Identifying the security risks associated with governmental use of cloud computing

Cloud computing, which refers to an emerging computing model where machines in large data centers can be used to deliver services in a scalable manner, has become popular for corporations in need of inexpensive, large scale computing. Recently, the United States government has begun to utilize cloud computing architectures, platforms, and applications to deliver services and meet the needs of their constituents. Surrounding the use of cloud computing are many risks that can have major impacts on the information and services supported by this technology. This paper discusses the current use of cloud computing in government, and the risks–tangible and intangible–associated with its use. Examining specific cases of government cloud computing, this paper explores the level of understanding of the risks by the departments and agencies that implement this technology. This paper argues that a defined risk management program focused on cloud computing is an essential part of the government IT environment.     

Syntactic complexity as a predictor of adolescent writing quality: Which measures? Which genre?

This study examined the relationship of different measures of syntactic complexity with rated quality for two genres of text produced by middle school students. It was hypothesized that different measures would be associated with distinct aspects of syntactic complexity; words per clause with greater use of structures more typical of expository texts, and clauses per T-unit with structures more typical of conversational or narrative registers. A sample of 41 seventh and eighth grade students from suburban middle schools composed a narrative and persuasive essays. Texts were rated for quality and coded for syntactic features including words per clause and clauses per T-unit. Syntactic complexity as measured in words per clause was positively correlated with quality for essays but not for narratives. Clauses per T-unit was positively correlated with quality for narratives, but negatively correlated with quality for essays. The relationships between syntactic complexity and text quality were thus found to be dependent both on the genre of the text, and the measure of syntactic complexity used.     

Logical Empiricism, Politics, and Professionalism

This paper considers George A. Reisch’s account of the role of Cold War political forces in shaping the apolitical stance that came to dominate philosophy of science in the late 1940s and 1950s. It argues that at least as early as the 1930s, Logical Empiricists such as Rudolf Carnap already held that philosophy of science could not properly have political aims, and further suggests that political forces alone cannot explain this view’s rise to dominance during the Cold War, since political forces cannot explain why a philosophy of science with liberal democratic, anti-communist aims did not flourish. The paper then argues that if professionalization is understood in the right way, it might point toward an explanation of the apolitical stance of Cold War philosophy of science.

The utility and challenges of using ICD codes in child maltreatment research: A review of existing literature

ObjectiveThe objectives of this article are to explore the extent to which the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) has been used in child abuse research, to describe how the ICD system has been applied, and to assess factors affecting the reliability of ICD coded data in child abuse research.MethodsPubMed, CINAHL, PsychInfo and Google Scholar were searched for peer reviewed articles written since 1989 that used ICD as the classification system to identify cases and research child abuse using health databases. Snowballing strategies were also employed by searching the bibliographies of retrieved references to identify relevant associated articles. The papers identified through the search were independently screened by two authors for inclusion, resulting in 47 studies selected for the review. Due to heterogeneity of studies meta-analysis was not performed.ResultsThis paper highlights both utility and limitations of ICD coded data. ICD codes have been widely used to conduct research into child maltreatment in health data systems. The codes appear to be used primarily to determine child maltreatment patterns within identified diagnoses or to identify child maltreatment cases for research.ConclusionsA significant impediment to the use of ICD codes in child maltreatment research is the under ascertainment of child maltreatment by using coded data alone. This is most clearly identified and, to some degree, quantified, in research where data linkage is used.Practice implicationsThe importance of improved child maltreatment identification will assist in identifying risk factors and creating programs that can prevent and treat child maltreatment and assist in meeting reporting obligations under the CRC.     

Preschool and Children's Outcomes in Elementary School: Have Patterns Changed Nationwide Between 1998 and 2010?

This study employs data from both kindergarten cohorts of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (n ~ 12,450 in 1998; n ~ 11,000 in 2010) to assess whether associations between preschool participation and children's academic and behavioral outcomes—both at school entry (M_age = 5.6 years in both cohorts) and through third grade—have changed over time. Findings are strikingly similar across these two, nationally representative, U.S. cohorts: preschool is positively associated with academic outcomes and negatively associated with behavioral outcomes both at school entry and as children progress through school. Heterogeneity is documented with respect to child and preschool characteristics. However, there is no evidence that associations between preschool and medium-term child outcomes differ by elementary school characteristics.     

We Don't Say “H” Here

This article is focused on building interdependence among diverse learners through four specific engagements in the art room: Friend/Family Involvement, Team-Building, Leadership Habits, and Service Learning. These strategies have been beneficial to the author in creating a sustainable model for high-quality visual arts instruction.