Fab! or Drab?: Increasing the Effectiveness of Teaching and Learning in Summer Classes

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The original publication is available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15512169.2012.695971#.VD_JWRYXNWs.This article reviews the pitfalls and benefits of teaching and learning in summer school and identifies the lack of student interest as the key factor affecting the effectiveness of learning in the summer. The primary goal of this research is to investigate the impact of active learning strategies on generating student interest and improving their learning in summer school. This article presents results of the study embedded into the classroom curriculum of a summer course. The study consisted of a series of active learning interventions, surveys of students, and observations of their academic performance. The scores of students enrolled in the summer class were compared to academic results of those students who took a similar course during the regular terms. The evidence examined in the study demonstrates that active learning strategies can increase students' situational interest in the summer school setting and can improve the quality of their learning

Islam and power legitimation: instrumentalisation of religion in Central Asian States

How can Islam play multiple and contradictory roles as a source of violence and peace, and a marker of identity differences and national unity? This study argues that religion, as a system of beliefs, manifests itself through discourses, which not only render intelligibility to religious practices and beliefs but also serve as the instruments of social control and regulation. An infinite variety of organizational and ideological differences within Islam presents the possibility for instrumentalisation of religion by stakeholders interested in accomplishing distinctive political aims connected to political legitimation. The study offers an empirical analysis of instrumentalisation of Islam by governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and uses this evidence for developing a framework linking various discursive representations of religion to their political uses

Combating Terrorism in Central Asia: Explaining Differences in States' Responses to Terror

This is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The publisher version is available on its site.This work examines differences in the level of violence of counterterrorism measures adopted by Central Asian states. Why do some Central Asian governments opt for wanton repression in the name of the struggle with terrorism, while others adopt less severe methods of control and prevention? To answer this question, the study draws on a synthesis of rationalist and constructivist explanations. Like rationalists, it posits that the magnitude of terrorism and states’ material capabilities affect the governments’ responses to terrorism. Following constructivists, the study stresses the impact of ideas about the nature of terrorist threat, and views on the appropriateness of the use of force on counterterrorism policies of Central Asian states

Between Commitement and Pragmatism: Assessing International Influence on Human Rights Practices in Georgia

This is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The publisher version is available on its site.What explains the discrepancy between the avowed commitment of the Georgian government to human rights and praxis of human rights in the post-Rose Revolution republic? This article engages with this question and attributes persistent breaches of civil, political, and personal integrity rights in Georgia not only to its domestic circumstances, but also to the international impact. The study develops a reference group theory, a type of social theory that stresses the influence of social groups of states on policies and behavior of their members. Reference groups endorse goals, values, and standards of behavior for their members and serve as the “frames of reference” that enable other states to assess the effectiveness and legitimacy of their actions. The findings of this study indicate that Georgia’s reference groups, particularly the United States, contributed to its backsliding on human rights by (1) supporting the Georgian government in its goal of rebuilding the state prior to democratizing it and strengthening respect for human rights; (2) redirecting financial and other assistance from democracy promotion to state-building projects; and (3) providing the Georgian government with flattering, yet, misleading feedback concerning the republic’s accomplishments in the area of human rights

Reference Group Perspective on State Behaviour: A Case Study of Estonia's Counterterrorism Policies

This is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The publisher version is available on its site.For over a decade Estonia has been untouched by terrorist violence. However, notwithstanding the lack of a viable terrorist threat, the Estonian government adopted extensive counterterrorism measures. What explains the scope of Estonia’s counterterrorism measures? The main proposition of this article is that the content of states’ counterterrorism policies is shaped by the types of responses adopted by their reference groups. The evidence examined in the study demonstrates that Estonia’s primary reference groups, NATO and the EU, have influenced the republic’s counterterrorism programme. An unattractive target to terrorists, Estonia adopted broad counterterrorism responses to defend indivisible Euro-Atlantic security and to protect democratic values that terrorists attempt to destroy

Ethnic Dimension of Religious Extremism and Terrorism in Central Asia

This is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The publisher version is available on its site

Security Rights Violations in Context of Counterterrorism: Analysis of the Post-Soviet Nations

This is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The publisher version is available on its site.This study purports to explain security rights violations of the suspected terrorism. It develops a theoretical model and assesses its predictions on a sample of post-Soviet states. The author uses original data on security rights violations of individuals implicated in terrorism and their family members and supporters collected by means of systematic content analysis of several types of reports. Contrary to a widely-held belief that the magnitude of terrorism is the main determinant of human rights practices in the context of ‘war on terror’, the study finds no support for the impact of terrorist attacks on security rights violations of the suspects of terrorism. Political conflict, on the other hand, appears to be a stronger predictor of security rights violations in the post-Soviet nations. Statistical results also lend support to the impact of international norms and a number of other factors on human rights violations in the name of combating terrorism. The author discusses implications of the findings for theory and practices of human rights

Kazakhstan-Russia Relations in the Wake of the January Unrest

Putin's Russia appeared to gain the greatest benefits from Kazakhstan's Bloody January. Contrary to claims that the Kremlin's influence in the republic is growing, I show how Russia's relatively weak economic standing, coupled with Kazakhstanis' changing attitudes, will seriously limit Russia's ability to increase its geopolitical influence over Kazakhstan

Natural Disasters: Triggers of Political Instability?

This is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The publisher version is available on its site.Do different types of natural disasters – droughts, earthquakes, floods, storms, and others – trigger political instability? This study engages with this question. It revisits an ongoing debate over the nature of association between disasters and conflict and re-assesses this relationship using the model of conflict developed by the Political Instability Task Force as well as its data, measures of political instability, and methods of assessment. The study finds only marginal support for the impact of certain types of disasters on the onsets of political instability. The pre-existing country-specific conditions, including the resilience of a state’s institutions to crisis, account for most of the variance in the dependent variable. Once the characteristics of a state’s political regime are taken into account, the effect of disasters weakens or disappears completely suggesting that natural disasters become catalysts of political instability in only those states, which are already prone to conflict

Self and Peer Evaluation in Undergraduate Education: Are Promises Worth Risking the Perils?

This is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The publisher version is available on its site.This study canvasses reliability of students’ self and peer evaluation, a method of assessment of university students that has recently gained renewed pedagogical interest and broad recognition. Two experiments, imbedded in classroom curriculum, examined the effects of the instrument of evaluation (with criteria vs. no criteria for evaluation provided), the format of evaluation procedure (anonymous vs. nonanonymous), and motivation of students (strong vs. weak) on the accuracy of students’ self and peer ratings. The results of the experiments revealed both a considerable unreliability of peer ratings in some cases as well as a notable consistency of peer evaluations in others. The instrument of evaluation with criteria provided had significant positive effect on the accuracy of peer evaluations. This finding was robust across both experiments reported in the paper. Students’ motivation also had impact on the reliability of peer evaluations. Students strongly motivated to apply criteria for evaluation produced more accurate peer evaluations compared to their peers provided with not criteria or supported with the criteria but not motivated to apply them. The results on the impact of the condition of anonymity were mixed