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麻豆果冻传媒's Signature Research Initiatives

Ideas

The call for proposals will be announced in September 2024 for the next cohort of the Signature Research Initiatives (SRI) program.

Unmasking Antisemitism
Led by Dr. Jeff Gill, School of Public Affairs; Dr. Nathalie Japkowicz, College of Arts and Sciences; and Professor Wendy Melillo, School of Communication.

This project studies coded antisemitic hate speech and trope evolution with the goal of developing machine-learning detection and monitoring tools. With the ubiquity of the internet and social media, technology has increased the speed at which language evolves. Propaganda in the form of hate speech now travels the world at such a dizzying pace that it is beyond the ability of social media platforms or governments to effectively monitor and control. Harmful words unfold, take on new meanings in both direct and coded ways, quickly inciting hatred in the minds of those only too willing to believe them because they reinforce and justify preexisting prejudicial views. Starting from a collection of seed words known to be antisemitic, data are scraped off barely moderated extremist social media platforms and analyzed. New antisemitic terms and tropes are then identified. The spread of this coded extremist language to the general population is then tracked through survey experiments, and scrutiny of mainstream media content. Software tools are designed to automatically track coded language evolution and trope trends over time. The project鈥檚 faculty members believe that the model for the dataset, surveys and software tools can later be adopted to track hate speech directed at other frequently attacked groups in 麻豆果冻传媒 society.

Changing Aid: Understanding and Transforming aid in Violent, Insecure, and Crisis-affected Environments
Led by Dr. Susanna Campbell, School of International Service; Dr. Lauren Carruth, School of International Service; Dr. Ernesto Casta帽eda-Tinoco, College of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Joseph Young, School of Public Affairs and School of International Service.

The Changing Aid SRI graduated in June 2024 and established the Humanitarian Policy and Practice Graduate Certificate program at AU School of International Service.

The international aid industry employs hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. and developed countries and benefits millions of people around the world. This industry is charged with improving lives and livelihoods; saving lives in the midst of humanitarian emergencies; and securing the human rights of people displaced by violence, climate change, and geopolitical disputes. At the same time, governments, citizens, and civil society actors are calling on the international aid industry to become more evidence-driven, equitable, sustainable, and accountable to and representative of the people it serves. This SRI aims to establish 麻豆果冻传媒 as a hub of scholarship, training, and policy-relevant debate on the changing nature of international aid and how international aid actors can be more effective.

By building multi-disciplinary research collaborations on international aid, this hub will produce cutting-edge research that addresses the multiple dimensions of the aid challenge. By offering education and training for the aid industry in the DC-area and internationally, as well as for AU students, the hub will translate this cross-disciplinary research into courses that facilitate better and more accountable aid. By organizing public events with diverse policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to discuss pressing issues facing international aid, refugee resettlement, and irregular migration, the hub will offer aid actors crucial space for critical reflection and build AU鈥檚 reputation as a center for policy-engaged research and training on international aid and migration.

Inclusive Technology Policy
Led by Ms. Fiona M. Alexander, School of International Service; Dr. Derrick L. Cogburn, School of International Service and Kogod School of Business; Mr. Gary Corn, Washington College of Law; Dr. Nanette S. Levinson, School of International Service; and Dr. Sasha Cohen O鈥機onnell, School of Public Affairs.

The Inclusive Technology Policy SRI graduated in June 2024 into an initiative of AU鈥檚 Shahal M. Khan Cyber and Economic Security Institute.

The Inclusive Tech Policy (ITP) focuses on advancing inclusivity in global technology policy by lifting underrepresented voices. Technological innovation forms the foundation of modern society. It underpins our collective ability to address global challenges ranging from the environment and health care to human rights and national security. The policies that guide the design, development and use of technology determine, to a large extent, the role that these innovations play in society. As such, technology policies, and the policymakers who shape them, are powerful arbiters of future human welfare.

AU community members influence global technology policy through research, workforce development, policy engagement, and community building activities designed to advance inclusive technology policy, strengthen global leadership, and achieve a more socially equitable technology infrastructure.

About the SRI Program
The SRI program mobilizes university-wide research efforts that require a holistic, cross-disciplinary approach. SRIs are designed to be short-term initiatives enabling faculty researchers to develop sustainable collaborations within and outside of the university and driving the initiative toward a self-sustaining portfolio of outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions

SRIs may be linked to university research centers in several ways. First, in the case of existing centers, the SRI may serve as an amplifier by offering surge support to address urgent topics within the portfolio of work being conducted through the existing center. Second, the SRI may highlight transformational priorities that ultimately re-shape and enhance existing collaborations. Third, the SRI may serve as a launch pad that ultimately results in a new center as one of the SRI outcomes.

The SRIs will not replace university research centers. University research centers play an important role in building both disciplinary-based and cross-disciplinary research expertise. These collectives provide a home for the development of sustained research in specific areas of inquiry and are established with the goal of relative longevity. Conversely, the SRIs are temporary by design. The goal of the SRI is not to develop new intellectual capacity, but rather to leverage existing capacity across the university. As a general rule, an SRI project will be more narrowly focused and targeted than our existing university-wide centers.

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Yes, any AU individual or group of collaborators may jointly propose an SRI.

No set number of participants is required to propose an SRI. Proposals should highlight the collaboration, potential for impact, and why this group is the right group to initiate the effort. It is expected that the number of SRI participants may evolve over time.

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SRIs will be coordinated through the Office of Research and will include participants from various university units, as appropriate for advancing the topic.

As the initiatives evolve, interested members of the community may contact the program through vpr@american.edu and visit the Office of Research website to learn more.

The SRI selection process is outlined above. SRIs will be synergistic with ongoing and emerging AU areas of research breadth and depth, as evidenced by an existing record of cross-disciplinary research, recent funding, and potential to achieve the SRI program goals.

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The SRI selection process is outlined above. The first SRIs were launched at the beginning of FY23. Future SRIs will be identified and developed on an ongoing basis and as funding permits.

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The SRI cycle is two years. At the end of the two-year period, an SRI will transition into a portfolio of self-sustaining outcomes.

The SRIs will receive financial support through the Office of Research, sponsored research, and philanthropic giving. Current funding is not required. However, recent (since 2019) external sponsorship for the principal participants on the topic should be described in the application and will be considered in the selection process. The VPR and other members of the Office of Research will provide strategic and operational support to the SRIs. A new SRI Manager, reporting to the VPR and collaborating with faculty investigators, will coordinate activities across the SRIs. As additional resources become available through sponsored research and philanthropic giving, the SRI manager will help to transition the SRI into a portfolio of self-sustaining activities under the direction of the faculty investigators.

As many as three initiatives will be supported at any one time.

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The SRIs will advance the research imperatives outlined in the Changemakers for a Changing World strategic plan and fostered by the Change Can鈥檛 Wait comprehensive campaign by focusing investment in areas where AU can make an extraordinary impact on our world. The SRIs will provide a mechanism for targeting specific and critical topics within these focus areas. Through them, we will more clearly define the AU research brand, increase sponsored research, grow research-related philanthropy, and provide additional opportunities for students to thrive.

The foundational pillars of the Changemakers strategic plan underpin the signature research initiatives. Each initiative will expand strategic partnerships within and outside of the university, include broad and contextualized learning opportunities, leverage our unique position within the Washington, DC and global communities, and take a forward-leading approach that informs the future of learning, work, and citizenship.

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Questions?

Please e-mail vpr@american.edu with any questions regarding the SRI.