An Analysis of the Readiness Perceptions of Head Start Parents, Teachers, and Center Leaders in Early Childhood Education

The perceptions that parents, teachers, and early childhood education leaders have about school readiness, and how these individuals promote readiness in children, influences how prepared children are to enter the school setting. In this study, I drew upon an ecological systems model to examine how parents, teachers, and early childhood school leaders perceive and promote school readiness. In this study, I also examined the strategies that early childhood education leaders\u27 used to build relationships with families and community members, and to foster parent involvement. I used semi-structured interviews to collect data from 11 participants in three Head Start Centers in a southeastern state. I analyzed, coded, and grouped the data into themes. Eight themes emerged from the data that was analyzed. The results of this study revealed that parents\u27, teachers\u27, and school leaders\u27 beliefs about readiness were imbedded in the context of their surrounding environments, and influenced their actions and behaviors in working together to prepare children for school. The outcome of the study revealed that parents believed readiness was a level of cognitive ability – specifically demonstrated by reading, writing, and mathematical skills. Parents also believed that family support and routines promoted readiness. Additionally, parents noted that readiness was a result of communication between the school and the family, and family support at home. Teachers believed that readiness was being able to sit, listen, and follow directions, as well as a level of cognitive ability. School leaders described their beliefs of readiness being a multidimensional concept, encompassing many different parts. School leaders also discussed strategies used to encourage family involvement in preparing children for school. Lastly, school leaders indicated that children\u27s readiness was affected by parents\u27 understanding of readiness. The implications and recommendations included suggestions for future research that would include the recognition of parents\u27 cultural values and beliefs about readiness. Furthermore, more research is needed that specifically focuses on the perceptions and actions of parents, teachers, and school leaders concerning school readiness

Extension of the fringe projection method to large objects for shape and deformation measurement

There is a real need for methods to allow the measurement of the form and deformation of large objects. For example, for maintenance and production costs as well as for security. Even though there are many methods of measuring the form and deformation of small objects (up to 1 m2), currently none of them are able to quickly measure larger objects (i.e. at a large number of points at the same time). Among the existing techniques, the fringe projection seem to us one of the most adequate to deal with these kinds of problems. In its classical form, this technique is very simple, since it consists of projecting equispaced rectilinear fringes on an object from one direction and of observing the scene from another with a CCD camera. The displacement of the fringes distorted by the object contains the desired shape information. The phase shifting and phase unwrapping procedures allow automatic, rapid acquisition of an optical print (called a "phase map") of the object. In the case of small objects (the classical approach), the extraction of the shape information from this optical print is quite simple. A phase map of the object as well as a phase map of a reference surface plane is acquired. Then, basically, the desired shape information is obtained by subtracting these two maps from each other. For larger objects, this approach is not possible anymore. On the one hand, such a reference surface does not exist. On the other hand, in order to measure the whole surface at once, it must be fully illuminated. This suggests the use of interferometrically generated fringes, in divergent beams, which implies that the fringes are no longer rectilinear and equispaced. For these reasons the classical approach is no longer valid. It is therefore necessary to find another method to be able to extract the object shape information from the optical print. In the frame of this work, three methods have been conceived and developed in order to extract the shape information of large objects from their optical print. The first two methods proposed here are dedicated to quasi-planar objects that are parallel to the imaging plane of the camera. These assumptions allow the simplification of the equations describing the system to "mimic" the classical approach, where the desired shape information is proportional to the difference between the measured and reference phase maps. The next step is to determine the parameters of the projection head. The first method is based on two coupled interferometers (of the Mach-Zehnder and Young's type), and the other uses least squares calculations with a small number of calibration points, aiming at minimizing the difference between the theoretical and measured phase at more than four calibration points. Finally, the desired reference phase map is artificially generated. These two techniques are simple but their application is limited only to planar object parallel to the imaging plane of the camera. In the last technique, which is based on a new approach, the system is described by the interferometric equation and the central perspective equations. Solving them simultaneously allows the determination of the coordinates (x,y,z) of all measured points from the optical print. This approach is general and offers the advantage of allowing the measurement of the shape and deformation of large objects. In addition, it also makes the system more flexible. In this report, these different techniques are presented and their feasibility is shown; examples of measurements give a first evaluation of their precision, and assess the new possibilities offered in terms of object shape and configuration of the measurement system, as well as their limitations. Finally, the three methods are compared one to another and advice for their optimization is proposed

Optimisation du coût de déploiement de services réseau virtualisés dans le cloud

International audienceLes opérateurs de clouds publics offrent aux particuliers et aux entreprises la possibilité de louer des ressources in-formatiques pour répondreà leurs besoins sans investir dans leur propre matériel. Le concept de Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) favorise la migration des opérateurs réseau de dispositifs matériels dédiés coûteux et peuévolutifs vers des fonctions réseau logicielles virtualisées. Afin de déployer ces fonctions, les opérateurs réseau peuvent décider de s'abonnerà des offres de clouds publics. Toutefois, leur diversité, tant en termes de capacité de ressources que de prix, fait qu'il est difficile de trouver la combinaison d'offres répondantà tous les besoins au moindre coût. Nous pro-posons de résoudre ce problèmeà l'aide d'un programme linéaire conçu pour aider un opérateur réseauà sélectionner la meilleure combinaison d'offres (en termes de prix) permettant de réserver les machines virtuelles nécessaires pour supporter un ensemble de services réseau. Nous analysons le temps d'exécution de notre solution, et nous estimons leséconomies réalisées par rapportà un schéma traditionnel de miseà disposition de ressources ouà une stratégie de location de ressources sans planification. Enfin, nousévaluons l'opportunité pour un opérateur réseau de construire son propre datacenter alors que des offres de clouds publics sont disponibles

Socioeconomic questionnaire and clinical assessment in the HELENA Cross-sectional Study: methodology

Rationale: Environmental factors such as dietary habits, breastfeeding, socioeconomic conditions and educational factors are strong influences on nutritional and puberty status, physical activity, food choices and their interactions. Several diseases of adulthood seem to be linked to, or to originate from, lifestyle in childhood and adolescence. Objective: The aims of this study are to describe birth parameters and socioeconomic factors and to assess clinical status in adolescents aged 13-16 years from 10 European countries participating in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Cross-Sectional Study (CSS). Methodology: A self-report questionnaire on the socioeconomic status, a parental questionnaire concerning neonatal period and also a case report form (CRF), in which clinical items during clinical examination (such as medical history, treatments, anthropometry, Tanner staging, blood pressure, heart rate) were assessed. To develop these documents, first a list of items was established, a search of existing documents was performed and the advice of local and international experts was taken. All documents (questionnaires and an operations manual) were discussed in plenary HELENA meetings; a final version of these documents was fixed, and the process of translation and back translation was performed. Results: The questionnaires and CRF were tested for validation in all 10 participant cities; 208 adolescents were enrolled during the pilot study. All items that caused problems or questions in one or more participating centers or were completed by < 85% of the adolescents were reviewed before the beginning of the HELENA-CSS. Conclusion: These final questionnaires and CRF will contribute to better understanding of the inequalities in nutrition, behavior and health in the European adolescent population. The experience and process should be useful for other multicenter studies

Témoignage. Un système de santé en crise

Dans toute société, un événement aussi grave que le séisme du 12 janvier 2010 provoque un stress individuel et collectif majeur qui induit obligatoirement des changements souvent importants. Ceux-ci sont profondément liés à la culture de la communauté concernée, et quand j’écris « culture », je pense bien entendu à tous les facteurs socioculturels et surtout politiques qui ont marqué au fer rouge notre être haïtien. Et l’on sait que ces facteurs peuvent être à l’origine de comportements allan..

Shape and deformation measurements of large objects by fringe projection

The height and/or deformation of a surface of an object (10) defined in terms of x, y and z coordinates is measured by projecting a divergent beam of light 21) onto the surface to produce a periodic pattern of fringes (30. A CCD camera (40) views the surface from another angle and images the reflected light. Phase information is extracted from at least one image to produce an optical print (36) of the object containing phase information and image-coordinates information both being related to camera pixel position, the image-coordinates being associated with phase information corresponding to the object coordinates. A processor (50) calculates the object-coordinates of the surface points through mathematical functions describing x, y and z. These mathematical functions take account of the spatial configuration and specifications of the system which are established by calibration procedures involving eg. measurements of a theodolite (60)

Les défis de la diaspora haïtienne de Suisse

À la lumière du dynamisme d’une vingtaine d’associations haïtiennes présentes sur la scène communautaire et culturelle en Suisse, œuvrant avec des moyens restreints en Haïti, et à travers différentes actions initiées en réponse au tremblement de terre, cette contribution témoigne de la volonté de la diaspora haïtienne de Suisse de participer concrètement à la reconstruction, tout en reconnaissant ses limites, similaires, du reste, à celles des diasporas à travers le monde. La diaspora haïtien..