Caveat Emptor: What Do We Know about Public Administration Evidence and How Do We Know It?

This article provides an overview of a new feature in Public Administration Review called Evidence in Public Administration. This feature was created to provide a space in which scholars and practitioners of public administration can meet to engage in a dialogue about evidence in public decision making. In this feature, we will shine a light on the evidence needed to make effective decisions and examinations of the evidence that currently exists for contemporary public sector efforts. We explicitly want to create a resource for both practitioners and scholars to consult when trying to find evidence on a particular topic and to know the limitations and parameters of that evidence. This article lays out the purpose, scope, and rationale for the feature, as well as a call to engage in this endeavor.     

Night Vision Electro-Optics technology transfer: A decade of activity

The US Army’s Night Vision and Electro-Optics Laboratory, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, has for the past decade encouraged the transfer of its unique technology into the non-military community. Our scientists and engineers have developed a wide spectrum of devices that provide the military forces with such benefits as being able to “see” at night without being detected, the ability to accurately determine ranges and to designate targets. Although our objective has been to develop devices to enhance the combat effectiveness of the US Army, many of these night vision and electro-optical devices have a great potential for serving useful functions in the non-military community. Therefore, the technology behind these devices which are not classified may, as the need dictates, be transitioned into the private sector through technology transfer. It is the intent of this paper to provide an introduction to the nature of this technology and to illustrate by high-lighting selected spinoffs, the many uses of night vision and electro-optics which have been adapted by the non-military community.     

Do Barriers to Crime Prevention Moderate the Effects of Situational Crime Prevention Policies on Violent Crime in High Schools?

This study investigates how barriers to school-based crime prevention programming moderate the effects of situational crime prevention (SCP) policies on levels of violent crime in U.S. public high schools. Using data from the 2008 School Survey on Crime and Safety, we estimate a series of negative binomial regression models with interactions to investigate whether the effects of SCP policies on violent crime vary by the presence of school-based barriers to crime prevention, such as poor teacher training, inadequate funds, and lack of parental support. Our results indicate that the effect of certain SCP policies operate differently depending on the presence or absence of specific limiting factors. Policy implications of this research suggest that schools can aid in preventing violent crime by addressing obstacles to the effective implementation of school crime prevention efforts.