University of Massachusetts Boston
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Public Transit Funding Through Real Estate: Opportunities for Agency Reform
No full textThis study examines the potential for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to transition towards a funding model based on real estate. Given the MBTA\u27s history of underinvestment, as well as the inefficiency of its current funding model - which relies on an appropriated portion of the state sales tax - there is a pressing need for reform. The research is driven by two main questions, centered on (1) the potential social welfare implications of shifting MBTA\u27s revenue to a real estate-centric model, and (2) the challenges and opportunities inherent in such a transition. Consequently, the first part conducts a physical survey to pinpoint potential sites for real estate development, while the second part, based predominantly on interview data, explores the political landscape and the ways in which politics may either facilitate or hinder the proposed reform. The findings from this study not only shed light on the feasibility of the proposed funding model but also provide insights on the broader interplay between public transit economics, real estate, and political dynamics. The final chapter makes a few recommendations, most notably on (1) transitioning towards a new revenue model; (2) streamlining oversight boards; (3) developing a comprehensive regional plan and (4) implementing a cost-benefit analysis for suppliers, among others
Implications of Environmental Stress on Drug Vulnerability in Adolescent Male Rats and New Fathers
No full textAdolescent psychostimulant (e.g., amphetamine) use is on the rise in the United States, partly due to social and brain developmental changes that heighten risk-taking for this age group. Unfortunately, many adolescents move beyond casual use to impulsive use, escalating to long-term use and later substance use disorders. At still other times in the life course, such as after the birth of a child, stark shifts in the hormonal milieu in the mother may lead to postpartum depression and self-medicating with substances in both mothers and fathers. Many users achieve less reward with repeated use and begin to feel more out of control; in fact, they may shift from goal-oriented to habitual behavior and, eventually, to compulsive behavior. Given the widespread use and high abuse potential for licit and illicit substances in adolescents, and at other life events (e.g., postpartum), understanding the neural modification contributing to compulsion and relapse during critical stages is vital. Thus, the current dissertation focuses on understanding changes in neuroimmune function and activation that may contribute to neuroplasticity and the learning involved in compulsions to use drugs following environmental and life stressors. First, I completed a review to highlight studies describing the role of neuroinflammation in the effects of environmental stress, anxiety, and drug-taking behavior (i.e., use of amphetamines) at critical developmental and life stages (e.g., postpartum). Next, I completed an experiment and secondary data analysis, the first experiment used an adolescent rodent model and induced stress with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 0.1 μ g/ml, IP; LPS, a gram-positive bacteria that induces inflammation) injection to identify underlying neural and neuroimmune factors in escalation and relapse to repeated amphetamine (4.0 mg/kg, IP; 4-day). The secondary data analysis investigated the relations between postpartum depression, substance use, and C-reactive protein in new mothers and fathers. In the first study, we found that the environmental stress induction with LPS increased amphetamine sensitization over the repeated regimen and on Challenge Day (amphetamine, 1.0 mg/kg/ml). Brain analysis of pro-inflammatory response and markers used as a proxy for excitation and plasticity were explored in mesocorticolibmic regions of LPS+AMPH-treated adolescents. Increased D2 receptor levels were found in the ventral and dorsal striatum, a hallmark of compulsion. Together, these findings support the hypotheses that (1) exaggerated neuroinflammation is found when environmental stress is combined with repeated amphetamine and (2) neuroplasticity in dopaminergic regions is involved in escalation and relapse, particularly regions involved in reward learning associations. In our second experiment, we assessed depression and anxiety, C-reactive protein (a marker of neuroinflammation), and substance use in new mothers and fathers in the postpartum period. Here, we found evidence for increased endorsement of physical ailments (RAND subscales) in a cohort of new fathers that correlated with change in CRP levels over time. In these participants, we also found that change in RAND scores and CRP levels significantly predicted drinking behavior in new fathers. Taken together, our data support our hypothesis that stress associated with hormonal decline after birth can impact the affective and physical states of parents, induce CRP levels, and likely lead to increased substance use. In all, the review highlights marked changes in neuroinflammation that occur across developmental stages, in response to stress and/or drug use. The rodent work provides further support for the findings from the review - neuroinflammation-induced changes correspond to a vulnerable profile for developing augmented responses to amphetamine in adolescent male rats. Finally, the secondary analysis of the clinical data also highlights that stressful life events, such as delivery and the postpartum period, also present physiological changes including neuroinflammation that may underlie greater response to, and escalation of, use of licit and illicit substances. Together, the findings from this dissertation point to the importance of understanding neuroinflammation and neuroplasticity at critical stages of development and life stages as they may underlie greater vulnerability to an escalation of drug and alcohol use
EXAMPLE Title IX/Conduct Memorandum of Understanding
Get PDFThis is an example of a memorandum of understanding between a postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disability and Title IX/Conduct offices to ensure there are clear expectations related to processes and supports from these offices and the roles that the program and offices will play in supporting students with intellectual disability to navigate them
Building Bridges, Crossing Borders: Counterstories of Multilingual Asian Immigrant Students\u27 Transition to First Year of College
No full textThis research study explores the transition experiences of multilingual Asian immigrant students as they navigate their first year of college. Focusing on counterstories, this study seeks to shed light on the unique challenges, strategies, and successes of these students in crossing cultural, linguistic, and academic borders. Through a qualitative research design, in-depth interviews were conducted with a diverse group of multilingual Asian immigrant students to capture their narratives and understand the multifaceted nature of their transition. The findings reveal the complex interplay of language proficiency, cultural adaptation, social integration, and academic expectations that influence these students’ experiences. Moreover, this research highlights the importance of recognizing the strengths and resilience of multilingual Asian immigrant students, challenging deficit-based narratives, and promoting inclusive support systems that foster their successful transition to college. The implications of this study extend beyond the individual experiences of these students, contributing to a broader understanding of multilingualism, diversity, and equity in higher education. Ultimately, this research aims to inform institutional practices, policies, and interventions that can better support and empower multilingual immigrant students throughout their college journey
Spirits and Spirituality: Temperance and Racial Uplift in Nineteenth-Century Nantucket, MA
Get PDFStudies of alcohol consumption have shown alcohol’s role in defining social boundaries based on class and ethnicity, but few have interrogated alcohol in the context of race. During the early-19th century, free black communities were encouraged to refrain from alcohol as part of a larger project of racial uplift. Black societies and churches perceived intemperance as not only immoral but a threat to community survival. Excavations of the Nantucket African Meeting House noted a considerable lack of alcohol bottles, but it was unclear whether temperance was equally observed at the neighboring Boston-Higginbotham House. This research uses a minimum number of vessels analysis and probate records to characterize alcohol consumption between two generations of the Boston family. Newspaper editorials are also referenced to gauge the white response to black temperance. Cross-site comparisons show that the rate of drinking between Nantucket and other 19th-century free-black sites was similar. Further comparison to the working-class Irish community in New York’s Five Points, shows that drinking rates were higher in Nantucket. Yet the Boston family uniquely abstained from liquor. These findings demonstrate that the Bostons adhered to the temperance standards of their time. This adherence was largely enforced by women who held ambitions towards “respectability” for their family
Use of Diagrammatic Monte Carlo to Study the Frohlich Polaron
No full textThis thesis outlines the algorithm and methods used to solve for the ground state energy and other ground state properties of the Fr\ ohlich polaron. Using diagrammatic Monte Carlo methods, the full Green\u27s function of the system can be found and the ground state energy can be extracted. In this thesis we will discuss how to construct the algorithm and each individual update, how to test the code for both debugging purposes and accuracy, as well as how to construct the internal data structures used
Scholarships for Students with Intellectual Disabilities
Get PDFPaying for college is hard. However, there are scholarships available for students with intellectual disability who want to go to college. This resource was created to help families and others locate scholarship money to help pay for college. There are scholarships listed that any student is eligible for, and many that are for students with specific disabilities. The information included in this document is up-to-date as of January 2023. The information will be reviewed and updated every year
American Community Survey (2021)
Get PDFThis Data Note summarizes employment and poverty rates across the US in 2021. These data are compared for people with no disability, people with any disability, and people with a cognitive disability, which indicate that people with disabilities continue to have less success in the labor market, and a greater likelihood of being underemployed, compared to individuals without a disability
Late-Life Gender Disparities in Economic Security: Evidence from the 2022 Elder Index
Get PDFEstimates from the 2022 Elder Index illustrate the elevated risk of economic insecurity experienced by older women, especially those living alone. We use the Elder Index to calculate the percentage of older adults living in one- and two-person households with annual incomes that do not support economic security. National averages suggest that half of older women living alone, along with 42% of older men living alone, have annual incomes below the Elder Index. In addition, 21% of older couples have annual incomes below the Elder Index. Women in same-sex couples experience greater levels of disadvantage than men in same-sex couples and people in opposite sex couples. Moreover, women who are age 85 or older are at especially high risk of economic insecurity. These findings highlight the sizable impact of gender inequality throughout the life course on retirement security
Governing Global and National Migration Nexuses: The Case of the Niger \u27Transit\u27 Region
No full textThe present dissertation examines the influence of states and non-state actors on migration governance in Niger from 2015-2020 and how these actors affect migrants ‘decisions to travel clandestinely to Europe. This investigation relies on documents and reports, semi-structured interviews with elites working at key migration governance institutions and focus groups in Niamey and Agadez (Niger) conducted in 2021 and 2022.
Using a structure-agency approach in migration research, this study applied an actor-led Multi-level Governance theory, Norm Localization theory and critical agency theory lenses. Content and critical discourse analyses were conducted using MaxQDA software to scrutinize the data. The results showed that (1) while migration governance authority is centered at the national level, network, and supranational actors exercise greater influence in decision making processes. The outcome of this synergy is an ongoing decentralization process where migration governance authority is being delegated at sub-national levels; (2) The localization of the EU’s African migration governance norms in Niger – that explains the significance of non-state actors – emanates from several conditions. Localization emanates from actors’ compliance to the EU’s border management goals, from the imperative to address human trafficking and smuggling and a resistance to the systematic criminalization of smugglers, and from the framing of all African migrations as clandestine migration to Europe, and from migration as an impediment to development; (3) Though African informal migrants decisions to leave are based on socio-economic factors, the choice of using unofficial pathways is influenced by their experiences with local enforcement actors. When in transit, these contribute to their decisions to persist on the journey.
These findings suggest that non-state actors are shaping migration governance in Niger through the roles they play in decision-making, and that the localization process enabling this development is being deepened at the sub-national levels. Despite these transitions, high-level migration governance processes remain disconnected from lower levels realities where migrants face human rights violations due to problems related to enforcement