Computerizing Social-Emotional Assessment for School Readiness: First Steps toward an Assessment Battery for Early Childhood Settings

The transition into formal schooling is a crucial foundation that can set children on a cycle of success or failure in both academic and social domains. A child’s abilities to express healthy emotions, understand emotions of self and others, regulate emotion, attention, and behavior, make good decisions regarding social problems, and engage in a range of prosocial behaviors, all work together to promote a successful school experience. However, many children have deficits in these skills by school entry, and educators lack the requisite tools to identify, track and assess skills these children need to learn. Thus, because social-emotional learning (SEL) is so crucial, assessment tools to pinpoint children’s skills and progress are vitally necessary. Previous work by the authors and other researchers has led to the development of strong assessment tools; however, these tools are often developed solely for research use, not practitioner application. In the following, using our assessment battery as an example, we will discuss the steps necessary to adapt SEL assessment for computer-based administration and optimal utility in early childhood education programs.

Development and evaluation of a video-based modeling strategy for the dissemination phase of a school health tobacco -use prevention program

Even the best school health education programs will be unsuccessful if they are not disseminated effectively in a manner that encourages classroom adoption and implementation. This study involved two components: (1) the development of a videotape intervention to be used in the dissemination phase of a 4-year, NCI-funded diffusion study and (2) the evaluation of that videotape intervention strategy in comparison with a print (information transfer) strategy. Conceptualization has been guided by Social Learning Theory, Diffusion Theory, and communication theory. Additionally, the PRECEDE Framework has been used. Seventh and 8th grade classroom teachers from Spring Branch Independent School District in west Houston participated in the evaluation of the videotape and print interventions using a 57-item preadoption survey instrument developed by the UT Center for Health Promotion Research and Development. Two-way ANOVA was used to study individual score differences for five outcome variables: Total Scale Score (comprised of 57 predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing items), Adoption Characteristics Subscale, Attitude Toward Innovation Subscale, Receptivity Toward Innovation, and Reinforcement Subscale. The aim of the study is to compare the effect upon score differences of video and print interventions alone and in combination. Seventy-three 7th and 8th grade classroom teachers completed the study providing baseline and post-intervention measures on factors related to the adoption and implementation of tobacco-use prevention programs. Two-way ANOVA, in relation to the study questions, found significant scoring differences for those exposed to the videotape intervention alone for both the Attitude Toward Innovation Subscale and the Receptivity to Adopt Subscale. No significant results were found to suggest that print alone influences favorable scoring differences between baseline and post-intervention testing. One interaction effect was found suggesting video and print combined are more effective for influencing favorable scoring differences for the Reinforcement for the Adoption Subscale.^ This research is unique in that it represents a newly emerging field in health promotion communications research with implications for Social Learning Theory, Diffusion Theory, and communication science that are applicable to the development of improved school health interventions. ^

Planificación familiar: un componente esencial de la atención post-aborto

Son muchas las mujeres que no reciben servicios de planificación familiar inmediatamente des­ pués de un aborto, a pesar de que ya están en riesgo de embarazarse en las dos o tres semanas siguientes. Es por ello que todas las mujeres deben recibir servicios de consejería y planificación familiar después de un aborto — espontáneo o inducido — sin importar el procedimiento o método de evacuación con el que se puso fin al embarazo.

Global cooling during the Eocene Oligocene Transition

About 34 million years ago, Earth's climate shifted from a relatively ice-free world to one with glacial conditions on Antarctica characterized by substantial ice sheets. How Earth's temperature changed during this climate transition remains poorly understood, and evidence for Northern Hemisphere polar ice is controversial. Here, we report proxy records of sea surface temperatures from multiple ocean localities and show that the high-latitude temperature decrease was substantial and heterogeneous. High-latitude (45 degrees to 70 degrees in both hemispheres) temperatures before the climate transition were ~20°C and cooled an average of ~5°C. Our results, combined with ocean and ice-sheet model simulations and benthic oxygen isotope records, indicate that Northern Hemisphere glaciation was not required to accommodate the magnitude of continental ice growth during this time.

The attention/support to students in the socio-labor transition

In the present paper I intend to put forward some inquiries regarding the socio-labor guidance and transition of the young people in the co-ordinates of contemporary society. The outstanding paradox in which some young people are immersed when trying to get a first, second, third employment is also analyzed: "The job of looking for a job". This is a common experience shared by many young people when they try to find a place in the complex labor panorama. Looking for a job is a recurrent situation in contemporary society, given the high dose of precarious employment in which the productive world moves. Life-long jobs belong to the past and what is normal is that people strive to enter the competitive labor market repeatedly. Moreover, the paper offers the partial results of a larger research project that approaches tutorship, decision taking and expectations before the academic-labor future of the studentship in the last years of secondary school. Finally, I suggest some insights in the line that it is not longer feasible to work with old-fashioned guidance, trying to channel people's vocation and offering them information so that they get a job that provides them with the happiness of "doing what you like". Behind these ideas lay the normal biographies, the predictable itineraries. Labor market complexity makes the transition to working life very difficult. Once immersed in it, biographies and labor itineraries are constructed and reconstructed at the rhythm of the changing fortunes of times.

Tributo en la Argentina post-dictadura : Los "muertos por la subversión"

El artículo analiza el lugar de Tributo, órgano de FAMUS (Familiares y Amigos de Muertos por la Subversión), en los años '80, en la reivindicación de la actuación militar en la última dictadura y de la represión en general antes de 1976. El argumento central es que la búsqueda de legitimidad en el espacio público se estructura a partir de formas particulares de matar y morir que permiten, a su vez, establecer una oposición radical entre los muertos propios y los del campo opuesto. Se muestra también la adecuación plástica de Tributo a la cambiante coyuntura de los años de la transición democrática y se rescatan las formas en que se iban construyendo las estrategias de los defensores de la represión, sus intentos en un momento dado de postergar para el futuro la justicia que en el presente no reciben y, vistos desde hoy, las líneas de continuidad con formas actuales de reivindicación, que ya en las páginas de Tributo aparecen claramente esbozadas

The attention/support to students in the socio-labor transition

In the present paper I intend to put forward some inquiries regarding the socio-labor guidance and transition of the young people in the co-ordinates of contemporary society. The outstanding paradox in which some young people are immersed when trying to get a first, second, third employment is also analyzed: "The job of looking for a job". This is a common experience shared by many young people when they try to find a place in the complex labor panorama. Looking for a job is a recurrent situation in contemporary society, given the high dose of precarious employment in which the productive world moves. Life-long jobs belong to the past and what is normal is that people strive to enter the competitive labor market repeatedly. Moreover, the paper offers the partial results of a larger research project that approaches tutorship, decision taking and expectations before the academic-labor future of the studentship in the last years of secondary school. Finally, I suggest some insights in the line that it is not longer feasible to work with old-fashioned guidance, trying to channel people's vocation and offering them information so that they get a job that provides them with the happiness of "doing what you like". Behind these ideas lay the normal biographies, the predictable itineraries. Labor market complexity makes the transition to working life very difficult. Once immersed in it, biographies and labor itineraries are constructed and reconstructed at the rhythm of the changing fortunes of times.

Tributo en la Argentina post-dictadura : Los "muertos por la subversión"

El artículo analiza el lugar de Tributo, órgano de FAMUS (Familiares y Amigos de Muertos por la Subversión), en los años '80, en la reivindicación de la actuación militar en la última dictadura y de la represión en general antes de 1976. El argumento central es que la búsqueda de legitimidad en el espacio público se estructura a partir de formas particulares de matar y morir que permiten, a su vez, establecer una oposición radical entre los muertos propios y los del campo opuesto. Se muestra también la adecuación plástica de Tributo a la cambiante coyuntura de los años de la transición democrática y se rescatan las formas en que se iban construyendo las estrategias de los defensores de la represión, sus intentos en un momento dado de postergar para el futuro la justicia que en el presente no reciben y, vistos desde hoy, las líneas de continuidad con formas actuales de reivindicación, que ya en las páginas de Tributo aparecen claramente esbozadas

The attention/support to students in the socio-labor transition

In the present paper I intend to put forward some inquiries regarding the socio-labor guidance and transition of the young people in the co-ordinates of contemporary society. The outstanding paradox in which some young people are immersed when trying to get a first, second, third employment is also analyzed: "The job of looking for a job". This is a common experience shared by many young people when they try to find a place in the complex labor panorama. Looking for a job is a recurrent situation in contemporary society, given the high dose of precarious employment in which the productive world moves. Life-long jobs belong to the past and what is normal is that people strive to enter the competitive labor market repeatedly. Moreover, the paper offers the partial results of a larger research project that approaches tutorship, decision taking and expectations before the academic-labor future of the studentship in the last years of secondary school. Finally, I suggest some insights in the line that it is not longer feasible to work with old-fashioned guidance, trying to channel people's vocation and offering them information so that they get a job that provides them with the happiness of "doing what you like". Behind these ideas lay the normal biographies, the predictable itineraries. Labor market complexity makes the transition to working life very difficult. Once immersed in it, biographies and labor itineraries are constructed and reconstructed at the rhythm of the changing fortunes of times.

Tributo en la Argentina post-dictadura : Los "muertos por la subversión"

El artículo analiza el lugar de Tributo, órgano de FAMUS (Familiares y Amigos de Muertos por la Subversión), en los años '80, en la reivindicación de la actuación militar en la última dictadura y de la represión en general antes de 1976. El argumento central es que la búsqueda de legitimidad en el espacio público se estructura a partir de formas particulares de matar y morir que permiten, a su vez, establecer una oposición radical entre los muertos propios y los del campo opuesto. Se muestra también la adecuación plástica de Tributo a la cambiante coyuntura de los años de la transición democrática y se rescatan las formas en que se iban construyendo las estrategias de los defensores de la represión, sus intentos en un momento dado de postergar para el futuro la justicia que en el presente no reciben y, vistos desde hoy, las líneas de continuidad con formas actuales de reivindicación, que ya en las páginas de Tributo aparecen claramente esbozadas

Structural Changes and Formation of Rusta-shahr in Post-Revolutionary Rural Society in Iran

The following paper is based on the author's two-year research and fieldwork in Iran and examines the process of political and social changes since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the subsequent impact of the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88. This paper focuses on the transition of traditional, small villages into rusta-shahr or small rural cities and the first and second nation-wide elections of shoura or councils which were the first steps toward self-government. The author is guardedly optimistic regarding this democratic process but warns of possible future social unrest if changes are not more "balanced" between cities and rural areas and if the employment needs of the burgeoning younger generation are not met, political and social consequences may be catastrophic.

The Sandinista Revolution and Post-Conflict Development--Key Issues

Following Daniel Ortega's victory in the presidential election held in November 2006, Nicaragua has been undergoing a transition from a democratic to authoritarian system. In the 1980s, Ortega served as President of the Sandinista government and implemented a Cuban-type socialist system, but the system failed and democracy was established during 1990-2007. Considering this failure, why did Ortega succeed in taking power again? This paper provides a brief history of modern Nicaragua and gives some insights into the twists of Latin American politics. The paper was prepared for the international seminar on Helping Failed States Recover: The Role of Business in Promoting Stability and Development, organized by the University of Kansas Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), held on April 4-6, 2007 in Lawrence. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author. All mistakes and/or errors are entirely the author's responsibility.

Post-Crisis Economic Reform in Indonesia:Policy for Intervening in Ownership in Historical Perspective

Introduction : Economic reform in Indonesia after the Asian currency crisis is often discussed in parallel with Thailand and South Korea, which were alike hit by the crisis. It should however be noted that what happened in Indonesia was a change of political regime from authoritarianism to democracy, not just a change of government as seen in Thailand and South Korea. Indonesia’s post-crisis reform should be understood in the context of dismantling of the Soeharto regime to seek a new democratic state system. 　　　In the political sphere, dramatic institutional changes have occurred since the downfall of the Soeharto government in May 1998. In comparison, changes in the economic sphere are more complex than the political changes, as the former involve at least three aspects. The first is the continuity in the basic framework of capitalist system with policy orientation toward economic liberalization. In this framework, the policies to overcome the crisis are continued from the last period of the Soeharto rule, under the support system of IMF and CGI (Consultative Group on Indonesia). The second aspect is the impact of the political regime change on the economic structure. It is considered that the structure of economic vested interests of the Soeharto regime is being disintegrated as the regime breaks down. The third aspect is the impact of the political regime change on economic policy-making process. The process of formulating and implementing policies has changed drastically from the Soeharto time. With these three aspects simultaneously at work, it is not so easy to identify which of them is the main cause for a given specific economic phenomenon emerging in Indonesia today. 　　　Keeping this difficulty in mind, this paper attempts to situate the post-crisis economic reform in the broader context of the historical development of Indonesian economic policies and their achievements. We focus in particular on the reform policies for banking and corporate sectors and resulting structural changes in these sectors. This paper aims at understanding the significance of the changes in the economic ownership structure that are occurring in the post-Soeharto Indonesia. Economic policies here do not mean macro economic policies, such as fiscal, financial and trade policies, but refer to micro economic policies whereby the government intervenes in the economic ownership structure. In Section 1, we clarify why economic policies for intervening in the ownership structure are important in understanding Indonesia. Section 2 follows the historical development of Indonesia’s economic policies as specified above, throughout the four successive periods since Indonesia’s independence, namely, the parliamentary democracy period, the Guided Democracy period under Soekarno, the Soeharto-regime consolidation period, and the Soeharto-regime transfiguration period2. Then we observe what economic ownership structure was at work in the pre-crisis last days of the Soeharto rule as an outcome of the economic policies. In Section 3, we examine what structural changes have taken place in the banking and corporate sectors due to the reform policies in the post-crisis and post-Soeharto Indonesia. Lastly in Section 4, we interpret the current reorganization of the economic ownership in the context of the historical transition of the ownership structure, taking account of the changes in the policy-making processes under democratization.

Post-1988 civil-military relations in Myanmar

This paper explores the development of civil–military relations in Myanmar since 1988. After the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) took over the state by means of a coup d’état in 1988, the top generals ruled the country without recourse to significant formal political institutions such as a constitution, elections and parliament. A unique authoritarian regime, where political power was predominantly under the military’s influence, lasted for more than 20 years in the country. It seemed to many observers that the military regime was highly durable and that its dictator, General Than Shwe, had no intention of altering the highly repressive character of the political system. However, a new leader, President Thein Sein, who came to power in March 2011, has decided to implement some political and economic reforms that could undermine the Tatmadaw’s dominant role in politics and the economy. This paper examines the background to this sudden political change in Myanmar, focusing on the relationship between its dictator, the military and the state. This paper’s main argument is that Than Shwe has carefully prepared the transition of 2011 as a generational change in the Tatmadaw and in state leadership. The argument is also made that the challenges created by Thein Sein can be understood as a result of his redefinition of national security and balancing of security-centralism with state-led developmentalism.

The theory of electrostatic probes in strong magnetic fields : Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School of the University of Colorado for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Department of Aerospace Engineering Science

A theory is developed of an electrostatic probe in a fully-ionized plasma in the presence of a strong magnetic field. The ratio of electron Larmor radius to probe transverse dimension is assumed to be small. Poisson's equation, together with kinetic equations for ions and electrons are considered. An asymptotic perturbation method of multiple scales is used by considering the characteristic lengths appearing in the problem. The leading behavior of the solution is found. The results obtained appear to apply to weaker fields also, agreeing with the solutions known in the limit of no magnetic field. The range of potentials for wich results are presented is limited. The basic effects produced by the field are a depletion of the plasma near the probe and a non-monotonic potential surrounding the probe. The ion saturation current is not changed but changes appear in both the floating potential Vf and the slope of the current-voltage diagram at Vf. The transition region extends beyond the space potential Vs,at wich point the current is largely reduced. The diagram does not have an exponential form in this region as commonly assumed. There exists saturation in electron collection. The extent to which the plasma is disturbed is determined. A cylindrical probe has no solution because of a logarithmic singularity at infinity. Extensions of the theory are considered.