Most Popular Books by Ann WOOD

A medical diagnosis took Lori Ann Wood on a faith detour she never saw coming. Disappointed in the God she thought she knew, Divine Detour is the result of her embracing difficult questions.

Mary Ann Wood presents four charming stories about a family of hedgehogs and their friends. In The Pricklebottoms and the Crocodile, twins Sarah and Suzie explore the forest behind Acorn Row ... and have a terrible fright! But is everything as it seems? Lost and Found sees the woodland community pull together to help Tilly Rabbit find her beloved brooch. In Percy Pigeon at your Service, we meet the mischievous Steven and Brian Crow, who must learn to treat others with kindness and care. The children must keep the secret in Mr Pricklebottom''s Surprise Birthday Party. Will they keep quiet, and how will the shy Mr Pricklebottom react when he arrives? These illustrated tales will help teach children the values of friendship and kindness, and encourage them to enjoy nature.

A pretest post-test non-equivalent comparison group (also called comparative change) design is employed. Changes in the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of program participants are compared to changes that occur in the comparison group. Differences in the knowledge and attitudes of sexually active and abstinent students are measured in order to assess the program theory.

A nonparametric and locally adaptive Bayesian estimator is proposed for estimating a binary regression. Flexibility is obtained by modeling the binary regression as a mixture of probit regressions with the argument of each probit regression having a thin plate spline prior with its own smoothing parameter and with the mixture weights depending on the covariates. The estimator is compared to a single spline estimator and to a recently proposed locally adaptive estimator. The methodology is illustrated by applying it to both simulated and real examples.

Jade Marshall never imagined that she?d still be living in Hidden Hollows at twenty-eight. But her dreams of becoming a concert violinist came to nothing, so she learned to be content with her high school music teacher career. Her life is predictable and simple?until her old nemesis, Benjamin Charles, rolls back into town, determined to destroy her peace and quiet. Literally. Ben never wanted to live in Hidden Hollows, not as a teenager and certainly not as an adult. But his father?s accident has brought him back to his hometown. Now he?s taken on the renovation of a beautiful old Victorian house. The one downside? The pretty, acid-tongued neighbor who complains about his honest work. Sparks fly from more than just power tools, and Jade finds her previous hatred for Ben softening. He?s annoying yet determined and after all these years, dare she say...interesting?

Within this study it appears that the most a Decision Conference can offer is the b́̀̋uy-in ́̀̆or constructive involvement of the individual participant; the assurance of an unassailable case to which all participants have contributed, for the adoption of the outcomes; and the confidence in the outcomes that this brings. All of this suggests that a higher order goal which subsumes these factors should be considered when re-conceptualising the Decision Conferencing experience. It is suggested here that Decision Quality is a more appropriate goal for the Decision Conferencing process. In essence this is an expansion of the existing b́̀̋est bet ́̀̆concept already endorsed in the Decision Conferencing literature. The thesis presents a number of conditions for assuring decision quality e.g. a democratic environment for decision making; mutual respect and an encouragement of diversity. It is also argued that it falls to the facilitator to encompass all of these factors. Given the above, it is also suggested that it is appropriate to consider an alternative conceptualization of Decision Conferencing which facilitators of public sector groups might adopt. This revised conceptualization is drawn from complexity theory. Incorporating the findings from this study a more strongly theorised facilitation approach, entitled Quality Facilitation Practice (QFP) has been developed. Taking into account all of the above a revised model for Decision Conferencing in the public sector is presented, incorporating both QFP and the higher order goal of Decision Quality.f ma.