11 - 20 of 80 results for: PUBLPOL

Overview of the most pressing biosecurity issues facing the world today. Guest lecturers have included former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Special Assistant on BioSecurity to Presidents Clinton and Bush Jr. Dr. Ken Bernard, Chief Medical Officer of the Homeland Security Department Dr. Alex Garza, eminent scientists, innovators and physicians in the field, and leaders of relevant technology companies. How well the US and global healthcare systems are prepared to withstand a pandemic or a bioterrorism attack, how the medical/healthcare field, government, and the technology sectors are involved in biosecurity and pandemic or bioterrorism response and how they interface, the rise of synthetic biology with its promises and threats, global bio-surveillance, making the medical diagnosis, isolation, containment, hospital surge capacity, stockpiling and distribution of countermeasures, food and agriculture biosecurity, new promising technologies for detection of bio-threats and countermeasures. Open to medical, graduate, and undergraduate students. No prior background in biology necessary. 4 units for twice weekly attendance (Mon. and Wed.); additional 1 unit for writing a research paper for 5 units total maximum.

How politicians, once elected, work together to govern America. The roles of the President, Congress, and Courts in making and enforcing laws. Focus is on the impact of constitutional rules on the incentives of each branch, and on how they influence law. Fulfills the Writing in the Major Requirement for Political Science majors.

Public policymaking in the United States is part of a political process that can take years or even decades to play out. A familiarity with the politics of policymaking is key to understanding why some reform attempts are successful while others are not. This course will give students a behind-the-scenes look at how policy actually gets made. Students will gain exposure to the theory and literature behind policy formulation, and engage in debates over historical and contemporary efforts at reform.

The major actors, institutions, processes, and policies of sub-state government in the U.S., emphasizing city general-purpose governments through a comparative examination of historical and contemporary politics. Issues related to federalism, representation, voting, race, poverty, housing, and finances.

The objective of the course is to explore the current international emphasis on organizational ethics. Students will consider in-depth complex ethics matters across business, the non-profit sector, and government. We will unravel the factors contributing to the seemingly pervasive failure of ethics today, including commonalities and links among sectors, through a broad range of international case studies. Examples might include: the Bangladesh garment factory fire and collapse; corruption in Nigeria; the Libor rate-rigging scandal; the US military sex abuse scandal; the GlaxoSmithKline China corruption scandal; racism in international football; drones; social media; and a non-profit sector ethics challenge to be identified. Prominent guest speakers will attend certain sessions interactively. Questions of cultural context, how ethics lags behind technology, ethics and leadership, and ethics and global systemic risks (poverty, financial system meltdown, climate change, cyber terrorism¿) will be considered. Attendance required. Grading is based 25% on short assignments, 35% class participation, and 40% final project. The final project is in lieu of exam on a topic of each student¿s choice. Class participation may include a variety of options beyond simply speaking up in class (e.g. participation on the class web site, assisting other students with presentations or final projects, participation in relevant University events, group discussions during office hours¿).

Dynamics of regional leadership and decision making in Silicon Valley, a complex region composed of 40 cities and four counties without any overarching framework for governance. Formal and informal institutions shaping outcomes in the region. Case studies include transportation, workforce development, housing and land use, and climate change.

State politics and policy making, including the roles of the legislature, legislative leadership, governor, special interests, campaign finance, advocacy groups, ballot initiatives, state laws, media, and research organizations. Case studies involving budgets, education, pensions, health care, political reform, open primaries, infrastructure and more. Evaluation of political actions, both inside and outside of government, that can affect outcomes. One day trip to Sacramento.

Focuses on healthcare policy at the national, state, and local levels. Includes sessions on international models, health insurance, the evolution of healthcare policy in the U.S., key U.S. healthcare topics (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [PPACA], Medicare, Medicaid, public employee retiree health care), the role of technology, reform proposals (single payer, national health care, market-based systems, regulated markets, state and local reform efforts), efficiency/cost drivers and prospects for future policy. We expect to spend at least two sessions on recent developments surrounding PPACA (aka Obamacare) and its implementation.

Introduction to methods of research design and data analysis used in quantitative political research. The course will cover issues that are typically missing from intro stats and econometrics courses but are central to applied political science research. Methods topics include: experimental and observational approaches to estimating causal effects, measuring political preferences from data, working with big data, and effective data presentation and visualization. These topics will be introduced using data sets from American politics, international relations, and comparative politics. The course will include an introduction to the widely used R statistical programming language. Satisfies quantitative methods requirement for the Political Science Research Honors Track. Prerequisites: Stat 60, Econ 102A, or instructor consent.