Repeat Maltreatment in Alaska: Assessment and Exploration of Alternative Measures

Most deaths and serious injuries among children who are abused or neglected are preceded by multiple reported instances of maltreatment. The Office of Children Services (OCS), Alaska’s child protection agency, is very concerned about repeat maltreatment. It’s extremely damaging to children and demoralizing to everyone who tries to help prevent it. Over the last several years, Alaska has consistently had among the highest rates in the country of repeat child maltreatment, as reported by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Those federal figures measure the percentage of children who were the victims of at least two substantiated reports—that is, confirmed reports—of maltreatment within six months. In 2009, nearly 10% of children who were the subjects of investigation by OCS were reported as suffering repeat maltreatment, compared with less than 6% nationwide. By 2013, the share in Alaska was at nearly 13%, compared with a national rate of less than 5.5% (Figure S-1). But even those grim federal statistics don’t provide a complete picture of repeat child maltreatment in Alaska. Many analysts believe that not all cases where maltreatment may have occurred are substantiated, and that maltreatment of a child may be reported a number of times, over a longer period, before it is substantiated. Also, for various reasons, many reports of maltreatment are not investigated at all, in Alaska and other states, and only a small share of those that are investigated are substantiated. For example, in Alaska in 2013, 42% of reports in an average month were not investigated, and only 12% of reports were substantiatedExecutive Summary / Introduction / Definition of repeat maltreatment: some challenges / Data / Findings / Varying the indicator / Varying time periods / Demographics of repeatedly maltreated children / Discussion / Limitations and suggestions for future research / Conclusion / Reference

Trends in Age, Gender, and Ethnicity Among Children in Foster Care in Alaska

In Alaska, as in every other state, people who suspect children are being abused or neglected can contact the designated child protection agency. In Alaska, that agency is the Office of Children Services (OCS). It is responsible for investigating all reported incidents and determining the level of risk to the health, safety, and welfare of children. In a number of instances, children will be removed from their families and homes due to unsafe conditions, and they are often placed in foster care. 1 Being taken away from their families is of course traumatizing for children. The number of American children in foster care at any time, and the length of time they spend in foster care, has been closely watched over the last several decades. Several changes in policy and practice were introduced in the last 20 years, at national and state levels, to reduce both the number of children in foster care and the length of time they stay in foster care. These changes caused some dramatic trends at the national level: the number of children in foster care in the U.S. declined by almost a quarter (23.7%) between 2002 and 2012, with the decline being most pronounced among AfricanAmerican children (47.1%). As of 2012, African-American children made up 26% of all children in foster care nationwide, down from 37% a decade earlier. But during the same period, the proportion of children in foster care classified as belonging to two or more races almost doubled. And American Indian/Alaska Native children are the highest represented ethnic group among foster children—13 of every 1,000 American Indian/Alaska Native children in the U.S. were in foster care in 2012. In contrast, no such dramatic changes happened in Alaska in recent years. This paper reports on foster children in Alaska by age, gender, race, and region over the period 2006-2013. This information is important for state policymakers working to better protect abused and neglected children. At the end of the paper we discuss questions the data raise and describe additional data needed to better help children in foster care in Alaska. We compiled data for this analysis from monthly reports of key indicators on foster children in the state. OCS publishes monthly data on select indicators (Alaska State Statutes 2011, Monthly reports concerning children, AK. Stat. § 47.05.100), in PDF format on its website (http://dhss.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/statistics/default.aspx). Data presented here are snapshots in time and do not follow unique children over time.Introduction / Summary of findings / How many children are in foster care, and where are they from? / How old are the children in foster care? / Boys or girls: Who is more likely to be in foster care? / Are Alaska Native children over-represented among children in foster care? / Discussion / Limitations / Note on population of OCS regions / Acknowledgement

Perceptions of Universal Ballet Delivery Systems

A total of 412 registered voters in the Bethel, Dillingham, and Kusilvak Census Areas completed surveys with ISER interviewers in March and April of 2018. The majority (74%) of respondents reported their race as Alaska Native and 13% were White. Near the beginning of the survey, interviewers asked respondents how they preferred to receive their ballot and 60% said they preferred to get it in person on Election Day, 21% would prefer to receive it by mail, and 17% would prefer to receive their ballot online. After respondents heard a description of three voting methods being considered: 1) keep voting the way it is now; 2) mail out and mail back; and 3) receive ballot in the mail and have different ways to return it their preferences changed somewhat. Of the three methods, keep voting the way it is now was the first choice by 49% of respondents, followed by 36% for option 3, and 14% for option 2. Respondents had little experience with voting methods other than in-person. When asked what made it difficult for them and other members of their community to vote, personal reasons, such as being sick or out of town, was the most frequent (37%) response. About two-thirds (64%) reported personal reasons made it difficult for people in their community to vote followed by 46% saying that the ballot being written in English made it difficult for people in their community. Over half (56%) of respondents reported they are satisfied with their mail service, only 17% of those who were satisfied said they would prefer to receive or return their ballot by mail.Objectives of the Study / Summary / Background / Survey Findings / Methods/ Notes for Users of this Report / Conclusions / References / Appendix A: Voter turnout in Anchorage Municipality General Elections, 2008 - 2018 / Appendix B. Precincts and Communities within Census Areas / Appendix C. Preliminary Findings Report (May 7, 2018) / Appendix D. Survey Announcement Letter / Appendix E. Survey Reminder Postcard / Appendix F. Consent Form / Appendix G. Survey Questionnair

Pour une histoire transnationale des expositions d’art ancien : Les Primitifs exposés à Bruges, Sienne, Paris et Düsseldorf (1902-1904)

À l’exception de quelques manifestations isolées à la fin du 19e siècle, l’exposition d’art ancien s’affirme au 20e comme l’une des expressions privilégiées de l’histoire de l’art. À la fois produit final d’un travail de conceptualisation et dispositif de visualisation d’un récit historique, l’exposition permet de « matérialiser » une hypothèse historiographique. Elle promeut une certaine interprétation de phénomènes ou d’époques donnés et va parfois jusqu’à constituer de nouveaux objets d’étude qui s’imposent à la communauté scientifique : c’est notamment le cas de grandes expositions de Primitifs qui ont lieu, presque simultanément, à Bruges, Sienne, Paris et Düsseldorf entre 1902 et 1904. Ces manifestations relèvent d’une internationalisation des biens culturels qui s’est produite en étroite imbrication avec la nationalisation des sociétés européennes. On se penche ici sur les différentes figures impliquées, sur leurs réseaux intellectuels et professionnels, nationaux et internationaux.Apart from a few isolated examples in the late 19th century, it was in the early decades of the 20th century that the Old Masters gained prominence in art history. Exhibitions, conceptualization processes and visualisation devices helped produce an historical hypothesis. Interpretations of certain phenomena or periods were proposed, sometimes producing nwe areas of study pertinent to the scientific community. This is the case of the great exhibitions of primitive painters that took place almost simultaneously in Bruges, Sienna, Paris and Düsseldorf between 1902 and 1904. These exhibitions arose within an internationalization of culture that occured along with the nationalization of European societies. This essay looks at the figures behind these efforts, examining their intellectual and professional interconnections, both on a national and international scale

The conceptual model FRBR : recent debates and a look into user tasks

Este trabalho apresenta sucintamente o modelo Requisitos Funcionais para Registros Bibliográficos (FRBR), para então apontar seus desdobramentos, isto é, os modelos que derivaram do original, alguns padrões que foram afetados após a sua publicação, trazendo algumas discussões atuais sobre estas questões. Em seguida, detalham-se as tarefas do usuário do modelo FRBR e outras idéias encontradas na literatura, bem como as tarefas do modelo Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD). Concluindo, são apresentados comentários finais sobre o modelo FRBR e as tarefas do usuário. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis paper briefly presents the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records - FRBR model. Then it describes their developments, that is, the models that resulted of the original one, some of the standards that were affected after its publication, bringing some actual discussions about these questions. Following, the user‟s tasks of FRBR model and another ideas found in literature are detailed, as well as tasks of FRAD modelŔ Functional Requirements for Authority Data. Concluding, final commentaries about the FRBR model and the user‟s task are presented

The Environmental Contribution to Wayfinding in Museums: Enhancement and Usage by Controlling Flows and Paths

The field of research in which wayfinding is situated refers to the way people move in reaction to environmental stimulation. It therefore fully concerns not just signage but also space designing, its geometric configuration, technical solutions and their material characterization. The focus is consequently on environmental factors that facilitate wayfinding in a museum (accessibility, visibility, etc.) and on other elements such as spatial configuration, architectural features and functional aspects. These factors influence relational phenomena and therefore visitors’ satisfaction. Methods and tools for designing and managing spaces have been studied in the research. The configurational analysis method of space has been used to objectify syntactic features of space. In particular, the outcomes of an experimental project, which have been analyzed in a master’s thesis on the re-functionalization of the museum of Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, are presented. Permeability, proximity, connections of spaces, namely meaningful features to ensure wayfinding have been examined. Space parameters resulting from the geometry of the layout, from the visual connections and from the changes of direction were then evaluated. The outcomes have been used as inputs for designing a unitary tour route circuit, that also reconnects the museum’s second floor, and for planning three independent alternative routes for a differentiated use of the museum

Analsysis of ASTER GDEM elevation models

Digital elevation models (DEM) are of fundamental importance for remote sensing. With a DEM the three-dimensional positioning, requiring a stereo model can be reduced to a two-dimensional solution just based on a single image. With the free of charge availability of the SRTM-height models, covering the land area from 56 degrees southern up to 60.25 degrees northern latitude a nearly world wide coverage is given. But especially in mountainous regions and dry sand deserts the original SRTM DEMs have gaps in the original SRTM data. Now with the also free of charge available ASTER GDEM the area from 83 degrees southern up to 83 degrees northern latitude is covered. For areas where both height models exist, it is the question which height model should be preferred. Outside the USA the SRTM height data have a spacing of 3 arcsec (nearly 90m), while the ASTER GDEM has a spacing of just 1 arcsec (nearly 30m). The decision for the selection of the DEM is based on accuracy, homogeneity, reliability, completeness and morphologic details. In test areas with precise reference height models, located in the USA, Germany, France, Poland, Turkey and Jordan and with different morphology as mountainous, rolling, flat and urban and also with different land classes, the ASTER GDEM has been analyzed and compared with SRTM DEM as well as with SPOT 5 HRS and Cartosat 1 height models. ASTER GDEM in most cases shows improved accuracy with a higher number of number of stacks (number of images used for overlapping height models). But the accuracy improvement with more stacks is smaller as it should be for random data. The number of used stacks per DEM-point varies strongly depending upon the area. Especially in areas with low cloud coverage and higher imaging priority a high number of stacks have been used opposite to areas often covered by clouds and having lower imaging priority, where the dominating number of DEM-points may be located only in 2 stacks. Based on own matching results with ASTER images quite more morphologic details have been expected in ASTER GDEM having 1 arcsec point spacing as in SRTM height models with 3 arcsec spacing, but the analyzed data show only slightly more morphologic details as the SRTM 3" height model. SRTM as well as ASTER height models are strongly depending upon the morphology and the land coverage, so not a homogenous accuracy can be expected. In addition, as all height models, the accuracy depends usually linear upon the tangent of terrain slope, so the standard deviation of height (SZ) should be given in the form SZ = a + b*tan(terrain slope). Not only the standard deviation is important, the height models have different systematic errors (bias). The bias in X, Y and Z is larger for ASTER GDEM as for SRTM DEMs. Horizontal shifts have been determined by adjustment of the ASTER GDEMs against the reference height model. In general the SRTM height models are slightly more accurate as the ASTER GDEM

Una noria gótica en el claustro de la Catedral de Toledo

Tras la observación y análisis de una estrecha cámara, situada bajo la panda sur del claustro, y su relación con el resto de construcciones, proponemos que la noria de la que se habla en el siglo XV estaba instalada en esta original estructura rectangular que se comunica con el antiguo aljibe de la mezquita mayor toledana. La importancia de esta máquina para sacar agua se refleja en los numerosos asientos, conservados en los Libros de Obra y Fábrica, que citan sus reparaciones en uno de los momentos de mayor actividad constructiva en la Catedral, el primer tercio del siglo XV. Durante esos años se trabajaba en la elevación de la Torre Mayor, de la Torre del Reloj y del claustro. El estudio de las construcciones conservadas en el claustro junto a la documentación medieval del Archivo Capitular pone de manifiesto una compleja red de recuperación, almacenaje y aprovechamiento del agua en el gran edificio catedralicio. Un complejo y eficaz sistema en el que destaca la pervivencia de antiguas estructuras de la mezquita y su adaptación al nuevo edificio gótico.After observing and analyzing the narrow chamber, located under the south side of the cloister, and its relationship to other buildings, we propose that the waterwheel of which is spoken in the fifteenth century is the one raised in this original rectangular structure that communicates with the old cistern of the major mosque of Toledo. The importance of this machine to obtain water is reflected in the numerous entries, preserved in the “Books of Work and Factoring”, mentioning its repairs in one of the major constructive times in the Cathedral, the first third of the fifteenth century. During those years they worked in the raising of the Tower of the Bell, the Tower of the Clock and the Cloister. The research of the preserved buildings in the cloister together with the medieval documents of the Chapter Archive reveals the complex system of recovery, storage and use of water in the great cathedral building. It’s a complex and an effective system for utilizing water, stressing the survival of the old structures of the mosque and its adaptation to the new Gothic building

El conjunto urbano de Tritium Autrigonum

Sin resume