Dialogue between Governmental Administration Levels and the Change of a Special Education System as a Bureaucratic Institution : Content Analysis of the Ten Largest LEA's Final Report and Special Education Strategy

The rise of Special education numbers in Finland has caused a situation where Finland's ten largest LEA's so called kymppikunnat (ten communes) have expressed their growing concern of organizing the special education in the current institutional settings. The LEA's started the conversation of redefining special education system in 2004. Their aim was to target the governments attention to the problematics of special education. By the request of the Ministry of Education the LEA's prepared a final report concerning the central questions in the Finnish special education system. On the basis of the LEA's survey it became even clearer that the legislation, funding system and curriculum are tightly linked together. The following LEA's took part into the writing process Espoo, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa. The report was hand over to the Ministry of Education at 18.8.2006. After the delivery the Ministry organized special education development group meetings 17 times in the year 2007. The result of the LEA's report and the development meetings was a new Special Education Strategy 2007. I am observing the dialogue between administrational levels in governmental institutions change process. The research is a content analysis where I compare the "Erityistä tukea tarvitsevan oppilaan opetuksen järjestämisen uudistaminen osana yhtenäistä perusopetusta- kohti laatua ja joustavuutta" (The renewal of the organization of teaching for student with special educational needs as part of unified education for all - towards quality and flexibility) document to "Erityisopetuksen strategia" (Special education strategy) document. My aim was to find out how much of their own interests have the LEA's been able to integrate into the official governmental documentation. The data has been organized and analyzed quantitatively with Macros created as additional parts in Microsoft Excel software. The document material has also been arranged manually on sentence based categorization into an Excel matrix. The results have been theoretically viewed from the special education reform dialogue perspective, and from the angle of the change process of a bureaucratic institution. My target has been to provide a new viewpoint to the change of special education system as a bureaucratic institution. The education system has traditionally been understood as a machine bureaucracy. By the review provided in my pro gradu analysis it seems however that the administrational system in special education is more of a postmodern network bureaucracy than machine bureaucracy. The system appears to be constructed by overlapping, crossing and complex networks where things are been decided. These kinds of networks are called "governance networks . It seems that the governmental administrational - and politic levels, the third sector actors and other society's operators are mixed in decision making.Suomen kasvaneet erityisopetusmäärät ovat aiheuttaneet tilanteen, jossa Suomen suuret kunnat ns. 'kymppikunnat' ovat ilmaisseet huolensa erityisopetuksen organisoimisesta nykyisen järjestelmän puitteissa. Kunnat käynnistivät dialogin erityisopetusjärjestelmän uudelleenmäärittelemisestä 2004. Tavoitteena oli saada valtiovalta kiinnittämään huomiota erityisopetuksen problematiikkaan. Opetusministeriön pyynnöstä kunnat valmistelivat loppuraportin erityisopetuksen keskeisimmistä kysymyksistä. Kuntien työskentelyn pohjalta vahvistui erityisesti käsitys siitä, että lainsäädäntö, rahoitusjärjestelmä sekä opetussuunnitelma ovat kiinteästi sidoksissa toisiinsa. Kuntien loppuraportin kirjoittamiseen osallistuivat kuntien opetustoimista Espoo, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Tampere, Turku sekä Vantaa. Se luovutettiin opetusministeriölle 18.8.2006. Raportin luovuttamisen jälkeen opetusministeriö järjesti erityisopetuksen kehittämistyöryhmäkokoontumisia vuonna 2007 yhteensä 17 kertaa. Pohjavalmistelun tuloksena oli Erityisopetuksen strategia 2007. Tutkimuksessani tarkastellaan hallinnontasojen välistä dialogia valtiollisen instituution muutoksessa. Kyseessä on sisällönanalyysi, jossa vertaan ERITYISTÄ TUKEA TARVITSEVAN OPPILAAN OPETUKSEN JÄRJESTÄMISEN UUDISTAMINEN OSANA YHTENÄISTÄ PERUSOPETUSTA- KOHTI LAATUA JA JOUSTAVUUTTA -dokumenttia 2006 Erityisopetuksen strategiaan 2007. Tarkoituksena on selvittää, kuinka paljon omia intressejään kunnat ovat saaneet viralliseen hallinnolliseen dokumentointiin. Dataa on käsitelty ja analysoitu kvantitatiivisesti Microsoft Excel ohjelmistoon luoduilla makroilla. Lisäksi dokumenttimateriaali on teemoiteltu käsin lausetason otannalla Excel matriisiksi. Tuloksia on tulkittu teoreettisesti erityisopetusjärjestelmän sisäisen muutoskeskustelun kautta, sekä byrokraattisen instituution muutoksen näkökulmasta. Tarkoitukseni on avata uusi näkökulma siihen, kuinka erityisopetusjärjestelmä byrokraattisena organisaationa muuttuu. Koulutusjärjestelmä on yleensä teoreettisesti ymmärretty koneistobyrokratiaksi. Pro graduni tarjoaman lyhyen katsauksen jälkeen vaikuttaa kuitenkin siltä, että erityisopetuksen hallinnollisen järjestelmän kohdalla kyseessä on ennemminkin postmoderni verkostobyrokratia kuin koneistobyrokratia. Erityisopetuksen hallinnollinen järjestelmä näyttää koostuvan päällekkäisistä, risteävistä sekä monimutkaisista verkostoista, joissa asioista päätetään. Tällaisia verkostoja kutsutaan nimellä "governance networks". Vaikuttaa siltä, että erityisopetuksen hallinnolliset - sekä poliittiset tasot, kolmannen sektorin toimijat ja muut yhteiskunnalliset vaikuttajat sekoittuvat päätöksenteossa

Framing Smart Meter Feedback in Relation to Practice Theory

Smart metering is advancing rapidly and consumption feedback from smart meters is expected to help residents to reduce their energy and water consumption. In recent years, more critical views have been expressed based on theories of social practice, arguing that smart meter feedback ignores the role of various mundane practices where energy and water are consumed and instead targets individuals as active decision-makers. We present a review of qualitative studies on smart meter feedback and results of a survey to European smart metering projects. We argue that theories of social practice can be used to reframe the challenges and potentials of smart meter feedback that have been identified in the literature and our survey. This presents challenges of smart meter feedback as resulting from normalised resource intensive practices rather than from uninterested and comfort-loving individuals. Potentials of improving the effectiveness of smart meter feedback relate to supporting communities and peer-learning and combining smart meter feedback with micro-generation of renewable energy. This has implications for how domestic energy and water consumption is targeted by policy.Peer reviewe

Mechanisms of early glucose regulation disturbance after out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation : An explorative prospective study

Background Hyperglycemia is common and associated with increased mortality after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Mechanisms behind ultra-acute hyperglycemia are not well known. We performed an explorative study to describe the changes in glucose metabolism mediators during the prehospital postresuscitation phase. Methods We included patients who were successfully resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in two physician-staffed units. Insulin, glucagon, and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) were measured in prehospital and hospital admission samples. Additionally, interleukin-6 (IL-6), cortisol, and HbA1c were measured at hospital admission. Results Thirty patients participated in the study. Of those, 28 cases (71% without diabetes) had sufficient data for analysis. The median time interval between prehospital samples and hospital admission samples was 96 minutes (IQR 85-119). At the time of ROSC, the patients were hyperglycemic (11.2 mmol/l, IQR 8.8-15.7), with insulin and glucagon concentrations varying considerably, although mostly corresponding to fasting levels (10.1 mU/l, IQR 4.2-25.2 and 141 ng/l, IQR 105-240, respectively). GLP-1 increased 2- to 8-fold with elevation of IL-6. The median glucose change from prehospital to hospital admission was -2.2 mmol/l (IQR -3.6 to -0.2). No significant correlations between the change in plasma glucose levels and the changes in insulin (r = 0.30, p = 0.13), glucagon (r = 0.29, p = 0.17), or GLP-1 levels (r = 0.32, p = 0.15) or with IL-6 (r = (-0.07), p = 0.75), cortisol (r = 0.13, p = 0.52) or HbA1c levels (r = 0.34, p = 0.08) were observed. However, in patients who did not receive exogenous epinephrine during resuscitation, changes in blood glucose correlated with changes in insulin (r = 0.59, p = 0.04) and glucagon (r = 0.65, p = 0.05) levels, demonstrating that lowering glucose values was associated with a simultaneous lowering of insulin and glucagon levels. Conclusions Hyperglycemia is common immediately after OHCA and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. No clear hormonal mechanisms were observed to be linked to changes in glucose levels during the postresuscitation phase in the whole cohort. However, in patients without exogenous epinephrine treatment, the correlations between glycemic and hormonal changes were more obvious. These results call for future studies examining the mechanisms of postresuscitation hyperglycemia and the metabolic effects of the global ischemic insult and medical treatment.Peer reviewe

Metaforia, piirroksia ja akronyymeja – työkaluja kieltenopettajan käyttöteorian rakentamiseen ja vahvistamiseen ohjatussa harjottelussa

nonPeerReviewe

Neonatal neuroimaging and neurophysiology predict infantile onset epilepsy after perinatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

Correction: Volume88, Page158-158 DOI10.1016/j.seizure.2021.04.001 PublishedMAY 2021Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) grade, and neonatal neurophysiological and neuroimaging measures for predicting development of infantile spasms syndrome (IS) or other postneonatal, infantile onset epilepsy after perinatal HIE. Methods: We examined a population-based cohort of 92 consequent infants with moderate-to-severe HIE. The HIE grade and neonatal neuroimaging (MRI) and neurophysiology (EEG and somatosensory evoked potentials, SEPs) findings were compared to the development of IS or other epilepsy within the first year of life. Results: Out of 74 surviving infants with follow-up information, five developed IS and one developed a focal onset epilepsy. They all had recovered from severe HIE. All survivors with inactive neonatal EEG (recorded within the first few postnatal days, n = 4) or the most severe type of brain injury in MRI (n = 3) developed epilepsy (positive predictive value, PPV 100 %). Bilaterally absent SEPs had 100 % sensitivity and 75 % PPV for epilepsy. A combination of absent SEPs and a poor MRI finding (combined deep and cortical gray matter injury) resulted in higher PPV (86 %) without lowering sensitivity (100 %). Follow-up EEGs showed recurrent epileptiform activity already between 1- and 2-months age in those that developed epilepsy, distinguishing them from those surviving without epilepsy. Conclusions: Poor neonatal neuroimaging and neurophysiological findings provide accurate prediction for development of infantile onset epilepsy after HIE. Of the neonates with severe HIE, the ones with severe neonatal MRI and neurophysiological abnormalities need frequent follow-up, including repeated EEGs, for early detection of IS.Peer reviewe

Pre-expression of a sulfhydryl oxidase significantly increases the yields of eukaryotic disulfide bond containing proteins expressed in the cytoplasm of E.coli

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Disulfide bonds are one of the most common post-translational modifications found in proteins. The production of proteins that contain native disulfide bonds is challenging, especially on a large scale. Either the protein needs to be targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum in eukaryotes or to the prokaryotic periplasm. These compartments that are specialised for disulfide bond formation have an active catalyst for their formation, along with catalysts for isomerization to the native state. We have recently shown that it is possible to produce large amounts of prokaryotic disulfide bond containing proteins in the cytoplasm of wild-type bacteria such as <it>E. coli </it>by the introduction of catalysts for both of these processes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we show that the introduction of Erv1p, a sulfhydryl oxidase and a disulfide isomerase allows the efficient formation of natively folded eukaryotic proteins with multiple disulfide bonds in the cytoplasm of <it>E. coli</it>. The production of disulfide bonded proteins was also aided by the use of an appropriate fusion protein to keep the folding intermediates soluble and by choice of media. By combining the pre-expression of a sulfhydryl oxidase and a disulfide isomerase with these other factors, high level expression of even complex disulfide bonded eukaryotic proteins is possible</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results show that the production of eukaryotic proteins with multiple disulfide bonds in the cytoplasm of <it>E. coli </it>is possible. The required exogenous components can be put onto a single plasmid vector allowing facile transfer between different prokaryotic strains. These results open up new avenues for the use of <it>E. coli </it>as a microbial cell factory.</p

A molecular specificity code for the three mammalian KDEL receptors

AC-terminal KDEL-like motif prevents secretion of soluble endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–resident proteins. This motif interacts with KDEL receptors localized in the intermediate compartment and Golgi apparatus. Such binding triggers retrieval back to the ER via a coat protein I–dependent pathway. To date, two human KDEL receptors have been reported. Here, we report the Golgi localization of a third human KDEL receptor. Using a reporter construct system from a screen of 152 variants, we identified 35 KDEL-like variants that result in efficient ER localization but do not match the current Prosite motif for ER localization ([KRHQSA]-[DENQ]-E-L). We cloned 16 human proteins with one of these motifs and all were found in the ER. A subsequent screen by bimolecular fluorescence complementation determined the specificities of the three human KDEL receptors. Each KDEL receptor has a unique pattern of motifs with which it interacts. This suggests a specificity in the retrieval of human proteins that contain different KDEL variants

Introduction of a More Glutaredoxin-like Active Site to PDI Results in Competition between Protein Substrate and Glutathione Binding

Proteins in the thioredoxin superfamily share a similar fold, contain a -CXXC- active site, and catalyze oxidoreductase reactions by dithiol-disulfide exchange mechanisms. Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) has two -CGHC- active sites. For in vitro studies, oxidation/reduction of PDI during the catalytic cycle is accomplished with glutathione. Glutathione may act as electron donor/acceptor for PDI also in vivo, but at least for oxidation reactions, GSSG probably is not the major electron acceptor and PDI may not have evolved to react with glutathione with high affinity, but merely having adequate affinity for both glutathione and folding proteins/peptides. Glutaredoxins, on the other hand, have a high affinity for glutathione. They commonly have -CXFC- or -CXYC- active site, where the tyrosine residue forms part of the GSH binding groove. Mutating the active site of PDI to a more glutaredoxin-like motif increased its reactivity with glutathione. All such variants showed an increased rate in GSH-dependent reduction or GSSG-dependent oxidation of the active site, as well as a decreased rate of the native disulfide bond formation, with the magnitude of the effect increasing with glutathione concentration. This suggests that these variants lead to competition in binding between glutathione and folding protein substrates

Penekanan Klorosis dengan Pseudomonas fluorescens dan Belerang untuk Peningkatan Hasil Kacang Tanah di Tanah Alkalin

Klorosis pada tanaman kacang tanah di tanah alkalin dapat menurunkan hasil hingga 60%, karena tanaman mengalami kahat Fe dan S. Penekanan klorosis tersebut di antaranya dapat dilakukan dengan aplikasi belerang dan pupuk hayati berbahan baku Pseudomonasfluorescens. Penelitian bertujuan untuk menentukan keefektifan belerang dan P. fluorescens dalam menekan klorosis dan meningkatkan hasil kacang tanah di tanah alkalin. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Rumah Kaca Balai Penelitian Tanaman Aneka Kacang dan Umbi Malangpada bulan Januari–Mei 2015, menggunakan rancangan acak kelompok dengan dua faktor perlakuan, tiga ulangan. Faktor pertama adalah 3 konsentrasi P. fluorescens (cfu/mL), terdiri dari: 1) P0=0, 2) P1=107, 3) P2=109 cfu/mL. Faktor kedua adalah 4 dosispemberian serbuk belerang (g/kg tanah) terdiri dari: 1) S0=0, 2) S1=1, 3) S2=2, 4) S3=3. Penelitian menggunakan tanah Alfisol dari Lamongan Jawa Timur dengan pH 9,5. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan tidak terdapat interaksi nyata antara pengaruh penggunaan P. fluorescens dengan belerang terhadap penekanan klorosis dan peningkatan hasil kacang tanah. P. fluorescens mampu meningkatkan kadar Fe tersedia dalam tanah hingga 35%tetapi tidak mampu menekan klorosis dan meningkatkan hasil kacang tanah. Pemberian belerang dapat meningkatkan kadar SO4 2– di tanah, menurunkan pH tanah, menekan klorosis dan meningkatkan hasil 81% pada dosis 3 g/kg tanah di tanah alkalin ber-pH 9,5. Penekanan klorosis, peningkatan hasil polong dan indeks panen kacang tanah berkorelasi positif dengan peningkatan kadar SO4 2– di tanah dan penurunan pH tanah