http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife Mon, 21 May 2012 18:35:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In “Corruption and Reform in India: Public Services in the Digital Age” (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Jennifer Bussell explores why some governments improve public services more effectively than others. Through case studies, interviews and statistical modeling, Bussell shows the extent to which corruption is linked to the timing, management and ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/05/21/indias-digital-transformation-in-the-public-sector/ Fiona McFarlane, a Michener Center for Writers (MCW) graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin, has won the $50,000 Keene Prize for Literature for her story, “A Fortunate Man.” The Keene Prize is one of the world's largest student literary prizes. An additional $50,000 will be divided among three ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/05/14/third-time%e2%80%99s-a-charm-college-of-liberal-arts-awards-keene-prize-for-literature-to-michener-center-graduate-student/ Spanning a little over a century, "The Galveston Chronicles" (Rozlyn Press, February 2012) is the story of four generations of women who feel an intense pull to the island of Galveston, Texas even though their lives continue to be interrupted by hurricanes. The novel opens in the stifling days before the ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/04/23/for-audra-martin-d%e2%80%99aroma-location-is-everything/ Watch two distinguished liberal arts professors discuss their research at a Game Changers double header on Wednesday, March 28. The tapings are free and open to the public. 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 28 Paul Woodruff: Are You Ajax or Odysseus? In his book "The Ajax Dilemma," (Oxford University Press, Oct. 2011) Paul Woodruff, ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/03/23/two-faculty-authors-discuss-their-works-at-game-changers-double-header/ To celebrate the legacy of children’s author Dr. Seuss, a Brownsville H-E-B hosted a special in-store reading on Monday, March 5 with Oscar Casares, University of Texas at Austin associate professor in the Department of English. The Brownsville native and writer treated 30 first graders from Robert L. Martin Elementary—his ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/03/06/oscar-casares-celebrates-dr-seuss%e2%80%99s-legacy-with-special-h-e-b-reading/ How do some people have the ability to master a multitude of languages? What makes them tick? Are their brains wired differently from ours? These are just a few of the questions alumnus Michael Erard (M.A. Linguistics, ‘96; Ph.D. English, ‘00) tackles in “Babel No More: The Search for the World's ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/02/27/a-qa-with-michael-erard-author-of-%e2%80%9cbabel-no-more%e2%80%9d/ "Urban  Ecological  Design: A Process for Regenerative  Places" by Danilo Palazzo and Frederick Steiner, presents an interdisciplinary method of transforming urban spaces that considers issues of ecology and sustainability alongside urban form.  The goal of “Urban Ecological Design” is not to explain how to design a specific city precinct or public space, but to describe useful steps to approach the ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/02/23/transforming-the-urban-landscape-around-us/ Americans are a nation-building people, and in “Liberty’s Surest Guardian” (Free Press, Sept. 2011) Jeremi Suri, professor in the Department of History and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, looks to America’s history to see both what it has to offer failed states around the world and what ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/02/21/jeremi-suri-speaks-and-signs-%e2%80%9cliberty%e2%80%99s-surest-guardian%e2%80%9d-at-bookpeople/ Inspired by her teaching experience at Chávez High School in Houston, English alumna Ashley Hope Pérez writes about disadvantaged teens struggling to meet their obligations at home and follow their dreams. However her newest book "The Knife and the Butterfly" (Carolrhoda, Feb. 2011) is about the students she didn’t ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/02/14/a-qa-with-ashley-hope-perez-author-of-%e2%80%9cthe-knife-and-the-butterfly%e2%80%9d/ Allan Gurganus, author of “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All,” “Plays Well with Others,” and other works of fiction, will teach on campus as Michener Residency Author this February for three weeks.  He is slated to meet with MFA students in weekly craft seminars and to hold manuscript conferences to ... http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2012/02/08/a-mark-twain-for-our-age/