Cosmopolitanism or Something Else? : A comparative educational research on primary school policies between Greece and Europe

In the 21st century, cosmopolitanism has become an ever emerging concept, as scholars turn to this worldview with the hope to address the unavoidable impacts of globalization. Simultaneously, the new educational trends in Europe in combination with the ongoing socio-political changes create new needs that demand a more cosmopolitan interference. With this in mind, the present research attempts to examine whether and how cosmopolitan ideals are promoted through education policies in Europe and to what extent these cosmopolitan ideals succeed to reach national policies and school practice in a country as Greece. To this end, the author conducts a qualitative multilevel study between Europe and Greece and bases her study on two research methods: interviews and document analysis.     The interview and document analysis that follows leads to a comparison not only between the European and the Greek context but also between the policy and practice level that spawns a better and deeper understanding of how education promotes and can promote cosmopolitanism. The findings of the research highlight that the dilemma of whether to employ an ethnocentric or cosmopolitan educational approach can be acute. Parallel to that, the conflicting conceptions of cosmopolitanism between Greece and the European Union tend to render the moral aspects of education quite numb. Finally, the research closes with some recommendations for the future and suggestions for further studies.

Epidemiological aspects of ankylosing spondylitis in Sweden. Characterization, prevalence and prognosis

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a chronic, potentially disabling, inflammatory disease that poses a longstanding burden on the patient and the society. The epidemiology of AS in Sweden has not been extensively studied previously. Radiographic and self-perceived health information from 1,005 men aged 69-81 years, showed a prevalence of moderate to severe radiographic sacroiliitis of 1.4% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.7-2.4), with modest impact on health. Medical records of a representative sample of 500 patients with a registered visit to a physician with a diagnosis of AS or undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (uSpA) in the National Patient Register (NPR) (2007-2009) were reviewed. These diagnoses had high validity, as 70% of patients with an AS diagnosis fulfilled the modified New York (mNY) criteria for AS and 79% of patients with a diagnosis of uSpA fulfilled any set of the SpA criteria. Based on clinically diagnosed patients with AS in the NPR, identification of referents from the general population and linkage of these two groups to other national registers, the prevalence and mortality of AS were studied. The prevalence of clinically diagnosed AS was 0.18% in 2009, with higher estimates in men, in northern Sweden, and in those with lower level of education. Men more often had anterior uveitis and treatment with TNF-inhibitors compared to women, and women had more often peripheral arthritis, psoriasis and treatment with oral glucocorticosteroids. The all-cause mortality was increased in patients with AS compared to the general population, overall (age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.60 (95% CI: 1.44-1.77)) and separately for males and females. Predictors of death within the AS cohort included a lower level of formal education, general co-morbidities and joint surgery

Cosmopolitanism or Something Else? : A comparative educational research on primary school policies between Greece and Europe

In the 21st century, cosmopolitanism has become an ever emerging concept, as scholars turn to this worldview with the hope to address the unavoidable impacts of globalization. Simultaneously, the new educational trends in Europe in combination with the ongoing socio-political changes create new needs that demand a more cosmopolitan interference. With this in mind, the present research attempts to examine whether and how cosmopolitan ideals are promoted through education policies in Europe and to what extent these cosmopolitan ideals succeed to reach national policies and school practice in a country as Greece. To this end, the author conducts a qualitative multilevel study between Europe and Greece and bases her study on two research methods: interviews and document analysis.     The interview and document analysis that follows leads to a comparison not only between the European and the Greek context but also between the policy and practice level that spawns a better and deeper understanding of how education promotes and can promote cosmopolitanism. The findings of the research highlight that the dilemma of whether to employ an ethnocentric or cosmopolitan educational approach can be acute. Parallel to that, the conflicting conceptions of cosmopolitanism between Greece and the European Union tend to render the moral aspects of education quite numb. Finally, the research closes with some recommendations for the future and suggestions for further studies.

Childhood hospitalisation with infections and later development of ankylosing spondylitis : a national case-control study

Background: The role of environmental exposures in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) remains unclear. In particular, two types of exposures have been suspected to play a role: mechanical stress and infections. The objective of this case-control study was to determine if childhood infections are associated with later development of AS. Methods: The cases with AS were identified through the Swedish national outpatient specialised-care register, based on having been given at least one AS diagnosis in the register between 2001 and 2010. Five controls per case were identified in the Swedish population register, matched at the time-point of the index case's first spondyloarthritis diagnosis on sex, birth year, and county. All cases/controls matched prior to the age of 17 years were excluded, as well as all cases/controls given a diagnosis of reactive arthritis or juvenile arthritis at any time point, or any other diagnosis of a rheumatic disease, psoriasis, iridocyclitis, or inflammatory bowel disease before the time-point of matching. All events of hospitalisation with an infection before the age of 17 years were retrieved from the register, and categorised according to the focus of the infection. Odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were determined through conditional logistic regression analyses. Results: Of the 2453 cases with AS and 10,257 controls, 17.4 % of the cases and 16.3 % of the controls had been hospitalised with an infection before the age of 17 years (OR 1.08, 95 % CI 0.96-1.22). Appendicitis (1.5 % cases; 2.5 % controls; OR 0.59, 95 % CI 0.41-0.83), respiratory tract infections (cases 11.2 %; controls 9.2 %; OR 1.24, 95 % CI 1.07-1.44) and, in particular, tonsillitis (cases 3.7 %; controls 2.8 %; OR 1.31, 95 % CI 1.03-1.67) were associated with AS. There were no associations between AS and any other type of infection, and the point estimates were similar in several sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Childhood appendicitis was associated with a decreased risk, whereas respiratory tract infections were associated with an increased risk for later development of AS. These findings support a possible relationship between childhood infections and later development of AS, although the study is limited to infections resulting in inpatient care

Perinatal characteristics, older siblings, and risk of ankylosing spondylitis : a case-control study based on national registers

Background: The effect of circumstances and exposures early in life on the risk of developing ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether perinatal characteristics predict development of AS. Methods: AS cases (n = 1960; 59 % men) were defined as listed with a diagnosis of AS at least once in the Swedish National Patient Register and registered in the Swedish Medical Birth Register (born = 1973). Population controls were retrieved from the Swedish Population Register (n = 8378; mean 4.3 controls/case), matched on birth year, sex and county. Odds ratios (OR) for developing AS were determined through conditional logistic regression, with regard to: birth weight, birth order, season of birth, maternal age, gestational length, size for gestational age, type of birth, mode of delivery, congenital malformations, mothers' country of birth, mothers' civil status and size of delivery unit. Results: In the univariate analyses statistically significant increases in risk for developing AS were observed for having older siblings (OR 1.18; 95 % Cl 1.06-1.30). No association was observed for the remainder of analysed exposures, although there was a weak association with birth weight below 3000 g (OR 1.19; 95 % CI 1.04-1.37), though not for "low birth weight" <2500 g (OR 0.90; 95 % CI 0.70-1.16). The increase in risk associated with having older siblings was consistent in a multivariate analysis adjusting for possible confounders (OR 1.23; 95 % Cl 1.09-1.39). The direction and magnitude of the point estimates were also consistent in several sensitivity analyses and when stratifying by sex. Conclusions: Having older siblings was associated with an increased risk for developing AS. These results need to be repeated and confirmed in other cohorts