Public Policy Commons^™

The Obama Administration's Challenges After The 'War On Science': Reforming Staffing Practices And Protecting Scientific Integrity In The Executive Branch, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

In this article, we examine the difficult leadership position President Barack Obama inherited as he took office with respect to science and technology policy making and implementation, particularly following the Bush administration and years of the so-called "war on science." We contend that the Obama administration's challenge is not only to take substantive policy action, but also to reform certain administrative practices, particularly in light of the previous administration's practice of the politics of strategic vacancies, a managerial technique that rearranges an agency's ideological inclinations not through the usual forms of active politicization (i.e., by filling the appointee ranks with …

Youtube: Spotlight On Policy, Dr. Greg Hill On Educational Attainment, Greg Hill

Gregory C. Hill

In this episode of SPOTLIGHT ON POLICY, Dr. Greg Hill, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Administration discusses educational attainment measures for the Boise MSA and Idaho. Spotlight on Policy is a production of the Public Policy Center at Boise State University. http://ppa.boisestate.edu/centerppa/

Tobacco Use Policymaking And Administration In Bhutan, Michael S. Givel

Michael S. Givel

No abstract provided.

Review: The Limits Of Boundaries: Why City-Regions Cannot Be Self-Governing, By Andrew Sancton, Christopher D. Gore

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.

Valuation Of Carbon Capture And Sequestration Under Greenhouse Gas Regulations: Carbon Capture And Sequestration As An Offsetting Activity, Elizabeth Lokey

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich

When carbon capture and sequestration is conducted by entities that are not regulated, it could be counted as an offset that is fungible in the market or sold to a voluntary market. This paper addresses the complications that arise in accounting for carbon capture and sequestration as an offset, and methodologies that exist for accounting for CCS in voluntary and compliance markets.

Aportes Conceptuales Y Metodológicos Para La Implementación De Carta Compromiso Con El Ciudadano En El Ámbito De La Provincia De Buenos Aires, Federico Del Giorgio Solfa, Natalia De Sio, Luciana Mercedes Girotto

Federico Del Giorgio Solfa

Public-Private Collaborations: The Case Of Atlanta Metro Community Improvement District Alliance. Paper/Presentation, Andrew Ewoh, Ulf Zimmermann

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

No abstract provided.

Consulting And Evaluation With Nonprofit And Community-Based Organizations, Judah J. Viola, Susan D. Mcmahon

Judah J. Viola, Ph.D.

Valuation Of Carbon Valuation Of Carbon Capture And Sequestration Under Greenhouse Gas Regulations, Elizabeth L. Aldrich

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) could play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the future. The price associated with a metric ton of carbon dioxide reduction could help make CCS a more financially-viable technology. However, the value assigned to CCS depends on the type of greenhouse gas regulation chosen, such as a standard, greenhouse gas tax, or cap-and-trade system, and the details of how the market is implemented. This paper will cover ways in which CCS can be incorporated into greenhouse gas regulations and the implications of each of these methods. It will then cover how CCS …

The Role Of Civil Society Organizations In Public Policy Process In Tajikistan. Paper/Presentation, Andrew Ewoh

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

No abstract provided.

Civil Society Organizations And Policy Process In Tajikistan: An Exploratory Analysis, Andrew Ewoh, Faviziya Nazarova, Rhonda Hill

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

No abstract provided.

Managing And Valuing Diversity: Challenges To Public Managers In The Twenty-First Century. Paper/Presentation, Andrew Ewoh

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Over the past three decades the need for private and public organizations to embrace diversity has been echoed. The rationale for this need is that a number of desirable positive outcomes occur when groups or work teams include diverse perspectives and value that diversity. Diversity as a new lexicon in human resource management provides immediate access to a large pool of knowledge, skills, and abilities required in the accomplishment of organizational goals and objectives. The major challenge to employers of labor is managing and valuing diversity by transforming the traditional culture of most organizations into a multicultural culture that nurtures …

Archetypal Energies, The Emergence Of Obama As A Practical Idealist, And Global Transformation, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

During this time of change, AHP and kindred spirits on the edge have important roles to play. We are the keepers and nurturers of a transformative and evolutionary Vision for Consciousness and a more humane world. At issue is what I will call the “psychic politics” for global transformation, nurtured by practical idealism and the Archetypal Energies. In other writings, I have described Archetypal Energies as Higher Vibrational Energies, operating deep within our individual and collective psyches, which have their own transcendent value, purpose, quality, and “voice”, unique to the individual. We experience them as “creative urges” to move us …

The Status And Future Of Methane Destruction Projects In Mexico, Elizabeth L. Aldrich

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich

Of the Clean Development Mechanism projects that exist in Mexico, methane destruction from hog farms dominates the landscape with 56% of the projects developed and 49% of the certified emission reductions that will be generated within the country by 2012. These biodigesters, however, have experienced many technical difficulties that place their future viability and continued development in question. Because of these challenges, future methane capture in the country may focus around other agro industries or landfills.

Barriers To Clean Development Mechanism Renewable Energy Projects In Mexico, Elizabeth L. Aldrich

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich

Mexico is not reaching its full potential to capture benefits from clean development mechanism (CDM) projects because of its limited market for independent power producers (IPPs) and the barriers imposed on these entities by the state-run electric utility that controls most of the country’s generation and transmission. This state-run entity has pursued CDM revenues only in isolated cases where international financial assistance was given because it is bound by law to pursue the least-cost generation option for its customers. Recent changes in Mexican legislation that provide incentives for renewable energy development could open the marketplace for these types of projects.

Disasters, Catastrophes, And Policy Failure In The Homeland Security Era., Thomas Birkland

Thomas A Birkland

The September 11 attacks triggered federal policy changes designed to influence emergency management in the United States, even though these attacks did not suggest a need for a wholesale restructuring of federal policy in emergency management. Instead, for several reasons, federal policy’s emphasis on terrorism and emergency management significantly degraded the nation’s ability to address natural disasters. The federal government sought to create a top-down, command and control model of emergency management that never fully accounted for, positively or normatively, the way local emergency management works in practice. The Obama administration will have to address the questions raised by the …

Contemporary Cases: Policy, Privatization And Networks, Tony Carrizales, Andrew Ewoh

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Editor's introduction.

Environmental Challenges And Opportunities: Local-Global Perspectives On Canadian Issues, Christopher Gore, Peter Stoett

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.

Local Government Responses To Climate Change: Our Last, Best Hope?, Christopher Gore, Pamela Robinson

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.

Sidewalks: Conflict And Negotiation Over Public Space, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Renia Ehrenfeucht

Renia Ehrenfeucht

No abstract provided.

Presidential Staffing And Public Opinion: How Public Opinion Influences Politicization, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn

José D. Villalobos

Scholars traditionally frame presidential efforts to politicize the federal bureaucracy as the result of divergence between the president's preferences and an agency's output. The authors argue that presidential concern with agency output is dynamic and is in part conditioned by the president's relationship with the public. To assess the relationship between politicization and public opinion, the authors use a data set that combines information on presidential efforts to politicize the Council of Economic Advisers from 1989 to 2004 with that of public attitudes concerning the president's handling of the economy. Their results indicate that public opinion does indeed bear a …

The Managing Of The Presidency: Applying Theory-Driven Empirical Models To The Study Of White House Bureaucratic Performance, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

We argue that scholars of the presidency should begin to apply their rich descriptive understanding of White House organization and personnel to questions of causality. To help guide this effort, we offer a theory-driven empirical model that explains organizational performance. Importing theory from the public management literature, we show how scholars can use the Meier-O'Toole (MO) model to explain performance outcomes and dynamics for key political and policy functions within the institutional presidency. We introduce the MO model and discuss its potential impact on the field of presidency studies.

Obama’S Empty Cupboard: Contending With Administrative Vacancies And The Threat To Neutral Competence, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

In this essay, we focus on the public administration challenge concerning the rising number of politically motivated administrative vacancies resulting from George W. Bush's tenure in office with which President Barack Obama must now contend. We argue that the hyper-politicization of personnel decision-making during the presidency of George W. Bush left many parts of the federal bureaucracy understaffed, yet more densely populated by staffers chosen more for ideological and political congruence than administrative competence. For President Obama to achieve key aspects of his policy agenda, he must first attend to fixing these staffing problems and then to reforming the personnel …

Horizon Scanning In Government: Concept, Country Experiences, And Models For Switzerland, Beat Habegger

Beat Habegger

No abstract provided.