Bland leksakspistoler, spindelväv och mellanstadiebarn : En vetenskaplig essä om vad meningsfull fritid innebär i förhållande till elevinflytande och lärande i en öppen fritidsverksamhet

This essay examines what a meaningful leisure-time could mean, in relation to pupils’ participation and learning. I have investigated the wording of the statement which says that children should be giving a meaningful leisure time, progress and learning. Is this possible, or does this statement contradict itself? What does a meaningful leisure-time really mean, and to whom? To examine this, I will describe two situations that occurred at my work place, a leisure-time centre for 10-13 -year-old children. The first story will describe a situation that I find relatively well working as a democratic process where some children want to organise a war activity for the other children, and I contemplate if that could be considered a meaningful leisure-time? In the second story, I describe a kind of chaotic situation, where a group of children are preparing an activity for other children. Time is hereof the essence and I contemplate if the children are having a meaningful time and if the situation spurs their progress in this stressful situation. I start with examining the two stories out of different perspectives: how to understand what meaningfulness is, the importance of coherency to experience purpose and how leisure-time has been interpreted over the years with regards to society and education. Further, I examine in what way student participation and democracy relate to both of my stories. I would also like to understand how and where learning is applicable in my stories. Therefore, I have chosen to also examine how the interaction between myself and the children contribute to their progress. Finally, I try to get a bigger picture on where the three aspects, meaningful leisure-time, progress and learning come together to create a wider perspective, that gives me a greater understanding for the mission of the leisure- time centre and for my occupation.Denna vetenskapliga essä handlar om vad meningsfull fritid kan innebära i förhållande till elevinflytande och lärande. Jag har tagit fasta på formuleringen att barnen ska erbjudas en meningsfull fritid, utveckling och lärande, och funderar över om det finns en motsättning mellan dessa begrepp. Vad menas med meningsfull fritid, och för vem? För att undersöka detta utgår jag från två situationer som jag varit med om på min arbetsplats, en öppen fritidsverksamhet där barn mellan 10 och 13 år tillbringar sin fria tid mellan skolans slut och hemmet. Den ena berättelsen beskriver en relativt väl fungerade demokratisk arbetsprocess där några barn vill planera en krigslek för de andra barnen, och jag funderar över om det kan räknas som meningsfullt?  I den andra berättelsen kommer vi in i en kaosliknande situation, med en tidspress som stressfaktor, och jag funderar över om barnen upplever det meningsfullt och utvecklande att förbereda en aktivitet åt andra barn. Jag undersöker först mina berättelser utifrån hur jag kan förstå vad meningsfullhet är, vilken betydelse känslan av sammanhang kan ha för upplevelsen av mening och även hur begreppet fritid har tolkats genom åren i förhållande till samhälle och skola. Därefter undersöker jag på vilket sätt elevinflytande och demokrati förhåller sig till mina berättelser. Jag vill även förstå hur lärande kommer in i mina båda berättelser och undersöker därför hur samspelet mellan mig och barnen bidrar till deras utveckling. Slutligen försöker jag se en större bild där de tre övergripande begreppen, meningsfull fritid, utveckling och lärande, förenas för att få ett bredare perspektiv och en bättre förståelse för vad verksamhetens och mitt uppdrag innebär

Personality traits along with the need of power and the need of achievment : a survey about the Big Five Theory and the Three Need Theory.

Beskrivningar om personlighetsdrag enligt femfaktormodellen har likhetermed McClellands teori om inlärda behov. Syftet var därför att undersöka omindivider med ett framträdande personlighetsdrag redogör för en viss typ avbehov. Baserat på tidigare forskning sattes hypoteserna att extravertapersoner tenderar att rapportera maktbehov och samvetsgranna personertenderar att rapportera prestationsbehov. Mätverktygen som användes förrespektive behov heter The Work and Family Orientation Questionnaire(WOFO) och Power Motivation Scale. Personlighetsdragen mättes med TenItems Personality Inventory (TIPI). En multipel regressionsanalys visade attextraversion signifikant predicerar maktbehov och samvetsgrannhetsignifikant predicerar prestationsbehov. Slutsatsen blev att extravertapersoner tenderar att ha ett maktbehov och samvetsgranna personermotiveras av prestationsbehov.Descriptions of personality traits according to The Big Five theory havesimilarities with McClelland's three need theory. The aim was therefore toexplore whether individuals with a prominent personality trait account for acertain type of need. Based on previous findings we hypothesized thatextraverted people tend to report a need for power and conscientious peopletend to report a need for achievement. The Work and Family OrientationQuestionnaire (WOFO) were used to measure the need for achievement andthe Power Motivation Scale to measure the need for power. Personality traitswere measured using the Ten Items Personality Inventory (TIPI). A multipleregression analysis showed that extraversion significantly predicts the needfor power and conscientiousness significantly predicts the need forachievement. It was concluded that extraverted people tend to have a needfor power and conscientious people tend to have a need for achievement

"You have to feel it in your heart" : A case study of the employees perception about Umeå university, the internal communication and how the communication contributes to this perception

“You have to feel it in your heart - a case study of the employees perception about Umeå university, the internal communication and how the communication contributes to this perception”. This study is based on that deficiency is common in internal communication in a authority that consists of several different units and different occupational levels. In an authority there is variety of units, employees with different occupational levels, a hierarchical structure and laws and regulations that must be followed. Because of these characteristics, a clear internal profile might be of extra importance. The internal profile will reflect the external perception, the authority’s image. This study examines how the internal communication of an authority like Umeå University works. The aim was to find out the employees perception of Umeå University and what their perceptions of the internal communication are. The method to examine this has mainly been based on group interviews conducted with focus groups representing different occupational levels. In summary the interviews indicate that there is a common perception of the university's identity among the different occupational levels. For example, words like: young, wide, open and norrländskt. These words were not based on any official core values of the university but were brought up by the participants. Umeå university have a vision which all participants had seen before and recognized, "The University of Umeå face the future with boundless knowledge". But they found it hard to grasp the vision with related goals, they felt overall and difficult to apply in their daily work. The results showed that the focus groups believe that there are many different subcultures at Umeå University. One reason for the formation of subcultures may simply be that Umeå University is an authority and there are certain factors that affect the University's properties. Keywords: Internal communication, organizational communication, organizational identity, organizational culture, communication process, vision, subculture.

Trading on the Swedish stock market : A quantitative study of how psychological factors, key figures, risk propensity and rationality affect Swedish individuals decision-making

Syfte: Undersökningens syfte är att få en förståelse i vilken omfattning privata investerare beaktar utomstående faktorer vid sina investeringsbeslut på aktiemarknaden. Studien har för avsikt att undersöka om verkligheten stämmer överens med teorin, därmed om människor är rationella vid sina beslut, och vilka faktorer som styr individens beslut vid aktiehandel.  Metod: Denna undersökning är en kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie med ett deskriptivt förhållningssätt. Undersökningen grundar sig i en genomgripande studie av litteratur följt av en enkätundersökning. Slutsats: Resultatet från undersökningen visar att psykologiska faktorer samt information har en påtaglig effekt på privatpersoners investeringsbeslut. Vidare indikerar undersökningen att många privata investerare som använder sig främst av nyckeltal vid aktieanalys samt vid investering.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the extent to which private investors take external factors into account when making their investment decisions in the stock market. The study intends to investigate whether reality is consistent with the theory, thus whether people are rational in their decisions, and what factors govern the individual's decisions in stock trading. Method: This study is a quantitative cross-sectional study with a descriptive approach. The survey is based on a comprehensive study of literature followed by a survey.  Conclusions: The results from the survey shows that psychological factors and information have a significant effect on private investment decisions. Furthermore, the survey indicates that many private investors use key figures in stock analysis and their investments.

"You have to feel it in your heart" : A case study of the employees perception about Umeå university, the internal communication and how the communication contributes to this perception

“You have to feel it in your heart - a case study of the employees perception about Umeå university, the internal communication and how the communication contributes to this perception”. This study is based on that deficiency is common in internal communication in a authority that consists of several different units and different occupational levels. In an authority there is variety of units, employees with different occupational levels, a hierarchical structure and laws and regulations that must be followed. Because of these characteristics, a clear internal profile might be of extra importance. The internal profile will reflect the external perception, the authority’s image. This study examines how the internal communication of an authority like Umeå University works. The aim was to find out the employees perception of Umeå University and what their perceptions of the internal communication are. The method to examine this has mainly been based on group interviews conducted with focus groups representing different occupational levels. In summary the interviews indicate that there is a common perception of the university's identity among the different occupational levels. For example, words like: young, wide, open and norrländskt. These words were not based on any official core values of the university but were brought up by the participants. Umeå university have a vision which all participants had seen before and recognized, "The University of Umeå face the future with boundless knowledge". But they found it hard to grasp the vision with related goals, they felt overall and difficult to apply in their daily work. The results showed that the focus groups believe that there are many different subcultures at Umeå University. One reason for the formation of subcultures may simply be that Umeå University is an authority and there are certain factors that affect the University's properties. Keywords: Internal communication, organizational communication, organizational identity, organizational culture, communication process, vision, subculture.

Experience of quality of life among women who have undergone breast reconstruction after mastectomy

Background: In Sweden around 6500 women suffer each year from breast cancer and during lifetime every tenth women is affected. Mastectomy (removal of part of or the whole breast) is carried out mostly in purpose to remove malign tumours or in prophylactic purpose. The breast can be rebuilt through breast reconstruction. Method: The result analysis was based on nine articles. A Manifest content analysis was used and data from the articles where divided into themes and patterns, on the basis of these categories were created. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe women’s experience of quality of life which has undergone breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Results: The result is presented in categories: psychic, social, physical, body image and sexual. After breast reconstruction women can suffer from psychological, social, physical, body image and sexual dysfunctions. Women’s quality of life after breast reconstruction varies. Women should in right time receive support from medical staff. Body image, body reality and self-image are affected by illness. A good body image can improve self-confidence which can improve quality of life. Conclusion: Participations and awareness can be linked to good quality of life after breast reconstruction. Therefore information is an important foundation stone in the care

Plasma levels of apolipoprotein M in normal and complicated pregnancy.

Apolipoprotein M (apoM) is mainly associated with high-density lipoprotein in human plasma. Despite several studies suggesting apoM as an anti-atherogenic, its function is not yet fully understood. Plasma apoM was measured in normal pregnancies at four different gestational ages and in the postpartum period to investigate whether the concentration of apoM changes during pregnancy. In addition, apoM was measured at 13 weeks in women who subsequently developed preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, recurrent miscarriage, or small-for-gestational age babies, and in women with uncomplicated pregnancies. The plasma concentrations of apoM increased during pregnancy to reach highest levels in the postpartum period. Thus, plasma apoM in non-pregnant women was around 0.77 micromol/l, 0.88 micromol/l at 40 gestational weeks, and 1.05 micromol/l in the postpartum period (p < 0.0001). No differences in plasma concentrations of apoM were found among the studied pregnancy complications

Documented nutritional therapy in relation to nutritional guidelines post burn injury : a retrospective observational study

Background &amp; aims: Intensive nutritional therapy is an essential component of burn care. Regardingpost-minor burn injuries, the literature is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate documentednutritional therapy in relation to international guidelines after both minor and major burn injuries. The secondary aim of this study was to evaluate the adequacy of energy and protein intake compared toindividual nutritional goals post-burn injury. Methods: A retrospective observational single-centre study including patients admitted between 2017and 2019 at a burn centre in Sweden was performed. The patients included in the study were &gt;18 years old and in need of hospital care for &gt; 72 h post-burn injury. Information about patients' demographics,nutritional therapy, and clinical characteristics of burn injury was collected. The patients were dividedaccording to total body surface area burnt (TBSA %) into minor burn injuries (TBSA &lt;20%) and major burninjuries (TBSA &gt;20%). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse data. Adherence to guidelines wasestablished by comparing 24 nutritional therapy recommendations to documented treatment. If documented nutritional treatment were in accordance with guidelines, adherence was considered high(&gt;80%), moderate (60-79.9%) or low (&lt;59.9%). Results: One hundred thirty-four patients were included, 90 patients with minor burn injuries and 44patients with major burn injuries. Documented adherence to the nutritional guideline was overall low.After minor burn injury, 8% (2/24) of nutritional therapy recommendations had a high adherence (fatintake &lt;35% of total energy intake and enteral nutrition as prioritized feeding route), 17% (4/24) amoderate adherence, and 75% (18/24) a low adherence. In patients treated after a major burn injury,there were two recommendations with documented high adherence (Vitamin C and Zinc); 25% (6/24)had moderate adherence, and 67% (16/24) had low adherence. In addition, quite a large amount ofmissing data was found.Adequacy of documented nutritional intake, compared to the individual documented goal, was 78%(±23%) for energy and 66% (±22%) for protein after minor burn injury. After major burn injury, the adequacy was 89% (±21%) for energy and 78% (±19%) for protein, respectively. Conclusions: This study revealed low adherence to nutritional guidelines in patients treated for minorand major burn injuries. Compared to major burn injuries, lower documented adequacy for both energyand proteins was found in minor burn injuries. Given the disparity between guidelines and documentednutritional therapy, and the lack of specific guidelines for minor burn injuries, there could be aconsiderable risk of inadequate nutritional therapy post-burn injury

Copper-dependent co-internalization of the prion protein and glypican-1.

Heparan sulfate chains have been found to be associated with amyloid deposits in a number of diseases including transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Diverse lines of evidence have linked proteoglycans and their glycosaminoglycan chains, and especially heparan sulfate, to the metabolism of the prion protein isoforms. Glypicans are a family of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored, heparan sulfate-containing, cell-associated proteoglycans. Cysteines in glypican-1 can become nitrosylated by endogenously produced nitric oxide. When glypican-1 is exposed to a reducing agent, such as ascorbate, nitric oxide is released and autocatalyses deaminative cleavage of heparan sulfate chains. These processes take place while glypican-1 recycles via a non-classical, caveolin-associated pathway. We have previously demonstrated that prion protein provides the Cu2+ ions required to nitrosylate thiol groups in the core protein of glypican-1. By using confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and immunomagnetic techniques, we now show that copper induces co-internalization of prion protein and glypican-1 from the cell surface to perinuclear compartments. We find that prion protein is controlling both the internalization of glypican-1 and its nitric oxide-dependent autoprocessing. Silencing glypican-1 expression has no effect on copper-stimulated prion protein endocytosis, but in cells expressing a prion protein construct lacking the copper binding domain internalization of glypican-1 is much reduced and autoprocessing is abrogated. We also demonstrate that heparan sulfate chains of glypican-1 are poorly degraded in prion null fibroblasts. The addition of either Cu2+ ions, nitric oxide donors, ascorbate or ectopic expression of prion protein restores heparan sulfate degradation. These results indicate that the interaction between glypican-1 and Cu2+-loaded prion protein is required both for co-internalization and glypican-1 self-pruning

Stoma-free survival after anastomotic leak following rectal cancer resection: worldwide cohort of 2470 patients

Background: The optimal treatment of anastomotic leak after rectal cancer resection is unclear. This worldwide cohort study aimed to provide an overview of four treatment strategies applied. Methods: Patients from 216 centres and 45 countries with anastomotic leak after rectal cancer resection between 2014 and 2018 were included. Treatment was categorized as salvage surgery, faecal diversion with passive or active (vacuum) drainage, and no primary/secondary faecal diversion. The primary outcome was 1-year stoma-free survival. In addition, passive and active drainage were compared using propensity score matching (2: 1). Results: Of 2470 evaluable patients, 388 (16.0 per cent) underwent salvage surgery, 1524 (62.0 per cent) passive drainage, 278 (11.0 per cent) active drainage, and 280 (11.0 per cent) had no faecal diversion. One-year stoma-free survival rates were 13.7, 48.3, 48.2, and 65.4 per cent respectively. Propensity score matching resulted in 556 patients with passive and 278 with active drainage. There was no statistically significant difference between these groups in 1-year stoma-free survival (OR 0.95, 95 per cent c.i. 0.66 to 1.33), with a risk difference of -1.1 (95 per cent c.i. -9.0 to 7.0) per cent. After active drainage, more patients required secondary salvage surgery (OR 2.32, 1.49 to 3.59), prolonged hospital admission (an additional 6 (95 per cent c.i. 2 to 10) days), and ICU admission (OR 1.41, 1.02 to 1.94). Mean duration of leak healing did not differ significantly (an additional 12 (-28 to 52) days). Conclusion: Primary salvage surgery or omission of faecal diversion likely correspond to the most severe and least severe leaks respectively. In patients with diverted leaks, stoma-free survival did not differ statistically between passive and active drainage, although the increased risk of secondary salvage surgery and ICU admission suggests residual confounding