How ideology affected education in the German Democratic Republic 1945–1959

Abstract. Ideologies exist in all societies. They influence for example politics, economics and also education. Ideology or ideologies are detectable in all parts of education such as curriculum, textbooks and teacher education. Therefore, education is not neutral. As an example of the ideology of the society affecting education, I will be looking at the Ger-man Democratic Republic’s education system in the years 1945–1959. In my thesis I will show how the Soviet Union imposed its Marxist-Leninist ideology into the education system after the denazification of it as a consequence of the Second world war. The relevance of ideologies has not disappeared. They still have an influence in societies. By inspecting ideologies, we can better understand their influence in today’s world. Through understanding, we can aim to contradict the current ideologies and aim to change their influence on the different aspects of the society

A case study of Oulu University’s teacher students’ understanding of inclusive education and their sense of self-efficacy to implement inclusive education in their future work

Abstract. Inclusive education has been a prevalent value in Finnish educational context since the 1990s. However, teacher education has not sufficiently adapted to the policy changes regarding inclusive education in schools. Previous research shows that teacher students feel that their education has not given them sufficient competence to implement inclusive education. Additionally, in order to implement inclusive education successfully, inclusive education must be understood as a right of every student to quality education. Firstly, the purpose of this research is to examine and describe how master’s level classroom and special education teacher students understand the concept of inclusive education. Secondly, the research aims to gain an in-depth understanding of teacher students’ sense of self-efficacy to implement inclusive education in their future work. Lastly, we examine how teacher education has developed the teacher students’ sense of self-efficacy. The theoretical framework of our research considers inclusive education as a concept, different approaches to the implementation of it and its state particularly in the Finnish context. Additionally, we will discuss sense of self-efficacy especially according to Bandura. The research is a qualitative case study situated at the University of Oulu. The data was collected through an anonymous online questionnaire. The chosen analysis method is qualitative content analysis. The research findings reveal that overall teacher students understand inclusive education to consider all students and reflect values of equality and participation. However, some define inclusive education through the concept of integration. Special education teacher students’ self- efficacy was found higher than that of the classroom teacher students. Practicality of the studies and discussions were found most meaningful for the strengthening of their sense of self-effi- cacy. Additionally, special education teacher students are more satisfied with their studies regarding inclusive education. The research highlights that inclusive education must be considered more in teacher education.Tapaustutkimus Oulun yliopiston opettajaopiskelijoiden ymmärryksestä inklusiivisesta koulu- tuksesta ja heidän minäpystyvyydestään toteuttaa inklusiivista koulutusta tulevassa työssään. Tiivistelmä. Inklusiivisuus on ollut keskeinen arvo suomalaisessa koulutuksessa 1990-luvulta lähtien. Siitä huolimatta opettajakoulutus ei ole riittävästi mukautunut linjauksiin, joita on tehty inklusiiviseen koulutukseen liittyen kouluissa. Aiempi tutkimus osoittaa, että opettajaopiskelijat kokevat, ettei heidän koulutuksensa ole tukenut tarpeeksi minäpystyvyyden tunnetta inklusiivisen koulutuksen toteuttamiseen. Lisäksi, jotta inklusiivista koulutusta voidaan toteuttaa onnistuneesti, ymmärryksen siitä tulee painottaa jokaisen oppilaan oikeutta laadukkaaseen opetukseen. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on ensinnäkin tutkia ja kuvailla, kuinka maisterivaiheen luokanopettaja- ja erityisopettajaopiskelijat ymmärtävät inklusiivisen koulutuksen. Lisäksi tutkimuksen tavoitteena on luoda kattava käsitys opettajaopiskelijoiden minäpystyvyydestä toteuttaa inklusiivista koulutusta tulevassa työssään. Lopuksi tarkastelemme, kuinka opettajakoulutus on vaikuttanut opiskelijoiden minäpystyvyyteen. Tutkimuksemme teoreettinen viitekehys tarkastelee inklusiivisen koulutuksen käsitettä, erilaisia lähestymistapoja sen toteutukseen sekä sen tilaa erityisesti suomalaisessa kontekstissa. Lisäksi käsitelemme minäpystyyden käsitettä etenkin Banduran teorian mukaan. Tutkimus on kvalitatiivinen tapaustutkimus Oulun yliopistossa. Aineisto kerättiin anonyymin verkkokyselyn kautta. Analyysimetodina on käytetty laadullista sisällönanalyysia. Tutkimustuloksemme osoittavat, että yleisesti opettajaopiskelijat ymmärtävät inklusiivisen koulutuksen koskevan kaikkia oppilaita ja ymmärrys seuraa tasa-arvon ja osallisuuden arvoja. Kuitenkin jotkut opettajaopiskelijat määrittelevät inklusiivisen koulutuksen integraation käsitteen kautta. Erityisopettajaopiskelijoiden minäpystyvyys havaittiin tutkimuksessamme vahvemmaksi kuin luokanopettajaopiskelijoiden. Käytännönläheisyys ja keskustelut koettiin merkittävimmiksi osa-alueiksi minäpystyvyyden vahvistamiseksi. Lisäksi tutkimus osoittaa, että erityisopettajaopiskelijat ovat tyytyväisempiä opintoihinsa inklusiivisesta koulutuksesta. Tutkimus painottaa, että inklusiivinen koulutus tulisi huomioida paremmin opettajakoulutuksessa

Children's Medicines in Tanzania: A National Survey of Administration Practices and Preferences.

The dearth of age-appropriate formulations of many medicines for children poses a major challenge to pediatric therapeutic practice, adherence, and health care delivery worldwide. We provide information on current administration practices of pediatric medicines and describe key stakeholder preferences for new formulation characteristics. We surveyed children aged 6-12 years, parents/caregivers over age 18 with children under age 12, and healthcare workers in 10 regions of Tanzania to determine current pediatric medicine prescription and administration practices as well as preferences for new formulations. Analyses were stratified by setting, pediatric age group, parent/caregiver education, and healthcare worker cadre. Complete data were available for 206 children, 202 parents/caregivers, and 202 healthcare workers. Swallowing oral solid dosage forms whole or crushing/dissolving them and mixing with water were the two most frequently reported methods of administration. Children frequently reported disliking medication taste, and many had vomited doses. Healthcare workers reported medicine availability most significantly influences prescribing practices. Most parents/caregivers and children prefer sweet-tasting medicine. Parents/caregivers and healthcare workers prefer oral liquid dosage forms for young children, and had similar thresholds for the maximum number of oral solid dosage forms children at different ages can take. There are many impediments to acceptable and accurate administration of medicines to children. Current practices are associated with poor tolerability and the potential for under- or over-dosing. Children, parents/caregivers, and healthcare workers in Tanzania have clear preferences for tastes and formulations, which should inform the development, manufacturing, and marketing of pediatric medications for resource-limited settings

Posttraumatic epilepsy in intensive care unit-treated pediatric traumatic brain injury patients

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How to optimise drug study design: pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics studies introduced to paediatricians

OBJECTIVES: In children, there is often lack of sufficient information concerning the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of a study drug to support dose selection and effective evaluation of efficacy in a randomised clinical trial (RCT). Therefore, one should consider the relevance of relatively small PKPD studies, which can provide the appropriate data to optimise the design of an RCT. METHODS: Based on the experience of experts collaborating in the EU-funded Global Research in Paediatrics consortium, we aimed to inform clinician-scientists working with children on the design of investigator-initiated PKPD studies. KEY FINDINGS: The importance of the identification of an optimal dose for the paediatric population is explained, followed by the differences and similarities of dose-ranging and efficacy studies. The input of clinical pharmacologists with modelling expertise is essential for an efficient dose-finding study. CONCLUSIONS: The emergence of new laboratory techniques and statistical tools allows for the collection and analysis of sparse and unbalanced data, enabling the implementation of (observational) PKPD studies in the paediatric clinic. Understanding of the principles and methods discussed in this study is essential to improve the quality of paediatric PKPD investigations, and to prevent the conduct of paediatric RCTs that fail because of inadequate dosing

Association of extracerebral organ failure with 1-year survival and healthcare-associated costs after cardiac arrest: an observational database study

BackgroundOrgan dysfunction is common after cardiac arrest and associated with worse short-term outcome, but its impact on long-term outcome and treatment costs is unknown.MethodsWe used nationwide registry data from the intensive care units (ICU) of the five Finnish university hospitals to evaluate the association of 24-h extracerebral Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (24h-EC-SOFA) score with 1-year survival and healthcare-associated costs after cardiac arrest. We included adult cardiac arrest patients treated in the participating ICUs between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2013. We acquired the confirmed date of death from the Finnish Population Register Centre database and gross 1-year healthcare-associated costs from the hospital billing records and the database of the Finnish Social Insurance Institution.ResultsA total of 5814 patients were included in the study, and 2401 were alive 1year after cardiac arrest. Median (interquartile range (IQR)) 24h-EC-SOFA score was 6 (5-8) in 1-year survivors and 7 (5-10) in non-survivors. In multivariate regression analysis, adjusting for age and prior independency in self-care, the 24h-EC-SOFA score had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-1.18) per point for 1-year mortality.Median (IQR) healthcare-associated costs in the year after cardiac arrest were Euro47,000 (Euro28,000-75,000) in 1-year survivors and Euro12,000 (Euro6600-25,000) in non-survivors. In a multivariate linear regression model adjusting for age and prior independency in self-care, an increase of one point in the 24h-EC-SOFA score was associated with an increase of Euro170 (95% CI Euro150-190) in the cost per day alive in the year after cardiac arrest. In the same model, an increase of one point in the 24h-EC-SOFA score was associated with an increase of Euro4400 (95% CI Euro3300-5500) in the total healthcare-associated costs in 1-year survivors.ConclusionsExtracerebral organ dysfunction is associated with long-term outcome and gross healthcare-associated costs of ICU-treated cardiac arrest patients. It should be considered when assessing interventions to improve outcomes and optimize the use of resources in these patients

Trend in eating habits among Lithuanian school-aged children in context of social inequality: three cross-sectional surveys 2002, 2006 and 2010

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intermittent monitoring of food intake at the population level is essential for the planning and evaluation of national dietary intervention programs. Social-economic changes in Lithuania have likely affected dietary habits, but only a limited number of temporal studies on food intake trends among young population groups have been published. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in eating habits among Lithuanian school-aged children from 2002 to 2010, and to explore the association of these changes with the respondents' reported socio-economic status (SES).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used Lithuanian data from the cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study collected in 2002, 2006 and 2010. Analyses were conducted on comparable questionnaire-based data from children aged 11, 13 and 15 (total n = 17,189) from a random sample of schools. A food frequency questionnaire was used to investigate frequencies of food consumption. Logistic regression was used to examine the affects of changing social variables on reported diet trends.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Lithuania, school-aged children have low intakes of fruits and vegetables. Only 21.1% of boys and 27.1% of girls reported daily fruit consumption. Similarly, 24.9% of boys and 29.6% of girls disclosed vegetable intake at least once daily. Comparing 2010 to 2002, the proportion of girls who consumed fruits daily increased from 24.2% to 31.0% (p < 0.001) but the proportion of boys who consumed vegetables daily decreased from 29.3% to 23.1% (p < 0.001). In 2006, for both sexes, there were observed increases in regular (at least five days a week) intake of sweets and chocolates, biscuits and pastries, and soft drinks; however, in the next survey (2010) these figures decreased. In addition, between 2006 and 2010, a substantial decrease in regular consumption of chips and fast food was also detected. Fruit and vegetable consumption as well as intake of sweets and chocolates, biscuits and pastries and soft drinks increased with family social-economic status and family material wealth. Trends in consumption of fruits, and other foods, and their association with changing social variables were demonstrated using the ORs estimated by three logistic models, using 2002 as the reference point. Changes in social variables from 2002 to 2010 affected the likelihood of daily consumption of fruits among boys by 22.5% (the corresponding OR decreased from 1.11 to 0.86) and among girls by 34.0% (the corresponding OR decreased from 1.41 to 1.12). Over the study period, changing social variables had little impact on the daily consumption of vegetables and other foods.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on the food consumption trends observed in Lithuania, increases in consumption of fruits and vegetables should be promoted, along with a reduction in the intake of less healthy choices, such as soft drinks and high-fat, high-sugar snack foods, by diminishing social inequalities in food consumption.</p

A systematic review of methods for increasing vegetable consumption in early childhood

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This study aims to synthesise the body of research investigating methods for increasing vegetable consumption in 2- to 5-year-old children, while offering advice for practitioners. RECENT FINDINGS: Repeated exposure is a well-supported method for increasing vegetable consumption in early childhood and may be enhanced with the inclusion of non-food rewards to incentivise tasting. Peer models appear particularly effective for increasing 2-5-year-olds' vegetable consumption. There is little evidence for the effectiveness of food adaptations (e.g. flavour-nutrient learning) for increasing general vegetable intake among this age group, although they show some promise with bitter vegetables. SUMMARY: This review suggests that practitioners may want to focus their advice to parents around strategies such as repeated exposure, as well as the potential benefits of modelling and incentivising tasting with non-food rewards. Intervention duration varies greatly, and considerations need to be made for how this impacts on success

Fetal and infant origins of asthma

Previous studies have suggested that asthma, like other common diseases, has at least part of its origin early in life. Low birth weight has been shown to be associated with increased risks of asthma, chronic obstructive airway disease, and impaired lung function in adults, and increased risks of respiratory symptoms in early childhood. The developmental plasticity hypothesis suggests that the associations between low birth weight and diseases in later life are explained by adaptation mechanisms in fetal life and infancy in response to various adverse exposures. Various pathways leading from adverse fetal and infant exposures to growth adaptations and respiratory health outcomes have been studied, including fetal and early infant growth patterns, maternal smoking and diet, children’s diet, respiratory tract infections and acetaminophen use, and genetic susceptibility. Still, the specific adverse exposures in fetal and early postnatal life leading to respiratory disease in adult life are not yet fully understood. Current studies suggest that both environmental and genetic factors in various periods of life, and their epigenetic mechanisms may underlie the complex associations of low birth weight with respiratory disease in later life. New well-designed epidemiological studies are needed to identify the specific underlying mechanisms. This review is focused on specific adverse fetal and infant growth patterns and exposures, genetic susceptibility, possible respiratory adaptations and perspectives for new studies