US Federal Agencies Research Articles

Gender pay gap persisted at US federal science agencies

A pay gap between female and male employees at US federal science agencies decreased but persisted over 15 years, and the source of the disparity wasn’t the same across the board, according to a new study (Am. J. Sociol. 2019, DOI: 10.1086/705514). An academic research team looked at the pay and position of federal employees, including almost 2.8 million staff members at seven science agencies, from 1994 to 2008. All agencies saw a substantial decrease in the pay gap during that period. At the National Science Foundation (NSF), for example, women made 58 cents for every dollar men made in 1994. That had risen to 73 cents by 2007–8. When the researchers looked for the source of the pay gap, they found that it varied by agency. Physical science–focused agencies—the Department of Energy and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—had the largest pay gaps between men and women working in the

Crowdsourcing Job Satisfaction Data: Examining the Construct Validity of Glassdoor.com Ratings

Researchers, practitioners, and job seekers now routinely use crowdsourced data about organizations for both decision-making and research purposes. Despite the popularity of such websites, empirical evidence regarding their validity is generally absent. In this study, we tackled this problem by combining two curated datasets: (a) the results of the 2017 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), which contains facet-level job satisfaction ratings from 407,789 US federal employees, and which we aggregated to the agency level, and (b) current overall and facet ratings of job satisfaction of the federal agencies contained within FEVS from Glassdoor.com as scraped from the Glassdoor application programming interface (API) within a month of the FEVS survey’s administration. Using these data, we examined convergent validity, discriminant validity, and methods effects for the measurement of both overall and facet-level job satisfaction by analyzing a multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMM). Most centrally, we provide evidence that overall Glassdoor ratings of satisfaction within US federal agencies correlate moderately with aggregated FEVS overall ratings (r = .516), supporting the validity of the overall Glassdoor rating as a measure of overall job satisfaction aggregated to the organizational level. In contrast, the validity of facet-level measurement was not well-supported. Overall, given varying strengths and weaknesses with both Glassdoor and survey data, we recommend the combined use of both traditional and crowdsourced data on organizational characteristics for both research and practice.

Life in Data Sets: Locating and Accessing Data on the Health of Americans Across the Life Span.

The US government manages a large number of data sets, including federally funded data collection activities that examine infectious and chronic conditions, as well as risk and protective factors for adverse health outcomes. Although there currently is no mature, comprehensive metadata repository of existing data sets, US federal agencies are working to develop and make metadata repositories available that will improve discoverability. However, because these repositories are not yet operating at full capacity, researchers must rely on their own knowledge of the field to identify available data sets. We sought to identify and consolidate a practical and annotated listing of those data sets. Creative use of data resources to address novel questions is an important research skill in a wide range of fields including public health. This report identifies, promotes, and encourages the use of a range of data sources for health, behavior, economic, and policy research efforts across the life span. We identified and organized 28 federal data sets by the age-group of primary focus; not all groups are mutually exclusive. These data sets collectively represent a rich source of information that can be used to conduct descriptive epidemiologic studies. The data sets identified in this article are not intended to represent an exhaustive list of all available data sets. Rather, we present an introduction/overview of the current federal data collection landscape and some of its largest and most frequently utilized data sets.

Being alert: bridging theory and practice in public sector entrepreneurship

PurposeStudies on entrepreneurship in public agencies suggest that managing for innovation may increase organizational performance. These studies, however, do not take into consideration the processes of opportunity identification. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to, first, situate the concept of opportunity identification within the broader research on public sector entrepreneurship, and second, to explore the relationship between managerial empowerment practices and employee alertness to new opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses aggregated data from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey – an annual survey of the US Federal employees – to examine the relationship between managerial empowerment practices and employee alertness. The analysis employs a fixed-effects regression to model each panel of the US Federal agencies, from 2011 to 2017.FindingsThe results indicate that managerial empowerment practices have a clear correlation to employee alertness and are substantively different from empowerment practice’s relationship to “innovation” – an outcome of entrepreneurship. These findings suggest that scholarship should include opportunity identification as a moderating variable in future studies on public sector entrepreneurship.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical analysis should be viewed as a novel approach to alertness in order to demonstrate the need to include opportunity identification processes in studies on managing for public sector entrepreneurship. Consequently, the results are not generalizable to all public agencies.Originality/valueThis paper highlights processes of entrepreneurial opportunity identification concerning management practices in the public sector, which scholarship has traditionally ignored.

The environmental and safety performance of gas utilities in the United States

The performance of energy service providers has important environmental and safety consequences in local communities. This paper uses a novel dataset compiled from operator reports and infrastructure monitoring data obtained from three different US federal agencies to assess the performance of retail gas utilities nationwide in terms of addressing gas leaks and minimizing leaked volume. Our panel data set includes yearly observations for 727 retail gas utilities from 2009 to 2017. We show that safety hazards and environmental costs of gas leaks are widespread across providers that vary in terms of ownership, size, and region. We then use a series of Bayesian hierarchical models to regress four outcome variables—hazardous leaks, end-year unfixed leaks, total gas volume leaked, and significant incidents—on infrastructure conditions, regional service context, and socio-economic service population characteristics. Unlike what is observed in other critical infrastructure cases such as drinking water, socio-economic conditions are not strongly predictive of service outcomes. Additionally, public utilities exhibit better environmental performance on average, and no difference in maintenance backlogs. Because the environmental costs of poor performance--primarily in terms of methane greenhouse gas emissions--are predominantly social, policy tools such as consolidation and privatization are unlikely to improve environmental outcomes.

Physiological host range of Trissolcus japonicus in relation to Halyomorpha halys and other pentatomids from California

Brown marmorated stinkbug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys Stal (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is native to Asia and an invasive urban and agricultural pest in the US. In California (CA), BMSB has been recorded attacking specialty crops such as almonds and peaches. The egg parasitoid Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), a key BMSB natural enemy native to Asia, is a candidate for classical biological control efforts targeting BMSB in CA and other parts of the US Trissolcus japonicus cannot be introduced deliberately into CA for BMSB control without US federal regulatory agency approval which is contingent on better understanding of its host range and specificity. Consequently, the host specificity and physiological host range of T. japonicus was evaluated under laboratory quarantine conditions by exposing eggs of BMSB and non-target pentatomid hosts (native and other exotic species) found in CA to T. japonicus. No-choice and binary-choice experiments provided female T. japonicus with equal unrestricted access to eggs of BMSB and non-target pentatomids. In addition to BMSB, eggs from six of ten resident pentatomid species found in CA were parasitized by T. japonicus. However, T. japonicus attack and emergence rates were consistently higher on BMSB when compared to non-target species. These results suggest that T. japonicus is oligophagous, but BMSB is a superior reproductive host compared to non-target pentatomid species that were evaluated. The implications of these findings for classical biological control efforts targeting BMSB in CA are discussed.

The impact of expanded Medicaid eligibility on access to naloxone.

Federal, state and local US governments have sought interventions to reduce deaths due to opioid overdoses by increasing the availability of naloxone. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income, childless adults, potentially giving this group financial access to naloxone. The aims of this paper are: (1) to describe the changes in the amount of Medicaid-covered naloxone used between 2009 and 2016 and (2) to quantify the differential change in the amount of dispensed naloxone between states that expanded their Medicaid programs and states that did not. A quasi-experimental approach based on states' ongoing choice to expand their Medicaid program to all adults with incomes between 100 and 138% of the federal poverty line (FPL), starting in 2014. As of 2018, 37 states had expanded and 14 states had not. Estimation of the policy impact relies on a difference-in-difference method. US state Medicaid programs. Data are from the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and include all dispensed prescriptions of naloxone through the Medicaid program. State/quarters with fewer than 10 prescriptions are suppressed; n=1632. Prior to Medicaid expansion, the number of Medicaid-covered naloxone prescriptions was very similar in expansion and non-expansion states. On average, states that expanded Medicaid had 78.2 (95% confidence interval=16.0-140.3, P=0.02) more prescriptions per year for naloxone compared with states that did not expand Medicaid coverage, a nearly 10 increase over the pre-expansion years. Medicaid expansion contributed to this growth in Medicaid-covered naloxone more than other state-level naloxone policies. Medicaid accounts for approximately a quarter of naloxone sales. Medicaid expansion generated 8.3% of the growth in naloxone units from 2009 to 2016, holding other factors constant.

Federal scientific integrity policies need improvement

Policies designed to protect scientific integrity at US federal agencies are not being fully enforced, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’s investig...

How to foster collaborative performance management? Key factors in the US federal agencies

ABSTRACTPublic employees are urged to be tireless collaborators and skilled performance managers, but can they be both at the same time? We describe two approaches to collaborative performance management observed in the US federal performance system: interagency collaboration to achieve cross-agency goals, and intra-agency collaboration to achieve agency goals. We find that some factors that reinforce intra-agency collaboration – accountability to agency goals, investment in the agency performance system – fail to support, or even undercut, interagency collaboration. However, other factors – seniority, participation in goal-setting, and goal salience – can encourage both types of collaborative performance management.

Pathways of internationalization in US schooling: Local innovations in inclusive global education

Internationally, there has been a growing interest among educational systems in reassessing the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for success in the 21st-century global world. This paper aims to add to the literature about how and to what extent the global emphasis in education is approached, framed, and practiced within different national contexts at the primary and secondary level. The focus is on the federal US education system, where internationalization pathways are established and shaped by a complex constellation of actors, as well as horizontal and vertical policy directions. Specifically, this article discusses recent US discourses and frameworks of internationalization and provides an overview of the ways in which the public school system in Washington, DC has pursued a comprehensive approach to internationalization, which is both locally responsive and inclusive.

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LAND USE AND MITIGATION EFFECTS ON BARRIER BEACH EROSION IN STORMS: CASE STUDY IN RHODE ISLAND

Sea Level Rise (SLR) and storm intensification lead to re-evaluating inundation assessments along the North Atlantic US shoreline. A particular effort is devoted to assessing coastal community risk to “100-year storm” events in Rhode Island, US, using a chain of state-of-the-art storm surge, wave propagation, and coastal erosion 2D models. Damage risks imposed on infrastructures and services incited US federal and state agencies to come up with innovative engineering solutions to improve coastal resiliency while preserving natural coastal and marine environments. This study critically evaluates available design tools used to assess the performance of two types of Natural and Natural Based Features (NNBFs) for coastal protection: natural vegetated barrier islands and dunes reinforced with Geotextile Sand-filled Containers (GSCs), on urbanized barrier islands. Comparative analyses with field data identifies the capabilities and limitations of phase averaging and phase resolving hydro-morphodynamic models used for simulating bed level changes in dissipative beaches, during 3 Sallenger storm regimes. Recommendations are provided on modeling approaches for simulating effects of vegetation and using GSCs to limit coastal erosion.

A Federal US Carbon Tax: Major Design Decisions and Implications

Download : Download high-res image (107KB) Download : Download full-size image Noah Kaufman is a Research Scholar at the Columbia SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) where he directs the Carbon Tax Research Initiative. He worked on energy and climate change policy for World Resources Institute, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and NERA Economic Consulting. Download : Download high-res image (92KB) Download : Download full-size image Jason Bordoff is the Founding Director of the CGEP. Previously, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the Staff of the National Security Council, and prior to that he held senior policy positions on the White House's National Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality.

The shifting role of cities in the global climate change regime: From Paris to Pittsburgh and back?

In recent years cities have asserted themselves as relevant actors in the global climate change regime. International law practice and scholarship has so far only partly embraced this development. The self‐asserting move of cities on the global level has been accompanied by a rhetoric according to which States would have failed to live up to their responsibilities with respect to the fight against climate change. Instead, cities would be well‐positioned to fill this governance gap, in particular through global networks such as ICLEI and C40. This contribution discusses how this narrative is affected by the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change. This was seen as a milestone for the global climate change regime. The Paris Agreement and the decision adopting it are also evidence for a cautious embrace of the importance of cities and other subnational authorities in this field. Yet, new questions arise after the announcement by the United States of their intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. This has generated more attention than ever for what cities and other subnational authorities can do in this field. At the same time, the struggle between the US federal executive and US cities is emblematic for a wider debate on the future of the international (legal) order: how will the balance between States as central actors of the international system on the one hand and an increasingly assertive league of cities and subnational authorities be struck?

A framework for national climate indicators

Indicators have been proposed as critical elements for sustained climate assessment. Indicators provide a foundation for assessing change on an ongoing basis and presenting that information in a manner that is relevant to a broad range of decisions. As part of a sustained US National Climate Assessment, a pilot indicator system was implemented, informed by recommendations and (Kenney et al. 2014; Janetos and Kenney 2015; Kenney et al. Clim Chang 135(1):85–96, 2016). This paper extends this work to recommend a framework and topical categories for a system of climate indicators for the nation. We provide an overview of the indicator system as a whole: its goals, the design criteria for the indicators and the system as a whole, the selection of sectors, the use of conceptual models to transparently identify relevant indicators, examples of the actual indicators proposed, our vision for how the overall network can be used, and how it could evolve over time. Individual papers as part of this special issue provide system or sector-specific details as to how to operationalize the conceptual framework; these recommendations do not imply any decisions that are made ultimately by US federal agencies.

Skin sensitization testing needs and data uses by US regulatory and research agencies.

United States regulatory and research agencies may rely upon skin sensitization test data to assess the sensitization hazards associated with dermal exposure to chemicals and products. These data are evaluated to ensure that such substances will not cause unreasonable adverse effects to human health when used appropriately. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the US Department of Defense are member agencies of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM). ICCVAM seeks to identify opportunities for the use of non-animal replacements to satisfy these testing needs and requirements. This review identifies the standards, test guidelines, or guidance documents that are applicable to satisfy each of these agency's needs; the current use of animal testing and flexibility for using alternative methodologies; information needed from alternative tests to fulfill the needs for skin sensitization data; and whether data from non-animal alternative approaches are accepted by these US federal agencies.

Explaining the survival of public organizations: Applying density dependence theory to a population of US federal agencies

Why do some public organizations survive for many decades, whereas others are terminated within a few years? This question of organizational survival has long intrigued public administration scholars. To explain longevity, public administration research has focused on organizational design features and adaptive capacities. The results have been inconclusive. This article explores an additional explanation for survival and demise: the density dependence theory as formulated in the field of organizational ecology. The underlying premise of this theory is that certain environments can only sustain a certain number of similar‐type organizations. A rising number of organizations fuels competition for scarce resources, which inevitably leads to the demise of organizations. Density theory has often been tested in the business literature, but has been rarely applied to public sector organizations. In this article, we test whether this theory can help explain organizational survival in a population of US federal independent public agencies (n= 142). Our results show that density matters. This is good news for public administration research: the inclusion of density boosts the explanatory power of traditional variables such as design and adaptation.

Does US presidential rhetoric affect asymmetric political violence?

ABSTRACTAlthough political violence has proven to be difficult for governments to manage, predict or control, previous research on the impact of relevant federal government actions and US presidential rhetoric on terrorist attacks and hate crimes demonstrates that what the US government does matters in ways that are both expected and unexpected. In the US, government counterterrorism strategies changed rapidly in response to the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the US. The Bush administration formed a new executive department, centralised intelligence agencies, invested in tangible counterterrorism measures, implemented two invasions and occupations, and spoke publicly about terrorism on a near-daily basis. Yet much has changed since that research, as the US has since elected a president whose presidential campaign relied upon espousing antagonism towards Muslims, immigrants and other minority groups. Further, President Trump’s administration has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to isolate and suppress Muslims as a strategy to combat Islamist extremism in contrast to previous administrations’ more cooperative approaches. This article considers what existing research tells us about whether and how the different actions of the Trump administration may fuel both Jihadi and far-right extremism.

Middle East Studies for the New Millennium: Infrastructures for Knowledge

Middle East Studies for the New Millennium: Infrastructures for Knowledge

Middle East Studies for the New Millennium: Infrastructures for Knowledge

Middle East Studies for the New Millennium: Infrastructures for Knowledge