Current Update.

PPOL Update 11-10-05 and amendments:

The following amendments (11-14-2005) are made to this update:

1. Political Science Brown Bag is rescheduled to 11/29.
2. Nov. 17th from 6:30-7:50, James Douglas will be making his teaching presentation as part of his interview for the MPA director position. Nov. 18th he will be making his research presentation.
3. Since your Thursday Brown Bag got moved, you have an opportunity to attend another one, this one hosted by the Dept of Geography on November 17th.
4. The Gradate Student Development program 
    

PPOL Students and Faculty,

Here’s the latest Update on PPOL-related issues:
 

1. Former Clinton Advisor Speaking on Campus
2. South Carolina Political Science Association Conference
3. Political Science Brown Bag Presentation 11/29
4. Sociology Brown Bag Presentation 11/18
5. National League of Cities Conference Volunteering
6. Accomplishments of Students and Faculty
7. Award Competitions
8.  Jobs

1. Former Clinton Advisor Speaking on Campus

Mafia prosecutor, Clinton advisor speaking on ethical leadership
Karen Popp returns to UNC Charlotte Nov. 15

CHARLOTTE – Nationally recognized attorney and UNC Charlotte alumna Karen Popp will speak on ethics Nov. 15, as part of the ongoing “Conversations in Leadership” series at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Popp has litigated extremely high profile proceedings, from prosecuting members of New York’s five most notorious mafia families (Gambino, Luchese, Colombo, Genovese and Bonanno) to serving as a White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton during the Lewinski scandal. Popp has earned an international reputation for her ethics expertise through her work on cases of fraud, bribery, kickbacks and wrongdoing involving important civil and ethical implications. She will speak on “Fearless Leadership: Maintaining Ethics No Matter How High the Risk,” beginning at 7 p.m., Tuesday Nov. 15, in McKnight Hall in the Cone University Center. The event is free and open to the public, doors will open at 6:45 p.m. “Conversations in Leadership” was initiated by students at UNC Charlotte and is a joint initiative between the university’s divisions of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs. The purpose is to bring outstanding leaders to campus to generate dialogue and present viewpoints about the meaning of citizenship in a democratic society. Popp is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP. She previously served as Associate Counsel to the President of the United States and in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before moving to Washington, D.C., Popp was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. She also worked as a commercial litigator in New York City at Sullivan & Cromwell for five years before joining the government.
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2. South Carolina Political Science Association Conference

The South Carolina Political Science Association will hold its 2006 Annual Meeting on the campus of the University of South Carolina Beaufort on Saturday, February 25, 2006. The SCPSA welcomes any and all who have an interest in political science broadly defined, regardless of institutional location, affiliation or discipline.

This conference is a great opportunity for students to “get their feet wet” presenting at a conference. This is a one-day conference that welcomes students and faculty both and includes policy work in additional to “just” traditional political science. I encourage the second and third year students to consider sending in their proposals. Those of you that have already presented your work in other venues will not get as much out of this opportunity, though you are certainly encouraged to attend and participate. I have attached the Call for Papers, due December 9th. The PPOL program will cover the costs of attending along with the luncheon of students that want to participate (meaning present a paper), along with a hotel room. I would like for us to rent a university van and travel to Beaufort as a group on the evening before the conference, attend the conference that Saturday, and return to Charlotte that night so everyone will still have their Sunday.

If you want to participate in this, email me directly your intention (daswinde@uncc.edu) as I will submit the forms for attending in one packet. Please note, however, that you will need to submit your own Paper Proposal (the attached form). If you have any questions about this, please let me know.
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3. Political Science Brown Bag Presentation 11/29

The Dept of Political Science will host their next Brown Bag research presentation on Tuesday, November 29th at 3pm in the Political Science conference room. Drs. Jim Walsh and Jim Piazza will be presenting their paper entitled "Terrorism and Human Rights: A Cross-National Study." There is a good chance that one of the candidates for the MPA Director position will be in attendance as well. PPOL students are invited and encouraged to attend.

4. Sociology Brown Bag Presentation 11/18

The Dept of Sociology and Anthropology will host their next Brown Bag research discussion at noon on Friday, November 18. Professor Hamit Fişek from Bogazici University, Istanbul will be presenting his paper entitled "Judgments of Fairness of Earnings Distributions: A Comparison of American and Turkish Samples, and test of a model.” The talk will be in the Sociology Conference Room, Fretwell 480C. PPOL students are invited and encouraged to attend.
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5. National League of Cities Conference Volunteering

Form the City of Charlotte City Manager’s Office:

December 6-10, 2005, Charlotte plans to host over 4,000 delegates for the National League of Cities Conference. We want to show them the warmest, cleanest, brightest, and most progressive Region anywhere in the United States. To be successful, we need 500+ volunteers to help roll out the red carpet! Volunteers will sign up for two- to three-hour periods of time staffing the Airport, our conference hotel desks, our Host City Area inside the Convention Center, and specific delegate events. Volunteers will be asked to attend an orientation session on Friday, December 2 at 3:00 p.m. or Monday, December 5 at 10:00 a.m. at the Convention Center. In exchange, volunteers will be provided with a t-shirt and volunteer handbook, as well as access to Conference sessions the day they volunteer and an invitation to a Thank You reception on Friday, December 9. The Thank You reception will be at the new Arena and includes a ticket to the Checkers game that night! Volunteers may register at our website at http://nlc2005.charmeck.org. This allows them to create a volunteer profile and review job assignments. Thank you in advance for your interest in helping this Conference be the best one ever! If you have any questions, please contact Susan Elkins at selkins@ci.charlotte.nc.us or (704) 336-2403.
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6. Accomplishments of Students and Faculty

In each of these updates, I like to try and make note of accomplishments of our PPOL students and faculty just so everyone has an idea of the constant activities going on by both groups. I know I cannot highlight *everything* you all do, but I do want to try and keep up with as much of these as possible. So please keep the news coming. Here’s what’s happened in the past couple of weeks.

PPOL student Olga Smirnova presented a paper that she co-authored with Drs. Gary Johnson and Suzanne Leland at the recent meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management in Washington, DC. Their paper was entitled “The Special Purpose Government Advantage? An Empirical Study of the Federal Funding of Transit Districts.” This was also my first time to be able to attend this association’s meeting and I want to encourage more of our PPOL students and faculty to consider this meeting for next year (I will announce this when the call for papers is issued for next year). This conference was perfectly targeted at a program like ours. There were panels the were policy-oriented and the topics covered every one of our specialties. In other words, no matter your policy work in the program, it has a home at this conference.

In addition to Olga’s paper, I also came across a piece in the 10/28/05 edition of the _Charlotte Business Journal_ written by PPOL student Dustin Read and Dr. Steven Ott entitled “Trains’ arrival might not spark hoped-for growth.” Congrats to both of them for engaging in this important debate right here at home.

Lastly, I just learned that PPOL professors Drs. Ken Chilton, Peter Schwartz, and Ken Godwin won an $100,000 grant from the EPA for their proposal entitled “Verifying the Social, Environmental and Economic Promise of Brownfield Programs.” Congrats to them on this award. These are exactly the kinds of opportunities we want to celebrate as they highlight the array of talent here at UNCC and also provide support for Ph.D. student education.
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7. Award Competitions

As I have mentioned in previous Updates, part of the Ph.D. process is preparing yourself for the career in policy that you will take on after graduation. I have stressed the need to participate in conferences and to get published. Another good way to strengthen your résumé is scholarships, fellowships, winning paper awards, and post-doctorates. Ultimately, you are responsible for hunting these opportunities, but I will post those I hear about. Right now, given the young age of our program, I do not believe anyone will be eligible for these, but I wanted to include them here just to illustrate the types of awards to which I am referring. The first is a dissertation award and the second is a post-doctoral fellowship.

The International Center for Qualitative Inquiry (IAQI) is pleased to announce the annual Illinois Qualitative Dissertation Award, for excellence in qualitative research in a doctoral dissertation. This award will be made at the Second International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (QI 2006). At the same time, QI 2006 continues to welcome submission of papers and panels at http://www.qi2006.org. Eligible dissertations will use and advance qualitative methods to investigate any topic. An award of $500 will be given to the winner. All doctoral candidates are eligible, provided they have successfully defended their proposals prior to January 1, 2006, and will defend their final dissertation by April 1, 2006. Receiving or being considered for other awards does not preclude a student from applying for this award. Applications are due Febuary 1, 2006. The 2006 award will be made at the annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry meeting in May, 2006. This will be an annual award.

Position: Postdoctoral Fellowships - Health Services & Policy Research
Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Location: California
Date posted: 11/1/2005
Application deadline: 1/15/2006

Health Services: Postdoctoral fellowship positions are available in the Health Services Research Training Program at the University of California, Berkeley. The program, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, provides advanced multidisciplinary training to economists, political scientists, sociologists, public policy and health professionals. Training areas include health economics, financing of health services, public health policy, managed care, health workforce, and health insurance. Support for stipends and travel is provided, as well as health insurance for the trainees. Applicants must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, or have permanent residency. Fellowships begin August 2006; interested candidates must apply before January 15, 2006. To request an application, call 510-643-4100, e-mail skelly@berkeley.edu, or visit http://www.petris.org/trainingprograms.htm.
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8. Jobs

In addition to highlighting ways to strengthen your résumé through awards, identifying the jobs for which you are being trained is another component to the puzzle. I will occasionally include some jobs descriptions to continue reinforcing the kinds of positions for which you will be competitive after graduation. Faculty, if you see similar positions come across your desk, please forward them to me and I will include them here. Here are five (5) from the last two weeks:

Assistant Director for Survey Research and Development
The Odum Institute has an immediate opening for Assistant Director of Survey Research and Development. This is a permanent, though part-time (50% time) position with fairly flexible work hours. The primary responsibility of this position is to manage all operations associated with the Odum Institute Telephone Survey Call Center (TSCC). Other responsibilities also include consulting with students, staff and faculty of the University on topics in general survey methodology related to their research. The Odum Institute TSCC, which consists of 12 stations running the Blaise survey system, currently conducts about 3 or 4 relatively small surveys (approximately 2000 cases or less) per year. The Institute has expertise in all aspects of survey research including data collection capabilities in telephone and mail survey modes. Capabilities in Web survey design are being developed. The incumbent would participate and contribute to all these areas but have primary expertise in and responsibility for telephone survey methodology. Job duties include
(a) telephone survey design and specification,
(b) cost estimation and management,
(c) recruitment, training and supervision of call center staff and monitoring data collection progress and quality,
(d) processing and delivery of the survey data files.

Qualified applicants should have an advanced degree, preferably in survey methodology. However, candidates with a bachelor's degree and a certificate in survey methodology will also be considered. At least 5 years experience directing and conducting telephone surveys is also required. Review of applications will begin immediately, but applications will be accepted until position is filled. Submit letter of intention, complete CV, and the names and titles of 3 references to: Search Committee Assistant Director Opening Odum Institute, Manning Hall, CB#3355 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3355. www.odum.unc.edu
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The Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CSSS) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor. The position will be joint between the Department of Statistics and a social science department (such as Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Nursing, Political Science, Public Affairs, or Sociology). CSSS is an interdisciplinary center that fosters collaborative research between statistics and social sciences (www.csss.washington.edu). We seek a
faculty member contributing at the cutting edge to the development of statistical methodology relevant to the social sciences. Duties include new course development, teaching, and methodological and collaborative research. Ph.D. required by date of appointment. Send CV, 3 letters of recommendation and a cover letter stating your methodological research interests in the social sciences to:
Nick Ganoulis, Administrator,
CSSS,
Box 354320,
University of Washington,
Seattle, WA 98195-4320

NORC at the University of Chicago has two openings for Assistant Production Manager in their Telephone Survey Operations (TSO). NORC's TSO is a substantial operation with over 350 booths, usually operating at between 75% and 100% capacity. The TSO management structure has 2 Directors, 4 Production Managers, 8 Assistant Production Managers, and 40 Supervisors. The Assistant Production Manager positions are suitable for recent survey methodology graduate students and those who have been working in the survey industry in a survey specialist, IT, or telephone supervisor position for up to four years. The position is carefully structured to provide relevant training and broad career development, and past incumbents have been offered positions in more senior roles in Operations, Survey Research and Methodology, Human Resources, and Information Technology. The Assistant Production Manager has core responsibilities as well as rotating specialist assignments. The core responsibilities include: · Being the administrative manager and mentor for up to six supervisors · Being the floor manager overseeing up to 80 interviewers and up to 10 supervisors for at least 15 hours a week, including some evening and weekend work, and monitoring the progress of active projects during that time. · Collating performance data for interviewers, and participating in feedback and performance counseling · Support to a Production Manager for a specific project. This will include testing of questionnaires (as the advocate for the interviewers and expert user of the CATI system) and, once wording and structure is agreed, testing the CATI program for adherence to both questionnaire and scheduling rule specifications. It will also include sample management; monitoring and analysis of key indicators such as resolution rate, screener rate, and completion rate; scheduling and analysis of quality control interview monitoring sessions; report preparation; and general troubleshooting.

Specialist assignments include:

· Supervisor and interviewer scheduling

· Coordination of resource deployment (booths, training rooms, trainings, etc)

· Input into, and delivery of, training programs, of both supervisors and interviewers, for both general skills and project briefings. · Interviewer recruitment campaigns · Computer system support and troubleshooting · Sample frame compilation and/or cleaning, using both external vendors such as Targus, and running internal locating operations with clerks doing web searches.

The salary range is $43,000 to $54,000, with health and other benefits.
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Evaluation Specialist (B-D) (12 months): The Department of Shared Accountability, Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Maryland, seeks an evaluation specialist to conduct program evaluation of educational initiatives in Title 1 schools. Strong background is required in evaluation and research, including qualitative and quantitative methodologies, proficiency in SPSS, and demonstrated experience in management and analysis of longitudinal data sets. Knowledge of school system research and educational assessment issues is highly desirable. The selected evaluator should be able to design and conduct outcome studies, which yield methodologically robust quantitative appraisals of designated instructional delivery systems. Must be able to work with school program staff in the interpretation and utilization of evaluation, research, and assessment findings. Excellent writing skills and ability to produce policy-relevant reports of findings to a variety of audiences are essential. A master's degree (doctorate preferred) from an accredited university in educational research, evaluation, measurement or a closely related area with intensive course work in research methodology, applied statistics, measurement; and/or evaluation is required.
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EVALUATION PRACTICE LEADER

3D Group seeks an Evaluation Consultant to join our 11-year-old program evaluation practice. The Practice Leader will work with a range of non-profit organizations, government agencies and corporations to design and implement utilization-focused program evaluation research studies. Given satisfactory performance, this role would provide an accelerated track to practice management.

ABOUT 3D GROUP

Founded in 1994, 3D Group is a small consulting firm specializing in program evaluation and organizational research in a wide range of organizations. Our founders began the business with a focus on arts-education evaluation and have developed a national reputation for conducting high quality, high impact evaluation studies. As we have grown, we have further expanded our consulting presence as a leader in 360 degree feedback and employee surveys. Over the years we have developed a variety of proprietary assessments, have published a number of our studies and have developed a sophisticated proprietary web-based data collection system. We are a small, senior-level group of professionals who enjoy a casual, fun work atmosphere. We are passionate about conducting rigorous value-added research that helps our clients thrive and succeed. We are work-life friendly and are open to telecommuting and other creative approaches to work. Successful employees are personable, professional, and enjoy creating best-in-class solutions for our clients in applied settings.

THE EVALUATION PRACTICE

The evaluation practice area at 3D Group is focused on improving organizational and program effectiveness through the utilization of data from rigorous evaluation research. 3D Group provides a wide spectrum of evaluation services, ranging from helping organizations implement their own assessments to conducting large-scale evaluation studies for government agencies. We use our expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods to conduct formative and summative studies for a wide range of programs (e.g., education, social services and human resources). Hence, we are seeking a motivated researcher and leader who can maintain our strong position and existing contracts while expanding the practice based on their own areas of expertise. We look forward to working with someone who can bring creativity and new ideas to this role.

THE PRACTICE LEADER

We seek an evaluation professional who has the technical, leadership and business skills necessary to lead a practice. As this position involves considerable contact with our clients, strong interpersonal skills and clear written and verbal communication are critical. The practice leader must enjoy problem solving and have expert knowledge of program evaluation, research methods, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Although technical research proficiency is required, consulting skills and the ability to formulate practical and useful projects based client needs/requests are equally critical.

Specific duties include

--Cultivating inquiries for new projects --Project design (including accurate budgeting) --Project management --Proposal writing and contract negotiation --Measurement development (e.g., surveys, interviews, observation protocol) --Data collection (e.g., observations, interviews, focus groups) --Data analysis (quantitative and qualitative) --Technical writing (evaluation reports) --Presenting results to clients and consulting regarding the use of evaluation data --Publishing noteworthy research in peer-reviewed and other journals --Client relationship management --Coach and develop junior researchers --Supporting and expanding the 3D Group brand

Personal Characteristics

--Expert knowledge of program evaluation --High degree of professionalism --Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines --Enthusiasm for working at a small consulting firm --Clear verbal and written communication --Ability to get results working independently or on a team

Education/Experience

--Masters or Ph.D. in relevant field (e.g., social sciences)

--5+ years experience managing evaluation projects

--Network of potential client contacts

--Primary authorship of at least 5 evaluation reports

Compensation will be competitive and will include incentive-based pay. Non-local travel will be infrequent. Based on qualifications, telecommuting is possible. 3D Group is conveniently located in downtown Berkeley, California. If you are interested in this position, please send your resume, a writing sample, and salary requirements to Michaela Parks at: mparks@3dgroup.net

Amendments 11-14-2005:

1. The teaching presentation by James Douglas on Nov. 17th and research presentation on Nov. 18th..

The first candidate for the MPA Director position will be in town those days.  To whit, PPOL students are invited to “see” this process in action.  On Thursday evening, Nov. 17th from 6:30-7:50, James Douglas will be making his teaching presentation as part of his interview for this faculty position.  This will be held in Education Building room 168.  Then on Friday, Nov. 18th at 3:00 to 4:15, he will be making his research presentation.  Student in the PPOL Seminar class will be required to attend this (in lieu of regular class).  The location has not been determined yet, but I will let you know when it is.  This is a good opportunity to get a glimpse of the interview process as it works in academia.

2. The School of Architecture and the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences invites you to attend a Brownbag luncheon on Thursday, November 17th.
The School of Architecture and the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences invites you to attend a Brownbag luncheon on Thursday, November 17th . The theme of the Brownbag is “Preserving Rural Character in Exurbia: Visions and Policies.” Guest speakers include Dr. Matthew Dalbey and Mayor Russell Brinsfield. Dr. Dalbey is a Policy Analyst in the Development, Community and Environmental Division of the EPA. He focuses on rural sustainability and smart growth education. Russell Brinsfield is the mayor of Vienna, MD, a small town on the banks of the Nanticoke River in Dorchester County, Maryland. According to Mayor Brinsfield, “Vienna is envisioned as a gateway to the Nanticoke River and Watershed and a model Chesapeake Bay community which is conservation-oriented and respects its heritage and natural environment while planning progressively for the future.” Both guests will deliver brief presentations on sustainable development and rural preservation. A question and answer session will follow the presentations. Faculty, students, staff and other parties interested in smart growth policies and practices are encouraged to attend.
November 17th, 12:00 – 1:30 PM
Cone Center, Room 111

3. The Gradate Student Development program

The Gradate Student Development program offerings are continuing this fall and the spring offers are now available for you to sign up for. Please take a look and see if there are any of these for you. It’s all free. Here’s the announcement:

The Graduate School is pleased to announce a new initiative called the Graduate Student Professional Development Institute. The Institute will provide a program of academic and professional development opportunities for graduate and professional students. A listing of courses for 2005-2006 is available on the Graduate School website: https://www.uncc.edu/gradmiss/Secure/ProgReg/ProgOverview.asp. Students can also register for specific courses on-line at that same site. If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Linda Dunatov, the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Affairs.

Previous PPOL Updates:

PPOL Update 10-25-05

PPOL Update 10-7-05

PPOL Update 9-21-05

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