A survey about the value of different attachment styles in romatic relationships.

Grundvallarþáttur mannlegrar tilveru er að mynda við aðra einstaklinga góð sambönd sem byggjast á trausti. Tilgangur þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna samband tengslagerða og tengslavídda fullorðinna einstaklinga við sjálfsvirðingu og gæði í rómantískum samböndum, en það hefur ekki áður verið gert á Íslandi. Rannsóknin er hluti af alþjóðlegri rannsókn (International Sexuality Description Project, ISDP). Gerð var könnun með þverskurðarsniði og var úrtakið þægindaúrtak 423 kvenna og karla á aldrinum 19-36 ára sem stunduðu nám við Háskóla Íslands á vorönn árið 2005. Rannsóknin byggðist á fimm spurningalistum sem könnuðu meðal annars tengsl, sjálfsvirðingu og gæði í rómantískum samböndum. Niðurstöðurnar sýndu að traust tengslagerð einstaklinga tengdist á jákvæðan hátt gæðum í rómantískum samböndum þeirra hvað varðar ánægju og ástríðu. Einnig kom fram að óttablandin tengslagerð og kvíði í tengslum tengdust minni sjálfsvirðingu þeirra og minni gæðum í rómantískum samböndum varðandi flesta þætti sem mældir voru. Niðurstöðurnar staðfestu þá andstæðu póla traustrar tengslagerðar annars vegar og óttablandinnar tengslagerðar hins vegar sem fyrri rannsóknir hafa sýnt fram á og andstæð tengsl þeirra við gæði í rómantískum samböndum.The basic foundation of human existance is forming good relationships with other people based on trust. The purpose of this study was to examine attachment styles and attachment dimensions in association with self-esteem and quality of romantic relationships. This study is a part of the International Sexuality Description Project-2 (ISDP-2). It is a cross-sectional survey based on a sample of 423 men and women, 19-36 years old, who were studying at the University of Iceland during the spring semester of the year 2005. The study was based on five questionnaires which explored for example attachment,self-esteem and relationship quality. The results showed that secure attachment styles of individuals was related to quality of their romantic relationships in regard to pleasure and passion. Additionally, fearful attachment style and anxiety attachment were related to lower self-esteem and reduced quality of their romantic relationships regarding most items measured. The results supported previous findings of the opposite poles of secure attachment style on one hand and fearful attachment style on the other hand and how they connect in a contrasting way to the qualities in romantic relationships

Creating Meaningful Learning Opportunities Online

This paper describe the ways in which the authors have used digital pedagogy to address the loneliness of the distance learner by making their online course more inclusive and interactive

Effects of rehabilitation on functional capacity, obesity and health behavior, among cardiac patients with DM2

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnInngangur: Sykursýki af tegund 2 er vel þekktur áhættuþáttur hjarta- og æðasjúkdóma. Mikilvægt er að þróa og meta leiðir til að draga úr áhættu- þáttum og bæta heilsu þeirra hjartasjúklinga sem jafnframt hafa sykursýki. Efniviður og aðferðir: Framskyggn hóprannsókn meðal sjúklinga með sykursýki af tegund 2 sem komu til hjartaendurhæfingar á Reykjalundi frá 1/7 2011 til 31/12 2012. Algengi sykursýki af tegund 2 meðal sjúklinga í hjartaendurhæfingu var borið saman við algengi í rannsókn Hjartaverndar. Rannsóknarhópurinn með sykursýki var borinn saman við aðra sjúklinga í hjartaendurhæfingu á sama tímabili hvað varðar holdafar og þrek fyrir og eftir meðferð. Fylgst var með lífsháttabreytingum rannsóknarhópsins í þriggja og sex mánaða eftirfylgd, meðal annars varðandi reykleysi, hreyfivenjur og göngugetu. Niðurstöður: Algengi sykursýki af tegund 2 í hjartaendurhæfingu var miklu meira en í samanburðarþýði Hjartaverndar. Rannsóknarhópurinn var þyngri, hærra hlutfall hans hafði offitu, mittismál var meira og þrek minna, miðað við aðra hjartasjúklinga. Breyting varð hjá báðum hópunum á meðferðartímanum, þeir léttust, mittismál minnkaði, en þó jókst þrek minna hjá rannsóknarhópnum. Eftir 6 mánuði hafði þyngd og blóðsykur rannsóknarhópsins farið í fyrra horf, en mittismál var minna og hópurinn hélt aukinni hreyfingu og göngugetu miðað við upphaf meðferðar. Ályktun: Sykursýki af tegund 2 er algengari í hjartaendurhæfingu en í almennu þýði á Íslandi. Hjartasjúklingar með sykursýki eru að jafnaði feitari og með heldur lélegra þrek og minni svörun við þjálfun en aðrir hjartasjúklingar. Eftirfylgd í 6 mánuði sýndi hins vegar að aukning varð í reglulegri hreyfingu meðal hópsins og það endurspeglaðist í bættri göngugetu.Objective: Present study examines the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (DM2) in patients attending cardiac rehabilitation (CR) compared to the general population utilising data from the Icelandic Heart Association population study. The study also examined the efficacy of CR for promoting health behaviors. Material and methods: A prospective study among DM2 patients attending CR at Reykjalundur Rehabilitation centre. The DM2 group was compared to other cardiac patients, with respect to obesity and exercise capacity at the beginning and end of 4-6 weeks of CR. Additionally, in the DM2 group, weight, smoking cessation, physical activity and walking capacity were assessed at 3 and 6 months follow-ups. Results: The prevalence of DM2 was 2-4 times higher in CR participants than in the general population. Compared to other CR participants, the DM2 group was heavier, with increased waist circumference and less exercise capacity. During the CR both groups lost weight and waist circumference decreased to similar extent, but the exercise capacity increased less in the DM2 group. In follow up after 6 months the DM2 group´s weight and glucose values were back to same level as before CR, but waist circumference was still decreased and they retained increased physical activity and walking capacity. Conclusion: DM2 is more prevalent among patients in cardiac rehabilitation than in the general population. The DM2 group was more obese, had lower exercise capacity and responded somewhat less to CR than other cardiac patients. Follow up after 6 months did however show that they continued their regular exercise and walking capacity was still retained.Vísindasjóður Reykjalunda

Using Self-Study to Develop a Third Space for Collaborative Supervision of Master's Projects in Teacher Education

Teacher education is constantly being renewed in response to continuous social, economic and technological changes. In 2008, teacher education in Iceland was extended from a three-year to a five-year master’s degree program and this significantly increased the number of students at the master’s level. To respond to these changes, 3 university-based teacher educators organized collaborative supervisory meetings for 18 master’s students during the school years 2012– 2014. We used self-study methodology to analyze our progress and inspire our development as supervisors. The goal was to gain a better understanding of how we learn together in collaborative supervision and to develop, adapt, and change our teaching and learning practices. Data included reflective notes and journals, recordings of students’ and supervisors’ meetings, e-mails, tickets out of class, and material from Moodle. Constant analysis of data was conducted with personal reflection and collective discussion, using theories to scrutinize data. Our findings show that, by working together on supervisory issues, we expanded our resources, strengthened our collaboration and trust, developed our professional identities, and improved our collective supervisory efficacy. We discovered that self-study provided an in-between space for us to explore cultures, roles, and visions as we collaboratively contested, defined and recreated our roles as supervisors.La formacio´n docente pasa por continuos procesos de renovacio´n en respuesta a cambios sociales, econo´micos y tecnolo´gicos. En Islandia en 2008, la formacio´n docente fue extendida de tres an˜os a un programa de ma´ster de cinco an˜os, lo que incremento´ significativamente el numero de estudiantes en el nivel de ma´ster. Para responder a estos cambios, tres formadores de docentes de la universidad organizaron reuniones de supervisio´n colaborativa de 18 estudiantes durante los an˜os 2012– 2014. Utilizamos la metodologı´a del self-study para analizar nuestro progreso e inspirar nuestro desarrollo como supervisores. El propo´sito era desarrollar una mejor comprensio´n de co´mo aprendemos juntos en la supervisio´n colaborativa, y desarrollar, adaptar o cambiar nuestras pra´cticas de ensen˜anza y aprendizaje. Los datos fueron recogidos de notas reflexivas y diarios, grabaciones de reuniones entre supervisores y estudiantes, correos electro´nicos, resu´menes de los alumnos sobre lo aprendido en clase (te´cnica de los tickets resumen), y material de Moodle. El ana´lisis continuo de los datosse llevo´ a cabo con reflexio´n personal y discusio´n colectiva, utilizando teorı´as para examinar los datos. Los hallazgos muestran que, al trabajar juntos en temas de supervisio´n, logramos expandir nuestros recursos, fortalecimos la colaboracio´n y la confianza, desarrollamos nuestras identidades profesionales y mejoramos la eficacia de nuestra supervisio´n. Descubrimos que el self-study provee un espacio intermedio que nos permite explorar culturas, roles y visiones en la medida que colaborativamente discutimos, definimos y recreamos nuestro rol como supervisores.Rannsóknarsjóður Háskóla ÍslandsPeer Reviewe

Að vinna meistaraprófsverkefni í námssamfélagi nemenda og leiðbeinenda

Publisher's version (útgefin grein)Í greininni er fjallað um sameiginlega hópleiðsögn þriggja leiðbeinenda meistaranema. Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar var að sýna fram á gildi þess að búa til námssamfélag nemenda og kennara um vinnu að meistaraprófsverkefni. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að auka skilning á vinnuferli nemenda í meistaraprófsverkefni og lýsa því hvernig við byggðum upp námssamfélag þeirra yfir sex ára tímabil. Við nýttum aðferðafræði starfstengdrar sjálfsrýni til að geta betur skilið ferli nemenda í meistaraprófsverkefninu og hvernig við unnum úr áskorunum. Rannsóknargögn eru skráð ígrundun, fundarupptökur og gögn um samskipti við nemendur. Fræðilegur rammi rannsóknarinnar er byggður á hugmyndum um tengsl fræða og kennarastarfs og um ígrundun í anda starfstengdrar sjálfsrýni. Enn fremur byggjum við á hugmyndum um námssamfélög og um nám sem ferðalag um landslag þekkingar. Niðurstöðurnar sýna að nemendur upplifa fundina sem námssamfélag sem veitir þeim stuðning, dregur úr einmanaleika og heldur þeim við efnið í meistaraprófsverkefninu. Ólíkir styrkleikar okkar leiðbeinendanna nýttust vel í samstarfinu og efldu sameiginlega getu okkar til að leiðbeina.Peer Reviewe

Innovative teacher education through personalised learning: designing teaching and learning scenarios

The growing diversity of the student population twinned with a shift towards more learner-centred education provides the impetus to develop innovative teaching approaches. Imagined as personalised learning (PL), this approach argues for greater flexibility for the learner and more opportunities to include students' voice in the design and enactment of learning. This paper distils the learning from the members of the INTERPEARL project consortium including Lithuanian Universities Siauliai University (SU), Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), and Vilnius University (VU) together with their international partners University of Iceland (UI), and University College Cork, Ireland (UCC). The paper is based on the theoretical assumptions of social construction and takes mixed method approach to uncover the learning from implementing a personalised learning process to encourage greater learner agency and co-creation of learning. This paper will introduce the PL framework developed by the INTERPEARL consortium and two related concepts, namely Learning Scenarios and Learning Design. The learning from the implementation of the PL Framework in Iceland, Ireland, and Lithuanian is uncovered, with a methodology of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (S-STEP), and student-teachers surveys providing a strong rationale for more PL approach

Emancipatory pedagogy for inclusive practices, enacting self-study as methodology

One of the challenges for teachers in the modern world is the continuous search for pedagogy to meet diverse groups of students in inclusive schools. Developing inclusive schools sometimes creates tensions for students and teachers, but at the same time offers opportunities for new ways of learning and teaching. We, three teacher educators, developed a course on inclusive practices for student teachers and teacher learners, and used self-study to understand and learn about the development of the course and how we improve our professional practice. Two of the team members are the authors of this chapter. The course Working in Inclusive Practices (WIP), is a blended course, taught through a mixture of online learning and four intensive sessions on-campus. The student group is diverse and consists of students with teaching experience and students working towards their teaching license, teachers teaching or intending to teach from pre-school to secondary school, and teachers with both international and Icelandic background. We base the development of the course on ideas of inclusive and innovation education. Inclusive education (IE) is an ideology that builds on universal inclusion, accessibility and participation of all students in school. The attitude towards diversity is positive and all students are welcomed (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2014; UNESCO, 2008, 1994). It is an educational policy that consistently develops a system that offers equitable learning opportunities built on students’ resources. The accessibility to the school is not enough; all students must have the opportunity to participate in a valuable way. Inclusive schools call for teachers who have the competence and values to build on all students’ resources and are ready to transform schools towards inclusive practices (Guðjónsdóttir, et al, 2008). Innovation and entrepreneurial education (IEE) is about applying creativity and knowledge to meet needs or solve problems that learners identify and are important to them. The aims of IEE are to help people develop capacity for action and, critical and creative thinking through dealing with real-life issues (Jónsdóttir & Macdonald, 2013). We introduced IEE into the course as a creative approach that encouraged inventive ways to deal with challenges of living in the modern world, and in particular with becoming responsive teachers in an inclusive school. The core pedagogy of IEE has been defined as emancipatory pedagogy where learners are creative explorers and the role of the teacher is to be a facilitator rather than an instructor (Jónsdóttir & Macdonald, 2013). The fundamental process in IEE is looking for needs, finding solutions and presenting them or using in practice. That means for example that IE is a problem or a challenge and teachers and other practitioners have to figure out how to open up their thinking to find different kinds of solutions to respond to the different kinds of challenges. In IEE the roles of students and teachers are often reversed and the student can be the expert in his or her solution (Gunnarsdóttir, 2013; Jónsdóttir & Macdonald, 2013). Through the approaches and pedagogy of IEE we intended to support the student teachers develop creative teaching and learning for diverse groups of students in inclusive schools. These approaches, IE and IEE build on social constructivism where learning happens through social interactive processes and the learning community is developed through cooperation. Through reflection and dialogue, students gain the opportunity to develop new understandings and shape their learning (Farren, 2009; O’Donahue, 2003).Edite

A survey about the value of different attachment styles in romatic relationships.

Grundvallarþáttur mannlegrar tilveru er að mynda við aðra einstaklinga góð sambönd sem byggjast á trausti. Tilgangur þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna samband tengslagerða og tengslavídda fullorðinna einstaklinga við sjálfsvirðingu og gæði í rómantískum samböndum, en það hefur ekki áður verið gert á Íslandi. Rannsóknin er hluti af alþjóðlegri rannsókn (International Sexuality Description Project, ISDP). Gerð var könnun með þverskurðarsniði og var úrtakið þægindaúrtak 423 kvenna og karla á aldrinum 19-36 ára sem stunduðu nám við Háskóla Íslands á vorönn árið 2005. Rannsóknin byggðist á fimm spurningalistum sem könnuðu meðal annars tengsl, sjálfsvirðingu og gæði í rómantískum samböndum. Niðurstöðurnar sýndu að traust tengslagerð einstaklinga tengdist á jákvæðan hátt gæðum í rómantískum samböndum þeirra hvað varðar ánægju og ástríðu. Einnig kom fram að óttablandin tengslagerð og kvíði í tengslum tengdust minni sjálfsvirðingu þeirra og minni gæðum í rómantískum samböndum varðandi flesta þætti sem mældir voru. Niðurstöðurnar staðfestu þá andstæðu póla traustrar tengslagerðar annars vegar og óttablandinnar tengslagerðar hins vegar sem fyrri rannsóknir hafa sýnt fram á og andstæð tengsl þeirra við gæði í rómantískum samböndum.The basic foundation of human existance is forming good relationships with other people based on trust. The purpose of this study was to examine attachment styles and attachment dimensions in association with self-esteem and quality of romantic relationships. This study is a part of the International Sexuality Description Project-2 (ISDP-2). It is a cross-sectional survey based on a sample of 423 men and women, 19-36 years old, who were studying at the University of Iceland during the spring semester of the year 2005. The study was based on five questionnaires which explored for example attachment,self-esteem and relationship quality. The results showed that secure attachment styles of individuals was related to quality of their romantic relationships in regard to pleasure and passion. Additionally, fearful attachment style and anxiety attachment were related to lower self-esteem and reduced quality of their romantic relationships regarding most items measured. The results supported previous findings of the opposite poles of secure attachment style on one hand and fearful attachment style on the other hand and how they connect in a contrasting way to the qualities in romantic relationships

Enacting ethical frameworks in self-study: Dancing on the line between student agency and institutional demands

Sound ethical standards are important in all research, though ethical issues and challenges differ among disciplines and fields of study. Self-study researchers engage in their research in the context of their everyday work as educators. This dual position can generate opportunities for them to draw on their fields of research while trying out their understanding by acting upon and experimenting with responsive educational practices within their contexts (Groundwater-Smith & Mockler, 2007). The dynamic existing between self-study research and professional practice is such that ethicality is always embedded in the processes of both self-study and professional practice (Brandenburg & Gervasoni, 2012; Groundwater-Smith & Mockler, 2007; Pinnegar & Hamilton, 2010; LaBoskey, 2004). Teaching is a profession that could or should be considered a moral practice, not just a collection of skills and techniques (Carr, 2000; Palmer, 1997). Researchers must engage critically and ethically with their research and educational practices, lest they develop educational practices that are unfair and undemocratic (Biesta, 2007, 2010; Carr, 2000). In this sense ethical dimensions are always a fundamental part of the self-study process