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This paper seeks to describe the design, implementation, and lessons learned from an obesity prevention pilot program delivered in a low resource school in the USA.

A planned program evaluation was conducted to: document explicitly the process of designing and implementing the program; and assess the feasibility and acceptability of the program to inform future planning. Evaluation data were gathered using document review (i.e. minutes from meetings with research staff and school personnel), key informant interviews, and focus groups. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics.

A total of 113 African‐American students (47 per cent female) participated in the program. Over half were overweight or obese and mean nutrition and physical activity behaviors were below recommended guidelines. A participatory process involving school administrators, teachers, parents, and students resulted in the design of a program salient to the target population and responsive to the school's limited financial and human resources. The program was positively viewed by student and school staff alike. Challenges for implementing the program included: maintaining classroom management with very large class sizes and limited school staff, and difficulty in actively engaging parents in program implementation.

As a pilot program at a single school during one school year, the results may have limited generalizability. However, the paper supports the feasibility and acceptability of obesity prevention interventions in schools with limited resources.

School‐based programs can support nutrition education and increased physical activity opportunities, which may promote lifelong health behaviors. Future programs can increase the likelihood of behavior change and program sustainability by limiting class sizes, increasing parent involvement, integrating intrapersonal level changes with institutional factors, and developing community partnerships.

The research described provides insights into effective strategies and lessons learned for developing school‐based obesity‐prevention programs in schools with limited resources.

The real challenge of Alaska's changing telecommunications landscape is approaching the opportunities in an orderly and logical manner. Given the exciting nature of the possibilities that new technology presents, it is all too easy to get wrapped up in what is new, instead of what is truly useful. For that reason, the main focus of the Telecommunications Information Council (TIC) in the near future will be developing and adopting a comprehensive technology plan for the state, and then examining where new technologies fit into that plan. The Knowles/Ulmer administration's first task in this effort was to reinvigorate the TIC and charge it with taking the lead in bringing Alaska back to the forefront of telecommunications technology. Our state has long had a reputation for leading the way in telecommunications. Our climate, geographic size, and location have always forced Alaskans to be innovators in technology. Supercomputers and satellites have operated in and above our state for many years, but much of that momentum was waning. That needed to change.

Older adults with memory problems (especially those diagnosed with dementia) consume a great number of health services. However, little is known about the special needs of memory-impaired, noninstitutionalized older adults who seek treatment from primary care physicians (PCPs) for memory problems. The study outlined in this chapter investigated the interrelationships among level of education, residence, physical and mental status, and the use of PCPs for memory problems. A probability-based (random-digit dialing) survey of households with individuals more than 60 years of age occurred in six Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee (N = 1,368). We developed two multivariate logistic regression models. The first estimated the additive effects of sociodemographic and health status characteristics on the likelihood of service utilization. The second model inserted two multiplicative terms: the “instrumental activities of daily living (IADL)” by “memory impairment” and the “low education” by “memory impairment” interaction terms. Three main findings emerged from the analyses: (1) rural/urban differences in use of PCPs approached statistical significance, (2) for lower educated older adults, the odds of using a PCP declined steadily as their number of memory impairments increased, and (3) as older adults experienced increases in IADL limitations and memory impairments, their likelihood of service use declined. The chapter ends with a discussion on program planning, policy, and practice initiatives in light of the findings.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face a number of challenges in effectively managing and reporting on sustainability information, such as siloes of data and a limited distribution of information. Business intelligence (BI) can assist in addressing the challenges faced by organisations. The purpose of this study was to propose a BI framework for strategic sustainability information management (the Sustainable BI Framework) that can be used in HEIs.

The research applied the design science research methodology whilst using a South African HEI as a case study. The problems with sustainability information management were identified, and a theoretical framework was proposed. In addition, a practical BI software tool was developed as proof of concept to address these problems and to assist with the management of strategic sustainability information in an HEI.

The proposed sustainability BI tool was evaluated through heuristic and usability evaluations with senior management. The results indicated that the usability of the BI tool was positively rated and that the framework can assist in overcoming the constraints that HEIs face in effectively managing sustainability information.

The research was limited to a single case. However, the theoretical framework was derived from and expanded on existing stakeholder theory, sustainability reporting theory and literature on BI dashboard development. The framework was implemented successfully in the Sustainable BI Tool prototype at the case study, and the results reveal in-depth information regarding information management for sustainability reporting in higher education.

The Sustainable BI Tool is a solution that integrates data from multiple areas of sustainability and provides a single integrated view of the information to stakeholders. The information is provided through performance dashboards, which provide predictive capabilities to enable management to report on sustainability and determine if the institution is meeting its strategic goals. The lessons learnt can also assist other HEIs considering implementing BI for sustainability reporting.

Improved sustainability reporting for HEIs provided by the BI framework can improve the environmental and social impact of the educational community.

This study provides the most comprehensive framework for guiding the design of a BI tool to assist in effectively managing sustainability information in HEIs.

Telephone calls are the predominant telecommunication mode in Sri Lanka. Consequently, leveraging voice-based applications for disaster communication would be acceptable and sustainable. The purpose of this paper is to realise the design requirements for an integrated voice-enabled alerting and reporting system, and then to use the lessons learned to influence disaster management researchers, practitioners and developers to invest resources in related new system developments.

The findings in this paper are from an experiment concerning interactive voice for connecting community-based emergency field operatives with their central co-ordination hub.

A particular challenge was in interchanging Sinhala and Tamil language speech data, generated by the Freedom Fone Interactive Voice Response, with the text-based “Sahana” disaster-management system for analysis and decision support. The Emergency Data Exchange Language interoperable content standard was adopted for mediation between the two disparate systems. Standard mobile phones were the interface linking the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members. Low quality voice transmissions over the GSM cellular infrastructure resulted in distorted data. This shortcoming was a barrier to automating transformations between text and speech.

Replacing those processes with human procedure significantly degrades their reliability. Nevertheless, the CERT members find voice-enabled information exchange useful and easy to use, because it diminishes the need for computer literacy and removes language barriers. The paper discusses the utility evaluation of the introduced system.

The purpose of this paper is to find out which Web 2.0 applications and new communications technologies were being adopted by members of the New Zealand library and information management professions, and what factors influenced this adoption, such as age, educational level, and employment status.

An online survey asking about respondents' use of a range of Web 2.0 technologies plus basic demographic information was available between 23 February and 8 March 2007. Invitations to complete the survey were sent to three e‐mail discussion lists: nz‐libs, nzrecords, and lim‐students, which resulted in 224 responses.

Librarians and information managers of all ages are experimenting with these technologies to some extent, particularly reading blogs and using RSS feeds. Active content creation is less common. Personal, technical, and organisational barriers prevent some people from being able to access Web 2.0 applications.

The voluntary nature of participation in the survey means that the results are likely to be biased towards people with an interest in Web 2.0 developments. The data were gathered in early 2007, and represent a snapshot of how the technologies were being used at that time. Invitations were sent only to New Zealand e‐mail discussion lists, and some of the findings might not apply in other countries or regions.

This is the first survey to investigate how members of the library and information management professions in New Zealand are using Web 2.0 technologies. The results reveal patterns of use and significant issues associated with using these technologies within organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of women’s experiences of living with and surviving HIV/AIDS. We argue that strong conceptualization of this experience will lead to more efficient health care delivery for this growing population, within the general framework of managed care. Our analytical strategy is to integrate the nursing concept of inner strength with ideas from the sociological concept of the existential self. There are numerous definitions of the increasingly popular concept of inner strength in the health care literature, largely developed through the experiences of women living with breast cancer. In general, this concept is useful because it focuses research attention on patients’ experiences and perceptions of illness. Nevertheless, current definitions can be critiqued for their tendency: (1) view inner strength as a thing-like phenomenon, as if it were like a disease, to be measured, treated and supplemented; (2) describe inner strength in overly metaphoric and romanticized terms that do not reflect the everyday life of living with a serious illness; and (3) assume that inner strength is equivalent to doing well. We argue that this concept can be of greater scholarly and clinical use if it is defined as follows: Inner strength refers to the different ways women with serious illnesses experience and, subsequently, talk about the deepest, existential resources available to and used by them to manage severe threats to body and self. We developed this concept through a series of 19 biographical and conversational interviews with women living with HIV/AIDS. Our interviews found that these women describe their experiences in terms of three types of narratives or stories. Faith stories recount the ways reliance upon a higher power (spiritual or religious) provides a sense of inner strength. Character stories recount the ways women experience inner strength as a resource available to them before as well as during their illness. Uncertainty stories recount the ways women perceive their inner strength as problematic. We conclude with specific suggestions for the application of our revised concept of Inner strength to the role of nursing in the delivery of managed care to women living with HIV/AIDS.

Through observing the use of iPhone and iPad by a child between the ages of two and four years and a half, this study presents accounts on the child’s use of and interaction with these devices, as well as her interaction with the physical environment.

Unstructured, naturalistic observation was employed in this study. The study is grounded in theories of user engagement with digital and physical objects.

A child’s interaction with touch-based devices does not deter the child from engaging effectively with the physical environment or from activities centered on creativity and interpersonal engagement. A child is able to move back and forth seamlessly between the physical and digital environments.

Findings from this study could help parents, educators, and system designers understand why and how toddlers and preschoolers use and engage with touch-based devices, as well as the kind of tasks they perform.

Studies of toddlers’ or preschoolers’ information behavior and interaction with touch-based devices are scarce. Children born toward the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century are growing up with a propensity to using touch-based devices. This study provides a framework for effective usage of such devices while ensuring all-round cognitive and physical development of the child.

One of Australia's publishing success stories of 1982 was the coffee‐table book, A day in the life of Australia. One hundred photographers were sent to different locations throughout Australia. Their assignment: Take pictures. The result is a national album showing people in country towns, capital cities, isolated cattle stations, doing what they would normally be doing at different times of the day. The photographs selected by the editors for publication could not hope to provide an exhaustive overview of Australia and Australians; nonetheless, those who browse through the pages get the feeling they've shared a significant part of Australian life.

Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.