Impact of consciousness raising and social liberation on readiness to engage in regular physical activity among adults in Magnolia Park/Lawndale-Wayside, Houston, TX

According to the transtheoretical model, consciousness raising and social liberation are processes used to help individuals progress through the stages of change for a given behavior. This study assessed the impact of these two processes on readiness to engage in regular physical activity among a convenience sample of 35 adults in the Magnolia Park/Lawndale-Wayside area of Houston, TX. The duration of the study was approximately 4 weeks. All pre/post-test data were collected via self-administered surveys available in English or Spanish. Baseline data were used to determine the culturally relevant content of a one-dose intervention consisting of a presentation and dissemination of educational materials as well as a list of local physical activity opportunities. Although the intervention did not improve progression through the stages of change, significant increases were evident among 5 out of 6 processes of change. Based on these results and qualitative data, this study recommended that the Houston Parks and Recreation Department incorporate cultural competency into the design and publication of materials and revise the schedule of available programs (i.e.: increase the number of walking programs) in order to reflect the physical activity preferences of Magnolia Park/Lawndale-Wayside residents.^

Development of The Readiness To Teach Online Scale

Despite the growing importance of online education, faculty acceptance has remained unchanged. Training programs developed for faculty to teach online have often focused on assessing their cognitive rather than affective and behavioral outcomes. The Readiness To Teach Online scale was developed as part of a multiphase mixed method research project to measure faculty perceptions and motivations toward teaching online. Items in the subcategory Teaching and Learning measured perceptions of technology and online teaching, and motivations regarding resources and other external factors. Items in the subcategories Social and Student Engagement, Faculty and Technology Support, Course Development and Instructional Design, and Evaluation and Assessment collected baseline data for current practices. The pilot study of this scale demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability estimates and support for validity, showing moderately to highly correlated significant relationships between faculty perceptions and motivation to teach online; both perception and motivation constructs were moderately to highly correlated with Social and Student Engagement.

Examining the impact of pre-k and kindergarten classroom alignment on school readiness outcomes

This study explored children’s experiences of instructional alignment from prekindergarten to kindergarten and analyzed the impact of those alignment experiences on children’s school readiness outcomes. The study answered the following overarching research question: Does the alignment of children’s learning experiences between prekindergarten and kindergarten impact school readiness outcomes? Three sub-questions drove the research design: (1) How do children’s prekindergarten and kindergarten learning experiences align; (2) To what extent does the alignment of early learning experiences predict children’s school readiness outcomes; and (3) Does the quality of prekindergarten classroom teacher interactions moderate the impact of any PK-K alignment effects? Using cluster analysis and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to analyze data from over 1,300 children in the 2009 Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), the study found that children have distinct and definable experiences of PK-K alignment. Results also indicated a disparity in children’s PK-K alignment experiences, with Hispanic/Latino children more likely to attend Head Start programs with poor systems transition practices followed by kindergartens with poor classroom structures. The study found that growth in the use of instructional activity centers from prekindergarten to kindergarten is predictive of better literacy and math outcomes. Findings further suggested that boys, minority students, and children from lower income households are predicted to score lower than girls, white classmates, and higher-income peers across school readiness measures. Findings support the need for equitable transition and alignment practices for children from all racial and ethnic groups. They also argue for an increase in child-directed activity centers in kindergarten. With one exception, the current findings did not support the hypothesis that prekindergarten teacher quality is a moderator of alignment effects on children’s school readiness outcomes. The study presents suggestions for further research.

Validación de la versión española del cuestionario Physician Readiness To Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS)

Fundamentos: El Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS) es uno de los cuestionarios más completos en el contexto internacional para la valoración de la capacidad de respuesta frente a la violencia del compañero íntimo por los profesionales de Atención Primaria de Salud. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la fiabilidad, consistencia interna y validez de constructo de la versión española de este cuestionario. Métodos: Tras la traducción, retrotraducción y valoración de la validez de contenido del cuestionario, se distribuyeron en una muestra de 200 profesionales de medicina y enfermería de 15 centros de atención primaria de 4 Comunidades Autónomas en 2013 (Comunidad Valenciana, Castilla León, Murcia y Cantabria). Se calcularon los coeficientes alfa de Cronbach, los de correlación intraclase y rho de Spearman (test-retest). Resultados: la versión española del PREMIS incluyó 64 ítems. El coeficiente α de Cronbach fue superior a 0,7 o muy cercano a ese valor en la mayoría de los índices. Se obtuvo un coeficiente de correlación intraclase de 0,87 y un coeficiente de Spearman de 0,67 que muestran una fiabilidad alta. Todas las correlaciones observadas para la escala de opiniones, la única tratada como estructura factorial en el cuestionario PREMIS, fueron superiores a 0,30. Conclusiones: el PREMIS en español obtuvo una buena validez interna, alta fiabilidad y capacidad predictiva de las prácticas auto-referidas por médicos(as) y enfermeros(as) frente a casos de violencia del compañero íntimo en centros de atención primaria.

The EU-Ukraine Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation: an assessment of Ukraine's readiness. OSW Commentary No. 45, 2011-01-17

The Action Plan on visas adopted during the recent EU-Ukraine summit is a success for Ukraine. It is the first time that Kyiv has succeeded in obtaining a definition of the conditions and criteria whose fulfilment will enable Ukraine to apply for the lifting of EU visas for its citizens. Ukraine's strong point has been its political will; the lifting of this visa regime has been a priority for all Ukrainian governments since 2005. Since Viktor Yanukovych became president, Ukraine has adopted or prepared key legal acts that brought it nearer to European standards in the area of border and migration management. One of Kyiv's strengths is also its relatively well reformed and efficiently managed border service. Moreover, illegal transit migration via Ukraine is decreasing, and fewer Ukrainians are trying to enter or stay in the EU illegally. Also, Kyiv has efficiently implemented the EU-Ukraine readmission agreement. The hardest task for Ukraine will be to meet the EU’s expectations concerning values, the condition of Ukrainian democracy, and the rule of law. Corruption remains the main barrier to Ukraine's development and modernisation; the courts are weak and the judicial system inefficient. The main undertaking of the new migration service that is being formed at the moment will be to create a civil system of registration, monitoring and regulating the stays of foreign nationals. This may prove difficult, as the supervisory authority (the Ministry of the Interior) remains an unreformed, police-type bureaucratic institution. Ukraine is lagging behind countries such as Russia, Belarus and Moldova when it comes to the introduction of biometric documents. Another problem is the lack of an electronic information system on foreign nationals, visas and border crossings which would be accessible to all the relevant services and institutions. For these reasons, the complete abolition of visas seems to be a longterm perspective, especially considering that many EU countries, which themselves are faced with the problem of migrants’ integration, are rather sceptical about the further liberalisation of movement of people with their eastern neighbours. In the immediate future, if Ukraine meets some of the requirements set by the EU, it will be able to seek the extension of the visa facilitations that have been in operation since 2008.

Review of operation and maintenance budgets and readiness : hearings before the Special Subcommittee on Nato Standardization, Interoperability, and Readiness of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, December 18, 19, 1979.

Mode of access: Internet.

Review of readiness considerations in the development of the defense budget : report of the Readiness Panel of the Procurement and Military Nuclear Systems Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, second session.

Mode of access: Internet.

From homemaking to entrepreneurship / a readiness training program.

Shipping list no.: 85-1083-P.

CJCS guide to the Chairman's Readiness System.

Mode of access: Internet.

Workplace competencies : the need to improve literacy and employment readiness /

"July 1990"--T.p. verso.

To review issues related to the clean up of Department of Defense national priority list sites and compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act [microform] : hearing before the Environmental Restoration Panel of the Readiness Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, hearing held September 27, 1988.

At head of title: H.A.S.C. no. 100-95.

Soviet mobilization readiness and the U.S. defense program [microform] : hearings before the Defense Policy Panel of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, hearings held September 8 and 14, 1988.

"H.A.S.C. no. 100-86."

Drug abuse prevention and community readiness : training facilitator's manual.

"Printed May 1997"--P. [4] of cover.