‘Empowering leadership’ improves firm productivity

It increases job satisfaction, effort and creativity, write Øyvind L. Martinsen and Stein Amundse

Facebook as a Virtual Learning Space to Connect Multiple Language Classrooms

This study examined the potential of the Facebook group utility inassisting 54 university Spanish students and pre-service Spanishteachers as they explored their roles as teachers and learners.Participants represented two Spanish language classes and twoSpanish teaching methods classes at the university level. These classeswere combined into a Facebook group and student interactions wererecorded. A qualitative case study was used to frame the 12 weekresearch project. Data were collected from the Facebook group wall,weekly student reports, and a final optional survey (n = 42). Resultswere organized with respect to how participants used the Facebookgroup, how the virtual and physical learning spaces were connected,benefits of participation as perceived by the students, and genuinenessof student contributions. Recommendations are offered for thoseconsidering the implementation of similar virtual learning spaces asextensions of face-to-face foreign language or teacher trainingclassrooms

Conversaciones virtuales: Investigación y práctica en los intercambios de lengua en línea

Advances in digital technology have created interesting opportunities for language learners to engage in conversation with native speakers. These opportunities provide the possibility for tremendous growth in language and culture learning (Lewis & O’Dowd, 2016) in ways that until recently did not exist. These interactions can take a variety of forms. Some instructors create highly controlled interactions with specific activities and pre-assigned partners. Others students are asked to connect to social media style sites where they experience enormous autonomy in choosing when they interact, who they interact with, and what they speak about (Malerba, 2012). Online exchanges with native speakers also vary according to the linguistic competence of the speakers. Generally, online exchanges have been used with learners who are at intermediate or advanced skill levels. However, the present study builds on recent research suggesting that even novice level learners can benefit from interacting with native speakers online (Satar & Özdener, 2008; Schenker, 2017). In this study, the authors examined novice students’ perceptions of learning and changes in comfort level after participating in a series of online and in-person exchanges over the course of a semester. The study compared students’ perceptions of online interactions generally with those of in-person exchanges and also compared the results of the use of various services. Results suggest that students in all of the groups, online and in-person, felt more comfortable interacting with native speakers and felt that they improved their language skills by engaging in these activities. With that said, students in the in-person group tended to feel more comfortable speaking with native speakers, but students in most of the online groups felt that the one on one nature of the interactions in the online settings led to the most growth.Los avances en la tecnología digital han creado oportunidades interesantes para que los estudiantes de lengua participen en conversaciones con hablantes nativos. Estas oportunidades brindan la posibilidad de un enorme crecimiento en el aprendizaje de lenguas y culturas (Lewis & O’Dowd, 2016) en formas que hasta hace poco no existían. Estas interacciones pueden tomar una variedad de formas. Algunos instructores crean interacciones sumamente controladas con actividades específicas y compañeros asignados previamente. A otros estudiantes se les pide que se conecten a sitios al estilo de las redes sociales donde experimentan una enorme autonomía para elegir cuándo interactúan, con quién interactúan y de qué hablan (Malerba, 2012). Los intercambios en línea con hablantes nativos también varían de acuerdo con la competencia lingüística de los hablantes. En general, los intercambios en línea se han utilizado con estudiantes que se encuentran en los niveles intermedios o avanzados. Sin embargo, el presente estudio se basa en investigaciones recientes que sugieren que incluso los principiantes de nivel principiante pueden beneficiarse de la interacción en línea con hablantes nativos (Satar & Özdener, 2008; Schenker, 2017). En este estudio, los autores examinaron las percepciones de los estudiantes principiantes sobre el aprendizaje y los cambios en el nivel de comodidad después de participar en una serie de intercambios en línea y en persona en el transcurso de un semestre. El estudio comparó las percepciones de los estudiantes sobre las interacciones en línea en general con las de los intercambios en persona y también comparó los resultados del uso de diversos servicios. Los resultados sugieren que los estudiantes de todos los grupos, en línea y en persona, se sintieron más cómodos interactuando con hablantes nativos y sintieron que mejoraron sus habilidades lingüísticas al participar en estas actividades. Dicho esto, los estudiantes en el grupo en persona tienden a sentirse más cómodos al hablar con hablantes nativos, pero los estudiantes, en la mayoría de los grupos en línea, sintieron que la naturaleza de las interacciones en línea de hablar uno a uno condujo a un mayor crecimiento

Estimation of In Vivo Water Content of the Stratum Corneum from Electrical Measurements

In vivo water content in the epidermal stratum corneum can be estimated by means of low frequency susceptance measurements. In the in vitro calibration necessary to find the in vivo water content, the stratum corneum will have a uniform distribution of water across its thickness. However, in vivo stratum corneum has an increasing water concentration profile from the outermost towards the innermost parts. This paper will investigate the possibility of estimating the equilibrium water content in the in vivo stratum corneum non-invasively from electrical susceptance measurements. Given a known shape of the water concentration profile in the in vivo stratum corneum and the dependence of susceptance on the water content, it is possible to calculate the water content in vivo based on analytically derived expressions for the water concentration profile. A correspondence between in vivo and in vitro water content needed for this purpose is also established

Digital Connections: Student Experiences in Online Language Exchanges

Exciting advances in technology have provided foreign language teachers with opportunities to connect students to native speakers of target languages. Much of the research in this area focuses on changes in proficiency or cultural sensitivity. Although valuable, the research is lacking in understanding students’ experiences online, including positive and negative feelings, challenges, as well as students’ overall opinions of the exchanges’ usefulness for learning. The present study used a mixed methods approach to examine the experiences of third-semester university students participating in online language exchanges with native speakers. A third-semester Spanish class at a large university consisting of 18 students was selected as a sample. Students were required to speak online with native Spanish speakers in the target language for 20 minutes each week. Students completed weekly surveys and a final survey, and three students were selected for semi-structured interviews. The data reveal common struggles that students face during online exchanges, methods students use for coping with these difficulties, areas of perceived growth, and social factors that affect students’ experiences. The article concludes with recommendations for what foreign language educators can do to support students in similar online exchanges

Who cares? -The unrecognised contribution of homecare nurses to care trajectories

publishedVersio

Novel Genes from Formation to Function

The study of the evolution of novel genes generally focuses on the formation of new coding sequences. However, equally important in the evolution of novel functional genes are the formation of regulatory regions that allow the expression of the genes and the effects of the new genes in the organism as well. Herein, we discuss the current knowledge on the evolution of novel functional genes, and we examine in more detail the youngest genes discovered. We examine the existing data on a very recent and rapidly evolving cluster of duplicated genes, the Sdic gene cluster. This cluster of genes is an excellent model for the evolution of novel genes, as it is very recent and may still be in the process of evolving.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Morphology of G Cells in Hypergastrinemic Cotton Rats

In a strain of inbred cotton rats, 25-50% of females develop spontaneous gastric hypochlorhydria and  hypergastrinemia. Hypergastrinemic animals develop ECL cell derived gastric carcinomas located in the  oxyntic mucosa, thus being an interesting animal model for studying the role of gastrin in gastric carcinogenesis.  The response to gastric hypoacidity in cotton rats as regards the level of hypergastrinemia is far  more pronounced than in the more commonly used laboratory rat. It is unknown whether the pronounced  hypergastrinemic response in cotton rats is due to a greater population of G cells or a greater capacity of  hormone synthesis in each G cell. The aim of the study was therefore to examine G cell population and  ultrastructure in normogastrinemic and hypergastrinemic cotton rats by the use of immunhistochemical  methods applied on both light- and electron-microscopy. Five hypergastrinemic vs. five normogastrinemic  cotton rats were compared. Cotton rats with gastric hypochlorhydria have a 55-fold increase in serum gastrin levels and a 6-fold  increase in G cell number, but this is not accompanied by significant changes in G cell ultrastructure. The  lack of ultrastructural changes in these activated G cells indicates that previously reported changes in  chronic stimulated G cells are just one of several ways G cells are activated.

Narcissism and creativity

In this study, we investigated the relationship between narcissism, creative personality traits, ideational fluency, and accomplishments in various creative activities. We measured narcissism with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Emmons, 1987), creative personality with the Creative Person Profile (Martinsen, 2011), creative potential with a figural measure of divergent thinking, and a biographical inventory was used to measure accomplishments in creative activities. The sample consisted of 1375 young adults, mainly men. The results showed that narcissism was associated with fluency, seven creative personality dispositions, and five measures of creative activities. The latter associations were in general significant even when controlling for traits and creative potential. The strongest relationship displayed with narcissism was with the creative personality traits, in particular ambition, agreeableness, and motivation. Implications and limitations are noted.Narcissism and creativitysubmittedVersio