Social Justice: A Catholic Autistic Perspective, Rebecca Schneider

Honors Projects

This is a collection of short stories about social injustices impacting the autistic community and how Catholic Social Teaching supports a more just approach. It is written from an autistic perspective and informed by the stories of people who are actually autistic. Each story is followed by an analysis that explains the choices made, which are backed by both research and the experiences of the autistic writer and the autistic community. This collection also includes information on how justice can be attained on the individual level by allies and on the institutional level by organizations.

Open Adoption: An Expansion Of Family, Madeline Huisjen

Southeastern Council on Family Relations Conference

95% of adoption in the United States are open adoptions (Siegel & Smith, 2012). Past research has focused on the satisfaction of the adoptive parents, birth mother and adoptee in open adoption (Colaner & Scharp, 2016). However, there is a gap in research considering communication within the open adoption relationship (Grotevant, 2009). This qualitative phenomenological study sought to understand the experiences of birth mothers and adoptive parents in open adoption relationships as well as determine what is helpful and/or harmful within this relationship. The researchers conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with birth mothers and adoptive parents. Through open coding, key findings …

State Agency Promising Practice: Pennsylvania’S Employment Newsletter - A Communication Strategy To Promote Employment, Jennifer Bose

Jennifer Bose

The State of Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) created a monthly newsletter called The Employment Update, which covers state- and nationwide news about the employment of people with disabilities, including intellectual/developmental disabilities. The Employment Update is sent via email to state agency contacts and a large stakeholder community, including individuals with disabilities, service providers, state associations, employers, advocacy groups, family members, representatives from academia and others. The Employment Update contains information about employment trends, employment policy, trainings and conferences throughout Pennsylvania and nationwide. The newsletter also contains information about employment grants and project activities, including links to articles covering …

State Agency Promising Practice: Oregon’S Employment Support Website - Communicating The Employment First Policy, Jennifer Bose

Jennifer Bose

In 2009, the state of Oregon adopted its Employment First policy. When Oregon’s Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) decided to promote the implementation of this policy, it began by updating its existing employment website. The redesigned website (http:// www.dhs.state.or.us/dd/supp_emp/) emphasizes the value of integrated employment over other outcomes, and the importance of building community-wide conversations, with the goal of achieving integrated employment for people with developmental disabilities. The website shares the value of integrated employment with all targeted audiences by highlighting resources and illustrating employment successes. It was also designed to share information on the Oregon’s progress and concrete …

State Agency Promising Practice: Pennsylvania’S Employment Newsletter - A Communication Strategy To Promote Employment, Jennifer Bose

Jennifer Bose

The State of Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) created a monthly newsletter called The Employment Update, which covers state- and nationwide news about the employment of people with disabilities, including intellectual/developmental disabilities. The Employment Update is sent via email to state agency contacts and a large stakeholder community, including individuals with disabilities, service providers, state associations, employers, advocacy groups, family members, representatives from academia and others. The Employment Update contains information about employment trends, employment policy, trainings and conferences throughout Pennsylvania and nationwide. The newsletter also contains information about employment grants and project activities, including links to articles covering …

How Do Money, Sex, And Stress Influence Marital Instability?, E. Jeffrey Hill, David B. Allsop, Ashley B. Lebaron, Roy A. Bean

Journal of Financial Therapy

This study explored how money and sex simultaneously predicted marital instability, and what financial therapists might focus on with clients to address problems in these areas. Specifically, this paper concurrently examined the relationship of marital instability to financial and family stressors (financial stressors, work-family conflict, and parenting stressors); financial and sexual resources (couple income and couple sexual frequency); and financial and sexual perceptions (financial dissatisfaction and sexual dissatisfaction). Couple financial communication and couple relational communication were explored as intervention points for financial therapists. Data came from Wave 2 of the Flourishing Families data set (N = 301). Data were organized …

The Empty Chair Appointment, Jody Long, Ken Sakauye, Khaja Chisty, John Upton

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The objective was to test an intervention to reduce failed rates for psychiatric appointments. We collected data for this study of the characteristics of patients who missed appointments from March 2011 through September 2012. A phone triage assessment intervention was implemented to address chronic first-time failed attendance appointments (N = 78). The main reason for failed appointments was transportation difficulties. The first-time appointment show rate increased after implementing an assessment intervention. Phone assessment intervention was practical and may improve nonattendance for psychiatric appointments. The discussion reflects speculations about causes and possible measures to make services more accessible.

Photovoice: Assessing Barriers To Health Among Maine's Somalian Refugee Women, Lilia Bottino, Collyn Baeder

Applied Arts and Social Justice Artist Talks

UNE Graduate students Lilia Bottino and Collyn Baeder present this Interprofessional Student-Led Mini Grant Team’s Photovoice project. This project involved the distribution of cameras to women in a refugee community in Portland, Maine, with the aim of enabling them to communicate health-related issues in their community through the visual language of photography.

Frequency Of Communication On Facebook As A Factor In Four Dimensions Of Perceived Social Support, Granger E. Petersen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored relationships between the frequency of public communication on the social networking website Facebook and the level of social support an individual perceives. Students in the Graduate School of Social Work and the Emergent Digital Practices program were surveyed. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the variables. Findings from the analysis indicated that the frequency of posting statuses on Facebook and the frequency of responding to other's status updates on Facebook was significantly and negatively associated with a perception of tangible social support. The frequency of these types of communication were not significantly …

State Agency Promising Practice: New Hampshire - Translating Research Into A Position Statement About Integrated Employment, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

New Hampshire’s Bureau of Developmental Services, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, other state and local service providers, advocates, and families are committed to increasing the employment rate and the quality of employment outcomes for people with developmental disabilities. These stakeholders met to craft an employment position statement. They framed their discussions according to factors that research has found to be common to “high-performing” states in providing integrated employment opportunities. Then they developed an employment position statement that satisfied all the groups involved, and communicated their shared belief in the importance of integrated employment as a means toward community inclusion.

State Agency Promising Practice: Nevada’S Regional Forums - Creating A Shared Responsibility For Improving Employment, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities sought to engage community stakeholders and acquire knowledge to further the employment agenda by funding three regional summits. Using the State Employment Leadership Network’s (SELN)* selfassessment preliminary findings as a basis, the summit steering committee created a framework for summit participants. Through a rigorous planning process and comprehensive 2-day summits in three regions of the state, Nevada was able to create a shared, multistakeholder plan of action with the goal of improving the current employment support system for individuals with developmental disabilities.

State Agency Promising Practice: Oregon’S Employment Support Website - Communicating The Employment First Policy, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 2009, the state of Oregon adopted its Employment First policy. When Oregon’s Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) decided to promote the implementation of this policy, it began by updating its existing employment website. The redesigned website (http:// www.dhs.state.or.us/dd/supp_emp/) emphasizes the value of integrated employment over other outcomes, and the importance of building community-wide conversations, with the goal of achieving integrated employment for people with developmental disabilities. The website shares the value of integrated employment with all targeted audiences by highlighting resources and illustrating employment successes. It was also designed to share information on the Oregon’s progress and concrete …

Anthropology And Ethnography: Contributions To Integrated Marketing Communications, Claudia M. Wright

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

This paper explores the ways in which anthropological research, specifically ethnography, can be useful in an Integrated Marketing Communication approach. Starting from a brief description of the different ways in which the discipline of anthropology has studied consumption, the paper turns to review how it can serve effectively to understand both the corporate as well as the consumer culture. Furthermore, the role that the anthropological discipline plays for Integrated Marketing Communication strategies is presented along with some examples of how different firms have used it. This paper is an approach to understanding ethnography not only as a market research methodology, …

State Agency Promising Practice: Pennsylvania’S Employment Newsletter - A Communication Strategy To Promote Employment, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The State of Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) created a monthly newsletter called The Employment Update, which covers state- and nationwide news about the employment of people with disabilities, including intellectual/developmental disabilities. The Employment Update is sent via email to state agency contacts and a large stakeholder community, including individuals with disabilities, service providers, state associations, employers, advocacy groups, family members, representatives from academia and others. The Employment Update contains information about employment trends, employment policy, trainings and conferences throughout Pennsylvania and nationwide. The newsletter also contains information about employment grants and project activities, including links to articles covering …

State Agency Promising Practice: Connecticut Showcases Creative Jobs With “Employment Idol”, Monica Cox, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 2007, the State of Connecticut’s Department of Developmental Services (DDS) partnered with the self-advocacy group People First of Connecticut to develop Employment Idol, an innovative project for promoting employment as the preferred outcome for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (ID/DD) in the state. Spinning off the concept of the popular television show American Idol, Connecticut’s Employment Idol showcases the employment success stories of a select group of individuals with ID/DD.