An Argument for Interdisciplinary Programs in Cybersecurity

In this commentary Dr. Giever presents a compelling argument for interdisciplinary programs in cybersecurity at the university level. He argues that we no longer have the luxury of allowing barriers to exist between those tasked with IT security and those who provide physical security. He recommends that any security program take an “all possible paths” or “balanced approach” to the protection of assets within an organization. Students in computer science, criminal justice, business, human resources, and others should work collaboratively within education programs learning these necessary skills. A team effort is needed to accomplish the myriad of tasks necessary to protect assets today. Graduates from such programs will possess the skills and abilities to work collaboratively on a comprehensive security design for their organization

The influence of citizen interaction with the police on crime-reporting behavior: its manifestations among university students

"Citizen's crime-reporting is generally low, with a number of factors affecting its prevalence and incidence. Research suggests that there is an interrelationship between the type of contacts citizens have with the police (e.g., citizen-initiated or police-initiated), attitudes toward the police, police behavior, and crime-reporting behavior. To determine whether citizen interactions with the police infl uence crime-reporting behavior and attitudes toward the police, this study tested four research hypotheses. The fi ndings of this study suggest that predictors such as citizen-initiated contacts, police-initiated contacts, frequency of those contacts, and exposure to media about police misconduct cannot be used as a group but rather individually to predict all three different levels of crimereporting behavior (i.e., reporting of less serious crimes, reporting of medium-level crimes, and reporting of serious crimes)." (author's abstract

Practitioner Perceptions of Juvenile Transfer in Pennsylvania

Consistent with virtually all other states in the nation, in the mid-1990s legislation was enacted in Pennsylvania to address increasing concerns about serious and violent juvenile offending. This legislation included provisions for facilitating the transfer of violent juvenile offenders to adult criminal court. The current study examines contemporary practitioner perceptions of juvenile transfer to adult court, with regard to the number of juveniles transferred, the effectiveness of this practice, and the appropriate minimum age for transfer to occur. Utilizing statewide survey data, comparisons are made between juvenile court judges, probation officers, prosecutors, and public defenders, and other predictors are assessed. The findings indicate modest overall support for transferring juveniles to adult court, with various significant differences across practitioner groups. Policy implications are discussed

UTJECAJ KONTAKTA IZMEĐU POLICIJE I GRAĐANA NA PRIJAVLJIVANJE KRIMINALNOG PONAŠANJA: POJAVNOST/ MANIFESTACIJA KOD STUDENATA

Citizen’s crime-reporting is generally low, with a number of factors affecting its prevalence and incidence. Research suggests that there is an interrelationship between the type of contacts citizens have with the police (e.g., citizen-initiated or police-initiated), attitudes toward the police, police behavior, and crime-reporting behavior. To determine whether citizen interactions with the police infl uence crime-reporting behavior and attitudes toward the police, this study tested four research hypotheses. The fi ndings of this study suggest that predictors such as citizen-initiated contacts, police-initiated contacts, frequency of those contacts, and exposure to media about police misconduct cannot be used as a group but rather individually to predict all three different levels of crimereporting behavior (i.e., reporting of less serious crimes, reporting of medium-level crimes, and reporting of serious crimes).Prijavljivanje kriminalnog ponašanja kod građana je relativno nisko, a mnogi čimbenici utječu na prevalenciju i incidenciju. Istraživanja ukazuju da postoji povezanost između vrste kontakta između građana i policije (iniciran od strane građana, iniciran od strane policije), stavova prema policiji, ponašanja policajaca i prijavljivanja kriminalnog ponašanja. S ciljem utvrđivanja utječe li interakcija građana s policijom na prijavljivanje kriminalnih oblika ponašanja i na stavove prema policiji, ovo istraživanje testira četiri postavljene hipoteze. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju da prediktore (poput kontakata iniciranih od strane građana ili od strane policije, učestalosti tih kontakata, izloženosti utjecaju medija o lošem postupanju policije), treba sagledavati individualno u odnosu na razinu prijavljivanja kriminalnog ponašanja (primjerice, prijavljivanje lakših, srednje ozbiljnih i teških kaznenih djela)

Actual and Estimated Energy Savings Comparison for Deep Energy Retrofits in the Pacific Northwest

Seven homes from the Pacific Northwest were selected to evaluate the differences between estimated and actual energy savings achieved from deep energy retrofits. The energy savings resulting from these retrofits were estimated, using energy modeling software, to save at least 30% on a whole-house basis. The modeled pre-retrofit energy use was trued against monthly utility bills. After the retrofits were completed, each of the homes was extensively monitored, with the exception of one home which was monitored pre-retrofit. This work is being conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Program as part of the Building America Program. This work found many discrepancies between actual and estimated energy savings and identified the potential causes for the discrepancies. The differences between actual energy use and modeled energy use also suggest improvements to improve model accuracy. The difference between monthly whole-house actual and estimated energy savings ranged from 75% more energy saved than predicted by the model to 16% less energy saved for all the monitored homes. Similarly, the annual energy savings difference was between 36% and -14%, which was estimated based on existing monitored savings because an entire year of data is not available. Thus, on average, for all six monitored homes the actual energy use is consistently less than estimates, indicating home owners are saving more energy than estimated. The average estimated savings for the eight month monitoring period is 43%, compared to an estimated savings average of 31%. Though this average difference is only 12%, the range of inaccuracies found for specific end-uses is far greater and are the values used to directly estimate energy savings from specific retrofits. Specifically, the monthly post-retrofit energy use differences for specific end-uses (i.e., heating, cooling, hot water, appliances, etc.) ranged from 131% under-predicted to 77% over-predicted by the model with respect to monitored energy use. Many of the discrepancies were associated with occupant behavior which influences energy use, dramatically in some cases, actual versus modeled weather differences, modeling input limitations, and complex homes that are difficult to model. The discrepancy between actual and estimated energy use indicates a need for better modeling tools and assumptions. Despite the best efforts of researchers, the estimated energy savings are too inaccurate to determine reliable paybacks for retrofit projects. While the monitored data allows researchers to understand why these differences exist, it is not cost effective to monitor each home with the level of detail presented here. Therefore an appropriate balance between modeling and monitoring must be determined for more widespread application in retrofit programs and the home performance industry. Recommendations to address these deficiencies include: (1) improved tuning process for pre-retrofit energy use, which currently utilized broad-based monthly utility bills; (2) developing simple occupant-based energy models that better address the many different occupant types and their impact on energy use; (3) incorporating actual weather inputs to increase accuracy of the tuning process, which uses utility bills from specific time period; and (4) developing simple, cost-effective monitoring solutions for improved model tuning

Actual and Estimated Energy Savings Comparison for Deep Energy Retrofits in the Pacific Northwest

Seven homes from the Pacific Northwest were selected to evaluate the differences between estimated and actual energy savings achieved from deep energy retrofits. The energy savings resulting from these retrofits were estimated, using energy modeling software, to save at least 30% on a whole-house basis. The modeled pre-retrofit energy use was trued against monthly utility bills. After the retrofits were completed, each of the homes was extensively monitored, with the exception of one home which was monitored pre-retrofit. This work is being conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Program as part of the Building America Program. This work found many discrepancies between actual and estimated energy savings and identified the potential causes for the discrepancies. The differences between actual energy use and modeled energy use also suggest improvements to improve model accuracy. The difference between monthly whole-house actual and estimated energy savings ranged from 75% more energy saved than predicted by the model to 16% less energy saved for all the monitored homes. Similarly, the annual energy savings difference was between 36% and -14%, which was estimated based on existing monitored savings because an entire year of data is not available. Thus, on average, for all six monitored homes the actual energy use is consistently less than estimates, indicating home owners are saving more energy than estimated. The average estimated savings for the eight month monitoring period is 43%, compared to an estimated savings average of 31%. Though this average difference is only 12%, the range of inaccuracies found for specific end-uses is far greater and are the values used to directly estimate energy savings from specific retrofits. Specifically, the monthly post-retrofit energy use differences for specific end-uses (i.e., heating, cooling, hot water, appliances, etc.) ranged from 131% under-predicted to 77% over-predicted by the model with respect to monitored energy use. Many of the discrepancies were associated with occupant behavior which influences energy use, dramatically in some cases, actual versus modeled weather differences, modeling input limitations, and complex homes that are difficult to model. The discrepancy between actual and estimated energy use indicates a need for better modeling tools and assumptions. Despite the best efforts of researchers, the estimated energy savings are too inaccurate to determine reliable paybacks for retrofit projects. While the monitored data allows researchers to understand why these differences exist, it is not cost effective to monitor each home with the level of detail presented here. Therefore an appropriate balance between modeling and monitoring must be determined for more widespread application in retrofit programs and the home performance industry. Recommendations to address these deficiencies include: (1) improved tuning process for pre-retrofit energy use, which currently utilized broad-based monthly utility bills; (2) developing simple occupant-based energy models that better address the many different occupant types and their impact on energy use; (3) incorporating actual weather inputs to increase accuracy of the tuning process, which uses utility bills from specific time period; and (4) developing simple, cost-effective monitoring solutions for improved model tuning

The Relationship Between Parenting and Delinquency: A Meta-analysis

This meta-analysis of 161 published and unpublished manuscripts was conducted to determine whether the association between parenting and delinquency exists and what the magnitude of this linkage is. The strongest links were found for parental monitoring, psychological control, and negative aspects of support such as rejection and hostility, accounting for up to 11% of the variance in delinquency. Several effect sizes were moderated by parent and child gender, child age, informant on parenting, and delinquency type, indicating that some parenting behaviors are more important for particular contexts or subsamples. Although both dimensions of warmth and support seem to be important, surprisingly very few studies focused on parenting styles. Furthermore, fewer than 20% of the studies focused on parenting behavior of fathers, despite the fact that the effect of poor support by fathers was larger than poor maternal support, particularly for sons. Implications for theory and parenting are discussed

On the equivalence of two continuous homology theories

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mathematics, 1948.Vita.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 44).by John Bertram Giever.Ph.D