Public Problems

PMRA: Discussions on Management & Governance IV: Carina Schott by Justin Bullock

A quarter of the world’s prisoner population is located in the United States. The incarceration problem has become a vicious circle, difficult to break and indefinitely repeating itself. The average number of prisoners in the US is almost five times higher than the next highest number among developed countries. What explains this phenomenon, that is less than intuitive? What are the consequences of large number of individuals incarcerated, who by all accounts do not pose a threat to society? How does this affect peoples’ lives and policymaking overall? Public service and administration students at the Bush School for Government and Public Service were so astounded by this figure that they pursued a semester long research project on mass incarceration in the United States. They attempt to answer these questions in their research and offer viable alternatives to current approaches in dealing with high levels of incarceration. In this podcast the host invites discussion of their findings and their significance for policy change today. Due to the long history of the prison system in the United States, the guests entangle some of the underlying issues that are tightly related to the panorama today. Namely, slavery, racial tensions and drugs are analyzed in detail throughout the podcast.

Sources cited:

To read more on Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow visit the website:

http://newjimcrow.com/

PMRA: Discussions on Management & Governance III: Chris Ansell by Justin Bullock

The World Health Organization defines maternal death as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. Despite the status of the United States as a developed country with a leading role in the world, recent years have seen an increase in maternal death rates. In the past year the rate has been double that of Canada for instance. Such a counterintuitive problem for a developed country, puzzled students at The Bush School, who set out to understand the causes, consequences and problems associated with this challenge in the United States. The host and guests engage in a conversation that uses data and evidence on maternal deaths and proposes a number of options to provide better care for women and children. Why is the rate higher in this country? Are Americans less healthy than counterparts? How does access to health care influence general health outcomes and especially maternal death rates? How do racial disparities manifest themselves? What are possible solutions and policies that can improve the outcomes in this area?

Sources:

World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases: http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/

Department of State and Health Services. Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force and Department of State Health Services:

https://www.dshs.texas.gov/mch/maternal_mortality_and_morbidity.shtm

Sexual Assault Podcast

In the last year, sexual assault has become the most present theme in the American public space. Numerous cases of mediatized sexual harassment and assault pointed to the longstanding problem of women objectification, that cuts across every sphere of society, from politics to entertainment. These developments have spurred the #MeToo movement, and a national conversation of gender and power relations in the country. To kick off the second season of The Public Problems podcast, the host initiates a conversation with graduate students at The Bush School of Government and Public Service, who conducted research on sexual assault on college campuses. According to research one in five women and seven percent of men in college campuses experience some form of sexual harassment, with a majority going unreported. Further, 89% of colleges in 2015 did not report any sexual assault in their campuses, showing the perverse incentives in many universities to downplay the prevalence and seriousness of this issue. What are the implications of sexual assault in college campuses? How does it affect someone's social, personal, academic wellbeing? Based on research conducted by the guests, this podcast offers an overview of the current trends with sexual assault in American universities, the consequences to those subject to the phenomenon and the larger policy implications. Ultimately, what should universities do to meaningfully address sexual violence in their campuses to provide for the safety of their students?

#Sexual, #assault, #harassment, #college, #campuses, #MeToo, #Women, #Safety, #ClearyAct

Sources mentioned:

American Association of University Women. Education. https://www.aauw.org/article/clery-act-data-analysis-2017/

To read the Campus Climate Survey Validation Study click:

https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5540

To read more about restorative justice click:

https://restorativejustice.org.uk/blog/restorative-justice-and-sexual-violence

To read more about Rice University's Project Safe click:

https://safe.rice.edu/project-safe

To read more about UT's MasculinUT project click:

https://cmhc.utexas.edu/vav/vav_masculinut.html

Nathan Favero and Justin Bullock chat with Alasdair Roberts, discussing his article "The Aims of Public Administration: Reviving the Classical View " forthcoming in the first issue of PPMG.

Nathan Favero and Justin Bullock speak live with Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, Editor, Professor Kirk Emerson about the new journal.

Public Problems Podcast, Host, Justin Bullock, introduces Season 2 of the Public Problems Podcast.

Public Problems Podcast host, Justin Bullock and regular Public Problems Podcast contributor, Nathan Favero, will begin a new Public Management Research Association series "Discussion on Management & Governance"

This is the 5th and final week of the first Public Problems course Public Problems 101: A January Review of the Evidence. Week 5 will include a recap of Weeks 1-4, some thoughts from Justin Bullock on Artificial Intelligence, Risk Management, and Administration, live Q&A, and a discussion of upcoming Public Problems with Justin B. Bullock events.