Effects of the COVID-related stay-at-home order on hospitality sales and automobile traffic counts: evidence from the State of Maine, USA

This paper examines the effects of the COVID-related Stay-at-Home order on hospitality sales and automobile traffic counts in the State of Maine, USA. Empirical results show that the Stay-at-Home order did not have a statistically significant impact on either measure of state economic activity. Instead, households adjusted their behavior as a result of COVID-19 in advance of the Stay-at-Home order. This is an important public policy issue given the large health and economic impacts of the pandemic, and widespread use of Stay-at-Home orders. Even beyond the COVID pandemic, however, the extent to which people respond to government restrictions is important for policy development and implementation.

Simulation of ecohydrological processes influencing water supplies in the Tuul River watershed of Mongolia

Achieving sufficient water supplies for multiple uses in the watershed is a major public policy issue. Understanding the current ecohydrologic processes is essential to assess potential impacts on hydrologic regimes. The Tuul River (TR) watershed faces a cold, continental climate with water supply variability. This study aims to simulate watershed processes in the TR watershed and subbasins and analyze the influences of those processes on water resources. Watershed hydrologic processes and their impact on the water resources are modeled using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Calibration and validation were conducted using R2, PBIAS, RSR, and NSE to assess the effectiveness of the SWAT model to replicate annual, monthly streamflow values. The spatial and temporal variations in watershed processes are critical for water resource decisions. With increasing uncertainty and scarcity in water resources, simulation modeling is a valuable tool in watershed management in regions with water scarcity.

Peruvian Women’s Underrepresentation in Science and Technology: Strategic Guidelines

Women’s underrepresentation in science and technology (ST) has multiple complex reasons caused by cumulative effects at different stages in women’s lives. This is a relevant public policy issue for economic, social and ethical reasons that requires multiple solutions. In this sense, this study analyses the factors affecting Peruvian women’s participation in ST and proposes strategic guidelines to increase it. The originality of this article lies in studying this phenomenon, considering different stages of the career choice (access to education, career persistence and career progress) in a context that has not been previously studied, characterized by the highest female labour participation rate in Latin America. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with female students in high schools and universities, university professors in ST departments, professionals in ST careers, qualified researchers in ST institutions and ST experts. The information was encoded, categorized and analysed according to thematic analysis. Consequently, we propose an integrated framework of strategic guidelines based on the stages of women’s careers: access, persistence and advancement. The results are useful for public and private professionals and institutions engaged in ST, education and gender equality.

Políticas de biocombustíveis no Brasil

Este texto analisa o processo de construção da agenda da primeira política pública de larga escala na área de biocombustíveis no Brasil, o Programa Nacional do Álcool (PROALCOOL). É dada ênfase ao papel das ideias e á agência dos atores envolvidos. O objetivo foi rastrear o desenvolvimento de um conjunto de ideias e percepções que estabeleceram uma policy image na área de biocombustíveis, e estabeleceram os alicerces do que seria a experiência brasileira em políticas públicas para combustíveis renováveis. Utilizou-se a abordagem do rastreamento de processos (process tracing), com base em pesquisa documental, para examinar os fatores relacionados ao papel das ideias e como os agentes as mobilizaram no sentido de estabelecer o etanol como uma questão de política pública (public policy issue).

EU Labor Market Inequalities and Sustainable Development Goals

Reducing inequalities for EU citizens and promoting upward convergence is one of the priorities on the agenda of the European Commission and, certainly, inequality will be a very important public policy issue for years to come. Through this research we aim to investigate EU labor market inequalities, reflected by the specific indicators proposed for Goal 8 assumed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, based on cluster analysis for all the 27 Member States. The research results showed encouraging results from the perspective of convergence in the EU labor market, but also revealed a number of analyzed variable effects that manifested regional inequalities that were generated in the medium and long term. Based on the observations made, we want to provide information for policy-makers, business practitioners, and academics so as to constitute solid ground for identifying good practices and proposing to implement policies aimed at reducing existing inequalities and supporting sustainable development.

Constructed Attitudes toward the Roma: A French Case

Forty per cent of Europeans refuse to have Roma as their neighbours, while 80 per cent of these do not even have direct contact with them. Using these statistics as a point of departure, this study analyzes how attitudes toward Roma are constructed. It proposes to investigate this process in two similar environments but where local integration policies directed toward Roma differ, resulting in disparate forms of intergroup contact. The analysis is premised on two theoretical assumptions: that the integration of migrants is a local public policy issue and that intergroup contact frames attitudes between majority and minority groups. From semi-structured interviews in the French municipalities of La Courneuve and Ivry-sur-Seine, four theories are empirically tested: the contact theory, the halo effect, the impact of local immigrant integration policies and media influence. This study demonstrates that the implementation of municipal policies in favour of Roma integration can improve their living conditions and thus deconstruct prejudices attributable to their precarious situation. In addition, it illustrates how the media activate, maintain or solidify the way Roma are perceived.

Modeling the Effect of Mother's Characteristics on the Weight of a Newborn

BACKGROUNDNeonatal mortality related to fetal growth is a public policy issue in Nigeria.METHODTo determine maternal characteristics associated with fetal growth and neonatal birth weight, a secondary analysis of data collected from 701 mothers using a multiple linear regression model was undertaken.FINDINGSMaternal age, parity, and weight were found to be significantly associated with neonatal birth weight. The number of antenatal visits and maternal level of education were not found to be associated with neonatal birth weight.CONCLUSIONSTo the extent that providers might influence maternal weight, education and counselling during pregnancy may impact fetal growth and neonatal birth weight.

Breaking the Silent Treatment

The dramatic revelations of the #MeToo movement have ex- posed the extent to which workplace sexual harassment is en- demic and concealed across different industries. #MeToo has also shed light on the use of non-disclosure agreements (“NDAs”) by harassers to conceal their pattern of repeated mis- conduct. While there has been strong public condemnation of NDAs in the wake of the #MeToo movement, there is limited case law on the question of whether contracts such as NDAs are legally enforceable when used to settle claims of sexual har- assment that do not amount to criminal conduct. While federal and state legislatures continue to debate the benefits of legislating against such agreements, this Note ana- lyzes the viability of the common law public policy analysis to hold such NDAs unenforceable. Given that most states do not have specific statutes directly addressing sexual harassment NDAs, courts should look to a broad range of state legislation as relevant in considering the public policy interests counseling toward finding such NDAs unenforceable. Accordingly, this Note analyzes public policy considerations derived from three types of state law: restrictions on the use of NDAs in instances of sexual harassment, prohibitions of workplace harassment, and limitations on the concealment of public hazards. Even in states without any such legislation, this Note urges state courts, when determining whether to enforce sexual har- assment NDAs, to more actively weigh the benefits of enforcing the contractual will of private parties against potential harms to the public welfare. Workplace sexual harassment is a public policy issue that is worsened by the continued use of NDAs. In concealing workplace sexual misconduct, NDAs prevent soci- ety, through private and state actors, from addressing the problem itself and threaten public safety and welfare by allow- ing offenders to potentially harm future workers. Without NDAs as protection, companies will be exposed to reputational damage and potential shareholder litigation when sexual har- assment news becomes public knowledge. Indeed, this threat of future reputational harm could be an effective way to encour- age corporations to change their internal policies relating to workplace misconduct.

A Roof Over Their Heads: Housing Public Policies for Returning Inmates

Returning from prison can be a daunting experience and a difficult adjustment for anyone. Prisoner reentry programs are needed for public policies advocating for a new approach to an old problem: How do recently released inmates successfully reenter society once they have served their societal debt? There are tremendous obstacles to reentering society, yet housing is among the most pressing reentry problems to solve. In our research, we discuss and consider the public policy issue most pertinent to successful reentry, affordable, and available housing as a necessity for returning inmates. Housing is key to solving even a tiny part of a much bigger problem in criminal justice public policy circles: the public management of crime in America.