Public
Health Policy SAB
339
Summer
2008 x36048;
michael.licari@uni.edu
SAB
23 Hours:
by appointment
http://www.uni.edu/~licari/classes.html
The purpose of this course is to expose students to the politics of public health policy in the United States. One main focus will be on the uses and limits of governmental power to provide and protect the health of the general public. This includes assessments of how the government provides public health through distributional services, regulations, and tort law. Finally, public health policy will be examined as a function of the American political system.
The
books below have been ordered and are available for purchase at the university
bookstore. I do not have extra copies to
loan out.
Gostin,
Lawrence. Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint
Patel,
Kant, and Mark Rushefsky. The Politics of Public Health in the United
States
Course Requirements
Students
are expected to complete the assigned readings before class and to come to
class prepared for discussion. Summer
classes move quickly and if unexcused absences mount, it will be impossible to
catch up. I will not hand out my lecture
notes to students. Grades will be based
upon performance on a series of papers and one class presentation.
There
are additional requirements for those registered for graduate credit. Graduate students should meet with the
professor immediately following the first day of class for more information on
this and other expectations.
Papers
1, 2, and 3: 20% each
Paper
4 30%
Presentation 10%
Grading
100-94 A 83-80 B- 69-67 D+
93-90 A- 79-77 C+ 66-64 D
89-87 B+ 76-74 C 63-60 D-
86-84 B 73-70 C- 59-0 F
Class Policies
Incompletes are strongly
discouraged and will only be given out in extreme circumstances. Late work is absolutely not accepted, except
in the case of a documented medical emergency.
In fairness to students who hand their work in on time, no other excuses will be accepted and no exceptions will be made. All assignments are due at the start of class
on the dates marked below in the Course Outline. Students who do not have a documented excuse
will receive a "zero" for a late assignment. There is no extra credit. Students must follow the rules found in the
Catalog regarding Academic Regulations, particularly the section covering
academic ethics and plagiarism. Also
read the Department's statement on plagiarism: http://www.uni.edu/polisci/plagiarism.htm
I accept rough drafts of
papers, but they must be turned in no later than the Monday before the due date
of the assignment (Wednesday). A rough draft need not be complete; even
just an outline may be turned in. Turning in a rough draft does not
guarantee an A on the paper, but it will keep students from misinterpreting the
assignment, omitting portions of it, or poorly organizing the paper.
Students may request that
assignments be re-graded, as long as there is a detailed written (typed)
response to my comments that clarifies why a different grade is deserved.
Upon re-reading, the grade may be lowered, left unchanged, or increased.
Please be aware that it may take several days for me to re-grade an assignment.
Cell phones and other
electronic communication devices must be turned off in the classroom.
Special Needs
The
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) protects qualified individuals
with disabilities from discrimination. Students needing instructional accommodations
due to disability must arrange for them through the Office of Disability
Services (ODS). The ODS is located at 103 Student Health Center, and the phone
number is 273-2676. Please do this right away.
Course Outline
Week 1: Introduction to the
Class; Background Information; Politics of Public Health
Read:
Patel and Rushefsky Ch 1, 2, 3, and 5.
Week 2 and 3: Public Health
Law
Read:
Patel and Rushefsky Ch 4; Gostin book
Paper 1 due
May 21st
Paper 2 due
May 28th
Week 4: Issues in Public Health
Policy; Public Health Policy Analysis; Presentations
Read:
Patel and Rushefsky Ch 6, 7, and 8; other readings as assigned.
Paper
3 due June 4th
The
last 3 days of the course are reserved for class presentations (3 presentations
per meeting). The presentation schedule
will be randomly generated at the end of the first week of class.
FORMAT GUIDELINES
1. Please use 1 inch margins. Note that Microsoft Word has margins set at 1.25 inches by default. This is too big and wastes paper.
2. Please double space. No more, no less.
3. Please insert page numbers. When I grade papers, I often include references to specific pages in my comments.
4. Please use Times New Roman front. The font size should be 12pt. It is by far the easiest to read.
5. When citing written sources, include the author's last name and the year the source was published in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Then you should have a reference list at the end of the paper. Internet sources in the reference list should include the date and time the material was accessed.
6. Please do not put your paper in a report cover, plastic binder, or folder. These will be removed and thrown away. A single staple in the upper left hand corner is sufficient.
7. If you have a question, please ask me!
8. If you want additional help, visit the Writing Center on campus (ITTC 008)
Ten Basic Tips for
Writing
1. Avoid contractions and slang, unless you are
quoting someone's speech. Informal writing (or "writing like you
speak") is unprofessional and is less likely to be taken seriously.
2. Similarly, do not use keystroke shortcuts
used for instant messaging or chat-rooms. It is unprofessional to employ
those shortcuts in emails, letters, memos, or papers.
3. Proofread your work. Spellchecking is
nice, but it will miss mistakes such as "Untied States" instead of
"United States." It also will not correct poorly worded
sentences.
4. A paragraph should have one point that you
are trying to make. Paragraphs that contain more than one idea or theme
should be rewritten into multiple paragraphs.
5. You should cite your source when: you make a
direct quote; when you paraphrase a section of someone's work; when you make a
declarative statement that is based on someone's research or interpretation.
6. Direct, concise prose is preferred. Flowery, obtuse prose only annoys your
readers.
7. An apostrophe does not make a noun
plural. Also note that the contraction "it's" is short for
"it is" and is not possessive (which is "its").
8. Use internet sources carefully. Online
sites of reputable print newspapers are acceptable (e.g. New York Times, Wall
Street Journal, Washington Post, Des Moines Register), as is scholarly work in
professional journals accessed via the internet (e.g. by using the library's
electronic journal resources). Government websites are also
acceptable. Avoid blogs, personal essays, and open-source documents (e.g.
Wikipedia) as these are error-ridden, biased, not peer-reviewed, and are
usually not written by experts or professionals. Use material from think
tanks (e.g. Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, Progressive Policy Institute,
Twentieth Century Fund) very carefully. Most think tanks promote a
particular viewpoint and "nonprofit" does not necessarily mean "non-biased".
9. Draw up an outline of your paper before you
start writing. It will help keep you focused.
10. Your paper should have at least a basic
structure. With an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, you can
"tell your readers what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then
tell them what you told them." You obviously do not want to be so
blunt about it, but your readers should not have to guess what your point
is. Remember, if your readers do not think your paper is clear, then by
definition it is not, regardless of what you think about the paper (or your
readers).