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As Global Temperatures Rise, Children Must Be Central to Climate Change Debates May 04, 2016
As Global Temperatures Rise, Children Must Be Central to Climate Change Debates
Forecasts suggest that by 2050, the world could see 200 million environmental migrants, many of whom would be children. For this reason and others, children should be central to such climate change debates, according to a journal released by Princeton University and the Brookings Institution.Rising temperatures, rising sea levels and the increasing likelihood of extreme weather will all alter children’s lives and the lives of their own children. And yet, children are largely left out of discussions about appropriate responses to climate change. They—as well as future generations—must be included, as they have a much larger stake in the outcome than…
SINSI Spotlight: Wildlife Conservation on the Ground April 29, 2016
SINSI Spotlight: Wildlife Conservation on the Ground
For Alexandra Kasdin ’14, MPA ’18, a passion for wildlife conservation began when she was eight years old. Inspired by her first grade teacher—who had a classroom full of animals and lesson plans devoted to endangered species and the environment—Kasdin knew she would spend her life working toward wildlife protection.In elementary, middle and high school, Kasdin served as a Girl Scout, devoting her service projects to endangered species conservation. For two and a half years in high school, she worked at the Philadelphia Zoo, assisting with educational programming and talking to visitors about wildlife. One summer in high school, she traveled to assist…
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Graduate Students Tackle Climate Change April 27, 2016
Graduate Students Tackle Climate Change
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference led to a historic agreement, in which 195 nations promised to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions. Questions still remain, however, as to how the global community will develop action plans to implement the agreement that are both scientifically and politically feasible.Three graduate students from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School chose to tackle these questions as part of a day-long climate change simulation competition prepared by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).Cara Goldenberg MPA ’17, Bonnie Krenz MPA ’16 and Ken Sofer MPA ’17 were…
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Students Collaborate Around Issues of Social Justice in Freshman Seminar April 21, 2016
Students Collaborate Around Issues of Social Justice in Freshman Seminar
Halfway around the table, it came time for freshman Ryan Ozminkowski to report on his research."The world is insanely complex," he said by way of introduction, before describing to his 13 Princeton University classmates and professor how he was progressing with his study of intellectual property rights. "My goal," he said, "is still to make some kind of ideal copyright law. I'm going to come into class with a draft and get feedback."Tackling complex topics and exploring solutions as a group is a key feature of "Capitalism, Utopia and Social Justice," the Freshman Seminar in Human Values being offered this semester. It is taught by Marc Fleurbaey,…
Mortality Rates Improve Among Kids and Young Adults in the US, Especially in Poor Counties April 20, 2016
Mortality Rates Improve Among Kids and Young Adults in the US, Especially in Poor Counties
Recent studies of mortality trends paint a gloomy picture for many middle-aged and older Americans, but a new study focused on children reveals a more optimistic future.Death rates have declined among children and young adults in the poorest counties in the United States, according to the study published in Science. These children may be more likely to be healthier as they grow older, regardless of the poverty level where they live, the findings suggest.Better health care, food and nutrition programs and less pollution are all potential contributors, the researchers say. The results should be particularly encouraging to policymakers engaged in…
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Tighter Enforcement Along the US-Mexico Border Backfired, Researchers Find April 20, 2016
Tighter Enforcement Along the US-Mexico Border Backfired, Researchers Find
The rapid escalation of border enforcement over the past three decades has backfired as a strategy to control undocumented immigration between Mexico and the United States, according to new research that suggests further militarization of the border is a waste of money."Rather than stopping undocumented Mexicans from coming to the U.S., greater enforcement stopped them from going home," said Douglas Massey, one of the researchers and the Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton.Advocated by bureaucrats, politicians and pundits, the militarization of the U.S. border with Mexico transformed undocumented Mexican migration…
Peace Corps to Princeton: Grassroots Experience and the Graduate Student April 14, 2016
Peace Corps to Princeton: Grassroots Experience and the Graduate Student
John F. Kennedy founded the Peace Corps in 1961 with the goal of sending volunteers on two-year missions to aid developing nations while simultaneously helping Americans understand foreign cultures. Since then, more than 220,000 Americans have traveled to 140 countries to assist with projects ranging from education to agriculture to technology. The Peace Corps provides volunteers with housing and a stipend to cover food and incidentals, allowing them to live with the people in their community.Because much of the work done through the Peace Corps focuses on social and economic development, volunteers often leave with a drive to continue helping their…
Researchers Propose Surveillance System for Zika Virus and Other Infectious Diseases April 06, 2016
Researchers Propose Surveillance System for Zika Virus and Other Infectious Diseases
A group of prominent researchers from seven institutions including Princeton University are calling for the establishment of a worldwide program to collect and test blood and other human bodily fluids to aid in the study and prevention of emerging infectious diseases such as the mosquito-borne Zika fever, which is caused by the Zika virus and has spread throughout Latin America and the Caribbean since early 2015.In an article published in The Lancet April 5, the authors call for the creation of a World Serology Bank that would include storage repositories located around the world that use a common set of best practices to collect and evaluate blood…
Age and Mobility Predict Death Better Than One’s ‘Molecular Clock’ April 06, 2016
Age and Mobility Predict Death Better Than One’s ‘Molecular Clock’
Advances in technology allow scientists to measure intricate details about the human body that greatly enhance understanding of health, disease and aging.Yet, when it comes to predicting death, more rudimentary measures—like a person’s age or a person’s ability to climb stairs or walk a short distance—are much more powerful predictors of survival than certain biomarkers, according to a study published in PLOS ONE by researchers at Princeton University; Georgetown University; University of Washington; Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; and the Universidad de Costa Rica. Using data from the United States, Costa Rica and Taiwan,…
Q&A with America’s First Female Four-Star General April 05, 2016
Q&A with America’s First Female Four-Star General
The past few decades have seen remarkable changes in the role of women in the United States military, from the integration of women into the army in 1976 to the Secretary of Defense’s lift of the ban on women in combat roles just months ago.In 2008, Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody became the first woman in military history to achieve the rank of four-star general, a landmark moment in the growing role of women in the U.S. military over the years.Dunwoody’s new memoir, "A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America's First Female Four-Star General,” shares what she’s learned in her nearly four decades in the U.S. Army, from her first command leading 100…
Policy Workshop Examines Lessons Learned from the U.S. Civilian Surge in Afghanistan March 23, 2016
Policy Workshop Examines Lessons Learned from the U.S. Civilian Surge in Afghanistan
Enlisting in the U.S. Military usually entails a temporary move across the globe, often to a conflict zone. However, workers in other government offices don’t often expect to move to such regions; how often are civilian employees needed in overseas conflict?On Feb. 12, 2016, four graduate students from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs traveled to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, D.C., to report their findings about the 2009–2011 civilian surge in Afghanistan. Their audience paid close attention—the 60 attendants were many of the very people whose policies and decisions were…
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Students and Alumni of Color Symposium Celebrates 20 Years March 23, 2016
Students and Alumni of Color Symposium Celebrates 20 Years
In the mid-1990s, graduate students at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs recognized two critical needs among students of color: a space to discuss the challenges students of color might face as public service leaders and dedicated time to connect with those who’d gone before them—alumni who’d already carved out a path in the policy arena.These needs are what led Edward P. Bullard, a former MPA student who passed away in 1998, and Jeffrey Prieto MPA-URP ’97, who now serves as general counsel for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to create Students and Alumni of Color (SAOC), a group for current students and alumni of color…
WWS Reacts: Obama Announces Nomination for Supreme Court March 16, 2016
WWS Reacts: Obama Announces Nomination for Supreme Court
On March 16, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick B. Garland to serve as the nation’s 113th Supreme Court justice to fill the vacancy left by the death of Antonin Scalia in February. Garland—who is a well-known moderate—currently serves as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. His nomination has stirred up additional controversy in the Republican-controlled Senate, which has vowed to prevent a vote on the nomination during the rest of Obama’s presidential term. Below, two Princeton University scholars discuss the nomination and how it may affect future legal decisions. Jonathan Kastellec is an assistant…
Playing Dumb and Giving the Cold Shoulder: How Stereotypes Pervade the Workplace March 15, 2016
Playing Dumb and Giving the Cold Shoulder: How Stereotypes Pervade the Workplace
People in the workplace may adjust their behavior to break stereotypes about themselves or match the stereotypes of others — even if it means playing dumb or giving the cold shoulder, a Princeton University study finds.The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, shows that managers play down their competence to appear warmer to their subordinates while the subordinates hide their own warmth in an effort to appear more competent.The study included four experiments with approximately 150 to 200 participants in each. The researchers chose to focus on workplace encounters because they provide the most common experience Americans…
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Students Engage With Intelligence Community on Classic Challenges and New Threats March 08, 2016
Students Engage With Intelligence Community on Classic Challenges and New Threats
On Jan. 8, 2015, the “Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy” undergraduate Policy Task Force visited the Central Intelligence Agency Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to present its research and policy recommendations. The task force was led by Keren Yarhi-Milo, assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.The students met with Peter Clement, who worked with the CIA’s Directorate of Intelligence and served as briefer to Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as a panel of senior intelligence analysts working on issues related to arms control, terrorism,…