Immunologic patterns associated with cure in human American cutaneous leishmaniasis

Patients with American cutaneous leishmaniasis were studied before therapy (active lesion) and at the end of therapy (cured patients). Assays of lymphocyte proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells induced in vitro by Leishmania braziliensis promastigote antigens (Lb) were performed. Antigen-stimulated cells were harvested for CD4 and CD8 phenotype analysis and the levels of gamma interferon (IFN-g) and interleukin 4 (IL-4) produced were also determined in the culture supernatants. Two different patterns of Lb-induced T cell responses were observed: a) predominance of responding CD4+ cells and mixed type 1 and type 2 cytokine production (IFN-g and IL-4) during the active disease, and b) similar proportions of responding CD4+ and CD8+ cells, and type 1 cytokine production (presence of IFN-g and very low IL-4) at the end of therapy (healed lesions). This last pattern is probably associated with a beneficial T cell response

Regulation of T cell response to leishmania antigens by determinants of histocompatibility leukocyte class I and II molecules

It has been shown that HLA class I molecules play a significant role in the regulation of the proliferation of T cells activated by mitogens and antigens. We evaluated the ability of mAb to a framework determinant of HLA class I molecules to regulate T cell proliferation and interferon gamma (IFN-g) production against leishmania, PPD, C. albicans and tetanus toxoid antigens in patients with tegumentary leishmaniasis and healthy subjects. The anti-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) mAb (W6/32) suppressed lymphocyte proliferation by 90% in cultures stimulated with aCD3, but the suppression was variable in cultures stimulated with leishmania antigen. This suppression ranged from 30-67% and was observed only in 5 of 11 patients. IFN-g production against leishmania antigen was also suppressed by anti-HLA class I mAb. In 3 patients IFN-g levels were suppressed by more than 60%, while in the other 2 cultures IFN-g levels were 36 and 10% lower than controls. The suppression by HLA class I mAb to the proliferative response in leishmaniasis patients and in healthy controls varied with the antigens and the patients or donors tested. To determine whether the suppression is directed at antigen presenting cells (APCs) or at the responding T cells, experiments with antigen-primed non-adherent cells, separately incubated with W6/32, were performed. Suppression of proliferation was only observed when the W6/32 mAb was added in the presence of T cells. These data provide evidence that a mAb directed at HLA class I framework determinants can suppress proliferation and cytokine secretion in response to several antigens.

Voittoa tavoittelemattoman organisaation asiakashankinnan suorituskyvyn mittaaminen

Tutkimuksen ensimmäinen tavoite on kaksiosainen. Aluksi pyrittiin selvittämään, kuinka voittoa tavoittelemattomalla sektorilla voidaan mitata asiakashankinnan suorituskykyä. Toiseksi tutkittiin, mikä on mittauksen tila Suomen voittoa tavoittelemattomassa sektorissa. Toinen tavoite oli rakentaa suorituskykymittaristo suurehkon järjestön asiakashankintaan ja pohtia asiakashankinnan tavoitteiden jalkauttamista mittareiden avulla. Ensimmäinen tavoite toteutettiin kirjallisuuskatsauksen ja kyselytutkimuksen avulla. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen perusteella rakennettiin kyselylomake, jota jaettiin suomalaisiin voittoa tavoittelemattomiin organisaatioihin. Kirjallisuuskatsauksessa selvisi, että suorituskyvyn kannalta tärkeintä olisi mitata kontaktien määrää siinä, missä kontaktien laatu ja prosessin sujuvuus toimivat täydentävinä mittauskohteina. Kyselytutkimuksen perusteella noin puolet vastaajaorganisaatioista mittasi toimintaansa ylipäätään. Käytetyt mittarit painottuivat asiakashankinnan laatuun. Toisen tavoitteen osalta mittaristo luotiin hyödyntämällä LUT:issa rakennetun SAKE-sovelluksen implementointiprosessia. Mittaristo kattaa sekä puhelimitse että kentällä tehdyn asiakashankinnan ja sähköisen markkinoinnin määrä- ja laatumittarit. Lisäksi on arvioitu, asiakashankinnan tavoitteet voidaan jalkauttaa käytännön työhön. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla tehdyt johtopäätökset toimivat ohjenuorana, kun pohditaan vastaavan toiminnan mittaamista. Tehtyä mittaristoa ei ole tarkoituksenmukaista soveltaa muualla sellaisenaan, vaan mittaristo tulee aina sovittaa kohdeorganisaatioon. Kyselytutkimuksen tuloksia ei voida pienen vastaajamäärän takia yleistää järjestökenttään.

Dimensions and dynamics in integrin function

Integrins play crucial roles in cell adhesion, migration, and signaling by providing transmembrane links between the extracellular matrix and the cytoskeleton. Integrins cluster in macromolecular complexes to generate cell-matrix adhesions such as focal adhesions. In this mini-review, we compare certain integrin-based biological responses and signaling during cell interactions with standard 2D cell culture versus 3D matrices. Besides responding to the composition of the matrix, cells sense and react to physical properties that include three-dimensionality and rigidity. In routine cell culture, fibroblasts and mesenchymal cells appear to use focal adhesions as anchors. They then use intracellular actomyosin contractility and dynamic, directional integrin movements to stretch cell-surface fibronectin and to generate characteristic long fibrils of fibronectin in "fibrillar adhesions". Some cells in culture proceed to produce dense, three-dimensional matrices similar to in vivo matrix, as opposed to the flat, rigid, two-dimensional surfaces habitually used for cell culture. Cells within such more natural 3D matrices form a distinctive class of adhesion termed "3D-matrix adhesions". These 3D adhesions show distinctive morphology and molecular composition. Their formation is heavily dependent on interactions between integrin alpha5ß1 and fibronectin. Cells adhere much more rapidly to 3D matrices. They also show more rapid morphological changes, migration, and proliferation compared to most 2D matrices or 3D collagen gels. Particularly notable are low levels of tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and moderate increases in activated mitogen-activated protein kinase. These findings underscore the importance of the dimensionality and dynamics of matrix substrates in cellular responses to the extracellular matrix.

Differences in pressure and temperature transitions of proteins and polymer gels

Pressure-driven and temperature-driven transitions of two thermoresponsive polymers, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) and poly(N-vinylisobutyramide) (pNVIBA)), in both a soluble linear polymer form and a cross-linked hydro-gel form, were examined by a dynamic light-scattering method and direct microscopic observation, respectively. Their behavior was compared with that of protein systems. Changes in some characteristic parameters in the time-intensity correlation functions of dynamic light-scattering measurement of aqueous solutions of pNIPAM at various pressures and temperatures showed no essential differences during temperature and pressure scanning and, as a whole, the motions of polymers in aqueous solutions were similar in two types of transitions until chain shrinkage occurred. The gels (cross-linked polymer gels) prepared from the thermoresponsive polymers also showed similar volume transitions responding to the pressure and temperature increase. In temperature transitions, however, gels showed drastic volume shrinkage with loss of transparency, while pressure-induced transition showed a slow recovery of transparency while keeping the size, after first transient drastic volume shrinkage with loss of transparency. At a temperature slightly higher than the transition under atmospheric temperature, so-called reentry of the volume change and recovery of the transparency were observed during the pressure-increasing process, which implies much smaller aggregation or non-aggregated collapsed polymer chains in the gel at higher pressures, indicating a certain mechanistic difference of the dehydration processes induced by temperature and pressure.

Fuusion tavoitteiden toteutuminen, saavutetut hyödyt ja niihin taustalla vaikuttavat tekijät - Case: Kymenlaakson Osuuspankki

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on ollut selvittää fuusiossa tavoiteltujen hyötyjen saavuttamista Kymenlaakson Osuuspankissa. Työssä on tutkittu saavutettuja onnistumisia sekä mahdollisia haasteita ja epäonnistumisia hallituksen, toimitusjohtajan ja hallintoneuvoston puheenjohtajan näkökulmaa painottaen. Tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty henkilökohtaisia puolistrukturoituja haastatteluja. Haastattelujen avulla on saavutettu kokonaiskuva paitsi onnistumisista ja haasteista, myös näihin asioihin taustalla vaikuttavista tekijöistä, joita fuusioprosessissa olisi hyvä ottaa aina huomioon. Tuloksista selvisi, että tavoitteissa on onnistuttu pääosin hyvin ottaen huomioon fuusion toteutumisajankohta ja taloudellinen toimintaympäristö. Kuitenkin oli myös selvästi nähtävissä, että paljon on edelleen monella osa-alueella saavutettavissa. Tätä selittää vielä varsin lyhyt toimintahistoria fuusioitumisen jälkeen. Kohdatuissa haasteissa on nähtävissä selkeästi myös aiemmissa tutkimuksissa havaittuja haasteita ja vastoinkäymisiä. Nämä ovat haastavia ottaa kokonaisvaltaisesti huomioon, sillä fuusioprosessi on monisyinen tapahtuma, jossa mukana on useita eri tahoja ja toteuttajia. Tuloksissa on kuitenkin tullut ilmi se, että vaikka haasteisiin ei välttämättä olisi täysin ennalta kyetty varautumaan, on näihin niitä kohdatessa vastattu hyvin nopealla reagoinnilla ja tämä on osittain vahvistanut saavutettuja tuloksia.

Defining Sales and Operations Planning Process in an Environmental Management Company

Sales and operations research publications have increased significantly in the last decades. The concept of sales and operations planning (S&OP) has gained increased recognition and has been put forward as the area within Supply Chain Management (SCM). Development of S&OP is based on the need for determining future actions, both for sales and operations, since off-shoring, outsourcing, complex supply chains and extended lead times make challenges for responding to changes in the marketplace when they occur. Order intake of the case company has grown rapidly during the last years. Along with the growth, new challenges considering data management and information flow have arisen due to increasing customer orders. To manage these challenges, case company has implemented S&OP process, though initial process is in early stage and due to this, the process is not managing the increased customer orders adequately. Thesis objective is to explore extensively the S&OP process content of the case company and give further recommendations. Objectives are categorized into six different groups, to clarify the purpose of this thesis. Qualitative research methods used are active participant observation, qualitative interviews, enquiry, education, and a workshop. It is notable that demand planning was felt as cumbersome, so it is typically the biggest challenge in S&OP process. More proactive the sales forecasting can be, more expanded the time horizon of operational planning will turn out. S&OP process is 60 percent change management, 30 percent process development and 10 percent technology. The change management and continuous improvement can sometimes be arduous and set as secondary. It is important that different people are required to improve the process and the process is constantly evaluated. As well as, process governance is substantially in a central role and it has to be managed consciously. Generally, S&OP process was seen important and all the stakeholders were committed to the process. Particular sections were experienced more important than others, depending on the stakeholders’ point of views. Recommendations to objective groups are evaluated by the achievable benefit and resource requirement. The urgent and easily implemented improvement recommendations should be executed firstly. Next steps are to develop more coherent process structure and refine cost awareness. Afterwards demand planning, supply planning, and reporting should be developed more profoundly. For last, information technology system should be implemented to support the process phases.

Palvelumallin kehittäminen sähköverkkoyhtiön kohtuullisen tuoton ja siirtohinnoittelun analysointiin

Uuden sähkömarkkinalain myötä sähkönjakeluverkonhaltijoille tuli velvoite parantaa verkkonsa toimitusvarmuutta tasolle, jossa verkon vikaantuminen myrskyn tai lumikuorman seurauksena ei aiheuta asemakaava-alueella asiakkaalle yli 6 tuntia kestävää keskeytystä eikä muilla alueilla yli 36 tuntia kestävää keskeytystä. 1.9.2013 voimaan astuneessa laissa toimitusvarmuuden parantamisen aikaraamiksi on määritetty 15 vuotta. Verkkoyhtiöt voivat päättää verkon saneerausstrategiasta itsenäisesti, mutta toimitusvarmuusvaatimuksiin vastaaminen vaatii monelta yhtiöltä laajamittaista verkon kaapelointia ja investointivolyymien kasvattamista. Verkon investoinneilla on vaikutuksensa verkkoyhtiöiden taloudellisessa valvonnassa, joka puolestaan on Energiaviraston vastuulla. Valvonnan kohteina ovat siirtohinnoittelun kohtuullisuus, toiminnan tehokkuus ja sähkön laatu. ElMil Oy:lle kehitetyn palvelumallin tarkoituksena on siten mallintaa investointien vaikutusta sähköverkkoliiketoiminnan valvontamallin näkökulmasta. Palvelumallissa laaditaan ennalta määritettyjen investointikohteiden ympärille optimaalinen investointiohjelma kohteiden kannattavuuden perusteella. Ohjelman perusteella voidaan puolestaan estimoida investointien vaikutusta verkosta saatavaan kohtuulliseen tuottoon ja mallintaa tämän pohjalta siirtohinnan korotuspotentiaalia. Muodostettaessa optimaalista investointiohjelmaa voidaan työssä kehitetyn laskentatyökalun avulla varioida erilaisia skenaarioita ja tehdä vaihtelevia painotuksia investointivolyymeissa vuositasolla. Laskenta seuraa myös tulorahoituksen riittävyyttä, joten investointiohjelman optimoinnilla voidaan hakea vähäisintä lisärahoitusta vaativa ratkaisu, jolloin voidaan minimoida toimitusvarmuusinvestointien aiheuttamaa vieraan pääoman kasvattamista. Osana palvelumallia päivitetään viranomaisraportointiin liittyvä toimitusvarmuuden kehittämissuunnitelma.

How Lean Six Sigma and Agile principles optimize ITIL-based processes

Imagine the potential implications of an organization whose business and IT processes are well aligned and are capable of reactively and proactively responding to the external and internal changes. The Philips IT Infrastructure and Operations department (I&O) is undergoing a series of transformation activities to help Philips business keeping up with the changes. I&O would serve a critical function in any business sectors; given that the I&O’s strategy switched from “design, build and run” to “specify, acquire and performance manage”, that function is amplified. In 2013, I&O’s biggest transforming programme I&O Futures engaged multiple interdisciplinary departments and programs on decommissioning legacy processes and restructuring new processes with respect to the Information Technology Internet Library (ITIL), helping I&O to achieve a common infrastructure and operating platform (CI&OP). The author joined I&O Futures in the early 2014 and contributed to the CI&OP release 1, during which a designed model Bing Box and its evaluations were conducted through the lens of six sigma’s structured define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) improvement approach. This Bing Box model was intended to firstly combine business and IT principles, namely Lean IT, Agile, ITIL best practices, and Aspect-oriented programming (AOP) into a framework. Secondly, the author implemented the modularized optimization cycles according to the defined framework into Philips’ ITIL-based processes and, subsequently, to enhance business process performance as well as to increase efficiency of the optimization cycles. The unique of this thesis is that the Bing Box model not only provided comprehensive optimization approaches and principles for business process performance, but also integrated and standardized optimization modules for the optimization process itself. The research followed a design research guideline that seek to extend the boundaries of human and organizational capabilities by creating new and innovative artifacts. The Chapter 2 firstly reviewed the current research on Lean Six Sigma, Agile, AOP and ITIL, aiming at identifying the broad conceptual bases for this study. In Chapter 3, we included the process of constructing the Bing Box model. The Chapter 4 described the adoption of Bing Box model: two-implementation case validated by stakeholders through observations and interviews. Chapter 5 contained the concluding remarks, the limitation of this research work and the future research areas. Chapter 6 provided the references used in this thesis.

Impact of Word-of-Mouth on consumer decision-making: An information processing perspective in the context of a high-involvement service

This doctoral study conducts an empirical analysis of the impact of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) on marketing-relevant outcomes such as attitudes and consumer choice, during a high-involvement and complex service decision. Due to its importance to decisionmaking, WOM has attracted interest from academia and practitioners for decades. Consumers are known to discuss products and services with one another. These discussions help consumers to form an evaluative opinion, as WOM reduces perceived risk, simplifies complexity, and increases the confidence of consumers in decisionmaking. These discussions are also highly impactful as WOM is a trustworthy source of information, since it is independent from the company or brand. In responding to the calls for more research on what happens after WOM information is received, and how it affects marketing-relevant outcomes, this dissertation extends prior WOM literature by investigating how consumers process information in a highinvolvement service domain, in particular higher-education. Further, the dissertation studies how the form of WOM influences consumer choice. The research contributes to WOM and services marketing literature by developing and empirically testing a framework for information processing and studying the long-term effects of WOM. The results of the dissertation are presented in five research publications. The publications are based on longitudinal data. The research leads to the development of a proposed theoretical framework for the processing of WOM, based on theories from social psychology. The framework is specifically focused on service decisions, as it takes into account evaluation difficulty through the complex nature of choice criteria associated with service purchase decisions. Further, other gaps in current WOM literature are taken into account by, for example, examining how the source of WOM and service values affects the processing mechanism. The research also provides implications for managers aiming to trigger favorable WOM through marketing efforts, such as advertising and testimonials. The results provide suggestions on how to design these marketing efforts by taking into account the mechanism through which information is processed, or the form of social influence.

Osuustoiminnallisen pankin yhteiskuntavastuu - jäsenistön näkökulma

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kuvata ja ymmärtää osuustoiminnallisen pankin yhteiskuntavastuun toteuttamista. Yhteiskuntavastuussa on kysymys vastuusta toiminnan aiheuttamista vaikutuksista sekä teoista, joilla vastataan yhteiskunnan ja sidosryhmien odotuksiin. Tutkimuksessa pyritään selvittämään, mitä odotuksia jäsenistöllä on osuustoiminnallisen pankin yhteiskuntavastuusta. Tutkimus on tapaustutkimus ja kohdeyhteisönä on itsenäisesti toimiva osuuspankki. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan laadullinen ja aineiston keräämisessä käytetään triangulaatiota. Empiirinen aineisto koostuu valmiista aineistosta, kohdeyhteisön kahden henkilöstön edustajan teemahaastatteluista sekä kyselytutkimuksesta, joka osoitettiin kohdeyhteisön jäsenistöä edustavalle edustajistolle. Jäsenistö odottaa osuustoiminnallisen pankin toimivan vastuullisesti. Osuuspankin yhteiskuntavastuussa korostuu paikallisuus sekä jäsenistön hyvinvointi. Yhteiskuntavastuullisuuden edellytyksenä pidetään toiminnan kannattavuutta, pankkipalveluiden saatavuutta sekä lakien ja säännösten noudattamista.

Business Intelligence Competency Centerin perustaminen: Case LähiTapiola

Tässä diplomityössä selvitetään case-tutkimuksena parhaita käytäntöjä Business Intelligence Competency Centerin (BICC) eli liiketoimintatiedonhallinnan osaamiskeskuksen perustamiseen. Työ tehdään LähiTapiolalle, jossa on haasteita BI-alueen hallinnoinnissa kehittämisen hajaantuessa eri yksiköihin ja yhtiöihin. Myös järjestelmäympäristö on moninainen. BICC:llä tavoitellaan parempaa näkyvyyttä liiketoiminnan tarpeisiin ja toisaalta halutaan tehostaa tiedon hyödyntämistä johtamisessa sekä operatiivisen tason työskentelyssä. Tavoitteena on lisäksi saada kustannuksia pienemmäksi yhtenäistämällä järjestelmäympäristöjä ja BI-työkaluja kuten myös toimintamalleja. Työssä tehdään kirjallisuuskatsaus ja haastatellaan asiantuntijoita kolmessa yrityksessä. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että liiketoiminnan BI-tarpeita kannattaa mahdollistaa eri tasoilla perusraportoinnista Ad-hoc –raportointiin ja edistyneeseen analytiikkaan huomioimalla nämä toimintamalleissa ja järjestelmäarkkitehtuurissa. BICC:n perustamisessa liiketoimintatarpeisiin vastaaminen on etusijalla.

School funding and education policy-making models in Ontario /

The purpose of this thesis is to examine various policy implementation models, and to determine what use they are to a government. In order to insure that governmental proposals are created and exercised in an effective manner, there roust be some guidelines in place which will assist in resolving difficult situations. All governments face the challenge of responding to public demand, by delivering the type of policy responses that will attempt to answer those demands. The problem for those people in positions of policy-making responsibility is to balance the competitive forces that would influence policy. This thesis examines provincial government policy in two unique cases. The first is the revolutionary recommendations brought forth in the Hall -Dennis Report. The second is the question of extending full -funding to the end of high school in the separate school system. These two cases illustrate how divergent and problematic the policy-making duties of any government may be. In order to respond to these political challenges decision-makers must have a clear understanding of what they are attempting to do. They must also have an assortment of policy-making models that will insure a policy response effectively deals with the issue under examination. A government must make every effort to insure that all policymaking methods are considered, and that the data gathered is inserted into the most appropriate model. Currently, there is considerable debate over the benefits of the progressive individualistic education approach as proposed by the Hall -Dennis Committee. This debate is usually intensified during periods of economic uncertainty. Periodically, the province will also experience brief yet equally intense debate on the question of separate school funding. At one level, this debate centres around the efficiency of maintaining two parallel education systems, but the debate frequently has undertones of the religious animosity common in Ontario's history. As a result of the two policy cases under study we may ask ourselves these questions: a) did the policies in question improve the general quality of life in the province? and b) did the policies unite the province? In the cases of educational instruction and finance the debate is ongoing and unsettling. Currently, there is a widespread belief that provincial students at the elementary and secondary levels of education are not being educated adequately to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. The perceived culprit is individual education which sees students progressing through the system at their own pace and not meeting adequate education standards. The question of the finance of Catholic education occasionally rears its head in a painful fashion within the province. Some public school supporters tend to take extension as a personal religious defeat, rather than an opportunity to demonstrate that educational diversity can be accommodated within Canada's most populated province. This thesis is an attempt to analyze how successful provincial policy-implementation models were in answering public demand. A majority of the public did not demand additional separate school funding, yet it was put into place. The same majority did insist on an examination of educational methods, and the government did put changes in place. It will also demonstrate how policy if wisely created may spread additional benefits to the public at large. Catholic students currently enjoy a much improved financial contribution from the province, yet these additional funds were taken from somewhere. The public system had it funds reduced with what would appear to be minimal impact. This impact indicates that government policy is still sensitive to the strongly held convictions of those people in opposition to a given policy.

Kierkegaardian intersubjectivity and the question of ethics and responsibility

Kierkegaardian Intersubjectivity and the Question of Ethics and Responsibility By Kevin Krumrei. Kierkegaard's contributions to philosophy are generally admitted and recognized as valuable in the history of Western philosophy, both as one of the great anti-Hegelians, as the founder (arguably) of existentialism, and as a religious thinker. However valid this may be, there is similarly a generally admitted critique of Kierkegaard in the Western tradition, that Kierkegaard's philosophy of the development of the self leads the individual into an isolated encounter with God, to the abandonment of the social context. In other words, a Kierkegaardian theory of intersubjectivity is a contradiction in terms. This is voiced eloquently by Emmanuel Levinas, among others. However, Levinas' own intersubjective ethics bears a striking resemblance to Kierkegaard's, with respect to the description and formulation of the basic problem for ethics: the problem of aesthetic egoism. Further, both Kierkegaard and Levinas follow similar paths in responding to the problem, from Kierkegaard's reduplication in Works of Love, to Levinas' notion of substitution in Otherwise than Being. In this comparison, it becomes evident that Levinas' reading of Kierkegaard is mistaken, for Kierkegaard's intersubjective ethics postulates, in fact, the inseparability and necessity of the self s responsible relation to others in the self s relation to God, found in the command, "you shall love your neighbour as yourself."

Exploring the use of effective learning strategies to increase students' reading comprehension and test taking skills /

This study examined the effects of providing students with explicit instruction in how to use a repertoire of reading comprehension strategies and test taking skills when reading and responding to three types of questions (direct, inferential, critical). Specifically, the study examined whether providing students with a "model" of how to read and respond to the text and to the comprehension questions improved their reading comprehension relative to providing them with implicit instruction on reading comprehension strategies and test taking skills. Students' reading comprehension and test taking performance scores were compared as a function of instructional condition. Students from 2 grade 8 classes participated in this study. The reading component of the Canadian Achievement Tests, Third Edition (CAT/3) was used to identify students' level of reading comprehension prior to the formal instructional sessions. Students received either explicit instruction, which involved modelling, or implicit instruction, which consisted of review and discussion of the strategies to be used. Comprehension was measured through the administration of formative tests after each instructional session. The formative tests consisted of reading comprehension questions pertaining to a specific form of text (narrative, informational, graphic). In addition, students completed 3 summative tests and a delayed comprehension test which consisted of the alternative version of the CAT/3 standardized reading assessment. These data served as a posttest measure to determine whether students had shown an improvement in their reading comprehension skills as a result of the program delivery. There were significant differences in students' Canadian Achievement Test performance scores prior to the onset of the study. Students in the implicit group attained significantly higher comprehension scores than did students in the explicit group. The results from the program sessions indicated no significant differences in reading comprehension between the implicit and explicit conditions, with the exception of the 6th session involving the reading and interpreting of graphic text. Students in the explicit group performed significantly better when reading and interpreting graphic text than those in the implicit group. No significant differences were evident between the two study conditions across the three summative tests. Upon completion of the study, the results from the Canadian Achievement Test indicated no significant differences in performance between the two study conditions. The findings from this study reveal the effectiveness of providing students with explicit strategy instruction when reading and responding to various forms of text. Modelling the appropriate reading comprehension strategies and test taking skills enabled students to apply the same thought processes to their own independent work. This form of instruction enabled students in the explicit group to improve in their abilities to comprehend and respond to text and therefore should be incorporated as an effective form of classroom teaching.