Contemporary Issues in Public Policy
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
This course explores current and emerging challenges in public policy, focusing on the dynamic landscape faced by policymakers in the 21st century. Students will analyze case studies on issues such as climate change, healthcare reform, digital governance, economic inequality, and global security. Through critical engagement with recent policy debates, academic research, and practical policy responses, learners will develop analytical tools for policy evaluation and gain a nuanced understanding of how societal, economic, and technological trends shape public policy decisions today. The course encourages active discussion and independent research, equipping students with the skills to assess and address the complex issues confronting governments and institutions worldwide.
Recommended Textbook
American Public Policy An Introduction 11th Edition by Clarke E. Cochran
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682 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Public Policy: An Introduction
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Sample Questions
Q1) Public programs involving little conflict can be difficult to implement because
A)There are numerous participant with different perspectives
B)Public resources are available
C)Only a few decision have to be made
D)The intent of the policymakers is clear
Answer: A
Q2) Which is NOT a reason for the frequent failure of policies to achieve their intended impact?
A)no plausible scenario on which the parties can agree
B)no socially acceptable solution exists
C)policies and laws only permit strict interpretations
D)disagreement about what constitute a social or political problem that must be addressed by the policy makers
Answer: C
Q3) In a zero-sum society,the allocation of values to members of one underrepresented group requires that members of other groups will not have to pay the costs.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Contexts of Public Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The average American is becoming:
A)younger
B)older
C)more liberal
D)more traditional
E)submissive to authority
Answer: B
Q2) The population that will be sixty-five and older is increasing at twice the national population and will reach ______________ percent by 2030.
A)12
B)50
C)25
D)20
Answer: D
Q3) The New York and New Jersey Party Port Authority is an example of
A)Horizontal intergovernment relation
B)Deals with issue that cross state lines
C)Is an Interstate compact
D)All of the above
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: The Economy: Changing Government-Business
Relationships
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Sample Questions
Q1) The American economy is predominantly
A)socialist
B)mercantilist
C)market capitalist
D)government regulated
Answer: C
Q2) Economic systems can roughly be divided into two extreme alternatives: free enterprise,also known as _______,and public ownership,also known as _________.
A)capitalism; socialism
B)Fascism, Communism
C)Communism; Democracy
D)free world; non-free world
Answer: A
Q3) Proponents of free-market capitalism favor
A)interference of government in the economy
B)more equal distribution of wealth among citizens
C)non-interference of government in the economy
D)government ownership of enterprise
Answer: C
Page 5
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Chapter 4: Economic Issues: Taxing, Spending, and Budgeting
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Sample Questions
Q1) Economist John Galbraith and Milton Friedman agree that government controls help businesses operate profitably.
A)True
B)False
Q2) All other things being equal,a tax increase is likely to:
A)decrease inflation
B)increase inflation
C)cause the money supply to rise
D)cause the reserve requirement to decrease
E)encourage banks to loan more money
Q3) The process of automatic spending cuts is called
A)Deficit Control
B)Gramm-Rudman Act
C)Sequestration
D)Balancing the Budget
Q4) The value of American currency is dependent on the reserves of gold held by the U.S.Treasury Department.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What was the purpose of TARP and has it been successful?
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Chapter 5: Energy and Environmental Policies: Policy Instability
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Sample Questions
Q1) Only Arabian nations can belong to OPEC.
A)True
B)False
Q2) President Obama has proposed several initiatives to help the United States reduce its foreign oil consumption.Some of his initiatives are:
A)Renewed emphasis on nuclear power for electricity, expansion of off-shore drilling for oil & increased CAFÉ standards
B)Increased CAFÉ standards, prohibition of off-shore drilling, nuclear power for electricity
C)Increased household appliance efficiency, weatherization program for homes and public buildings & maintaining current CAFÉ standards
D)Increased federal funding for research and development of nuclear technology, prohibition of offshore drilling & reduction in CAFÉ standards to help American automakers
Q3) Why has the Keystone XL pipeline project faced difficulties in getting approval from President Obama's administration?
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Chapter 6: Crime and Criminal Justice: Dilemmas of Social Control
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Sample Questions
Q1) Conservatives tend to attribute criminal behavior to _____________
A)Free personal choices
B)Poverty
C)Racism
D)Sociological circumstances
Q2) The rights of the accuser are the rights of the innocent.These rights require the judicial system to proceed according to the rules of evidence.These rules prevents people from being convicted on the basis of all of the following,except for A)Cell phone video
B)Emotional prejudice
C)Hearsay
D)Other non-objective factors
Q3) The right to counsel for indigent defendant facing felony trial in state courts was due to a Supreme Court decision in the
A)Scottsboro case
B)Gideon v.Wainwright
C)Patriot Act
D)Miranda Case
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Chapter 7: Poverty and Social Welfare Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Despite public opinion,fraud and corruption in public assistance programs is no more or less of a problem than is found in most other government programs or private business.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The settlement house movement spawned several institutions and services except for
A)National Urban League
B)The Girl Scouts
C)NAACP
D)Day care
E)Public Parks
Q3) Which of the following were goals of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act?
A)encourage work
B)reduce unwanted pregnancy
C)save $54 billion in federal dollars
D)all of the above
E)none of the above
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Chapter 8: Health Care: Transformation or Continued Crisis?
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Sample Questions
Q1) The United States has made great gains in healthcare,surpassing Sweden,Japan,England and Canada in life expectancy and infant mortality rates.
A)True
B)False
Q2) _________,_______ & __________ has resulted in a disjointed and wasteful delivery of medical care.
A)Advances in medicine, reduced admissions & length of stay
B)Hospital closings, mission redirection and competing incentives
C)Competing incentives, specialty hospitals & minor care clinics
D)Outpatient surgery, freestanding surgical units & minor care clinics
Q3) Overspecialization by physicians is cited as one of the causes of
A)high cost of medical care
B)poor coordination of care
C)better performance on measures of health statistics
D)all of the above
E)A & B only
Q4) Compare how the elderly fared in the United States prior to the passage of the Medicare and Medicaid? Although they are expensive entitlement programs,are they worth the cost?
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Chapter 9: Education: Conflict in Policy Direction
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Sample Questions
Q1) Educational environments provided to students are affected by the expenditures made.Wealthy districts spend their money differently than poor districts,such as they
A)Have lower student-teach ratio
B)Spend less on college preparatory electives
C)Spend less on capital improvement projects
D)All of the above
E)A & B only
Q2) Multiculturalism
A)is at odds with the view of America as a "melting pot."
B)appeals to many cultural groups.
C)tries to establish an appreciation for the contributions of various ethnic groups.
D)all of the above
E)none of the above
Q3) Multiculturalism seeks to:
A)encourage assimilation of minority groups.
B)reinvigorate the American concept of the "melting pot" society.
C)eliminate linguistic cleavages in the United States.
D)embrace cultural and ethnic diversity in the United States
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Chapter 10: Legal and Social Equality: The Struggle against
Oppression and Bigotry
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Q1) The key goal of the American Civil Rights movement was the concept of proportional equality for social reform.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The U.S.Navy Seals have been able to keep women from serving because their requirements for meeting
A)Weight standards
B)Upper body strength standards
C)Height standards
D)Dead weight lift standards
Q3) Critics of affirmative action policy cite the following argument
A)that there's not a perfect correlation between race and other attributes, such as socioeconomic status and the ability to compete
B)only requires applicants be members of the designated group
C)forces organizations and institutions to accept unqualified applicants
D)that the persisting marginal socioeconomic state of the underclass is more a function of their own behavior rather than past social oppression
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Chapter 11: Immigration Policy: The Barely Open Door
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Sample Questions
Q1) U.S.immigration policy was highly restrictive until the middle of the 19th Century.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Know Nothing Party ran candidates on a platform that immigrants were a threat to ________.
A)Safety
B)Education
C)Job security
D)Culture
Q3) Prior to the 1996 immigration reforms,immigrants in the country legally,who worked and paid taxes could be denied social benefits such as food stamps and SSI.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Refugees are people who are displaced from their home country because of
A)Persecution by a political regime
B)They are outcasts from their society
C)Political instability in their country
D)A and C
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Chapter 12: Foreign and Defense Policy: Security and Interests in a Dangerous World
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Sample Questions
Q1) Balance of Power is the concept that no one power or coalition of power should be allowed to gain dominating power as to be able to dictate the terms of the relationship among nations.This is done by
A)playing a game of chess
B)bribing the stronger power with needed resources
C)shifting alliances so that one power always allies with the weaker of competing states or alliances
D)working through the resources of the United Nations
Q2) Realists are willing to engage in
A)power politics
B)sanctions
C)limited war for limited objectives
D)diplomacy
Q3) Gulf War I in which the U.S.sided with Kuwait against Saddam Hussein was done
A)To maintain the balance of power
B)Because of diplomacy
C)To prevent hegemony
D)To exercise its sphere of influence
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Chapter
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Sample Questions
Q1) Neo-populism is a revolt against the secularization of American culture.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Most abortions are performed in the third trimester.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which case established the right of a Sabbatarian to refuse Saturday employment as a condition for receiving unemployment benefits?
A)Cantwell v.Connecticut
B)U.S.v.Ballard
C)Engel v.Vitale
D)Sherbert v.Verner
Q4) Some of the political left has opposed the Open Society concept through its support of legislation promoting morality in the area of racial and cultural tolerance.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The Supreme Court has decided that freedom of speech is due absolute protection.
A)True
B)False
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