Abstract

Does decentralization promote democratic participation? This paper innovates upon previous research by uncovering the specific dimensions of decentralization that matter for voting participation. We argue that self-rule (or the authority that subnational units exercise in their own territory) is closely associated with vertical accountability and has a positive effect on voting participation. At the same time, shared-rule (or the authority that subnational units exercise in the country as a whole) has no significant effect on participation since it is more closely related to horizontal accountability. We test our theory with a hierarchical model that includes 18 Latin American countries, with data at the national and individual-level, as well as through a fixed effects pooled time series analysis from the 1970s to 2010. Aggregate measures of decentralization are insufficient; thus we incorporate a new measure, the Regional Authority Index, which can be disaggregated into ten different dimensions.

Abstract

How do experiences with privatization affect public opinion of foreign investment? Privatization's consequences may transcend the income effect for public employees, as primarily conceptualized by the literature. Initial experiences with FDI should also matter, particularly through infrastructure privatization. Bolivia's Water War and Peru's Arequipazo demonstrate how citizens sometimes consider foreign participation in privatization of public utilities as exploitative. Using data from the World Bank and Latinobarómetro in 17 Latin American countries, we test the effect of country-level experiences with privatization on opinion of FDI, controlling for individual-level factors. Citizens are less likely to hold intensely favorable opinions and more likely to hold intensely negative opinions of foreign investment in countries with high levels of privatization, particularly infrastructure privatization. We provide an important refinement over factor-based models of preference formation by explaining issue intensity and providing a theoretically-driven explanation for the prevalence of anti-FDI demonstrations in Latin America since the 1990s.

Abstract

Do female executives exercise the authority of their office in a distinct way from their male counterparts? Anecdotal evidence suggests that women legislators are likely to play peacemakers and negotiators, to try and solve problems across partisan lines rather than reinforce political divisions, and to govern in a generally more consensual manner than men. Yet there has been little systematic work extending such claims to the actions of women in executive office. We evaluate one aspect of the policy agenda setting record – the rates of executive decree issuance – of four male-female pairs of Latin American presidents between 2000 and 2014. We show that female presidents are generally less prone to rule by decree, but that this relationship is partly conditioned by the political capital that individual executives possess. While male executives facing Congresses with a highly fragmented opposition are more likely to rule via unilateral action than their female counterparts, the gender gap in decree issuance disappears when executives face relatively unified and hostile Congresses. Our findings have implications for understanding the potential benefits of women achieving executive office for governance in Latin America.

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the descriptive representation of lesbians, gays and bisexuals in statewide legislative office and the passage of marriage equality laws. We consider 19 US states and the District of Columbia, which by September 2014 had introduced such laws, and one state in the process of legislative action. We analyze the votes of legislators, describe the narrative of debates, and report on interviews with out state legislators. We also surveyed state legislators who voted on marriage equality in our cases since 2005. The evidence strongly suggests that the presence of out LGB legislators had a significant and positive effect on the initiation of this legislation and its ultimate passage into law. This is reinforced by our survey of state legislators who said that their out gay and lesbian colleagues influenced them significantly in deciding how to vote on the pre-eminent gay rights issue of their time.

Personal Records:

Road Races

5k
5 mi
10k
10 mi
13.1 mi
25k

25:06.5  - Ales for Rail Trails 5k, Durham, NC (2013)
43:12 - Bull City Race Fest, Durham, NC (2013)
50:13 - St. Patrick's Day Run, Manhattan, KS (2017)
1:27:29 - Tarheel 10 Miler, Chapel Hill, NC (2013)
1:56:37 - Bill Snyder Highway Half, Manhattan, KS (2017)
2:34:48 - Runner Dude's 25k, Greensboro, NC (2015)

 

Trail Races

15k
10 mi
13.1 mi
25k
20 mi​
​50k

1:40:17 - Philosopher's Way Trail Run, Chapel Hill, NC (2015)
1:51:03 - The Gamelands Ultra 10 Miler, Wagram, NC (2014)
3:00:15 - Warrior Creek Half Marathon, Boomer, NC (2014)
2:45:15 - Saunders Saunter, Lawrence, KS (2016)
?:??:?? - Psycho Psummer Run Toto Run, Kansas City, KS (2017)
?:??:?? - Prairie Spirit Trail 50k, Ottawa, KS (2018)

 

---

December

12.5.15 - Alternate Chili Trail Run - Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, KS

• Results: -:--:--; --:-- average pace
  
• Placed --- out of -- overall, and --th among women 30-39
• Start time: - am; -- degrees F; --
• Shoes: --

November

October

10.31.15 - Kingman Kong Runathon 25K - Kingman, KS

• Results: -:--:--; --:-- average pace
  
• Placed --- out of -- overall, and --th among women 30-39
• Start time: - am; -- degrees F; --
• Shoes: --

September

9.27.15 - Konquer the Konza 25K - Konza Prairie, Manhattan, KS

• Results: --:--; --:-- average pace
  
• Placed -- out of -- overall, and --th among women 30-34
• Start time: 7:30am; -- degrees F; --

• Shoes: Brooks Cascadia 9

August

8.1.15 - Brew 2 Shoe 10K - Manhattan, KS

• Results: 54:55; 8:50 average pace
  
• Placed 155 out of 340 overall, and 21st among women 30-34
• Start time: 7am; 77 degrees F; sunny

• Shoes: Brooks Ghost 6

July

Moved 1200 miles to Kansas!

June

6.19.15 - Tread Nightly Trail Half Marathon - U.S. National Whitewater Center, Charlotte, NC

• Results: 3:11:27; 14:23 average pace
  
• Placed 71 out of 85 overall, and 4th among women 30-34
• Start time: 8 pm; 90 degrees F; dark, humid, with lightning and distant thunder

• Shoes: Brooks Cascadia 9

May

5.2.15 - Philosopher's Way Trail Runs 15K - Carolina North Forest, Chapel Hill, NC

• Results: 1:40:17; 10:29 average pace
  
• Placed 175 out of 208 overall, and 21st among women 30-39
• Start time: 8 am; 55 degrees F; sunny
• Shoes: Brooks Cascadia 8

April

4.4.15 - Runner Dude's 25K - Greensboro, NC

• Results:2:34:48; 9:57 average pace
• Placed 77 out of 119 overall, and 6th among women 30-34
• Start time: 9 am; 58 degrees F; sunny and windy
• Shoes:Brooks Ghost 6

March

3.29.15 - Mountains-to-Sea Trail 12M (& 50K) Challenge - Raleigh, NC

• Results: 2:17:39; 11:28 average pace
  
• Placed 132 out of 206 overall, and 13th among women 30-39
• Start time: 8 am; 32 degrees F; sunny
• Shoes:Brooks Cascadia 8

February

2.22.15 - Lake Effect Half Marathon - Liverpool, NY

• Results: 2:17:25; 10:30 average pace
  
• Placed 343 out of 555 overall, and 27th among women 30-34
• Start time: 9:30 am; 20 degrees F; overcast
• Shoes:Brooks Cascadia 8

January

1.17.15 - Little River Trail Runs 10M - Rougemont, NC

• Results: 1:52:24.7; 11:14 average pace
  
• Placed 230 out of 301 overall, and 25th among women 30-39
• Start time: 9 am; 27 degrees F; sunny
• Shoes:Brooks Cascadia 8

---

2014's Totals:

Time Racing: 18:25:29
Distance Raced:103.2
Overall Average Pace: 10:42

December

12.13.14 - Xterra Warrior Creek Trail Half Marathon - Boomer, NC

• Results: 3:00.15; 13:46 average pace
• Placed 104 out of 126, and -- among women 30 - 39
  
• Start time: 9am; 30 degrees F; sunny
• Shoes: Brooks Cascadia 8

November

11.15.14 - Old Glory Trail Trot (10 mi) 50 mi relay - Aberdeen, NC

• Team Results: 9:15.00; 11:06 average pace
• Individual Results (Leg #2): 1:51.30; 11:09 average pace
  
• Start time: 7am; 29 degrees F; sunny
• Shoes: Brooks Cascadia 8
• Benefiting the Old Glory Legacy Foundation
  

October

10.25.14 - American Tobacco Trail 10 Miler  - Cary, NC

• Results: 1:31.08; 9:07 average pace
• Placed 66 out of 209, and 9th among women 25 - 29
• Start time: 8:50am; 45-60 degrees F; sunny
• Shoes: Brooks Cascadia 8

September

9.06.14 - High Bridge Half Marathon - Farmville, VA

• Results: 2:17:03; 10:28 average pace
• Placed 115 out of 221, and 8 among women 25 - 29
• Start time: 7:30am; ~80 degrees F; very sunny and humid
• Shoes: Brooks Ghost 6
• Benefiting the Farmville Downtown Partnership's revitalization efforts in the Main Street District of Farmville

August

8.16.14 - Gamelands 10 Mile Trail Race - Wagram, NC

• Results: 1:51:03; 11:06 average pace
  
• Placed 33 out of 45, and 9th among women 20 - 29
• Start time: 8am; 75-80 degrees F; sunny and humid
  
• Shoes: (really old) Asics Gel Kahana
• Benefiting the Old Glory Legacy Foundation
  

July

7.10.14 - River Jam 6 Mile Trail Run - U.S. National Whitewater Center, Charlotte, NC

• Results: 1:02:27.6; 10:42 average pace
  
• Placed 29 out of 41 overall, and 11th among women
  
• Start time: 6:15pm; 80 degrees F; partly cloudy/clearing
  
• Shoes: (really old) Asics Gel Kahana

June

6.7.14 - Race 13.1 Midtown Raleigh Half-Marathon - Raleigh, NC

• Results: 2:08:45; 9:50 average pace
  
• Placed 369 out of 990, and 34th among women 25 - 29
• Start time: 7am; 64-72 degrees F; sunny/hazy
  
• Shoes: Brooks Ghost 6
  
• Benefiting the Triangle/Eastern NC Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
  

May

5.3.14 - Philosopher's Way Trail Run 15K - Carolina North Forest, Chapel Hill, NC

• Results: 2:02:17; 13:07 average pace
  
• Placed 64 out of 70 women
  
• Start time: 8am; 68 degrees F; sunny
• Shoes: (really old) Asics Gel Kahana
• Benefiting Carolina North Forest trails
  

April

4.5.14 - Cary Road Race 10K - Cary, NC

• Results: 56:23.0; 9:05 average pace
  
• Placed 202 out of 380, and 4th among women 25 - 29
• Start time: 8:30am; 65 degrees F; Sunny/Windy
• Shoes: Brooks Ghost 6
• Benefiting local youth and fitness projects
  

March

3.15.14 - Steve Haydu St. Patrick’s Day Lo Tide Run 10K - Carolina Beach, NC

• Results: 52:42.2; 8:29 average pace
  
• Placed 60 out of 245, and 3rd among women 25-29
• Start time: 9am; 58 degrees F; Sunny/Windy
• Shoes: Brooks Ghost 6
• Benefiting local cancer patients and their families with serious financial needs

February

2.22.14 - Shamrock ‘N’ Run 5K - Chapel Hill, NC

• Results: 25:39.4; 8:16 average pace
  
• Placed 139 out of 481, and 22nd among women 20-29
• Start time: 9am; 48 degrees F; Sunny
• Shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 15
• Benefiting the Durham Center for Child and Family Health and Prevent Child Abuse America

January

1.25.14 - Racing the Roof 5K - Chapel Hill, NC

• Results: 26:17.3; 8:28 average pace
  
• Placed 40 out of 184 overall, and 5th among women 20-39
• Start time: 9am; 20 degrees F; Cloudy/Windy
• Shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 15
• Benefiting UNC’s Chapter of Habitat for Humanity in Honduras