Assessing the United States Institute of Peace Jennings Randolph Senior Fellowship (2008) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Chapter 2 Characteristics of Applicants, Fellows, and Research Topics
Chapter 2 Characteristics of Applicants, Fellows, and Research Topics
Pages 19-34
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 19... ...
This question draws attention to USIP's goals -- to what degree is USIP seeking to support individuals as compared with creating a community of scholars and practitioners? Obviously, the answer is directly affected by USIP's resources.
|
From page 20... ...
Possible explanations that could be tested include, among others: changes in the perception of the program; other opportunities for fellowships in peace and security; USIP efforts to reach out to potential applicants; changes in the overall labor market for potential fellows; and USIP's resources or goals. From a competitiveness standpoint, USIP has many more applicants than positions (see Figure 2-3)
|
From page 21... ...
Although the numbers are very small, it may be worthwhile for USIP to interview those individuals to ascertain why they declined the Fellowship. USIP could present them with specific choices, such as that the stipend was inadequate; they had pursued other, more attractive fellowships received simultaneously; or family or professional issues precluded their ability to relocate to Washington.
|
From page 22... ...
As can be seen in Figure 2-4, the percentage of female Fellows peaked in 1993, 2001, and 2006; it declined in 1998 and 2005. 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Figure 2-4 Percentage female Fellows, 1987-2007, and applicants, 1997-2007 SOURCE: Data provided by USIP; tabulations by staff The percentage of women among the total number of applicants closely follows the percentage of women among the Fellows, except in 1998, and it assumes that the percentage of women accepting is similar to the percentage of men accepting Fellowship offers.
|
From page 23... ...
Among the countries from which the most non-U.S. applicants come are India, Nigeria, Israel, Russia, Pakistan, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
|
From page 24... ...
Subjects USIP identified several foci of research projects that applicants propose, as noted in Table 2-2.
|
From page 25... ...
Table 2-2 Types of research foci Major Category USIP Categories Conflict Religious/Ethnic Conflict Conflict Gender Issues Terrorism/Political Violence Cycles of Conflict Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) Conflict prevention, Conflict Prevention/Early Warning management, and Negotiation/Diplomacy resolution Peacekeeping Post-Conflict Activities and Peacebuilding Humanitarian Intervention International Law/Rule of Law Arms Control and Deterrence International law and Human Rights organizations International Organizations United Nations Refugees and Migration Issues International Economics International Foreign Aid economics Economic Development Political Economies Political Systems/International Relations Political systems Democracy Environment and natural resources Environment/Natural Resources Communication Communication Media and Information Technology Education Foreign policy Foreign Policy Other Other 25
|
From page 26... ...
resolution resources Conflict Other Total Year 1997 17 45 23 7 20 12 4 128 1998 20 43 30 3 25 2 4 5 1 133 1999 25 45 26 10 27 1 8 8 150 2000 22 61 22 9 24 3 10 4 1 156 2001 17 37 16 3 26 5 3 107 2002 26 43 15 6 19 5 9 7 1 131 2003 24 33 22 1 25 2 6 4 2 119 2004 31 30 17 1 9 3 10 9 110 2005 18 27 11 2 6 1 2 2 1 70 2006 13 23 8 3 10 1 9 2 1 70 2007 27 23 13 2 15 8 1 89 Total 240 410 203 47 206 18 83 49 7 1263 SOURCE: Data provided by USIP; tabulations by staff Looking at proportions of topics submitted annually by applicants, conflict represented between 13 and 17 percent from 1997 to 2001, then that topic rose from 2002 to 2007, peaking at about 30 percent in 2004 and 2007. Conflict prevention, management, and resolution topics averaged 34 percent of applicants' topics from 1997 to 2002 and 30 percent from 2003 to 2007.
|
From page 27... ...
Table 2-4 Applicant research focus by topic Topic Percentage Conflict prevention, management, and resolution 32 Conflict 19 Political systems 16 International law and organizations 16 Communication 7 Foreign policy 4 International economics 4 Environment and natural resources 1 Other 1 Total applicants 1263 Source: Data provided by USIP; tabulations by staff Similar analysis is presented for the research topics of Fellows in Table 2-5.
|
From page 28... ...
One approach is to consider what the most frequent research topic was in a given year. In eight separate years -- for instance in 1988 or again in 2004―the most frequent topic was conflict prevention, management, and resolution.
|
From page 29... ...
Table 2-7 Geographic areas of focus Geographic Region Western Europe Eastern Europe/Former USSR North America Central and South America Middle East/North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa East Asia South Asia Southeast Asia and Oceania Global 29
|
From page 30... ...
of the world their research topics best fit. Table 2-8 Geographic focus of applicants' proposed research by year SE Asia and Oceania Sub-Saharan Africa C
|
From page 31... ...
America 3 SE Asia and Oceania 2 Total 1257 Source: Data provided by USIP; tabulations by staff 31
|
From page 32... ...
Focus on Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union seemed to peak from 1994 to 2000. Middle East and North Africa foci were popular from 1997 to 2001, and again from 2003 to 2007.
|
From page 33... ...
Western Europe has been a declining focus among applicants and it has not been a focus for Fellows either. Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union also seemed to show a declining trend for both groups.
|
From page 34... ...
6. Applicants took a somewhat different approach; after global projects, sub-Saharan Africa was the subject of the most proposals, followed by Eastern Europe and Soviet Union/Former Soviet Union, the Middle East/North Africa, and South Asia (Tables 2 8, 2-9)
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.