Multilingualism in Marrickville: A Multidimensional Linguistic Landscape Study

Linguistic diversity is common in today’s urban environments and there is a growing interest in linguistic landscape research as a way of gaining knowledge about language use in multilingual settings. The present study examines the linguistic landscape of Marrickville, a suburb in Sydney, taking a variety of aspects that affect the formation of societal multilingualism into consideration. Photos taken of visual language use in a central area of the suburb were compared to census data on language use in the home domain. Furthermore, the linguistic landscape items observed were categorized based on the involvement of public and private actors in their production and investigated in relation to circumstances that affect sign-makers’ choices. The analysis shows that visual language use in the public sphere to some extent reflects language use in the home domain, but some differences are observed, and investigations of the characteristics of linguistic landscape items shed further light on factors affecting what languages appear in the visual environment

Transition within transition: how young people learn to leave behind institutional care whilst their carers are stuck in neutral

This paper discusses findings from a qualitative longitudinal study which explored the process of leaving long-stay institutional state care in Romania during 2002–4, a period at the heart of accelerated EU enforced childcare reform. 28 young people were interviewed before leaving care and 17 were tracked up to 8 months after discharge. 18 practitioners were also interviewed. The findings confirmed Pinkerton's (2006) emphasis on the impact of global and national factors on the individual experience of leaving care. This study took place in a country undergoing widespread change. The care leavers' irreversible transition took place within the simultaneous professional transition of their carers and that of the community with which they needed to integrate. This insight is widely relevant in the current context of public funding cuts and changes in welfare policy in many countries, including the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Bridges (2009) was used to understand the experiences of care leavers and their carers. Bridges stresses the role of the leader in creating protective conditions for traversing three unavoidable transition stages: 1. ending old identity/behaviour; 2. a neutral zone of deconstruction and transformation; and 3. a new beginning. Preparation for leaving care can be viewed as learning to end care, followed by the neutral zone which begins at discharge. When lacking family support, formal carers are the young people's main transition guides. However, their professional transition also needs management. Because of top-down, accelerated childcare reforms, the Romanian carers' transitions appeared stuck in the neutral zone, affecting preparation for leaving care. Yet, the availability of learning opportunities after discharge changed the nature of the neutral zone for most of the sample who did better than expected at follow-up. This, supported by Bridges' proposal that learning during transition influences future coping, offers a foundation for new theory

Calprotectin (S100A8/S100A9) and Myeloperoxidase: Co-Regulators of Formation of Reactive Oxygen Species

Inflammatory mediators trigger polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS: O2-, H2O2, ∙OH). Mediated by myeloperoxidase in PMN, HOCl is formed, detectable in a chemiluminescence (CL) assay. We have shown that the abundant cytosolic PMN protein calprotectin (S100A8/A9) similarly elicits CL in response to H2O2 in a cell-free system. Myeloperoxidase and calprotectin worked synergistically. Calprotectin-induced CL increased, whereas myeloperoxidase-triggered CL decreased with pH > 7.5. Myeloperoxidase needed NaCl for CL, calprotectin did not. 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, binding ∙OH, almost abrogated calprotectin CL, but moderately increased myeloperoxidase activity. The combination of native calprotectin, or recombinant S100A8/A9 proteins, with NaOCl markedly enhanced CL. NaOCl may be the synergistic link between myeloperoxidase and calprotectin. Surprisingly- and unexplained- at higher concentration of S100A9 the stimulation vanished, suggesting a switch from pro-oxidant to anti-oxidant function. We propose that the ∙OH is predominant in ROS production by calprotectin, a function not described before

Visual methodologies, sand and psychoanalysis: employing creative participatory techniques to explore the educational experiences of mature students and children in care

Social science research has witnessed an increasing move towards visual methods of data production. However, some visual techniques remain pariah sites because of their association with psychoanalysis; and a reluctance to engage with psychoanalytically informed approaches outside of therapy based settings. This paper introduces the method of ‘sandboxing’, which was developed from the psychoanalytical approach of the ‘world technique’. ‘Sandboxing’ provides an opportunity for participants to create three-dimensional scenes in sand-trays, employing miniature figures and everyday objects. Data is presented from two studies conducted in Wales, UK. The first, exploring mature students’ accounts of higher education, and the second, exploring the educational experiences of children and young people in public care. The paper argues that psychoanalytical work can be adapted to enable a distinctive, valuable and ethical tool of qualitative inquiry; and illustrates how ‘sandboxing’ engendered opportunities to fight familiarity, enabled participatory frameworks, and contributed to informed policy and practice

"Om inlägget är sponsrat tänker jag inte gilla" : En undersökning om interaktionen på sponsrade och icke-sponsrade inlägg från influencers följare

The purpose of this study is to investigate the motives of young women choosing to interact with Swedish female influencers on Instagram, and these young womens, the followers, attitudes to sponsored material. The theories chosen as relevant for this study are “parasocial theory” as well as “perceived interconnectedness”. Both theories subject the relationship between a media personality and their fans. A content analysis was chosen to look at the difference in likes and comments on influencers sponsored as well as non-sponsored posts on Instagram. Furthermore, to increase the understanding, a survey was sent out to a collection of the followers who had commented on the relevant posts. This provided knowledge regarding followers' attitudes towards sponsored as well as non-sponsored posts. This empirical material was then analyzed using the method of content analysis. The main results of the study showed that the non-sponsored posts uploaded by the influencers were more appreciated by their followers, since 1 these non-sponsored posts generated more likes and comments from the followers. Furthermore, the respondents to the survey replied that they were often supportive of the influencers, and followed them as well as commented on their posts when they were inspired by them, wanted to support them, wanted to make their own opinions heard, or when the posts felt genuine and personal. The results are important as well as relevant for future studies, as well as for both influencers and companies willing to use influencers for marketing.

"Om inlägget är sponsrat tänker jag inte gilla" : En undersökning om interaktionen på sponsrade och icke-sponsrade inlägg från influencers följare

The purpose of this study is to investigate the motives of young women choosing to interact with Swedish female influencers on Instagram, and these young womens, the followers, attitudes to sponsored material. The theories chosen as relevant for this study are “parasocial theory” as well as “perceived interconnectedness”. Both theories subject the relationship between a media personality and their fans. A content analysis was chosen to look at the difference in likes and comments on influencers sponsored as well as non-sponsored posts on Instagram. Furthermore, to increase the understanding, a survey was sent out to a collection of the followers who had commented on the relevant posts. This provided knowledge regarding followers' attitudes towards sponsored as well as non-sponsored posts. This empirical material was then analyzed using the method of content analysis. The main results of the study showed that the non-sponsored posts uploaded by the influencers were more appreciated by their followers, since 1 these non-sponsored posts generated more likes and comments from the followers. Furthermore, the respondents to the survey replied that they were often supportive of the influencers, and followed them as well as commented on their posts when they were inspired by them, wanted to support them, wanted to make their own opinions heard, or when the posts felt genuine and personal. The results are important as well as relevant for future studies, as well as for both influencers and companies willing to use influencers for marketing.

Methods and applications of CRISPR-Cas9 in cancer research. : – And how CRISPR-Cas9 can be applied in teaching.

CRISPR-Cas9 är ett effektivt genredigeringsverktyg som har upptäckts på senare år. Verktyget härstammar från ett adaptivt immunförsvar hos prokaryoter. Tekniken används för att modifiera DNA hos växter, djur och människor på ett enkelt och billigt sätt. CRISPR-Cas9 har visat sig ha stor potential vid bekämpning av olika sjukdomar däribland cancer som idag är ett globalt hälsoproblem. Inom cancerforskningen ses CRISPR-Cas9 som ett lovande verktyg vid cancerterapi och läkemedelsutveckling. I denna studie sammanställer vi aktuella metoder och användningsområden med CRISPR-Cas9 inom cancerforskning. Dessutom undersöker vi hur denna form av genteknik kan lyftas upp och tillämpas i biologiundervisningen.CRISPR-Cas9 has recently emerged as an effective genome editing tool. The tool derives from an adaptive immune system in prokaryotes. The technology is used for modification of DNA in plants, animals and humans in a simple and inexpensive way. CRISPR-Cas9 has shown great potential in fighting different diseases like cancer which today is a global health issue. It is seen as a promising tool for cancer research when it comes to cancer therapy and drug development. Here we summarize current methods and applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for cancer research. Furthermore, we explore the possibilities of introducing and applying this kind of genetic engineering in biology teaching.  Framläggning, opponering och respondering skedde skriftligt till följd av covid19.</p