Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons^™

The Innovation System And Innovation Policy In The United States, Philip Shapira, Jan Youtie

Philip Shapira

The US has a highly decentralized and diverse innovation system, involving multiple actors, including branches of federal and state governments, public agencies, universi-ties, the private sector, and non-profit and intermediary organizations. The system combines a high-level of R&D (with basic research sponsored particularly by federal government agencies) and a strong orientation towards applications and the market. This chapter provides an overview of the US innovation system and policy including a discussion of the components and participants involved in the US innovation system and its trends in innovation governance. The focus of this chapter is primarily on innovation policies with a …

Assessing National Policies To Support Software In Europe, Timo Leimbach, Michael Friedewald

Michael Friedewald

Software and Software Based Services (SSBS) are a major domain of the European ICT industry and is recognised as a key element in developing the Information Society. This article aims to shed light on the various strategies, policies and activities pursued by the EU and their member states. It is based upon a survey of national programmes that are aimed specifically or in substantial part at the software sector. This analysis and assessment usually face two challenges: (1) Unlike other technologies that have the same significance and/or the same attractiveness, the SSBS industry is a very dy- namic one, due …

Sorting Out Smart Surveillance, David Wright, Michael Friedewald, Serge Gutwirth, Marc Langheinrich, Emilio Mordini, Rocco Bellanova, Paul De Hert, Kush Wadhwa, Didier Bigo

Michael Friedewald

Surveillance is becoming ubiquitous in our society. We can also see the emergence of “smart” surveillance technologies and the assemblages (or combinations) of such tech- nologies, supposedly to combat crime and terrorism, but in fact used for a variety of purposes, many of which are intrusive upon the privacy of law-abiding citizens. Following the dark days of 9/11, security and surveillance became paramount. More recently, in Europe, there has been a policy commitment to restore privacy to centre stage. This paper examines the legal tools available to ensure that privacy and personal data protection are respected in attempts to ensure …

“Theoric Transformations” And A New Classification Of Abductive Inferences, Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Based on a definition of “abductive insight” and a critical discussion of G. Schurz’s (2008) distinction of eleven “patterns of abduction” that he organizes in four groups, I suggest an even more comprehensive classification that distinguishes 15 forms in an alternative structure. These forms are organized, on the one hand, with regard to what is abductively inferred—singular facts; types; laws; theoretical models; or representation systems—and, on the other, with regard to the question whether the abductive procedure is selective or creative (including a distinction between “psychologically creative,” as in school learning, or “historically creative”). Moreover, I argue that theoretical-model abduction—which …

Lam Map Of Nagel's Core Argument In "The Problem Of Global Justice" (2005), Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

This map is also available online: http://tinyurl.com/23vweqm

Lam Map Of Thomas Nagel (2005), The Problem Of Global Justice, Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

This map is also available online: http://tinyurl.com/22o9q9q

The Debate About The Stern-Review And The Economics Of Climate Change, Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

This map is -- in a different form, with linked sub-maps -- also available online: http://tinyurl.com/y9jlsxv

‘The Better We Are Watched The Better We Behave’. Are Devolved Parliaments Providing A Better Window For Oversight?, Gordon Marnoch

Gordon Marnoch

The paper examines the health policy oversight systems operating in the United Kingdom, Scottish, Northern Ireland and Welsh parliaments/assemblies with specific comparisons drawn between current rules, practices and behaviours evident in parliamentary committees. Focusing on the 2007-8 parliament/assembly sessions, comparative data is presented relating to the attendance by members on committee, the amount of time devoted to health policy oversight, the percentage of committee places held by non-government party members, cross examination of key witnesses and hours spent examining the budget. Institutional obstacles and incentives relevant to effective oversight are compared.

Welfare Programs And The State Economy, Bruce D. Mcdonald Iii, D. Ryan Miller

Bruce D. McDonald, III

Welfare policy has been controversial and support is often drawn along political affiliation lines, the economic return of investment in welfare programs is frequently cited as a justification for new and expanded policies. To investigate the direct and indirect effects of welfare programs on economic performance, the authors develop a multilink approach, through employment and investment. The relationship is then tested with data from each of the United States from 1976 to 2006. Findings show welfare programs have no direct effect on a state's economy. Indirectly, welfare has a negative effect through investment, though the effect on employment is minimal.

The Bureau Of Municipal Research And The Development Of A Professional Public Service, Bruce D. Mcdonald Iii

Bruce D. McDonald, III

This paper explores the professionalization of public administration in terms of its relation to the New York Bureau of Municipal Research. The formation of the New York Bureau of Municipal Research in 1907 served as the catalyst for the creation and expansion of a professional public service. Though public administration has failed to transform into a profession, this paper shows that the Bureau contributed to professionalization by (1) developing a body of knowledge and theory for the field; (2) developing a school in which to train persons in that knowledge; and, (3) promoting a place that the training and knowledge …

Most Claims Settle: Implications For Alternative Dispute Resolution From A Profile Of Medical Malpractice Claims In Florida, Mirya R. Holman, Neil Vidmar

Mirya R Holman

The public image of medical malpractice cases is one of a courtroom, with an injured plaintiff, lawyers, and a judge. However, the reality of malpractice claims is very different. Approaching the study of alternative dispute resolution methods for medical malpractice claims with an eye towards identifying those contexts by which the claims are resolved, this article focuses on the institutional and informal processes of resolving disputes. These processes include both statutory procedural requirements and informal settlements, many of which occur prior to the filing of a lawsuit. A profile of medical malpractice claims in Florida from 1990 through 2008, indicates …

Benefit-Cost Analysis Of Environmental Projects: A Plethora Of Systematic Biases, Philip E. Graves

PHILIP E GRAVES

There are many reasons to suspect that benefit-cost analysis applied to environmental policies will result in policy decisions that will reject those environmental policies. The important question, of course, is whether those rejections are based on proper science. The present paper explores sources of bias in the methods used to evaluate environmental policy in the United States, although most of the arguments translate immediately to decision-making in other countries. There are some “big picture” considerations that have gone unrecognized, and there are numerous more minor, yet cumulatively important, technical details that point to potentially large biases against acceptance on benefit-cost …

Sex In And Out Of Intimacy, Laura Rosenbury, Jennifer Rothman

All Faculty Scholarship

The state has long attempted to regulate sexual activity by channeling sex into various forms of state-supported intimacy. Although commentators and legal scholars of diverse political perspectives generally believe such regulation is declining, the freedom to engage in diverse sexual activities has not been established as a matter of law. Instead, courts have extended legal protection to consensual sexual acts only to the extent such acts support other state interests, most often marriage and procreation. Although Lawrence v. Texas altered some aspects of that vision, it reinscribed others by suggesting that sexual activity should be protected from state interference only …

Human Rights Education In Peace-Building: A Look At Where The Practice Has Come From, And Where It Needs To Head, Tracey Holland

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The world’s peace-building and development organizations increasingly are incorporating human-rights frameworks into the myriad of activities now under their purview. Slower to develop, however, are the capacity-building programs designed to impart knowledge about human rights to citizens and communities. Field-workers throughout the world indicate that the lack of such guidance-giving education hinders them when it comes to monitoring activities, helping to rebuild public institutions, setting up and organizing electoral politics, building an unfettered media, protecting human security, setting up transitional justice mechanisms, and the myriad of other peace-building activities and democratization challenges they face in post-conflict situations. This paper not …

Measuring The Success Of Stormwater Credit Programs Through The Implementation Of Credit Utilization Ratios, Conan Brooks

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Credit programs can serve different purposes, including encouraging stormwater customers to pay for and maintain Best Management Practices (BMPs) on their property when doing so will provide a financial advantage. Assuming this reduced cost of the BMP will also lower costs for the utility while improving urban water quality, credit utilization can be used to show that a credit program is a successful at lowering the cost of pollution abatement. Evaluating different credit programs might be possible through the use of ratios, or a combination of ratios, in order to compare a credit program’s utilization to other utilities. Policy makers, …

Disability Preparedness: Availability Of Ada Compliant Emergency Shelters Across Pennsylvania, Lisa J. Peterson

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Since the events of September 11th and Hurricane Katrina, the field and research associated with emergency preparedness have grown substantially. Despite the positive contributions of research, problems relating to the use of emergency shelters during the disasters have surfaced. Through anecdotal evidence and subsequent research, it was soon discovered that the needs of those with disabilities were not adequately addressed at many sites. Many potential residents were turned away at shelters due to their disability, or if allowed in, were forced to live in sites with barriers that could hinder activities of daily living.

To address concerns, emergency management officials …

The Makeup And Utilization Of University Student Unions: A Comparative Analysis, Ashley N. Wineki

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The University of Kentucky’s Top 20 Business Plan established a list of goals the university must meet in order to become a top 20 research institution by the year 2020. The University of Kentucky Student Center houses student programming and facilities that impact student involvement and retention, both of which are mandated to increase in order to reach the Top 20 goal.

I conducted this research in order to determine how the University of Kentucky Student Center is utilized by the campus and how, if at all, it could improve to better serve the student body and campus. Survey data …

Lien Centre For Social Innovation: Highlights Of The Start-Up Years, Lien Centre For Social Innovation

Social Space

This year, the Lien Centre for Social Innovation celebrates its fifth anniversary as an institution that’s dedicated to being a thought leader and catalyst for positive social change in Singapore and Asia. As we continue to refine and broaden our efforts to fulfil the Centre’s mandate, this article highlights some of the key activities and accomplishments in our start-up years, grouped in terms of our key areas of focus:

- Research

- Catalysing Social Innovation Initiatives

- Platforms

- Capacity Building

Oil And Water: Mixing Individual Mandates, Fragmented Markets, And Health Reform, Allison K. Hoffman

All Faculty Scholarship

With momentum toward national health reform, there is wide support for legislation to include an individual mandate that would require all Americans to carry health insurance. Discussion of the individual mandate has relied largely on whether the mandate will generate universal coverage as a gauge for success. This article challenges the notion that an individual mandate is successful if it leads to universal coverage, revealing a critical problem the individual mandate will face even if all Americans were to have health insurance. To uncover this problem, this article sets out a novel framework that disentangles the three different policy objectives …

Tying Arrangements And Antitrust Harm, Erik Hovenkamp, Herbert J. Hovenkamp

All Faculty Scholarship

A tying arrangement is a seller’s requirement that a customer may purchase its “tying” product only by taking its “tied” product. In a variable proportion tie the purchaser can vary the amount of the tied product. For example, a customer might purchase a single printer, but either a contract or technological design requires the purchase of varying numbers of printer cartridges from the same manufacturer.

Such arrangements are widely considered to be price discrimination devices, but their economic effects have been controversial. Tying has been attacked on the theory that price discrimination of this sort reduces consumer welfare. We show …