Eric Grommon published “A Randomized Trial of a Multimodal Community-Based Prisoner Reentry Program Emphasizing Substance Abuse Treatment” in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. Two-thirds of state prisoners have diagnosable drug addictions, but most leave prison without any form of substance abuse intervention. This gap has led to the development of many approaches, and Eric and his co-authors used an experimental research design to evaluate one means of service delivery: a multimodal, community-based reentry program that prioritized substance abuse treatment. The authors write, “These results provide some rather discouraging findings … particularly disheartening given that the program included active transitional elements, cognitive-behavioral components, and a relatively intense and lengthy intervention period.” Avenues for further exploration are provided, with a cautionary emphasis on the continued expansion of multimodal community-based reentry programs.
Lilliard Richardson has published “Understanding the Impact of Health Reform on the States: Expansion of Coverage through Medicaid and Exchanges” in The Journal of Consumer Affairs. Using data from the March 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS), Lilliard and his co-author examine health care coverage at the state level prior to the Affordable Care Act and forecast the percentage of state residents eligible for expanded Medicaid and the exchanges. Their results suggest the percentage of people eligible for expanded Medicaid and subsidized exchanges will vary considerably from state to state, especially for adults. They also show that current state Medicaid eligibility rules, the percentage of employers offering health insurance, and poverty rates will continue to shape the variation in projected health insurance coverage across the states. Finally, they discuss the potential impact of the Supreme Court decision that allowed states to opt out of Medicaid expansion.
Lisa Bingham and Deanna Malatesta, as well as graduate students Susanna L. Foxworthy and Timothy Reuter, prepared a 130-page report, “Dispute Resolution in the Administrative Process: Evaluation of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Settlement Part Program,” for the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). The report evaluates OSHRC’s “Mandatory Settlement Part” Program, which requires settlement talks in job safety or health cases that propose penalties of $100,000 or more. The report makes several policy recommendations to improve the efficiency and efficacy of various dispute resolution programs at the agency. Read the report at http://www.oshrc.gov/publications/index.html.
Sam Nunn published “Touch DNA Collection Versus Firearm Fingerprinting: Comparing Evidence Production and Identification Outcomes” in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. In 2008–2009, Indianapolis police used touch DNA kits to collect cell samples from seized firearms, then compared the results to fingerprinting firearm evidence. The comparison between the two identification methods examined the quantity of evidence produced and the quality of the outcomes. Touch DNA produced a larger volume of evidence than fingerprinting, but identification outcomes for the two methods were equal. Because touch DNA was deployed by police patrol officers, there are implications for firearm forensics and the choice of forensic approaches used by police. This article is the result of the Public Policy Institute’s work with the Southern District of Indiana’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Eric Grommon published Prisoner reentry programs: Penetrating the black box for better theory and practice (LFB Scholarly Publishing). Upon release from prison, individuals must manage a complex mix of interrelated challenges. Housing, employment and substance abuse treatment have been identified as three of the most pressing dimensions of prisoner reentry. In the book, Grommon explores how these challenges interact and affect levels of relapse and recidivism. Housing and employment are important antecedents that shape participation in substance abuse treatment and relapse. In turn, these initial effects directly or indirectly influence recidivism. The findings highlight the need to further explore reentry challenges and lead to a number of theoretical, methodological and policy implications.
Brad Ray published three articles about the effectiveness of mental health courts (MHCs) on recidivism and compliance. Though there are more than 300 MHCs in the United States, few studies assess their effectiveness in reducing criminal recidivism, and most follow defendants only into and shortly after court. In “Effectiveness 2 Years Postexit of a Recently Established Mental Health Court,” published in American Behavioral Scientist, Brad and his co-authors found that MHCs can reduce criminal recidivism postexit, and they point to criminal history, time in an MHC, and graduation as the primary influences on recidivism. In “Effectiveness of a Short-Term Mental Health Court: Criminal Recidivism One Year Post-Exit,” accepted by Law and Human Behavior, Brad and his co-authors compared participants in an MHC to defendants who receive supervision and services from a pretrial release agency. In the year following their exit from this program, MHC participants were arrested less, averaged fewer rearrests and had a longer time until rearrest compared to those not in the program. Finally, “Examining Mental Health Court Completion: A Focal Concerns Perspective,” accepted by The Sociological Quarterly, addresses sociologists’ long-held concerns about disparate treatment in the justice system. The findings outlined by Brad and his co-author indicate that gender, race, and length of time in court play a part in how the court decides who is being compliant and who is not.
Saba Siddiki's article, “Fostering Learning through Collaboration: Knowledge Acquisition and Belief Change in Marine Aquaculture Partnerships” has been accepted by the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. Saba and her co-authors investigate learning among participants in collaborative marine aquaculture partnerships. This study is based upon survey data from 121 participants across 10 partnerships. They find that two types of learning—belief change and knowledge acquisition—are fairly common. They conclude that new knowledge correlates with traits of the partnership including procedural fairness, trustworthiness of other participants, level of scientific certainty, and diverse participation, as well as with traits of the individual participant. Contrary to expectations, knowledge acquisition is greater when the available science is uncertain and when stakeholders have lower technical competence. Their findings also challenge the idea that new information mainly reinforces existing beliefs. Instead, new knowledge acquired collaboratively primes participants to change their opinions on scientific or policy issues.
Sam Nunn received a $350,000 grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to support the 2012 Traffic Safety project. This work provides policy-makers with the facts they need to address traffic-related issues. This is a longstanding partnership between the IU Center for Criminal Justice Research at the Public Policy Institute and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Findings are presented in a series of nine issue brief/fact sheets and the annual Indiana Crash Fact Book.
Abdul-Akeem Sadiq and his co-authors (David McEntire and Gupta Kailash, University of North Texas) have published “Unidentified Bodies and Mass-Fatality Management in Haiti: A Case Study of the January 2010 Earthquake with a Cross-Cultural Comparison” in the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. In the article, Akeem and his co-authors examined the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti as a case study to better understand what happens to unidentified bodies in mass-fatality management. The paper explores the literature on mass-fatality management, discusses the context of Haiti and the impact of the earthquake on this country, mentions the methods undertaken for this study, and then outlines the key findings from this particular disaster. The paper compares preliminary conclusions in Haiti to other incidents in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and concludes with a discussion of implications for research and practice. Read it here: http://ijmed.org/articles/608/.
Kenna Quinet published “The Problem of Missing Persons” in Missing Persons Guide No. 66 for the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. The Center is a nonprofit organization of police practitioners, researchers and universities, and police can use this peer-reviewed guide to evaluate the problem of missing persons in their jurisdictions and identify best practices for key issues in missing person cases. The article describes the U.S. problem of missing persons and reviews the factors that can increase the risk of people going missing. The article also lists questions to help analyze local problems, and finally, it reviews responses to the problem and compares them to evaluative research and police practice. Read the article here: http://www.popcenter.org/problems/missing_persons/.
Abdul-Akeem Sadiq and his co-author (David McEntire, University of North Texas) published “Challenges in mass fatality management: A case study of the 2010 Haiti earthquake” in the Journal of Emergency Management. As defined by Akeem and his co-author, a mass fatality incident occurs when a disaster causes many deaths and the affected country does not have sufficient resources to process the remains of victims. The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti was one such event. Akeem and his co-author reviewed the challenges relating to mass fatality management in this incident using information from 28 interviews of key individuals and personal observations during two visits to Haiti after the earthquake. The authors argued that a good understanding of these challenges (e.g., aftershocks, debris, movement of and tampering with bodies, lack of resources, environmental factors, smell of decomposing bodies, threat of epidemics, unidentified bodies, psychological stress, and looting) is crucial for an effective response and quick recovery in communities affected by mass fatality incidents. The authors concluded with recommendations for addressing these challenges. Read it here: http://pnpcsw.pnpco.com/cadmus/testvol.asp?year=2012&journal=jem.
Eric Grommon published “Alternative models of instant drug testing: evidence from an experimental trial” in the Journal of Experimental Criminology. Eric and his co-authors evaluated the viability of frequent, random drug testing with consequences for use and its effect on relapse and recidivism. They divided 529 offenders on parole into three groups. The Experimental Group received frequent, random drug testing with instant results, immediate sanctions, and referral for substance abuse treatment. Control Group I received frequent, random drug testing and treatment referral, but did not receive immediate test results or immediate sanctions. Control Group II followed standard parole practice, meaning group members were not tested on a random basis and did not receive immediate sanctions. Eric and his co-authors found that frequent monitoring of drug use with randomized testing protocols, immediate feedback, and certain consequences is effective in lowering rates of relapse and recidivism, especially in the short term.
Chao Guo published “A New Strategy for Reducing Selection Bias in Nonexperimental Evaluations, and the Case of How Public Assistance Receipt Affects Charitable Giving” in The Policy Studies Journal. Chao and his co-authors start by revisiting the question of how the receipt of public assistance affects recipients’ charitable giving. Their conclusions mirror previous findings that people who receive public assistance give less money and yet might contribute more volunteer time than people not receiving public assistance. However, what is new here is that Chao and his co-authors conducted a multivariate cluster-based subgroup analysis to reduce bias in claims about the ways in which public assistance receipt affects charitable activity. They found substantial heterogeneity within the population of public assistance recipients, and conclude that dealing with the problem of selection bias has implications and applications across the social sciences.
Jason Hutchens contributed a chapter to McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Handbook: Strategic Guidance for a Coordinated Approach to Effective Security and Emergency Management, Second Edition. In “Pervasive Readiness: Pipedream or Possible?”, Jason and his co-author point out that public safety agencies are under increasing pressure to establish and measure readiness, but that many factors can prevent effective preparation. The chapter outlines an approach to measure readiness to an all-hazards risk assessment that unites stakeholders into a “public safety ecosystem.”
Julia Carboni has published “Governance, Privatization, and Systemic Risk in the Disarticulated State” in a special edition of Public Administration Review honoring H. George Frederickson, a leading scholar in the field of public administration. In the article, Julia and her co-author shed light on whether outsourcing has contributed to the instability of government service production, especially during the current Great Recession. They explore systemic risk that occurs when public services are privatized. They argue that relying on private agents can create a disarticulated and fragmented state and increase the potential for systemic crisis if shocks to the network occur, putting vulnerable citizens at risk. To avoid crises, the co-authors say, government must focus on understanding such risk and building resilient networks.
Chao Guo published “Civil Society, Chinese Style: The Rise of the Nonprofit Sector in Post-Mao China” in Nonprofit Quarterly. In the article, Chao and his co-authors review the current state of the nonprofit and voluntary sector in China. Even as China lifts restrictions on nonprofits, the process to be officially recognized remains difficult, and millions of nonprofits are considered illegal because they have no official standing. An editor’s note read, “We urge every U.S. nonprofit leader to read this, because it is not only enormously interesting but also provides a vivid sense of what we need to protect and use.”
Deanna Malatesta's article, “Race, Gender and Government Contracting: Different Explanations or New Prospects for Theory?” has been accepted by Public Administration Review. Deanna and her co-authors, Sergio Fernandez of SPEA Bloomington and Craig R. Smith of the University of Arizona, examined whether increases in racial and gender representation in federal agencies correlate with the proportion of contracting dollars awarded to women- and minority-owned firms. They found that increases in passive minority representation result in a larger proportion of contracting dollars awarded to minority-owned firms, which comports with previous empirical research. They found no evidence, however, that female representation leads to substantive benefits for women-owned small businesses. They also provide potential alternative explanations for why women are less inclined to advocate for other women.
Abdul-Akeem Sadiq and his co-authors (Sheila M. Huss and Christopher M. Weible, UC Denver) have published "Organization and Emergency Management: Information, Trust, and Preparedness" in the Journal of Emergency Management. Using data from 227 organizations in Memphis/Shelby County, TN, Abdul-Akeem and his co-authors assessed how much organizations use disaster-related information for decision-making, and whether they report the information as adequate and relevant. Organizations were also asked to identify trusted sources for disaster-related information. More than half of the organizations in Memphis/Shelby County relied on information for disaster management, and of these, the overwhelming majority agreed that the information was adequate and relevant. The police and fire departments, Memphis/Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention were identified as major and trusted sources of information.
Chao Guo's article, "Twittering Social Change: How Social Media Are Changing Nonprofit Advocacy," has been accepted by the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Tracking the social media use of 188 501(c)(3) advocacy organizations, Chao and his co-author (Greg Saxton, SUNY Buffalo) examined how nonprofit organizations use social media to engage in advocacy work. They briefly studied the types of social media technologies employed, then turned to an in-depth examination of Twitter. This in-depth message-level analysis was twofold: a content analysis that examined the prevalence of previously identified communicative and advocacy constructs in nonprofits’ social media messages; and an inductive analysis that explores the unique features and dynamics of social media-based advocacy and identifies new organizational practices and forms of communication previously unseen in the literature.
John Marron, policy analyst at the IU Public Policy Institute, has been named a certified planner by the American Planning Association and has joined its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). To achieve this status, John had to be an APA member, submit a lengthy application in which he demonstrated that he has met the education and experience requirements, and pass the AICP Comprehensive Planning Examination. This credential assures the Public Policy Institute’s clients, as well as John’s colleagues at SPEA, that he is committed to quality, comprehensive and holistic perspectives on public policy and the environment.
Deanna Malatesta's article, “Designing Contracts for Complex Services,” has been accepted by by Public Administration. Deanna and her co-author, Craig Smith at the University of Arizona, rely on transaction cost economics and the contingency stream of organization theory to answer two related questions. First, when contracting for complex services, do governments design contracts for flexibility? Second, is the contingency perspective relevant to understanding contract design? Examining 130 professional service contracts awarded by U.S. state government agencies, the authors find that task complexity and task unpredictability increase the probability of flexible governance. The study enriches understanding of transaction costs and the utility of integrating transaction cost economics with contingency theory to better understand contract governance.
Saba Siddiki's article, "A Social-Ecological Infrastructural Systems (SEIS) Framework for the Interdisciplinary Study of Sustainable City Systems: An Integrative Curriculum across Seven Major Disciplines," has been accepted by the Journal of Industrial Ecology. In this paper, Saba and her colleagues present a social-ecological-infrastructural systems (SEIS) framework and related curriculum for the inter-disciplinary study of sustainable city systems. The framework articulates how theories from seven major disciplines can be integrated to study the linkages between the natural system, engineered infrastructures, and the actors and institutions that shape sustainability outcomes in cities.
Abdul-Akeem Sadiq and his co-authors (including 2012 SPEA graduate Erin Fordyce) published "Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness: Comparison of Nonprofit, Public, and Private Organizations" in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Abdul-Akeem and his co-authors compared the mitigation and preparedness activities adopted by nonprofit, private, and public organizations in Memphis, Tennessee. They found that although nonprofit organizations may be more resource-constrained when compared with private corporations, they adopt more mitigation and preparedness activities than private corporations. In addition, public organizations adopt more mitigation and preparedness activities than private organizations. Read the article here: http://nvs.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/07/22/0899764012452042.abstract.
Kenna Quinet's article, “Crimes Against Animals,” was published by Oxford University Press for its series, Oxford Bibliographies in Criminology. Kenna notes a lack of attention in criminology and criminal justice to crimes against animals. Reviewing more than 70 books and articles encompassing the history of speciesism, animal rights and animal welfare, Kenna summarizes the key research on animal rights and animal abuse. Her work synthesizes the philosophical discussions of rights, and she expands traditional criminological definitions of abuse to other less traditional notions of abuse, including animals in zoos, animals as entertainment, animals used for scientific experimentation, and animals as food.
Eric Grommon published “The Effect of Statewide Residency Restrictions on Sex Offender Post-Release Housing Mobility” in Justice Quarterly. Eric and his co-authors explore the effect of statewide residency restriction policies on housing mobility, using a unique sample of male sex offenders released in a Midwestern state. The research is based on a quasi-experimental cohort control group design, and it describes the frequency and correlation of movement for pre- and post-statewide residency restriction legislation samples. Sex offenders released after the implementation of residency restrictions moved more often and had relatively high degrees of housing mobility compared to offenders released prior to the legislation. Read it here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2012.667141.
Sheila Kennedy (and her colleague Tony Cox in the Kelley School of Business) received funding for an IUPUI Signature Centers Initiative, the Center for Civic Literacy. Anecdotal and formal research shows that most Americans are illiterate about civics, which in turn makes them less engaged in democratic processes and unable to address societal issues. The Center seeks to correct this with a two-fold mission: to increase scholarly and public understanding of the dimensions of our civic deficit and the effect that has on democratic decision-making and civil society; and to create a clearinghouse for best practices on how to address and correct the problem. This Center, the first of its kind in the U.S., will be housed in the IU Public Policy Institute and will publish an online journal, convene a national conference, and conduct research projects that result in peer-reviewed journal articles. The center is due to attain IUPUI Signature Center status in 2015.
Jerome Dumortier published “The effects of potential changes in United States beef production on global grazing systems and greenhouse gas emissions” by Environmental Research Letters. (Link here: http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/2/024023.) Jerome and his co-authors (including Pamela Martin at IUPUI’s Department of Earth Sciences and Department of Geography) coupled a global agricultural production and trade model with a greenhouse gas model to assess leakage associated with modified beef production in the United States. They assessed effects on emissions from agricultural production (i.e., methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock and crop management) as well as from land-use change, especially grazing systems. They found that a reduction of US beef production induces net carbon emissions from global land-use change ranging from 37 to 85 kilograms CO2-equivalent per kilograms of beef annualized over 20 years. The increase in emissions is caused by an inelastic domestic demand as well as more land-intensive cattle production systems internationally. Changes in livestock production systems such as increasing stocking rate could partially offset emission increases from pasture expansion.
Tom Stucky, John Ottensmann and Seth Payton have had their article, “The Effect of Foreclosures on Crime in Indianapolis, 2003-08,” accepted by Social Science Quarterly for a special journal section on foreclosures and crime in the U.S. Though home foreclosures—which cause instability in a neighborhood—could theoretically be linked to crimes, few studies have examined the relationship empirically. Tom, John and Seth used geocoded Indianapolis foreclosure and crime data for 2003–08 to predict crime counts in 1,000 feet × 1,000 feet square grid cells. They found that foreclosures are a robust predictor of crime, and the effect of foreclosures on crime varies across neighborhood contexts.
Wolf Bielefeld published Managing Nonprofit Organizations. Wolf and his co-author, Mary Tschirhart at North Carolina State University, consider both the practice and theory of nonprofit management in their book, which will be used by practitioners, educators and students. The book includes the basics of creating and structuring nonprofits, then describes how to allocate financial and human resources to make an organization run effectively. A large section of the book is devoted to boards, governance and leadership as well as how to motivate and evaluate employees, volunteers, donors, service recipients and others. Collaborating with other entities is discussed, followed by how a nonprofit changes and innovates, and the book ends with a discussion of the future of nonprofit management.
Beth Gazley and Laura Littlepage published “What About the Host Agency? Nonprofit Perspectives on Community-Based Student Learning and Volunteering” in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Beth, Laura and their co-author examined whether nonprofit organizations have capacity to accommodate the growing numbers of students who are interested in community-based learning and volunteering. Their analysis found that the level of student engagement in these experiences depends on whether the organization has adequate volunteer management capacity and manages student volunteers in the same way it treats all volunteer. This conclusion contrasts with some current “the more, the merrier” assumptions about nonprofits’ capacity to engage service learners.
Seth Payton published “The Impact of Property Assessment Standards on Property Tax Burden: An Examination of Systematic Bias in a Market Value Versus a Nonmarket Value Assessment Standard” in Public Finance Review. Politicians and the public may not like property taxes, but scholars tend to agree that real property taxes are an appropriate way to fund local government services. However, because property taxes are based on estimated value instead of transactions, they can be viewed as unfair, especially because there are so many different ways to determine a property tax base. For this article, Seth looked for systematic bias in two assessment standards used in one urban county. He found that though less systematic bias exists when a market value standard is applied, it can still be unfair and must be monitored and addressed.
Wolf Bielefeld published Managing Nonprofit Organizations. Wolf and his co-author, Mary Tschirhart at North Carolina State University, consider both the practice and theory of nonprofit management in their book, which will be used by practitioners, educators and students. The book includes the basics of creating and structuring nonprofits, then describes how to allocate financial and human resources to make an organization run effectively. A large section of the book is devoted to boards, governance and leadership as well as how to motivate and evaluate employees, volunteers, donors, service recipients and others. Collaborating with other entities is discussed, followed by how a nonprofit changes and innovates, and the book ends with a discussion of the future of nonprofit management.
Bill Foley authored a chapter in Pandemic Planning. Bill’s chapter, “Developing a Systematic Pandemic Influenza Program for Preparing a State,” discusses how effective planning at the state level can stop the spread of a large-scale viral infection. Bill explains the federal model, then applies it locally. Using planning models and exercises conducted at state agencies and regional hospitals in Indiana, Bill explains planning preparation, decision-making and the planning process. He also discusses how the agencies charged with implementing those plans must work in concert. The chapter is educational as well as a guide for planners.
State and Local Government Review has accepted an article by Deanna Malatesta: “Government Contracts for Legal Services: Does A Previous Contracting Relationship Between the Parties Alter Accountability?” Based on an examination of 130 state-level government contracts for legal services, Deanna and her co-author (Craig Smith, University of Arizona) focused on various accountability clauses, and whether a previous relationship with the contractor affects the decision to use such clauses. They found that previous contract experiences decrease the use of clauses that aid information disclosure but increase the use of clauses that assign work task responsibilities. They conclude that contracting with known suppliers may not reduce overall accountability, though it may reduce the cost and use of some forms of accountability.
Crystal Garcia published “Dealing with the fall-out: Identifying and addressing the role that relationship strain plays in the lives of girls in the juvenile justice system” in Journal of Criminal Justice. Crystal and her co-author identified a particular form of strain (i.e., relationship strain) and tested their assertion that relationship strain is a major cause of girls’ delinquency. Crystal and her co-author analyzed data from 27 focus groups with delinquent girls, incarcerated women (who were involved in the criminal justice system as adolescents), and juvenile justice professionals who work with girls. They found that there was much consensus among the groups regarding the factors that lead girls into trouble; these factors were directly related to strain caused by their relationships with family, lovers and frenemies (i.e., relationship strain); and the variety of relationship strain girls experience influences the types of offenses they commit.
Saba Siddiki won the Best Dissertation Award from the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs. Saba’s dissertation, “Rules and Decision Making: Understanding the Factors that Shape Regulatory Compliance,” used data collected in Virginia and Florida to assess what motivates compliance with aquaculture regulations. Saba found that people are more likely to comply with regulations for three main reasons: they believe regulatory enforcement personnel are knowledgeable; they want to protect their reputation among peers; and they feel a strong sense of guilt if they don’t comply. She also learned that guilt and concerns about reputation can stem from the desire to protect the environment, prevent food poisoning, and prevent conflict with neighbors and other resource users.
Urban Affairs Review accepted Deanna Malatesta’s article, “Balancing Hazards in the Design of Local Franchise Contracts.” Deanna and her co-author (Craig Smith, University of Arizona) relied on transaction cost logic to consider the likelihood that contract duration and monitoring are jointly determined in 241 cable franchise renewal agreements. They found that municipalities award larger contracts to larger, more resourceful cable companies and those with more asset-specific investments. Municipalities that observe poor performance monitor more closely, but they do not shorten contracts. Deanna and her co-author believe this indicates that municipalities, not cable operators, take on more of the risk and cost associated with poor contract performance. Their findings have implications for contracting officers who want to make reasoned decisions regarding the use of incentives, controls, rewards, and sanctions in designing contracts.
Ken Richards, Joice Chang, Joanna Allerhand and John Rupp published “Pouring Out Our Soils: Facing the Challenge of Poorly Defined Property Rights in Subsurface Pore Space for Carbon Capture and Storage” in Journal of Energy and Environmental Law. Noting that one option to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is to inject tons of carbon dioxide underground for permanent storage, a process known as carbon capture and storage (CCS), the co-authors look at the regulatory and legal issues surrounding CCS, including property ownership of the space that will hold the gas. The article points out that different states will have varying property rights related to their different geologies. It considers precedents for such policies and laws, and concludes that no existing analogs are suitable for CCS. The authors then present four options for considering subsurface pore space property rights, and conclude with ideas to guide public strategy.
Laura Littlepage and Beth Gazley published “Service Learning from the Supply Side: Community Capacity to Engage Students” in Nonprofit Management & Leadership. Using a large sample of nonprofit agencies, Laura and her co-authors examined the characteristics of those agencies that use students in a volunteer or service-learning role, who benefits from such arrangements, and whether agencies have the capacity to meet growing demand for such experiences. Although an organization’s size and capacity revealed some variation in attitudes toward taking on student service learners, nonprofit organizations appear generally positive about using students, suggesting that communities benefit from such arrangements. However, the strongest factors in an agency’s willingness to take on future students are its past experience with students and its perception of how much the student benefits from the arrangement.
