GRI Newsletter April 2022
“It’s the little things.”That line is the resonant theme of this year’s One Tribe One Day — a day for giving back and paying forward to William & Mary. At GRI, this message guides everything we do. From barbecue conversations, office hour visits, and front porch study sessions, world-class research partnerships and experiential learning opportunities emerge. No matter how little, your generous contributions on Tuesday, April 12 allow us to keep creating these big things.William & Mary’s new strategic plan calls us to address global challenges collaboratively, ensure the lifelong success of alumni, and adapt our approaches to reach more people. The framework also identifies four cross-cutting areas in which W&M can contribute most powerfully: data, water, democracy, and careers. Across these categories and more, GRI researchers spearhead innovative approaches — with AidData, for instance, studying how irrigation and water access impacts productivity in Lesotho. You’ll see that story about drone research and satellite imagery linked in the tiles below, along with analysis of the war in Ukraine, published work from one of GRI’s Student Innovation Projects, and more. When the Institute’s research aligns with the University’s broader vision, we are that much more powerful. As you consider giving on One Tribe One Day, please know that your contribution to the Global Research Institute Fund (3222) can engage students in solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. The little things all add up.Best,Mike
AidData
Questions that previously relied on satellite and airborne data for answers are now being revisited with insights from drone data. AidData's Geospatial Scientist Dr. Kunwar Singh leads efforts to apply this high-resolution data to agricultural and environmental research.
Teaching, Research & International Policy Project
In a recent TRIP snap poll, IR scholars indicated nearly unanimous opposition to the U.S. establishing and enforcing a no-fly zone. In Foreign Policy, TRIP researchers explained which considerations affect U.S. decision-making on this issue, and examined the meaning of consensus among experts.
DisinfoLab
DisinfoLab studied 3,290 text predictions to understand how identity bias operates in GPT-3 and Google Search, and how this bias contributes to disinformation online. In the Diplomatic Courier, the team shares that GPT-3 and Google sustain high rates of bias, especially in phrases relating to sexuality.
Teaching, Research & International Policy Project
To assess whether the war in Ukraine may have implications for Chinese military action in Taiwan., researchers from the Teaching, Research & International Policy Project analyzed data from three snap polls.
GRI Affiliate Jessica Trisko Darden
GRI Affiliate Jessica Trisko Darden outlined the difficulty of measuring the human cost of war, identifying implications that casualty counts don't specify — including multiple injuries and “invisible harms,” such as post-traumatic stress.
International Criminal Court
As three international courts investigate alleged atrocities committed by Russia, International Justice Lab Director Dr. Kelebogile Zvobgo and Fellow Nathaniel Liu ‘22 considered why these proceedings matter.
International Justice Lab
In The Washington Post, IJL Director Dr. Kelebogile Zvobgo and Fellow Daniel Posthumus '24 examined the International Court of Justice's ruling that Russia must halt military operations in Ukraine, and offered context for understanding Russia's noncompliance.
Ignite
Ignite Director Dr. Carrie Dolan co-authored a new study estimating that 5,815 years of healthy life were made possible by the World Pediatric Project's surgical interventions in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from 2002-2019.
Blockchain Lab
To prevent shipping slowdowns from recurring, the United States needs to update overall port infrastructure, encourage automation, and strengthen communication, GRI Affiliate Yu Amy Xia writes in an op-ed for The Hill.
AidData
Amid warnings that some African countries could struggle to repay debts, little evidence supports concerns that China wants control over borrowers’ physical infrastructure assets, AidData's Executive Director Brad Parks clarifies.
GRI Affiliate Jessica Trisko Darden
The absence of women in Kazakhstan's recent protests revealed noteworthy political and social barriers, explains GRI Affiliate Jessica Trisko Darden in a new article for Newsweek. Women's absence "is as political as their participation," she writes.
GRI Affiliate Sharan Grewal
Across three surveys of US military personnel — under both Republican and Democratic Presidents, and among both Republican and Democratic military officers — attitudes of military superiority had "corrosive effects" on civilian control, according to new research co-authored by GRI Affiliate Sharan Grewal.
Ignite
GRI's Post-Doctoral Fellow Julius Nyerere Odhiambo collaborated to quantify and map the underlying risk of multiple adverse pregnancy outcomes in Kenya at the sub-county level — a baseline for monitoring progress towards the attainment of sustainable maternal health priorities.
AidData
Half of China's lending to developing countries is not reported in official debt statistics, as outlined in AidData's Banking on the Belt and Road report. A BBC News article cites the report when assessing evidence of "debt traps."
Project on International Peace and Security
Now in its second semester at William & Mary, the NSIN: Hacking for Defense class gives students a chance to tackle real-world challenges in the Department of Defense and intelligence communities.
