Characteristics of the Authority Basis of Icelandic Compulsory School Principals in Comparison to Other TALIS Countries

Funding Information: Acknowledgments: This work was partially developed during the corresponding author‘s OECD Thomas J. Alexander fellowship. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein are those of the authors. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The purpose of this paper is to explore the authority basis of compulsory school principals in Iceland by making a general comparison to the other participating countries in the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, as well as by using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. The study utilizes data from principals in 48 of the countries that participated in the TALIS 2018. The authority bases of the principals and of the other governing agents are explored with regard to the key task areas, which range from managerial to curriculum tasks. The authority basis of the principals and the other agents in Iceland has commonalities with most of the other Nordic countries, as well as with Baltic countries, Anglophone countries (except for Canada (Alberta)), and with many Eastern European countries. On the basis of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model, Iceland is “individualist”, with a low “power distance”, and it allocates more responsibility to the principals and to the other school agents at the school level than it does to the authorities. The major implication of this study for the Icelandic context is the need to enhance and strengthen the role of the school boards in terms of the professional support for principals.Peer reviewe

Patient satisfaction with care and interaction with staff in the Acute Cardiac Unit at Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland.

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnInngangur: Heilbrigðisþjónusta á Íslandi hefur þótt standa ágætlega í alþjóðlegum samanburði en reynsla sjúklinga af samskiptum við heilbrigðiskerfið hefur ekki mikið verið rannsökuð. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna upplifun sjúklinga af þjónustu og samskiptum við heilbrigðisstarfsfólk á Hjartagátt Landspítala. Aðferðir: Spurningalisti byggður á Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire III var sendur til einstaklinga sem komu á Hjartagátt Landspítala frá 1. janúar til 29. febrúar 2012. Spurningalistinn var í formi fullyrðinga og gáfu þátttakendur til kynna hversu sammála eða ósammála þeir voru þeim á skala frá 1-5. Við greiningu gagna var notast við lýsandi tölfræði, Cronbach's alpha við greiningu á innra samræmi kvarðanna og þáttagreiningu. Hópar voru bornir saman með Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney og Kruskal-Wallis prófum og fylgni metin með fylgnistuðlum Pearson og Spearman. Niðurstöður: Spurningalistinn var sendur til 485 einstaklinga og 275 (57%) svöruðu. Miðgildi (spönn) aldurs þeirra sem svöruðu var 62 (19-95) ár og 132 (48%) voru konur. Innra samræmi var hátt í öllum kvörðum spurningalistans nema einum. Meðaleinkunn úr öllum spurningalistanum var 6,8±1,0 (af 10). Alls voru 91% þeirra sem svöruðu ánægðir með framkomu lækna, 86% með framkomu hjúkrunarfræðinga og annars starfsfólks og 88% ánægðir með þá þjónustu sem þeir fengu. Hins vegar fannst 25% einstaklinga útskýringar á einkennum sínum ekki fullnægjandi og eftirfylgni ábótavant. Ályktanir: Almennt virðast skjólstæðingar Hjartagáttar ánægðir með þjónustuna sem þeir fá. Niðurstöður benda þó til að bæta megi þjónustu á sumum sviðum, einkum hvað varðar upplýsingagjöf við útskrift og eftirfylgni.Introduction: The Icelandic health care system ranks favourably in international comparison but patients' experience of interaction with the health service has not been well studied. The goal of this study was to examine the satisfaction of patients admitted to the Acute Cardiac Unit (ACU) at Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland. Methods: A questionnaire based on the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire III was mailed to patients admitted to the ACU between 1 January and 29 February 2012. Questions were presented as statements and participants asked to respond how strongly on a scale from 1 to 5 they agreed or disagreed with each statement. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach´s alpha for internal consistency of scales and principal components analysis, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests for comparison of groups and Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients for correlation between variables. Results: The questionnaire was mailed to 485 individuals of whom 275 (57%) responded. The median age of the participants was 62 (range, 19-95) years and 132 (48%) were women. Internal consistency of the scales was mostly high (Cronbach's alpha 0.62-0.91) and principal components analysis revealed one main factor. The mean score of the questionnaire was 6.8 ±1.0 and 91%, and 86% of the participants were pleased with their interaction with physicians and nurses, respectively. Similarly, 88% were pleased with the care they recieved but 25% felt they received insufficient explanations of their symptoms or that follow-up care was lacking. Conclusion: Patients of the ACU generally appear to be satisfied with their care. However, our results suggest that improvement is needed in several areas, including information provided at discharge and follow-up care. Key words: Health service, acute cardiac unit, heart disease, quality of care, PSQ-III questionnaire, survey

Do daily mood fluctuations activate ruminative thoughts as a mental habit?:Results from an ecological momentary assessment study

It has been suggested that mental habits may underpin a heightened disposition to engage in rumination in response to negative mood. The aim of the current study was to assess the role of habit in the dynamic interplay between affect and ruminative thinking in the flow of daily life experiences. Using mobile ecological momentary assessment, 97 participants recorded affect and rumination ten times daily over six days, after completing measures of trait ruminative brooding and habitual characteristics of negative thinking (e.g. automaticity, lack of conscious awareness, intent and control). Momentary fluctuations in negative (increased) and positive (decreased) affect was prospectively associated with greater rumination-levels at the next sampling occasion. The degree to which affect triggered a subsequent ruminative response was moderated by habitual characteristics of negative thinking in a theoretically consistent way. Stronger temporal pairing of negative affect and rumination was also associated with greater emotional inertia but less carry-over of rumination from one moment to the next. Depression vulnerability may be in the form of rumination being habitually triggered in response to momentary fluctuations in affect, with deleterious effect on mood. The findings may have clinical implications, as targeting the habitual nature of rumination might help reduce depression vulnerability

Sjálfvirkni þunglyndisþanka í daglegu lífi: Rannsóknir á vanabundnu eðli þunglyndisþanka í úrtökum háskólanema og fólks með endurtekið þunglyndi. Innsýn úr snjallsímamælingum

Background: Major depression is the most common psychiatric disorder, associated with the highest disease burden worldwide when it comes to years lost to disability. Efforts to identify indicators of depression risk have strongly implicated depressive rumination, a negative thinking style characterized by repetitive and passive thoughts about the causes, meanings, and consequences of one's feelings and distress. An increasingly popular theoretical perspective posits that over time depressive rumination becomes a mental habit that is initiated automatically without conscious awareness or intent in response to downward shifts in mood, making it persistent and difficult to control. However, the rumination as-a-habit account has rarely been directly tested and it is still unknown whether depression vulnerability is characterized by elevated levels of mood-reactive habitual rumination at the level of short-term dynamics. Aims: The aim of the current research project was to address gaps in the current knowledge on depression vulnerability by utilizing a combination of experimental and novel mobile in-the-moment assessment strategies to better understand the dynamic interplay between mood and ruminative thinking and its habitual characteristics. Three studies were designed to test specific hypotheses involving: a) effects that fluctuations in mood have on subsequent ruminative thinking, b) the degree to which habitual characteristics of negative thinking predict such mood-reactive rumination, and c) whether mood-reactive rumination varies according to the depression-risk spectrum in line with theoretical accounts of depression vulnerability. Methods: In study 1, a total of 115 university students completed self-report measures and participated in an experimental rumination-induction task and outcome-devaluation task measuring habit vs. goal-directed behaviour control. In study 2, a total of 97 participants recorded affect and rumination ten times daily over six days using Ecological Momentary Assessment, after completing measures of trait ruminative brooding and habitual characteristics of negative thinking (e.g., automaticity, lack of conscious awareness, intent, and control). In study 3, formerly depressed individuals with a recurrent history of depression (n = 94) and non-clinical controls (n = 55) recorded in-the-moment affect and rumination ten times daily over six days, after completing baseline measures of trait ruminative brooding, habitual characteristics of negative thinking, and early-life stress. Results: In study 1, greater habitual characteristics of negative thinking were associated with ruminative brooding but not ruminative reflection, and predicted more persistent dysphoric mood following rumination-induction. Rumination was not, however, consistently associated with an imbalance in habit vs. goal-directed behaviour control. In study 2, momentary fluctuations in negative (increased) and positive (decreased) affect was prospectively associated with greater rumination at the next sampling occasion. The degree to which affect triggered a subsequent ruminative response was moderated by habitual characteristics of negative thinking in a theoretically consistent way. Stronger temporal pairing of negative affect and rumination was also associated with greater emotional inertia but less carry-over of rumination from one moment to the next. In study 3, momentary fluctuations in negative affect were prospectively associated with greater rumination at the next sampling occasion in formerly depressed participants whereas this pattern of mood-reactive rumination was not observed in healthy never-depressed participants. In formerly depressed participants, habitual characteristics of negative thinking were associated with greater mood-reactivity of rumination, particularly among those with a history of early-life stress. Mood-reactive rumination was not, however, associated with depression course nor trait ruminative brooding. Conclusions: The findings of the studies demonstrate that fluctuations in affect can trigger ruminative thinking as a function of habit consistent with recent theoretical frameworks of depression vulnerability. Mood-reactive rumination may be a potential vulnerability marker for depression, with rumination being habitually triggered in response to momentary fluctuations in negative affect with a high degree of automaticity, and with a deleterious effect on mood. The current thesis suggests ways depression vulnerability may emerge as a dynamic relationship between negative affect and rumination across time, not captured by traditional trait measures of rumination frequency. Ecological momentary assessment may be a valuable measurement paradigm to test predictions derived from habit-accounts of depressive rumination, that have rarely been investigated until now, and might provide new insights into research on depression risk.This research was sponsored by the Icelandic Center for Research and the Eimskip Fund of The University of Iceland (Rannís Grant 173803-052, 173803-053)

Polychaete invader enhances resource utilization in a species-poor system

Ecosystem consequences of biodiversity change are often studied from a species loss perspective, while the effects of invasive species on ecosystem functions are rarely quantified. In this experimental study, we used isotope tracers to measure the incorporation and burial of carbon and nitrogen from a simulated spring phytoplankton bloom by communities of one to four species of deposit-feeding macrofauna found in the species-poor Baltic Sea. The recently invading polychaete Marenzelleriaarctia, which has spread throughout the Baltic Sea, grows more rapidly than the native species Monoporeia affinis, Pontoporeia femorata (both amphipods) and Macoma balthica (a bivalve), resulting in higher biomass increase (biomass production) in treatments including the polychaete. Marenzelleria incorporated and buried bloom material at rates similar to the native species. Multi-species treatments generally had higher isotope incorporation, indicative of utilization of bloom material, than expected from monoculture yields of the respective species. The mechanism behind this observed over-yielding was mainly niche complementarity in utilization of the bloom input, and was more evident in communities including the invader. In contrast, multi-species treatments had generally lower biomass increase than expected. This contrasting pattern suggests that there is little overlap in resource use of freshly deposited bloom material between Marenzelleria and the native species but it is likely that interference competition acts to dampen resulting community biomass. In conclusion, an invasive species can enhance incorporation and burial of organic matter from settled phytoplankton blooms, two processes fundamental for marine productivity

HLA alleles, disease severity, and age associate with T-cell responses following infection with SARS-CoV-2

Funding Information: We thank all of the participants that contributed samples for this study for their invaluable contribution to the research. We also thank our research staff at the Patient Recruitment Center for their thorough work. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Memory T-cell responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection have been extensively investigated but many studies have been small with a limited range of disease severity. Here we analyze SARS-CoV-2 reactive T-cell responses in 768 convalescent SARS-CoV-2-infected (cases) and 500 uninfected (controls) Icelanders. The T-cell responses are stable three to eight months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, irrespective of disease severity and even those with the mildest symptoms induce broad and persistent T-cell responses. Robust CD4+ T-cell responses are detected against all measured proteins (M, N, S and S1) while the N protein induces strongest CD8+ T-cell responses. CD4+ T-cell responses correlate with disease severity, humoral responses and age, whereas CD8+ T-cell responses correlate with age and functional antibodies. Further, CD8+ T-cell responses associate with several class I HLA alleles. Our results, provide new insight into HLA restriction of CD8+ T-cell immunity and other factors contributing to heterogeneity of T-cell responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection.Peer reviewe

Characteristics of the Authority Basis of Icelandic Compulsory School Principals in Comparison to Other TALIS Countries

The purpose of this paper is to explore the authority basis of compulsory school principals in Iceland by making a general comparison to the other participating countries in the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, as well as by using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. The study utilizes data from principals in 48 of the countries that participated in the TALIS 2018. The authority bases of the principals and of the other governing agents are explored with regard to the key task areas, which range from managerial to curriculum tasks. The authority basis of the principals and the other agents in Iceland has commonalities with most of the other Nordic countries, as well as with Baltic countries, Anglophone countries (except for Canada (Alberta)), and with many Eastern European countries. On the basis of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model, Iceland is “individualist”, with a low “power distance”, and it allocates more responsibility to the principals and to the other school agents at the school level than it does to the authorities. The major implication of this study for the Icelandic context is the need to enhance and strengthen the role of the school boards in terms of the professional support for principals

L’autonomie des écoles islandaises pour l’enseignement des mathématiques : un équilibre à trouver

En Islande, les écoles et les enseignants ont une grande latitude quant à la manière d’enseigner les mathématiques et d’organiser leurs programmes et aucun examen de fin d’études secondaires standardisé n’est imposé. Cette latitude vient à la fois de ce que le système scolaire comprend un grand nombre de petites écoles, du fait de la faible densité de la population, et de ce que le curriculum des disciplines scolaires est peu détaillé et laisse aux enseignants la charge de le compléter. Pour les écoles, l’accent est mis sur l’inclusion et l’égalité des chances pour tous les élèves. Cette organisation a des avantages et des inconvénients. On observe des écarts importants entre les connaissances mathématiques des étudiants qui entrent à l’université et, dans les faits, les élèves n’ont pas les mêmes chances d’étudier les mathématiques.Icelandic schools and teacher have great flexibility in how they conduct their mathematics teaching and how study programs are organized and there are no standardized examinations. This flexibility is due both to a system made up of many small schools in a sparsely populated country, and to curricula providing limited detail which places considerable demands on teachers. There is emphasis on schools being inclusive and on equal opportunities for pupils. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this system. There is a large discrepancy in the mathematical knowledge of students entering university and in reality pupils do not have equal opportunities to study mathematics.En Islandia, las escuelas y los docentes gozan de una gran libertad en cuanto a la manera con la que quieren enseñar las matemáticas y organizar sus programas; además no hay ningún examen de fin de estudios secundarios. Esta libertad se explica a la vez por el hecho de que el sistema escolar reúne un gran número de pequeñas escuelas como resultado de la baja densidad de población en el país, y del hecho de que el programa de las asignaturas escolares aparece poco detallado y les deja a los docentes la misión de completarlo. Para las escuelas, se insiste en la inclusión y la igualdad de suerte para todos los alumnos. Esta organización presenta unas ventajas y unos inconvenientes. Se observan unas diferencias importantes entre los conocimientos matemáticos de los estudiantes que entran en la universidad y, en los hechos, los alumnos no tienen las mismas posibilidades de estudiar las matemáticas

Á hverju byggir þú þetta? Hvar eru gögnin? : viðtal við dr. Gerði G. Óskarsdóttur, fv. sviðsstjóra Menntasviðs og fræðslustjóra Reykjavíkur um nýtingu rannsóknaniðurstaðna í stefnumörkun og þróunarstarfi

Um síðustu áramót lauk dr. Gerður G. Óskarsdóttir störfum hjá Reykjavíkurborg eftir 10 ára starf sem æðsti yfirmaður menntamála í borginni. Á þeim vettvangi beitti hún sér meðal annars fyrir nýtingu niðurstaðna úr könnunum og rannsóknum við ákvarðanatöku í menntamálum. Tímarit um menntarannsóknir hefur það hlutverk öðrum þræði að „benda á leiðir til þess að tryggja að niðurstöður menntarannsókna hafi gildi í stefnumótun og starfi“. Á þessum tímamótum var því tilefni til að spyrja Gerði út í reynsluna af því að tengja saman rannsóknir og stefnumótun í skólastarfi, auk þess sem ýmislegt annað markvert bar á góma