. Selections of all previous secretaries-general were made without appointment criteria, without a call for nominations or for CVs, without a timeline for nominations, and without public hearings or other effective methods of public scrutiny. In recent selections, candidates were often pushed into horse trading with the Security Council’s permanent members to gain their support in exchange for making promises of senior UN posts for their nationals. This has led to some countries holding monopolies over key posts.5 Moreover, the tradition of appointment for a five-year, once-renewable term, with reappointment controlled by the Perm Five, has effectively secured a secretary-general beholden to the Council’s most powerful members. The whole process “would be rejected as a bad joke by any serious institution in the private sector,” noted one senior UN authority who worked under multiple secretaries-general.
- Topic:
- United Nations, Leadership, Diversity, and Transparency
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
45. A Life in the Margins: Understanding the Roma Experience
- Author:
- Michelle Nicholasen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- In one of the popular Madeline children’s stories, the well-known redheaded French schoolgirl runs away with her friend Pepito to join a caravan of Gypsies who train them to perform in their traveling circus. At first they are thrilled not to have to go to school or brush their teeth. But when they become homesick, the Gypsy mother sews them into a lion costume, effectively kidnapping them. Of course it ends well, with a rescued Madeline exchanging farewells with the affectionate Gypsy mother and children and returning to boarding school. Is this a harmless children’s adventure story or does it perpetuate an enduring stereotype of criminality and indifference among a little-understood ethnic group? The educational crisis of Romani children (pejoratively referenced as “Gypsies”) is just one of many research topics spearheaded by a faculty team from the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center on Health and Human Rights at Harvard. Ask an American if they know someone of Roma heritage, and they will likely draw a blank. But mention the word “Gypsy” and a flood of associations will come to mind, especially from childhood.
- Topic:
- Culture, Ethnicity, and Diversity
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
46. First Universal Democratic Elections in Independent Georgia
- Author:
- Zurab Gaiparashvili
- Publication Date:
- 02-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
- Abstract:
- First Universal Democratic Elections in Independent Georgia offers a detailed overview of the first national democratic elections conducted in the Republic of Georgia in 1919. These elections served as an acknowledgement of Georgia's independence, which gave it autonomy for the next three years. The book portrays the spirit of multiculturalism being practiced in the lead up to and during the elections, through the development of campaign materials in several languages, such as Georgian, Farsi, Armenian and Russian, as well as allocating special quotas. It also reflects on how various ethnic groups were encouraged to represent their respective communities, with the participation of the Greek’s Democratic Party in elections offered as an example. The first democratic elections proved to be successful in creating gender parity for women and men of Georgia. Other impressive aspects of these elections were how well structured reimbursement procedures were developed for parties and other procedures were conducted professionally, practicing the principles of equality, accessibility and accountability. The book enables readers to get an insight into how Georgia’s newly established government tried to embark on an endeavor to build a democratic state, which would ensure prosperity and equality for its people. It also sheds a light on how advanced Georgian state bodies were in the first half of the 20th century, as the country strived for independence and development while being surrounded by the Russian and Ottoman empires. Representation and engagement of women and ethnic minority groups also serves as a best practice for that period. The book offers a wide range of visual materials, which provide a better understanding of processes and circumstances of not just elections, but the general political situation in the country and contains documentary materials and historical photos.
- Topic:
- Multiculturalism, Elections, Democracy, and Diversity
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Georgia
47. Learning from Equality and Diversity in Canada
- Author:
- Elizabeth Kirchhoff
- Publication Date:
- 04-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
- Abstract:
- In 2016, the world is arguably more socially, economically, and politically interconnected than ever before. And yet, while the process of globalization offers humanity the possibility for unprecedented growth, learning, and progress brought on by connectivity, it also presents its own challenges. Perhaps most evident of these trials is the question of how to reconcile the human values of diversity and equality. In a world characterized by global financial inequality, disappearing languages, and mass migrations, the necessity to protect both equality and diversity is perhaps needed now more than ever. Indeed, research findings suggest that cultural and ethnic diversity within a country is correlated with greater levels of inequality as well. And yet, this is not true in all cases, and in order to avoid the pitfalls of cultural and ethnic uniformity and economic inequality in a rapidly globalizing landscape, it imperative to study and learn from countries that excel in both capacities. Canada, for instance, provides us with an excellent success story. According to a study from the University of Oldenburg, Canada has the greatest level of ethnic and cultural diversity in the Western hemisphere, and is also ranks 9th in the world on the UNDP’s Human Development Index. And so the question becomes, How have they done it? How has Canada, a nation with more than 200 ethnic groups and 200 languages managed to ensure both cultural plurality and relative equality? And perhaps more importantly, can other countries learn from Canada’s success?
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Inequality, Social Policy, and Diversity
- Political Geography:
- Canada and North America
48. Underrepresented Students in US Study Abroad: Investigating Impacts
- Author:
- Laura C. Engel
- Publication Date:
- 10-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Institute of International Education (IIE)
- Abstract:
- Underrepresented Students in US Study Abroad: Investigating Impacts synthesizes existing research on the association of study abroad with positive academic outcomes for minority and other underrepresented students, with the goal of ultimately helping enhance pathways of access to study abroad for all students. Enhancing pathways of access to study abroad for all students remains an essential objective for higher education institutions, researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers. Yet, not enough is definitively known about the impacts of study abroad on different groups of students, particularly racial/ethnic minority students and, one step further, what program approaches and strategies are most effective in bringing about these positive impacts. Underrepresented Students in US Study Abroad: Investigating Impacts aims to fill a notable gap by providing a synthesis of existing research on the association of study abroad with positive academic outcomes, degree retention, and completion rates for racial/ethnic minority and other underrepresented students.
- Topic:
- Education, Representation, Diversity, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- North America, Global Focus, and United States of America
49. The Pink Rand: A Base for Corporate Engagement
- Author:
- Xhanti Payi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Other Foundation
- Abstract:
- The pink Rand is a term which has gained momentum among marketers since the nineties. However, the concept has since grown to not just represent the spending power of the LGBTI community, but their influence across social circles and constructs as both a social grouping and economic segment.
- Topic:
- Economy, LGBT+, Diversity, Corporations, and Consumer Behavior
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
50. Securing Punjab’s social & cultural diversity
- Publication Date:
- 05-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS)
- Abstract:
- This policy brief summarizes the deliberations of the first of six provincial-level policy dialogues on counter-violent extremism in Punjab. The first policy dialogue focused on the cultural, religious and social diversity in Punjab with a view to explore how far that had been used or could be used to counter violent extremism.
- Topic:
- Security, Terrorism, Culture, Violent Extremism, Diversity, and Countering Violent Extremism
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, India, and Punjab