Is is destroying little America to buy a X-mas tree from Lowes versus the lot on the corner? Or are those tree people just carnies who are eating the leftover pumpkins every night and will be burning the leftover christmas trees in a few weeks while they sell valentines candy on the corner?
I am not really sure what the right answer is but Lowe's sure does sell a nice cheap x-mas tree.
Right now the tree is in the back year sitting in water, when I get home I will be decorating the tree.
Did I mention I am also trying to quit drinking? Not really quit like cold turkey but trying to cut out my massive amounts of wine drinking. I really hit my drinking stride in my late 20's so as I approach my 30th birthday I am realizing I should probably cut back, if I ever want to look good in a wedding dress. If I ever get engaged that is.
So here comes the holidays, and me without my class of wine
So this is my blog...not really sure what I am going to do with it, but I had to create it for two of my classes in my masters program at ASU. Last week I turned in my final paper and I am graduating next week. But I still have this blog. So I guess I will continue to write and see where it takes me. :)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Day 1
Hello Again
Like is says in my description I created this blog for my classes at ASU, however, I am done with school now and I feel it is time to add to the great wasteland that is the internet. :)
I currently work in special events coordinating, while it is very fun I also find it stressfull, but I am told that I care too much about it :)
I live in Tempe, AZ with my boyfriend of 3 years. We just rented a house and we are embarking on a new world of actually budgeting and being fiscally responsible. It is a scary new world of keeping my fingers crossed at the end of every month that we have enough money.
Not really sure what the plan for this blog is, I am not going to cook through a cookbook, sew a new dress everyday, or draw obscene things on celebrities faces. I think I am just going to write a little about my little life and my little steps into adult hood.
Like is says in my description I created this blog for my classes at ASU, however, I am done with school now and I feel it is time to add to the great wasteland that is the internet. :)
I currently work in special events coordinating, while it is very fun I also find it stressfull, but I am told that I care too much about it :)
I live in Tempe, AZ with my boyfriend of 3 years. We just rented a house and we are embarking on a new world of actually budgeting and being fiscally responsible. It is a scary new world of keeping my fingers crossed at the end of every month that we have enough money.
Not really sure what the plan for this blog is, I am not going to cook through a cookbook, sew a new dress everyday, or draw obscene things on celebrities faces. I think I am just going to write a little about my little life and my little steps into adult hood.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Data Set
I will be doing a policy analysis and review of teenager pregnancy in Arizona. Currently Arizona is 3rd highest for teen pregnancy in the country. It is a terrible trend and I am going to examine the possible links to abstinence only education versus a more comprehensive sexual education.
I have choosen this study and data set to examine. Participants were asked about sex education as well as their use of contraception.
National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle VI, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/4157?archive=ICPSR&q=National+Survey+of+Family+Growth%2C+Cycle+V%2C+1995+
I have choosen this study and data set to examine. Participants were asked about sex education as well as their use of contraception.
National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle VI, 2002
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/4157?archive=ICPSR&q=National+Survey+of+Family+Growth%2C+Cycle+V%2C+1995+
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Regulation and Incrementally
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/
Regulation Incrementally
It seems that regardless of the attempts by the government and the Center for Disease Control to encourage Americans to eat better we are eating more poorly than ever. Despite regulation and recommendation set forth only 26% of Americans are eating 3 or more vegetables a day. In the New York Time article: Told to Eat Its Vegetables, Americans Order Fries policy regulation is examined and discovered to not be working. As outlined by Lowi as one of the three major types of public policies regulation is “obviously one of several ways government seeks to control society and individual conduct.” (Lowi, 182) The CDC has been working for years to create and adopt policy that will successfully change the diet habits of Americans. In this article the eating habits of Americans is examined and even with a $25 million dollar marketing campaign regarding baby carrots Americans are continuing to eat Doritos. Despite regulation from the government to get American moving as highlighted by First Lady Michelle Obama Americans are not listening. In addition the government “now recommends four and a half cups of fruits and vegetables (that’s nine servings) for people who eat 2,000 calories a day. Some public health advocates have argued that when the guidelines are updated later this year, they should be made even clearer. One proposal is to make Americans think about it visually, filling half the plate or bowl with vegetables.”
Regulation in this situation is very important since it is regarding the health of our citizens. The government is acting purely in the best interest of its citizens. The regulation is an attempt to have citizens eat better and in turn be healthier. If our citizens are healthier then the medical expenses will go down. So in some cases the government is looking out for its citizens but it is also looking out for the bottom line in a decrease in health expenses. Prevention is key and by recommending that Americans consider their vegetables visually much like thinking of your protein serving as the same size as a deck of cards. By putting the regulation in a manner that Americans can understand the government can strive for better eating habits. It is difficult since in many cases it is easier and less expensive to eat non healthy alternatives so the government must continue to regulate the food that is in the schools and the image of health food in America.
Public health officials will have to constantly be shifting their work in the goal of getting Americans to eat better. As covered in this article despite regulation Americans are not getting the food they need and are not making the right food choices. As was quoted above public health officials are hoping that when the guidelines for servings are updated they should be made clearer to the public. Over the years the healthy eating initiatives have had to change and adapt since it is clear that no one can agree on the steps that should be taken, but they agree on the problem and the desired outcome. These changes demonstrate incrementalism and that this movement by the government must be constantly updating taking small steps in order to meet the changing demographics of the United States. The means of this movement are not always clear and as was demonstrated in this article they are not attempting to make carrots more entertaining. Not something that has always been done but the means have had to change in order to regulate the actions of the citizens.
The CDC has a report titled State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009 and in this report is outlines the consumption of fruits and vegetables around the country and gives recommendations on how to increase availability and consumption. One interesting step to adapt this process is to “Provide support for farmers markets to purchase wireless electronic benefit transfer (EBT) devices to make it possible for them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) and WIC Program EBT cards.” This is a step that is taken to change the direction of healthy eating and bring farmers into the fold by giving them the technology to make fruits and vegetables accessible to a wider population. It may not have been a means in the past to regulate the eating habits of Americans but it is something that can work now and it acceptable now. It is moves like this one that demonstrates incrementalism and the need to adapt to the change in technology and demographics. Eating habits of Americans will hopefully change over time with increased regulation from the government to encourage citizens to eat well.
Regulation Incrementally
It seems that regardless of the attempts by the government and the Center for Disease Control to encourage Americans to eat better we are eating more poorly than ever. Despite regulation and recommendation set forth only 26% of Americans are eating 3 or more vegetables a day. In the New York Time article: Told to Eat Its Vegetables, Americans Order Fries policy regulation is examined and discovered to not be working. As outlined by Lowi as one of the three major types of public policies regulation is “obviously one of several ways government seeks to control society and individual conduct.” (Lowi, 182) The CDC has been working for years to create and adopt policy that will successfully change the diet habits of Americans. In this article the eating habits of Americans is examined and even with a $25 million dollar marketing campaign regarding baby carrots Americans are continuing to eat Doritos. Despite regulation from the government to get American moving as highlighted by First Lady Michelle Obama Americans are not listening. In addition the government “now recommends four and a half cups of fruits and vegetables (that’s nine servings) for people who eat 2,000 calories a day. Some public health advocates have argued that when the guidelines are updated later this year, they should be made even clearer. One proposal is to make Americans think about it visually, filling half the plate or bowl with vegetables.”
Regulation in this situation is very important since it is regarding the health of our citizens. The government is acting purely in the best interest of its citizens. The regulation is an attempt to have citizens eat better and in turn be healthier. If our citizens are healthier then the medical expenses will go down. So in some cases the government is looking out for its citizens but it is also looking out for the bottom line in a decrease in health expenses. Prevention is key and by recommending that Americans consider their vegetables visually much like thinking of your protein serving as the same size as a deck of cards. By putting the regulation in a manner that Americans can understand the government can strive for better eating habits. It is difficult since in many cases it is easier and less expensive to eat non healthy alternatives so the government must continue to regulate the food that is in the schools and the image of health food in America.
Public health officials will have to constantly be shifting their work in the goal of getting Americans to eat better. As covered in this article despite regulation Americans are not getting the food they need and are not making the right food choices. As was quoted above public health officials are hoping that when the guidelines for servings are updated they should be made clearer to the public. Over the years the healthy eating initiatives have had to change and adapt since it is clear that no one can agree on the steps that should be taken, but they agree on the problem and the desired outcome. These changes demonstrate incrementalism and that this movement by the government must be constantly updating taking small steps in order to meet the changing demographics of the United States. The means of this movement are not always clear and as was demonstrated in this article they are not attempting to make carrots more entertaining. Not something that has always been done but the means have had to change in order to regulate the actions of the citizens.
The CDC has a report titled State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009 and in this report is outlines the consumption of fruits and vegetables around the country and gives recommendations on how to increase availability and consumption. One interesting step to adapt this process is to “Provide support for farmers markets to purchase wireless electronic benefit transfer (EBT) devices to make it possible for them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) and WIC Program EBT cards.” This is a step that is taken to change the direction of healthy eating and bring farmers into the fold by giving them the technology to make fruits and vegetables accessible to a wider population. It may not have been a means in the past to regulate the eating habits of Americans but it is something that can work now and it acceptable now. It is moves like this one that demonstrates incrementalism and the need to adapt to the change in technology and demographics. Eating habits of Americans will hopefully change over time with increased regulation from the government to encourage citizens to eat well.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Assignment 2
The Paradox of Policy Analysis
In the article "The Paradox of Policy Analysis: If It Is Not Used, Why Do We Produce So Much Of It" Nancy Shulock examines the paradox of policy analysis and why it seems to go unused in the public sector. She identifies two views of policy making in this article: traditional and interpretive. Traditional policy analysts conform to beliefs that through proper analytical techniques the impact of a policy can be successfully studies and applied "systematically to the political marketplace and analysts can discover and mearsure the impace of policy on citizen's interests." (Shulock, 228) It is named traditional and it is just that, traditional. This view holds onto the systematic approach that collects data, and reports the findings. Traditional analysis follows the stages of the policy analysis process and reports those findings. In contrast to traditional analysis there is interpretive anaylsis. The process of interpretive analysis is the "advice to a client" (Shulock, 228) or group based on the interpretation of the policy analysis. It is used by citizens, government officials, interest groups in order to frame an opinion of the policy analysis. Interpretive analysis is not always about looking into consequences from a policy action but looking at policy rationally in order to make a decision. In my opinion traditional analysis is most important since I feel it is important to remain to to the steps and follow the process. That will result in findings that an informed opinion can be made from. I also feel that personally I enjoy following the steps and feel that is an adequate guide in order to complete the process not only correctly but faily. In a recent article in the Arizona Republic titled "Glendale considers ordiance to ban texting while driving" I found that Glendal had used traditional methods to support their ban on texting while driving. They had examined what had worked in Phoenix as well as the number of accidents caused by distracted drivers. By showing the number of accidents cause by distracted driving the council and police were able to show the relationship between policy and otucomes. It makes sense to ban texting while driving and that they have the citizen's best interests in mind, as well as reducing city services to the accidents. This supports my views on traditional analysis since Glendale followed the steps to provide a straightforward conclusion that benefited the citizens in the end. It is traditional anaylsis that came to a final conclusion that will definitely save lives.
Policy Analysis for What? The Effectiveness of Nonpartisan Policy Research Organizations
In this article John Hird examines how much of Nonpartisan Policy Research Organization's (NPRO) information is utilized. It was interesting to see that even though much of the evidence thus far shows that a minimal amount of analysis is used by policy maker this study found NPROs has a strong impact on legislators on both "access to information and their assessment of the quality and capabilities of their NPROs." (Hird, 98) The findings were strong and it pointed to a new realization of how beneficial a NPRO can be to a government official. From gathering information to providing new perspectives the NPRO have become a huge asset to public policy. The research also showed an interesting notion that the physical proximity to the legislatures added to the increase in utilization. I agree with the findings in this study and feel that with the increase of information to policy makers it will help aid their own research and provide them with information to make informed decisions.
In the article "The Paradox of Policy Analysis: If It Is Not Used, Why Do We Produce So Much Of It" Nancy Shulock examines the paradox of policy analysis and why it seems to go unused in the public sector. She identifies two views of policy making in this article: traditional and interpretive. Traditional policy analysts conform to beliefs that through proper analytical techniques the impact of a policy can be successfully studies and applied "systematically to the political marketplace and analysts can discover and mearsure the impace of policy on citizen's interests." (Shulock, 228) It is named traditional and it is just that, traditional. This view holds onto the systematic approach that collects data, and reports the findings. Traditional analysis follows the stages of the policy analysis process and reports those findings. In contrast to traditional analysis there is interpretive anaylsis. The process of interpretive analysis is the "advice to a client" (Shulock, 228) or group based on the interpretation of the policy analysis. It is used by citizens, government officials, interest groups in order to frame an opinion of the policy analysis. Interpretive analysis is not always about looking into consequences from a policy action but looking at policy rationally in order to make a decision. In my opinion traditional analysis is most important since I feel it is important to remain to to the steps and follow the process. That will result in findings that an informed opinion can be made from. I also feel that personally I enjoy following the steps and feel that is an adequate guide in order to complete the process not only correctly but faily. In a recent article in the Arizona Republic titled "Glendale considers ordiance to ban texting while driving" I found that Glendal had used traditional methods to support their ban on texting while driving. They had examined what had worked in Phoenix as well as the number of accidents caused by distracted drivers. By showing the number of accidents cause by distracted driving the council and police were able to show the relationship between policy and otucomes. It makes sense to ban texting while driving and that they have the citizen's best interests in mind, as well as reducing city services to the accidents. This supports my views on traditional analysis since Glendale followed the steps to provide a straightforward conclusion that benefited the citizens in the end. It is traditional anaylsis that came to a final conclusion that will definitely save lives.
Policy Analysis for What? The Effectiveness of Nonpartisan Policy Research Organizations
In this article John Hird examines how much of Nonpartisan Policy Research Organization's (NPRO) information is utilized. It was interesting to see that even though much of the evidence thus far shows that a minimal amount of analysis is used by policy maker this study found NPROs has a strong impact on legislators on both "access to information and their assessment of the quality and capabilities of their NPROs." (Hird, 98) The findings were strong and it pointed to a new realization of how beneficial a NPRO can be to a government official. From gathering information to providing new perspectives the NPRO have become a huge asset to public policy. The research also showed an interesting notion that the physical proximity to the legislatures added to the increase in utilization. I agree with the findings in this study and feel that with the increase of information to policy makers it will help aid their own research and provide them with information to make informed decisions.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Hello All
Hello All
Like I said in my description this is my blog from Environmental Policy. I figure the internet is pretty clogged with stuff I have messed up over the years so I better try to recycle a little. :)
I am currently in my last semester of the MPA program and I am very to be in this class as well as almost finished with school. It has been a long process since I have been working full time and just taking 1-2 classes a semester. But I am very happy to be completing my degree and continuing my work in the public sector.
I look forward to the semester and meeting everyone. :)
Alicia
Like I said in my description this is my blog from Environmental Policy. I figure the internet is pretty clogged with stuff I have messed up over the years so I better try to recycle a little. :)
I am currently in my last semester of the MPA program and I am very to be in this class as well as almost finished with school. It has been a long process since I have been working full time and just taking 1-2 classes a semester. But I am very happy to be completing my degree and continuing my work in the public sector.
I look forward to the semester and meeting everyone. :)
Alicia
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