The Distribution of Revenues From State-Collected Consumer Taxes

Värdegrundsarbetet i förskolan där genus och likabehandling står i fokus är ett ämne som skall arbetas aktivt med och det var detta som var grunden i underökning. Undersökningen utgick ifrån två frågor som handlade om pedagogernas kompetens i genusvetenskap samt vilka genuspedagogiska strategier som de använde i arbetet med barnen. För att undersöka detta så valde jag att använda mig av en halvstrukturerad enkät där de flesta frågorna var av öppen karaktär för att kunna fånga vad pedagogernas kunskap om de olika genusvetenskapliga begreppen. De slutna frågorna fångade vilka genuspedagogiska strategier som pedagogerna använde i sitt arbete med barnen. 40 enkäter delades ut till pedagogerna i ett rektorsområde. Från resultatdelen kunde det utläsas att det var många olika definitioner på de genusvetenskapliga begreppen och att flertalet av pedagogerna inte hade samma syn som forskningen kring om det beror på det sociala eller det biologiska när barnen positionerar sig som pojkar eller flickor. Resultatet visade också att endast ett fåtal pedagogerna använder sig av det komplicerande och normkritiska arbetssättet med barnen och att lite fler än hälften tycker att de har tillräckligt med kunskap för att arbeta med genus. Slutsatser som kunde dras från resultaten från enkäten är att pedagogernas kompetenser i de genusvetenskapliga begreppen är på olika nivå och att de varierar väldigt mycket. Därför drog jag den slutsatsen att det är därför som det komplicerande och normkritiska arbetet inte används i arbetet med genus i förskolan. Ändå så ansåg flertalet av de pedagoger som inte arbetade med det komplicerande och normkritiska arbetet att de ändå hade tillräckligt med kunskap i genus. Kompetens i ett ämne gör att det är möjligt att ta ut svängarna, att verkligen se hur barnen gör genus i barngruppen och att ifrågasätta normer i samhället tillsammans med barnen

Evaluating research - Peer review team assessment and journal-based bibliographic measures: New Zealand PBRF research output scores in 2006

This paper concerns the relationship between the assessment of the research of individual academics by peer or expert review teams with a variety of bibliometric schemes based on journal quality weights. Specifically, for a common group of economists from New Zealand departments of economics the relationship between Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) Research Output measures for those submitting new research portfolios in 2006 are compared with evaluations of journal based research over the 2000-2005 assessment period. This comparison identifies the journal weighting schemes that appear most similar to PBRF peer evaluations. The paper provides an indication of the ‘power or aggressiveness’ of PBRF evaluations in terms of the weighting given to quality. The implied views of PBRF peer review teams are also useful in assessing common assumptions made in evaluating journal based research

The glycocalyx: The gatekeeper to the endothelium

The endothelial glycocalyx (EG) is a carbohydrate-rich scaffold of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans on the luminal surface of endothelial cells. The main proteoglycans are the syndecans (Figure 1). These structures are transmembrane and play a role in transmitting shear stress signals to the cytoskeleton of the endothelial cell and also changing their binding capacity according to intracellular signalling pathway activation. They also provide an anchor for glycocoaminoglycans such as heparan sulfate. Another important glycosaminoglycan is hyaluronan, which weaves its way through the glycocalyx and is anchored by cell surface receptors such as CD44

Occupational complexity and lifetime cognitive abilities

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between complexity of main lifetime occupation and cognitive performance in later life. METHODS: Occupational complexity ratings for data, people, and things were collected from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles for 1,066 individuals (men = 534, women = 532) in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. IQ data were available from mean age 11 years. Cognitive ability data across the domains of general ability, processing speed, and memory were available at mean age 70 years. RESULTS: General linear model analyses indicated that complexity of work with people and data were associated with better cognitive performance at age 70, after including age 11 IQ, years of education, and social deprivation. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings are supportive of the differential preservation hypotheses that more stimulating environments preserve cognitive ability in later life, although the continued effects into old age are still debated. Studies that have early-life cognitive ability measures are rare, and the current study offers interesting prospects for future research that may further the understanding of successful aging

The dilemma of response among early childhood educators to rough-and tumble play in educational settings: Moving beyond expectations and rediscovering play

Early childhood educators often may struggle to find appropriate responses to rough-and-tumble play due to its unpredictable and risky nature. This case study examines the challenge of how two early childhood special educators in two inclusive public preschool classrooms make decisions about rough-and-tumble play for 4-year-old children. The stories presented are descriptive and based in an ecological context. Through the triangulation of interview, anecdotal observations, and frequency counts, three major themes of Teacher Beliefs, Context, and Teacher Reflection and Awareness emerged, illustrating the complex phenomenon of teacher response to rough-and-tumble play in inclusive settings. Analysis of the data revealed that inclusive preschool teachers utilize methods that support language, peer interaction, physical growth and safety when guiding young children with special needs in rough-and-tumble play interactions

Proopiomelanocortin Physiological Roles: Pituitary Versus Hypathalamic Functions

The fact that the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene is a critical component of energy homeostasis and the stress response, two distinct yet not exclusively separate biological functions, distinguishes this gene as very intriguing and unique for st lllldy. The POMC gene encodes a preprohormone that is post-translationally processed into multiple bioactive peptides. The tissue specific regulation and tissue specific post-translational modifications provide a means for the broad spectrum of the gene\u27s biological activities. Understanding the POMC gene\u27s cell-specific regulation and the physiological functions of its encoded peptides has been an ongoing project of multiple labs spanning the last two decades. Initial studies predominately revolved around the role of the POMC peptide adrenocorticotropin-stimulating hormone\u27s (ACTH) function as a key descending-component of the hypothalamicpituitary adrenal axis. Recently, the majority of studies have transitioned to a focus on the hypothalamic POMC peptide, a.-MSH, and its anorexigenic effects. This focus is with good reason. Within affluent societies, the rampant increase in obesity and overweight prevalence and the associated risk for several chronic diseases has accentuated the need for understanding the biological mechanisms of energy homeostasis. Using the murine rodent for its genetic advantages, this thesis attempts to further advance our understanding of the POMC system regarding its gene expression, neuron physiology, and biological functions. The fact that the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene is a critical component of energy homeostasis and the stress response, two distinct yet not exclusively separate biological functions, distinguishes this gene as very intriguing and unique for st lllldy. The POMC gene encodes a preprohormone that is post-translationally processed into multiple bioactive peptides. The tissue specific regulation and tissue specific post-translational modifications provide a means for the broad spectrum of the gene\u27s biological activities. Understanding the POMC gene\u27s cell-specific regulation and the physiological functions of its encoded peptides has been an ongoing project of multiple labs spanning the last two decades. Initial studies predominately revolved around the role of the POMC peptide adrenocorticotropin-stimulating hormone\u27s (ACTH) function as a key descending-component of the hypothalamicpituitary adrenal axis. Recently, the majority of studies have transitioned to a focus on the hypothalamic POMC peptide, a.-MSH, and its anorexigenic effects. This focus is with good reason. Within affluent societies, the rampant increase in obesity and overweight prevalence and the associated risk for several chronic diseases has accentuated the need for understanding the biological mechanisms of energy homeostasis. Using the murine rodent for its genetic advantages, this thesis attempts to further advance our understanding of the POMC system regarding its gene expression, neuron physiology, and biological functions. Whether the hypothalamic POMC peptides have functions that are exclusive to hypothalamic neurons or whether pituitary POMC cells provide a redundancy for these hypothalamic neurons was not known. Utilizing promoter-mapping data, we generated a transgene that would selectively rescue pituitary POMC while retaining the neuronal POMC deficiency when crossed onto a POMC null mutant that we obtained from the Hochgeschwender laboratory. Our studies revealed that replacing pituitary POMC (Pomc_1 _; Tg/+) was not sufficient to rescue the phenotypes caused by the ubiquitous absence of POMC peptides in the Pomc_,_ mice. In fact some of the phenotypes present in the Pomc_,_ mouse, such as obesity and diabetes, were accentuated in the mice lacking only CNS POMC. Obesity in the Pomc_,_ mice resulted from a decrease in their basal metabolic rate (BMR). Replacing pituitary POMC and thus glucocorticoids resulted in a further depression in the mouse\u27s BMR. Replacing pituitary POMC did not normalize the HPA axis but instead further suggested a regulation of the HP A axis, independent of glucocorticoids, by hypothalamic POMC neurons. The lack of CRH suppression in the presence of elevated circulating corticosterone in the Pomc-1 -; Tgl+ mice lead us to the previous conclusion. CRH is a known anorexigenic peptide and evidence supporting the opposing regulation of these neurons by POMC peptides, a-MSH and P-endorphin, makes this hypothalamic circuitry very intriguing for not only future stress axis studies but energy homeostasis studies as well