iosr-JRME   Volume-5 ~ Issue-6 ~ Nov-Dec 2015

Abstract: The study investigated undergraduates' ratings of 21st century transferable competences necessary for their career development as well as their current proficiency level in the competences. Three hundred and forty-six final year students (2014/2015 session) drawn in clusters from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Business/Management inclined disciplines in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike and Abia State University Uturu were used for the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The Undergraduates' 21st Century Transferable Competences Scale (U21S) consisting of 18 Likert-type items was used for data collection.

[1]. J. Arulmani, A. J. Bakshi, F.T.L. Leong, and T. Watt, The manifestation of career: Introduction and overview, in G. Arulmani, A.J Bakshi, F.T.L. Leong and T. Watts (Eds), Handbook of career development: International perspectives. (New York: Springer - science and Business media 2014).
[2]. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Definition and selection of key competencies: Executive summary. Paris: OECD, 2005. Available at www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/61/35070367.pdf.
[3]. K. Ananiadou, and M. Claro, 21st Century Skills and Competences for New Millennium Learners in OECD Countries. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 41, (Paris: OECD Publishing, 2009). Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/218525261154
[4]. National Research Council. Assessing 21st Century Skills: Summary of a Workshop. J.A. Koenig, Rapporteur. Committee on the Assessment of 21st Century Skills. Board on Testing and Assessment, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press 2011).

Abstract: Oral production in a foreign language is a very challenging task that requires certain linguistic skills as well as strategic competence. Vocabulary knowledge proves to play a crucial role in interactional situations. However, few studies have investigated how both EFL teachers and learners view and analyze situations in which learners are not producing enough spoken language in class, and the reasons behind them. The present study will pinpoint the significant role of lexis in Moroccan learners speaking production. To this end, forty EFL teachers and two hundred Moroccan high school students are surveyed and interviewed to reveal their perceptions of the speaking skill and the corresponding high significance of lexis in this instance. Results show that both teachers and learners identify vocabulary deficiency as the main factor behind students' inability to speak English

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[2] Coady, J. (1997) and Huckins, Th. (1997). Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[3] Levelt, W. (1994). Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge, M.A.: MIT Press.

[4] Bygate, M. (1987). Speaking. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press.

[5] Levelt, W. (1989). Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge, M.A.: MIT Press. [6] Halliday, M.A.K., and R. Hasan. 1976. Cohesion in English. London: Longman

Abstract: As documented by Ndamba, Lunga and Musarurwa, (2013) gender based violence (GBV) is one of the key drivers of HIV, high mortality rate, crime and other non-conforming behaviours. The purpose of the study was to investigate the psychosocial drivers of GBV in Matabeleland South. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The quantitative aspects included questionnaires that were administered to women of child bearing age, whilst the qualitative aspect involved secondary data review, interviews of key informants and focus group discussions. The population of man, women, and youths was used to make reasonable inferences on the issues fuelling GBV in Matabeleland South. Purposive and random sampling techniques were used to identify the ideal participants for the survey.

[1]. Damba, G., Lunga, W. & Musarurwa, C., 2013, 'Awareness campaigns as survival tools in the fight against gender-based violence in peri-urban communities of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe', Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies 5(2), Art. #83, 5 pages. http://dx.doi. org/10.4102/jamba.v5i2.83. (Accessed 20 April 2013).
[2]. Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2010-11. http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/ zimbabwe/ drive/2010-11ZDHSPreliminaryReport-FINAL.pdf. Accessed 23 May 2012.
[3]. UNFPA Zimbabwe (2011). Zimbabwe committed to end gender based violence. Available from: http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/zimbabwe/2011/11/28/4281/zimbabwe_committed_to_end_gender_based_violence/. Accessed 22 May 2012.
[4]. The Herald (2011). The key to end gender-based violence is social change. Harare: Zimpapers
[5]. Kira, I., 2004, 'Assessing and responding to secondary traumatisation in the survivors' families', Torture 14, 38–45.

Abstract: The study sort to evaluate the barriers to access to reproductive health services for women in Matabeleland South. The study was premised on the Health Belief Model (HBM) formulated by Hochbaum, Kegees, Leventhal and Rosenstockof 1974 cited in Chiremba and Maunganidze (2004). They propound that the HBM has 3 main components, namely individual factors, modifying factors and likelihood of action. They infer that, an individual's attitude determines how she/he engages in certain behaviour. Conducted over 21 days, the study employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

[1]. Chiremba, W. and Maunganidze, L. (2004). Health Behaviour. Harare: Zimbabwe Open
[2]. University
[3]. World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UNFPA and The World Blank, (2010)Trends in the Maternal Mortality 1990-2010. Available from: http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications /2012/Trends_in_maternal_mortality_A4-1.pdf. (Accessed on the 17 July 2012).