Varstvo narodnih manjšin na Balkanu: primer makedonskih manjšin

This dissertation has examined the approaches adopted by certain Balkan and Central European countries towards protecting their national minorities, with the primary focus being the position and rights of Macedonian minorities in the neighboring countries of the Republic of Macedonia. The dissertation has argued that the right to identity is in many ways, in combination with other minority rights, the quintessential right for minorities within the wider scope of human rights. The hypothesis is generated from the concept of minority protection in general, and tested by analyzing the minority protection provisions in certain Balkan and Central European countries, especially focused on the position and rights of Macedonian minorities in countries neighboring the Republic of Macedonia. It finds support in international judicial and quasi-judicial case-law, which confirms that protection of the separate ethno-cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities is the core of the international protection of minorities. Some authors contend that the \u27right to preserve a separate identity\u27 is one of the two collective human rights that international law affords to minorities in general. In other words, while the vast majority of rights concerning minority protection are formulated in an individualistic manner, designed to protect the \u27individual as a member of a minority\u27, these rights are based on the interest of minority groups and a fortiori require collective exercise. Correspondingly, it should be reiterated that the principles of minority protection are based on the concept of substantive equality, and, consequently, composed of two pillars, namely: 1) the principle of non-discrimination accompanied by individual human rights relevant to minoritiesand 2) special minority rights. The rationale behind the latter is to create conditions conducive to the protection and promotion of the ethno-cultural, linguistic and religious identity of minorities. It goes without saying that the right to mother tongue education in combination with linguistic rights and the right to participate in public and political life are of utmost importance for minority identity to flourish in the societies in which they live.Doktorska disertacija obravnava različne pravne pristope, ki so jih na področju varstva svojih narodnih manjšin sprejele nekatere balkanske in srednjeevropske države, pri tem pa je poseben poudarek dan položaju in pravicam makedonskih manjšin v sosednjih državah Republike Makedonije, torej v Albaniji, Bolgariji, Grčiji, Srbiji in na Kosovu. Hipoteza disertacije je, da je pravica do identitete, v kombinaciji z drugimi manjšinskimi pravicami, v širšem konceptu človekovih pravic za manjšino bistvenega pomena. Prav tako pa učinkovito zagotavljanje pravice do identitete nujno zagotavlja priznanje ali sprejetje obstoja določene etnične skupine v družbi, v povezavi z: 1) zagotavljanjem in spoštovanjem načela nediskriminacije pri uživanju pravic in svoboščin, pomembnih za narodne manjšine in njihove članeter 2) sprejetjem posebnih ali trajnih pravic. Tako hipoteza sledi izhodišču, ki izhaja iz mednarodnega prava in sicer, da je sistem zaščite manjšin obvezno sestavljen iz dveh stebrov. Razlog za obstoj posebnih ali trajnih pravic je ustvarjanje pogojev za varstvo in spodbujanje etnično-kulturne, jezikovne in verske identitete manjšin. Samoumevno je, da je pravica do izobraževanja v maternem jeziku v povezavi z jezikovnimi pravicami in pravico do sodelovanja v javnem in političnem življenju izjemnega pomena za identiteto manjšine, da bi le-ta lahko uspešno delovala v družbi, katere del je

Longitudinal Case Study Research to Study Self-Regulation of Professional Learning:Combining Observations and Stimulated Recall Interviews Throughout Everyday Work

Professional learning reflects critical processes of change whereby one modifies and extends prior competencies while performing one’s job. Over the past two decades, the need has emerged and grown for insights on how employees take responsibility for their own learning and engage in self-regulation of professional learning. However, the process of measuring professional learning as well as self-regulation of professional learning during everyday work has raised difficult methodological problems for various reasons. The retrospective, cross-sectional, self-report measurement techniques often used, tend to de-contextualise learning from the complex environments in which professionals operate. Under such techniques, study participants are asked to make abstractions of this complexity to self-report regarding possibly implicit, multifaceted competencies and metacognitive strategy use as features of self-regulated learning. In this chapter, we offer an alternative approach via a longitudinal multiple case study design combining long-term observations with immediate consecutive stimulated recall interviews, towards building a more dynamic and situated understanding of professional learning through which to explore participants’ self-regulation. Using both ‘on-line’ and ‘off-line’ measurement techniques, the proposed interactive approach was empirically applied to investigate self-regulation of professional learning in medical practice. Without pretentiously suggesting that this is the ultimate research solution, we aim to outline the approach, its opportunities and challenges, how to tackle these challenges, and how the approach’s research insights could function to advance theory-building on professional learning in general—and self-regulation of professional learning in particular—in everyday work.</p

It is all in the surv-eye: can eye tracking data shed light on the internal consistency in self-report questionnaires on cognitive processing strategies?

Although self-report questionnaires are widely used, researchers debate whether responses to these types of questionnaires are valid representations of the respondent’s actual thoughts and beliefs. In order to provide more insight into the quality of questionnaire data, we aimed to gain an understanding of the processes that impact the completion of self-report questionnaires. To this end, we explored the process of completing a questionnaire by monitoring the eye tracking data of 70 students in higher education. Specifically, we examined the relation between eye movement measurements and the level of internal consistency demonstrated in the responses to the questionnaire. The results indicated that respondents who look longer at an item do not necessarily have more consistent answering behaviour than respondents with shorter processing times. Our findings indicate that eye tracking serves as a promising tool to gain more insight into the process of completing self-report questionnaires

Added value of microscale Raman chemical analysis in mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) : a comparison with macroscale MRI

Diffuse axonal injury and microhemorrhages, common complications after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), can lead to neurodegeneration and disability and have negative socioeconomic consequences. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is conventionally used to study brain injuries in vivo, but microscale damage common in mTBI is challenging to detect. Raman microscopy is an effective diagnostic tool to investigate cells and tissue in a label-free manner, but the scanning mode of Raman microscopy is typically used only in vitro. Here, we show that Raman microscopy complements in vivo MRI, providing the vital information on the structural and molecular changes caused by mTBI in rats. We demonstrate that a method based on Raman microscopy allows us to detect structural damage invisible by conventional MRI and spot molecular changes in protein/lipid concentrations caused by mild TBI

A Learning Patterns Perspective on Student Learning in Higher Education: State of the Art and Moving Forward

The aim of this article is to review the state of the art of research and theory development on student learning patterns in higher education and beyond. First, the learning patterns perspective and the theoretical framework are introduced. Second, research published since 2004 on student learning patterns is systematically identified and reviewed. This part includes two main sections. In the first section new evidence on internal and external relationships of learning patterns is reviewed. Four themes are covered here: the dimensionality and the internal relationships of learning patterns, and relationships of learning patterns with personal, contextual and outcome variables. In the second section new directions in learning patterns research are examined. These include studies on learning patterns in new international contexts and populations, longitudinal development of learning patterns over time, methodological advances in learning patterns research, and studies on fostering the quality of students’ learning patterns. Next, relationships with adjacent theories on student learning are discussed, the learning patterns perspective is critically examined, and pathways are derived to move the model forward. Finally, future conceptual and methodological directions for learning patterns research are derived

Public Housing after Hurricane, Urban Renewal or Removal? The Case Studies of Beaumont and Galveston, Texas.

Decent housing is a goal for many people not only in the United States but elsewhere in the world. A house becomes the symbol of family spirit whether it is a single-family or multiple-family home. Public housing in the United States is housing of “last resort,” for families whose incomes do not allow them to find housing in the private market. Yet, many studies focusing on public housing find a host of social issues plaguing these units. The US Government has initiated various programs to improve the quality of public housing as well as the living condition of local resident through agenda of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HOPE VI is one of the major programs that focuses on distressed public housing. This program funds local government and housing authority in order to revitalized or rebuild public housing. This program has been very successful in providing high-quality housing for public housing residents. However, as any type of construction, housing usually received great damage when natural disaster happening. It can be partly damaged or completely destroyed due to the direct and indirect effects of disaster. Public housing, like most affordable housing, is often built in highly vulnerable areas, such as floodplains or other low-lying areas. When disasters such as hurricanes strike, housing located in these areas is likely to receive the greatest damage and recovery may be slower. This study looks at the case study of public housing in Galveston and Beaumont after Hurricane Ike (2008) and Rita (2005). After Hurricane Rita in 2005, Beaumont has rebuilt some public housing development with a HOPE VI grant awarded in 2007. These areas have successfully rebuilt through the cooperation of housing authority, local government, local residents, and developers. In contrast, Galveston could not reach agreement about the destiny of public housing after Hurricane Ike in 2008. This story becomes more serious when HUD announced that if Galveston cannot rebuild public housing in disaster area, they must refund the money to the federal Government. These two cities provide a comparative case study of the rebuilding of public housing after disaster, where on one successfully rebuilt while other did not. By looking at the secondary data sources, this research analyzes the situation of these places in different period: before the Hurricane, when the Hurricane happened, and after the Hurricane. The paper will address the similarities as well as differences between two case studies in term of historical profile, demography, public housing program characteristics, damage, and recovery. Besides, economic change after hurricane approached is addressed. The housing situation will be further analyzed in Galveston to clearly show the obstacles in which this city coped with. Finally, the study will conclude by suggesting some implications for theory, housing policy, management, and further research

Radiosynthesis, in vitro and preliminary in vivo evaluation of the novel glutamine derived PET tracers [18F]fluorophenylglutamine and [18F]fluorobiphenylglutamine

INTRODUCTION: Glucose has been deemed the driving force of tumor growth for decades. However, research has shown that several tumors metabolically shift towards glutaminolysis. The development of radiolabeled glutamine derivatives could be a useful molecular imaging tool for visualizing these tumors. We elaborated on the glutamine-derived PET tracers by developing two novel probes, namely [(18)F]fluorophenylglutamine and [(18)F]fluorobiphenylglutamine MATERIALS AND METHODS: Both tracers were labelled with fluorine-18 using our recently reported ruthenium-based direct aromatic fluorination method. Their affinity was evaluated with a [(3)H]glutamine inhibition experiment in a human PC-3 and a rat F98 cell line. The imaging potential of [(18)F]fluorophenylglutamine and [(18)F]fluorobiphenylglutamine was tested using a mouse PC-3 and a rat F98 tumor model. RESULTS: The radiosynthesis of both tracers was successful with overall non-decay corrected yields of 18.46 ± 4.18 % (n=10) ([(18)F]fluorophenylglutamine) and 8.05 ± 3.25 % (n=5) ([(18)F]fluorobiphenylglutamine). In vitro inhibition experiments showed a moderate and low affinity of fluorophenylglutamine and fluorobiphenylglutamine, respectively, towards the human ASCT-2 transporter. Both compounds had a low affinity towards the rat ASCT-2 transporter. These results were endorsed by the in vivo experiments with low uptake of both tracers in the F98 rat xenograft, low uptake of [(18)F]FBPG in the mice PC-3 xenograft and a moderate uptake of [(18)F]FPG in the PC-3 tumors. CONCLUSION: We investigated the imaging potential of two novel PET radiotracers [(18)F]FPG and [(18)F]FBPG. [(18)F]FPG is the first example of a glutamine radiotracer derivatized with a phenyl group which enables the exploration of further derivatization of the phenyl group to increase the affinity and imaging qualities. We hypothesize that increasing the affinity of [(18)F]FPG by optimizing the substituents of the arene ring can result in a high-quality glutamine-based PET radiotracer. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PATIENT CARE: We hereby report novel glutamine-based PET-tracers. These tracers are tagged on the arene group with fluorine-18, hereby preventing in vivo defluorination, which can occur with alkyl labelled tracers (e.g. (2S,4R)4-[(18)F]fluoroglutamine). [(18)F]FPG shows clear tumor uptake in vivo, has no in vivo defluorination and has a straightforward production. We believe this tracer is a good starting point for the development of a high-quality tracer which is useful for the clinical visualization of the glutamine transport