State and federal loan and grant programs which may be of benefit or interest to local government.

Cover title.

Demographic and social trends : implications for federal support of dependent-care services for children and the elderly : staff analysis /

"June 15, 1983."

National issues in education professions development, fall 1976.

Mode of access: Internet.

Handbook of Federal Aids to Communities

Supersedes Federal Activities Helpful To Communities, Published by the Office of Area Development, U.S. Dept. of Commerce

Student Independent Projects Environmental Studies 2011: Creating Federal Policies to Support Environmental Education in Canada.

Environmental Education is an essential component of childhood education and can play a vital role in the development of positive environmental attitudes, community involvement and environmental awareness. One of the main challenges faced by Canadian educators is the lack of support and funding to fully engage and participate in Environmental Education programs that are locally available. To better understand the viewpoint and challenges of educators and Environmental Education programs, this paper includes an interview series with three Environmental Education leaders, followed by a discussion section on significant commonalities. Through the research of peer-reviewed literature, federal documents, and environmental networks, this research paper aims to interpret the development and challenges of K-12 environmental education in North America as well as to review the established programs, networks, and resources availble to Canadian educators.

Youth-Physical Activity Towards Health: evidence and background to the development of the Y-PATH physical activity intervention for adolescents

Background: Despite known benefits of regular physical activity for health and well-being, many studies suggest that levels of physical activity in young people are low, and decline dramatically during adolescence. The purpose of the current research was to gather data on adolescent youth in order to inform the development of a targeted physical activity intervention. Methods: Cross-sectional data on physical activity levels (using self report and accelerometry), psychological correlates of physical activity, anthropometic characteristics, and the fundamental movement skill proficiency of 256 youth (53% male, 12.40 ± 0.51 years) were collected. A subsample (n = 59) participated in focus group interviews to explore their perceptions of health and identify barriers and motivators to participation in physical activity. Results: Findings indicate that the majority of youth (67%) were not accumulating the minimum 60 minutes of physical activity recommended daily for health, and that 99.5% did not achieve the fundamental movement skill proficiency expected for their age. Body mass index data showed that 25% of youth were classified as overweight or obese. Self-efficacy and physical activity attitude scores were significantly different (p < 0.05) between low, moderate and high active participants. Active and inactive youth reported differences in their perceived understanding of health and their barriers to physical activity participation, with active youth relating nutrition, exercise, energy and sports with the definition of ‘being healthy’, and inactive youth attributing primarily nutritional concepts to ‘being healthy’. Conclusions: Data show a need for targeting low levels of physical activity in youth through addressing poor health related activity knowledge and low fundamental movement skill proficiency. The Y-PATH intervention was developed in accordance with the present study findings; details of the intervention format are presented.

A strategic marketing approach to national development initiatives involving large scale collaborative ventures (LSCV)

This paper relates to government initiatives which aim at advancing their country’s economic development and investor attractiveness. It identifies large scale projects that involve collaboration between government and business (termed: large scale collaborative venture – LSCV) as one aspect of competing in the new economy. The study pursued the research proposition that a LSCV can be effectively facilitated by following a theory based process similar to what is used in corporate practice. An approach to managing such ventures is outlined, based on strategic marketing theory applied to a major project, the Multifunction Polis. It is proposed that such an approach may enhance the success of a collaborative venture and thereby help countries participate more successfully in global competition through such ventures.

Innovation and the city : a macromarketing approach to industry development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and demonstrate the relevance of marketing systems, notably the process of product management and innovation, to urban development challenges. Design/methodology/approach – A macromarketing perspective is adopted to construe the city as a product and begin the application of the innovation process to urban management, following the steps commonly proposed for successful innovation in product management. An example of the application of the initial new product development steps of idea generation and opportunity identification is presented. Findings – The innovation process provides guidelines and checkpoints that enable corporations to improve the success rate of their development initiatives. Cities, like corporations, need to innovate in order to maintain their image and functionality, to provide a myriad benefits to their stakeholders and, thereby, to survive and grow. The example here shows how the preliminary NPD steps of idea generation and opportunity identification enrich the process of identifying and analysing new industry opportunities for a city. Practical implications – By conceptualising the city as a multifaceted product, the disciplined planning and evaluation processes pertinent to NPD success become relevant and helpful to practitioners responsible for urban planning, urban development and change. Originality/value – The paper shows how pertinent concepts and processes from marketing can be effectively applied to urban planning and economic development initiatives.

Introduction to the development of the ISPCAN child abuse screening tools

The World Report on Children and Violence, (Pinheiro, 2006) was produced at the request of the UN Secretary General and the UN General Assembly. This report recommended improvement in research on child abuse. ISPCAN representatives took this charge and developed 3 new instruments. We describe this background and introduce three new measures designed to assess the incidence and prevalence of child abuse and neglect.

An evidence-based approach to professional development planning in large state educational systems

This paper presents a systems-level approach for adjudicating the prioritization, selection, and planning of inservcie professional development (PD) for teachers. We present a step-by-step model for documenting and assessing system-wide 'bids' for professional development programs

A constraints-led approach to talent development in cricket

The aim of this chapter is to increase understanding of how a sound theoretical model of the learner and learning processes informs the organisation of learning environments and effective and efficient use of practice time. Drawing on an in-depth interview with Greg Chappell, the head coach at the Centre of Excellence—the Brisbane-based centre for training and development in cricket of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Cricket Australia—it describes and explains many of the key features of non-linear pedagogy. Specifically, after backgrounding the constraints-led approach, it deals with environmental constraints; the focus of the individual and the implications of self-organisation for coaching strategies; implications for the coach–athlete relationship; manipulating constraints; representative practice; developing decision-makers and learning design including discovery and implicit learning. It then moves on to a discussion of more global issues such as the reactions of coaches and players when a constraints-led approach is introduced, before finally considering the widely held belief among coaches that approaches such as Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) ‘take longer’ than traditional coaching methods.

It’s okay to ask : development and pilot testing of a question prompt list for patients with brain tumours

Background: Previous research identified that primary brain tumour patients have significant psychological morbidity and unmet needs, particularly the need for more information and support. However, the utility of strategies to improve information provision in this setting is unknown. This study involved the development and piloting of a brain tumour specific question prompt list (QPL). A QPL is a list of questions patients may find useful to ask their health professionals, and is designed to facilitate communication and information exchange. Methods: Thematic analysis of QPLs developed for other chronic diseases and brain tumour specific patient resources informed a draft QPL. Subsequent refinement of the QPL involved an iterative process of interviews and review with 12 recently diagnosed patients and six caregivers. Final revisions were made following readability analyses and review by health professionals. Piloting of the QPL is underway using a non-randomised control group trial with patients undergoing treatment for a primary brain tumour in Brisbane, Queensland. Following baseline interviews, consenting participants are provided with the QPL or standard information materials. Follow-up interviews four to 6 weeks later allow assessment of the acceptability of the QPL, how it is used by patients, impact on information needs, and feasibility of recruitment, implementation and outcome assessment. Results: The final QPL was determined to be readable at the sixth grade level. It contains seven sections: diagnosis, prognosis, symptoms and changes, the health professional team, support, treatment and management, and post-treatment concerns. At this time, fourteen participants have been recruited for the pilot, and data collection completed for eleven. Data collection and preliminary analysis are expected to be completed by and presented at the conference. Conclusions: If acceptable to participants, the QPL may encourage patients, doctors and nurses to communicate more effectively, reducing unmet information needs and ultimately improving psychological wellbeing.