"DEN VITE MANNENS BÖRDA" ­ En textanalys av synen på Afrika söder om Sahara och dess svarta invånare hos läromedelsförfattare i historia år 1900 - 2000

Uppsatsen ser till att kartlägga hur bilden utav Afrika/afrikaner och västerlänningar har framställts utav svenska läromedelsförfattare i de mest frekvent använda läromedlen för historia i gymnasiet under 1900-talet. Genom kvalitativ textanalys har uppsatsen sökt att följa var och hur förändringar har ägt rum i undersökningsperioden, samt vad detta kan bero på. Vilka ämnen är det som tas upp i beskrivningarna av historiska händelser relaterade till Afrika söder om Sahara och dess svarta befolkning i historieböckerna och vilka ämnen är det som ges störst utrymme? Hur beskrivs och värderas den svarta befolkningen på den ena sidan och européerna å den andra sidan i texterna som behandlar händelser kopplade till Afrika? Sådana frågor har i samband med resultaten uppsatsen i syfte att besvara och diskutera. Undersökningen som till en viss del baseras på dikotomin mellan vita "västerlänningar" och "svarta", är något som vi inspirerats till gällande dikitomitänkandet av postkoloniala författare och kritiker som: Ania Loomba, Edward Said samt Pal Ahlawulia. Den huvudsakliga slutsatsen är att differentieringen i läromedlen fram till 50-talet baserades på motsatspartänkande mellan afrikaner och västerlänningar, där synen på afrikaner och Afrika var negativ under historienarrationen från upptäckterna fram till avkoloniseringsprocessen. Detta synsätt förändras sedan från 50-talet fram till och med millennieskiftet. Afrikanerna får nu en identitet och nämns nu som människor och får därmed nu ett människovärde i texterna. Dock kvarstår en negativ syn på Afrikaner och Afrika i samband med historienarrationen som berör avkoloniseringsprocessen och Afrikas politiska utveckling från 60-talet fram till våra dagar. Undersökningar som dessa är ganska relevanta för läraryrket, eftersom den västerländska historienarrationen i läromedlen riskerar att vara eurocentrisk och postkolonialt vinklade vilket framtida lärare får vara vaksamma över både som undervisare och läromedelsförfattare

Nätuniversitetets nya portal: inte bara teknik - Förslag på funktioner och resurser från förstudien 2002

Myndigheten för Sveriges nätuniversitet har av regeringen fått i uppdrag att bygga upp och förvalta en IT-portal för användning inom Sveriges nätuniversitet. Portalen skall löpande utvecklas för att vara en för universitet och högskolor gemensam nod för information om utbud och sökmöjligheter av IT-stödd distansutbildning. En IT-portal kan förutom detta också erbjuda många olika tjänster som stödjer olika användargrupper, det vill säga såväl studenter i deras sökande efter kurser, i deras lärande och studier på distans, såväl som anställda vid lärosätena. För att säkerställa en god funktion och kvalitet har ett användarcentrerat arbetssätt prioriterats under denna förstudie. Vägledande för förstudien har varit att fånga upp vad som är efterfrågat av de olika intressenterna av portalen, det vill säga studenter, personal vid högskolor med flera. Teknisk utformning och säkerhetsaspekter har inte prioriterats i denna studie, dessa HURfrågor ses som steg 2 i utvecklingsprocessen efter att VAD-frågorna har identifierats och diskuterats. I detta arbete har en mängd olika metoder använts för att samla in information/data för att säkerställa såväl ett starkt studentperspektiv som ett universitetets- och högskoleperspektiv på vad en nationell portal bör innehålla. Förstudien har resulterat i 56 olika förslag till funktioner och resurser för portalen. Flera av dessa handlar om förbättrade tekniska funktioner, men flera förslag handlar också om organisatoriska system för att engagera både universitetens och högskolornas personal samt studerande runt om i landet att via www.netuniversity.se tillsammans få möjligheter att: öka tillgängligheten, servicegraden och kvaliteten i den nätburna utbildningen. Det är de lokala universiteten och högskolorna som står för genomförandet av kurser och utbildningar inom ramen för Nätuniversitet. Syftet med den nationella portalen är att ge ett mervärde i detta arbete till nytta för både högskolorna och de studerande i landet. Det är med denna målsättning som förslagen i denna rapport ges. Förstudien utgör basen för framtagandet av kravspecifikation för IT-portalprojektet. Den skall fungera som underlag för remiss till olika intressenter samt efter modifieringar och utveckling ge ett underlag för en offentlig, kommersiell upphandling av genomförandet av projektet under 2003

Evaluating the effect of DEM resolution on performance of cartographic depth-to-water maps, for planning logging operations

Reliable and accurate soil moisture maps are needed to minimise the risk of soil disturbance during logging operations. Depth-to-water (DTW) maps extracted from digital elevation models have shown potential for identifying water flow paths and associated wet and moist areas, based on surface topography. We have examined whether DEMs from airborne LiDAR data with varying point density can improve performance of DTW maps in planning logging operations. Soil moisture content was estimated on eight sites after logging operations and compared to DTW maps created from DEMs with resolutions of 2 m, 1 m, and 0.5 m. Different threshold values for wet soil (1 m and 1.5 m depth to water) were also tested. The map performances, measured by accuracy (ACC) and Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC), changed slightly (79%, 81% and 82% and 0.33, 0.26 and 0.30 respectively) when DEM resolutions varied from 2 m to 1 m, and 0.5 m. The corresponding values when the DTW threshold value for wet/dry soil changed from 1 m to 1.5 m were 70%, 72%, 71% and 0.38, 0.41 and 0.39. LiDAR-based DEM resolutions of 1–2 m were found to be sufficient for extraction of DTW maps during planning of logging operations, when knowledge about soil hydrological features, associated wet and moist areas, and their connectivity is beneficial

Organic Cultivation of Lemon Ballm (Melissa officinalis) in Macedonia

The possibility for perspective growing of medicinal, aromatic and spice plants, can be expected only if their cultivation is based on the principles of organic farming. The cultivation of this group of plants is usually associated with satisfactory yield level and raw materials with uniform quality. This paper contains the most important features of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), and methods of cultivation. Data of two annual activities are presented and they are related with organic system of cultivation in the central part of Macedonia. The objective of this study is to analyze, determine and demonstrate the economic viability of lemon balm organic production with irrigation. In the first year, there were only two moving, yielding 500 kg/ha of above-ground plant dry mass. In the second year, there were three moving, yielding 6,775 kg/ha of above-ground plant dry mass. Economic analysis is proved that profitability in organically produced lemon balm is obtained in the second year of growing when the profit reached $6,150/ha. Key words: Organic, lemon balm, yield, pofitability

Forest management in northern Fennoscandia: the need for solutions that mitigate conflicts during forest regeneration and increase the use of continuous cover forestry

Today, conflicts often occur in northern Fennoscandia (also known as Sápmi) between forestry and reindeer husbandry. Continuous cover forestry (CCF) is requested by both reindeer herding communities and the general public and is becoming more common, but the forest industry criticizes CCF for lower wood production. Mechanical site preparation (MSP) increases regeneration success and, thus, increases wood production in CCF. To reduce the conflict between forestry and reindeer husbandry, MSP in Sápmi should destroy as little ground lichen as possible. Today, there are no solutions for gentle and lichen-adapted MSP in CCF. Thus, there is a strong need to develop and test new technical solutions that increase regeneration success in a lichen-adapted way during CCF in Sápmi. We suggest that MSP solutions be developed which are gentle, work selectively and function in shelterwoods, gap cuts, and selection cutting stands. We envision that these solutions could fill the gap between the desired adaptivity on the part of the reindeer herding communities and the desired efficiency on the part of the forest industry. Such MSP technology would contribute to increased acceptance of CCF in the forest industry, higher biodiversity, and considerably reduce the conflict between forestry and reindeer herding communities

Severe thiamine deficiency in eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua)

The eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) population has been decreasing in the Baltic Sea for at least 30 years. Condition indices of the Baltic cod have decreased, and previous studies have suggested that this might be due to overfishing, predation, lower dissolved oxygen or changes in salinity. However, numerous studies from the Baltic Sea have demonstrated an ongoing thiamine deficiency in several animal classes, both invertebrates and vertebrates. The thiamine status of the eastern Baltic cod was investigated to determine if thiamine deficiency might be a factor in ongoing population declines. Thiamine concentrations were determined by chemical analyses of thiamine, thiamine monophosphate and thiamine diphosphate (combined SumT) in the liver using high performance liquid chromatography. Biochemical analyses measured the activity of the thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme transketolase to determine the proportion of apoenzymes in both liver and brain tissue. These biochemical analyses showed that 77% of the cod were thiamine deficient in the liver, of which 13% had a severe thiamine deficiency (i.e. 25% transketolase enzymes lacked thiamine diphosphate). The brain tissue of 77% of the cod showed thiamine deficiency, of which 64% showed severe thiamine deficiency. The thiamine deficiency biomarkers were investigated to find correlations to different biological parameters, such as length, weight, otolith weight, age (annuli counting) and different organ weights. The results suggested that thiamine deficiency increased with age. The SumT concentration ranged between 2.4-24 nmol/g in the liver, where the specimens with heavier otoliths had lower values of SumT (P = 0.0031). Of the cod sampled, only 2% of the specimens had a Fulton's condition factor indicating a healthy specimen, and 49% had a condition factor below 0.8, indicating poor health status. These results, showing a severe thiamine deficiency in eastern Baltic cod from the only known area where spawning presently occurs for this species, are of grave concern

Child Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Problems are Intercorrelated and Dimensionally Distributed in the General Population

The Autism – Tics, AD/HD, and other Comorbidities inventory (A-TAC) is a comprehensive interview for evaluating problems related to autism spectrum disorders (ASD), tic disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and common comorbid conditions in children and adolescents. A-TAC telephone interviews were administered to parents of 2,957 children aged nine- or twelve-years, representing one in each twin pair included in the populationbased Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS). A total of 16.4% were screen-positive for one or several of the targeted disorder, 1.3% for ASD and 5.6% for AD/HD. All types of problems were more common among boys, with the exception of those related to “eating habits”. They were all dimensionally/continuously distributed, highly inter-correlated, and overlapped across types. They aggregated in three basic factors corresponding to externalizing/disruptiveness, socio-communicative problems, and compulsiveness. Population-based data on problems in children thus challenge current categorical diagnostic definitions, calling for dimensional and complementary models of problem descriptions

Forest management in northern Fennoscandia: the need for solutions that mitigate conflicts during forest regeneration and increase the use of continuous cover forestry

Today, conflicts often occur in northern Fennoscandia (also known as Sápmi) between forestry and reindeer husbandry. Continuous cover forestry (CCF) is requested by both reindeer herding communities and the general public and is becoming more common, but the forest industry criticizes CCF for lower wood production. Mechanical site preparation (MSP) increases regeneration success and, thus, increases wood production in CCF. To reduce the conflict between forestry and reindeer husbandry, MSP in Sápmi should destroy as little ground lichen as possible. Today, there are no solutions for gentle and lichen-adapted MSP in CCF. Thus, there is a strong need to develop and test new technical solutions that increase regeneration success in a lichen-adapted way during CCF in Sápmi. We suggest that MSP solutions be developed which are gentle, work selectively and function in shelterwoods, gap cuts, and selection cutting stands. We envision that these solutions could fill the gap between the desired adaptivity on the part of the reindeer herding communities and the desired efficiency on the part of the forest industry. Such MSP technology would contribute to increased acceptance of CCF in the forest industry, higher biodiversity, and considerably reduce the conflict between forestry and reindeer herding communities