Training the Trainers: Genetics and Political Behavior

最近在政治科学中引入了经验生物学和遗传学方法，因此有必要对更大的政治科学界进行这些新方法的培训。然而，尽管在政治和遗传学方面进行了大规模的数据收集工作，并发表了大量的出版物，但很少有政治科学家接触到审查、评估或参与这一新研究领域所需的具体方法。对于对这一日益增长的政治行为领域感兴趣的资深教员来说，很少有途径可以接受培训。因此，该项目的中心目标是向政治科学家提供用于政治行为分析的应用统计遗传学方面的培训。对政治学家进行培训，让他们学习在他们的培训项目中无法获得的新方法和理论，这将提高未来的学术水平，并扩大遗传学和政治行为之间关系的知识。行为遗传学协会每年都会在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校举办一次研讨会，旨在培训初级和高级教师，跨学科，介绍行为遗传学。本项目将派遣20名副教授或经验丰富的助理教授参加2010年双胞胎与家庭研究方法论国际研讨会。该项目将支付与会者的旅行、住宿和学费，以及额外一名研讨会教员的部分费用（以适应过载）。派遣教师参加研讨会的长期影响是，它无疑会激发人们对这些领域的新兴趣，培养未来学生参加BGA研讨会的长期兴趣，并在遗传学和政治行为领域产生更多的人力资本。

The recent introduction of empirical biological and genetic methods into political science necessitates the need for training the larger political science community in these new methods. However, despite large scale data collection efforts, and the numerous publications in politics and genetics, very few political scientists have been exposed to the specific methodologies needed to review, evaluate, or take part in this new area of research. For established faculty members interested in this growing area of political behavior there are few avenues to pursue training. The central goal of this project therefore is to offer training to political scientists in applied statistical genetics to be used on political behavior analyses. Training political scientists in new methods and theories that are unavailable in their training programs will improve future scholarship and expand knowledge about the relationship between genetics and political behavior. Every year the Behavior Genetics Association hosts a workshop at the University of Colorado Boulder, aimed at training junior and advanced faculty, across disciplines, in introductory behavior genetics. This project would send 20, mostly mid career associate professors or experienced assistant professors, to the 2010 International Workshop on Methodology of Twin and Family Studies. The project will cover travel, lodging, and tuition for attendees, and a portion of the expenses for one extra faculty member of the workshop (to accommodate the overload). The long term impact of sending faculty to the workshop is that it will undoubtedly spawn new interest in these areas, create a long term interest in sending future students to BGA workshops, and generate more human capital in the area of genetics and political behavior.