A non-freaked out guide to teaching the common core using the 32 literacy anchor standards to develop college- and career-ready students

CERN Document Server

Stuart, Dave

2014-01-01

Implement the Common Core for ELA without all the stress A Non-Freaked Out Guide to Teaching the Common Core uses the often-neglected anchor standards to get to the heart of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)-teaching students the skills they need to be college and career ready. Each anchor standard is broken down into its key points, and a discussion of each anchor standard''s central purpose helps outline the context for each required skill. This easy-to-read guide gives educators the kind of clear explanations, examples, and strategies they need to feel comfortable teaching the CCSS, an

Readiness for Solving Story Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlap, William F.

1982-01-01

Readiness activities are described which are designed to help learning disabled (LD) students learn to perform computations in story problems. Activities proceed from concrete objects to numbers and involve the students in devising story problems. The language experience approach is incorporated with the enactive, iconic, and symbolic levels of…

Collection of reports on use of computation fund utilized in common in 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-05-01

Nuclear Physics Research Center, Osaka University, has provided the computation fund utilized in common since 1976 for supporting the computation related to the activities of the Center. When this computation fund is used, after finishing the use, the simple report of definite form (printed in RCNP-Z together with the report of the committee on computation fund utilized in common) and the detailed report concerning the contents of computation are to be presented. In the latter report, English abstract, explanation of the results obtained by computation and physical contents, new development, difficult point and the method of its solution in computation techniques, subroutine and function used for computation and their functions and block diagrams and so on are included. This book is the collection of the latter reports on the use of the computation fund utilized in common in fiscal year 1988. The invitation to the computation fund utilized in common is informed in December every year in RCNP-Z. (K.I.)

Social-Emotional Skills Can Boost Common Core Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Elias, Maurice J.

2014-01-01

The same competencies neglected in the implementation of the Common Core are those that ultimately most help students become what the author calls college-ready, career-ready, and contribution-ready. These include communication, meta-cognition, resilient mindset, responsible character, and social-emotional learning, intertwined with academic…

Readiness of healthcare providers for eHealth: the case from primary healthcare centers in Lebanon.

Science.gov (United States)

Saleh, Shadi; Khodor, Rawya; Alameddine, Mohamad; Baroud, Maysa

2016-11-10

eHealth can positively impact the efficiency and quality of healthcare services. Its potential benefits extend to the patient, healthcare provider, and organization. Primary healthcare (PHC) settings may particularly benefit from eHealth. In these settings, healthcare provider readiness is key to successful eHealth implementation. Accordingly, it is necessary to explore the potential readiness of providers to use eHealth tools. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the readiness of healthcare providers working in PHC centers in Lebanon to use eHealth tools. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess participants' socio-demographics, computer use, literacy, and access, and participants' readiness for eHealth implementation (appropriateness, management support, change efficacy, personal beneficence). The study included primary healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, other providers) working in 22 PHC centers distributed across Lebanon. Descriptive and bivariate analyses (ANOVA, independent t-test, Kruskal Wallis, Tamhane's T2) were used to compare participant characteristics to the level of readiness for the implementation of eHealth. Of the 541 questionnaires, 213 were completed (response rate: 39.4 %). The majority of participants were physicians (46.9 %), and nurses (26.8 %). Most physicians (54.0 %), nurses (61.4 %), and other providers (50.9 %) felt comfortable using computers, and had access to computers at their PHC center (physicians: 77.0 %, nurses: 87.7 %, others: 92.5 %). Frequency of computer use varied. The study found a significant difference for personal beneficence, management support, and change efficacy among different healthcare providers, and relative to participants' level of comfort using computers. There was a significant difference by level of comfort using computers and appropriateness. A significant difference was also found between those with access to computers in relation to personal beneficence and

Test Anxiety, Computer-Adaptive Testing and the Common Core

Science.gov (United States)

Colwell, Nicole Makas

2013-01-01

This paper highlights the current findings and issues regarding the role of computer-adaptive testing in test anxiety. The computer-adaptive test (CAT) proposed by one of the Common Core consortia brings these issues to the forefront. Research has long indicated that test anxiety impairs student performance. More recent research indicates that…

Process operational readiness and operational readiness follow-on

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nertney, R.J.

1992-11-01

The first document in the System Safety Development Center (SSDC) series deals with the subject of Occupancy-Use Readiness. The material included in that manual provided the basis for development of the SSDC workshop in Operational Readiness. The original Occupancy Readiness Manual, however, deals only generally with the subject of process safety; i.e., the safety of overall ''processes'' such as solar collection systems, nuclear reactors, and coal fired electrical plants. The manual also fails to detail the considerations involved in maintaining the state of readiness on a continuing basis. Both of the latter subjects are dealt with in some detail in the SSDC's Operational Readiness Workshop. The purpose of this document is to provide additional documentary material dealing with subjects introduced in SSDC-1 Occupancy-Use Readiness Manual, and SSDC-12, Safety Considerations in Evaluation of Maintenance Programs. In augmenting SSDC-1, Part I of this manual provides additional material related to process safety; in the case of SSDC-12, the subject of safety considerations in evaluation of maintenance programs is broadened in Part II to include maintenance of personnel systems and procedural systems as well as hardware. ''Maintenance'' is related more directly to the concept of operational readiness and an alternative analytical tree is provided for hardware maintenance program evaluation

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

M. Kasemann

CCRC’08 challenges and CSA08 During the February campaign of the Common Computing readiness challenges (CCRC’08), the CMS computing team had achieved very good results. The link between the detector site and the Tier0 was tested by gradually increasing the number of parallel transfer streams well beyond the target. Tests covered the global robustness at the Tier0, processing a massive number of very large files and with a high writing speed to tapes.  Other tests covered the links between the different Tiers of the distributed infrastructure and the pre-staging and reprocessing capacity of the Tier1’s: response time, data transfer rate and success rate for Tape to Buffer staging of files kept exclusively on Tape were measured. In all cases, coordination with the sites was efficient and no serious problem was found. These successful preparations prepared the ground for the second phase of the CCRC’08 campaign, in May. The Computing Software and Analysis challen...

PENGARUH TECHNOLOGY READINESS TERHADAP PENERIMAAN TEKNOLOGI KOMPUTER PADA UMKM DI YOGYAKARTA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mimin Nur Aisyah

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Abstrak: Pengaruh Technology Readiness terhadap Penerimaan Teknologi Komputer pada UMKM di Yogyakarta. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengekplorasi pengaruh kesiapan teknologi terhadap persepsi kemanfaatan sistem dan persepsi kemudahan penggunaan sistem serta pengaruh kedua persepsi terhadap teknologi tersebut terhadap minat menggunakan teknologi komputer dalam membantu proses bisnis pada UMKM di Yogyakarta.  Sampel penelitian ini sejumlah 498 UMKM yang terdaftar di Disperindagkop Yogyakarta. Teknik pengambilan sampel menggunakan teknik simple random sampling. Data diperoleh menggunakan kuesioner. Analisis data dan uji hipotesis menggunakan model Partial-Least-Square (PLS. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa terdapat pengaruh kesiapan teknologi terhadap persepsi kemanfaatan sistem dan persepsi kemudahan penggunaan sistem, serta terdapat pengaruh persepsi kemanfaatan teknologi dan persepsi kemudahan penggunaan teknologi terhadap minat menggunakan teknologi komputer dalam membantu proses bisnis pada UMKM di Yogyakarta.   Kata kunci: kesiapan teknologi, persepsi kemanfaatan, persepsi kemudahan penggunaan, minat menggunakan, UMKM Abstract: The Effect of Technology Readiness toward Acceptance of Computer Technology on SMEs in Yogyakarta. This research aims to explore the effect of technology readiness to the perceived of usefulness of system and perceived ease of use of the system and the influence of both perceptions of these technologies to the behavioral intention of computer technology in business processes in SMEs in Yogyakarta. The research sample number of 498 SMEs were registered in Disperindagkop Yogyakarta. The sampling technique using simple random sampling technique. The data were obtained using a questionnaire. Data analysis and hypothesis testing using a model of the Partial-Least-Square (PLS. The research found that there are significant technology readiness to the perception of the benefit system and perceived ease of use of the system

Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Migliore, Donna E.

2006-01-01

"Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators" presents a set of baseline measurements that gauge how well a statewide system of school readiness supports is addressing issues that affect Arizona children's readiness for school. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure the system, rather…

101 ready-to-use Excel formulas

CERN Document Server

Alexander, Michael

2014-01-01

Mr. Spreadsheet has done it again with 101 easy-to-apply Excel formulas 101 Ready-to-Use Excel Formulas is filled with the most commonly-used, real-world Excel formulas that can be repurposed and put into action, saving you time and increasing your productivity. Each segment of this book outlines a common business or analysis problem that needs to be solved and provides the actual Excel formulas to solve the problem-along with detailed explanation of how the formulas work. Written in a user-friendly style that relies on a tips and tricks approach, the book details how to perform everyday Excel tasks with confidence. 101 Ready-to-Use Excel Formulas is sure to become your well-thumbed reference to solve your workplace problems. The recipes in the book are structured to first present the problem, then provide the formula solution, and finally show how it works so that it can be customized to fit your needs. The companion website to the book allows readers to easily test the formulas and provides visual confirmat...

Achieving Business Excellence by Optimizing Corporate Forensic Readiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gojko Grubor

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In order to improve their business excellence, all organizations, despite their size (small, medium or large one should manage their risk of fraud. Fraud, in today’s world, is often committed by using computers and can only be revealed by digital forensic investigator. Not even small or medium-sized companies are secure from fraud. In the light of recent financial scandals that literary demolished not just economies of specific countries but entire world economy, we propose in this paper an optimal model of corporative computer incident digital forensic investigation (CCIDFI by using adopted mathematic model of the greed MCDM – multi-criteria decision-making method and the Expert Choice software tool for multi-criteria optimization of the CCIDFI readiness. Proposed model can, first of all, help managers of small and medium-sized companies to justify their decisions to employ digital forensic investigators and include them in their information security teams in order to choose the optimal CCIDFI model and improve forensic readiness in the computer incident management process that will result with minimization of potential losses of company in the future and improve its business quality.

Critical services in the LHC computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sciaba, A

2010-01-01

The LHC experiments (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb) rely for the data acquisition, processing, distribution, analysis and simulation on complex computing systems, running using a variety of services, provided by the experiments, the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid and the different computing centres. These services range from the most basic (network, batch systems, file systems) to the mass storage services or the Grid information system, up to the different workload management systems, data catalogues and data transfer tools, often internally developed in the collaborations. In this contribution we review the status of the services most critical to the experiments by quantitatively measuring their readiness with respect to the start of the LHC operations. Shortcomings are identified and common recommendations are offered.

Measuring Africa's E-Readiness in the Global Networked Economy: A Nine-Country Data Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ifinedo, Princely

2005-01-01

This paper assesses the integration of Africa into the global economy by computing the e-readiness for nine African countries. The measuring tool used is simple and incorporates a variety of indicators used by comparable tools. Overall, the mean e-readiness of Africa is poor in comparison to other economies. Particularly, Sub-Saharan Africa…

Maximum likelihood as a common computational framework in tomotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olivera, G.H.; Shepard, D.M.; Reckwerdt, P.J.; Ruchala, K.; Zachman, J.; Fitchard, E.E.; Mackie, T.R.

1998-01-01

Tomotherapy is a dose delivery technique using helical or axial intensity modulated beams. One of the strengths of the tomotherapy concept is that it can incorporate a number of processes into a single piece of equipment. These processes include treatment optimization planning, dose reconstruction and kilovoltage/megavoltage image reconstruction. A common computational technique that could be used for all of these processes would be very appealing. The maximum likelihood estimator, originally developed for emission tomography, can serve as a useful tool in imaging and radiotherapy. We believe that this approach can play an important role in the processes of optimization planning, dose reconstruction and kilovoltage and/or megavoltage image reconstruction. These processes involve computations that require comparable physical methods. They are also based on equivalent assumptions, and they have similar mathematical solutions. As a result, the maximum likelihood approach is able to provide a common framework for all three of these computational problems. We will demonstrate how maximum likelihood methods can be applied to optimization planning, dose reconstruction and megavoltage image reconstruction in tomotherapy. Results for planning optimization, dose reconstruction and megavoltage image reconstruction will be presented. Strengths and weaknesses of the methodology are analysed. Future directions for this work are also suggested. (author)

A Study on the Radiographic Diagnosis of Common Periapical Lesions by Using Computer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jae Duck; Kim, Seung Kug

1990-01-01

The purpose of this study was to estimate the diagnostic availability of the common periapical lesions by using computer. The author used a domestic personal computer and rearranged the applied program appropriately with RF (Rapid File), a program to answer the purpose of this study, and then input the consequence made out through collection, analysis and classification of the clinical and radiological features about the common periapical lesions as a basic data. The 256 cases (Cyst 91, Periapical granuloma 74, Periapical abscess 91) were obtained from the chart recordings and radiographs of the patients diagnosed or treated under the common periapical lesions during the past 8 years (1983-1990) at the infirmary of Dental School, Chosun University. Next, the clinical and radiographic features of the 256 cases were applied to RF program for diagnosis, and the diagnosis by using computer was compared with the hidden final diagnosis by clinical and histopathological examination. The obtained results were as follow: 1. In cases of the cyst, diagnosis through the computer program was shown rather lower accuracy (80.22%) as compared with accuracy (90.1%) by the radiologists. 2. In cases of the granuloma, diagnosis through the computer program was shown rather higher accuracy(75.7%) as compared with the accuracy (70.3%) by the radiologists. 3. In cases of periapical abscess, the diagnostic accuracy was shown 88% in both diagnoses. 4. The average diagnostic accuracy of 256 cases through the computer program was shown rather lower accuracy (81.2%) as compared with the accuracy (82.8%) by the radiologists. 5. The applied basic data for radiographic diagnosis of common periapical lesions by using computer was estimated to be available.

A Study on the Radiographic Diagnosis of Common Periapical Lesions by Using Computer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jae Duck; Kim, Seung Kug [Dept. of Oral Radiology, College of Dentistry, Chosun University, Kwangju (Korea, Republic of)

1990-08-15

The purpose of this study was to estimate the diagnostic availability of the common periapical lesions by using computer. The author used a domestic personal computer and rearranged the applied program appropriately with RF (Rapid File), a program to answer the purpose of this study, and then input the consequence made out through collection, analysis and classification of the clinical and radiological features about the common periapical lesions as a basic data. The 256 cases (Cyst 91, Periapical granuloma 74, Periapical abscess 91) were obtained from the chart recordings and radiographs of the patients diagnosed or treated under the common periapical lesions during the past 8 years (1983-1990) at the infirmary of Dental School, Chosun University. Next, the clinical and radiographic features of the 256 cases were applied to RF program for diagnosis, and the diagnosis by using computer was compared with the hidden final diagnosis by clinical and histopathological examination. The obtained results were as follow: 1. In cases of the cyst, diagnosis through the computer program was shown rather lower accuracy (80.22%) as compared with accuracy (90.1%) by the radiologists. 2. In cases of the granuloma, diagnosis through the computer program was shown rather higher accuracy(75.7%) as compared with the accuracy (70.3%) by the radiologists. 3. In cases of periapical abscess, the diagnostic accuracy was shown 88% in both diagnoses. 4. The average diagnostic accuracy of 256 cases through the computer program was shown rather lower accuracy (81.2%) as compared with the accuracy (82.8%) by the radiologists. 5. The applied basic data for radiographic diagnosis of common periapical lesions by using computer was estimated to be available.

Ready or Not...? Teen Sexuality and the Troubling Discourse of Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Ashcraft, Catherine

2006-01-01

In this article, I explore how talk about being "ready" or "not ready" for sex shapes teen and adult understandings of sexuality. I argue that this "discourse of readiness" poses serious threats to teens' identity development, sexual decision making, and educators efforts to help them through these processes. To illustrate, I draw from my…

A Computer-Based Instrument That Identifies Common Science Misconceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Larrabee, Timothy G.; Stein, Mary; Barman, Charles

2006-01-01

This article describes the rationale for and development of a computer-based instrument that helps identify commonly held science misconceptions. The instrument, known as the Science Beliefs Test, is a 47-item instrument that targets topics in chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, and astronomy. The use of an online data collection system…

Readiness factors for lean implementation in healthcare settings--a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Balushi, S; Sohal, A S; Singh, P J; Al Hajri, A; Al Farsi, Y M; Al Abri, R

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to determine the readiness factors that are critical to the application and success of lean operating principles in healthcare organizations through a review of relevant literature. A comprehensive review of literature focussing on lean and lean healthcare was conducted. Leadership, organizational culture, communication, training, measurement, and reward systems are all commonly attributed readiness factors throughout general change management and lean literature. However, directly related to the successful implementation of lean in healthcare is that a setting is able to authorize a decentralized management style and undertake an end-to-end process view. These can be particularly difficult initiatives for complex organizations such as healthcare settings. The readiness factors identified are based on a review of the published literature. The external validity of the findings could be enhanced if tested using an empirical study. The readiness factors identified will enable healthcare practitioners to be better prepared as they begin their lean journeys. Sustainability of the lean initiative will be at stake if these readiness factors are not addressed. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper that provides a consolidated list of key lean readiness factors that can guide practice, as well as future theory and empirical research.

Operational readiness review phase-1 final report for WRAP-1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowen, W., Westinghouse Hanford

1996-12-27

This report documents the Operational Readiness Review for WRAP-1 Phase-1 operations. The report includes all criteria, lines of inquiry with resulting Findings and Observations. The review included assessing operational capability of the organization and the computer controlled process and facility systems.

Common accounting system for monitoring the ATLAS distributed computing resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karavakis, E; Andreeva, J; Campana, S; Saiz, P; Gayazov, S; Jezequel, S; Sargsyan, L; Schovancova, J; Ueda, I

2014-01-01

This paper covers in detail a variety of accounting tools used to monitor the utilisation of the available computational and storage resources within the ATLAS Distributed Computing during the first three years of Large Hadron Collider data taking. The Experiment Dashboard provides a set of common accounting tools that combine monitoring information originating from many different information sources; either generic or ATLAS specific. This set of tools provides quality and scalable solutions that are flexible enough to support the constantly evolving requirements of the ATLAS user community.

Common data buffer system. [communication with computational equipment utilized in spacecraft operations

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, F. (Inventor)

1981-01-01

A high speed common data buffer system is described for providing an interface and communications medium between a plurality of computers utilized in a distributed computer complex forming part of a checkout, command and control system for space vehicles and associated ground support equipment. The system includes the capability for temporarily storing data to be transferred between computers, for transferring a plurality of interrupts between computers, for monitoring and recording these transfers, and for correcting errors incurred in these transfers. Validity checks are made on each transfer and appropriate error notification is given to the computer associated with that transfer.

Computer aided approach to qualitative and quantitative common cause failure analysis for complex systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cate, C.L.; Wagner, D.P.; Fussell, J.B.

1977-01-01

Common cause failure analysis, also called common mode failure analysis, is an integral part of a complete system reliability analysis. Existing methods of computer aided common cause failure analysis are extended by allowing analysis of the complex systems often encountered in practice. The methods aid in identifying potential common cause failures and also address quantitative common cause failure analysis

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

M. Kasemann

Introduction A large fraction of the effort was focused during the last period into the preparation and monitoring of the February tests of Common VO Computing Readiness Challenge 08. CCRC08 is being run by the WLCG collaboration in two phases, between the centres and all experiments. The February test is dedicated to functionality tests, while the May challenge will consist of running at all centres and with full workflows. For this first period, a number of functionality checks of the computing power, data repositories and archives as well as network links are planned. This will help assess the reliability of the systems under a variety of loads, and identifying possible bottlenecks. Many tests are scheduled together with other VOs, allowing the full scale stress test. The data rates (writing, accessing and transfer¬ring) are being checked under a variety of loads and operating conditions, as well as the reliability and transfer rates of the links between Tier-0 and Tier-1s. In addition, the capa...

Ready To Buy a Computer?

Science.gov (United States)

Rourke, Martha; Rourke, Patrick

1974-01-01

The school district business manager can make sound, cost-conscious decisions in the purchase of computer equipment by developing a list of cost-justified applications for automation, considering the software, writing performance specifications for bidding or negotiating a contract, and choosing the vendor wisely prior to the purchase; and by…

Assessing air medical crew real-time readiness to perform critical tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Braude, Darren; Goldsmith, Timothy; Weiss, Steven J

2011-01-01

Air medical transport has had problems with its safety record, attributed in part to human error. Flight crew members (FCMs) must be able to focus on critical safety tasks in the context of a stressful environment. Flight crew members' cognitive readiness (CR) to perform their jobs may be affected by sleep deprivation, personal problems, high workload, and use of alcohol and drugs. The current study investigated the feasibility of using a computer-based cognitive task to assess FCMs' readiness to perform their job. The FCMs completed a short questionnaire to evaluate their physiologic and psychological state at the beginning and end of each shift. The FCMs then performed 3 minutes of a computer-based cognitive task called synthetic work environment (SYNWIN test battery). Task performance was compared with the questionnaire variables using correlation and regression analysis. Differences between the beginning and end of each shift were matched and compared using a paired Students t test. SYNWIN performance was significantly worse at the end of a shift compared with the beginning of the shift (p = 0.028) primarily because of decrement in the memory component. The SYNWIN composite scores were negatively correlated to degree of irritability felt by the participant, both before (r = -0.25) and after (r = -0.34) a shift and were significantly correlated with amount of sleep (0.22), rest (0.30), and life satisfaction (0.30). Performance by FCMs on a simple, rapid, computer-based psychological test correlates well with self-reported sleep, rest, life satisfaction, and irritability. Although further studies are warranted, these findings suggest that assessment of the performance of FCMs on a simple, rapid, computer-based, multitasking battery is feasible as an approach to determine their readiness to perform critical safety tasks through the SYNWIN task battery.

Welding. Module 8 of the Vocational Education Readiness Test (VERT).

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Edward L., Comp.

Focusing on welding, this module is one of eight included in the Vocational Education Readiness Tests (VERT). The module begins by listing the objectives of the module and describing tools and equipment needed. The remainder of the module contains sections on manipulative skills, trade vocabulary, tool identification, trade computational skills,…

The emergence of grammar in a language-ready brain. Comment on "Towards a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology: Framing the language-ready brain" by Michael A. Arbib

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, John A.

2016-03-01

Arbib makes the interesting proposal [3, §1.6] that the first Homo sapiens could have been ;language-ready;, without possessing the kind of rich lexicon, grammar and compositional semantics that we see in the world's languages today. This early language readiness would have consisted of a set of ;protolanguage; abilities, which he enumerates (1-7 in §1.6), supported by brain mechanisms unique to humans. The transition to full ;language; (properties 8-11 in §1.6 and §3) would have required no changes in the genome, he argues, but could have resulted from cultural evolution plus some measure of Baldwinian evolution favoring offspring with greater linguistic skill. The full picture is set out in [1].

The concept of readiness to change.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalton, Cindy C; Gottlieb, Laurie N

2003-04-01

Readiness is associated with change, yet there is little understanding of this construct. The purpose of this study was to examine readiness; its referents, associated factors and the resulting consequences. In the course of nursing five clients living with multiple sclerosis over a 7-month period using a Reflective Practice Model, data were systematically gathered using open-ended and then more focused questioning. Data collected during 42 client encounters (28 face-to-face encounters; 14 telephone contacts) were analysed using Chinn and Kramer's concept analysis technique. Findings. The concept of readiness was inductively derived. Readiness is both a state and a process. Before clients can create change they need to become ready to change. A number of factors trigger readiness. These include when: (a) clients perceive that a health concern is not going to resolve, (b) a change in a client's physical condition takes on new significance, (c) clients feel better able to manage their stress, (d) clients have sufficient energy, (e) clients perceive that they have adequate support in undertaking change. When one or more of these factors is present clients become ready to consider change. The process of readiness involves recognizing the need to change, weighing the costs and benefits and, when benefits outweigh costs, planning for change. The desire to change and to take action determines clients' degree of readiness. When they experience a high degree of readiness they report less anger, less depression, and view their condition in a more positive light. In contrast, when they experience a low degree of readiness they report feeling depressed, afraid and vulnerable in the face of change. Nursing has an important role to play in creating conditions to support change. To fulfil this role, nurses need to be able to assess readiness for change and the factors that enable it and then to intervene in ways that facilitate readiness.

The Readiness of Sorsogon State College Faculty for Teaching with ICT: Basis for a Faculty Training Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine A. De Castro

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Information and communication technologies (ICT such as computers, multimedia systems, productivity software, and the Internet have greatly improved the performance of different organizations and influenced higher learning institutions like Sorsogon State College (SSC to develop and implement innovative teaching and learning methods. However, despite the many benefits of ICT when used in education, there are still faculty members who do not use these technologies for teaching. Hence, this research was conducted to assess their readiness for teaching with ICT. Findings revealed that most of the surveyed respondents were above forty-five years old, have 1-10 years of government service, and have specialization in the field of education. In terms of readiness to teach with ICT, the results disclosed that they were fairly ready along human-resource readiness, ready along technological skill readiness, and much ready along equipment readiness. Their age was not significantly related to their human resource readiness but significantly related to their technological skill and equipment readiness. The respondents’ number of years in the government was significantly related to their readiness to teach with ICT in terms of human resource, technological skill, and equipment readiness. Their field of specialization was not significantly related to their readiness to teach with ICT. Among the most identified factors why some of them do not use ICT resources were unavailability of ICT resources, lack of knowledge and lack of familiarity to ICT. The output of this research is a faculty training program to enhance their know

Accelerating the College and Career Readiness of North Dakota's Students

Science.gov (United States)

Alliance for Excellent Education, 2011

2011-01-01

This paper captures the progress made by North Dakota in adopting both the common core state standards, subsequent work in ensuring those standards are accompanied by college- and career-ready assessments, and the potential benefits of preparing all students for success in college and a career. (Contains 11 endnotes.)

Career Readiness: Has Its Time Finally Come?

Science.gov (United States)

DeWitt, Stephen

2012-01-01

In 2010, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) released a "What Is Career Ready?" definition. As the career-readiness definition explains, there is much overlap between "college readiness" and "career readiness," but academic preparedness for college alone is not enough to be truly career-ready.…

Uncover the Cloud for Geospatial Sciences and Applications to Adopt Cloud Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, C.; Huang, Q.; Xia, J.; Liu, K.; Li, J.; Xu, C.; Sun, M.; Bambacus, M.; Xu, Y.; Fay, D.

2012-12-01

Cloud computing is emerging as the future infrastructure for providing computing resources to support and enable scientific research, engineering development, and application construction, as well as work force education. On the other hand, there is a lot of doubt about the readiness of cloud computing to support a variety of scientific research, development and educations. This research is a project funded by NASA SMD to investigate through holistic studies how ready is the cloud computing to support geosciences. Four applications with different computing characteristics including data, computing, concurrent, and spatiotemporal intensities are taken to test the readiness of cloud computing to support geosciences. Three popular and representative cloud platforms including Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure, and NASA Nebula as well as a traditional cluster are utilized in the study. Results illustrates that cloud is ready to some degree but more research needs to be done to fully implemented the cloud benefit as advertised by many vendors and defined by NIST. Specifically, 1) most cloud platform could help stand up new computing instances, a new computer, in a few minutes as envisioned, therefore, is ready to support most computing needs in an on demand fashion; 2) the load balance and elasticity, a defining characteristic, is ready in some cloud platforms, such as Amazon EC2, to support bigger jobs, e.g., needs response in minutes, while some are not ready to support the elasticity and load balance well. All cloud platform needs further research and development to support real time application at subminute level; 3) the user interface and functionality of cloud platforms vary a lot and some of them are very professional and well supported/documented, such as Amazon EC2, some of them needs significant improvement for the general public to adopt cloud computing without professional training or knowledge about computing infrastructure; 4) the security is a big concern in

Maintenance-Ready Web Application Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion IVAN

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The current paper tackles the subject of developing maintenance-ready web applications. Maintenance is presented as a core stage in a web application’s lifecycle. The concept of maintenance-ready is defined in the context of web application development. Web application maintenance tasks types are enunciated and suitable task types are identified for further analysis. The research hypothesis is formulated based on a direct link between tackling maintenance in the development stage and reducing overall maintenance costs. A live maintenance-ready web application is presented and maintenance related aspects are highlighted. The web application’s features, that render it maintenance-ready, are emphasize. The cost of designing and building the web-application to be maintenance-ready are disclosed. The savings in maintenance development effort facilitated by maintenance ready features are also disclosed. Maintenance data is collected from 40 projects implemented by a web development company. Homogeneity and diversity of collected data is evaluated. A data sample is presented and the size and comprehensive nature of the entire dataset is depicted. Research hypothesis are validated and conclusions are formulated on the topic of developing maintenance-ready web applications. The limits of the research process which represented the basis for the current paper are enunciated. Future research topics are submitted for debate.

Transaction processing in the common node of a distributed function laboratory computer system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stubblefield, F.W.; Dimmler, D.G.

1975-01-01

A computer network architecture consisting of a common node processor for managing peripherals and files and a number of private node processors for laboratory experiment control is briefly reviewed. Central to the problem of private node-common node communication is the concept of a transaction. The collection of procedures and the data structure associated with a transaction are described. The common node properties assigned to a transaction and procedures required for its complete processing are discussed. (U.S.)

CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF ONLINE LEARNING READINESS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harun CIGDEM

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to examine the relationship between certain factors of online learning readiness and learners’ end-of-course achievements. The study was conducted at a two-year post-secondary Turkish military school within the scope of the course titled Computer Literacy, which was designed and implemented in a blended way. The data were collected from 155 post-secondary military students through an online questionnaire. Three sub-scales of Hung et al.’s Online Learning Readiness Scale were used to collect the data during the first two weeks of the course. Descriptive and inferential statistics, such as Pearson correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses were performed to analyze the data. The descriptive results of the study indicated that students’ motivation for online learning was higher than both their computer/Internet self-efficacy and their orientations to self-directed learning. The inferential results revealed that the students’ end-of-course grades had significantly positive relationships with their computer/Internet self-efficacy and self-directed learning orientations. Finally, the students’ self-direction towards online learning appeared to be the strongest predictor of their achievements within the course; whereas computer/Internet self-efficacy and motivation for learning did not predict the learner achievement significantly.

Military Readiness: DODs Readiness Rebuilding Efforts May Be at Risk without a Comprehensive Plan

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-01

specific elements that are to be in strategic plans. 8Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Guide 3401D, CJCS Guide to the Chairman’s Readiness ...all its major functions and operations. DOD strategic guidance makes it clear that rebuilding readiness is a priority that supports the... readiness recovery efforts. Evaluations of the plan to monitor goals and objectives Assessments, through objective measurement and systematic

Advocacy: Emphasizing the Uncommon about the Common Core State Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Sandra N.

2014-01-01

The author describes key issues and uncommon concerns about the Common Core State Standards that fit within two categories: philosophical and pedagogical. Philosophically, Common Core State K-12 Standards should not be expected to be mastered at a specific grade level but based on developmental readiness. Pedagogically, Common Core State Standards…

Solar Ready: An Overview of Implementation Practices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watson, A.; Guidice, L.; Lisell, L.; Doris, L.; Busche, S.

2012-01-01

This report explores three mechanisms for encouraging solar ready building design and construction: solar ready legislation, certification programs for solar ready design and construction, and stakeholder education. These methods are not mutually exclusive, and all, if implemented well, could contribute to more solar ready construction. Solar ready itself does not reduce energy use or create clean energy. Nevertheless, solar ready building practices are needed to reach the full potential of solar deployment. Without forethought on incorporating solar into design, buildings may be incompatible with solar due to roof structure or excessive shading. In these cases, retrofitting the roof or removing shading elements is cost prohibitive. Furthermore, higher up-front costs due to structural adaptations and production losses caused by less than optimal roof orientation, roof equipment, or shading will lengthen payback periods, making solar more expensive. With millions of new buildings constructed each year in the United States, solar ready can remove installation barriers and increase the potential for widespread solar adoption. There are many approaches to promoting solar ready, including solar ready legislation, certification programs, and education of stakeholders. Federal, state, and local governments have the potential to implement programs that encourage solar ready and in turn reduce barriers to solar deployment. With the guidance in this document and the examples of jurisdictions and organizations already working to promote solar ready building practices, federal, state, and local governments can guide the market toward solar ready implementation.

Math starters 5- to 10-minute activities aligned with the common core math standards, grades 6-12

CERN Document Server

Muschla, Judith A; Muschla, Erin

2013-01-01

A revised edition of the bestselling activities guide for math teachers Now updated with new math activities for computers and mobile devices-and now organized by the Common Core State Standards-this book includes more than 650 ready-to-use math starter activities that get kids quickly focused and working as soon as they enter the classroom. Ideally suited for any math curriculum, these high-interest problems spark involvement in the day's lesson, help students build skills, and allow teachers to handle daily management tasks without wasting valuable instructional time. A newly updated edit

Toward the Language-Ready Brain: Biological Evolution and Primate Comparisons.

Science.gov (United States)

Arbib, Michael A

2017-02-01

The approach to language evolution suggested here focuses on three questions: How did the human brain evolve so that humans can develop, use, and acquire languages? How can the evolutionary quest be informed by studying brain, behavior, and social interaction in monkeys, apes, and humans? How can computational modeling advance these studies? I hypothesize that the brain is language ready in that the earliest humans had protolanguages but not languages (i.e., communication systems endowed with rich and open-ended lexicons and grammars supporting a compositional semantics), and that it took cultural evolution to yield societies (a cultural constructed niche) in which language-ready brains could become language-using brains. The mirror system hypothesis is a well-developed example of this approach, but I offer it here not as a closed theory but as an evolving framework for the development and analysis of conflicting subhypotheses in the hope of their eventual integration. I also stress that computational modeling helps us understand the evolving role of mirror neurons, not in and of themselves, but only in their interaction with systems "beyond the mirror." Because a theory of evolution needs a clear characterization of what it is that evolved, I also outline ideas for research in neurolinguistics to complement studies of the evolution of the language-ready brain. A clear challenge is to go beyond models of speech comprehension to include sign language and models of production, and to link language to visuomotor interaction with the physical and social world.

Computer and internet use in vascular outpatients--ready for interactive applications?

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, J G; Schneider, M; Klein-Weigel, P

2009-11-01

Exploring patients' computer and internet use, their expectations and attitudes is mandatory for successful introduction of interactive online health-care applications in Angiology. We included 165 outpatients suffering from peripheral arterial disease (PAD; n = 62) and chronic venous and / or lymphatic disease (CVLD; n = 103) in a cross-sectional-study. Patients answered a paper-based questionnaire. Patients were predominantly female (54.5%). 142 (86.1%) reported regular computer use for 9.7 +/- 5.8 years and 134 (81.2 %) used the internet for 6.2 +/- 3.6 years. CVLD-patients and internet-user were younger and higher educated, resulting in a significant difference in computer and internet use between the disease groups (p internet users without significant differences between the groups. The topics retrieved from the internet covered a wide spectrum and searches for health information were mentioned by 41.2 %. Although confidence in the internet (3.3 +/- 1.1 on a 1-6 Likert scale) and reliability in information retrieved from the internet (3.1 +/- 1.1) were relatively low, health-related issues were of high actual and future interest. 42.8% of the patients were even interested in interactive applications like health educational programs, 37.4% in self-reported assessments and outcome questionnaires and 26.9% in chatforums; 50% demanded access to their medical data on an Internetserver. Compared to older participants those internet more often for shopping, chatting, and e-mailing, but not for health information retrieval and interactive applications. Computers are commonly used and the internet has been adopted as an important source of information by patients suffering from PAD and CVLD. Besides, the internet offers great potentials and new opportunities for interactive disease (self-)management in angiology. To increase confidence and reliability in the medium a careful introduction and evaluation of these new online applications is mandatory.

Polyphony: A Workflow Orchestration Framework for Cloud Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Shams, Khawaja S.; Powell, Mark W.; Crockett, Tom M.; Norris, Jeffrey S.; Rossi, Ryan; Soderstrom, Tom

2010-01-01

Cloud Computing has delivered unprecedented compute capacity to NASA missions at affordable rates. Missions like the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) and Mars Science Lab (MSL) are enjoying the elasticity that enables them to leverage hundreds, if not thousands, or machines for short durations without making any hardware procurements. In this paper, we describe Polyphony, a resilient, scalable, and modular framework that efficiently leverages a large set of computing resources to perform parallel computations. Polyphony can employ resources on the cloud, excess capacity on local machines, as well as spare resources on the supercomputing center, and it enables these resources to work in concert to accomplish a common goal. Polyphony is resilient to node failures, even if they occur in the middle of a transaction. We will conclude with an evaluation of a production-ready application built on top of Polyphony to perform image-processing operations of images from around the solar system, including Mars, Saturn, and Titan.

Cultural Commonalities and Differences in Spatial Problem-Solving: A Computational Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Lovett, Andrew; Forbus, Kenneth

2011-01-01

A fundamental question in human cognition is how people reason about space. We use a computational model to explore cross-cultural commonalities and differences in spatial cognition. Our model is based upon two hypotheses: (1) the structure-mapping model of analogy can explain the visual comparisons used in spatial reasoning; and (2) qualitative,…

E-health readiness assessment framework in iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Rezai-Rad, M; Vaezi, R; Nattagh, F

2012-01-01

Concept of e-readiness is used in many areas such as e-business, e-commerce, e-government, and e-banking. In terms of healthcare, e-readiness is a rather new concept, and is propounded under the title of E-healthcare. E-health readiness refers to the readiness of communities and healthcare institutions for the expected changes brought by programs related to Information and Communications Technology (lCT). The present research is conducted aiming at designing E-health Readiness Assessment Framework (EHRAF) in Iran. The e-health readiness assessment framework was designed based on reviewing literature on e-readiness assessment models and opinions of ICT and health experts. In the next step, Delphi method was used to develop and test the designed framework. Three questionnaires developed to test and modify the model while determining weights of the indices; afterward they were either sent to experts through email or delivered to them in face. The designed framework approved with 4 dimensions, 11 constituents and 58 indices. Technical readiness had the highest importance coefficient (0.256099), and the other dimensions were of the next levels of coefficient importance: core readiness (0.25520), social communication readiness (0.244658), and engagement readiness (0.244039). The framework presents the movement route and investment priorities in e-health in Iran. The proposed framework is a good instrument for measuring the e-readiness in health centers in Iran, and for identifying strengths and weaknesses of these centers to access ICT and its implementation for more effectiveness and for analyzing digital divide between them, as well.

E-Health Readiness Assessment Framework in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Rezai-Rad, M; Vaezi, R; Nattagh, F

2012-01-01

Background: Concept of e-readiness is used in many areas such as e-business, e-commerce, e-government, and e-banking. In terms of healthcare, e-readiness is a rather new concept, and is propounded under the title of E-healthcare. E-health readiness refers to the readiness of communities and healthcare institutions for the expected changes brought by programs related to Information and Communications Technology (lCT). The present research is conducted aiming at designing E-health Readiness Assessment Framework (EHRAF) in Iran. Methods: The e-health readiness assessment framework was designed based on reviewing literature on e-readiness assessment models and opinions of ICT and health experts. In the next step, Delphi method was used to develop and test the designed framework. Three questionnaires developed to test and modify the model while determining weights of the indices; afterward they were either sent to experts through email or delivered to them in face. Results: The designed framework approved with 4 dimensions, 11 constituents and 58 indices. Technical readiness had the highest importance coefficient (0.256099), and the other dimensions were of the next levels of coefficient importance: core readiness (0.25520), social communication readiness (0.244658), and engagement readiness (0.244039). Conclusion: The framework presents the movement route and investment priorities in e-health in Iran. The proposed framework is a good instrument for measuring the e-readiness in health centers in Iran, and for identifying strengths and weaknesses of these centers to access ICT and its implementation for more effectiveness and for analyzing digital divide between them, as well. PMID:23304661

Capture ready study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minchener, A.

2007-07-15

There are a large number of ways in which the capture of carbon as carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) can be integrated into fossil fuel power stations, most being applicable for both gas and coal feedstocks. To add to the choice of technology is the question of whether an existing plant should be retrofitted for capture, or whether it is more attractive to build totally new. This miscellany of choices adds considerably to the commercial risk of investing in a large power station. An intermediate stage between the non-capture and full capture state would be advantageous in helping to determine the best way forward and hence reduce those risks. In recent years the term 'carbon capture ready' or 'capture ready' has been coined to describe such an intermediate stage plant and is now widely used. However a detailed and all-encompassing definition of this term has never been published. All fossil fuel consuming plant produce a carbon dioxide gas byproduct. There is a possibility of scrubbing it with an appropriate CO{sub 2} solvent. Hence it could be said that all fossil fuel plant is in a condition for removal of its CO{sub 2} effluent and therefore already in a 'capture ready' state. Evidently, the practical reality of solvent scrubbing could cost more than the rewards offered by such as the ETS (European Trading Scheme). In which case, it can be said that although the possibility exists of capturing CO{sub 2}, it is not a commercially viable option and therefore the plant could not be described as ready for CO{sub 2} capture. The boundary between a capture ready and a non-capture ready condition using this definition cannot be determined in an objective and therefore universally acceptable way and criteria must be found which are less onerous and less potentially contentious to assess. 16 refs., 2 annexes.

Readiness for Living Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peronard, Jean-Paul

2013-01-01

This paper is a comparative analysis between workers in healthcare with high and low degree of readiness for living technology such as robotics. To explore the differences among workers’ readiness for robotics in healthcare, statistical analysis was conducted in the data set obtained from 200...

What Are the Costs of Trauma Center Readiness? Defining and Standardizing Readiness Costs for Trauma Centers Statewide.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashley, Dennis W; Mullins, Robert F; Dente, Christopher J; Garlow, Laura; Medeiros, Regina S; Atkins, Elizabeth V; Solomon, Gina; Abston, Dena; Ferdinand, Colville H

2017-09-01

Trauma center readiness costs are incurred to maintain essential infrastructure and capacity to provide emergent services on a 24/7 basis. These costs are not captured by traditional hospital cost accounting, and no national consensus exists on appropriate definitions for each cost. Therefore, in 2010, stakeholders from all Level I and II trauma centers developed a survey tool standardizing and defining trauma center readiness costs. The survey tool underwent minor revisions to provide further clarity, and the survey was repeated in 2013. The purpose of this study was to provide a follow-up analysis of readiness costs for Georgia's Level I and Level II trauma centers. Using the American College of Surgeons Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient guidelines, four readiness cost categories were identified: Administrative, Clinical Medical Staff, Operating Room, and Education/Outreach. Through conference calls, webinars and face-to-face meetings with financial officers, trauma medical directors, and program managers from all trauma centers, standardized definitions for reporting readiness costs within each category were developed. This resulted in a survey tool for centers to report their individual readiness costs for one year. The total readiness cost for all Level I trauma centers was $34,105,318 (avg $6,821,064) and all Level II trauma centers was $20,998,019 (avg $2,333,113). Methodology to standardize and define readiness costs for all trauma centers within the state was developed. Average costs for Level I and Level II trauma centers were identified. This model may be used to help other states define and standardize their trauma readiness costs.

A Proposed for Assessing Hotel E-Readiness for Tourism in Southern Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piman Sirot

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article only focuses on an overview of the Hotel E-readiness model and model design for tourism in Southern Thailand. “The convergence of information technology (IT and communications technology (CT” will be an important part of these technological innovations. The global economy has been turbulent during the last several years, and governments and enterprises are doing everything possible to inject momentum and effectuate sustainable growth. All member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, aims to be ASEAN Economic Community (AEC by December 2015, have come to realize that an integrated ICT technology will enhance the competitiveness and creativity of their economies and fuel the sustainable growth of the global economy. The role that information and communication technologies (ICTs can play to support economic growth, especially on tourism, has never drawn so much attention and research. According to Networked Readiness Index (NRI, Thailand has made improvement in NRI, edging up from 77th to 74th place in 2013 and from 74th to 67th place to the latest measurement released by the World Economic Forum in2014 and ranked 3 out of 10 countries of ASEAN members. Although we still face serious challenges the impact of ICTs on tourism has become more far reaching as its transformational effects spread to several sectors of the economy and society via innovations. On this research we focus on only the hotels division in Southern of Thailand due to tourism’s economic on this area benefits very high income from oversea and ASEAN. We give an overview of the Hotel E-readiness Model that impact to tourism economic with computer networking infrastructures and communication technologies in Southern of Thailand. Our model is described on four majors - business environment, network readiness, network usage and network impacts. It aims to explore the problems and obstacles for improvement on computer networking infrastructure and

From Readiness to Action: How Motivation Works

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kruglanski Arie W.

2014-09-01

Full Text Available We present a new theoretical construct labeled motivational readiness. It is defined as the inclination, whether or not ultimately implemented, to satisfy a desire. A general model of readiness is described which builds on the work of prior theories, including animal learning models and personality approaches, and which aims to integrate a variety of research findings across different domains of motivational research. Components of this model include the Want state (that is, an individual’s currently active desire, and the Expectancy of being able to satisfy that Want. We maintain that the Want concept is the critical ingredient in motivational readiness: without it, readiness cannot exist. In contrast, some motivational readiness can exist without Expectancy. We also discuss the role of incentive in motivational readiness. Incentive is presently conceived of in terms of a Match between a Want and a Perceived Situational Affordance. Whereas in classic models incentive was portrayed as a first order determinant of motivational readiness, here we describe it as a second order factor which affects readiness by influencing Want, Expectancy, or both. The new model’s relation to its theoretical predecessors, and its implications for future research, also are discussed.

Information Warfare: Issues Associated with the Defense of DOD Computers and Computer Networks

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Franklin, Derek

2002-01-01

... that may threaten the critical information pathways of the armed forces An analysis of the history of computer information warfare reveals that there was an embarrassing lack of readiness and defense...

CMS Software and Computing Ready for Run 2

CERN Document Server

Bloom, Kenneth

2015-01-01

In Run 1 of the Large Hadron Collider, software and computing was a strategic strength of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment. The timely processing of data and simulation samples and the excellent performance of the reconstruction algorithms played an important role in the preparation of the full suite of searches used for the observation of the Higgs boson in 2012. In Run 2, the LHC will run at higher intensities and CMS will record data at a higher trigger rate. These new running conditions will provide new challenges for the software and computing systems. Over the two years of Long Shutdown 1, CMS has built upon the successes of Run 1 to improve the software and computing to meet these challenges. In this presentation we will describe the new features in software and computing that will once again put CMS in a position of physics leadership.

Production technology readiness assessment of surfactant in the research center for Chemistry-Indonesian Institute of Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Setiawan, Arief Ameir Rahman; Sulaswatty, Anny

2017-11-01

The common problem faced by the institution working on research, innovation and technology development is lack of quantitative measures to determine the technology readiness of research. No common communication language between R & D Institutions and industry about the level of preparedness of a research resulting a barrier to technology diffusion interaction. This lack of connection between R & D institutes with industry may lead to "sluggishness" occurs in innovating. For such circumstance, assessing technology readiness of research is very important. One of wide spread methods for the assessment is Technology Readiness Level (TRL, also known as Technometer), which is introduced by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). TRL is a general guide that provides an overview of maturity level of a technology. This study aims to identify and demonstrate the implementation of TRL to assess a number of surfactant researches in the Research Center for Chemistry, Indonesian Institute of Sciences. According to the assessment, it has been obtained the surfactant recommended for further development towards commercialization of R & D results, i.e. Glycerol Mono Stearate (GMS), which has reached the level of TRL 7.

MIBS breadboard ready for testing

Science.gov (United States)

Leijtens, Johan; de Goeij, Bryan; Boslooper, Erik

2017-11-01

MIBS is a spectrometer operating in the thermal infrared wavelength region, designed in frame of the phase A study for the ESA EarthCARE mission as part of the multispectral Imaging instrument MSI, which uses a 2D microbolometer array detector in stead of the more common MCT detectors. Utilization of a microbolometer and using an integrated calibration system, results in a sensor with a size and mass reduction of at least an order of magnitude when compared to currently flying instruments with similar spectral resolution. In order to demonstrate feasiblity a breadboard has been designed, which will be build and aligned in 2006 and will be ready for testing the forth quarter of 2006.

Vogtle Unit 1 readiness review: Assessment of Georgia Power Company readiness review pilot program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, G.

1987-09-01

Georgia Power Company (GPC) performed a readiness review at Vogtle Unit 1 as a pilot program. The pilot program was a new and innovative approach for the systematic and disciplined review, with senior management involvement, of GPC's implementation of design, construction, and operational readiness processes. The program's principal objective was to increase the level of assurance that quality programs at Vogtle Unit 1 have been accomplished in accordance with regulatory requirements. This report assesses the effectiveness of the GPC's readiness review pilot program (RRPP) at Vogtle Unit 1. It includes (1) an overview of what was experienced during the program's implementation, (2) an assessment of how well program objectives were met, and (3) lessons learned on the future use of the readiness review concept. Overall, GPC and the NRC staff believe that the RRPP at Vogtle Unit 1 was a success and that the program provided significant added assurance that Vogtle Unit 1 licensing commitments and NRC regulations have been adequately implemented. Although altering the NRC licensing review process for the few plants still in the construction pipeline may not be appropriate, licensees may benefit significantly by performing readiness reviews on their own initiative as GPC did for Vogtle. (7 refs.)

Logical and physical resource management in the common node of a distributed function laboratory computer network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stubblefield, F.W.

1976-01-01

A scheme for managing resources required for transaction processing in the common node of a distributed function computer system has been given. The scheme has been found to be satisfactory for all common node services provided so far

Factors of children's school readiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ljubica Marjanovič Umek

2006-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of preschool on children's school readiness in connection with their intellectual abilities, language competence, and parents' education. The sample included 219 children who were 68 to 83 months old and were attending the first year of primary school. Children were differentiated by whether or not they had attended preschool before starting school. Children's intellectual ability was determined using Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM; Raven, Raven, & Court, 1999, language competence using the Lestvice splošnega govornegarazvoja–LJ (LSGR–LJ, Scales of General Language Development; Marjanovič Umek, Kranjc, Fekonja in Bajc, 2004, and school readiness with the Preizkus pripravljenosti za šolo (PPŠ, Test of School Readiness; Toličič, 1986. The results indicate that children's intellectual ability and language competence have a high predictive value for the school readiness — they explained 51% of the variance in children's scores on the PPŠ. Preschool enrollment has a positive effect on school readiness for children whose parents have a low level of education, but not for those whose parents are highly educated.

Measuring readiness for and satisfaction with a hand hygiene e-learning course among healthcare workers in a paediatric oncology centre in Guatemala City.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Miriam L; Melgar, Mario; Homsi, Maysam; Shuler, Ana; Antillon-Klussmann, Federico; Matheu, Laura; Ramirez, Marylin; Grant, Michael M; Lowther, Deborah L; Relyea, George; Caniza, Miguela A

2016-01-01

E-learning has been widely used in the infection control field and has been recommended for use in hand hygiene (HH) programs by the World Health Organization. Such strategies are effective and efficient for infection control, but factors such as learner readiness for this method should be determined to assure feasibility and suitability in low- to middle-income countries. We developed a tailored, e-learning, Spanish-language HH course based on the WHO guidelines for HH in healthcare settings for the pediatric cancer center in Guatemala City. We aimed to identify e-readiness factors that influenced HH course completion and evaluate HCWs' satisfaction. Pearson's chi-square test of independence was used to retrospectively compare e-readiness factors and course-completion status (completed, non-completed, and never-started). We surveyed 194 HCWs for e-readiness; 116 HCWs self-enrolled in the HH course, and 55 responded to the satisfaction survey. Most e-readiness factors were statistically significant between course-completion groups. Moreover, students were significantly more likely to complete the course if they had a computer with an Internet connection (P=0.001) and self-reported comfort with using a computer several times a week (p=0.001) and communicating through online technologies (p=0.001). Previous online course experience was not a significant factor (p=0.819). E-readiness score averages varied among HCWs, and mean scores for all e-readiness factors were significantly higher among medical doctors than among nurses. Nearly all respondents to the satisfaction survey agreed that e-learning was as effective as the traditional teaching method. Evaluating HCWs' e-readiness is essential while integrating technologies into educational programs in low- to middle-income countries.

Fine tuning of work practices of common radiological investigations performed using computed radiography system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livingstone, Roshan S.; Timothy Peace, B.S.; Sunny, S.; Victor Raj, D.

2007-01-01

Introduction: The advent of the computed radiography (CR) has brought about remarkable changes in the field of diagnostic radiology. A relatively large cross-section of the human population is exposed to ionizing radiation on account of common radiological investigations. This study is intended to audit radiation doses imparted to patients during common radiological investigations involving the use of CR systems. Method: The entrance surface doses (ESD) were measured using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) for various radiological investigations performed using the computed radiography (CR) systems. Optimization of radiographic techniques and radiation doses was done by fine tuning the work practices. Results and conclusion: Reduction of radiation doses as high as 47% was achieved during certain investigations with the use of optimized exposure factors and fine-tuned work practices

Cognitive Readiness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Morrison, John

2002-01-01

Cognitive readiness is described as the mental preparation an individual needs to establish and sustain competent performance in the complex and unpredictable environment of modern military operations...

A theory of organizational readiness for change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiner Bryan J

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Change management experts have emphasized the importance of establishing organizational readiness for change and recommended various strategies for creating it. Although the advice seems reasonable, the scientific basis for it is limited. Unlike individual readiness for change, organizational readiness for change has not been subject to extensive theoretical development or empirical study. In this article, I conceptually define organizational readiness for change and develop a theory of its determinants and outcomes. I focus on the organizational level of analysis because many promising approaches to improving healthcare delivery entail collective behavior change in the form of systems redesign--that is, multiple, simultaneous changes in staffing, work flow, decision making, communication, and reward systems. Discussion Organizational readiness for change is a multi-level, multi-faceted construct. As an organization-level construct, readiness for change refers to organizational members' shared resolve to implement a change (change commitment and shared belief in their collective capability to do so (change efficacy. Organizational readiness for change varies as a function of how much organizational members value the change and how favorably they appraise three key determinants of implementation capability: task demands, resource availability, and situational factors. When organizational readiness for change is high, organizational members are more likely to initiate change, exert greater effort, exhibit greater persistence, and display more cooperative behavior. The result is more effective implementation. Summary The theory described in this article treats organizational readiness as a shared psychological state in which organizational members feel committed to implementing an organizational change and confident in their collective abilities to do so. This way of thinking about organizational readiness is best suited for

System of common usage on the base of external memory devices and the SM-3 computer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baluka, G.; Vasin, A.Yu.; Ermakov, V.A.; Zhukov, G.P.; Zimin, G.N.; Namsraj, Yu.; Ostrovnoj, A.I.; Savvateev, A.S.; Salamatin, I.M.; Yanovskij, G.Ya.

1980-01-01

An easily modified system of common usage on the base of external memories and a SM-3 minicomputer replacing some pulse analysers is described. The system has merits of PA and is more advantageous with regard to effectiveness of equipment using, the possibility of changing configuration and functions, the data protection against losses due to user errors and some failures, price of one registration channel, place occupied. The system of common usage is intended for the IBR-2 pulse reactor computing centre. It is designed using the SANPO system means for SM-3 computer [ru

Human Resource Information System implementation readiness in the Ethiopian health sector: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dilu, Eyilachew; Gebreslassie, Measho; Kebede, Mihiretu

2017-12-20

Health workforce information systems in low-income countries tend to be defective with poor relationship to information sources. Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is currently in a pilot implementation phase in the Federal Ministry of Health and Regional Health Bureaus of Ethiopia. Before scaling up the implementation, it is important to understand the implementation readiness of hospitals and health departments. The aims of this study were to assess the readiness for HRIS implementation, identify associated factors, and explore the implementation challenges in public hospitals and health departments of the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. An institution-based cross-sectional study supplemented with a qualitative study was conducted from the 15th of February to the 30th of March 2016 in 19 public hospitals and health departments of the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The questionnaire includes items on socio-demographic characteristics and questions measuring technical, personal, and organizational factors adapted from the 32-item questionnaire of the Management Science for Health (MSH) HRIS readiness assessment tool. The data were entered and analyzed with statistical software. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were computed to identify the factors statistically associated with readiness of HRIS implementation. In-depth interviews and observation checklists were used to collect qualitative data. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. A total of 246 human resource (HR) employees and 16 key informants have been included in the study. The HR employee's level of readiness for HRIS implementation in this study was 35.8%. Employee's Internet access (AOR = 2.59, 95%CI = 1.19, 5.62), availability of separate HR section (AOR = 8.08, 95%CI�

Partnership readiness for community-based participatory research.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Jeannette O; Newman, Susan D; Meadows, Otha; Cox, Melissa J; Bunting, Shelia

2012-08-01

The use of a dyadic lens to assess and leverage academic and community partners' readiness to conduct community-based participatory research (CBPR) has not been systematically investigated. With a lack of readiness to conduct CBPR, the partnership and its products are vulnerable. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the dimensions and key indicators necessary for academic and community partnership readiness to conduct CBPR. Key informant interviews and focus groups (n = 36 participants) were conducted with academic and community participants who had experiences with CBPR partnerships. A 'framework analysis' approach was used to analyze the data and generate a new model, CBPR Partnership Readiness Model. Antecedents of CBPR partnership readiness are a catalyst and mutual interest. The major dimensions of the CBPR Partnership Readiness Model are (i) goodness of fit, (ii) capacity, and (iii) operations. Preferred outcomes are sustainable partnership and product, mutual growth, policy and social and health impact on the community. CBPR partnership readiness is an iterative and dynamic process, partnership and issue specific, influenced by a range of environmental and contextual factors, amenable to change and essential for sustainability and promotion of health and social change in the community.

Readiness to change criminal women and men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krzysztof Biel

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The readiness of offenders to social rehabilitation is a new category in our country. Meanwhile, the research conducted in many countries indicates its usefulness in the diagnosis and selection of participants of rehabilitation programmes. This entails more effective interaction with convicted persons and greater responsibility on the part of convicted people for their own social rehabilitation process. The aim of this article is to present the main assumptions and models of readiness for change and their usefulness in social rehabilitation practice and to present pilot studies of readiness for change among criminal women and men in Kraków. Application of the Polish adaptation of the CVTRQ questionnaire made it possible to determine the level of convicted persons’ readiness, taking into account deficits in particular scales of the questionnaire and variables differentiating the group of ready and not ready people. At the end, guidelines for further research will be presented.

A common currency for the computation of motivational values in the human striatum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sescousse, G.T.; Li, Y.; Dreher, J.C.

2015-01-01

Reward comparison in the brain is thought to be achieved through the use of a 'common currency', implying that reward value representations are computed on a unique scale in the same brain regions regardless of the reward type. Although such a mechanism has been identified in the ventro-medial

Timing Is everything: quantifying regulatory and market readiness levels for technology transition policy analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kobos, Peter Holmes [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Malczynski, Leonard A. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Walker, La Tonya Nicole [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Borns, David James [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2014-03-01

People save for retirement throughout their career because it is virtually impossible to save all you’ll need in retirement the year before you retire. Similarly, without installing incremental amounts of clean fossil, renewable or transformative energy technologies throughout the coming decades, a radical and immediate change will be near impossible the year before a policy goal is set to be in place. This notion of steady installation growth over acute installations of technology to meet policy goals is the core topic of discussion for this research. This research operationalizes this notion by developing the theoretical underpinnings of regulatory and market acceptance delays by building upon the common Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework and offers two new additions to the research community. The new and novel Regulatory Readiness Level (RRL) and Market Readiness Level (MRL) frameworks were developed. These components, collectively called the Technology, Regulatory and Market (TRM) readiness level framework allow one to build new constraints into existing Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) to address research questions such as, ‘To meet our desired technical and policy goals, what are the factors that affect the rate we must install technology to achieve these goals in the coming decades?’

Does the Common Core Further Democracy? A Response to "The Common Core and Democratic Education: Examining Potential Costs and Benefits to Public and Private Autonomy"

Science.gov (United States)

Neem, Johann N.

2018-01-01

The Common Core does not advance democratic education. Far from it, the opening section of the language standards argues that the goal of public K-12 education is "college and career readiness." Only at the end of their introductory section do the Common Core's authors suggest that K-12 education has any goals beyond the economic:…

Starting school healthy and ready to learn: using social indicators to improve school readiness in Los Angeles County.

Science.gov (United States)

Wold, Cheryl; Nicholas, Will

2007-10-01

School readiness is an important public health outcome, determined by a set of interdependent health and developmental trajectories and influenced by a child's family, school, and community environments. The same factors that influence school readiness also influence educational success and health throughout life. A California cigarette tax ballot initiative (Proposition 10) created new resources for children aged 0 to 5 years and their families statewide through county-level First 5 commissions, including First 5 LA in Los Angeles County. An opportunity to define and promote school readiness indicators was facilitated by collaborative relationships with a strong emphasis on data among First 5 LA, the Children's Planning Council, and the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, and other child-serving organizations. A workgroup developed school readiness goals and indicators based on recommendations of the National Education Goals Panel and five key domains of child well-being: 1) good health, 2) safety and survival, 3) economic well-being, 4) social and emotional well-being, and 5) education/workforce readiness. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and First 5 LA Commission adopted the school readiness indicators. First 5 LA incorporated the indicators into the results-based accountability framework for its strategic plan and developed a community-oriented report designed to educate and spur school readiness-oriented action. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a countywide consensus-building plan designed to engage key stakeholders in the use of the indicators for planning, evaluation, and community-building activities. School readiness indicators in Los Angeles County represent an important step forward for public health practice, namely, the successful blending of an expanded role for assessment with the ecological model.

The Readiness Ruler as a measure of readiness to change poly-drug use in drug abusers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hesse, Morten

2006-01-01

Readiness to change is a crucial issue in the treatment of substance use disorders. Experiences with methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has shown that continuous drug and alcohol use with all its consequences characterize most MMT programs. In a prospective study of drug abusers seeking opiate...... agonist maintenance treatment in the City of Copenhagen, subjects were administered the Addiction Severity Index, and the Readiness Ruler for each of 11 different licit and illicit drugs by research technicians. Data was collected upon admission to the program and at a 18 month follow-up. Subjects who...... indicated they wanted to quit or cut down upon admission, reported less drug use at 18 month follow-up, after controlling for severity of drug problems at intake. Subjects who expressed readiness to change their drug use upon admission decreased their drug use. It is concluded that the Readiness Ruler...

Breakfast Eating Pattern and Ready-to-Eat Cereals Consumption among Schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur

OpenAIRE

KOO, Hui-Chin; ABDUL JALIL, Siti Nurain; Ruzita, ABD TALIB

2015-01-01

Background: Studies from the West have demonstrated that ready-to-eat cereals (RTECs) are a common form of breakfast and more likely to be consumed by children. This study aimed to investigate the breakfast eating pattern and RTECs consumption among schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur.

NEGOTIATING COMMON GROUND IN COMPUTER-MEDIATED VERSUS FACE-TO-FACE DISCUSSIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilona Vandergriff

2006-01-01

Full Text Available To explore the impact of the communication medium on building common ground, this article presents research comparing learner use of reception strategies in traditional face-to-face (FTF and in synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC.Reception strategies, such as reprises, hypothesis testing and forward inferencing provide evidence of comprehension and thus serve to establish common ground among participants. A number of factors, including communicative purpose or medium are hypothesized to affect the use of such strategies (Clark & Brennan, 1991. In the data analysis, I 1 identify specific types of reception strategies, 2 compare their relative frequencies by communication medium, by task, and by learner and 3 describe how these reception strategies function in the discussions. The findings of the quantitative analysis show that the medium alone seems to have little impact on grounding as indicated by use of reception strategies. The qualitative analysis provides evidence that participants adapted the strategies to the goals of the communicative interaction as they used them primarily to negotiate and update common ground on their collaborative activity rather than to compensate for L2 deficiencies.

A common currency for the computation of motivational values in the human striatum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sescousse, G.T.; Li, Y.; Dreher, J.C.

2014-01-01

Reward comparison in the brain is thought to be achieved through the use of a ‘common currency’, implying that reward value representations are computed on a unique scale in the same brain regions regardless of the reward type. Although such a mechanism has been identified in the ventro-medial

Assessment of anorexia readiness syndrome and body image in female dancers from Poland and Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Ołpińska-Lischka

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction:In recent years eating disorders have become an increasingly common problem, both in the media and in the scientific world, and the most dangerous form of these disorders is anorexia. Amongst patients with Anorexia Readiness Syndrome (ARS, there is an excessive tendency for physical activity and affected persons are increasingly developing into athletes. Therefore it is very important to control such behavior in physically active individuals. In psychology, a new phenomenon is investigated - An Anorexia Readiness Syndrome (ARS, which is considered a disease stage of full-blown anorexia. The problem of anorexia readiness syndrome and dancers body perception is poorly researched and its significance to the health of this group of people is extremely important. Aim: The purpose of this research was to find out how big is the difference of anorexia readiness syndrome and to find out the differences in the perception of their bodies in Polish and German dancers. Material and methods: Questionnaires on anorexia readiness syndrome (ARS and body image were anonymously filled in by the dancers. The study was carried out on 156 dancers from Poland and Germany. Results: The results showed that most of the dancers were diagnosed with moderate to severe anorexia readiness syndrome. Only in the group of older Polish dancers didn’t occur an anorexic syndrome. The statistically significant differences in self-evaluation of body parameters were assessed in the assessment of: nose, face, breasts and physical condition. Conclusions: The results to determine the severity of anorexia readiness syndrome are not very optimistic and only data from the literature confirms that the dance environment is specific to the high risk of eating disorders.

Smoking cessation: barriers to success and readiness to change.

Science.gov (United States)

Guirguis, Alexander B; Ray, Shaunta M; Zingone, Michelle M; Airee, Anita; Franks, Andrea S; Keenum, Amy J

2010-10-01

Smoking cessation interventions should be individualized based on patient history and readiness for change. The objective of this study was to assess stages of change and key components of smoking and cessation history among a sample of primary care patients. A telephone survey of current or recent smokers identified smoking status, stage of change, motivation, concerns, relapse history, pharmacotherapy, and social support. Of 150 participants, most were within precontemplation (22.7 percent) or contemplation (44.0 percent) stages of change; 14.0 percent were in preparation, 4.7 percent in action, and 14.7 percent in maintenance. The primary motivation for quitting was to improve general health (42.3 percent). The most common cessation-related concerns were: breaking the habit, stress, and weight gain. Pharmacotherapy was discontinued due to adverse events in 31.5 percent of users. Intratreatment social support was reported by 17.5 percent. The most common reasons for relapse were falling back into the habit (36 percent), stressful situations (27 percent), and being around other smokers (25 percent). Targeted interventions are needed for patients in either precontemplation or contemplation stages. Counseling should focus on helping patients resolve barriers to cessation and reasons for relapse, particularly stress and weight management. Pharmacotherapy should be utilized when patients are ready to quit. Increased intratreatment social support and counseling appear warranted to support behavior change and appropriate medication use.

Dimensions of community and organizational readiness for change.

Science.gov (United States)

Castañeda, Sheila F; Holscher, Jessica; Mumman, Manpreet K; Salgado, Hugo; Keir, Katherine B; Foster-Fishman, Pennie G; Talavera, Gregory A

2012-01-01

Readiness can influence whether health interventions are implemented in, and ultimately integrated into, communities. Although there is significant research interest in readiness and capacity for change, the measurement of these constructs is still in its infancy. The purpose of this review was to integrate existing assessment models of community and organizational readiness. The database PubMed was searched for articles; articles, book chapters, and practitioner guides identified as references cited in the list of core articles. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (1) Empirical research, (2) identified community or organizational readiness for innovative health programming in the study's title, purpose, research questions, or hypotheses, and (3) identified methods to measure these constructs. Duplicate articles were deleted and measures published before 1995 were excluded. The search yielded 150 studies; 13 met all criteria. This article presents the results of a critical review of 13 community and organizational readiness assessment models, stemming from articles, chapters, and practitioner's guides focusing on assessing, developing, and sustaining community and organizational readiness for innovative public health programs. Readiness is multidimensional and different models place emphasis on different components of readiness, such as (1) community and organizational climate that facilitates change, (2) attitudes and current efforts toward prevention, (3) commitment to change, and (4) capacity to implement change. When initiating the program planning process, it is essential to assess these four domains of readiness to determine how they apply to the nuances across different communities. Thus, community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships, in efforts to focus on public health problems, may consider using readiness assessments as a tool for tailoring intervention efforts to the needs of the community.

Pathways to School Readiness: Executive Functioning Predicts Academic and Social-Emotional Aspects of School Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Trisha D.; Hund, Alycia M.; Hesson-McInnis, Matthew S.; Roman, Zachary J.

2017-01-01

The current study specified the extent to which hot and cool aspects of executive functioning predicted academic and social-emotional indicators of school readiness. It was unique in focusing on positive aspects of social-emotional readiness, rather than problem behaviors. One hundred four 3-5-year-old children completed tasks measuring executive…

Development of the PRE-HIT instrument: patient readiness to engage in health information technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Koopman, Richelle J; Petroski, Gregory F; Canfield, Shannon M; Stuppy, Julie A; Mehr, David R

2014-01-28

Technology-based aids for lifestyle change are becoming more prevalent for chronic conditions. Important "digital divides" remain, as well as concerns about privacy, data security, and lack of motivation. Researchers need a way to characterize participants' readiness to use health technologies. To address this need, we created an instrument to measure patient readiness to engage with health technologies among adult patients with chronic conditions. Initial focus groups to determine domains, followed by item development and refinement, and exploratory factor analysis to determine final items and factor structure. The development sample included 200 patients with chronic conditions from 6 family medicine clinics. From 98 potential items, 53 best candidate items were examined using exploratory factor analysis. Pearson's Correlation for Test/Retest reliability at 3 months. The final instrument had 28 items that sorted into 8 factors with associated Cronbach's alpha: 1) Health Information Need (0.84), 2) Computer/Internet Experience (0.87), 3) Computer Anxiety (0.82), 4) Preferred Mode of Interaction (0.73), 5) Relationship with Doctor (0.65), 6) Cell Phone Expertise (0.75), 7) Internet Privacy (0.71), and 8) No News is Good News (0.57). Test-retest reliability for the 8 subscales ranged from (0.60 to 0.85). The Patient Readiness to Engage in Health Internet Technology (PRE-HIT) instrument has good psychometric properties and will be an aid to researchers investigating technology-based health interventions. Future work will examine predictive validity.

A database application for the Naval Command Physical Readiness Testing Program

OpenAIRE

Quinones, Frances M.

1998-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 1T21 envisions a Navy with tandardized, state-of-art computer systems. Based on this vision, Naval database management systems will also need to become standardized among Naval commands. Today most commercial off the shelf (COTS) database management systems provide a graphical user interface. Among the many Naval database systems currently in use, the Navy's Physical Readiness Program database has continued to exist at the command leve...

Measuring E-Learning Readiness among EFL Teachers in Intermediate Public Schools in Saudi Arabia

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Furaydi, Ahmed Ajab

2013-01-01

This study will determine their readiness level for the e-learning in several aspects such as attitude toward e-learning, and computer literacy also this study attempt to investigate the main the barriers that EFL teachers have to overcome while incorporating e-learning into their teaching. The theory upon which the study was technology acceptance…

First Responder Readiness: A Systems Approach to Readiness Assessment Using Model Based Vulnerability Analysis Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

2005-09-01

to come—if it be not to come, it will be now—if it be not now, yet it will come—the readiness is all. . .” --- Shakespeare , Hamlet , 5.2.215-219...BLANK 1 I. READINESS OVERVIEW A. INTRODUCTION “ Hamlet : . . . There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now ‘tis not

Readiness for hospital discharge: A concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Galvin, Eileen Catherine; Wills, Teresa; Coffey, Alice

2017-11-01

To report on an analysis on the concept of 'readiness for hospital discharge'. No uniform operational definition of 'readiness for hospital discharge' exists in the literature; therefore, a concept analysis is required to clarify the concept and identify an up-to-date understanding of readiness for hospital discharge. Clarity of the concept will identify all uses of the concept; provide conceptual clarity, an operational definition and direction for further research. Literature review and concept analysis. A review of literature was conducted in 2016. Databases searched were: Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) and SocINDEX with Full Text. No date limits were applied. Identification of the attributes, antecedents and consequences of readiness for hospital discharge led to an operational definition of the concept. The following attributes belonging to 'readiness for hospital discharge' were extracted from the literature: physical stability, adequate support, psychological ability, and adequate information and knowledge. This analysis contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the area of hospital discharge, by proposing an operational definition of readiness for hospital discharge, derived from the literature. A better understanding of the phenomenon will assist healthcare professionals to recognize, measure and implement interventions where necessary, to ensure patients are ready for hospital discharge and assist in the advancement of knowledge for all professionals involved in patient discharge from hospital. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

SSVEP recognition using common feature analysis in brain-computer interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu; Zhou, Guoxu; Jin, Jing; Wang, Xingyu; Cichocki, Andrzej

2015-04-15

Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) has been successfully applied to steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) recognition for brain-computer interface (BCI) application. Although the CCA method outperforms the traditional power spectral density analysis through multi-channel detection, it requires additionally pre-constructed reference signals of sine-cosine waves. It is likely to encounter overfitting in using a short time window since the reference signals include no features from training data. We consider that a group of electroencephalogram (EEG) data trials recorded at a certain stimulus frequency on a same subject should share some common features that may bear the real SSVEP characteristics. This study therefore proposes a common feature analysis (CFA)-based method to exploit the latent common features as natural reference signals in using correlation analysis for SSVEP recognition. Good performance of the CFA method for SSVEP recognition is validated with EEG data recorded from ten healthy subjects, in contrast to CCA and a multiway extension of CCA (MCCA). Experimental results indicate that the CFA method significantly outperformed the CCA and the MCCA methods for SSVEP recognition in using a short time window (i.e., less than 1s). The superiority of the proposed CFA method suggests it is promising for the development of a real-time SSVEP-based BCI. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Magnetic fusion: Environmental Readiness Document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-03-01

Environmental Readiness Documents are prepared periodically to review and evaluate the environmental status of an energy technology during the several phases of development of that technology. Through these documents, the Office of Environment within the Department of Energy provides an independent and objective assessment of the environmental risks and potential impacts associated with the progression of the technology to the next stage of development and with future extensive use of the technology. This Environmental Readiness Document was prepared to assist the Department of Energy in evaluating the readiness of magnetic fusion technology with respect to environmental issues. An effort has been made to identify potential environmental problems that may be encountered based upon current knowledge, proposed and possible new environmental regulations, and the uncertainties inherent in planned environmental research

Beyond College Eligibility: A New Framework for Promoting College Readiness. College Readiness Indicator Systems Resource Series

Science.gov (United States)

Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, 2014

2014-01-01

The College Readiness Indicator Systems (CRIS) initiative was developed in response to a troubling pattern: More students than ever are enrolling in college after high school, but many of them are not college ready, as evidenced by persistently low rates of college completion. The sense of urgency to close the gap between college eligibility and…

Organisational readiness for introducing a performance management system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Ochurub

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Orientation: The successful introduction of performance management systems to the public service requires careful measurement of readiness for change.Research purpose: This study investigated the extent to which employees were ready for change as an indication of whether their organisation was ready to introduce a performance management system (PMS.Motivation for the study: Introducing system changes in organisations depends on positive employee preconditions. There is some debate over whether organisations can facilitate these preconditions. This research investigates change readiness linked to the introduction of a PMS in a public sector organisation. The results add to the growing literature on levels of change readiness.Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a quantitative, questionnairebased design. Because the organisation was large, the researchers used stratified sampling to select a sample from each population stratum. The sample size was 460, which constituted 26% of the total population. They used a South African change readiness questionnaire to elicit employee perceptions and opinions.Main findings: The researchers found that the organisation was not ready to introduce a PMS. The study identified various challenges and key factors that were negatively affecting the introduction of a PMS.Practical/managerial implications: The intention to develop and introduce performance management systems is generally to change the attitudes, values and approaches of managers and employees to the new strategies, processes and plans to improve productivity and performance. However, pre-existing conditions and attitudes could have an effect. It is essential to ensure that organisations are ready to introduce performance management systems and to provide sound change leadership to drive the process effectively. This study contributes to the body of knowledge about the challenges and factors organisations should consider when they

Neurobiological roots of language in primate audition: common computational properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina; Schlesewsky, Matthias; Small, Steven L; Rauschecker, Josef P

2015-03-01

Here, we present a new perspective on an old question: how does the neurobiology of human language relate to brain systems in nonhuman primates? We argue that higher-order language combinatorics, including sentence and discourse processing, can be situated in a unified, cross-species dorsal-ventral streams architecture for higher auditory processing, and that the functions of the dorsal and ventral streams in higher-order language processing can be grounded in their respective computational properties in primate audition. This view challenges an assumption, common in the cognitive sciences, that a nonhuman primate model forms an inherently inadequate basis for modeling higher-level language functions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and Pilot Test of the Workplace Readiness Questionnaire, a Theory-Based Instrument to Measure Small Workplaces' Readiness to Implement Wellness Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannon, Peggy A; Helfrich, Christian D; Chan, K Gary; Allen, Claire L; Hammerback, Kristen; Kohn, Marlana J; Parrish, Amanda T; Weiner, Bryan J; Harris, Jeffrey R

2017-01-01

To develop a theory-based questionnaire to assess readiness for change in small workplaces adopting wellness programs. In developing our scale, we first tested items via "think-aloud" interviews. We tested the revised items in a cross-sectional quantitative telephone survey. The study setting comprised small workplaces (20-250 employees) in low-wage industries. Decision-makers representing small workplaces in King County, Washington (think-aloud interviews, n = 9), and the United States (telephone survey, n = 201) served as study subjects. We generated items for each construct in Weiner's theory of organizational readiness for change. We also measured workplace characteristics and current implementation of workplace wellness programs. We assessed reliability by coefficient alpha for each of the readiness questionnaire subscales. We tested the association of all subscales with employers' current implementation of wellness policies, programs, and communications, and conducted a path analysis to test the associations in the theory of organizational readiness to change. Each of the readiness subscales exhibited acceptable internal reliability (coefficient alpha range, .75-.88) and was positively associated with wellness program implementation ( p < .05). The path analysis was consistent with the theory of organizational readiness to change, except change efficacy did not predict change-related effort. We developed a new questionnaire to assess small workplaces' readiness to adopt and implement evidence-based wellness programs. Our findings also provide empirical validation of Weiner's theory of readiness for change.

Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Ready Mix Concrete Plant

Science.gov (United States)

Topkar, V. M.; Duggar, A. R.; Kumar, A.; Bonde, P. P.; Girwalkar, R. S.; Gade, S. B.

2013-11-01

India, being a developing nation is experiencing major growth in its infrastructural sector. Concrete is the major component in construction. The requirement of good quality of concrete in large quantities can be fulfilled by ready mix concrete batching and mixing plants. The paper presents a technique of applying the value engineering tool life cycle cost analysis to a ready mix concrete plant. This will help an investor or an organization to take investment decisions regarding a ready mix concrete facility. No economic alternatives are compared in this study. A cost breakdown structure is prepared for the ready mix concrete plant. A market survey has been conducted to collect realistic costs for the ready mix concrete facility. The study establishes the cash flow for the ready mix concrete facility helpful in investment and capital generation related decisions. Transit mixers form an important component of the facility and are included in the calculations. A fleet size for transit mixers has been assumed for this purpose. The life cycle cost has been calculated for the system of the ready mix concrete plant and transit mixers.

LHC@home is ready to support HiLumi LHC: take part!

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2011-01-01

Recently relaunched, the LHC@home volunteer computing project is now ready to support the HiLumi LHC project, the design phase of the planned upgrade of the LHC that will increase its luminosity by a factor of 5 to 10 beyond its original design value. HiLumi will need massive simulations to test the beam dynamics. Whether you are at home or at work, you can help experts design the future LHC by connecting your computer to LHC@home. Go for it!   LHC@home is aimed at involving the public in real science. If you have a computer that is connected to the Internet, you can join the large team of volunteers who are already supporting its two main projects: Test4Theory, which runs computer simulations of high-energy particle collisions, and SixTrack, which is aimed at optimizing the LHC performance by performing beam dynamics simulations. In both cases, the software is designed to run only when your computer is idle and causes no disruption to your normal activities. To the simulations run by the Six...

A qualitative readiness-requirements assessment model for enterprise big-data infrastructure investment

Science.gov (United States)

Olama, Mohammed M.; McNair, Allen W.; Sukumar, Sreenivas R.; Nutaro, James J.

2014-05-01

In the last three decades, there has been an exponential growth in the area of information technology providing the information processing needs of data-driven businesses in government, science, and private industry in the form of capturing, staging, integrating, conveying, analyzing, and transferring data that will help knowledge workers and decision makers make sound business decisions. Data integration across enterprise warehouses is one of the most challenging steps in the big data analytics strategy. Several levels of data integration have been identified across enterprise warehouses: data accessibility, common data platform, and consolidated data model. Each level of integration has its own set of complexities that requires a certain amount of time, budget, and resources to implement. Such levels of integration are designed to address the technical challenges inherent in consolidating the disparate data sources. In this paper, we present a methodology based on industry best practices to measure the readiness of an organization and its data sets against the different levels of data integration. We introduce a new Integration Level Model (ILM) tool, which is used for quantifying an organization and data system's readiness to share data at a certain level of data integration. It is based largely on the established and accepted framework provided in the Data Management Association (DAMADMBOK). It comprises several key data management functions and supporting activities, together with several environmental elements that describe and apply to each function. The proposed model scores the maturity of a system's data governance processes and provides a pragmatic methodology for evaluating integration risks. The higher the computed scores, the better managed the source data system and the greater the likelihood that the data system can be brought in at a higher level of integration.

Understanding Early Educators' Readiness to Change

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Shira M.

2012-01-01

Researchers in the fields of humanistic psychology, counseling, organizational change, and implementation science have been asking a question that is at the heart of today's early care and education quality improvement efforts: When it comes to changing one's behavior, what makes a person ready to change? Although the concept of readiness to…

Readiness Assessment Plan, Hanford 200 areas treated effluent disposal facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ulmer, F.J.

1995-01-01

This Readiness Assessment Plan documents Liquid Effluent Facilities review process used to establish the scope of review, documentation requirements, performance assessment, and plant readiness to begin operation of the Treated Effluent Disposal system in accordance with DOE-RLID-5480.31, Startup and Restart of Facilities Operational Readiness Review and Readiness Assessments

Category 3 investigation-derived waste Readiness Evaluation Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludowise, J.D.

1996-08-01

This Readiness Evaluation Plan presents the methodology used to assess the readiness for loading investigation-derived waste (IDW) drums on trucks for transport to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF). The scope of this Readiness Evaluation Plan includes an assessment of the organizations, procedures, and regulatory approvals necessary for the handling of IDW containers and the subsequent transportation of materials to ERDF

The psychometric properties of the Readiness and Motivation Questionnaire: a symptom-specific measure of readiness for change in the eating disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Geller, Josie; Brown, Krista E; Srikameswaran, Suja; Piper, William; Dunn, Erin C

2013-09-01

Readiness for change, as assessed by the readiness and motivation interview (RMI), predicts a number of clinical outcome variables in eating disorders including enrollment in intensive treatment, symptom change, dropout, and relapse. Although clinically useful, the training and administration of the RMI is time consuming. The purpose of this research was to (a) develop a self-report, symptom-specific version of the RMI, the readiness and motivation questionnaire (RMQ), that can be used to assess readiness for change across all eating disorder diagnoses and (b) establish its psychometric properties. The RMQ provides stage of change, internality, and confidence scores for each of 4 eating disorder symptom domains (restriction, bingeing, and cognitive and compensatory behaviors). Individuals (N = 244) with current eating disorder diagnoses completed the RMQ and measures of convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity. Similar to the RMI scores, readiness scores on the RMQ differed according to symptom domain. Regarding criterion validity, RMQ scores were significantly associated with ratings of anticipated difficulty of recovery activities and completion of recovery activities. The RMQ contributed significant unique variance to anticipated difficulty of recovery activities, beyond those accounted for by the RMI and a questionnaire measure of global readiness. The RMQ is thus an acceptable alternative to the RMI, providing global and domain-specific readiness information when time or cost prohibits use of an interview.

Ready for practice: what child and family health nurses say about education.

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, Cathrine; Schmied, Virginia; Psaila, Kim; Kruske, Sue; Rossiter, Chris

2015-02-01

Australia has a well-established universal child and family health service predominately staffed by specialist/qualified child and family health nurses. Two common and interrelated concerns are the need for nurses to be ready for practice after completing a nursing education program and the means to ensure ongoing nursing competence. To investigate the readiness of CFH nurses to practise after qualification and their continuing engagement with learning. The study used an interpretive descriptive approach. This paper presents data from four questions from a larger survey of child and family health nurses across Australia. 1098 child and family health nurses responded to the survey. Qualitative survey responses from the four education questions were analysed using inductive thematic content analysis. Five significant themes were identified: hands-on experience (student clinical practice/placement); drawing on prior experience; learning on the job; learning (learning over time); and barriers to learning. This paper provides insights into nurses' readiness for practice at the completion of a postgraduate child and family health nursing qualification and their maintenance of competence and specialist knowledge. It highlights: the need for clinical placement to be retained and enhanced; the significant contribution of more experienced child and family health nurses mentoring newly graduated child and family health nurses; the need for minimum education standards; the importance of reviewing education courses in relation to graduates' readiness for child and family health nursing practice; the importance of supporting ongoing professional development; and the removal of barriers to accessing education opportunities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cloud-Based Collaborative Writing and the Common Core Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Yim, Soobin; Warschauer, Mark; Zheng, Binbin; Lawrence, Joshua F.

2014-01-01

The Common Core State Standards emphasize the integration of technology skills into English Language Arts (ELA) instruction, recognizing the demand for technology-based literacy skills to be college- and career- ready. This study aims to examine how collaborative cloud-based writing is used in in a Colorado school district, where one-to-one…

What are the characteristics of 'sexually ready' adolescents? Exploring the sexual readiness of youth in urban poor Accra.

Science.gov (United States)

Biney, Adriana A E; Dodoo, F Nii-Amoo

2016-01-05

Adolescent sexual activity, especially among the urban poor, remains a challenge. Despite numerous interventions and programs to address the negative consequences arising from early and frequent sexual activity among youth in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, only slight progress has been made. A plausible explanation is that our understanding of what adolescents think about sex and about their own sexuality is poor. In that sense, examining how adolescents in urban poor communities think about their sexual readiness, and identifying characteristics associated with that sexual self-concept dimension, should deepen our understanding of this topical issue. A total of 196 male and female adolescents, ages 12 to 19, were surveyed in the 2011 RIPS Urban Health and Poverty Project in Accra, Ghana. The youth responded to three statements which determined their levels of sexual readiness. Other background characteristics were also obtained enabling the assessment of the correlates of their preparedness to engage in sex. The data were analyzed using ordered logistic regression models. Overall, the majority of respondents did not consider themselves ready for sex. Multivariate analyses indicated that sexual experience, exposure to pornographic movies, gender, ethnicity and household wealth were significantly linked to their readiness for sex. Sexual readiness is related to sexual activity as well as other characteristics of the adolescents, suggesting the need to consider these factors in the design of programs and interventions to curb early sex. The subject of sexual readiness has to be investigated further to ensure adolescents do not identify with any negative effects of this sexual self-view.

Measuring Success: David Conley's College Readiness Framework and the Illinois College and Career Readiness Act. In Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Baber, Lorenzo D.; Castro, Erin L.; Bragg, Debra D.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this brief is to understand the Illinois College and Career Readiness (CCR) Act in light of David Conley's college readiness model. Although not mentioned specifically by the Illinois statute, evaluation results gathered by the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) show alignment between a number of programs…

FACC: A Novel Finite Automaton Based on Cloud Computing for the Multiple Longest Common Subsequences Search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanni Li

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Searching for the multiple longest common subsequences (MLCS has significant applications in the areas of bioinformatics, information processing, and data mining, and so forth, Although a few parallel MLCS algorithms have been proposed, the efficiency and effectiveness of the algorithms are not satisfactory with the increasing complexity and size of biologic data. To overcome the shortcomings of the existing MLCS algorithms, and considering that MapReduce parallel framework of cloud computing being a promising technology for cost-effective high performance parallel computing, a novel finite automaton (FA based on cloud computing called FACC is proposed under MapReduce parallel framework, so as to exploit a more efficient and effective general parallel MLCS algorithm. FACC adopts the ideas of matched pairs and finite automaton by preprocessing sequences, constructing successor tables, and common subsequences finite automaton to search for MLCS. Simulation experiments on a set of benchmarks from both real DNA and amino acid sequences have been conducted and the results show that the proposed FACC algorithm outperforms the current leading parallel MLCS algorithm FAST-MLCS.

MONTHLY VARIATION IN SPERM MOTILITY IN COMMON CARP ASSESSED USING COMPUTER-ASSISTED SPERM ANALYSIS (CASA)

Science.gov (United States)

Sperm motility variables from the milt of the common carp Cyprinus carpio were assessed using a computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system across several months (March-August 1992) known to encompass the natural spawning period. Two-year-old pond-raised males obtained each mo...

Instructional Alignment of Workplace Readiness Skills in Marketing Education

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Sarah J.; Reed, Philip A.

2015-01-01

This study examined high school marketing education teachers' knowledge of workplace readiness skills and whether that knowledge had an impact on student workplace readiness skill achievement. Further, this study examined the usage of Virginia's 13 Workplace Readiness Skills curriculum and identified the teaching methods and instructional…

A Mentoring Program Drills down on the Common Core

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Emily; Sinclair, Steve; Gschwend, Laura

2015-01-01

The Santa Cruz/Silicon Valley New Teacher Project--under the aegis of the New Teacher Center--devised a program to train teacher mentors to help new teachers incorporate the Common Core standards into their teaching. The three-year program yielded five critical lessons: Mentors need ongoing support to develop their readiness and willingness to…

A new in silico classification model for ready biodegradability, based on molecular fragments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardo, Anna; Pizzo, Fabiola; Benfenati, Emilio; Manganaro, Alberto; Ferrari, Thomas; Gini, Giuseppina

2014-08-01

Regulations such as the European REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals) often require chemicals to be evaluated for ready biodegradability, to assess the potential risk for environmental and human health. Because not all chemicals can be tested, there is an increasing demand for tools for quick and inexpensive biodegradability screening, such as computer-based (in silico) theoretical models. We developed an in silico model starting from a dataset of 728 chemicals with ready biodegradability data (MITI-test Ministry of International Trade and Industry). We used the novel software SARpy to automatically extract, through a structural fragmentation process, a set of substructures statistically related to ready biodegradability. Then, we analysed these substructures in order to build some general rules. The model consists of a rule-set made up of the combination of the statistically relevant fragments and of the expert-based rules. The model gives good statistical performance with 92%, 82% and 76% accuracy on the training, test and external set respectively. These results are comparable with other in silico models like BIOWIN developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); moreover this new model includes an easily understandable explanation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Are the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks? Information Brief

Science.gov (United States)

ACT, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are the minimum ACT® college readiness assessment scores required for students to have a high probability of success in credit-bearing college courses--English Composition, social sciences courses, College Algebra, or Biology. This report identifies the College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT Compass scale…

Towards a more common use of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) – development of UHPC for ready-mix and prefabrication concrete plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spiesz, P.R.; Hunger, M.; Justnes, Harald; Braarud, Henny

2017-01-01

This study addresses the development of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) suitable for a mass production in conventional ready-mix and prefabrication concrete plants. In order to facilitate the production process, curing regime and to minimize the costs, no additional treatments (e.g. thermal

Electricity market readiness plan : Ontario Energy Board

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-03-01

This document informs electric power market participants of the Ontario Energy Board's newly developed market readiness plan and target timelines that local distribution companies (LDCs) must meet for retail marketing. The Ontario Energy Board's plan incorporates relevant independent market operator (IMO)-administered market milestones with retail market readiness targeted for September 2001. The market readiness framework involves a self-certification process for LDCs by August 10, 2001, through which the Board will be able to monitor progress and assess the feasibility of meeting the target timelines. For retail market readiness, all LDCs will have to calculate settlement costs, produce unbundled bills, provide standard supply service, change suppliers and accommodate retail transactions. LDCs must be either authorized participants in the IMO-administered market or become retail customers of their host LDC. Unbundled bills will include itemized charges for energy price, transmission, distribution and debt retirement charge. 1 tab., 1 fig

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

M. Kasemann P. McBride Edited by M-C. Sawley with contributions from: P. Kreuzer D. Bonacorsi S. Belforte F. Wuerthwein L. Bauerdick K. Lassila-Perini M-C. Sawley

Introduction More than seventy CMS collaborators attended the Computing and Offline Workshop in San Diego, California, April 20-24th to discuss the state of readiness of software and computing for collisions. Focus and priority were given to preparations for data taking and providing room for ample dialog between groups involved in Commissioning, Data Operations, Analysis and MC Production. Throughout the workshop, aspects of software, operating procedures and issues addressing all parts of the computing model were discussed. Plans for the CMS participation in STEP’09, the combined scale testing for all four experiments due in June 2009, were refined. The article in CMS Times by Frank Wuerthwein gave a good recap of the highly collaborative atmosphere of the workshop. Many thanks to UCSD and to the organizers for taking care of this workshop, which resulted in a long list of action items and was definitely a success. A considerable amount of effort and care is invested in the estimate of the comput...

Computer vision syndrome-A common cause of unexplained visual symptoms in the modern era.

Science.gov (United States)

Munshi, Sunil; Varghese, Ashley; Dhar-Munshi, Sushma

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to assess the evidence and available literature on the clinical, pathogenetic, prognostic and therapeutic aspects of Computer vision syndrome. Information was collected from Medline, Embase & National Library of Medicine over the last 30 years up to March 2016. The bibliographies of relevant articles were searched for additional references. Patients with Computer vision syndrome present to a variety of different specialists, including General Practitioners, Neurologists, Stroke physicians and Ophthalmologists. While the condition is common, there is a poor awareness in the public and among health professionals. Recognising this condition in the clinic or in emergency situations like the TIA clinic is crucial. The implications are potentially huge in view of the extensive and widespread use of computers and visual display units. Greater public awareness of Computer vision syndrome and education of health professionals is vital. Preventive strategies should form part of work place ergonomics routinely. Prompt and correct recognition is important to allow management and avoid unnecessary treatments. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

StormReady in a Box: Enhancing NOAA's Presence in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Grondin, N. S.; Franks, C.

2015-12-01

The National Weather Service StormReady Supporter program exists to give schools, companies, TV stations, and other facilities the opportunity to earn recognition for their weather preparedness and awareness. Requirements to earn StormReady Supporter status include having a facility warning point, use of NOAA Weather Radios, and weather hazard Emergency Operation Plans. Despite the increasing importance of weather preparedness in schools, only 1.2% of Minnesota schools are deemed StormReady by the National Weather Service. It was determined that the major impedance for schools becoming StormReady Supporters is the lack of time for administrators to engage in anything "extra" beyond their listed duties. As part of a 2015 Hollings Scholar project, the StormReady in a Box concept was developed to remedy this, by empowering teachers and students to take charge and complete the StormReady Supporter application for their school. StormReady in a Box is a project developed for Junior High School students to learn about weather preparedness and to help their school acquire StormReady status. The project was designed to be relevant to the Minnesota State Education Standards in Science, be simple for teachers to do with their students, and most importantly, to be enjoyable for Junior High School age students to do. The project was also designed to enhance critical thinking skills and logical reasoning abilities, as they relate to the StormReady Supporter application. This presentation will present the overall rationale for the undertaking of this project, the creation of, and the logical next steps for the StormReady in a Box project.

A Model of Feeding Readiness for Preterm Infants

OpenAIRE

Pickler, Rita H.

2004-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical model of bottle feeding readiness in preterm infants, which hypothesizes relationships between bottle feeding readiness, experience, and outcomes. The synactive theory of development provided the conceptual foundation for the model. The model, which is currently being tested, is designed to establish bottle feeding readiness criteria that will help nurses decide when to offer a bottle to a preterm infant The model may also provide a useful framework for deter...

Smart Grid Technology and Consumer Call Center Readiness

OpenAIRE

Schamber, Kelsey L.

2010-01-01

The following reasearch project deals with utility call center readiness to address customer concerns and questions about the Smart Grid and smart meter technology. Since consumer engagement is important for the benefits of the Smart Grid to be realized, the readiness and ability of utilities to answer consumer questions is an important issue. Assessing the readiness of utility call centers to address pertinant customer concerns was accomplished by calling utility call centers with Smart Grid...

Universal School Readiness Screening at Kindergarten Entry

Science.gov (United States)

Quirk, Matthew; Dowdy, Erin; Dever, Bridget; Carnazzo, Katherine; Bolton, Courtney

2018-01-01

Researchers examined the concurrent and predictive validity of a brief (12-item) teacher-rated school readiness screener, the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP), using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to examine associations between (N = 78) children's social-emotional (SE) and cognitive (COG) readiness with…

Radiation Tolerant, FPGA-based SmallSat Computer System

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The goal of this project is to mature the technology readiness of a radiation tolerant smallsat computer system for a subsequent orbital flight demonstration. The...

Year 2000 Readiness Kit: A Compilation of Y2K Resources for Schools, Colleges and Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Education, Washington, DC.

This kit was developed to assist the postsecondary education community's efforts to resolve the Year 2000 (Y2K) computer problem. The kit includes a description of the Y2K problem, an assessment of the readiness of colleges and universities, a checklist for institutions, a Y2K communications strategy, articles on addressing the problem in academic…

Students’ Readiness for E-learning Application in Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atousa Rasouli

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this research was to investigate the readiness of art students in applying e-learning. This study adopted a survey research design. From three public Iranian Universities (Alzahra, Tarbiat Modares, and Tehran, 347 students were selected by multistage cluster sampling and via Morgan Table. Their readiness for E-learning application was assessed by a self-developed questionnaire. Data analysis was done by indexes of descriptive statistics and one sample t-test. Analysis of results found a significant relationship between the readiness of undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-graduate students to apply E-learning, but there was no significant relationship between students’ readiness and gender, university, and subject. Results revealed that Art students were in a moderate level of readiness for applying E-learning.

“Getting Ready for School:” A Preliminary Evaluation of a Parent-Focused School-Readiness Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly G. Noble

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Children from disadvantaged backgrounds tend to start school with fewer school readiness skills than their more advantaged peers. Emergent literacy and math skills play an important role in this gap. The family is essential in helping children build these skills, and the active involvement of families is crucial to the success of any intervention for young children. The Getting Ready for School (GRS program is a parent-focused curriculum designed to help parents equip their children with the skills and enthusiasm necessary for learning when they start school. Parents meet in weekly workshops led by a trained facilitator and implement the curriculum at home with their children. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the promise of the GRS intervention in children participating in an urban Head Start program and to explore parents' responses to the intervention. We hypothesized that participation in GRS would improve school readiness in literacy and math skills, relative to participation in business-as-usual Head Start. Four Head Start classrooms (two randomly selected “intervention” and two “comparison” classrooms participated in this study. Preliminary analyses suggest that GRS improves school readiness over and above a Head Start-as-usual experience. Implications for early childhood programs and policies are discussed.

A Proposed Conceptual Model of Military Medical Readiness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Van Hall, Brian M

2007-01-01

.... The purpose of this research is to consolidate existing literature on the latent variable of medical readiness, and to propose a composite theoretical model of medical readiness that may provide...

A Study of Fleet Surgical Teams Readiness Posture in Amphibious Readiness Groups

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Tennyson, Ruby

2000-01-01

This thesis describes and evaluates Fleet Surgical Teams (FSTs). It examines how Navy Medicine adapted FSTs to changing support requirements associated with the Total Health Care Support Readiness Requirement (THCSRR...

QCI Common

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-11-18

There are many common software patterns and utilities for the ORNL Quantum Computing Institute that can and should be shared across projects. Otherwise we find duplication of code which adds unwanted complexity. This is a software product seeks to alleviate this by providing common utilities such as object factories, graph data structures, parameter input mechanisms, etc., for other software products within the ORNL Quantum Computing Institute. This work enables pure basic research, has no export controlled utilities, and has no real commercial value.

Birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women in Tehulederie district, Northeast Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Endeshaw, Demlie Belete; Gezie, Lema Derseh; Yeshita, Hedija Yenus

2018-01-01

Motherhood is a time of anticipation of joy for a woman, her family, and her community. In spite of this fact, it is not as enjoyable as it should be because of numerous reasons. Insufficiency or lack of birth preparedness and complication readiness is the most common reason. The aim of this study was to assess the practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness and associated factors among pregnant women in Tehuledere district, northeast Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehuledere district, northeast Ethiopia. Participants were selected using the multistage sampling technique, and data were analyzed both descriptively and analytically using the binary logistic regression. Out of the total 507 samples, 500 (response rate 98.6%) pregnant women participated in the study. Less than half (44.6%) and (43.4%) of the respondents had knowledge and practice on birth preparedness and complication readiness, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, knowledge of birth preparedness and complication readiness (AOR = 1.648, 95%CI: 1.073, 2.531), knowledge of danger signs during pregnancy (AOR = 2.802, 95% CI: 1.637, 4.793), gestational age (AOR = 3.379, 95% CI: 2.114, 5.401), and antenatal care follow up starting time (AOR = 2.841, 95% CI: 1.330, 6.068) were significantly associated with the practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness, but pregnant women in rural areas (AOR = 0.442, 95% CI:0.244, 0.803) were less associated with birth preparedness and complication readiness compared to women in urban settlements. This study identified that poor knowledge, inadequate birth preparedness, and complication readiness were prevalent among mothers in the study area. Government officials, partners, and health care providers working in the areas of maternal and child health should operate together to maximize birth preparedness and complication readiness practices.

Readiness for organisational change among general practice staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Christl, B; Harris, M F; Jayasinghe, U W; Proudfoot, J; Taggart, J; Tan, J

2010-10-01

Increasing demands on general practice to manage chronic disease may warrant organisational change at the practice level. Staff's readiness for organisational change can act as a facilitator or barrier to implementing interventions aimed at organisational change. To explore general practice staff readiness for organisational change and its association with staff and practices characteristics. This is a cross-sectional study of practices in three Australian states involved in a randomised control trial on the effectiveness of an intervention to enhance the role of non-general practitioner staff in chronic disease management. Readiness for organisational change, job satisfaction and practice characteristics were assessed using questionnaires. 502 staff from 58 practices completed questionnaires. Practice characteristics were not associated with staff readiness for change. A multilevel regression analysis showed statistically significant associations between staff readiness for organisational change (range 1 to 5) and having a non-clinical staff role (vs general practitioner; B=-0.315; 95% CI -0.47 to -0.16; pchange which addresses the mix of practice staff. Moderately low job satisfaction may be an opportunity for organisational change.

PERFORMANCES PARENTS ABOUT EMOTIONAL READINESS OF THE CHILD TO SCHOOL WHEN ANALYZING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOTIONAL READINESS OF CHILDREN IN THE TRANSITION FROM KINDERGARTEN TO FIRST GRADE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaterina Sergeevna Novitskaya

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The article examines the importance of emotional understanding of parents child’s readiness for school. The aim of the study was to determine the characteristics of parental influence perceptions about the emotional readiness of children to the actual level of emotional readiness of the child. An experimental study was conducted comparing the methods, testing, questionnaires, observations, interviews, expert assessments, Longitude. We compared the performance of emotional readiness of children in the preparatory group of the kindergarten and the beginning of the school year in first grade. The study revealed that parents consider the emotional readiness primarily in the structure of the psychological readiness; representations of parents about the emotional readiness to occupy the last place among the other groups of ideas. Weak concrete definition of representations of parents about the emotional school readiness issues contributes to the emotional sphere of the child at an early stage of learning in first grade.

Concept of economic readiness levels assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Yuniaristanto, Sutopo, W.; Widiyanto, A.; Putri, A. S.

2017-11-01

This research aims to build a concept of Economic Readiness Level (ERL) assessment for incubation center. ERL concept is arranged by considering both market and business aspects. Every aspect is divided into four phases and each of them consists of some indicators. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to develop the ERL in calculating the weight of every single aspect and indicator. Interval scale between 0 and 4 is also applied in indicator assessment. In order to calculate ERL, score in every indicator and the weight of both the aspect and indicator are considered. ERL value is able to show in detail the innovative product readiness level from economic sight, market and business aspect. There are four levels in Economic Readiness Level scheme which are investigation, feasibility, planning and introduction.

E-Learning Readiness in Medicine: Turkish Family Medicine (FM) Physicians Case

Science.gov (United States)

Parlakkiliç, Alaattin

2015-01-01

This research investigates e-learning readiness level of family medicine physicians (FM) in Turkey. The study measures the level of e-learning readiness of Turkish FM physicians by an online e-learning readiness survey. According to results five areas are ready at Turkish FM physicians but need a few improvements:…

Strategic leadership will be essential for dietitian eHealth readiness: A qualitative study exploring dietitian perspectives of eHealth readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Maunder, Kirsty; Walton, Karen; Williams, Peter; Ferguson, Maree; Beck, Eleanor

2018-05-16

To explore dietitians' perspectives on the eHealth readiness of Australian dietitians, and to identify strategies to improve eHealth readiness of the profession. Dietitians who met the criteria for nutrition informatics experts participated in semi-structured interviews between June 2016 and March 2017. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis using coding was undertaken until consensus was reached by the researchers regarding key themes, topics and exemplar quotes. Interviews with 10 nutrition informatics experts revealed 25 discussion topics grouped into four main themes: benefits of eHealth for dietitians; risks of dietitians not being involved in eHealth; dietitians are not ready for eHealth; and strategies to improve eHealth readiness. The strategies identified for improving eHealth readiness included: collaboration and representation, education, offering of incentives and mentoring, as well as development of a national strategy, organisational leaders, nutrition informatics champions and a supportive environment. These findings suggest that dietitians may not be ready for eHealth. Strategic leadership and the actioning of other identified strategies will be imperative to preparing dietitians for eHealth to ensure the profession can practice effectively in the digital age, optimise nutrition care and support research for eHealth. If dietitians do not engage in eHealth, others may take their place, or dietitians may be forced to use eHealth in ways that are not the most effective for practice or maximising patient outcomes. © 2018 Dietitians Association of Australia.

Two-Agent Single-Machine Scheduling of Jobs with Time-Dependent Processing Times and Ready Times

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan-Yee Kung

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Scheduling involving jobs with time-dependent processing times has recently attracted much research attention. However, multiagent scheduling with simultaneous considerations of jobs with time-dependent processing times and ready times is relatively unexplored. Inspired by this observation, we study a two-agent single-machine scheduling problem in which the jobs have both time-dependent processing times and ready times. We consider the model in which the actual processing time of a job of the first agent is a decreasing function of its scheduled position while the actual processing time of a job of the second agent is an increasing function of its scheduled position. In addition, each job has a different ready time. The objective is to minimize the total completion time of the jobs of the first agent with the restriction that no tardy job is allowed for the second agent. We propose a branch-and-bound and several genetic algorithms to obtain optimal and near-optimal solutions for the problem, respectively. We also conduct extensive computational results to test the proposed algorithms and examine the impacts of different problem parameters on their performance.

Analyzing International Readiness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Reza Hamidizadeh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Internationalization has different connotations for different social sciences and its social, economic and cultural impacts have been examined by a number of studies. While firms’ internationalization processes have been understood as being dynamic, the concept of international readiness has rarely been the main focus of research efforts, which until a decade ago, focused principally on explaining sequences of entry modes and choices of markets. The emergence of the study of international entrepreneurship has enhanced the role of readiness. This study reviews the concept of international readiness by experimental and theoretical studies. Axioms in this research are based on content analysis. The framework incorporates measures to evaluate SMEs’ international readiness. The paper concludes with a research agenda as a guide for future work on considering the readiness as a critical phase before the internationalization process.

Operational readiness of EFAD systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabat, M.J.

1992-02-01

An assessment of the operational readiness of the Emergency Filtered Air Discharge (EFAD) systems, installed in Canadian CANDU multi-unit nuclear power plants, was performed in this project. Relevant Canadian and foreign standards and regulatory requirements have been reviewed and documentation on EFAD system design, operation, testing and maintenance have been assessed to identify likely causes and potential failures of EFAD systems and their components under both standby and accident conditions. Recommendations have also been provided in this report for revisions which are needed to achieve and maintain appropriate operational readiness of EFAD systems

Evaluating mobile centric readiness of students: A case of computer science students in open-distance learning

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Chipangura, B

2015-07-01

Full Text Available and Education]: Distance learning Keywords Mobile centric services, mobile information access, mobile readiness 1. INTRODUCTION As the mobile phone market matures in terms of penetration rate, subscription rate, handsets functionality and mobile centric..., this reflects a ratio of one mobile phone per person. High mobile phone penetration has made it possible for digitally alienated communities in developing countries to have improved access to business, health, education and social services. Indeed, this has...

Decision Grade: Readiness, Mission Impacts, and Classified Data in the Defense Budgeting Process

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-23

strength of 19: "Our common security and European stability can be 60 economic and political unity, including a European security identity within the...www.businessinsider.com/ hillary - clintons -private-email-and-fbi. Betts, Richard K. Military Readiness: Concepts, Choices, Consequences. Washington, DC: Brookings...GSORTS) with origins in 1968 as the Forces Status and Identity Report (FORSTAT). 46 GSORTS evaluates the ability of a military unit to perform its

Remedial action and waste disposal project - ERDF readiness evaluation plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casbon, M.A.

1996-06-01

This Readiness Evaluation Report presents the results of the project readiness evaluation to assess the readiness of the Environmental Restoration and Disposal Facility. The evaluation was conducted at the conclusion of a series of readiness activities that began in January 1996. These activities included completion of the physical plant; preparation, review, and approval of operating procedures; definition and assembly of the necessary project and operational organizations; and activities leading to regulatory approval of the plant and operating plans

Democracy in schools: are educators ready for teacher leadership?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elsabé de Villiers

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research was to determine educators' perceptions of and readiness for teacher leadership. A total of 283 educators in the Eden and Central Karoo Education District in the Western Cape participated in the study. The participants included district officials, principals, and members of school management teams, as well as veteran, middle, and novice educators. A series of instruments was used to determine educators' perspectives, perceptions and readiness for teacher leadership, including the Teacher Leadership Readiness Instrument (TLRI. The results indicated that educators held positive assumptions about teacher leadership. Educators' preliminary leadership perceptions, assumptions about and readiness for teacher leadership proved that the majority of educators are ready for a more distributed, deep democratic leadership practice in schools. Educators acknowledged the need for continuous professional development in the area of teacher leadership. It was also found that as preliminary leadership perceptions of educators improve or strengthen, readiness for teacher leadership is also likely to improve or strengthen. These findings have significant implications for leadership practices, collaboration, capacity-building and improvement in schools, educators' self-esteem, motivation and productivity, as well as student outcomes.

Overview: Texas College and Career Readiness Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2009

2009-01-01

The Texas College and Career Readiness Standards define what students should know and be able to accomplish in order to succeed in entry-level college courses or skilled workforce opportunities upon graduation from high school. This paper answers the following questions: (1) Who developed the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards?; (2) What…

Tying Together the Common Core of Standards, Instruction, and Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Vicki; Wong, Carina

2010-01-01

Clear, high standards will enable us to develop an education system that ensures that high school graduates are ready for college. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been working with other organizations to develop a Common Core of Standards. The partners working with the foundation are developing tools that will show teachers what is…

Organizational readiness in specialty mental health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Alison B; Cohen, Amy N; Young, Alexander S

2010-01-01

Implementing quality improvement efforts in clinics is challenging. Assessment of organizational "readiness" for change can set the stage for implementation by providing information regarding existing strengths and deficiencies, thereby increasing the chance of a successful improvement effort. This paper discusses organizational assessment in specialty mental health, in preparation for improving care for individuals with schizophrenia. To assess organizational readiness for change in specialty mental health in order to facilitate locally tailored implementation strategies. EQUIP-2 is a site-level controlled trial at nine VA medical centers (four intervention, five control). Providers at all sites completed an organizational readiness for change (ORC) measure, and key stakeholders at the intervention sites completed a semi-structured interview at baseline. At the four intervention sites, 16 administrators and 43 clinical staff completed the ORC, and 38 key stakeholders were interviewed. The readiness domains of training needs, communication, and change were the domains with lower mean scores (i.e., potential deficiencies) ranging from a low of 23.8 to a high of 36.2 on a scale of 10-50, while staff attributes of growth and adaptability had higher mean scores (i.e., potential strengths) ranging from a low of 35.4 to a high of 41.1. Semi-structured interviews revealed that staff perceptions and experiences of change and decision-making are affected by larger structural factors such as change mandates from VA headquarters. Motivation for change, organizational climate, staff perceptions and beliefs, and prior experience with change efforts contribute to readiness for change in specialty mental health. Sites with less readiness for change may require more flexibility in the implementation of a quality improvement intervention. We suggest that uptake of evidence-based practices can be enhanced by tailoring implementation efforts to the strengths and deficiencies of the

UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ READINESS TO APPLY THE MODERN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina O. Kotlyarova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the research is to investigate the readiness of the university teachers to apply the modern educational technologies. Methods. The methods include theoretical: analysis of existing modern educational technologies, the concept «readiness» and its components, abstraction of signs and kinds of modern educational technologies based on the scientific literature and in the Federal State Educational Standards (FSES; empirical: questionnaires and testing methods for detecting levels of university teachers’ skills and readiness to use modern educational technology. Results. The main features of modern educational technologies are identified and justified that are to comply with modern methodology of the theory and practice of education study and the latest FSES requirements; the level of science, manufacturing, and modern rules of human relations. The components of readiness of university teachers to use modern educational technology are structured. The linguistic component is included along with the cognitive, psychological, operational, connotative components; its necessity is proved. The average level of readiness for the use of modern educational technology by university teachers is identified. Scientific novelty. The author specifies the features of the modern educational technology. The most significant components of higher-education teaching personnel readiness to use technological innovations are identified. As a whole, these results form the indicative framework for the development and measurement of readiness of the university teachers to use the modern educational technology. The development of the readiness of the university teachers to apply the modern educational technologies is proved to be an issue of current interest. Practical significance. The research findings can be used as the basis of techniques and methods designing for its further development and measurement of the training, retraining and advanced training of

The utility of single-item readiness screeners in middle school.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Crystal G; Herman, Keith C; Huang, Francis L; Stormont, Melissa; Grossman, Caroline; Eddy, Colleen; Reinke, Wendy M

2017-10-01

This study examined the benefit of utilizing one-item academic and one-item behavior readiness teacher-rated screeners at the beginning of the school year to predict end-of-school year outcomes for middle school students. The Middle School Academic and Behavior Readiness (M-ABR) screeners were developed to provide an efficient and effective way to assess readiness in students. Participants included 889 students in 62 middle school classrooms in an urban Missouri school district. Concurrent validity with the M-ABR items and other indicators of readiness in the fall were evaluated using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, with the academic readiness item having medium to strong correlations with other baseline academic indicators (r=±0.56 to 0.91) and the behavior readiness item having low to strong correlations with baseline behavior items (r=±0.20 to 0.79). Next, the predictive validity of the M-ABR items was analyzed with hierarchical linear regressions using end-of-year outcomes as the dependent variable. The academic and behavior readiness items demonstrated adequate validity for all outcomes with moderate effects (β=±0.31 to 0.73 for academic outcomes and β=±0.24 to 0.59 for behavioral outcomes) after controlling for baseline demographics. Even after controlling for baseline scores, the M-ABR items predicted unique variance in almost all outcome variables. Four conditional probability indices were calculated to obtain an optimal cut score, to determine ready vs. not ready, for both single-item M-ABR scales. The cut point of "fair" yielded the most acceptable values for the indices. The odd ratios (OR) of experiencing negative outcomes given a "fair" or lower readiness rating (2 or below on the M-ABR screeners) at the beginning of the year were significant and strong for all outcomes (OR=2.29 to OR=14.46), except for internalizing problems. These findings suggest promise for using single readiness items to screen for varying negative end

Consumers' health-related motive orientations and ready meal consumption behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Geeroms, Nele; Verbeke, Wim; Van Kenhove, Patrick

2008-11-01

Based on a multidimensional perspective on the meaning of health, this study explores associations between consumers' health-related motive orientations (HRMO) and ready meal consumption behaviour. Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 1934 Flemish consumers through an on-line survey. The respondents rated 45 health statements referring to people's motives for pursuing health. The survey also assessed information on several aspects of ready meal consumption, i.e. consumption frequency, beliefs and attitudes toward ready meals and ready meal buying criteria. Based on a two-step cluster analysis, we identified five distinct subgroups in the sample, according to their HRMO: health is about energy (Energetic Experimenters), emotional well-being/enjoying life (Harmonious Enjoyers), social responsibility/physical well-being (Normative Carers), achievement/outward appearance (Conscious Experts) and autonomy (Rationalists). Ready meal consumption patterns differed between these segments, with Energetic Experimenters and Conscious Experts showing significantly more positive attitudes, stronger beliefs and both higher penetration and consumption frequency related to ready meals, compared to Harmonious Enjoyers, Normative Carers and Rationalists. These findings may relate to the individualistic versus altruistic health orientation perspective of the identified segments, and are valuable in the context of improving consumer-oriented product development, positioning and marketing of ready meals.

Factors Affecting Nursing Students' Readiness and Perceptions Toward the Use of Mobile Technologies for Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Zayim, Nese; Ozel, Deniz

2015-10-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the current usage of mobile devices, preferences of mobile learning environments and examine the readiness of nursing students in a public university. In order to investigate preferences and attitudes with respect to mobile technology use in nursing education, 387 students at a state university have been surveyed. It has been observed that while students preferred their current portable laptops, those in higher classes were more inclined to favor mobile phones. The common problems of battery life and high cost of communication, both in smartphones and tablet systems, suggest that hardware quality and financial constraints seem to be two main factors in determining these technologies. While more than half of students expressed readiness for mobile learning, one quarter indicated indecision. Through multivariate regression analysis, readiness to use mobile learning can be described in terms of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, personal innovativeness, self-management of learning, perceived device limitation, and availability. Class level, perceived ease of use, personal innovativeness, and self-management of learning explain intention to use mobile learning. Findings obtained from these results can provide guidance in the development and application of mobile learning systems.

Readiness of Ugandan health services for the management of outpatients with chronic diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Katende, David; Mutungi, Gerald; Baisley, Kathy; Biraro, Samuel; Ikoona, Eric; Peck, Robert; Smeeth, Liam; Hayes, Richard; Munderi, Paula; Grosskurth, Heiner

2015-10-01

Traditionally, health systems in sub-Saharan Africa have focused on acute conditions. Few data exist on the readiness of African health facilities (HFs) to address the growing burden of chronic diseases (CDs), specifically chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs). A stratified random sample of 28 urban and rural Ugandan HFs was surveyed to document the burden of selected CDs by analysing the service statistics, service availability and service readiness using a modified WHO Service Availability and Readiness Assessment questionnaire. Knowledge, skills and practice in the management of CDs of 222 health workers were assessed through a self-completed questionnaire. Among adult outpatient visits at hospitals, 33% were for CDs including HIV vs. 14% and 4% at medium-sized and small health centres, respectively. Many HFs lacked guidelines, diagnostic equipment and essential medicines for the primary management of CDs; training and reporting systems were weak. Lower-level facilities routinely referred patients with hypertension and diabetes. HIV services accounted for most CD visits and were stronger than NCD services. Systems were weaker in lower-level HFs. Non-doctor clinicians and nurses lacked knowledge and experience in NCD care. Compared with higher level HFs, lower-level ones are less prepared and little used for CD care. Health systems in Uganda, particularly lower-level HFs, urgently need improvement in managing common NCDs to cope with the growing burden. This should include the provision of standard guidelines, essential diagnostic equipment and drugs, training of health workers, supportive supervision and improved referral systems. Substantially better HIV basic service readiness demonstrates that improved NCD care is feasible. © 2015 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

I. Fisk

2010-01-01

Introduction It has been a very active quarter in Computing with interesting progress in all areas. The activity level at the computing facilities, driven by both organised processing from data operations and user analysis, has been steadily increasing. The large-scale production of simulated events that has been progressing throughout the fall is wrapping-up and reprocessing with pile-up will continue. A large reprocessing of all the proton-proton data has just been released and another will follow shortly. The number of analysis jobs by users each day, that was already hitting the computing model expectations at the time of ICHEP, is now 33% higher. We are expecting a busy holiday break to ensure samples are ready in time for the winter conferences. Heavy Ion An activity that is still in progress is computing for the heavy-ion program. The heavy-ion events are collected without zero suppression, so the event size is much large at roughly 11 MB per event of RAW. The central collisions are more complex and...

Prevalence of Listeria Species in Ready-to-Eat Food in Shahrekord Restaurants

OpenAIRE

Rahimi, E; Shakerian, A. (PhD

2014-01-01

Background and Objective: Listeria bacteria with worldwide widespread are commonly found in soil, sewage, dust and water. Among which,Listeria monocytogenes can cause a serious food-borne disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Listeria species in ready-to-eat foods. Material and Methods: The samples (n=235) including oloveyh salad (n = 64), Yogurt stew (n= 35), vegetable salad (n=52), macaroni salad (n= 48) and meat salad (n =36) were collected from the rest...

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

I. Fisk

2011-01-01

Introduction It has been a very active quarter in Computing with interesting progress in all areas. The activity level at the computing facilities, driven by both organised processing from data operations and user analysis, has been steadily increasing. The large-scale production of simulated events that has been progressing throughout the fall is wrapping-up and reprocessing with pile-up will continue. A large reprocessing of all the proton-proton data has just been released and another will follow shortly. The number of analysis jobs by users each day, that was already hitting the computing model expectations at the time of ICHEP, is now 33% higher. We are expecting a busy holiday break to ensure samples are ready in time for the winter conferences. Heavy Ion The Tier 0 infrastructure was able to repack and promptly reconstruct heavy-ion collision data. Two copies were made of the data at CERN using a large CASTOR disk pool, and the core physics sample was replicated ...

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

I. Fisk

2010-01-01

Introduction The first data taking period of November produced a first scientific paper, and this is a very satisfactory step for Computing. It also gave the invaluable opportunity to learn and debrief from this first, intense period, and make the necessary adaptations. The alarm procedures between different groups (DAQ, Physics, T0 processing, Alignment/calibration, T1 and T2 communications) have been reinforced. A major effort has also been invested into remodeling and optimizing operator tasks in all activities in Computing, in parallel with the recruitment of new Cat A operators. The teams are being completed and by mid year the new tasks will have been assigned. CRB (Computing Resource Board) The Board met twice since last CMS week. In December it reviewed the experience of the November data-taking period and could measure the positive improvements made for the site readiness. It also reviewed the policy under which Tier-2 are associated with Physics Groups. Such associations are decided twice per ye...

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

M. Kasemann

Introduction More than seventy CMS collaborators attended the Computing and Offline Workshop in San Diego, California, April 20-24th to discuss the state of readiness of software and computing for collisions. Focus and priority were given to preparations for data taking and providing room for ample dialog between groups involved in Commissioning, Data Operations, Analysis and MC Production. Throughout the workshop, aspects of software, operating procedures and issues addressing all parts of the computing model were discussed. Plans for the CMS participation in STEP’09, the combined scale testing for all four experiments due in June 2009, were refined. The article in CMS Times by Frank Wuerthwein gave a good recap of the highly collaborative atmosphere of the workshop. Many thanks to UCSD and to the organizers for taking care of this workshop, which resulted in a long list of action items and was definitely a success. A considerable amount of effort and care is invested in the estimate of the co...

Nurses’ perspectives on readiness of organizations for change: a comparative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amarneh BH

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Basil Hameed Amarneh Department of Psychiatric and Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate readiness for change perceived by nurses at Jordanian hospitals according to the hospital type and the gender of nurse.Background: There are misconceptions about readiness for change, and only a few health care and nursing studies about organizational readiness for change have been conducted. Nurses’ perceptions of their organizations’ readiness for change are important; they help in introducing, managing, and maintaining the change.Methods: Using a quantitative comparative research design and a validated survey, data were collected in 2010 from a convenience sample of 130 nurses from four government and three private hospitals with a response rate of 59%.Results: There are some issues in Jordanian hospitals, which show that change has to be managed well. Nurses in government hospitals and female nurses perceived their hospitals to be more ready for change, compared with those in private hospitals and male nurses.Conclusion: Government hospitals were more ready to change than private hospitals, particularly in supporting collaborative and multidisciplinary team approaches to patient care. More than male nurses, female nurses perceived that their organizations were ready to use or plan to use advanced practice nurses. One of the recommendations is a need for targeted intervention to improve readiness for change. Keywords: readiness for change, organizations, hospitals, nurses, Jordan

Analysis of e-learning implementation readiness based on integrated elr model

Science.gov (United States)

Adiyarta, K.; Napitupulu, D.; Rahim, R.; Abdullah, D.; Setiawan, MI

2018-04-01

E-learning nowadays has become a requirement for institutions to support their learning activities. To adopt e-learning, an institution requires a large strategy and resources for optimal application. Unfortunately, not all institutions that have used e-learning got the desired results or expectations. This study aims to identify the extent of the level of readiness of e-learning implementation in institution X. The degree of institutional readiness will determine the success of future e-learning utilization. In addition, institutional readiness measurement are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies in e-learning development. The research method used is survey with questionnaire designed based on integration of 8 best practice ELR (e-learning readiness) model. The results showed that from 13 factors of integrated ELR model being measured, there are 3 readiness factors included in the category of not ready and needs a lot of work. They are human resource (2.57), technology skill (2.38) and content factors (2.41). In general, e-learning implementation in institutions is in the category of not ready but needs some of work (3.27). Therefore, the institution should consider which factors or areas of ELR factors are considered still not ready and needs improvement in the future.

Iranian Clinical Nurses' Readiness for Self-Directed Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Malekian, Morteza; Ghiyasvandian, Sharzad; Cheraghi, Mohammad Ali; Hassanzadeh, Akbar

2015-05-17

Clinical nurses are in need of being able to adapt to the ever-changing environment of clinical settings. The prerequisite for their successful adaptation is to be lifelong learners. An approach for making nurses lifelong learners is self-directed learning. This study was undertaken to evaluate a group of Iranian clinical nurses' readiness for self-directed learning and its relationship with some of their personal characteristics. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2014. A random sample of 314 nurses working in three hospitals affiliated to Isfahan Social Security Organization, Isfahan, Iran, was recruited to complete the Fisher's Self-directed Learning Readiness Scale. In total, 279 nurses filled the scale completely. The mean of their readiness for self-directed learning was 162.50±14.11 (120-196). The correlation of self-directed learning readiness with age, gender, marital status, and university degree was not statistically significant. Most nurses had great readiness for self-directed learning. Accordingly, nursing policy-makers need to develop strategies for promoting their self-directed learning. Moreover, innovative teaching methods such as problem solving and problem-based learning should be employed to prepare nurses for effectively managing the complexities of their ever-changing work environment.

Instructional Computer Use in the Community College: A Discussion of the Research and Its Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bower, Beverly L.

1998-01-01

Reviews research on the instructional benefits of computer technology. Discusses the computer readiness of students, faculty, and institutions, and suggests that despite mixed findings, political and organizational realities indicate computer-based instruction is a feasible alternative for community colleges. Therefore, educators should continue…

Technology Readiness Level Guidebook

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

This guidebook provides the necessary information for conducting a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Assessment. TRL Assessments are a tool for determining the maturity of technologies and identifying next steps in the research process. This guidebook...

Parent Involvement in the Getting Ready for School Intervention Is Associated With Changes in School Readiness Skills

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Maria Marti

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The role of parent involvement in school readiness interventions is not well-understood. The Getting Ready for School (GRS intervention is a novel program that has both home and school components and aims to improve early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills in preschool children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. In this study, we first examined associations between family characteristics and different indices of parent involvement in the GRS intervention. We then examined associations between parent involvement and change in children's school readiness skills over time. Participants were 133 preschool children attending Head Start and their parents who participated in the GRS intervention during the academic year 2014–2015. Parent involvement was operationalized as attendance to GRS events at the school, time spent at home doing GRS activities, and usage of digital program materials, which included a set of videos to support the implementation of parent-child activities at home. Although few family characteristics were significantly associated with parent involvement indices, there was a tendency for some markers of higher socioeconomic status to be linked with greater parent involvement. In addition, greater parent involvement in the GRS intervention was significantly associated with greater gains in children's early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills. These findings suggest that parent involvement in comprehensive early interventions could be beneficial in terms of improving school readiness for preschoolers from disadvantaged families.

Parent Involvement in the Getting Ready for School Intervention Is Associated With Changes in School Readiness Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Marti, Maria; Merz, Emily C.; Repka, Kelsey R.; Landers, Cassie; Noble, Kimberly G.; Duch, Helena

2018-01-01

The role of parent involvement in school readiness interventions is not well-understood. The Getting Ready for School (GRS) intervention is a novel program that has both home and school components and aims to improve early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills in preschool children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. In this study, we first examined associations between family characteristics and different indices of parent involvement in the GRS intervention. We then examined associations between parent involvement and change in children's school readiness skills over time. Participants were 133 preschool children attending Head Start and their parents who participated in the GRS intervention during the academic year 2014–2015. Parent involvement was operationalized as attendance to GRS events at the school, time spent at home doing GRS activities, and usage of digital program materials, which included a set of videos to support the implementation of parent-child activities at home. Although few family characteristics were significantly associated with parent involvement indices, there was a tendency for some markers of higher socioeconomic status to be linked with greater parent involvement. In addition, greater parent involvement in the GRS intervention was significantly associated with greater gains in children's early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills. These findings suggest that parent involvement in comprehensive early interventions could be beneficial in terms of improving school readiness for preschoolers from disadvantaged families. PMID:29904362

Child Readiness to Kindergarten in Parents and Pedagogues Sight

OpenAIRE

POKORNÁ, Ivana

2014-01-01

The bachelor thesis deals with the readiness of 3-4 year old children to enter kindergarten. The theoretical part describes the biological and psychosocial development of the child aged three to four years and highlights the various factors that may affect the child's entry into kindergarten. Describes the family and kindergarten, the issue of adaptation in pre-school and readiness of the child to them. The practical part contains research focused on the perception of the readiness of childre...

Potential Ramifications of Common Core State Standards Adoption on Information Literacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacob Paul Eubanks

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In the United States, the decline in jobs for high school educated workers and the proliferation of jobs for post-secondary educated workers is driving the development of the Common Core State Standards. The Common Core State Standards theoretically shift K-12 pedagogy towards ability development of critical and extended thinking skills, preparing high school graduates for college and career readiness. This literature review explores the reasoning behind the shift to the Common Core State Standards and asks questions regarding the potential ramifications their adoption might have on post-secondary information literacy instruction.

The Impact and Promise of Open-Source Computational Material for Physics Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, Wolfgang

2017-01-01

A computer-based modeling approach to teaching must be flexible because students and teachers have different skills and varying levels of preparation. Learning how to run the ``software du jour'' is not the objective for integrating computational physics material into the curriculum. Learning computational thinking, how to use computation and computer-based visualization to communicate ideas, how to design and build models, and how to use ready-to-run models to foster critical thinking is the objective. Our computational modeling approach to teaching is a research-proven pedagogy that predates computers. It attempts to enhance student achievement through the Modeling Cycle. This approach was pioneered by Robert Karplus and the SCIS Project in the 1960s and 70s and later extended by the Modeling Instruction Program led by Jane Jackson and David Hestenes at Arizona State University. This talk describes a no-cost open-source computational approach aligned with a Modeling Cycle pedagogy. Our tools, curricular material, and ready-to-run examples are freely available from the Open Source Physics Collection hosted on the AAPT-ComPADRE digital library. Examples will be presented.

Television Viewing, Educational Quality of the Home Environment, and School Readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Angela Teresa; Kurtz-Costes, Beth

1997-01-01

Researchers examined relationships among children's television viewing, school readiness, parental employment, and the home environment's educational quality. Thirty low-income parents completed surveys. Their preschoolers completed IQ and school readiness assessments. Television viewing adversely related to school readiness and the home…

75 FR 28594 - Ready-to-Learn Television Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-21

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA Number 84.295A] Ready-to-Learn Television Program AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for... INFORMATION CONTACT: The Ready-to-Learn Television Program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue...

Are Malaysian Students Ready to Be Authors of Digital Contents? A Case Study of Digital Library Stakeholders’ Readiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abrizah Abdullah

2007-09-01

Full Text Available The paper reports on a study that ascertains the factors facilitating students to utilize digital libraries for educational purposes. The study investigates students ICT readiness, usage of online resources and information seeking behaviour of secondary school students with the specific goal of applying the results to the design of a collaborative digital library for school projects. The digital library has been conceived to support resource needs of these students as well provide the space for them to publish their school projects, which are currently submitted handwritten. The study uses the case study approach and an urban secondary school in Malaysia is chosen as the case school. Findings from a survey and focus group interviews indicate that the students are ready to collaboratively build the digital library resources as evidenced by students digital library readiness score of 31.4/40.

75 FR 16763 - Ready-to-Learn Television Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-02

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA Number 84.295A] Ready-to-Learn Television Program AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for... FR 13515) a notice inviting applications for new awards for FY 2010 for the Ready-to-Learn Television...

75 FR 18170 - Ready-to-Learn Television Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-09

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA Number 84.295A] Ready-to-Learn Television Program AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for... FR 13515) a notice inviting applications for new awards for FY 2010 for the Ready-to-Learn Television...

Readiness towards Entrepreneurship Education: Students and Malaysian Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, Norasmah; Hashim, Norashidah; Wahid, Hariyaty Ab

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to observe the readiness of students and the internal environment of Malaysian public universities in the implementation of entrepreneurship education. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employed a quantitative approach and the main instrument used to gauge the entrepreneurship readiness among students…

Rice University: Innovation to Increase Student College Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Gigliotti, Jennifer

2012-01-01

"College readiness" means that a student can enter a college classroom without remediation and successfully complete entry-level college requirements (Conley, 2012). In order for students to be considered college ready, they must acquire skills, content knowledge, and behaviors before leaving high school. Research on high-school performance…

Replacing Remediation with Readiness. An NCPR Working Paper

Science.gov (United States)

Conley, David T.

2010-01-01

This paper critically examines traditional means of assessing college students' need for remediation and suggests as a replacement an expanded definition of college readiness, where readiness is more complex than rudimentary content knowledge and more multifaceted than a single cut point. The paper presents and explains four dimensions of…

What Does It Mean to Be El Niño Ready?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael H. Glantz

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Once an El Niño event has been forecast, government warnings and news headlines highlight the need for society to get ready for the potential impacts of the event, whether drought, flood, heatwave, disease outbreak, or water shortage. The notion of readiness for a climate-, water- or weather-related hazard or disaster is a fuzzy term, subject to a wide range of conflicting perceptions. Not every government sees El Niño as a direct threat to the wellbeing of its citizens. In this paper, we conceptualize readiness and identify reasons that some governments do not as well as cannot prepare for El Niño’s foreseeable consequences. Central among those reasons are its characteristics: quasi-periodicity, event variability, difficulties with onset forecasting, and the fact that El Niño and its “teleconnections” are influenced by numerous other oceanic and atmospheric oscillations. As a result, there is no universally accepted approach to or reliable measure of readiness. The concept is often discussed qualitatively in terms of “shades of readiness”, such as hardly ready, somewhat ready, almost ready, and absolutely ready. Although El Niño is still difficult to forecast, the existing knowledge about it can provide usable information for decision makers to choose whether to pursue strategic or tactical disaster risk reduction policies.

An Internet-ready database for prospective randomized clinical trials of high-dose-rate brachytherapy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devlin, Phillip M.; Brus, Christina R.; Kazakin, Julia; Mitchell, Ronald B.; Demanes, D. Jeffrey; Edmundson, Gregory; Gribble, Michael; Gustafson, Gary S.; Kelly, Douglas A.; Linares, Luis A.; Martinez, Alvaro A.; Mate, Timothy P.; Nag, Subir; Perez, Carlos A.; Rao, Jaynath G.; Rodriguez, Rodney R.; Shasha, Daniel; Tripuraneni, Prabhakar

2002-01-01

Purpose: To demonstrate a new interactive Internet-ready database for prospective clinical trials in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: An Internet-ready database was created that allows common data acquisition and statistical analysis. Patient anonymity and confidentiality are preserved. These data forms include all common elements found from a survey of the databases. The forms allow the user to view patient data in a view-only or edit mode. Eight linked forms document patient data before and after receiving HDR therapy. The pretreatment forms are divided into four categories: staging, comorbid diseases, external beam radiotherapy data, and signs and symptoms. The posttreatment forms separate data by HDR implant information, HDR medications, posttreatment signs and symptoms, and follow-up data. The forms were tested for clinical usefulness. Conclusion: This Internet-based database enables the user to record and later analyze all relevant medical data and may become a reliable instrument for the follow-up of patients and evaluation of treatment results

Prevalence and contamination levels of listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods in Tokyo, Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimojima, Yukako; Ida, Miki; Nakama, Akiko; Nishino, Yukari; Fukui, Rie; Kuroda, Sumiyo; Hirai, Akihiko; Kai, Akemi; Sadamasu, Kenji

2016-08-01

We surveyed prevalence and contamination levels of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods between 2000 and 2012 in Tokyo. L. monocytogenes was isolated from 52 (1.7%) out of 2,980 samples. Comparing the prevalence in the study period, 2.2% were positive in the former period (2000-2005) and 1.2% in the latter (2006-2012). Using the most probable number (MPN) technique, 32 samples were contaminated with fewer than 0.3 L. monocytogenes/g, 10 samples with 0.3-1.0/g and 4 samples with more than 1.0/g (the maximum was 2.3/g). The most common serovar was 1/2a, followed by 1/2b, 4b and 1/2c. We revealed that ready-to-eat foods in Tokyo were contaminated with L. monocytogenes, although the contamination levels were low.

Promoting community readiness for physical activity among older adults in Germany--protocol of the ready to change intervention trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Tilman; Gansefort, Dirk; Rothgang, Heinz; Röseler, Sabine; Meyer, Jochen; Zeeb, Hajo

2016-02-01

Healthy ageing is an important concern for many societies facing the challenge of an ageing population. Physical activity (PA) is a major contributor to healthy ageing; however insufficient PA levels are prevalent in old age in Germany. Community capacity building and community involvement are often recommended as key strategies to improve equitable access to prevention and health promotion. However, evidence for the effectiveness of these strategies is scarce. This study aims to assess the community readiness for PA promotion in local environments and to analyse the utility of strategies to increase community readiness for reaching vulnerable groups. We designed a mixed method intervention trial comprising three study modules. The first module includes an assessment of community readiness for PA interventions in older adults. The assessment is carried out in a sample of 24 municipalities in the Northwest of Germany using structured key informant interviews. In the second module, eight municipalities with the low community readiness are selected from the sample and randomly assigned to one of two study groups: active enhancement of community readiness (intervention) versus no enhancement (control). After enhancing community readiness in the active enhancement group, older adults in both study groups will be recruited for participation in a PA intervention. Participation rates are compared between the study groups to evaluate the effects of the intervention. In addition, a cost-effectiveness analysis is carried out calculating recruitment costs per person reached in the two study groups. In the third module, qualitative interviews are conducted with participants and non-participants of the PA intervention exploring reasons for participation or non-participation. This study offers the potential to contribute to the evidence base of reaching vulnerable older adults for PA interventions and provide ideas on how to reduce participation barriers. Its findings will inform

Effect of an Individual Readiness Assurance Test on a Team Readiness Assurance Test in the Team-Based Learning of Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Gopalan, Chaya; Fox, Dainielle J.; Gaebelein, Claude J.

2013-01-01

We examined whether requiring an individual readiness assurance test (iRAT) before a team readiness assurance test (tRAT) would benefit students in becoming better problem solvers in physiology. It was tested in the form of tRAT scores, the time required to complete the tRAT assignment, and individual performance on the unit examinations. Students…

Readiness to proceed: Characterization planning basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, M.R.

1998-01-01

This report summarizes characterization requirements, data availability, and data acquisition plans in support of the Phase 1 Waste Feed Readiness to Proceed Mid-Level Logic. It summarizes characterization requirements for the following program planning documents: Waste Feed Readiness Mid-Level Logic and Decomposition (in development); Master blue print (not available); Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Operations and Utilization Plan and Privatization Contract; Enabling assumptions (not available); Privatization low-activity waste (LAW) Data Quality Objective (DQO); Privatization high-level waste (HLW) DQO (draft); Problem-specific DQOs (in development); Interface control documents (draft). Section 2.0 defines the primary objectives for this report, Section 3.0 discusses the scope and assumptions, and Section 4.0 identifies general characterization needs and analyte-specific characterization needs or potential needs included in program documents and charts. Section 4.0 also shows the analyses that have been conducted, and the archive samples that are available for additional analyses. Section 5.0 discusses current plans for obtaining additional samples and analyses to meet readiness-to-proceed requirements. Section 6.0 summarizes sampling needs based on preliminary requirements and discusses other potential characterization needs. Many requirements documents are preliminary. In many cases, problem-specific DQOs have not been drafted, and only general assumptions about the document contents could be obtained from the authors. As a result, the readiness-to-proceed characterization requirements provided in this document are evolving and may change

USSR Report: Cybernetics, Computers and Automation Technology

Science.gov (United States)

1986-12-03

Georgian SSR Academy of Sciences: "Ready for Dialogue"] [Text] Computers in schools, auditoria , and educational laboratories are an phenomenon to which we...professional-technical academies and VUZ auditoria . Obviously, the color of the screens and the characters on them is of major importance for people

A practical implementation science heuristic for organizational readiness: R = MC2

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Brittany S.; Lamont, Andrea; Wandersman, Abraham; Castellow, Jennifer; Katz, Jason; Beidas, Rinad S.

2015-01-01

There are many challenges when an innovation (i.e., a program, process, or policy that is new to an organization) is actively introduced into an organization. One critical component for successful implementation is the organization’s readiness for the innovation. In this article, we propose a practical implementation science heuristic, abbreviated as R= MC2. We propose that organizational readiness involves: 1) the motivation to implement an innovation, 2) the general capacities of an organization, and 3) the innovation-specific capacities needed for a particular innovation. Each of these components can be assessed independently and be used formatively. The heuristic can be used by organizations to assess readiness to implement and by training and technical assistance providers to help build organizational readiness. We present an illustration of the heuristic by showing how behavioral health organizations differ in readiness to implement a peer specialist initiative. Implications for research and practice of organizational readiness are discussed. PMID:26668443

e-Learning readiness amongst nursing students at the Durban ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

e-Learning readiness amongst nursing students at the Durban University of ... make the shift from traditional learning to the technological culture of e-Learning at a ... equipment and technological readiness for the change in learning method.

A survey on the measure of combat readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Kwong Fook; Nor, Norazman Mohamad; Soon, Lee Lai

2014-09-01

Measuring the combat readiness in military forces involves the measures of tangible and intangible elements of combat power. Though these measures are applicable, the mathematical models and formulae used focus mainly on either the tangible or the intangible elements. In this paper, a review is done to highlight the research gap in the formulation of a mathematical model that incorporates tangible elements with intangible elements to measure the combat readiness of a military force. It highlights the missing link between the tangible and intangible elements of combat power. To bridge the gap and missing link, a mathematical model could be formulated that measures both the tangible and intangible aspects of combat readiness by establishing the relationship between the causal (tangible and intangible) elements and its effects on the measure of combat readiness. The model uses multiple regression analysis as well as mathematical modeling and simulation which digest the capability component reflecting its assets and resources, the morale component reflecting human needs, and the quality of life component reflecting soldiers' state of satisfaction in life. The results of the review provide a mean to bridge the research gap through the formulation of a mathematical model that shows the total measure of a military force's combat readiness. The results also significantly identify parameters for each of the variables and factors in the model.

University Research Initiative Program for Combat Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

1999-05-01

microscope image of one of the lenses. This array was selected for testing because it is fabricated in a relatively inexpensive polyacrylic material, the...potent analogues of the potassium -sparing diuretic, amiloride. However, our results 179 University Reasearch Initiative for Combat Readiness Annual Report...for Combat Readiness Annual Report for the period June 1, 1998 - June 30, 1999 Roger H. Sawyer University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 May

NHI Component Technical Readiness Evaluation System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherman, S.; Wilson, Dane F.; Pawel, Steven J.

2007-01-01

A decision process for evaluating the technical readiness or maturity of components (i.e., heat exchangers, chemical reactors, valves, etc.) for use by the U.S. DOE Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative is described. This system is used by the DOE NHI to assess individual components in relation to their readiness for pilot-scale and larger-scale deployment and to drive the research and development work needed to attain technical maturity. A description of the evaluation system is provided, and examples are given to illustrate how it is used to assist in component R and D decisions.

Towards higher reliability of CMS computing facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagliesi, G; Bloom, K; Brew, C; Flix, J; Kreuzer, P; Sciabà, A

2012-01-01

The CMS experiment has adopted a computing system where resources are distributed worldwide in more than 50 sites. The operation of the system requires a stable and reliable behaviour of the underlying infrastructure. CMS has established procedures to extensively test all relevant aspects of a site and their capability to sustain the various CMS computing workflows at the required scale. The Site Readiness monitoring infrastructure has been instrumental in understanding how the system as a whole was improving towards LHC operations, measuring the reliability of sites when running CMS activities, and providing sites with the information they need to troubleshoot any problem. This contribution reviews the complete automation of the Site Readiness program, with the description of monitoring tools and their inclusion into the Site Status Board (SSB), the performance checks, the use of tools like HammerCloud, and the impact in improving the overall reliability of the Grid from the point of view of the CMS computing system. These results are used by CMS to select good sites to conduct workflows, in order to maximize workflows efficiencies. The performance against these tests seen at the sites during the first years of LHC running is as well reviewed.

DOE Richland readiness review for PUREX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zamorski, M.J.

1984-01-01

For ten months prior to the November 1983 startup of the Plutonium and URanium EXtraction (PUREX) Plant, the Department of Energy's Richland Operations Office conducted an operational readiness review of the facility. This review was performed consistent with DOE and RL Order 5481.1 and in accordance with written plans prepared by the program and safety divisions. It involved personnel from five divisions within the office. The DOE review included two tasks: (1) overview and evaluation of the operating contractor's (Rockwell Hanford) readiness review for PUREX, and (2) independent assessment of 25 significant aspects of the startup effort. The RL reviews were coordinated by the program division and were phased in succession with the contractor's readiness review. As deficiencies or concerns were noted in the course of the review they were documented and required formal response from the contractor. Startup approval was given in three steps as the PUREX Plant began operation. A thorough review was performed and necessary documentation was prepared to support startup authorization in November 1983, before the scheduled startup date

Parallel computation for distributed parameter system-from vector processors to Adena computer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nogi, T

1983-04-01

Research on advanced parallel hardware and software architectures for very high-speed computation deserves and needs more support and attention to fulfil its promise. Novel architectures for parallel processing are being made ready. Architectures for parallel processing can be roughly divided into two groups. One is a vector processor in which a single central processing unit involves multiple vector-arithmetic registers. The other is a processor array in which slave processors are connected to a host processor to perform parallel computation. In this review, the concept and data structure of the Adena (alternating-direction edition nexus array) architecture, which is conformable to distributed-parameter simulation algorithms, are described. 5 references.

Community Readiness Within Systems of Care: The Validity and Reliability of the System of Care Readiness and Implementation Measurement Scale (SOC-RIMS).

Science.gov (United States)

Rosas, Scott R; Behar, Lenore B; Hydaker, William M

2016-01-01

Establishing a system of care requires communities to identify ways to successfully implement strategies and support positive outcomes for children and their families. Such community transformation is complex and communities vary in terms of their readiness for implementing sustainable community interventions. Assessing community readiness and guiding implementation, specifically for the funded communities implementing a system of care, requires a well-designed tool with sound psychometric properties. This scale development study used the results of a previously published concept mapping study to create, administer, and assess the psychometric characteristics of the System of Care Readiness and Implementation Measurement Scale (SOC-RIMS). The results indicate the SOC-RIMS possesses excellent internal consistency characteristics, measures clearly discernible dimensions of community readiness, and demonstrates the target constructs exist within a broad network of content. The SOC-RIMS can be a useful part of a comprehensive assessment in communities where system of care practices, principles, and philosophies are implemented and evaluated.

Solid scintillator 'Ready Cap' for measurement with a liquid scintillation counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ijiri, Kenichi; Endo, Masashi; Nogawa, Norio; Tsuda, Shoko; Nakamura, Aiko; Morikawa, Naotake; Osaki, Susumu.

1990-01-01

'Ready Cap', a small plastic container coated with solid scintillator has recently been introduced (Beckman Instruments, Inc.). Pulse height spectra and counting efficiencies obtained with a liquid scintillator and Ready Cap using a liquid scintillation counter were compared for 15 different radionuclides. For radionuclides emitting low-energy β-rays or characteristic X-rays, the spectra for Ready Cap shifted toward the higher energy side compared with the spectra for the liquid scintillator. This tendency was reversed for the nuclides emitting higher-energy β-radiations ( 36 Cl and 32 P). Generally, counting efficiencies both in Ready Cap and in liquid scintillator increased with increase in the energy of β- or X-rays. For some nuclides, Ready Cap gave higher counting efficiencies and for others it gave lower values than in the liquid scintillator. However, the differences were not large within each nuclide. The use of Ready Cap is recommended for measurements of radionuclides when liquid scintillation cocktails have no means of waste disposal under the present Japanese radioisotope regulation. (author)

Using Puppet to contextualize computing resources for ATLAS analysis on Google Compute Engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Öhman, Henrik; Panitkin, Sergey; Hendrix, Valerie

2014-01-01

With the advent of commercial as well as institutional and national clouds, new opportunities for on-demand computing resources for the HEP community become available. The new cloud technologies also come with new challenges, and one such is the contextualization of computing resources with regard to requirements of the user and his experiment. In particular on Google's new cloud platform Google Compute Engine (GCE) upload of user's virtual machine images is not possible. This precludes application of ready to use technologies like CernVM and forces users to build and contextualize their own VM images from scratch. We investigate the use of Puppet to facilitate contextualization of cloud resources on GCE, with particular regard to ease of configuration and dynamic resource scaling.

A new estimator for sensitivity analysis of model output: An application to the e-business readiness composite indicator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarantola, Stefano; Nardo, Michela; Saisana, Michaela; Gatelli, Debora

2006-01-01

In this paper we propose and test a generalisation of the method originally proposed by Sobol', and recently extended by Saltelli, to estimate the first-order and total effect sensitivity indices. Exploiting the symmetries and the dualities of the formulas, we obtain additional estimates of first-order and total indices at no extra computational cost. We test the technique on a case study involving the construction of a composite indicator of e-business readiness, which is part of the initiative 'e-Readiness of European enterprises' of the European Commission 'e-Europe 2005' action plan. The method is used to assess the contribution of uncertainties in (a) the weights of the component indicators and (b) the imputation of missing data on the composite indicator values for several European countries

A new estimator for sensitivity analysis of model output: An application to the e-business readiness composite indicator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tarantola, Stefano [European Commission , Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Applied Statistics Group, TP 361, Via E. Fermi, 1, Ispra (Vatican City State, Holy See,), 21020 (Italy)]. E-mail: stefano.tarantola@jrc.it; Nardo, Michela [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Applied Statistics Group, TP 361, Via E. Fermi, 1, Ispra (VA), 21020 (Italy); Saisana, Michaela [European Commission , Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Applied Statistics Group, TP 361, Via E. Fermi, 1, Ispra (VA), 21020 (Italy); Gatelli, Debora [European Commission , Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Applied Statistics Group, TP 361, Via E. Fermi, 1, Ispra (VA), 21020 (Italy)

2006-10-15

In this paper we propose and test a generalisation of the method originally proposed by Sobol', and recently extended by Saltelli, to estimate the first-order and total effect sensitivity indices. Exploiting the symmetries and the dualities of the formulas, we obtain additional estimates of first-order and total indices at no extra computational cost. We test the technique on a case study involving the construction of a composite indicator of e-business readiness, which is part of the initiative 'e-Readiness of European enterprises' of the European Commission 'e-Europe 2005' action plan. The method is used to assess the contribution of uncertainties in (a) the weights of the component indicators and (b) the imputation of missing data on the composite indicator values for several European countries.

Research on Influencing Factors of Salespeople's Empowerment Readiness in Green Energy Enterprise

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Yuan; Liu, Xiaohui

As market competition in green energy enterprises continues to intensify, marketing activities are enlarging and customer demand is increasingly growing and diversifying. More and more green energy enterprises have empowered their own salespeople. And managers in green energy enterprises are more concerned with the issues which employees suit to be empowered and which factors will influence employee empowerment readiness. This paper proposes the definition of salespeople's empowerment readiness, analyzes influencing factors of salespeople's empowerment readiness, discusses the effect mechanism of influencing factors of salespeople's empowerment readiness, finally, and puts forward some suggestions to enhance salespeople's empowerment readiness from the perspective of human resource management practice.

Common pitfalls to avoid during workover operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Byars, R.R.

1994-01-01

Remedial well work has been, and will continue to be, an integral part of oil company operations. More than 16,000 workover operations were performed during 1993 in the US. The economic impact from workover operations is usually immediate due to flowlines, tank batteries and other equipment being in place and ready for service prior to the workover. Similarly, problems encountered during workover operations contribute an immediate negative impact to project economics. Guidelines for common mistake avoidance are presented. They will be especially helpful for those individuals not well trained in workover preparation and supervision

Solar Training Network and Solar Ready Vets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalstrom, Tenley Ann

2016-09-14

In 2016, the White House announced the Solar Ready Vets program, funded under DOE's SunShot initiative would be administered by The Solar Foundation to connect transitioning military personnel to solar training and employment as they separate from service. This presentation is geared to informing and recruiting employer partners for the Solar Ready Vets program, and the Solar Training Network. It describes the programs, and the benefits to employers that choose to connect to the programs.

Making Technology Ready: Integrated Systems Health Management

Science.gov (United States)

Malin, Jane T.; Oliver, Patrick J.

2007-01-01

This paper identifies work needed by developers to make integrated system health management (ISHM) technology ready and by programs to make mission infrastructure ready for this technology. This paper examines perceptions of ISHM technologies and experience in legacy programs. Study methods included literature review and interviews with representatives of stakeholder groups. Recommendations address 1) development of ISHM technology, 2) development of ISHM engineering processes and methods, and 3) program organization and infrastructure for ISHM technology evolution, infusion and migration.

Ready for kindergarten: Are intelligence skills enough?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline Fitzpatrick

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated how different profiles of kindergarten readiness in terms of student intellectual ability, academic skills and classroom engagement relate to future academic performance. Participants are French-Canadian children followed in the context of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (N = 670. Trained examiners measured number knowledge, receptive vocabulary and fluid intelligence when children were in kindergarten. Teachers rated kindergarten classroom engagement. Outcomes included fourth-grade teacherrated achievement and directly assessed mathematical skills. Latent class analyses revealed three kindergarten readiness profiles: high (57%, moderate (34% and low (9.3% readiness. Using multiple regression, we found that a more favourable kindergarten profile predicted better fourth-grade academic performance. Identifying children at risk of academic difficulty is an important step for preventing underachievement and dropout. These results suggest the importance of promoting a variety of cognitive, academic and behavioural skills to enhance later achievement in at-risk learners.

Factors related to self-directed learning readiness of students in health professional programs: A scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Craig E; Cusick, Anne

2017-05-01

Academic and professional drivers have stimulated interest in self-directed learning of students in pre-certification health professional programs. Particular attention has focussed on factors which may influence a students' readiness for self-directed learning. A five stage structured scoping review of published literature was conducted to identify measures of self-directed learning readiness used with students in pre-certification health professional programs and those factors that have been investigated as potential determinants. Relevant articles were identified in six databases using key search terms and a search strategy. Two independent reviewers used criteria to cull irrelevant sources. Articles which met eligibility criteria were charted. The final analysis included 49 articles conducted in nursing, medicine, physiotherapy, pharmacy, occupational therapy and dentistry cohorts. Twenty-one potential determinants had been investigated with gender, year level, age program delivery and previous education level the most common. Self-directed learning readiness has been of interest globally, mostly in medicine and nursing, and studies have nearly exclusively used one of two instruments. There is nascent evidence that age, year level and previous education level may have positive influence. These factors have in common the passing of time and may in fact be proxy for more encompassing developmental or social constructs. Further research is needed particularly in the allied health professions where there is limited research in very few disciplines. Studies in interprofessional contexts may be an efficient approach to increasing the knowledge base. Further work is also warranted to determine appropriate use of the two instruments across the range of health disciplines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predicting implementation from organizational readiness for change: a study protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelly P Adam

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is widespread interest in measuring organizational readiness to implement evidence-based practices in clinical care. However, there are a number of challenges to validating organizational measures, including inferential bias arising from the halo effect and method bias - two threats to validity that, while well-documented by organizational scholars, are often ignored in health services research. We describe a protocol to comprehensively assess the psychometric properties of a previously developed survey, the Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment. Objectives Our objective is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the psychometric properties of the Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment incorporating methods specifically to address threats from halo effect and method bias. Methods and Design We will conduct three sets of analyses using longitudinal, secondary data from four partner projects, each testing interventions to improve the implementation of an evidence-based clinical practice. Partner projects field the Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment at baseline (n = 208 respondents; 53 facilities, and prospectively assesses the degree to which the evidence-based practice is implemented. We will conduct predictive and concurrent validities using hierarchical linear modeling and multivariate regression, respectively. For predictive validity, the outcome is the change from baseline to follow-up in the use of the evidence-based practice. We will use intra-class correlations derived from hierarchical linear models to assess inter-rater reliability. Two partner projects will also field measures of job satisfaction for convergent and discriminant validity analyses, and will field Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment measures at follow-up for concurrent validity (n = 158 respondents; 33 facilities. Convergent and discriminant validities will test associations between organizational readiness and

e-Learning readiness amongst nursing students at the Durban ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Marilynne Coopasami

c Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, ML Sultan Campus, Durban University of Technology, Durban ... education, technological and equipment readiness require attention before it can be ... strategy; consider the benefits and disadvantages of e- ... using an appropriate tool to measure e-Learning readiness has.

47 CFR 15.118 - Cable ready consumer electronics equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cable ready consumer electronics equipment. 15... Unintentional Radiators § 15.118 Cable ready consumer electronics equipment. (a) All consumer electronics TV... provisions of this section. Consumer electronics TV receiving equipment that includes features intended for...

Sleep Duration and School Readiness of Chinese Preschool Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Tso, Winnie; Rao, Nirmala; Jiang, Fan; Li, Albert Martin; Lee, So-Lun; Ho, Frederick Ka-Wing; Li, Sophia Ling; Ip, Patrick

2016-02-01

To examine the average sleep duration in Chinese preschoolers and to investigate the association between sleep duration and school readiness. This is a cross-sectional study that included 553 Chinese children (mean age = 5.46 years) from 20 preschools in 2 districts of Hong Kong. Average daily sleep duration in the last week was reported by parents and school readiness as measured by the teacher-rated Chinese Early Development Instrument (CEDI). Most Chinese preschoolers had 9-10 hours of sleep per day. Only 11% of preschoolers had the recommended 11-12 hours of sleep per day. This group was associated with more "very ready" CEDI domains. Sleep deprivation (≤7 hours per day) was associated with a lower CEDI total score, lower scores in the emotional maturity and language/cognitive domain, and prosocial behaviors subdomain but a greater score in the hyperactivity/inattention subdomain. Children with a lower family socioeconomic index, lower maternal education level, infrequent parent-child interactions, and who used electronic devices for more than 3 hours per day had shortened sleep durations. Optimal sleep duration was associated with better school readiness in preschool children, whereas sleep deprivation was associated with lower school readiness, more hyperactivity and inattention, and less prosocial behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

College Readiness versus College Worthiness: Examining the Role of Principal Beliefs on College Readiness Initiatives in an Urban U.S. High School

Science.gov (United States)

Convertino, Christina; Graboski-Bauer, Ashley

2018-01-01

In light of increasing emphasis on the importance of post-secondary education to personal economic security, there is growing interest to promote college readiness initiatives in high schools, particularly for low-income and minority students for whom the harmful effects of institutional inequities on college readiness is well-documented.…

Usability and Workflow Evaluation of “RhEumAtic Disease Activity” (READY)

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Po-Yin; Lara, Barbara; Lopetegui, Marcelo; Bharat, Aseem; Ardoin, Stacy; Johnson, Bernadette; Mathur, Puneet; Embi, Peter J.

2016-01-01

Summary Background RhEumAtic Disease activitY (READY) is a mobile health (mHealth) application that aims to create a shared platform integrating data from both patients and physicians, with a particular emphasis on arthritis disease activity. Methods We made READY available on an iPad and pilot implemented it at a rheumatology out-patient clinic. We conducted 1) a usability evaluation study to explore patients’ and physicians’ interactions with READY, and 2) a time motion study (TMS) to observe the clinical workflow before and after the implementation. Results A total of 33 patients and 15 physicians participated in the usability evaluation. We found usability problems in navigation, data entry, pain assessment, documentation, and instructions along with error messages. Despite these issues, 25 (75,76%) patients reported they liked READY. Physicians provided mixed feedback because they were concerned about the impact of READY on clinical workflow. Six physicians participated in the TMS. We observed 47 patient visits (44.72 hours) in the pre-implementation phase, and 42 patient visits (37.82 hours) in the post-implementation phase. We found that patients spent more time on READY than paper (4.39mins vs. 2.26mins), but overall, READY did not delay the workflow (pre = 52.08 mins vs. post = 45.46 mins). This time difference may be compensated with READY eliminating a workflow step for the staff. Conclusion Patients preferred READY to paper documents. Many found it easier to input information because of the larger font size and the ease of ‘tapping’ rather than writing-out or circling answers. Even though patients spent more time on READY than using paper documents, the longer usage of READY was mainly due to when troubleshooting was needed. Most patients did not have problems after receiving initial support from the staff. This study not only enabled improvements to the software but also serves as good reference for other researchers or institutional decision

Individual Ready Reserve: It's Relevance in Supporting the Long War

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chisholm, Shelley A

2008-01-01

... in sustaining personnel readiness while supporting on going operations. In response to meeting these personnel readiness concerns, the Army Reserve will require the call-up of Soldiers currently serving in the IRR...

Academic Training: QCD: are we ready for the LHC

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

2006-2007 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 4, 5, 6, 7 December, from 11:00 to 12:00 4, 5, 6 December - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500, 7 December - TH Auditorium, bldg. 4 - 3-006 QCD: are we ready for the LHC S. FRIXIONE / INFN, Genoa, Italy The LHC energy regime poses a serious challenge to our capability of predicting QCD reactions to the level of accuracy necessary for a successful programme of searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. In these lectures, I'll introduce basic concepts in QCD, and present techniques based on perturbation theory, such as fixed-order and resummed computations, and Monte Carlo simulations. I'll discuss applications of these techniques to hadron-hadron processes, concentrating on recent trends in perturbative QCD aimed at improving our understanding of LHC phenomenology.

States Move toward Computer Science Standards. Policy Update. Vol. 23, No. 17

Science.gov (United States)

Tilley-Coulson, Eve

2016-01-01

While educators and parents recognize computer science as a key skill for career readiness, only five states have adopted learning standards in this area. Tides are changing, however, as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recognizes with its call on states to provide a "well-rounded education" for students, to include computer science…

Managing Military Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

2017-02-01

These metrics contain critical information and have their place in readiness management. However, they have never been sufficient to fully...demand signals along with simultaneity assumptions form the es- sence of the operational requirements in national strategy. This section briefly... places demands on the capability and capacity of the Air Force that consume its resources in today’s fight and exceed our capacity to address

Market readiness report : status of preparation for Ontario's competitive retail electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) assumes a leadership role in the electricity sector to ensure the readiness of retail participants in Ontario's competitive electricity market. The Market Readiness Project Team is instrumental in this activity. The team, led by the Independent Electricity Market Operator, provides information and advice regarding the technical readiness of the retail industry, with particular focus on the readiness of distributors to carry out their important functions in a competitive market. This report provides an assessment of the team regarding the industry's technical readiness based on information as of December 14, 2001. The status of retail market readiness was reviewed in terms of the viability of the design of the new competitive market and on the status of Ontario distributors in enabling a competitive market. The workplan for the remaining industry activities needed to achieve market opening were then summarized along with the contingency arrangements for any distributors that are not ready for market opening. Based on several projections, an estimated 88 per cent of Ontario contracts will be served by a distributor starting on a May 1, 2002 market opening. tabs., figs., appendices

Assessing motivation and readiness to change for weight management and control: an in-depth evaluation of three sets of instruments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina eCeccarini

2015-05-01

Full Text Available It is highly recommended to promptly assess motivation and readiness to change in individuals who wish to achieve significant lifestyle behavior changes in order to improve their health, overall quality of life and well-being. In particular, motivation should be assessed for those who face the difficult task to maintain weight, which implies a double challenge: weight loss initially and its management subsequently. In fact, weight-control may be as problematic as smoking or drugs-taking cessation, since they all share the commonality of being highly refractory to change behaviors. This paper will examine three well-established tools following the Trans-theoretical Model (TTM, specifically assessing readiness to change in weight management: the URICA, the S-Weight and the P-Weight and the Decisional Balance Inventory. Though their strengths and weaknesses may appear to be rather homogeneous and similar, the S-Weight and P-Weight are more efficient in assessing readiness to change in weight management and control. Assessing motivation and readiness to change may be a crucial step in promptly identifying psychological obstacles or resistance towards weight-management in overweight or obese hospitalised individuals, and it may contribute to provide a more effective weight-control treatment intervention.

Irradiation of ready made meals -Lasagne

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barkia, Ines

2007-01-01

The effect of ionizing radiation on the microbiological, nutritional, chemical and sensory quality of chilled ready-made meals was assessed. The ready meals used for this experimental work are lasagne. Following arrival at the semi-industrial Cobalt 60 irradiation facility, the meals were either left unirradiated or irradiated with doses of 2 or 4 kGy after which they were stored for up to 23 days at 3C. Results showed that 2 or 4 kGy doses of gamma irradiation decreased the total counts of mesophilic aerobic bacteria and increased the shelf-life of lasagne. In terms of nutritional quality, it was found that losses of vitamin A and E due to irradiation treatment were considerable at 4 kGy. Total acidity, and p H, were all well within the acceptable limit for up to one week for ready meals treated with 2 and 4 kGy whereas peroxide index showed high values at 4 kGy. Sensory results showed no significant differences between the non-irradiated and irradiated meals at 2 kGy. However, the results were less promising at 4 kGy since differences were significant. (Author). 60 refs

Teachers’ Readiness to Implement Digital Curriculum in Kuwaiti Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamed Mubarak Al-Awidi

2017-03-01

Findings\tTeachers are moderately ready for implementation of the digital curriculum in both components of readiness (technical and pedagogical. Teachers identified some factors that that hinder their readiness. These factors are related to time constraints, knowledge and skills, infrastructure, and technical support. Recommendations for Practitioners: This paper will guide curriculum decision makers to find the best ways to help and support teachers to effectively implement the digital. Future Research: Follow up studies may examine the effectiveness of teacher education pro-grams in preparing students teachers to implement the digital curriculum, and the role of education decision makers in facilitating the implementation of the digital curriculum.

The Readiness of Students to Learn Interprofessional Teamwork in Antenatal Care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dina Zakiyyatul Fuadah

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Indonesia as a developing country have a higher Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR. The prevention efforts is developing interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP in the level of health care. Collaboration attitudes should start from education level through interprofessional education training and simulation for student. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of interprofessional education training toward the readiness of students to learn interprofessional teamwork in antenatal care. Methods: Quasi-experimental design (pre test and post test without control with Time-Series Design. Participants used in this study were students of five semester in STIKes Karya Husada Kediri year of 2011/2012 and the number of samples are 60 students. Technique sampling using simple random. The data collected by used questionnaires Readiness Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS and checklist observations using Teamwork Score (TWS. Anova, Friedman test, and Kruskal Wallis was used to statistically analyzed the data. Results: Readiness to learn interprofessional teamwork indicates the value of p = 0.001 thats means there are significant differences between the readiness before and after training IPE. Delta test showed that p value > 0.05 so there is no difference between the three programs study on readiness to learn interprofessional teamwork in antenatal care. Discussion: Interprofessional education training using simulation methods can affect the readiness of nursing, midwifery and nutritionist students for learning interprofessional teamwork in antenatal care. Keywords: interprofessional education, readiness, training and simulations, pre clinics students, antenatal care.

A computer-assisted procedure for estimating patient exposure and fetal dose in radiographic examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glaze, S.; Schneiders, N.; Bushong, S.C.

1982-01-01

A computer program for calculating patient entrance exposure and fetal dose for 11 common radiographic examinations was developed. The output intensity measured at 70 kVp and a 30-inch (76-cm) source-to-skin distance was entered into the program. The change in output intensity with changing kVp was examined for 17 single-phase and 12 three-phase x-ray units. The relationships obtained from a least squares regression analysis of the data, along with the technique factors for each examination, were used to calculate patient exposure. Fetal dose was estimated using published fetal dose in mrad (10 -5 Gy) per 1,000 mR (258 μC/kg) entrance exposure values. The computations are fully automated and individualized to each radiographic unit. The information provides a ready reference in large institutions and is particularly useful at smaller facilities that do not have available physicists who can make the calculations immediately

A computer-assisted procedure for estimating patient exposure and fetal dose in radiographic examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glaze, S.; Schneiders, N.; Bushong, S.C.

1982-01-01

A computer program for calculating patient entrance exposure and fetal dose for 11 common radiographic examinations was developed. The output intensity measured at 70 kVp and a 30-inch (76-cm) source-to-skin distance was entered into the program. The change in output intensity with changing kVp was examined for 17 single-phase and 12 three-phase x-ray units. The relationships obtained from a least squares regression analysis of the data, along with the technique factors for each examination, were used to calculate patient exposure. Fetal dose was estimated using published fetal dose in mrad (10(-5) Gy) per 1,000 mR (258 microC/kg) entrance exposure values. The computations are fully automated and individualized to each radiographic unit. The information provides a ready reference in large institutions and is particularly useful at smaller facilities that do not have available physicians who can make the calculations immediately

Implementation plan for WRAP Module 1 operational readiness review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irons, L.G.

1994-01-01

The Waste Receiving and Processing Module 1 (WRAP 1) will be used to receive, sample, treat, and ship contact-handled (CH) transuranic (TRU), low-level waste (LLW), and low-level mixed waste (LLMW) to storage and disposal sites both on the Hanford site and off-site. The primary mission of WRAP 1 is to characterize and certify CH waste in 55-gallon and 85-gallon drums; and its secondary function is to certify CH waste standard waste boxes (SWB) and boxes of similar size for disposal. The WRAP 1 will provide the capability for examination (including x-ray, visual, and contents sampling), limited treatment, repackaging, and certification of CH suspect-TRU waste in 55-gallon drums retrieved from storage, as well as newly generated CH LLW and CH TRU waste drums. The WRAP 1 will also provide examination (X-ray and visual only) and certification of CH LLW and CH TRU waste in small boxes. The decision to perform an Operational Readiness Review (ORR) was made in accordance with WHC-CM-5-34, Solid Waste Disposal Operations Administration, Section 1.4, Operational Readiness Activities. The ORR will ensure plant and equipment readiness, management and personnel readiness, and management programs readiness for the initial startup of the facility. This implementation plan is provided for defining the conduct of the WHC ORR

Technology Readiness of School Teachers: An Empirical Study of Measurement and Segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Badri, Masood; Al Rashedi, Asma; Yang, Guang; Mohaidat, Jihad; Al Hammadi, Arif

2014-01-01

The Technology Readiness Index (TRI) developed by Parasuraman (2000) was adapted to measure the technology readiness of public school teachers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The study aims at better understanding the factors (mostly demographics) that affect such readiness levels. In addition, Abu Dhabi teachers are segmented into five main…

Defining School Readiness in Maryland: A Multi-Dimensional Perspective. Publication #2012-44

Science.gov (United States)

Forry, Nicole; Wessel, Julia

2012-01-01

Increased emphasis has been placed on children's ability to enter kindergarten ready to learn, a concept referred to as "school readiness." School readiness has been defined by the Maryland State Department of Education as "the stage of human development that enables a child to engage in, and benefit from, primary learning…

Transfer Kernel Common Spatial Patterns for Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Mengxi; Liu, Shucong; Zhang, Pengju

2018-01-01

Motor-imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) commonly use the common spatial pattern (CSP) as preprocessing step before classification. The CSP method is a supervised algorithm. Therefore a lot of time-consuming training data is needed to build the model. To address this issue, one promising approach is transfer learning, which generalizes a learning model can extract discriminative information from other subjects for target classification task. To this end, we propose a transfer kernel CSP (TKCSP) approach to learn a domain-invariant kernel by directly matching distributions of source subjects and target subjects. The dataset IVa of BCI Competition III is used to demonstrate the validity by our proposed methods. In the experiment, we compare the classification performance of the TKCSP against CSP, CSP for subject-to-subject transfer (CSP SJ-to-SJ), regularizing CSP (RCSP), stationary subspace CSP (ssCSP), multitask CSP (mtCSP), and the combined mtCSP and ssCSP (ss + mtCSP) method. The results indicate that the superior mean classification performance of TKCSP can achieve 81.14%, especially in case of source subjects with fewer number of training samples. Comprehensive experimental evidence on the dataset verifies the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed TKCSP approach over several state-of-the-art methods. PMID:29743934

GIS Readiness Survey 2014

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrøder, Lise; Hvingel, Line Træholt; Hansen, Henning Sten

2014-01-01

The GIS Readiness Survey 2014 is a follow-up to the corresponding survey that was carried out among public institutions in Denmark in 2009. The present survey thus provides an updated image of status and challenges in relation to the use of spatial information, the construction of the com- mon...

School Readiness Factor Analyzed.

Science.gov (United States)

Brenner, Anton; Scott, Leland H.

This paper is an empirical statistical analysis and interpretation of data relating to school readiness previously examined and reported on a theoretical basis. A total of 118 white, middle class children from six consecutive kindergarten groups in Dearborn, Michigan were tested with seven instruments, evaluated in terms of achievement, ability,…

Consumer behaviors towards ready-to-eat foods based on food-related lifestyles in Korea

OpenAIRE

Bae, Hyun-Joo; Chae, Mi-Jin; Ryu, Kisang

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine consumers' behaviors toward ready-to-eat foods and to develop ready-to-eat food market segmentation in Korea. The food-related lifestyle and purchase behaviors of ready-to-eat foods were evaluated using 410 ready-to-eat food consumers in the Republic of Korea. Four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis (health-orientation, taste-orientation, convenience-orientation, and tradition-orientation) to explain the ready-to eat food consumers' ...

Effects of mobile phone-based app learning compared to computer-based web learning on nursing students: pilot randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myung Kyung

2015-04-01

This study aimed to determine the effect of mobile-based discussion versus computer-based discussion on self-directed learning readiness, academic motivation, learner-interface interaction, and flow state. This randomized controlled trial was conducted at one university. Eighty-six nursing students who were able to use a computer, had home Internet access, and used a mobile phone were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to either the mobile phone app-based discussion group (n = 45) or a computer web-based discussion group (n = 41). The effect was measured at before and after an online discussion via self-reported surveys that addressed academic motivation, self-directed learning readiness, time distortion, learner-learner interaction, learner-interface interaction, and flow state. The change in extrinsic motivation on identified regulation in the academic motivation (p = 0.011) as well as independence and ability to use basic study (p = 0.047) and positive orientation to the future in self-directed learning readiness (p = 0.021) from pre-intervention to post-intervention was significantly more positive in the mobile phone app-based group compared to the computer web-based discussion group. Interaction between learner and interface (p = 0.002), having clear goals (p = 0.012), and giving and receiving unambiguous feedback (p = 0.049) in flow state was significantly higher in the mobile phone app-based discussion group than it was in the computer web-based discussion group at post-test. The mobile phone might offer more valuable learning opportunities for discussion teaching and learning methods in terms of self-directed learning readiness, academic motivation, learner-interface interaction, and the flow state of the learning process compared to the computer.

Smoke Ready Toolbox for Wildfires

Science.gov (United States)

This site provides an online Smoke Ready Toolbox for Wildfires, which lists resources and tools that provide information on health impacts from smoke exposure, current fire conditions and forecasts and strategies to reduce exposure to smoke.

External Factors, Internal Factors and Self-Directed Learning Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Ramli, Nurjannah; Muljono, Pudji; Afendi, Farit M.

2018-01-01

There are many factors which affect the level of self-directed learning readiness. This study aims to investigate the relationship between external factors, internal factors and self-directed learning readiness. This study was carried out by using a census method for fourth year students of medical program of Tadulako University. Data were…

E-Learning Readiness in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Ouma, Gordon O.; Awuor, Fredrick M.; Kyambo, Benjamin

2013-01-01

As e-learning becomes useful to learning institutions worldwide, an assessment of e-learning readiness is essential for the successful implementation of e-learning as a platform for learning. Success in e-learning can be achieved by understanding the level of readiness of e-learning environments. To facilitate schools in Kenya to implement…

Students' Readiness for E-Learning Application in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Rasouli, Atousa; Rahbania, Zahra; Attaran, Mohammad

2016-01-01

The main goal of this research was to investigate the readiness of art students in applying e-learning. This study adopted a survey research design. From three public Iranian Universities (Alzahra, Tarbiat Modares, and Tehran), 347 students were selected by multistage cluster sampling and via Morgan Table. Their readiness for E-learning…

System analysis for technology transfer readiness assessment of horticultural postharvest

Science.gov (United States)

Hayuningtyas, M.; Djatna, T.

2018-04-01

Availability of postharvest technology is becoming abundant, but only a few technologies are applicable and useful to a wider community purposes. Based on this problem it requires a significant readiness level of transfer technology approach. This system is reliable to access readiness a technology with level, from 1-9 and to minimize time of transfer technology in every level, time required technology from the selection process can be minimum. Problem was solved by using Relief method to determine ranking by weighting feasible criteria on postharvest technology in each level and PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) to schedule. The results from ranking process of post-harvest technology in the field of horticulture is able to pass level 7. That, technology can be developed to increase into pilot scale and minimize time required for technological readiness on PERT with optimistic time of 7,9 years. Readiness level 9 shows that technology has been tested on the actual conditions also tied with estimated production price compared to competitors. This system can be used to determine readiness of technology innovation that is derived from agricultural raw materials and passes certain stages.

A proposed framework of big data readiness in public sectors

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Raja Haslinda Raja Mohd; Mohamad, Rosli; Sudin, Suhizaz

2016-08-01

Growing interest over big data mainly linked to its great potential to unveil unforeseen pattern or profiles that support organisation's key business decisions. Following private sector moves to embrace big data, the government sector has now getting into the bandwagon. Big data has been considered as one of the potential tools to enhance service delivery of the public sector within its financial resources constraints. Malaysian government, particularly, has considered big data as one of the main national agenda. Regardless of government commitment to promote big data amongst government agencies, degrees of readiness of the government agencies as well as their employees are crucial in ensuring successful deployment of big data. This paper, therefore, proposes a conceptual framework to investigate perceived readiness of big data potentials amongst Malaysian government agencies. Perceived readiness of 28 ministries and their respective employees will be assessed using both qualitative (interview) and quantitative (survey) approaches. The outcome of the study is expected to offer meaningful insight on factors affecting change readiness among public agencies on big data potentials and the expected outcome from greater/lower change readiness among the public sectors.

Effects of Personnel Injuries on Cinc Mission Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

1997-09-01

activities in which injury may be sustained: ACTSPEC (activity specific): 1 =N/A 5 = 0 Course 9 = Fastrope 13 = Patrolling 2 = Running 6 = Weightlifting 10...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS EFFECTS OF PERSONNEL INJURIES ON CINC MISSION READINESS by Erin G. Snow September, 1997...Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE EFFECTS OF PERSONNEL INJURIES ON CINC MISSION READINESS 6. AUTHOR(S) Snow, Erin G. 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 7. PERFORMING

A practical introduction to computer vision with OpenCV

CERN Document Server

Dawson-Howe, Kenneth

2014-01-01

Explains the theory behind basic computer vision and provides a bridge from the theory to practical implementation using the industry standard OpenCV libraries Computer Vision is a rapidly expanding area and it is becoming progressively easier for developers to make use of this field due to the ready availability of high quality libraries (such as OpenCV 2).  This text is intended to facilitate the practical use of computer vision with the goal being to bridge the gap between the theory and the practical implementation of computer vision. The book will explain how to use the relevant OpenCV

Length of stay after vaginal birth: sociodemographic and readiness-for-discharge factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Marianne; Ryan, Polly; Lokken, Lisa; Nelson, Magdalen

2004-06-01

The impact of reductions in postpartum length of stay have been widely reported, but factors influencing length of hospital stay after vaginal birth have received less attention. The study purpose was to compare the sociodemographic characteristics and readiness for discharge of new mothers and their newborns at 3 discharge time intervals, and to determine which variables were associated with postpartum length of stay. The study sample comprised 1,192 mothers who were discharged within 2 postpartum days after uncomplicated vaginal birth at a tertiary perinatal center in the midwestern United States. The sample was divided into 3 postpartum length-of-stay groups: group 1 (18-30 hr), group 2 (31-42 hr), and group 3 (43-54 hr). Sociodemographic and readiness-for-discharge data were collected by self-report and from a computerized hospital information system. Measures of readiness for discharge included perceived readiness (single item and Readiness for Discharge After Birth Scale), documented maternal and neonatal clinical problems, and feeding method. Compared with other groups, the longest length-of-stay group was older; of higher socioeconomic status and education; and with more primiparous, breastfeeding, white, married mothers who were living with the baby's father, had adequate home help, and had a private payor source. This group also reported greater readiness for discharge, but their newborns had more documented clinical problems during the postbirth hospitalization. In logistic regression modeling, earlier discharge was associated with young age, multiparity, public payor source, low socioeconomic status, lack of readiness for discharge, bottle-feeding, and absence of a neonatal clinical problem. Sociodemographic characteristics and readiness for discharge (clinical and perceived) were associated with length of postpartum hospital stay. Length of stay is an outcome of a complex interface between patient, provider, and payor influences on discharge timing

Checklist for clinical readiness published

Science.gov (United States)

Scientists from NCI, together with collaborators from outside academic centers, have developed a checklist of criteria to evaluate the readiness of complex molecular tests that will guide decisions made during clinical trials. The checklist focuses on tes

Validating Acquisition IS Integration Readiness with Drills

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wynne, Peter J.

2017-01-01

To companies, mergers and acquisitions are important strategic tools, yet they often fail to deliver their expected value. Studies have shown the integration of information systems is a significant roadblock to the realisation of acquisition benefits, and for an IT department to be ready......), to understand how an IT department can use them to validate their integration plans. The paper presents a case study of two drills used to validate an IT department’s readiness to carry out acquisition IS integration, and suggests seven acquisition IS integration drill characteristics others could utilise when...

Why Do We Need Future Ready Librarians? That Kid.

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Mark

2018-01-01

In this article, the author examines the need of the Future Ready Librarians (FRL) initiative. The FRL Framework helps define how librarians might lead, teach, and support schools based on the core research-based components defined by Future Ready. The framework and initiative are intended to be ways to change the conversation about school…

Balancing the Readiness Equation in Early Childhood Education Reform

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Christopher P.

2010-01-01

As policy-makers continue to implement early childhood education reforms that frame the field as a mechanism that is to ready children for elementary school success, questions arise as to how the multiple variables in the readiness equation, such as the child, family, and program, are affected by these policies. The instrumental case study…

Parental Learning and School Readiness in the Gearing Up for Kindergarten Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharon Query

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Entering kindergarten is a key moment in a young child’s life, and parents are a child’s first teacher. What can guide parents as they assist children with school readiness? Gearing Up for Kindergarten is an intensive parent education and school readiness program designed to help parents and children prepare for school. Gearing Up for Kindergarten is a parent education program that combines early learning opportunities for pre-kindergarten children with parent education opportunities for adults. This study presents findings from evaluation efforts conducted with 59 Gearing Up for Kindergarten adult participants during the 2006-2007 school year. Participants in the program demonstrated (1 high satisfaction with program quality and experiences, (2 impacts on parental knowledge and confidence, and (3 significant and positive changes in parental practices related to school readiness. Implications for parent education and programs intended to strengthen school readiness among pre-kindergarten children are explored. Parent education on school readiness can provide a substantive resource as parents help their children develop and become ready for the school years.

Technology Readiness for the Smart Grid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirkham, Harold; Marinovici, Maria C.; Fitzpatrick, G.; Lindsey, K.; McBride, James; Clark, G. L.

2013-06-30

Reluctance to adopt new technology into a utility application is understandable, given the critical nature of the infrastructure and the less-than-ideal experiences of some power companies. The authors of this paper have considered adapting the NASA approach of classifying technology readiness, but find it not quite appropriate because NASA was both the developer and the eventual user of the new technology it was evaluating, whereas a utility is ordinarily in the mode of a customer, acquiring a new product from a manufacturer. Instead of a generic scale of technology readiness, a scale of readiness is proposed specifically for the smart grid, based on the many standards that exist for the relevant technologies. In this paper we present an overall structure for organization those standards. The acceptance of new technology is organized into five SGL (Smart Grid Level) steps, numbered five through 9 to correspond approximately to the last five numbers of the NASA TRL scale. SGL 5 is a certification that the hardware and software of the technology is safe for the system into which is intended to be placed. SGL 6 is documentation that the system is safe for itself, and will have adequate reliability. It is thus clear that the steps differ from NASA’s TRL in that technology development is not required, the transition is more one of documenting already existing system readiness. Since SGL 6 describes a system that is safe for the power system and for itself, it should not be restricted from being in a pilot-scale study, and achieving SGL 7. A larger-scale demonstration in a realistic environment will demonstrate interoperability and achieve SGL 8. Only when systems are installed and operating, and when disposal plans are in place will the designation of fully operable at SGL 9 be granted.

Conjoint behavioral consultation: implementing a tiered home-school partnership model to promote school readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Brandy L; Sheridan, Susan M; Woods, Kathryn E

2014-01-01

An ecological perspective to school readiness focuses on child and family readiness by enhancing the developmental contexts and relationships within which children reside (e.g., home environment, parent-child relationship, home-school relationships). The Getting Ready intervention is an ecological, relationally based, tiered intervention providing both universal and intensive services to children and families to promote child and family school readiness. Intensive level consultation services were provided via Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC; Sheridan & Kratochwill, 1992 , 2008 ). The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation and effects of CBC within the Getting Ready intervention to promote child and family school readiness. Keys to successful implementation of the CBC intervention and issues needing further investigation are discussed.

Measuring readiness for entrepreneurship: An information tool proposal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicia Coduras

2016-05-01

Full Text Available A profound review of the literature on entrepreneurship reveals that it does not exist a specific information tool to measure the individuals’ readiness for entrepreneurship. The purpose of this research has been building such kind of instrument to estimate the individuals’ readiness for entrepreneurship. Its design takes in consideration the inclusion of the main variables identified by the literature as those most associated with entrepreneurial profiles. These variables have been grouped into three categories: sociological, psychological and managerial-entrepreneurial. Each group provides batteries of items which are evaluated thanks to a specific scoring system. The final objective is to provide a system to calculate individual scores of readiness for entrepreneurship and, at the same time, partial scores on concrete aspects of it. The information tool is presented at this paper and will be tested and refined in the near future.

Study of the Readiness of Czech Companies to the Industry 4.0

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakub Kopp

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the results of the questionnaire survey that analyzes the readiness of Czech companies on the trend of the Industry 4.0. It means mainly whether Czech companies are interested in the fourth industrial revolution and whether they are ready for this trend. The readiness is expressed in defined levels.

Measuring readiness for entrepreneurship: An information tool proposal

OpenAIRE

Alicia Coduras; José Manuel Saiz-Alvarez; Jesús Ruiz

2016-01-01

A profound review of the literature on entrepreneurship reveals that it does not exist a specific information tool to measure the individuals’ readiness for entrepreneurship. The purpose of this research has been building such kind of instrument to estimate the individuals’ readiness for entrepreneurship. Its design takes in consideration the inclusion of the main variables identified by the literature as those most associated with entrepreneurial profiles. These variables have been grouped i...

Development of the Writing Readiness Inventory Tool in Context (WRITIC)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Hartingsveldt, Margo J.; de Vries, Liesbeth; Cup, Edith HC; de Groot, Imelda JM; Nijhuis-van der Sanden, Maria WG

2014-01-01

This article describes the development of the Writing Readiness Inventory Tool in Context (WRITIC), a measurement evaluating writing readiness in Dutch kindergarten children (5 and 6 years old). Content validity was established through 10 expert evaluations in three rounds. Construct validity was

Readiness and motivation for change among young women with broadly defined eating disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Ålgars, Monica; Ramberg, Carin; Moszny, Josefine; Hagman, Jessica; Rintala, Hanna; Santtila, Pekka

2015-01-01

Readiness and motivation for change were examined in 32 women with broadly defined eating disorders who took part in a 10-week Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based group intervention. Readiness for change and eating disorder psychopathology were assessed before and after the intervention. The results revealed significant negative associations between degree of eating disorder symptoms and degree of readiness for change before the intervention started. In particular, higher levels of eating concern, shape concern, and body dissatisfaction were associated with lower motivation for change. No significant associations between degree of readiness for change before the intervention started and changes in eating disorder symptoms at the end of intervention were found. Readiness for change increased from the beginning to the end of the intervention, indicating that group CBT may be a cost-effective and time-efficient way of enhancing readiness and motivation for change in individuals with eating psychopathology.

NGNP Infrastructure Readiness Assessment: Consolidation Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castle, Brian K.

2011-01-01

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project supports the development, demonstration, and deployment of high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). The NGNP project is being reviewed by the Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (NEAC) to provide input to the DOE, who will make a recommendation to the Secretary of Energy, whether or not to continue with Phase 2 of the NGNP project. The NEAC review will be based on, in part, the infrastructure readiness assessment, which is an assessment of industry's current ability to provide specified components for the FOAK NGNP, meet quality assurance requirements, transport components, have the necessary workforce in place, and have the necessary construction capabilities. AREVA and Westinghouse were contracted to perform independent assessments of industry's capabilities because of their experience with nuclear supply chains, which is a result of their experiences with the EPR and AP-1000 reactors. Both vendors produced infrastructure readiness assessment reports that identified key components and categorized these components into three groups based on their ability to be deployed in the FOAK plant. The NGNP project has several programs that are developing key components and capabilities. For these components, the NGNP project have provided input to properly assess the infrastructure readiness for these components.

NGNP Infrastructure Readiness Assessment: Consolidation Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brian K Castle

2011-02-01

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project supports the development, demonstration, and deployment of high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). The NGNP project is being reviewed by the Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (NEAC) to provide input to the DOE, who will make a recommendation to the Secretary of Energy, whether or not to continue with Phase 2 of the NGNP project. The NEAC review will be based on, in part, the infrastructure readiness assessment, which is an assessment of industry's current ability to provide specified components for the FOAK NGNP, meet quality assurance requirements, transport components, have the necessary workforce in place, and have the necessary construction capabilities. AREVA and Westinghouse were contracted to perform independent assessments of industry's capabilities because of their experience with nuclear supply chains, which is a result of their experiences with the EPR and AP-1000 reactors. Both vendors produced infrastructure readiness assessment reports that identified key components and categorized these components into three groups based on their ability to be deployed in the FOAK plant. The NGNP project has several programs that are developing key components and capabilities. For these components, the NGNP project have provided input to properly assess the infrastructure readiness for these components.

Work-readiness skills in the Fasset Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melandi Raftopoulos

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study was to determine the work -readiness skills that are regarded as important by employers and graduates in the Fasset Sector of South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was  used  to  achieve  this  objective.  Two  convenience  samples, namely  24  employers  and  333 graduates, completed  the Work Readiness Skills Scale. This scale was validated as a one-factor model with  an  alpha  coeffcient of  0.88. Oral  and written  communication,  self-discipline,  time management, interpersonal skills and teamwork, problem-solving skills and positive work ethic were rated as important skills for securing employment in this sector by employers and graduates alike. In addition, employers valued numeracy skills and motivation, whereas graduates regarded confidence and  leadership skills as  important. The results have implications for the curriculum design of the Fasset Work Readiness Programme presented to graduates in this industry.

Characterization of a new computer-ready photon counting system

Science.gov (United States)

Andor, Gyorgy

1998-08-01

The photon-counting system seems to be the best solution for extremely low optical power measurements. The Hamamatsu HC135 photon counting module has a built-in high-voltage power supply amplifier, discriminator, micro-controller with an RS232 serial output. It requires only a +5V supply voltage and an IBM PC or compatible computer to run. The system is supplied with an application software. This talk is about the testing of the device.

Computational Physics Simulation of Classical and Quantum Systems

CERN Document Server

Scherer, Philipp O. J

2010-01-01

This book encapsulates the coverage for a two-semester course in computational physics. The first part introduces the basic numerical methods while omitting mathematical proofs but demonstrating the algorithms by way of numerous computer experiments. The second part specializes in simulation of classical and quantum systems with instructive examples spanning many fields in physics, from a classical rotor to a quantum bit. All program examples are realized as Java applets ready to run in your browser and do not require any programming skills.

Capture ready fossil fuel plants: a critical stage in tackling climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gibbins, J.; Jia Li; Xi Liang [Imperial College, London (United Kingdom). Energy Technology for Sustainable Development Group

2006-07-01

Ways in which gasification-based systems can approach the CO{sub 2} capture ready ideal is discussed, together with possible methods for assessing the optimum degree of capture readiness. A key technology choice for power plants is whether or not to incorporate a shift before capture. Financial returns for making plants capture ready are also discussed. 10 refs., 3 tabs.

Measuring Success: Metrics that Link Supply Chain Management to Aircraft Readiness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Balestreri, William

2002-01-01

..., The Theory of Constraints proved to be a viable tool for establishing aircraft readiness as the ultimate goal of Marine Corps aviation logistics, and provided a means for identifying and eliminating readiness...

Reflections on e-Learning Readiness in Albanian Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ezmolda Barolli

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays e-Learning has been identified to be the future of learning worldwide since the very powerful platform of the Internet has accelerated the speed of communication. Adoption of e-learning has become the latest trend across universities all over the world. Albania is part of a global shift from material resources to knowledge and intellectual resources as the basis for economic growth. Educators across Albania are aware that students must have an education that enables the students to participate successfully in and contribute to the knowledge economy. E-Learning readiness is an initial part of e- Learning development. In order to benefit from e-learning, higher education institutions in Albania should conduct considerable up-front analysis to assess their readiness. In this paper we are trying to examine the status of e-Learning readiness in Albania, analyzing and discussing several components and criteria based on literature.

Organizational readiness for implementing change: a psychometric assessment of a new measure.

Science.gov (United States)

Shea, Christopher M; Jacobs, Sara R; Esserman, Denise A; Bruce, Kerry; Weiner, Bryan J

2014-01-10

Organizational readiness for change in healthcare settings is an important factor in successful implementation of new policies, programs, and practices. However, research on the topic is hindered by the absence of a brief, reliable, and valid measure. Until such a measure is developed, we cannot advance scientific knowledge about readiness or provide evidence-based guidance to organizational leaders about how to increase readiness. This article presents results of a psychometric assessment of a new measure called Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change (ORIC), which we developed based on Weiner's theory of organizational readiness for change. We conducted four studies to assess the psychometric properties of ORIC. In study one, we assessed the content adequacy of the new measure using quantitative methods. In study two, we examined the measure's factor structure and reliability in a laboratory simulation. In study three, we assessed the reliability and validity of an organization-level measure of readiness based on aggregated individual-level data from study two. In study four, we conducted a small field study utilizing the same analytic methods as in study three. Content adequacy assessment indicated that the items developed to measure change commitment and change efficacy reflected the theoretical content of these two facets of organizational readiness and distinguished the facets from hypothesized determinants of readiness. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in the lab and field studies revealed two correlated factors, as expected, with good model fit and high item loadings. Reliability analysis in the lab and field studies showed high inter-item consistency for the resulting individual-level scales for change commitment and change efficacy. Inter-rater reliability and inter-rater agreement statistics supported the aggregation of individual level readiness perceptions to the organizational level of analysis. This article provides evidence in

Determining registered nurses' readiness for evidence-based practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiel, Linda; Ghosh, Yashowanto

2008-01-01

As health care systems worldwide move toward instituting evidence-based practice (EBP), its implementation can be challenging. Conducting a baseline assessment to determine nurses' readiness for EBP presents opportunities to plan strategies before implementation. Although a growing body of research literature is focused on implementing EBP, little attention has been paid to assessing nurses' readiness for EBP. The purpose of this study was to assess registered nurses' readiness for EBP in a moderate-sized acute care hospital in the Midwestern United States before implementation of a hospital-wide nursing EBP initiative. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used; 121 registered nurses completed the survey. The participants (n= 121) completed the 64-item Nurses' Readiness for Evidence-Based Practice Survey that allowed measurement of information needs, knowledge and skills, culture, and attitudes. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a post hoc analysis. The majority (72.5%) of respondents indicated that when they needed information, they consulted colleagues and peers rather than using journals and books; 24% of nurses surveyed used the health database, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). The respondents perceived their EBP knowledge level as moderate. Cultural EBP scores were moderate, with unit scores being higher than organizational scores. The nurses' attitudes toward EBP were positive. The post hoc analysis showed many significant correlations. Nurses have access to technological resources and perceive that they have the ability to engage in basic information gathering but not in higher level evidence gathering. The elements important to EBP such as a workplace culture and positive attitudes are present and can be built upon. A "site-specific" baseline assessment provides direction in planning EBP initiatives. The Nurses' Readiness for EBP Survey is a streamlined tool with established reliability and

The nutritional content and cost of supermarket ready-meals. Cross-sectional analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Remnant, Jennifer; Adams, Jean

2015-09-01

Over-reliance on convenience foods, including ready-meals, has been suggested as one contributor to obesity. Little research has systematically explored the nutritional content of supermarket ready-meals. We described the nutritional content and cost of UK supermarket ready-meals. We conducted a survey of supermarket own-brand chilled and frozen ready-meals available in branches of ten national supermarket chains in one city in northern England. Data on price, weight and nutritional content of meals in four ranges ('healthier', luxury, economy and standard) and of six types (macaroni cheese, meat lasagne, cottage pie, chicken tikka masala, fish pie, and sweet and sour chicken) were collected. Nutritional content was compared to ranges used to identify low, medium and high fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in nationally recommended front-of-pack labelling. 166 ready-meals were included from 41 stores. Overall, ready-meals were high in saturated fat and salt, and low in sugar. One-fifth of meals were low in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, including two-thirds of 'healthier' meals. Meals that were low for three out of the four front-of-pack nutrients were the cheapest. Supermarket ready-meals do not have a healthful nutritional profile overall. However, a number of healthier meals were available - particularly amongst meals specifically marked as 'healthier'. There was little evidence that healthier meals necessarily cost more. Further effort is required to encourage producers to improve the nutritional profile of the full range of ready-meals, and not just those specifically labelled as 'healthier'. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The nutritional content and cost of supermarket ready-meals. Cross-sectional analysis☆

Science.gov (United States)

Remnant, Jennifer; Adams, Jean

2015-01-01

Background: Over-reliance on convenience foods, including ready-meals, has been suggested as one contributor to obesity. Little research has systematically explored the nutritional content of supermarket ready-meals. We described the nutritional content and cost of UK supermarket ready-meals. Methods: We conducted a survey of supermarket own-brand chilled and frozen ready-meals available in branches of ten national supermarket chains in one city in northern England. Data on price, weight and nutritional content of meals in four ranges (‘healthier’, luxury, economy and standard) and of six types (macaroni cheese, meat lasagne, cottage pie, chicken tikka masala, fish pie, and sweet and sour chicken) were collected. Nutritional content was compared to ranges used to identify low, medium and high fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in nationally recommended front-of-pack labelling. Results: 166 ready-meals were included from 41 stores. Overall, ready-meals were high in saturated fat and salt, and low in sugar. One-fifth of meals were low in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, including two-thirds of ‘healthier’ meals. Meals that were low for three out of the four front-of-pack nutrients were the cheapest. Conclusions: Supermarket ready-meals do not have a healthful nutritional profile overall. However, a number of healthier meals were available – particularly amongst meals specifically marked as ‘healthier’. There was little evidence that healthier meals necessarily cost more. Further effort is required to encourage producers to improve the nutritional profile of the full range of ready-meals, and not just those specifically labelled as ‘healthier’. PMID:25963106

Effects of Preschool Intervention Strategies on School Readiness in Kindergarten

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xin; Nelson, Regena F.; Shen, Jianping; Krenn, Huilan Y.

2015-01-01

Using hierarchical linear modeling, the present study aimed to examine whether targeted intervention strategies implemented individually during a preschool program exhibited any short-term and long-term effects on children's school readiness in kindergarten, utilizing data gathered through the Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK)…

Emotional Intelligence as a Determinant of Readiness for Online Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Buzdar, Muhammad Ayub; Ali, Akhtar; Tariq, Riaz Ul Haq

2016-01-01

Students' performance in online learning environments is associated with their readiness to adopt a digital learning approach. Traditional concept of readiness for online learning is connected with students' competencies of using technology for learning purposes. We in this research, however, investigated psychometric aspects of students'…

Operational readiness review for the Waste Experimental Reduction Facility. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-11-01

An Operational Readiness Review (ORR) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory's (INEL's) Waste Experimental Reduction Facility (WERF) was conducted by EG ampersand G Idaho, Inc., to verify the readiness of WERF to resume operations following a shutdown and modification period of more than two years. It is the conclusion of the ORR Team that, pending satisfactory resolution of all pre-startup findings, WERF has achieved readiness to resume unrestricted operations within the approved safety basis. ORR appraisal forms are included in this report

Organizational e-readiness web: a model for evaluating e-readiness of Iranian commercial banks in order to develop e-banking

OpenAIRE

Chitsazan, Hasti; Keimasi, Masoud

2015-01-01

E-banking through mutual benefits for customers and banks has become a necessity in the banking industry nowadays. In spite of this, e-banking has not spread in Iran as it is appropriate.In a general categorization it can be said that E-readiness of banks and environmental e-readiness are two effective factors on development of e-banking which have been referred in different studies some models have been proposed in this regard in macro industries and others. However, no specific model has be...

EG&G Florida, Inc., KSC base operations contractor Launch Readiness Assessment System

Science.gov (United States)

Geaslen, W. D.

1988-01-01

A computerized Launch Readiness Assessment System (LRAS) which compares 'current status' of readiness against the 'required status' of readiness for the Space Shuttle. The five subsystems of the LRAS are examined in detail. The LRAS Plan specifies the overall system requirements, procedures, and reports. The LRAS Manager drives the operation of the LRAS system. The Responding Units (RU) maintain support plans and procedures which specify the detail requirements for each mission or milestone. The Master Data Tables contain the milestone, responsible RU relationships, and requirements assessment categories. The LRAS Status System serves as the launch readiness assessment reporting system. The relationships between these subsystems are displayed in diagrams.

Nuclear explosives testing readiness evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valk, T.C.

1993-09-01

This readiness evaluation considers hole selection and characterization, verification, containment issues, nuclear explosive safety studies, test authorities, event operations planning, canister-rack preparation, site preparation, diagnostic equipment setup, device assembly facilities and processes, device delivery and insertion, emplacement, stemming, control room activities, readiness briefing, arming and firing, test execution, emergency response and reentry, and post event analysis to include device diagnostics, nuclear chemistry, and containment. This survey concludes that the LLNL program and its supporting contractors could execute an event within six months of notification, and a second event within the following six months, given the NET group`s evaluation and the following three restraints: (1) FY94 (and subsequent year) funding is essentially constant with FY93, (2) Preliminary work for the initial event is completed to the historical sic months status, (3) Critical personnel, currently working in dual use technologies, would be recallable as needed.

K-Reactor readiness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice, P.D.

1991-01-01

This document describes some of the more significant accomplishments in the reactor restart program and details the magnitude and extent of the work completed to bring K-Reactor to a state of restart readiness. The discussion of restart achievements is organized into the three major categories of personnel, programs, and plant. Also presented is information on the scope and extent of internal and external oversight of the efforts, as well as some details on the startup plan

Enhancing Mental Readiness in Military Personnel

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Thompson, Megan M; McCreary, Donald R

2006-01-01

In this paper we explore how the psychological literature on stress and coping might inform military training programs to enhance "mental readiness" as a method to develop the baseline psychological...

Microbiological Quality Assessment of Ready-To-Eat Kilishi Sold in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Microbiological Quality Assessment of Ready-To-Eat Kilishi Sold in Abuja, Nigeria. ... Animal Production Research Advances ... A total of twelve samples of ready-to-eat dried meat product, kilishi, were purchased from different sale-points in Abuja, Nigeria and a study conducted on them to assess their microbiological ...

Recent achievements in real-time computational seismology in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S.; Liang, W.; Huang, B.

2012-12-01

Real-time computational seismology is currently possible to be achieved which needs highly connection between seismic database and high performance computing. We have developed a real-time moment tensor monitoring system (RMT) by using continuous BATS records and moment tensor inversion (CMT) technique. The real-time online earthquake simulation service is also ready to open for researchers and public earthquake science education (ROS). Combine RMT with ROS, the earthquake report based on computational seismology can provide within 5 minutes after an earthquake occurred (RMT obtains point source information ROS completes a 3D simulation real-time now. For more information, welcome to visit real-time computational seismology earthquake report webpage (RCS).

Onderzoek online readiness modezaken 2012

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boels, Han; Weltevreden, Jesse

2013-01-01

In dit onderzoek is de online readiness van modezaken in 2012 in kaart gebracht. In totaal hebben 124 (voornamelijk zelfstandige) modezaken deelgenomen aan het onderzoek. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd door het lectoraat Online Ondernemen samen met studenten van de minor Marketing Tomorrow van de

Onderzoek online readiness rijscholen 2013

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weltevreden, Jesse; Boels, Han

2013-01-01

In dit onderzoek is de online readiness van rijscholen in 2013 in kaart gebracht. In totaal hebben 115 rijscholen deelgenomen aan het onderzoek. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd door het lectoraat Online Ondernemen samen met studenten van de minor Marketing Tomorrow van de Hogeschool van Amsterdam.

Remedial action and waste disposal project: 100-B/C remedial action readiness report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

April, J.G.; Bryant, D.L.; Cislo, G.B.

1996-07-01

This Readiness Evaluation Report presents the results of the project readiness evaluation to assess the readiness of the 100-B/C source sites remediation. The 100-B/C Area is located at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. The evaluation was conducted at the conclusion of a series of readiness activities that began in May 1996. These activities included confirming the completion of project specific procedures, training of staff, obtaining support equipment, receipt of subcontractor submittals, approval of subcontractor submittals, and mobilization and construction of site support systems

A Harmonized Process Model for Digital Forensic Investigation Readiness

OpenAIRE

Valjarevic , Aleksandar; Venter , Hein

2013-01-01

Part 2: FORENSIC MODELS; International audience; Digital forensic readiness enables an organization to prepare itself to perform digital forensic investigations in an efficient and effective manner. The benefits include enhancing the admissibility of digital evidence, better utilization of resources and greater incident awareness. However, a harmonized process model for digital forensic readiness does not currently exist and, thus, there is a lack of effective and standardized implementations...

An R package to compute commonality coefficients in the multiple regression case: an introduction to the package and a practical example.

Science.gov (United States)

Nimon, Kim; Lewis, Mitzi; Kane, Richard; Haynes, R Michael

2008-05-01

Multiple regression is a widely used technique for data analysis in social and behavioral research. The complexity of interpreting such results increases when correlated predictor variables are involved. Commonality analysis provides a method of determining the variance accounted for by respective predictor variables and is especially useful in the presence of correlated predictors. However, computing commonality coefficients is laborious. To make commonality analysis accessible to more researchers, a program was developed to automate the calculation of unique and common elements in commonality analysis, using the statistical package R. The program is described, and a heuristic example using data from the Holzinger and Swineford (1939) study, readily available in the MBESS R package, is presented.

DISPOSABLE DIAPER IMPACT THE TODDLER’S TOILET TRAINING READINESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuni Sufyanti Arief

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction : Toilet training is an important developmental milestone in every child’s life. The children who wear cloth diapers than disposable diaper are out of diaper 12 months earlier because they can feel the wetness when they urinate. Kinds of underwear may facilitate the development of toileting skill. The objective of this study was to learn differentiation about toilet training practised between the toddler who ever wear disposable diaper and the toddler who never wear disposable diaper. Method : This study used case control design. Population was consist of 45 toddler in 24-36 month old. The samples were 34 respondents, 21 toddler as 1st group  who ever wear disposable diaper and 13 toddler as 2nd group who never one, taken according to inclusion criteria. The independent variables were wear disposable diaper and never one. The dependent variable was toilet training practised such as the toileting skill of toddler, method of toilet training by the parent, toddler readiness to start toilet training and the parents and environment readiness to start toilet training for toddler. Data were taken by using questionnaire and analysed using Mann Whitney test with significance level of  α<0.05. Result : The result showed that there was no differentiation about the toileting skill of toddler (p=0.631, method of toilet training (p=0.249, and the parents and environment readiness to start toilet training (p=0.207 between the groups. There was differentiation about the toddler readiness to start toilet training between the groups with significance level p=0.000. Analysis : It can be concluded that there are no differentiation about the toilet training practiced beetwen the groups. Discussion : Disposable diaper has influences in the toddler readiness to start toilet training. It has no influences in the toileting skill of toddler, method of toilet training by the parent, and the parents and environment readiness to start toilet training.

Consumer behaviors towards ready-to-eat foods based on food-related lifestyles in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Hyun-Joo; Chae, Mi-Jin; Ryu, Kisang

2010-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine consumers' behaviors toward ready-to-eat foods and to develop ready-to-eat food market segmentation in Korea. The food-related lifestyle and purchase behaviors of ready-to-eat foods were evaluated using 410 ready-to-eat food consumers in the Republic of Korea. Four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis (health-orientation, taste-orientation, convenience-orientation, and tradition-orientation) to explain the ready-to eat food consumers' food-related lifestyles. The results of cluster analysis indicated that "tradition seekers" and "convenience seekers" should be regarded as the target segments. Chi-square tests and t-tests of the subdivided groups showed there were significant differences across marital status, education level, family type, eating-out expenditure, place of purchase, and reason for purchase. In conclusion, the tradition seekers consumed more ready-to-eat foods from discount marts or specialty stores and ate them between meals more often than the convenience seekers. In contrast, the convenience seekers purchased more ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores and ate them as meals more often than the tradition seekers. These findings suggest that ready-to-eat food market segmentation based on food-related lifestyles can be applied to develop proper marketing strategies.

Consumer behaviors towards ready-to-eat foods based on food-related lifestyles in Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Hyun-Joo; Chae, Mi-Jin

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine consumers' behaviors toward ready-to-eat foods and to develop ready-to-eat food market segmentation in Korea. The food-related lifestyle and purchase behaviors of ready-to-eat foods were evaluated using 410 ready-to-eat food consumers in the Republic of Korea. Four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis (health-orientation, taste-orientation, convenience-orientation, and tradition-orientation) to explain the ready-to eat food consumers' food-related lifestyles. The results of cluster analysis indicated that "tradition seekers" and "convenience seekers" should be regarded as the target segments. Chi-square tests and t-tests of the subdivided groups showed there were significant differences across marital status, education level, family type, eating-out expenditure, place of purchase, and reason for purchase. In conclusion, the tradition seekers consumed more ready-to-eat foods from discount marts or specialty stores and ate them between meals more often than the convenience seekers. In contrast, the convenience seekers purchased more ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores and ate them as meals more often than the tradition seekers. These findings suggest that ready-to-eat food market segmentation based on food-related lifestyles can be applied to develop proper marketing strategies. PMID:20827350

DES Science Portal: II- Creating Science-Ready Catalogs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fausti Neto, Angelo; et al.

2017-08-18

We present a novel approach for creating science-ready catalogs through a software infrastructure developed for the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We integrate the data products released by the DES Data Management and additional products created by the DES collaboration in an environment known as DES Science Portal. Each step involved in the creation of a science-ready catalog is recorded in a relational database and can be recovered at any time. We describe how the DES Science Portal automates the creation and characterization of lightweight catalogs for DES Year 1 Annual Release, and show its flexibility in creating multiple catalogs with different inputs and configurations. Finally, we discuss the advantages of this infrastructure for large surveys such as DES and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. The capability of creating science-ready catalogs efficiently and with full control of the inputs and configurations used is an important asset for supporting science analysis using data from large astronomical surveys.

Computational physics. Simulation of classical and quantum systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scherer, Philipp O.J. [TU Muenchen (Germany). Physikdepartment T38

2010-07-01

This book encapsulates the coverage for a two-semester course in computational physics. The first part introduces the basic numerical methods while omitting mathematical proofs but demonstrating the algorithms by way of numerous computer experiments. The second part specializes in simulation of classical and quantum systems with instructive examples spanning many fields in physics, from a classical rotor to a quantum bit. All program examples are realized as Java applets ready to run in your browser and do not require any programming skills. (orig.)

Validation of Transition Readiness Assessment Questionaire in Turkish Adolescents with Diabetes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evrim Kızıler

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Today, more than 90% of adolescents with chronic conditions survive into adulthood and move from pediatric care to adult care for the management of their chronic illness. It is important to grant autonomy and ensure that adolescents/young adults are ready to use the adult health care system prior to the transfer of care. However, the lack of a transition readiness assessment tool that is validated, patient-centered, and appropriate to developmental differences in pediatric care is a major obstacle for the transition of care from pediatric services to adult services. Aims: This study examined the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire, which assesses the readiness for transition from pediatric to adult health care for adolescents/young adults with diabetes mellitus. Study Design: Methodological study. Methods: Participants were 109 adolescents/young adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus aged 14-21 years. After permission was obtained to adapt the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire, the Turkish Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire and self-care scale were administered to participants through face-to-face interviews at two pediatric endocrinology clinics. Validity was evaluated by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and content-scope validity assessment; reliability was evaluated by item-total score correlation and continuity methods. Internal reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and criterion validity assessment. Results: The item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis identified five basic dimensions, with high internal consistency (0.89-0.75. The ratio χ2/df and other conformity indices were a good fit to the data. The correlation coefficient in the analyses of test-retest scores was 0.86 for the total scale (p<0.05, and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.88 for overall scale

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF CHANGE IN SALIVARY pH ON CONSUMPTION OF DRY READY TO EAT CEREALS, CEREALS WITH AND WITHOUT ADDED SUGAR IN MILK- AN IN -VIVO STUDY

OpenAIRE

Mahesh J*, Sapna B, Veeresh DJ, Divya D

2016-01-01

Background: Dry, Ready to Eat Cereals are a combination of refined sugar and starch, most commonly consumed breakfast in the modern human diet. The present study was done to investigate the effects of combination foods on salivary pH. Objective: To assess and compare the salivary pH changes after consumption of Dry Ready to Eat Cereals (REC), Cereals with plain and sugar added milk. Method: Thirty six adults of age 18 to 25 years were assessed for salivary pH at baseline followed by one minut...

Software and man-machine interface considerations for a nuclear plant computer replacement and upgrade project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamond, G.; Robinson, E.

1984-01-01

Some of the key software functions and Man-Machine Interface considerations in a computer replacement and upgrade project for a nuclear power plant are described. The project involves the installation of two separate computer systems: an Emergency Response Facilities Computer System (ERFCS) and a Plant Process Computer System (PPCS). These systems employ state-of-the-art computer hardware and software. The ERFCS is a new system intended to provide enhanced functions to meet NRC post-TMI guidelines. The PPCS is intended to replace and upgrade an existing obsolete plant computer system. A general overview of the hardware and software aspects of the replacement and upgrade is presented. The work done to develop the upgraded Man-Machine Interface is described. For the ERFCS, a detailed discussion is presented of the work done to develop logic to evaluate the readiness and performance of safety systems and their supporting functions. The Man-Machine Interface considerations of reporting readiness and performance to the operator are discussed. Finally, the considerations involved in the implementation of this logic in real-time software are discussed.. For the PPCS, a detailed discussion is presented of some new features

The Naval Aviation Enterprise Type/Model/Series Team and Its Effect on AH-1W Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-23

Team Structure 28 9 Current Readiness Process The Current Readiness Process assesses the readiness metrics, or Key Performance Indicators ( KPIs ...CR CFT and the Marine Corps leadership to shift resources to close the gap. Aircraft Readiness Aircraft availability is one of the KPIs that the T...Commandant of Aviation DRRS Defense Readiness Reporting System FMC Full Mission Capable GAO General Accounting Office GSE Ground Support Equipment KPI

THE EFFECTS OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC CRISIS ONTURKISH READY-MADE CLOTHING INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurgul KILINC

2012-07-01

Full Text Available THE EFFECTS OF INTERTextile and ready-made clothing sector is one of the sectors that globalize in anadvanced level due to employment it provides, value-added created by it duringthe manufacturing process and high share in export revenue.In this research, 5 international economiccrisesdetermined since the foundationof theTurkish Republic, Turkish textile and ready-made clothing sector have beenexamined depending on journal archives and export-import data.Economic crises emerged in the world between 1974 and 2008 from whichTurkey has been affected as well have been examined by document analysismethod, which is a qualitative data gathering method in this research.By this research, which has studied international economic crisesoccurredinfragile and vulnerable Turkish economy since 1974 as regards to reason, result,effects and which has aimed to detect their effects on textile and ready-madeclothing sector. It has been realised that textile and ready-made clothing sectorthat is the locomotive sector of export of Turkey is the premier sector of thesectors those are being affected initially and directly from the negativedevelopments inTurkish economy. NATIONAL ECONOMIC CRISIS ONTURKISH READY-MADE CLOTHING INDUSTRY

Assessing students' readiness towards e-learning

Science.gov (United States)

Rahim, Nasrudin Md; Yusoff, Siti Hawa Mohd; Latif, Shahida Abd

2014-07-01

The usage of e-Learning methodology has become a new attraction for potential students as shown by some higher learning institutions in Malaysia. As such, Universiti Selangor (Unisel) should be ready to embark on e-Learning teaching and learning in the near future. The purpose of the study is to gauge the readiness of Unisel's students in e-Learning environment. A sample of 110 students was chosen to participate in this study which was conducted in January 2013. This sample consisted of students from various levels of study that are foundation, diploma and degree program. Using a structured questionnaire, respondents were assessed on their basic Internet skills, access to technology required for e-Learning and their attitude towards characteristics of successful e-Learning student based on study habits, abilities, motivation and time management behaviour. The result showed that respondents did have access to technology that are required for e-Learning environment, and respondents were knowledgeable regarding the basic Internet skills. The finding also showed that respondents' attitude did meet all characteristics of successful e-Learning student. Further analysis showed that there is no significant relationshipeither among gender, level of study or faculty with those characteristics. As a conclusion, the study shows that current Unisel's students are ready to participate in e-Learning environment if the institution decided to embark on e-Learning methodology.

Workplace Readiness for Communicating Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Muir, Clive

1996-01-01

Proposes a model for communicating change about diversity using a workplace-readiness approach. Discusses ways organizational change agents can assess the company's current interpersonal and social dynamics, use appropriate influence strategies, and create effective messages that will appeal to employees and help to achieve the desired acceptance…

Manpower Management: No Tiered Readiness - Enabling The Nation’s Force in Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-09

readiness. The calculus of effectively pulling resources from the DEP must be driven from the FORCESYNCH, but align to institutional plans. The...physically qualified (medical, dental , panorex) 2,D, D,H,Q Pregnancy (after determination by proper authority) N Postpartum (up to six...months after delivery) Dental Class 3 or 4 Physical Evaluation Board determination R E ADMINISTRATIVE End of active

Computational simulation of concurrent engineering for aerospace propulsion systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chamis, C. C.; Singhal, S. N.

1992-01-01

Results are summarized of an investigation to assess the infrastructure available and the technology readiness in order to develop computational simulation methods/software for concurrent engineering. These results demonstrate that development of computational simulations methods for concurrent engineering is timely. Extensive infrastructure, in terms of multi-discipline simulation, component-specific simulation, system simulators, fabrication process simulation, and simulation of uncertainties - fundamental in developing such methods, is available. An approach is recommended which can be used to develop computational simulation methods for concurrent engineering for propulsion systems and systems in general. Benefits and facets needing early attention in the development are outlined.

Computational simulation for concurrent engineering of aerospace propulsion systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chamis, C. C.; Singhal, S. N.

1993-01-01

Results are summarized for an investigation to assess the infrastructure available and the technology readiness in order to develop computational simulation methods/software for concurrent engineering. These results demonstrate that development of computational simulation methods for concurrent engineering is timely. Extensive infrastructure, in terms of multi-discipline simulation, component-specific simulation, system simulators, fabrication process simulation, and simulation of uncertainties--fundamental to develop such methods, is available. An approach is recommended which can be used to develop computational simulation methods for concurrent engineering of propulsion systems and systems in general. Benefits and issues needing early attention in the development are outlined.

Ready, set, stop: mismatch between self-care beliefs, transition readiness skills, and transition planning among adolescents, young adults, and parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawicki, Gregory S; Kelemen, Skyler; Weitzman, Elissa R

2014-10-01

Health care transition (HCT) from pediatric to adult-focused systems is a key milestone for youth. Developing self-care skills and HCT planning are key elements. In a survey at 4 pediatric specialty clinics to 79 youth aged 16 to 25 years and 52 parents, skill-based HCT readiness was assessed using the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ). Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the association between TRAQ scores and self-care beliefs. In all, 70% of youth and 67% of parents believed that they/their child could manage their care. Only 38% of youth and 53% of parents reported thinking about HCT; only 18% of youth and 27% of parents reported having a HCT plan. Youth with higher TRAQ scores were more likely to believe they could manage their care, controlling for age and gender (adjusted odds ratio = 4.0, 95% confidence interval = 1.7-9.5). Transition readiness skills are associated with self-care beliefs. However, a mismatch exists between high reported self-care beliefs and low levels of transition planning. © The Author(s) 2014.

Can NATO's new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force deter?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rynning, Sten; Ringsmose, Jens

2017-01-01

” a distinct strategic rival – Russia. Chief among the Welsh summit initiatives was the decision to set up a new multinational spearhead force – the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) – as part of an enhanced NATO Response Force (NRF) and within the framework of a so-called Readiness Action Plan (RAP...

Many States unprepared for 'Y2K' computer woes.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-12-25

Most computer systems that States use to process health benefits are not Y2K compliant, which could jeopardize Medicaid application processing. This could cause recipients to lose benefits or experience delays in payments. Only seven states have reported that their systems are ready for the year 2000. Contact information is provided.

READINESS OF MILITARY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR TACTICAL TASKS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolai Alekseevich Seredkin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background. The purpose of this article is to reveal the features and analyze the studies of the interpretation of the concept of “readiness”, to formulate the definition of the concept of “the future officer’s willingness to solve tactical problems,” to describe the components and its main components. Methods. The methodological basis for researching the problem of the future officers’ readiness for solving tactical tasks is the personal and activity approach. Relying on them, the author reveals the essence of the definition of readiness and a description of its components. Results. The results of the article are the readiness of the cadet for professional work and we consider it as an integrated education formed in the process of professional training, ensuring the performance of their service and job functions, the successful solution of the service-combat tasks of professional activity. It includes a system of personality qualities of the future officer, characterized by a positive attitude towards professional activity, the presence of an adequate holistic view of it, the possession of ways to solve professional problems, the perception of oneself as a subject of one’s own activity. Reflexive attitude to one’s own activity is one of the most important conditions for its deep comprehension, critical analysis and constructive improvement. Conclusion. The definition of the concept of the cadet’s readiness for the solution of tactical tasks and its components is the theoretical basis for improving the process of professional training in a military high school. The components of readiness and its indicators set the teacher of the military higher educational institution a vector of practical activities for its formation.

Psychometric evaluation of the Work Readiness Questionnaire in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Potkin, Steven G; Bugarski-Kirola, Dragana; Edgar, Chris J; Soliman, Sherif; Le Scouiller, Stephanie; Kunovac, Jelena; Miguel Velasco, Eugenio; Garibaldi, George M

2016-04-01

Unemployment can negatively impact quality of life among patients with schizophrenia. Employment status depends on ability, opportunity, education, and cultural influences. A clinician-rated scale of work readiness, independent of current work status, can be a valuable assessment tool. A series of studies were conducted to create and validate a Work Readiness Questionnaire (WoRQ) for clinicians to assess patient ability to engage in socially useful activity, independent of work availability. Content validity, test-retest and inter-rater reliability, and construct validity were evaluated in three separate studies. Content validity was supported. Cronbach's α was 0.91, in the excellent range. Clinicians endorsed WoRQ concepts, including treatment adherence, physical appearance, social competence, and symptom control. The final readiness decision showed good test-retest reliability and moderate inter-rater reliability. Work readiness was associated with higher function and lower levels of negative symptoms. Low positive and high negative predictive values confirmed the concept validity. The WoRQ has suitable psychometric properties for use in a clinical trial for patients with a broad range of symptom severity. The scale may be applicable to assess therapeutic interventions. It is not intended to assess eligibility for supported work interventions. The WoRQ is suitable for use in schizophrenia clinical trials to assess patient work functional potential.

The Effects of Ready to Use Bibliometric Indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wildgaard, Lorna Elizabeth

2014-01-01

‘Ready to use’ bibliometric indicators are being used by end users as never before. Administrators and evaluators for assessment purposes, whereas researchers add indicators to their CV in a competitive move to show visibility in the academic community. ‘Ready to use’ indicators are important...... as they provide researchers with the opportunity to evaluate the effect of their own published works before being evaluated by others. The numerical values of these indicators have personal significance to the individual as they can be interpreted as criteria of success or failure, therefore the bibliometric...

AGR-5/6/7 LEUCO Kernel Fabrication Readiness Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marshall, Douglas W. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States). Fuel Design and Development; Bailey, Kirk W. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States). ART Quality Assurance Engineer

2015-02-01

In preparation for forming low-enriched uranium carbide/oxide (LEUCO) fuel kernels for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) fuel development and qualification program, Idaho National Laboratory conducted an operational readiness review of the Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group – Lynchburg (B&W NOG-L) procedures, processes, and equipment from January 14 – January 16, 2015. The readiness review focused on requirements taken from the American Society Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nuclear Quality Assurance Standard (NQA-1-2008, 1a-2009), a recent occurrence at the B&W NOG-L facility related to preparation of acid-deficient uranyl nitrate solution (ADUN), and a relook at concerns noted in a previous review. Topic areas open for the review were communicated to B&W NOG-L in advance of the on-site visit to facilitate the collection of objective evidences attesting to the state of readiness.

Neighbourhood ethnic diversity buffers school readiness impact in ESL children.

Science.gov (United States)

Puchala, Chassidy; Vu, Lan T H; Muhajarine, Nazeem

2010-01-01

Contextual factors, as measured by neighbourhood characteristics, shape the experiences children have and affect their "school readiness", i.e., whether they are well or poorly prepared for the transition from home to kindergarten. This study assessed the independent effects of individual and neighbourhood factors on school readiness; specifically, it examined whether and to what degree neighbourhood factors modified children's language ability and thus their school readiness in a population of children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The study included all children attending kindergarten in 2001, 2003 and 2005 in Saskatoon. School readiness and child characteristics were measured by the Early Development Instrument (EDI). The EDI measures child development at school commencement in five domains: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, cognitive and language development, and communication skills and general knowledge. Data from the 2001 Census were used to characterize Saskatoon's neighbourhoods. Multilevel modeling examined the independent and buffering or exacerbating effects of individual and neighbourhood factors on the relation between English as a Second Language (ESL) status in children and EDI domain scores. ESL children had significantly lower scores on all EDI domains compared with non-ESL children. Certain factors (e.g., younger age, male, Aboriginal status, having special needs) were significantly related to lower readiness in terms of the emotional maturity, and communication skills and general knowledge domains. Importantly, children who lived in neighbourhoods that were highly transient (with a higher proportion of residents who had moved in the previous year) had lower EDI scores on both domains, and those in neighbourhoods with lower rates of employment had lower EDI scores on communication skills and general knowledge. Neighbourhood ethnic diversity mitigated the negative impact of ESL status on school readiness for both

Personal and professional readiness university students as the goal and the result training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petro Koval

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The article is theoretically grounded personal and professional readiness of students of higher educational institutions for professional work. Identifies the components of personal and professional readiness and the characteristics of the component availability. Defined quality ensuring the success of professional activity of future professionals.Key words: Personality-professional readiness, professional orientation, personal potential, spirituality means of art.

Factors preceding CRM readiness in small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dinesh Vallabh

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Customer relationship management (CRM is important to organisations striving for competitive advantage through building relationships with their customers. Research purpose: This study identified the factors preceding CRM and assessed selected South African small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises’ (SMTEs readiness for CRM. Motivation: CRM is likely to enhance SMTEs’ competitiveness. However, successful adoption and implementation of CRM is unlikely unless the organisation is ready for it. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative research approach and survey questionnaire yielded primary data from 332 respondent organisations selected by systematic sampling. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the latent factors preceding CRM readiness. Organisational CRM readiness was assessed based on CRM maturity in terms of data collection, use and sharing throughout the organisation. Main findings: Respondent-organisations performed well on the four factors preceding CRM readiness − business strategy, customer strategy, touch points and competencies, skills and technology and also on data collections and use, but not on data sharing. Practical/Managerial implications: CRM practice is believed to assist organisations in tailoring products and services to customers’ needs, providing customer satisfaction, enhancing customer retention and ultimately improving the organisation’s competitiveness and profitability. CRM might fail if SMTEs do not have CRM-enabling conditions in place and a CRM readiness audit should therefore be performed. Contribution: The study contributes to a largely under-researched area concerning CRM in SMTEs by providing an improved understanding of the factors that will enable SMTEs to engage in CRM activities.

Managed Readiness Simulator (MARS) V2: Implementation of the Managed Readiness Model

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-01

The SRDB architecture is described in detail in [6]. Database VBA VBA Runtime Data Sub run() SQL (“UPDATE Table SET Rank = 5”) Run_query_obj...FilterResources”) Algorithms ( VBA & SQL ) End Sub Arena Process Logic Figure 5: MARS V2 simulation architecture. The MARS managed readiness...database layer below it. Using VBA blocks, the algorithm layer can execute complex data operations on the database layer using SQL and can return

Democracy in schools: are educators ready for teacher leadership?

OpenAIRE

Elsabé de Villiers; SG (Fanie) Pretorius

2011-01-01

The aim of this research was to determine educators' perceptions of and readiness for teacher leadership. A total of 283 educators in the Eden and Central Karoo Education District in the Western Cape participated in the study. The participants included district officials, principals, and members of school management teams, as well as veteran, middle, and novice educators. A series of instruments was used to determine educators' perspectives, perceptions and readiness for teacher leadership, i...

Development of an instrument to assess readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Rieger, E; Touyz, S; Schotte, D; Beumont, P; Russell, J; Clarke, S; Kohn, M; Griffiths, R

2000-12-01

The degree to which patients with anorexia nervosa demonstrate readiness to recover from their illness has received scant theoretical or empirical attention. Investigating the prevalence and degree of amotivation for recovery in anorexia nervosa, its role in outcome, and the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance readiness to recover necessitates the existence of a reliable and valid measure of motivational issues relevant to the disorder. The present study aimed to develop and evaluate an instrument for assessing readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa, namely, the Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire (ANSOCQ), a 23-item self-report questionnaire based on Prochaska and DiClemente's stages of change model. Seventy-one inpatients with anorexia nervosa participated in the study. On several occasions during their admission, participants completed the ANSOCQ as well as questionnaires assessing readiness to recover, anorexic symptomatology, general distress, and social desirability. The ANSOCQ demonstrated good internal consistency (.90) and 1-week test-retest reliability (.89). Various aspects of validity were also supported, such as significant relationships with other instruments assessing readiness to recover and the prediction of weight gain during different periods of treatment. The results suggest that the ANSOCQ is a psychometrically sound instrument that may prove useful in investigating the role of readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Pediatrician's Role in Optimizing School Readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-01

School readiness includes not only the early academic skills of children but also their physical health, language skills, social and emotional development, motivation to learn, creativity, and general knowledge. Families and communities play a critical role in ensuring children's growth in all of these areas and thus their readiness for school. Schools must be prepared to teach all children when they reach the age of school entry, regardless of their degree of readiness. Research on early brain development emphasizes the effects of early experiences, relationships, and emotions on creating and reinforcing the neural connections that are the basis for learning. Pediatricians, by the nature of their relationships with families and children, may significantly influence school readiness. Pediatricians have a primary role in ensuring children's physical health through the provision of preventive care, treatment of illness, screening for sensory deficits, and monitoring nutrition and growth. They can promote and monitor the social-emotional development of children by providing anticipatory guidance on development and behavior, by encouraging positive parenting practices, by modeling reciprocal and respectful communication with adults and children, by identifying and addressing psychosocial risk factors, and by providing community-based resources and referrals when warranted. Cognitive and language skills are fostered through timely identification of developmental problems and appropriate referrals for services, including early intervention and special education services; guidance regarding safe and stimulating early education and child care programs; and promotion of early literacy by encouraging language-rich activities such as reading together, telling stories, and playing games. Pediatricians are also well positioned to advocate not only for children's access to health care but also for high-quality early childhood education and evidence-based family supports such as

Older adults: are they ready to adopt health-related ICT?

Science.gov (United States)

Heart, Tsipi; Kalderon, Efrat

2013-11-01

The proportion of older adults in the population is steadily increasing, causing healthcare costs to rise dramatically. This situation calls for the implementation of health-related information and communication technologies (ICT) to assist in providing more cost-effective healthcare to the elderly. In order for such a measure to succeed, older adults must be prepared to adopt these technologies. Prior research shows, however, that this population lags behind in ICT adoption, although some believe that this is a temporary phenomenon that will soon change. To assess use by older adults of technology in general and ICT in particular, in order to evaluate their readiness to adopt health-related ICT. We employed the questionnaire used by Selwyn et al. in 2000 in the UK, as well as a survey instrument used by Morris and Venkatesh, to examine the validity of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the context of computer use by older employees. 123 respondents answered the questions via face-to-face interviews, 63 from the US and 60 from Israel. SPSS 17.0 was used for the data analysis. The results show that although there has been some increase in adoption of modern technologies, including ICT, most of the barriers found by Selwyn et al. are still valid. ICT use was determined by accessibility of computers and support and by age, marital status, education, and health. Health, however, was found to moderate the effect of age, healthier older people being far more likely to use computers than their unhealthy coevals. The TPB was only partially supported, since only perceived behavioral control (PBC) emerged as significantly affecting intention to use a computer, while age, contrary to the findings of Morris and Venkatesh, interacted differently for Americans and Israelis. The main reason for non-use was 'no interest' or 'no need', similar to findings from data collected in 2000. Adoption of technology by older adults is still limited, though it has increased as compared

Immigrants and the US Army: A Study in Readiness and the American Dream

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-26

Immigrants and the US Army: A Study in Readiness and the American Dream A Monograph by LTC Che T. Arosemena...Approval Page Name of Candidate: LTC Che T. Arosemena Monograph Title: Immigrants and the US Army: A Study in Readiness and the American Dream Approved by...Abstract Immigrants and the US Army: A Study in Readiness and the American Dream , by LTC Che T. Arosemena, USA, 71

The development of an online decision support tool for organizational readiness for change.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Sobia; Timmings, Caitlyn; Moore, Julia E; Marquez, Christine; Pyka, Kasha; Gheihman, Galina; Straus, Sharon E

2014-05-10

Much importance has been placed on assessing readiness for change as one of the earliest steps of implementation, but measuring it can be a complex and daunting task. Organizations and individuals struggle with how to reliably and accurately measure readiness for change. Several measures have been developed to help organizations assess readiness, but these are often underused due to the difficulty of selecting the right measure. In response to this challenge, we will develop and test a prototype of a decision support tool that is designed to guide individuals interested in implementation in the selection of an appropriate readiness assessment measure for their setting. A multi-phase approach will be used to develop the decision support tool. First, we will identify key measures for assessing organizational readiness for change from a recently completed systematic review. Included measures will be those developed for healthcare settings (e.g., acute care, public health, mental health) and that have been deemed valid and reliable. Second, study investigators and field experts will engage in a mapping exercise to categorize individual items of included measures according to key readiness constructs from an existing framework. Third, a stakeholder panel will be recruited and consulted to determine the feasibility and relevance of the selected measures using a modified Delphi process. Fourth, findings from the mapping exercise and stakeholder consultation will inform the development of a decision support tool that will guide users in appropriately selecting change readiness measures. Fifth, the tool will undergo usability testing. Our proposed decision support tool will address current challenges in the field of organizational change readiness by aiding individuals in selecting a valid and reliable assessment measure that is relevant to user needs and practice settings. We anticipate that implementers and researchers who use our tool will be more likely to conduct

Quality and sensory acceptability of a chilled functional apple ready-dessert.

Science.gov (United States)

Keenan, D F; Brunton, N P; Gormley, T R; Butler, F

2012-04-01

An apple and dairy based ready-dessert with an added prebiotic was stored and chill temperatures and number of quality attributes were monitored during chill (4 °C) storage for 30 days. All ready-desserts were thermally processed by sous vide (P (90) > 10 min). The stability of the dairy component in ready-desserts was monitored by measuring volatile free fatty acids. Changes in these components were more evident in prebiotic-enriched samples compared to controls. However, no significant differences were observed over storage in control and prebiotic-enriched ready-desserts. This was supported by sensory analysis that showed no significant changes over storage in control or prebiotic-enriched samples. Of the other quality parameters, the addition of prebiotic inclusions resulted in lower L and b values and dry matter (p desserts. A decrease (p < 0.05) in flow behaviour (n) led to concomitant increases in consistency index (K) and complex modulus (G*) values in control samples.

Faster Algorithms for Computing Longest Common Increasing Subsequences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kutz, Martin; Brodal, Gerth Stølting; Kaligosi, Kanela

2011-01-01

of the alphabet, and Sort is the time to sort each input sequence. For k⩾3 length-n sequences we present an algorithm which improves the previous best bound by more than a factor k for many inputs. In both cases, our algorithms are conceptually quite simple but rely on existing sophisticated data structures......We present algorithms for finding a longest common increasing subsequence of two or more input sequences. For two sequences of lengths n and m, where m⩾n, we present an algorithm with an output-dependent expected running time of and O(m) space, where ℓ is the length of an LCIS, σ is the size....... Finally, we introduce the problem of longest common weakly-increasing (or non-decreasing) subsequences (LCWIS), for which we present an -time algorithm for the 3-letter alphabet case. For the extensively studied longest common subsequence problem, comparable speedups have not been achieved for small...

The Social Context of Readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Regena Fails

This study examined how kindergarten teachers' views of readiness (maturational, learning, or school) are influenced by students from urban, suburban, and rural areas; by minority and non-minority students; and by students from lower and middle class backgrounds. The framework for the study was the social constructivist theory, the theory that all…

ESTIMATION OF SPORTS-TECHNICAL READINESS OF STUDENTS OF METHODICAL BRANCH «FOOTBALL» MSUCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shamonin Andrey Valentinovich

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Increase of sports-technical skill in sports occurs on the basis of last achievements of the theory and physical training and sports practice. Development of football isn't possible without search and introduction in training process of optimum pedagogical models of perfection of physical and technical readiness of football players. Such pedagogical models should be applied, as in groups of initial preparation, so at the subsequent grade levels, including in student's football. Modern training process (pedagogical model, should be under construction on objective indicators of physical, technical and special readiness (so-called feedback. However, the estimation of sports-technical readiness at sports schools on football is reduced only to testing of speed, jumps, juggling, dribbling and a shoot for goal. The same criteria are applied and in student's football. Unfortunately, the given control exercises not in a condition to the full to reflect level of physical and technical readiness of the football player. For more objective estimation of special readiness it is necessary to use the test tasks revealing a level of development of coordination abilities of game structure game and competitive activity (game in football. It will allow trainers to have fuller picture of readiness of the football player, in respect of its professional (football skills. As a result coach have possibility to trace level of a condition of the various parties of sports readiness (physical, technical and coordination student's youth engaged in football at each stage of long-term preparation.

Determinants of readiness to adopt mHealth in a rural community of Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatun, Fatema; Heywood, Anita E; Ray, Pradeep K; Hanifi, S M A; Bhuiya, Abbas; Liaw, Siaw-Teng

2015-10-01

Evidence in favor of mHealth for healthcare delivery in settings where trained health workforce is limited or unavailable is accumulating. With rapid growth in access to mobile phones and an acute shortage of health workforce in Bangladesh, mHealth initiatives are increasing with more than 20 current initiatives in place. "Readiness" is a crucial prerequisite to the successful implementation of telehealth programs. However, systematic assessment of the community readiness for mHealth-based services in the country is lacking. We report on a recent study describing the influence of community readiness for mHealth of a rural Bangladesh community. A conceptual framework for mHealth readiness was developed, which included three categories: technological, motivational and resource readiness. This guided the questionnaire development for the survey conducted in the Chakaria sub-district of Bangladesh from November 2012 to April 2013. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine ownership of mobile phones, use of the technology, and knowledge regarding awareness of mHealth services as predictors of the community readiness to adopt mHealth. A total of 4915 randomly selected household members aged 18 years and over completed the survey. The data explained the sub-categories of the readiness dimensions. In terms of access, 45% of respondents owned a mobile phone with ownership higher among males, younger participants and those in the highest socioeconomic quintiles. Results related to technological readiness showed that among mobile phone owners, 50% were aware of SMS but only sending and receiving SMS. Only 37% generally read the received SMS. Only 5% of respondents used the internet capabilities on their phone and 25% used voice messages. The majority (73%) of the participants were interested in joining mHealth programs in the future. Multivariate analysis showed that ownership of a mobile phone (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5), younger age (aOR 2.6, 95% CI 2.1-3.3), males

Some Thoughts on Systematic Reading Readiness Instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Palardy, J. Michael

1984-01-01

Examines four specific areas of reading readiness--visual discrimination, visual memory, auditory discrimination, and auditory comprehension--and reviews teaching strategies in each of the four areas. (FL)

Steps toward Unifying Dual Language Programs, Common Core State Standards, and Critical Pedagogy: Oportunidades, Estrategias Y Retos

Science.gov (United States)

Alfaro, Cristina; Durán, Richard; Hunt, Alexandra; Aragón, María José

2014-01-01

Recent education reforms have begun to reframe academic discussion and teacher practice surrounding bilingual educational approaches for preparing "21st century, college and career ready" citizens. Given this broader context, in this article we examine ways that we might join implementation of dual language programs, Common Core State…

The moral economy of ready-made food.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeler, Kathryn

2017-11-22

The aim of this paper is to develop and apply a framework to explore how moralities of consumption are constituted in and through markets. Using the case of ready-made foods, this paper argues moral economies are comprised through interactions between micro-, meso- and macro-level processes in the form of instituted systems of provision, state regulation, collective food customs promoted though media, NGOs and lifestyle practitioners, and the everyday reflections of consumers. Building on a theoretical framework developed to understand the moral economy of work and employment (Bolton and Laaser 2013), this paper explores how markets for ready-made food are incessantly negotiated in the context of moral ideas about cooking, femininity and individual responsibility. It focuses on 'new' market innovations of fresh ready-to-cook meal solutions and explores how these products are both a response to moralizing discourses about cooking 'properly', as well as an intervention into the market that offers opportunities for new moral identities to be performed. Using data gathered from interviews with food manufacturers and consumers, I advocate for a multi-layered perspective that captures the dynamic interplay between consumers, markets and moralities of consumption. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Operational Readiness Review: Savannah River Replacement Tritium Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-02-01

The Operational Readiness Review (ORR) is one of several activities to be completed prior to introducing tritium into the Replacement Tritium Facility (RTF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The Secretary of Energy will rely in part on the results of this ORR in deciding whether the startup criteria for RTF have been met. The RTF is a new underground facility built to safely service the remaining nuclear weapons stockpile. At RTF, tritium will be unloaded from old components, purified and enriched, and loaded into new or reclaimed reservoirs. The RTF will replace an aging facility at SRS that has processed tritium for more than 35 years. RTF has completed construction and is undergoing facility startup testing. The final stages of this testing will require the introduction of limited amounts of tritium. The US Department of Energy (DOE) ORR was conducted January 19 to February 4, 1993, in accordance with an ORR review plan which was developed considering previous readiness reviews. The plan also considered the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Recommendations 90-4 and 92-6, and the judgements of experienced senior experts. The review covered three major areas: (1) Plant and Equipment Readiness, (2) Personnel Readiness, and (3) Management Systems. The ORR Team was comprised of approximately 30 members consisting of a Team Leader, Senior Safety Experts, and Technical Experts. The ORR objectives and criteria were based on DOE Orders, industry standards, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations guidelines, recommendations of external oversight groups, and experience of the team members

Organizational Readiness for Change in Correctional and Community Substance Abuse Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Lehman, Wayne E. K.; Greener, Jack M.; Rowan-Szal, Grace A.; Flynn, Patrick M.

2012-01-01

Significant needs exist for increased and better substance abuse treatment services in our nation's prisons. The TCU Organizational Readiness for Change (ORC) survey has been widely used in community-based treatment programs and evidence is accumulating for relationships between readiness for change and implementation of new clinical practices.…

Readiness for banking technologies in developing countries

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Professor in the Department of Marketing Management, University of Johannesburg. ... From the organisation's perspective, it has been suggested ... technological readiness of developing countries' consumers, in an urban environment,.

Cloud computing and ROI a new framework for it strategy

CERN Document Server

Mohapatra, Sanjay

2014-01-01

This book develops an IT strategy for cloud computing that helps businesses evaluate their readiness for cloud services and calculate the ROI. The framework provided helps reduce risks involved in transitioning from traditional "on site" IT strategy to virtual "cloud computing." Since the advent of cloud computing, many organizations have made substantial gains implementing this innovation. Cloud computing allows companies to focus more on their core competencies, as IT enablement is taken care of through cloud services. Cloud Computing and ROI includes case studies covering retail, automobile and food processing industries. Each of these case studies have successfully implemented the cloud computing framework and their strategies are explained. As cloud computing may not be ideal for all businesses, criteria?are also offered to help determine if this strategy should be adopt.

Advancing E-Commerce Beyond Readiness in a Developing Country: Experiences of Ghanaian Firms

OpenAIRE

Richard Boateng; Richard Heeks; Alemayehu Molla; Robert Hinson

2011-01-01

This paper identifies factors affecting the assimilation of electronic commerce in Ghana and the solutions that Ghanaian firms have developed. Drawing from the elements of two electronic commerce readiness frameworks, the study analyzes the readiness of Ghana to support the conduct of electronic commerce at the firm-level. The study covers the government, technology, market and culture readiness factors. Findings suggest that social networks, managerial capabilities and government commitment ...

Academic training: QCD: are we ready for the LHC

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

2006-2007 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 4, 5, 6, 7 December, from 11:00 to 12:00 4, 5, 6 December - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500, 7 December - TH Auditorium, bldg. 4 - 3-006 QCD: are we ready for the LHC S. FRIXIONE / INFN, Genoa, Italy The LHC energy regime poses a serious challenge to our capability of predicting QCD reactions to the level of accuracy necessary for a successful programme of searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. In these lectures, I'll introduce basic concepts in QCD, and present techniques based on perturbation theory, such as fixed-order and resummed computations, and Monte Carlo simulations. I'll discuss applications of these techniques to hadron-hadron processes, concentrating on recent trends in perturbative QCD aimed at improving our understanding of LHC phenomenology. ENSEIGNEMENT ACADEMIQUE ACADEMIC TRAINING Françoise Benz 73127 academic.training@cern.ch If you wish to participate in one of the following courses, please tell to your supervisor and apply ...

A Simulation-Based Quality Improvement Initiative Improves Pediatric Readiness in Community Hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitfill, Travis; Gawel, Marcie; Auerbach, Marc

2017-07-17

The National Pediatric Readiness Project Pediatric Readiness Survey (PRS) measured pediatric readiness in 4149 US emergency departments (EDs) and noted an average score of 69 on a 100-point scale. This readiness score consists of 6 domains: coordination of pediatric patient care (19/100), physician/nurse staffing and training (10/100), quality improvement activities (7/100), patient safety initiatives (14/100), policies and procedures (17/100), and availability of pediatric equipment (33/100). We aimed to assess and improve pediatric emergency readiness scores across Connecticut's hospitals. The aim of this study was to compare the National Pediatric Readiness Project readiness score before and after an in situ simulation-based assessment and quality improvement program in Connecticut hospitals. We leveraged in situ simulations to measure the quality of resuscitative care provided by interprofessional teams to 3 simulated patients (infant septic shock, infant seizure, and child cardiac arrest) presenting to their ED resuscitation bay. Assessments of EDs were made based on a composite quality score that was measured as the sum of 4 distinct domains: (1) adherence to sepsis guidelines, (2) adherence to cardiac arrest guidelines, (3) performance on seizure resuscitation, and (4) teamwork. After the simulation, a detailed report with scores, comparisons to other EDs, and a gap analysis were provided to sites. Based on this report, a regional children's hospital team worked collaboratively with each ED to develop action items and a timeline for improvements. The National Pediatric Readiness Project PRS scores, the primary outcome of this study, were measured before and after participation. Twelve community EDs in Connecticut participated in this project. The PRS scores were assessed before and after the intervention (simulation-based assessment and gap analysis/report-out). The average time between PRS assessments was 21 months. The PRS scores significantly improved 12

Ecological Factors Predict Transition Readiness/Self-Management in Youth With Chronic Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Javalkar, Karina; Johnson, Meredith; Kshirsagar, Abhijit V; Ocegueda, Sofia; Detwiler, Randal K; Ferris, Maria

2016-01-01

Health care transition readiness or self-management among adolescents and young adults (AYA) with chronic conditions may be influenced by factors related to their surrounding environment. Study participants were AYA diagnosed with a chronic condition and evaluated at pediatric- and adult-focused subspecialty clinics at the University of North Carolina Hospital Systems. All participants were administered a provider-administered self-management/transition-readiness tool, the UNC TRxANSITION Scale. Geographic area and associated characteristics (ecological factors) were identified for each participant's ZIP code using the published U.S. Census data. The Level 1 model of the hierarchical linear regression used individual-level predictors of transition readiness/self-management. The Level 2 model incorporated the ecological factors. We enrolled 511 AYA with different chronic conditions aged 12-31 years with the following characteristics: mean age of 20± 4 years, 45% white, 42% black, and 54% female. Participants represented 214 ZIP codes in or around North Carolina, USA. The Level 1 model showed that age, gender, and race were significant predictors of transition readiness/self-management. On adding the ecological factors in the Level 2 model, race was no longer significant. Participants from a geographic area with a greater percentage of females (β = .114, p = .005) and a higher median income (β = .126, p = .002) had greater overall transition readiness. Ecological factors also predicted subdomains of transition readiness/self-management. In this cohort of adolescents and young adults with different chronic conditions, ecological disparities such as sex composition, median income, and language predict self-management/transition readiness. It is important to take ecological risk factors into consideration when preparing patients for health self-management or transition. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All

FORMING THE READINESS OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS TO WORK IN POSTGRADUATE PEDAGOGICAL EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iryna Trubavina

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The problem of teaching adult students in the system of postgraduate pedagogical education should be considered not only from the point of view of the students, but also from the point of teachers’ view. Training is a two-way process. In this article national studies on this problem are initially summarized. The methodology of research of postgraduate pedagogical education is singled out. These are such scientific approaches as synergetics and andragogics. The author proves the need for universities to train teachers specially for interaction with adult students who already work as teachers in schools, have very much motivation for study, their own personal and professional experience, may be older than their university teachers, require subject-subject communication. This all affects the specifics of teaching and requires a different willingness to work with such students and correspondent courses at universities. The article is devoted to forming modern university teachers’ readiness to work in postgraduate pedagogical education. The features of such readiness content are first determined by the author as the content, value and operational components of teacher readiness for work. This gives the article practical significance. The results can be extended to the training of all teachers of higher pedagogical educational institutions, that indicate the social significance of the article. The originality of the article is determining the specific content of the components of the teachers’ readiness to work in postgraduate pedagogical education. Forming the teacher’s readiness for training adult students in the system of postgraduate teacher education should include knowledge, skills and values of work. The prospects for research are building and implementing a model of forming the university teachers’ readiness for such work on the basis of andragogy and synergetics, taking into account the specified content of the components of teacher

Getting beyond "Gut Feeling": Understanding How Mentors Judge Readiness to Teach

Science.gov (United States)

Ell, Fiona; Haigh, Mavis

2015-01-01

Assessing whether or not a teacher candidate is ready to take their own class is a high-stakes decision that requires consideration of multiple, often competing, sources of information. Three research instruments were designed to explore how mentors judge readiness to teach during final practicum placements. This article describes the three…

Category 2 and 4 investigation-derived waste readiness evaluation plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludowise, J.D.

1996-08-01

This Readiness Evaluation Plan presents the methodology used to assess the readiness for loading investigation-derived waste drums on trucks for transport to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility. The scope of this plan includes an assessment of the organizations, procedures, and regulatory approvals necessary for the handling of investigation-derived waste containers and the subsequent transportation of materials to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility

Overview of Parallel Platforms for Common High Performance Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Fryza

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with various parallel platforms used for high performance computing in the signal processing domain. More precisely, the methods exploiting the multicores central processing units such as message passing interface and OpenMP are taken into account. The properties of the programming methods are experimentally proved in the application of a fast Fourier transform and a discrete cosine transform and they are compared with the possibilities of MATLAB's built-in functions and Texas Instruments digital signal processors with very long instruction word architectures. New FFT and DCT implementations were proposed and tested. The implementation phase was compared with CPU based computing methods and with possibilities of the Texas Instruments digital signal processing library on C6747 floating-point DSPs. The optimal combination of computing methods in the signal processing domain and new, fast routines' implementation is proposed as well.

The READI Assessment as a Possible Predictor of Student Success in Online Communication Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Fair, Brandy; Wickersham, Leah E.

2012-01-01

The problem under investigation for this study was to identify a method for determining a student's potential for success in an online communication course using the Readiness for Education At a Distance Indicator (READI) assessment instrument as a predictor. The READI tool focuses on six areas that students should score well on in order to be…

Critical analysis of e-health readiness assessment frameworks: suitability for application in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Mauco, Kabelo Leonard; Scott, Richard E; Mars, Maurice

2018-02-01

Introduction e-Health is an innovative way to make health services more effective and efficient and application is increasing worldwide. e-Health represents a substantial ICT investment and its failure usually results in substantial losses in time, money (including opportunity costs) and effort. Therefore it is important to assess e-health readiness prior to implementation. Several frameworks have been published on e-health readiness assessment, under various circumstances and geographical regions of the world. However, their utility for the developing world is unknown. Methods A literature review and analysis of published e-health readiness assessment frameworks or models was performed to determine if any are appropriate for broad assessment of e-health readiness in the developing world. A total of 13 papers described e-health readiness in different settings. Results and Discussion Eight types of e-health readiness were identified and no paper directly addressed all of these. The frameworks were based upon varying assumptions and perspectives. There was no underlying unifying theory underpinning the frameworks. Few assessed government and societal readiness, and none cultural readiness; all are important in the developing world. While the shortcomings of existing frameworks have been highlighted, most contain aspects that are relevant and can be drawn on when developing a framework and assessment tools for the developing world. What emerged is the need to develop different assessment tools for the various stakeholder sectors. This is an area that needs further research before attempting to develop a more generic framework for the developing world.

Implementation of the TsunamiReady Supporter Program in Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

Flores Hots, V. E.; Vanacore, E. A.; Gonzalez Ruiz, W.; Gomez, G.

2016-12-01

The Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) manages the PR Tsunami Program (NTHMP), including the TsunamiReady Supporter Program. Through this program the PRSN helps private organizations, businesses, facilities or local government entities to willingly engage in tsunami planning and preparedness that meet some requirements established by the National Weather Service. TsunamiReady Supporter organizations are better prepared to respond to a tsunami emergency, developing a response plan (using a template that PRSN developed and provides), and reinforcing their communication systems including NOAA radio, RSS, and loud speakers to receive and disseminate the alerts issued by the NWS and the Tsunami Warning Centers (TWC). The planning and the communication systems added to the training that PRSN provides to the staff and employees, are intend to help visitors and employees evacuate the tsunami hazard zone to the nearest assembly point minimizing loss of life. Potential TsunamiReady Supporters include, but are not limited to, businesses, schools, churches, hospitals, malls, utilities, museums, beaches, and harbors. However, the traditional targets for such programs are primarily tourism sites and hotels where people unaware of the tsunami hazard may be present. In 2016 the Tsunami Ready Program guided four businesses to achieve the TsunamiReady Supporter recognition. Two facilities were hotels near or inside the evacuation zone. The other facilities were the first and only health center and supermarket to be recognized in the United States and US territories. Based on the experience of preparing the health center and supermarket sites, here we present two case studies of how the TsunamiReady Supporter Program can be applied to non-traditional facilities as well as how the application of this program to such facilities can improve tsunami hazard mitigation. Currently, we are working on expanding the application of this program to non-traditional facilities by working with a

Predictors of Osteopathic Medical Students' Readiness to Use Health Information Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Robin J; Iqbal, Hassan; Rana, Arif M; Rana, Zaid; Kane, Michael N

2017-12-01

The advent of health information technology (HIT) tools can affect the practice of modern medicine in many ways, ideally by improving quality of care and efficiency and reducing medical errors. Future physicians will play a key role in the successful implementation of HIT. However, osteopathic medical students' willingness to learn, adopt, and use technology in a health care setting is not well understood. To understand osteopathic medical students' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding HIT and to identify factors that may be related to their readiness to use HIT. Using a cross-sectional approach, quantitative surveys were collected from students attending a large osteopathic medical school. Multivariate regression modeling was used to determine whether knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and personal characteristics were associated with students' readiness to use HIT in future clinical practice. Six hundred four students responded to at least 70% of the survey and were included in the analysis. Multivariate modeling successfully explained the 26% of variance in predicting students' readiness to use HIT (F8,506=22.6, Ptechnology use, younger age, being male, and prior exposure to technology were associated with readiness to use HIT. Understanding students' level of HIT readiness may help guide medical education intervention efforts to better prepare future osteopathic physicians for HIT engagement and use. Innovative approaches to HIT education in medical school curricula that include biomedical informatics may be necessary.

Readiness Review of BWXT for Fabrication of AGR 5/6/7 Compacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marshall, Douglas William [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Sharp, Michelle Tracy [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2017-02-01

In support of preparations for fabricating compacts for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) fuel qualification irradiation experiments (AGR-5/6/7), Idaho National Laboratory (INL) conducted a readiness review of the BWX Technology (BWXT) procedures, processes, and equipment associated with compact fabrication activities at the BWXT Nuclear Operations Group (BWXT-NOG) facility outside Lynchburg, VirginiaVA. The readiness review used quality assurance requirements taken from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nuclear Quality Assurance Standard (NQA-1-2008/1a-2009) as a basis to assess readiness to start compact fabrication.

Readiness factors for information system strategic planning among universities in developing countries: a systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

Irfan, M.; Putra, S. J.; Alam, C. N.; Subiyakto, A.; Wahana, A.

2018-03-01

The implementation of information system strategic planning (ISSP) in higher education institutions is to improve work efficiency, management effectiveness in order to improve organizational competitive advantage. However, the question of whether all universities are ready to implement ISSP as a way to achieve organizational goals has not been answered. This study aims to investigate the readiness phenomena through literature study. The method used is by using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) instrument to identify readiness factors on the implementation of ISSP, especially among the institutions of higher education in developing countries. This study has identified 10 readiness measurement. There are three categories of measurement, namely people, processes and technologies that represent 11 factors of ISSP readiness measurement in universities.

Listeria monocytogenes Isolates Carrying Virulence-Attenuating Mutations in Internalin A Are Commonly Isolated from Ready-to-Eat Food Processing Plant and Retail Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

VAN Stelten, A; Roberts, A R; Manuel, C S; Nightingale, K K

2016-10-01

Listeria monocytogenes is a human foodborne pathogen that may cause an invasive disease known as listeriosis in susceptible individuals. Internalin A (InlA; encoded by inlA) is a virulence factor that facilitates crossing of host cell barriers by L. monocytogenes . At least 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in inlA that result in a premature stop codon (PMSC) have been described worldwide. SNPs leading to a PMSC in inlA have been shown to be causally associated with attenuated virulence. L. monocytogenes pathogens carrying virulence-attenuating (VA) mutations in inlA have been commonly isolated from ready-to-eat (RTE) foods but rarely have been associated with human disease. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of VA SNPs in inlA among L. monocytogenes from environments associated with RTE food production and handling. More than 700 L. monocytogenes isolates from RTE food processing plant (n = 409) and retail (n = 319) environments were screened for the presence of VA SNPs in inlA. Overall, 26.4% of isolates from RTE food processing plant and 32.6% of isolates from retail environments carried a VA mutation in inlA. Food contact surfaces sampled at retail establishments were significantly (P < 0.0001) more likely to be contaminated by a L. monocytogenes isolate carrying a VA mutation in inlA (56% of 55 isolates) compared with nonfood contact surfaces (28% of 264 isolates). Overall, a significant proportion of L. monocytogenes isolated from RTE food production and handling environments have reduced virulence. These data will be useful in the revision of current and the development of future risk assessments that incorporate strain-specific virulence parameters.

Fundamentals of Learning. From the College and Career Ready Standards to Teaching and Learning in the Classroom: A Series of Resources for Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Heritage, Margaret; Jones, Barbara; Tobiason, Glory; Chang, Sandy; Herman, Joan

2015-01-01

This publication provides a framework, the Fundamentals of Learning (FOL), to assist teachers in transitioning to the classroom practices called for in the College- and Career-Ready Standards (CCRS). The content of this resource is drawn from leading theory and research about learning and assessment and from an examination of the Common Core State…

Elements of Success: WorkReady Philadelphia Program Year 2011-2012 Report

Science.gov (United States)

Philadelphia Youth Network, 2012

2012-01-01

What does it take to deliver WorkReady Philadelphia's high-quality career-connected programming? In short, it's all about the "elements"--those essential components of the system that combine to produce success for young people. This 2011-12 WorkReady report reinforces this theme by using visual aspects of the "Periodic Table of…

Analysis of user readiness toward ICT usage at small medium enterprise in south tangerang

Science.gov (United States)

Napitupulu, D.; Syafrullah, M.; Rahim, R.; Abdullah, D.; Setiawan, MI

2018-04-01

Utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is still relatively low in the level of SMEs due to various limitations ranging from access to capital, till the marketing network. ICT is present to provide the ability for SMEs in improving the benefits and competitive advantage of the organization. This study aims to determine the level of readiness of SMEs in utilizing technology, especially ICT. The methodology used is a survey to see the technology readiness of 107 SMEs in South Tangerang selected by purposive sampling. The approach used is TRI (Technology Readiness Index) which is the individual perception of technology based on four criteria that is optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and insecurity. The results showed that the optimism and innovativeness variables significantly positively influence the technology readiness while the variables of discomfort and insecurity also significantly positively influence the readiness of ICT.

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF READINESS OF TEACHERS IN VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS TO IMPLEMENT STUDENT-CENTERED APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna Tkachuk

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the problem of readiness for professional (educational activity of teachers in vocational schools. The paper determines the relevance of readiness of teachers of special subjects of vocational schools to personality-oriented professional interaction with students and singled pedagogical conditions that determine this process. The analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature on the interpretation of the concepts of "readiness" and "commitment to the professional (educational activities" is conducted. The features of this type of activity are revealed. It is determined that in the modern branch of science the phenomenon of readiness for professional work is studied at the personal, functional and personal-activity levels. The author suggests the generalized definition of "readiness for professional (teaching activity" in the context of personal interaction between the participants of the educational process of vocational school.

Common Agency and Computational Complexity : Theory and Experimental Evidence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kirchsteiger, G.; Prat, A.

1999-01-01

In a common agency game, several principals try to influence the behavior of an agent. Common agency games typically have multiple equilibria. One class of equilibria, called truthful, has been identified by Bernheim and Whinston and has found widespread use in the political economy literature. In

Consumer attitudes towards computer-assisted self-care of the common cold.

Science.gov (United States)

Reis, J; Wrestler, F

1994-04-01

Knowledge of colds and flu and attitudes towards use of computers for self-care are compared for 260 young adult users and 194 young adult non-users of computer-assisted self-care for colds and flu. Participants completed a knowledge questionnaire on colds and flu, used a computer program designed to enhance self-care for colds and flu, and then completed a questionnaire on their attitudes towards using a computer for self-care for colds and flu, and then completed a questionnaire on their attitudes towards using a computer for self-care for colds and flu, perceived importance of physician interactions, physician expertise, and patient-physician communication. Compared with users, non-users preferred personal contact with their physicians and felt that computerized health assessments would be limited in vocabulary and range of current medical information. Non-users were also more likely to agree that people could not be trusted to do an accurate computerized health assessment and that the average person was too computer illiterate to use computers for self-care.

Modeling and optimization of cloud-ready and content-oriented networks

CERN Document Server

Walkowiak, Krzysztof

2016-01-01

This book focuses on modeling and optimization of cloud-ready and content-oriented networks in the context of different layers and accounts for specific constraints following from protocols and technologies used in a particular layer. It addresses a wide range of additional constraints important in contemporary networks, including various types of network flows, survivability issues, multi-layer networking, and resource location. The book presents recent existing and new results in a comprehensive and cohesive way. The contents of the book are organized in five chapters, which are mostly self-contained. Chapter 1 briefly presents information on cloud computing and content-oriented services, and introduces basic notions and concepts of network modeling and optimization. Chapter 2 covers various optimization problems that arise in the context of connection-oriented networks. Chapter 3 focuses on modeling and optimization of Elastic Optical Networks. Chapter 4 is devoted to overlay networks. The book concludes w...

Impact of School Readiness Program Interventions on Children's Learning in Cambodia

Science.gov (United States)

Nonoyama-Tarumi, Yuko; Bredenberg, Kurt

2009-01-01

To reduce the high repetition rates in early years of primary school, the government of Cambodia piloted a school readiness program (SRP) in the first two months of Grade 1 of primary school. This study examines whether such intervention has effects on students' immediate acquisition of school readiness skills as well as students' longer term…

Irradiation of ready meals for microbial safety and shelf-life extension: 1. microbial quality of waakye and other other ready-to-eat meals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nketsia-Tabiri, J.; Adu-Gyamfi, A.; Owusu-Biney, A.

2006-01-01

Waakye bought from the open market and 14 meals prepared under the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plan were microbiologically investigated. The aerobic mesophilic count (AMC) (10 7 - 10 8 CFU g 1 ) and coliform count (10 6 - 10 7 CFU g -1 ) for complete waakye meals, including macaroni, fried fish, sauce and vegetable salad, exceeded the microbiological standards for such ready-to-eat meals. The AMC (10 1 - 10 4 CFU g 1 ) and coliform count (10 1 - 10 2 CFU g -1 ) for all the ready meals prepared under HACCP and stored (-5 to 0 0 C) for up to 5 days were within the standards. Potential pathogens isolated from waakye and the meals prepared under HACCP plan included Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Serratia spp., and Enterobacter spp. Subsequent studies will exploit the potential of irradiation to eliminate pathogens and ensure the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat meals. (au)

Attachment style and readiness for psychotherapy among psychiatric outpatients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kealy, David; Tsai, Michelle; Ogrodniczuk, John S

2017-06-01

Ninety-two adults attending outpatient mental health services completed measures of attachment style and readiness to engage in psychotherapy. Correlation and linear regression analyses found anxious attachment to be positively associated with treatment-seeking distress and found avoidant attachment to be negatively associated with openness to personal disclosure in the therapy relationship. Insecure attachment may influence prospective patients' readiness for psychotherapy. Patients with an avoidant attachment style may need assistance in preparing for the relational aspects of psychotherapy. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Readiness of communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives in disadvantaged areas of Victoria, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cyril, Sheila; Polonsky, Michael; Green, Julie; Agho, Kingsley; Renzaho, Andre

2017-07-01

Objective Disadvantaged communities bear a disproportionate burden of childhood obesity and show low participation in childhood obesity prevention initiatives. This study aims to examine the level of readiness of disadvantaged communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Methods Using the community readiness model, 95 semi-structured interviews were conducted among communities in four disadvantaged areas of Victoria, Australia. Community readiness analysis and paired t-tests were performed to assess the readiness levels of disadvantaged communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Results The results showed that disadvantaged communities demonstrated low levels of readiness (readiness score=4/9, 44%) to engage with the existing childhood obesity prevention initiatives, lacked knowledge of childhood obesity and its prevention, and reported facing challenges in initiating and sustaining participation in obesity prevention initiatives. Conclusion This study highlights the need to improve community readiness by addressing low obesity-related literacy levels among disadvantaged communities and by facilitating the capacity-building of bicultural workers to deliver obesity prevention messages to these communities. Integrating these needs into existing Australian health policy and practice is of paramount importance for reducing obesity-related disparities currently prevailing in Australia. What is known about the topic? Childhood obesity prevalence is plateauing in developed countries including Australia; however, obesity-related inequalities continue to exist in Australia especially among communities living in disadvantaged areas, which experience poor engagement in childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Studies in the USA have found that assessing disadvantaged communities' readiness to participate in health programs is a critical initial step in reducing the disproportionate obesity burden among these communities

Operational Readiness Review Final Report For F-Canyon Restart. Phase 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McFarlane, A.F.; Spangler, J.B.

1995-04-05

An independent WSRC Operational Readiness Review was performed for the restart of Phase 1 processing in F-Canyon, Building 221-F. Readiness to restart the Second Plutonium Cycle process and solvent recovery was assessed. The ORR was conducted by an ORR board of ten members with the support of a subject matter expert. The chairman and four members were drawn from the Operational Safety Evaluation Department, ESH& QA Division; additional members were drawn from other WSRC divisions, independent of the F-Canyon operating division (NMPD). Based on the results of the readiness verification assessments performed according to the ORR plan and the validation of pre-restart corrective actions, the WSRC independent ORR Board has concluded that the facility has achieved the state of readiness committed to in the Restart Plan. Also, based on the scope of the ORR, it is the opinion of the board that F-Canyon Phase 1 processes can be restarted without undue risk to the safety of the public and onsite workers and without undue risk to the environment.

Operational Readiness Review Final Report For F-Canyon Restart. Phase 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McFarlane, A.F.; Spangler, J.B.

1995-01-01

An independent WSRC Operational Readiness Review was performed for the restart of Phase 1 processing in F-Canyon, Building 221-F. Readiness to restart the Second Plutonium Cycle process and solvent recovery was assessed. The ORR was conducted by an ORR board of ten members with the support of a subject matter expert. The chairman and four members were drawn from the Operational Safety Evaluation Department, ESH ampersand QA Division; additional members were drawn from other WSRC divisions, independent of the F-Canyon operating division (NMPD). Based on the results of the readiness verification assessments performed according to the ORR plan and the validation of pre-restart corrective actions, the WSRC independent ORR Board has concluded that the facility has achieved the state of readiness committed to in the Restart Plan. Also, based on the scope of the ORR, it is the opinion of the board that F-Canyon Phase 1 processes can be restarted without undue risk to the safety of the public and onsite workers and without undue risk to the environment

On the Effects of Organizational Culture on E-Learning Readiness: An Iranian Experience

OpenAIRE

Seyed Yaghoub Hosseini; Khodakaram Salimifard; Shahrbanoo Yadollahi

2012-01-01

An organization’s success in implementing e-learning depends on the supports provided by the organizational culture. This paper is aimed to evaluate the impacts of organizational culture on e-learning readiness. To test the research hypothesis, Beta coefficient test was used. Research results indicated a significant positive impact of Clan and Adhocracy cultures on e-learning readiness. It was found that Market culture has a negative impact on e-learning readiness. Research findings cannot ...

Isotopic Exchange Reaction Assisted with Cu (I) generated ''in situ'' For Synthesis of Ready-to-Use for on-the-spot Formulation of [131 I] Iodobenzyl Derivatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abudaia, J.A.; Suliman, M.O.

2007-01-01

It has been examined that meta-Iodobenzylguanidine (m-IBG), para-Iodoamphetamine (p-IPA) and orth-Iodohippuric acid (o-IHA) are three commonly used Iodobenzyl derivative compounds, and can be formulated as Ready-to-Use Kits for on-the-spot labeling catalyzed with copper ion Cu+ (I) generated ''In Situ''. The labeling procedure efficiently has been established within 30 min of heating using an autoclave, 20 min. and 90 min. using dry heating block respectively. Isotopic exchange reaction with Iodine-131 radioactive of those three Ready-to-Use Kits has led to Radiochemical Purity ''RCP'' equals to 98%, > 98%, and almost 99%, and Radiochemical Yield ''RCY'' > 97%, >93% and > 98% respectively. Attention was paid to the Radiochemical Stability of those three Iodobenzyl derivatives for a period time of preservation at low temperature. As a result, this gave evidence that such Radiopharmaceuticals could be used as Ready-to-Use products at different times of preservations.

Projective methodical system of students training to the course «History of computer science»

OpenAIRE

С А Виденин

2008-01-01

Components of teachers readiness to professional activity are described in the item. The projective methods of training to a course « History of computer science « in favour to improve professional grounding of students' are considered.

Community-Wide Zero Energy Ready Home Standard

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herk, A. [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburght, PA (United States); Beggs, T. [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburght, PA (United States)

2016-02-05

This report outlines the steps a developer can use when looking to create and implement higher performance standards such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) standards in a community. The report also describes the specific examples of how this process was followed by a developer, Forest City, in the Stapleton community in Denver, Colorado. IBACOS described the steps used to begin to bring the DOE ZERH standard to the Forest City Stapleton community based on 15 years of community-scale development work done by IBACOS. As a result of this prior IBACOS work, the team gained an understanding of the various components that a master developer needs to consider and created strategies for incorporating those components in the initial phases of development to achieve higher performance buildings in the community. An automated scoring system can be used to perform an internal audit that provides a detailed and consistent evaluation of how several homes under construction or builders' floor plans compare with the requirements of the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home program. This audit can be performed multiple times at specific milestones during construction to allow the builder to make changes as needed throughout construction for the project to meet Zero Energy Ready Home standards. This scoring system also can be used to analyze a builder's current construction practices and design.

Market readiness update : updated status of preparations for Ontario's competitive retail electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The Market Readiness Project Team of the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) is instrumental in ensuring the readiness of retail participants in Ontario's competitive electricity market. The team, led by the Independent Electricity Market Operator (IMO), provides information and advice regarding the technical readiness of the retail industry, with particular focus on the readiness of distributors to carry out their roles in a competitive market. This report provides an assessment of the team regarding the industry's technical readiness based on information as of April 24, 2002. In January 2002, the Ontario Government announced that it would open the electricity industry to competition on May 1, 2002. 54 of Ontario's 94 licensed electricity distributors claimed they were ready to offer retail choice by May 1. As of March 2002, about 858,000 customers (or 20 per cent of Ontario's 4.2 million customers) had signed a retail electricity contract with one of 9 active electricity retailers. By April 2002, 73 distributors, representing 93 per cent of Ontario's customers signed a contract with a retailer. Those customers who choose not to sign a contract will continue to receive service from their distributor but at energy prices set hourly by the IMO. It is expected that after May 1, the transition to a competitive market will proceed for several weeks as distributors progress through their billing cycles. 7 tabs., 2 figs

Predictors and outcomes of postpartum mothers' perceptions of readiness for discharge after birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Marianne E; Lokken, Lisa

2009-01-01

To identify predictors and outcomes of postpartum mothers' perceptions of their readiness for hospital discharge. A correlational design with path analyses was used to explore predictive relationships among transition theory-related variables. Midwestern tertiary perinatal center. One hundred and forty-one mixed-parity postpartum mothers who had experienced vaginal birth or Cesarean delivery of normal healthy infants. Before hospital discharge, patients completed questionnaires about sociodemographic characteristics, hospitalization factors, quality of discharge teaching, and readiness for discharge. Three weeks postdischarge, mothers were contacted by telephone to collect coping difficulty and health care utilization data. Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale, Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale, Utilization of postdischarge services. Quality of discharge teaching, specifically the relative difference in the amount of informational content needed and received and the skills of nurses in delivering discharge teaching, explained 38% of the variance in postpartum mothers' perceptions of discharge readiness. Readiness for discharge scores explained 22% of the variance in postdischarge coping difficulty scores. Nurses' skills in delivery of discharge teaching, coping difficulty, patient characteristics, and birth hospitalization factors were predictive of utilization of family support and postdischarge health care services. A trajectory of influence was evident in the sequential relationships of quality of discharge teaching, readiness for discharge, postdischarge coping, and utilization of family support and health care services. Transitions theory provided a useful framework for conceptualizing and investigating the transition home after childbirth.

Are they ready? Organizational readiness for change among clinical teaching teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Bank, Lindsay; Jippes, Mariëlle; Leppink, Jimmie; Scherpbier, Albert Jja; den Rooyen, Corry; van Luijk, Scheltus J; Scheele, Fedde

2017-01-01

Curriculum change and innovation are inevitable parts of progress in postgraduate medical education (PGME). Although implementing change is known to be challenging, change management principles are rarely looked at for support. Change experts contend that organizational readiness for change (ORC) is a critical precursor for the successful implementation of change initiatives. Therefore, this study explores whether assessing ORC in clinical teaching teams could help to understand how curriculum change takes place in PGME. Clinical teaching teams in hospitals in the Netherlands were requested to complete the Specialty Training's Organizational Readiness for curriculum Change, a questionnaire to measure ORC in clinical teaching teams. In addition, change-related behavior was measured by using the "behavioral support-for-change" measure. A two-way analysis of variance was performed for all response variables of interest. In total, 836 clinical teaching team members were included in this study: 288 (34.4%) trainees, 307 (36.7%) clinical staff members, and 241 (28.8%) program directors. Overall, items regarding whether the program director has the authority to lead scored higher compared with the other items. At the other end, the subscales "management support and leadership," "project resources," and "implementation plan" had the lowest scores in all groups. The study brought to light that program directors are clearly in the lead when it comes to the implementation of educational innovation. Clinical teaching teams tend to work together as a team, sharing responsibilities in the implementation process. However, the results also reinforce the need for change management support in change processes in PGME.

Consequence Management - Ready or Not?

Science.gov (United States)

2003-04-07

Defense will have sufficient capability and be ready to respond to a Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects attack. An effective consequence management...Defense adopts the National Military Strategy and its consequence management approach, it must identify Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects threats...that the Department of Defense: develop Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects performance standards for response assets; implement a consequence

Motivational readiness for active commuting by university students: incentives and barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Rachel; Leslie, Eva; Donald, Maria; Cerin, Ester; Neller, Anne; Owen, Neville

2008-12-01

Walking for transport can contribute significantly to health-enhancing physical activity. We examined the associations of stages of motivational readiness for active transport with perceived barriers and incentives to walking to and from university among students. Mail-back surveys were completed by 781 students in a regional university in south-east Queensland. They identified one of eight options on motivational readiness for active commuting, which were then classified as: pre-contemplation; contemplation-preparation; or, action-maintenance. Open-ended questions were used to identify relevant barriers and incentives. Logistic regressions were used to examine the barriers and incentives that distinguished between those at different stages of motivational readiness. Barriers most frequently reported were long travel distances, inconvenience and time constraints. Incentives most frequently reported were shorter travel distance, having more time, supportive infrastructure and better security. Those not considering active commuting (pre-contemplation) were significantly more likely to report shorter travel distance as an incentive compared to those in contemplation-preparation. Those in contemplation-preparation were significantly more likely to report lack of motivation, inadequate infrastructure, shorter travel distance and inconvenience as barriers; and, having more time, supportive infrastructure, social support and incentive programs as encouragement. Different barriers and incentives to walking to or from university exist for students in the different stages of motivational readiness for active commuting. Interventions targeted specifically to stage of motivational readiness may be potentially helpful in increasing activity levels, through active transport.

Implementation of distributed computing system for emergency response and contaminant spill monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ojo, T.O.; Sterling, M.C.Jr.; Bonner, J.S.; Fuller, C.B.; Kelly, F.; Page, C.A.

2003-01-01

The availability and use of real-time environmental data greatly enhances emergency response and spill monitoring in coastal and near shore environments. The data would include surface currents, wind speed, wind direction, and temperature. Model predictions (fate and transport) or forensics can also be included. In order to achieve an integrated system suitable for application in spill or emergency response situations, a link is required because this information exists on many different computing platforms. When real-time measurements are needed to monitor a spill, the use of a wide array of sensors and ship-based post-processing methods help reduce the latency in data transfer between field sampling stations and the Incident Command Centre. The common thread linking all these modules is the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and the result is an integrated distributed computing system (DCS). The in-situ sensors are linked to an onboard computer through the use of a ship-based local area network (LAN) using a submersible device server. The onboard computer serves as both the data post-processor and communications server. It links the field sampling station with other modules, and is responsible for transferring data to the Incident Command Centre. This link is facilitated by a wide area network (WAN) based on wireless broadband communications facilities. This paper described the implementation of the DCS. The test results for the communications link and system readiness were also included. 6 refs., 2 tabs., 3 figs

Computer based training for oil spill management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodman, R.

1993-01-01

Large oil spills are infrequent occurrences, which poses a particular problem for training oil spill response staff and for maintaining a high level of response readiness. Conventional training methods involve table-top simulations to develop tactical and strategic response skills and boom-deployment exercises to maintain operational readiness. Both forms of training are quite effective, but they are very time-consuming to organize, are expensive to conduct, and tend to become repetitious. To provide a variety of response experiences, a computer-based system of oil spill response training has been developed which can supplement a table-top training program. Using a graphic interface, a realistic and challenging computerized oil spill response simulation has been produced. Integral to the system is a program editing tool which allows the teacher to develop a custom training exercise for the area of interest to the student. 1 ref

Evaluating Community Readiness to Implement Environmental and Policy-Based Alcohol Abuse Prevention Strategies in Wisconsin

Science.gov (United States)

Paltzer, Jason; Black, Penny; Moberg, D. Paul

2013-01-01

Background: Matching evidence-based alcohol prevention strat- egies with a community's readiness to support those strategies is the basis for the Tri-Ethnic Community Readiness Model (CRM). The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the association of a community's readiness to address alcohol abuse in their community with the implementation of…

PV ready roofing systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

The integration of PV technology into roofs of houses has become very popular in the United States, Japan, Germany and The Netherlands. There could be a considerable market in the UK for these systems, given the large number of houses that are projected to be built in the next 10 years, and taking account of increased awareness of energy issues. A significant proportion of the market share of annual installed PV is for solar PV systems installed into homes (currently 15%), this is expected to rise to 23% (900MW) by 2010. The grid connected roof and building mounted facade systems represent the fastest growing market for PV systems in Europe. In conclusion, therefore, innovative approached for fixing PV technology onto roofs have been identified for both domestic roofs and for the commercial sector. With reference to production methodologies within the roofing industry, both approaches should be capable of being designed with PV-ready connections suitable for fixing PV modules at a later date. This will help overcome the key barriers of cost of installation, skills required and the lack of retrofit potential. Based on the results of this project, Sustainable Energy together with PV Systems are keen to take forward the full research and development of PV-ready systems for both the domestic and commercial sectors.

Organizational factors associated with readiness for change in residential aged care settings.

Science.gov (United States)

von Treuer, Kathryn; Karantzas, Gery; McCabe, Marita; Mellor, David; Konis, Anastasia; Davison, Tanya E; O'Connor, Daniel

2018-02-01

Organizational change is inevitable in any workplace. Previous research has shown that leadership and a number of organizational climate and contextual variables can affect the adoption of change initiatives. The effect of these workplace variables is particularly important in stressful work sectors such as aged care where employees work with challenging older clients who frequently exhibit dementia and depression. This study sought to examine the effect of organizational climate and leadership variables on organizational readiness for change across 21 residential aged care facilities. Staff from each facility (N = 255) completed a self-report measure assessing organizational factors including organizational climate, leadership and readiness for change. A hierarchical regression model revealed that the organizational climate variables of work pressure, innovation, and transformational leadership were predictive of employee perceptions of organizational readiness for change. These findings suggest that within aged care facilities an organization's capacity to change their organizational climate and leadership practices may enhance an organization's readiness for change.

The LHC Computing Grid in the starting blocks

CERN Multimedia

Danielle Amy Venton

2010-01-01

As the Large Hadron Collider ramps up operations and breaks world records, it is an exciting time for everyone at CERN. To get the computing perspective, the Bulletin this week caught up with Ian Bird, leader of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). He is confident that everything is ready for the first data.   The metallic globe illustrating the Worldwide LHC Computing GRID (WLCG) in the CERN Computing Centre. The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) collaboration has been in place since 2001 and for the past several years it has continually run the workloads for the experiments as part of their preparations for LHC data taking. So far, the numerous and massive simulations of the full chain of reconstruction and analysis software could only be carried out using Monte Carlo simulated data. Now, for the first time, the system is starting to work with real data and with many simultaneous users accessing them from all around the world. “During the 2009 large-scale computing challenge (...

Single-trial detection of visual evoked potentials by common spatial patterns and wavelet filtering for brain-computer interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Yiheng; Huang, Gan; Hung, Yeung Sam; Hu, Li; Hu, Yong; Zhang, Zhiguo

2013-01-01

Event-related potentials (ERPs) are widely used in brain-computer interface (BCI) systems as input signals conveying a subject's intention. A fast and reliable single-trial ERP detection method can be used to develop a BCI system with both high speed and high accuracy. However, most of single-trial ERP detection methods are developed for offline EEG analysis and thus have a high computational complexity and need manual operations. Therefore, they are not applicable to practical BCI systems, which require a low-complexity and automatic ERP detection method. This work presents a joint spatial-time-frequency filter that combines common spatial patterns (CSP) and wavelet filtering (WF) for improving the signal-to-noise (SNR) of visual evoked potentials (VEP), which can lead to a single-trial ERP-based BCI.

Relationship of Mobile Learning Readiness to Teacher Proficiency in Classroom Technology Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Rhonda; Knezek, Gerald

2016-01-01

Mobile learning readiness as a new aspect of technology integration for classroom teachers is confirmed through the findings of this study to be significantly aligned with well-established measures based on older information technologies. The Mobile Learning Readiness Survey (MLRS) generally exhibits the desirable properties of step-wise increases…

Social Mobility and Reproduction for Whom? College Readiness and First-Year Retention

Science.gov (United States)

DeAngelo, Linda; Franke, Ray

2016-01-01

Completing college is now the minimum threshold for entry into the middle class. This has pushed college readiness issues to the forefront in efforts to increase educational attainment. Little is known about how college readiness improves outcomes for students traditionally marginalized in educational settings or if social background factors…

Migrant Preschool Children's School Readiness and Early Elementary School Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Tavassolie, Tanya; López, Claudia; De Feyter, Jessica; Hartman, Suzanne C.; Winsler, Adam

2018-01-01

Little is known about the early educational performance of children in migrant farmworker families. The authors examined the school readiness and early school success of 289 four-year-old preschool children of migrant families attending Redlands Christian Migrant Association centers. Children's school readiness was assessed and public school…

Cloud computing for comparative genomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Wall, Dennis P; Kudtarkar, Parul; Fusaro, Vincent A; Pivovarov, Rimma; Patil, Prasad; Tonellato, Peter J

2010-05-18

Large comparative genomics studies and tools are becoming increasingly more compute-expensive as the number of available genome sequences continues to rise. The capacity and cost of local computing infrastructures are likely to become prohibitive with the increase, especially as the breadth of questions continues to rise. Alternative computing architectures, in particular cloud computing environments, may help alleviate this increasing pressure and enable fast, large-scale, and cost-effective comparative genomics strategies going forward. To test this, we redesigned a typical comparative genomics algorithm, the reciprocal smallest distance algorithm (RSD), to run within Amazon's Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2). We then employed the RSD-cloud for ortholog calculations across a wide selection of fully sequenced genomes. We ran more than 300,000 RSD-cloud processes within the EC2. These jobs were farmed simultaneously to 100 high capacity compute nodes using the Amazon Web Service Elastic Map Reduce and included a wide mix of large and small genomes. The total computation time took just under 70 hours and cost a total of $6,302 USD. The effort to transform existing comparative genomics algorithms from local compute infrastructures is not trivial. However, the speed and flexibility of cloud computing environments provides a substantial boost with manageable cost. The procedure designed to transform the RSD algorithm into a cloud-ready application is readily adaptable to similar comparative genomics problems.

Ready to Use Tissue Construct for Military Bone & Cartilage Trauma

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

scaffold by laying down small droplets of the liquid 90% poly-caprolactone (PCL) and 10% hydroxyapatite (HA) by weight using a 25 G needle. The resulting...Award Number: W81XWH-10-1-0933 TITLE: Ready to Use Tissue Construct for Military Bone & Cartilage Trauma PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Francis Y...TITLE AND SUBTITLE Ready to Use Tissue Construct for Military Bone & Cartilage Trauma 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER W81XWH-10-1-0933 5b. GRANT NUMBER

[Determination of folate content in ready-to-eat food products].

Science.gov (United States)

Fajardo Martín, Violeta; Alonso-Aperte, Elena; Varela-Moreiras, Gregorio

2013-01-01

In the last years, the consumption of ready-to-eat foods has become an increasing part of the current Spanish diet. Accordingly, the nutritional composition of these food categories should be investigated in order to estimate its contribution to vitamin and nutrient intakes, in particular its folate content. The broad lack of folate data in food composition tables and databases justifies this approach. The aim of this work was to screen the current availability and to supply new folate data in ready-to-eat commercial products in the Spanish market. Seventeen ready-to-eat foods, including mainly vegetable ingredients, were analysed for total folate content using a validated method that relies on Lactobacillus casei ssp. rhamnosus chloramphenicol-resistant folate dependent growth. The accuracy of the analytical procedure was checked using a certified reference material and by a recovery test. Mean TF content ranged from 13.6 to 103.8 μg/100 g in different food matrices on a fresh weight basis. Higher TF quantity was found for vegetable hamburguers, recipes including chickpeas, peas or artichockes. Selected precooked products were also analysed after a soft heat treatment as recommended by the manufacter before its consumption. No significant differences were found in the folate content after processing. The coefficient of variation for the duplicates of the same product was less than 15%. Folate content in ready-to-eat products indicates the potential to considerably increase folate intake by choosing folate-rich foods. There have been no previous reports on folate data in chilled ready-to-eat meals. The present data will assist dietary studies to estimate and evaluate the adequacy of population folate intakes. Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

SaludABLEOmaha: improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community, 2011-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Frerichs, Leah; Brittin, Jeri; Robbins, Regina; Steenson, Sharalyn; Stewart, Catherine; Fisher, Christopher; Huang, Terry T-K

2015-02-12

A community's readiness for change is a precursor to the effective application of evidence-based practices for health promotion. Research is lacking regarding potential strategies to improve readiness to address obesity-related health issues in underserved communities. This case study describes SaludABLEOmaha, an initiative to increase readiness of residents in a Midwestern Latino community to address obesity and adopt healthy lifestyles. SaludABLEOmaha emphasized 2 core approaches, youth activism and collaboration among public and private institutions, which we applied to planning and implementing tactics in support of 3 interconnected strategies: 1) social marketing and social media, 2) service learning in schools (ie, curricula that integrate hands-on community service with instruction and reflection), and 3) community and business engagement. Following the Community Readiness Model protocol (http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm), structured interviews were conducted with community leaders and analyzed before and 2.5 years after launch of the program. The community increased in readiness from stage 3 of the Community Readiness Model, "vague awareness," at baseline to stage 5, "preparation," at follow-up. SaludABLEOmaha improved community readiness (eg, community knowledge, community climate), which probably contributed to the observed increase in readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle. Community mobilization approaches such as youth activism integrated with social marketing and social media tactics can improve community responsiveness to obesity prevention and diminish health disparities.

Evaluation of Readiness for Distance Education of Students in European Universities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daina Vasilevska

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Distance learning environment with its different approaches has become one of the most researched paradigms in the late years. Different technologies have been developed and introduced into these systems, but at the same time, a spectrum of use-cases has been offered for this model. This paper aims at addressing the most important problem facing with the distance learning eco-system, namely its evaluation. The evaluation process has been undertaken in different European countries, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Poland, Belarus, and Romania. The obtained results show that not all of the students are at the same level of readiness when it comes to distance education, there are no criteria developed for the evaluation of the students' readiness to this education model. For the purpose of this study, authors suggest that readiness to distance education includes knowledge, skills, and abilities that are necessary for students to successfully possess while using the technologies of distance education. After the analysis of the results of this research, the authors developed a structure and described elements that define the level of students' readiness to distance education.

Decommissioning project readiness reviews at the Department of Energy's Hanford, Washington, Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Speer, D.R.; Holmes, P.A.

1987-01-01

Two Hanford Site contractors independently formulated readiness review methods to prepare for decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) projects. One readiness review method provided an independent management review process. The other method provided a review by personnel directly involved in the project and concise documentation procedures. A unified system is now used at Hanford which combines the best aspects of both readiness review methods. The unified method assigns category levels based on certain job characteristics. The category assigned to the project then indicates the required level of management review prior to proceeding with the D and D project. In addition, the concise documentation procedures are now used for all category levels

The role of organizational structure in readiness for change: A conceptual integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Benzer, Justin K; Charns, Martin P; Hamdan, Sami; Afable, Melissa

2017-02-01

The purpose of this review is to extend extant conceptualizations of readiness for change as an individual-level phenomenon. This review-of-reviews focuses on existing conceptual frameworks from the dissemination, implementation, quality improvement, and organizational transformation literatures in order to integrate theoretical rationales for how organization structure, a key dimension of the organizational context, may impact readiness for change. We propose that the organization structure dimensions of differentiation and integration impact readiness for change at the individual level of analysis by influencing four key concepts of relevance, legitimacy, perceived need for change, and resource allocation. We identify future research directions that focus on these four key concepts.

A short course in computational geometry and topology

CERN Document Server

Edelsbrunner, Herbert

2014-01-01

With the aim to bring the subject of Computational Geometry and Topology closer to the scientific audience, this book is written in thirteen ready-to-teach sections organized in four parts: tessellations, complexes, homology, persistence. To speak to the non-specialist, detailed formalisms are often avoided in favor of lively 2- and 3-dimensional illustrations. The book is warmly recommended to everybody who loves geometry and the fascinating world of shapes.

Are We Ready to Recommend a College Readiness Index? A Reply to Gaertner and McClarty (2015)

Science.gov (United States)

Lazowski, Rory A.; Barron, Kenneth E.; Kosovich, Jeff J.; Hulleman, Chris S.

2016-01-01

In an article published in "Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice," Gaertner and McClarty (2015) discuss a college readiness index based, in part, on nonacademic or noncognitive factors measured in middle school. Such an index is laudable as it incorporates important constructs beyond academic achievement measures that may be…

An investigation of the effects of technology readiness on technology acceptance in e-HRM

OpenAIRE

Erdoğmuş, Nihat; Esen, Murat

2011-01-01

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of technology readiness on technology acceptance in e-HRM field. The data for this study were collected from 65 Human Resource (HR) managers representing top 500 largest private sector companies in Turkey. The research model based on two theories: Parasuraman's technology readiness and Davis’ technology acceptance model. The results of the study showed that optimism and innovativeness dimensions of technology readiness positively influenced ...

Identifying the readiness of patients in implementing telemedicine in northern Louisiana for an oncology practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurupur, Varadraj; Shettian, Kruparaj; Xu, Peixin; Hines, Scott; Desselles, Mitzi; Dhawan, Manish; Wan, Thomas Th; Raffenaud, Amanda; Anderson, Lindsey

2017-09-01

This study identified the readiness factors that may create challenges in the use of telemedicine among patients in northern Louisiana with cancer. To identify these readiness factors, the team of investigators developed 19 survey questions that were provided to the patients or to their caregivers. The team collected responses from 147 respondents from rural and urban residential backgrounds. These responses were used to identify the individuals' readiness for utilising telemedicine through factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha reliability test, analysis of variance and ordinary least squares regression. The analysis results indicated that the favourable factor (positive readiness item) had a mean value of 3.47, whereas the unfavourable factor (negative readiness item) had a mean value of 2.76. Cronbach's alpha reliability test provided an alpha value of 0.79. Overall, our study indicated a positive attitude towards the use of telemedicine in northern Louisiana.

The Tragedy of the Commons

Science.gov (United States)

Short, Daniel

2016-01-01

The tragedy of the commons is one of the principal tenets of ecology. Recent developments in experiential computer-based simulation of the tragedy of the commons are described. A virtual learning environment is developed using the popular video game "Minecraft". The virtual learning environment is used to experience first-hand depletion…

The Developmental Approach to School Readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogletree, Earl J.

In the United States, a psychometric psychology dominates the thinking of educators. For traditional, political, and social reasons, developmental psychology rarely informs educational practices. This is the case even though studies show that the inducing of cognitive learning before a child is ready will reduce the child's learning potential and…

Self-assessment and readiness for change in dysphonic patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Leonardo Wanderley; Vilela, Eveline Gonçalves

2016-07-04

To examine whether there is an association between vocal self-assessment and readiness for change in dysphonic patients. 151 patients with vocal complaints and diagnosis of dysphonia, between 18 and 65 years of age, 47 men and 104 women treated at the voice clinic of a public institution participated in the study. Four self-assessment instruments were applied, including the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL), the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and the Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS), and the use of URICA-VOICE instrument to verify the patients stage of readiness for change. All instruments were applied immediately before the start of vocal therapy. The variables were correlated and compared using inferential statistics. Most patients were in the contemplation stage (76.2%, n = 115), 22 (14.6%) were in the pre-contemplation stage and 14 (9.3%) in the action stage. There was a negative correlation between the score in URICA-VOICE and the socio-emotional domain and total score V-RQOL. There was a positive correlation between the score URICA-VOICE and full social, emotional and functional VHI, as well as between the score URICA-VOICE and full fields, limitation and emotional VoiSS. Only the social-emotional domain V-RQOL and emotional in VoiSS values showed statistically significant differences between the motivational stages. There is association between vocal self-assessment and readiness for change in dysphonic patients. Patients with major impact on quality of life in voice in V-RQOL and higher frequency of vocal symptoms mentioned in the VoiSS show greater readiness for change.

Common envelope evolution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taam, Ronald E.; Ricker, Paul M.

2010-01-01

The common envelope phase of binary star evolution plays a central role in many evolutionary pathways leading to the formation of compact objects in short period systems. Using three dimensional hydrodynamical computations, we review the major features of this evolutionary phase, focusing on the

Green IT Readiness: A Framework and Preliminary Proof of Concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alemayehu Molla

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Businesses are under increasing pressure from customers, competitors, regulators and community groups to implement sustainable business practices. Balancing economic and environmental performance to be green and competitive is therefore a key strategic issue. The information technology (IT sector is one of the pioneer sectors which started working on the sustainable development model. However, it is only lately that researchers and organisations have begun to consider the role of IT, not only in contributing to a businesses environmental footprint but also in tackling climate change problems. Usually coined as, “Green Information Technology”, the role of IT in causing and resolving ecological sustainability, in maintaining low cost IT shops, in building green reputation capital and in supporting corporate green strategies has hardly been researched. This paper identifies four main areas of Green IT capability and describes the main pillars of a G-readiness framework to help organisations evaluate their maturity for Green IT. The utility of the framework is demonstrated through a desk-based research case study of seven organisations. The paper argues that just as e-readiness has been, and continues to be, a critical capability in the digital economy, G-readiness is an equally critical capability in the low carbon digital economy. Without a clear understanding of G-readiness, organisations would approach Green IT initiatives on an ad hoc and somewhat reactive basis, which is undesirable.

Radiation doses to patients in computed tomography including a ready reckoner for dose estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szendroe, G.; Axelsson, B.; Leitz, W.

1995-11-01

The radiation burden from CT-examinations is still growing in most countries and has reached a considerable part of the total from medical diagnostic x-ray procedures. Efforts for avoiding excess radiation doses are therefore especially well motivated within this field. A survey of CT-examination techniques practised in Sweden showed that standard settings for the exposure variables are used for the vast majority of examinations. Virtually no adjustments to the patient's differences in anatomy have been performed - even for infants and children on average the same settings have been used. The adjustment of the exposure variables to the individual anatomy offers a large potential of dose savings. Amongst the imaging parameters, a change of the radiation dose will primarily influence the noise. As a starting point it is assumed that, irrespective of the patient's anatomy, the same level of noise can be accepted for a certain diagnostic task. To a large extent the noise level is determined by the number of photons that are registered in the detector. Hence, for different patient size and anatomy, the exposure should be adjusted so that the same transmitted photon fluence is achieved. An appendix with a ready reckoner for dose estimation for CT-scanners used in Sweden is attached. 7 refs, 5 figs, 8 tabs

Remedial action and waste disposal project -- 300-FF-1 remedial action readiness assessment report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carson, J.W.; Carlson, R.A.; Greif, A.A.; Johnson, C.R.; Orewiler, R.I.; Perry, D.M.; Remsen, W.E.; Tuttle, B.G.; Wilson, R.C.

1997-09-01

This report documents the readiness assessment for initial startup of the 300-FF-1 Remedial Action Task. A readiness assessment verifies and documents that field activities are ready to start (or restart) safely. The 300-FF-1 assessment was initiated in April 1997. Readiness assessment activities included confirming the completion of project-specific procedures and permits, training staff, obtaining support equipment, receipt and approval of subcontractor submittals, and mobilization and construction of site support systems. The scope of the 300-FF-1 Remedial Action Task includes excavation and disposal of contaminated soils at liquid waste disposal facilities and of waste in the 618-4 Burial Ground and the 300-FF-1 landfills. The scope also includes excavation of test pits and test trenches

Readiness review plan for the in situ vitrification demonstration of Seepage Pit 1 in Waste Area Grouping 7

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-05-01

A treatability study is planned that encompasses the application of in situ vitrification (ISV) to at least two segments of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Seepage Pit I during the third quarter of fiscal year 1995. Before the treatability study can be initiated, the proposed activity must be subjected to an Operational Readiness Review (ORR). ORR is a structured methodology of determining readiness to proceed as outlined in Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems), Environmental Restoration Waste Management Procedure ER/C-P1610, which provides Energy Systems organizations assurance that the work to be performed is consistent with management's expectations and that the subject activity is ready to proceed safely. The readiness review plan provides details of the review plan overview and the scope of work to be performed. The plan also identifies individuals and position responsibilities for implementing the activity. The management appointed Readiness Review Board (RRB) has been identified. A Field Readiness Review Team (FRT), a management appointed multidisciplinary group, has been established (1) to evaluate the ISV treatability study, (2) to identify and assemble supporting objective evidences of the readiness to proceed, and (3) to assist the team leader in presenting the evidences to the RRB. A major component of RRB is the formulation of readiness review criteria months before the operation. A comprehensive readiness review tree (a positive logic tree) is included, which identifies the activities required for the development of the readiness criteria. The readiness review tree serves as a tool to prevent the omission of an item that could affect system performance. All deficiencies identified in the review will be determined as prestart findings and must be resolved before the project is permitted to proceed. The final approval of the readiness to proceed will be the decision of RRB

The Families of America's Peacekeepers: Their Impact on Readiness in the 21st Century

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Krueger, Norma

2001-01-01

.... Family readiness is important because individual and unit readiness are affected by the degree to which families have developed the skills and attitudes required to handle the demands of military life...

Ready Texas: Stakeholder Convening. Proceedings Report

Science.gov (United States)

Intercultural Development Research Association, 2016

2016-01-01

With the adoption of substantial changes to Texas high school curricula in 2013 (HB5), a central question for Texas policymakers, education and business leaders, families, and students is whether and how HB5 implementation impacts the state of college readiness and success in Texas. Comprehensive research is needed to understand the implications…

Emotional Readiness and Music Therapeutic Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Drossinou-Korea, Maria; Fragkouli, Aspasia

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to understand the children's expression with verbal and nonverbal communication in the Autistic spectrum. We study the emotional readiness and the music therapeutic activities which exploit the elements of music. The method followed focused on the research field of special needs education. Assumptions on the parameters…

Brain Computer Interface on Track to Home

OpenAIRE

Miralles, Felip; Vargiu, Eloisa; Dauwalder, Stefan; Solà, Marc; Müller-Putz, Gernot; Wriessnegger, Selina C.; Pinegger, Andreas; Kübler, Andrea; Halder, Sebastian; Käthner, Ivo; Martin, Suzanne; Daly, Jean; Armstrong, Elaine; Guger, Christoph; Hintermüller, Christoph

2015-01-01

The novel BackHome system offers individuals with disabilities a range of useful services available via brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), to help restore their independence. This is the time such technology is ready to be deployed in the real world, that is, at the target end users' home. This has been achieved by the development of practical electrodes, easy to use software, and delivering telemonitoring and home support capabilities which have been conceived, implemented, and tested within ...

Dyadic violence and readiness to change among male intimate partner violence offenders.

Science.gov (United States)

Crane, Cory A; Schlauch, Robert C; Eckhardt, Christopher I

2015-12-10

Although readiness to change is associated with mandated partner violence treatment compliance and subsequent violent behaviour among male offenders (e.g. Scott and Wolfe, 2003; Eckhardt et al., 2004), our understanding of the factors associated with pretreatment change remains limited. Offender research indicates that individual and dyadic violent behaviour are highly variable and that such variability may provide insight into levels of pretreatment change (Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart, 1994; Archer, 2002). We sought to examine the associations between indicators of change and individual as well as dyadic violence frequency in a sample of male partner violence offenders. To determine whether severity and perceived concordance in the use of violence among male offenders and their female partners influenced readiness to change at pretreatment, 82 recently adjudicated male perpetrators of intimate partner violence were recruited into the current study and administered measures of readiness to change violent behaviour (Revised Safe at Home Scale; Begun et al., 2008) as well as partner violence experiences (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale; Straus et al., 1996). Analyses revealed an interaction between offender-reported male and female violence in the prediction of pretreatment readiness to change such that greater male violence was associated with greater readiness to change among males who reported that their female partners perpetrated low, but not high, levels of violence. Consistently, greater female violence was associated with lower readiness to change only among the most violent male offenders. Results provide support for the assertion that the most violent offenders may be the most resistant to partner violence intervention efforts, particularly when they perceive themselves to be victims as well. Enhanced motivational and couples programming may facilitate treatment engagement among the high-risk group of male offenders who report concordant relationship

Investigation of Professional Readiness of Selected Male and Female Experts in Iranian Sports Organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samira ALIABADI

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This study aims to investigate professional readiness of a selected group of male and female experts in Iranian sports organizations. It is a descriptive study with an applied objective. The statistical population of the study includes the entire selected male and female experts (406 experts of Iranian sports organizations among which 352 cases cooperated with the researchers and therefore were selected as research sample. Measurement tool is the professional readiness assessment standard questionnaire (Aliabadi, 2014; the validity and reliability of this questionnaire have been approved by sport experts. The descriptive and inferential statistics including KS- and T-test was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that there is no significant difference between male and female experts in sports organizations regarding mental readiness and its components (motivation, commitment, confidence; but there is a significant difference at 0.01 level between them with regard to work readiness and its components (skill, knowledge, experience. Moreover, based on the average of work/technical readiness components, male experts are better than female experts.

Readiness for Meaningful Use of Health Information Tech...

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — According to findings reported in Readiness for Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology and Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition Survey Results,...

The readiness of schools in Zimbabwe for the implementation of early childhood education

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Ezron Mangwaya

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This qualitative study focuses on primary schools' state of readiness for the introduction of early childhood education. Adopting a multiple case study design, the article explores, through semi-structured interviews and documentation, school heads, teachers-in-charge and classroom teachers' perceptions of their respective schools' state of readiness for the installation and implementation of early childhood education. The study established that, while classroom teachers were adequately qualified to implement early childhood education, teachers-in-charge were not. Secondly, school heads received limited induction for the introduction and implementation of early childhood education. Additionally, inadequate teaching-learning resources and lack of on-going teacher support contributed to schools' lack of readiness for the introduction of early childhood education. The study recommends interventions that curriculum planners and implementers can utilise in order to create conditions that enable primary schools to be ready for introducing and implementing early childhood education.

The BERG faculty students readiness for information technologies study

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Horovèák Pavel

2002-12-01

Full Text Available The contribution deals with the reconnaissance of our students’ readiness to study information technologies, its interpretation, comparison with some published data as well as with a completion and evaluation of the reconnaissance. It specifies methods and processes of evaluation, structure, sections and questions of the reconnaissance. The reconnaissance was oriented particularly to the evaluation of knowledge in the information technologies area acquired at secondary schools. It was completed in a classical paper form as a preparation for the realization and utilization of questionnaire in the electronic form. The following is constructed using modern internet and database technologies and presents extensive possibilities of evaluation answers respondents. The results of the reconnaissance are presented in the form distribution (sex, domicile, secondary school, secondary school influence, work with a computer, operating and exploitation of internet technologies, familiarity with operating systems and typical applications software and programming languages as well as the interest in information technologies of respondents. The results are compared with some other published data and future perspectives of completion and its evaluation of completion are outlined.

German contributions to the CMS computing infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheurer, A

2010-01-01

The CMS computing model anticipates various hierarchically linked tier centres to counter the challenges provided by the enormous amounts of data which will be collected by the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, LHC, at CERN. During the past years, various computing exercises were performed to test the readiness of the computing infrastructure, the Grid middleware and the experiment's software for the startup of the LHC which took place in September 2008. In Germany, several tier sites are set up to allow for an efficient and reliable way to simulate possible physics processes as well as to reprocess, analyse and interpret the numerous stored collision events of the experiment. It will be shown that the German computing sites played an important role during the experiment's preparation phase and during data-taking of CMS and, therefore, scientific groups in Germany will be ready to compete for discoveries in this new era of particle physics. This presentation focuses on the German Tier-1 centre GridKa, located at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, the German CMS Tier-2 federation DESY/RWTH with installations at the University of Aachen and the research centre DESY. In addition, various local computing resources in Aachen, Hamburg and Karlsruhe are briefly introduced as well. It will be shown that an excellent cooperation between the different German institutions and physicists led to well established computing sites which cover all parts of the CMS computing model. Therefore, the following topics are discussed and the achieved goals and the gained knowledge are depicted: data management and distribution among the different tier sites, Grid-based Monte Carlo production at the Tier-2 as well as Grid-based and locally submitted inhomogeneous user analyses at the Tier-3s. Another important task is to ensure a proper and reliable operation 24 hours a day, especially during the time of data-taking. For this purpose, the meta-monitoring tool 'HappyFace', which was

The relationship between assessment methods and self-directed learning readiness in medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Monroe, Katherine S

2016-03-11

This research explored the assessment of self-directed learning readiness within the comprehensive evaluation of medical students' knowledge and skills and the extent to which several variables predicted participants' self-directed learning readiness prior to their graduation. Five metrics for evaluating medical students were considered in a multiple regression analysis. Fourth-year medical students at a competitive US medical school received an informed consent and an online survey. Participants voluntarily completed a self-directed learning readiness scale that assessed four subsets of self-directed learning readiness and consented to the release of their academic records. The assortment of metrics considered in this study only vaguely captured students' self-directedness. The strongest predictors were faculty evaluations of students' performance on clerkship rotations. Specific clerkship grades were mildly predictive of three subscales. The Pediatrics clerkship modestly predicted critical self-evaluation (r=-.30, p=.01) and the Psychiatry clerkship mildly predicted learning self-efficacy (r =-.30, p=.01), while the Junior Surgery clerkship nominally correlated with participants' effective organization for learning (r=.21, p=.05). Other metrics examined did not contribute to predicting participants' readiness for self-directed learning. Given individual differences among participants for the variables considered, no combination of students' grades and/or test scores overwhelmingly predicted their aptitude for self-directed learning. Considering the importance of fostering medical students' self-directed learning skills, schools need a reliable and pragmatic approach to measure them. This data analysis, however, offered no clear-cut way of documenting students' self-directed learning readiness based on the evaluation metrics included.

Battlefield awareness computers: the engine of battlefield digitization

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Jackson; Chamseddine, Ahmad

1997-06-01

To modernize the army for the 21st century, the U.S. Army Digitization Office (ADO) initiated in 1995 the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade-and-Below (FBCB2) Applique program which became a centerpiece in the U.S. Army's master plan to win future information wars. The Applique team led by TRW fielded a 'tactical Internet' for Brigade and below command to demonstrate the advantages of 'shared situation awareness' and battlefield digitization in advanced war-fighting experiments (AWE) to be conducted in March 1997 at the Army's National Training Center in California. Computing Devices is designated the primary hardware developer for the militarized version of the battlefield awareness computers. The first generation of militarized battlefield awareness computer, designated as the V3 computer, was an integration of off-the-shelf components developed to meet the agressive delivery requirements of the Task Force XXI AWE. The design efficiency and cost effectiveness of the computer hardware were secondary in importance to delivery deadlines imposed by the March 1997 AWE. However, declining defense budgets will impose cost constraints on the Force XXI production hardware that can only be met by rigorous value engineering to further improve design optimization for battlefield awareness without compromising the level of reliability the military has come to expect in modern military hardened vetronics. To answer the Army's needs for a more cost effective computing solution, Computing Devices developed a second generation 'combat ready' battlefield awareness computer, designated the V3+, which is designed specifically to meet the upcoming demands of Force XXI (FBCB2) and beyond. The primary design objective is to achieve a technologically superior design, value engineered to strike an optimal balance between reliability, life cycle cost, and procurement cost. Recognizing that the diverse digitization demands of Force XXI cannot be adequately met by any one computer hardware

Updating the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. ACT Research Report Series 2013 (6)

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Jeff

2013-01-01

The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are the ACT® College Readiness Assessment scores associated with a 50% chance of earning a B or higher grade in typical first-year credit-bearing college courses. The Benchmarks also correspond to an approximate 75% chance of earning a C or higher grade in these courses. There are four Benchmarks, corresponding…

Child Care Subsidies and School Readiness in Kindergarten

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Anna D; Martin, Anne; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2013-01-01

The federal child care subsidy program represents one of the government’s largest investments in early care and education. Using data from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), this paper examines associations, among subsidy-eligible families, between child care subsidy receipt when children are 4 years old and a range of school readiness outcomes in kindergarten (sample n ≈ 1,400). Findings suggest that subsidy receipt in preschool is not directly linked to subsequent reading or social-emotional skills. However, subsidy receipt predicted lower math scores among children attending community-based centers. Supplementary analyses revealed that subsidies predicted greater use of center care, but this association did not appear to affect school readiness. PMID:23461769

The Brand's PREACH Model: Predicting Readiness to Engage African American Churches in Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Dorine J; Alston, Reginald J

2017-09-01

Despite many attempts to reduce health disparities, health professionals face obstacles in improving poor health outcomes within the African American (AA) community. To promote change for improved health measures, it is important to implement culturally tailored programming through a trusted institution, such as the AA church. While churches have the potential to play an important role in positively impacting health among AAs, it is unclear what attributes are necessary to predict success or failure for health promotion within these institutions. The purpose of this study was to create a model, the Brand's PREACH ( Predicting Readiness to Engage African American Churches in Health) Model, to predict the readiness of AA churches to engage in health promotion programming. Thirty-six semistructured key informant interviews were conducted with 12 pastors, 12 health leaders, and 12 congregants to gain information on the relationship between church infrastructure (physical structure, personnel, funding, and social/cultural support), readiness, and health promotion programming. The findings revealed that church infrastructure has an association with and will predict the readiness of a church to engage in health promotion programming. The ability to identify readiness early on will be useful for developing, implementing, and evaluating faith-based interventions, in partnership with churches, which is a key factor for sustainable and effective programs.

The SC gets ready for visitors

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2012-01-01

Hall 300, which houses the Synchrocyclotron (SC), CERN’s first accelerator, is getting ready to host a brand-new exhibition. The site will be one of the stops on the new visit itineraries that will be inaugurated for the 2013 CERN Open Day.   The Synchrocyclotron through the years. Just as it did in the late 1950s, when the accelerator was first installed, the gigantic red structure of the Synchrocyclotron's magnet occupies a large part of the 300-square-metre hall. “We have completed the first phase of the project that will give the SC a new lease of life,” says Marco Silari, the project leader and a member of CERN’s Radiation Protection Group. “We have removed all the equipment that was not an integral part of the accelerator. The hall is now ready for the civil-engineering work that will precede the installation of the exhibition.” The SC was witness to a big part of the history of CERN. The accelerator produced ...

EDUCATIONAL INNOVATIONS: AXIOLOGICAL BASES OF MEGALOPOLIS YOUTH’S READINESS

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Olga V. Kruzhkova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the present article is to examine the value bases of the readiness for innovations in the modern education of the youth of the megalopolises.Methods. As the methods were used: theoretical analysis and modeling method, as well as a survey of students of megalopolises (n = 1187 by the valuable questionnaire of S. Schwartz.Results. The authors give the description of educational innovations from the perspective of the overall needs of society in an individual which has technological skills and targets in acquiring and operating information. The reorientation of education on advancing development is implemented through numerous tactical and strategic changes in its form, content, methods and structure of the educational system in general. These changes can be united into five groups. Organizational innovations are pointed at changing the structure of education in accordance with the dynamic characteristics of society. Informative innovations suggest differentiation of activities and the level of responsibility of professionals in the same profile. The activity innovations are focused on changing the teachers’ readiness to transform their professional work and the development of their innovative competence. Productive innovations solve the problem of personality development of a professional in accordance with the social mandate. Socio-control innovations are designed to achieve transparency of management education for society. Implementation of the considered innovations is provided by numerous factors, which includes readiness of students to participate in the latest developments of the educational environment. The basis of this readiness contains value orientations, actualizing expectations and targets of young people as participants of innovations. Value priorities of megalopolis youth are highlighted: independence of thoughts and actions, hedonism, reputation and goodwill. On the one hand, these values provide a high readiness

Operational Readiness Review Plan for the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Materials Production Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, R. H.; Martin, M. M.; Riggs, C. R.; Beatty, R. L.; Ohriner, E. K.; Escher, R. N.

1990-04-19

In October 1989, a US shuttle lifted off from Cape Kennedy carrying the spacecraft Galileo on its mission to Jupiter. In November 1990, a second spacecraft, Ulysses, will be launched from Cape Kennedy with a mission to study the polar regions of the sun. The prime source of power for both spacecraft is a series of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which use plutonium oxide (plutonia) as a heat source. Several of the key components in this power system are required to ensure the safety of both the public and the environment and were manufactured at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the 1980 to 1983 period. For these two missions, Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems), will provide an iridium alloy component used to contain the plutonia heat source and a carbon composite material that serves as a thermal insulator. ORNL alone will continue to fabricate the carbon composite material. Because of the importance to DOE that Energy Systems deliver these high quality components on time, performance of an Operational Readiness Review (ORR) of these manufacturing activities is necessary. Energy Systems Policy GP 24 entitled "Operational Readiness Process" describes the formal and comprehensive process by which appropriate Energy Systems activities are to be reviewed to ensure their readiness. This Energy System policy is aimed at reducing the risks associated with mission success and requires a management approved "readiness plan" to be issued. This document is the readiness plan for the RTG materials production tasks.

Healthy Ready-to-Eat Expanded Snack with High Nutritional and Antioxidant Value Produced from Whole Amarantin Transgenic Maize and Black Common Bean.

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Espinoza-Moreno, Ramona J; Reyes-Moreno, Cuauhtémoc; Milán-Carrillo, Jorge; López-Valenzuela, José A; Paredes-López, Octavio; Gutiérrez-Dorado, Roberto

2016-06-01

The snack foods market is currently demanding healthier products. A ready-to-eat expanded snack with high nutritional and antioxidant value was developed from a mixture (70:30) of whole amarantin transgenic maize (Zea mays L.) and black common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) by optimizing the extrusion process. Extruder operation conditions were: feed moisture content (FMC, 15-25 %, wet basis), barrel temperature (BT, 120-170 °C), and screw speed (SS, 50-240). The desirability numeric method of the response surface methodology (RSM) was applied as the optimization technique over four response variables [expansion ratio (ER), bulk density (BD), hardness (H), antioxidant activity (AoxA)] to obtain maximum ER and AoxA, and minimum BD, and H values. The best combination of extrusion process variables for producing an optimized expanded snack (OES, healthy snack) were: FMC = 15 %/BT = 157 °C/SS = 238 rpm. The OES had ER = 2.86, BD = 0.119 g/cm (3) , H = 1.818 N, and AoxA = 13,681 μmol Trolox equivalent (TE)/100 g, dry weight. The extrusion conditions used to produce the OES increased the AoxA (ORAC: +18 %, ABTS:+20 %) respect to the unprocessed whole grains mixture. A 50 g portion of OES had higher protein content (7.23 vs 2.32 g), total dietary fiber (7.50 vs 1.97 g), total phenolic content (122 vs 47 mg GAE), and AoxA (6626 vs 763 μmol TE), and lower energy (169 vs 264 kcal) than an expanded commercial snack (ECS = Cheetos™). Because of its high content of quality protein, dietary fiber and phenolics, as well as high AoxA and low energy density, the OES could be used for health promotion and chronic disease prevention and as an alternative to the widely available commercial snacks with high caloric content and low nutritional/nutraceutical value.

STS-114: Discovery Launch Readiness Press Conference

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator; Wayne Hale, Space Shuttle Deputy Program Manager; Mike Wetmore, Director of Shuttle Processing; and 1st Lieutenant Mindy Chavez, Launch Weather Officer-United States Air Force 45th Weather Squadron are in attendance for this STS-114 Discovery launch readiness press conference. The discussion begins with Wayne Hale bringing to the table a low level sensor device for everyone to view. He talks in detail about all of the extensive tests that were performed on these sensors and the completion of these ambient tests. Chavez presents her weather forecast for the launch day of July 26th 2005. Michael Griffin and Wayne Hale answer questions from the news media pertaining to the sensors and launch readiness. The video ends with footage of Pilot Jim Kelly and Commander Eileen Collins conducting test flights in a Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) that simulates Space Shuttle landing.

Exploring the need for Transition Readiness Scales within cystic fibrosis services: A qualitative descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourke, Mary; Houghton, Catherine

2018-07-01

To explore healthcare professionals' and patients' perceptions of the potential use of a Transition Readiness Scale in cystic fibrosis care. This included an examination of barriers and facilitators to its implementation along with the identification of key items to include in a Transition Readiness Scale. Due to increasing life expectancy and improved quality of life, more adolescents with cystic fibrosis are transitioning from paediatric to adult health care. To assess and correctly manage this transition, a more structured approach to transition is advocated. This can be achieved using a Transition Readiness Scale to potentially identify or target areas of care in which the adolescent may have poor knowledge. These key items include education, developmental readiness taking into account relationships, reproduction, future plans and self-management skills. Existing tools to gauge readiness concentrate mainly on education and self-care needs assessment as their key items. Currently, there is no specific cystic fibrosis Transition Readiness Scale in use in Ireland or internationally. The study used a descriptive qualitative design. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews (n = 8) and analysed using a thematic approach. The findings identified the potential benefits of this tool and second the resources which need to be in place before its development and implementation into cystic fibrosis services. Transition Readiness Scales have substantial relevance with cystic fibrosis services emphasising the importance of establishing the necessary resources prior to its implementation. These were identified as more staff, a dedicated private space and staff training and education. Significant resources are needed to fully integrate Transition Readiness Scales in practice. The study findings suggest multidisciplinary collaborations, and patient engagement is pivotal in planning and easing the transition process for adolescents with cystic fibrosis. © 2018 The

Religiosity and readiness for reconciliation: An anthropological view

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Šantek Goran Pavel

2015-01-01

2000, partly also focused on the topic of reconciliation. Anthropological research of young believers for this paper was conducted in 2014 and 2015 in Croatia, with interview used as the main research method. The main results show that: there still exists an important difference between proclaimed and practical believers; both Catholic Church in Croatia and Serbian Orthodox Church are expected to work on forgiveness and reconciliation; ecumenism is highly valued; readiness for taking part in common Catholic-Orthodox meetings and services is ubiquitous; and that the readiness to forgive and conciliate is real and substantial. The research confirmed the vision of youth believers as a group that is especially ready to conciliate and actively work on the processes of reconciliation and forgiveness, and that there is a solid basis for the success of these processes in contemporary Croatian society.

Career Readiness: Are We There Yet?

Science.gov (United States)

Guidry, Christopher

2012-01-01

ACT is committed to working with career and technical educators in order to prepare students to meet the standards of the high-performance workplace. In short, prepare them to be career- and job-ready. This commitment is a reflection of ACT's mission: "helping people achieve education and workplace success." After devoting more than two decades of…

The Avahan Transition: Effects of Transition Readiness on Program Institutionalization and Sustained Outcomes.

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Sachiko Ozawa

Full Text Available With declines in development assistance for health and growing interest in country ownership, donors are increasingly faced with the task of transitioning health programs to local actors towards a path to sustainability. Yet there is little available guidance on how to measure and evaluate the success of a transition and its subsequent effects. This study assesses the transition of the Avahan HIV/AIDS prevention program in India to investigate how preparations for transition affected continuation of program activities post-transition.Two rounds of two surveys were conducted and supplemented by data from government and Avahan Computerized Management Information Systems (CMIS. Exploratory factor analysis was used to develop two measures: 1 transition readiness pre-transition, and 2 institutionalization (i.e. integration of initial program systems into organizational procedures and behaviors post-transition. A fixed effects model was built to examine changes in key program delivery outcomes over time. An ordinary least square regression was used to assess the relationship between transition readiness and sustainability of service outcomes both directly, and indirectly through institutionalization.Transition readiness data revealed 3 factors (capacity, alignment and communication, on a 15-item scale with adequate internal consistency (alpha 0.73. Institutionalization was modeled as a unidimensional construct, and a 12-item scale demonstrated moderate internal consistency (alpha 0.60. Coverage of key populations and condom distribution were sustained compared to pre-transition levels (p<0.01. Transition readiness, but not institutionalization, predicted sustained outcomes post-transition. Transition readiness did not necessarily lead to institutionalization of key program elements one year after transition.Greater preparedness prior to transition is important to achieve better service delivery outcomes post-transition. This paper illustrates a

Predicting ready biodegradability of premanufacture notice chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Boethling, Robert S; Lynch, David G; Thom, Gary C

2003-04-01

Chemical substances other than pesticides, drugs, and food additives are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but the United States does not require that new substances be tested automatically for such critical properties as biodegradability. The resulting lack of submitted data has fostered the development of estimation methods, and the BioWIN models for predicting biodegradability from chemical structure have played a prominent role in premanufacture notice (PMN) review. Until now, validation efforts have used only the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) test data and have not included all models. To assess BioWIN performance with PMN substances, we assembled a database of PMNs for which ready biodegradation data had been submitted over the period 1995 through 2001. The 305 PMN structures are highly varied and pose major challenges to chemical property estimation. Despite the variability of ready biodegradation tests, the use of at least six different test methods, and widely varying quality of submitted data, accuracy of four of six BioWIN models (MITI linear, MITI nonlinear, survey ultimate, survey primary) was in the 80+% range for predicting ready biodegradability. Greater accuracy (>90%) can be achieved by using model estimates only when the four models agree (true for 3/4 of the PMNs). The BioWIN linear and nonlinear probability models did not perform as well even when classification criteria were optimized. The results suggest that the MITI and survey BioWIN models are suitable for use in screening-level applications.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Computations With Zonal Navier-Stokes Flow Solver (ZNSFLOW) Common High Performance Computing Scalable Software Initiative (CHSSI) Software

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Edge, Harris

1999-01-01

...), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) 6 project. Under the project, a proven zonal Navier-Stokes solver was rewritten for scalable parallel performance on both shared memory and distributed memory high performance computers...

The FORGE AHEAD clinical readiness consultation tool: a validated tool to assess clinical readiness for chronic disease care mobilization in Canada's First Nations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayward, Mariam Naqshbandi; Mequanint, Selam; Paquette-Warren, Jann; Bailie, Ross; Chirila, Alexandra; Dyck, Roland; Green, Michael; Hanley, Anthony; Tompkins, Jordan; Harris, Stewart

2017-03-23

Given the astounding rates of diabetes and related complications, and the barriers to providing care present in Indigenous communities in Canada, intervention strategies that take into account contextual factors such as readiness to mobilize are needed to maximize improvements and increase the likelihood of success and sustainment. As part of the national FORGE AHEAD Program, we sought to develop, test and validate a clinical readiness consultation tool aimed at assessing the readiness of clinical teams working on-reserve in First Nations communities to participate in quality improvement (QI) to enhance diabetes care in Canada. A literature review was conducted to identify existing readiness tools. The ABCD - SAT was adapted using a consensus approach that emphasized a community-based participatory approach and prioritized the knowledge and wisdom held by community members. The tool was piloted with a group of 16 people from 7 provinces and 11 partnering communities to assess language use, clarity, relevance, format, and ease of completion using examples. Internal reliability analysis and convergence validity were conducted with data from 53 clinical team members from 11 First Nations communities (3-5 per community) who have participated in the FORGE AHEAD program. The 27-page Clinical Readiness Consultation Tool (CRCT) consists of five main components, 21 sub-components, and 74 items that are aligned with the Expanded Chronic Care Model. Five-point Likert scale feedback from the pilot ranged from 3.25 to 4.5. Length of the tool was reported as a drawback but respondents noted that all the items were needed to provide a comprehensive picture of the healthcare system. Results for internal consistency showed that all sub-components except for two were within acceptable ranges (0.77-0.93). The Team Structure and Function sub-component scale had a moderately significant positive correlation with the validated Team Climate Inventory, r = 0.45, p < 0.05. The

Cloud computing for comparative genomics

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Pivovarov Rimma

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Large comparative genomics studies and tools are becoming increasingly more compute-expensive as the number of available genome sequences continues to rise. The capacity and cost of local computing infrastructures are likely to become prohibitive with the increase, especially as the breadth of questions continues to rise. Alternative computing architectures, in particular cloud computing environments, may help alleviate this increasing pressure and enable fast, large-scale, and cost-effective comparative genomics strategies going forward. To test this, we redesigned a typical comparative genomics algorithm, the reciprocal smallest distance algorithm (RSD, to run within Amazon's Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2. We then employed the RSD-cloud for ortholog calculations across a wide selection of fully sequenced genomes. Results We ran more than 300,000 RSD-cloud processes within the EC2. These jobs were farmed simultaneously to 100 high capacity compute nodes using the Amazon Web Service Elastic Map Reduce and included a wide mix of large and small genomes. The total computation time took just under 70 hours and cost a total of $6,302 USD. Conclusions The effort to transform existing comparative genomics algorithms from local compute infrastructures is not trivial. However, the speed and flexibility of cloud computing environments provides a substantial boost with manageable cost. The procedure designed to transform the RSD algorithm into a cloud-ready application is readily adaptable to similar comparative genomics problems.

Study on intervention sterile irradiation of ready to eat foods given to narcotics rehabilitation residents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simanungkalit, B.; Irawati, Z.; Siagian, C.M.; Widasari, L.

2013-01-01

Lack of macro and micro nutrient elements, that serve as primary factor in regulating a human immune response, might lead to malnutrition and declining the body immune. This phenomenon is commonly found in immunocompromised patients such as people infected with HIV and known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (NAIDS). One of the efforts to improve the nutritional status in immunocompromised patients is delivering high-quality of foods that improve the immune status resulting in lower morbidity and mortality. Sterile, safe, high quality with complete nutritional composition and wholesome ”ready to eat” food products can be supplied. Sterilization process using ionizing radiation in food is one of the means to eliminate pathogenic bacteria as well as preserve among others, without affecting their nutritional content of the final product. Different types of radiation sterilization of ready to eat foods based on traditional recipes can be prepared without adhering the recommended dietary allowance, and patients will be more flexible and comfortable in choosing the serving menu. Such dishes based on high-quality protein and fat from fish, beef and chicken meat irradiated at a dose of 45 kGy in terms of ”pepes gold fish”, ”pepes anchovy”, ”beef semur”, ”beef rendang” and different processed chicken such as yellow seasoning, roasted and sweet, administered for 21 days to resident Therapy and Rehabilitation Unit of the National Narcotics Board (NNB). Activities undertaken in this study include the selection of respondents, consisted of the evaluation willingness to participate, inclusion criteria, and blood test performed in the laboratory of respondents before and after eating the foods. The results showed that various ready to eat foods in vacuum packed in a laminate pouch then irradiated at the dose of 45 kGy under cryogenic condition could improve the nutritional and immunity status of the selected residents considered as immuno compromised

Readiness for changes: New competences for knowledge society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đurišić-Bojanović Mirosava

2007-01-01

Full Text Available In the conditions of high instability, uncertainty and changing of environment of contemporary organizations, management of changes and knowledge become priority social strategies, and readiness for changes, flexible usage of knowledge and creativity become the most important competences of people in contemporary organizations. Knowledge, creativity, taking initiative and readiness for changes are the condition of development, survival and success of organizations, but of individuals as well. Our basic question is aimed at the possibilities of the contribution of basic education to the preparation of the young for working in turbulent environment, where work and professional competences involve readiness for changes and innovativeness. In terms of educational policy it implies the need for the creation of upbringing- educational model which will be capable of providing optimal answers to the changes in environment. The key notion of pluralist educational concept, based on democratic values, is the acceptance of the plurality of ideas. Our researches suggest a significant positive correlation between the variables tolerance of independence and the acceptance of the plurality of ideas. Based on that fact, using the theoretical analytical method, this paper argues the compatibility of pluralist concept in education with the demands of contemporary organizations from the perspective of preparing the young for the inclusion in work in the uncertain, changeable organizational environment of knowledge society.

Treatment Readiness as a Determinant of Treatment Participation in a Prison-Based Rehabilitation Program: An Exploratory Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosma, Anouk Q; Kunst, Maarten J J; Dirkzwager, Anja J E; Nieuwbeerta, Paul

2017-06-01

The current study had three aims. First, it measured treatment readiness among offenders who entered the Prevention of Recidivism program. This is a prison-based rehabilitation program in the Netherlands that aims to lower re-offending rates among offenders with a prison sentence of at least for months and that is carried out during the final months of incarceration. Second, the study evaluated whether treatment readiness was associated with treatment participation. Third, the study examined whether treatment readiness measured with a validated instrument predicted treatment participation above and beyond a clinical assessment of treatment readiness, currently used as a criterion to include offenders in rehabilitation programs. To address these aims, data were used from the fourth wave of a research project studying the effects of imprisonment on the life of detainees in the Netherlands. Results indicated that treatment readiness as measured with a validated instrument was a significant predictor of treatment participation. Also, the current study showed that treatment readiness measured with a validated instrument improved the prediction of treatment participation above and beyond a clinical assessment of treatment readiness. Outcomes were discussed in light of study limitations and implications.

Imitative or Iconoclastic? How Young Children Use Ready-Made Images in Digital Art

Science.gov (United States)

Sakr, Mona; Connelly, Vincent; Wild, Mary

2018-01-01

Digital art-making tends to foreground the inclusion of ready-made images in children's art. While some lament children's use of such images, suggesting that they constrain creativity and expression, others have argued that ready-made digital materials offer children the opportunity to create innovative and potentially iconoclastic artefacts…

Are College Faculty and First-Generation, Low-Income Students Ready for Each Other?

Science.gov (United States)

Schademan, Alfred R.; Thompson, Maris R.

2016-01-01

Utilizing current research on college readiness as well as the role of cultural agents as a conceptual framework, this qualitative study investigates student and faculty beliefs about readiness and the pedagogical practices that allow instructors to effectively serve as cultural agents for first-generation, low-income students. Three major…

Fertility in The Netherlands as an expected value process and developmental readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Taris, T W

1998-01-01

In this 2-wave panel study, the decision to have children was examined in the context of Feather's (1982) expectancy-value model among a representative sample of 288 childless Dutch adults aged 18-30 years. The effects of 2 indicators of developmental readiness (age and duration of relationship) were also explored. It was expected that (a) the likelihood of having a baby would increase as a function of intentions, evaluations of being childless, and expected rewards of having children and (b) developmental readiness would be positively related to whether respondents had children at the 2nd wave of the study. Structural equation modeling was used. The results largely supported expectations. Developmental readiness affected fertility both directly and indirectly via the expected rewards of having children.

[Chronic pain patients' readiness to change after multimodal treatment. Short- and long-term effects].

Science.gov (United States)

Küchler, A; Sabatowski, R; Kaiser, U

2012-12-01

Patients' readiness to behavioural changes according to the transtheoretical model (TTM) and criteria of treatment outcome are positively associated and have in part already been confirmed. For a stable effect of therapeutic treatment, patients' readiness to change seems indispensable for an independent and active pain management. Thus, in addition to an enhanced quality of life, increasing patients' motivation is a declared objective of the treatment at Dresden's Comprehensive Pain Center. In this study, it was examined how the readiness to change develops in the course of and during the 2 years following the multimodal treatment program. Furthermore, associations between outcome criteria of the treatment and patients' readiness to change were explored. The database constitutes 169 patients who took part in a 4-week interdisciplinary, partially residential pain treatment. Beside the Freiburg Pain Stages questionnaire ("Frieburger Fragebogen - Stadien der Bewältigung chronischer Schmerzen", FF-STABS), a comprehensive pain diagnostic inventory including the Pain Disability Index (PDI), the SF-36 questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was completed at six different time points (beginning of treatment, end of treatment, booster session after 10 weeks, after 6, 12, and 24 months). The statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 16.0 including nonparametric analyses and variance analyses. Significant differences in the level of readiness to change between the beginning of treatment and all follow-up measures were observed. The average patients' readiness to change was still higher after 2 years than at the first measurement. However, a differentiated consideration revealed a small portion of patients who showed no change or even a reduction of motivation. After an additional week (booster session), the stages of readiness to change remained stable, irrespective of the direction of the previous change. Regarding therapeutic outcome

How Satellites Have Contributed to Building a Weather Ready Nation

Science.gov (United States)

Lapenta, W.

2017-12-01

NOAA's primary mission since its inception has been to reduce the loss of life and property, as well as disruptions from, high impact weather and water-related events. In recent years, significant societal losses resulting even from well forecast extreme events have shifted attention from the forecast alone toward ensuring societal response is equal to the risks that exist for communities, businesses and the public. The responses relate to decisions ranging from coastal communities planning years in advance to mitigate impacts from rising sea level, to immediate lifesaving decisions such as a family seeking adequate shelter during a tornado warning. NOAA is committed to building a "Weather-Ready Nation" where communities are prepared for and respond appropriately to these events. The Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) strategic priority is building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather, water, climate and environmental threats. To build a Weather-Ready Nation, NOAA is enhancing Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS), transitioning science and technology advances into forecast operations, applying social science research to improve the communication and usefulness of information, and expanding its dissemination efforts to achieve far-reaching readiness, responsiveness and resilience. These four components of Weather-Ready Nation are helping ensure NOAA data, products and services are fully utilized to minimize societal impacts from extreme events. Satellite data and satellite products have been important elements of the national Weather Service (NWS) operations for more than 40 years. When one examines the uses of satellite data specific to the internal forecast and warning operations of NWS, two main applications are evident. The first is the use of satellite data in numerical weather prediction models; the second is the use of satellite imagery and derived products for mesoscale and short-range weather warning and

CDC/NACCHO Accreditation Support Initiative: advancing readiness for local and tribal health department accreditation.

Science.gov (United States)

Monteiro, Erinn; Fisher, Jessica Solomon; Daub, Teresa; Zamperetti, Michelle Chuk

2014-01-01

Health departments have various unique needs that must be addressed in preparing for national accreditation. These needs require time and resources, shortages that many health departments face. The Accreditation Support Initiative's goal was to test the assumption that even small amounts of dedicated funding can help health departments make important progress in their readiness to apply for and achieve accreditation. Participating sites' scopes of work were unique to the needs of each site and based on the proposed activities outlined in their applications. Deliverables and various sources of data were collected from sites throughout the project period (December 2011-May 2012). Awardees included 1 tribal and 12 local health departments, as well as 5 organizations supporting the readiness of local and tribal health departments. Sites dedicated their funding toward staff time, accreditation fees, completion of documentation, and other accreditation readiness needs and produced a number of deliverables and example documents. All sites indicated that they made accreditation readiness gains that would not have occurred without this funding. Preliminary evaluation data from the first year of the Accreditation Support Initiative indicate that flexible funding arrangements may be an effective way to increase health departments' accreditation readiness.

Factors related to nursing students' readiness to enter working life - A scoping literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Järvinen, Tiina; Eklöf, Niina; Salminen, Leena

2018-03-01

The aim of this scoping literature review was to identify the factors related to nursing students' readiness to enter working life. The literature search was carried out in autumn 2017 in PubMed and CINAHL databases. The studies selected for this review (n = 17) were analyzed thematically with inductive content analysis. Four subthemes that were combined into two main factors related to nursing students' readiness to enter working life were found. The main factors found were 1) educational factors and 2) personal factors. Educational factors consisted of professional competence and clinical practice, while personal factors consisted of nursing students' background and feelings. Some nursing students tend to feel insecure about entering working life as a newly graduated nurse. This literature review also supports the importance of clinical practice periods in nursing education and for readiness for working life. Nurse education needs to ensure clinical practice periods which support nursing students' professional growth. Further research is needed on how the factors related to nursing students' readiness to enter working life correlate with each other. Particularly, the association between competence, readiness and positive feelings towards graduation needs further investigation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association of Transition Readiness to Intentional Self-Regulation and Hopeful Future Expectations in Youth With Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Laura C; Pollock, McLean; Hill, Sherika; Maslow, Gary

Little is known about how transition readiness relates to other developmental skills of adolescence in youth with chronic illness. Better understanding of how transition readiness relates to these other developmental skills could lead to a broader array of tools to improve transition readiness. Intentional self-regulation (ISR) and hopeful future expectations (HFE) are 2 developmental skills of adolescence that improve with participation in developmental programming and thus are modifiable. We explored associations between transition readiness, as measured by the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire 29 (TRAQ-29) and ISR and HFE in youth with chronic illness recruited from a variety of subspecialty clinics from a major southeast medical center. A total of 71 adolescents with chronic illness were included in the analysis. The TRAQ-29 Self-Advocacy domain showed positive associations to both ISR (P = .03) and HFE (P = .009). In addition, the TRAQ-29 overall had positive associations to HFE (P = .04). The significant associations between TRAQ-29 Self-Advocacy domain scores and ISR and HFE suggest that transition readiness is developing within the context of other developmental areas in adolescence. More work is needed to see if the programming that improves these other developmental skills might also improve transition readiness. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Refinement of a Conceptual Model for Adolescent Readiness to Engage in End-of-Life Discussions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Cynthia J; Zimet, Gregory D; Hinds, Pamela S; Broome, Marion E; McDaniel, Anna M; Mays, Rose M; Champion, Victoria L

Adolescents living with incurable cancer require ongoing support to process grief, emotions, and information as disease progresses including treatment options (phase 1 clinical trials and/or hospice/palliative care). Little is known about how adolescents become ready for such discussions. The purpose of this study was to explore the process of adolescent readiness for end-of-life preparedness discussions, generating a theoretical understanding for guiding clinical conversations when curative options are limited. We explored 2 in-depth cases across time using case-study methodology. An à priori conceptual model based on current end-of-life research guided data collection and analysis. Multiple sources including in-depth adolescent interviews generated data collection on model constructs. Analysis followed a logical sequence establishing a chain of evidence linking raw data to study conclusions. Synthesis and data triangulation across cases and time led to theoretical generalizations. Initially, we proposed a linear process of readiness with 3 domains: a cognitive domain (awareness), an emotional domain (acceptance), and a behavioral domain (willingness), which preceded preparedness. Findings led to conceptual model refinement showing readiness is a dynamic internal process that interacts with preparedness. Current awareness context facilitates the type of preparedness discussions (cognitive or emotional). Furthermore, social constraint inhibits discussions. Data support theoretical understanding of the dynamism of readiness. Future research that validates adolescent conceptualization will ensure age-appropriate readiness representation. Understanding the dynamic process of readiness for engaging in end-of-life preparedness provides clinician insight for guiding discussions that facilitate shared decision making and promote quality of life for adolescents and their families.

Teaching to Exceed the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards: A Literacy Practices Approach for 6-12 Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Beach, Richard; Thein, Amanda Haertling; Webb, Allen

2012-01-01

As the new English Language Arts Common Core State Standards take hold across the United States, the need grows for pre-service and in-service teachers to be ready to develop curriculum and instruction that addresses their requirements. This timely, thoughtful, and comprehensive text directly meets this need. It delineates a literacy practices and…

The NIRA computer program package (photonuclear data center). Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vander Molen, H.J.; Gerstenberg, H.M.

1976-02-01

The Photonuclear Data Center's NIRA library of programs, executable from mass storage on the National Bureau of Standard's central computer facility, is described. Detailed instructions are given (with examples) for the use of the library to analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and produce for publication camera-ready tabular and graphical presentations of digital photonuclear reaction cross-section data. NIRA is the acronym for Nuclear Information Research Associate

Cielo Computational Environment Usage Model With Mappings to ACE Requirements for the General Availability User Environment Capabilities Release Version 1.1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vigil,Benny Manuel [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Ballance, Robert [SNL; Haskell, Karen [SNL

2012-08-09

Cielo is a massively parallel supercomputer funded by the DOE/NNSA Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program, and operated by the Alliance for Computing at Extreme Scale (ACES), a partnership between Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The primary Cielo compute platform is physically located at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This Cielo Computational Environment Usage Model documents the capabilities and the environment to be provided for the Q1 FY12 Level 2 Cielo Capability Computing (CCC) Platform Production Readiness Milestone. This document describes specific capabilities, tools, and procedures to support both local and remote users. The model is focused on the needs of the ASC user working in the secure computing environments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory, or Sandia National Laboratories, but also addresses the needs of users working in the unclassified environment. The Cielo Computational Environment Usage Model maps the provided capabilities to the tri-Lab ASC Computing Environment (ACE) Version 8.0 requirements. The ACE requirements reflect the high performance computing requirements for the Production Readiness Milestone user environment capabilities of the ASC community. A description of ACE requirements met, and those requirements that are not met, are included in each section of this document. The Cielo Computing Environment, along with the ACE mappings, has been issued and reviewed throughout the tri-Lab community.

PREPARING FOR EXASCALE: ORNL Leadership Computing Application Requirements and Strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joubert, Wayne [ORNL; Kothe, Douglas B [ORNL; Nam, Hai Ah [ORNL

2009-12-01

In 2009 the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS), elicited petascale computational science requirements from leading computational scientists in the international science community. This effort targeted science teams whose projects received large computer allocation awards on OLCF systems. A clear finding of this process was that in order to reach their science goals over the next several years, multiple projects will require computational resources in excess of an order of magnitude more powerful than those currently available. Additionally, for the longer term, next-generation science will require computing platforms of exascale capability in order to reach DOE science objectives over the next decade. It is generally recognized that achieving exascale in the proposed time frame will require disruptive changes in computer hardware and software. Processor hardware will become necessarily heterogeneous and will include accelerator technologies. Software must undergo the concomitant changes needed to extract the available performance from this heterogeneous hardware. This disruption portends to be substantial, not unlike the change to the message passing paradigm in the computational science community over 20 years ago. Since technological disruptions take time to assimilate, we must aggressively embark on this course of change now, to insure that science applications and their underlying programming models are mature and ready when exascale computing arrives. This includes initiation of application readiness efforts to adapt existing codes to heterogeneous architectures, support of relevant software tools, and procurement of next-generation hardware testbeds for porting and testing codes. The 2009 OLCF requirements process identified numerous actions necessary to meet this challenge: (1) Hardware capabilities must be

PREPARING FOR EXASCALE: ORNL Leadership Computing Application Requirements and Strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joubert, Wayne; Kothe, Douglas B.; Nam, Hai Ah

2009-01-01

In 2009 the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS), elicited petascale computational science requirements from leading computational scientists in the international science community. This effort targeted science teams whose projects received large computer allocation awards on OLCF systems. A clear finding of this process was that in order to reach their science goals over the next several years, multiple projects will require computational resources in excess of an order of magnitude more powerful than those currently available. Additionally, for the longer term, next-generation science will require computing platforms of exascale capability in order to reach DOE science objectives over the next decade. It is generally recognized that achieving exascale in the proposed time frame will require disruptive changes in computer hardware and software. Processor hardware will become necessarily heterogeneous and will include accelerator technologies. Software must undergo the concomitant changes needed to extract the available performance from this heterogeneous hardware. This disruption portends to be substantial, not unlike the change to the message passing paradigm in the computational science community over 20 years ago. Since technological disruptions take time to assimilate, we must aggressively embark on this course of change now, to insure that science applications and their underlying programming models are mature and ready when exascale computing arrives. This includes initiation of application readiness efforts to adapt existing codes to heterogeneous architectures, support of relevant software tools, and procurement of next-generation hardware testbeds for porting and testing codes. The 2009 OLCF requirements process identified numerous actions necessary to meet this challenge: (1) Hardware capabilities must be

Costs of a Hospital-Based, Ready-To-Use Syringe Delivery Programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Risør, Bettina Wulff; Vand, S; Lisby, M

2017-01-01

%) and at €20,905 (an increase of 228%) for the endoscopy department. The ready-to-use delivery program imposed an additional cost of €11.32 per day surgery operation and €2.41 per endoscopy procedure. Conclusion: This ready-to-use programme increased the cost of the medical handling process. This incremental......Objective: The risk of errors in the medication administration process is high. Applications of pre lled syringes may improve patient safety but could be more costly. The objective of this study was to assess the additional costs of a ready-to-use syringe delivery programme in comparison...... with a conventional delivery programme at day surgery and endoscopy departments at a large university hospital. Methods: The cost analysis used the hospital perspective and developed an “activity-based costing” model to assess the costs of medicine- handling activities. The model was calibrated with six-month data...

Service Availability and Readiness Assessment of Maternal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AJRH Managing Editor

Keywords: Madagascar, Maternal and Child health services, Service availability and readiness assessment, Public health facilities. Résumé ..... Table 2: Percentage of Health Facilities Equipped with Tracer Items for Antenatal Care Services Among Facilities. Providing this ... 32 CSBs, due to its location in a tourist area.

Readiness of Teachers for Change in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Kondakci, Yasar; Beycioglu, Kadir; Sincar, Mehmet; Ugurlu, Celal Teyyar

2017-01-01

Theorizing on the role of teacher attitudes in change effectiveness, this study examined the predictive value of context (trust), process (social interaction, participative management and knowledge sharing) and outcome (job satisfaction and workload perception) variables for cognitive, emotional and intentional readiness of teachers for change.…

College and Career Readiness in Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Pulliam, Nicole; Bartek, Samantha

2018-01-01

This conceptual article will provide an in-depth exploration of the relevant literature focused on college and career readiness interventions in elementary schools. Beginning with a theoretical framework, a rationale is provided for early intervention by elementary school counselors. While professional guidelines and standards exist supporting…

The significance of interfamilial relationships on birth preparedness and complication readiness in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghani, Usman; Crowther, Susan; Kamal, Yasir; Wahab, Muhammad

2018-03-29

In the interests of improving maternal health care and survival, the issue of birth preparedness and complication readiness has been much debated and has remained a priority for the international health community. The provision of birth preparedness and complications readiness is determined by a range of different factors. The main aim of this study is to identify and measure the influence of husbands and other family relationships on birth preparedness and complications readiness in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This study is a cross-sectional exploratory study. Data was collected through a survey questionnaire. Logistic regression and descriptive analysis was used. Analysis indicated that the mother-in-law's role, men's and women's level of education and interfamilial relationships are still the most significant factors influencing birth preparedness and complications readiness. Of the respondents, 86% were receiving antenatal care and 76.5% were planning for the birth to take place in state-run hospitals or private obstetric and gynae clinics. The tendency to take up antenatal care in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can mainly be credited to a mutual understanding between husband and wife and a good relationship between the woman and her mother-in-law. Highlighting the significance of these relationships has implications for ensuring birth preparedness and complications readiness. Copyright © 2018 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SaludABLEOmaha: Improving Readiness to Address Obesity Through Healthy Lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino Community, 2011–2013

Science.gov (United States)

Frerichs, Leah; Brittin, Jeri; Robbins, Regina; Steenson, Sharalyn; Stewart, Catherine; Fisher, Christopher

2015-01-01

Background A community’s readiness for change is a precursor to the effective application of evidence-based practices for health promotion. Research is lacking regarding potential strategies to improve readiness to address obesity-related health issues in underserved communities. Community Context This case study describes SaludABLEOmaha, an initiative to increase readiness of residents in a Midwestern Latino community to address obesity and adopt healthy lifestyles. Methods SaludABLEOmaha emphasized 2 core approaches, youth activism and collaboration among public and private institutions, which we applied to planning and implementing tactics in support of 3 interconnected strategies: 1) social marketing and social media, 2) service learning in schools (ie, curricula that integrate hands-on community service with instruction and reflection), and 3) community and business engagement. Following the Community Readiness Model protocol (http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm), structured interviews were conducted with community leaders and analyzed before and 2.5 years after launch of the program. Outcome The community increased in readiness from stage 3 of the Community Readiness Model, “vague awareness,” at baseline to stage 5, “preparation,” at follow-up. Interpretation SaludABLEOmaha improved community readiness (eg, community knowledge, community climate), which probably contributed to the observed increase in readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle. Community mobilization approaches such as youth activism integrated with social marketing and social media tactics can improve community responsiveness to obesity prevention and diminish health disparities. PMID:25674679

Strategies to Build Readiness in Community Mobilization Efforts for Implementation in a Multi-Year Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhuiya, Nazmim; House, L Duane; Desmarais, Jeffrey; Fletcher, Erica; Conlin, Maeve; Perez-McAdoo, Sarah; Waggett, Jessica; Tendulkar, Shalini A

2017-03-01

This paper describes an assessment of community readiness to implement a community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiative, Youth First, and presents strategies used to enhance this readiness as informed by the assessment. Twenty-five community stakeholder interviews were conducted to assess four domains of readiness: (1) attitudes, perception, and knowledge of teen pregnancy; (2) perceived level of readiness; (3) resources, existing and current efforts; and (4) leadership. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed to identify key themes. Stakeholders acknowledged teen pregnancy as an issue but lacked contextual information. They also perceived the community as ready to address the issue and recognized some organizations already championing efforts. However, many key players were not involved, and ongoing data collection to assess teen pregnancy and prevention efforts was limited. Though many stakeholders were ready to engage in teen pregnancy prevention efforts, they required additional information and training to appropriately address the issue. In response to the assessment findings, several strategies were applied to address readiness and build Youth First partners' capacity to implement the community-wide initiative. Thus, to successfully implement community-wide prevention efforts, it is valuable to assess the level of community readiness to address health issues. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The impact of fashion competence and achievement motivation toward college student’s working readiness on “Cipta Karya” subject

Science.gov (United States)

Marniati; Wibawa, S. C.

2018-01-01

This experiment aimed to know the rate of college student’s working readiness of fashion’s program study to perform ‘Cipta Karya’ related to cognitive readiness, manner readiness and skill readiness from a variable of fashion’s workmanship and achievement motivation. The subject of the experiment was 43 college students who took Cipta Karya subject. Method of collecting data used questionnaire with five alternative answers to Likert ratio model. Data analysis technique used path analysis (double regression). The instrument validity test used product moment correlation while for instrument reliability used Alpha Cronbach’s grade. The results showed (1) fashion competence was taking effect significantly on working readiness for ‘Cipta Karya’ (2) achievement motivation is taking effect significantly on working readiness for ‘cipta karya’ (3) both variables are positive. This means that fashion competence and achievement motivation have a positive effect on working readiness for ‘cipta karya’ performance.

A quantification of discharge readiness after outpatient anaesthesia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Adele

RESEARCH. Southern ... Nurses and patients were blinded to each other's assessments . ... and, 3) time to discharge readiness according to nursing assessments. .... Male/ Female. 69/125. 36/64. Ethnicity: Caucasian. 132. 68. Asian. 48. 24.7.

Approximate solutions of common fixed-point problems

CERN Document Server

Zaslavski, Alexander J

2016-01-01

This book presents results on the convergence behavior of algorithms which are known as vital tools for solving convex feasibility problems and common fixed point problems. The main goal for us in dealing with a known computational error is to find what approximate solution can be obtained and how many iterates one needs to find it. According to know results, these algorithms should converge to a solution. In this exposition, these algorithms are studied, taking into account computational errors which remain consistent in practice. In this case the convergence to a solution does not take place. We show that our algorithms generate a good approximate solution if computational errors are bounded from above by a small positive constant. Beginning with an introduction, this monograph moves on to study: · dynamic string-averaging methods for common fixed point problems in a Hilbert space · dynamic string methods for common fixed point problems in a metric space · dynamic string-averaging version of the proximal...

Analysis of Students' Online Learning Readiness Based on Their Emotional Intelligence Level

Science.gov (United States)

Engin, Melih

2017-01-01

The objective of the present study is to determine whether there is a significant relationship between the students' readiness in online learning and their emotional intelligence levels. Correlational research method was used in the study. Online Learning Readiness Scale which was developed by Hung et al. (2010) has been used and Trait Emotional…

A survey of common habits of computer users as indicators of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Yomi

2012-01-31

Jan 31, 2012 ... Hygiene has been recognized as an infection control strategy and the extent of the problems of environmental contamination largely depends on personal hygiene. With the development of several computer applications in recent times, the uses of computer systems have greatly expanded. And with.

Computationally Modeling Interpersonal Trust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Joo eLee

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We present a computational model capable of predicting—above human accuracy—the degree of trust a person has toward their novel partner by observing the trust-related nonverbal cues expressed in their social interaction. We summarize our prior work, in which we identify nonverbal cues that signal untrustworthy behavior and also demonstrate the human mind’s readiness to interpret those cues to assess the trustworthiness of a social robot. We demonstrate that domain knowledge gained from our prior work using human-subjects experiments, when incorporated into the feature engineering process, permits a computational model to outperform both human predictions and a baseline model built in naivete' of this domain knowledge. We then present the construction of hidden Markov models to incorporate temporal relationships among the trust-related nonverbal cues. By interpreting the resulting learned structure, we observe that models built to emulate different levels of trust exhibit different sequences of nonverbal cues. From this observation, we derived sequence-based temporal features that further improve the accuracy of our computational model. Our multi-step research process presented in this paper combines the strength of experimental manipulation and machine learning to not only design a computational trust model but also to further our understanding of the dynamics of interpersonal trust.

Who crosses the norms? Predictors of the readiness for non-normative political participation among adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Šerek, Jan; Machackova, Hana; Macek, Petr

2018-01-01

This study investigated whether adolescents' readiness for non-normative political participation (i.e., readiness to confront social rules for political reasons) was predicted by their interpersonal problems (with parents, teachers, and classmates), low optimism, and political beliefs (political self-efficacy and distrust in public institutions). A structural equation model using two-wave longitudinal data from Czech high school students (N = 768; 54% females; age range at T1 = 14-17, M = 15.97; T2 data collected 1.5 years later) showed that the changes in adolescents' readiness for non-normative participation were predicted by their lower institutional trust. Interpersonal relationships or optimism had no cross-sectional or longitudinal effect on the readiness for non-normative participation. These results suggest that the main source of adolescents' readiness for non-normative political actions lies in their political beliefs, while the effect of adolescents' interpersonal problems is less clear. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Readiness plan, Hanford 300 Area Treated Effluent Disposal Facility: Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Storm, S.J.

1994-01-01

The 300 Area Treated Effluent Disposal Facility (TEDF) is designed for the collection, treatment, and eventual disposal of liquid waste from the 300 Area Process Sewer (PS) system. The PS currently discharges water to the 300 Area Process Trenches. Facilities supported total 54 buildings, including site laboratories, inactive buildings, and support facilities. Effluent discharges to the process sewer from within these facilities include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, heat exchangers, floor drains, sinks, and process equipment. The wastewaters go through treatment processes that include iron coprecipitation, ion exchange and ultraviolet oxidation. The iron coprecipitation process is designed to remove general heavy metals. A series of gravity filters then complete the clarification process by removing suspended solids. Following the iron coprecipitation process is the ion exchange process, where a specific resin is utilized for the removal of mercury. The final main unit operation is the ultraviolet destruction process, which uses high power ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide to destroy organic molecules. The objective of this readiness plan is to provide the method by which line management will prepare for a Readiness Assessment (RA) of the TEDF. The self-assessment and RA will assess safety, health, environmental compliance and management readiness of the TEDF. This assessment will provide assurances to both WHC and DOE that the facility is ready to start-up and begin operation

Optical Computing

OpenAIRE

Woods, Damien; Naughton, Thomas J.

2008-01-01

We consider optical computers that encode data using images and compute by transforming such images. We give an overview of a number of such optical computing architectures, including descriptions of the type of hardware commonly used in optical computing, as well as some of the computational efficiencies of optical devices. We go on to discuss optical computing from the point of view of computational complexity theory, with the aim of putting some old, and some very recent, re...

Healthcare professionals' readiness for an interprofessional orthogeriatric unit: A cross-sectional survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abrahamsen, Charlotte; Nørgaard, Birgitte; Draborg, Eva

2016-01-01

Professionals´ readiness for change is a precursor to successful implementation of organizational changes. An assessment of readiness for change can set the stage for the implementation by providing information regarding staff members’ beliefs and attitudes prior to an organizational change. We......-based questionnaire. Fully completed questionnaires were returned by 113 respondents (50.7%). Overall, 77.9% of the respondents indicated that they had either “excellent knowledge” or “some knowledge” of orthogeriatric care. Furthermore, 87.6% expressed their “full support” or “support” to the creation...... aspects; those voiced by the nursing staff related to work strain and the interests of their professional group whereas the physicians’ reservations concentrated on the planning of the change. The exploration of readiness for organizational change among health care professionals offers managers...

System of management of maintenance oriented to the safety and the readiness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres V, A.; Rivero O, J.J.

2004-01-01

One of the fundamental causes of the high contribution of the maintenance to those problems of security and readiness of the facilities is the inadequacy of those systems of maintenance administration to solve of form to balanced the problems of security and readiness of the same ones. Leaving of this statement, in the article a synthesis of the investigation of the current state of the management systems is presented of the maintenance in their relationship with the security of the facilities. Likewise, it summarizes the development of an integrative algorithm for the administration of the maintenance guided to the security and the readiness, which has been materialized in the code MOSEG Win to See 1.0. Finally some of the applications are presented carried out with the system. (Author)

Weight Loss: Ready to Change Your Habits?

Science.gov (United States)

... calories more than you consume each day — through diet and exercise. You might lose weight more quickly if you ... yourself with regular weigh-ins and tracking your diet and activity, which is ... don't have a positive attitude about losing weight, you might not be ready — ...

Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness of Pregnant ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness of Pregnant Women Attending the Three Levels of Health Facilities in Ife Central Local Government, Nigeria. ... Only 24 (6.0%) had adequate knowledge of obstetric danger signs without prompting. Three hundred and forty (84.8%) and 312 (78.3%) women respectively had ...

Assessing readiness of cyberinfrastructure resources for cross-domain interoperability: a view from an NSF EarthCube roadmap

Science.gov (United States)

Zaslavsky, Ilya; Couch, Alva; Richard, Stephen; Valentine, David; Lehnert, Kerstin; Stocks, Karen; Murphy, Philip

2013-04-01

EarthCube is a new research initiative of the U.S. National Science Foundation, with the mission to develop community-guided cyberinfrastructure integrating data, models and other resources across geoscience disciplines. Analysis and modeling of physical processes that are not confined to disciplinary or jurisdictional boundaries, requires that data and models can be re-used outside the original context in which they are collected or developed. Infrastructure readiness for cross-domain interoperability encompasses the capabilities that need to be in place to enable such information re-use and ensure that it is both scientifically sound and technically feasible. In an ideal cross-domain information integration scenario, resources can be discovered via federated catalogs and linked nomenclatures from neighboring domains, while standard data services can be used to transparently compile composite data products and to integrate information using commonality in key data characteristics related to shared models of spatial features, time measurements, and observations. The main premise of the cross-domain readiness assessment is that when accessing domain resources from another domain, a user expects to be able to discover these resources, interpret them, retrieve the information, and integrate it with other data. Documentation of the resource must be sufficient for a user in a different context to determine fitness for use, and establish trust in scientific soundness. As part of an EarthCube roadmap focused on cross-domain interoperability, we explored a number of approaches to cyberinfrastructure readiness assessment, addressing both readiness of existing resources, and readiness of processes that enable cross-domain communication and information exchange across disciplinary boundaries. Our initial assessment considers basic infrastructure components required to enable cross-domain interoperability in the geosciences. These components, and the evaluation metrics

A Latina/o Campus Community's Readiness to Address Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera-Ramos, Zully A.; Oswald, Ramona F.; Buki, Lydia P.

2015-01-01

In response to the call for new and innovative methods of assessing campus climate (Worthington, 2008), the current study is the first to examine the readiness of a Latina/o campus community to address lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) concerns. Using the Community Readiness Model, data were collected through individual interviews with a total of…

Exploring the construct of school readiness based on child development for kindergarten children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farida Agus Setiawati

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Indonesian government has regulated that the basic age of readiness of a child to attend elementary schools is 7 years old. In fact, some children are not exactly 7 years old when they first go to school because they develop more rapidly. This study is aimed at investigating some aspects of child development which affect their readiness to attend elementary school. The subjects were 101 grade 1, 2, and 3 teachers of elementary schools in Yogyakarta, a special Region in Indonesia. The data were collected through interviews. The results of the data collection were analyzed using both descriptive quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results of the study show some aspects of child development affecting their readiness to attend elementary schools, including cognitive and language ability, social emotional skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, arts, religion and moral values, and some others. Beside these aspects, some problems in grades 1, 2, and 3 are also found. This study is expected to give significant indicators to create the construct of school readiness.

Idaho National Laboratory Emergency Readiness Assurance Plan - Fiscal Year 2015

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farmer, Carl J. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-09-01

Department of Energy Order 151.1C, Comprehensive Emergency Management System requires that each Department of Energy field element documents readiness assurance activities, addressing emergency response planning and preparedness. Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, as prime contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), has compiled this Emergency Readiness Assurance Plan to provide this assurance to the Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office. Stated emergency capabilities at the INL are sufficient to implement emergency plans. Summary tables augment descriptive paragraphs to provide easy access to data. Additionally, the plan furnishes budgeting, personnel, and planning forecasts for the next 5 years.

Using Biowin, Bayes, and batteries to predict ready biodegradability.

Science.gov (United States)

Boethling, Robert S; Lynch, David G; Jaworska, Joanna S; Tunkel, Jay L; Thom, Gary C; Webb, Simon

2004-04-01

Whether or not a given chemical substance is readily biodegradable is an important piece of information in risk screening for both new and existing chemicals. Despite the relatively low cost of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development tests, data are often unavailable and biodegradability must be estimated. In this paper, we focus on the predictive value of selected Biowin models and model batteries using Bayesian analysis. Posterior probabilities, calculated based on performance with the model training sets using Bayes' theorem, were closely matched by actual performance with an expanded set of 374 premanufacture notice (PMN) substances. Further analysis suggested that a simple battery consisting of Biowin3 (survey ultimate biodegradation model) and Biowin5 (Ministry of International Trade and Industry [MITI] linear model) would have enhanced predictive power in comparison to individual models. Application of the battery to PMN substances showed that performance matched expectation. This approach significantly reduced both false positives for ready biodegradability and the overall misclassification rate. Similar results were obtained for a set of 63 pharmaceuticals using a battery consisting of Biowin3 and Biowin6 (MITI nonlinear model). Biodegradation data for PMNs tested in multiple ready tests or both inherent and ready biodegradation tests yielded additional insights that may be useful in risk screening.

Readiness of primary school teachers to accept disabled children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đević Rajka

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the results of the research with the basic goal to study the readiness of primary school teachers to accept disabled students. Research participants were 205 teachers from primary schools at the territory of Serbia. The goal was accomplished through: (a studying attitudes towards joint education of disabled students and their peers; (b studying teachers' experiences in working with disabled students; and (c studying teachers' readiness to accept disabled students, depending on their involvement/non-involvement in projects of inclusive education. Teachers express supportive attitudes towards joint schooling, but more than one half of them think that a selective approach is necessary in that process, according to the kind and degree of developmental disability. They support joint schooling from the humanistic point of view, but express concerns about the academic achievement of classes that include disabled students. The majority of teachers had experience in working with disabled students and based on that provided interesting suggestions for improving joint schooling. Higher readiness for accepting disabled students was demonstrated by teachers whose schools were involved in the projects of inclusive education. That implies the need for involving schools in similar projects and enabling teachers' immediate contact with students with developmental disabilities.

Common cause failure analysis methodology for complex systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, D.P.; Cate, C.L.; Fussell, J.B.

1977-01-01

Common cause failure analysis, also called common mode failure analysis, is an integral part of a complex system reliability analysis. This paper extends existing methods of computer aided common cause failure analysis by allowing analysis of the complex systems often encountered in practice. The methods presented here aid in identifying potential common cause failures and also address quantitative common cause failure analysis

Analysis of Experimentation Results on University Graduates' Readiness Formation to Act in Extraordinary Situations

Science.gov (United States)

Moloshavenko, Vera L.; Prozorova, Galina V.; Sienkiewicz, Lyudmila B.

2016-01-01

The article presents the experimentation on graduates' readiness formation to act in extraordinary situations conducted in the Tyumen Industrial University in training bachelors in "Oil and Gas Business". The criteria of graduates' readiness formation to act in extraordinary situations are the following: practicability, validity,…

77 FR 13206 - Protective Force Personnel Medical, Physical Readiness, Training, and Access Authorization Standards

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-06

... reduction in exposure to potential injuries associated with physical readiness qualification running tests... personnel to perform the running tasks required in the current regulation. Furthermore, this shift in... reduce the exposure of the PF population to injuries related to physical readiness testing. They would...

Effect of an educational intervention on parental readiness for premature infant discharge from the neonatal intensive care units.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yongfeng; Zhang, Jun; Bai, Jinbing

2016-01-01

To examine the effect of an educational intervention on parental readiness for premature infant discharge from neonatal intensive care units. Low readiness for discharge can result in negative healthcare outcomes for infants and their parents. However, few studies have examined the effect of discharge education programmes on parental readiness for premature infant discharge in Chinese critical care settings. A quasi-experimental study. Between October 2011-March 2012, 154 parents of premature infants were recruited from neonatal intensive care units of two tertiary hospitals in Central China. These parents were assigned to either the intervention or control group based on their entry order. Parents in the intervention group received two sessions of 60-minute discharge education along with hospital routine care; parents in the control group only received hospital routine care. Parental readiness for discharge and quality of discharge education were assessed on the day of infant discharge from neonatal intensive care units. Independent samples t-test and linear regression were used to analyse the data. Parental readiness for premature infant discharge was in the moderate level. Independent samples t-test showed that both mean scores of parental discharge readiness and discharge teaching quality from the intervention group were significantly higher than those in the control group. Linear regression analysis showed that discharge teaching quality explained 39·7% of the variance in parental readiness for premature infant discharge. Discharge education can improve parental readiness for premature infant discharge. Quality of discharge teaching can significantly predict parental readiness for premature infant discharge. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Motivation and readiness for tobacco cessation among nicotine dependent postmenopausal females: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Peltier, MacKenzie R; Roys, Melanie R; Waters, Aaron F; Vinci, Christine; Waldo, Krystal M; Stewart, Shelby A; Toups, Robert C; Jones, Louis; Copeland, Amy L

2018-04-01

Despite considerable health risks due to lower levels of estrogen production and the compounding antiestrogenic effects of nicotine, postmenopausal females continue to smoke. These females face significant barriers to cessation, including negative affect, weight concerns, and menopausal symptom severity. The current pilot study explored the effect of negative affect, weight concerns, and menopausal symptom severity on motivation and readiness to quit smoking. Eighteen postmenopausal smokers were randomized to receive brief motivational interviewing (B-MI; n = 8) or control treatment (i.e., a 1-hour video, n = 10). Participants completed measures of negative affect, weight concerns, and menopausal symptoms, as well as measures of motivation and readiness to quit. Motivation and readiness to quit were reassessed one week following treatment. At baseline, weight concerns, specifically surrounding smoking to prevent overeating, were identified as related to increased motivation to quit smoking. Menopausal symptom severity, specifically somatic symptoms, assessed at baseline, was associated with increased readiness for cessation. B-MI did not increase motivation or readiness to quit; however, results indicate that cigarettes per day decreased from baseline to follow-up by approximately 20-30%. These results provide valuable insight into enhancing engagement in a cessation treatment among this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Teaching via Mobile Phone: a Case Study on Malaysian Teachers’ Technology Acceptance and Readiness

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Issham Ismail

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to identify the level of technology acceptance among school teachers from the components of awareness and motivation, training and courses, training design, and supports and facilities. This study also aims to investigate whether teachers’ acceptance of technology could influence their readiness for the pedagogical use of mobile phone technology if it is to be implemented in school. A quantitative questionnaire was administered to thirty eight teachers who teach Information and Technology (IT subject from different primary schools in Penang, Malaysia during a program on Teachers’ Development. Data revealed that the level of technology acceptance among respondents in terms of awareness and motivation, training and courses, training design and supports and facilities was generally high. Despite this positive acceptance of technology, teachers’ readiness for the use of mobile phone in teaching and learning was found to be at a considerably low level. However, the study identified a significant correlation between respondents’ awareness and motivation towards technology with their readiness for the pedagogical usage of mobile phone. It was also found that gender is a possible factor influencing the respondents’ readiness. As implication, this paper probes the influence of technology acceptance on teachers’ readiness for the pedagogical usage of mobile phone and the possible implications this influence affords.

Smoking Cessation for Smokers Not Ready to Quit: Meta-analysis and Cost-effectiveness Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Ayesha; Kaplan, Cameron M; Derefinko, Karen J; Klesges, Robert C

2018-06-11

To provide a systematic review and cost-effectiveness analysis on smoking interventions targeting smokers not ready to quit, a population that makes up approximately 32% of current smokers. Twenty-two studies on pharmacological, behavioral, and combination smoking-cessation interventions targeting smokers not ready to quit (defined as those who reported they were not ready to quit at the time of the study) published between 2000 and 2017 were analyzed. The effectiveness (measured by the number needed to treat) and cost effectiveness (measured by costs per quit) of interventions were calculated. All data collection and analyses were performed in 2017. Smoking interventions targeting smokers not ready to quit can be as effective as similar interventions for smokers ready to quit; however, costs of intervening on this group may be higher for some intervention types. The most cost-effective interventions identified for this group were those using varenicline and those using behavioral interventions. Updating clinical recommendations to provide cessation interventions for this group is recommended. Further research on development of cost-effective treatments and effective strategies for recruitment and outreach for this group are needed. Additional studies may allow for more nuanced comparisons of treatment types among this group. Copyright © 2018 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tank waste remediation system retrieval and disposal mission readiness-to-proceed memorandum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jordan, K.N.

1998-01-01

This memorandum provides a summary of PHMC (Project Hanford Management Contract) team work scope for the Phase 1 TWRS Retrieval and Disposal Mission, a declaration of readiness-to proceed, a summary of the PHMC readiness evaluation process, summary results of a structured independent appraisal and financial analysis including information associated with assumptions, risks, and recommendations and, a summary of program plans for the PHMC team's component of the Phase 1 Mission

Getting your home ready - knee or hip surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Hip or knee surgery - getting your home ready; Osteoarthritis - knee ... Cabrera JA, Cabrera AL. Total hip replacement. In: Frontera WR, Silver JK, Rizzo TD, eds. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation . 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; ...

Care delivery and compensation system changes: a case study of organizational readiness within a large dental care practice organization in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunha-Cruz, Joana; Milgrom, Peter; Huebner, Colleen E; Scott, JoAnna; Ludwig, Sharity; Dysert, Jeanne; Mitchell, Melissa; Allen, Gary; Shirtcliff, R Mike

2017-12-20

Dental care delivery systems in the United States are consolidating and large practice organizations are becoming more common. At the same time, greater accountability for addressing disparities in access to care is being demanded when public funds are used to pay for care. As change occurs within these new practice structures, attempts to implement change in the delivery system may be hampered by failure to understand the organizational climate or fail to prepare employees to accommodate new goals or processes. Studies of organizational behavior within oral health care are sparse and have not addressed consolidation of current delivery systems. The objective of this case study was to assess organizational readiness for implementing change in a large dental care organization consisting of staff model clinics and affiliated dental practices and test associations of readiness with workforce characteristics and work environment. A dental care organization implemented a multifaceted quality improvement program, called PREDICT, in which community-based mobile and clinic-based dental services were integrated and the team compensated based in part on meeting performance targets. Dental care providers and supporting staff members (N = 181) were surveyed before program implementation and organizational readiness for implementing change (ORIC) was assessed by two 5-point scales: change commitment and efficacy. Providers and staff demonstrated high organizational readiness for change. Median change commitment was 3.8 (Interquartile range [IQR]: 3.3-4.3) and change efficacy was 3.8 (IQR: 3.0-4.2). In the adjusted regression model, change commitment was associated with organizational climate, support for methods to arrest tooth decay and was inversely related to office chaos. Change efficacy was associated with organizational climate, support for the company's mission and was inversely related to burnout. Each unit increase in the organizational climate scale predicted 0

Effects of Storytelling-Based Education in the Prevention of Drug Abuse among Adolescents in Iran Based on a Readiness to Addiction Index.

Science.gov (United States)

Moghadam, Mahdieh Poodineh; Sari, Mahdieh; Balouchi, Abbas; Madarshahian, Farah; Moghadam, Khadijeh

2016-11-01

One of the most effective strategies in the prevention of addiction is increasing awareness among young people, towards the tendency for taking drugs their physical, mental and social side effects. Storytelling is effective for increasing characteristics of happiness and resilience. This study uses storytelling, a common and popular method to increase awareness among adolescents. To examine the effect of storytelling-based education on the prevention of drug abuse, based on a readiness to addiction index. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 136 high school students (grade one), selected by a cluster sampling procedure from May 2014 to February 2015 in Zabol, Iran. The instrument for gathering data was a readiness to addiction questionnaire. This questionnaire included 41 items for which the scoring of each item followed the Likerts format. The data gathered was analysed using SPSS version 21 with descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The results revealed that the mean of the readiness to addiction index in the case group fell from 75.66±19.99 to 69.57±21.83 (paired t-test; p =0.02); in the control group the same index changed from 103.01±21.88 to 93.98±27.70 (paired t-test, p = 0.775). That is, the index decreased for both groups, but the reduction was statistically significant only for the case group (p =0.02). This suggests that the narrative method is effective in reducing adolescents readiness to addiction. Storytelling is an effective way to raise awareness among young people about addiction and its detrimental impacts on health. Therefore, such a technique can be taken into consideration in teaching principles of prevention.

Development toward School Readiness: A Holistic Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gaynor, Alan Kibbe

2015-01-01

A systemic analysis of early childhood development factors explains the variance in school readiness among representative U.S. 5-year-olds. The underlying theory incorporates a set of causally interactive endogenous variables that are hypothesized to be driven by the effects of three exogenous variables: parental education, immigrant status and…

Proceso creativo y ready-made en la publicidad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Anzanello Carrascoza

2012-04-01

Full Text Available La creación publicitaria es el resultado de una práctica de bricolaje llevada a cabo por un redactor y un director de arte – profesionales que actúan a dúo en las agencias de publicidad y que son los responsables de la elaboración de los mensajes publicitarios. En este proceso, estos profesionales echan mano de todo tipo de materiales culturales para crear las piezas que les son solicitadas. Ambos se valen sistemáticamente, como materia prima, de citaciones de imágenes y enunciados fundadores, interfiriendo en su significado, hecho que hace pensar en los ready-mades de Duchamp. Este artículo aporta una reflexión sobre el ready-made como método de creación en la publicidad y sus implicaciones en el mundo de los signos.

Eucalyptus: an open-source cloud computing infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nurmi, Daniel; Wolski, Rich; Grzegorczyk, Chris; Obertelli, Graziano; Soman, Sunil; Youseff, Lamia; Zagorodnov, Dmitrii

2009-01-01

Utility computing, elastic computing, and cloud computing are all terms that refer to the concept of dynamically provisioning processing time and storage space from a ubiquitous 'cloud' of computational resources. Such systems allow users to acquire and release the resources on demand and provide ready access to data from processing elements, while relegating the physical location and exact parameters of the resources. Over the past few years, such systems have become increasingly popular, but nearly all current cloud computing offerings are either proprietary or depend upon software infrastructure that is invisible to the research community. In this work, we present Eucalyptus, an open-source software implementation of cloud computing that utilizes compute resources that are typically available to researchers, such as clusters and workstation farms. In order to foster community research exploration of cloud computing systems, the design of Eucalyptus emphasizes modularity, allowing researchers to experiment with their own security, scalability, scheduling, and interface implementations. In this paper, we outline the design of Eucalyptus, describe our own implementations of the modular system components, and provide results from experiments that measure performance and scalability of a Eucalyptus installation currently deployed for public use. The main contribution of our work is the presentation of the first research-oriented open-source cloud computing system focused on enabling methodical investigations into the programming, administration, and deployment of systems exploring this novel distributed computing model.

GRENADA. Renewables Readiness Assessment 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

Grenada, like many Caribbean islands, is dependent on costly oil imports for its energy needs, including the generation of electricity. The transition to renewable energy could potentially support price reductions and improve the overall competitiveness of key sectors of the economy, particularly tourism. This report provides facts and analysis to support the country's discussion on ways to move forward with the renewable energy agenda. IRENA is ready to provide support in the implementation of the actions identified in this report.

Isolated and unexplained dilation of the common bile duct on computed tomography scanscans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naveen B. Krishna

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Isolated dilation of common bile duct (CBD with normal sized pancreatic duct and without identifiable stones or mass lesion (unexplained is frequently encountered by computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging. We studied the final diagnoses in these patients and tried to elucidate factors that can predict a malignant etiology. This is a retrospective analysis of prospective database from a University based clinical practice (2002- 2008. We included 107 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS for evaluation of isolated and unexplained CBD dilation noted on contrast computed tomography scans. EUS examination was performed using a radial echoendoscope followed by a linear echoechoendoscope, if a focal mass lesion was identified. Fine-needle aspirates were assessed immediately by an attending cytopathologist. Main outcome measurements included i prevalence of neoplasms, CBD stones and chronic pancreatitis and ii performance characteristics of EUS/EUS-fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA. A malignant neoplasm was found in 16 patients (14.9% of the study subjects, all with obstructive jaundice (ObJ. Six patients had CBD stones; three with ObJ and three with abnormal liver function tests. EUS findings suggestive of chronic pancreatitis were identified in 27 patients. EUSFNA had 97.3% accuracy (94.1% in subset with ObJ with a sensitivity of 81.2% and specificity of 100% for diagnosing malignancy. Presence of ObJ and older patient age were only significant predictors of malignancy in our cohort. Amongst patients with isolated and unexplained dilation of CBD, the risk of malignancy is significantly higher in older patients presenting with ObJ. EUS-FNA can diagnose malignancy in these patients with high accuracy besides identifying other potential etiologies including missed CBD stones and chronic pancreatitis.

Assessment of Readiness to Participate in Distance Learning of the Certified Florida Behavioral Workforce

Science.gov (United States)

Baston, George R.

2011-01-01

This research study explored perceptions of readiness to participate in distance learning among the certified behavioral workforce in Florida. The study sought to determine if there were significant differences in perception of readiness to participate in distance learning between certified behavioral health professionals at the administrator…

Solar Sail Propulsion Technology Readiness Level Database

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Charles L.

2004-01-01

The NASA In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) Projects Office has been sponsoring 2 solar sail system design and development hardware demonstration activities over the past 20 months. Able Engineering Company (AEC) of Goleta, CA is leading one team and L Garde, Inc. of Tustin, CA is leading the other team. Component, subsystem and system fabrication and testing has been completed successfully. The goal of these activities is to advance the technology readiness level (TRL) of solar sail propulsion from 3 towards 6 by 2006. These activities will culminate in the deployment and testing of 20-meter solar sail system ground demonstration hardware in the 30 meter diameter thermal-vacuum chamber at NASA Glenn Plum Brook in 2005. This paper will describe the features of a computer database system that documents the results of the solar sail development activities to-date. Illustrations of the hardware components and systems, test results, analytical models, relevant space environment definition and current TRL assessment, as stored and manipulated within the database are presented. This database could serve as a central repository for all data related to the advancement of solar sail technology sponsored by the ISPT, providing an up-to-date assessment of the TRL of this technology. Current plans are to eventually make the database available to the Solar Sail community through the Space Transportation Information Network (STIN).

The Costly Consequences of not Being Socially and Behaviorally Ready to Learn by Kindergarten in Baltimore City.

Science.gov (United States)

Bettencourt, Amie F; Gross, Deborah; Ho, Grace; Perrin, Nancy

2018-02-01

Social, emotional, and behavioral skills are foundational to learning and long-term success. However, poverty and exposure to adverse childhood experiences reduce the chances of children entering kindergarten socially-behaviorally ready to learn. This study examined the unique impact of 5-year-old children (N = 11,412) entering kindergarten not socially-behaviorally ready on three costly school outcomes by fourth grade in Baltimore City Public Schools: being retained in grade, receiving services and supports through an IEP or 504 plan, and being suspended/expelled. Controlling for all other types of school readiness, students not identified as socially-behaviorally ready for kindergarten were more likely to experience all three school outcomes. Findings underscore the importance of early prevention and intervention strategies targeting parents and social-behavioral readiness skills during the first 5 years of life.

Trial Readiness in Cavernous Angiomas With Symptomatic Hemorrhage (CASH).

Science.gov (United States)

Polster, Sean P; Cao, Ying; Carroll, Timothy; Flemming, Kelly; Girard, Romuald; Hanley, Daniel; Hobson, Nicholas; Kim, Helen; Koenig, James; Koskimäki, Janne; Lane, Karen; Majersik, Jennifer J; McBee, Nichol; Morrison, Leslie; Shenkar, Robert; Stadnik, Agnieszka; Thompson, Richard E; Zabramski, Joseph; Zeineddine, Hussein A; Awad, Issam A

2018-04-11

Brain cavernous angiomas with symptomatic hemorrhage (CASH) are uncommon but exact a heavy burden of neurological disability from recurrent bleeding, for which there is no proven therapy. Candidate drugs to stabilize the CASH lesion and prevent rebleeding will ultimately require testing of safety and efficacy in multisite clinical trials. Much progress has been made in understanding the epidemiology of CASH, and novel biomarkers have been linked to the biological mechanisms and clinical activity in lesions. Yet, the ability to enroll and risk-stratify CASH subjects has never been assessed prospectively at multiple sites. Biomarkers and other outcomes have not been evaluated for their sensitivity and reliability, nor have they been harmonized across sites. To address knowledge gaps and establish a research network as infrastructure for future clinical trials, through the Trial Readiness grant mechanism, funded by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke/National Institutes of Health. This project includes an observational cohort study to assess (1) the feasibility of screening, enrollment rates, baseline disease categorization, and follow-up of CASH using common data elements at multiple sites, (2) the reliability of imaging biomarkers including quantitative susceptibility mapping and permeability measures that have been shown to correlate with lesion activity, and (3) the rates of recurrent hemorrhage and change in functional status and biomarker measurements during prospective follow-up. We propose a harmonized multisite assessment of enrollment rates of CASH, baseline features relevant to stratification in clinical trials, and follow-up assessments of functional outcomes in relation to clinical bleeds. We introduce novel biomarkers of vascular leak and hemorrhage, with firm mechanistic foundations, which have been linked to clinical disease activity. We shall test their reliability and validity at multiple sites, and assess their changes over time

Contamination of ready-to-eat raw vegetables with Clostridium difficile in France.

Science.gov (United States)

Eckert, Catherine; Burghoffer, Béatrice; Barbut, Frédéric

2013-09-01

The presence of Clostridium difficile in food like shellfish, vegetables and meat has been reported in several publications during the past few years. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of ready-to-eat raw vegetables contaminated with C. difficile in France. One hundred and four ready-to-eat salads and vegetables were studied. Toxigenic C. difficile strains were isolated in three samples (2.9 %): two ready-to-eat salads (one heart of lettuce and one lamb's lettuce salad) and one portion of pea sprouts. The strains belonged to three different PCR ribotypes: 001, 014/020/077 and 015. The detection thresholds for vegetative cells and spores cells varied between 1 and 3 c.f.u. in 20 g salad and between 6 and 15 c.f.u. in 20 g salad, respectively, for the method employed.

TEPE/GReAT (General Relativity Accuracy Test in an Einstein Elevator): ready to start