Workshop Focuses on Muslim American Scholarship
Scholars from around the United States gathered Dec. 15, 2017, at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs to discuss research on topics such as understanding of Muslim American attitudes, sociopolitical behavior and identity. This was the second workshop — the first was held in 2016 at Menlo College — funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant and organized by independent scholars Brian Calfano, Melissa Michelson and Nazita Lajevardi. The workshop brought researchers together to share, collaborate and exchange ideas on Muslim American scholarship and how to advance research in this multifaceted area. The group also discussed strategies and next steps to expand research such as a national study on Muslim Americans, according to the organizers. UCLA Luskin Dean Gary Segura and Matt Barreto, professor of political science and Chicana/o Studies at UCLA, were among presenters who shared tips and best practices. Segura, who holds appointments in public policy, political science and Chicana/o studies at UCLA, and Barreto are also leaders of the newly launched Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (LPPI) affiliated with UCLA Luskin. “Not only do scholars here examine Muslim Americans in their own work, the Luskin School has demonstrated its commitment to diversity and inclusion,” said Lajevardi, a 2009 UCLA graduate and political scientist set to join the faculty of Michigan State University. — Stan Paul
View a Flickr album from the workshop:
Jacoby Addresses Japanese Leaders on Sharing Economy
UCLA Luskin’s Sanford M. Jacoby, distinguished research professor of public policy, management and history, spoke recently to leaders of the Japan Federation of Transport Workers Unions. The federation is a branch of RENGO (Japan’s equivalent of the AFL-CIO) and currently has about 50,000 members — most of whom belong to enterprise unions affiliated with individual companies — said Jacoby, describing the Japanese system. Also attending the Nov. 20, 2017 meeting were several members of the Japanese Diet’s House of Councillors, the equivalent of the U.S. Senate, from the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshintō). Jacoby, an economist by training, spoke about the positive and negative aspects of a sharing economy. The primary focus of the talk was about companies such as Airbnb and Uber, which remain controversial in Japan and in European countries, explained Jacoby, who has studied Uber’s delayed entry into the Japanese market. Although Airbnb was recently legalized there in anticipation of the 2020 Olympics, Uber presents a different problem. Under current Japanese national transportation laws, a service such as Uber is unlawful. “There are contending forces to both legalize it and to prevent its entry into Japan,” said Jacoby, who studies employers, labor market institutions and international political economy. Rather than competing head-on with taxi companies, Uber has begun partnering with them. Jacoby said the situation remains uncertain, but this type of collaboration may be Uber’s future in Japan. — Stan Paul
Turning Food Policy Into a Hands-On Learning Experience
The UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the UCLA Food Studies Graduate Certificate Program wrapped up its 10-week “Off the Table” series on urban agriculture, food security, and food policy with a moderated discussion on the sustainability of social enterprises within the food industry led by Evan Kleiman, chef and host of “Good Food” on KCRW. She was joined by panelists Anar Joshi of Everytable, Kaitlin Mogentale of Pulp Pantry, Nick Panepinto of L.A. Kitchen and Karla T. Vasquez of SalviSoul during a gathering on Nov. 30 at the L.A. Kitchen facility in Lincoln Heights near downtown Los Angeles. Among other topics, the speakers talked about their efforts to promote healthy eating among young people. “One of our most successful programs was cooking lessons for kids,” Vasquez said during the panel discussion. “We told them, ‘You can like something, love something, or hate it. But you have to make it. There’s so much food in the world, and you get to try it all!’” Afterward, attendees had a chance to do some cooking themselves, making a vegetarian ricotta carpaccio from scratch under Kleiman’s direction. Download the recipe. View a video of the panel discussion. Browse a Flickr album of images from the event below.
Volunteers Collect Food for the Needy at Farmer’s Market
On Dec. 2, 2017, UCLA Luskin Master of Urban and Regional Planning students Alexander Salgado and Ana Kobara joined with UCLA undergraduate mentees Audree Hsu and Sophie Go as part of the UCLA Luskin Food Mentorship program to participate in a volunteer effort with Food Forward. Food Forward is a nonprofit organization that works with multiple farmer’s markets in Los Angeles to collect donated food from vendors to pass along to organizations in need of fresh food. Throughout the day, the students walked a farmer’s market in Hollywood and delivered empty boxes to vendors that could fill them with produce. For the day, the student volunteers collected and organized more than 1,700 pounds of food, which was then delivered or picked up by various organizations in need. “The experience in itself was very rewarding,” Salgado said. “It was nice to see vendors so eager and willing to help others.”
Informed Choices Regarding Mental Health
As part of the Mental Health and Public Child Welfare Lecture series, Laura Delano, founder and executive director of Inner Compass Initiative (ICI), visited UCLA Luskin on Nov. 16 to discuss her efforts to reclaim care from the “psychiatric-pharmaceutical industrial complex.” Through the ICI, Delano has worked to provide information and resources to facilitate more informed choices regarding all things mental health. Speaking to her experiences as an ex-psychiatric patient, Delano said, “I fully embraced the mental health system and my diagnosis when I was so hopeless for a solution to the pain. I thought maybe if I embrace this diagnosis and do everything the doctor says, I will be able to survive.” Delano suggested that the system must change the way it portrays mental illness as being in opposition to “normalcy” in order to put an end to patients feeling ostracized because of their medical diagnoses. Click below to view a Flickr album of photos from the lecture by Bryce Carrington.
Student Awarded Prestigious Myra L. Frank Memorial Scholarship
UCLA Luskin Urban and Regional Planning master’s degree candidate Ribeka Toda has received the $10,000 Myra L. Frank Memorial Scholarship for women pursuing career paths in transportation. “Each fatal crash I had ever analyzed in a database had a mother, a father, a child, a dear friend. As a transportation planner, I feel a deep sense of responsibility that we have not done enough,” said Toda of her motivation to focus primarily on roadway safety. Martin Wachs, distinguished professor emeritus of urban planning at UCLA Luskin, described Toda as an exemplary student whose dedication to improving public safety in transportation goes beyond solely an interest in the technical field, but also as a vital public service.
