REU Site:Civil Conflict Management and Peace Science

该项目是北德克萨斯大学(UNT)本科生研究经验(REU)项目的延续。联合国大学政治学系开设了这一独特的项目，为30名本科生(从全国各地招收)提供参与冲突管理与和平科学研究生水平研究的机会，这是一个由高级教员指导的为期八周的暑期研究体验，将内战管理培训与地理信息系统(GIS)和地理空间分析培训相结合。在这个项目中，学生参与者开发理论命题，并使用地理编码数据进行经验测试，并在全国专业政治学会议上报告他们的发现。活动包括关于理论发展和研究方法、地理信息系统和研究生院申请程序的讲习班。还有一些旨在学生、教职员工和研究生导师之间建立研究共同体意识的活动。冲突管理方面的培训，包括在高等教育中历来代表性不足的人群(但他们在本科生人口中所占的比例正在上升)是一项全国性的任务。该计划旨在通过向来自这类人群的学生提供从事高级实证研究的机会，满足在冲突管理与和平科学方面进一步发展专业知识的需要，这些学生本来不会有这样的研究机会。UNT在体制和地理上都处于有利地位，能够提供这种通道。为此，PI-Team获得了西班牙裔和美国原住民在职机构以及德克萨斯州和俄克拉何马州历史上的黑人学院/大学(HBCU)的正式承诺，以及UNT的Ronald E.McNair计划，以帮助扩大该计划的申请者池。随着世界上国内冲突日益频繁，以及这些冲突给美国带来的安全担忧，开发有能力应对这些挑战的人力资本对国家安全至关重要。该方案的智力重点是国内冲突管理和加强和平。事实上，自1945年以来，国内冲突--内战、革命、分离主义战争以及种族和宗派暴力--已取代州际战争，成为世界上最频繁和最致命的武装冲突形式。该计划寻求通过检查各州的数据来重点了解国内冲突发生(或再次发生)的原因。特别是，目标是培养学生的理论建设和实证分析技能，这将促进创新思维和解决问题的能力。发展地理空间分析技能为本科生课程参与者提供了了解冲突原因的尖端工具，从而更好地为他们设计关于国内冲突管理的创新解决方案做好准备。

This project is a continuation of a program in Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of North Texas (UNT). The Department of Political Science at the UNT runs this unique program to provide 30 undergraduate students (recruited from across the country) the opportunity to engage in graduate-level research in conflict management and peace science, in a senior faculty-mentored, in-residence, eight- week, Summer Research Experience that integrates training in civil conflict management with training in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial analysis. In this program, student articipants develop theoretical propositions that are tested empirically using geocoded data and report their findings in a national professional political science conference. Activities include workshops on theory development and research methodology, GIS, and the graduate school application process. There are also activities designed to build a sense of research community among students, faculty and graduate student mentors. Training in conflict management that includes populations historically underrepresented in higher education (but which are growing as a proportion of the undergraduate student population) is a national imperative. This program seeks to address the need to develop further expertise in conflict management and peace science by providing opportunities to engage in advanced empirical research to students from such populations, students who would not otherwise have such research opportunities. UNT is well positioned, both institutionally and geographically, to provide such access. To that end, the PI-team secured formal commitments from the Hispanic and Native American Serving Institutions and from Historically Black Colleges/ Universities (HBCU) in Texas and Oklahoma, and the Ronald E. McNair Program at UNT to assist in broadening the pool of applicants to the program. The growing frequency of civil conflicts in the world and the security concerns these conflicts pose for the United States, the development of human capital that is equipped to deal with these challenges is critical for the national security of the country. The intellectual focus of the program is on civil conflict management and the enhancement of peace. Indeed since 1945 civil conflicts-civil war, revolution, secessionist war, and ethnic and sectarian violence-has replaced interstate war as the most frequent and deadly form of armed conflict in the world. The program seeks to focus on understanding the causes of civil conflict occurrence (or reoccurrence) by examining sub-state data. In particular, the goal is to train students in theory building and empirical analytical skills, which will promote innovative thinking and problem solving skills. Developing skills in geospatial analysis provides undergraduate program participants with cutting edge tools to understand the causes of conflict, and hence better prepare them to devise innovative solutions regarding civil conflict management.