The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is one of the largest efforts of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote healthy dietary behavior practices among the low income adults and youths in the US. Although the program is shown to be effective in achieving its stated goals, the cost effectiveness of the money spent on EFNEP remains largely unknown. This dissertation analyzes the costs and effectiveness of the EFNEP, and is organized in three essays. The first essay investigates the effectiveness of the adult EFNEP and evaluates the returns to scale on the money spent in this program by utilizing an indirect production function approach. Results indicate that the program has increasing returns to scale at the National level, although a significant variation exists across the states. The second essay develops a framework for conducting the cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) for the youth EFNEP. The CEA framework is then applied to the data from Virginia youth EFNEP to estimate the cost effectiveness ratio (CER). The CER is estimated to be about $75 per behavior improvement. The third essay examines the outcomes and the attributes of the youth EFNEP program using the Rasch model type measurement model.  Findings suggest that the youth EFNEP is effective in achieving its stated program goals. In addition, the program related characteristics are found to be important attributes of effective programs. Overall, this dissertation has important policy implications for improving the (cost) effectiveness of nutrition education programs. " / Ph. D.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the Department of Psychology, University of Zululand, 2007. / The study investigated the impact of the HIV/AIDS peer education program on behaviour change of students at the University of Zululand main campus. The sample (N = 40) consisted of male (N - 20) and female (N = 20) students whose ages ranged between 21-40 years. Findings indicated a significant change in behavioural practices of the participants post exposure to the program. Based on these findings it is indicated that the program is effective in providing necessary information about HIV/AIDS and to change students sexual behavioural patterns towards HIV/AIDS prevention.

The purpose of this study is to determine what facilities are necessary to cary out the approved and adopted program of physical education in the public school of Denton, Texas.

The purpose of this study is to improve helath service to children in general and a better program of foot hygiane in particular. The chief problem of corrective physical education is that of prevention by education.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors which facilitate the successful transition of youth from a detention educational program to a mainstream educational program. The study investigated the following components: (a) informal or formalized transition programs, (b) the practices used to assist youth at the detention level transition to the educational mainstream, (c) program components used at the detention level to successfully transition youth to the educational mainstream, the importance of personnel in assisting youth in their transition, (d) factors which contribute to the successful transition from detention to the educational mainstream, (e) program components effective in moving youth from a detention education program to the educational mainstream, and (f) whether or not a detention education program with a formal or informal transition program makes a difference in recidivism rates. A survey questionnaire was sent to 143 detention center administrators in the Southeastern United States . Descriptive data were run on all items in the survey. Cronbach's alpha test of reliability was used to assess internal consistency. Pearson correlation was used to compare consistency between independent and dependent variables. Finally, an independent sample t-test was conducted to examine if mean differences exist on Total Returned to a Detention Center by Transition Program. Transitioning from a detention facility to the community is a difficult process. By making available to youth a comprehensive program during periods of incarceration, and collaborating with the local educational agency, youth are often better able to make the adjustment. This study emphasized that in order for youth to be successful once they leave a correctional facility, a linkage must exist among all stakeholders. / Ed. D.

The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been widely used to assess technology adoption in business, education, and health care. The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) launched a web-based Individualized Educational Program (IEP) system for school psychologists to use in conducting evaluations and reviews. This quantitative study examined the relationship between school psychologists' TAM factors associated with the web-based IEP system's perceived usability and usefulness measured by a TAM Instrument with individual job performance assessed by the Job Performance Ratings Measure. A random sample of 69 NYCDOE school psychologists participated in this study, and a regression analysis addressed the research questions. The results showed no positive effects of perceived ease of use in job performance. In addition, there were no positive effects of perceived usefulness in job performance. The results of this study might benefit administrators and districts to see the need to explore additional resources. As ease of use and usefulness are vital to technology acceptance, providing resources to school psychologists are key to the overall success of the IEP process. Future research should take a qualitative approach to illuminate why and how school psychologists accept technology, especially when it involves the IEP process.

The purpose of this study was (1) to determine the status of the physical education program of each state-supported college and university in Texas offering a bachelor's and master's degree in physical education for men and (2) to provide each individual institution with the necessary data for the purpose of self-evaluation.

The Ministry of Education in Malawi introduced Life skills Education program with the intention to empower children with appropriate information and skills to deal with social and health problems affecting the nation including the fight against HIV infections. This study investigates factors affecting the implementation of the Life skills programme in four schools in the Zomba District, Malawi. A curriculum is not implemented within a contextual vacuum. I draw on Cornbleth‟s (1990) notions of the structural and social contexts to study the contexts of the school organisation, classroom environment and social-economic-political context in which the curriculum is implemented. Within this framework, I use Whitaker‟s(1993) identification of key role players in curriculum implementation, to consider the specific ways in which teachers, learners, principals, district officials and the community affect the implementation of this curriculum within the schools I chose to study. Findings suggest that the implementation of Life skills is constrained by a variety of social and structural contextual factors. Some of the crucial factors hampering the teaching of Life skills are the poor conditions under which teachers are working. Teachers are paid very little salaries and this affects their motivation to teaching making some of these teachers giving most attention to what they perceive as priority subjects only such as Maths and Languages at the expense of Life skills. The cascade model of training leaves the responsibility of training Life skills teachers to school principals who are not subject specialists. This adds to their already highly pressured roles in terms of managing their schools, resources and learners. The training of teachers in life skills curriculum involves two days of training. This short duration of the training is not sufficient to develop understanding of content and empower teachers to mediate sensitive topics with 3 confidence. This model of training also undermines professional responsibility of each teacher to empower themselves to become subject experts in the subjects they teach. The inaccessible language used within the Teachers‟ Guide contributes to the omission of areas of the curriculum by teachers who struggle to understand and teach certain topics. The case study shows that hunger experienced by learners affects their concentration in class and leads to frequent absences. It has been found that the Life skills curriculum is not supported by all sectors of the community. Certain teachers and their principals found a clash between rural communities‟ cultural beliefs and the Life skills programme. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS affects both the teachers of Life skills and their learners resulting in teachers feeling uncomfortable and reluctant to teach that which affect them and their learners. Some teachers believe that it is inappropriate to teach sexual matters to children of this age. This results in the teachers omitting the very issues that the Life skills curriculum has sought to address. Given these issues, the research finds significant challenges facing the implementation of the Life skills curriculum in Malawi and based on the findings, recommendations are made for improvement of the implementation of the Life skills program.

The nursing shortage in the United States is increasing and directly affects the turnover of staff in the adult burn center of the facility that is the focus of this project. In addition to the institution's traditional leadership education, which includes preceptor and charge nurse modules, a burn-focused supplemental preceptor preparation education program (SPPEP) was developed and delivered to address the expressed needs of the staff preceptors. The purpose of this quality improvement evidence-based project was to develop and deliver a program evaluation tool for the adult burn center leadership to assess the effectiveness of the SPPEP in this specialty area, including whether a supplemental preparation program for adult burn center preceptors would increase their confidence and competency, and lower attrition rates of nurse orientees. A preprogram survey was administered to all participating preceptors identifying perceived gaps in preparation to fulfill the expectations of the preceptor role. Benner's novice-to-expert and Knowles's adult learning theory concepts provided the framework for the SPPEP. The quality improvement program evaluation was based on reported confidence and the perception of competence of the preceptors who participated (N = 11). This research revealed that the SPPEP increased the preceptor's confidence and perceived competence level from 64.12% to 89.28% after the first SPPEP delivery. By systematically preparing the preceptors, the SPPEP can reduce overall orientation expenditure while improving patient outcomes, preceptor confidence, perceived competence, and the satisfaction of registered nurses.