Social Statistics Commons^™

Data Profiles-Rhode Island-West Warick, John C. Brown, Richard A. Ramswak, James R. Gomes

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

We continue support the Federal Bank of Boston “Working Cities” challenge which aims to support social and economic recovery of underperforming small and mid-sized cities in the New England region. We continue to extend our data profiles of these cities located in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and now Connecticut. It is our hope that these data ‘rich” profiles which includes key indicators on health, population and demographic changes, industrial growth, and educational performance can not only support policy development in these targeted areas, but also help in monitoring the progress these cities make over time.

Data Profiles-Rhode Island-Woonsocket, John C. Brown, Richard A. Ramsawak, James R. Gomes

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

We continue support the Federal Bank of Boston “Working Cities” challenge which aims to support social and economic recovery of underperforming small and mid-sized cities in the New England region. We continue to extend our data profiles of these cities located in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and now Connecticut. It is our hope that these data ‘rich” profiles which includes key indicators on health, population and demographic changes, industrial growth, and educational performance can not only support policy development in these targeted areas, but also help in monitoring the progress these cities make over time.

Chemical Reactions: Marijuana, Opioids, And Our Families, Denise A. Hines Ph.D, Staci Gruber Ph.D, John F. Kelly Ph.D, Kathleen M. Palm Reed, Hilary Smith Connery M.D., Ph.D.

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Chemical Reactions: Marijuana, Opioids, and Our Families is the seventh Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar. This seminar was designed to emphasize a family perspective in policymaking on issues related to the legalization of marijuana and managing the opioid abuse crisis in the Commonwealth. In general, Family Impact Seminars analyze the consequences an issue, policy, or program may have for families.

Predicting Depression In Older Adults: Community Vs. Nursing Home, Hannah Vitello, Skye Leedahl

Senior Honors Projects

With the population of the United States slowly growing older, the issues surrounding long-term services and supports (LTSS) will become more prevalent. Little research has been done comparing older adults living in nursing homes to older adults living in the community, especially regarding mental health and depression. Depression is a mental illness that affects people emotionally and physically, as well as mentally, which can lead easily into other health complications in the older adult population. This study seeks to determine if factors such as demographics, health, social interaction, and family relationships affect mental health in nursing home residents differently than …

The Impact Of State-Provided Paid Family Leave On Wages: Examining The Role Of Gender, Aimee Samantha Abrams Widdicombe

Scripps Senior Theses

The U.S. is the only OECD country that does not offer any form of federal paid parental leave. Only three states—California, New Jersey and Rhode Island—have state-provided paid leave policies; implemented in 2004, 2009 and 2014, respectively. Through descriptive statistics and difference-in-difference-in-difference regression analyses of the wages of women and men of childbearing age (19-45 years) in those three states, we assess whether the paid leave programs have effected wages, and whether these effects vary depending on gender. Our results show that wages of women of childbearing age saw negligible net effects post-policy in policy states, although statistically insignificant. On …

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness: Measuring What Matters, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This essay focuses on ways in which the governments of Bhutan and the United Kingdom are measuring subjective well-being as well as on how other governments including Norway, Spain, China, Canada, and New Zealand, are exploring the development of subjective well-being indicators. It concludes with recommended actions to aid in the formation of a consistent and comparable subjective well-being indicator for use by governments globally. The third in a series for which the purpose is to provide information to grassroots activists to foster the happiness movement for a new economic paradigm, this essay builds on the previous essays, Happiness in …

White Faces In A Black Movement: Why Their Voices Matter, Chauncey L. Alcorn

Capstones

This story follows the lives of two white activists in New York's Black Lives Matter movement. It examines the largely ignored impact white activists have had on the BLM movement and also explores the history of white activists in the abolitionist and Civil Rights movements. The climax details a highly-publicized spat between rival Black Lives Matter organizations that happened during a Dec. 4 protest to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Officer Daniel Pantaleo's non-indictment in Garner's death. My main character, a white male, was blamed for causing the rift and was asked to step down from his leadership position in …

Mission Critical: Reforming Foster Care And Child Protective Services In Massachusetts, Emily M. Douglas Ph.D, Melinda Gushwa Ph.D, Martha J. Henry Ph.D, Denise A. Hines Ph.D, Mickayla Aboujaoude, Annie E. Casey Foundation

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

One major topic of debate during the 2014 gubernatorial elections was the functioning of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Massachusetts. Prior to the debates and subsequently as well, the media has highlighted some challenges and issues that plague DCF, and several high-profile cases have sparked not only the attention of our state government, but the public at large as well. After consultation with legislators, we decided that our 2015 Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar would focus on this crisis.

2015 Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar, Emily M. Douglas Ph.D., Melinda Gushwa Ph.D., Licsw, Martha J. Henry Ph.D.

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Mission Critical: Reforming Foster Care and Child Protective Services is the sixth Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar. It is designed to emphasize a family perspective in policymaking on issues related to reforming foster care and child protective services in the Commonwealth. In general, Family Impact Seminars analyze the consequences an issue, policy, or program may have for families.

Implementing (Environmental) Justice: Equity And Performance In California's S.B. 535, Meagan Tokunaga

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis evaluates the equity performance of a recent state environmental justice policy, California’s Senate Bill 535 (S.B. 535). “Environmental justice” refers to the disproportionate environmental harm imposed on low-income and minority communities. S.B. 535 uses competitive grants to provide funding to these communities. The research is centered around two questions: (1) to what extent has S.B. 535 experienced successful implementation in its first year of operation, and (2) how can policy actors improve implementation while balancing performance and equity goals? In regards to the first question, I utilize a case study of the policy’s implementation within 17 local governments …

Measuring Happiness To Guide Public Policy Making: A Survey Of Instruments And Policy Initiatives, Laura Musikanski

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This author examines subjective indicators of well-being as they relate to the happiness movement, a global effort to create a new economic paradigm. The essay focuses on the prominent international institutions that are developing happiness metrics as well as agencies exploring the use of happiness data for crafting supportive public policy. A definition of happiness metrics, based on international institutions, identifies the primary questions that compose perceived happiness and how this data can be used.

Media Portrayal Of Individuals In The Lower Class And Its Effects On Attributions Of Educational Hardships, Krista A. Burke

Communication Studies

This study investigated how media portrayals of individuals in the lower class affect people’s beliefs about educational hardships in lower socioeconomic areas. Specifically, this study looked at the attributions of these hardships to determine if media consumption had an effect on the internality of attributions. It was hypothesized that increased media consumption would be related to an increased tendency toward internal attributions. It was hypothesized that increased media consumption would lead to lower support for policy changes regarding education. A survey was distributed to assess media consumption habits and attitudes toward educational hardships in the lower class. Correlation results yielded …

Pledge Your Body For Your Bread: Welfare, Drug Testing, And The Inferior Fourth Amendment, Jordan C. Budd

Law Faculty Scholarship

Proposals to subject welfare recipients to periodic drug testing have emerged over the last three years as a significant legislative trend across the United States. Since 2007, over half of the states have considered bills requiring aid recipients to submit to invasive extraction procedures as an ongoing condition of public assistance. The vast majority of the legislation imposes testing without regard to suspected drug use, reflecting the implicit assumption that the poor are inherently predisposed to culpable conduct and thus may be subject to class-based intrusions that would be inarguably impermissible if inflicted on the less destitute. These proposals are …

Administration Without Borders, Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

To thrive in 2020, we must conceive of the field of public administration in the broadest possible terms. Phenomena that typically have been treated peripherally in our literature are emerging center stage in recent years, confirming that the “old” boundaries of our discipline do not reflect contemporary reality. After reviewing three key developments—the rise of mixed and nongovernmental institutions in public policy, the increasing importance of market mechanisms, and the assertion of meaningful global regulation—an argument is made for a broader reconception of “publicness” that goes hand in hand with the embrace of governance in lieu of administration.

Creating A Comprehensive Profile Of The Academic Competitiveness Grant, Kelsea Klein

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The recent push for more Americans to attend postsecondary institutions has led to the development of numerous and far-reaching government student financial aid programs. These programs have aimed at supplying the whole of the population with financial assistance regardless of color, gender, or age. However, the distribution of the aid has encountered many problems as critics argue that the recipients of the aid are primarily limited to a narrow subgroup of the population. A new program created under the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 called the Academic Competitiveness Grant is no exception. Preliminary logit analysis of the reception rates …

Children's Health Insurance Program: The Dynamics Of Federalism And Health Care Policy, Erik White

Political Science Theses and Capstones

On February 4^th, 2009, President Obama signed into law the reauthorization of the Children Health Insurance Program. The federal government will now spend 30 billion dollars towards the goal of ensuring that more children in the United States are insured. I investigate this particular health care policy and look at the different dynamics that affect the ultimate goal of universal health insurance for children. Because this program allows for state flexibility under broad federal guidelines, one is able to look at individual states, and their particular actions and characteristics, to determine the best approach to insuring the most …

News For Labor's Non-Partisan League Of California & Humboldt County, Labor's Non-Partisan League Of California & Humboldt County

Ina and Noel Harris Collection

Article on national program drawn up on plans for peace, civil rights, work for unemployed, social security, pensions, health, etc. Endorsement committee selected for Democratic primaries as well as speakers announced. Eureka Federated Trades and Labor Council passes resolution.

Labor's Non-Partisan League

236 D St.

Eureka, California