Author Archive for Matt Clemons – Page 60

Policy Making in the Digital Age Conference

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 
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The following was composed by SIPA student Shivani Desai, a first year MPA student concentrating in Economic and Political Development.

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This Saturday, February 27, 2010, The Morningside Post will host a conference titled “Policy Making in the Digital Age.”  If you are not yet familiar with The Morningside Post (TMP), we are SIPA’s student-run blog.  TMP aims to foster the debate you didn’t have in class and to feature the most passionate and inquisitive voices in the SIPA community and beyond.

The conference will consider how the Internet and digital technology are changing policy making and international affairs. It comes at a time when the intersections between digital technology and international affairs are increasingly evident, from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent speech on internet freedom and the China-Google censorship controversy, to the Data.gov initiative and the use of Twitter during the Haiti earthquake and the Iranian elections.

Keynote presentations will be given by Richard Boly, director of the Office of eDiplomacy for the U.S. State Department, Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and Brian Storm, president of MediaStorm.

We will feature panels and speakers on a variety of topics, including information communication technology (ICT) and development (including a special forum on Haiti and a discussion of telemedicine strategies), new media and authoritarianism, open governance, and a roundtable discussion of how policy schools can get involved in the debate. Our high profile speakers come from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of eDiplomacy, New York City Council, FrontlineSMS, Ushahidi, and Columbia, Harvard and Stanford Universities.

The policy makers and practitioners who succeed in this landscape will be those who can adapt thoughtfully and quickly to meet the challenges – and opportunities – presented by these digital tools.

The conference is open to the public and free.  We invite prospective students to attend to get a taste of some of the great events that take place at SIPA everyday. To learn more about the conference and to register, please visit the conference website.

The conference is sponsored by SIPA’s International Media, Advocacy and Communications Specialization; the Economic and Political Development Concentration; SIPA News; Journal of International Affairs; Communiqué; SIPA Student Association (SIPASA); Humanitarian Affairs Working Group (HAWG); Latin American Student Association (LASA); and the Office of Career Services.

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SIPA Events

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 
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Just thought I would give all of you out there a taste of what is going on at SIPA the next few weeks.  With 20 different institutes and centers our building is always a hive of activity.

Monday, February 22
February 22, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture: Indonesia’s Oligarchy in Comparative Perspective, with Jeffrey Winters, Associate Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University.
International Affairs Building, Room 918

February 22, 2010 from 12:15 pm to 2:00 pm
SIPA, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Lecture: The Domestic Challenges and Regional Implications of the Iranian Revolution with Professor David Menashri, Director of the Center for Iranian Studies, Dean of Special Programs and Nazarian Chair for Modern Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University
International Affairs Building, Room 707

February 22, 2010 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Harriman Institute
Talk: Temur Yakobashvili, Minister of State for Reintegration of Georgia;  Introduction: Lincoln Mitchell, Columbia University; Discussant: Alexander Cooley, Barnard College, Columbia University
International Affairs Building, Room 1512

February 22, 2010 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Institute of Latin American Studies
Information Session: For undergraduate students interested in a major in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Speaker: Dr. Natasha Lightfoot. Co-sponsored by the Study of Ethnicity and Race
International Affairs Building; Room 802

Tuesday, February 23
February 23, 2010 from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
SIPA, Economic and Political Development Concentration
EPD Speaker Series: ICTs and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with a focus on agricultural development
International Affairs Building, Room 1512

February 23, 2010 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Middle East Institute
Conference: Reconstructions of Fiqh Among Indonesian Traditionalist Muslims, with Martin van Bruinessen, Utrecht University
International Affairs Building, Room 1512

February 23, 2010 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
SIPA Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion
Discussion: Fatma Gocek, Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies, University of Michigan and author of Social Constructions of Nationalism in the Middle East (2002) and Rise of the Bourgeoisie, Demise of Empire: Ottoman Westernization and Social Change (1996). Part of the “Religion, Ethnicity and Politics Lecture Series.”
International Affairs Building, Room 801

February 23, 2010 from 4:20 pm to 6:10 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Lecture: Citizen Complaints and Popular Accountability under Authoritarianism: Evidence from Pre-1989 Eastern Europe and Post-1978 China, with Martin K. Dimitrov.
Jerome Greene Hall, Case Lounge (Room 701)

February 23, 2010 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
SIPA, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Lecture::Global Capabilities of the U.S. Army Special Forces.with Major Gen. Michael S. Repass. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University.
International Affairs Building, Room 707

Wednesday, February 24
February 24, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
SIPA Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion
Discussion: “Who Belongs? Religion, National Identity and Immigrant Integration in Denmark and Sweden” –  Part of the “PhD Thesis Series on Religion and Politics” co-sponsored with Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion (CDTR)
International Affairs Building, Room 801

February 24, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Institute of African Studies
Discussion: The Paradox of Post-Abortion Care (PAC): Health Professionals and the Medicalization of a Quasi-Legal Practice in Senegal with Siri Suh, MPH Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University.
Knox Hall, Room 208

February 24, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Harriman Institute
Panel Discussion with: Ambassador Valery Kuchinsky,Former Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, Alexander Motyl, Political Science, Rutgers, Adrian Karatnycky, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
International Affairs Building, Room 1219

Thursday, February 25
February 25, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture: Thailand’s Crisis: Who Cares About the Economy? with Duncan McCargo Professor of Southeast Asian Politics, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, part of the series “The Global Financial Crisis: Responses from East and Southeast Asia.” .
International Affairs Building, Room 918

February 25, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Harriman Institute
Talk: Ljiljana Smajlovic, President, Journalists Association of Serbia
International Affairs Building, Room 1510

February 25, 2010 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
SIPA International Conflict Resolution Program
Conversation: Alvaro de Soto in conversation with Sir Brian Urquhart
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
Register

February 25, 2010 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Weatherhead East Asian Institute

Special Lecture: Debating the History of the People’s Republic of China – A 60-Year History or 30-Year History? with Wang Hui, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Tsinghua University, Beijing.

The Judith Lee Stronach Center, 820 Schemerhorn Hall

Friday, February 26
From February 26, 2010 through February 27, 2010, All Day Event
Harriman Institute
Conference: Please join the Harriman Institute in association with the Polish Cultural Institute, Romanian Cultural Institute, and Austrian Cultural Forum for a conference marking the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe.
Faculty House
Register

February 26, 2010 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Institute of Latin American Studies
Discussion: ‘“Mashing Ants’: Black Resistance and Survival in Antigua’s Post-1846 Sugar Crisis” with Dr. Natasha Lightfoot; part of the New York City Workshop of Latin American History at the NYC Workshop of Latin American History at NYU.
New York University 53 Washington Square South New York, NY 10012

February 26, 2010 from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
Institute of Latin American Studies
Lecture: Obama in Latin America with Dr. Robert A. Pastor, Professor of International Relations in the School of International Service at American University and Co-Director of the Center for North American Studies (CNAS) and the Center for Democracy and Election Management (CDEM)
International Affairs Building, Room 1510

February 26, 2010 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
SIPA, UN Studies Program
Discussion: UNSP Working Lunch “Rebuilding Haiti” with Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, the Ambassador of Brazil to the UN
Permanent Mission of Brazil to the UN

Saturday, February 27

Harriman Institute
Conference: 20th Anniversary of the Fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe.

See Friday, February 26 for details.

February 27, 2010 from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm EST
SIPA, The Morningside Post
Conference: Policy Making in the Digital Age
International Affairs Building, 15th floor
Register

Sunday, February 28
No Events Scheduled

UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, February 29 – Sunday, March 28

Monday, March 1
From March 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm through March 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm EDT
East Central European Center
Exhibition: A retrospective of 45 years of the turbulent postwar history of a new democracy and U.S. ally. Co-sponsored by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance
International Affairs Building Atrium, Ground Floor

March 1, 2010 from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Middle East Institute
Lecture: The U.S., Hamas, and Peace in the Middle East, with Robert Pastor, Professor of International Relations at American University and is Founder and Co-Director of AU’s Center for Democracy and Election Management
International Affairs Building, Room 1501

March 1, 2010 from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Lecture: U.S.-Japan Relations in East Asia and Beyond with Kouji Murata, Doshisha University; Christina Davis, Princeton University; Ryo Sahashi, Tokyo University; and Devin Stewart, Carnegie Council.
International Affairs Building, Room 918

Tuesday, March 2
March 2, 2010 from 12:15 pm to 2:00 pm
SIPA, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Book Talk: “Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu that Led America into the Vietnam War.” Ted Morgan will  discuss his recent book on the  Vietnam War.
International Affairs Building, Room 1512

March 2, 2010 from 4:20 pm to 6:10 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Lecture: Speaking Law to Political-Economic Power: China’s Derivative Lawsuit Mechanism and the Limits of Private Law, with Nicholas C. Howson, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School. from the series “Colloquium: Chinese Law and Society”
Jerome Greene Hall, Case Lounge (Room 701)

March 2, 2010 from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Lecture: The Hugh Borton and Philip E. Mosely Distinguished Lecture on Eurasia: The Role of Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century – China, Russia, and the United States, with Morton H. Halperin, Senior Advisor, Open Society Institute
International Affairs Building, Room 1501

Wednesday, March 3
March 3, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Institute of Latin American Studies
Lecture: The Politics of Japanese Identities in São Paulo with PhD candidate Stephanie Phillips
International Affairs Building; Room 802

Thursday, March 4
March 4, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Institute of Latin American Studies
Lecture: Growth, Technology, and External Constraints in Latin America with José Gabriel Porcile Meirelles, Associate Professor at the Federal University of Parana in the Department of Economics. Co-sponsored with SIPA’s Economic and Political Development concentration.
International Affairs Building; Room 802

March 4, 2010 from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Center for Homelessness Prevention Studies
Grand Rounds: Family Homelessness: A Multi-System Dilemma with Cheryl Zlotnick, RN, DrPH.
Room 6602, All-Purpose Room Sixth Floor, Psychiatric Institute Entrance at Kolb Annex, 40 Haven Avenue, 168th Street and Haven Avenue (take inside bridge to sixth floor)

Tuesday, March 9
March 9, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture: Resistance in Okinawa to a New U.S. Marine Air Base, and Japan’s “[Un]equal Partnership” with the United States, with Steve Rabson, Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies, Brown University.
International Affairs Building, Room 918

March 9, 2010 from 4:20 pm to 6:10 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Lecture: The Opacity of Texts: Reading Qing Judicial Narratives, from the series “Colloquium: Chinese Law and Society.”
Jerome Greene Hall Case Lounge, Room 701

March 9, 2010 from 6:15 pm to 8:00 pm
Committee on Global Thought
Discussion: A New (dis)Order: Questioning the Self-Regulating Market with Theo Lubke, Senior Vice-President in the Bank Supervision Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Perry Mehrling, Professor of Economics at Barnard College; Gillian Tett, assistant editor of the Financial Times; and Joseph Stiglitz, University Professor of Economics.
International Affairs Building, Kellogg Center
Register

Wednesday, March 10
March 10, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Harriman Institute
Talk: A Theory of Elitocide and Its Impact on Contemporary Understandings of the Crime of Genocide with Dennis Gratz, Publicist (Sarajevo, BiH and Visiting Scholar at Columbia University)
International Affairs Building, Room 1219

Thursday, March 11
March 11, 2010 from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm
Harriman Institute
Performance: The Harriman Institute welcomes the award-winning Washington, DC-based Synetic Theater company to Columbia University’s Miller Theatre for a rare New York performance of its acclaimed production “Host and Guest.”
Miller Theater

Tuesday, March 23
March 23, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture: History Never Dies: Northeast Asia’s Troubled Present, , with Alexis Dudden, Associate Professor, Department of History and Director, Foundations of Humanitarianism Program, University of Connecticut, from the series “North Korea and a Changing Northeast Asia”.
International Affairs Building, Room 918

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SIPA News: Science and Technology

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Monday, February 22nd, 2010 
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The latest issue of SIPA News is now available.  The magazine is published twice per year and features articles written by students and faculty at SIPA.  The topic for this issue is science and technology and the following are just a few of the articles:

  • Video Advocacy for Human Rights
  • How the 21st Century Became Green
  • “This Domain Has Been Disabled”: U.S. Online Service Providers and Their Role in Intermediary Censorship
  • Blogging in Burma:  Cyber-Dissidents Fight for Freedom Against the Odds
  • The Original Medical Tourism Destination: Keeping Patients Coming as Health Care Goes Global
  • Video Sharing from the Grave: A Tale of Murder, Intrigue and Micro blogging in Guatemala
  • Science at SIPA: The Course Work of the Future

The full magazine is available for veiwing as a PDF by clicking here.  All previous issues of SIPA News can also be viewed on line by clicking here.

SIPANewsWinter2010

For details on the following picture, see page 5 of the PDF.

sipanews2010winterphoto

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Faculty in the News: The Fight for Iran

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Friday, February 19th, 2010 
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GarySick-80x94_000In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Professor Gary Sick said “As the regime has cracked down harder and harder, they’re getting better at it. Repression does work. And they are now much more organized in terms of keeping things quiet and keeping the opposition down than they were before.  Click here to view the CNN video.

Professor Sick served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan. He was the principal White House aide for Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis.

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Capstone Workshop: Consulate General of Mexico

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 
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The following was contributed by Anesa Diaz-Uda, a second-year MPA student.

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At the beginning of my last semester, I wondered how I was going to spend the few remaining months in the program.  The past year has been pretty busy with my commitments to student groups, but now that I will no longer be on the board of any of these student groups, what on Earth will I do?

  • Play with my puppy English Bulldog more – check
  • Hang-out with my SIPA and NY friends more – check
  • Sleep more – check
  • Continue my fellowship in the Office of Admissions – check
  • Job-hunt (SIPA students are getting jobs!  I signed my contract with Deloitte Consulting in October, so don’t fret 😉

You read earlier in John’s post that SIPA students are given the opportunity to participate in Capstone Projects.  As an MPA, I must enroll in a Capstone project.  These projects are great experiences because we finally get to put all the reading, memo-writing, quantitative classes and analytical skills to use.  I was placed on the Consulate General of Mexico in New York City project.  I’m very excited to put my Management classes to use, as we dive into a Project Evaluation for the Consulate General.  I’m also really nervous about my ability to remember my college Spanish!

My team met with the Consulate General and his staff at his New York Office. Below is what we’ll be working on, and I’ll keep you posted with our work!

Workshop: Consulate General of Mexico in New York City

Over the past year, the Consulate General of Mexico in New York has radically altered its practices and administrative procedures to improve services provided to Mexican nationals located in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. With one of the largest concentrations of Mexican nationals in the United States, the primary service conducted by the New York Consulate General office is the issuance of identity documents, such as passports and matricula consular IDs, though other services are provided as well. Ambassador Ruben Beltran, Consul of Mexico in the City of New York, formerly Consul General in Los Angeles, implemented a series of administrative changes upon his assignment to the New York office.

Modeled upon Ambassador Beltran’s previous work in Los Angeles, the goals of these changes were to reduce appointment backlog and reduce wait time at the Consulate General for consular services.  Two strategies were implemented to tackle these challenges, including a decentralization of consular services (Consulate on Wheels -a mobile consulate unit which visits areas with a high concentration of Mexican national in the Tri-State area) as well as a redesign of the work flow of consular activities in the actual Consular Office.  The Consulate General would like Columbia University to document and evaluate these changes, as well as offer suggestions to further improve the efficiency of their services.

Objectives:

This project will document recent changes to the practices and administrative procedures conducted by the Consulate General of Mexico in New York, evaluate these changes using performance measurement techniques, and provide suggestions to further improve these services. Specifically, tasks include (1) documentation of recent changes made by the General Consul, as well as other successful strategies to improve services in similar work environments, (2) an analysis of the impact these changes have had on Consular services and customer satisfaction, using both qualitative (e.g. focus groups, individual  interviews with Consulate employees and Mexican nationals using Consular services) and quantitative methods (e.g. analysis of administrative data, survey data, etc.),  3) Provide recommendations for further improvement of services/identify constraints to further improvements, (4) identification of best practices which could be replicated by other General Consul offices.  As a final deliverable, the client will receive a final report evaluating changes to Mexican Consular General services.

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