week 1 discussion 1
“The Process of Analysis ? Diagrams and Trees” Please respond to the following:
From the case study, Case 1.3, compare and contrast the benefits of the influence diagram and decision tree displayed in Figure C1.3. Explain why these two problem representations are good examples of descriptive and normative decision theory.
Refer to your first discussions answer and analyze the differences between monitoring and evaluation in policy analysis. Provide at least one example to support your response.
week 1 diss 2
“The Process of Analysis ? Critical Thinking” Please respond to the following:
From the case studies, Case 1.1 and Case 1.2, discuss the strengths and limitations of using multiple triangulation, also called critical multiplism. Provide at least one example to support your answer.
Propose two reasons argumentation mapping can help a policy maker become a critical thinker. Provide at least two examples to support your response.
week 2 diss 1
Developing Policy Arguments and Debate” Please respond to the following:
Develop a policy argument or claim that is definitive, designative, evaluative, and advocative, using one of these terms: (a) crime, (b) pollution, (c) terrorism, (d) quality of life, (e) global warming, (f) fiscal crisis, (g) human rights, and (h) unemployment.
Convert the argument in the first discussion into a policy debate by providing an objection and a rebuttal. Explain if and why the qualifier changed after introducing an objection and rebuttal. If the qualifier did not change, explain why it did not change.
week 2 diss 2
“Policy Arguments” Please respond to the following:
From the case study, Case 8.1, use the argument mapping procedures presented in the chapter and provide two pros and two cons (or strengths and weaknesses) of the recommendation that the United States should NOT intervene in the Balkans.
From the e-Activity, discuss two different modes of argument and examples of formal and informal fallacies. Provide the source(s) of the modes of arguments and fallacies you identified.
week 3
“Policy-Making Process” Please respond to the following:
Take a position in support of one of the two statements:
(a) Policy analysts should research the issues and determine the fundamental causes of social problems such as crime, poverty, or homelessness and then recommend solutions.
(b) Policy analysts should develop implementable policies to address social problems such as crime, poverty, or homelessness without research to determine the cause(s). Support your position with examples or evidence.
From the case study, Case 2.1, debate two pros and two cons of evidence-based policy making, by considering the concepts of technocratic guidance and technocratic counsel.
week 3 diss 2
Analysis in Practice” Please respond to the following:
From the e-Activity, provide two reasons and / or examples of what makes the paper or report you selected of high technical quality. Provide the source(s) of the article you selected.
From the e-Activity, provide two examples from the same article that illustrate how the analysis changes the status quo.
WEEK 4 DISS 1
“Structuring the Problem” Please respond to the following:
Examine Box 3.0 Conducting a Stakeholder Analysis. Choose one (1) policy issue in the U.S. and generate a list of at least five (5) stakeholders who affect or are affected by problems in the issue area. Next, apply the procedures for a stakeholder analysis. Note: Refer to page 111 in the text for a step-by-step process.
From the e-Activity, provide at least two examples from the article and from your own experience of ways that worldviews, ideologies, and popular myths may have shaped the formulation of a specific problem or issue. Provide the source(s) of the paper or report you selected.
WEEK 4 DISS 2
“Models and Structuring” Please respond to the following:
Review Question 6 and select one of the ill-structured problems taken from the journal Policy Analysis (now the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management Under the title Department of Unintended Consequences. Analyze the problem; then, provide an example on how classification analysis, hierarchy analysis, and synectics might be used to structure the problem you selected. Identify the problem you selected in your discussion with one of the following key phrases: (a) Egyptian agriculture, (b) ecologists and field mice, (c) San Franciscos North Beach parking.
From the case study, Case 3.1, analyze the problem; then, provide two key differences in data collection represented by the process of group interviewing and content analysis. Take a position on which data collection method is better. Provide at least two reasons for your position.
WEEK 5 DISS 1
“Approaches to Forecasting Policy Outcomes” Please respond to the following:
Explain at least two ways institutional, temporal, and historical contexts of forecasts affect their accuracy.
Describe a real or hypothetical situation that requires someone to make a policy decision. Then, select one of the three approaches to forecasting to apply: extrapolative, theoretical, or judgmental. Provide at least two reasons for your selection of the forecasting approach.
WEEK 5 DISS 2
“Types of Forecasting” Please respond to the following:
Debate It: Take a position for or against this statement: It is better to be approximately right than exactly wrong. Provide at least two reasons and one hypothetical example to support your position.
From the case study, Case 4.2, and Box 4.1, analyze the history of MARTA and data receipts. Then, recommend an equitable policy for the generation of sufficient revenue to maintain and expand the system. Provide at least two reasons to support your proposal. Hypothesize at least two objections to the policy.
WEEK 6 DISS 1
“Prescribing Preferred Policies” Please respond to the following:
Explain two of the six criteria for policy prescription, (a) effectiveness, (b) efficiency, (c) adequacy, (d) equity, (e) responsiveness, and (f) appropriateness. Then, describe a real or hypothetical public policy issue and select which of the two criteria you believe would be the most beneficial to use in deciding a policy. Provide at least two reasons for your selection.
Debate It: Take a position for or against the following statement: Rational choice is not possible. Discuss how different types of rationality are related to different criteria for prescription. Provide at least two reasons and two examples to support your response.
WEEK 6 DISS 2
“Saving Lives by Prescribing Policies” Please respond to the following:
From the case studies, Case 1.1 and Case 5.1, explain two of the major issues. Then, analyze the assumptions that govern safe driving and discuss whether some assumptions are more reasonable than others. Support your position with at least two reasons and one example.
From the case studies, Case 1.1 and Case 5.1, recommend the best ways to estimate the value of time and the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Support your position with at least two reasons and one example.
WEEK 7 DISS 1
“Monitoring Observed Policy Outcomes” Please respond to the following:
Discuss the relationship between ill-structured problems and approaches to monitoring. Then, describe a real or hypothetical problem and recommend at least one effective way to monitor the policy outcomes. Support your position.
Use at least two threats to validity and develop a rebuttal to two of the following statements: (a) The greater the cost of an alternative, the less likely it is that the alternative will be pursued. (b) The enforcement of the maximum speed limit of 55 mph increases the costs of exceeding the speed limit. (c) The mileage death rate fell from 4.3 to 3.6 deaths per 100 million miles after the implementation of the 55-mph speed limit. (Refer to Figure 6.13 before responding.)
WEEK 7 DISS 2
“Monitoring through Experimentation” Please respond to the following:
Assume you are the program chair of an employment program for students who did not graduate high school but earned a GED (Government Equivalency Degree). You have limited resources and want to determine the factors that ensure students succeed in their jobs. Explain to the program director how the tiebreaking experiment might allow the program to uncover that information.
Develop a hypothetical example, not described in the textbook, that illustrates how and why to apply regression-discontinuity analysis. Discuss how the analysis helps to answer pertinent questions about the example.
WEEK 8 DISS 1
“Evaluating Policy Performance” Please respond to the following:
Compare and contrast methods of evaluation and prescription in terms of time and the types of claims produced by each. Provide examples to support your response.
Assume you are a program director who must propose an effective evaluation of your programs performance. Compare and contrast formative and summative evaluation, and determine which one will provide performance information that would be most useful to policy makers. Provide reasons and at least one example to support your response.
WEEK 8 DISS 2
“Moral Judgment and Living Wage” Please respond to the following:
From the e-Activity, select two different states and locations (city or county) to compare the living wage estimates and poverty wage for a family with one adult and one child designated for the two states and selected locations. Make sure to find two states that have more than $2.00 difference in living wage estimates. Suggest at least two reasons for the differences.
From the case study, Case 7.1., explain at least two reasons many consider the adoption of a living wage a moral and ethical issue. Discuss the implications that morality and ethics have to analyzing and developing public policy.
WEEK 9 DISS 1
“Communicating Policy Analysis” Please respond to the following:
Assume you are a candidate for a director of communications for a major metropolitan county. The job will require you to communicate to the public about public policy regarding transportation, environmental issues, education, taxes, as well as economic development. Explain at least three reasons and ways written and oral communication are important, and should be used to ensure public policy analyses are promoted and accepted by the general public.
Use the same scenario to explain at least two ways you would ensure public policy analyses are read and accepted by key stakeholders. Provide two reasons and an example to support your response.
WEEK 9 DISS 2
“Translating Policy Arguments” Please respond to the following:
Explain at least two key factors policy makers use when evaluating and using information provided to them in policy reports. Explain why it is important for an analyst to know how policy makers evaluate and use information.
From the case study, Case 9:1, highlight two key components a structured written narrative for a policy issue paper or policy memo. Then propose at least two benefits of developing a policy argument in this way. Provide an example to support your response.
