Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Politics Of Official English: Exploring The Intentions And The Outcomes Behind English-Only Policies In The United States, David Gonzalez Nieto

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Although the Constitution did not declare English the official language of the United States, its complete linguistic dominance in such a linguistically diverse nation is unparalleled. Despite its supremacy, the last three decades have witnessed a renewed nationalistic movement that claims the role of English is threatened and that its establishment as the official language of the United States is crucial to protect the language and the unity of the nation.

So far, attempts to institutionalize English at the federal level have failed, but 28 states have adopted English as their official language and/or legislation that limits the use of …

Foreword, Padraig O’Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

Throughout the tenures of five U.S. presidencies, eight UMass presidencies, six governors, and five UMass Boston chancellors, Shaun O’Connell has regularly produced scintillating essays distilling the essence of several books, “bundled,” as it were, because of common themes that run through their pages, into masterful expositions—profound, reflective, social critiques that invariably tie knots between fiction and nonfiction and a range of pertinent public policy issues. His extraordinary ability helps us understand that the best poets and novelists and nonfiction authors give us glimpses into the complex machinery of the human psyche and often imbed economic and social policy issues before …

Introduction: Turning Pages, Shaun O’Connell

New England Journal of Public Policy

Pages, essays, and books pile up in libraries while pixilated words and paragraphs get packed away on hard disks or float in clouds: permanence versus ephemera. Yet, as underfunded libraries turn into media centers and as digital backup options proliferate, who can tell what pages will last and for how long. These essays have long been stored in volumes of the New England Journal of Public Policy (NEJPP) or made available on the journal’s website. This collection sets them in a fresh context and gives them an opportunity to reach new readers in a format that shows how …

New York Revisited (1992), Shaun O’Connell

New England Journal of Public Policy

The works discussed in this article include: City of the World: New York and Its People, by Bernie Bookbinder; New York, New York, by Oliver E. Allen; New York Intellect: A History of Intellectual Life in New York City, from 1750 to the Beginnings of Our Own Time, by Thomas Bender; The Heart of the World, by Nik Cohn; The Art of the City: Views and Versions of New York, by Peter Conrad; After Henry, by Joan Didion; Literary New York: A History and Guide, by Susan Edmiston and Linda D. Cirino; Our …

Two Nations: Homeless In A Divided Land (1992), Shaun O’Connell

New England Journal of Public Policy

The works discussed in this article include: Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics, by Thomas Byrne Edsall with Mary D. Edsall; Why Americans Hate Politics, by E. J. Dionne, Jr.; A Far Cry from Home: Life in a Shelter for Homeless Women, by Lisa Ferrill; Scandal: The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics, by Suzanne Garment; Songs from the Alley, by Kathleen Hirsch; Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America, by James Davison Hunter; Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America, by Jonathan Kozol; Parliament of …

Touched By Fire: Readings In Time Of War (1991), Shaun O’Connell

New England Journal of Public Policy

In "Touched by Fire: Readings in Times of War," Shaun O'Connell draws us into the eerie atmosphere that pulled this country into itself in the late fall and early winter, when thoughts of war provoked hard questions and when, for a time, doubt became the stuff of eloquence.

The works discussed in this article include: Pledging Allegiance: The Last Campaign of the Cold War, by Sidney Blumenthal; Millie's Book, as dictated to Barbara Bush; An American Life, by Ronald Reagan; The Civil War: An Illustrated History, by Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns; …

Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community January-July 2015 Report, Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter

Center for Social Policy Publications

No abstract provided.

Profiles In Leadership: Women Of Color Elected To Office In Massachusetts, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Women's Pipeline For Change

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

There are two narratives that provide the story behind this guide. These stories may seem contradictory at first, but they are both true: it is only by telling both sides of the story that we can understand the full meaning and impact of the experiences of the women pictured in the pages that follow.

On the one hand, there is a story of exclusion, marginalization, and lack of representation of women of color in governing bodies all across Massachusetts – from local to federal office. The Massachusetts Legislature has existed since 1780, yet we have only had 14 women of …

Testimony On The Equal Pay Act [H. 1733/S. 983], Ann Bookman

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Testimony on the Equal Pay Act [H. 1733/S. 983] by Ann Bookman, PhD, delivered at the Massachusetts State House, 2015 July 21.

Gender Wage Gap Matters To Women In Low-Wage Occupations: Hispanic Women Face Largest Pay Inequities, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Much of the existing research on the gender gap in pay focuses on its impact on women who are middle- and upper-income earners in highly skilled occupations, such as medicine, law, and business. There has been less emphasis on the impact of pay inequity on low-income women working in low-wage occupations.

Making The Invisible Challenges And Opportunities Visible, Maureen A. Scully, Lisa Deangelis, Katie Bates

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

The 41 fellows in the 2015 Emerging Leaders Program worked with community partners to generate the theme, “Making the Invisible Challenges and Opportunities Visible: Collaborative leadership for economic and social well-being."

The projects provide fellows an opportunity to practice elements of collaborative leadership in peer-led teams working with multiple stakeholders. The projects focus on civic engagement, building a leadership base for Greater Boston that is ready to tackle the big challenges that ensure the broader economic and social well-being of the region. The project sponsor with whom each team works is a nonprofit or governmental organization with big goals. Each …

Editor's Note, Padraig O’Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this edition of the journal several articles address a range of important, and in some cases too often overlooked policy issues, too broad in scope for their conclusions and recommendations to be encapsulated adequately in a brief paragraph. Their diversity, however, highlights a key characteristic of the New England Journal of Public Policy – that of being open to publishing articles that have insightful bearings on how public policy is addressed, not only in the New England states, but throughout the country and in the international community – a community of nations increasingly interdependent with constraints on national sovereignty …

Mind The Gap: The Integration Of Physical And Mental Healthcare In Federally Qualified Health Centers, Karen R. Monaghan

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

In the United States, approximately 50 percent of people experience mental illness during their lifetimes (Cunningham, 2009). However, previous studies estimate that up to 80 percent of people living with a mental illness do not access services (Mackenzie et al., 2007). While there are numerous explanations for such disparity, this study posited that stigma associated with mental illness is a significant contributory factor.

In an attempt to address the gap between prevalence of mental illness and access to services, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), 2010 (US Government Printing Office, (a) 2011) mandated that Federally Qualified Health Centers …

The Impact Of Nursing Hours And Hospital And Patient Characteristics On Medicare Hospital Acquired Conditions: A National Pooled Cross-Sectional Secondary Data Model And Analysis, Terry Kahlert Eng

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Previous research and quality improvement initiatives have underscored the prevalence of healthcare acquired conditions (HACs) and their associated costs in American hospitals. In response to these findings, in 2008, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services identified 10 condition categories that they would no longer pay for if acquired during hospitalization. The conditions were selected based on high cost, high volume, or both, assigned to a higher paying medical severity diagnostic related group (MS-DRG), and were deemed preventable through application of evidence-based guidelines. The Health Quality Outcomes Model and a Path Model guided the study.

Objective: To quantify the …

Assessing Current And Future Needs Of Residents Aging In The Town Of Andover, Bernard A. Steinman, Ceara R. Somerville, Maryam Khaniyan, Hayley Gleason, Mai See Yang, Jan E. Mutchler

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report describes the collaborative efforts undertaken by the Town of Andover Division of Elder Services and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, within the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Beginning in Fall 2014, these organizations joined to conduct a needs assessment to investigate the needs, interests, preferences and opinions of the Town’s older resident population, with respect to aging in Andover. The focus of this report is on two cohorts of Andover residents—those who are age 50 to 59 (referred to as “Boomers”) and the cohort of individuals who are currently age …

Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community July-December 2014 Report, Donna Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter

Center for Social Policy Publications

No abstract provided.

Statedata: The National Report On Employment Services And Outcomes, 2015, John Butterworth, Frank A. Smith, Jean Winsor, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This report provides statistics over 25 years from several national datasets that address the status of employment and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The authors use abbreviations for both intellectual disability (ID) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in this report. We do this because data sources vary in the specific target groups that can be described.

We provide a comprehensive overview that describes national trends in employment for people with IDD, and the appendices provide individual state profiles with data from several sources. These include the ICI’s IDD Agency National Survey of Day and Employment …

Data Note: State Intellectual And Developmental Disability Agencies' Service Trends, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

In FY2013, an estimated 607,959 individuals received day or employment supports from state IDD program agencies. This number grew from 457,405 in FY1999. The estimated number of individuals in integrated employment services increased from 108,680 in FY1999 to 113,271 in FY2013. State investment continues to emphasize facility-based and non-work services, rather than integrated employment services. Figure 1 shows the trends in the percentage of people served in integrated employment and facility-based and non-work settings between FY2004 and FY2013.

Data Note Plus: Federal Data Snapshot Of Puerto Rico On Individuals With Disabilities, Daria Domin, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Prior to 2012, four data projects funded by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD)—Access to Integrated Employment, Family and Individual Information Systems Project, Residential Information Systems Project, and the State of the States in Developmental Disabilities—only collected data from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. However, a 2012 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) from AIDD requested that applicable AIDD data projects include the five U.S. Territories (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) in their data collection and analysis efforts. This Data Note represents an expansion of our …