Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Burning And Burying In Connecticut: Are Regional Solutions To Solid Waste Disposal Equitable?, Timothy Black, John A. Stewart

New England Journal of Public Policy

To comply with federal legislation, states throughout the country are replacing old town dumps with a regional system for municipal solid waste disposal.This system includes trash-to-energy incinerators and ash landfills as well as recycling and reduction facilities. While these new types of facilities are expected to be environmentally safer, they have concentrated the disposal process of waste generated throughout the state in fewer locations. State leaders champion the use of newer, cleaner disposal methods, while local community groups complain that they have become the dumping grounds for the state. This is the first environmental equity study to examine whether these …

An Effective Compromise: Class-Based Affirmative Action In Boston Schools, Gabriel O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

The author seeks to shift the traditional focus of the affirmative action debate from race to class. With the Boston Latin School as an example, he argues that, under certain circumstances, a shift in an admission policy based on preferences from race to class will maintain academic standards while increasing minority representation; it will also expand opportunity for economically underprivileged youths who have succeeded academically despite the obstacles they face. A focus on class rather than race offers both sides of the affirmative action debate a philosophy that can be reconciled with their views on race-based affirmative action. In certain …

Human Rights And Business Ethics: Fashioning A New Social Contract, Wesley Cragg

New England Journal of Public Policy

The author speaks about the social contract which is a general understanding of respective responsibilities in complex societies and traces its impact from the Declaration of Independence to more recent times.

Living Legitimacy: A New Approach To Good Government In Africa, Ajume H. Wingo

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article argues for the reorientation of African governments from a model that privileges the central or garrison states to one rooted in the living experiences of citizens, such as their economic conditions, fellowship associations, local governments, and community self-reliance. It begins by describing and analyzing in depth an example of a set of moral, political, and social institutions that still work well to make collective decisions that the members of the community consider legitimate and follow without coercion. It demonstrates that a legitimate government is not and should not be a matter of instituting finished, polished, or ready-made solutions …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

The editor speaks about the political unrest with the 2000 presidential election. He also speaks about the war in Angola. He speaks about the civi duty we have to mankind across the globe and the government's influence on other countries.

The Economic Impact Of Affordable Housing: Multifamily Housing In Massachusetts, Zenia Kotval

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Massachusetts housing industry has come under some scrutiny over the past ten years. Issues of supply, demand, affordability, housing discrimination, and economic impacts are of increasing interest to government officials, planners, developers, and bankers. Despite an increasing need to provide affordable housing for the various populations within the state, there is a decrease in the supply of multifamily rental housing. There have been few efforts that comprehensively measure the impact of the housing industry on the economy. This article surveys the need for affordable housing and the economic impacts of multifamily rental housing in the state. The premise is …

From Correctional Custody To Community: The Massachusetts Forensic Transition Program, Stephanie W. Hartwell, Donna Haig Friedman, Karin Orr

New England Journal of Public Policy

Offenders with mental illness who are serving correctional sentences are released to the community.Without support systems linking their transition to community-based programs following release from prison, the services necessary for their community reintegration are often fragmented and attenuated. Nearly two thirds of all inmates return to prison, and offenders with mental illness face major challenges during reintegration and have an even more difficult time living in the community without specialized, informed services. This article describes a Massachusetts program designed to bridge the transition of offenders with mental illness from incarceration to the community.The authors review historical and recent trends that …

Brief 6: The Merit Aid Question: How Can We Attract Promising Students While Preserving Educational Opportunity For All?, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

NERCHE’s think tank members recently participated in a discussion of the competitive forces driving change in higher education. The discussion, facilitated by The Futures Project: Policy for Higher Education in a Changing World (www.futuresproject.org), revealed tremendous concern among faculty and administrators in New England about safeguarding the principles of equal access and equal educational opportunity during a time of accelerating competition for students. This is a crucial time for a reevaluation of barriers to full educational opportunity in this country. We need policies both at the institutional level and the state and federal levels to reverse the widening educational and …

University Reporter - Vol. 05, No. 07 - March 2001, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

Tools For Inclusion: Stories Of Success: Using Networking And Mentoring Relationships In Career Planning For Students With Disabilities And Their Families, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Jennifer Schuster, Mairead Moloney

Tools for Inclusion Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief gives examples of how students and families have successfully used networking and mentoring to learn about jobs and find employment, and gives students tools to build and use their personal networks throughout the career planning process.

Brief 5: For Funders Of Multi-Institutional Collaborations In Higher Education: Support Partnership Building, New England Resource Center For Higher Education, University Of Massachusetts Boston

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

This brief was derived from the discussions of NERCHE’s think tank for coordinators of GEAR UP school-college partnerships. The insights of these coordinators point to the principle that it is the quality of the relationships among the partners that determines the effectiveness of multi-institutional collaborations. This means then that those who support and invest in multi-institutional collaborations should also focus on supporting the process of partnership building. But what does this mean in practical terms? It means being strategic right from the beginning in the design of grant structures, and throughout the relationship with the grantees. This brief provides examples …

University Reporter - Vol. 05, No. 06 - February 2001, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

Marine Industries Association Of South Florida Master Plan, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Fau Joint Center For Environmental And Urban Problems

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The Marine Industry Master Plan was prepared by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF) to present a comprehensive and coordinated action agenda for retaining and expanding the marine industry in Broward County. This Master Plan is an extension of a strategic planning process conducted by the MIASF in which the major issues confronting the industry were identified along with an initial strategy to address those issues. This Marine Master Plan is part of that strategy. The plan contains goals, objectives, and actions that respond to several key issues: scarcity of waterfront sites for marine facility expansion, displacement of …

Characteristics Of Effective Employment Services: The Consumers’ Perspective, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Jennifer Schuster, Doris Hamner, Jennifer Bose

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This monograph reports on a study investigating the characteristics of effective state service systems. Findings are based on the experiences of individuals with disabilities who have used a state agency (Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Mental Retardation, Department of Mental Health, or One Stop Center) to find employment. Interviews were conducted to examine individuals' experiences with employment services including job search, job entry, strategies that facilitated involvement, supports provided, and barriers experienced. Findings indicated five key components to effective service delivery, including agency culture, consumer-directedness, access to resources, quality personnel, and coordinated services. Obstacles faced during the employment process and personal …

Scholarship Unbound: Assessing Service As Scholarship In Promotion And Tenure Decisions, Kerryann O’Meara

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

Scholars of higher education have long recognized that existing reward systems and structures in academic communities do not weight faculty professional service as they do teaching and research. This paper examines how four colleges and universities with exemplary programs for assessing service as scholarship implemented these policies within colleges of education. Case studies suggest that policies to assess service as scholarship can increase consistency among an institution’s service mission, faculty workload, and reward system; expand faculty’s views of scholarship; boost faculty satisfaction; and strengthen the quality of an institution’s service culture.

Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes For People With Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, And Epilepsy: An Analysis Of Trends From 1985 To 1998, Dana Scott Gilmore, Jennifer Schuster, John Butterworth

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This monograph presents the results of secondary analysis of the RSA-911 database from the Rehabilitation Services Administration. All successful VR closures for individuals with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy for six data points between 1985 and 1998 were investigated. Trends in competitive labor market and extended employment (sheltered workshops) closures were examined. The use of supported employment in the VR system and its outcomes were also discussed. Findings include increased incidence of competitive labor market closures and supported employment services, with a decrease in extended employment closures.

Comparisons of successful VR closure outcomes to trends in the general labor …

The Greater Boston Region: Industry Mix Affects Growth, David Terkla

Economics Faculty Publication Series

Overall prosperity in the Greater Boston region masks the extreme diversity among its cities and towns. Some areas have experienced robust growth in relatively high paying industries. Others have faced growth only in low-paying jobs, accompanied in many cases by a substantial decline in high-paying sectors. By examining the area’s five subregions in terms of industry types, wage levels, and employment growth, we begin to see reasons for these differences.

Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

While the state’s economy is still growing, albeit at a much slower rate than in the 1990s, there is a risk of a serious deceleration of economic activity. The evidence we have still favors a “soft landing” for the economy, but the risks of recession appear to have risen substantially.

University Reporter - Vol. 05, No. 05 - January 2001, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

Research To Practice: Work Status Trends For People With Mental Retardation, Fy 1985 To Fy 1998, Dana Scott Gilmore, John Butterworth

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

National trends regarding extended employment (sheltered workshops) and competitive employment outcomes from state Vocational Rehabilitation systems between 1985 and 1998.

Institute Brief: Wia And One-Stop Centers: Opportunities And Issues For The Disability Community, David Hoff

The Institute Brief Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief gives a basic overview of the act and examines its impact on the lives of people with disabilities as well as the systems and organizations that assist them.

Toward Improved Support For Research On Delivery Of Home- And Community-Based Long-Term Care, Francis G. Caro

Gerontology Institute Publications

Stronger and more consistent support is needed for research on long-term care. A greater investment in research will strengthen the ability of public and private organizations to provide effective and efficient assistance to people with disabilities and their informal caregivers. This paper provides a rationale for stronger research funding for the field and outlines several options to strengthen research.

University Reporter - Vol. 05, No. 04 - December 2000, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

Concerns And Recommendations On Implementation Of The Workforce Investment Act Of 1998 In Boston: Summary Of The "Policy Roundtable: Local Implementation Of The Workforce Investment Act And Its Impact On Latinos And Other Communities", Luz Rodriguez, Kevin Whalen, Mary Jo Marion, Rita Lara, Claudia Green

Gastón Institute Publications

The primary public funding vehicle for employment training and workforce education is in the midst of radical change. The transition from the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 to the Workforce. Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) will have a dramatic impact on providers and clients alike. This impact is likely to be especially challenging for programs targeted to the hardest to serve populations. For example, many practitioners are worried that members of certain groups will be more likely to be "lost" and not receive needed services under the voucher system that will be the primary payment method under WIA. Linguistic …

The Status And Needs Of Small Businesses Owned And Controlled By Disabled Veterans, Paul R. Camacho

William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences Publications

This introduction provides a thumbnail sketch, or landscape, of the history and conditions of veterans’ benefits against which to profile the issue of veterans’ small business opportunities. After years of applied research on issues pertaining to the veteran community, it has become abundantly clear to this researcher that the good people who serve in our federal and state agencies, and as staff persons in various congressional and state legislative offices often lack the data and/or information they need to fully and meaningfully address the needs of veterans and their families. This situation is no doubt a result of demographic facts. …

A Benefit-Cost Analysis Model For Social Service Agencies, Robert Schalock, John Butterworth

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Current public policy is based on two fundamental principles: equity and efficiency. Equitable programs contribute to balancing the needs and desires of the various groups in society; whereas efficient programs are those that serve to increase the net value of goods and services available to society. Benefit-cost analysis is a tool developed to determine whether a program produces effects that justify the costs incurred to operate the program. The benefit-cost model presented in this monograph requires the reader to:

1. Understand the concept of an analytical perspective;
2. Move beyond viewing benefit-cost analysis as a simple ratio of benefits to costs;
3. Include …

Research To Practice: Time Limits, Exemption, And Disclosure: Tanf Caseworkers And Clients With Disabilities, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Danielle Dreilinger

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Findings show that welfare caseworkers experience unique challenges when supporting welfare recipients with disabilities, including time limit pressures and conflict over exemptions. The brief includes a resource list for caseworkers.

University Reporter - Vol. 05, No. 03 - November 2000, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

Latino Agenda 2000, Leslie Bowen, Lillian Hirales, Mary Jo Marion, Giovanna Negretti, Andrés Torres

Gastón Institute Publications

Few would argue that our community's position is precarious. On the one hand, we are a growing presence in the Commonwealth. In 1995, there were an estimated 344,068 Latinos living in Massachusetts, representing 5.6% of the total state population, a 20% increase since 1990. It is expected that the 2000 census will confirm that Latinos are indeed the largest minority group in the state. Latinos make up an even larger proportion of the total population of a number of key cities, including Lawrence (48%), Chelsea (39%), Holyoke (37%), Springfield (20%), and Boston (12%). Latino youth have formed the largest minority …

Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

Between June 1999 and July 2000, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate six times, for a total increase of 175 basis points. For this and other reasons, the national — and state — ␣economies appear to be growing at a slower rate.