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We are looking for the best thesis

 

The Center of Excellence in Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice, a joint project by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Institute for Statistics and Geography in Mexico (INEGI), invites you to participate in the 7th International Theses Contest on Public Security, Victimization and Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean.

download here ( pdfPDF )      

Purpose

To recognize academic work that use statistical data to analyze and contribute knowledge on issues related to the Indicators of Sustainable Development goal 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

     
Prizes

■ PhD: 80 000 Mexican Pesos

■ Master´s: 50 000 Mexican Pesos

■ Bachelor´s: 30 000 Mexican Pesos

All participants will receive a certificate of participation.

     
Topics

■ The theses will have to be on one of the following issues and be related to Latin America, the Caribbean or a country in this region:

        - Homicide
        - Fear of crime
        - Trafficking in persons
        - Rule of law and Access to justice
        - Victimization
        -  Penitentiary system
        - Illicit Financial Flows
        - Trafficking in guns
        - Organized crime
        - Cybercrime
        - Measuring corruption in households and businesses
        - Poaching and trafficking in wildlife
        - Juvenile delinquency and gangs
        - Crime and violence at local level
        - Crime and justice statistics
        - Criminal justice
        - Spatial patterns of crime
        - Crime prevention
        - Police professionalization
        - Public security
        - Smuggling of migrants
        - Alternative sources for measuring crime
        - Using social networks to measure crime
        - Physical, psychological and sexual violence

■ Work will beaccepted both in:

       - English

       -  Spanish

     
Who can participate?

■ Students or graduates of Bachelor Degrees, Masters or Ph.D.'s, regardless of country of origin, who finished their studies after February 2015.

■ Submitted theses must have been completed and approved by the academic institution in which the student completed his/her studies.

 

     
Who can´t participate?
    ■ Employees of INEGI or UNODC
    ■ Students that are currently doing or have previously done internships or social service in any of the mentioned above institutions.
     
What documents should I send to participate?

1- Registration form ( Formato word)

2- Copy of personal identification (passport, identity card).

3- Summary of the thesis (250 words maximum).

4-Official document of approval of the thesis, issued by the academic institution in which your have completed you studies.

5- Thesis in Word or PDF, without personal information.

6- Letter under oath stating that the thesis is unpublished and personally written, so as to free the Center of Excellence and INEGI of any complaint regarding authorship of the work, present or future.

7-In group works, a sole team member should appear as solely responsible, and must have written consent from the other researchers in order to submit the work to the competition.

     
How do I send my thesis?

■ The thesis must be submitted without disclosing personal details, that is to say without indicating the author´s/ authors´ name, institution, thesis director(s)/advisor(s), acknowledgements or any other information that could identify the participant.

■ It should be sent to the following e-mail: cde.estadistica@unodc.org in digital format(PDF o Word)

■ In the case that the attachments are too large, they can be uploaded to a Dropbox account and send the corresponding link to the same e-mail.

     
What is the deadline for submitting my thesis?

The period for receiving thesis is from October 16th, 2017 up until February 16th, 2018 at 23:59 hours (Mexican time).

     
How is the winner for each category chosen?

■ The Center of Excellence's staff will make a shortlist of entries received.

■ The Evaluation Committee will be comprised of staff from UNODC Vienna, UNODC Mexico, INEGI and invited academic experts.

■ The selection criteria varies regarding the evaluated category, but generally consists of:

    - the originality of the work;

    - the completeness of reviewed literature;

    - a clear and scientific methodology;

    - relevance of the research question;

    - quality and solidity of conclusions reached and formulated recommendations.

■ The Evaluation Committee can abstain from declaring a winner and can, in that case, annul the awards in one or various categories if they consider that none of the works deserve to receive a prize.

■ The Evaluation Committee's decision will be final.

■ The authors of the winning theses will be made aware of the Evaluation Committee's decision on May 19th, 2018.

■ The awards will be given in June 2018 (dates to be confirmed).

     
Acceptance of the terms and conditions
  • It is considered that when presenting or sending their candidacy, the applicants accept the Terms and Conditions of participation established in this competition´s call.
  • The Center of Excellence, UNODC and INEGI shall not bear the costs resultant from the applicants´ participation in this contest. Likewise the Center of Excellence, UNODC and INEGI will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or injury resulting from participating in this contest.
  • The copyright of the winning theses are property of the author. Although by participating in the 7th International Contest for Theses Regarding Public Security, Victimization and Justice in Latin America., the winners authorize the Center of Excellence, UNODC and INEGI to publish them on their websites and associated materials that are part of the mentioned organizations. In addition they can be distributed  nd disseminated by the organizations, giving appropriate credit.
  • Participants who have not yet received the academic title for which they have done their thesis for, must make sure that their participation in the contest, as well as the publication of their research doesn´t  interfere with the procedures and requirements necessary to complete the certification process.
  • Any unforeseen circumstance not mentioned in these terms and conditions, will be resolved by the Center of Excellence. If you have any questions, please contact the Centre of Excellence by e-mail at the following address: cde.estadistica@unodc.org or by telephone: +52 (55) 5278 1000 Ext. 1726
   


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