The impact of children's and youth literature on students' viewpoints on people with special needs

Because people with special needs oftentimes have difficulties with social inclusion, their quality of life is usually lower than that of their peers. In the past, purely physical aggregation of children with special needs and their peers in the same classroom did not improve social inclusion of children with special needs. Therefore, an implementation of systematic strategies for promoting social inclusion is needed. These strategies should focus on developing awareness, informing about special needs and suppression of prejudice toward people with special needs. This could be achieved in several ways, for example, with reading and talking about works of literature that depict people with special needs. This type of literature is named inclusive literature. With focused reading, a teacher or some other expert is able to create a non-invasive, make-believe environment, where children can experiment with their feelings and freely express their attitudes toward people with special needs. In that way, they learn about people with special needs and practice the correct emotional response. In addition, with reading, it is possible to rectify children’s lack of real-life experiences, which can prevent improper or violent behavior towards people with special needs in real-life situations. It is reasonable to use picture books with younger children as a pedagogic conversation starter. In accordance with the communication model for teaching literature the teacher as an experienced reader is supposed to steer the pupils toward communicating with the text for a better understanding of the literature work. The teacher leads the conversation with questions about the content of the text, which includes all the steps of Bloom’s taxonomy. The teacher can offer different activities to promote understanding of the text and motivate children. In the empirical part of this master’s thesis, we have created, executed, and evaluated an interventional program, which we have based on a selection of inclusive literature works with protagonists with special needs. We have used a revised and translated CATCH scale for a measuring instrument to evaluate the effects of the program that we have carried out in a second and third class of the primary school. We have concluded that the students who participated in the program answered the questions of the CATCH scale in a way that showed a statistically better attitude towards students with special needs after the program, compared to before. Based on the analysis of the literature and our findings we have created a manual for teachers, other pedagogic professionals, and parents in which we have presented inclusive literature works we have used in our program. The manual explains how inclusive literature can be used as a motivational conversation starter for promoting a better understanding of people with special needs and a better social inclusion for them

Europol as a factor in ensuring security in Europe

Ko govorimo o Evropi, nedvomno najprej pomislimo na Evropsko unijo. Ena izmed glavnih prednosti Evropske unije je zmanjšana kontrola na notranjih mejah držav članic, ki izhaja iz Schengenskega sporazuma. Sporazum omogoča lažji ter hitrejši pretok ljudi in blaga med državami članicami. Slaba stran sporazuma je, da je posledično olajšano tudi čezmejno delovanje ter premikanje kriminalcev in kriminalnih organizacij, ki delujejo znotraj mej držav članic. Tako se je ideja o sodelovanju med evropskimi policijami pojavila praktično sočasno kot sama ideja o oblikovanju Evropske unije. Najprej preko neformalne skupine TREVI, ki je bila oblikovana v 70-ih letih 20. stoletja, nato preko Europola-Službe za droge, kasneje prek Evropskega policijskega urada-Europol in od leta 2010 kot Agencija Evropske unije za sodelovanje na področju preprečevanja, odkrivanja in preiskovanja kaznivih dejanj-Europol. Iz leta v leto se pojavlja vse več groženj, ki ogrožajo varnost ne samo v Evropi, ampak na svetu nasploh. Prav tako se mednarodne kriminalne organizacije in teroristične skupine ves čas izboljšujejo in uporabljajo nove načine delovanja ter inovativno tehnologijo, zato se mora Europol ves čas prilagajati, širiti področja delovanja in se izboljševati, da je pri svojem delovanju učinkovit.When we speak of Europe, without a doubt we first think of the European Union. One of its main advantages is a lower level of control of the member countries’ internal borders which originates from the Schengen Agreement. The agreement enables a quicker and easier movement of people and goods between member statesconsequentially its shortcoming is the cross-border activity and movement of criminals and criminal organisation that are active in the member states. The idea of co-operation between European police emerged at approximately the same time as the European Union was created, at first through TREVI, the informal organisation that was created in the 1970’s, then through the Europol Drugs Unit and through the European Police Office. Finally, in 2010, the organisation emerged under the name of The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation or Europol. More threats emerge every year, jeopardizing the security of Europe and that of the rest of world. Furthermore, international criminal organisations improve and make use of their innovated technology, making it necessary for Europol to adjust and broaden its area of activity in order to make its work effective

The impact of children\u27s and youth literature on students\u27 viewpoints on people with special needs

Zaradi njihove slabše vključenosti v družbeno okolje imajo osebe s posebnimi potrebami v primerjavi z vrstniki večkrat slabšo percepcijo kakovosti življenja. V preteklosti se zgolj fizično združevanje oseb s posebnimi potrebami in njihovih vrstnikov v isto šolsko okolje ni pokazalo kot pomemben dejavnik, ki vpliva na boljšo družbeno vključenost oseb s posebnimi potrebami, zato je potrebno izvajanje sistematičnih strategij za spodbujanje inkluzivnega vedenja. Te strategije se morajo osredotočati na razvijanje ozaveščenosti, informiranje o posebnih potrebah ter razbijanje stereotipov in predsodkov o osebah s posebnimi potrebami. Omenjeno je mogoče dosegati na različne načine, med drugim z branjem in pogovorom o književnih delih, v katerih nastopajo osebe s posebnimi potrebami. Takšna književna dela imenujemo inkluzivna književna dela. Z vodenim branjem lahko učitelj ali drug strokovnjak vzpostavi nevsiljivo domišljijsko okolje, v katerem lahko otroci eksperimentirajo s svojimi čustvi in iskreno izrazijo svoja stališča do oseb s posebnimi potrebami. Na ta način se ob besedilu učijo o osebah s posebnimi potrebami ter pravilnega čustvenega odziva na drugačnost. Z branjem inkluzivnih književnih del lahko nadomestimo tudi pomanjkanje konkretnih izkušenj otrok na tem področju ter s tem preprečimo, da bi se otroci v resnični situaciji vedli neprimerno ali celo nasilno do oseb s posebnimi potrebami. Pri mlajših učencih je za ta namen smiselna uporaba slikanice kot predagoškega pomagala za pogovor. Po komunikacijskem modelu poučevanja mora učitelj kot odrasli bralec otroke voditi k interakciji z besedilom in ustreznemu razumevanju le-tega. Učitelj postavlja vprašanja, ki so povezana z vsebino in zavzemajo vse stopnje po Bloomovi taksonomiji. Za boljše razumevanje besedila in motivacijo ob branju z učenci izvaja tudi različne obbralne dejavnosti. V empiričnem delu magistrskega dela smo pripravili, izvedli in evalvirali intervencijski program, ki smo ga zasnovali na izboru inkluzivnih književnih del, v katerih nastopajo liki s posebnimi potrebami. Za merski instrument, s katerim smo preverili vpliv izvedenega programa na udeležence v raziskavi, smo uporabili lestvico CATCH, ki smo jo priredili in prevedli. Intervencijski program smo izvedli v drugem in tretjem razredu osnovne šole. Ugotovili smo, da so učenci, ki so sodelovali v raziskavi, na vprašalnik odgovorili statistično pomembno bolj inkluzivno (ali vključujoče do oseb s posebnimi potrebami) po izvedbi intervencijskega programa kot pred izvedbo. Na podlagi analze strokovnih virov ter izsledkov raziskave smo za učitelje, druge strokovne delavce v vzgoji in izobraževanju ter starše pripravili priročnik, v katerem predstavljamo inkluzivna književna dela, ki smo jih uporabili v intervencijskem programu. V priročniku so smernice, kako dela inkluzivne književnosti uporabiti v razredu, da bomo s tem dosegli boljše razumevanje oseb s posebnimi potrebami in posredno njihovo boljšo družbeno vključenost.Because people with special needs oftentimes have difficulties with social inclusion, their quality of life is usually lower than that of their peers. In the past, purely physical aggregation of children with special needs and their peers in the same classroom did not improve social inclusion of children with special needs. Therefore, an implementation of systematic strategies for promoting social inclusion is needed. These strategies should focus on developing awareness, informing about special needs and suppression of prejudice toward people with special needs. This could be achieved in several ways, for example, with reading and talking about works of literature that depict people with special needs. This type of literature is named inclusive literature. With focused reading, a teacher or some other expert is able to create a non-invasive, make-believe environment, where children can experiment with their feelings and freely express their attitudes toward people with special needs. In that way, they learn about people with special needs and practice the correct emotional response. In addition, with reading, it is possible to rectify children’s lack of real-life experiences, which can prevent improper or violent behavior towards people with special needs in real-life situations. It is reasonable to use picture books with younger children as a pedagogic conversation starter. In accordance with the communication model for teaching literature the teacher as an experienced reader is supposed to steer the pupils toward communicating with the text for a better understanding of the literature work. The teacher leads the conversation with questions about the content of the text, which includes all the steps of Bloom’s taxonomy. The teacher can offer different activities to promote understanding of the text and motivate children. In the empirical part of this master’s thesis, we have created, executed, and evaluated an interventional program, which we have based on a selection of inclusive literature works with protagonists with special needs. We have used a revised and translated CATCH scale for a measuring instrument to evaluate the effects of the program that we have carried out in a second and third class of the primary school. We have concluded that the students who participated in the program answered the questions of the CATCH scale in a way that showed a statistically better attitude towards students with special needs after the program, compared to before. Based on the analysis of the literature and our findings we have created a manual for teachers, other pedagogic professionals, and parents in which we have presented inclusive literature works we have used in our program. The manual explains how inclusive literature can be used as a motivational conversation starter for promoting a better understanding of people with special needs and a better social inclusion for them

Silver particle-decorated carbon paste electrode based on ionic liquid for improved determination of nitrite

A simple silver particle-modified carbon paste electrode is proposed for the determination of low concentration levels of nitrite ions. The electrode consists of a carbon powder decorated with silver sub-micrometre particles (AgPs) and a hydrophobic ionic liquid trihexyltetradecylphosphonium chloride as a binder. It has been shown that AgPs exhibit a strong electrocatalytic effect on the nitrite oxidation. For optimal electroanalytical performance the electrode was conditioned via silver oxidation/reduction cycle. The electrode revealed a linear square-wave voltammetric response in a wide examined concentration range of 0.05 to 1.0 mmol L−1, limit of detection (LOD) of 3 μmol L−1 and excellent repeatability with RSD of 0.3%. Keywords: Silver particles, Square-wave voltammetry, Nitrite, Ionic liquid, Carbon paste electrod

Antimony-modified carbon paste electrodes: initial studies and prospects

Initial studies with antimony-modified carbon paste electrodes are presented focused on their performance in anodic stripping voltammetry. The investigations performed have comprised the first experiments with antimony film-plated and antimony powder-dispersed carbon paste electrodes (SbF-CPE and Sb-CPE, respectively), as well as the corresponding bismuth-based electrodes in selected measurements carried out in parallel. The respective experiments have dealt with the characterisation of electrochemical behaviour of antimony, the effect of pH, and the electrode substrate used. When using diluted solutions of HCl as the supporting electrolyte of choice together with Pb2+ + Cd2+ as model ions, the basic electroanalytical performance of both SbF-CPE in the square-wave anodic stripping voltammetric mode is outlined and some specifics found discussed with respect to possible applications in practical analysis

Insights into the immunological description of cryoglobulins with regard to detection and characterization in Slovenian rheumatological patients

The detection of cryoglobulins (CG) used to diagnose cryoglobulemic vasculitis requires strict adherence to protocol, with emphasis on the preanalytical part. Our main objectives were to introduce a more sensitive and specific protocol for the detection of CG and to characterize CG in Slovenian patients diagnosed with cryoglobulinemic vasculitis, other vasculitides, connective tissue diseases or non-rheumatic diseases examined at the Department of Rheumatology (University Medical Centre Ljubljana). Samples were routinely analyzed for the presence of CG with the protocol using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. In the newly introduced protocol, the type of CG was determined by immunofixation on visually observed positive samples, and the concentration of CG in the cryoprecipitate and rheumatoid factor (RF) activity were measured by nephelometry. RF, C3c and C4 were measured in the patients` serum, and decision tree analysis was performed using all results. The agreement between negative and positive results between the two protocols was 86%. Of the 258 patient samples tested, we found 56 patients (21.7%) with positive CG (37.5% - type II, 62.5% - type III). The RF activity was observed in 21.4% of CG positive subjects. The median concentration of type II CG was significantly higher than that of type III CG (67.4 mg/L vs. 45.0 mg/L, p = 0.037). Patients with type II had lower C4 concentrations and higher RF activity compared to patients with type III CG. In the decision tree, C4 was the strongest predictor of cryoglobulinemia in patients. With the newly implemented protocol, we were able to improve the detection and quantification of CG in the samples of our rheumatology patients and report the results to adequately support clinicians

Military dictionary by students of defence studies

The military dictionary by students of defense sciences was created during the course Slovenian language and Slovenian military idioms (2012/13 and 2013/14) at the Faculty of Social Sciences. It was created by second-year students under the supervision of Dr. Nataša Logar and Dr. Erik Kopač. The starting point for the selection of terms was the Military Doctrine (2006) and the Military Logistics Doctrine (2008). The dictionary consists of 192 terms with definitions and English equivalents. The dictionary is distributed in XML using the TBX (TermBase eXchange) standard for representing and exchanging information from termbases