Public Policy Commons^™

Getting To The Core And Evolving The Education Reform Movement To A System Of Continuous Improvement, Fernando M. Reimers, Eleonora Villegas-Reimers

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article places the most recent study of PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) in historical perspective, reviewing the role of international comparisons in efforts to build public education systems as key institutions of democratic societies. It discusses the findings for the United States, examining differences with other participating countries. It also looks at a paradox. Despite the high priority education has received in the United States in the past two decades, the country underperformed in a number of indicators in the PISA in comparison with many other countries participating in the study. The authors explain the findings as the …

Interview With Andreas Schleicher, Padraig O'Malley, Andreas Schleicher

New England Journal of Public Policy

This interview took place on March 17, 2014, in Washington, DC, with Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Schleicher is responsible for the Directorate of Education and Skills’ research, analysis, and publication of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), and the development and analysis of benchmarks on the performance of education systems. The OECD reports on PISA, PIAAC, and TALIS were released between December 3, …

School Reform In Canada And Florida: A Study Of Contrast, Catherine S. Boehme

New England Journal of Public Policy

Alberta and Florida have instituted school reform initiatives over the past fifteen years in an effort to improve the quality of their schools. Alberta has focused on systemic improvement by engaging the community in educational needs assessment, raising the high standards of teacher preparation, and improving effective instructional practices through professional development. Florida’s efforts have concentrated on holding students, teachers, schools, and districts accountable for high-stakes testing results by increasing the number and rigor of required assessments and increasing the negative consequences for low achievement scores. The 2012 PISA scores reveal that Alberta’s students are maintaining their high rankings relative …

Massachusetts Schooling Matters: Good News, Contributing Factors, Challenges, Persistent Problems, Kathleen J. Skinner, Paul Toner

New England Journal of Public Policy

Massachusetts public schools have performed at the highest levels on national and international benchmarked reading, mathematics, and science assessments. The Commonwealth’s population demographics related to educational attainment, employment, and family income coupled with factors within the control of the state, districts, or schools, such as highly qualified and unionized teachers, average school-district size, defined time on learning, universal health care coverage for all children, state funding for pre-K–12 schooling, curriculum articulation through statewide standards, and high participation in college admissions exams, have contributed to academic success. Massachusetts schools, however, still face challenges in narrowing existing achievement gaps, reducing the emphasis …

Living And Aging In Newton: Now And In The Future, Bernard A. Steinman, Hayley Gleason, Ceara Somerville, Jan E. Mutchler, Center For Social And Demographic Research On Aging, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report describes collaborative efforts undertaken by the City of Newton Department of Senior Services, the Newton Council on Aging, The Senior Citizens Fund of Newton, Inc., and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, within the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Beginning in Fall 2013, these organizations partnered to conduct a needs assessment study to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of the City’s older resident population, with respect to living and aging in Newton. The focus of this report is on two cohorts of Newton residents—those aged 50 to 59 (referred …

Perspectives On The Global Financial Crisis From Emerging Managers And Public Policy Makers [Full Version], James L. Grant

Financial Services Forum Publications

This manuscript attempts to capture the perspectives of emerging managers and public policy makers as evinced in the perspectives of graduate students and others who were enrolled in my newly developed course on the global financial crisis—first offered in the 2010 Harvard Summer Economics Program—at a time when students were engaged in the midst and aftermath of the most severe U.S. and worldwide recession since the Great Depression of the early 1930s. The many perspectives gathered on the causes, consequences, remedies, and perhaps more importantly, a glimpse at student thoughts, concerns, and worries at the time—have been collected from the …

Lessons From Lived Experience: From Fresh Insights To Effective Action, Lisa Deangelis, Maureen A. Scully, Andrea Wight

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

The 34 fellows in the 2014 Emerging Leaders Program worked with community partners to generate the theme, “Learning from Lived Experience: From fresh insights to effective action." Each year, the projects draw upon a theme or lesson from the prior year. Last year and this year, fellows saw how the lived experiences of both their stakeholders and themselves generated nuanced and appropriate approaches to problem-solving. The fellows worked with six community partners, giving their time and professional skills to understand how to frame complex social challenges, engage new partners and resources, and sharpen strategic plans. They conducted surveys, interviews, open …

Congruence Across Levels Of Role-Taking In U.S. Foreign Policy, Paul A. Kowert, Stephen G. Walker

Political Science Faculty Publication Series

A psychosocial approach to national behavior, emphasizing the foreign policy roles selected by states, has proven to be a fertile source of insights into the ways states respond to their external environment. Disaggregating the phenomenon of role into several distinct processes—e.g., roletaking, role contestation, role enactment, and role transition—highlights interactions across different levels of analysis as part of a general process of role location. We focus in this paper specifically on the process of role-taking leading to role selection and conceive of this process as operating simultaneously at the state, domestic, and individual levels of analysis. Rather than assume that …

The Silent Crisis: Including Latinos And Why It Matters, Representation In Executive Positions, Boards, And Commissions In The City Governments Of Boston, Chelsea, And Somerville, Miren Uriarte, James Jennings, Jen Douglas

Human Services Faculty Publication Series

The Silent Crisis: Involving Latinos in Decision-Making & Why Latino Representation Matters provides a measure of the economic, social, and political inclusion of Latinos at mid-decade in three cities of the Commonwealth where about one fourth of the state’s Latino population lives. Often wrongly referred to as a “new population,” Latinos have been present in Massachusetts since the end of the 19th century, arriving in large numbers beginning in the 1960s and 1970s and growing to nearly 630,000 persons (9.6% of the population) by 2010. That same year, they accounted for 62.1% of the population of Chelsea, 17.5% of the …

Individual, Disease, And Work-Related Factors Associated With Work Patterns, Presenteeism And Sick Pay Policy Of The Colorectal Cancer Survivor After Treatment, Kristin A. Roper

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Participation of colorectal cancer survivors (CRC) in the workforce has been described by clinicians, survivors, and researchers as a way to improve mood, quality of life (QOL), and survival. Maintaining self-esteem and financial independence have also been attributed to continued employment of the CRC survivor. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey was to describe patterns of employment of the CRC survivor and to examine the individual, disease, and work-related factors that influence presenteeism and perceived adequacy of sick pay (ASP) policy. The Conceptual Model of Nursing and Health Policy and the Pathways to Work Life Recovery guided the design, selection …

Engaging Youth: Linking Design And Implementation Choices Of Out-Of-School Time Programs In Boston To The Development Of Political Engagement Attitudes In Youth Age 14 To 18, Felicia M. Sullivan

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Tens of thousands of youth in communities across the United States are engaged every day in out-of-school time (OST) programs. These young people seek opportunities to recreate and socially engage, enhance academic and leadership skills, express themselves creatively, explore important issues in their communities, and work toward affecting change. These programs provide important institutional learning environments in which young people begin to assimilate their roles as political actors and citizens. As the delivery of social services and public programs has increasingly devolved from the government to the nonprofit sector, these programs also shape how young people come to understand their …

Patterns Of Dissaving Among U.S. Elders, Deborah Gray

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This paper examined patterns of decumulation and the role that health events and marital disruption play in forming those patterns. Study data were drawn from six biennial waves of the HRS (1998 - 2008), and merged RAND HRS data files for the period 1998 - 2008. The a priori expectation was that there will be variation in drawdown strategies households employ.

Findings suggest that patterns of dissaving are heterogeneous. The five most prevalent patterns were discussed. Households predominantly transitioned between oversaving and overspending. Households are expected to have a goal of on target spending therefore the observed cycle's dissaving will …

Hope Vi-Old Colony: An Evaluation, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Center for Social Policy (CSP) is continuing its ongoing evaluation role with HOPE VI, a federally funded program operated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. HOPE VI allows public housing authorities to apply for funding to redevelop severely distressed housing developments. The Old Colony development is currently the most physically distressed site in the Boston Housing Authority’s federal portfolio, with aged systems and infrastructure and high annual energy and water costs. This project began in January 2014.

Massresults – Building A More Effective, Accountable, And Open State Government, John W. Mccormack Graduate School Of Policy And Global Studies, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Edward J. Collins, Jr., Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Russ Meekins, Amy Branger

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Through strategic plans, performance reports, and a program-based performance budget, the Patrick administration is using data to manage, making government more transparent and accountable. Working with the Executive Office of Administration & Finance, and partnering with the Commonwealth Performance, Accountability and Transparency office, the Collins Center at UMass Boston has been charged with implementing the MassResults program throughout the executive branch.

Massachusetts Municipal Performance Management Program (Mpmp), Michael Ward

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The mission of the MPMP is to make the ongoing, systematic use of data, measures, and goals a permanent feature of Massachusetts municipal government, and to accelerate the sharing of ideas among Massachusetts municipalities.

Through a team of highly-skilled Performance Management Analysts, each working directly with a portfolio of cities and towns, the MPMP provides on-the-ground support to Massachusetts municipalities on all aspects of data and analysis.

Umass Boston Coasts And Communities Igert Program, Robyn Hannigan, Maria Ivanova, Maria Petrova

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Coasts and Communities IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) Program starting in 2014 at the University of Massachusetts Boston provides PhD students with the skills to understand the interactions between natural and human systems and to develop appropriate policy solutions for urban and urbanizing environments. By emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and communication, this program aims to enable trainees to apply innovative and sustainable solutions across geographical, political, and economic contexts.

Reinforcing The Safety Net: A Collaborative Survey With The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, Heather Macindoe, Lindsay Morgia, Erynn Herman

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The more than 35,000 nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts employ 20% of the state’s workforce and serve as a vital part of the social safety net. Many of these organizations face challenges concerning fiscal sustainability. Funding often covers current services with little surplus to address organizational capacity issues. Successful public-nonprofit partnerships are key to building a resilient nonprofit sector. This study contributes to the nonprofit sector’s knowledge of how best to engage with policymakers at the state and local level.

Aging In Boston: Preparing Today For A Growing Tomorrow, Jan E. Mutchler, Bernard A. Steinman, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gleason, Jiyoung Lyu, Ceara Somerville

Gerontology Institute Publications

Boston’s population is becoming older than ever before. The oldest Baby Boomer is approaching 70 and reinventing what it means to be a “senior citizen.” Waves of Boomers will forge a new path into later life, creating a population of seniors that is larger and more long-lived than previous cohorts, and diverse in new ways. In 2010, more than 14% of Boston’s residents were 60 years or older, representing 88,000 older people. By 2030, projected increases in the older population will result in as many as 130,000 seniors residing in Boston. How will Boston accommodate its growing older population? What …

Patterns Of Role Transition: A Taxonomy, A Research Program, And The Three-Body Problem, Paul A. Kowert, Stephen G. Walker

Political Science Faculty Publication Series

In foreign policy, role transition as a process of role change implies at least two roles (a state'ʹs old role and its new role) and a dynamic process of role location in which Ego’s role changes over time. If every role for Ego presumes a counter-role for Alter, a pattern of role transition for Ego implies as well a potential process of role transition for Alter. In order to model the process of role transition, a taxonomy of mutually exclusive and logically exhaustive roles and counter-roles is desirable, in order to identify and specify the possible combinations of old and …

Women’S Municipal Leadership In Massachusetts: Snapshot Of Cape Cod, 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 New England. It also provides dynamic web resources to inform and support the public leadership of women of color.

Financial Security Scorecard: A State-By-State Analysis Of Economic Pressures Facing Future Retirees, Christian Weller, Nari Rhee, Carolyn Arcand

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

As Americans increasingly worry about their retirement prospects, states play an important and growing role in retirement security policy. States already manage long-term care programs for the elderly through Medicaid. Concerned about the impact of future elder poverty on state and local budgets and their local economies, a number of states are exploring the creation of low-cost and low-risk retirement savings plans for private sector workers who lack access to pensions or 401(k)s on the job. Some states have developed programs to help older workers find work.

This report presents the Financial Security Scorecard, designed to inform state-level stakeholders and …

Data Note: State Intellectual And Developmental Disability Agencies' Service Trends, Jean Winsor

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

In FY2012, an estimated 605,680 individuals received day or employment supports from state IDD program agencies. This number grew from 457,405 in FY1999. The estimated number of individuals in integrated employment services increased from 108,680 in FY1999 to 111,670 in FY2012. State investment continues to emphasize facility-based and non-work services, rather than integrated employment services.

Data Note: Are Young Adults With Intellectual Disabilities Getting Work Experiences From Participating In The Vocational Rehabilitation Program?, Alberto Migliore, Jean Winsor

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

To learn about whether young adults with intellectual disabilities in the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program are getting work experience, we examined the age at application of people with intellectual disabilities who exited the VR program in 2012.

Data Note: Vocational Rehabilitation Closure Trends For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities: A Snapshot Of Five U.S. Territories, Jean Winsor, Daria Domin

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Beginning in FY2013, the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities requested that each Project of National Significance include the five primary territories of the United States in data collection and analysis efforts. The five territories included in this analysis are American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

Statedata: The National Report On Employment Services And Outcomes, 2014, John Butterworth, Jean Winsor, Frank A. Smith, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Allison Cohen Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This report provides statistics over 25 years from several national datasets that address the status of employment and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The authors use abbreviations for both intellectual disability (ID) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in this report. We do this because data sources vary in the specific target groups that can be described.

We provide a comprehensive overview that describes national trends in employment for people with IDD, and the appendices provide individual state profiles with data from several sources. These include the ICI’s IDD Agency National Survey of Day and Employment …

Brief 9: Undp: Reviving A Practical Human Development Organization, Craig N. Murphy, Stephen Browne

Governance and Sustainability Issue Brief Series

Constant reform has characterized the UN Development Programme (UNDP) throughout its existence, say the authors of two recent books on UNDP. Change bespeaks an organization ready to adapt but also fundamentally uncertain about its proper role. It teeters between two sets of tensions—as coordinator of and competitor within the UN development system, and as exerting priorities from the center while seeking to be flexible in its program countries. These tensions should be resolved, and enable UNDP to be the UN’s sustainable human development organization.

Evaluation Of The Jewish Community Housing For The Elderly Memory Support Initiative, Joan Hyde

Gerontology Institute Publications

Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly (JCHE) is a large, multi-campus organization that houses and serves 1,500 residents (80 market rate and 1,420 low income). The average age is 80 years old, with one-third of residents 85 and older. Three quarters of the residents are not native English speakers. Through HUD and other funding, JCHE offers a range of supports to these residents, including translators, interpreters and staff with language and cultural competence, meals, transportation and, through their Service Coordinators, facilitation of resident access to government benefits, home care and other services.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2012 special report …

Cosee Ocean Inquiry Group Report: Opportunities For Creating Lifelong Ocean Science Literacy, Paul Boyle, Vince Breslin, Lisa Craig Brisson, John Fraser, Alan J. Friedman, Katie Gardner, Sarah Schoedinger, Jerry Schubel, Steve Uzzo, Steven Yalowitz

School for the Environment General Publications

This Inquiry Group Report for the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Ocean Communities in Education And Social Networks (COSEE OCEAN) provides a fresh look at how broader ocean science literacy can be developed, especially through less-recognized channels such as opportunistic learning, the private and “third” sectors, and the enormously varied activities under the heading of informal science education. The 10 authors of this report (see Contributors section) have been working together for two years to find and review a range of issues and resources for current and potential ocean science literacy providers, both professional and volunteer.

Several chapters provide …

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 …

Producing Space: Block-By-Block Change In A Gentrifying Neighborhood, Jen Douglas

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Gentrification of urban neighborhoods is part of an ongoing restructuring of the city, linked to the emerging occupational structure of the service economy and the remaking of built environments that were created for a production economy. It is the name given to processes in which commodification and reinvestment accompany the in-migration of professional and managerial workers, often displacing prior residents and giving altered spatial form to inequality.

This dissertation is a case study of gentrification in Hyde and Jackson Squares, part of Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The emergence of gentrification pressures and their uneven distribution within the area is documented …