Nasjonal utdanning for skoleledere : hvorfor?

Utdanningssektoren i Norge har vært utsatt for flere reformer og endringer de siste tiår. Internasjonale undersøkelser viser at norske elever kommer dårligere ut enn andre sammenlignbare land. Norge har satt fokus på resultater i skolen og ledelsens betydning for elevenes læring. OECD-rapporten Improving School Leadership – Privacy and Practice (2006-2008) pekte på at Norge hadde få sentrale tiltak eller føringer rettet mot skoleledelse sammenlignet med andre land. Høsten 2009 opprettet Utdanningsdirektoratet på oppdrag fra Kunnskapsdepartementet en nasjonal utdanning for skoleledere. Denne satsingen er et nytt fenomen i Norge. Fokuset i vår oppgave er knyttet til hvilken begrunnelse som ligger bak denne satsingen. Den nasjonale utdanningen som tilbys vil kunne si noe om hvilke skoleledere Staten ønsker og hvordan en ser på skolen i nåtid og fremtid. Denne utdanningen vil være ett av myndighetenes verktøy for å styre norsk utdanning. For å finne hva de utdanningspolitiske myndigheter legger til grunn for en nasjonal utdanning, valgte vi en kvalitativ metode. Vi fant at en temaanalytisk tilnærming ville belyse hva som var kommunisert gjennom politiske styringsdokumenter og funn gjennom intervju av sentrale aktører knyttet opp mot skolelederutdanningen. Med utgangspunkt i denne empirien mener vi at vi har funnet noen svar på hva myndighetene vil med denne satsingen. Alle funn viser et behov for en styrking av ledelse, og at det er behov for et kraftfullt og tydelig lederskap i skolen. Skoleledelse som fagfelt må løftes fram for å kunne endre skolen til å bli en lærende organisasjon for å heve skolens kvalitet og elevenes læringsutbytte. Men hvordan dette bør gjøres, og hvem som har ansvaret for det, er det ikke noen tydelig enighet om mellom de politiske og faglige aktørene. Det er heller ikke uttrykt enighet om hva som bør vektlegges av innhold i utdanningen, og om man kan utdannes til å bli en bedre skoleleder. Bør det heller satses på å utvikle framfor å utdanne? Det vi imidlertid ser er at det uttrykkes et behov for en nasjonal styring der politikerne i større grad involverer seg mer direkte i skolen. Det desentraliserte styringssystemet som følge av Kunnskapsløftet ser ut til å svekkes noe i forhold til en sterkere sentralisering

Clinical Pharmacy: Looking 20 Years Back… Looking 20 Years Forward

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90209/1/phco.20.16.235S.35021.pd

Structure of PEP-PEO block copolymer micelles: Exploiting the complementarity of small-angle X-ray scattering and static light scattering

The structure of large block copolymer micelles is traditionally determined by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), covering a large range of scattering vectors and employing contrast variation to determine the overall micelle morphology as well as the internal structure on shorter length scales. The present work shows that the same information can be obtained by combining static light scattering (SLS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), which provide information on, respectively, large and short length scales. Micelles of a series of block copolymers of poly(ethylene propylene)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEP–PEO) in a 70% ethanol solution are investigated. The polymers have identical PEP blocks of 5.0 kDa and varying PEO blocks of 2.8–49 kDa. The SLS contrasts of PEP and PEO are similar, providing a homogeneous contrast, making SLS ideal for determining the overall micelle morphology. The SAXS contrasts of the two components are very different, allowing for resolution of the internal micelle structure. A core–shell model with a PEP core and PEO corona is fitted simultaneously to the SAXS and SLS data using the different contrasts of the two blocks for each technique. With increasing PEO molecular weight, a transition from cylindrical to spherical micelles is observed. This transition cannot be identified from the SAXS data alone, but only from the SLS data.</jats:p

Data shopping in an open marketplace: Introducing the Ontogrator web application for marking up data using ontologies and browsing using facets

In the future, we hope to see an open and thriving data market in which users can find and select data from a wide range of data providers. In such an open access market, data are products that must be packaged accordingly. Increasingly, eCommerce sellers present heterogeneous product lines to buyers using faceted browsing. Using this approach we have developed the Ontogrator platform, which allows for rapid retrieval of data in a way that would be familiar to any online shopper. Using Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS), especially ontologies, Ontogrator uses text mining to mark up data and faceted browsing to help users navigate, query and retrieve data. Ontogrator offers the potential to impact scientific research in two major ways: 1) by significantly improving the retrieval of relevant information; and 2) by significantly reducing the time required to compose standard database queries and assemble information for further research. Here we present a pilot implementation developed in collaboration with the Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC) that includes content from the StrainInfo, GOLD, CAMERA, Silva and Pubmed databases. This implementation demonstrates the power of ontogration and highlights that the usefulness of this approach is fully dependent on both the quality of data and the KOS (ontologies) used. Ideally, the use and further expansion of this collaborative system will help to surface issues associated with the underlying quality of annotation and could lead to a systematic means for accessing integrated data resources

Cow Farmers’ Homes Host More Diverse Airborne Bacterial Communities Than Pig Farmers’ Homes and Suburban Homes

Living on a farm has been linked to a lower risk of immunoregulatory disorders, such as asthma, allergy, and inflammatory bowel disease. It is hypothesized that a decrease in the diversity and composition of indoor microbial communities is a sensible explanation for the upsurge in immunoregulatory diseases, with airborne bacteria contributing to this protective effect. However, the composition of this potentially beneficial microbial community in various farm and suburban indoor environments is still to be characterized. We collected settled airborne dust from stables and the associated farmers’ homes and from suburban homes using electrostatic dust collectors (EDCs) over a period of 14 days. Then, quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to assess bacterial abundance. The V3–V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using Ilumina MiSeq in order to assess microbial diversity. The Divisive Amplicon Denoising Algorithm (DADA2) algorithm was used for the inference of amplicon sequence variants from amplicon data. Airborne bacteria were significantly more abundant in farmers’ indoor environments than in suburban homes (p < 0.001). Cow farmers’ homes had significantly higher bacterial diversity than pig farmers’ and suburban homes (p < 0.001). Bacterial taxa, such as Firmicutes, Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Lactobacillus were significantly more abundant in farmers’ homes than suburban homes, and the same was true for beneficial intestinal bacterial species, such as Lactobacillus amylovorus, Eubacterium hallii, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Furthermore, we found a higher similarity between bacterial communities in individual farmers’ homes and their associated cow stables than for pig stables. Our findings contribute with important knowledge on bacterial composition, abundance, and diversity in different environments, which is highly valuable in the discussion on how microbial exposure may contribute to the development of immune-mediated diseases in both children and adults.publishedVersio

Uttalelse om Pioneer Hi-Breds genmodifiserte mais 1507xNK603 (EFSA/GMO/UK/2004/05). Vurdert og godkjent av Faggruppe for genmodifiserte organismer

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Seksuele disfunctie en relatieproblemen na prostaatkankerbehandeling: De gewenste zorg vanuit het oogpunt van patiënt en partner

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the most common side effects of prostate cancer (PC) treatment and may lead to changes in a relationship. The aim of this study was to identify sexual and/or relational problems and to investigate what kind of supportive care is preferred by patients and their partners. A cross-sectional survey was performed among men diagnosed with PC enrolled in active surveillance or treated with laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy or hormonal therapy. If possible, partners were included as well. Out of 250 patients, 80,5% suffered from moderate to severe erectile complaints. Half of them (53,7%) was treated for ED and a great part was partially (30,7%) up to not satisfied (25,7%). Out of 168 partners, 50,6% found it difficult to cope with changes around sexuality. The majority of men (74,7%) preferred a standard consultation with a urologist-sexologist three months after treatment to discuss sexuality

Uttalelse om Bayer CropScience genmodifiserte bomull LLCOTTON25 (EFSA/GMO/NL/2005/13). Vurdert og godkjent av Faggruppe for genmodifiserte organismer

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Association of Markers of Inflammation, the Kynurenine Pathway and B Vitamins with Age and Mortality, and a Signature of Inflammaging

Under embargo until: 2022-06-12Background Inflammation is a key feature of aging. We aimed to (i) investigate the association of 34 blood markers potentially involved in inflammatory processes with age and mortality and (ii) develop a signature of “inflammaging.” Methods Thirty-four blood markers relating to inflammation, B vitamin status, and the kynurenine pathway were measured in 976 participants in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study at baseline (median age = 59 years) and follow-up (median age = 70 years). Associations with age and mortality were assessed using linear and Cox regression, respectively. A parsimonious signature of inflammaging was developed and its association with mortality was compared with 2 marker scores calculated across all markers associated with age and mortality, respectively. Results The majority of markers (30/34) were associated with age, with stronger associations observed for neopterin, cystatin C, interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), several markers of the kynurenine pathway and derived indices KTR (kynurenine/tryptophan ratio), PAr index (ratio of 4-pyridoxic acid and the sum of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and pyridoxal), and HK:XA (3-hydroxykynurenine/xanthurenic acid ratio). Many markers (17/34) showed an association with mortality, in particular IL-6, neopterin, C-reactive protein, quinolinic acid, PAr index, and KTR. The inflammaging signature included 10 markers and was strongly associated with mortality (hazard ratio [HR] per SD = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.24–1.57, p = 2 × 10−8), similar to scores based on all age-associated (HR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.23–1.55, p = 4 × 10−8) and mortality-associated markers (HR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.28–1.60, p = 1 × 10−10), respectively. Strong evidence of replication of the inflammaging signature association with mortality was found in the Hordaland Health Study. Conclusion Our study highlights the key role of the kynurenine pathway and vitamin B6 catabolism in aging, along with other well-established inflammation-related markers. A signature of inflammaging based on 10 markers was strongly associated with mortality.acceptedVersio