Browsing Capstone Projects by Issue Date
Now showing items 1-20 of 48
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Ario, Shannon; Elliott, Elizabeth; Gray, Kevin; Hemmeline, Charles; Pomeroy, Dan; White, Andrew; Zurawski, Paul ( 2002)[more][less]
Description: This report analyzed the factors that affect the ability of Texas to attract and retain aerospace-related businesses by considering the following factors: statewide economic development policy, human capital, aviation, space, and military. In addition, the report provided a comparative analysis of ten states with which Texas will be competing for future aerospace-related economic development opportunities.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97000 Files in this item: 1
Texas_Aerospace_Industry_report.pdf (883.2Kb) -
Crady, Kristen L.; Hicks, Sarah K.; Jones, Kami L.; Rhodes, Erica D.; Williams, Elena P.; Pool, Scott ( 2002)[more][less]
Description: This report, which was produced for then-Congressman Bob Riley's office, provided findings regarding the state of emergency preparedness in Calhoun County, Alabama, related to chemical weapons (CW) storage and incineration at the Anniston Army Depot. The analysis addressed the following research question. Given that CW incineration is set to start at the Anniston Army Depot in September 2002, what information would provide the basis for practical dialogue about emergency preparedness in Calhoun County and provide a possible foundation for policy leaders to reach consensus over this critical issue in order to ensure citizen acceptance, understanding, and compliance?
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/96999 Files in this item: 1
Chemical_Weapons_Capstone.pdf (2.043Mb) -
Anderson, Luke; Allen, Chris; Elrod, Leah; Forbes, Melissa; Harbin, Hannah; Stromm, Diann ( 2003)[more][less]
Description: This report traces the history of the Big Thicket region and the political process that occurred to establish the Big Thicket National Preserve, identifies the current threats facing the Big Thicket region, and describes a continuum of possible policy solutions that might be applied to the threats facing the Big Thicket.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97001 Files in this item: 1
Big_Thicket.pdf (1.955Mb) -
Alford, John; Blackburn, Casey; Holland, Lynn; Rolison, Richard; Schwartz, Andrew; Smith, James; Williams, Erin ( 2003)[more][less]
Description: This report informed the USDA about the status of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory systems in five Central American countries that are participating in negotiations for a Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States. To complete the report, the Capstone team sent surveys to the appropriate in-country experts in each of the five CAFTA countries and utilized the Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation model to measure the level of compliance with international standards.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97002 Files in this item: 1
CAFTA_Report.pdf (421.4Kb) -
Bearden, Christi; Cruz, Nelda; Heinsohn, Heidi; Kuzaro, Jami; Norton, Keller; Richardson, Willis; Wood, Meghan ( 2004)[more][less]
Description: This report describes, analyzes, and contains a tool designed to provide local leaders and citizens with a way to assess the status of a variety of elements within their community. The tool, named the Rural Viability Index, offers communities the opportunity to identify possible options for current and future community planning.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97003 Files in this item: 1
ORCA_Capstone.pdf (290.6Kb) -
Gray, Jennifer; Gray, Marshall; Hodges, Joshua; Jewell, Jeff; Larson, Marcia; Mitchell, Ryan; Murello, Erin; Murello, Steve; Reeves, Alice; Siddique, Julie ( 2005)[more][less]
Description: In the aftermath of voting problems in the 2000 presidential election, Congress passed legislation seeking to reform how elections were run and what voting technologies were used. Some of the new voting systems selected, particularly electronic voting systems, drew criticism for perceived security and transparency problems. Absent from this debate was any systematic representation of the views of the administrators who actually run these elections. This report presented the results of a survey of over 1400 local election officials from across the country. The survey solicited views on specific election systems and technologies; the factors local election officials consider in determining the appropriate election systems for their specific jurisdictions; the influence of vendors and federal, state, and local officials on the decision making process; the impact of federal reform on state and local jurisdictions; and other topics.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97005 Files in this item: 1
VotingSystemsReport.pdf (3.174Mb) -
Bennett, Jason; Dascaliuc, Svetlana; Grossman, Nick; Hunt, Michael; Kenesson, Laura; Madden, Tara; McWilliams, Austin; Scott, Whitney; Stubbs, Megan ( 2005)[more][less]
Description: This report contains recommendations, analysis, and an assessment tool for the Economically Distressed Areas program administered by the Texas Water Development Board. The purpose of the assessment tool, known as the Applicant Capacity Assessment Tool (ACAT), was to reduce the number of water infrastructure projects running over-budget and over-schedule.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97004 Files in this item: 1
TWDB_Capstone.pdf (373.8Kb) -
Grameen Bank ( 2006)[more][less]
Description: Much of the world's poor has difficulty in obtaining loans, especially the small loans (termed microfinance) they require. In order to improve access, Mohammed Yunus founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, which uses innovative methods so the poor can obtain loans. The lessons of the Grameen Bank have been replicated worldwide, including in India in 2004 with Grameen Capital India (GCI). GCI partners with commercial banks such as the largest Indian private bank, ICICI bank, and Citigroup in order to provide funds to microfinance institutions. It structures its financial products so that low-income producers can access capital markets through various initiatives. GCI wants to expand this effort because only 5 % of Indian microfinance demand is now being met but is concerned that expanding is difficult. They believe they can learn much from an organization that has successfully increased its scale.
A parallel organization in the U.S. is the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF, crfusa.com). The CRF provides economic development funds and acts as a secondary market for loans for affordable housing and community facilities. Founded in 1989, with lending institutions in 22 states, the CRF has more experience than GCI in expanding operations. Students in this capstone project interacted with members from both the CRF and GCI and applied the lessons of the CRF to the GCI. They provided valuable advice to GCI on how it can enhance financial assistance for very small entrepreneurs in India, especially housing finance.
In this endeavor, students became familiar with one of the most popular of development fields. They actively engaged in current discussions on financial development in India and enhanced their own analytical skills in the fields of economics and finance.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97038 Files in this item: 0
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Ambassador David Abshire and the Laury Foundation ( 2006)[more][less]
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
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County Judge Randy Sims, Texas Director of Homeland Security; The Department of Homeland Security ( 2006)[more][less]
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
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Centra Technology ( 2006)[more][less]
Description: The Iraqi insurgency was formed by multiple nationalities and ethnicities with disparate goals and motivations. A central question to understanding the insurgency's unity is whether there is command and control, which is defined as the sharing of tactics, information, and skills. This capstone explored this question by investigating how insurgent groups in the past have managed to communicate and disseminate tactics, even while operating in a dangerous environment controlled by their more powerful adversary. The class then applied this historical lesson to the current situation in Iraq and examined whether the history of attacks indicated command and control in the Iraqi insurgency.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97035 Files in this item: 0
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Aguirre, Elisa; Gleeson, Thomas; McCutchen, Amanda; Mendiola, Leticia; Rich, Katherine; Schroder, Rick; Stephenson, Megan; Varner, Orie ( 2006)[more][less]
Description: This study provided an analysis of the relative costs and benefits of a high-quality, universally-accessible pre-kindergarten program in Texas. The analysis identified the costs and benefits unique to Texas' population, workforce, economy and existing educational system. It concluded that even when making very conservative assumptions, the benefits of universally-accessible, high-quality pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds in Texas greatly outweigh the costs.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97006 Files in this item: 4
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The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN), led by Jon Pratt ( 2007)[more][less]
Description: This capstone group conducted an analysis of the nonprofit capacity-building "industry" in Minnesota. (The nonprofit capacity-building "industry" comprises the consultants, private and nonprofit firms, management support organizations, and academic centers that provide technical assistance and leadership training to nonprofits.) It was a replication of studies by Dr. Angela Bies in Pittsburgh during 2004-2005 and of a Central Texas capstone during 2005-2006. This capstone project contributed to a growing interest in measuring the effectiveness of nonprofit capacity-building efforts and the degree to which those efforts influence nonprofit organizational effectiveness. The general purpose of the project was to provide information about effective strategies and interventions to strengthen nonprofit management and organizational capacity, the types of challenges nonprofit organizations and providers face in building capacity, and the degree to which there were unmet needs in the region.
A multi-method approach was utilized including a survey administered to nonprofits by both an online and paper questionnaire; interviews with a representative sample of capacity building providers, policy makers, and funders; and focus groups with nonprofit executives. Results were also compared to the results obtained in the Pittsburgh and Central Texas studies.
This project addressed substantial gaps in both the practitioner-oriented and academic literature because it provided a comprehensive, empirically derived understanding of the link between capacity-building efforts and organizational change.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97011 Files in this item: 0
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Princeton University Press ( 2007)[more][less]
Description: Students researched the diary of George Bush, 41st President of the United States, written during the time that he served as the Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing (1974-1975). Searching through archives and preparing text and footnotes, the students contributed work for an upcoming publication from Princeton University Press, expected in 2008. Students also presented their work to interested parties within the Bush School and Library.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97034 Files in this item: 0
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The Department of State ( 2007)[more][less]
Description: Students worked to develop an extensive database on contemporary Uzbekistan through library and online research and interviews with leading American and foreign experts on Uzbekistan and the region. In order to explore the challenges, opportunities, and policy options that will confront U.S. policy-makers, Bush School students constructed and executed a multi-move simulation. The simulation did not provide definitive answers, as different players in the simulation and future U.S. policy-makers may reach different conclusions on the most effective and constructive policy options.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97033 Files in this item: 0
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The Long Range Analysis Group, National Intelligence Council (Director of National Intelligence) ( 2007)[more][less]
Description: Looking ahead to 2025, what policies should future US administrations consider as appropriate responses to climate change, and what level of commitment should be devoted to addressing global climate change by the US government? To answer the key question, the project addressed the following secondary issues:
1.Based on the best scientific evidence currently available, what will the most likely manifestations of global climate change be by 2025? This includes aggregate changes (surface temperatures, rising sea levels) as well as discrete changes (drought, flooding, disease, storms, heat waves). With respect to the latter, what are the probabilities that such events will be more (or less severe) than they are today? 2.Based on the answers to the above, how politically salient will the issue of responding to global climate change be in 2025 (globally, by geographic region/location, by coalitions of similarly situated countries)? 3.What low-probability, but potentially catastrophic events, may occur and how should these be taken into account by US policy? 4.Responding to global climate change could be costly financially. However, there also could be positive spin-offs from addressing the consequences of global climate change. What may these positive spin-offs be (new technologies, energy independence, health, multilateral leadership, reputation gains)?
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97032 Files in this item: 0
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World Bank Trade Division ( 2007)[more][less]
Description: This capstone project deals with standards imposed on the trade of agricultural imports from developing countries by developed countries. BSE, foot and mouth disease, and avian flu are all major concerns for US and European consumers. These governments are extremely risk averse and want to reduce the risk of transmitting any kind of disease, especially those borne by agricultural products, to zero. There is no tolerance for risk. But is there a less burdensome system that also can achieve the zero-tolerance policy?
One of the requirements is that there be no contact between different animals. For example, hoofed animals, which may be possible carriers of foot and mouth disease, must be completely separated from each other. This requires building artificial barriers to separate the animals. But this has deleterious effects for tourism in African countries, where tourists from the developed world go on safaris to see animals. Building fences and artificial barriers reduces the naturalness of the habitat and reduces the attraction for tourism. In order to reduce the cost of the fences, agencies like USAID may subsidize the building of the fences, but they do not subsidize the loss in tourism. Thus there are real costs to these countries. So the main questions this project addressed were these:
1.Are there any alternatives? 2.Is it possible to institute policies that are less burdensome and yet achieve the desired outcome (which is to reduce the risk of spreading diseases)?
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97031 Files in this item: 0
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Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations ( 2007)[more][less]
Description: This study addressed the support, stability, and reconstruction missions and tasks for the U.S. government in counterinsurgency warfare and suggests that interagency processes between civilian and military elements are in need of reform as a prerequisite for improving U.S. performance in complex counterinsurgencies. The project examined, assessed, and defined the nature of these problems in the context of historical case studies, policymaking, and current operations, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, suggesting several ways to improve agency and interagency structures, as well as the education and training of core interagency civilian and military professionals. The findings were presented at a conference on the topic, hosted by the Bush School and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97030 Files in this item: 0
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Fernandez, Kandyce; Flores, Santa; Huang, Emily; Igwe, Carolyn; McDonald, Leslie; Stroud, Ryan; Willis, Rebecca; Dugat, Amber ( 2007)[more][less]
Description: Policymakers and superintendents have been holding teachers accountable for student performance in Texas public schools. As the interest in results and school accountability has grown, attention has shifted to the role administrators play in creating a successful educational environment. The task for this capstone was to create a set of indicators for what an effective principal might look like. The project focused on three areas: Student Performance, Teacher Retention, and Financial Management, with the understanding that an effective principal would have students who perform well on TAAS/TAKS exams, have acceptable levels of teacher turnover, and achieve these results in a financially efficient manner. Using data from the Texas Education Agency, the project developed indicators for each of these three categories so that it would have a concrete way to discuss a principal's success. After defining what it meant to say a principal is "effective," students also checked to see if a principal's influence was statistically significant controlling for other, non-principal factors such as location, demographics, and school size. Finally, the project looked at various groupings of principals in Texas in order to report on the current patterns of principal effectiveness in the state.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97010 Files in this item: 2
PrincipalPerformanceinTexas.pdf (606.2Kb)(more files) -
Congressional Research Service ( 2007)[more][less]
Description: After the completion of the highly successful 2004-2005 capstone project, "Voting Systems and Election Reform: What Do Election Officials Think?", the Congressional Research Service agreed with the principal investigators from the school that another study would be useful after the 2006 election. The second study focused on three topics:
1. a follow-up survey on selected questions from the previous study to identify trends relating to issues of interest, such as attitudes toward electronic voting and demographic characteristics of election officials; 2. an examination of selected new questions, in particular the experiences and perceptions of officials about compliance with the requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) that went into effect in January 2006; and 3. an in-depth exploration of selected topics through structured interviews with a sample of election officials. One example is the role vendors play in decisions about the purchase of voting systems — an issue about which the earlier survey provided somewhat contradictory results.
The follow-up study was useful to the relevant congressional committees as they considered possible revisions to the Help America Vote Act in light of experiences in the 2004 and 2006 elections.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/97009 Files in this item: 0
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