Environmental problems in and of themselves are apolitical—a Democrat in New York City requires clean air and water and a stable climate just as a Republican in Mississippi does. In fact, much of the groundbreaking environmental legislation passed in the United States was signed into law by Republican presidents and featured strong bipartisan support. Even…
Tag: Public Policy
DeSantis undermining individual freedom, conservative principles | Opinion
This article originally appeared in Tallahassee Democrat. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed policymakers in a tricky position, Gov. DeSantis included. He and others are forced to find a balance between protecting public health and safeguarding individual freedom. One of Gov. DeSantis’ signature initiatives is a ban on agencies and businesses that might want to impose…
Honors Thesis Spotlight: Did Florida Experience the Year of the Woman?
2018 is considered the Year of the Woman after a record-breaking election of 127 women to Congress—the most elected into Congress since its establishment in 1789. In addition to experiencing the Year of the Woman, studies suggest a shift in political affiliation. The nation increasingly supported the Democratic Party in response to President Trump, now…
IOP@FSU Field-Advancing Research: Who Do You Trust? Public Opinion on Handling the Pandemic
On September 8, the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (COSSPP) hosted the first of a series of webinars featuring research on civic engagement, funded by the Institute of Politics. This webinar features a study by Associate Professor of Political Science Amanda Driscoll and political science Ph.D. student Taylor Chewning, using a nationally representative…
Honors Thesis Spotlight: Civil Wars, Ethnicity, and Intervention: Under What Circumstances Does Ethnicity Affect Intervention in Civil Wars?
Post World War II, the global community is experiencing a decline in cross-national conflicts and a rise in civil conflicts—the latter becoming extremely brutal. In cases like the Rwandan Genocide, conflict led to egregious violations of human rights. Approximately 800,000 Rwandans were slaughtered, most belonging to the ethnic minority in the country, the Tutsis. Due…
Research Spotlight: Preference Change in Competitive Environments
Competition is ubiquitous in human society. If competition affects the endogenous formation of political preferences, then it should in turn affect individuals’ values and attitudes towards candidates and policies. Therefore, participating in a competitive environment (i.e. institutional and/or social factors that affect incentives and behavior) should have considerable implications for how individuals behave politically. Competition…
Research Spotlight: Single-Family Rentals and Neighborhood Racial Integration
Neighborhood racial segregation remains to be an important social issue within America’s metropolitan areas. Extensive research has shown that segregation is associated with a wide range of disparities, including unequal access to education, employment, health care, and public goods. One possible contributing factor to segregation is that many minority households cannot afford housing in White…
Meet a Social Scientist: Dr. Gary VanLandingham from the Department of Public Administration
Why did you decide to become an academic? Teaching has always been on my to-do list. A long time ago, I was in a workshop that required participants to state our career goals in as few words as possible, and I came up with “Learn, make it better, pass it on” – meaning that I…
Research Spotlight: The Much Less United States? Federalism in an Era of COVID-19
The federal response to the crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic stands as a dramatic about-face to the century-long trend towards federal government empowerment. The federal government’s initial reaction to the looming pandemic crisis was disjointed and at times contradictory, a response that stood in stark contrast to the strong and highly coordinated federal…
Masters Thesis Spotlight: Program Evaluation of the CESC Diversion Program
Leon County is increasing its focus on homelessness as the number of residents experiencing housing insecurity rises. The Kearney Center is an organization in the Big Bend region that provides individuals with access to resources and emergency shelters. The center operates under the direction of the nonprofit Connecting Everyone with Second Chances (CESC), which, in…
