State Governments Research Articles

Increasing Access to Abortion: ACOG Committee Statement No. 16.

Legal and accessible abortion care is a necessary component of comprehensive health care. Access to abortion is threatened by local, state, and federal government restrictions; limitations on insurance coverage of abortion care; restrictions on funding for training; restrictions imposed by hospitals and health care systems; stigma; violence against health care professionals who provide abortion care; and a subsequent dearth of health care professionals who provide this care. Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, the abortion landscape is an ever-changing and shifting map of abortion restrictions and protections based on state-level interpretations and definitions of abortion care. This is confusing and chilling to both patients and health care professionals, who must learn to navigate a web of conflicting and varying state laws. Legislative restrictions fundamentally interfere with the patient-health care professional relationship and decrease access to abortion, particularly for individuals with low incomes and those living long distances from health care professionals. This Committee Statement continues the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' previous calls for advocacy to oppose and overturn restrictions, to improve access, and to affirm abortion as an essential component of health care.

Idiosyncrasies of public value: how individual characteristics influence citizen perceptions of public value

ABSTRACT The public value and public service logic narratives lack empirical exploration of perceptions of public value from the perspective of citizen stakeholders, despite a shift in public management to public value governance. This study expands this research by coupling the use of an empirically established public value scale with traditional (demographics) and non-traditional (attitudes and experience) individual-level characteristics in a novel context – crowd-sourced U.S. residents’ public value perceptions of their state and local governments. The findings provide empirical support for conceptualizing public value from an ecosystem perspective and illuminate how people-centred dynamics influence public value perceptions.

The role of NSS activities for development of tribal Societies in district Dungarpur, Rajasthan

The motto of National Service Scheme is NOT ME BUT YOU which has to be spread in youth. There are 17 units of NSS working in Dungarpur district and each unit adopts one village of its own and therefore has adopted 17 villages in all 1700 registered volunteers of National Service Scheme go door to door to spread mindfulness about education, medical and literary activities and also give information about public welfare schemes of the center and state government. Here, 80% of the students are from Scheduled tribe so there is basic need to improve the thinking of young mind through NSS. National Service Scheme inspires the youth to do social work along with education. By joining the National Service Scheme units, volunteers have to work to produce mindfulness on cleanliness, leadership chops, technology transfer to rural mass and help the rural youth for creating the job opportunity, through conducting different types of training programme. NSS inspires the volunteers and connects them with the feeling of public interest. This paper shows the social work of NSS and its impact on the creative development of Youths in villages and influence on public.

State Standing After <em>United States v. Texas</em>

Over the past decade, state attorneys general have become emboldened to file lawsuits asking federal courts to invalidate executive actions on immigration. As a result, lower courts have grappled with complex questions of when states have Article III standing to sue the federal government. In its 2023 decision in United States v. Texas, the Supreme Court addressed these issues directly for the first time, holding that Texas lacked standing to challenge the Biden administration’s civil immigration enforcement guidelines. But the Court reached this conclusion on narrow grounds, failing to provide a clear indication of when states might have standing in other immigration disputes. Crucially, although the Court arguably rejected applying “special solicitude” in the immigration context, it said nothing about when—if ever—states can assert sovereign interests related to immigration. As a result, it remains uncertain how the Texas case will affect ongoing and future state-led immigration litigation. This Article provides a framework for state standing grounded in an analysis of immigration federalism. The Court was correct to distance itself from the view articulated in Massachusetts v. EPA that state standing should be favored when states lack power to act within the federal system. Instead, this Article argues that states have sovereign interests for standing purposes where the federal system grants them authority over the enforcement or regulation of immigration. This framework recognizes that states have a stake in various aspects of the immigration system where they are empowered to act, but also limits states’ access to federal courts where they are not. By adopting a federalism-informed approach to standing, this Article seeks to promote state accountability and avoid undermining working relationships between state and federal governments on immigration issues.

Federalism and Healthcare delivery in India lesson from other Federal countries

This paper tries to evaluate how India Federal framework handles the disputes related to Healthcare Delivery involving the division of power and duties between the Central and State government. This paper give the helpful insights which have taken from other Federal countries. This paper also explores the role of judiciary in settling disputes related to Healthcare in Indian context and also tries to evaluate the role of digital healthcare within the Indian federal structure compared to the nation like Germany and United States .

Friends and Foes in the Battle Field: Unraveling the History of Farmer-Herder Conflicts in Jigawa State, 1991-2015

This paper examines the nuanced historical trajectories, causes, and effects of farmer-herder conflicts in Jigawa State. It also examines the role of the state government and other bodies in resolving and managing these conflicts, especially from 1991 to 2015. Arguably, the major factors responsible for these conflicts in Jigawa State include effects of the climate change, overpopulation of herders, indiscriminate destruction of unharvested crops by herders, encroachment on cattle routes, and denial of access to water points by farmers. Other contributory factors include occasional assaults on Fulani women, growth of agro-pastoralism, expansion of farming into pastures due to population explosion and technological advancements, cattle rustling, burning of rangelands, overgrazing of fallow lands, floods, and aggressive behavior from competing parties. The conflicts engendered food shortages and increased food prices, loss of lives, destruction of property, social dislocation, and estrangement. In response, the Jigawa State government took measures and implemented policies intending to curtail the phenomenon. This paper unravels the conflict, its consequences, and steps taken by the government to manage it using historical methods and sources such as published and unpublished materials, interviews, and observations.

Risk communication for disaster prevention and management in the rural communities of Mangu local government in Plateau state, Nigeria

Disasters are unpleasant experiences, but disasters are part of the reality of human existence. Human activities have increased the rate, intensity and sources of disasters. Several studies have determined the role of risk communication, an emerging area of communication, in preventing and managing disasters. This study aims to verify the robustness of the claim that risk communication can influence responses in unfavorable situations, thereby reducing the possible consequences of disasters or leading to immediate avoidance. The theoretical framework for this study is the protection motivation theory and the extended parallel process model. Both theories explain how individuals behave when exposed to disaster threats and how risk communication can influence responses in threatening situations. This qualitative research collected data using focus group discussions involving 20 speakers who were purposively selected based on their experience in dealing with disasters in Mangu Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria. This research findings validate risk communication as a proactive approach to reducing the consequences of disasters. The study suggests that government and professional bodies involved in risk communication should invest in capacity building in various skills and needs to earn the trust of their stakeholders to enhance the perceived credibility of their messages.

Free meals for all: the effects of Tennessee’s community eligibility provision on student non-academic outcomes

ABSTRACT In 2014–2015, Tennessee implemented the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), allowing schools with larger percentages of low-income students to expand free meals to all students, regardless of household income level. Using statewide student-level data in a difference-in-differences framework, we find that CEP reduced the extensive margin of suspensions and expulsions statewide. Further, we show that it takes two years for effects on disciplinary infractions and on-time grade progression to manifest, with those effects continuing into year 3. Results are driven by rural and urban schools. Our findings are particularly salient as federal and state governments consider expanding free school meal programs.

Eradicating Waste in the Making of the Lower River Murray, Australia, 1880–1940

The concept of waste pervades contemporary water policy and the polarised debates about river management in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin. However, the preoccupation with waste, and its associated notions of efficiency and productivity, is not merely a reaction to the relatively recent environmental critique prompted by excessive extraction from rivers and streams. We argue that the fixation with eradicating waste is embedded in the Australian colonial political imagination, where it has served as a powerful catalyst for projects of river transformation and as justification for territorial control of water. Initially control was exerted by Australian colonies and then later by state governments. A close examination of South Australia’s portion of the River Murray between 1880 and 1940 identifies four sites that were perceived as wasteful: the ocean to which the River Murray runs, wetlands, lakes and the atmosphere. To eliminate waste from and above the land surface, hydro-engineers and settler authorities transformed the lower River Murray with weirs, locks and barrages, at the same time as they altered society–water relations. Waste was articulated and acted on from within colonial processes with such force that the effects continue to set the parameters for today’s water policies and wider settler societal relations with rivers.

Community Cultural Wealth in Stakeholder Perceptions of the Return to Local Control of Schools

In the 1980s and 1990s, state governments began to take over local school districts in cities across the United States. After decades of local resistance to state control, communities are beginning to make strides in their efforts to regain local control. This paper examines local- and state-level stakeholders’ perceptions of the return to local control in Newark, New Jersey in 2018. Using an integrated critical race theory framework, we find conflicting reasons for returning local control, which we call practical and liberatory reasons and that the cultural wealth of local stakeholders propels the liberatory reasons for local control.

Unravelling national governments’ positions on EU rule of law enforcement: structural, semi-structural and ideological factors

ABSTRACT The Council’s enforcement inaction regarding the rule of law crisis has been endlessly criticised by scholars and commentators. However, there is currently no theoretically parsimonious explanation of why some national governments oppose enforcement whilst others are more inclined to support it. We address this question by considering structural (time of accession), semi-structural (contributions to, or receipts from, the EU budget and democratic quality) and circumstantial (partisanship, ideology, EU integration stance) conditions. We use Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to test the impact of these conditions on governments’ positions from 2016 to 2021. Findings show relatively stable preferences on enforcement within Member States, despite changes in the ideology of the ruling party. Time of accession, having a high quality of democracy and being a net contributor to the budget emerges as the most robust combination of conditions to explain strong pro-enforcement preferences. In contrast, governments of newer Member States that are net recipients of funds tend to be more reluctant to enforce the rule of law. While ideology lacks sufficient parsimonious explanatory power, it is particularly relevant for explaining extreme anti-enforcement reactions.

Developing a collaborative Dungeness crab larval monitoring network in the Salish Sea to provide long-term, fishery-relevant data

Abstract Many natural resources are managed without essential, biologically relevant data. Fisheries are particularly susceptible to this reality and, thus, are vulnerable to environmental changes and disturbances, with both human livelihoods and the health of ecological systems at stake. Here, we explore how the Pacific Northwest Crab Research Group (PCRG) employs a collaborative, stakeholder-driven approach to generate the information needed to inform a data-poor, co-managed fishery, using the example of Dungeness crab Metacarcinus magister in the northeastern Pacific’s Salish Sea. We focus on the PCRG larval crab monitoring network as a multifaceted case study, which unites tribal, state, and federal governments, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, and local communities working to produce the first standardized continuous data set on Dungeness crab larval dynamics in the region. Highlighting the types of biological data collected, including spatial and temporal patterns of larval flux and larval size, we explore the application of novel data to fisheries management, as well as the network’s contribution to a diversity of educational opportunities and ability to leverage new research projects and collaborations. The success of PCRG’s larval crab monitoring network ultimately highlights the effectiveness of a cooperative, network-based approach in addressing fisheries management challenges and offers a viable model for managing data-poor systems worldwide.

Priority Issues in Coastal North Carolina: A Forum by the Coastal Society

The Coastal Society (TCS) convened a one-day in-person Forum on November 6, 2023, at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW)’s Center for Marine Science (CMS) to discuss priority issues in coastal North Carolina. Experts from state government, local government, nonprofits, and academia in North Carolina shared their research, policy ideas, and practical experience in addressing problems and offering solutions associated with coastal resilience, the dangers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and marine spatial planning (MSP). The Forum emphasized the need for further research and an ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach to facilitate collaboration of various stakeholders, nonprofits, government agencies, and leading experts. The focus of the Forum was to create effective and consensus-based policy recommendations by stakeholder groups by assembling an interdisciplinary group of panelists and attendees to share multiple perspectives on a given issue. EBM is the key to achieving these objectives, and its principles of stakeholder collaboration, inclusivity, and dealing with uncertainty have resulted in many best practices that can be utilized to policy makers and other actors across coastal communities.

Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Fuel Subsidy Removal on Academic Staff Productivity in Colleges of Education in Benue State, Nigeria

The study has empirically analysed the effect of fuel subsidy removal on academic staff productivity in Colleges of Education in Benue State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for the study. The study population comprises all academic staff of the state-owned Colleges of Education in Benue State. A sample of 223 respondents was used for the study using multistage sampling techniques. Questionnaires alongside interviews were used for data collection. Data was analysed using charts, frequencies, percentages and simple regression analysis. The results of the study indicated that the high cost of living, transportation costs and being unable to fuel vehicles were factors affecting the productivity of the academic staff. More so, the study found that fuel subsidy removal has a significant relationship with the extent of the cost of living of academic staff in Colleges of Education in Benue State. Finally, the study established that fuel subsidy removal has a significant relationship with the level of productivity of academic staff in Colleges of Education in Benue State. Therefore, the study concluded that fuel subsidy removal has posed a great challenge to the academic staff concerning their effectiveness in performing their core responsibilities in the Colleges of Education in Benue State. The study recommended that the state government through the Ministry of Education should intervene in providing cash transfer schemes, transport vouchers and mass transit schemes among others to the academic staff in order to reduce their suffering due to the elimination of fuel subsidies.

“What’s Your Problem?”: Building an Evidence-Based System of Regulatory Analysis from the Bottom-Up

Abstract This article is part of a larger series that is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Jerry Ellig, with whom I had the pleasure of working on multiple occasions. It explores the concept of regulatory subsidiarity, which involves pushing regulatory power down from centralized governments to state, local, tribal, and other governments. It explains how this approach both promotes policy tailoring and facilitates regulatory experimentation, allowing policy makers to test which interventions produce the best results. Finally, it considers how regulatory subsidiarity has proven itself outside of the U.S. and can succeed within the U.S. as well.

Creating codes of ethics for public health professionals and institutions.

The World Health Organization and the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region called for the professionalization of the public health workforce, including the creation of codes of ethics. In this article, the Public Health Ethics and Law Network provides guidance on creating such codes, based on values and principles commonly identified for public health. Our interest was in codes addressing public health broadly rather than disciplines within public health. Public Health codes of ethics are typically published on agency and organization websites rather than peer-reviewed literature. We searched several online databases, such as PubMed; United States government websites; Spanish language websites; and English language websites for public health organizations. We synthesized the principles found into 10 adjectives-such as caring, responsive, and trustworthy-with short elaborations. These terms are practical, for non-philosophers, and provide flexibility for adaptation to country contexts. The creation of a code of ethics should be followed by the identification and building of ethical competencies and capacity for public health professionals and institutions. There are plans to collaborate with pilot sites in the use and generation of further learning, and additional assistance for competencies and other resources to support a code of ethics and competencies.

Impact of Urban Flood Management on the Values of Properties in Ibadan, Oyo State

This study investigated the impact of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP) on property values in 17 priority project sites across Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Urban flooding has been a long-standing challenge in Ibadan, causing substantial damage to property and infrastructure, particularly in flood-prone areas, which has led to declining property values. In response to the 2011 floods, the Oyo State government, with World Bank support, initiated the IUFMP to mitigate flood risks through drainage construction, river channelization, and early warning systems. A survey research design was used, combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Primary data was gathered from 383 respondents, including homeowners, tenants, estate surveyors, and key project officials. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while key informant interviews provided insights into project sustainability and management. The study found that 54.8% of respondents strongly disagreed that the IUFMP led to an increase in capital property values, with a mean score of 1.82, and 53% strongly disagreed that rental values increased, with a mean score of 1.89. Furthermore, 66.8% of respondents disagreed that property purchases had increased (mean: 1.48), and 74.4% disagreed that the filthiness in the areas had reduced (mean: 1.26). Thematic insights from key informant interviews revealed positive project outcomes, including improved flood resilience and enhanced livelihoods. However, significant challenges in fostering community engagement and ensuring sustainable environmental benefits were identified. The study concludes that while the IUFMP has successfully reduced flooding and improved infrastructure, its impact on property value appreciation remains limited. It recommends sustainable strategies, including enhanced community involvement, to maximize the long-term benefits of the project.

RURAL POVERTY AND LIVELIHOOD CHALLENGES AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN NSIT ATAI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, AKWA-IBOM STATE

This study examined the problem of rural poverty and how it affects the livelihood of adolescent girls in Nsit Atai Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Survey research design was used to elicit the opinion of 27 adolescent girls drawn from the three clans that make up the Nsit Atai local government area. In-depth interview method was used for data collection, while the qualitative data derived from the field were content analyzed. The sustainable livelihood approach provided theoretical direction for the study. Findings from the study revealed that the educational pursuit of adolescent girls is hampered in their bid to search for livelihood as most of them miss class lessons in search of food. Furthermore, they are exposed to maltreatment and abuse, particularly from those who engage them as 'house helps'. The study therefore recommends among others, the need for the Akwa Ibom State government to enforce regulations regarding its policy on free and compulsory education beyond urban centers to cover rural areas where adolescent girls are used during school hours for economic activities as a means of livelihood. This is necessary because it will help them to concentrate on acquiring knowledge in school, and as well, boost their capacity to compete favorably when opportunities come their way in the future.

Powerlessness at the inhuman scale? Examining the relationship between municipality size and political efficacy in two Australian states

ABSTRACT A nation’s political culture, tradition goes, is built at the local level. Local government’s proximity, simplicity, and human scale enable a wider range of people to participate and to learn the civic ropes. Yet, with large-scale programmes of forced municipal amalgamation being a significant feature of many central (or state) governments’ structural reform agendas, it is necessary to consider whether the shift to larger, less human-sized municipalities may impact this formative function. Drawing on a survey of citizens from two Australian states, this study examines the relationship between municipality size and two of the most important indicators of civic culture and empowered citizenship: internal and external political efficacy. The findings indicate that municipality size does indeed have a negative effect on levels of internal political efficacy in the Australian context, leading to an increased sense of political powerlessness in larger municipalities. However, contrary to international studies, no significant size effect was detected on levels of external political efficacy, indicating that size does not tend to impact citizens’ perception of their councils’ responsiveness in this context. Several reasons for this divergent result are posited, including the constrained level of autonomy that is characteristic of Australian local government.

Manufacturing the Entheogenic Underground

Ethnographic research suggests that people across the United States are increasingly gathering to commune with their creators, to interact with their ancestors, to enter the spirit world, to gain supernatural insights, and to engage in what they otherwise describe as religious or spiritual experiences. In this regard, their actions are not particularly revolutionary or novel. What distinguishes these people is not their desire to have religious or spiritual experiences. Instead, it is the means they employ to occasion these experiences that set them apart, as their rituals and ceremonies involve the consumption of illegal drugs, specifically psychedelics and cannabis, substances they frequently term entheogens. The United States government has granted select groups an exemption from drug prohibition, thereby allowing them to legally consume what are otherwise illegal substances. The vast majority of these practitioners, however, operate without this exemption, thereby confining them to what scholars often term the underground, or the sociocultural, political, or economic spaces thought to operate outside the influence or purview of the state.4 This alleged “absence” of the government is the topic of this paper, which argues that the state is both the primary curator of the so-called underground and that the state’s influence pervades these “underground” communities. To demonstrate this, this essay will discuss the legal structures and case law impacting entheogenic churches in the United States, paying particular attention to the attorneys who advise these churches.