Digital Commons Network^™

I Was A Think College Policy Advocate!, Arthur Moreira

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Arthur Moreira shares about his experience as a Think College Policy Advocate in 2022. Arthur, a student at College of Alameda, had the opportunity to learn about advocacy and disability policy from experts at AUCD and Think College, and then travel to Washington, DC, where he visited representatives and talked with them about issues important to people with disabilities, including education, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and more.

When We Tell You We Can Do It, Believe Us: An Analysis Of The Legislation And Policies Related To The Employment Of Women With Disabilities In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Sarah M. Alem

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation aims at exploring the barriers to the adequate implementation of the legislation, policies and regulations related to the employment of women with disabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the private sector. It uses Article 27 of the United Nations Convention for Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as an international standard. This dissertation explores the strengths and challenges of Saudi Arabia’s Labor Law and regulations in protecting the employment related rights of women with disabilities in Saudi Arabia. It adopts a multi-component analysis by comparing standards (a, b, e and h) of Article 27 of the CRPD with …

Influences On University Staff Members Responsible For Implementation Of Alcohol-Control Policies, Glenn A. Cochran

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Excessive college student drinking is a complex problem associated with a range of consequences including deaths, injuries, damage, health risks, legal difficulties, and academic problems. State governing boards, trustees and executives have enacted policies aimed at reducing the negative effects of excessive drinking. This study examined influences on university staff members responsible for implementation of alcohol-control policies. Deeper understanding of factors influencing alcohol-control policy implementation may help leaders improve policy making, implementation and attainment of policy objectives.

This mixed methods study utilized a sequential transformative mixed methods strategy with a quantitative survey, sequenced first, informing the prioritized qualitative multiple case …

Does Increased Family Income Reduce Fade Out Of Preschool Gains?, Colin C. Rose

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The current study examines the connection between a change of family income and the retention of academic gains for children in low-income households who have attended a center-based preschool program. These children are often shown to lose the academic advantage they gain during preschool as they move through k-12 education in a phenomenon called fade out. A theoretical framework was constructed positing that material and psychological effects of poverty inhibit the ability of these families to support and maintain growth during this critical time when children are highly nested in the family unit.

Treating family income as a causal risk …

Center For Governance And Sustainability: Policy Impact Through Rigorous Analysis, Center For Governance And Sustainability, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Maria Ivanova, Craig Murphy, Michael Denney

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Three main functions define the center:

• Serves as an information hub
• Provides rigorous analysis
• Acts as an honest broker

We collect and manage data on governance and sustainability across scales, apply diverse analytical models grounded in empirics, and create dialogues among scholars, practitioners, and the public.

Brief 1: Financing International Environmental Governance: Lessons From The United Nations Environment Programme, Maria Ivanova

Governance and Sustainability Issue Brief Series

Financing for the global environment is scattered among many institutions and, without an overview of total financial flows, often considered scarce. This issue brief begins an analysis of the financial landscape by focusing on the anchor institution for the global environment, the UN Environment Programme. It examines the relationship between institutional form and funding and offers insights into innovative financing.

Economic Writing On The Pressing Problems Of The Day: The Roles Of Moral Intuition And Methodological Confusion, Julie A. Nelson

Economics Faculty Publication Series

Economists are often called on to help address pressing problems of the day, yet many economists are uncomfortable about disclosing the values that they bring to this work. This essay explores how an inadequate understanding of the role of methodology, as related to ethics and human emotions of concern, underlies this reluctance and compromises the quality of economic advice. The tension between caring about the problems, on the one hand, and writing within the existing culture of the discipline, on the other, are illustrated with examples from U.S. policymaking, behavioral economics, and the economics of climate change and global poverty. …

Transnational Social-Change Network Learning. Introduction: Shared Responsibility, Collective Reflection. Boston–Haifa Learning Exchange Network, Donna Haig Friedman

New England Journal of Public Policy

This LEN project has emerged as both experiential and active. The in-person learning exchange seminars, which since the project’s inception have been taking place once a year in Haifa, Israel, and once a year in Boston, Massachusetts, were planned and facilitated jointly by the NGO partners as well as by outside trainers. Dedicated staff time and collaborative, generous attitudes on the part of planners in both cities have been essential for power sharing, efficiency, and thoroughness in the planning processes. Preparation has been extensive, requiring the core planning team, a Haifa–Boston mix, to use conference calls and e-mail communications, months …

Challenges For Nonprofit Organizations. Introduction: A Theoretical Framework. Civil Society And Challenges Faced By Nonprofits, Amnon Reichman

New England Journal of Public Policy

This introduction will tackle two issues. The first is theoretical: a framework will be proposed with which to approach the activity of nonprofit organizations within civil society in modern democracies. Whereas the traditional approach posits three sectors in a triangular setting (the top corner occupied by the government, the bottom-right corner occupied by the market, and the bottom left corner by the “third sector”), a better conceptualization defines civil society as a social space between the state (located above) and the individual or the private sphere (located below). This space is where for-profit organizations (usually clustered in one side of …

Service And/Or Advocacy: Nonprofit Sector In The Twenty-First Century, Nancy K. Kaufman

New England Journal of Public Policy

In both Israel and the United States over the past twenty years, there has been an explosion in the number of nonprofit organizations that live in a space somewhere between government agencies and for-profit companies. While the growth of these organizations may have been stimulated by different factors in each country, there is much to be learned through a cross-cultural exchange like the one between organizations in Haifa and in Boston. In order to analyze some of the challenges facing nonprofit organizations across a wide spectrum of mission, purpose, and size, I have categorized the type of organizations being discussed …

The Haifa Council Of Volunteer Organizations: Challenges And Dilemmas Of An Umbrella Organization, Yael Abada

New England Journal of Public Policy

This paper reviews the challenges faced by the Haifa Council of Volunteer Organizations (CVO) as the umbrella organization of third-sector organizations working in Haifa, Israel. It will review challenges that affect our everyday decisions and shape the council’s activities. Most likely, some of these challenges affect other umbrella organizations as well, while some are unique to the CVO and are the result of local, historical, structural, and organizational factors.

Women Of Talent: Gender And Government Appointments In Massachusetts, 2002–2007, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Kacie Kelly

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Despite the high educational and occupational attainment—and considerable talent—of women in Massachusetts, the state ranks just 22nd in the nation on women's overall share of top executive, legislative, and judicial posts, compared to their share of the population. The goals of this study were to (1) calculate the percentage of women holding senior-level positions in state government at these four points in time; (2) analyze the distribution of appointments by type of position and executive office; (3) provide possible explanations for the status of women’s representation in these positions; and (4) offer recommendations that will serve to promote the appointment …

Looking Back And Looking Ahead: Policy Visions From The New Deal And Great Society, Françoise Carré

Center for Social Policy Publications

On April 10 and 11, 2007, the Center for Social Policy convened a conference exploring policy visions from the New Deal and Great Society and their implications for today’s policy thinking. Titled, "Looking Back and Looking Ahead", this conference took place at the University of Massachusetts Boston Campus Center and the John F. Kennedy Library.

The conference was designed as an opportunity for speakers and participants to reflect on the lessons learned from these two watershed eras of policy innovation and their implications for looking forward. Policy actors and experts participated in three panel discussions on the historical context of …

Water. The Geopolitics Of Water, Paul Michael Wihbey, Ilan Berman

New England Journal of Public Policy

In the great geo-strategic game known as the Middle East, peace politics get much of the press and the attention of policy leaders. On occasion, oil takes center stage but often for the wrong reason (see, e.g., "The End of the Oil Era and the Price of Oil"). What is important to understand is that water is in fact the key strategic resource in the region and if you follow the flow of water, you'll follow the politics and policy machinations that lie at the heart of the Israeli-Syrian dialogue. IASPS Fellow in Strategy Paul Michael Wihbey co-authored an analysis …

Oil. The Geopolitics Of Oil And Natural Gas, Alan Larson

New England Journal of Public Policy

Ensuring the reliability of global energy supplies will call for policies that both encourage the use of newer, cleaner energy technologies and address the political challenges posed by the world’s growing demand for oil and natural gas. U.S. policy seeks to encourage expansion and diversification of world energy supplies and to promote the transparency and democratic institutions that help energy-producing countries make the most productive use of their resources.

Brief 19: The Dean’S Role In Faculty Evaluation, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

Faculty work continues to change in response to the increased emphases on diversity requirements in undergraduate education, partnerships between academic and student affairs, and computer technology (O’Meara, et al, 2003). As even more is learned about strategies for the educational success of their students, faculty will be counted on to tailor their skills and pedagogies to new populations of students. At the same time, colleges and universities must keep pace with these changes by ensuring that expectations about faculty work are clearly defined and are reflected in evaluation and reward structures—and that faculty are supported in their efforts. The quality …

Thwarted Ambition: The Role Of Public Policy In University Development, Michael N. Bastedo

New England Journal of Public Policy

Paradoxically, Massachusetts is the home of a world-class system of private higher education and a struggling system of public higher education. The influence of private higher education and persistent indifference by state government repeatedly thwarted UMass’s ambition to increase its stature on the national scene. The result was a “boom or bust” cycle of financial support that made rational planning and institutional expansion extremely difficult, exacerbating the university’s late start toward world-class status.

The Community Action Principle: Subjects Not Objects, Barney Frank

New England Journal of Public Policy

Deals with the impact of community action programs in the international and domestic economic policies. Influence of political participation on the application of democratic principles in politics; Background of economic policies by former U.S. Presidents regarding the free enterprise system; Relevance of community action on the formulation of international economic policies.

Saving Capitalism From Itself: Whither The Welfare State?, Mimi Abramovitz

New England Journal of Public Policy

The U.S. welfare state has been under attack from both sides of the aisle since the mid-1970s. Using the lens of history, the following pages will argue that neither the rise of the welfare state in the 1930s nor the current attack were merely accidental. Instead, each was a response to a particular crisis of profitability because the institutional arrangements that had created the conditions for profit-making in the prior fifty years had deteriorated. The policies no longer worked for the powers-that-be and had to be “reformed.”

What Kind Of Labor Market Awaits Low-Income Workers?, Françoise Carré

New England Journal of Public Policy

This essay highlights changes in the context of the labor market for low-income people, particularly mothers. It briefly reviews labor market trends and policies. It then highlights the challenges faced by such workers. The essay argues for a shift in thinking and policy advocacy to encompass the world of work, and its domination by business imperatives and language, and thus better represent poor people’s concerns in the policy world.

Child Care: Four Decades Of Growth And Change, Bruce Hershfield, John Sciamanna

New England Journal of Public Policy

Child care has grown and changed over the past four decades. The federal government now has two major early education programs, Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Although Head Start was enacted in 1965 and has had mostly bipartisan support, it took the federal government until 1990 to enact a national child care program. Massachusetts, led by an active advocacy community and strong leadership in the state legislature, has been a leader among states in support for child care funding and policies. It is its support for strong licensing, periodic increases in reimbursement rates, parental choice, …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this issue, special guest editors, Elaine Werby and Donna Haig Friedman, assemble an array of distinguished scholars, policymakers, community activists and political advocates to examine the interaction of the economic, political, and social “flows,” the undercurrents of history that stymied the war on poverty. Their articles and essays chart the beachheads that must be secured before the war can be successfully resumed; No war, they collectively remind us, is won without some battles being lost. You do not secure the future of the country if you abandon the principles of equity and equality for all, the bedrock of the …

The Road To Universal Health Coverage In Massachusetts: A Story In Three Parts, John E. Mcdonough

New England Journal of Public Policy

In 1988, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a new law, a “play or pay” employer mandate, requiring all employers with six or more workers to provide health insurance coverage for their employees. A few years later, with Medicaid identified as a “Budget Buster,” the Weld administration sought deregulation as the way to cut costs and expand access by establishing MassHealth, which dropped the employer mandate and expanded Medicaid, and eventually distinguished Massachusetts as the state with the greatest percent of covered citizens. But MassHealth enrollment has declined as premium costs have risen, and the Uncompensated Care Pool is once again faced …

Foreword, Elaine Werby, Donna Haig Friedman

New England Journal of Public Policy

Interspersed throughout this issue are Voices of Community Action — the voices of executive directors, board members, and staff. Some are personal reflections; others describe their work or tell of the struggles of those who live with poverty. All speak to the commitment of service and change, to personal development and growth, and to the worth of their work. Their stories are 10 matched in the testimony of those who have received services or participated in community action programs. All of these stories bear witness to the importance of what happens on the front lines among leaders, board members, staff, …

The Link Between Poverty And Violent Conflict, J. Brian Atwood

New England Journal of Public Policy

The threat to the international system from the many forms of violent conflict, terrorism being the most prominent among them, is greater today than it was at the end of the twentieth century. This escalation of global conflict has been attributed to the breakup of the Soviet State, increasing ethnic tensions, weak governance at both the nation-state and international levels, and the rise of religious extremism. Each of these factors contributes to instability and the social tensions that lead to violence. It will be posited here that there is also a significant link between poverty and violent conflict, one that …

Brief 16: In Search Of Equity: An Institutional Response, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

The United States Supreme Judicial Court is currently deliberating the University of Michigan Affirmative Action lawsuits involving three white students who claim they were discriminated against because of race-conscious admissions policies. Organizations, such as the Center for Individual Rights, which sponsored the Michigan plaintiffs, and the Center for Equal Opportunity, have spearheaded drives to evaluate affirmative action programs in light of equal protection under the law. Viewed in this light, these policies appear to be unfair to white candidates. Examined more closely, concerns about equitability are missing from arguments about fairness. NERCHE’s Multicultural Affairs Think Tank members discussed the changed …

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. …

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 …

Brief 14: Risk Management, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

The development office accepts a gift of a house from a prestigious donor. The faculty has developed and approved a new core curriculum. The institution recently constructed a new campus center. While these circumstances sound no alarms, all involve elements of risk. The welcome gift of the house, later discovered to be contaminated with mold, will involve a costly clean up. A revised curriculum cannot guarantee that the changes will yield the expected results. The construction of a new building has significant implications for maintenance of the physical plant. In a recent meeting NERCHE’s Chief Financial Officers Think Tank discussed …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

This issue of the journal can be summed up in one word: provocative. At least two articles break new ground. Anthony Robbins and Phyllis Freeman explore the ways in which environmentally oriented public health is uniquely suited to help organized medical care in providing health and in restraining expenditures. Janet Farrell Smith challenges policymakers to look at what will soon become a hot issue — the medical use of genetic information. The genetic testing of children, now becoming prevalent in the foster care and pre-adoptive stage in order to facilitate placement and satisfy prospective parents’ “need to know,” is already …