Browsing by Subject "Public affairs"

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Dancing the Texas two-step backwards: the public policy legacy of Ann Richards
(2016-08) Yachinich, Virginia Leigh; Rodriguez, Victoria Elizabeth, 1954-; Rhodes, Diane M
Ann Richards, the 45th Governor of the State of Texas, is the only woman to be elected to the Governor’s Office in Texas. In addition to holding the governorship, Richards also served as Travis County Commissioner and State Treasurer. Richards established herself as a champion for women and made a name for herself by opening up government to ordinary people, taking on the well-established good ol’ boys in politics, and generally raising hell. This report examines her life, public service, policies, and her legacy, which has yet to be finished.
“Dr. Paul cured my apathy”: Ron Paul’s libertarian discourse
(2013-08) Goad, Rhiannon Jade; Heinzelman, Susan Sage; King, Christopher
During the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, many young white men found a political hero in the 77-year-old Republican Congressman from Texas, whose rallies often center on obscure, technical arguments concerning the Federal Reserve. It is because of the grassroots support of the young white men who adore him that Ron Paul has become a major figure in today’s political scene. What attracts young white men to Ron Paul? This paper explores the history and discourse of Libertarianism to better understand the political subjectivity and identity of Ron Paul supporters. In Chapter 2, I historically contextualize Paul’s libertarian discourse. I argue that the discourse of libertarianism is characterized by claims to an apolitical, ahistorical past in which Libertarian rhetoric naturalizes discourses of free market capitalism, “classical” liberalism, and “authentic” Americanism. In Chapter 3, I shift focus to Ron Paul’s career and policy positions and argue that Paul’s Libertarian discourse naturalizes existing hierarchies of race, class, and gender. In Chapter 4, I explain the interview methodology used for this project. Finally, in Chapters 5 and 6, I explore how libertarian discourse is (re)produced or disrupted through the personal political discourse of Ron Paul supporters.
Municipal economic growth through green projects and policies
(2012-05) Lindner, Harry Dreyfus; Gamkhar, Shama
Cities generally need economic growth. Green policies and projects are environmentally beneficial, desirable, expected by the public, and pragmatic in the long term. However, there is insufficient research on what, if any, municipal green projects and policies generate economic growth. To address this question, the author created a database of green and economic indicators, and modeled the green indicators to predict the economic indicators. The database included carbon usage, transportation metrics, water usage, the number of green jobs, and the gross domestic product (GDP) for the 100 largest cities, defined by metropolitan statistical area (MSA), in the U.S. To gather data on green indicators, existing green rankings, indices, and reports were evaluated for methodology and usability for this paper. The results of the data-gathering step show the need for more and better data collection. That means an increased number of green indicators should be collected, and data should be collected at the MSA (or county) level for more of the largest cities. Specifically to name some green indicators, data collection on energy usage, buildings, waste, land use, air quality, and food could be improved. Those green indicators would likely be included in a model that uses green indicators to predict green jobs or GDP. However, those were not included for the regressions in this paper. The results of the regressions in this paper show two indicators with promise for predicting economic growth as defined by GDP and number of green jobs: (1) percent of people using public transportation, biking, or walking to work, and (2) public water consumption per person. The first explanatory variable indirectly measures the adoption of policies that promote public transportation, biking, and walking. The results suggest that these policies have a positive effect on GDP and number of green jobs. This means the results suggest that as the percent increases, so does GDP and number of green jobs. The second explanatory variable measures the water conservation policies. The results suggest this variable has a negative, albeit weaker relationship with GDP per person. This means the results suggest as water conservation increases (less water usage per person), the GDP per person increases. This paper offers a methodology and some of the groundwork for building a model to show which, if any, municipal green projects and policies predict economic growth.
The unlikely success of green power in America’s reddest state, and its uncertain future
(2012-05) Gerdau, Axel; Dahlby, Tracy; Alves, Rosental
This narrative chronicles the development of the utility scale wind industry in Texas from the perspective of the people who made it possible. It also looks ahead at the challenges facing the most mature green power sector in the United States.