The 2008-09 academic year offers three themed Public Service Clinics and three themed Degree Project Seminars led by faculty members with expertise and experience in their respective areas.
Public Service Clinic Themes
Degree Project Seminar Themes
There is student information and agency information available for developing research proposals by contacting the Public Service Clinics at psclinic@u.washington.edu or 206.221.3676.
Eliminating Poverty
This clinic looks at how we address poverty in a society that provides a very limited safety net by researching topics related to:
This clinic is led by Robert Plotnick and will relate to work being done by the West Coast Poverty Center. Plotnick, co-chair of the West Coast Poverty Center, is a social policy economist who has taught courses and written widely on American poverty, income inequality, and social welfare policy.
Find out more about available topics in this clinic and other Clinic and Seminar themes by contacting the Public Service Clinics at psclinic@u.washington.edu or 206.221.3676.
2009 Winter Quarter Syllabus (22.3 KB PDF)
This clinic looks at how metropolitan regions work to revitalize communities, enhance the environment, and increase safety by researching topics related to:
This clinic is led by Daniel Carlson, director of the Public Service Clinics, who draws on more than 35 years of experience with applied research in community development, transportation and land use, growth management, and affordable housing.
Find out more about available topics in this clinic and other Clinic and Seminar themes by contacting the Public Service Clinics at psclinic@u.washington.edu or 206.221.3676.
2009 Winter Quarter Syllabus (26 KB PDF)
This clinic focuses on how to provide more effective services and improve organizational performance by researching topics related to:
This clinic is led by David S. Harrison whose recent assignments within Washington State government have focused on ways to improve agency program integration and service delivery for closing gaps in workforce skills.
Find out more about available topics in this clinic and other Clinic and Seminar themes by contacting the Public Service Clinics at psclinic@u.washington.edu or 206.221.3676.
This seminar focuses on topics concerned with individual decision making in response to the incentives created by institutions and institutional change. Of interest are research topics related to how decision making differs by:
*Topics that address international, rural, or poverty issues are especially welcome.
This seminar is led by Leigh Anderson, an economist who works primarily in Asia and looks at how individuals make livelihood decisions in response to international programs and policies that alleviate rural poverty, including access to credit and training for market participation.
Find out more about available topics in this seminar and other Clinic and Seminar themes by contacting the Public Service Clinics at psclinic@u.washington.edu or 206.221.3676.
This seminar focuses on topics related to environmental and health risk perception and communication. Of interest are topics about:
Degree projects associated with this seminar may involve:
This seminar is led by Ann Bostrom, a public policy and behavioral decision analyst who has contributed risk communication expertise to multiple National Research Council and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) science advisory report. Her current research is funded by the National Science Foundation and U.S. EPA and focuses on risk perception and communication related to seismic activity, global climate change, extreme weather, and lead paint.
Find out more about available topics in this seminar and other Clinic and Seminar themes by contacting the Public Service Clinics at psclinic@u.washington.edu or 206.221.3676.
This seminar is focused around the consequences and timing of decision making. Regardless of whether individuals or groups make decisions, and whether the consequences accrue publicly or privately, decision making by definition is complicated by the presence of uncertainty. Of interest are topics that include:
This seminar offers the chance to pursue a DP topic centered on the analysis of a decision (or a related set) which relies on information drawn from anywhere along the qualitative/quantitative spectrum - from surveys and measurements to judgments to forecasts and models.
This seminar is led by Alison Cullen, a risk analyst who specializes in the treatment of uncertainty/variability in environmental and health decision making. She also specializes in exploring the role and limits of qualitative and quantitative approaches. She has worked on decisions involving the adaptation of energy supply to a changing climate, the incorporation of genetic information in environmental regulation, the protection of community public health in the presence of industrial contamination, and the stability or instability of individual tolerance for uncertainty and inequity across decision contexts.
There is student information and agency information available for developing research proposals by contacting the Public Service Clinics at psclinic@u.washington.edu or 206.221.3676.
This seminar focuses on topics that have an international perspective. Topics pursued in the past include:
This seminar is led by Zbigniew Bochniarz, a visiting professor who is a retired senior fellow and professor of the Hurbert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
While the seminar is seperate from the Public Service Clinics, it follows the same structure and timeline and students are welcome to apply for available topics that relate to this seminar theme. A specific client or agency affiliation is not required, but it is encouraged.
If you are interested in participating, email Zbigniew Bochniarz at zbigb@u.washington.edu with a paragraph about what topic you plan to address. You also need to send an email to evansreg@u.washington.edu to receive entry codes to register for the seminar.