Faculty Academic Activities
2008
2007
Vincent Faherty authored a new book entitled Compassionate statistics: Applied quantitative analysis for social services published by Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Expected publication date: July 2007.
Susan Fineran's study on sexual harassment and teens at work is cited in the June 2007 issue of Good Housekeeping. The name of the article is "Is your daughter safe at work" by E.J. Graff. The whole article may be found on Good Housekeeping web site.
Paul Johnson co-authored a new book entitled Empowering Children through Art and Expression: Culturally Sensitive Ways of Healing Trauma and Grief, which examines the successful use of arts and expressive therapies with children, and in particular those whose lives have been disrupted by forced relocation with their families to a different culture or community. The book explores how children express and resolve unspoken feelings about traumatic experiences in play and other creative activities, based on their observations of peer support groups, outreach programs and through individuals' own accounts. This book combines personal and professional perspectives, using case examples as well as the authors' own childhood experiences, to demonstrate practical strategies for use with children, from drama and storytelling to sculpting with clay. It also equips the reader with knowledge of the theory behind these intervention techniques. Paul has also co-authored two articles recently published: "Changing Perceptions Creating New Identities in the Work Place", Groupwork, 2007 and "The Teacher's Task, Empowering the Student", Journal/Reflections Narratives of Professional Helping, 2007. Both articles are presently in production. For the past eight years he has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, and in the fall of 2006 he was appointed to the Board of AASWG. Paul has been working in collaboration with Portland Public Schools and in March 2007 this organization was awarded a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant for Mental Health Services for $300,00. Portland was one of 15 communities selected from among 300 applicants nationwide to participate in "Caring Across Communities: Addressing Mental Health Needs of Diverse Children and Youth."
Hermeet Kohli has three peer reviewed paper presentations for the 2006-2007 year. Hermeet was a co-presenter of "Using Online Case-Studies to Prepare Undergraduate Social Work Students for Cultural Diversity" at the Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, California on October 26-28, 2006. She will be making two presentations at the International Conference on Social Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii on May 30-June 2, 2007. One presentation is entitled "Challenges in Working with Runaway Children and Strategies for Action: Indian Experience". The other presentation is entitled "Children Services Division of Butte County, CA: Overview, Client Demographics, and Service Delivery".
Otrude Moyo has authored a new book entitled Trampled No More: Voices from Bulawayo's Townships about Families, Life, Survival and Social Change in Zimbabwe(University Press of America) due for release March 2007.
2006
On October 27, 2006, Ray Belicose co-authored a BPD paper presentation entitled "A Three-Way Partnership connecting Classroom Learning with Real Community Collaboration." This paper presented a conceptual model of an enhanced partnership between students, educators, and community advisors at USM's School of Social Work. Student understanding of collaboration and advocacy is enhanced not only by grounding education in community experience, but also by witnessing educators practicing what they teach in the classroom. Ray also co-authored an article entitled, "An Agenda for the Future: Student Portfolios in Social Work Education", published in Social Work Education, Vol. 25 No. 8, December 2006 issue. This article introduced the idea of electronic portfolios to be used with social work majors both in the graduate and undergraduate curriculums.
Vincent Faherty authored an article entitled "Social welfare before the Elizabethan Poor Laws: The early Christian Tradition, AD 33-313" which was published in the Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 33 (2), 107-122. He also authored "Preparing the knowledge worker in the service sector: Quantitative and qualitative challenges." It was published in the International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, 5 (6), 59-67.
Research by Susan Fineran was cited on an E-Zine AlterNet story posted October 24, 2006, entitled "Workplace Harassment Now a Teen Rite of Passage". The article was written by Debra Katz and Justine F. Andronici of Ms. Magazine who referenced Susan's studies on sexual harassment issues among female working students. Her findings showed a high percentage of sexual harassment incidents among working high school students.
Tara Healy presented and will present several papers at national conferences during 2006. She began in January by conducting a workshop about translational research with three colleagues from across the country at the Society for Social Work and Research in San Antonio, TX. In March, she presented with her colleagues from the Partnership for Healthy Aging in Portland, Maine at the 6th Joint conference of the National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging concerning their work on A Matter of Balance/ A Volunteer Lay Leader Model in Anaheim, CA. At this conference all four partners working on A Matter of Balance/ A Volunteer Lay Leader Model were awarded the 2006 Healthcare and Aging Award from the Healthcare and Aging Network of the American Society on Aging for their innovative work on health promotion for older adults. Dr. Healy along with her colleagues also received the 2006 Aging Innovations Award from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Dr. Healy was chosen by the Office of Elder Services to serve as the researcher on the Maine State Team that is addressing falls prevention that received funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and the Administration on Aging to participate in a learning network with other state teams developing health promotion initiatives in their states. Dr. Healy also was selected by the Department of Health and Human Services to serve on the Maine Coalition for Falls Prevention. As a coalition member, Dr. Healy contributed to a report on Falls Prevention for the state legislature. In the summer of 2006, Dr. Healy's funding from the National Institute on Aging for advanced training in research extended into 2006.
In the fall of this year, Paul Johnson was elected to the board of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups.
David Wagner has an encyclopedia entry on "Homelessness" forthcoming in the Encyclopedia of Urban Affairs (Sage Publishers). He is also completing his latest book entitled Ordinary People: Poverty in the Gilded Age with Paradigm Press. Professor Wagner also sits on the boards of two organizations: We Who Care, a welfare rights group, and Maine Resource Development Corporation, an agency serving the developmentally disabled.
2005
In 2005, Tara Healy gave three national and two regional presentations concerning her research on the translation of the evidence-based fall prevention program, A Matter of Balance into a volunteer lay leader model that is funded by the Administration on Aging. These presentations focused on effective collaboration and the importance of treatment fidelity in translational research. In addition, she facilitated a workshop on bringing evidence-based practice into communities at the annual meeting of the National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging. Dr. Healy received funding from the National Institute on Aging to receive advanced training in research. The Office of Elder Services chose Dr. Healy to serve on a statewide team addressing health promotion for older adults. As part of this team, she received support from the Agency on Healthcare Research and Quality to attend a workshop for state teams working on bringing evidence-based health promotion for older adults to their states.
David Wagner's book, The Poorhouse: America's Forgotten Institution, has been reviewed by the major journals in history, sociology, and social work. With the aid of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant in 2005, he is also working on a new book entitled Ordinary People. The book is about life in the latter nineteenth century in New England based on a sample of 85,000 "inmates" of the Tewksbury, Massachusetts State almshouse, among the largest institutions in the United States at that time.
2004
Undergraduate social work student Heather Dilios presented "The Importance of Field Work" at USM's Thinking Matters: Student Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Symposium held April 22-23, 2004. Co-authors of the project were Molly Boulanger, Deanna Cowing, Candace Gray, Paul Kalb, Jodi McMath, Tracee Moeller, Jessica Nichols, Theresa Plummer, Rebecca Redmond, Charissa Robert, Daniel Vachon, and Ellen Vollor.
Jeanette Andonian will return in the fall of this year. She is currently working on writing projects about research and evaluation practices that support consumer involvement in the area of children's mental health.
Vincent Faherty continues his research on social welfare history in early Christian societies before the Elizabethan Poor Laws. His novel, Shepherd in the Mist, featuring a social worker and social welfare, is presently under review by a literary agency. Vincent continues to serve on the Community Investment Committee of the Greater Portland United Way.
Susan Fineran received awards from the Faculty Senate Research Committee and the Proposal Development Research Assistance Fund to develop two federal grants that examine the mental health implications of peer sexual harassment for students in schools, and the mental and physical health effects of workplace sexual harassment on adolescents who work part-time.
Tara Healy received a grant from the Administration on Aging to evaluate the dissemination of a program that promotes elders' self-efficacy. Two students have received funding to work on this project with her.
Paul Johnson continues to work with the Center for Grieving Children. He recently had a book proposal accepted by Jessica Kingsley publishers to co-author a book entitled: In Their Own Voices. Understanding Ourselves Understanding the World, Children From a Multicultural Bereavement Program Speak Out.
Ana Lazar has worked with the Killing Fields Survivors Society to produce an oral history, "No One Dared to Turn Back" and has been working collaboratively with the Department of Nursing on their Health Outreach Program in the Dominican Republic. She has also developed and taught three new elective courses.
Otrude Moyo was awarded a Visiting Fellowship at the University of Leiden, Netherlands Summer 2003 and is currently working with African immigrants and refugees in Southern Maine about their work and livelihoods experiences.
Connie Ostis has planned the April child welfare conference, testified before a State senate committee on offender sentencing, and co-authored a model response to institutional child sexual abuse. Connie is receiving an award from Simmons College School of Social Work for her book, What's Happening in Our Family?: Understanding Sexual Abuse Through Metaphors.
Barbara Rich has become nationally recognized for her work in service learning and continues to expand the service learning program in the School of Social Work. In addition to consulting with other colleges and universities and training faculty in service-learning pedagogy, she is a frequent national presenter.
Elizabeth Traver will present a paper on culturally competent participatory action research in Quebec in May at an international social work conference. She has also begun providing technical assistance to two foster care/adoption evaluation research projects through the Muskie School.
David Wagner has completed a new book, The Poorhouse: America's Forgotten Institution, which will be published in the next year. In May, David is delivering a keynote address at a conference on social justice at St. Ambrose College in Iowa and presenting research on the poorhouse at the Policy Studies Conference in St. Louis.
2003
David Wagner signed a contract with the Rowman-Littlefield Company for a book titled The Poorhouse: America's Forgotten Institution that will trace the history of five New England areas, including Portland and Lewiston, Maine, and explore how institutions for the poor have transformed over the centuries.
Barbara Rich was awarded one of the Maine Campus Compact Donald Harward Awards for Service-Learning Excellence.
In November, 2003, the USM School of Social Work's MSW program was granted initial accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education.
David Wagner is doing research on New England poor farms in five places, including Portland and Lewiston, related heavily to aged, mentally ill, and disabled populations, as well as poverty.
Ana Lazar is working on an oral history project with Cambodian survivors.
Jeanette Andonian is working on survey evaluation with the Regional Children's Cabinet and BDS on the "Hospital to School Initiative".
Barbara Rich has had an article entitled "The Circle of Helping" accepted in Reflections. She also has received a grant from the Maine Community Foundation to fund the Photovoice project that matches social work students with refugee children at Portland Housing Authority to produce photographs and narratives on "Who am I?" and "What do I value?".
Otrude Moyo has been actively involved in the community, working with Families Across Cultures, participating in interagency meetings supporting efforts and conversations that build cultural competency within human service agencies involved with families and children, and Voices of Women of African Descent, facilitating her ethnographic research project which seeks to understand work and livelihood strategies of African immigrants and refugees in southern Maine. She is also working on a book chapter on child labor issues in Zimbabwe and southern Africa, and is developing a book prospectus.
2002
A memorial service was held on August 26, 2002 for Joe Kreisler, Professor Emeritus and founder of the Preble Street Resource Center in Portland. View the printed program.
Paul Johnson co-authored an article, "Child As Healer: Giving Voice to Unspeakable Loss", that appeared in Migration World (February 2002). Another article, "In Their Own Voices: Report of a Study on the Long-Term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse" appeared in the Journal of Sexual Aggression (Vol. 7, No. 2). "Reclaiming Fatherhood" appeared online at Fathermag.com. He co-authored and presented "Giving Voice to Unspeakable Loss" and "Single System Design/Group Work Research" at the Association for the Advancement of Social Work With Groups 23rd symposium held in Cleveland, Ohio, in October 2001. He also co-authored and presented "Giving Voice to Unspeakable Loss" at the 5th National Symposium on Children's Grief Support at the University of New England in June, 2001.
Lacey Sloan was a moderator at the Second Annual Center for Disease Control National Sexual Violence Prevention Conference for a plenary session panel on sex trafficking. Dr. Sloan has also served on the conference planning advisory board. Also, through her work with the Muskie School for Public Service, she presented a workshop entitled "VAWA: Measuring Effectiveness" at the 4th annual Mending the Sacred Hoop conference in May, 2002, in San Diego.
Elizabeth Traver and Cathryne Schmitz are working on a textbook with Desi Larson regarding international child labor.
David Wagner has signed a book contract with the Council of Social Work Education to cowrite a new edition of Social Work Professionalization and Activism: Comparing the 1960s, 1980s, and the 21st Century.
Lacey Sloan presented a 2-day workshop, "Assessment and Intervention with Victims of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence" at Hallym University in South Korea, July 15 - 16, 2002.
On Wednesday, November 21, 2002, MSW students participated in a project to raise awareness for Portland's homeless population, collecting blankets and signatures to be presented to the governor. View an image of the news clipping.
Lacey Sloan was elected to the NASW Maine Chapter board of directors. She will represent Portland and Southern Maine.
Safer Society Foundation of Vermont has published, What's Happening In Our Family: Understanding Sexual Abuse Through Metaphors, a book by Constance Ostis written for families who have experienced sexual abuse.
David Wagner will be a featured speaker at the conference of Canadian social workers in Alberta in March 2002, as well as also speaking on his book What's Love Got To Do With It?: A Critical Look at American Charity at the Florence Heller School at Brandeis University. He has also had recent book reviews in Connections: The Journal of New England Philanthropy, The Canadian Journal of Urban Research, The Journal of Progressive Human Services, and The Social Service Review.
2001
POWER (Portland Organization to Win Economic Rights) is a new grass-roots organization open to all, but run by low-income people. POWER advocates for and seeks to educate the public around the right to safe, adequate housing for all people; universal health care; adequate income benefits to ensure a secure life; and jobs at liveable wages. These rights are all guaranteed in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights!
