Practice Final Exam

In preparing for the final exam, consider both the air midterm and the following practice exam. The questions on the final will be similar in form and content, though not identical.

I. Identifications. This section will ask you to write a brief paragraph explaining the meaning and significance of 12 out of 14 items from readings and class discussions (4 points each). Examples:

• David Kessler
• Medicaid
• Negative liberty
• The "Twenty Dollar Test"
• Master Settlement Agreement
• Generic vulnerabilities
• Weighted Student Formula
• Craft organization
• "Connecting the dots" in intelligence
• CPI
Synecdoche
• Organizational cultures
• Expressed v. ulterior motives
• "Broken Windows"

II. Short answers. In this section, you will answer 2 out of 3 question on factual or analytical points from course material (6 points each). Each answer should take no more than half a page. Examples:

• One view is that the poverty line is too high. Another is that it is too low. Another is that it is too high for some, too low for others.  Explain.
• What caused the 2004-2005 flu vaccine shortage?
• Tell how the FCC got into the smoking issue.

III. General Essays. In this section, answer 2 of 3 questions. Each answer should take 2-3 large bluebook pages or 3-4 small bluebook pages. Each is worth 20 points each.

• Fritschler and Rudder write: "In policy space [meaning] all current policies contained in one space bumping up against one another, a change in one policy increasingly impinges on many other policies, again requiring adjustments in those policies." Explain. Why does this "bumping" happen? How does it affect the process of decisionmaking? Give specific examples from the books on smoking and homeland security.
• Bardach advises policymakers to seek out "best practices." Stone would say that this process is far from straightforward.  Explain.
• President Obama recently said, "this increasing inequality is most pronounced in our country, and it challenges the very essence of who we are as a people."  Explain the difficulty of defining and measuring inequality.

IV. Bonus questions (one point each) Very briefly identify the following:

• Estes Kefauver
• Simon Kuznets
• C. Everett Koop
• Paul Krugman
• Sahil Kapur