Summary of Fall 2009 Technology / Public Policy Project Courses

Project Course #1: 19-452B and 88-222

Classroom: Porter Hall A18C

Title: The Next Big Step

Faculty: Baruch Fischhoff and Keith Florig

Project Managers: Anu Narayanan and Ashwin Kumar

Presentation Dates: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 and Thursday, December 3, 2009

Presentation Times: 3:30 pm -- 5:00 pm

Presentation Site: Baker Hall, Room 129, EPP Conference Room

Description:

Graduating seniors face many big decisions, often for the first time in their lives. They include where to work, where to live, how to manage their transportation needs, how to spend their leisure time, how to invest any savings, and what to eat. These decisions often have long-term consequences for various aspects of their lives, including their environmental footprint. The project will devise a guide to graduating seniors, for making these choices, in a way that helps them to accommodate those things that matter to them, including, possibly, environmental impacts. The project will consider the policy implications of removing barriers to informed choices, in which environmental considerations are integrated with other ones.

Project Course #2: 19-452A and 88-222

Classroom: Baker Hall 237B

Title: Obesity in Allegheny County

Faculty: Ed Rubin and Marvin Sirbu

Project Managers: Kate Ricke and Sharon Wagner

Presentation Dates: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 and Thursday, December 3, 2009

Presentation Times: 3:30 pm -- 5:00 pm
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Presentation Site: Baker Hall, Room 237B

Description:

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls it the “obesity epidemic.” They report that over a third of U.S. adults and a sixth of all U.S. children are now obese, and that the rates of obesity have climbed dramatically in just the past few decades—especially for children. The health consequences of obesity are profound. They include increasing levels of diabetes—a disease formerly seen only in adults but now found increasingly in children—as well as a host of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. One result is that the cost of heath care associated with obesity has risen dramatically—at the very time the U.S. is seeking a national solution to lower health care costs.

The CDC and others say that halting obesity will require a number of policy initiatives and interventions. Much of this will involve actions and policies at the local level. Thus the focus of this project is on what should be done here in Allegheny County to deal with the obesity crisis. The class will be assessing the obesity problem at the county level and examining the role of schools, employers, food providers, consumers, and recreational entities in addressing the problem.