Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Aug. 2, 2007). PDF text: viii, 86 p. : ill. UMI publication number: AAT 3257658. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

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Despite the fact that a considerable body of empirical research has been done to examine the role of metacognitive strategic awareness both in L1 and L2 reading, controversial findings have been reported. In addition, although a substantial number of studies have been conducted to investigate reading strategy use by English learners of various first languages, there is a lack of research involving Vietnamese ESL learners. The present study was designed in order to add to the existing literature new evidence about the second language reading strategies used by Vietnamese ESL learners. Particularly, three main aspects of reading strategy use were investigated: 1) the reading strategies that are most frequently used by Vietnamese ESL learners; 2) the reading strategies that distinguish high achieving readers and low achieving readers; and 3) the reading strategies that are significantly associated with performance on lower order and higher order reading questions. The participants of the study were 32 Vietnamese ESL college students in Vietnam. The research instrument employed two tasks: a fourteen-item reading comprehension test and a five-point Likert scale survey of reading strategies (SORS). The reading test was used to divide the sample into a higher performing group and a lower performing group. The SORS was taken from Mokhtari and Sheorey (2002) and consists of 30 items which measure learners' frequency of use of global, problem solving and support strategies when reading academic materials in English. The data was analyzed through descriptive statistics, multiple independent samples t-tests, and multiple regressions. The frequency analysis revealed a fairly regular use of reading strategies by Vietnamese ESL learners. Of the three types of strategies, support strategies were the most frequently employed, followed by global and problem solving strategies. Regarding strategies used by the higher and lower performing readers, the results revealed significant differences in the use of 5 global and 1 problem solving strategies. In addition, the study found that participants' performance on higher order and lower order reading questions was significantly associated with a set of reading strategies. Specifically, 14 reading strategies were significantly correlated with performance on lower order reading questions and 22 reading strategies with performance on higher order reading questions. These findings have provided new evidence and insight about the use of reading strategies in second language reading, particularly focusing on the relationships between strategy use and reading performance and strategy use and type of reading questions. Especially, the findings about the relationship between reading strategies and performance on lower order and higher order reading questions are novel, which fact, undeniably, requires further research in order for these findings to be validated and expanded. Finally, the present study's findings carry valuable pedagogical implications concerning the design of ESL reading curricula and the practice of teaching ESL reading strategies. Namely, curriculum designers and teachers should take into account the following issues: 1) the universality and uniqueness of ESL learners' preferences for reading strategies; 2) the connection between strategy use and reading performance, and 3) the fact that effective performance on higher and lower order questions is correlated with the use of specific reading strategies.

This study reports on a prospective longitudinal study of children during the transition from primary school to secondary school at age 11. It follows a single cohort of children from their respective primary schools through the first term of their secondary school. The relationships of attachment and coping strategy use to later adjustment, in terms of self-report anxiety. teacher-rated pro social behaviour, attendance rates, academic performance, and behaviour problems, were examined. Attachment was assessed using a novel family drawing measure. The drawing measure provides a number of different scores, and of these the total number of marker signs indicating insecure attachment was predictive of later poorer adjustment. Attachment category as judged from family drawings was not predictive of later adjustment, although high inter-rater reliability proved difficult to obtain. No strong, stable relationship between coping strategy use and later adjustment was found. The study also reports on the usefulness of the family drawing measure with the age group concerned, and comments on potential problems and directions for future research.

This study investigates the potential benefits of reading strategy instruction in the English classroom in an L2 learner context. We examined the effects of reading strategy instruction on reading comprehension for L2 learners and investigated howreading strategies should be taught in the context of Swedish upper secondary school. To this end, six empirical studies were evaluated. We found that reading strategy instruction had a positive impact on reading comprehension in general, but that it was especially effective for certain student groups. Namely, intermediate learners benefitted more than other groups, while the weakest students improved the least in response to instruction. Furthermore, the research we examined suggests that it may be advantageous to focus on teaching a single strategy at a time. However, it is important to eventually expand students’ range ofstrategies long-term, since many pupils tend to over-rely on problem-solving strategies to the detriment of their progress in reading. Thus, emphasizing the less frequently used support strategies during instruction may help students read moreefficiently. Additionally, for reading strategies to best benefit learners, they should be taught in a clear, step-by-step manner. Finally, we argue that using aspects of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory to inform lesson plans would greatly benefit students, especially those who are less proficient. Due to the lack of research in the increasingly heterogeneous Western world, future research should investigate how reading strategy instruction behaves in a multicultural context in the West.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an important disease of small grain cereals including wheat that affects grain quality and yield. The fungus Fusarium graminearum (Fg) is the major agent of this disease. Lack of natural resistance has limited ability to control wheat losses to this disease. Developing new approaches is critical for increasing host plant resistance to this fungus. This work has identified four processes that can be targeted for enhancing host plant resistance to FHB. The first involves targeting the pattern-triggered immunity mechanism to promote host plant resistance. Two other approaches involved reducing activity of susceptibility factors in the host to enhance plant resistance. The susceptibility factors targeted include accumulation of the phytohormone jasmonic acid and the 9-lipoxygenase pathway that oxidizes fatty acids. Besides suppressing host defenses against Fg, jasmonic acid also directly acts on the fungus to promote fungal growth. 9- lipoxygenases similarly suppress host defenses to promote fungal pathogenicity. Another approach that was developed involved having the plant express double stranded RNA to target fungal virulence genes for silencing. This host-induced gene silencing approach was employed to target two fungal virulence genes, the lipase encoding FGL1 and salicylate hydroxylase encoding FgNahG, which the fungus secretes into the host to promote turnover of the plant defense signaling metabolite salicylic acid. FGL1 in contrast acts on host lipids to release fatty acids, which suppress the deposition of callose that provides a physical barrier to limit fungal spread.

Background: Some vaccine preventable diseases still remain a public health burden in many African countries. The occurrence of vaccine preventable diseases in all age groups has led to the realization of the need to extend routine immunisation services to school age children and adolescents. Supplemental immunisation activities (SIAs) and school based vaccination (SBV) are two common strategies used to complement the EPI in vaccine delivery. Therefore, this review aimed to assess the effectiveness of SIAs compared to SBV in the administration of vaccines to 5-19 year olds in Africa. Methods and findings: Systematic review methods (protocol number CRD42017057475) were used to address our study aim. Electronic databases were searched up to March 30, 2017 for primary studies investigating the delivery of vaccines via SIAs or SBV to 5-19 year olds. To be included in the review, studies must have reported any of the following outcomes: vaccination coverage, cost of the vaccination strategy or effect of the strategy on routine immunisation. During the search, no restriction was placed on language or the study period. The search was complemented by browsing reference lists of potential studies. Out of the 4938 studies identified, 31 studies met our inclusion criteria. Both SIAs and SBV showed high vaccination coverage. This result should be interpreted with caution due to the high heterogeneity observed across the included studies. The SIAs reported a higher coverage of 91% (95% CI: 84%, 98%) than SBV which had a coverage of 75% (95% CI: 67%, 83%). In most settings, SBV was reported to be more expensive than SIAs. The SIAs were found to negatively affect routine immunisation services. Conclusions: Both SIAs and SBV are routinely used to complement the EPI in the delivery of vaccines in Africa. In settings where school enrolment is suboptimal as is the case in many African countries, our results show SIAs may be more effective in reaching school age children and adolescents than SBV. The SBV has only been tested in the delivery of two or three dose HPV vaccine to adolescent girls, whereas SIAs have been tested in the delivery of different types of vaccines. Our results re-iterate the importance of systematic evidence to best inform African authorities on the optimal delivery strategies of vaccines targeting school age children and adolescents into their immunisation programme.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2003. / This study investigated the perceptions of high school learners about HTV7AIDS preventive strategies. The study reveals that the age of the learner, their gender, grade level, and the school they attend influences their perceptions. The study also reveals that the learners hold positive perceptions about abstaining from sex, delaying sex until marriage as well as knowing the HIV/AIDS status of potential partners as of paramount importance while those who do not hold positive perceptions about abstinence hold positive perception about practicing safe sex. The study reveals that there was no relationship between religion and the acceptance of circumcision as a cultural practice through which infection could be avoided; but racial grouping and age greatly influence the acceptance of this alternative strategy.

Submitted in (partial) fulfilment of the requirement of the Master’s Degree Community Work in the field of Social Work in the Faculty of Arts Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, 2010. / Rural development strategies can realise their full potential only through active involvement and organisation of rural people at grassroots level (FAO, 1981:12). The rural poor have not participated in sharing the benefits from the enormous development efforts of the three past decades, neither in proportion to their needs. After 1994, the South African democratic government adopted a people-centred developmental approach in order to heal the legacy of the past regime. The aim of community-centred approach is to enhance the skills and capacity of communities by promoting their participation in the own development (Theron, 2005:120). Various authors agreed that participation of people in the system which governs their lives is a basic human right and essential for relocation of political power in favour of disadvantaged groups and for social and economic development. However, in Nquthu citizen participation has developed into an ideology rather than a practical mechanism to promote participation by citizens and to improve local governance. Community participation is a concept that is often mentioned in community development perspective. Theron (2005:120) views community participation as a process to give communities an opportunity to determine their own destination in terms of their needs and resources. This means that provision at grassroots level with abilities, which could enable them to negotiate development delivery systems and be able to take informed decisions, in terms of their development needs and priorities (Theron, 2005:119). Leisner (1974) in Lombard (1992:256) contends that the purpose of community participation is to create opportunities for the community to take part in (1) planning and policy making, (2) allocation and distribution of resources and (3) the management of services. However, the aim of the study was to assess community participation trends in rural development process in Nquthu, northern KwaZulu-Natal. An evaluative research method was followed in which data was gathered through questionnaires and focus group discussions. The study was comprised of seventy respondents. It is structured into five chapters. Chapter one deals with the introduction, the statement of the problem, motivation for choice of study, aims and objectives of the study, definition of important concept, the basic assumptions, research method, significant of the study and chapter organisation. Chapter two discusses the theory and philosophy of community participation. It conceptualises the concept related to community participation in development; this includes community development, integrated rural development and rural development. It also highlights the policy framework on community participation in terms of international, national policy documents and also highlights the overview of integrated developmental plan. Chapter three describes the ethnographic sketch of the Nquthu community, location of the study and activities of the place. Chapter four presents the data results, interpretation and analysis. Chapter five presents the results and discussions of results. Chapter six reflects the conclusion and the way forward.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand teachers’ perceptions of dropout prevention strategies used in one alternative school and describe how the teachers perceived the dropout prevention strategies used to decrease the dropout rates and increase the graduation rates of alternative school students. The study examined the primary research question: How are dropout prevention strategies used in this alternative school? The National Dropout Prevention Strategies for Alternative Schools were used to frame this research. The strategies were grouped in three areas: building student skills, promoting teacher quality, and promoting a positive school culture and climate. The relevant data regarding the case of this alternative school were collected using an alternative school teacher interview protocol, demographic survey, and the researcher’s field notes. Support data included existing state, district, and school data files. The results of the research study showed that teachers’ perspectives of the National Dropout Prevention Center’s (NDPC’s) most effective strategies for alternative school to decrease dropout and increase graduation rates were present in varying degrees of implementation. The teachers’ responses indicated the strongest area of implementation was in positive school culture and climate. Teachers’ responses also indicated that specialized staff development was limited.