Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Massachusetts Immigrants By The Numbers: Demographic Characteristics And Economic Footprint, Alan Clayton-Matthews, Faye Karp, Paul Watanabe

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

An analysis of data on the impact of immigrants on the Massachusetts economy. Along with demographic characteristics, the study examines variables such as income, poverty status, occupation, and home-ownership. In addition, the report addresses the impact of immigrants on taxes, social services, and transfer payments.

June Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Red Cross Torture Report: What It Means.” by Mark Danner. The New York Review of Books. April 30, 2009.

Response To Mark Danner’S “The Red Cross’ Torture Report: What It Means”, Charli Carpenter

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Danner’s NY Review of Books treatise on torture calls our attention to many significant issues, but in his key argument he is critically wrong.

Torture—And Our Broader Understanding Of Human Rights, Mark Gibney

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Like most other human rights scholars, I am appalled at the idea that those people in the Bush White House who designed the administration’s policy on torture (but calling it something else) will in all likelihood go unpunished. In my view, the law is clear on this matter: those who directed and/or carried out torture must be held accountable for their actions. However, rather than focusing on the issue of accountability, I will use the issue of torture to make a broader point about how we have come to conceptualize the extent and scope of a state’s human rights obligations.

The Moral High Ground In An Age Of Vulnerability, Tyler Moselle

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Mark Danner’s New York Review of Books piece on torture in conjunction with John Nichols’ comment on the Bush administration, outline moral, legal and political problems related to the global war on terrorism and the ascendancy of the American imperial presidency. Most people seem to be repulsed by the idea of torture but are not morally committed enough or fully dedicated to prevent it from being employed to defend their way of life. Torture is a policy decision predicated on fear, self-defense, and vulnerability in an age of globalized insurgency: one way to respond is to take the moral high …

Flexible Work Arrangements (Fwas): Possible Public Policy Approaches, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

There is a range of ways in which public policy can help workplace flexibility become a norm in the American workplace. Indeed, the various bills introduced in the 110th Congress to increase access to FWAs, one component of workplace flexibility, represent a wide range of public policy approaches.

This document categorizes and characterizes these public policy approaches to help clarify the options that might be pursued to increase access to FWAs.

A Summary Of Data From Families And Work Institute’S National Study Of Employers (2008), Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

This memo presents data from the Families and Work Institute’s 2008 National Study of Employers describing the similarities in access to flexible work arrangements (“FWAs”) for employees of small and large employers. The 2008 National Study of Employers (“2008 Study”) provides a comparison of the availability of 12 types of FWAs to employees of small (50-99 employees) and large (over 1,000 employees) employers.

The Importance Of Intelligence In Combating A Modern Insurgency, Kevin Reamer

Journal of Strategic Security

Throughout history the world has been plagued by insurgencies. While the underlying causes of each new insurgency have been different, they are all similar in certain areas. This similarity entails that the effective countering of an insurgency can be turned into a science with a set of guidelines to follow based on conditions on the ground. Guidelines are important because insurgencies are flexible and to defeat them the counterinsurgency must be equally flexible if not more flexible. Good intelligence is critical to the success of an insurgency. With their small, poorly equipped forces, the leaders of insurgencies need to know …

Film Reviews, Bart Bechtel

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Cover & Front Matter

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Institute Brief: Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership: Effective Strategies For Building The Capacity Of Parent Advisory Councils In Special Education, Heike Boeltzig, Matthew Kusminsky, Susan M. Foley, Richard Robison, Barbara Popper, Marilyn Gutierrez-Wilson

The Institute Brief Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, last amended in 2004 (IDEA 2004), encourages parents and educators to work collaboratively, emphasizing that as a team they are uniquely suited to make decisions that help improve the educational experiences and outcomes of children with disabilities. The Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership in Education (APPLE) Project was funded to develop the leadership skills of parents individually and within their communities. The project took place in Massachusetts, where school districts are required to have a special education parent advisory council (SEPAC).

Targeted Killing: Self-Defense, Preemption, And The War On Terrorism, Thomas Byron Hunter

Journal of Strategic Security

This paper assesses the parameters and utility of “targeted killing” in combating terrorism and its role within the norm of state self-defense in the international community. The author’s thesis is that, while targeted killing provides states with a method of combating terrorism, and while it is “effective” on a number of levels, it is inherently limited and not a panacea. The adoption and execution of such a program brings with it, among other potential pitfalls, political repercussions. Targeted killing is defined herein as the premeditated, preemptive, and intentional killing of an individual or individuals known or believed to represent a …

Al-Qaeda In The Lands Of The Islamic Maghreb, Gregory A. Smith

Journal of Strategic Security

This paper is organized into four chapters that focus on the terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The four chapters examine different facets of the collective environment that have allowed AQIM to succeed and even thrive at times. The first chapter begins with Algeria’s war of independence with the French. The second chapter focuses on the nomadic Tuareg people. It seeks to show how the Tuaregs were deprived by French occupiers and how European colonization cost the Tuaregs access to vital trade routes used for centuries. The third chapter will very briefly examine Algeria’s …

Fragility: The Next Wave In Critical Infrastructure Protection, Allan Mcdougall

Journal of Strategic Security

In North America today, we are about to embark on a significant effort to repair, or even upgrade, many aspects of our infrastructure. Many of these efforts are linked to economic recovery packages. Others are based on sheer need. The challenge for decision makers and planners involves ensuring that scarce economic resources are put to their best use. Understanding the concept of fragility plays a pivotal part in reaching that understanding.Fragility, like many other systems—particularly Information Technology (IT ) systems—works on the concept of subjects and objects. Subjects are those entities that seek to exploit the services (or capacity) offered …

Book Reviews, Edward J. Hagerty, Ed Urie

Journal of Strategic Security

Afghanistan: Transition Under Threat. By Geoffrey Hayes and Mark Sedra, editors.

Enemies of Intelligence: Knowledge & Power in American National Security. By Richard K. Betts.

City Of Las Vegas Detention And Enforcement Commission On Accreditation Of Law Enforcement Accreditation Program Evaluation Report, Karen Kelly, Cecelia Mcneely, Sandy Seda

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The City of Las Vegas Detention and Enforcement (CLVDE) is a highly efficient, professionally managed, unique law enforcement agency. The CLVDE has a multifaceted mission and is responsible for providing diverse law enforcement, patrol, code enforcement and support services for the City of Las Vegas. The agency is comprised of several operational divisions: A city Jail, an Animal Control division, Parking Enforcement and the Marshals (police). For many years, the CLVDE, has enjoyed the unique distinction of being a "Triple Crown" accredited agency1. The agency currently has attained accreditation status from several nationally recognized professional organizations such as: The American …

Taxing Under The Influence? : Corruption And U.S. State Beer Taxes, Per G. Fredriksson, Stephan Gohmann, Khawaja Mamun

WCBT Faculty Publications

This article examines the effect of state level corruption on state beer taxes in the United States. Our lobby group model predicts that corruption reduces the beer tax, but this effect is conditional on the level of alcohol-related vehicle deaths. Using a panel of state level data from 1982 to 2001, we find that increased corruption is associated with lower state beer tax rates. The magnitude of the effect, however, declines with increases in alcohol-related traffic deaths. Our findings suggest that future empirical work estimating the effect of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related traffic fatalities should treat alcohol taxes as endogenous.

Food Justice As Crime Prevention, Avi Brisman

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In December 2008, Governor David Paterson (D-NY) proposed an 18 percent tax on nondiet sodas and fruit drinks containing less than 70 percent natural fruit juice. While the tax was part of a broader budget proposal designed to address New York State's fiscal crisis - a plan that that included new taxes and tax hikes on 137 items and services' - state officials promoted the "obesity tax," as the soft drink levy came to be called, as a public health measure.

United States Food Law Update: Pasteurized Almonds And Country Of Origin Labeling, A. Bryan Endres

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The last six months of 2008 found the nation occupied with a heated presidential election campaign and the transition to a new party's control of the executive branch. The outgoing president, as is often the case in the waning months of an administration's time in office, attempted to finalize several policy initiatives. This version of the Food Law Update will discuss two major developments with significant long-term impact on the law of food: the implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) for most unprocessed agricultural commodities; and the increasing use of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural …

The U.S. Economic Crisis: Another "Lost Decade"?, Paula Chungsathaporn

Honors College Theses

America is experiencing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression originating with problems from mortgage backed securities and seeping into every major sector in the economy. We have witnessed the downfall or government takeover of some of the most powerful companies in the country, contributing to the highest unemployment rate America has seen in decades. During the 1990s, Japan experienced what is commonly referred to as “the lost decade,” a period of prolonged stagnant growth. Many similarities can be drawn between the current U.S. crisis and the Japanese crisis of the late 90s. The macroeconomic conditions that caused the …

The Legislative History Of Fefcwa And Feptcea, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.

Statements Illustrating The Legislative Intent Of These Laws, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

Based on statements in the legislative history, these laws were meant to provide:

1. Overarching Benefits in the Current Economy
2. Benefits to Families
3. Benefits to Management
4. Equality for Women
5. Protection of the Environment

Telework In The Federal Government: The Overview Memo, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) alter the time and/or place that employees work on a regular basis in a manner that is manageable and predictable for both employees and employers.1 Telework, also called telecommuting, refers to an FWA that enables an employee to work from an alternative place to the employer’s usual worksite, typically home or a satellite work center. Telework technically refers to work performed with the use of a telecommunications connection to the workplace (e.g., computer, telephone), but the term is also

An Overview Of Early Laws Increasing Access To Flexible Scheduling And Reduced Hours In The Federal Workforce, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

The Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act (FEFCWA) authorizes, but does not require, agencies to offer alternative work schedules to employees. FEFCWA permits employees to designate non-traditional arrival and departure times, centered around core agency hours, and to experiment with four-day workweeks or other compressed schedules. Under the law, implementation and employee utilization of alternative work schedules depends on management support and leadership.

City Of Las Vegas Detention And Enforcement Accreditation Evaluation Program, Daniel Bennett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The City of Las Vegas, Detention and Enforcement is a law enforcement organization that is significantly unique in its mission and organization. On March 15, 1982, the City of Las Vegas determined that, due to extreme overcrowding at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments holding facility, it was time to create the Las Vegas Department of Detention and Correctional Services. As the population of Las Vegas continued to grow, the Las Vegas Department of Detention and Correctional Services also increased in both size and degree of responsibilities. In 1986, the Las Vegas Park Rangers were absorbed and became the law …

Baselines Newsletter, No. 4, Spring 2009, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Baselines: The Natural Resources Law Center Newsletter (2007-2011)

No abstract provided.

2009 Nevada Nonprofit’S Children Summit: Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, And Youth Homelessness, The Nevada Institute For Children’S Research And Policy

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

On April 14, 2009, approximately 175 individuals from public and private nonprofit agencies across Nevada came together with representatives from national organizations and federal agencies to attend the Nevada Nonprofit’s Children Summit hosted by Senator Harry Reid and co-sponsored by the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy and the Children’s Advocacy Alliance. Participants gained insight into federal initiatives and discussed practice and policy priorities in the areas of child welfare, juvenile justice and youth homelessness. This briefing presents the recommendations for federal policy proposed by the participants, both state and national, to improve programs and practices in Nevada around …

Changing The Culture Of Corruption - Do Small Steps Count?, Rhona Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Corruption is endemic in modern society, but history attests this problem is as old as states themselves. No single solution to date has garnered sufficient political and/or popular support to effect change. Could education play a role in changing the culture?

April Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Cambodia's Curse” by Joel Brinkley. Foreign Affairs. March/April 2009.

Breathing New Life Into Old Technological Infrastructure: Broadband Internet As A Means Of Jump-Starting The Economy And Connecting The Country, Elizabeth Chernow

Celebrating WCL Student Authors

This paper examines the current structure of universal service and the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, recent pushes to expand the definition of and funding for universal service to include broadband access, and how broadband internet can contribute to saving the ailing economy. The paper concludes by calling for the inclusion of broadband internet in the Universal Service Fund.

Current financial support for the Universal Service Fund is problematic in that only telecommunications carriers providing interstate services are required to contribute to the fund. The author maintains that the contribution base should be expanded to include companies providing broadband internet access. …