Sanford Journal of Public Policy Vol. 5 No. 2 (Spring 2014) (Volume 5)

Volume 5, issue 2 of the Sanford Journal of Public Policy includes three exciting articles relevant to race and education, environmental risk analysis, and labor policy.

Shelby Eden Dawkins-Law, “Why America Needs a Counterstory to ‘Choice as the Last Civil Right’”

Abstract: This paper uses critical race methodology to call into question researchers’ propensity to antagonize the “choice as a civil right” movement. By reconceptualizing black education from the common school movement through the modern era, this paper offers an alternative explanation for the increased numbers of black students enrolled in schools of choice. It questions whether all-black schools can have a positive influence on black education in an era in which segregation has become the norm. The researcher references the loss of thousands of black teachers and principals in the desegregation era as evidence for why all-black schools are not necessarily a surrender of principle. Using the specific example of initiatives led by the Black Alliance for Educational Options, this paper will argue that separate schools in which black children are instilled with self-worth by teachers who share their racial background could be the stop-gap necessary to provide them with a meaningful education.

Xiao Recio-Blanco, “Risk Tradeoff Analysis, Public Opinion and Nuclear Safety: A Spanish Case Study”

Abstract: The 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant opened a heated worldwide debate over nuclear energy. Unfortunately, neither the previous nor current Spanish governments have publicized the evidence used to evaluate the merits of extending the lifespan of Spain’s own Garoña plant. This article uses the Garoña case for a twofold purpose. First, the article analyzes the accountability of Spain’s executive power decisions on potentially catastrophic industrial activities. The paper finds that the lack of appropriate information disclosure duties in Spain may allow the government to abuse its discretion on actions potentially damaging to human health and the environment. In addition, the paper uses risk tradeoff analysis to theorize how the Spanish government made its regulatory decision on Garoña. The analysis suggests that decisions made about Garoña involve a broad array of issues and interests that require a comprehensive, careful balancing of risks. The paper concludes that Spain needs urgent regulatory reform regarding transparency and access to information as well as the adoption of updated risk management theory for its regulation of technology.

Jacqueline Hayes, “Toward a Redefinition of the U.S. Sweatshop”

Abstract: A significant amount of policy and research is based on a definition of the sweatshop that understands it as a worksite in violation of multiple labor and safety laws. Based on an extensive literature review of research on neoliberalism, sweatshops, immigrant labor and immigration law this position paper argues that contemporary changes to the global economy and U.S. immigration policy require a reconceptualization of the U.S. sweatshop. A redefinition would allow policymakers and researchers to consider undocumented workers, farm work, domestic work and workplaces not currently protected by contemporary labor laws to be considered as potential locations of a new kind of U.S. sweatshop. A broader conception of the sweatshop would allow for policy solutions more accurately tailored to the problem with the potential for a more extensive impact.