Confronting Globalization: The Challenges of Creating Space for Global Learning

This study describes and analyses the challenges encountered in a recent case of global collaboration in developing a web-based masters program for adult educators. “Agency,” “structure,” and “frame factor” are used as analytical concepts to help understand the dynamics of the collaboration and the character of the program produced

The all-intracellular order Legionellales is unexpectedly diverse, globally distributed and lowly abundant

Legionellales is an order of the Gammaproteobacteria, only composed of host-adapted, intracellular bacteria, including the accidental human pathogens Legionella pneumophila and Coxiella burnetii. Although the diversity in terms of lifestyle is large across the order, only a few genera have been sequenced, owing to the difficulty to grow intracellular bacteria in pure culture. In particular, we know little about their global distribution and abundance. Here, we analyze 16/18S rDNA amplicons both from tens of thousands of published studies and from two separate sampling campaigns in and around ponds and in a silver mine. We demonstrate that the diversity of the order is much larger than previously thought, with over 450 uncultured genera. We show that Legionellales are found in about half of the samples from freshwater, soil and marine environments and quasi-ubiquitous in man-made environments. Their abundance is low, typically 0.1%, with few samples up to 1%. Most Legionellales OTUs are globally distributed, while many do not belong to a previously identified species. This study sheds a new light on the ubiquity and diversity of one major group of host-adapted bacteria. It also emphasizes the need to use metagenomics to better understand the role of host-adapted bacteria in all environments. The all-intracellular bacterial order of Legionellales is much more diverse, prevalent and globally distributed than previously thought

BHV-sjuksköterskans arbete med familjer som har barn med långvarig sjukdom eller funktionsnedsättning.

Bakgrund: Familjer som har barn med långvarig sjukdom eller funktionsnedsättning har ökad risk att missa BHVs hälsofrämjande insatser. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva BHV-sjuksköterskans arbete med familjer som har barn med långvarig sjukdom eller funktionsnedsättning. Metod: Ostrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes och analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Alla BHV-sjuksköterskor använde det nationella BHV-programmet som grund men det anpassades i större utsträckning till barn som har långvarig sjukdom eller funktionsnedsättning. Fler kontakter behövde tas med andra instanser men kommunikationen brast vilket försvårade BHV-sjuksköterskans arbete. Att ge stöd och trygghet samt se det friska hos alla barn ansågs viktigt. Slutsats: BHV-sjuksköterskorna arbetade till stor del enligt den forskning som finns inom ämnet men möjlighet till förbättring av omhändertagandet finns genom förbättrad kommunikation med andra instanser

Jämställdhet - en konkurrensfördel?

Genom arbetet har framkommit att en jämnare könsfördelning skapar flera fördelar som kan öka konkurrenskraften hos ett företag. För att uppnå detta krävs ett aktivt arbete med jämställdhet samtidigt som det är förankrat på högsta nivå. De fördelar som genereras av jämställdhetsarbetet sker dels gentemot kunden där kompetent personal som stödjer företagets värderingar skapar goda kundrelationer, dels gentemot medarbetarna där en jämställd arbetsplats skapar god dynamik och bättre stämning vilket tillsammans gör ett företag attraktivt

Hur konsumenten inkluderas i en cirkulär ekonomi

Det råder idag en “slit och släng” kultur i samhället vilket kännetecknas av att konsumenter köper nya varor och slänger dem när de inte längre fyller sin funktion. Klädindustrin är en av de branscher där “slit och släng” kulturen är som mest påtaglig. Kläder är en nödvändighet för oss människor då de fyller såväl fysiologiska som emotionella behov. Det sätt som kläder produceras och konsumeras på idag är dock inte ekologiskt, socialt eller ekonomiskt hållbart. Att tillverka nya kläder kräver stora mängder vatten, förorenar naturen med giftigabekämpningsmedel, påverkar människors levnadsstandard negativt samt bidrar till stora ekonomiska förluster. Som förslag på hur det nuvarande produktions- och konsumtionsmönsterkan motverkas förespråkar Ellen MacArthur Foundation en cirkulär ekonomi inom klädbranschen. I en cirkulär ekonomi skulle kläder inte sluta som avfall, utan återföras i kretsloppet.Studiens syfte är att analysera om och hur klädåterförsäljare inkluderar konsumenten i encirkulär ekonomi på en handelsplats i Uppsala genom butiksorienterade cirkulära initiativ. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar studerades 15 klädåterförsäljare och vilka cirkulära initiativ de har etablerat och marknadsfört till konsumenten. Som grund för den här studien har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod tillämpats där insamling av empirisk data har utförtsgenom observationer. För att underlätta analys av empirisk data har klädåterförsäljarna delats in i åtta urvalsgrupper baserat på deras målgrupp. Den insamlade empirin har sedan jämförts med det teoretiska ramverk som studien grundar sig på.Studien visar att klädåterförsäljarna arbetar med cirkulär ekonomi i en varierande utsträckning på handelsplatsen i Uppsala. I de urvalsgrupper som observerades på handelsplatsen har samtliga klädåterförsäljare etablerat ett eller flera cirkulära initiativ i butikerna. De cirkulära initiativen som är etablerade hos klädåterförsäljarna på handelsplatsen i Uppsala är: hållbarhetsgarantier, skötselråd, lagning, återanvändning, återvinning och kläder tillverkade avekologisk bomull. De cirkulära initiativen som klädåterförsäljarna etablerat inkluderar konsumenten i den cirkulära ekonomin i olika nivåer av delaktighet där initiativen kräver olika grad av engagemang från såväl konsument som klädåterförsäljare. De cirkulära initiativen som finns etablerade i flest urvalsgrupper på handelsplatsen kräver en låg nivå av delaktighet vilketmedför att slutsatsen i studien är att konsumenten inkluderas i låg grad i den cirkulära ekonominpå handelsplatsen i Uppsala.Today there is a "wear and tear" culture in society, which is characterized by consumers buying new goods and throwing them away when they no longer fulfil their purpose. The clothing industry is one of the industries in which the "wear and tear" culture is most apparent. Clothing is necessary for us humans as they satisfy both physiological and emotional needs. However, how clothes are produced and consumed today is not ecologic, social or economic sustainable. Manufacturing new clothes requires large amounts of water, polluting nature with toxic pesticides, have a negative effect on people's living standards and contributing to large financiallosses. As a suggestion on how the current production and consumption patterns can be counteracted Ellen MacArthur Foundation advocates a circular economy in the clothingindustry. In a circular economy, clothing would not end up as waste, but be reintroduced into the cycle.The aim of this study is to analyse if and how clothing retailers include the consumer in a circular economy at a trading center in Uppsala through store oriented circular initiatives. To answer the study's aim and questions, 15 clothing retailers were studied and what circularinitiatives they have established and marketed to the consumer. As a basis for this study, a qualitative research method has been applied where the collection of empirical data has been achieved through several observations. In order to simplify the analysis of empirical data, the clothing retailers have been divided into eight selection groups based on their target group. The collected empirical data has then been compared with the theoretical framework on which thestudy is based on. This study shows that the clothing retailers work with circular economy to a varying extent at the trading center in Uppsala. In the selection groups that were observed at the trading center, all clothing retailers have established one or more circular initiatives in their stores. The circular initiatives that are established at the clothing retailers in the trading center in Uppsala are: sustainability guarantees, care advice, repair, reuse, recycling and clothes made of organic cotton. The circular initiatives established by the clothing retailers include the consumer in thecircular economy at different levels of participation, where the initiatives require varying degrees of involvement from both consumer and clothing retailers. The circular initiatives that are established in most selection groups at the trading center require a low level of participation, which means that the conclusion is that the consumer is included to a low degree in the circular economy at the trading center in Uppsala

Making the invisible visible. On participation and communication in a global, web-based master's programme

Abstract. This study focuses on the discourse of an intercontinental on-line Master's programme in adult learning, using English as the lingua franca of the programme and involving four collaborating universities in Sweden, South Africa, Canada and Australia. The programme is highly interactive, emphasising communication between students. Taking the variation in participation as the point of departure, a discourse analysis aiming at analysing the contingencies contributing to the pattern of communication in the programme was undertaken. Data consist of a variety of texts on-line web-documents, written notes, and narratives that participants wrote about their lives related to participation in the programme. The use of English as the lingua franca contributed to a mistake anxiety, which for some students was hampering their communication in the programme. Aspects of the material world such as the vast differences in the efforts and costs for participating in the programme were also highly interrelated to the shaping of socio-culturally situated identities among the students and thereby contributing to the variation in frequency in participation. The results show that the official discourse of the programme as a text, with its emphasis on equity, change and development, gets subordinated to the discourses produced and reproduced by the students in the programme as a discursive practice and social practice. The students' accounts reveal that there are fragments of an alternative discourse emerging, based on mutual concern and friendship, which might suggest a potential for changing the communicative patterns in the programme

Qualitative Environmental Health Research: An Analysis of the Literature, 1991-2008

BACKGROUND. Recent articles have advocated for the use of qualitative methods in environmental health research. Qualitative research uses nonnumeric data to understand people's opinions, motives, understanding, and beliefs about events or phenomena. OBJECTIVE. In this analysis of the literature, I report the use of qualitative methods and data in the study of the relationship between environmental exposures and human health. DATA SOURCES. A primary search on ISI Web of Knowledge/Web of Science for peer-reviewed journal articles dated from 1991 through 2008 included the following three terms: qualitative, environ*, and health. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are described. DATA EXTRACTION. Searches resulted in 3,155 records. Data were extracted and findings of articles analyzed to determine where and by whom qualitative environmental health research is conducted and published, the types of methods and analyses used in qualitative studies of environmental health, and the types of information qualitative data contribute to environmental health. DATA SYNTHESIS. Ninety-one articles met inclusion criteria. These articles were published in 58 different journals, with a maximum of eight for a single journal. The results highlight a diversity of disciplines and techniques among researchers who used qualitative methods to study environmental health, with most studies relying on one-on-one interviews. Details of the analyses were absent from a large number of studies. Nearly all of the studies identified increased scientific understanding of lay perceptions of environmental health exposures. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Qualitative data are published in traditionally quantitative environmental health studies to a limited extent. However, this analysis demonstrates the potential of qualitative data to improve understanding of complex exposure pathways, including the influence of social factors on environmental health, and health outcomes.National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R25 ES012084, P42ES007381

Genetic parameters of colostrum and calf serum antibodies in Swedish dairy cattle

BackgroundA sufficient IgG content in the colostrum is essential for the newborn calf, as it provides passive immunity which substantially affects the probability of survival during rearing. Failure of passive transfer (FPT) occurs when a calf does not absorb enough antibodies from the colostrum and is defined by an IgG concentration in calf serum lower than 10 g/L. Apart from delayed access to colostrum, FPT can be due to a low production of IgG in the mother or poor IgG absorption by the calf. The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic background of antibody levels and indicator traits for antibodies in the colostrum and calf serum, and their correlation with milk production.ResultsColostrum data were available for 1340 dairy cows with at least one calving and calf serum data were available for 886 calves from these cows. Indicator traits for antibody concentrations were estimated using refractometry (a digital Brix refractometer for colostrum and an optical refractometer for serum), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to determine the levels of total IgG and natural antibodies (NAb) of various antibody isotypes in the colostrum and calf serum. Colostrum traits had heritabilities ranging from 0.16 to 0.31 with repeatabilities ranging from 0.21 to 0.55. Brix percentages had positive genetic correlations with all colostrum antibody traits including total IgG (0.68). Calf serum antibody concentrations had heritabilities ranging from 0.25 to 0.59, with a significant maternal effect accounting for 17 to 27% of the variance. When later in life calves produced their first lactation, the lactation average somatic cell score was found to be negatively correlated with NAb levels in calf serum.Conclusions​​​​​​​Our results suggest that antibody levels in the colostrum and calf serum can be increased by means of selection

A pilot study using Tissue Velocity Ultrasound Imaging (TVI) to assess muscle activity pattern in patients with chronic trapezius myalgia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Different research techniques indicate alterations in muscle tissue and in neuromuscular control of aching muscles in patients with chronic localized pain. Ultrasound can be used for analysis of muscle tissue dynamics in clinical practice.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>This study introduces a new muscle tissue sensitive ultrasound technique in order to provide a new methodology for providing a description of local muscle changes. This method is applied to investigate trapezius muscle tissue response – especially with respect to specific regional deformation and deformation rates – during concentric shoulder elevation in patients with chronic trapezius myalgia and healthy controls before and after pain provocation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with trapezius myalgia and healthy controls were analyzed using an ultrasound system equipped with tissue velocity imaging (TVI). The patients performed a standardized 3-cm concentric shoulder elevation before and after pain provocation/exercise at a standardized elevation tempo (30 bpm). A standardized region of interest (ROI), an ellipsis with a size that captures the upper and lower fascia of the trapezius muscle (4 cm width) at rest, was placed in the first frame of the loop registration of the elevation. The ROI was re-anchored frame by frame following the same anatomical landmark in the basal fascia during all frames of the concentric phase. In cardiac measurement, tissue velocities are measured in the axial projection towards and against the probe where red colour represents shortening and red lengthening. In the case of measuring the trapezius muscle, tissue deformation measurements are made orthogonally, thus, indirectly. Based on the assumption of muscle volume incompressibility, blue represents tissue contraction and red relaxation. Within the ROI, two variables were calculated as a function of time: <it>deformation </it>and <it>deformation rate</it>. Hereafter, max, mean, and quadratic mean values (RMS) of each variable were calculated and compared before and after pain provocation/exercise.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This new methodology seems valuable when looking at local muscle changes and studying the mechanism behind chronic muscle pain. The univariate analyses indicate that patients with chronic trapezius myalgia after pain provocation due to exercise at group level showed decreased strain and unchanged strain rate while healthy controls had unchanged strain and increased strain rate. However, the multivariate analysis indicates that most patients showed lower levels according to both strain and strain rate after exercise compared to most controls.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tissue velocity imaging can help describe musculoskeletal tissue activity and dynamics in patients with chronic pain conditions. An altered muscle tissue dynamic after pain provocation/exercise among the majority of trapezius myalgia patients compared with the healthy controls was found.</p