Spotlight on Research
Mitchell Studies Neutral Zones for Institute of Peace
Christopher R. Mitchell, the Druscilla French Cumbie Professor of Conflict
Resolution in the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, received a $35,000
grant from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to analyze Zones of Peace.
The zones are defined areas where residents try to remain neutral within societies
afflicted by protracted civil conflict.
During the two-year project, Mitchell will survey the literature on Zones of
Peace to determine any patterns of success or failure, and examine the nature
and durability of the zones. Mitchell’s research will allow him to draw lessons
about the establishment, maintenance, and extension of such zones in the broader
process of democratic development. Particular attention will be paid to Colombia,
where more than 100 villages and towns have declared themselves neutral zones.
The second phase of the project will involve on-site studies of areas where residents
are trying to set up Zones of Peace. In addition to the report to USIP, the research
is expected to yield a handbook in Spanish and English on successfully setting
up a Zone of Peace.
Established in 1984, USIP is an independent, nonpartisan federal institution
created and funded by Congress to strengthen the nation’s capacity to promote
the peaceful resolution of international conflict through grants, fellowships,
publications, and conferences. Mitchell has received two previous USIP grants.
In 1989, he studied the various initiatives taken to resolve conflicts in the
Horn of Africa from 1960–89, and in 1990, he received funds to study measures
to enhance the Organization of African Unity’s organizational competence
in mediation and to develop an institutional framework or processes for facilitated
conflict management by the organization.
—Fran Rensbarger
Denham Examines Emotional Competence in Children
Disorders in the emotional competence of a child can cause untold difficulty
for parents, teachers, and the child. Psychology professor Susanne Denham is taking
a close look at this problem, examining the processes of emotional and social
competence and their effects on preschool children’s emotional competency
and socialization. “From a mental health policy perspective, there has been
a call for the study of emotional competence deficits, and for primary and secondary
interventions for preschoolers at risk for such deficits,” says Denham. “We
hope to ultimately translate our findings into guidelines and curricula for both
parents and teachers.”
The first assumption of Denham’s research, which is funded by the National
Institute of Mental Health is that emotions regulate inter- and intrapersonal
behavior. Children must be able to experience and express emotion, while applying
their knowledge about emotions and their expression to relationships with others.
These abilities continue to develop throughout the lifespan, but Denham found
that the preschool-aged children she studied were surprisingly adept at several
component skills of emotional competence. Accumulating evidence from Denham’s
longitudinal study verifies that children who are more emotionally competent at
ages three and four are more well-liked and socially adjusted in kindergarten.
The second assumption finds that children learn a great deal from their parents
regarding the appropriate expression of emotions, possible reactions to others’
positive and negative emotions, and the nature of emotional expressions and situations.
Researchers find that parents who are accepting of young children’s expressions
of emotions, who teach their children about emotions, and who do not punish them
for feelings have children who later are not only more knowledgeable about feelings,
but are better able to regulate them.
—Sarah McGurk
AJP Research Focuses on Juvenile Probation
The need for standardized information about juveniles on probation at the national
level has prompted the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
of the U.S. Department of Justice to fund a research team at George Mason that
will develop and test questionnaires that will be the sole method of collecting
data on juvenile probationers and the services they receive.
Led by Catherine Gallagher of the Administration of Justice Program (AJP),
the researchers will use qualitative and quantitative methods for evaluating the
performance of their questionnaires. Currently, draft questionnaires are being
developed based on the results of interviews with probation administrators in
20 states.
Probation is the most common outcome for children processed through the juvenile
justice system. Because most children under the jurisdiction of justice agencies
are on probation, information about the children and the services and treatment
they receive is critical to policy makers, administrators of probation agencies,
and researchers following juvenile justice trends and issues.
Record keeping for juveniles on probation, however, falls to the local or state
governments administering probation, which means the quality and scope of information
available regarding these children are vastly different. For example, some states
have sophisticated electronic systems that track probationers and the services
they receive, while other states rely on discrepant paper records that do not
facilitate information sharing and analysis.
AJP faculty members and graduate research assistants are involved in the project,
as are the Public and International Affairs and Applied and Engineering Statistics
departments. The team will work closely with the U.S. Bureau of the Census and
OJJDP.
—Sarah McGurk
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