Contexts for writing: understanding the child’s perspective

The integration of social theories into a cognitive explanation of the composing process enlarges our notion of context, calling attention to the historical, social and ideological forces that shape the making of knowledge in educational settings. These approaches suggest that context cues certain actions and that students gain entry into academic contexts if they learn the appropriate forms and discourse conventions. However, methodological approaches to teaching do not address how individuals construct meaning, use knowledge for their own purposes, or engage in reflective processes that influence how individuals will act in a socially-governed situation. Nor do they address the issue of how school-acquired knowledge may be transformed to enable individual students to take ownership of their writing. These concerns motivate the attempt to form a cognitive-social epistemic that acknowledges and explains the role of the individual in constructing meaning within culturally-organized activities in primary educational systems. Through questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations, and applying qualitative analytical procedures, the study discloses layers of complexity in a multi-level description of the ways context and cognition interact. At the general level, a comparative analysis of teachers' and pupils' rationales underlying given writing tasks produces converging references to the educational purposes for writing. At a deeper level, findings that writing possibilities and social possibilities are dynamically interlinked with the emergence of identity, suggest that learning is a constructive process of meaning-making which is uniquely manifested in diverse ways. Studies of classroom interaction determine the impact of strategies deployed within classroom communication to control the meaning-making process and make it possible to discuss the efficacies of peer-interaction in the classroom. A second strand of contextual-oriented research in a non-school setting, which incorporates the computer as a writing tool, reinforces the view that children are primarily social players negotiating roles and relationships by whatever mediational means are made available to them. In light of these results, the thesis acknowledges the complexity of a largely implicit cultural architecture for directing the context of action, and concludes that this structure will be explicated only by adopting an inclusive research strategy to encompass simultaneous acting influences

Analysis of the contribution of reverse transcriptase and integrase proteins to retroviral RNA dimer conformation

All retroviruses contain two copies of genomic RNA that are linked noncovalently. The dimeric RNA of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) undergoes rearrangement during virion maturation, whereby the dimeric RNA genome assumes a more stable conformation. Previously, we have shown that the packaging of the HIV-1 polymerase (Pol) proteins reverse transcriptase (RT) and integrase (IN) is essential for the generation of the mature RNA dimer conformation. Analysis of HIV-1 mutants that are defective in processing of Pol showed that these mutant virions contained altered dimeric RNA conformation, indicating that the mature RNA dimer conformation in HIV-1 requires the correct proteolytic processing of Pol. The HIV-1 Pol proteins are multimeric in their mature enzymatically active forms; RT forms a heterodimer, and IN appears to form a homotetramer. Using RT and IN multimerization defective mutants, we have found that dimeric RNA from these mutant virions has the same stability and conformation as wild-type RNA dimers, showing that the mature enzymatically active RT and IN proteins are dispensable for the generation of mature RNA dimer conformation. This also indicated that formation of the mature RNA dimer structure occurs prior to RT or IN maturation. We have also investigated the requirement of Pol for RNA dimerization in both Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) and Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV) and found that in contrast to HIV-1, Pol is dispensable for RNA dimer maturation in M-PMV and MoMuLV, demonstrating that the requirement of Pol in retroviral RNA dimer maturation is not conserved among all retroviruses. <br /

Evaluation of an Online Parent Training in Spanish for Hispanic Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is a medical condition that is inconsistently diagnosed. Ethnic minorities, Hispanics in particular, are less likely to be diagnosed than their non-minority peers and the lack of a diagnosis impacts access to effective treatments. An ASD diagnosis can be overwhelming for families, affecting marital and sibling relationships, parent stress levels, social interaction with others, and presenting a significant financial burden. Hispanic families may not seek treatment for their child due to the absence of a diagnosis, inadequate or no health coverage, scarcity of providers, cost of services, and language or cultural barriers to access care. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the preferred approach to treatment for ASD and research has linked active parental involvement to positive outcomes for their children. An intervention consisting of an online parent training in Spanish to support Hispanic parents of children with ASD was presented. The online parent training examined the acquisition of parental knowledge in behavioral principles and strategies and measured its impact on parent stress levels. The research design followed a mixed methods approach to collecting and analyzing data. Findings reported no difficulty accessing content and the majority of parents expressed satisfaction with the parent training. Although all post-knowledge and posttest surveys showed an increase in parent’s understanding of ABA principles and behavior strategies, parent stress levels were not reduced

Creating a Mass-Balanced Food Web Model for a Generalized Restored Estuary in Puget Sound

Historical anthropogenic modifications have been documented to have negative effects on the estuarine environments of Puget Sound. Over the last three decades there has been an increase in efforts to restore these estuarine environments through both passive and active means. This increase in restoration has been predicted to have positive effects on survival of juvenile Chinook salmon, which is an ecologically and culturally important species in the Salish Sea. The goal of this project was to use Ecopath with Ecosim to create a mass-balanced food web model of a generalized restored estuary to help further understanding of the potential effects of restoration practices on the diet matrices and biomass estimates of juvenile Chinook salmon and juvenile Chinook salmon prey. The model consisted of 8 functional groups: 1 primary producer group, 3 invertebrate groups, 2 fish groups, 1 bird group, and 1 detrital group. Biomass, abundance, and demographic data was obtained from the literature or from individual stock assessments conducted for principal ecosystem components. The model created is a vast simplification of a true estuary within Puget Sound and would benefit from the addition of more functional groups to fully understand the impact of restoration on juvenile Chinook salmon, and juvenile Chinook salmon prey

Structural and Financial Characteristics of U.S. Farms: 2001 Family Farm Report

Family farms vary widely in size and other characteristics, ranging from very small retirement and residential farms to establishments with sales in the millions of dollars. The farm typology developed by the Economic Research Service (ERS) categorizes farms into groups based primarily on occupation of the operator and sales class of the farm. The typology groups reflect operators' expectations from farming, position in the life cycle, and dependence on agriculture. The groups differ in their importance to the farm sector, product specialization, program participation, and dependence on farm income. These (and other) differences are discussed in this report.Agricultural Resource Management Study (ARMS), family farms, farm businesses, farm financial situation, farm operator household income, farm operators, farm structure, farm typology, female farm operators, government payments, spouses of farm operators, taxes, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management,

Tuberculosis patients' knowledge and beliefs about tuberculosis: a mixed methods study from the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu

Background: The setting for this study was the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, an archipelago of 82 islands, located in the South Pacific Ocean. Our objective was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of tuberculosis (TB) patients towards TB. Methods. This was a descriptive study using qualitative and quantitative methods. Quantitative analysis was based on the responses provided to closed questions, and we present frequencies to describe the TB patients' knowledge, attitudes and practice relating to TB. Qualitative analysis was based on open questions permitting fuller explanations. We used thematic analysis and developed a posteriori inductive categories to draw conclusions. Results: Thirty five TB patients were interviewed; 22 (63%) were male. They attributed TB to cigarettes, kava, alcohol, contaminated food, sharing eating utensils and "kastom" (the local term for the traditional way of life, but also for sorcery). Most (94%) did not attribute TB to a bacterial cause. However, almost all TB patients (89%) thought that TB was best treated at a hospital with antibiotics. Three quarters (74%) experienced stigma after their TB diagnosis.Seeking health care from a traditional healer was common; 54% of TB patients stated that they would first consult a traditional healer for any illness. When seeking a diagnosis for signs and symptoms of TB, 34% first consulted a traditional healer. Patients cited cost, distance and beliefs about TB causation as reasons for first consulting a traditional healer or going to the hospital. Of the TB patients who consulted a traditional healer first, there was an average of two weeks delay before they consulted the health service. In some cases, however, the delay was up to six years. Conclusion: The majority of the TB patients interviewed did not attribute TB to a bacterial cause. Consulting a traditional healer for health care, including while seeking a diagnosis for TB symptoms, was common and may have delayed diagnosis. People require better information about TB to correct commonly held misperceptions about the disease. Traditional healers could also be engaged with the national TB programme, in order to refer people with signs and symptoms of TB to the nearest health service

Impact of Missing Data for Body Mass Index in an Epidemiologic Study

To assess the potential impact of missing data on body mass index (BMI) on the association between prepregnancy obesity and specific birth defects

Introducing genetic testing for cardiovascular disease in primary care: a qualitative study

Background: While primary care systematically offers conventional cardiovascular risk assessment, genetic tests for coronary heart disease (CHD) are increasingly commercially available to patients. It is unclear how individuals may respond to these new sources of risk information. Aim: To explore how patients who have had a recent conventional cardiovascular risk assessment, perceive additional information from genetic testing for CHD. Design and setting: Qualitative interview study in 12 practices in Nottinghamshire from both urban and rural settings. Method: Interviews were conducted with 29 adults, who consented to genetic testing after having had a conventional cardiovascular risk assessment. Results: Individuals’ principal motivation for genetic testing was their family history of CHD and a desire to convey the results to their children. After testing, however, there was limited recall of genetic test results and scepticism about the value of informing their children. Participants dealt with conflicting findings from the genetic test, family history, and conventional assessment by either focusing on genetic risk or environmental lifestyle factors. In some participants, genetic test results appeared to reinforce healthy behaviour but others were falsely reassured, despite having an ‘above-average’ conventional cardiovascular risk score. Conclusion: Although genetic testing was acceptable, participants were unclear how to interpret genetic risk results. To facilitate healthy behaviour, health professionals should explore patients’ understanding of genetic test results in light of their family history and conventional risk assessment