The Cost of Housing Instability: The Effect on a Child's Literacy Skills

The present study assesses the consequences of housing instability on childhood literacy skills. Housing instability encompasses a variety of housing related issues, such as crowding, frequent moves, housing status, and an inability to pay rent. Housing instability has been associated with childhood outcomes and can negatively affect a child's education and health. Using data from wave 5 of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being study, this study examines the relationship between housing instability and literacy skills in 9-year-old participants. This study has three dependent variables that capture literacy skills: (1) standard scoring on the Peabody Vocabulary Test, (2) primary teacher assessment of spelling, and (3) primary teacher assessment of reading. The independent variable of this study is housing status operationalized as free, rental, or owned housing. Pearson's Chi Squared tests, T-tests, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Post-hoc Tukey's Honest Significant Difference test, and an OLS Regression model were conducted to assess the relationship between housing instability and childhood literacy skills. The findings of this study show that there is a significant relationship between housing instability and literacy skills. Children residing in rental housing reported significantly lower reading, spelling, and vocabulary skills. Children of homeowners displayed overall higher literacy skills compared to children of renters and children residing in free housing.No embargoAcademic Major: Social Wor

Is Deal or No Deal Cheating Its Contestants?

As fans of fair contests, we are lead to believe that game shows proceed with mathematical consistency. However, a slight anomaly in this basic assumption can be found while watching the game play of Deal or No Deal. During certain situations it seems like the show is cheating its contestants. Could any mathematician let this question go without further analysis? Of course not! So began an investigation into our hypothesis. Using simple statistical notions like expected value and linear regression, we show how to isolate this mathematical irregularity and provide some evidence of its existence. What does this mean? Is foul play afoot? Read on to find out

Securing the Dissemination of Emergency Response Data with an Integrated Hardware-Software Architecture

During many crises, access to sensitive emergency-support information is required to save lives and property. For example, for effective evacuations first responders need the names and addresses of non-ambulatory residents. Yet, currently, access to such information may not be possible because government policy makers and third-party data providers lack confidence that today�s IT systems will protect their data. Our approach to the management of emergency information provides first responders with temporary, transient access to sensitive information, and ensures that the information is revoked after the emergency. The following contributions are presented: a systematic analysis of the basic forms of trusted communication supported by the architecture; a comprehensive method for secure, distributed emergency state management; a method to allow a user space application to securely display data; a multifaceted system analysis of the confinement of emergency information and the secure and complete revocation of access to that information at the closure of an emergency.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

A Cloud-Oriented Cross-Domain Security Architecture

The Monterey Security Architecture addresses the need to share high-value data across multiple domains of different classification levels while enforcing information flow policies. The architecture allows users with different security authorizations to securely collaborate and exchange information using commodity computers and familiar commercial client software that generally lack the prerequisite assurance and functional security protections. MYSEA seeks to meet two compelling requirements, often assumed to be at odds: enforcing critical, mandatory security policies, and allowing access and collaboration in a familiar work environment. Recent additions to the MYSEA design expand the architecture to support a cloud of cross-domain services, hosted within a federation of multilevel secure (MLS) MYSEA servers. The MYSEA cloud supports single-sign on, service replication, and network-layer quality of security service. This new cross domain, distributed architecture follows the consumption and delivery model for cloud services, while maintaining the federated control model necessary to support and protect cross domain collaboration within the enterprise. The resulting architecture shows the feasibility of high-assurance, cross-domain services hosted within a community cloud suitable for interagency, or joint, collaboration. This paper summarizes the MYSEA architecture and discusses MYSEA's approach to provide an MLS-constrained cloud computing environment.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

(SNP113) Ella Shiflett interviewed by Bob and Pat Momich

Records an interview with Ella Shiflett, (née Breeden), who lived near Pocosin Hollow, in Greene County, Virginia, within the future boundaries of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, raising livestock, holidays, funerals, chestnut harvests, bark peeling, and other local economic activities. Mrs. Shiflett also guides the interviewers on a walking tour of the area surrounding Pocosin Cabin, which is located near the Shiflett homestead, where she identifies and describes many of the structures that once existed there.https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/snp/1094/thumbnail.jp

(SNP112) Carl and Gertrude Shifflett interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Mara Meisel and Victoria M. Edwards

Records an interview with Carl Shifflett and his wife, Gertrude, (née Shifflett), who discuss their memories of the people who lived within the future boundaries of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, herbal remedies, courtship, and funeral rituals, as well as holiday celebrations.https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/snp/1092/thumbnail.jp

(SNP110) E.P. and Maude Shifflet interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

Records an interview with E.P. Shifflet and his wife, Maude, (née Morris), who lived in Bacon Hollow, within the future boundaries of Shenandoah National Park. Describes daily life in the mountains, touching on the work of growing and preserving food, herbal remedies, courtship, and funeral rituals, as well as holiday celebrations. The Shifflets also recall several individuals who were killed in Bacon Hollow, usually as a result of feuds between rival moonshiners. An addendum to the interview transcript, provided by Dorothy Smith, documents several homicides and trials of Bacon Hollow residents from the early part of the century.https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/snp/1091/thumbnail.jp

Records of Fleas (Siphonaptera) from Delaware [Sampling, Distribution, Dispersal]

We present an annotated checklist of fleas (Siphonaptera) known to occur in the state of Delaware based on an examination of Siphonaptera collections at the University of Delaware and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, as well as new specimens of fleas we collected from wildlife, other hosts, and tick flags. We review published records and compile them herein with our new records, which include 3 species previously unreported from Delaware. With these additions, there are now 18 flea species from 19 avian and mammalian hosts documented from Delaware