Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Food And/As Communication, Leda M. Cooks

Sustainability Education Resources

This is a two-semester, eight-credit Communication Honors Thesis Seminar focusing on the ways we create and reflect meanings made about food. The seminar delves into the material and social meanings of food and implications for identity, culture and social justice. Students will have the opportunity to research food in the context of the meanings made about it in various institutions, businesses, nonprofit organizations, neighborhoods, cultures and communities. The first semester HONORS 499 CL (Fall 2020) will 1) introduce students to food as a vehicle through which society and social life is communicated; 2) introduce methods and tools for conducting survey …

Sustainable Grape Production, Elsa Petit

Sustainability Education Resources

I am excited for you to join me and your colleague students (Sustainable Food and Farming, Sustainable Horticulture, Mathematics, Food Science, Biology, Individual concentration) on this course in Sustainable Grape Production. The course is fully remote with synchronous meetings offered through Zoom. The industry of cool climate viticulture is growing thanks to newly bred varieties adapted to our local conditions. A number of small, family-run vineyards have been opening in New England. You will learn the principles and practices governing the establishment and management of an organic or sustainable vineyard. You will learn practices such as pruning, grafting, and vineyard …

Governing Knowledge Commons, Charlie Schweik

Sustainability Education Resources

Over the last decade or more, there has been a detectable and growing dissatisfaction among students with the "status quo" in the way the society works. Students have witnessed terrorism, long-term war, a "great recession," the "Occupy" movement, effects of climate change and worse projections to come, and most recently, a global pandemic with a great impact on the economy. Many students are looking for models of hope and alternatives to the status quo on how society at local, regional and global levels might operate to collectively address problems.

In this course, we will review historical and contemporary commons cases. …

Is Imperialism Passé In The 21st Century?, Rohit Azad, Shouvik Chakraborty

PERI Working Papers

Hardt and Negri in Empire argue that ”Imperialism is over.” On the contrary, others argue that not only is imperialism not dead, but its machinations have amplified during the phase of globalisation (Patnaik’s The Value of Money, Patnaik and Patnaik’s A Theory of Imperialism, John Smith’s Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century, among others). The reason for this sharp division among progressives is because of the current world scenario. On the one hand, some countries in the periphery (emerging economies) are growing faster than those in the core. On the other hand, the terms of trade has started moving in favour …

Boxborough Economic Development Study: Phase 2, Technical Memo, Henry Renski, John Mullin, Camille Barchers

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Town of Boxborough’s Economic Development Committee (EDC) contracted with the Center for Economic Development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to produce an economic development study. Phase II began in January of 2020 and provides a deeper evaluation of the development scenarios proposed at the completion of Phase I, involving four key components: 1. Summarize the results from a survey of citizen preferences on the Phase I scenarios. 2. Produce a series of "vignettes" to explain the key elements of the different scenarios to the public. 3. Assess the potential market demand for specific office, retail, and other commercial …

Shifting To Virtual Cbpr Protocols In The Time Of Corona Virus/Covid-19, Elizabeth Salerno Valdez, Aline Gubrium

Health Promotion and Policy Faculty Publication Series

COVID-19 has upended community based participatory research (CBPR) projects across the United States and globally. COVID-19 disproportionately impacts historically disenfranchised communities and communities of color, the very communities that CBPR is meant to engage, elevate, and support. In-person activities that help develop rapport and research protocols, build capacity, conduct collaborative data collection and analysis, disseminate findings to the community, and engage in sustainability planning are an impossible practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this article is to describe the challenges and facilitators of shifting to a virtual/online CBPR protocol with a Massachusetts community disproportionately affected by COVID19, as …

The Incubation Period Of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) From Publicly Reported Confirmed Cases: Estimation And Application, Stephen A. Lauer, Kyra H. Grantz, Qifang Bi, Forest K. Jones, Qulu Zheng, Hannah R. Meredith, Andrew S. Azman, Nicholas G. Reich, Justin Lessler

Biostatistics and Epidemiology Faculty Publications Series

Background:

A novel human coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified in China in December 2019. There is limited support for many of its key epidemiologic features, including the incubation period for clinical disease (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]), which has important implications for surveillance and control activities.

Objective:

To estimate the length of the incubation period of COVID-19 and describe its public health implications.

Design:

Pooled analysis of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported between 4 January 2020 and 24 February 2020.

Setting:

News reports and press releases from 50 provinces, regions, and countries outside Wuhan, Hubei province, China. …

Development Of The Gambling Disorder Identification Test: Results From An International Delphi And Consensus Process, Olof Molander, Rachel Volberg, Viktor Månsson, Kristina Sundqvist, Peter Wennberg, Anne H. Berman

Biostatistics and Epidemiology Faculty Publications Series

Objectives

Diverse instruments are used to measure problem gambling and Gambling Disorder intervention outcomes. The 2004 Banff consensus agreement proposed necessary features for reporting gambling treatment efficacy. To address the challenge of including these features in a single instrument, a process was initiated to develop the Gambling Disorder Identification Test (GDIT), as an instrument analogous to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test.

Methods

Gambling experts from 10 countries participated in an international two‐round Delphi (n = 61; n = 30), rating 30 items proposed for inclusion in the GDIT. Gambling researchers and …

Improved Viral Suppression With Streamlined Care In The Search Study, Matthew D. Hickey, James Ayieko, Dalsone Kwarisiima, Fredrick J. Opel, Asiphas Owaraganise, Laura B. Balzer, Gabriel Chamie, Vivek Jain, James Peng, Carol Camlin, Edwin D. Charlebois, Craig R. Cohen, Elizabeth A. Bukusi, Moses R. Kamya, Maya L. Petersen, Diane V. Havlir

Biostatistics and Epidemiology Faculty Publications Series

Background:

HIV differentiated service delivery (DSD) models are scaling up in resource-limited settings for stable patients; less is known about DSD outcomes for patients with viremia. We evaluated the effect on viral suppression (VS) of a streamlined care DSD model implemented in the SEARCH randomized universal test and treat trial in rural Uganda and Kenya (NCT:01864603).

Methods:

We included HIV-infected adults at baseline (2013) who were country guideline antiretroviral therapy (ART) eligible (prior ART experience or CD4 ≤ 350) with ≥1 HIV clinic visit between 2013 and 2017 in SEARCH communities randomized to intervention (N = 16) or control (N …

Revisiting India’S Growth Transitions, Deepankar Basu

Economics Department Working Paper Series

This paper reconsiders two questions relating to India’s economic growth: structural breaks in growth and the impact of equipment investment on aggregate economic growth. First, statistical tests of structural change show that economic growth in post-independence India has witnessed four structural breaks: in 1964-65, in 1978-79, in 1990-91, and in 2004-05. However, substantial growth accelerations, i.e. increase of more than 1.0% per annum in the growth rate of per capita real GDP, occurred only at two points: 1978-79 and 2004-05. Second, to analyze the impact of equipment investment on growth, I use an ARDL bounds testing methodology. I find a …

The Real Exchange Rate And Development. Theory, Evidence, Issues, And Challenges, Firat Demir, Arslan Razmi

Economics Department Working Paper Series

This paper surveys the theoretical and empirical literature on the effects of the real exchange rate (RER) on international trade, economic development and growth. We summarize the main conceptual issues, discuss the relevance of the RER as an instrument of development policy, provide an overview of the macroeconomic and microeconomic mechanisms that link the RER to trade and long run growth and development, analyze the challenges – especially the disconnect between theory and data -- that often arise in empirical applications, and present new avenues for future research. In the process, we present some updated estimates and illustrative figures. The …

Sources Of Inflation And The Effects Of Balanced Budgets And Inflation Targeting In Developing Economies, Guilherme Klein Martins, Peter Skott

Economics Department Working Paper Series

This paper presents a model of inflation in developing economies and uses it to evaluate macroeconomic policy in those countries. We see cross-sectoral interactions between demand and supply side forces as central and show that the standard macroeconomic policy recommendations of inflation targeting and balanced budgets (i) increase volatility by amplifying external shocks and (ii) can lead to premature deindustrialization. The analysis applies to economies with marked underemployment, a central feature of developing and emerging countries. The recent Brazilian experience is used to illustrate the argument.

Weaknesses Of Mmt As A Guide To Development Policy, Adam Aboobaker, Esra Nur Ugurlu

Economics Department Working Paper Series

This paper addresses the limitations of Modern Money Theory (MMT) as a guide to development policy. We explore two central questions on this topic: whether MMT policies 1) ought to be implemented in low- and middle-income economies and 2) can be implemented. In relation to the first question, we argue that the MMT literature mischaracterizes the essence of the development challenge for low- and middle-income economies. Our argument is that the chief long-run growth challenge faced by developing countries concerns structural transformation rather than general aggregate demand insufficiency. We use several formal representations of the consumption-investment trade-off in growth theory, …

Marx's Theory Of Ground-Rent: A Suggested Reformulation, Deepankar Basu

Economics Department Working Paper Series

This paper develops a simple theoretical model to analyze Marx's

theory of ground rent. Using the model, I demonstrate two important

results. First, if we take capital as exogenous, then total ground-rent

can be decomposed into the three components: differential rent of the

first variety (DRI), differential rent of the second variety (DRII), and

absolute rent (AR). Second, if we endogenize capital outlays using

profit-maximizing behaviour of capitalist farmers, then absolute rent

becomes zero. Thus, under reasonable behavioural assumptions about

landlords and capitalist farmers, there will be no absolute rent in a

capitalist economy.

Fiscal Policy And Structural Transformation In Developing Economies, Peter Skott

Economics Department Working Paper Series

Developing economies with high levels of open or hidden unemployment face structural transformation problems. Unlike in mature economies there are no structural aggregate demand problems, and sustained aggregate demand stimulus can lead to a profit squeeze in the modern sector and deindustrialization. Adaptations of functional finance to developing economies should aim to stabilize the level and composition of demand at values that are consistent with a target rate of growth of the modern sector. Populist temptations, however, may lead to deindustrialization.

Unit Labor Costs And Manufacturing Sector Performance In Africa, Karmen Naidoo, Léonce Ndikumana

Economics Department Working Paper Series

Several studies have highlighted that African manufacturing wages are higher than comparator countries at similar levels of development, which contributes to the continent’s lower levels of manufacturing competitiveness. This paper derives unit labor costs – average wages relative to productivity – for two-digit manufacturing sectors across a wide range of developed and developing countries over the 1990-2015 period. We benchmark the unit labor costs to China and estimate the impact of relative unit labor costs on manufacturing sector value added, employment, investment and exports. We find that relative unit labor costs have a smaller effect on manufacturing performance in Africa …

Exploitation Of Labour Or Exploitation Of Commodities?, Deepankar Basu

Economics Department Working Paper Series

Attempts to use commodities to construct theories of value and use such value theory to claim that, in capitalism, commodities can be exploited, just like labour is, rest on two conceptual flaws: (a) failure to distinguish between labour and labour-power; and (b) failure to distinguish labour-power and other commodities. One way to avoid these conceptual mistakes is to use the labour theory of value.

Educating Health Care Providers On The Benefits Of Screening For Adverse Childhood Experiences In Children And Adolescents, Kristen Hickey

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with the development of chronic health problems as well as increased risk for negative mental health outcomes. Research supports the need for health care providers (HCP) to change current practice by adding one of the many types of screening tools for ACEs, such as the ACEs Q, to well-child visits. The information obtained from the assessment leads to early identification of children who are at risk for negative mental health outcomes, allowing HCPs to initiate early interventions potentially decreasing the negative outcomes.

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to provide …

Cultural Communication For New Nurse Residents: K.I.N.D Communication Toolkit, Jennifer Caraballo

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: Microaggressions can create a hostile work environment and decrease rapport and functioning in clinical and personal relationships. Exposure to micro aggression and implicit bias results in micro trauma and possible compassion fatigue by medical staff. Symptoms can include headaches, poor sleep, depressions, and anxiety, similar to compassion fatigue.

Purpose: To develop a toolkit for healthcare staff to use as educational material to facilitate for cultural communication and cultural humility.

Methods: Nurses that were enrolled in a nurse residency program at a level 1 trauma center participated in the education of a communication toolkit related to K.I.N.D …

Adolescent Mental Health Training For Middle School Educators, Sarah Minton

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

Background: Adolescent mental health disorders are an increasing concern in the United States. School systems, specifically educators, are in the unique role to aid in early identification of mental health disorders, as well to intervene in mental health distress. However, mental health training for educators is lacking, leaving educators unprepared to manage mental health concerns within their classroom.

Purpose: The purpose was to utilize an evidence-based training, the “Teacher Knowledge Update Guide” from TeenMentalHealth.org to train middle school educators on the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions in the adolescent population with the intent to increase awareness, knowledge, …

Some Short-Run Macroeconomic Considerations As Society Deals With A Once-In-Generations Pandemic, Arslan Razmi

Economics Department Working Paper Series

COVID-19 constitutes a health crisis which has rapidly turned into a social and economic crisis. This paper briefly explores some of the issues raised by the combination of a massive supply-side shock with a massive demand-side shock, and the interaction of these with the exponential dynamics of a viral infection. The analysis suggests that, during the recovery, the state of infection among the existing workforce relative to that of the incoming one will play an important role in determining the dynamic interactions between economics and epidemiology. Perhaps counterintuitively, the logic of the basic epidemiological SI model suggests that, under plausible …

Fiscal Policy, The Sraffian Supermultiplier And Functional Finance, Peter Skott, Júlio Fernando Costa Santos, José Luís Da Costa Oreiro

Economics Department Working Paper Series

Sraffian supermultiplier models (SSM) try to identify autonomous components of demand. The most plausible candidate is government consumption. Descriptively, however, government consumption does not grow at a constant rate, and prescriptively there is no justification for keeping constant the growth rate of government consumption, irrespective of economic performance. An active fiscal policy guided by principles of functional finance can produce more powerful stabilization, avoid overheating and excessive utilization rates, and secure faster adjustments of the growth rate towards its target level.

Too Taboo For You? - Questions, Lessons, And Strategies For Engaging Students With Challenging Materials, Blake Spitz

University Libraries Presentations Series

This talk will briefly present experiences of, and strategies for, teaching with challenging topics and materials in archives. In recognizing that our collections include (or have archival silences around) challenging, controversial, and even disturbing topics, when and why do we decide to share and prioritize these records, and how do we present and contextualize them for students? I will present a few case studies from my work presenting difficult records and topics to undergraduates, and some of my professional training and growth in these areas. I would love to start a dialogue, and hear from others in reaction to my, …

Women's Stories, W. E. B. Du Bois Papers Data, Blake Spitz

University Libraries Presentations Series

The UMass Amherst department of Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) collects original materials that document the histories and experiences of social change in America and the organizational, intellectual, and individual ties that unite disparate struggles for social justice, human dignity, and equality. SCUA’s decision to adopt social change as a collecting focus emerged from our holding of the W.E.B. Du Bois Papers, and one of Du Bois’s most profound insights: that the most fundamental issues in social justice are so deeply interconnected that no movement — and no solution to social ills — can succeed in isolation. I …

Moving Archival Instruction Online - Creating Asynchronous, Interactive, Accessible, Multimodal Playlist-Style Lesson Plans, Blake Spitz

University Libraries Presentations Series

In this presentation I share the results of my deep-dive into the worlds of online teaching pedagogy, technology for accessible and active online learning, and best practices for teaching with digitized primary sources; my technology selections, for DIY (at home) creation of accessible videos and screencasts, questionnaires, and interactive spaces; and focus on my final product, a hyperlinked (hyperdoc) playlist style asynchronous lesson plan, with diverse information presentation modes, interactive activities, and some student choice. This lesson plan is easily adaptable by adding, editing, or removing various components for different class groups, and is in several formats to help increase …

Can Commodities Be Substances Of Value?, Deepankar Basu

Economics Department Working Paper Series

The Marxian labour theory of value considers labour as the only substance of value. The generalized commodity exploitation theorem (GCET) purports to demonstrate that many other commodities can be substances of value. This note argues that the GCET is based on two conceptual flaws: (a) failure to distinguish labour and labour-power; and (b) failure to distinguish labour-power and other commodities. Once these flaws are corrected, it is easy to show that commodities cannot function as the substances of value. Only labour can be the substance of value.

Government Policy’S Influence On Shadow Banking In China, Sara Hsu

PERI Working Papers

Shadow banking in China has been viewed by government officials and industry experts as illegitimate finance, but as a key means of financing by others. For the former, the industry has been seen as overly risky, potentially undermining the formal financial system. The latter see shadow banking as an increasingly important part of the financial system, filling a gap in the provision of finance to particular sectors and smaller firms.

In this paper, we seek to understand the effect of government views on shadow banking by analyzing the impact of government regulation on the shadow banking and non-shadow banking financial …

Monetizing Public Debt In Japan: An Empirical Critique Of Modern Money Theory, Junji Tokunaga

PERI Working Papers

Is Japan really a ‘success’ case that supports the Modern Money Theory (MMT) framework? The Bank of Japan (BOJ), the country’s central bank, has conducted more aggressive monetary quantitative easing since April 2013, which could effectively allow the Japanese government to monetize its cheaper public borrowing. This paper argues that the economic and financial situations in Japan have provided little support for the MMT view, for these reasons: (i) The huge issuance of public debt by the government and the large-scale supply of monetary base by the BOJ did not create enough new money required to revive the economy as …

Intra-City Inequalities, Neighborhoods And Economic Development, Sripad Motiram, Vamsi Vakulabharanam

PERI Working Papers

How do neighborhood characteristics influence economic development? How do social cleavages operate within cities in developing countries? This study is among the first of its kind to be conducted in the developing world, and focuses on India to provide answers. Given the limitations of publicly available sources of secondary data, we rely on a spatially representative household survey that we designed and conducted in the cities of Hyderabad and Mumbai. We conduct an inequality decomposition exercise to show that a substantial portion of intra-city income inequality is explained by social cleavages such as classes and social groups (caste and religion). …

State Or Market? How To Effectively Decrease Alcohol-Related Crash Fatalities And Injuries, Jose I. Nazif-Muñoz, Brice Batomen, Youssef Oulhote, Arijit Nandi

Biostatistics and Epidemiology Faculty Publications Series

Background It is estimated that more than 270 000 people die yearly in alcohol-related crashes globally. To tackle this burden, government interventions, such as laws which restrict blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels and increase penalties for drunk drivers, have been implemented. The introduction of private-sector measures, such as ridesharing, is regarded as alternatives to reduce drunk driving and related sequelae. However, it is unclear whether state and private efforts complement each other to reduce this public health challenge.

Methods We conducted interrupted time-series analyses using weekly alcohol-related traffic fatalities and injuries per 1 000 000 population in three urban conglomerates …