Digital Commons Network^™

Barrier Tracker - Using Citizen Science To Build The Most Comprehensive Atlas Of Barriers In Europe, David J. Kilbey, Arjan Berkhuysen, Rosa Olivo Del Amo, Herman Wanningen

International Conference on Engineering and Ecohydrology for Fish Passage

There is already a substantial amount of data in existence on the barriers within European rivers. However, even for the most comprehensively audited countries, data is patchy and often of poor quality. Proper assessment and prioritisation of remedial action cannot be undertaken until the full picture is known. Barrier Tracker, part of the Adaptive Management of Barriers in European Rivers (AMBER) project, seeks to address this issue by using a smartphone app to crowd-source data from across Europe. Initially available in 9 languages the app allows anyone to record the barriers they encounter. The app has been designed to allow …

Beyond Cost Savings: Oer’S Game Changing Effect On Increasing Collaboration And Inspiring Local Initiatives, Jody Carson, Sue Tashjian, William Heinman, Ed.D.

Northeast Regional OER Summit

No abstract provided.

Family Relationship Processes And Youth Mental Health In The Context Of Adoption And Foster Care: Revisiting The Developmental Interface Between Nature And Nurture, Gordon Harold

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

The salience of family relationship influences (inter-parental/carer relationship quality, parent/carer-child relationship quality) for youth mental health and development is well recognised and has a long and established research and intervention-study history. However, understanding the relative role of genetic (nature) versus family relationship influences (nurture) on child and adolescent development has significant implications for the design of efficacious intervention and support programs aimed at vulnerable youth and families, including adoption and foster-care. This presentation will examine the role of family relationship processes (inter-parental/carer, parent/carer-child) and outcomes for youth (emotional, behavioural, academic) using an array of novel research designs that allow us …

A Need For Fundamental Change: The Role Of Policy In Enabling Successful Families, Adam Pertman

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

The basis for adoption-related policy in the U.S. is encapsulated in the mantra that every child deserves a safe, permanent and loving family. While this “child placement” focus is clearly vital, it’s also the case that the population of children and families served by adoption (as well as by the child welfare system more generally) has changed dramatically over the last several decades. As a result, many thousands of safe, permanent and loving families are struggling every day. This presentation will examine current policies of governments at all levels, child placement agencies, service providers and others who offer support to …

Birth Family Contact When Children Are Adopted From Care: Balancing The Well-Being Of Adopted Children With The Needs Of Birth Family Members, Elsbeth Neil

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

The adoption of children from care involves legally severing children’s birth family connections, often against the wishes of birth parents. When thinking about contact between children and their birth relatives, complex psychological and ethical issues must be considered. How can contact benefit children in situations where they have experienced abuse and neglect in their birth family? How can we address the issues of loss for adoptees and birth family members whilst holding the long-term well-being of the adopted person in mind? Is closed adoption without parental consent ever ethically defensible? This presentation aims to start conversations about these complex issues …

Achieving Well-Being For African American Children Adopted From Foster Care: A Successful Rural Model, Ruth Mcroy, Kathleen Belanger, Joe Haynes

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

No abstract provided.

The Project On Genomic Family Health History For Adopted Persons: Challenges, Progress, And Where We’D Like To Go, Thomas May

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

This presentation will describe challenges faced in gaining support to study the potential utilization of genetic testing to fill gaps in Adoptees’ access to family health history (FHx) information. In this context, I will describe how this collaborative project has addressed: 1. Skeptics who challenge the scientific ability to provide reliable FHx information through genetic testing; 2. Economic obstacles to the use of genetic testing to fill gaps in FHx for adopted persons; and 3. The importance of this information as much more than mere “curiosity” in the lives of many adopted persons.

Adoption Contracts And Deals As Plan B Parenthood, Martha M. Ertman

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

Officially, law bans adoption contracts as baby-selling. But law professor Martha Ertman shows that people routinely enter entirely legal adoption contracts. Moreover, those contracts, and the mini-contracts that she calls “deals” help birth and adoptive families tailor the agreements to their situation. Blending memoir and law, Ertman integrates small group exercises with law and history of American adoption agreements, arguing that a contractual framework treats types of adoption as variations of family form, Plan B options when circumstances block the most common -- Plan A -- form of parenthood.

Cultural Socialization And Preparation-For-Bias: Critical Tasks Facing Adoptive Parents In Promoting The Well-Being Of Their Adopted Children, Ellen Pinderhughes

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

Families raising adopted children-of-color, in same-race or transracial, domestic or intercountry placements, face the task of helping children develop a healthy adoptive and ethnic/racial identity and deal with adoption- or race-related stigma or bias. Research suggests that these are complex processes in which what parents do and don’t do matter for adoptees. After discussing research on parents’ role in cultural socialization and preparation-for-bias, we will consider how parents can promote adoptees’ identity development and well-being and how professionals can prepare/support parents.

Well-Becoming: Well-Being In The Context Of Relationships For Adolescents, Susan Badeau

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

Children and teens need families for a lifetime, skills for successful adulthood and resources to support their safety and well-being. Positive social, emotional and physical well-being is a core aspect of a young person’s development. To be healthy and well, young people need to be able to develop and maintain relationships and social networks , effectively recognize, understand, and express emotions and maintain their physical health by making constructive life choices. This workshop will present a framework for well-being for older youth transitioning from foster care and highlight recommended strategies for improving the social, emotional and physical well-being of older …

Adoption Status And Social Network Inequality: Disparities Among Adolescents In Foster Care, Richard Carbonaro

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

No abstract provided.

Waiting Child, Ready Parents: Parents’ Perceptions Of Pre-Adoption Preparation For China’S Waiting Child Program And Child Well-Being, Sarah Elizabeth Neville, Ellen E. Pinderhughes

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

No abstract provided.

Truth, Consequences And Reform: Rethinking Adoption In The 21st Century, Gary P. Mallon

Rudd Adoption Research Program Annual Conferences

Rethinking adoption in the 21st century requires that all of us--adopted people, birth parents, adoptive parents, researchers, practitioners and policy makers--consider all possibilities, even those which might make us feel uncomfortable. The truth, the consequences of that “truth,” and the need for reform will all be explored during this presentation. The conversation will continue during the panel discussion with colleagues who are most affected by these experiences and also, hopefully, by the other workshop presenters and participants throughout the course of this conference.

Taking It* To The Stacks: Collection Inventory Methods Using Portable Scanners, Michael Magrath

University Libraries Content and Discovery Materials

No abstract provided.

Digital Reserves, Pete Smith

University Libraries Content and Discovery Materials

No abstract provided.

Data Integration Drms, Kathleen Berry

University Libraries Content and Discovery Materials

No abstract provided.

Acquisitions, Scott Stangroom

University Libraries Content and Discovery Materials

No abstract provided.

Pay No Attention To That Woman Behind The Curtain!, Kathleen Berry

University Libraries Content and Discovery Materials

No abstract provided.

Laptop Lending Trends, Thomas Paige

University Libraries Content and Discovery Materials

No abstract provided.

Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery, Kate Zdepski

University Libraries Content and Discovery Materials

No abstract provided.

Metadata Unit: Information Resources Management Department, Meghan Bergin

University Libraries Content and Discovery Materials

No abstract provided.

Brain Science = Biology + Engineering, Jennifer Welborn, Guangyu Xu, Morton Sternheim, Chris Emery

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

This interdisciplinary (physical and life sciences) seminar exposes participants to cutting edge research at UMASS, Amherst, on cell imaging using a chip which gathers a variety of data on the activities of single cells. Part of the seminar will be a presentation of current research in this area, followed by hands-on activities and a visit to the lab where this research is conducted. Application of this new technology to brain research will be discussed as well as the NGSS standards alignment and classroom applications at various levels and disciplines.

Air Pressure, Clouds, And Weather, Laura Shofield

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

1) What are basis characteristics of the atmosphere?

2) What is the horizontal and vertical movement of air in a “High” and “Low?”

3) How do clouds form and what can they tell us?

4) How are temperature, pressure and clouds related?

5) Applying concepts to real-time data

Concentration, Amount And Counting By Weighing, Julian Tyson

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

Concentration, Amount and Counting by Weighing

UMass Amherst STEM Ed Institute Saturday Workshop 2/3/2018

Julian Tyson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry. Tyson@chem.umass.edu

Session 1. Introductions.

Ice-breaker: The elementarity contest.

Setting the scene: “How much arsenic do we eat?” Why do we want to know? The Consumer Reports articles (Nov 2012 and Nov 2014)

Dealing with really big and really small numbers.

Session 2. Amount, concentration

Solids, liquids and gases. The “parts per” concept.

Session 3. Counting by weighing

The count equation. Rice grains (the bottle content problem), atoms and molecules.. Chemical formulas and balanced chemical expressions. The numbers in the …

Sustainability, Ezra Small

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

In 2017, UMass Amherst installed over 15,000 photovoltaic panels on existing buildings and as part of three solar parking-lot canopies on campus. This project is just one of the many components of the “Sustainable UMass” program which strives to both practice and teach about creating and maintaining a sustainable world. This workshop will provide an overview of the work of the campus sustainability program ranging from academics and research to waste and recycling, with a focus on the science and technology of solar electric energy and emissions accounting. Skills such as problem solving, data analysis, predicting and modeling will be …