Digital Commons Network^™

Developing An Online Health Community For Autoimmune Disease Patients Through Self-Managed Diet, Rachel Greene

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Part I, Autoimmune Disease Management and the Need for Intervention, discusses current and standard Autoimmune Disease- (AI/AID) management and the shortcomings within. Typical AID-management led by healthcare professionals lacks a holistic, symptom-based approach, thus further contributing to the daily chronic pain of the afflicted. This analysis indicates the need to connect those suffering with AID’s to scientific research that has determined strict dieting can significantly reduce symptoms associated with AID’s. Part II, Synthesizing A Model For Online Health Community Engagement, examines the website prototype of Greenebean, which is an online community developed via user-centric design, in a theoretical, physical, and …

Beyond The Big Top: The Legacy Of John Ringling And The American Circus, Casey L. Nemec

Graduate Masters Theses

Beyond the Big Top: The Legacy of John Ringling and the American Circus is a focused interpretation of the impact of the American circus post-Civil War through present day, most particularly that of circus impresario, corporate magnate, and philanthropist John Ringling, in what was once a quiet Florida fishing village named Sarasota. It is my observation that John Ringling, through moving the winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey to Sarasota, investing in a sizable amount of real estate, and spearheading a campaign to bring a world-class art museum and school to the area, played a key …

How Does Grading Schools Impact Florida’S Teachers And Students? The Need For A New Approach To School Accountability, Luke Aubry Kupscznk

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

In 1999, Florida began grading schools on an A to F scale. These grades constituted part of the A+ package of policies advanced by Governor Bush’s administration. Schools then earned grades based on student standardized test scores. These changes followed a decade of increasing dismay over the trajectory of American education and preceded national moves towards test-based accountability for students and schools. While many researchers have investigated the effects of high-stakes testing on students, few have looked at the impacts of school-level accountability on non-test outcomes. This study considers the impacts of receiving a failing-grade on variables other than test …

More Seats At The Table: An Examination Of The Role Of Natural Supports In Promoting Postsecondary Transition For Students With Disabilities In Rural Maine, Elizabeth Stone-Sterling

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Students with disabilities who receive special education services are entitled under federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that includes measurable postsecondary goals and identifies the transition services that are needed in order for the student to reach those goals. Transition planning for students with disabilities in rural areas can be uniquely challenging due to lack of access to transportation, service providers, and accessible programs. Failure to prepare for postsecondary education or employment is correlated with life-long challenges, including poverty, un/under-employment, and limited educational attainment. Natural supports, in the form of family …

Kneeling For Social Justice: Epistemologies Of Ignorance, Schemas, And Frames On Twitter, Robert J. Rice

Graduate Masters Theses

In this thesis, 6,715 tweets from September 24, 2017 that directly relate to protests during the national anthem during National Football League games are analyzed. Through a qualitative examination of the symbols and logics that are used on Twitter, mechanisms of epistemic ignorance are illuminated. These epistemic maneuvers and techniques of neutralization help to connect individual latent cultural values and the broad framing of the movement to the perpetuation of ignorance and colorblindness. Logical maneuvers that perpetuate racism through constructed ignorance, like willfully reasoned ignorance, are illustrated throughout the data. The concepts of strategic framing and frame amplification are discussed …

Lost In Translation: Understanding Education Policy Implementation In Nepal, Sushmita Subedi

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the impact of the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP), a national education reform in Nepal, on primary and secondary education. The study uses mixed-methods to analyze indicators of educational outcomes and identify the underlying environmental, organizational, and individual factors that affect reform implementation.

The first phase of the study is a quantitative analysis of annual, district-level data on 75 districts for 10 years, from 2006 to 2016 using regression models to predict dropout and promotion rates. The second phase of the study is a qualitative analysis of the perceived effectiveness of SSRP using in-depth interviews with 33 …

Painting The World Crimson: The Global Spread Of Graduate Management Education As Facilitated By Harvard Business School, Keshav Krishnamurty

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The growth and spread of business education worldwide is a phenomenon of contemporary interest, because it has enabled the expansion of a global managerial class that operates as social and economic elites worldwide in a time of growing inequality. I take a historic approach to this contemporary phenomenon by examining the role that Harvard Business School (HBS) played in the 1950s and 1960s in the conceptualization and launch of the now very prominent Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad. Using the archival materials at the Special Collections of the Baker Library at Harvard Business School, my research uncovers which …

The Influence Of Medicare Insurance Type – Traditional Fee-For-Service V. Medicare Advantage – On Rehospitalizations For Patients With Heart Failure In Skilled Nursing Facilities, Andrea Elizabeth Lane Daddato

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of rehospitalizations for Medicare beneficiaries from skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). This research sought to determine if HF patients’ insurance type (Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) vs. Medicare Advantage (MA)) influences their risk for readmission within 30 days of hospital discharge to a SNF. This research is particularly timely in light of new penalties under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act SNF Value-Based Purchasing (SNF-VBP) program directed at SNFs for 30-day rehospitalizations. Previous literature finds FFS beneficiaries with HF in SNF at greater risk for rehospitalization compared to MA members. This research contributes to the literature …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Salvadorans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

A civil war in El Salvador in the 1970s and 1980s created a need for the United States to accept refugees, but the U.S. Justice Department’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) seldom granted petitions for political asylum by Salvadorans. In response, the Cambridge City Council in1985 passed a resolution that gave sanctuary to Salvadoran and other refugees. This helped facilitate Salvadoran migration to Massachusetts. Now after several decades, the Salvadoran population mostly resides in several cities and towns in the Greater Boston area, and over 40% of their population is native born. The social and economic analysis that follows paints …

A Case Study On A Grassroots, Student-Led Facebook Community For Online Graduate Students And Alumni, Caroline E. Frankel

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

This case study explores the evolution of a grassroots, student-led Facebook graduate student community to support graduate students within the University of Massachusetts Boston Instructional Design Program. The study explores literature supporting social presence construction within formal course environments, informal learning networks, and how social media can help bridge the gap between the formal and informal course space. A questionnaire administered to graduate students and alumni within the Instructional Design Facebook community suggests that a grassroots model has been highly effective at helping students feel more connected to each other. Conclusions and recommendations provided by this study will help inform …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Brazilians, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Early Brazilian migration to Massachusetts traces itself to the 1970s, and large-scale migration began in the mid-1980s. Though earlier Brazilian migrants settled in Boston and Somerville, by 1990s Brazilians had begun to disperse to Framingham and other cities and towns across the Boston metropolitan area and on Cape Cod. Brazilians have a large unauthorized population and have few avenues to obtain citizenship. Due to their precarious legal status in the United States, many believe that the American Community Survey (ACS) estimates used for this report undercounts the Brazilian population. In 2015, the Brazilian Consulate in Boston estimates 350,000 Brazilians living …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Dominicans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Since the early 1980s, there has been a notable increase in the number of Dominicans in Massachusetts due at first to international migration and later due to nativity. Dominican migration is primarily circular. Dominican migrants embody the notion of transnationalism, that is, they have ties to both the United States and the Dominican Republic. Now after several decades, nearly half of their population is native born. The largest Dominican populations in the state are in Lawrence and Boston. The social and economic analysis that follows paints a mixed picture of their incorporation into Massachusetts. Dominicans have higher labor force participation …

Across Racial Lines: Three Accounts Of Transforming Urban Institutions After A Natural Disaster, James Carter, Nolan Rollins, Gregory Rusovich

New England Journal of Public Policy

At 1:30 p.m. on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina grazed the mostly evacuated city of New Orleans, reserving its most devastating force for coastal Mississippi, just to the east. During the next two days, the federal levees protecting the city failed in multiple places. Sixteen hundred people died in the metropolitan area. Residences and businesses in 80 percent of the city went underwater. Public officials warned residents and business owners that they might not be able to return for two to three months. The scope of devastation in certain parts of the city made ever returning questionable for many residents. …

Slaying Two Sacred Cows: One Group’S Part In Helping New Orleans Reform, Rebuild, And Renew, Ruthie Frierson

New England Journal of Public Policy

Citizens for One Greater New Orleans was a volunteer group of women that exemplified the surge of citizen activism that flourished in New Orleans after Katrina. Alarmed by their realization that local government was too dysfunctional to direct a successful comeback, citizens mobilized and charged at two seemingly untouchable local institutions they deemed ripe for reform, the ineffectual levee board and the notoriously biased board of tax assessors. Using skills honed through years of volunteer work, they mobilized public opinion, lobbied reluctant state lawmakers, and finally achieved success through the passage of constitutional amendments in two separate statewide referendum elections. …

Beacons Of Hope: How Neighborhood Organizing Led Disaster Recovery, Denise Thornton

New England Journal of Public Policy

The goal of this article is to broaden the scope of your knowledge about New Orleans neighborhoods by describing our revitalization strategies and our common goals, which may be of value to civil society, business, and government leaders in other cities facing social and economic decay. Many have studied us, many have tried to blend into the colorful fabric of our society, but most fall short in truly understanding our rich and diverse culture and our remarkable social structure. This lack of understanding was detrimental to our recovery and is explained in the coming paragraphs.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Puerto Ricans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Puerto Ricans are the largest Latino population in Massachusetts. They started arriving in the Connecticut River Valley after World War II to fill the state’s need for agricultural workers. Springfield has the largest population and Holyoke the largest share of Puerto Ricans in the state. This migration pattern is important because Western Massachusetts has not experienced economic growth as other parts of the state, and over 25% of Puerto Ricans in the state live there. This concentration of their population in this region shapes many of the demographic, social, and economic characteristics in this report. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico …

Getting To Know Job Seekers, Alberto Migliore

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Getting to know job seekers is one of the five elements of the comprehensive model of employment supports. But why is it so crucial for career success?

Hanson Council On Aging Needs Assessment, Jan Mutchler, Nidya Velasco Roldan, Ceara Somerville, Beth Rouleau, Rebecca Mailman

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Growth in the number of older Hanson residents is expected over the coming decade. Preparing for this demographic shift invites reflection about the extent to which features of the community and characteristics of municipal services meet older residents’ needs and interests, and making plans to improve alignment where appropriate. In support of this planning process, the Town of Hanson and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging at the University of Massachusetts Boston partnered to conduct a study to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of the Town’s residents age 50 and older. During this assessment, multiple …

Latinos In The Labor Force, Phillip Granberry

Gastón Institute Publications

In 2018 a financial news and commentary website, 24/7 Wall St., ranked Massachusetts as the state with the largest economic and social disparities between Latinos and non-Latino whites. For example, median household income was shown to be slightly above $80,000 for whites and just under $40,000 for Latinos. Even more starkly, the rates of homeownership were shown as 69.3% and 26.0%, respectively.

The present report offers an in-depth look at one aspect of the disparity, namely, the difference between the median wage income of Latinos and non-Latinos (a great majority of whom in Massachusetts are non-Latino white). In 2017 …

Building Trust, Alberto Migliore

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

In this brief, you’ll find tips about building trust with job seekers as a first step toward finding the optimal job match.

“Destination Preservation”: Community-Based Cultural Heritage Survey Results, Sarah Collins, Andrew Elder, Carolyn M. Goldstein, Joanne M. Riley

Joseph P. Healey Library Publications

During summer 2019, University Archives and Special Collections (UASC) in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston conducted a survey about participatory archiving, or the process of collecting and preserving materials in partnership with their community members. UASC collected survey responses from 208 respondents representing 33 states and the District of Columbia.

The results of the survey will inform the development of an online resource to guide libraries of all kinds and sizes through the process of hosting a participatory archiving event. The project is made possible by a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of …

Increasing Latino Participation Rates In The 2020 Census In Chelsea, Ma, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Daniela Bravo, Franklin Ortiz

Gastón Institute Publications

Having an accurate count of the city of Chelsea’s Latino population will require strategic organizing by government officials and community leaders. If there is an undercount of the population, especially of immigrants who live in Chelsea, there will be long-term and potentially devastating effects on the city’s political power and less federal funding to address the needs of its Latino majority. We hope the results from this qualitative study will inform policies and recommendations to increase the participation of Chelsea residents in the upcoming 2020 Census. We hope the results will aid in developing culturally specific outreach strategies to inform …

Troubling “Technologies”: Exploring The Global Learning Xprize Using The Frameworks Of Skinner And Foucault, Tanya Elias

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

This work focuses on the question: What might be wrong with large-scale approaches to learning? In posing this question, my purpose is not to suggest that large-scale approaches have no role to play within a complex educational landscape. Rather, I seek to introduce a starting point for more critical and nuanced approaches to achieving proper scale within digital learning, whether big and small. Organized around a series of stories from a train-ride home, I introduce a series of process-based “technologies” as defined by Skinner (1971) and Foucault (1988). After contrasting key concepts of Skinner and Foucault, I apply Foucault’s framework …

Learning Together In Public And In Private: Exploring Learner Interactions And Engagement In A Blended-Platform Mooc Environment, Arianna Montero-Colbert, Natalie Delia Deckard, Bonnie Stewart, Sundi Richard, Alexa Nanan

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

With the growing popularity of connectivist MOOCs, the aim of facilitators has increasingly shifted from helping students meet completion-oriented goals to encouraging meaningful engagement among participants. In this paper, we study the relationship between platform of engagement and learner participation, controlling for relevant demographic factors of participants including gender, age, and level of education attained. Our study employs four distinct measures of participatory engagement: autonomous learning, knowledge reproduction, information networking, and scholarly engagement. We find that on the public platform of Twitter, participants were more likely to exhibit meaningful engagement patterns across all measures studied than they were on the …

Live Peabody: An Age-Friendly Action Plan, Caitlin Coyle, Beth Rouleau

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

The vision of the Live Peabody Initiative is to inspire change in the City of Peabody so that residents of all ages and abilities can thrive. The success of this initiative is dependent on the involvement of a dedicated and passionate group of residents and stakeholders that will proactively spearhead this age-friendly effort. These individuals will actively collaborate with civic, business and non-profit organizations as well as state and local government officials to heighten awareness of the age-friendly movement and implementation of the action items outlines in this report—all to spur positive change for the City of Peabody. This report …

Defining Worthy Victims: State-Level Legislative Decisions To Prevent The Criminalization Of Commercially Sexually Exploited Children In The United States, Kathleen A. Price

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) includes children (anyone under 18) who are sexually exploited for commercial purposes in its definition of human trafficking victims. However, most states currently arrest and/or prosecute sex trafficked children for prostitution. From 2008 to 2017, six states neither arrested nor prosecuted sexually exploited children for prostitution; eight retained the right to arrest, but not prosecute minors for prostitution; and 36 states both arrested and prosecuted this population for prostitution. All 50 states passed their first human trafficking laws between 2003 and 2013. Washington passed the first in 2003 and Wyoming was …

The Role Of The Environmental Context In Advance Care Planning Among Older Adults, Brittany E. Gaines

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Research has focused on various individual characteristics associated with advance care planning (ACP), but little is known about how the environment context is associated with ACP. This study examined the role of environmental characteristics in ACP by addressing three key aims: 1) examine the independent effects of environmental factors on ACP, 2) assess the moderating effects of environmental factors on the associations between ACP and individual household income and educational attainment, and 3) conduct a longitudinal examination of ACP and environmental characteristics. I combined individual ACP information from the 2004 and 2011 waves of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study with county …

Place, Preferences, And Policy: An Analysis Of Funding Education Along The Urban-Rural Divide, Kattalina Berriochoa

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Rural places are changing in unique ways compared to urban and suburban areas. Rural residents disproportionately experience geographic isolation, tax base loss, decreasing populations, and economies challenged by industrial shifts and declines. This leaves rural areas with increasing need for public investment but does not necessarily translate into increased public demand for these investments. In this work, I analyze the following puzzle: what explains geographical variation in individual preferences, which often appears contrary to collective interests? Specifically, I analyze variation in investment preferences for public education and seek to build a better understanding of the underlying dynamics that explain why …

Finding Foreign Friends: National Self-Determination And Related Norms As Strategic Resources During The Biafran War For Independence, 1967–1970, Christopher Brucker

New England Journal of Public Policy

The study analyzes how the government of the Republic of Biafra used international norms to win foreign support during its 1967–1970 campaign to secede from Nigeria. Secession conflicts occur at the intersection of international and domestic politics. For independence movements, support from outside is crucial. But, as Bridget Coggins has asked, how can secession movements find “friends in high places”? International support for unilateral secession attempts is strictly prohibited. Domestic and international asymmetry are limiting secessionist foreign policy instruments to intangible means. Legitimacy is a central concept to illuminate the phenomenon. In international politics, legitimacy depends on the external perception …

Self-Determination And Psychological Adaptation In Forcibly Displaced People, Numan Turan, Bediha İpekçi, Mehmet Yalçın Yılmaz

New England Journal of Public Policy

According to the UN Refugee Agency, as of 2018 approximately 70 million people were forcibly displaced because of intrastate and interstate conflicts. A majority of those people endured significant hardships, and a consensus is growing among researchers that forcibly displaced people have gone through potentially traumatic experiences that challenge their well-being and health. Consequently, a large amount of research focuses on their mental health concerns, whereas research focusing on their will to normalize their lives and grow after a traumatic migration is scarce. In this article, we highlight the efforts by forcibly displaced people to normalize their lives, pointing out …