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Public Administration and International Affairs Department News, Media Commentary and Research

Radcliffe quoted in Deseret News article on COVID-19 double standards

For people struggling to stay motivated to continue social distancing and wearing masks, cases where public officials ignore the very rules they are imposing on others can be frustrating. In the field of behavioral ethics, this phenomenon is called "ethical fading," says Dana Radcliffe, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs. The term describes the way people deceive themselves to hide the wrongness of their choices. But, officials should be held to a higher standard, he says, especially when public health is on the line. "People who have considerable power or ability to influence others have a greater obligation to make sure that their actions match their words—because their words and actions can affect the behavior and welfare of others," says Radcliffe. Read more in the Deseret News article, "7 times public officials had double standards on COVID-19." 
January 4, 2021

Heflin article on food & nutrition policy featured in Life Course Implications of US Public Policies

Colleen Heflin

The author first provides an overview of the prevalence of food insecurity by age. Then, the author provides a brief summary of the food programs that are currently available in the United States and discusses how the life-course perspective can inform future policy and research.

December 31, 2020

See related: Food Security

Heflin paper on child well-being and Rental Assistance Demonstration published in Cityscape

Colleen Heflin, Ariel Charney & Yumiko Aratani
December 31, 2020

Stuart Brown and Margaret Hermann publish a study on transnational crime

Stuart Brown, Margaret Hermann

This book examines 80 such safe havens which function outside effective state-based government control and are sustained by illicit economic activities.

December 31, 2020

National Security Law, 7th Edition

William C. Banks
December 31, 2020

Strategies of Secession and Counter-Secession

Edited by Ryan Griffiths, Diego Muro
December 31, 2020

Counterterrorism Law, 4th Edition

William C. Banks
December 31, 2020

Schwartz discusses challenges of post-COVID school mobility in The 74

"The literature says, 'These [mobile] kids do worse,'" says Amy Ellen Schwartz, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Chair in Public Affairs. "But really, on the whole, we’re unable to fully disentangle the effects of moving from the underlying factors that led to it. And from a policy point of view, I’m not sure it matters: You show me a kid who’s moved three times in the last eight months, I’ll show you a kid who needs special attention."

December 16, 2020

Wiemers examines vulnerability to COVID-19 complications in new study

Emily E. Wiemers, Scott Abrahams, Marwa AlFakhri, V. Joseph Hotz, Robert F. Schoeni & Judith A. Seltzer
December 14, 2020

See related: COVID-19, State & Local

Heflin discusses impact of COVID-19 on food security in Daily Gazette

In a choice between basic necessities, often, food is the first expense to be slashed, a decision that can result in adverse health effects for high-risk people. "This could put a further strain on the non-COVID health care system," says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

December 14, 2020

Steinberg discusses foreign policy issues facing Biden on Texas Public Radio

"The restoration of the State Department is critical," says University Professor James Steinberg. "That's particularly important with China because it is such an all-encompassing challenge for the United States. So we need to have our best people and we need to have...a comprehensive approach that makes clear what we can live with with China and what we can't," he says. 

December 9, 2020

Alumna Kristen Patel named Gregg Professor of Practice at Maxwell

Kristen Patel will teach undergraduate courses in policy studies and graduate courses in public administration and international affairs. 

December 7, 2020

Banks quoted in Military Times article on martial law, new election

Earlier this week, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn promoted the idea that the U.S. military should oversee a new nationwide presidential election, ordered under martial law by President Donald Trump. Professor Emeritus William C. Banks calls  the idea "preposterous" and adds, "martial law has no place in the United States absent a complete breakdown of civil governing mechanisms."

December 4, 2020

Banks examines impact of delayed transfer of power on Legal Talk Network

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks assesses that "the world is out there, and our adversaries are all aware... that we're more vulnerable as a nation and national security apparatus than any other time during the last four years." He adds, "without a coordinated effort between the outgoing Trump people and incoming Biden people, things could quickly lose control."

December 2, 2020

WP 235 Technical Efficiency of Public Middle Schools in New York City

William C. Horrace, Michah W. Rothbart & Yi Yang
November 30, 2020

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