More Microstudies in Public Administration and Public Affairs

Short Description:
A collection of small-scale research projects in matters of public administration and public affairs, carried out by graduate students in the Programs of Public Affairs, University of Utah.

Long Description:
Public affairs graduate students enrolled in Dr. David Carter’s fall 2021 Research Design course once again embarked on a somewhat unorthodox curriculum, executing complete research projects from start to finish in 15 weeks. The result was seven microstudies that tackle prescient topics with both practical and scholarly importance, including: consumers’ motivations regarding sustainable product purchases, American support for U.S. policy towards the United Nations, the impact of contemporary “critical race theory” debates on teachers and education, wildfire causes and consequences across jurisdictions, the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on single mothers, and the affect of state policies on queer youth. The studies are diverse in epistemological underpinnings and research methods—ranging from critical and interpretivist qualitative investigations to quantitative analysis of secondary data—but are united in their collective attention to research design fidelity and concern for findings with “public” relevance.

Word Count: 32795

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Second of two modules facilitating a basic understanding of computing in planning and public management. Students develop problem-solving skills using computer-based tools for "what-if" analyses. Emphasis on spatial analysis using geographic information systems and database query tools.

This class assesses current and potential future energy systems, covering resources, extraction, conversion, and end-use technologies, with emphasis on meeting regional and global energy needs in the 21st century in a sustainable manner. Instructors and guest lecturers will examine various renewable and conventional energy production technologies, energy end-use practices and alternatives, and consumption practices in different countries. Students will learn a quantitative framework to aid in evaluation and analysis of energy technology system proposals in the context of engineering, political, social, economic, and environmental goals. Students taking the Graduate / Professional version, Sustainable Energy, complete additional assignments.

To inform and empower the public on the complex issue of climate change, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created a Climate Portal, an online home for timely, science-based information about the causes and consequences of climate change—and what can be done to address it. Whether you are new to climate change or ready for a deeper exploration, the MIT Climate Portal offers a virtual place to ground your knowledge and ask your questions of experts. It also highlights MIT’s latest climate change research and initiatives for action.
The MIT Climate Portal is managed by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, with support from the MIT Office of the Vice President for Research.

IDS.410J Modeling and Assessment for Policy explores how scientific information and quantitative models can be used to inform policy decision-making. Students will develop an understanding of quantitative modeling techniques and their role in the policy process through case studies and interactive activities. The course addresses issues such as analysis of scientific assessment processes, uses of integrated assessment models, public perception of quantitative information, methods for dealing with uncertainties, and design choices in building policy-relevant models. Examples used in this class focus on models and information used in earth system governance.

Conventional legislative, administrative, and judicial means of resolving resource allocation and policy disputes in the public sector often produce less than satisfactory results. This is true in democracies around the world. Planners, policy-makers, developers, and advocates of the poor who are concerned about the fairness, efficiency, stability, and wisdom of public sector decision-making are searching for better ways of resolving public policy disagreements. Recent advances in the theory and practice of multi-party negotiation and dispute resolution are, therefore, of great interest. 
This seminar is designed for graduate students with no prior background or experience in the fields of  negotiation or dispute resolution. Lectures, scenarios, case studies, video analysis, and role-play simulations are used to introduce students to the "art" and "science" of negotiation and consensus building. The class also provides an intensive opportunity for each student to build their personal theory of practice and to strengthen their negotiating capabilities.

This course was designed to educate students about how nuclear weapons came into being, the physics of these weapons, how they are structured, how they have evolved over the past several decades, efforts to control them and limit the threats that they represent, and what the possibilities for the future are. Many people in our country and other countries are not aware of what an existential threat nuclear weapons represent, and this lack of awareness is an important part of the overall threat. 
The course was taught by an MIT Iterdisciplinary team coordinated by Robert P. Redwine, Professor of Physics Emeritus.  The full list of instructors is listed on the course page.

This class introduces students to the interdisciplinary nature of 21st-century engineering projects with three threads of learning: a technical toolkit, a social science toolkit, and a methodology for problem-based learning. Students encounter the social, political, economic, and technological challenges of engineering practice by participating in real engineering projects with faculty and industry; this semester’s major project focuses on the engineering and economics of solar cells. Student teams will create prototypes and mixed media reports with exercises in project planning, analysis, design, optimization, demonstration, reporting and team building.

Relatório técnico conclusivo, no qual - por meio de indicadores deduzidos obtidos na realização de estudo prévio de avaliação, durante pesquisa de doutorado, e vinculado à melhoria contínua de seus resultados - é apresentado programa de ações que dá suporte à gestão integrada de resíduos sólidos e com vistas à melhoria da cooperação intersetorial e engajamento das partes interessadas envolvidas. A iniciativa provém do Programa Regional de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente (Rede PRODEMA), proposta interdisciplinar, interinstitucional e intrarregional, da qual participam nove instituições de ensino superior, que trabalham para propor resolução de problemas locais e regionais. Se aplicado, pode gerar mudanças efetivas na área ambiental, social, econômica, cultural e jurídica, colaborando com governos locais municipais e sua relação com os cidadãos. Vale destacar ainda que este produto atende a seis objetivos de desenvolvimento sustentável, da ONU, especificamente o ODS 1 – Erradicação da pobreza, ODS 3 – Saúde e bem-estar, ODS 6 – Água potável e saneamento, ODS 10 – Redução das desigualdades, ODS 12 – Consumo e produção responsáveis e o ODS 17 – Parcerias e meios de implementação.

Short Description:
This resource includes videos and written content exploring four Canadian public policy and administration case studies. The cases are The Opioid Epidemic, The Phoenix Pay System, Canada's Affordable Housing Crises, and the Transmountain Pipeline Expansion.

Long Description:
Welcome to this online book of case studies on Canadian public policy and administration, created as part of the MPA program at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. This resource includes videos and written content exploring four Canadian public policy and administration case studies: The Opioid Epidemic, The Phoenix Pay System, Canada’s Affordable Housing Crises, and the Transmountain Pipeline Expansion. Students in the MPA program can expect to learn more about these cases throughout their program

Word Count: 7143

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Short Description:
Public Policy Responses to the Pandemic, and Building Back Better is an interdisciplinary virtual learning experience about the Canadian policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the debate around whether, and how, to “build back better” — to use the occasion of the pandemic to bring in other fundamental policy reforms.

Long Description:
What are the health, economic, and social policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic?

How did these choices arise?

What comes next?

COVID-19 has sparked rapid policy responses to gaps in our social, economic and political foundations. The learnings from this crisis, and the solutions to help Canada rebuild, need to be captured as it plays out in real time.

Public Policy Responses to the Pandemic, and Building Back Better is an interdisciplinary virtual learning experience about the Canadian policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the debate around whether, and how, to “build back better” — to use the occasion of the pandemic to bring in other fundamental policy reforms.

You will learn the economic and social impacts of, and responses to, COVID-19 in Ontario and across Canada — as well as the ideas, tools, and skills available for each of us to shape the recovery.

Together we will explore a variety of topics: how long-term and temporary income support programs provided assistance for basic living expenses and helped prepare individuals for finding work; what gaps and perspectives are missing in the health and healthcare system to help us understand the transmission and spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and SARS; what we need to do to help people inform themselves and not be misled; and whether Canada should, or even can, radically rethink some of its policies coming out of the pandemic.

Word Count: 43098

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Quantitative Research Methods for Political Science, Public Policy and Public Administration for Undergraduates: 1st Edition With Applications in Excel is an adaption of Quantitative Research Methods for Political Science, Public Policy and Public Administration (With Applications in R). The focus of this book is on using quantitative research methods to test hypotheses and build theory in political science, public policy and public administration. This new version is designed specifically for undergraduate courses. It omits large portions of the original text that focused on calculus and linear algebra, expands and reorganizes the content on the software system by shifting to Excel and includes guided study questions at the end of each chapter.

Quantitative Research Methods for Political Science, Public Policy and Public Administration for Undergraduates: 1st Edition With Applications in R is an adaption of Quantitative Research Methods for Political Science, Public Policy and Public Administration (With Applications in R). The focus of this book is on using quantitative research methods to test hypotheses and build theory in political science, public policy and public administration. This new version of the text omits large portions of the original text that focused on calculus and linear algebra, expands and reorganizes the content on the software system R and includes guided study questions at the end of each chapter.

For the last century, precepts of scientific management and administrative rationality have concentrated power in the hands of technical specialists, which in recent decades has contributed to widespread disenfranchisement and discontent among stakeholders in natural resources cases. In this seminar we examine the limitations of scientific management as a model both for governance and for gathering and using information, and describe alternative methods for informing and organizing decision-making processes. We feature cases involving large carnivores in the West (mountain lions and grizzly bears), Northeast coastal fisheries, and adaptive management of the Colorado River. There will be nightly readings and a short written assignment.

This course is an introduction to real-world dynamics of public policy controversies. Topics to be considered include national, state, and local policy disputes, such as smoking, hazardous waste, abortion, gun control, and education. Using a case study approach, students study whether and how those disputes get resolved. Students conduct debates and simulations in addition to writing a series of short essays.

This project looks to combine the legacies of these three titans of American history, including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt, to develop policy priorities and an action plan that will enable us to move beyond the false choice of economic growth or environmental security.

Politics and Path Dependency in South Africa’s Municipal Electricity Sector

Long Description:
The electricity supply crisis that gripped South Africa in 2007 impacted heavily on economic productivity, political stability, and every citizen.

To date, all attempts to understand how the country’s Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) has evolved focus narrowly on Eskom. This approach has become increasingly limited over the last 15 years as the national utility continues to spiral deeper into operational failure. Yet, commentators and analysts have paid little attention to Municipal Electricity Undertakings (MEUs) – the utilities responsible for distributing electricity at municipal level – which started operating two decades before Eskom was formed in 1923.

Through a detailed historical account, Running to Stand Still shows how MEUs have contributed to the country’s broader ESI. The book disentangles the complex linkages that have developed between Eskom, MEUs, and the three spheres of government. In doing so, it examines two fundamental but diametrically opposed government objectives. First, the ideal of having financially self-sufficient municipalities that in reality are over-burdened and have to rely heavily on revenue from electricity distribution to cross-subsidise their operations. And second, to have a national utility that generates electricity at the lowest cost to provide the country’s energy-intensive economy with a competitive advantage.

These path-dependent practices have endured for more than a century and have cemented institutional lock-in that blocks much-needed sectoral reform. This is aptly demonstrated through the case study of the country’s most powerful financial centre and largest MEU, Johannesburg, which is currently in a state of crisis.

Word Count: 71381

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The careers of MIT scientists and engineers are significantly determined by public policy decisions made in Washington by the government. However, their access to information on how this system works is limited. Meanwhile, we increasingly understand that science and technology-based innovation is deeply connected to society's economic growth and its ability to generate societal wellbeing, so the public role of science is growing. This course will examine the public policy behind and the government's role in the science and technology innovation system. Given the challenges to future federal science support, this seminar will aim to equip those planning careers in and around science and technology with a basic background for involvement in science policymaking.
This course is offered during MIT's Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month. It features student-led discussion incorporated into the course structure as well as opportunities to interact with MIT students and faculty involved in aspects of science policy. The course has been offered since 2006 and has developed as a collaborative effort between the instructor and MIT students from the Science Policy Initiative.

Solving Complex Problems provides an opportunity for entering freshmen to gain first-hand experience with working as part of a team to develop effective approaches to complex problems in Earth system science and engineering that do not have straightforward solutions. The subject includes training in a variety of skills, ranging from library research to Web Design.
Each year's course explores a different problem in detail through the study of complimentary case histories and the development of creative solution strategies. Beginning in 2000 as an educational experiment sponsored by MIT's Committee on the Undergraduate Program, and receiving major financial support from the Alex and Britt d'Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in MIT Education, the subject is designed to enhance the first-semester freshman experience by helping students develop contexts for other subjects in the sciences and humanities, and by helping them to establish learning communities that include upperclassmen, faculty, MIT alumni, and professionals from many walks of life.
In Fall 2003, students from the Class of 2007 were challenged with “Mission 2007”:

To design the most "environmentally correct" strategy for oil exploration and extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR); and
To perform a cost-benefit analysis in order to evaluate whether or not the hydrocarbon resources that might be extracted from beneath ANWR are worth the environmental damage that might result from the process.

12.000 Solving Complex Problems is designed to provide students the opportunity to work as part of a team to propose solutions to a complex problem that requires an interdisciplinary approach. For the students of the class of 2013, 12.000 will revolve around the issues associated with what we can and must do about the steadily increasing amounts CO{{< sub "2â€ >}} in Earth’s atmosphere. 12.000 is a core course for the MIT Terrascope freshman learning community. Each year’s class explores a different problem in detail through the study of complementary case histories and the development of creative solution strategies. It includes training in Web site development, effective written and oral communication, and team building. Initially developed with major financial support from the d’Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in Education, 12.000 is designed to enhance the freshman experience by helping students develop contexts for other subjects in the sciences and humanities, and by helping them to establish learning communities that include upperclassmen, faculty, MIT alumni, and professionals in science and engineering fields.