SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs

November 9, 2011

	Why Do We Vote? Analyzing, predicting, and influencing voter behavior will be in the news for much of the next year as local and national campaigns - including those in the race for the White House - try to gain an edge. Professor Michael Ting lays the groundwork for research into why voters behave the way they do, as co-author of the 2011 book A Behavioral Theory of Elections.
	From SIPA to Iraq to Afghanistan After graduation, Carlos Terrones (MPA ‘08) left New York City for Iraq and Afghanistan. For more than two years, he has been working for the U.S. Department of State in governance and reconstruction-development efforts. In an interview with SIPA, Carlos shared his experience working in conflict zones and how his lessons at SIPA have helped along the way.
	Crisis Mapping: IDP Settlements in Somalia SIPA’s New Media Task Force is mapping the settlements of internally displaced people in Somalia. The group launched a “Situation Room” through November 10. Crisis mapping director Nadia Hasham (MIA ’12) speaks with PBS about SIPA's role in this worldwide network of volunteers that is using a breakthrough technology to help others.
	This Week Nuclear Statecraft: Reassessing the History of the Nuclear Age, featuring Frank Gavin, director of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, November 9 The Politics of Human Rights in International Conflict: The Palestinian-Israeli Case Study, November 10 Ecogram IV: CHINA—Supercities and Vast Migrations: China’s Urban Futures, November 11 Leaders in Global Energy: Wind Energy in China, Europe and the U.S., November 14
	Columbia Energy Symposium: Leaders of Today and Tomorrow The 7th annual symposium on November 18 will foster the exchange of ideas between academia and industry. Among the discussions, keynote speakers will address energy policy in the United States and global risks in the international oil industry. The symposium is organized by the SIPA Student Energy Association and the Graduate School of Business Energy Club.
	In the News David Dinkins calls for President Obama to commute the sentence of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, Jerusalem Post Jeffrey Sachs and Niall Ferguson debate Occupy Wall Street and the 1 percent, CNN Andrew Stark reviews Beyond the Finite, Wall Street Journal
	SIPA Online William Luers, adjunct professor and former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and Czechoslovakia, co-wrote “The House's Iran Diplomacy Folly” at the The Daily Beast. Wei Jiang (MIA ’13): “A Moral Crisis, Times 1.3 Billion,” Policy Innovations Gary Sick sits down for a “three-question interview” during his lecture series on the U.S. in the Persian Gulf at the Bologna Institute of Policy Research. Joshua Rovner took part in a panel discussion on “The Relationship Between Intelligence and Policy” at the Cato Institute. Watch it here.
	Suresh Naidu said during a panel discussion there is “something to be gained in observing (Occupy Wall Street’s) non-hierarchical organization.” The Brooklyn Ink Sankalpa Dashrath writes “Diwali and the Truth About Lies,” The Morningside Post, SIPA’s student-run blog.

Photo by Carlos Terrones (MPA ’08): A sandstorm in Iraq.

Since graduation from SIPA, Carlos has been working for the U.S. Department of State in Iraq and Afghanistan. He offers advice to SIPA students who want to work in a conflict zone: “Having a basic knowledge in management is important because of the rapid change of policies… With good management you will be able to adapt to crises and create solutions for your work colleagues and local counterparts.”