Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Editor’S Note, Padraig O’Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

I have known Marcy Murninghan since the early 1980s when she worked for the late Robert Wood, once president of the University of Massachusetts system, then superintendent of Boston Public Schools during the heyday of court-ordered desegregation. During this tumultuous period in Boston’s history, Murninghan played a significant role, tasked by Wood to plan and direct the structural reorganization of the department.

Since then her career has taken many turns. She has churned out a plethora of reports and analyses for foundations, universities, the corporate world, and media monoliths. The result is a formidable body of work, from which the …

The New Media, Globalization, And The Public Interest: A Conversation With Newton N. Minow (2003), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article provides a summary of a weekend-long convocation held in April 2002 that was sponsored by the Coudert Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. The motto of the nonprofit group, which was founded by Dale Coudert in 2001, is, “Subjects That Matter, with People Who Make a Difference.” Each mid-winter through early-spring season, the nonpartisan and nonideological Coudert Institute organizes conversations and seminars on an eclectic array of topics featuring prominent academics, artists, musicians, and practitioners. The institute’s goal is to spark open and inclusive dialogue directed to critical reflection and enlightenment. This selection contains the fruits of a …

Behind The Numbers: Conditions Of Schooling In Boston (1981), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article includes portions of a report on the structure, governance, operations, and effectiveness of the Boston School Committee that was commissioned by the Boston Municipal Research Bureau in 1980. The passages provide an overview of the mandate, background, and recommendations, examining how a set of prominent professionals and citizens viewed the problem facing school department governance, including its isolation and the longstanding credibility gap fueled by patronage politics. It also looks at continued tensions between “equality” and “quality,” which occupied the heart of court-ordered desegregation; rising demands on a system that lacked the capacity to serve a broad array …

The Accountability Web: Weaving Corporate Accountability And Interactive Technology (2010), Marcy Murninghan, Bill Baue

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article is a synopsis of and set of recommendations emerging from a research project commissioned in 2009 and culminating in a working paper published in May 2010 by the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Mossavar–Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The project was undertaken in the early days of social media and online interaction. Authors Bill Baue and Marcy Murninghan were designated as research fellows to take an in-depth look at implications produced by the interface between newly emerging interactive technology—at that time called “Web 2.0”—and corporate accountability. The …

Improving Impact: Collaborative Multi-Party, Multi-Sector Engagement (2011), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

Most people do not realize the full implications of the fact that we live now in an era marked more by networks than hierarchies. Nowadays, power is distributed across boundaries and borders, rather than concentrated in one place—be it a physical setting, demographic group, industrial sector, or professional discipline. Thanks to systems thinking and the ubiquity of digital tools and platforms, there are many more opportunities for lawmakers, policymakers, and economic institutions to collaborate with concerned citizens on critical public issues, thereby breaking the grip of lobbyists, third-party intermediaries, and the power elite. On top of that are recent breakthroughs …

Trusting Harvard: The Cost Of Unprincipled Investing (2014), Marcy Murninghan, Robert A.G. Monks

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article provides a framework for answering two questions: How can Harvard fulfill its fiduciary obligation as an investor in ways that advance its beliefs, values, and commitments? How can Harvard take the lead in creating a curriculum for students, professionals, and the general public about the civic moral obligations of wealth? While aimed at Harvard, the issues covered are relevant to other universities and tax-exempt institutional investors, because they have a special duty to advance the public interest. Commissioned and co-authored by the noted corporate governance and responsible ownership guru Robert A. G. Monks, it calls on Harvard to …

Corporate Civic Responsibility And The Ownership Agenda: Investing In The Public Good (1994), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article seeks to provoke broader public discussion about ways in which human and ecologic dignity, prosperity, and the civic ideal can be advanced through a revitalized and principled ownership agenda that features greater levels of corporate accountability and civic virtue. It draws from portions of what then was called an “Occasional Paper,” part of a series emanating from the early days of the University of Massachusetts Boston’s McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies. Written in 1994, it introduces a new paradigm for corporate governance called the “corporate covenant,” which casts ownership within the framework of citizenship. These …

A Framework For Good Ownership And Good Governance (1999), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article encapsulates a more extensive analysis that was commissioned by The Boston Foundation’s board of trustees in December 1998 to investigate its investment practices and identify ways in which its asset management decisions might be brought into fuller alignment with its charitable purpose—without conceding earnings or undermining its philanthropic fiduciary responsibility. The undertaking was spurred by the leadership of Robert A. Glassman, co-founder and co-chair of Wainwright Bank and a trustee of The Boston Foundation (TBF) since 1985, who took the reins from David Rockefeller Jr. in 1995 as chair of TBF’s investment committee. The research project built on …

Processing The Theresa-India Young Papers: A Research Inventory Grant Project, Meghan Bailey

Joseph P. Healey Library Publications

The University Archives and Special Collections department in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston was awarded a Research Inventory Grant from Mass Humanities in June 2017. This allowed us the opportunity to devote a significant amount of time and resources to acquire, arrange, and describe the papers of noted Boston fiber artist, educator, and artist activist, Theresa-India Young. View the finding aid for the Theresa-India Young papers here. An exhibit showcasing materials from the collection is planned for June 2018 at the Grossmann Gallery in the Joseph P. Healey Library. The following is a presentation that describes …

Foreign Born Latina Earnings And Returns To Education And Experience In The United States, Trevor Mattos

Gastón Institute Publications

The determinants of immigrant earnings have long been a heavily researched topic, beginning with the contributions of Chiswick (1978) and Borjas (1985). The majority of this work focuses on male immigrants. Prior findings provide conflicting results with respect to determinants of native and foreign-born earnings in the U.S. This study, however, focuses on the earnings levels and differential returns to education and experience between native and foreign-born Latina workers in the U.S. using pooled American Community Survey microdata from 2014, 2015, and 2016. The analytical approach borrows from Chiswick’s 1978 paper that utilized cross-sectional regression methods and the human capital …

An Evaluation Of The Pair Discussion Component Of Interteaching, Rocio Rosales, James Soldner, Libin Zhang

School for Global Inclusion and Social Development Faculty Publications

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the pair discussion component of interteaching on student quiz performance for two sections of an introductory undergraduate course in behavior analysis with a total of 49 students. An alternating treatment design was used whereby the pair discussion was alternated in a quasi-random fashion with a whole class discussion throughout the semester. In both experimental conditions, all other components of interteaching were in effect. Feedback on quiz performance was provided immediately upon quiz submission. Results show a slight advantage for the pair discussion condition, but no statistically significant differences …

Planning For An Age-Friendly Belmont, Jan Mutchler

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Belmont is a primarily residential community of around 25,000 residents with a small commercial district. Public transit access to downtown Boston and neighboring Cambridge offers Belmont residents access to services, employment, and recreational activities outside of the town’s boundaries. With 22% of its population age 60 and older, Belmont is expecting to see an increase in the number of older residents in the coming years. Commissioned by the Belmont Council on Aging (COA), this report will serve to help the COA and Town to better understand Belmont’s current assets, potentials, and challenges and to plan for changing community needs.

Livable Dedham: An Age-Friendly Action Plan, Livable Dedham Steering Committee, Center For Social And Demographic Research On Aging, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

The Town of Dedham was first settled in 1635 and became the county seat of Norfolk County in 1793. Dedham is situated southwest of Boston and the Town shares a border with Needham, Westwood, and Canton. Dedham encompasses over 10 square miles and has a population of over 25,000 residents, about one-quarter of which are age 60 and older1 (American Community Survey, 2016).

Despite Dedham’s urban location, the Town is rich with natural resources, including several state parks, hiking trails, and the Mother Brook. Although today the Mother Brook is known to residents for the variety of outdoor recreational activities …

Chapter 12: You Spin Me Right Round (Like A Record) — Or, Does The Assessment Loop Ever Truly “Close”?, Iris Jahng

Joseph P. Healey Library Publications

Chapter 12 from Shaping the Campus Conversation on Student Learning and Experience: Activating the Results of Assessment in Action.

Envisioning A Watertown For All Ages, Caitlin Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Watertown for All Ages is a group of residents working to improve the livability of Watertown for residents of all ages and abilities. They work closely with the Watertown Council on Aging/Senior Center. The Watertown Council on Aging/Senior Center provides a variety of social, health, educational, recreational, advocacy, and support programs designed to help Watertown’s older adults age well in the community. Services provided to seniors living in the community range from transportation support to nutrition services and social services, along with a range of programs and activities meant to enhance well-being and quality of life. Similar to many Councils …

Archaeological Investigations At The Old Manse, 2016-2017, Concord, Massachusetts, Alexandra Crowder, John M. Steinberg, Brian N. Damiata, Christa M. Beranek

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Two phases of archaeological investigations were conducted at the Old Manse in Concord, MA, in advance of a proposed visitor center and other construction activity at the property. In 2016, a geophysical survey was carried out over the parking lot and in the area east of the historic barn location. Although subsequent test excavations had been proposed for the same areas, these were not carried out because the construction project was put on hold. In 2017, five shovel test pits and one excavation unit were excavated in an area west of the current garden in an area that was proposed …

A Purpose In Life: Why Employment First Matters To Self-Advocates, Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered, Green Mountain Self-Advocates, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Self-advocates with intellectual disabilities describe Employment First efforts in their states, and why those efforts are important.

Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered asked leaders in the self-advocacy movement to describe the impact of Employment First in their states. The authors spoke with 21 peer leaders across the country and asked, “What does Employment First mean?”

Research To Practice: Lessons Learned From The Learning Academy: Optimizing Transition Supports For Young Adults With Autism, John Shepard, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Agnieszka Zalewska, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The Learning Academy (TLA) at the University of South Florida is a 30-week transition program for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between the ages of 18 and 25. The program provides services, supports, and experiential opportunities, with the aim of enhancing skills that will prepare students to succeed in the workplace and postsecondary education settings. The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University for Massachusetts Boston conducted a one-year evaluation of TLA to explore its essential programmatic elements, and the ways in which the experience influenced student transformation. The evaluation included a thorough observation of program structure, curriculum, …

Research To Practice: State Employment First Policies: State Definitions, Goals And Values, Jennifer Bose, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief is the first in a series focusing on Employment First implementation as it relates to one of the seven elements within the High-Performing States in Integrated Employment model. It examines the background of circumstances under which Employment First efforts began in seven states, and introduces each state’s values, mission, and goals around increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. States may use the lessons in this brief to develop an Employment First policy, or to evolve existing efforts.

Data Note: State Intellectual And Developmental Disability Agencies’ Service Trends, Agnes Zalewska, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In FY2016, an estimated 638,568 individuals received day or employment supports from state IDD program agencies. This number grew from 455,824 in FY1999. The estimated number of individuals in integrated employment services increased from 108,227 in FY1999 to 120,244 in FY2016. Despite the trend to terminate facility-based services in some states, the overall state investment continues to emphasize non-work services, rather than integrated employment services. Figure 1 shows the trends in the percentage of people served in integrated employment and facility-based and non-work settings between FY2008 and FY2016.

University Of Massachusetts Boston: Rehabilitation Counseling Program, James Soldner

School for Global Inclusion and Social Development Faculty Publications

The Rehabilitation Counseling Program at theUniversity of Massachusetts Boston, the #1-rankedrehabilitation counseling program in New Englandby U.S. News and World Report, has a long historyof providing innovative graduate training to adiverse range of rehabilitation professionals, bothregionally and nationally. UMass Boston is a minority-serving institution, with federal designationas an Asian American and Native AmericanPacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).It is Boston’s only public research university,and located in the economic and cultural hub ofNew England.UMass Boston, one of the five campuses of theUniversity of Massachusetts system, was establishedin 1964 to make public higher education available tothe people of the greater Boston metropolitan area.The …

Neutral Ground Or Battleground? Hidden History, Tourism, And Spatial (In)Justice In The New Orleans French Quarter, Lynnell L. Thomas

American Studies Faculty Publication Series

In 2017, the city of New Orleans removed four monuments that paid homage to the city’s Confederate past. The removal came after contentious public debate and decades of intermittent grassroots protests. Despite the public process, details about the removal were closely guarded in the wake of death threats, vandalism, lawsuits, and organized resistance by monument supporters. Workers hired to dismantle the monuments did so surreptitiously under the cloak of darkness, protected by a heavy police presence, with their faces covered to conceal their identities. The divisiveness of this debate and the removal lay bare the contestation over public space, historical …

Vocational Rehabilitation And Business Relations: Preliminary Indicators Of State Vr Agency Capacity, Kelly Haines, James Soldner, Libin Zhang, May-Lorie St. Laurent, Barbara Knabe, Kathy West-Evans, Linda Mock, Susan Foley

School for Global Inclusion and Social Development Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: State vocational rehabilitation agencies (SVRAs) have been developing business relations capacity for decades, as part of a dual-customer approach. The literature to date explores “demand-side” strategies in VR, but little is known about what infrastructure is being built to sustain demand-side approaches.OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe SVRAs’ efforts to build capacity in business relations through current policies and practice, staffing and organizational structures, marketing and outreach, and other related strategies.METHODS: Researchers conducted a web-based survey of the population of SVRAs (n = 80). The target respondent was the National Employment Team (NET) “single point of …

Age & Dementia Friendly Cape Ann: A Regional Needs Assessment, Caitlin Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of SeniorCare, Inc. (hereafter referred to as SeniorCare), to learn about the age- and dementia-friendliness of the region of Cape Ann, including the Massachusetts municipalities of Essex, Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Rockport. The contents of this report are intended to inform SeniorCare for the purposes of planning and implementing the Age & Dementia Friendly Cape Ann (ADFCA) Initiative. The ADFCA Initiative builds on ten Areas of Focus, which are essential components of a livable …

Aging On Nantucket: A Community Needs Assessment, Caitlin Coyle, Jan Mutchler

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes efforts undertaken by the Nantucket Center for Elder Affairs, Inc. (NCEA), in partnership with the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The purpose of these efforts was to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Nantucket’s older residents. The focus of this report is on the cohort of Nantucket’s residents age 60 and older. The contents of this report are intended to inform NCEA, the Saltmarsh Senior Center, the Council on Aging, the Town of Nantucket, and organizations that provide services to older residents, …

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2018 Report & Evaluation, Massachusetts Office Of Public Collaboration, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

For the past six years, state funding support enabled the Community Mediation Center Grant Program to fulfill its responsibility to award operational grants to qualified community mediation centers. In the FY 2018 budget process, the state legislature again confirmed its commitment to community mediation by appropriating $750,000 to fund the Grant Program during FY 2018. Funded centers contributed extensively to lowering contentiousness in Massachusetts communities in FY 2018 despite the challenges posed by funding and court-referral volatility. Centers provided coverage across all Massachusetts counties and at most Court Divisions. Nearly 8,000 people received center assistance with their disputes through more …

Communities In Peril: The Dispersion Of Temporary Protected Status Populations Throughout Massachusetts, Phillip Granberry, Trevor Mattos, Lorna Rivera

Gastón Institute Publications

Massachusetts is estimated to have over 12,000 residents with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is a non-immigrant status granted when a country's nationals in the United States cannot return safely or, in certain circumstances, when the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. This legal status was instituted as part of the 1990 Immigration Act, which was sponsored by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. TPS beneficiaries are not removable from the United States, can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD), and may be granted travel authorization.

Recently …

Environment, States, And International Organizations: The Role Of Global Environmental Conventions In Protecting The Environment, Natalia Escobar Pemberthy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Global environmental conventions are created to address and resolve global environmental problems. Assessments of the achievement of specific environmental goals, however, indicate that there is room for progress and that stronger collective action is required. Given that there are no empirical instruments to measure implementation and to determine the factors behind individual countries’ results, challenges emerge that require the expansion of existing analytical frameworks around environmental conventions and their role as global governance instruments. This study develops an empirical instrument – the Environmental Conventions Index – to assess the implementation of global environmental conventions, determining the main trends for both …

Examining Attentional Control And Processing Speed Deficits As Underlying Mechanisms Of Neuropsychological Impairment In Schizophrenia, Mayte Forte

Graduate Masters Theses

Neuropsychological impairment is a key characteristic of schizophrenia (SZ), but its cognitive profile and underlying information processing mechanisms are not yet well understood. We compare patterns of neuropsychological functioning in 85 persons with SZ and 76 healthy controls across measures of intelligence, memory, and executive function. We then test the hypothesis that neuropsychological impairment in SZ is related to dual deficits in two related but distinct information processes: processing speed and attentional control. All research participants completed Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III), Wechsler Memory Scale Third Edition (WMS-III), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), all of which provided measures …

Whether Or Not 'It Gets Better'…Coping With Parental Heterosexist Rejection, Cara Herbitter

Graduate Masters Theses

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people face the burden of additional stressors as a result of their experiences of stigma and discrimination regarding their sexual minority status. Parental rejection of LGB people in the context of heterosexism serves as a powerful minority stressor associated with poorer mental health (e.g., Bouris et al., 2010; Ryan, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2009). Few contemporary theories exist to describe the experience of parental rejection. In addition, the extant empirical research has focused primarily on youth experiences among White and urban LGB samples, signaling the need for research across the lifespan investigating more diverse samples. …