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Features November 23, 2015
To Save the Earth, Better Nitrogen Use on a Hungrier Planet Must be Addressed
The global population is expected to increase by two to three billion people by 2050, a projection raising serious concerns about sustainable development, biodiversity and food security, but new research led by Princeton University shows that more efficient use of nitrogen fertilizers may address both environmental issues and crop production, but new research led by Princeton University shows that more efficient use of nitrogen fertilizers may address both environmental issues and crop production.Today, more than half of the world’s population is nourished by food grown with fertilizers containing synthetic nitrogen, which is needed to produce high…
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Features November 23, 2015
Strategic Thinking During Major Crises
A group of Woodrow Wilson School students took part in a crisis simulation in which “senior officials” across the Asia-Pacific region confronted two significant challenges: a clash between China and the Philippines brewing in the South China Sea and the prospect of serious instability on the Korean peninsula.The simulation, organized by Princeton’s Center for International Security Studies (CISS), was oriented around the interactions between the United States, China, the Philippines, Japan and the Republic of Korea.More than 80 participants – including Princeton undergraduate and graduate students, West Point cadets, Naval Academy midshipmen and…
Features November 23, 2015
WooCast: Paul Volcker and the Importance of Public Service
Paul Volcker has spent most of his professional life in public service. In this WooCast, he discusses the importance of public service, its role in good governance and his advice for students charting career paths in public service. He also talks about the papers he donated to Princeton’s Seely G. Mudd Manuscript Library. FULL TRANSCRIPT>> Elisabeth Donahue: Paul Volcker has spent a lifetime in public service, and he is passionate about good government. Mr. Volcker served two terms as chairman of the Fed under Presidents Carter and Reagan, where he is credited with bringing high levels of inflation to an end. After the 2008 financial crisis, he…
Features November 18, 2015
WWS Reacts: Do the Paris Attacks Signal a Change in ISIS Strategy?
Following the Nov. 13 shooting rampage in Paris by the Islamic State group, French police are conducting raids to hunt down suspects. Now, the French Parliament is grappling with the decision of whether to extend the state of emergency for three months. And a consensus has yet to be reached globally on how to defeat Islamic State militants, though some themes have emerged including taking a definitive role in the Syrian conflict. The recent wave of attacks by the group, often referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), may signal a change in strategy, according to Jacob Shapiro, associate professor of politics and international…
Features November 18, 2015
Scientists Identify Five Key Ways to Engage the Public on Climate Change
In a Nov. 18 study, scientists distill years of psychological research to identify five key lessons that policymakers can use to engage the general public on the issue of climate change and promote public support for climate policies.President Barack Obama recently signed an executive order encouraging the federal government to use insights from behavioral science to better serve the American people. This study identifies five behavioral insights and provides several important policy recommendations:The human brain prioritizes experience over analysis;People are social beings who respond to group norms;Out of sight, out of mind: It is important to…
Features November 12, 2015
Princeton-Fung Global Forum Identifies Approaches for Dealing with 'Modern Plagues'
On the verdant campus of University College Dublin, nearly 300 public health experts and practitioners, government officials, scholars and students gathered to discuss the lessons learned from the Ebola crisis as part of the third annual Princeton-Fung Global Forum.The two-day conversation investigated global health crises, using the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa as a case study of a "modern plague." Designed to examine public health disasters from an interdisciplinary perspective, the forum focused on history, science, politics, communications, economics and more to better understand the challenges associated with modern plagues."Recent viral…
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Features November 11, 2015
An Anthropological View of the Ebola Outbreak
More than 150 people gathered in Robertson Hall in early October for a panel discussion and reception by four social scientists who examined challenges faced during the Ebola crisis response.Organized by Princeton University’s Global Health Program (GHP) and the Woodrow Wilson School, and co-sponsored by the Center for Health & Wellbeing (CHW), the event evaluated the global health community’s preparedness for the Ebola outbreak from an anthropological view, addressing the successes and failures associated with the response efforts."As a student in the GHP program, I love going to colloquiums like this because it places the concepts and themes…
Features November 11, 2015
Woody Woos Run For Refugees
In early October, 11 graduate students from the Woodrow Wilson School ran the Princeton Half Marathon.While proceeds from this year’s annual race benefitted the local non-profit Princeton HiTOPS, a health education and advocacy organization that provides youth with sexuality education, Wilson School students also raised money through a self-created online fundraiser for the refugee crisis campaign led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC).“As public policy students, we pay a lot of attention to issues, studying in a classroom, but it’s also good to be able to try to affect things on the ground for worthy causes. It becomes more than just…
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Features November 02, 2015
Fung Forum on 'Modern Plagues' Kicks Off in Dublin
On day two of the 2015 Princeton-Fung Global Forum, Tuesday, Nov. 3, in Dublin, Ireland, public health experts, journalists and academics continued conversations about lessons learned from the recent Ebola crisis. Panels and keynote addresses covering the connections between the Ebola crisis and topics including politics, health care and money led to a final discussion hosted by Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School Cecilia Rouse in which panelists and audience members looked ahead to life after Ebola. At the end of the two-day global health conference, Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber thanked participants and said, "Conversations…
Features November 02, 2015
Quiet ‘Epidemic’ Has Killed Half a Million Middle-Aged White Americans
Despite advances in health care and quality of life, white middle-aged Americans have seen overall mortality rates increase over the past 15 years, representing an overlooked "epidemic" with deaths comparable to the number of Americans who have died of AIDS, according to new Princeton University research.The results are published in a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from Anne Case, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, and Angus Deaton, the 2015 Nobel laureate in economics and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs and professor of economics and international affairs…
Features November 02, 2015
Selective Media Coverage May Cause Us to Forget Certain Health Facts
The health facts presented by mass media in the midst of a disease outbreak are likely to influence what we remember about the disease, and new research suggests that the same mass media coverage may also influence the facts that we forget.The findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, indicate that personal anxiety and mass media coverage interact to determine what people remember about a disease.“The starting point for our study was the exaggerated coverage of Ebola in 2014 despite the absence of any serious consequences in the United States,” said Alin Coman, assistant professor of…
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Features October 30, 2015
What to Expect from Open Enrollment 2015-2016
November 1 marks the start of the third annual Open Enrollment period for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Eligible Americans can shop for plans that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016. For most, this means the annual trip to healthcare.gov to review options and update personal information. What can be expected from this year’s open enrollment – the shortest period so far?Technology Improvements – While it is hard to forget the glitch-plagued rollout of Health Insurance Marketplaces two years ago, buggy software is largely a thing of the past. Residents of 38 states will be able to visit a revamped healthcare.gov which features new tools…
Features October 15, 2015
A Day of Global Health and Service
As students mounted their posters and prepared their short films – the physical manifestations of a summer well-spent – the Woodrow Wilson School’s Robertson Hall lobby and Bernstein Gallery quickly became the stage for Princeton’s latest student research symposium.Sponsored by the Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW), the Sept. 18 symposium featured the work of students who conducted research projects and participated in summer internships sponsored by the global health and U.S. health policy programs. The event, which was held in partnership with campus organizations including International Internship Program (IIP), Princeton Internships in Civic…
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Features September 30, 2015
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Volcker Donates Public Service Papers to Princeton
The public service papers of Paul A. Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, are now part of the permanent collection of Princeton University, where the economist earned his undergraduate degree in 1949.These documents, which include correspondence, speeches, reports and memos, are housed in the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, a division of the Princeton University Library's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.Consisting of 29 boxes, with an additional 30 expected in the coming months, the collection primarily documents Volcker's time as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, where he served under…
Features September 29, 2015
Twitter Chat Focuses on the Government's Role in Relief Efforts
Doug Mercado, an alumnus of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and an officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), participated in a live Twitter chat on Thursday, Sept. 24. Mercado, a panelist at the upcoming Princeton-Fung Global Forum on "Modern Plagues: Lessons Learned from the Ebola Crisis," discussed his work in leading USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) for the Ebola crisis in West Africa. View a transcript of the chat below. [View the story "Ebola Response Efforts: What is the Government's Role?" on Storify][View the story "Ebola Response Efforts: What is the…