Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2013 Year-End Report & Evaluation, Susan J. Jeghelian, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Kaila O. Eisenkraft

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

During Fiscal Year 2013, the first year of the Massachusetts Community Mediation Center (CMC) Grant Program, 15 community mediation centers across the state were awarded state operating grants. This report documents and evaluates the progress of the CMC Grant Program towards its goal of expanding the use of community mediation as an affordable public service for Massachusetts citizenry. The status of program implementation is analyzed, and the program’s success is assessed through its impact on the stabilization and effectiveness of the funded community mediation centers as measured by, among other things, their delivery of high quality mediation services, efforts to …

Evidence Use In New York City Public Health Policymaking, Miriam J. Laugesen, Kimberley R. Isett

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has attracted national attention for his public health policy reforms. The policy process behind the reform program has received less scrutiny, especially the use of research by policymakers. We show that the process used to develop, promote, and evaluate polices is heavily based on five types of data and research. New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene staff conducted in-depth appraisals of existing published research, used local health surveys and private laboratory surveillance data, engaged in “shoe-leather” field research, formed research collaborations within and outside government, and disseminated research to legitimize policy …

The Plight Of Kenyan Domestic Workers In Gulf Countries, Caroline Muthoni Gikuru

Master's Theses

Kenya’s economy remains the regional leader within the East African Community (EAC) and among East African countries at large. However, political instability such as the 2007 post-election violence and the region’s social and political instability trickling into Kenya, have negatively affected the country’s economic growth. To bridge the economic gap, Kenyan women are seeking employment in the domestic service sector in the Gulf Countries, with Saudi Arabia being the most popular destination. At their destination countries, some domestic workers are subjected to various forms of abuse by their employers, leaving the worker without recourse due to the lack of legal …

Advocacy For Reproductive Justice In Miami-Dade County Schools: Planning A Campaign To Influence Sex Education Policies, Lisi Lau

Capstone Collection

This capstone paper is based on my professional practicum with Mi Lola, a women’s health justice organization based in Miami, Florida. The paper offers a conceptual framework in which Mi Lola approaches women’s health justice and where Mi Lola identifies within the broader women’s reproductive rights movement. It describes the organization’s emphasis on Latinas and women of color when addressing reproductive health concerns of Miami-Dade County through workshops, leadership trainings, advocacy, civic engagement and collective action. Those activities identified a great community concern: the current sex education policies (including the state of Florida’s “abstinence only” policy) appear to be one …

Childcare And Youth Training And Technical Assistance Project (Cyttap) November 2013 Evaluation Report, Kit Alviz, Tonia Durden

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The Childcare and Youth Training and Technical Assistance Project (CYTTAP) works to improve the quality and quantity of child care in states with high densities of off-installation military families. From November 2011 through October 2013, childcare providers and early childhood education professionals attended face-to-face trainings, train-the-trainer events, and low- or no-cost online trainings. Trainings included Better Kid Care (face-to-face trainings covering a wide range of topics including partnerships with parents, health and safety, nutrition and physical activity, and curriculum planning); I Am Moving, I Am Learning (face-to-face training to prevent childhood obesity); and Rock Solid Foundations (a series of programs …

Taking Charge 2013 A Study Of The Strategic Budgeting Priorities Of The Residents Of Lincoln, Nebraska, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Ryan Anderson, Alan J. Tomkins

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

This report presents the results of the 2013 Taking Charge initiative sponsored by the City of Lincoln. This was the sixth year of Taking Charge activities, and included an online survey and a half-day, face-to-face, Community Conversation. Unlike previous Taking Charge activities, which focused narrowly on the immediate concerns of an impending budget proposal (e.g. which specific programs should be funded or discontinued to maintain a balanced budget), this year’s efforts focused more broadly on strategic planning for the City’s future budget policy priorities.

A number of important findings were identified from an examination of more than 1,100 completed online …

Women’S Political Leadership In Boston, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The center tracks the status of women at all levels of government in the New England states. It also provides dynamic web resources to inform and support public leadership of women of color.

This fact sheet presents information and statistics following the 2013 municipal elections in the City of Boston.

Reexamining Cultural Orientation Provided To Newly Arrived Refugees, Sara E. Matchulat

Capstone Collection

The provision of cultural orientation is one of many services required by the contract between resettlement agencies and the federal agencies overseeing refugee resettlement, the Cooperative Agreement. This paper explores World Relief in Moline, Illinois as a case study for how small resettlement agencies can provide meaningful and memorable cultural orientations. In order to accomplish this goal, this research utilizes the Empowerment Theory to explore how recently resettled refugees’ perceptions can be taken into consideration as orientation materials are examined. Research sought to compare Cooperative Agreement requirements to current orientation materials, interviewed service providers and recently resettled refugees, and utilized …

Open Access/Open Research/Open Government: The Full Cycle Of Access To Government Information, Stephanie A. Braunstein, Maggie Kauffman

SJSU Open Access Conference

Stephanie Braunstein, Head Government Documents Librarian at Louisiana State University, and Maggie Kauffman, Senior Librarian and Housing Resource Coordinator at the California Department of Housing and Community Development, will describe the who, what, why, and how of current initiatives that promote the sharing of government-funded research--at both the federal and state levels. Emphasis will be placed on recent legislative efforts (such as the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act [FASTR]) and on the recommendations of various professional library organizations that support academic research (such as the Association of Research Libraries [ARL]). While much of the current discussion surrounding …

Masculinity: The Unseen Barrier In Survivor Assistance, Anne-Sophie Duprat, Lusia Pecak

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Survivors of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) incidents suffer unique consequences from their injuries as a result of their age and gender. As they often have distinct societal roles, survivor assistance needs for women, girls, boys and men differ. Inadequate research on the effects of mine/ERW incidents on men and boys may hinder recovery for male survivors and their families and communities.

The Power Of Peers: Rethinking Victim Assistance, Ken Rutherford, Cameron Macauley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Peer support is a psychological tool that can expedite recovery time and have longlasting positive results for landmine/explosive remnants of war survivors.

Survivors Promote Victim Assistance And Disability Rights, Megan Burke, Loren Persi

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 2012, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Cluster Munition Coalition launched the Survivor Network Project, in which networks of landmine survivors collaborate to develop victim assistance objectives. One year after its launch, the Survivor Network Project has achieved some success.

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 17.3 (2013), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Survivor Assistance | Middle East | Syria | Notes from Field | Research and Development

Survivor Success Story: Mezgebu Abiyu Tesfaye, Bekele Gonfa

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Mezgebu Abiyu Tesfaye, an Ethiopian landmine survivor, was born in the East Gojjam zone, Amhara region, in 1967. Raised in a farming family, Mezgebu left school after the eighth grade to help his parents care for their cattle and do daily chores.

Nama: A Gis-Based Network-Analysis Approach For Mine Action, Pierre Lacroix, Rocío Escobar, Olivier Cottray, Pable De Roulet

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

To demonstrate the potential of geographic information system (GIS) network-analysis tools in mine action, a hypothetical case study uses these tools to examine the distance survivors of mine incidents must travel for medical and rehabilitative care in one region in Colombia and suggests a location for a new facility.

Rehabilitation For Gazan Children And Young Adults, Nataša Uršič, Goran Gačnik

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Years of conflict in the Gaza Strip have killed and injured thousands. In response to the need for survivor rehabilitation, Slovenia’s ITF Enhancing Human Security and the University Rehabilitation Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (URI Soča) initiated the Gaza Project, a rehabilitation program for injured children and young adults. Since the Gaza Project’s inception in 2009, more than 300 children and young adults were medically evaluated, 100 children and young adults received treatment and 18 local medical professionals were trained at URI Soča.

Demining Quality Management: Case Studies From Jordan, Jamal Odibat

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Two case studies of clearance in the Jordan Valley and along Jordan’s northern border highlight the importance of quality management to ensure efficiency of clearance and credibility of land release.

The New Imsma And Victim Assistance, Angela Desantis, Daniel Eriksson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A new update to the Information Management System for Mine Action will include a victim assistance module, which will facilitate the monitoring and tracking of the access of victims to their rights and the accountability of the assistance process.

Aiding Survivors Of The Syrian Crisis, Elizabeth Macnairn, Molly Feltner

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Handicap International (HI) launched operations in northern Syria in December 2012, where it provides postsurgical rehabilitation to survivors of violence. In Lebanon and Jordan, where the organization has worked since the summer of 2012, HI provides assistance to Syrian refugees, placing particular focus on people with disabling injuries.

Spirit Of Soccer In The Zaatari Refugee Camp, Mike Geddes

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan is home to almost 150,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict—many are children. Spirit of Soccer uses soccer to bring hope and teach the children of Zaatari skills that could save their lives when returning home.

Self-Help Ammunition Destruction Options Worldwide (Shadow), Lee Maroney, Kay Gamst

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In response to the increasing number of explosions at ammunition storage sites (ASA), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) created Self-Help Ammunition Destruction Options Worldwide (SHADOW), a program emphasizing national capacity building for stockpile management and destruction through low-tech and cost-effective techniques. Following the success of its first SHADOW project in Moldova in 2010, in 2012 NPA implemented another SHADOW project focused on ASAs in cooperation with Moldova’s National Army and Ministry of Defense.

Has The Ccm Accommodated Gender?, Dalila Mahdawi

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While the Convention on Cluster Munitions has taken steps to include gender, it missed the opportunity to mainstream gender into a disarmament treaty.

Miniature Aerial Photography Planes In Mine Action, Inna Cruz, Daniel Eriksson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining analyzed the benefits, potential uses and cost efficiency of miniature aerial photography planes for use in mine action.

Reinforcement For Operational Mine Detection Rats, Amanda Mahoney, Christophe Cox, Bart Weetjens, Tess Tewelde, Tekimiti Gilbert, Amy Durgin, Alan Poling

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

When using animals for the detection of landmines, handlers face challenges of when to reinforce indication responses, as the actual location of landmines in the field is unknown.Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling(Anti-Personnel Landmine Detection Product Development or APOPO) evaluated an inexpensive method to reinforce rat-indication responses in field settings using TNT to contaminate ground area. Rat detection accuracy was high over the TNT contamination after an overnight soak period of 16 hours and detection accuracy decreased as a function of days passed since soaking.

Faces Of Mine Action: Ammco’S Ermira Keraj, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ermira Keraj lives in the Kukes district of Albania, a region that until recently had the most landmine contamination in the country. Keraj became involved in mine action to make her country, especially her home district, a safer place to live.

Honeybees Trained To Locate Landmines, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Croatian researchers from Zagreb University are training honeybees to detect landmines in the Balkans. By feeding the bees a solution of sugar and TNT, the insects learn to associate the scent of explosives with a possible food source.

Military Ordnance Found On U.S. Shores, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

(WWII) bomb was detonated 25 June 2013 after it washed ashore on Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, U.S.

Do-It-Yourself Weapons In Syria, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Free Syrian Army forces fighting against President Bashar Assad have filled major gaps in their arsenals by building improvised weapons to combat the Syrian government’s superior arsenal of artillery, tanks and warplanes.

In Remembrance: Moul Piseth, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 12 June 2013 Cambodian deminer and HALO Trust (HALO) employee Moul Piseth, 34, was killed in an explosion caused by an explosive remnant of war (ERW), possibly an anti-tank (AT) mine.

Issue 17.3 Endnotes, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Issue 17.3 Endnotes