Public Policy Schedule: Summer I, 2011
Professor Wayne Hayes | ENST20750 #30157 | V. 1.2

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TOC: Key Dates, Part I, Part II, Part III

Important Dates ^

Our summer session I course officially starts on May 24 and ends on June 23. Please note the due dates below:

The papers should be delivered by the end of the day on the dates above.

Week #1: Introduction to the Course: May 24 - May 27^

The first week introduces you to the course and starts the Public Policy Cycle with the agenda stage. This moves fast, culminating in an essay that counts 16 points, due on May 31, the day after Memorial Day.

Course Material: Syllabus, Schedule, Web Site, Wiki

Orient yourself to these basic tools that deliver the on-line course:

  1. The Syllabus explains intent and goals, grading, and expectations and responsibilities.
  2. This Schedule provides the flow of the course, defining how the course unfolds.
  3. The Bulletin Board will change frequently and should be consulted as you open your computer for class-related activities. The Bulletin Board will reference material delivered on our wiki, http://worldsustainability.pbworks.com/. You must check the course wiki frequently for updates. I will post short assignments to monitor how you are progressing, to be included in the participation grade.
  4. Please use the gmail account dedicated to our course, wkhayes@gmail.com, to communicate with me. Note: I archive all course correspondence in gmail. Please do not use my Ramapo email.

Introduction To Public Policy

Please carefully and diligently study these documents:

  1. Introduction
  2. Orientation
  3. Premises
  4. The limits to public policy
  5. The legacy of Malthus: public policy as the dismal science
  6. A brief word on ideology in public policy
  7. Trial run: What is your political ideology?, a web-based quiz game. Please tell me by email how you did with this exercise.

How to study Public Policy

  1. Introducing the study of public policy
  2. Why study public policy?
  3. The scope of public policy
  4. What are the general approaches to public policy and which is adopted here?
  5. Definitions of public policy
  6. How to study public policy
  7. The public policy cycle as a method

Agenda Setting and Power

  1. Introduction to agenda setting
  2. Setting the agenda
  3. Definitions: simple and explanatory
  4. Agenda typology
  5. Who sets the agenda and how
  6. How to study the agenda
  7. Bias and the exercise of power

Essay on Introduction, How to Study Public Policy, and Agenda. Counts 16 points. See definition and instructions on the wiki page.

Week #2: Formulation, Parts I and II, May 30 - June 3 ^

Formulation I and II are fundamental to understanding public policy and should be treated as a unit. Take notes as you proceed in preparation of the essay on the Public Policy Cycle.

Formulation I: Policy Analysis and Prescription

  1. Transition from agenda to policy formulation
  2. Introduction to policy formulation
  3. Defining policy formulation
  4. Skills of policy analysis
  5. The foundations of American public policy making
  6. Example of the political manipulation of intelligence analysis and roles within intelligence community
  7. Illustrative cases, including Ramapo College Mission Statement

Formulation II: Policy Authorization and Politics

  1. Politics and policy formulation
  2. Case study: Stephen Labaton, A NEW FINANCIAL ERA: THE OVERVIEW; ACCORD REACHED ON LIFTING OF DEPRESSION-ERA BARRIERS AMONG FINANCIAL INDUSTRIES, New York Times, October 23, 1999 -- and, yes, this contributed to the speculation that recently took down the financial system
  3. Case study: Gail Russell Chaddick, Critical Energy Bill Crafted in Secrecy, Christian Science Monitor, October 2, 2003.
  4. Iron triangles
  5. Incrementalism
  6. Policy overhaul
  7. Please view Bill Moyers America: Capitol Crimes, Public affairs Television, 2006.

Week #3: Implementation, Budget, and Evaluation, June 6 - June 10 ^

In this week, we conclude the public policy process with an examination of implementation, budget, and evaluation.

Implementation

  1. Introduction to implementation
  2. Note cartoon reflecting implementation
  3. Defining implementation. Discussion: Can implementation work well?
  4. Cases of implementation, good and bad
  5. Traditional Public Administration, including bureaucracy
  6. Successful Implementation: Liberal and Conservative views

Budget

  1. Budget overview
  2. Define budget
  3. The budgetary process
  4. Overall discussion of US budget and examination of significant summary tables, especially Table S-6, Budget Summary by Categories
  5. Try a sophisticated budget simulation --- playing the game may surprise you
  6. Incrementalism, once again
  7. State and local budgets, with emphasis on current state budget stress

Evaluation

  1. Transition: closing the loop
  2. Introduction to evaluation
  3. Evaluation defined
  4. Evaluation explained in context
  5. Explanatory cases of evaluation
  6. Historical roots of evaluation research
  7. Formal evaluation
  8. Informal evaluation

The Public Policy Cycle section of the course ends with an essay that asks you to explain the Public Policy Cycle. This assignment counts 32 points, based on depth and content.

Weeks #4: Setting a World Sustainability Policy Agenda, June 13 to June 17 ^

This second section of the course examines public policy aspects of sustainability. The main text is Lester Brown, Plan B 4.0, supplemented with notes from the instructor and links to the Internet. The final paper assigned, explained on the course wiki, is due by the end of the day, June 24. This section is the payoff of the course, providing a challenge that asks you to join a discussion on the public policy aspects of sustainability, a daunting mission.

In week four, please read the two sections below.

Week #4: The Origins of Sustainable Development

This section sets the stage and introduces Sustainable Development:

  1. See Professor Hayes's wiki on Brundtland Commission Report and Sustainable Development.
  2. Browse the Brundtland Report and sample its findings and logic. This is a seminal historical document, so browse to get the tone, substance, and organization of the report -- don't even try to read the whole document, be selective.
  3. Read the important Overview, noting the way that sustainable development was framed and the language used to define sustainable development, quoted below. Read the Brundtland section on sustainable development carefully. This section is short and important.
  4. I set my personal agenda for World Sustainability with my Statement of Concern. Think about it and let me know your thoughts and feelings on a dedicated Wiki response page.
  5. Recommended, especially for Environmental Studies and Environmental Science students: Will Steffen, Paul J. Crutzen, and John R. McNeill, "The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature?," Ambio, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Vol. 36, No. 8, December, 2007. This bold article defines a new era in Earth history, the Anthropocene, the successor to the Holocene.

Week #4: Setting a Global Agenda: Lester R. Brown, Plan B 4.0

Part I of Plan B 4.0 offers Brown's agenda and comprehensively defines the global crisis, offering specific goals. This analysis is empirical and current. (There are surprisingly few accessible books on global sustainability policy.) Read this section closely in week four to assess the global crisis and grasp an agenda built around goals that frame a policy response.

This provides a timely round-up of challenges to the biosphere and human inhabitation of Earth. Notice that this book is classified as Science/Environment. Brown carries weight for his diagnosis, but he does not comment extensively on political or economic aspects. I will supplement Brown with my lecture notes, below.

  1. View a speech by Lester Brown
  2. Lester Brown, Plan B 4.0, Preface and chapters 1 through 3.
  3. Wayne Hayes, Presentation of notes on energy and Peak Oil
  4. Play The U.S. Oil Policy Simulation
  5. Wayne Hayes, Notes on Global Warming
  6. Wayne Hayes, Notes on Natural Systems Under Stress
  7. Wayne Hayes, Notes on The Social Divide

Week #5: Formulating An Earth Restoration Plan, , June 20 to June 24

In week five, please read the policy remedies recommended by Lester Brown:

  1. Professor Hayes introduction to Brown's Plan B discussion of energy, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, on climate and energy. s
  2. Lester R. Brown, Plan B 4.0: Ch. 4 through 10, pp. 79-268. See my notes, Presentation of Plan B as integrated policy formulation
  3. Recommended: View PBS Wide Angle:The Burning Season. Note: this site does not always load properly, so give it a second try.

Your report on sustainability policy will be due by the end of the day on June 26.

The Public Policy Cycle Web Site | Page: © Wayne Hayes, Ph.D. | ™ ProfWork | wayne@profwork.com
Initialized: 5/22/2001 | Last Update: 06/20/2011