Digital Commons Network^™

Impact – Information Management, Public Access, Community Transformation: Year Two Evaluation Report, September 1, 2001 Through August 31, 2002, Oscar Gutierrez, John Mcgah

Center for Social Policy Publications

The goals of the IMPACT project are “to improve access to and delivery of human services for low-income residents, strengthen community planning and resource allocation, and enhance understanding of data on homelessness can be gathered and aggregated on local and national levels to accurately capture the scope of the problem and the effectiveness of efforts to ameliorate it.”

The Center for Social Policy (CSP), McCormack Institute at the University of UMass Boston was commissioned to produce a series of evaluation reports of the IMPACT project; this is the second of three reports covering year two activity of the IMPACT. The …

Ijelè: Welcoming The King Of Modern African Letters To Massachusetts, Chukwuma Azuonye

Africana Studies Faculty Publication Series

A welcome address presented to Professor Chinua Achebe, novelist, poet, essayist, cultural philosopher, social activist, and Stevenson Professor of Languages and Literature, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in the Science Auditorium, University of Massachusetts at Boston, at a University Forum marking the Inauguration of JoAnn Gora as the 6th Chancellor, on September 26, 2002.

The Colorsong Prophecy: Using Gardner's Theory Of Multiple Intelligences To Develop Hero Archetypes For A Young Adult Fictional Fantasy Series Aimed At Promoting A Mythology Of Nonviolence, Danielle Selyse Shylit

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This synthesis explores the value and possibility of using Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory to inform the development of hero archetypes for use as protagonists in my original fictional fantasy series entitled The Colorsong Prophecy. These seven books, in the process of being written, are intended to provide adolescent readers with strong hero models that mirror the intellectual diversity of their own population and promote a new mythology of nonviolence that depicts nonviolent choices as mighty in their own right. I relate this literary work-in-progress to the foundational theories upon which it is based, examining the relevant literature from the …

University Reporter - Vol. 07, No. 03.2 (Special Edition) - December 2002, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

University Reporter - Vol. 07, No. 04 - December 2002, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

From Paper To Action: State-Level Interagency Agreements For Supported Employment Of People With Disabilities, Deborah Metzel, Susan M. Foley, John Butterworth

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Over the past decade there has been an increasing national emphasis on the participation of individuals with disabilities in the labor force. This concern was recognized through Executive Order No. 13078 signed by President Bill Clinton in March 1998, establishing the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. The Task Force was charged with a mission "to create a coordinated and aggressive policy to bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to that of the general adult population" (Section 1 (c)). Legislation and policy changes have also been directed …

Ocean Zoning For The Gulf Of Maine: A Background Paper, Fara Courtney, Jack Wiggin

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

Coastal and ocean management is a constantly evolving practice. For at least two decades, coastal communities around the world have been experimenting with new ways to control a multitude of activities in their urban and rural harbors. The number and diversity of Marine Protected Areas are growing, with an increasing focus on protecting integrated biological communities, rather than individual species of concern. The United States and Canada are each developing new, comprehensive ocean polices, looking to better integrate management functions at all levels of government.

All of these initiatives – from local to national - reflect some common truths about …

Research To Practice: Collaboration Between Medicaid And Other State Agencies- Findings From The National Survey Of State Systems And Employment For People With Disabilities, Jennifer Sullivan Sulewski, Dana Scott Gilmore, Susan Foley

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Many state Medicaid agencies are playing a greater role in multi-agency efforts to promote employment for people with disabilities. This brief uses data from the National Survey of State Systems and Employment for People with Disabilities to explore the varieties of collaboration Medicaid agencies are using and the agencies they are collaborating with.

A Teller’S Tale: Joining The Circle -- A Discussion Of Process In The Writing Of A Novel For Young Adults, Susan A. Butler

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

In this thesis, I reflect on the writing of fiction for young adults against the backdrop of autobiography. Context is provided by the accompanying opening chapters of a novel for young adults—The Defectives of Ulibar— and excerpts from a journal written during the writing process. Aspects of the creative engagement—open brainstorming, focusing, rewriting—are anchored in the specific locations—a country road, a cabin in the woods, an indoor study—in which the processes occur. In the course of this endeavor, I learn that the writing of fiction, and the reflecting on the writing of fiction, are not after all so different. It …

Enhancement Of Photoinduced Anisotropy And All-Optical Switching In Bacteriorhodopsin Films, Pengfei Wu, D.V.G.L.N. Rao, B. R. Kimball, M. Nakashima, B. S. Decristofano

Physics Faculty Publications

Large enhancement of photoanisotropic effects is demonstrated in thin films of the biomaterial Bacteriorhodopsin by using two exciting beams of orthogonal polarization. The mechanism of the enhancement originates from optimization of direction-selected photoisomerization of the biomaterial controlled by the polarized exciting beams. The technique is applied for achieving an all-optical switch with the additional feature of output sign control.

Cuba, Social Policy At A Crossroads: Maintaining Priorities, Transforming Practice, Miren Uriarte

Gastón Institute Publications

From the beginning of the Cuban revolution in 1959, the model of social development has underscored equity across society and universal access. Full responsibility rests on government to fund and deliver social entitlements. These values have framed the development and implementation of social policy during the last 40 years. During this time Cuba has instituted free and universally accessible health care and education and has built on its formerly weak pension system to develop a universal and government sponsored one.

Cuba's safety net of benefits includes protection of workers' employment and housing, food subsidies, utilities and other necessities, and mechanisms …

University Reporter - Vol. 07, No. 03.1 - November 2002, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

Attribute-Based Differentiation Of Alternatives, Jeffrey Keisler

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

An intermediate step is introduced to the decision dialogue process for decision analysis. Alternatives are refined after they have been generated within a strategy table but before they are subject to more detailed evaluation. Two or more judges create a subjective mapping from alternatives to attributes that will later be mapped to criteria. In strategy tables, each of the alternative strategies consists of a coherent set of choices made across several decisions that are to be coordinated. These strategic alternatives are modified so as to increase their differentiation in the attribute space, rather than in the decision space alone. When …

A Survey Of Health Services And Identification Of Needs For Asian American Elderly Women In The Greater Boston Area, Connie S. Chan, Lin Zhan

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Over one hundred Asian American and mainstream health care providers in the greater Boston area were surveyed for this study. The authors have identified critical gaps in services for elderly Asian American women.

Federal Consistency In New Jersey, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

A discussion paper prepared as part of a focus group on the topic of Federal Consistency in New Jersey.

In 1972, the U. S. Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), designed to “preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore and enhance the resources of the nation's coastal zone.” The CZMA encouraged coastal states to develop and implement comprehensive management programs that balance the need for coastal resource protection with the need for economic growth and development within the coastal zone.

In the latter portion of the 1970s New Jersey developed a coastal management plan that was fully …

Employee Preferences As A Factor In Pension Participation By Minority Workers, Yung-Ping Chen, Thomas D. Leavitt

Gerontology Institute Publications

This project was designed to shed light on the widening gap between white and minority pension coverage during recent years. The hypothesis under investigation is that the divergence in white/minority coverage may be due in part to differences in the rates at which white and minority workers are choosing to participate in voluntary salary reduction plans. The availability of such plans has increased explosively in the past decade or so.

Institute Brief: Achieving Quality Services: A Checklist For Evaluating Your Agency, Doris Hamner, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, David Hoff

The Institute Brief Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This checklist can help staff and directors at One-Stop Career Centers and state and private agencies evaluate the quality and responsiveness of their services to job seekers with disabilities. Areas covered include access to resources, agency culture, coordination, and consumer-directedness.

Brief 15: Developing Students: Associate Academic Deans Weigh In, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

Perhaps more than most academic issues, remedial education evokes fervent emotions and unyielding opinions. Consensus is hard to reach even about the nomenclature, with remedial conveying a sense of deficiency in need of correction pitted against the developmental approach that focuses on change and growth. On campus, the many aspects of the controversy often get voiced in questions rather than answers: What can we do to help these students? Why were these students accepted? Who should and who will teach in these remedial programs? Should we in higher education, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, still be talking about …

University Reporter - Vol. 07, No. 02 - October 2002, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

Massachusetts is still in a recession. Forecasts made earlier in the year — that the state economy would be experiencing modest growth by now — have been revised. Instead, it continues to contract. Joining long-suffering sectors such as technology and manufacturing, finance and state government are now making employment cuts. Even consumers, whose continued spending has been a last stronghold of the state economy, are showing signs of distress. Will the Commonwealth follow the nation on the road to recovery, or is our trajectory taking us elsewhere?

Tools For Inclusion: A Common Path: Navigating Your Way To Successful Negotiations In The Workplace, Kelly Crow, Susan Foley

Tools for Inclusion Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Asking for job accommodations can feel intimidating, especially if an individual has decided not to disclose his or her disability. The good news is that this negotiation can be, in fact, rewarding and empowering. The Working It Out Together project asked experts for tactics to create win-win situations.

Case Studies On The Implementation Of The Workforce Investment Act: Spotlight On Maine, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Sheila Fesko, Allison Cohen Hall

Case Studies Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The implementation of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) requires major organizational change for employment and training agencies. The initiative emphasizes coordination, collaboration and communication among organizations for better service delivery. At this time, states are developing systems that will enable them to address the needs of all customers seeking employment. The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) has conducted state case studies for two purposes: (1) to identify how states have begun the process of collaboration under the new mandates of WIA; and (2) to understand the impact on customers with disabilities. This is the third in a series of publications …

The Academic Workplace (Fall/Winter 2002): The Politics Of Civic Engagement, New England Resource Center For Higher Education At The University Of Massachusetts Boston, Harry C. Boyte, Deborah Hirsch, Melvin Wade

The Academic Workplace

No abstract provided.

Latino Students In Springfield: An Educational Profile, Lorna Rivera

Gastón Institute Publications

With financial support from the National Council of La Raza, the Gastón Institute is developing "Educational Profiles" for the sixteen Massachusetts public school districts with the highest Latino student enrollments: Boston, Springfield, Lawrence, Worcester, Holyoke, Lowell, Lynn, Chelsea, New Bedford, Brockton, Fitchburg, Salem, Chicopee, Framingham, Haverhill, and Somerville. The profiles present basic data provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education including information on student enrollment, MCAS results, dropout rates, and student aspirations. We hope this information will be used by Latino students, parents, educators, and policy-makers to make informed decisions and improve public education for Latino students in Massachusetts.

The Power Of The Urban Canvas: Paint, Politics, And Mural Art Policy, Maura E. Greaney

New England Journal of Public Policy

In cities across America, outdoor mural paintings have brought public art to the urban landscape. Paint and politics have been splashed upon city walls for decades, replacing bleak, often graffitied, exteriors with vibrant color. But this transformation runs deeper than the artistry of the murals; the real works of art are the changes these collaborative projects inspire within communities. Mural projects mobilize communities to articulate dreams, express frustrations, and most importantly, consider strategies for change. Thus, they are a worthy consideration for public policymakers. This case study traces the contemporary mural movement in three cities: Boston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. …

Front Matter

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

From The Director, Edmund Beard

New England Journal of Public Policy

Presents information on the Master of Science in Public Affairs graduate program and how this issue includes three of their best Case Studies of last year’s graduating class.

The Citizens Health Prescription: Coping With Rising Drug Costs, Shannon Cadres

New England Journal of Public Policy

Prescription drug prices have climbed to unaffordable levels in recent years, creating a serious public policy problem for lawmakers at both the state and federal levels. The U.S. Medicare program only covers the costs of inpatient prescription drugs, and only seventy-five percent of beneficiaries are receiving coverage through some other means. But because of the tremendous power of the pharmaceutical industry on Capitol Hill, lawmakers in Washington have been unable to agree upon a workable solution. As a result, many states are experimenting with different strategies to provide some relief. Massachusetts has attempted to solve the problem through the Prescription …

Back Matter

New England Journal of Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Tide Is High For The Boston Beaches, Marissa Glowac

New England Journal of Public Policy

In 1993, Massachusetts Governor William Weld and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino approved the “Back to the Beaches” project, a seven-year, $30.5 million public project to restore nineteen Boston Harbor beaches. Today, these sites have new, cleaner sand, improved access, and new amenities and facilities now ready to offer additional opportunities for recreation. People are coming back to the Boston Harbor beaches in numbers significantly higher than a decade ago. This study concludes that the implementation and success of the “Back to the Beaches” project can be attributed to several factors — an increased public awareness of the value of open …