Unit of instruction.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

The Origins of the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the United Kingdom and its Fate in an Era of Governmental Concern about Undocumented Migration and International Terrorism. ESRI WP418. December 2011

In the late 1990s I chose the Common Travel Area (CTA) as the topic of a research paper I did as a Visiting Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. This was in the wake of opt‐outs by the Irish and British governments from the incorporation of the Schengen Agreement on the free movement of persons into the Treaty of Amsterdam. My intention was to explore the conditions under which an Irish government might see its interests as lying with EU freedom of movement rather than in the continuation of the CTA with the United Kingdom (UK). I was also interested in the associated political and socio‐economic rights that made the CTA more of a mini‐EU than simply an area of free movement – primarily, voting rights and rights of residence, employment, and access to social benefits and services. But, as this paper concludes, it is important also to remember that the CTA is an agreement about immigration into both states as well as free movement between them

Is “freedom of information” a viable research tool? Step one: composing a request

Freedom of information (FOI) laws allow private citizens to request data from public authorities. It also requires these agencies to publish certain information in the public interest on a regular basis. To understand the underlying data that contributes to these public reports, one has to file a request. People also make requests for information that they suspect is not published

Is freedom of information a viable research tool? Step two: receiving a response to a request

This article is the second part in a series reporting on Freedom of Information procedures in the United Kingdom. In the first part, Elizabeth Meehan described how to compose an FOI request in the context of her research on judicial misconduct. Here she reports on the initial response to her request to the Judicial Appointment and Conduct Ombudsman

Is freedom of information a viable research tool? Step three: responses and conclusions.

Is freedom of information a viable research tool? Step three: Responses and Conclusions In the next piece by Elizabeth Meehan- part 3 of her series on Freedom of Information requests in the United Kingdom- a breakthrough is made, but not after some initial disappointments that inform her conclusion on the efficacy of the FOI system

Investigating attributions of academic success and failure in adolescents

Adolescents attribute their school success to ability and effort to varying degrees. This study investigated how attributions vary with school achievement. Achievement was defined by the proxy of English class placement: Fundamental, Intermediate, Accelerated, Honors/AP. One hundred and fourteen 10th grade students from a New England high school responded to a survey instrument that used 5-point Likert scale items. Students rated their agreement with statements attributing success or failure to either the level of their ability or effort. These questions addressed academic success in English class, reading, and writing as well as in more general term. There were no significant differences in how the groups attributed success or failure to level of effort, nor did they differ in attributing success to ability. Significant differences were observed in student attributions of failure to insufficient ability. Students in the two lowest groups attributed failure to insufficient ability more strongly (Fundamental, M=10.73, Intermediate, M=10.22) than those in the highest two groups (Accelerated, M=8.75, Honors/AP, M=8.24). Implications for practice are discussed

How students can develop skills to cope with academic stress

The University of Cumbria's Sarah Meehan (Mental Health Caseworker) and Liz Mallabon (Principal Lecturer in Outdoor Studies) explain how students can develop skills to cope with academic stress

Development of an open space resource in Boston's South End

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2007.Page 143 blank.Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-142).Now a permanently protected type of open space, the community gardens in Boston's South End began in the early 1970's as an effort to utilize vacant land in what was a predominantly low-income neighborhood. Since then, the South End has experienced steady gentrification and is now one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Boston. Despite these changes, the South End, due in part to its substantial supply of subsidized housing, has retained residents with a mix of income levels and is a neighborhood that is still known for its diversity. Much of the previous literature on the role and value of community gardens has focused primarily on low-income communities, and there has been little research on community gardens in gentrifying or similarly changing neighborhoods. The South End, therefore, is an ideal arena in which to investigate the past development and present-day role of community gardens in a changing neighborhood. This thesis examines the role of the South End's community gardens both as places in and of themselves and as part of the larger urban landscape and community.(cont.) By taking the perspective of the community in the garden and the garden in the community, the study explores both the dynamics of the smaller communities within the gardens and their role as a unique type of open space in the larger neighborhood and community that surrounds them. Through in-depth interviews as well as archival and observational methods, it traces the historical development of a community garden movement in the South End and also examines the specific present-day dynamics of two case study gardens. The research finds that these community gardens reflect the qualities and dynamics of the surrounding neighborhood, both in terms of its positive diversity as well as its conflicts and tensions. Furthermore, community gardens are places where these qualities are uniquely engaged through the interaction of people of different backgrounds by means of their common interest in gardening. Finally, the community gardens hold unique value for non-gardeners both as open space and as gardens, and provide lessons for the potential benefits of developing and maintaining new community gardens elsewhere.by Angela Elizabeth Meehan.M.C.P