The University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Faculty Research Social inequality & justice

Badgett Witnesses Signing of LGBT Employment Executive Order

CPPA Director M.V. Lee Badgett (economics) was at the White House today as President Barack Obama signed an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers. In the fact sheet released to accompany the signing, the White House cited some of Badgett’s research on why workplace equality is good for business.

The White House press release noted a 2013 analysis conducted by Badgett and three of her colleagues at the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy that examined 36 research studies exploring how sexual orientation and gender identity workplace policies affect companies’ bottom lines. In short, the analysis concludes, “LGBT-supportive policies and workplace climates are linked to greater job commitment, improved workplace relationships, increased job satisfaction, and improved health outcomes among LGBT employees.”

In a lively East Room signing ceremony, Obama stepped back from the tragic world events of the last few days to celebrate gains that the LGBT community has realized over the last several years. He acknowledged the activists and advocates fighting for equal rights for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation. Thanks to all of their hard work, Obama said, “Our government will become just a little bit fairer.”

The executive order Obama signed prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant because of sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, the order bars discrimination against federal employees based on gender identity. President Bill Clinton added sexual orientation to the list of classes protected for federal employees in 1998.

Badgett is an internationally recognized authority on LGBT economic issues. In the last several months, she has presented her research on the economic impact of sexual-identity discrimination at the World Bank and at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. She was also an expert witness during California’s 2010 Proposition 8 trial, which eventually overturned the voter-backed law banning same-sex marriage in the state. Badgett’s most recent book, When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage, addresses the core issues in marriage debates in European countries and the U.S.

“This executive order brings the LGBT community one step closer to equality,” Badgett said. “This is a great day, and I was honored to be able to witness this piece of history.”

(Photo courtesy of Lee Badgett.)

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Faculty Research

Harper Presents Research at Agro-Food Conference in France

Associate Professor Krista Harper (anthropology and public policy) presented her latest research at an international conference last month in Marseille, France, titled “Value and Values in Agro-Food Processes.”

Harper and her co-researcher, Ana Isabel Afonso, from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, spoke about urban gardening mobilizations and policies in Lisbon, Portugal.

The conference was co-organized by the Centre Norbert Elias at Marseille’s École des hautes études en sciences sociales and by anthropologists from the University of Barcelona who are international partners in the Culture and Heritage in European Societies and Spaces project, funded with an international research and training grant from the National Science Foundation.

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Faculty Research

New World Economic Forum Report Features Section Written by Fountain

Distinguished Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy) wrote part of a World Economic Forum report released earlier this month examining ways that governments can use technology to build trust and deliver more efficient public services.

The report, titled Future of Government Smart Toolbox, provides an analysis of how technology can and is affecting both the demands placed on government to deliver more with less and government’s ability to meet expectations.

This document focuses on eight key areas for improving government performance:

  • anti-corruption;
  • political representation;
  • bureaucracy;
  • delivery of services;
  • trust;
  • leadership;
  • security; and
  • innovation.

Fountain wrote the section on political representation, which is one of the core issues for technology and governance globally.

Fountain has been a member of the Future of Government Global Agenda Council, the body that produced this new toolbox, since its inception seven years ago. She is past-chair of the Council and led the writing of its first major report, The Future of Government: Lessons Learned from around the World, which led to the initial sessions at Davos for government and nongovernmental leaders on this topic.

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Faculty Research

Schweik Among UMass Innovators Celebrating National Day of Making

The University of Massachusetts Amherst joined with 152 other colleges and universities across the country this week to support efforts to promote the kind of innovation and ingenuity for which Associate Professor Charles Schweik (environmental conservation and public policy) has come to be known.

Together, the June 18 national Day of Making and White House Maker Faire were intended to highlight the creative work of small-scale inventors and manufacturers across the country and acknowledge the important contributions they make to our society.

This spring Schweik has been instrumental in launching Amherst’s newest makerspace, a community workshop open to the public that has high-tech tools like a 3-D printer. UMass faculty Steven Brewer, director of the Computer Resource Center, and Paula Rees, the College of Engineering’s director of diversity programs, have also played important roles in establishing this town-gown collaboration, which is based at Amherst Media.

A $15,000 Public Service Endowment Grant from the university has made Makers @ Amherst Media possible. By working with the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, the makerspace’s first project will be to create and implement a new environmental science afterschool program this fall. The program will focus on developing open-source do-it-yourself electronics hardware that middle school youth can use in science classes and projects.

According to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, public access to technologies such as 3-D printers, laser cutters, open-source, low-cost microcontrollers, easy-to-use design software, and desktop machine tools, is democratizing the act of making and enabling citizens to build just about anything.

Earlier this month, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy sent a letter to President Obama thanking him for recognizing the contributions of makers around the country. In addition to highlighting the new Amherst Media effort, Subbaswamy noted other examples of “making” at the university, including the College of Engineering’s M5Makerspace and the Altra Industrial Motion Innovation Shop.

In April, the M5Makerspace hosted HackUMass, a 24-hour hackathon, during which almost 100 undergraduates from across the Northeast created devices such as automated parking meter payment systems and portable health monitoring systems. In the Innovation Shop, engineering and nursing students have built a body-powered mechanical arm for a Northampton boy with limited mobility. The prosthetic allows the bow to perform independent tasks such as adjusting his glasses, wiping his mouth with a napkin and feeding himself.

“The spirit of this movement comes from a combination of technology and community that is truly reflected on our campus,” Subbaswamy wrote to Obama. “We at UMass Amherst are excited about our ongoing contributions to the Maker Movement, which are based on our strong tradition of engaged scholarship.”

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Faculty Honors & Awards Faculty Research

Fountain Delivers Keynote at Asian E-Governance Seminar

Distinguished Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy) gave a keynote address yesterday at the International Seminar on E-Government and Modern Governance in Asia. The seminar, hosted by the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration, brought together researchers and practitioners of e-governance from around the globe. The two-day session based in Beijing aimed to accelerate the smart and intentional development of e-government throughout Asian countries.

Fountain is a world-renowned expert on using technology to improve government services and accountability: She founded the National Center for Digital Government and has served as chair and vice chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government.

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Faculty Honors & Awards Faculty Research

Brandt Named 2014-2015 Family Research Scholar

Associate Professor Sylvia Brandt (resource economics and public policy) has been named one of seven 2014-2015 Family Research Scholars at the Center for Research on Families (CRF).

Each scholar receives time, technical expertise, mentorship and consultation with national experts as he or she prepares a significant research grant proposal. The program aims to bring together a diverse group of faculty from throughout the UMass community to foster innovation and collaboration across research areas related to the family.

One aspect of Brandt’s research focuses on how asthma affects a child’s quality of life. As a CRF scholar, she will be preparing a proposal titled “New Methods to Assess the Burden of Childhood Asthma in Massachusetts.” Brandt plans to work with a group of leading epidemiologists and policymakers in Massachusetts to develop a risk assessment of the burden of asthma onset due to pollution exposure.

In 2012, Brandt co-authored a paper titled “Costs of Childhood Asthma Due to Traffic-Related Pollution in Two California Communities” that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences named one of the top research papers of the year. The paper not only examined direct health care costs related to childhood asthma, as many previous analyses have done, but also calculated the indirect costs of caring for a child with asthma.

CRF’s mission is to increase research on family issues; build a multidisciplinary community of researchers who are studying issues of relevance to families; connect national and internationally prominent family researchers with UMass faculty and students; provide advanced data analytic methods training and consultation; and disseminate family research findings to scholars, families, practitioners and policymakers. The other 2014-2015 scholars are David Arnold (psychology); Gerald Downes (biology); Marsha Kline Pruett (Smith College School for Social Work); Tatishe Nteta (political science); Katherine Reeves (epidemiology); and Lisa Sanders (psychology).

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Events Faculty Research Uncategorized

Pader Speaker at Regional Forum on “Casino Urbanization”

pader_100wAssociate Professor Ellen Pader (regional planning and public policy) was a featured speaker at a recent day-long forum about the impacts of casinos on neighborhoods and immigrant households in Connecticut. Hosted by the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Conn., on March 29, 2014, the forum was held in conjunction with an exhibit titled “Sub Urbanisms,” which explores the role of immigrant Chinese casino workers in southeastern Connecticut and their different cultural understandings of housing and community.

Pader spoke about research that she and her students conducted on housing and zoning regulations in Connecticut that discriminate against immigrant casino workers by imposing values that ignore different cultural traditions. She noted the extra burdens these restrictions place on Chinese casino workers, often requiring that they travel long distances to work or prohibiting them from efficient and affordable housing choices.

Pader, an anthropologist by training, is an expert on the cultural, social and political facets of housing policy and design, with particular focus on subtle forms of housing discrimination.

The exhibit at Lyman Allyn  runs through May 12. Additional information about visiting the Lyman Allyn Art Museum is available here. An article about the forum appeared in The Day, New London’s daily newspaper.

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Faculty Honors & Awards Faculty Research Governance Science, technology & society

Fountain Appointed UMass Distinguished Professor

University of Massachusetts President Robert L. Caret has appointed Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy) a distinguished professor.

Fountain is a world-renowned expert on using technology to improve government services and accountability: She founded the National Center for Digital Government and has served as chair and vice chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government. Fountain is also highly regarded in the United States for her research on innovative and effective governance structures.

“We are honored to have Jane as a faculty member at the Center for Public Policy and Administration,” said Kathryn McDermott, CPPA’s acting director. “Jane is a world-class researcher, but also makes a point to convey that research to people in the trenches. She is committed to using her findings to ensure that governments around the world make information more openly accessible to their citizens.”

Long before Fountain had a leadership position at the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Future of Government, she was considered a global expert on the subject. Her 2001 book, Building the Virtual State: Information Technology and Institutional Change, was translated into Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. She has worked with governments and research institutions at the World Bank, United Nations and European Commission, as well as in Japan, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chile, Estonia, Hungary, Slovenia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

More recently, Fountain’s expertise has been employed closer to home. In 2012 Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appointed her to his Council for Innovation, which advises the governor on opportunities to use technology to streamline delivery of services to people, businesses and local governments. Fountain is also an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, an independent body that helps government leaders build more effective, efficient, accountable and transparent public sector organizations.

At UMass, Fountain directs the National Center for Digital Government and heads the Science, Technology and Society Initiative, both of which are based at CPPA. The National Center was created with support from the National Science Foundation to develop research and infrastructure for the emerging field of information technology and governance. The Science, Technology and Society Initiative conducts multidisciplinary research on the intersection of science and technology with today’s social, political and economic issues.

Before coming to UMass in 2006, Fountain was a faculty member at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She earned her Ph.D. in political science and organizational behavior from Yale University; a master of education in administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University; and a bachelor’s degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music.

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Faculty Research Governance

Fountain Publishes New Report on Cross-Agency Collaboration

Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy) has released a report through the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), a public-private partnership whose goal is to make government work more efficiently.

The report, titled “Examining Constraints To, and Providing Tools For, Cross-Agency Collaboration,” is publicly available on the ACUS website for public comment, and, in December, ACUS members will vote on a set of recommendations to federal government entities based on Fountain’s study.

“Cross-agency collaboration is widely viewed as a powerful means for government reform and performance improvement,” said Fountain. “Greater coordination across agencies offers the potential for the federal government to address complex policy challenges that lie inherently across agency boundaries and jurisdictions. …[Such collaboration promises] a means to increase efficiency, effectiveness and accountability by reducing overlap, redundancy and fragmentation.”

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010 seeks to expand the federal government’s use of cross-agency collaboration to solve complex policy problems such as food safety, sustainable communities, veteran homelessness and energy efficiency and to make government more efficient and effective.

GPRA Modernization introduces new tools to foster collaboration, according to Fountain, but little attention has been given to a series of institutional challenges to cross-agency coordination. Fountain’s report “examines the use of tools by federal agency political appointees and career decision makers to overcome and work within these institutional challenges,” she said. “The recommendations encourage wider use of such tools to advance cross-agency collaboration in federal agencies.”

Fountain, who also directs the National Center for Digital Government, is currently working with graduate and undergraduate research assistants at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to develop the report into a book.

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Events Faculty Research

McDermott Talk to Focus on the Politics of Educational Diversity

On Nov. 4, CPPA Acting Director and Associate Professor Kathryn McDermott (education and public policy) will discuss her recent work in a talk titled “The New Politics of Educational Diversity.”

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1 greatly limited local school districts’ ability to consider individual students’ race in assigning them to schools. This ruling completed the evolution of the Supreme Court’s role from forcing race-conscious integration policy to constraining local efforts to achieve racially and ethnically diverse school enrollments. Two years later, the U.S. Department of Education awarded Technical Assistance for Student Assignment Plans (TASAP) grants to 11 local school districts so that they could pay for technical assistance in maintaining diversity despite the 2007 court ruling. TASAP’s local political and policy effects provide insight into the range of ways that local leaders and community activists understand educational diversity’s meaning and importance.

McDermott conducts research on the formation and implementation of state-level education policy and the effects of policy on educational equity. She is the author of Controlling Public Education: Localism Versus Equity, which critiques the current American system of local control of public schools. Her recent book, High Stakes Reform: The Politics of Educational Accountability, places growing demands for educational accountability within the general context of performance measurement policy and examines the policy interventions of states in local school districts.

This lecture is part of CPPA’s fall 2013 Faculty Colloquium series, which consists of informal talks, often about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.