Preserving Project-Based Section 8 within Tight Rental Markets in New England

In New England alone, 57, 508 privately owned, affordable housing units, otherwise known as project-based Section 8, are at risk of converting to market rate housing by 2017. Even though community-based organizations and active residents, in conjunction with local governments, are utilizing federal and state preservation tools, these units are still at risk due to market pressures and administrative burdens. With proper policy intervention, expired Section 8 contracts, and future expiring contracts, may sustain a reasonable level of affordability. This study assesses the on-going affordability of recently expired Section 8 units within New England. With a broader definition of affordability, scarce resources can be targeted to the diminishing project-based Section 8 stock and those who need it most - low and extremely low-income individuals and families

PUBH 4230 A - Maternal and Child Health

This course will review the historical and contemporary maternal and child health trends and issues. The application of health behavior and education theories to understanding the health status of women and their children will be central to the course. Emphasis is on promotion and education efforts designed to improve the health, well­being, and quality of life for women and children globally

Using Script-Fading Procedures to Teach Children with Autism to Initiate During Free Play

Children with autism often display deficits in social interaction, communication, and play. Unlike typical peers during free play with a variety of games and toys, they often do not initiate to others or engage in interactive game play for sustained periods of time. Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of script-fading procedures in increasing initiations and conversational repertoires for children with autism. However, these procedures were examined in arranged environments using an activity schedule or in structured settings. In addition, the role of the conversation partner has not been studied. The use of activity schedules has also been effective in increasing independence and decreasing adult prompts. In particular, the use of a joint activity schedule increased independent game play between preschoolers with autism. Therefore, the current study investigated (a) the use of script-fading procedures and the use of manual guidance to teach four preschool children to initiate game play during free play without the aide of an activity schedule. Second, the study examined the effects of scripts and script-fading procedures on (b) the frequency of interactions, (c) the conversation partner\u27s interactions on participants\u27 interactions, (d) generalization across stimuli and people, (e) maintenance, and (f) independent free play. Results demonstrated participants\u27 play initiations, engagement, number of games played, and frequency of interactions increased, skills generalized across games and peers, and maintained. Furthermore, the number of prompts decreased, indicating script- fading procedures with manual guidance alone may be effective in increasing independent free play and initiations

Reagan Attends Howard Reception

(Excerpts from the President\u27s remarks at a $1000 per head fundraiser for the university\u27s New Direction Fund on May 20, 198

Combustion of hydrogen in a two-dimensional duct with step fuel injectors

An investigation of the combustion of hydrogen perpendicularly injected from step fuel injectors into a Mach 2.72, 2100 K vitiated test gas was conducted. The model simulated the flow between the center and side struts of an integrated scramjet module at Mach 7 flight and an altitude of 29 km. Parametric variation included equivalence ratio, fuel dynamic pressure ratio, and area distribution of the model. The overall area ratio of the model was held constant at 2.87. The data analysis indicated that no measurable improvement in mixing or combustion efficiency was obtained by varying the fuel dynamic pressure ratio from 0.79 to 2.45. Computations indicated approximately 80 percent of the fuel was mixed so that it could react; however, only approximately 50 percent of the mixed fuel actually reacted in two test configurations, and 74 percent in later tests where less area expansion of the flow occurred

Experimental investigation of a swept-strut fuel-injector concept for scramjet application

Results are presented of an experiment to investigate the behavior at Mach 4 flight conditions of the swept-strut fuel-injector concept employed in the Langley integrated modular scramjet engine design. Autoignition of the hydrogen fuel was not achieved at stagnation temperatures corresponding to a flight Mach number of 4; however, once ignition was achieved, stable combustion was maintained. Pressure disturbances upstream of the injector location, which were caused by fuel injection and combustion, were generally not observed; this indicates the absence of serious adverse combustor-inlet interactions. Mixing performance and reaction performance determined from probe surveys and wall pressure data indicate that high combustion efficiency should be obtained with the combustor length provided in the scramjet engine design. No adverse interaction between the perpendicular and parallel fuel-injection modes was observed

Assessing the impact of a waiting time survey on reducing waiting times in urban primary care clinics in Cape Town, South Africa

A waiting time survey (WTS) conducted in several clinics in Cape Town, South Africa provided recommendations on how to shorten waiting times (WT). A follow-up study was conducted to assess whether WT had reduced. Using a stratified sample of 22 clinics, a before and after study design assessed changes in WT. The WT was measured and perceptions of clinic managers were elicited, about the previous survey’s recommendations. The overall median WT decreased by 21 minutes (95%CI: 11.77- 30.23), a 28% decrease from the previous WTS. Although no specific factor was associated with decreases in WT, implementation of recommendations to reduce WT was 2.67 times (95%CI: 1.33-5.40) more likely amongst those who received written recommendations and 2.3 times (95%CI: 1.28- 4.19) more likely amongst managers with 5 or more years’ experience. The decrease in WT found demonstrates the utility of a WTS in busy urban clinics in developing country contexts. Experienced facility managers who timeously receive customised reports of their clinic’s performance are more likely to implement changes that positively impact on reducing WT

Quality of cause of death certification at an academic hospital in Cape Town, South Africa

Objectives. To investigate the quality of cause of deathcertification and assess the level of under-reporting of HIV/AIDS as a cause of death at an academic hospital.Design. Cross-sectional descriptive retrospective review ofdeath notification forms (DNFs) of deaths due to naturalcauses in an academic hospital in Cape Town during 2004.Errors in cause of death certification and ability to code causesof death according to the 10th revision of the InternationalStatistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems(ICD-10) were assessed. The association between seriouserrors and age, gender, cause of death and hospital ward wasanalysed. A sample of DNFs (N=243) was assessed for level ofunder-reporting of HIV/AIDS.Results. A total of 983 death certificates were evaluated.Almost every DNF had a minor error; serious errors werefound in 32.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) 29.3 - 35.1%).Errors increased with patient age, and cause of death wasthe most important factor associated with serious errors.Compared with neoplasms, which had the lowest error rate,the odds ratios for errors in endocrine and metabolic diseasesand genito-urinary diseases were 17.2 (95% CI 8.7 - 34.0) and17.3 (95% CI 7.8 - 38.2), respectively. Based on the sub-sample,the minimum prevalence of HIV among the deceased patientswas 15.7% (95% CI 11.1 - 20.3%) and the under-reporting ofdeaths due to AIDS was 53.1% (95% CI 35.8 - 70.4%).Conclusion. Errors were sufficiently serious to affectidentification of underlying cause of death in almost a thirdof the DNFs, confirming the need to improve the quality ofmedical certification