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Recession and Recovery

Road to the White House Recession & Recovery: How will the economy shape election 2012? Featuring: Michael Davidson, Chief Executive Officer for Gen Next Sam Garrison, Former Vice President of Public Policy for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Alex Davidson, Director of External Relations for the USC College Republicans Satyen Motiani, Member of the USC College Democrats. Co-moderated by: Dan Schnur, Director of the USC Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics Melissa Caskey, Managing Read more…

Measuring Behavioral Attributes for Federal Agencies Across Time

Bedrosian Research Award Seminar Featuring: Anthony Bertelli Abstract: Behavioral attributes are observed manifestations of cognitive or emotive constructs. Aggregates of such attributes are often used at the organization level in public management research. Difficulties in measuring attributes over time and across organizations have frequently limited statistical designs to single organization or/or single time-period analyses. Focusing our attention on U.S. federal administrative agencies, we marshal a variety of questions from surveys commissioned by the Office of Read more…

The Future of Nuclear Power in the US Energy Supply

There are three obstacles to the future development of nuclear power: Safety, waste disposal, and weapons proliferation. The current US administration has a mixed record regarding nuclear power: On one hand it has been promoting nuclear power as a means to producing energy without greenhouse gas emissions; on the other hand, it has stopped the development nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada calling into question a solution that seemed to be in reach.

Myers Urges Generational Unity for 2012 Election

Myers Urges Generational Unity for 2012 Election Few things in life are certain, but you can count on this: In 10 years, you’ll be 10 years older. Dowell Myers, professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and director of the Population Dynamics Research Group, shared the implications of this and other straightforward demographic realities during a Feb. 1 discussion titled “The New Connectedness as a Strategy to Win Majority Support: Overcoming Divisions Read more…

Shifting the Burden: Social Services, Safety, & Redevelopment

Bedrosian Center / SoCal ASPA forum series   Shifting the Burden is the kick-off event which begins a year-long series of panel discussions. Local and state government leaders and scholars will discuss how organizations are realigning the services they provide with funding sources that shift the cost burdens of service across levels/agencies of government. We will focus on prisoner reentry, social services, and redevelopment. Moderator: Debbie Dillon, President, Souther California chapter of ASPA and Deputy Read more…

New Connectedness as a Strategy to Win Majority Support

Rapid demographic change has dramatic, polarizing effects among the electorate, especially in a time of economic despair. The declining majority status of whites, growing numbers of elderly, and increasing immigration each have been cause for rejoicing and new political demands. Yet those trends fan fears and galvanize opposition that is easily exploited by political candidates. In this environment is there any hope for reducing division and polarization? How can a middle-ground position of common interests be established and defended?

Social Justice issues facing USC/Los Angeles.

Students Talk Back This week’s discussion focuses on Social Justice issues facing USC/Los Angeles. Featuring: Leslie Ivie, USC Price MPA student, Partnership for an Equitable Los Angeles Lisa Schweitzer,  Associate Professor at USC Price Paulina Gonzalez, Executive Director of SAJE (Strategic Actions for a Just Economy) Moderated by: Raphael Bostic, Director of the Bedrosian Center on Governance

Debate and the Arab Spring

A conversation with faculty fellow Gordon Stables, Georgia State Communication Professor Shawn Powers, and Trojan Debate Squad members Nate Wong (captain), Chris Patterson, and Katrina Kaiser about international affairs and the 2012 election. Democratic revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa’s impact on U.S. international policy and influence in the 2012 election is discussed.

State of the Campaign

Featuring:

Rob Stutzman, Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Hector De La Torre, Former California State Assemblyman, 50th District
Alex Davidson, Director of External Relations, College Republicans
Ximena Velazquez-Arenas, President, College Democrats

Cal-Adapt: Urban Adaptation to Climate Change

Kevin Koy, UC Berkeley Kevin Koy is Executive Director, Geospatial Innovation Facility, UC Berkeley – College of Natural Resources. The Cal-Adapt (http://cal-adapt.org) web application has been developed to showcase the wealth of innovative climate change research being produced by the scientific community in California. Through a combination of locally relevant information, visualization tools, and access to primary data, Cal-Adapt allows users to investigate how the climate is projected to change in their area of interest Read more…

Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda

Governance Salon featuring Andrew Whitford, University of Georgia The bully pulpit is one of the modern president’s most powerful tools — and one of the most elusive to measure. Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda uses the war on drugs as a case study to explore whether and how a president’s public statements affect the formation and carrying out of policy in the United States. Andrew Whitford is Professor of Public Administration and Policy in Read more…

Framing the Debate

CCLP faculty fellow Tom Hollihan is the author of Uncivil Wars: Political Campaigns in a Media Age. Hollihan, communication professor Gordon Stables and members of the Trojan Debate Squad will talk about the media’s role in influencing public perception of issues in the 2012 presidential election.

The Concept, Origins, and Effects of Issue Ownership

Governance Salon featuring Stefaan Walgrave, University of Antwerp Issue ownership refers to the association of particular public policy issues with particular political parties. Walgrave examines the concept in an international comparative context. Stefaan Walgrave is a professor of Political Science at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). He received his Ph.D. in 1995 from the KULeuven. He has been teaching political science since 1996. His research interests are social movements, political participation, political communication and elections. Read more…

Building Fiscal Leadership in an Era of Budget Austerity

Bedrosian Center / SoCal ASPA forum series A panel of experts discusses case studies focusing on Southern California local governments and school districts which not only have successfully coped with budget cuts but are demonstrating and building long-term fiscal sustainability leadership in a new era of austerity. Among issues the panelist consider: What are the insights these cases offer across different size jurisdictions, different levels of government, i.e. municipal, county, and district, and varied demographics? Read more…

The Judicial Business Cycle

Governance Salon featuring Nancy Stuadt, University of Southern California   Staudt’s talk investigates the effects of macroeconomic trends on judicial decision making in the federal context. Nancy Staudt, a nationally renowned tax and tax policy scholar, is the inaugural holder of the Edward G. Lewis Chair in Law at USC Law. Staudt is the author and editor of many books and articles, she frequently speaks on taxation topics. She has published extensively on the tax Read more…

Competing Solutions to the Principal-Agent Model

Governance Salon featuring Stephen Haptonstahl, University of California, Davis Stephen Haptonstahl’s talk offers statistical approaches for studying principal-agent relationships. He is a rising star in political methodology and bureaucratic politics. Haptonstahl designs and solves two statistical models of the Principal-Agent (boss-subordinate) game. This allows comparison of various substantive reasons for deviation from rational (Nash equilibrium) behavior in hierarchies.

Bedrosian Center