Weaving webs of connection: Empathy, perspective taking, and students’ motivation

L2 motivation is a relational phenomenon, shaped by teacher responsiveness (Lamb, 2017; Ushioda, 2009). Little, however, is known about the practices in which responsiveness is manifested. Drawing on research from the culturally responsive teaching paradigm (Petrone, 2013), and highlighting the role of empathy and perspective taking (Warren, 2018), the aim of this ethnographic case study of two lessons with a focus on poetry is to develop a relational understanding of the evolution of motivation. Analyses reveal how perspective taking has instructional and interactional dimensions, and how connections between lesson content and funds of knowledge with origins in students’ interactions with popular culture bring additional layers of meaning to learning. It is suggested that while connections that arise through perspective taking practices shape students’ in-the-moment motivational responses, they also accumulate in ways that lead to enduring motivational dispositions

Fixation and Spread of Somatic Mutations in Adult Human Colonic Epithelium.

We investigated the means and timing by which mutations become fixed in the human colonic epithelium by visualizing somatic clones and mathematical inference. Fixation requires two sequential steps. First, one of approximately seven active stem cells residing within each colonic crypt has to be mutated. Second, the mutated stem cell has to replace neighbors to populate the entire crypt in a process that takes several years. Subsequent clonal expansion due to crypt fission is infrequent for neutral mutations (around 0.7% of all crypts undergo fission in a single year). Pro-oncogenic mutations subvert both stem cell replacement to accelerate fixation and clonal expansion by crypt fission to achieve high mutant allele frequencies with age. The benchmarking of these behaviors allows the advantage associated with different gene-specific mutations to be compared irrespective of the cellular mechanisms by which they are conferred

Crystal Structure of a Yeast Aquaporin at 1.15 Å Reveals a Novel Gating Mechanism

Atomic-resolution X-ray crystallography, functional analyses, and molecular dynamics simulations suggest a novel mechanism for the regulation of water flux through the yeast Aqy1 water channel

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Global variation in anastomosis and end colostomy formation following left-sided colorectal resection

Background End colostomy rates following colorectal resection vary across institutions in high-income settings, being influenced by patient, disease, surgeon and system factors. This study aimed to assess global variation in end colostomy rates after left-sided colorectal resection. Methods This study comprised an analysis of GlobalSurg-1 and -2 international, prospective, observational cohort studies (2014, 2016), including consecutive adult patients undergoing elective or emergency left-sided colorectal resection within discrete 2-week windows. Countries were grouped into high-, middle- and low-income tertiles according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Factors associated with colostomy formation versus primary anastomosis were explored using a multilevel, multivariable logistic regression model. Results In total, 1635 patients from 242 hospitals in 57 countries undergoing left-sided colorectal resection were included: 113 (6·9 per cent) from low-HDI, 254 (15·5 per cent) from middle-HDI and 1268 (77·6 per cent) from high-HDI countries. There was a higher proportion of patients with perforated disease (57·5, 40·9 and 35·4 per cent; P < 0·001) and subsequent use of end colostomy (52·2, 24·8 and 18·9 per cent; P < 0·001) in low- compared with middle- and high-HDI settings. The association with colostomy use in low-HDI settings persisted (odds ratio (OR) 3·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·35 to 7·57; P = 0·008) after risk adjustment for malignant disease (OR 2·34, 1·65 to 3·32; P < 0·001), emergency surgery (OR 4·08, 2·73 to 6·10; P < 0·001), time to operation at least 48 h (OR 1·99, 1·28 to 3·09; P = 0·002) and disease perforation (OR 4·00, 2·81 to 5·69; P < 0·001). Conclusion Global differences existed in the proportion of patients receiving end stomas after left-sided colorectal resection based on income, which went beyond case mix alone

Dimensionality and Predictive validity of school grades: The relative influence of cognitive and social-behavioral aspects

The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the relative influence of cognitive and social-behavioral aspects on compulsory school grades and the importance of the different dimensions for the predictive validity of grades. Data is retrieved from the Gothenburg Educational Longitudinal Database (GOLD) and the Evaluation Through Follow-up (ETF) database. The sample in Study I consisted of three cohorts each of about 100 000 students in Grade 9, in Study II of about 4000 students in Grade 9, and in Study III of about 9000 students who were followed-up through compulsory school. All analyses were conducted using structural equation modelling (SEM). Both criterion-referenced and norm-referenced compulsory school grades were found to be multidimensional, reflecting both subject-specific dimensions and a common-grade dimension, cutting across grades and teachers. The common-grade dimension, which in previous research has been found to be related to social-behavioral aspects, contributed to predict study success in upper secondary school, indicating that social-behavioral aspects partly contribute to explain the predictive power of school grades. The influence of cognitive aspects was substantial. Fluid abilities had a continuous direct influence on the development of knowledge and skills throughout compulsory school, which is in line with the predictions from Cattell’s (1987) Investment theory. Substantial indirect effects of fluid abilities on school grades were found, although no direct effects. In sum the results in the present thesis show that both cognitive and social-behavioral aspects contribute to explain the predictive validity of school grades

Leken - barns gemensamma språk : En studie om pedagogers arbetssätt och syn på leken som språkutvecklande

Sammandrag Syftet med mitt examensarbete är att undersöka hur pedagoger i två ur socioekonomiskt perspektiv skilda bostadsområden ser på leken i förskolan som ett redskap för språkutveckling. Jag undersökte också hur pedagogerna jobbar med leken som ett redskap för språkutvecklingen. Jag använde mig av en kvalitativ intervju för att på så sätt få en djupare kunskap om pedagogernas tankar. Jag studerade även tidigare forskning som behandlar mitt ämne. Resultatet visar att samtliga pedagoger ansåg att leken var ett lysande redskap att använda för att utveckla barnens språk. I leken kan man få in många olika språkutvecklande aktiviteter. Det visade inga större skillnader mellan de två olika bostadsområdena hur de jobbar. Skillnaderna beror mer på pedagogernas egna tankar. Skillnaderna som visade sig var att pedagogerna som jobbade med barn som inte hade svenska som modersmål var mer inställda på att de måste få in ord i allt de gör och att modersmålsläraren har en viktig roll i verksamheten. Resultatet visade också att pedagogen ansåg sig själv ha en viktig del i det hela. Nyckelord: Flerspråkighet, lek, pedagoger, språkutvecklin

Engagement with Technology : Gaming, Immersion and Sub-Optimal Experiences

This conceptual article focuses on student engagement, and the use of digital games in language classrooms. In making a contribution to the mapping of student engagement across SLA (Dörnyei, 2019a), and in line with the need to use established theories to develop insights into engagement when L2 learning involves digital games, a case is made for the concept of immersion (Brown &amp; Cairns, 2004). The concept is first introduced. Then, to explain how immersion can contribute in understanding student engagement with digital games, an example of engaged gameplay from a classroom ethnographic project in Sweden is provided. Drawing on this example, immersion is contrasted with the more established concepts of L2 willingness to communicate and flow. These comparisons show how immersion captures a form of engaged behaviour particular to playing video games, and which is distinct from other types of focused behaviour previously identified in L2 learning contexts. It is suggested that immersion can make a significant contribution to understanding engagement in contemporary classrooms: it captures engaged behaviour of varying intensity, validated measurement instruments exist, and it can be used in multi-variable designs. Although immersion captures engagement particular to gaming experiences, it has potential to extend to other digital technologies

Lärobokens ordklasser : en kritisk diskursanalys av fem läroböcker i svenska för gymnasieskolan

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur läroböcker i svenska för A-kursen på gymnasiet behandlar ordklasser ur ett didaktiskt perspektiv samt att granska vilken kunskapssyn läroböckerna förmedlar och vilka konsekvenser de olika framställningarna får för eleven. Metod: För att uppfylla syftet valde vi kritisk diskursanalys som metod. Det diskursanalytiska perspektivet har gjort det möjligt att svara på studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Genom att studera textens modalitet, sociala och diskursiva praktik har vi kunnat studera hur ordklasser framställs, vilken kunskapssyn läroböckerna förmedlar samt vilka konsekvenser framställningarna får för elevens lärande. Resultat: Vår undersökning visar att läroböckernas framställningar av ordklasser är faktabaserade och att de förmedlar en traditionell och formaliserad kunskapssyn. De presenterar ordklasserna isolerat och grammatiken är produktorienterad, där reglerna redovisas först och åtföljs av tillrättalagda prototypexempel utan sammanhang. Konsekvenserna av detta kan troligen leda till att eleven upplever grammatikmomentet som avskilt från svenskämnets övriga delar och från det verkliga språket. Samtliga läroböcker har en formaliserad framställning som sannolikt inte leder till ett funktionellt lärande. Analysen visar dock att en av läroböckerna har en mer funktionell kunskapssyn då den har korta, enkla och elevnära beskrivningar med en tydlig typografi. Den för till viss del även en diskussion kring att ordklassindelningen inte är helt oproblematisk