Continuing Education of English Teachers: Teachers’ Translation of New Knowledge into the Classroom

This qualitative study seeks to gain deeper insight into how primary school teachers translate new knowledge about language learning into the classroom and how they experience development in their teaching practice through their continuing education course in English. The theoretical framework is rooted in Ertsås and Irgens´ theory on teachers’ learning and professional development (2012). To avoid a dichotomous assumption of theory and practice, Ertsås and Irgens redefine theory as a process, theorising, where teachers gradually take increasingly stronger theory into use in order to reflect on, analyse and reason about their teaching practice. The data were collected from three equivalent English courses in the autumn semesters of 2015, 2016 and 2017. The participants wrote a reflection text towards the end of their first semester in which they reflected on noticeable development in their own teaching practice. This textual documentary material was analysed primarily from an inductive perspective, then coded and categorised.publishedVersio

Miljø-DNA: Tar pulsen på naturen

Source at http://www.bioteknologiradet.no/tidsskriftet-genialt/utgaver/. DNA i vannprøver og jordprøver kan gi verdifull informasjon om hvilke organismer som er til stede i økosystemene i dag, og hvordan livet har utviklet seg over tid

Profesjonelle læringsfellesskap for lærere i videreutdanning - utvikling i kunnskapskulturen

Evaluering av den nasjonale etter- og videreutdanningsstrategien Kompetanse for kvalitet viser at lærere i videreutdanning deler lite av den nyervervede kunnskapen med kollegaer og ledelse, og at det i begrenset grad legges til rette for kunnskapsdeling fra skoleledelsens side. I Kunnskapsdepartementets (2011b) retningslinjer for Kompetanse for kvalitet understrekes den enkelte skole og skoleeier sitt ansvar for at kunnskapsdeling skal kunne gjennomføres ved videreutdanning. Denne ubalansen mellom utdanningsmyndighetenes krav og skolenes gjennomføring er utgangspunktet for denne studien; her undersøkes hvordan lærere i videreutdanning i engelsk og matematikk opplever at kunnskapsdeling med kollegaer innenfor et veldefinert læringsfellesskap kan påvirke deres kunnskapskultur. Studien har en kvalitativ tilnærming der empirien utgjøres av studentenes refleksjonstekster knyttet til deling av forskningsbasert kunnskap i et læringsfellesskap. Resultatene viser at lærerne og skolelederne har begrenset erfaring med slik kunnskapsdeling, men de opplever den som en helhetlig læringsprosess. Studien viser indikasjoner på at denne form for læringsfellesskap initierer gode fagsamtaler. Det kan se ut som om dette læringsfelleskapet hvor teori og praksis møtes, hjelper videreutdanningsstudentene i teoretiseringsprosessen. I et læringsfellesskap hvor både klasserommet og fagfellesskapet inngår som utprøvingsareaer, kan det være et potensial for utvikling i kunnskapskulturen. Ifølge Ertsås og Irgens (2012) er det nettopp evnen til teoretisering i kunnskapsutviklingen som er den kritiske faktoren for at læreren skal kunne utvikle og begrunne sin praksis og slik framstå som en profesjonell yrkesutøver. Studien baserer seg på gjennomføring av èn planlagt samling for kunnskapsdeling, noe som kan være en begrensende faktor, og videre studier over tid er derfor nødvendig

Contain

I den gestaltande landskapsarkitektens yrkesliv är arkitekturtävlingar praxis, eftersom det anses vara ett effektivt sätt att få fram alternativa och högkvalitativa förslag i ett projekt. Som ett komplement till den ordinarie utbildningen på landskapsarkitekturprogrammet är deltagande i arkitekturtävlingar ett sätt att förbereda sig för det kommande arbetslivet. Genom tävlingen Re-design the cityscape from the forest to the seafront: Tritis Septemvriou Street, Thessaloniki, Greece, finns en möjlighet att kombinera kandidatuppsatsen och deltagande i en arkitekturtävling. Tävlingen berör hanteringen av stadsmiljöer med undermåliga allmänna platser, kopplat till modernismens genomslag. Syftet med kandidatarbetet är att övergripande gestalta Tritis Septemvriou Street i Thessaloniki med utgångspunkt i tävlingsprogrammet. Programmet har tre huvudprogrampunkter och vår frågeställning formulerades utifrån dem. Frågan lyder: Hur kan Tritis Septemvriou Street i Thessaloniki gestaltas med fokus på Environmental Awareness, Landscape Architectural Quality och Quality of Urban Living? I uppsatsen presenteras en övergripande gestaltning med förslag till lösning på den problematik som präglar Tritis Septemvriou Street. Förslaget är samtidigt ett sätt för oss att prova den arbetsform som tävlingar utgör. Tävlingens ramar och villkor präglade i hög grad arbetsprocessen och resultatet. Tävlingen omfattar stadsmiljön längs Tritis Septemvriou Street, som lider av dåligt fungerande utemiljöer och en ohållbar trafiksituation. En återkoppling mellan stadselement och naturområden är arrangörernas önskemål. Tävlingsområdets yta är omfattande och nivån för gestaltningen är således stadsplaneringsnivå snarare än småskalig gestaltningsnivå. Vårt mål var att gestalta denna plats på ett konkurrenskraftigt sätt, inom ramen för tävlingsprogrammet. För att lyckas med detta hämtades inspiration från tre projekt med liknande förutsättningar. Studierna av dessa projekt, i kombination med analyserna av tävlingsområdet, mynnade ut i förslaget CONTAIN. Grundidén bakom CONTAIN är att tillvarata Thessalonikis identitet som hamnstad, samtidigt som området omformas till ett parkstråk med sammanhållen karaktär, stor variation i funktion och mycket aktivitet. Praktiskt och estetiskt realiseras detta genom att tomma fraktcontainrar skapar en stomme för aktiviteter och lokala uttryck. Förslaget är uppdelat i fem delområden som alla har sin unika karaktär där den nuvarande användningen identifieras och utvecklas. Detta skapar variationen i förslaget. Helheten skapas genom att delområdena binds ihop av fraktcontainrarna, som är ett stående inslag längs hela parken.Architecture competitions are essential and commonly accepted ingredients in working life of site designing landscape architects, regarded as an efficient way to achieve alternative high-quality design solutions in projects. As a complement to education within the Landscape Architect Programme, participation in architectural competitions is a way to prepare for future working life. Combining a bachelor’s thesis and participation in the competition Re-design the cityscape from the forest to the seafront: Tritis Septemvriou Street, Thessaloniki, Greece is the framework of the report before us. The competition raises the issue on managing urban districts with poor public spaces, linked to the impact of modernistic city building ideas. The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to produce a conceptual design proposal for Tritis Septemvriou Street in Thessaloniki, based on the competition programme. The programme has three main programme points from which our research question was formulated. The question is: How can Tritis Septemvriou Street in Thessaloniki be designed with focus on Environmental Awareness, Landscape Architectural Quality and Quality of Urban Living? Our work presents a proposal, suggesting how the issues regarding the public space along Tritis Septemvriou Street can be managed. The proposal is also a way for us to experience competitions as a way of working. The framework and conditions of the competition influenced the working process and results to a large extent. The competition deals with the urban areas along Tritis Septemvriou Street which is suffering from poor public spaces and an unsustainable traffic situation. The target announced by the competition organizers is to reestablish a connection between urban elements and natural areas. The site of the competition area is vast and the level of detail is therefor at a scale of urban planning rather than a small-scale design level. Our ambition was to design this site in a competitive manner, within the terms of the competition. To succeed in this, we drew inspiration from three other projects with similar conditions. The studies made on these projects, along with an analysis of the competition, led on to the design proposal CONTAIN. The basic ideas behind CONTAIN is to utilize the port town identity of Thessaloniki and to reshape the area into a series of parks with a coherent character and a great variety in functions and activities. Practically and aesthetically this is established by using empty freight containers to create a framework for activities and local expressions. The proposal is divided into five areas, according to their existing unique charachters, where current use is identified and developed. This creates a variation in the design proposal. The frequent use of shipping containers emphasises the design as an entity, linking the different areas together through an easily recognizable symbol along the whole park

The agricultural theatre : from the farmland to the people

This work lies at the interface between landscape architecture and agriculture. The aim has been to develop a competition entry with a design that shows how agricultural land can be made accessible for urban residents while being preserved. We think landscape architects need to examine how agricultural land can be used for recreation and how to highlight its experiential values. The competition Imagine Open Skåne 2030 is a joint strategy which sets out the ambition of the region. Through Imagine Open Skåne 2030 the ambition of Region Skåne has been to collect ideas and thought provoking suggestions on how to develop a strong and attractive region. The task of the competition was to identify a social challenge and describe how it affects Skåne as a region and to develop and present a design addressing the same challenge. To succeed in this our work has been based on different kinds of research; literary studies, studies of reference projects, and by design through sketching and brainstorming. The design work is the biggest part of the thesis. In the literature study we focused on the problems of urban expansion in areas with valuable farmland, Swedish agrarian history, the importance of agriculture for man, and residential nature. The purpose of the three reference projects has been to provide a deeper understanding of contemporary social challenges, but also to show us how landscape architects have responded to these challenges. In our work process we have produced several sketches and ideas that respond to different challenges. Multiple brainstorming workshops were held to help us in our creative process and to find a challenge and an idea suitable for the competition. The studies of reference projects along with sketching and the analysis of the research led to the proposal Jordbruksteatern or ”The Agricultural Theatre”. In this proposal we start with a scenario where cities in Skåne are growing rapidly, which means great challenges in terms of housing and recreation. A zero vision for exploitation of agricultural land gives cities few other options than to expand within the city limits. Densification means less green space per inhabitant. Green spaces are the backbone of the recreational environment in the city and have a positive effect on people’s health and well-being, but many people today have no contact with the landscape. The idea behind ”The Agricultural Theatre” is to make farmland accessible for city dwellers, who gets a new type of recreational land to move through. The design makes it possible for people to move above, through and under agricultural land. While maintaining the qualities of the farmland the new design generates new values and at the same time city and countryside are bound together in a totally new way. Visitors can experience the landscape without affecting productivity substantially. By participating in the competition our proposal reached out to a bigger audience, which was the main reason why we wanted to make a competition entry

Transcriptional Responses of Bacillus cereus towards Challenges with the Polysaccharide Chitosan

The antibacterial activity of the polysaccharide chitosan towards different bacterial species has been extensively documented. The response mechanisms of bacteria exposed to this biopolymer and the exact molecular mechanism of action, however, have hardly been investigated. This paper reports the transcriptome profiling using DNA microarrays of the type-strain of Bacillus cereus (ATCC 14579) exposed to subinhibitory concentrations of two water-soluble chitosan preparations with defined chemical characteristics (molecular weight and degree of acetylation (FA)). The expression of 104 genes was significantly altered upon chitosan A (weight average molecular weight (Mw) 36.0 kDa, FA = 0.01) exposure and 55 genes when treated with chitosan B (Mw 28.4 kDa, FA = 0.16). Several of these genes are involved in ion transport, especially potassium influx (BC0753-BC0756). Upregulation of a potassium transporting system coincides with previous studies showing a permeabilizing effect on bacterial cells of this polymer with subsequent loss of potassium. Quantitative PCR confirmed the upregulation of the BC0753 gene encoding the K+-transporting ATPase subunit A. A markerless gene replacement method was used to construct a mutant strain deficient of genes encoding an ATP-driven K+ transport system (Kdp) and the KdpD sensor protein. Growth of this mutant strain in potassium limiting conditions and under salt stress did not affect the growth pattern or growth yield compared to the wild-type strain. The necessity of the Kdp system for potassium acquisition in B. cereus is therefore questionable. Genes involved in the metabolism of arginine, proline and other cellular constituents, in addition to genes involved in the gluconeogenesis, were also significantly affected. BC2798 encoding a chitin binding protein was significantly downregulated due to chitosan exposure. This study provides insight into the response mechanisms of B. cereus to chitosan treatment and the significance of the Kdp system in potassium influx under challenging conditions

Typical functional patterns and socio-cultural context

publishedVersio

A zero emission concept analysis of a single family house

© Copyright SINTEF Academic Press and Norwegian University of Science and Technology 201

Poor illness perceptions are a risk factor for depressive and anxious symptomatology in fibromyalgia syndrome : A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Patients with widespread pain, such as in fibromyalgia, are vulnerable for depression and anxiety, which composes a relevant public health problem. Identifying risk factors for the onset of depression and anxiety is therefore warranted. Objective of this study was to determine whether severe pain, maladaptive coping, and poor illness perceptions are associated with depressive and anxious symptomatology in fibromyalgia.Consecutive patients referred to an outpatient clinic completed sets of physical and psychological questionnaires at baseline and at 18-month follow-up. A total of 452 patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) were eligible for inclusion, and subsequently, 280 patients returned the baseline questionnaire. Depressive and anxious symptomatology was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. To measure pain severity, coping style, and illness perceptions, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Pain Coping Inventory, and the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) were used, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses, bootstrapping and calibration, were performed to examine the association of pain severity, pain coping, and illness perception with depressive and anxiety symptoms at follow-up, adjusted for sociodemographic variables. Initial level of depressive and anxiety symptoms was selected as covariates.Mean age was 42.6 years and 95.4% were female. At 18-month follow-up, 68 (of the 195) patients were depressed and 80 (of the 197) were anxious. Only the IPQ-R subscale “emotional representations” showed a significant positive association with depressive symptoms at follow-up (OR = 1.10), next to the initial level of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.30). In case of anxiety, only the IPQ-R subscale “treatment control” showed a significant negative association with anxiety symptoms at follow-up (OR = 0.87), next to the initial level of anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.45).Our data suggest that not pain severity or maladaptive coping, but poor illness perceptions are important in elevated depressive and anxious symptomatology. Patients with fibromyalgia who think their illness negatively affects their mental well-being are at increased risk for more depressive symptoms, and those who think treatment of their illness will not be effective are at increased risk for more anxiety symptoms. Strengthening illness beliefs and reducing catastrophic thinking, therefore, seem crucial factors in the treatment of patients with FMS