Interrater reliability in large-scale assessments – Can teachers score national tests reliably without external controls?

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Temporära platser

Temporära platser - alternativ användning av en plats under en begränsad tid - har under senaste åren varit ett sätt för planerare att snabbt tillgodose behovet av mötesplatser i stadens offentliga rum. Den starka urbaniseringen, ökade klyftor och klimatförändringar medför att behovet av inkluderande offentliga miljöer, som alla i staden har tillgång till, ökar. Invånares möjlighet att vara delaktiga i stadens utveckling och gestaltning har under de senaste tio åren blivit en allt viktigare fråga för beslutsfattare. Medborgardialog kan användas som ett verktyg för att ge ökat inflytande och bidra till ökad hänsyn till den lokala miljön. Genom att bjuda in medborgarna i planeringsprocessen kan användning, aktiviteter och behov kartläggas i ett tidigt skede. Denna uppsats undersöker temporära platser som tagits fram med hjälp av medborgardialog som metod för att involvera framtida användare. Det temporära ger tillfälle att testa idéer som kanske hade varit svåra att genomföra om det hade varit en permanent gestaltning. Uppsatsen består av två delar, en litteraturstudie samt en fallstudie innehållande intervjuer och observationer. Den syftar till att undersöka hur temporära platser kan användas för att öka medborgar- inflytandet i utvecklingen av staden. Uppsatsen undersöker även olika metoder för medborgardialog och hur dessa kan användas i arbetet med temporära platser. I uppsatsens litteraturstudie lyfter vi inledningsvis en diskussion om det offentliga rummet idag, hur det är präglat av olika samhällsförändringar, invånares möjlighet att forma den offentliga miljön och vikten av en levande stad. Vidare behandlar uppsatsen temporära platser, hur de har varit ett sätt att möta förändring genom tiderna samt problematiserar användningen av temporära platser. Avslutningsvis tar litteraturstudien upp medborgardialog som metod för att involvera invånare i utvecklingen av staden samt olika metoder och exempel på projekt där medborgardialog har använts. I fallstudien undersöker vi två platser - Jubileumsparken i Göteborg och Vänskapstorget i Malmö. De båda platserna är temporära och har tagits fram med hjälp av medborgardialog. Platsbesök, observationer och intervjuer har genomförts. De intervjuade är Jan Liesegang, arkitekt som arbetat med Jubileumsparken och Felicia Fredriksson, verksamhetsledare och beställare för Vänskapstorget. I den avslutande diskussionen diskuteras fallstudiens resultat kopplat till litteraturstudien. Fallstudien visar att medbordialog, i arbetet med temporära platser, kan öka invånarnas delaktighet i stadens utveckling och gestaltning. I projektet Vänskapstorget kunde deltagarna bidra med konkteta förslag och påverka gestaltningen. I Jubileumsparken fick invånare vara med att bygga på plats och komma med idéer som inspirerade arkitekterna till parkens utformning. Vidare visar studien att det behövs olika metoder för att se till mångfalden av behov i staden. Avslutningsvis tror vi att temporära platser, som metod för att involvera invånare i stadens utveckling, kommer att hålla i sig under en lång tid framöver.Temporary spaces - alternative use for a specific space during a limited time period - has during recent year emerged as a method for city planners to satisfy the need for public spaces in an urban environment. With urbanisation, increasing social gaps and climate change comes the need for accessible public spaces. Residents ability to participate in urban development and design has become an increasingly important issue for decision-makers over the past ten years. Citizen dialogue can be used as a tool to gain influence and contribute to a greater regard for the local environment. By inviting citizens into the planning process, their use, activities and needs can be mapped out in an early stage. This paper examines temporary spaces that have been developed with the use of citizen participation as a means of engaging future users. Temporary use creates the opportunity to test ideas that might have been difficult to implement in a permanent design. This paper consists of two parts, a literary study and a case study containing interviews and observations. It aims to examine how temporary spaces can be used to increase citizen influence in urban development. The paper also examines different methods for citizen participation and how it can be used in developing temporary spaces. Initially the literary study highlights a discussion about the contemporary public space, how it’s characterised by various societal changes, residents ability to shape the public environment and the importance of a living city. Further, the paper deals with temporary spaces as a means of facing changes through the ages and problematising the use of temporary spaces. Finally, the literary study addresses citizen dialogue as a method for involving citizens in the development of the city as well as various methods and examples where citizen dialogue has been used. The case study investigates two different places - Jubileumsparken in Gothenburg and Vänskapstorget in Malmo. They are both temporary public spaces developed with the help of citizen dialogue. Site visits, observations and interviews have been conducted. The interview subjects are Jan Liesegang, architect who worked with Jubileumsparken and Felicia Fredriksson, operations manager and client for Vänskapstorget. In the closing discussion, the case study’s results are linked to the literary study. The case study shows that temporary spaces and citizen dialogue can be used as a method for increasing citizens participation in urban development and design. In Vänskapstorget, participants were able to contribute concrete proposals and influence the design. In Jubileumsparken, citizen were invited to build on the site and come up with ideas that inspired the architects in the design of the park. Furthermore, the study shows that different methods are needed to face the diversity of need in the urban environment. In conclusion we believe temporary spaces as a method to involve residents in the development of the city will last for a long time

Deposition & characterisation of silicon and conductive layers on woven polyester

Textile and semiconductor processes were combined to produce a flexible solar panel by depositing silicon thin film onto woven polyester. Semiconductor processes such as evaporation, Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) and RFsputtering were done under vacuum conditions. Microwave PECVD proved difficult for textile substrates as the weave was damaged using parameter settings commonly used for conventional substrates such as silicon wafers and glass. PECVD parameters such as temperature, gas flow-rate, mixture, pressure and power were adjusted to allow the textile to be processed and a good quality silicon thin film to be deposited. An extra conductive layer was introduced between the textile and metal back-contact to support the cell. The silicon film structure changed from amorphous to mixed crystal growth in an amorphous matrix, as revealed by Raman spectroscopy and light transmission. The silicon Raman spectrum often had three peaks with the middle one, a fingerprint for nanocrystal growth with a hexagonal wurtzite structure in between the amorphous and crystalline peaks. Process conditions for pure amorphous and microcrystalline structures were also established, requiring two peaks to fit the Raman spectrum. Different structures have different band-gap energies and these were determined by measuring the variation in light transmission. An amorphous structure has a band-gap energy of 1.8eV while a crystalline silicon structure has a band-gap of 1eV and a mixed nanocrystalline content has an intermediate value which depends on the crystal size. A microcrystalline structure has a band-gap of 1.6eV

3D-printed polyamide structures coated with TiO2 nanoparticles, towards a 360-degree rotating photocatalytic reactor

3D-printed polyamide structures coated with TiO2 nanoparticles were obtained by a simple impregnation method. This novel type of 3D reactor was evaluated for its photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of methylene blue under UV light using a 360-degree rotating stage. Rotation improved the photocatalytic activity under UV light for all the 3D structures. The best photocatalytic structure showed a 94.1 % methylene blue degradation, after 180 min under UV irradiation with 360-degree rotation.publishedVersio

Horizontal branch morphology and multiple stellar populations in the anomalous globular cluster M 22

M 22 is an anomalous globular cluster that hosts two groups of stars with different metallicity and s-element abundance. The star-to-star light-element variations in both groups, with the presence of individual Na-O and C-N anticorrelations, demonstratesWe are grateful to Peter Stetson for providing photometry of M22. A.P.M. acknowledges the financial support from the Australian Research Council through Discovery Project grant DP120100475. Support for this work has been provided by the IAC (grant 310394), and the Education and Science Ministry of Spain (grants AYA2007-3E3506 and AYA2010-16717)

Thermal desorption as a high removal remediation technique for soils contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)

Soils contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are an important source for impacting drinking water delivery systems and surface water bodies world-wide, posing an urgent risk to human health and environmental quality. However, few treatment techniques have been tested for PFAS-contaminated soil hotspots. This study investigated the possibility of thermal desorption as a possible technique to remediate soils contaminated with multiple PFASs. Two fortified soils ( n-ary sumation (9)PFAS approximate to 4 mg kg(-1)) and one field-contaminated soil ( n-ary sumation (9)PFAS approximate to 0.025 mg kg(-1)) were subjected to a 75-min thermal treatment at temperatures ranging from 150 to 550 degrees C. Soil concentrations of PFASs showed a significant decrease at 350 degrees C, with the n-ary sumation (9)PFAS concentration decreasing by, on average, 43% and 79% in the fortified and field contaminated soils, respectively. At 450 degrees C, >99% of PFASs were removed from the fortified soils, while at 550 degrees C the fraction removed ranged between 71 and 99% for the field contaminated soil. In the field contaminated soil, PFAS classes with functional groups of sulfonates (PFSAs) and sulfonamides (FOSAs) showed higher removal than the perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs). Thus thermal desorption has the potential to remove a wide variety of PFASs from soil, although more studies are needed to investigate the cost-effectiveness, creation of transformation products, and air-phase vacuum filtration techniques

Predictive value of psychological assessment at five years of age in the long-term follow-up of very preterm children

The aims of this study were to 1) assess the predictive value of psychological assessment at five years of age on the need for educational support in very preterm children, and 2) report the neuropsychological profile of very preterm children at eleven years of age and risk factors for poorer neuropsychological functions. A cohort of 167 very preterm children was included (birth weight???1500?g and/or gestational age <32?weeks). At five years of age, intellectual functioning was assessed with Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised and neuropsychological performance with NEPSY II. At eleven years of age, neuropsychological functions were assessed using NEPSY II and data on educational support services collected using a questionnaire. Lower full-scale intelligence quotient and poorer performance in subtests inhibition, comprehension of instructions, memory for designs, visuomotor precision and design copying at five years of age were associated with a need for educational support. Neuropsychological performance at eleven years of age was overall within the average range but below the mean, with the poorest performance in tasks assessing visual memory and visuospatial functions. The results offer a novel perspective to timing and measures of follow-up of very preterm children, since they show that need for long-term educational support can be identified at five years of age. The findings also highlight the clinical value of psychological assessments including evaluation of both intellectual functioning and neuropsychological performance, covering detailed information about non-verbal functions, in the follow-up of very preterm children up to eleven years of age.Peer reviewe

The Restorative Potential of Icelandic Nature

This study aimed to investigate if proposed restorative attributes according to attention restoration theory and supportive environment theory could be experienced and identified in Icelandic landscape and contribute to a restorative experience in nature sites in rural Iceland. A prospective mixed-method study was conducted over the period of one year. Seven different nature sites that were considered likely to have restorative qualities were selected for the evaluation i.e., three forest sites, three seashores, and one park in and in the vicinity of Ísafjörður, Iceland. Each site was evaluated regarding how the participants experienced its restorative qualities and how a stay therein affected their mental state. Nature visits were offered once a week, where the participants visited one of the seven locations for two hours. The findings show that the participants perceived and experienced nature sites as having the characteristics of a restorative environment and that staying at the nature sites positively affected their mental state. External conditions, like weather, which can affect nature visits, were rarely a hinderance. Thus, it can be concluded that numerous coastal areas, forests, and parks in Iceland, especially in rural areas, might possess restorative qualities as well. This result shows that wild and open nature in North West Iceland has the characteristics of a restorative environment and can be utilized for health promotion

Kohti funktionaalisempaa kielitietoa : johdatus kielitiedon opiskeluun uusissa seitsemännen luokan äidinkielen ja kirjallisuuden oppikirjoissa

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää, miten uudet seitsemännen luokan äidinkielen ja kirjallisuuden oppikirjat johdattavat oppilaan kielitiedon opiskeluun. Tavoitteena oli tuottaa uutta tietoa kielenopetuksen ja oppimateriaalien parissa työskentelevien ammattilaisten käyttöön. Tutkimusaineistona käytettiin neljän eri kustannusyhtiön vuosina 2014 2017 julkaisemia yläkoulun seitsemännen luokan äidinkielen ja kirjallisuuden oppikirjoja harjoituskirjoineen. Kirjat olivat Särmä 7, Kärki 7, Satakieli 7 ja Kieku 7. Tutkimuksen aineistoksi rajattiin kirjojen kieltä käsittelevien osioiden johdantoluvut ja niihin liittyvät harjoitustehtävät. Monitieteinen tutkimus oli painotukseltaan kasvatustieteellinen ja sijoittui äidinkielen ja kirjallisuuden ainedidaktiikan piiriin. Kuvailevan tekstianalyysin syventämiseksi apuna käytettiin kriittistä diskurssianalyysia. Pääosin laadullisessa tutkimuksessa hyödynnettiin osittain myös määrällistä tutkimusotetta. Teoreettisena lähtökohtana käytettiin näkemyksiä pedagogisesta kielitiedosta, jonka keskeisenä viitekehyksenä voidaan pitää funktionaalisen kielitieteen systeemis-funktionaalista suuntausta. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin oppikirjojen kieliosioiden johdantolukujen tekstien ja tehtävänantojen kautta välittyviä käsityksiä kielestä, kielitiedosta sekä kirjaa käyttävästä oppijasta. Tekstien merkityssisältöjä sekä kirjojen suosimia esitystapoja ja harjoitusmuotoja suhteutettiin Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteissa 2014 esitettyihin laaja-alaisiin tavoitteisiin sekä äidinkielen ja kirjallisuuden oppiainekohtaisiin tavoitteisiin, joissa korostuu pyrkimys toiminnallisempaan ja funktionaalisempaan opetukseen, joka kehittää muun muassa oppilaan monilukutaitoa ja luovuutta sekä ajattelu- ja vuorovaikutustaitoja. Mekaanisiksi tutkimuksessa määriteltiin perinteistä mallia noudattavat, käsitelähtöiset ja kaavamaiset esitystavat ja tehtävät. Hallitsevien piirteidensä perusteella koko aineiston harjoitukset jaettiin funktionaalisiin ja mekaanisiin. Tutkimuksessa osoitettiin, että oppikirjat johdattavat oppilaan erilaisten näkökulmien kautta kielitiedon opiskeluun. Särmä 7 lähestyy kieltä monikäyttöisenä välineenä ja suosii pääosin funktionaalisia harjoituksia. Kärki 7 käsittelee sananmuodostuskeinoja kaikin puolin mekaanisesti. Satakieli 7 korostaa kielen merkitystä ihmiselle ja noudattaa funktionaalisuuden tavoitteita. Kieku 7 keskittyy teoreettisesti lapsen kielelliseen kehitykseen mutta käyttää aiheen käsittelyn tukena funktionaalisia tehtäviä. Analyysin pohjalta muodostuneen kokonaiskuvan perusteella opetussuunnitelman ja pedagogisen kielitiedon funktionaalisuuden tavoitteita toteuttaa parhaiten Satakieli 7, seuraavana Särmä 7, sitten Kieku 7 ja viimeisenä Kärki 7