Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Book Reviews, Timothy Hsia, Sheldon Greaves, Donald J. Goldstein

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Cover & Front Matter

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Catholic Schools, Urban Neighborhoods, And Education Reform, Margaret F. Brinig, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Notre Dame Law Review

This Article explores the implications of a dramatic shift in the American educational landscape—the rapid disappearance of Catholic schools from urban neighborhoods. Primarily because of their strong track record of educating disadvantaged children, these school closures are a source of significant concern in education policy circles. While we are inclined to agree that Catholic school closures contribute to a broader educational crisis, this Article does not address well-rehearsed debates about educational outcomes. Rather than focusing on the work done inside the schools, we focus on what goes on outside them. Specifically, using three decades of data from the Project on …

The Value Of A Statistical Life: Evidence From Panel Data, Thomas J. Kniesner, W. Kip Viscusi, Christopher Woock

Center for Policy Research

Our research addresses fundamental long-standing concerns in the compensating wage differentials literature and its public policy implications: the econometric properties of estimates of the value of statistical life (VSL) and the wide range of such estimates from about $0 to almost $30 million. Here we address most of the prominent econometric issues by applying panel data, a new and more accurate fatality risk measure, and systematic application of panel data estimators. Controlling for measurement error, endogeneity, latent individual heterogeneity that may be correlated with the regressors, state dependence, and sample composition yields an estimated value of a statistical life of …

Northern Great Plains Network Vital Signs Monitoring Plan, Robert A. Gitzen, Marcia Wilson, United States National Park Service, Northern Great Plains Inventory And Monitoring Network, Mike Bynum, John Wrede, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Kara J. Paintner

U.S. National Park Service Publications and Papers

Executive Summary

The condition of natural resources in parks and other units of the National Park Service (NPS) is fundamental to this agency’s mission to manage park resources “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Park managers are increasingly confronted with complex and challenging resource management issues and need a broad-based understanding of the status and trends of park resources for the long-term protection of park ecosystems. The National Park Service has initiated a long-term ecological “Vital Signs” monitoring program to provide the minimum infrastructure needed to track the overall condition of natural resources in parks and to provide early …

Terrorist Attacks On Public Bus Transportation: A Preliminary Empirical Analysis, Mti Report Wp 09-01, Brian M. Jenkins, Bruce R. Butterworth, Karl S. Shrum

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This report provides data on terrorist attacks against public bus transportation targets and serious crimes committed against such targets throughout the world. The data are drawn from the MTI database of attacks on public surface transportation, which is expanded and updated as information becomes available. This analysis is based on the database as of December 17, 2009. Data include the frequency and lethality with which buses, bus stations, and bus stops are attacked; the relationship between fatalities and attacks against bus targets and the relationship between injuries and attacks against those targets; how often, relative to other surface transportation targets, …

Improving Transportation Construction Project Performance: Development Of A Model To Support The Decision-Making Process For Incentive/Disincentive Construction Projects, Mti Report 09-07, Jae-Ho Pyeon, Taeho Park

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This research presents a project time and cost performance simulation model to assist project planners and managers by providing a complete picture during the Incentive/Disincentive (I/D) contracting decision-making process of possible performance outcomes with probabilities based on historical data. This study was performed by collecting transportation construction project data. The collected project data from the Florida Department of Transportation were evaluated using time and cost performance indices and then statistical data analysis was performed to identify important factors that influence construction project time performance. Using Monte Carlo simulation procedures, this study demonstrated a methodology for developing an I/D project time …

Explosives And Incendiaries Used In Terrorist Attacks On Public Surface Transportation: A Preliminary Empirical Analysis, Mti Report Wp 09-02, Brian M. Jenkins, Bruce R. Butterworth

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This report provides data on terrorist attacks against public surface transportation targets and serious crimes committed against such targets throughout the world. The data are drawn from the MTI database of attacks on public surface transportation, which is expanded and updated as information becomes available. This analysis is based on the database as of February 20, 2010. Data include the frequency and lethality with which trains, buses, and road and highway targets are attacked; the relationship between fatalities and attacks against those targets; and the relationship between injuries and attacks against them. The report presents some preliminary observations drawn from …

The 1995 Attempted Derailing Of The French Tgv (High-Speed Train) And A Quantitative Analysis Of 181 Rail Sabotage Attempts, Mti Report 09-12, Brian M. Jenkins, Bruce R. Butterworth, Jean-Francois Clair

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

On August 26, 1995, the Saturday of the final and busiest weekend of France’s summer holiday season, terrorists attempted to derail the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) between Lyon and Paris by planting a bomb. Fortunately, their crude triggering mechanism failed to detonate the bomb, and subsequent analysis indicates that even had the bomb gone off, the explosion would not have derailed the train. The TGV episode, one of a continuing series of case studies by the Mineta Transportation Institute, points to a continuing problem: Since 1995, terrorists have attempted to derail trains on at least 144 occasions. Because of …

Conceptions Regarding Children’S Health: An Examination Of Ethnotheories In A Sending And Receiving Community, Maria Rosario De Guzman, Jennifer Deleon, Gloria Gonzalez-Kruger, Rodrigo Cantarero

Faculty Publications, Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies

Ethnotheories are beliefs that adults hold about children and the factors that impact upon their development. Scholars suggest that “ethnotheories” serve as cultural models that underlie motivations for parenting practices and the way adults organize children’s early experiences. This study examines Mexican adults’ ethnotheories about children’s health in two communities that are linked by transnational migrants and serve as sending and receiving communities for workers. Forty-four Mexican adults in six focus groups discussed well-being issues affecting children in their communities. Qualitative analyses using grounded theory revealed a complex conception of children’s health issues that included physical, psychological, and behavioral components …

Federal Food Assistance Programs: Part Of The Early Childhood Obesity Solution Or Part Of The Problem?, Elizabeth Rigby, Rachel Kimbro

Elizabeth Rigby

Amid growing concern about childhood obesity, the United States spends billions of dollars on food assistance: providing meals and subsidizing food purchases. We examine the relationship between food assistance and body mass index (BMI) for young, low-income children, who are a primary target population for federal food programs and for efforts to prevent childhood obesity. Our findings indicate that food assistance may unintentionally contribute tot he childhood obesity problem in cities with high food prices. We also find that subsidized meals at school or day care are beneficial for children's weight status, and we argue that expanding access to subsidized …

The Evolution Of The Theoretical Foundations Of Punctuated Equilibrium Theory In Public Policy, Michael S. Givel

Michael S. Givel

Punctuated equilibrium theory in public policy replicated from biological punctuated equilibrium theory has concluded that public policies alternate between stasis and punctuation. However, recent research on Pacific Northwest forest policy, U.S. state tobacco policy, and U.S federal auto efficiency policy have found no punctuations despite an attempt to do so. What is the efficacy of using biological punctuated equilibrium theory to also explain punctuated equilibrium in public policy? Significant differences exist between biological and public policy punctuated equilibrium theory including time frames for change, what constitutes outside disturbances of equilibrium, venues of punctuated equilibrium, levels of analysis for change, and …

Long Lines At Polling Stations? Observations From An Election Day Field Study, Douglas M. Spencer, Zachary S. Markovits

Douglas M. Spencer

This pilot study represents the first systematic attempt to determine how common lines are on Election Day, at what times of day lines are most likely to form, what are the bottlenecks in the voting process, and how long it takes an average citizen to cast his or her ballot. This study highlights the importance of evaluating polling station operations as a three-step process: arrival, check-in, and casting a ballot. We collected data during the 2008 presidential primary election in California, measuring the efficiency of the operational components of 30 polling stations across three counties. We found statistically significant, and …

Special Issue, “Healthcare Reforms”

Yanzhong Huang

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of Social Science Research In Nanotechnology, Philip Shapira, Jan Youtie, Alan L. Porter

Philip Shapira

This article examines the development of social science literature focused on the emerging area of nanotechnology. It is guided by the exploratory proposition that early social science work on emerging technologies will draw on science and engineering literature on the technology in question to frame its investigative activities, but as the technologies and societal investments in them progress, social scientists will increasingly develop and draw on their own body of literature. To address this proposition the authors create a database of nanotechnology-social science literature by merging articles from the Web of Science’s Social Science Citation Index and Arts and Humanities …

Ending Chronic Homelessness: Cost-Effective Opportunities For Interagency Collaboration, Dennis P. Culhane, Thomas Byrne

Dennis P. Culhane

Faced with a difficult economic climate with high levels of unemployment and widespread home foreclosures, the Administration of President Barack Obama has created a unique opportunity to rethink and redirect fundamental policies and practices ranging from health care to regulation of the financial industry. A similar opportunity exists to change Federal homeless assistance policies and programs.

A Case Study Of Carbon Sequestration Potential Of Land Use Policies Favoring Re-Growth And Long-Term Protection Of Temperate Forests, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Pensada Lei, Pensada Malícia. A Propósito Das Avaliações "De Desempenho" Aos Docentes, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

There is a widespread ignorance about what does and what it should do a university professor, lecturer or researcher. This will create dangerous myths about how teachers should be evaluated, because paying no attention to the nature of their labor, and resulting on the creation of deep injustice. It is feared that such systems to be implemented result in infinite time-consuming bureaucratic. Precious time that should be used in teaching and research. That may also pollute the environment by creating lethal enemies among teaching people, ending up in lengthy legal proceedings. This article seeks to make a diagnosis of myths …

Por Uma Avaliação Objectiva, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Com base em mitos educativos muito difundidos, e cavalgando o corcel do temor reverencial dos docentes antes o educativamente correcto, têm-se instalado perspectivas muito injustas sobre o que se deve e como se deve avaliaro dito "desempenho" dos professores, designadamente do ensino superior. Este artigo, sem discutir as questões filosóficas de base de toda a avaliação, procura minimizar os danos do processo em curso propondo concretos critérios de uma avaliação que não seja a manifestação do puro arbítrio dos poderes académicos pontuais, manipulando grelhas subjectivas e complexíssimas. Pretende, pois, uma avaliação justa, pela objectividade.

An Updated Guide To Cobra (2010), Bonnie Jones

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

An overview of COBRA, which mandates that most group health plans offer a continuation of health insurance when employees and beneficiaries would otherwise lose group health coverage.