Suchergebnisse

Today's frontier is knowledge. Brain has taken precedence over brawn; our physical struggle forexistence has been replaced by intellectual struggle, and knowledge of words has become the mostvaluable tool for this struggle. Words are the very cornerstone of any language. With a good vocabulary,which indicates scope of knowledge, we can grasp the thoughts of others and be able to communicateour own thoughts to them. As Stahl (1999) argued, discussion of words is discussion of knowledge ofthe world, and knowledge of the world is knowledge of who we are and where we stand in the world.Also, the importance of words in foreign and second language learning is beyond question. Vocabularyknowledge is one of the language skills crucial for fluent language use (Nation, 1993). Vocabulary sizeis an indicator of how well the second language (L2) learners can perform academic language skillssuch as, reading, listening, and writing (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton and Johnston, 2008; Treiman andCasar, 1996). Numerous studies have documented the strong and reciprocal relationship betweenvocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension (Baker, Simmons, & Kame'enui, 1995; Beck,McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Graves, 2000; Stahl & Fairbanks, 1987;) as well as general reading ability(Stanovich, Cunningham, & West, 1998). Likewise, Saville-Troike, (1984) concluded that vocabularyknowledge is the single best predictor of students' academic achievement across subject matterdomains. Also, there is a strong agreement among researchers that promoting vocabulary growth is animportant and often neglected component of a comprehensive reading program (Baumann &Kame'enui, 2004; National Reading Panel, 2000; Vaezi & Fallah, 2010).

While still an understudied area, there is a growing body of studies highlighting epidemiologic data on men who have sex with men (MSM) in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) which challenge the attitudes of complacency and irrelevancy among donors and country governments that are uncomfortable in addressing key populations (KPs). While some of the past inaction may be explained by ignorance, new data document highly elevated and sustained HIV prevalence that is seemingly isolated from recent overall declines in prevalence. The articles in this series highlight new studies which focus on the stark epidemiologic burden in countries from concentrated, mixed and generalized epidemic settings. The issue includes research from West, Central, East and Southern Africa and explores the pervasive impact of stigma and discrimination as critical barriers to confronting the HIV epidemic among MSM and the intersecting stigma and marginalization found between living with HIV and sexual minority status. Interventions to remove barriers to service access, including those aimed at training providers and mobilizing communities even within stigmatized peri‐urban settings, are featured in this issue, which further demonstrates the immediate need for comprehensive action to address HIV among MSM in all countries in the region, regardless of epidemic classification.

In the field of HIV prevention, there is renewed interest in operations research (OR) within an implementation science framework. The ultimate goal of such studies is to generate new knowledge that can inform local programmes and policies, thus improving access, quality, efficiency and effectiveness. Using four case studies from the USAID‐funded Research to Prevention (R2P) project, we highlight the strategic use of OR and the impact it can have on shaping the focus and content of HIV prevention programming across geographic and epidemic settings and populations. These case studies, which include experiences from several sub‐Saharan African countries and the Caribbean, emphasize four unique ways that R2P projects utilized OR to stimulate change in a given context, including: (1) translating findings from clinical trials to real‐world settings; (2) adapting promising structural interventions to a new context; (3) tailoring effective interventions to underserved populations; and (4) prioritizing key populations within a national response to HIV. Carefully crafted OR can bridge the common gap that exists between research‐generated knowledge and field‐based practice, lead to substantial, real‐world changes in national policies and programmes, and strengthen local organizations and the use of data to be more responsive to a given topic or population, ultimately supporting a locally tailored HIV response.