Category: Faculty Research

Bushouse to Speak on Universal Preschool and State Budgets

Post author By policy
Post date March 15, 2012

On April 2, Brenda Bushouse will discuss her recent research in a talk titled “Universal Pre-K in Tough Budgetary Times: Variations in State Responses.”

Bushouse, an associate professor of political science and public policy, conducts research on the role of nonprofits in the U.S. and is an expert on the national universal preschool movement. Her recently published book, Universal Preschool: Policy Change, Stability and the Pew Charitable Trusts, examines the rise of state-funded preschool education and the role of private foundations in policy change. The book received the 2011 Virginia Hodgkinson Research Prize, a national award for the best book on the nonprofit sector that informs policy and practice.

This and all lectures in the Spring 2012 CPPA Faculty Colloquium series will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. The talks are free, and brown bag lunches are welcome.

Faculty Research Social inequality & justice

Badgett Brings her Research to Australian Lawmakers Weighing Gay Marriage

Post author By policy
Post date March 14, 2012

CPPA Director M.V. Lee Badgett just returned from two weeks in Australia, where she spoke with government officials, activists, and public audiences about the potential economic benefits the country could reap by legalizing gay marriage.

Badgett’s trip coincided with a growing debate in the Australian Parliament about same-sex marriage. Last December the ruling Labor Party voted to adopt a position that favors allowing gay marriage across the country. Prime Minister Julia Gillard, however, opposes gay marriage. Currently a few Australian states allow civil unions. In Canberra, Badgett presented her research findings to an audience of community members and members of parliament from both sides of the aisle. She also spoke with smaller groups and in one-on-one consultations with senators and with members of the House of Representatives to answer questions about the American and European experiences with marriage equality.

While the national government debates whether to recognize gay marriage at the federal level, some activists and policymakers in the state of Tasmania want to consider legalizing gay marriage on its own, if only at the state level. In a report released last month by the UCLA Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy, Badgett and MPPA candidate Jennifer Smith show that the Australian economy would likely see a boost to the tune of $161 million over a three-year period if same-sex marriage were legalized nationwide. If Tasmania legalized the act first, an estimated $96 million would flow into that state’s economy, according to the study.

In addition to discussions with Tasmanian policymakers, Badgett also talked with members of parliament in the state of New South Wales as they prepared to debate a bill to support in principle the idea of marriage equality at the federal level. Badgett’s public appearances in the two states and in Canberra, along with the release of the Williams Institute report, garnered significant attention from Australian media outlets. Highlights include an interview with Badgett on Sydney’s Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio station, and an op-ed that she wrote for ABC.

Environmental policy Faculty Research Grants

Schweik and State Conservation Dept. Launch Smartphone Project to Track Invasive Species

Post author By policy
Post date March 7, 2012

Through the use of popular mobile phone technology, a UMass professor of environmental conservation and public policy and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) are collaborating to engage more people in governmental and scientific efforts to collect valuable data about invasive species.

Charles Schweik, associate professor of environmental conservation and public policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Jennifer Fish, director of DCR’s Service Forestry program in Amherst, have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to enlist the help of “citizen scientists” to map invasive species using smartphone technology.

“Invasive species can hurt the environment, businesses and communities,” Fish said. She pointed out that the 2008 outbreak of the Asian longhorned beetle in Worcester led to the loss of 30,000 trees, a costly blow to the city and the urban canopy. “With more people equipped with the tools to identify and report invasive species in their hands while out in the field, we hope to prevent destructive outbreaks like these,” she said.

The new Outsmart Invasive Species Project lets people learn about, identify and report invasive species in their own time, using the Outsmart Invasive Species iPhone application, which will be available for free through iTunes in mid-March. It’s like a scavenger hunt, but for plants and insects that threaten native habitat. Citizen lookouts will be able to cover more ground than scientists could alone, thereby improving invasive-species monitoring throughout Massachusetts.

Schweik said having extra sets of eyes in the field is particularly important for spotting invasive species that are not yet prevalent, but pose an imminent threat, such as the Asian longhorned beetle and the emerald ash borer.

“We’re trying to build a ‘citizen militia,’ much like the Minutemen who mobilized in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War,” said Schweik. “But today the enemy is invasive species, and citizens can be the Paul Reveres, armed with iPhones or digital cameras rather than muskets.”

Unlike programs where volunteers must receive time-intensive training on how to identify invasive species, anyone who spends time outdoors and has an iPhone or a digital camera and access to the Web can take part in the Outsmart project without a formal commitment.

After downloading the free Outsmart Invasive Species application, participants simply keep a look out for the species on their target lists. The application provides images and descriptions of each species, and enables participants to take photographs tagged with GPS coordinates to submit to an online database. Expert biologists will then review the observations. Participants who don’t have iPhones but do have digital cameras and World Wide Web access can submit data by registering through the free Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System at www.eddmaps.org/outsmart/join.cfm. All Massachusetts data submitted through this website will be sent to the Outsmart project team.

In addition to collecting a wider range of data than scientists could alone, the Outsmart project aims to connect organizations that are already involved in monitoring in the state and beyond.

“Given the tough economic times, it is increasingly important that government agencies at all levels work together, as well as with nonprofit and citizen groups, to tackle environmental conservation issues,” said Schweik.

The project team at UMass collaborated with developer Chuck Bargeron at the University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health to create the Outsmart Invasive Species application specifically for Massachusetts. The project has also received technical support from UMass Extension’s Mass Woods Forest Conservation program. Other collaborators include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the nonprofit Trustees of Reservations.

To learn more about how you or your organization can get involved — even if you don’t have an iPhone — visit the project website at www.masswoods.net/outsmart. You can also check out the Outsmart Invasive Species Project on Facebook, contact the project team by e-mail at outsmart@eco.umass.edu, or subscribe to the Twitter feed @outsmartapp.

This work was funded through a grant (11-DG-11420004-294) awarded by the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, USDA Forest Service.

Care policy Faculty Research Governance Policy Viewpoints Social inequality & justice

Badgett Authors New York Times Op-Ed About Workplace Discrimination

Post author By policy
Post date February 7, 2012

CPPA Director M.V. Lee Badgett (economics) has penned an editorial published in the Feb. 7, 2012, edition of the New York Times. The op-ed, titled “What Obama Should Do About Workplace Discrimination,” highlights how presidents dating back to Franklin D. Roosevelt have used executive orders to strengthen anti-discrimination standards for workers employed by federal contractors.

In addition to heading the Center for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Badgett is the research director at UCLA’s Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy. The New York Times op-ed comes on the heels of a study Badgett just released titled “The Impact of Extending Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Requirements to Federal Contractors.”

According to the study, between 14.3 and 15.3 million additional workers could offer health care benefits to their same-sex domestic partners if federal contractors were required to provide coverage for same-sex partners. Badgett points out, however, that employers would not likely incur large increases in their health care costs, as “only 40,000 to 136,000 of these employees would sign up a same-sex partner for coverage, and they would be spread out across tens of thousands of federal contractors.”

The New York Times piece appears in the wake of recent news that defense contractor DynCorp International changed its policies and now bans discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Read Badgett’s full piece here.

Events Faculty Research

Fuentes-Bautista to Kick Off Spring Faculty Colloquium Series

Post author By policy
Post date January 17, 2012

Martha Fuentes-Bautista will start off the spring semester’s Faculty Colloquium Series on Feb. 6 in a talk titled “Rebuilding Local Public Spheres: Mapping Information Needs of Communities in the Digital Transition.”

Fuentes-Bautista is an assistant professor of public policy and communication. She conducts research on the social and policy implications of information and communication technologies, with a particular focus on how those technologies exacerbate or alleviate social inequalities.

A recent Faculty Research/Healey Endowment grant is supporting data collection and analysis concerning the role that local broadband interventions are having on the ability of western Massachusetts communities to expand universal service. Fuentes-Bautista’s findings will inform state and federal programs charged with advancing broadband coverage.

This and all lectures in the series will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. The talks are free, and brown bag lunches are welcome.

Faculty Honors & Awards Faculty Research Grants

Schweik’s Courses Benefit from Open Education Initiative Funds

Post author By policy
Post date December 21, 2011

Charles Schweik, associate professor of environmental conservation and public policy, was one of eight University of Massachusetts professors who received grants this year as part of the university’s Open Education Initiative.

The UMass Amherst Provost’s Office and the University Libraries launched the initiative last spring in an effort to help reduce textbook costs for students. Each professor was awarded $1,000 for each course into which they planned to incorporate open-access digital resources. Altogether, the university awarded $10,000 in grants.

Schweik received two grants for his courses “Natural Resource Policy and Administration” and “Introduction to Geographic Information Systems.” For one course, he published his own scholarly work online, which allows students to use the Web-based version of the course pack for free, or purchase a printed copy for only $13.

The university estimates that during the 2011-2012 academic year, the $10,000 investment will save 700 students upwards of $72,000.

Read more about the initiative in the Springfield Republican and in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Events Faculty Research Uncategorized

CPPA Announces Spring 2012 Faculty Colloquium Schedule

Post author By policy
Post date December 15, 2011

Three members of the UMass community and a Smith College professor will speak during the CPPA faculty colloquium series this spring. The colloquia enable members of the UMass community to discuss research that has significant policy implications. The talks are informal and often are about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks this spring will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.

February 6: Martha Fuentes-Bautista (communication and public policy): “Collaborative Governance and Sustainability of Local Broadband Projects: Lessons from Underserved Communities in Western Massachusetts”

March 5: Nancy Whittier (Sociology, Smith College): “Social Movement Coalitions With and Within the State: Discourse, Policy and the Violence Against Women Act”

April 2: Brenda Bushouse (political science and public policy): “Universal Pre-K in Tough Budgetary Times: Variations in State Responses”

April 30: Fred Rose (Center for Public Policy and Administration): “Addressing the Causes of Concentrated Poverty: The Case of Springfield”

Events Faculty Honors & Awards Faculty Research Governance Policy Viewpoints

Fountain Keynoter at GovCamp Singapore

Post author By policy
Post date November 15, 2011

Jane Fountain, professor of political science and public policy, will give the keynote address on November 18th, 2011, at GovCamp Singapore. The conference will assemble leading thinkers from government, academia, industry and citizen organizations to share ideas about how to improve citizen engagement and government services in Singapore through technology.

The conference is based on the international GovCamp model that applies a government context to evolving Web 2.0 technologies. GovCamp rests on three central pillars–transparency, collaboration and participation in government.

Additional information about the event, and to follow the Twitter and other real time streams, visit the GovCampSG website. You can also visit the GovCampSG Facebook page.

Tags e-government, Fountain

Faculty Research Policy Viewpoints Public Engagement Project

Schalet’s New Book Featured on NPR, Salon, Huffington Post

Post author By policy
Post date November 4, 2011

A new book by Amy Schalet, assistant professor of sociology and a CPPA faculty associate, is attracting widespread media attention.

Schalet’s book, Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens and the Culture of Sex, compares attitudes toward teen sex in the U.S .and Holland, where teen pregnancy rates are significantly lower than in our country.

The book, which was released on November 1 by the University of Chicago Press, also calls for a new comprehensive sex education system in the U.S. that focuses on strategies such as encouraging teen autonomy and helping teens to build healthy relationship with parents and peers.

Schalet’s book has now been featured nationally on National Public Radio, including WBUR and “The Takeaway,” as well as Salon and the Huffington Post.

In Canada, stories have been featured by MacLean’s and Ontario Today.

A book launch party will be held on Monday, November 14, at 7 p.m. at Food for Thought Books Collective in downtown Amherst.

Additional information about Schalet’s book can be found at the University of Chicago Press’ Facebook page.

Schalet is also a founding member of the UMass Public Engagement Project.