George Bush School of Government and Public Service

Recent Submissions

• The Regional Impact of Climate Change on Public Infrastructure and Decision Making

  Bjune, Stephen; Briscoe, H. Dorrell; Cruickshanks, Brian; McElroy, Amy; Nickeson, Daniel; Richardson, Adam; Schmid, Matt; Wang, Fangfang "Jessie" (May 2009)

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  Description:

  In the wake of Hurricanes Rita and Ike, policy and decision makers in the Houston area are concerned with the growing threat of climate change impacts and how to adapt to these changes. This capstone studied the regional impact of climate change on public infrastructure in 13 counties in the Houston-Galveston area, focusing on resiliency planning as one alternative solution to the problem. They also looked at how local governments respond to recommendations from a non-binding metropolitan planning organization (MPO). The goal was to offer conclusions that reveal the needs and solutions for local and regional governments regarding funding, capacity building, and regulatory authority necessary for adaptive responses to the hazards of global climate and environmental problems at the regional level.

  URI:

  http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97042

  Files in this item: 1

  AdaptionToClimateChange.pdf   (1.399Mb)
• National Preparedness Goal, Execution, and Performance

  Alexander, Michael; Carrington, Clement; Erxleben, Whitney; Garcia, Edgar; Grandstaff, Kathryn; Meehan, Elisabeth; Morales, Lyndsey; Nyquist, David; Taylor, Lindsay (April 2009)

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  Description:

  A presidential directive ordered the secretary of homeland security to develop a domestic all-hazards preparedness goal. In 2007, the Department of Homeland Security finalized the national goal and related preparedness tools such as national planning scenarios and identification of specific capabilities that communities, the private sector, and all levels of government should collectively possess to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from all major hazards. This capstone project reported to the GAO their observations about what national preparedness means in terms of assigning authority and responsibility for preparedness across the nation's highly decentralized system of public, not-for-profit, and private sector entities. They also reviewed factors management should consider to achieve preparedness within acceptable risk tolerances, to allocate resources for preparedness, and to assess performance in developing needed preparedness capabilities.

  URI:

  http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97041

  Files in this item: 2

  NationalPreparednessDeliverableI.pdf   (1129.Kb)

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• Introducing…Objectivity, A Texas Redistricting Report

  Close, James; Maddox, Ben; Norboge, Nicolas; Olsen, Brady; Vedlitz, Katy; Walter, Michael; Welkener, Craig (May 2011)

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  URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97040

  Files in this item: 1

  CapstoneRedistricingReportFINAL.pdf   (1.500Mb)
• Analysis of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

  Ambassador David Abshire and the Laury Foundation ( 2006)

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  Description:

  The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) was established in 1956 to provide the President with a nonpartisan evaluation of the role and effectiveness of U.S. intelligence collection, counterintelligence, covert action operations, and intelligence analysis. Over the years, PFIAB has evolved to reflect the needs of the times and in response to the style of each president. In addition, the government has created new centers and other organizations leading to competing views and the bureaucratic challenge of coordination and oversight of intelligence. No detailed analysis of PFIAB had been conducted. In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy and the new intelligence reform environment, it was essential to examine the role of the PFIAB in the past to determine how it best can serve future presidents' national security decision-making responsibilities. The aim of the analysis was to determine what had been the strengths and weaknesses of the PFIAB in the past and to identify a productive role for the PFIAB in this new environment. Given the current intelligence needs of the country, such an examination was essential. It helped further define the role of PFIAB and shed light on the interrelationship of various intelligence components. Most importantly, it provided recommendations for presidential action to redefine, and possibly augment, the role of the PFIAB.

  URI:

  http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97037

  Files in this item: 0

• Applications to Homeland Security from the Katrina and Rita Hurricanes

  County Judge Randy Sims, Texas Director of Homeland Security; The Department of Homeland Security ( 2006)

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  Description:

  Gaps of understanding exist between Homeland Security Response and Recovery strategies and policies at the federal level versus understanding, authority, and capability at the state and local level. Responsibilities, authority, and expectations at every level of government (including the public) need to be clarified. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita provide an excellent case study to see what policies should be changed in the areas of response and recovery to major disasters in the future. A variety of strategies, policies, and plans are already in place to deal with disasters and catastrophic events. Faculty members provided access to documents that describe the policies, as well as a framework to examine response and recovery "at the tip of the spear." Students selected the aspect of the framework they wished to address, fleshed it out in detail through discussions and research, identified the gaps in theory, used Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita to examine how those gaps developed in reality, and developed a set of policy recommendations to close those gaps. The final student recommendations were presented to the clients.

  URI:

  http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97036

  Files in this item: 0