This qualitative study was conducted in a suburban intermountain school district. The research purpose was to (a) solicit narratives from principals about the greatest successes and challenges in American education; (b) conduct deep insightful analysis to find emerging themes from the interviews with principals; and (c) to provide important information for policy and law makers. The findings focused on data collected from interviews asking 25 principals to share perspectives and examples from their work in schools and education in general. The principals were asked about educational successes. Those cited regularly highlighted positive cultures, doing tremendous work with minimal funding, and recent academic achievements (not necessarily high test scores). Commonly mentioned challenges were low family commitment to education, low funding, and recruitment of teachers. Additionally, these building level principals thanked their legislature for supporting schools. The findings have powerful implications for policy and law makers. This study also calls on national pollsters to conduct frequent national surveys of principals.

Legislative productivity has been a much debated topic by congressional researchers. The legislative branch of the federal government is considered the people's branch because it is the only branch that is freely elected making it the most easily accountable to the general public. In addition, because the Founders of the United States talk about it first and because they talk about it the most, it is quite reasonable to assume that they meant for the legislature to be the supreme branch of government. It is therefore important to understand what factors can account for the productivity of Congress, over time. In an effort to understand what makes Congress most relevant and effective a measure of significant legislation had to be created. This thesis is unique because it develops a new measure of topical legislative output. The Congressional Digest, a journal that focuses on one salient issue facing the nation each month, is used to determine a salient and relevant legislative agenda. Ultimately, this thesis is testing whether legislation that is discussed by the Congressional Digest is addressed by legislation. More specifically, legislative productivity for this research is defined as a law being passed after the Congressional Digest raises awareness on the issue, and before the Congress in question, adjourns sine die. The Congressional Digest has been published continuously since 1921 which defines the starting point of the research. In order to allow sufficient time to track the success of the legislative initiatives discussed in the journal, which is still in print, the investigation will stop with the last issue in 2004. The new dependent variable was tested using existing variables found in the academic literature on legislative gridlock. Variables such the percentage of moderates in Congress and presidential honeymoons perform as expected; both are associated with less gridlock. Interestingly, the variable testing the change of majority power in Congress produced an effect, opposite of what was expected. New majorities are found to be associated with less topical legislative output. Arguably, this occurs because this new measure of gridlock taps a legislative agenda that represents particularly complicated issues, which new majorities are not equipped to handle effectively. Overall, the new dependent variable holds up to initial scrutiny.

What explains differences in the margin of victory in Florida legislative races? Data is collected for all 160 legislative races from 2016 (120 house contests and 40 senate elections) and two sets of analyses are conducted: all races and just competitive races. When looking at all races, five variables are statistically significant in the multivariate model. District party registration difference has a positive effect on margin of victory and the greatest relative impact. Races involving two major party candidates have a much smaller margin of victory, a contest with a major party versus a minor party (or No Party Affiliation candidate) has a somewhat smaller margin of victory, and a race involving only a write-in candidate as an opponent has a wider margin of victory. House races had somewhat smaller margins of victory compared to senate races. When examining just competitive races (contests that had at least two candidate names listed for an office) only two variables were statistically significant in the multivariate model. District party registration difference had a positive relationship with margin of victory and races involving a minor party candidate as the main challenger had higher margins than contests between two major party candidates.

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List of tables -- Chapter I. Price Daniel: a biographical sketch -- Chapter II. Governor Daniel and the fifty-fifth Texas legislature -- Chapter III. Governor Daniel and the fifty-sixth Texas legislature -- Chapter IV. Governor Daniel and the fifty-seventh Texas legislature -- Chapter V. Techniques used by Governor Price Daniel in Exercising legislative leadership-- Bibliography.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of identifying and assessing degrees of influence of environmental conditions and actors which influenced the passage of House Bill 72 by the Texas legislature. The two methods used to collect this data were personal interviews of key actors in the legislative process and a questionnaire administered to all members of the 68th Texas legislature.

Submitted by Lucas Nogueira Garcez (lucas.garcez@gvmail.br) on 2015-09-08T18:16:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Lucas Nogueira Garcez.pdf: 1225922 bytes, checksum: 9435d144c65d17ff288b3b696dfe2782 (MD5) / Rejected by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br), reason: A formatação de seu trabalho não está de acordo com as normas da ABNT. Será encaminhado por e-mail o que deverá ser alterado. Att. on 2015-09-08T18:43:28Z (GMT) / Submitted by Lucas Nogueira Garcez (lucas.garcez@gvmail.br) on 2015-09-08T23:24:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertaçãopdf.pdf: 776250 bytes, checksum: 9e7e2356a1c1f4abf65db95972f6ddc0 (MD5) / Rejected by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br), reason: A formatação não está de acordo com as normas da ABNT. Informações serão encaminhadas por e-mail. on 2015-09-08T23:38:07Z (GMT) / Submitted by Lucas Nogueira Garcez (lucas.garcez@gvmail.br) on 2015-09-09T00:17:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação.pdf: 776291 bytes, checksum: 139a0ffea149ea50df4563de819dc960 (MD5) / Rejected by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br), reason: Informações por telefone. on 2015-09-09T00:22:20Z (GMT) / Submitted by Lucas Nogueira Garcez (lucas.garcez@gvmail.br) on 2015-09-09T00:42:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação2.pdf: 777162 bytes, checksum: 0cb5647bfe05eb1e0df9d6d1106afd13 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br) on 2015-09-09T00:43:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação2.pdf: 777162 bytes, checksum: 0cb5647bfe05eb1e0df9d6d1106afd13 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-09T13:00:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação2.pdf: 777162 bytes, checksum: 0cb5647bfe05eb1e0df9d6d1106afd13 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-08 / This work is intended to contribute to the literature about effects of municipalities secession, evaluating its possible impacts over municipal legislature elections. The theoretical models suggest that secession can alter the electoral outcomes in the seceded municipalities, in the same manner as the “gerrymandering”. The empirical evidence found suggests the same. / O presente trabalho pretende contribuir com a literatura sobre os efeitos das divisões de municípios, avaliando possíveis impactos das mesmas sobre as eleições legislativas municipais. Os modelos teóricos informam que o desmembramento pode alterar os 'outcomes' eleitorais nos municípios desmembrados, operando de maneira semelhante ao 'gerrymandering'. As evidências empíricas encontradas sugerem o mesmo.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / The purpose of this study was to attempt to ascertain the standard of interpreting services in the Western Cape Legislature. The study gives a brief overview of the legislation regarding language, and is furthermore underpinned by a literature review. The everelusive concept of quality in interpreting is also considered. The empirical component of the study encompassed interviews and open-ended discussions with language practitioners, interpreters and users, which in this case are the members of parliament. In addition, interpreters gave feedback on their training, working conditions and own experiences by means of a filling out a questionnaire. In terms of assessing the standard of service delivered, the users were asked to rate the service on eleven different levels, as derived from the literature and previous studies done by international scholars, again by filling out a questionnaire. The purpose hereof was to marry the literature with the outcomes of the data collected. The study concludes that there is much scope for improvement of the service that is currently rendered at the Western Cape Parliament. The reasons for this are in part due to a lack of understanding and awareness of what interpreting entails, as well as a lack of understanding of the value of a sound interpreting service. In addition, it appears that interpreters may benefit from training to ensure better delivery of service.

Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracture stimulation have enabled the economic development of unconventional resource plays. An average horizontal well in the Barnett Shale requires 3 to 4 million gallons of fresh water, 90% of which is used for hydraulic fracture stimulation. While the water consumption of Barnett Shale operations is less than 1% of total Region C consumption, extended drought conditions and competing demands for water resources are placing pressure on operators to reduce terminal water consumption. Strategies which reduce water requirements associated hydraulic fracture stimulation without compromising the efficiency and cost of energy production are essential in developing a comprehensive policy on energy-water management. Recycling and reuse technologies were evaluated on the basis of performance, cost, and capacity to treat reclaimed flowback water and oilfield brine. Recycling flowback fluids for future hydraulic fracture applications is the most practical repurposing of oilfield waste. The low TDS content of flowback derived from water-based fracs permits multiple treatment options. Mobile thermal distillation technology has emerged as the prevailing technique for recycling flowback water, yielding maximum water savings and reduced operating costs. The estimated cost of recycling flowback water by thermal distillation is $3.35/bbl. Compared to the current cost of disposal, recycling provides an opportunity to minimize waste and reduce the fresh water requirements of hydraulic fracture stimulation at an incremental cost. The stewardship role of the Texas Legislature is to protect the water resources of the state and to facilitate the Regional Water Planning Process, ensuring future water needs are met. The support and participation of the Legislature and other planning entities is critical in advancing the energy-water nexus. As operators pursue innovative water management practices to reduce terminal water consumption in the oilfield, the Barnett Shale positions itself as a model for sustainable water use in the development of unconventional shale resources. The cost of recycling and reuse technology limits the participation of small and mid-size operators who possess the greatest market share of the Barnett Shale. Funding for research and implementation of water-conscious strategies such as shared recycling facilities, CO2 capture and storage, and pipeline infrastructure would create multi-user opportunities to promote conservation and reduce net consumption of fresh water supplies. Through the integration of technology and policy, terminal water consumption in the Barnett Shale can be greatly diminished. / text