African Dissertation "Distance Training" Workshop,

This is a preliminary time table for the "Long Distance Dissertation Training Workshop" jointly organized by the University of Pennsylvania Population Studies Center and the John Hopkins University Department of Population Dynamics under the sponsorship of the Rockefeller Foundation. The program is devoted to the design of conceptually cogent and methodologically rigorous dissertation proposals that relate to Africa.

A. The workshop is shaped by three general goals and premises:

1. The enhancement of research skills through (I) the identification of compelling research questions in developing country setting; (ii) the formulation of research hypothesis that are likely to contribute to the literature; (iii) the development of rigorous, systematic methodological frameworks from both an analytical and a conceptual perspective; (iv) the overall organization of a research proposal to reflect the cogency, the priority and - perhaps - urgency of selected issues.

1. The need to improve the exposure of the academic community to current African research by allowing a variety of doctoral students with African interests to interact among themselves and with a distinguished faculty on a number of development related topics. The major areas of exploration include the determinants of and impacts of population dynamics in both urban and rural areas, health systems delivery and management, population-environment linkages in addition to a look at the socioeconomic determinants of household behavior in Africa.

1. The use of Internet with web-pages, e-mail in addition to a series of instructional video tapes and a number of teleconferences to pace up program activities. This will allow both students and program staff to interact in ways that encourage future professional collaboration and research networking. The web site address module one is http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Acad_Research/afrpop.html; and the address for module two is:
http://www.sph.jhu.edu/DistanceEd/AfricanDissertation.

A. The May 1996 Long Distance Dissertation Training Workshop is specifically focused on health and population issues in Africa. The program is articulated around a series of video tapes with accompanying

lectures scripts. Together, the video tapes and lecture scripts form a compendium of research proposal writing technics for doctoral students and junior researchers of the highest caliber.

The workshop begins with a 2-hour introductory phone conference on Tuesday 28, May 1996 at 10:00am. Antonio McDaniel and W. Henry Mosley respectively from the University of Pennsylvania Population Studies Center and Johns Hopkins University Department of Population Dynamics will begin the teleconference session by officially welcoming participants and will follow-up with a synoptic view of the materials contributed by their own institutions. The 7 instructors will then introduce themselves (Background, professional experience, current research emphasis) before advertising their video modules and lecture scripts. Next, the students will introduce themselves (Name, background and current research interests).

A. The curriculum is divided into two modules, each module consist of four units (with and introduction and conclusion). Each module will take place over a two day period (two modules per day). For each module, activities begin at 10:00am and end at 5:00pm though there is no formal instructional schedule as participants would have access to the workshop web-page and participant sign-on/off e-mail accounts on a 24

hours basis. The 10:00am (o) 5:00pm time range is simply an indication of the time range in which students could expect instructors to react instantaneously to their queries on the Internet. Clearly, the lag between questions put to the staff and answers or comments would depend on the complexity of the issues discussed. To avoid that scheduled tasks carry over and accumulate during the last days of the workshop, an effort will be made to respond to the students in real-time.

The following notes describe only what may be considered as the "core" workshop activities given that the interactions on the Web may expand for as much time as participants are willing to commit.

10:00am-12:00pm:INTRODUCTORY TELECONFERENCE
1:00pm-3:00pm: Unit 1/Tape 1. Background and Significance | (Professor Etienne Van de Walle) | Assignment
3:00pm-5:00pm: Unit 2/Tape 2. Quantitative Analytical Approaches to Research | (Professor S. Philip Morgan) | Assignment
6:00pm-7:00pm: First day teleconference

10:00am-12:00pm : Review of Sample of participant proposals posted on the web. Instructors give initial reviews on submitted proposals.
1:00pm-3:00pm: Unit 3/Tape 3. Qualitative/Behavioral Analytical Approaches to Research | (Professor Douglas Ewbank) | Assignment
3:00pm-5:00pm: Unit 4/Tape 4. Plan of work for the Study | (Professor Antonio McDaniel) | Assignment
6:00pm-7:00pm : Second day teleconference

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1:00pm-3:00pm: Unit 5/Tape 5. Variable identification and Conceptual Models (Professor Henry Mosley)
1:00pm-3:00pm: Unit 6/Tape 6. Sampling and Design Alternatives (Professor William Reinke)
6:00pm-7:00pm : First days teleconference

10:00am-12:00pm : Review of exercises on unit 3.

3:00pm-5:00pm: Unit 7/Tape 7. Quantitative Data Collection (Professor Kin Hill)
3:00pm-5:00pm: Unit 8/Tape 8. Design and Analysis for operations Research (Professor William Reinke)
6:00pm-7:00pm : Second days teleconference

10:00am-12:00pm : Review.
3:00pm-5:00pm: CLOSING PHONE CONFERENCE. Agenda to be discussed and posted on the web during workshop.

Wishing all workshop participants a nice Summer; you have earned it !

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