The structure of optimism : "Controllability affects the extent to which efficacy beliefs shape outcome expectancies"

In this article we theoretically develop and empirically test an integrative conceptual framework linking dispositional optimism as general outcome expectancy to general efficacy beliefs about internal (self) and external (instrumental social support and chance) factors as well as to general control beliefs (locus-of-control). Bandura (1997, Self-efficacy. The exercise of control (p. 23). New York: Freeman), quoted in title, suggests – at a context-specific level – that controllability moderates the impact of self-efficacy on outcome expectancies and we hypothesize that – at a general level – this also applies to dispositional optimism. We further hypothesize that locus of control moderates the impact of external-efficacy beliefs, but in the opposite direction as self-efficacy. Our survey data of 224 university students provides support for the moderation of self-efficacy and chance-efficacy. Our new conceptualization contributes to clarifying relationships between self- and external-efficacy beliefs, control beliefs, and optimism; and helps to explain why equally optimistic individuals cope very differently with adverse situations

Follow the leader or the pack? Regulatory focus and academic entrepreneurial intentions

Drawing on the academic entrepreneurship and regulatory focus theory literature, and applying a multilevel per- spective, this paper examines why university academics intend to engage in formal (spin-off or start-up companies and licensing university research) or informal (collaborative research, contract research, continuous professional development, and contract consulting) commercialization activities and the role local contextual factors, in partic- ular leaders and work-group colleagues (peers), play in their commercialization choices. Based on a survey of 395 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academics working in 14 Scottish universities, the research findings suggest that an individual’s chronic regulatory focus has a direct effect on their formal and informal commercialization intent. The results reveal that the stronger an individual’s chronic promotion focus the stronger their formal and informal commercialization intentions and a stronger individual chronic prevention focus leads to weaker intentions to engage in informal commercialization. In addition, when contextual interaction effects are considered, leaders and workplace colleagues have different influences on commercialization intent. On the one hand, promotion-focused leaders can strengthen and prevention-focused leaders can under certain cir- cumstances weaken a promotion-focused academic’s formal commercialization intent. On the other hand, the level of workplace colleague engagement, acting as a reference point, strengthens not only promotion-focused academ- ics’ intent to engage in formal commercialization activities, but also prevention-focused academics’ corresponding informal commercialization intent. As such, universities should consider the appointment of leaders who are strong role models and have a track record in formal and/or informal commercialization activities and also con- sider the importance workplace colleagues have on moderating an academic’s intention to engage in different forms of commercialization activities

Andrespråksdidaktisk forskning på voksenopplæring i Norge: En oversikt fra 1985 til i dag.

Artikkelen er opprinnelig utgitt i tidsskriftet NOA. Norsk som andrespråk. Artikkelen er tilgjengelig via forlagets hjemmeside: http://ojs.novus.no/index.php/NOA/article/view/1194Norsk andrespråksdidaktisk forskning på voksenopplæring fra 1985 frem til i dag har bakgrunn i flere fagområder. En stor del av forskningen består av masteroppgaver. Hoveddelen av publikasjonene som er gjort innenfor dette området, relaterer seg til vurdering og grunnleggende lese- og skriveferdigheter (ofte omtalt som alfabetisering). Når det gjelder vurderingslitteraturen, er det mye forskning på den avsluttende språktestingen, og nesten ingen forskning på underveisvurdering. Forskningen på lese- og skriveopplæringen for voksne innvandrere som ikke har lært å lese og skrive på morsmålet, kan synes å bære preg av at det i praksis i liten grad skilles mellom grunnleggende lese- og skriveopplæring og den øvrige norskopplæringen. Helt fra 1985 og frem til i dag har forskerne dessuten lagt vekt på at tilbudet på flere områder har mangler. Det fremgår for eksempel av forskningen at deltakere med liten eller ingen skolebakgrunn ofte ikke finner undervisningen meningsfull og at deltakernes læringsutbytte er begrenset. Mye av den andrespråksdidaktiske forskningen på voksenopplæring er utført av forskere med nær tilknytning til praksis, noe som nok påvirker de temaene det er forsket på. Forskningen kan betegnes som spredt og usystematisk. Dette kan ha sammenheng med at voksnes språklæring ikke står høyt på den politiske dagsordenen

Effects of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy on Perivascular Groin Infections after Vascular Surgery. Wound Healing, Cost-Effectiveness and Patient-Reported Outcome.

Abstract Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) in the groin after vascular surgery is common and deep perivascular infection leads to long periods of hospitalization, sometimes to amputation and/or death. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is increasingly used for treating wounds such as deep perivascular groin infections after vascular surgery, but there is no scientific evidence supporting its benefit over traditional wound therapy. Aims: To study the effect of NPWT on wound healing, complications, resource use, quality of life, cost-effectiveness, and to explore the experiences of patients with deep perivascular groin infections after vascular surgery undergoing NPWT at home Methods: A retrospective study was performed on consecutive patients undergoing NPWT between 2004 and 2006, and a randomized controlled trial was conducted between 2007 and 2011, where patients undergoing NPWT were compared to those treated with a traditional alginate dressing. Finally, a qualitative interview study was conducted between 2013 and 2014, in which patients undergoing NPWT in the outpatient setting were interviewed 7-14 days after discharge. Results: Twenty-eight patients/33 groins were studied in Study I, ten patients in each group in Studies II & III and 15 patients in Study IV. The median wound healing time was 55 days in Study I, 57 days in the NPWT group compared to 104 in the alginate group (p=0.026) in Studies II & III and 58 days in Study IV. The graft preservation rate in NPWT patients was 83%, 86% and 85% in Studies I, II/III and IV, respectively. Bacterial clearance from the wound was the same in the NPWT and alginate group in Studies II &III. One patient in the NPWT and one in the alginate group in Studies II &III had a severe bleeding from the femoral artery reconstruction site. Nine (43%) out of 21 groins with synthetic graft infections in Study I had an infection-related complication, compared to 0 (0%) out of 12 groins in those that did not have a synthetic graft infection (p=0.012), and non-healing wounds were associated with amputation (p=0.005) and death (p<0.001). A median of 21 (IQR 15-30) dressing changes were performed in the NPWT group, compared to 73 (IQR 51-98) (p<0.001) in the alginate group in Studies II & III. Compared to alginate therapy, NPWT saved the nurses 4.5 hours of work the first week after surgical revision in Study III. The total costs for the NPWT and alginate group in Study III were the same, of which 87% and 83%, respectively, were attributed to in-hospital costs. In Study III, estimation of Euroqol 5 Dimensions instrument and Brief Pain Inventory showed no differences at respective time points between the two groups. In Study IV an overall theme emerged from the descriptions of the experiences of patients with deep perivascular groin infection after vascular surgery undergoing NPWT at home, namely that it meant a transition from being a dependent patient to a person who needs to be involved and have self-care competence. A need to feel prepared for this before discharge from hospital was expressed. Lack of information and feelings of uncertainty prolonged the time before feeling confident in managing the treatment. The informants gradually accepted the need to be tied to a machine, became competent in its management, and found solutions to perform everyday tasks. Overall, it was a relief to be treated at home. Conclusion: NPWT in patients with deep perivascular SSI after vascular surgery is superior to traditional alginate therapy in terms of wound healing and cost-effectiveness. Patients expressed several benefits of treatment with NPWT at home. However, they experienced unnecessary stress and anxiety due to lack of information on the treatment and instruction concerning the equipment. Therefore, adequate information and education must be provided

Recent studies on the synthesis of medicinal molecules.

Medicinal chemistry interfaces synthetic organic chemistry, natural product chemistry and chemical biology, with a goal of yielding therapeutic agents. Natural products or compounds derived from natural sources such as plants, animals, and microorganisms, are often biologically active and render that compound a likely drug lead. For thousands of years humankind has utilized natural products for medicinal purposes and consequently scientists take advantage of both these compounds’ core structural characteristics and their modes of actions on selected targets as inspiration to develop therapeutics. Because the total synthesis of such complex molecules can be cumbersome and expensive, semi-synthetic methods on isolated natural products is preferred when diversifying specific structural components. A semi-synthetic strategy involving the derivatization of the naturally occurring neurotoxin annonacin, isolated from locally grown Asimina triloba, and the antiangiogenic activities of such derivatives is reported.1 Annonacin is a member of the annonaceous acetogenin group of compounds and is a potent inhibitor of the mitochondrial Complex I.2 As a confirmed neurotoxin, annonacin causes neuronal cell death and induces the redistribution of tau proteins from axons to cell bodies, leading to neurological diseases termed tauopathies.3 Annonacin has also been studied for its role in inhibiting angiogenesis, specifically through inhibition of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1/vascular endothelial growth factor pathway.4 The syntheses of two deoxytetraazido analogues of annonacin is reported with the late-stage azidation introducing the possibility of reactive nitrogen-based analogue synthesis. Annonacin and the tetraazido analogues were submitted to the rat aortic ring (RAR) bioassay to evaluate antiangiogenic activity and annonacin was found to inhibit angiogenesis with an IC50 of 3 μM. Annonacin was also submitted to a parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) to assess membrane penetration compared to benchmark compounds. The efficient access and extraction processes of natural annonacin allows for further derivatizations to evaluate a variety of potential analogues for further biological studies in cancer and neuroscience. The serious threat posed by multi-drug resistant bacteria has gained interest and there is a need to discover new antibacterial therapies with novel mechanisms of action.5 Crucial for bacterial survival are the glycoconjugates that constitute the bacterial cell walls. Phosphoglycosyl transferases (PGTs) catalyze the first membrane-committed steps of glycoconjugate biosynthesis and represent ideal targets for novel antibacterial therapeutics.6 Naturally occurring nucleoside antibiotics are inhibitors of PGTs but unfortunately their structures are complex, and their total synthesis require large multi-step syntheses. Therefore, a synthetic approach implementing the design of simpler, more accessible nucleoside analogues is advantageous. Utilizing a modular approach, the synthesis of a diverse group of compounds can be performed via a connecting scaffold linked to the uridine moiety native to the natural structures. The synthetic evolution of this design is provided, whereby the use of a Henry reaction to provide the desired carbon-carbon bond-forming step was initially applied to allow for the coupling of various structures to the uridine moiety. The developments that arose from such studies lead to synthetic reports involving the selective reduction of nitroarenes with aluminum amalgam and the chemoenzymatic preparation of chiral oxazolines.7,8 Both of which provide access to the inclusion of heterocycles for potential uses in drug developments. Inspired by both our work with heterocycles and the growing incorporation of such in drug leads, we designed and synthesized a new class of nucleoside analogues incorporating an oxazole ring system attached to both the uridine core and functionalized aryl-substituents. The oxazole structure is considered a prime scaffold for medicinal molecules as it offers diverse interactions such as hydrogen bonding, metal coordination, p-p stacking and more. Furthermore, the functionalization of the aryl-substituents offers the ability to include additional moieties including various lipids, sugars, and amino acids to increase the structural diversity of the target compounds. The antibacterial activity of the novel uridine-derived analogues will offer insight into the structural features required and synthetic modifications can be performed

"Forfølg avvikeren" - en undersøkelse av maktas eksklusjonsapparat

I denne masteroppgaven i sosial filosofi undersøker jeg hvordan mekanismer som er særegne for Foucaults maktbegrep kan føre til sosial eksklusjon, utfrysning og vold. Den grunnleggende tanken bak undersøkelsen er at måten vi skaper samfunn på i moderne tid har en tendens til å ekskludere enkelte individer som oppfattes ikke å passe inn i samfunnets basale prosjekt. Ifølge Foucault konstitueres vi som individer i og gjennom makt, hvilket vil si at vi står i forskjellige slags strategiske relasjoner overfor hverandre, som personer og som medlemmer av sosiale grupper. Det finnes altså en sammenheng mellom måten vi forstår verden på og hvordan vi sosialiseres inn i forskjellige sosiale nettverk. Dette påvirker igjen ekskluderingens dynamikk. Det finnes ulike måter å ekskludere på, hvor status og stigmatisering inngår som fellesnevnere. Jeg vil her sette søkelys på fire slike former for eksklusjon, som jeg vil hevde er gjensidig relaterte. Eksklusjonsformene jeg vil skrive om er rasisme, klasseforakt, sexisme og homofobi. I oppgaven vil jeg se på hvordan disse problemene kan forstås i lys av sosiale hierarkier av makt og status, og hvordan problemene kan bidra til å forstå slike hierarkiers vesen. I beste fall kan slik forståelse redusere faren for voldelig eksklusjon og gjøre det enklere for oss å fungere sammen, hvor forskjellige vi enn måtte være.Filosofi mastergradsoppgaveMAHF-FILOFILO35

Forebyggende bruk av narkotikahund på skoler: en teoretisk oppgave

Bachelor i politiutdannin

A Synthesis of Empirically supported classwide Interventions: Matching Interventions to Common Functions of Classroom Behavior Problems

The most common forms of intervention for behavioral concerns of students in the school setting are schoolwide positive behavior support (PBS) systems and individualized interventions based upon functional behavior assessment (FBA). Research has shown positive outcomes for both schoolwide PBS systems and individual interventions utilizing FBA. However, less research has been done with classwide behavior interventions. A review of the literature was conducted to indentify classwide behavior interventions conducted in a regular education classroom with primarily regular education students. Studies identified to meet inclusion criteria were assessed to determine the possible function or combination of functions served. Twenty-one studies were identified examining twenty-three classwide behavior interventions. Results indicate that school-based problem solving teams have many successful classwide behavior interventions to choose from when consulting with a teacher. In addition, the vast majority of classwide interventions reviewed were implemented by a classroom teacher indicating high feasibility of usage. These results, discussion of function(s) addressed, and limitations or areas with need for further examination are discussed as well as implications for school-based problems solving teams, the school psychologist in particular