Policy Studies Commons

Classifying Wildfire Risk at the Building Scale in the Wildland-Urban Interface: Applying Spatial Video Approaches to Los Angeles County

Brice Burkett et al. — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:30:46 PST

Continued development in the wildland-urban interface presents several challenges with regards annual wildfire risk. One of those challenges is how to mitigate against this hazard. This paper will present a method for fine scale data collection that can be used to inform mitigation efforts by identifying spatial patterns of within neighborhood wildfire vulnerability. These visual data are used to develop fire risk classification maps for seven communities in three cities of Los Angeles County. Each of these test locations has been selected in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Fire Department due to the combination of a previous burn history, but no wildfire in the past 20 years. A spatial video system is used to capture aspects of the home which are traditionally thought to increase risk within the ignition zone. The resulting maps not only illustrate risk in association with proximity to vegetation at the border of communities, but also how variation in home vulnerability results in some interior properties being at-risk to firebrands. The paper describes how spatial video data can be used to enhance current wildfire simulation efforts, especially evacuation scenarios, while an accompanying geonarrative by ride-along community stakeholders could provide place specific insight on behavior.

How Does Disaster Relief Works Affect the Trust in Local Government? A Study of the Wenchuan Earthquake

Ziqiang Han et al. — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:30:42 PST

Political trust can lead to cooperation and is very important in emergency and disaster management. However, the impact of disaster events on political trust is complicated. On May 12, 2008, a disruptive earthquake hit Southwest China, killing thousands of people and causing billions in economic losses. The Chinese national government’s swift response was praised by the public, but the local government trust was not well documented. Through fieldwork in one of the most damaged counties, how disaster relief work affected the trust in local government was analyzed.

Political trust varies in different levels of government in China. People trust the central government more than the local government. After the earthquake, there was a polarization trend in the local political trust. The few cases of role abandonment had a very bad effect on local political trust. The pre-disaster distrust, the impolite manners of local officials, and the gap between public expectations and the local government capacity in disaster relief impaired trust in local government. An easily operated and widely covered disaster assistance model is good to improve political trust after extreme tragedies. How to implement policies effectively and equally at the local level and the intergovernmental interchanges are the challenges for all levels of government, and will impact the public’s trust in government.

Who Needs What? A Case Study of Post-disaster Damage and Needs Assessment (DANA) in Vietnam

Erin Hughey et al. — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:30:40 PST

Disaster damages and losses cannot be wholly eliminated, and it is essential that communities develop strategies to effectively respond when disaster strikes. Accurate accounting of damage and needs following a disaster can help responders to match existing needs with available resources and assets. The goal of this study was to determine the accuracy and completeness of existing damage and needs assessment (DANA) procedures in Vietnam. Evaluations were made based on a review of available DANA records at the central and provincial government levels, as well as on information collected through semi-structured interviews with provincial representatives. Provincial level data were collected in five study provinces: Danang, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue. Results indicate inconsistent DANA templates, procedures, and application. Recommendations include 1) development of a consistent DANA policy; 2) adoption of a standardized methodology for DANA data collection and reporting; and 3) development and implementation of standardized DANA training.

Incorporation of Potential Climate Change Impacts into Local Disaster Risk Management in Costa Rica

Tsuneki Hori et al. — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:30:37 PST

In recent years, Costa Rica has faced various natural hazards and experienced increasing economic loss from numerous small-scale local climate events. This growing trend of losses is triggered by, among other factors, global climate change. In order to meet the challenge of reducing local vulnerabilities, it is necessary to incorporate the potential impacts of climate change into DRM planning. The present study identifies opportunities and challenges for improving incorporation of climate change impacts into DRM planning at the local level in Costa Rica by applying a checklist to 17 municipalities. The study found overall unsatisfactory progress in DRM planning at the municipality level. However, results indicated that local governments’ experiences and small actions related to climate change, based on their own needs and taken independently of the national policy priorities, are a key element in improving DRM at the local level. This study also identifies four challenges to further improving local level DRM.

Putting People at the Center of Climate Change Adaptation Plans: A Vulnerability Approach

Andrew J. Rumbach et al. — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:30:35 PST

The majority of research and writing on climate change and planning focuses on mitigation, reducing emissions and climate change impacts over long time cycles. However, the realization that human settlements will see immediate and near-term impacts, regardless of emissions reductions, has given urgency to questions about how communities will adapt. We are interested in municipal level adaptation plans: “incipient plans” where implementation has either just begun or not even started, and evaluation and rethinking belong to the future. Our intention is to inform this process. We reviewed more than a dozen municipal and regional climate change and adaptation planning processes, and selected six to examine further. Our case selection includes plans from coastal and inland cities, both large and small, and all but one are from counties amongst the most vulnerable in the U.S. We found that while mitigation of green house gases (GHGs), which is important and necessary, was central to all plans, adaptation strategies were not considered to the same extent or left out completely. We argue that an adaptation strategy that uses a vulnerability approach can be the most effective way to assess climate risk because it puts people and communities at the center of the analysis; helps planners and policy makers to design adaptation strategies that will reduce suffering in local areas while making effective use of scarce resources; and enables better coordination among different elements of planning. To be efficient and effective, adaptation plans must be generated at different scales and must downscale climate information to a local level. Most importantly, the first step in adaptation planning must be to understand vulnerability and the full range of variables that contribute to it. We conclude by suggesting that cities must integrate climate action strategies into their long-range Comprehensive Plans to take full advantage of the targeting and coordination possibilities that a vulnerability approach offers.

A Systems View of Decision-Making for Risky Technologies: From Global to Local and Local to Global

Anneliese Poetz — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:30:31 PST

The recent disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power generation facility has caused concern on a global scale over the safety of nuclear power. In response to heightened risk perceptions caused by these crises, many stakeholders may find processes for voicing their concerns to be inadequate. For many years, an effective model for decision-making which includes public input has been needed, a process that meets the needs of diverse stakeholders in a democratic setting. Many studies conclude that stakeholder interactions occur within a complex system, but do not articulate details of this system. This study combined case study with grounded theory methodology and utilized situational analysis. Data were mainly comprised of 30 one-on-one interviews with stakeholders involved in the decision-making processes for the re-licensing of two nuclear power generation facilities in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this paper is to present findings from this qualitative study which illuminate the complex interactions between global, national, and local systems, such as the effect of nuclear incidents on global and local risk perceptions. The paper concludes with several recommendations for organizations concerned with protecting public safety.

Scholarly Support for Social Security: A Political History of Prevailing Beliefs, and of the Growing Number of Works Demonstrating that the "Conventional" Often Is Not "Wisdom"

Max J. Skidmore — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:45 PST

Max J. Skidmore examines the current "conventional wisdom" regarding Social Security, and discusses a dozen of the growing number of books countering prevailing beliefs. He demonstrates that the "conventional" often is not "wisdom," but rather received dogma inspired by well-financed special interests.

Privatisation as Proxy of Distribution: Is it possible? (The Justice Shares Mass Privatisation Case of Iran)

Tohid Atashbar — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:42 PST

Through a privatisation scheme called the "Justice Shares Plan," the Iranian government has privatised many state-owned companies via dividing and distributing shares among low-income families. This study explains and evaluates the government’s plan from different aspects. The findings show that the share-based mass privatisation initiative hasn’t achieved its performance-enhancing goals in privatised companies. The study also finds that the plan has slightly reduced the income inequality. The plan eventually could not continue to disburse dividends to stock holders due to financial and legislative difficulties.

Social Security: A New Paradigm for Reducing American Poverty

Andrew W. Dobelstein — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:40 PST

Although not characterized as a program designed to address the problems of poverty, Social Security, the linchpin of America’s social welfare enterprise, impacts poverty more significantly than most of the usually identified anti-poverty programs. For examples, more children receive Social Security benefits than those on welfare, and Social Security payments are modified to provide low income earners with proportionately higher benefits than their higher earning counterparts.

Affirming the validity of Social Security the recent National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform represents a changed environment for Social Security policy development, and it has proposed several Social Security initiatives that would expand its reach more deeply into the jungle of poverty.

Recognizing the limitations of existing social welfare anti-poverty programs, collapsing the cash assistance functions of these programs into Social Security would contribute significantly to reducing poverty in the United States. Such an endeavor, however, would not only require a realignment of America’s social welfare programs, but would increase the fiscal burdens born by Social Security. Such proposals could reduce the poverty rate by 3 percent or more, but they also call further attention to the failure of the payroll tax to sustain not only current Social Security commitments, let alone satisfy any further obligations Social Security might assume by virtue of its expanded role.

This paper provides the gateway for further study of the poverty reducing potential of Social Security.

The Effects of Combined Marginal Tax Rates on the Working Poor: Evidence from the Current Population Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation

Paul D. Trampe — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:37 PST

Most works that have been done concerning the effects on work effort of the income based phase-out of assistance programs have been specific to one program or another. Most theorists believe, however, that the primary issue is the marginal tax rates faced by those facing the phase-out of several programs at once. This paper examines data from the Current Population Survey from 1993-2006 and the first four phases of the Survey of Income and Program Participation from 1993, 1996 and 2001 to study the effect on hours worked for those losing benefits from several different programs as a percentage of additional income and in particular to look for a delayed effect. It finds a small but significant effect and also finds evidence that the effect is partially delayed as recipients become aware of their own marginal tax rates slowly over time.

Social Welfare Policy and the Psychological Needs of Low Income Women

Martha J. Markward et al. — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:34 PST

This manuscript analyzes policy that addresses the psychological needs of low income women, especially those on welfare. The sociopolitical model of policy analysis was used to examine the social, political, and economic context for addressing the psychological needs of low income women. Within the context of progressive physical and mental health enactments, the analysis examines the causes of psychological needs among poor women, the approaches that have been used to address the needs of poor women, and the need for policy that can result in service delivery systems and service provision to meet the psychological needs of low income women. The results of the analysis suggest the need for policy that allows for an umbrella approach to screening women on welfare for mental health issues and providing services that are not attached to financial eligibility or child welfare involvement.

Social Justice, Social Welfare and Devolution: Nationalism and Social Policy Making in Scotland

Gerry Mooney et al. — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:31 PST

Constitutional change in the UK in 1998 led to the establishment of devolution for Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999 after a gap of nearly 300 years. Devolution promised the development of policies that were more in tune with ‘Scottish needs’, and was heralded as delivering ‘Scottish solutions for Scottish problems’. Now with a Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) Government in power in Edinburgh committed to greater devolution for Scotland and with a goal of full independence for Scotland, it is timely to assess the ways in which the SNP have approach the question of social policy – and more specifically poverty and inequality. While key areas of social welfare policy, notable in relation to benefits, employment policy and most areas of taxation remain reserved to the UK parliament in London, the Scottish Parliament enjoys powers over most areas of social policy as they affect Scotland: health, housing, education, community development, regeneration and criminal justice. This paper considers some of the main influences on SNP policy making, and in particular explores its concern to develop policies that promote solidarity, cohesion and fairness. However, these are secondary to a strategy which promotes economic growth and Scottish economic competitiveness. The paper also considers the importance of nationalism for the analysis of social welfare arguing that social policy making is often central to nation building, and particularly so in the context of multi-national devolution of the kind that has developed in the UK and elsewhere in recent times.

Social Theory and Poverty Reduction with Special Attention to Nigeria: Social-Institutional Explanation of Small-Scale Financial Institutions

Osaore Aideyan — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:28 PST

Do institutions and social capital provide a viable means for advancing the goals of poverty reduction programs in low capacity states? This question has particular importance for Nigeria and Africa as a whole because of the poor performance of poverty reduction programs despite domestic and global efforts to reduce poverty in the continent. In this paper, I assess the usefulness of the informational aspects of the new institutional economics and the social network method of social capital paradigm in reducing access, information and monitoring costs faced by the poor and service providers of micro-credit institutions in Nigeria. The general proposition of this paper is that poverty reduction can be promoted on the one hand, by designing programs to reflect some regularities (formal and informal rules and regulations) which best enhance benefits and mitigate costs faced by the poor for obtaining services, and on the other hand a mobilization of cohesive social relationships based on existing networks of semiautonomous units, that substitute for weak enforcement of contracts to reduce the service delivery costs to the poor.

How Do States' Safety Net Policies Affect Poverty?

Laura Wheaton et al. — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:24 PST

How do state safety net policies affect poverty? Safety net policies can dramatically reduce poverty. A full assessment requires use of a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) that adds near-cash benefits and tax credits to cash income, deducts necessary expenses, and uses up-to-date, geographically-sensitive poverty thresholds. This analysis implements the SPM in Georgia, Illinois, and Massachusetts to examine the effects of the key safety net programs on poverty. The results show that safety net policies in these three states have substantially different effects on poverty, but federal programs reduce poverty differences across the states.

Citizens or Objects: A Case Study in News Coverage of Poverty

Andrew R. Cline — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:22 PST

There exists in the minds of American newspaper journalists a group called the “general audience,” and it is this group that journalists believe they serve by covering the news. The general audience ostensibly includes all citizens -- the assumption being that all citizens are politically equal and are, therefore, served by a common understanding of the news created by a standardized reporting and writing process. But the needs of poor and working class are largely left out of the news because journalists see the utility of journalism in middle class terms and treat the poor as objects of reporting rather than as citizens. This essay explores the case of the Springfield News-Leader, a daily newspaper in the Gannett chain, serving Springfield, Missouri -- a small city in the southwest corner of the state -- for the purpose of discovering what opportunities exist as a part of normal news coverage to serve the poor and working class.

Editor's Letter

Max J. Skidmore — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:59:17 PST

Editor-in-Chief Max J. Skidmore shares his introductory thoughts about the fourth issue of PPP's Third Volume.

In the News

Arnauld Nicogossian — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:40:11 PST

In the Editors' opinion, the materials summarized in this section have the potential for the development of health policies, standards, or for use in the daily practice and counseling of patients in preventative care. For additional information, readers might wish to visit Internet-based medical news websites, some free of charge, such as PLoS Medicine, MedScape, Stone Heart, American College of Physicians, and the World Medical Association.

Review of Global Health: Diseases, Programs, Systems and Policies

Arnauld Nicogossian — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:20:57 PST

Global Health: Diseases, Programs, Systems and Policies is an excellent textbook specifically designed for the graduate training programs in global public health.

Review of Tabloid Medicine: How the Internet is Being Used to Hijack Medical Science for Fear and Profit

Kyle P. May — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:20:55 PST

Tabloid Medicine: How the Internet is Being Used to Hijack Medical Science for Fear and Profit provides a pointed account of the Internet tactics employed by some to halt advancement in the name of safety. Dr. Goldberg provides real world examples and references scientific papers en route to detailing how to keep scientific advancement moving forward. This work presents multiple arguments that American consumers may be doing a disservice to themselves and others by insisting on absolute safety and efficacy from medicine’s manufacturers and providers.

Review of Organ Shortage: Ethics, Law, and Pragmatism

Maggie Woodward — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:20:53 PST

Organ Shortage: Ethics, Law, and Pragmatism gives a solid introduction to the broad issue of organ shortage worldwide. The authors examine barriers to increasing the supply of organs for transplant and explore policies to encourage donation, providing a comparison of regulations across numerous nations.