Funding Recipients
Below are some of the recipients of Center for Asian Democracy funding and summaries of their work:
Course Development Fund
Dr. Jason Gainous, Associate Professor of Political Science, received a course development grant from the Center for Asian Democracy to overhaul his undergraduate research methods course. It was a standard introduction to social science methods course covering the scientific method and research design, theory building, hypothesis testing, and a range of specific methods including survey research, experimental methods, field research, participant observation, in-depth interviewing, and focus groups. The redesigned course covers these topics in the context of Asian public opinion research.
Additionally, the course was redesigned to use the Asian Barometer, the only cross-national large N survey for the region. This involved writing a workbook that relates topics from Asian public opinion, many specific to attitudes about democracy, to the concepts covered in the course text. In doing so, students are trained to use R which is arguably the most sophisticated statistical package available. It is actually an open source programming environment, so it is free. Together with a workbook written by Jason Gainous and free software, students are saving a great deal. Additionally, knowing how to use R is a skill that they can take with them and continue to practice without having to buy expensive software. This useful skill is acquired while learning about social and political characteristics of the Asian public.
This new course accomplishes two primary goals: 1) students will effectively learn the foundations of social science research methods both quantitative and qualitative, and 2) they will do so while gaining both and understanding and appreciation of one facet of Asian democratic processes, public opinion.
Research Support Fund
Michael Losavio, JD, Assistant Professor of Justice Administration, received research support funds to support his upcoming trip to Hong Kong in Fall 2013, to study police investigations in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.
Dr. Rodger Payne, Professor of Political Science, received research support funds for a paper presentation at the 2012 International Studies Association conference. His paper, Cooperative Security in the Indian Ocean to 2025: Cooperative Security as a Grand Strategy" was part of a larger project on grand strategy in the Indian Ocean region and will be published as a chapter in a forthcoming book by Georgetown University Press.
Dr. Jianhua (Andrew) Zhao, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, received research support funds for a research trip to China in the summer of 2012, for qualitative and ethnographic study of second generation women in business families in the People's Republic of China.
Dr. Charles Ziegler, Professor of Political Science, received research support funds that supported the following publications:
- “Neoclassical Realism and Russian-American Relations: Context, Control, and Capabilities,” Kentucky Political Science Association, Lexington, KY, March 1-2, 2013.
- “Interests vs. Ideology in U.S.-Russian Relations: Lessons from an Earlier Era,” ISA Midwest annual meeting, St. Louis, MO, November 2-4, 2012.
- “Interests and Ideology: U.S-Russian Relations in an Earlier Era,” International Politics, forthcoming.
Student Study Abroad Fund
Ten students participating in the China Study Abroad program through the College of Arts and Sciences - Office of International, Diversity, and Outreach Programs each received $100 scholarships from the Student Study Abroad Fund.
Megan Floyd and Michael Zeller received support to travel to Burma in Summer 2013 to conduct research.