PPP 359: Paper Proposal

Paper Proposal for PPP359

I would like to work on The Lone Star Detectives Initiative with Paul Adrian. My portion of the paper would explore the group dynamics and “power” around an online policy discussion. The Initiative would give citizens a forum to discuss policy issues and better communicate with their elective officials. We hope to create an open online dialogue between legislators and their constituents. This paper would also explore why legislators and their staffs aren’t more engaged with online networks (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace) to better connect with the public. These groups / social networks are utilized effectively through campaigns but, rarely through governance. How can we successfully use a tool like The Lone Star Detectives Initiative to create a useful forum for open dialogue with our elected officials?

This paper will include both active and original research for the findings. To help answer the “why” I would like to conduct interviews with elected officials and their staffs on both the State and Federal levels. Hopefully from these interviews we can better understand why these types of networks are not utilized and how we can make The Lone Star Detectives Initiative an effective forum for the public and our legislators.

 Possible Interview Candidates and their Staffs:

• State Representative Chris Turner, D-Dallas

• State Representative Joe Crabb, R-Houston

• State Representative Jim Dunham, D-Waco

• State Representative Fred Brown, R-College Station

• U.S. Congressman Chet Edwards, D-Waco

• U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett Lee, D-Austin

• U.S. Congresswoman Kaye Granger, R-Dallas

• U.S. Congressman John Carter, R-Round Rock