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Current Update.PPOL Update February 6, 2008PPOL Students and Faculty: My apologies for the lateness of this Update. I have been under the weather the past few days and am trying to catch up on all the tasks that fell through the cracks (like last Friday’s Update). As always, if you have news or announcements for me to include, please don’t hesitate to let me know. In this Update: 1--NCPSA Submissions Coming Due 2--APPAM Submissions Coming Due 3--ARNOVA Submissions Early Call 5--Graduate Professional Training 7--Summer Training Workshop in Survey Research 12--Paid Internships for Policy Analysts 13--Post-Doctorate Opportunities
1--NCPSA Submissions Coming Due Just a reminder that the North Carolina Political Science Association annual meeting is coming up in March. They are still accepting paper proposals. Since becoming director, I have encouraged PPOL students to enhance their professional development by submitting papers for presentation at conferences and we have added additional program resources to facilitate more such participation. The first time students do this can be somewhat intimidating. One way to ease into this is to participate in the regional conferences of the various policy-related fields. I have taken students with me to this meeting, for instance. This year, the NCPSA meeting will be held March 14-15 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Again, I encourage you to submit a paper for presentation at this student-friendly conference. I will be driving there and can take students with me. I have attached the conference registration information with this Update. If you intend to participate, please let me know so I can budget money to help offset the costs. This is a low cost conference that PPOL should be able to cover for you in its entirety. It’s also a student-friendly conference. In other words, you have no reason not to go! For those of you not able to go, you should be participating in the Graduate Student Association’s annual research fair which happens the same time here on campus (the deadline for which was February 1st, though they might still be accepting proposals if you have not submitted yet). 2--APPAM Submissions Coming Due For more advanced PPOL students and other policy faculty, please note this call for proposals for the fall research conference of APPAM (the main public policy conference): 2008 Fall Research Conference, 6-8 November, Los Angeles, CA. Theme: "The Next Decade: What Are the Big Policy Challenges?" APPAM is seeking proposals for panels, papers, roundtables, workshops and poster sessions for its 30th annual research conference. All submissions must be made online using forms now available on the APPAM website. The deadline for proposals is Tuesday, March 11. For more information, visit this page on the APPAM website: http://www.appam.org/conferences/fall/losangeles2008/call.asp
3--ARNOVA Submissions Early Call
November will also be the main non-profit sector research conference call for papers. This is another very good conference for policy-oriented research since so much of the policy alternatives or evaluations we re asked to do now involves non-profit entities. Details are at: http://www.arnova.org/articles/arnovaFeb08.html
Dr. Deborah Strumsky (GEOG), who will be teaching the Economics 1 course for us in the fall semester, is offering a SAS tutorial series for PPOL students. While the planning is still up on the air, she would like to start this as soon as possible on Friday afternoons when she can get the lab. Some of you have already contacted her. If you have not, email Dr. Strumsky at dstrumsk@uncc.edu and let her know you would like to be included. I hope those of you that have expressed an interest in picking up the basics of SAS take advantage of this great offer Dr. Strumsky is making to us!
5--Graduate Professional Training As always, the Graduate School is continuing their professional workshop series for doctoral students. The next session is on Thursday, Feb. 14th and focuses on active learning and active teaching. This will be very useful for those of you considering a career in the professoriate. Then, a week later, they will host a session on “How to Write a Lot,” which will also be useful for those seeking tips on generating a dissertation. Details on these and all the workshop session are available at http://www.uncc.edu/gradmiss/gs_profdevelopment.html. You need to RSVP in advance for these sessions.
I wanted to remind you all as we approach summer class registration that PPOL will be conducting two of the advanced methods courses. Dr. Joe Whitmeyer will be doing his 5-week intensive course on time series and factor analysis, and I will be conducting a 10-week course on Categorical Data Analysis. Details will be online soon if they are not already. PPOL students must take six credit hours of advanced statistics courses, towards which these courses would count.
7--Summer Training Workshop in Survey Research
Pollsters and Parishioners – Workshop on Survey Research and American Religion
June 12-19, 2008
Calvin College,
Grand Rapids, MI With the support of the Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics, a week-long seminar on survey research and American religion will be held at Calvin College in June 2008. The seminar will be directed by Corwin Smidt (Calvin College), along with James Guth (Furman University), and Lyman Kellstedt (Wheaton College, emeritus) will also help direct the workshop. Participants: Graduate students and recent Ph.D. graduates in Political Science, Sociology, and related disciplines who are interested in the use of survey research in studying American religion are invited to apply (though preference will be given to those who are currently graduate students). Selection is competitive with an anticipated enrollment of twelve. Travel costs to Calvin College, and room/board on campus will be provided. Schedule: Participants arrive prior to 5:00 pm on Thursday, June 12, and depart on the following Thursday morning, June 19. Activities: The seminar will combine instruction on the conceptualization and measurement of religion in survey research with major segments of time devoted to data analysis using major data sets on religion and politics. The instructors will work closely with small groups of participants. Qualifications: Interest in the study of American religion in the mass public and familiarity with personal computers and either SPSS or Stata. Application: Prospective participants should send a letter of interest, curriculum vita, one letter of recommendation, and one sample of scholarly writing to:
Corwin Smidt Deadline: Materials must be received by Monday, March 3, 2008, with selections made by Monday, March 24, 2008. For further information, contact Corwin Smidt at the above address or by phone (616.526.6233) or email (smid@calvin.edu). The next political science research brownbag session will be on Thursday, February 14 at 1 pm. Drs. Saul Brenner and Joe Whitmeyer will discuss their work examining the value of strategic models in explaining and predicting Supreme Court voting. The room will be announced later. All PPOL students are invited to these sessions.
June 16 ? July 11, 2008 Call for Participants Application Deadline February 29, 2008 Duke University will host the seventh annual Summer Institute on EITM: Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models this summer, June 16th through July 11th , 2008. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), this program seeks to leverage the complementarity between formal models and empirical methods. EITM is training a new generation of scholars to integrate theoretical models more closely, effectively, and productively with empirical evaluation of those models. The Summer Institutes are highly interactive training programs for advanced graduate students and junior faculty. They are led by teams of scholars from across the discipline who are working at the forefront of such empirical-theoretical integration. Application Process: Deadline February 29, 2008 We welcome applications from advanced graduate students who have passed all qualifying exams, preferably with a completed dissertation prospectus or plan but not yet at writing-up stages. Graduate students will benefit most from the program if they are committed to using both theoretical models and empirical data in their dissertations. They should have some training in both formal methodology and quantitative analysis -- and advanced training in at least one of these areas. We also welcome application from junior faculty looking to improve their defended dissertation in the direction that incorporates EITM, or who are embarking on an EITM-like post-dissertation project. We will base admission substantially on the quality and potential of research proposed in the application. We intend to accept about 25 participants. Applicants will be notified of admission status by email by March 31. A complete application consists of the following four components: (1) Curriculum Vita with name and contact information, current location and position. If you are a student, the CV should indicate your current status in graduate school (year in program, whether you've passed qualifying exams, whether you?ve defended a dissertation proposal). (2) Description of your EITM research proposal (5-10 pages). We will base admission substantially on the quality and potential of this proposal -- particularly its integration of theoretical modeling and empirical testing. (3) Brief (1-2 page) statement of interest and purpose in applying for the summer program. (4) Two letters of recommendation sent as email attachments to eitm@duke.edu. Please ask your letter writers to place your name and ?EITM? in the e-mail message's subject heading and to email the letters directly to us. Please submit application materials as PDF or MS-WORD attachments via e-mail to eitm@duke.edu. Applicants will be notified of admission status (by e-mail) by March 31, 2008. Financial support: There are no fees or tuition. Dormitory lodging, meals and domestic travel expenses will be provided. Content of the 2007 EITM Summer Institute: EITM Summer Institutes are organized into 4 week-long modules, each with a different substantive and methodological focus. This year?s fourth week will be split between a mini-module and participant presentations. This year?s EITM program and faculty (as so-far committed) are: WEEK ONE (June 16-June 21): Institutions and Institutional Analysis Lead Lecturers: John Aldrich (Duke) & Arthur Lupia (Michigan) This unit explores Empirical Implications of Institutional Models. It traces the origins, successful development, and potentially problematic aspects of the New Institutionalism literature, combining lectures and innovative class activities to understand modern studies of the causes and consequences of institutional choices. Activities use examples of bureaucratic performance, voter competence, Congressional organization, election laws, separation of powers, coalition bargaining, jury decision-making, political development, etc. The week also addresses (a) some constructive debates on the appropriateness to political contexts of the modern proliferation of equilibrium concepts and statistical-estimation procedures, (b) how incomplete information affects institutional efficacy, and (c) innovative data-collection methods. Past work teaches critical lessons, but this week aims to improve the scientific and social value of new research, helping to shape the new new institutionalism. WEEK TWO (June 23 ? June 27): Experimentation in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Lead Lecturer: Wendy Wood (Duke) and a series of Special Lecturers This week will be composed of a series of presentations and projects about experimentation in the social sciences. The week will begin with an overview of experimentation and research design and will then consider the use of experimentation in political science, social psychology, experimental economics, and political psychology. We will take advantage of the resources at Duke, including training in the use of software commonly used for the design and implementation of experiments and the running of experiments in Duke?s DIISP lab, exposure to psycho-physical lab techniques, and training in neuron-experimentation and the use of field experiments. WEEK THREE (June 30 - July 4): Complexity: Computational Models and Social Networks Lead Lecturers: Scott de Marchi (Duke) & James Fowler (UCSD) This week will provide a practical and hands-on introduction to using computational methods, focusing on how they relate to closed-form analytical models and empirical tests. As a way of grounding the key topics in computational modeling, the module will cover social network theory and the techniques used to analyze politically-relevant networks (with a substantive focus on problems such as Congressional cosponsorships and judicial citations). A key feature of this treatment will be to demonstrate how one connects the analysis of social networks with specific hypotheses and tests on observed data. Finally, the module will also provide one additional substantive unit based on the interests of guest faculty. In previous years, this has included computational models of elections, international conflict, and bargaining. WEEK FOUR (July 7 - July 11): Participant Project Workshop and Mini-Module, TBA
Best Dissertation Awards
American Political Science Association (APSA)
The
Urban Politics Organized Section of the American Political Science
Association (APSA) gives the Best Dissertation Award for the best
dissertation on urban politics completed and accepted in the previous
year.
The Best Dissertation Award for the best dissertation on urban politics completed and accepted in the previous year. Hard copies of dissertations should be sent to each committee member by March 1, 2008. The Bryan Jackson Dissertation In Ethnic and Racial Politics Research Support Award is given to a graduate student studying racial and ethnic politics in an urban setting. The
Science, Technology and Environmental Politics Organized Section (STEP)
of the American Political Science Association (APSA) presents the
Virginia M. Walsh Award for Best Dissertation in Science, Technology,
and Environmental Politics for the best dissertation in science,
technology, and environmental politics finished in the last two years.
PPOL student Sasha Tsvetkova, currently finishing an economics program in Prague, won a $1,000 World Bank grant which requires her to write a working paper which will focus on venture capital and IPOs in transition). She also won a teaching assistant position in microeconomics for the summer semester at CERGE-EI. PPOL student John Holder was recently on the television news program "Carolina Business Review." The topics are the South Carolina primary and beer marketing. Not at the same time, though he got to talk about both. For those interested in seeing John in action, there's a Webcast of it at http://www.wtvi.org/cbr.cfm, - click on the link where it says Joe Zonin. Dr. Thomas Holt (CJUS) specializes in research on computer hackers and received a $2,500 scholarship check from the J. Edgar Hoover Memorial Scholarship Program. The scholarship will be used to fund research examining the behaviors and attitudes of malicious software writers and computer attackers. Dr. Holt was also recently quoted for the article “Online crime gangs embrace open source ethos” published on the Web site of London’s The Register. Dr. Suzanne Leland (POLS) was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article “Merger answers difficult to find.” Jeff Michael (Director of the Urban Institute) was quoted in the Charlotte Observer article “Charlotte’s influx of poor adds strain.” Dr. Paul Friday (CJUS) served as a guest on WJZY’s “Charlotte Now,” where he discussed the Charlotte Mecklenburg Drug Free Coalition and its findings on drug use in the region. Finally, I was happy to appear on WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks” where we discussed how the city council functions. I am tentatively scheduled to join the show again on February 25th to discuss the functioning of the county commission. Also, I won a small $25,000 contract to assist in the analysis of data pertaining to a national study on volunteering behavior of early retirees in stipended and non-stipended incentive programs.
12--Paid Internships for Policy Analysts The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the congressional watchdog, is an independent and nonpartisan agency. GAO's top-notch insights and analyses help Congress make informed decisions on policy and program issues and ensure the accountability of the Federal government for the well-being of the American people. GAO's work is most often prompted by the Chairman or Ranking Minority Member of a congressional committee or subcommittee or by a legislative mandate. Graduate Student Interns assist GAO analysts to plan and conduct in-depth reviews of executive and legislative branch programs on a wide range of issues, most recently including the war on terrorism, the nation's involvement in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and predictions of an influenza pandemic. GAO's reports regularly receive news coverage and GAO, as an organization, is ranked as one of The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government-2007. Interns collaborate with team members conducting in-depth analyses of executive and legislative branch programs. Interns must be able to carefully document and analyze their work and communicate it orally and in writing to diverse audiences: team members; government officials; and, sometimes, congressional staff. GAO work has strict deadlines. Interns hired under this announcement may work for one of the following GAO Mission Teams: Acquisition and Sourcing Management (ASM) Applied Research Methods (ARM) Defense Capabilities and Management (DCM) Education, Workforce and Income Security (EWIS) Financial Markets and Community Investment (FMCI) Homeland Security and Justice (HSJ) International Affairs and Trade (IAT) Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Physical Infrastructure (PI) Strategic Issues (SI) Forensic Audits and Special Investigations (FSI) of the Financial Management and Assurance Team For more information about GAO please visit http://www.gao.gov/careers/where.html
KEY REQUIREMENTS: U.S. Citizenship Selectee must be able to meet/maintain security & suitability requirements MUST be a student enrolled in an Accredited Graduate Program
Anna Maria Ortiz, Ph.D. Senior Statistician Applied Research and Methods U.S. Government Accountability Office (202) 512-2788 ortiza@gao.gov
13--Post-Doctorate Opportunities
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor National Center for Institutional Diversity
NCID Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
With support from the Office of the Provost, the new NCID Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is designed to help recruit outstanding scholars with strong commitments to diversity, in collaboration with U-M academic units.
Deadline for applications and nominations: March 1, 2008.
For additional information and applications, go to http://www.ncid.umich.edu/fellows/mentoring.shtml
Senior Mathematical Statistician Government Accountability Office
Who May Be Considered: This vacancy is open to all qualified U.S. Citizens and status applicants. Applications will be accepted from status and non-status applicants. Status applicants will be considered under merit promotion procedures. Non-status applicants will be considered under competitive procedures. Job Summary: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO, commonly referred to as the investigative arm of Congress or the congressional watchdog, is independent and nonpartisan. GAO helps Congress make informed decisions by providing information on policy and program issues and recommendations to make government more effective and responsive.
This position is located in the Applied Research and Methods (ARM) Team's Center for Design, Methods, and Analysis (CDMA). Incumbents function as members of multi-disciplinary teams. These teams work in a variety of subject matter areas, including welfare, education, environmental issues, tax, justice, etc. The position requires a high level of statistical expertise, effective interpersonal skills, ability to meet deadlines while working concurrently on multiple projects, and strong written and oral communications skills.
For additional information about the nature of the work, call Sid Schwartz at 202-512-7387.
Additional information available at: USA Job Search
Branch Chief Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch Fort Collins Science Center U.S. Geological Survey
Supervisory Social Scientist GS-13/14
The Fort Collins Science Center (FORT), which is part of the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), plans to advertise for a Supervisory Social Scientist to serve as Chief of the Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch. If the recruitment is formally approved, the expected start date for the position is September 2008 and we hope the advertisement can be posted to USAJobs (http://www.usajobs.gov/) sometime in late April 2008. This notice is only for your information and is not a solicitation for applications.
The Fort Collins Science Center is a multi-disciplinary research and development center of the USGS located in Fort Collins, CO. The Center conducts research and develops technologies aimed at improving the understanding of biological systems and disseminates information gained in research and monitoring to resource managers and others concerned with the management and conservation of the Nation's natural resources.
The Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch is one of five branches at the Center. Scientists in the Branch conduct research, development, and technical assistance on natural resource and land management problems dealing with habitat for fish, wildlife, and endangered species, as well as with wetlands, visitors, economic values, institutional processes, public involvement, planning, and interpretation. Research within the Branch is multi-disciplinary but includes all of the Center's social science capability. The Branch is the principal social science capability of the USGS and its studies are performed for bureaus within the Department of the Interior and other collaborating natural resource management agencies.
The Branch is comprised of 12 employees and several contractors who are subdivided into teams led by project leaders, including Agricultural Practices, Land Use Planning and Management, Decision Tools and Economics, and Institutional Analysis and Negotiation. The Branch Chief serves under the general administrative direction of the Center Director. Responsibilities include 55% supervisory and program development, marketing, and management duties. For the remainder of the time (45%) the Branch Chief conducts social science research or research support activities to meet the needs of land, water, and wildlife management agencies.
If you wish to be notified when the position is formally announced please send your name and email address to: lambl@usgs.gov. Please DO NOT send application materials (such as a C.V., resume, or transcripts). Application for the position may be made only in response to the formal advertisement on USAJobs.
Director, Program Planning, Analysis & Evaluation (SES) New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development Posting Number 2008-03
Range and Salary M98 $79,246.26 To $110,956.98
Positions Available
1 Locations
Division of Program Planning, Analysis and Evaluation Unit Scope STATEWIDE - Career/Non-Career Job Description: Under the broad guidance of the Assistant Commissioner of Labor Planning and Analysis, Department of Labor and Workforce Development, directs the work programs, activities and staff of a major Division of Labor Planning and Analysis; does related work as required. Designs, implements, coordinates and monitors a comprehensive departmental planning system that identifies major policy objectives, costs and management issues and related activities appropriate to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development's legislative mandates and programmatic responsibilities. Department of Personnel Requirements:
NOTE: THIS APPOINTMENT WILL BE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL APPROVAL.
Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree which includes or is supplemented by three (3) semester hour credits in statistics and twelve (12) semester hour credits in any combination of statistics, economics or mathematics, supplemented by a Master's degree in economics, statistics, mathematics, planning, demography, industrial relations, public administration, human resource administration, business administration or other related field.
Experience: Applicant must possess five (5) years of specialized experience in supervisory or project coordination of assignments involving a staff of professional economists or researchers, and possess experience in conducting economic analyses and studies regarding highly complex and sophisticated issues.
Applicant must possess in-depth, specialized expertise in economic analysis requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; and extensive experience using statistical and econometric techniques.
Applicant must possess substantial research contributions and strong evidence of scholarship in the economic sciences or a closely related field as evidenced in publications, awards and/or innovative leadership in research administration.
Note: Applicants who do not possess the required education may substitute experience as indicated on a year-for-year basis for all except the fifteen (15) semester hour credits in economics, mathematics and statistics.
APPLICATION: You may obtain a copy of the NJLWD Senior Executive Service (SES) application from the Human Resources Recruitment Unit by calling (609) 292-2960.
If interested, write to the person and address listed below. Your response MUST be postmarked by the closing date shown above. A resume, including daytime telephone number, must be included to be considered.
PLEASE SEND A COMPLETED SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE (SES) APPLICATION TO:
NJ Department of Labor & Workforce Development Recruitment Unit John Fitch Plaza PO Box 044 Trenton, NJ 086252
Research Project Manager National Children's Study
University of Utah
*
Knowledge of field research methods and data collection procedures.
> Part-time Market Research Project Manager > > Stratalys Research (www.stratalys.com) currently has an opening for a > Part-time Market Research Project Manager (20-30 hours per week). > The candidate chosen for this position will assist in managing > multiple projects on a variety of corporate and political topics. > Importantly, the candidate will work remotely and must have a > demonstrated capacity for self-management. A BACKGROUND IN SURVEY > RESEARCH IS A MUST. DO NOT APPLY WITHOUT HAVING SURVEY RESEARCH > EXPERIENCE/EXPERTISE. > > We are seeking an energetic & self-motivated individual who has a keen > interest in developing their market research career. The ideal > candidate should have a BA/BS degree and 2-4 years market research > experience. You must have the ability to execute all phases of online > quantitative and qualitative research projects including overall > project management, questionnaire/guide development, and preparation > of written reports. Strong analytical and writing skills a must. > Online qualitative research skills a plus. > > Facility with Internet technologies is essential. A Project Manager > will aid in the use, design and improvement of Stratalys' various > online research platforms. No direct programming experience is > required for the position, but an interest in software design is a > plus. > > Responsibilities > > * Help design, program, and manage online quantitative research > studies and online focus groups > * Act as liaison between client and internal research and support > staff > * Advise clients on the appropriateness of survey design/ > methodology > * Help design and field questionnaires / online focus group > moderator guides > * Work to ensure data quality > * Test and recommend improvements to beta software > > Required Skills > > * 2-4 years custom marketing research experience > * Bachelors degree > * Strong quantitative abilities > * Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously > * Ability to be self-directed in completing tasks with minimal > management oversight > * Work well under pressure > * Excellent written and verbal communication skills > * Solid client management skills > * Strong computer skills in MS Word and Excel > > Salary will be competitive in accordance with qualifications. > Benefits to be determined. Potential for transition to full-time > position. > > ************************* > Jeff Hayes, Ph.D. > Stratalys Research > p 202.234.7219 | f 202.234.2277 | c 202.468.7219 > 1619 V St. NW | Washington, DC | 20009-2608 >
Dr. David
Swindell, Assoc. Professor & Director PPOL Updates Archive for the previous years.
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