Texas groundwater management community. Ron Fieseler, General Manager of the Blanco-Pedernales Gr... more Texas groundwater management community. Ron Fieseler, General Manager of the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District, provided leadership and direction to the class. He organized the class field trip to GMA 9, scheduled and hosted GMA 9 meetings, and provided both technical and practical guidance on groundwater policy in classroom discussions. Fieseler and his GMA 9 colleagues identified stakeholders and facilitated project stakeholder interviews. The class also thanks Suzanne Schwartz, J.D., Environmental Program Director at the CPPDR of the College of Law at UT, for organizing a conference in October 2006 on the "Decision Making and Cooperative Problem Solving: Making the DFC Process Work for Groundwater Management Areas" and allowing class members to attend. Robert Mace, Ph.D., P.G. of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) provided guidance on groundwater management policies and technical assistance with the groundwater availability model (GAM) and MODFLOW. Rima Petrossian, M.S., P.G., of the TWDB advised the class on a weekly basis on groundwater management and policy in Texas. Suzanne Pierce, Ph.D., and Wes Barnes, Ph.D., the Cullen Trust for Higher Education Endowed Professor in Engineering of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, provided technical instruction in modular finite-difference groundwater FLOW model (MODFLOW). Marcel Dulay, M.S., P.E., guided members of the class in the techniques of narrative interviewing and qualitative analysis of interviews. Speakers from private businesses and state and federal agencies conveyed background information on water policy and groundwater modeling to the PRP class. The class thanks
Curtis W. Meadows, Jr., of Dallas developed the concept for this project and encouraged both the ... more Curtis W. Meadows, Jr., of Dallas developed the concept for this project and encouraged both the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs (LBJ School) at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and the Meadows Foundation of Dallas to implement the study. This project was an activity of the Curtis W. Meadows Jr. Social Enterprise Fellows Program of the RGR Center for Philanthropy and Community Service of the LBJ School and UT Austin. The report is dedicated to Curtis Meadows and his commitment to enabling LBJ School and UT Austin graduate students to develop career opportunities as non-profit leaders.
Information and knowledge management challenges abound in groundwater sciences. Groundwater probl... more Information and knowledge management challenges abound in groundwater sciences. Groundwater problems of interest to society are characteristically complex and exceed our ability to solve them without the aid of computational analysis. Yet discipline specific problems that are of interest to hydrogeologists frequently do not directly address the immediate decision making needs of policy makers, groundwater managers, and stakeholders. It is the immediate societal needs that drive the demand for science-based information for common problems in which groundwater figures as a prominent element. Integrated Assessment and Modeling (IAM) presents an approach for merging discipline and case-specific knowledge, such as those in hydrogeological sciences, with social drivers for use in decision support applications. Moreover, decision support systems (DSS) that are constructed and applied using integration as a guiding principle and design ethic can advance groundwater DSS beyond passive support toward active and, eventually, proactive support for implementations to achieve real world integrated groundwater management.
The illustration is a computer generated map of the areas in the City of Austin that can be reach... more The illustration is a computer generated map of the areas in the City of Austin that can be reached withinfiveminule$fromanyoftwclvcEMS vehicle stations of the proposed tw<Hicnd AustincmcrJCl1C)' medical ICTvicc system. A period (.)indicates coverage by one sution and a sw (9) indicate$ coverage by two or more stations. The blank areas are more than five minute$ away from an EMS station. Solid rectangles (9) outline the border of the City of Austin study area.
In 1978 the city of Austin, Texas, began a study of its emergency medical service (EMS) system to... more In 1978 the city of Austin, Texas, began a study of its emergency medical service (EMS) system to determine what services should be delivered, by whom, via what number and types of equipment, and sited at which locations. The resulting plan called for a system quite different from that in operation since 1976: four advanced life-support and eight basic life-support vehicles were to operate from two EMS-only stations and 10 shared-use fire stations. The plan, which the city council unanimously passed in 1980, has saved $3.4 million (1984 dollars) in construction costs and $1.2 million (1984 dollars) per year in operating costs. Average response time has been reduced despite an upsurge in calls for service, and equitable service is provided to those who need it most.
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 2004
Issue linkage is often recommended as a strategy for enhancing cooperation. Lately it has been su... more Issue linkage is often recommended as a strategy for enhancing cooperation. Lately it has been suggested that this strategy could also be applied to the management of transboundary natural resources. The authors examine the viability of this suggestion. They argue that in the case of natural resources such a linkage may have both short-term and long-term implications. Essentially, by constraining the options available to the various parties, such linkages limit ability to adapt management regimes to changes in the environment; thereby, they limit the ability to address environmental stresses and crises. These negative implications may be redressed by mechanisms that will allow the parties to adapt the linkage to new conditions and by tactics that reduce the political cost of a linkage strategy. The authors focus on the negotiation process concerning US–Mexico transboundary water, which was based on a long-term spatial linkage combining the waters of the Colorado River and those of t...
The LBJ School of Public Affairs publishes a wide range of public policy issue titles. For order ... more The LBJ School of Public Affairs publishes a wide range of public policy issue titles. For order information and book availability call 512-471-4218 or write to: Office of Communications, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin, Box Y, Austin, TX ...
provides opportunities for graduate students to develop skills as nonprofit consultants in develo... more provides opportunities for graduate students to develop skills as nonprofit consultants in developing nations and the U.S. Planet NI team members Jimmy Hwang, Eloisa Acha, and Rudi Ngnepi established the goals for this project and advised the graduate students in their research. Mr. Ngnepi accompanied the UT team to meetings in Kenya. Mr. Hwang assisted the UT team to arrange the field visit in Indonesia. A number of IC² Institute experts associated with technology commercialization and entrepreneurial innovation industries provided information, advice, guidance, and criticism to the class members. David Gibson coordinated their participation. The IC² Institute staff included
This project was supported by the Government of Japan through grants to Hiroshima University thro... more This project was supported by the Government of Japan through grants to Hiroshima University through its Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation and its TAOYAKA program. Financial and in-kind contributions were also made by The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), its LBJ School of Public Affairs (LBJ School), the Bess Harris Jones Centennial Professorship at UT-Austin, and the Institute of Innovation, Creativity and Capital (IC 2) of UT-Austin. Several faculty members at the three participating universities contributed to the development of the academic program or to the program instruction, as listed below by each institution. The lead faculty of Hiroshima University include Niraj
This project examines the feasibility of expanding electrical service into rural villages not cur... more This project examines the feasibility of expanding electrical service into rural villages not currently serviced by Nepal's electrical grid. One hypothesis is that renewable energy sources can enhance each village's economy and improve rural Nepal so as to produce local wealth and employment. The operational definition of "development" includes enhanced educational attainment, business development, and an improved quality of life and health. A key question is whether village electrification can be sustainable and cost-effective by providing electricity to light homes, schools, small businesses, health clinics, or pump water for drinking and irxviiogation. This project evaluated the technical and economic options to provide electric power based on different demand scenarios. Any effort to extend electric service to rural villages in Nepal distant from the grid would be based on a choice between grid extension (where that is feasible) versus renewable energy options such as solar, wind, micro-hydro, or biomass. Electric service is feasible only if rural residents can pay through user fees for operating costs as well as capital costs not covered by government subsidies or nongovernmental organization donations or investments. Rural electrification faces challenges beyond cost, such as Nepal's mountainous terrain, available economic resources in each village, demographics, as well as each village's system of local governance. A group of graduate students supported by staff and faculty from Tribhuvan University, Hiroshima University, and The University of Texas at Austin participated in a research project in 2017-2018 to evaluate prospects for electrification of two villages in rural Nepal. Project participants worked with representatives of Nepali government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Students visited two villages, Rakathum and Kothape, which have yet to be connected to Nepal's electric grid. After evaluating the potential for grid extensions or renewable energy options for Kothape and Rakathum, students c [...]
The Japanese government views autonomous vehicle (AV) technology as an inevitable market target o... more The Japanese government views autonomous vehicle (AV) technology as an inevitable market target of opportunity for its transportation sector. Japan expects to be among the first nations to realize AV benefits and export them to the rest of the world. The Japanese government subsidizes research, testing, and development of AV technology (see Table E1). The rural town of Iinan-cho (hereafter referred to as Iinan), in the mountainous Shimane Prefecture north of Hiroshima, is involved in Japanese government-supported AV testing. Local and regional governments partnered with automobile suppliers to test AVs on Iinan's streets. Iinan residents participated in pilots with self-driving buses and hailing apps. This report considers challenges and opportunities for Japan to implement AV technology that can serve the needs of rural and elderly residents. Fully autonomous vehicles can provide benefits to agricultural and rural communities by increasing riders' safety, providing more transportation options, and lowering the cost of transporting goods. The large elderly population in Iinan may benefit as some elderly cease to drive. Based on surveys and interviews with stakeholders, AVs may also have adverse effects in Iinan. Residents expressed concerns about AV reliability in extreme weather conditions, job loss, and high costs. Uncertainty surrounding the cost and availability of AV technology represents a continuing challenge that complicates the design of appropriate national and regional policies. The findings and policy implications of this report could be relevant to Iinan, other rural areas in Japan, and around the world. Table E1 lists this report's key findings regarding the potential use of AVs in Iinan. This study outlines some research methods to describe the economic and social impacts of AV technology as a potentially disruptive technology. This report describes current and potential policies for managing those impacts in a sustainable and socially responsible manner by reducing economic costs and adverse effec [...]
The Oki Islands include four inhabited islands surrounded by a ring archipelago lagoon approximat... more The Oki Islands include four inhabited islands surrounded by a ring archipelago lagoon approximately 24 miles north of the Honshu Coast, part of Shimane Prefecture in Japan’s Chugoku Region. During the week of August 17-21, 2015, the students gathered on Oki to attend lectures on the islands’ sustainability issues, such as the regional decline in population, transportation and economic activity, the cost and environmental issues associated with power generation from burning heavy oil, Oki’s eco-tourism potential as a Japanese Geopark, and the Oki’s role as a Japanese border community. The students visited sites for processing of biomass waste, the heavy oil-fired power plant, the electrical storage facilities, and a site where a future windmill will be installed for power generation. During this week the students also visited Duogo waste management facilities and observed processes for treatment of solid waste and wastewater. The students divided themselves into groups of four to five people to investigate how to improve job creation, energy security, and community participation within the Oki Islands. On Oki the students developed ideas that could contribute to a feasibility report for Chugoku, the local electric company, on whether to consider RET as part of Japan’s initiative for reducing carbon emissions. The report assesses the feasibility of replacing through diverse renewable energy sources and supplemental electrical energy storage a portion of the energy now produced on Oki from two heavy oil-fired power plants. The report builds upon a memoranda developed by the 34 students in nine groups investigating diverse renewable energy topics during field research on the Oki Islands during August 2015. Twelve UT students conducted substantial supplemental research and drafted this report during the fall 2015 semester to refine and augment recommendations. The UT students also shot and edited a documentary video about their experiences. This report recommends that the citizens of the Oki Islands and the Chugoku Electric Power Company consider investing in wind, solar, biomass, and micro-hydro sources, along with energy storage, to provide Oki’s baseload electricity, allowing existing oil-fired power plants to remain as a backup source for electrical power generation. Survey results suggest that a majority of Oki inhabitants would support an energy grid powered by renewable energy, although they are skeptical of RET installations on personal property.Public Affair
Project staff are thankful for the advice of Julia Burch. Staff of the Texas Water Development Bo... more Project staff are thankful for the advice of Julia Burch. Staff of the Texas Water Development Board provided thoughtful advice. Project participants thank Jayashree Vijalapuram, Alice Rentz, Amelia Altz-Stamm, and Lauren Jahnke for editorial assistance and guidance. The project also acknowledges the following people who consented to be interviewed: 1. On a scale of 1-5, how important is it to you that the Rio Grande be clean? Please circle one number.
The Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development project was designed as an op... more The Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development project was designed as an opportunity for graduate students to develop skills as “consultants” to assist a variety of institutions, including non-profit organizations, for-profit firms, university research centers, and government agencies in encouraging technology entrepreneurship in Indonesia and Kenya. Students operated within interdisciplinary teams to provide diverse management consulting services on issues of organizational development, technology innovation and transfer, strategy, marketing, finance, human resources, development, fundraising, and sustainability. These two experiments have sought to enable innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and startups as key contributors to socioeconomic development to generate high-value employment and positively affect local communities within Indonesia and Kenya.National InstrumentsPublic Affair
This volwne reports on the status of a cooperative effort by staff members of departments of the ... more This volwne reports on the status of a cooperative effort by staff members of departments of the City of Austin and students and faculty at The University of Texas at Austin • to develop a plan for deployment of emergency medical service (EMS) vehicles in Austin, Texas. This work was carried out •during the 1978-79 school year in a Policy Research Project (PRP) at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs with the financial support of The University of Texas at Austin, the City of Austin, and the Ford Foundation. This swnmary briefly describes the four volumes of materials developed by the PRP members. EMS SERVICES IN AUSTIN Although ambulanees have operated in Austin for many. • years, a City-managed emergency medical service is of recent origin. The City of Austin created a Department of Erner, gency Medical Services as a separate administrative unit ' through aii ordinance passed by the City Council on January 16, 1975. The purpose of the new department is:. .. to provide on a twenty-four hour a day basis necessary emergency medical personnel, facilities, and equipment to effectively respond to individual needs in the Cit}' of Austin for inimediate medical. ... (l) The ordinance also created an Emergency Medical Services Quality Assurance Team to serve as an advisory body to the City Countil. The team periodically advises ... the City Manager, the Director of the Department of Emergency Medical Services, and the City Council concerning ng planning, reviewing, and evaluating the operations, performance, and procedures of the Department of Emergency Medical Services and is privileged to recommend professional performance standards for the Department. (2) On July 31, 1975, the Austin City Council reaffinned its commitment through a motion supporting a separate EMS Department. The Council authorized the City Manager to implement the motion as quickly as possible. After a brieftiansitio'n period from private Austin ambulance services, the Department of Emergency Medical Services began full ,city-wide operation on January 1, 1976. EMS, Volume I Key *This data is different from the coded call data described in reference (2).
Colonias have been a key unresolved urban water resources problem in Texas for many years. The de... more Colonias have been a key unresolved urban water resources problem in Texas for many years. The detailed understanding of the relationship between population and water infrastructure in colonias is of vital interest to Texas planners and policy makers. Two pressing colonia needs are (a) gaining access to water and wastewater infrastructure programs and (b) addressing the massively substandard housing conditions on the U.S. side of the Texas-Mexico border. Research for this report was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Outreach Partnership Center at The University of Texas at Austin (COPC-TX-95-0018). Financial support was also provided by the Stephen H. Spurr Fellowship.
This report on water resource management challenges in the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Basin is the ... more This report on water resource management challenges in the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Basin is the result of a policy research project conducted in 1989-90 supported in part by a grant from the Ford Foundation. This research was also supported in part by the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation. The policy research project was designed to explore issues developed through a conference on water resource cooperation between Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. This report supplements the conference volume by describing the general background of the basin and examining two selected issues in detail: hydroelectric development and deforestation. A final chapter examines the legal issues involved in bilateral and multilateral cooperation and presents two draft treaties that could serve as a framework for international cooperation.
Texas groundwater management community. Ron Fieseler, General Manager of the Blanco-Pedernales Gr... more Texas groundwater management community. Ron Fieseler, General Manager of the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District, provided leadership and direction to the class. He organized the class field trip to GMA 9, scheduled and hosted GMA 9 meetings, and provided both technical and practical guidance on groundwater policy in classroom discussions. Fieseler and his GMA 9 colleagues identified stakeholders and facilitated project stakeholder interviews. The class also thanks Suzanne Schwartz, J.D., Environmental Program Director at the CPPDR of the College of Law at UT, for organizing a conference in October 2006 on the "Decision Making and Cooperative Problem Solving: Making the DFC Process Work for Groundwater Management Areas" and allowing class members to attend. Robert Mace, Ph.D., P.G. of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) provided guidance on groundwater management policies and technical assistance with the groundwater availability model (GAM) and MODFLOW. Rima Petrossian, M.S., P.G., of the TWDB advised the class on a weekly basis on groundwater management and policy in Texas. Suzanne Pierce, Ph.D., and Wes Barnes, Ph.D., the Cullen Trust for Higher Education Endowed Professor in Engineering of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, provided technical instruction in modular finite-difference groundwater FLOW model (MODFLOW). Marcel Dulay, M.S., P.E., guided members of the class in the techniques of narrative interviewing and qualitative analysis of interviews. Speakers from private businesses and state and federal agencies conveyed background information on water policy and groundwater modeling to the PRP class. The class thanks
Curtis W. Meadows, Jr., of Dallas developed the concept for this project and encouraged both the ... more Curtis W. Meadows, Jr., of Dallas developed the concept for this project and encouraged both the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs (LBJ School) at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and the Meadows Foundation of Dallas to implement the study. This project was an activity of the Curtis W. Meadows Jr. Social Enterprise Fellows Program of the RGR Center for Philanthropy and Community Service of the LBJ School and UT Austin. The report is dedicated to Curtis Meadows and his commitment to enabling LBJ School and UT Austin graduate students to develop career opportunities as non-profit leaders.
Information and knowledge management challenges abound in groundwater sciences. Groundwater probl... more Information and knowledge management challenges abound in groundwater sciences. Groundwater problems of interest to society are characteristically complex and exceed our ability to solve them without the aid of computational analysis. Yet discipline specific problems that are of interest to hydrogeologists frequently do not directly address the immediate decision making needs of policy makers, groundwater managers, and stakeholders. It is the immediate societal needs that drive the demand for science-based information for common problems in which groundwater figures as a prominent element. Integrated Assessment and Modeling (IAM) presents an approach for merging discipline and case-specific knowledge, such as those in hydrogeological sciences, with social drivers for use in decision support applications. Moreover, decision support systems (DSS) that are constructed and applied using integration as a guiding principle and design ethic can advance groundwater DSS beyond passive support toward active and, eventually, proactive support for implementations to achieve real world integrated groundwater management.
The illustration is a computer generated map of the areas in the City of Austin that can be reach... more The illustration is a computer generated map of the areas in the City of Austin that can be reached withinfiveminule$fromanyoftwclvcEMS vehicle stations of the proposed tw<Hicnd AustincmcrJCl1C)' medical ICTvicc system. A period (.)indicates coverage by one sution and a sw (9) indicate$ coverage by two or more stations. The blank areas are more than five minute$ away from an EMS station. Solid rectangles (9) outline the border of the City of Austin study area.
In 1978 the city of Austin, Texas, began a study of its emergency medical service (EMS) system to... more In 1978 the city of Austin, Texas, began a study of its emergency medical service (EMS) system to determine what services should be delivered, by whom, via what number and types of equipment, and sited at which locations. The resulting plan called for a system quite different from that in operation since 1976: four advanced life-support and eight basic life-support vehicles were to operate from two EMS-only stations and 10 shared-use fire stations. The plan, which the city council unanimously passed in 1980, has saved $3.4 million (1984 dollars) in construction costs and $1.2 million (1984 dollars) per year in operating costs. Average response time has been reduced despite an upsurge in calls for service, and equitable service is provided to those who need it most.
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 2004
Issue linkage is often recommended as a strategy for enhancing cooperation. Lately it has been su... more Issue linkage is often recommended as a strategy for enhancing cooperation. Lately it has been suggested that this strategy could also be applied to the management of transboundary natural resources. The authors examine the viability of this suggestion. They argue that in the case of natural resources such a linkage may have both short-term and long-term implications. Essentially, by constraining the options available to the various parties, such linkages limit ability to adapt management regimes to changes in the environment; thereby, they limit the ability to address environmental stresses and crises. These negative implications may be redressed by mechanisms that will allow the parties to adapt the linkage to new conditions and by tactics that reduce the political cost of a linkage strategy. The authors focus on the negotiation process concerning US–Mexico transboundary water, which was based on a long-term spatial linkage combining the waters of the Colorado River and those of t...
The LBJ School of Public Affairs publishes a wide range of public policy issue titles. For order ... more The LBJ School of Public Affairs publishes a wide range of public policy issue titles. For order information and book availability call 512-471-4218 or write to: Office of Communications, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin, Box Y, Austin, TX ...
provides opportunities for graduate students to develop skills as nonprofit consultants in develo... more provides opportunities for graduate students to develop skills as nonprofit consultants in developing nations and the U.S. Planet NI team members Jimmy Hwang, Eloisa Acha, and Rudi Ngnepi established the goals for this project and advised the graduate students in their research. Mr. Ngnepi accompanied the UT team to meetings in Kenya. Mr. Hwang assisted the UT team to arrange the field visit in Indonesia. A number of IC² Institute experts associated with technology commercialization and entrepreneurial innovation industries provided information, advice, guidance, and criticism to the class members. David Gibson coordinated their participation. The IC² Institute staff included
This project was supported by the Government of Japan through grants to Hiroshima University thro... more This project was supported by the Government of Japan through grants to Hiroshima University through its Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation and its TAOYAKA program. Financial and in-kind contributions were also made by The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), its LBJ School of Public Affairs (LBJ School), the Bess Harris Jones Centennial Professorship at UT-Austin, and the Institute of Innovation, Creativity and Capital (IC 2) of UT-Austin. Several faculty members at the three participating universities contributed to the development of the academic program or to the program instruction, as listed below by each institution. The lead faculty of Hiroshima University include Niraj
This project examines the feasibility of expanding electrical service into rural villages not cur... more This project examines the feasibility of expanding electrical service into rural villages not currently serviced by Nepal's electrical grid. One hypothesis is that renewable energy sources can enhance each village's economy and improve rural Nepal so as to produce local wealth and employment. The operational definition of "development" includes enhanced educational attainment, business development, and an improved quality of life and health. A key question is whether village electrification can be sustainable and cost-effective by providing electricity to light homes, schools, small businesses, health clinics, or pump water for drinking and irxviiogation. This project evaluated the technical and economic options to provide electric power based on different demand scenarios. Any effort to extend electric service to rural villages in Nepal distant from the grid would be based on a choice between grid extension (where that is feasible) versus renewable energy options such as solar, wind, micro-hydro, or biomass. Electric service is feasible only if rural residents can pay through user fees for operating costs as well as capital costs not covered by government subsidies or nongovernmental organization donations or investments. Rural electrification faces challenges beyond cost, such as Nepal's mountainous terrain, available economic resources in each village, demographics, as well as each village's system of local governance. A group of graduate students supported by staff and faculty from Tribhuvan University, Hiroshima University, and The University of Texas at Austin participated in a research project in 2017-2018 to evaluate prospects for electrification of two villages in rural Nepal. Project participants worked with representatives of Nepali government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Students visited two villages, Rakathum and Kothape, which have yet to be connected to Nepal's electric grid. After evaluating the potential for grid extensions or renewable energy options for Kothape and Rakathum, students c [...]
The Japanese government views autonomous vehicle (AV) technology as an inevitable market target o... more The Japanese government views autonomous vehicle (AV) technology as an inevitable market target of opportunity for its transportation sector. Japan expects to be among the first nations to realize AV benefits and export them to the rest of the world. The Japanese government subsidizes research, testing, and development of AV technology (see Table E1). The rural town of Iinan-cho (hereafter referred to as Iinan), in the mountainous Shimane Prefecture north of Hiroshima, is involved in Japanese government-supported AV testing. Local and regional governments partnered with automobile suppliers to test AVs on Iinan's streets. Iinan residents participated in pilots with self-driving buses and hailing apps. This report considers challenges and opportunities for Japan to implement AV technology that can serve the needs of rural and elderly residents. Fully autonomous vehicles can provide benefits to agricultural and rural communities by increasing riders' safety, providing more transportation options, and lowering the cost of transporting goods. The large elderly population in Iinan may benefit as some elderly cease to drive. Based on surveys and interviews with stakeholders, AVs may also have adverse effects in Iinan. Residents expressed concerns about AV reliability in extreme weather conditions, job loss, and high costs. Uncertainty surrounding the cost and availability of AV technology represents a continuing challenge that complicates the design of appropriate national and regional policies. The findings and policy implications of this report could be relevant to Iinan, other rural areas in Japan, and around the world. Table E1 lists this report's key findings regarding the potential use of AVs in Iinan. This study outlines some research methods to describe the economic and social impacts of AV technology as a potentially disruptive technology. This report describes current and potential policies for managing those impacts in a sustainable and socially responsible manner by reducing economic costs and adverse effec [...]
The Oki Islands include four inhabited islands surrounded by a ring archipelago lagoon approximat... more The Oki Islands include four inhabited islands surrounded by a ring archipelago lagoon approximately 24 miles north of the Honshu Coast, part of Shimane Prefecture in Japan’s Chugoku Region. During the week of August 17-21, 2015, the students gathered on Oki to attend lectures on the islands’ sustainability issues, such as the regional decline in population, transportation and economic activity, the cost and environmental issues associated with power generation from burning heavy oil, Oki’s eco-tourism potential as a Japanese Geopark, and the Oki’s role as a Japanese border community. The students visited sites for processing of biomass waste, the heavy oil-fired power plant, the electrical storage facilities, and a site where a future windmill will be installed for power generation. During this week the students also visited Duogo waste management facilities and observed processes for treatment of solid waste and wastewater. The students divided themselves into groups of four to five people to investigate how to improve job creation, energy security, and community participation within the Oki Islands. On Oki the students developed ideas that could contribute to a feasibility report for Chugoku, the local electric company, on whether to consider RET as part of Japan’s initiative for reducing carbon emissions. The report assesses the feasibility of replacing through diverse renewable energy sources and supplemental electrical energy storage a portion of the energy now produced on Oki from two heavy oil-fired power plants. The report builds upon a memoranda developed by the 34 students in nine groups investigating diverse renewable energy topics during field research on the Oki Islands during August 2015. Twelve UT students conducted substantial supplemental research and drafted this report during the fall 2015 semester to refine and augment recommendations. The UT students also shot and edited a documentary video about their experiences. This report recommends that the citizens of the Oki Islands and the Chugoku Electric Power Company consider investing in wind, solar, biomass, and micro-hydro sources, along with energy storage, to provide Oki’s baseload electricity, allowing existing oil-fired power plants to remain as a backup source for electrical power generation. Survey results suggest that a majority of Oki inhabitants would support an energy grid powered by renewable energy, although they are skeptical of RET installations on personal property.Public Affair
Project staff are thankful for the advice of Julia Burch. Staff of the Texas Water Development Bo... more Project staff are thankful for the advice of Julia Burch. Staff of the Texas Water Development Board provided thoughtful advice. Project participants thank Jayashree Vijalapuram, Alice Rentz, Amelia Altz-Stamm, and Lauren Jahnke for editorial assistance and guidance. The project also acknowledges the following people who consented to be interviewed: 1. On a scale of 1-5, how important is it to you that the Rio Grande be clean? Please circle one number.
The Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development project was designed as an op... more The Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development project was designed as an opportunity for graduate students to develop skills as “consultants” to assist a variety of institutions, including non-profit organizations, for-profit firms, university research centers, and government agencies in encouraging technology entrepreneurship in Indonesia and Kenya. Students operated within interdisciplinary teams to provide diverse management consulting services on issues of organizational development, technology innovation and transfer, strategy, marketing, finance, human resources, development, fundraising, and sustainability. These two experiments have sought to enable innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and startups as key contributors to socioeconomic development to generate high-value employment and positively affect local communities within Indonesia and Kenya.National InstrumentsPublic Affair
This volwne reports on the status of a cooperative effort by staff members of departments of the ... more This volwne reports on the status of a cooperative effort by staff members of departments of the City of Austin and students and faculty at The University of Texas at Austin • to develop a plan for deployment of emergency medical service (EMS) vehicles in Austin, Texas. This work was carried out •during the 1978-79 school year in a Policy Research Project (PRP) at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs with the financial support of The University of Texas at Austin, the City of Austin, and the Ford Foundation. This swnmary briefly describes the four volumes of materials developed by the PRP members. EMS SERVICES IN AUSTIN Although ambulanees have operated in Austin for many. • years, a City-managed emergency medical service is of recent origin. The City of Austin created a Department of Erner, gency Medical Services as a separate administrative unit ' through aii ordinance passed by the City Council on January 16, 1975. The purpose of the new department is:. .. to provide on a twenty-four hour a day basis necessary emergency medical personnel, facilities, and equipment to effectively respond to individual needs in the Cit}' of Austin for inimediate medical. ... (l) The ordinance also created an Emergency Medical Services Quality Assurance Team to serve as an advisory body to the City Countil. The team periodically advises ... the City Manager, the Director of the Department of Emergency Medical Services, and the City Council concerning ng planning, reviewing, and evaluating the operations, performance, and procedures of the Department of Emergency Medical Services and is privileged to recommend professional performance standards for the Department. (2) On July 31, 1975, the Austin City Council reaffinned its commitment through a motion supporting a separate EMS Department. The Council authorized the City Manager to implement the motion as quickly as possible. After a brieftiansitio'n period from private Austin ambulance services, the Department of Emergency Medical Services began full ,city-wide operation on January 1, 1976. EMS, Volume I Key *This data is different from the coded call data described in reference (2).
Colonias have been a key unresolved urban water resources problem in Texas for many years. The de... more Colonias have been a key unresolved urban water resources problem in Texas for many years. The detailed understanding of the relationship between population and water infrastructure in colonias is of vital interest to Texas planners and policy makers. Two pressing colonia needs are (a) gaining access to water and wastewater infrastructure programs and (b) addressing the massively substandard housing conditions on the U.S. side of the Texas-Mexico border. Research for this report was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Outreach Partnership Center at The University of Texas at Austin (COPC-TX-95-0018). Financial support was also provided by the Stephen H. Spurr Fellowship.
This report on water resource management challenges in the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Basin is the ... more This report on water resource management challenges in the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Basin is the result of a policy research project conducted in 1989-90 supported in part by a grant from the Ford Foundation. This research was also supported in part by the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation. The policy research project was designed to explore issues developed through a conference on water resource cooperation between Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. This report supplements the conference volume by describing the general background of the basin and examining two selected issues in detail: hydroelectric development and deforestation. A final chapter examines the legal issues involved in bilateral and multilateral cooperation and presents two draft treaties that could serve as a framework for international cooperation.
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Papers by David Eaton