Franchising in Finland – Lessons Learned from a Multiple Case Study

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Heading towards a more sustainable future? Sustainability, systems-thinking and proficiency in science in the current and impending curriculum

Mastergradsoppgave i realfagenes didaktikk, Høgskolen i Innlandet, 2020.Norsk: Dette er en masteroppgave i realfagenes didaktikk ved Høgskolen i Innlandet. Gjennom forskningsarbeidet har jeg ønsket å finne ut hvordan bærekraftig utvikling kommer til uttrykk i Læreplanverket for kunnskapsløftet 2006 og Læreplanverket for kunnskapsløftet 2020. Jeg har også ønsket å finne ut hva funn tilknyttet dette forskningsarbeidet kan bety for naturfagslærere på ungdomstrinnet. Bærekraftig utvikling og systemforståelse er svært sentrale begreper gjennom hele oppgaven. Forskningen tar utgangspunkt i begrepet bærekraftig utvikling slik det har blitt kjent gjennom rapporten «Vår felles framtid» (Brundtland & Dahl, 1987), der bærekraftig utvikling blir beskrevet som «utvikling som imøtekommer dagens behov uten å ødelegge mulighetene for at kommende generasjoner skal få dekket sine behov» (Brundtland & Dahl, 1987, s. 42). Systemforståelse er en bærekraftkompetanse som skal kunne bidra til at elever utvikler seg til å bli individer som kan ta bærekraftige valg, i tråd med denne definisjonen. Systemforståelse som bærekraftkompetanse handler om evnen til å kunne analysere på tvers av komplekse systemer verden består av, som blant annet vil innebære å kunne forstå og beskrive systemets struktur, nøkkelkomponenter og dynamikk (Frisk & Larson, 2011; Wiek, Withycombe & Redman, 2011). Med dette som utgangspunkt er forskningen designet rundt en kvalitativ læreplananalyse med utgangspunkt i begge de overordnede delene og læreplanene for naturfag tilhørende de nevnte læreplanverkene. Analysen ble gjennomført ved hjelp av et analyseverktøy designet for å belyse innhold som berører bærekraftig utvikling og systemforståelse som bærekraftkompetanse. Gjennomført analyse viser at det er forskjeller i de aktuelle delene fra LK06 og LK20, både med hensyn til bærekraftig utvikling og systemforståelse som bærekraftkompetanse. Funnene indikerer blant annet at LK20 på noen områder kan oppleves som tydeligere tilknyttet bærekraftig utvikling enn sin forgjenger, at flere aktuelle områder står oppført direkte i sammenheng, og at læreplanen i naturfag i LK20 skiller seg ut med flere utforskende målformuleringer og tydeligere sammenhenger mellom de aktuelle kompetansemålene i seg selv. De aktuelle funnene kan tolkes som muligheter for undervisning med utgangspunkt i sammensatte problemstillinger. I praksis kan det bety at naturfagslæreren fremover må ha tilstrekkelig med kunnskap for, blant annet, å kunne legge til rette og bidra tilstrekkelig med gode støttestrukturer og kunne samarbeide med ulike lærere med ulik fagkompetanse.English: This is a Masters’ degree thesis in Science and Mathematics Education at Høgskolen i Innlandet. Through the research, I have wanted to find out how sustainable development is expressed in Knowledge Promotion 2006 (KP-06) and Knowledge Promotion 2020 (KP-20). I have also aimed to see how finds in the research have implications for natural science teachers in the lower secondary school. Sustainable development and systems thinking are central terms throughout the thesis. The research evolves around sustainable development as it has been known through the report «Our common future» (Brundtland, 1987a), where sustainable development is described as «development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs» (Brundtland, 1987b). Systems thinking is a key competency in sustainability, which contributes to develop pupils into becoming individuals who can make sustainable choices, in line with this definition. Systems thinking as a sustainability competence is the ability to analyze complex systems which defines our world, which among other things will involve being able to describe and understand the structure, key components and dynamics of the system (Frisk & Larson, 2011; Wiek et al., 2011). From this foundation, the research uses a qualitative curriculum analysis of the overall frameworks and the natural science curricula of the formal curriculum. The analysis was made using an analysis tool designed to highlight contents connected to sustainable development and systems thinking as a sustainability competency. The analysis shows differences in relevant parts from KP-06 and KP-20, both in terms of sustainability and systems thinking as a sustainability competency. The findings indicates among others that KP-20 in some areas is perceived as more clearly attached to sustainable development than its predecessor, that more relevant parts are directly in context, and that natural science curricula in KP-20 stands out with more explorative objectives and is more clearly in context with the relevant parts in its self. The actual findings can be interpreted as possibilities for education in connection with socioscientific or wicked problems. This can in turn require natural science teachers with adequate knowledge to facilitate, create proper scaffolding and being able to cooperate with different teachers in other disciplines

Within moments of becoming—everyday citizenship in nursing homes

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.Background: Humans are occupational beings. Our occupational choices depend on the opportunities available to us, and within nursing homes, institutional rules or structures may limit occupational engagement. An everyday citizenship lens acknowledges the importance of people’s rights as citizens as well as engagement in mundane aspects of the everyday, highlighting diverse expressions of agency. Aims/objectives: To show how older residents living with dementia in nursing homes can realize their everyday citizenship. Methods: A phenomenologically inspired ethnographic study was conducted in nursing home units in Norway, exploring everyday citizenship through narrative analysis. Results: Within everyday environments of care, the narratives of May, Janne and Camilla tell stories of spontaneous initiatives towards contribution and responsibilities, highlighting their continuous occupational natures. Conclusion: Becoming can be seen as constitutive of self and identity, through residents’ actions and contributions within the mundane and ordinary of everyday life, as an essential part of everyday citizenship. Significance for practice: A citizenship of becoming presupposes that institutional perceptions of activities being offered ought to be broadened towards supporting residents’ natural desires to do and act within the mundane and ordinary of everyday life.publishedVersio

Värvningsklausuler i avtal mellan näringsidkare

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Prognosis of ovarian cancer in women with type 2 diabetes using metformin and other forms of antidiabetic medication or statins : a retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal cancers and women with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have even poorer survival from it. We assessed the prognosis of ovarian cancer in women with type 2 diabetes treated with metformin, other forms of antidiabetic medication, or statins. Methods Study cohort consisted of women with T2D diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Finland 1998–2011. They were identified from a nationwide diabetes database (FinDM), being linked to several national registers. Patients were grouped according to their medication in the three years preceding ovarian cancer diagnosis. The Aalen–Johansen estimator was used to describe cumulative mortality from ovarian cancer and from other causes in different medication groups. Mortality rates were analysed by Cox models, and adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated in relation to the use of different forms of medication. Main outcome measures were death from ovarian cancer and death from other causes. Results During the accrual period 421 newly diagnosed ovarian cancers were identified in the FinDM database. No evidence was found for any differences in mortality from ovarian cancer or other causes between different antidiabetic medication groups. Pre-diagnostic use of statins was observed to be associated with decreased mortality from ovarian cancer compared with no such use (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.56–0.93). Conclusions Our findings are inconclusive as regards the association between metformin and ovarian cancer survival. However, some evidence was found for improved prognosis of ovarian cancer with pre-diagnostic statin use, requiring cautious interpretation, though

Mapping education for sustainability in the Nordic countries

The project is concerned with sustainability in compulsory education in the Nordic countries and is part of the Iceland Presidency Project for the Nordic Council of Ministers initiated in 2018. The overall focus of the Presidency Project is on young people but this report looks at policy, curricula, teacher education and school practices. The analysis shows both similarities and differences across the Nordic Region. Compulsory education in the Nordic countries share some striking similarities, reflecting a strong emphasis on certain aspects of sustainability such as equality, democracy.Although sustainability education has a clear application in the fields of social and political life and economic activities in all of the Nordic countries, it is still the case that when sustainability education is discussed, an environmental perspective is most often taken

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Particulate matter exposure during pregnancy is associated with birth weight, but not gestational age, 1962-1992: a cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exposure to air pollutants is suggested to adversely affect fetal growth, but the evidence remains inconsistent in relation to specific outcomes and exposure windows.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using birth records from the two major maternity hospitals in Newcastle upon Tyne in northern England between 1961 and 1992, we constructed a database of all births to mothers resident within the city. Weekly black smoke exposure levels from routine data recorded at 20 air pollution monitoring stations were obtained and individual exposures were estimated via a two-stage modeling strategy, incorporating temporally and spatially varying covariates. Regression analyses, including 88,679 births, assessed potential associations between exposure to black smoke and birth weight, gestational age and birth weight standardized for gestational age and sex.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significant associations were seen between black smoke and both standardized and unstandardized birth weight, but not for gestational age when adjusted for potential confounders. Not all associations were linear. For an increase in whole pregnancy black smoke exposure, from the 1^st(7.4 μg/m³) to the 25^th(17.2 μg/m³), 50^th(33.8 μg/m³), 75^th(108.3 μg/m³), and 90^th(180.8 μg/m³) percentiles, the adjusted estimated decreases in birth weight were 33 g (SE 1.05), 62 g (1.63), 98 g (2.26) and 109 g (2.44) respectively. A significant interaction was observed between socio-economic deprivation and black smoke on both standardized and unstandardized birth weight with increasing effects of black smoke in reducing birth weight seen with increasing socio-economic disadvantage.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings of this study progress the hypothesis that the association between black smoke and birth weight may be mediated through intrauterine growth restriction. The associations between black smoke and birth weight were of the same order of magnitude as those reported for passive smoking. These findings add to the growing evidence of the harmful effects of air pollution on birth outcomes.</p

"Jakten på Supermann" : endring i krav til ledere av helse og omsorgsektoren i norske kommuner

Temaet for oppgaven er ledelse. Vi har studert hvordan krav til ledelse og ledere har endret seg over tid i helse og omsorgssektoren i Norske kommuner. Norske kommuner har vært gjennom store organisatoriske endringer de siste tretti årene. Kommunene har fått utvidet ansvar, samtidig har akademia og konsulentbransjen viet mye oppmerksomhet til ledelse i denne perioden. Disse faktorene har fått betydning for hvordan kommunene har endret seg som organisasjoner og hvordan ledelse har blitt vektlagt i kommunene. Vi har valgt å se spesielt på den øverste lederen i helse og omsorgssektoren. For å finne data på området har vi hentet annonser på lederstillinger fra fire tiår og foretatt to intervju. Data fra annonsene har vi sortert etter personlige egenskaper, formell utdanning og erfaring. Det er tre spørsmål som danner utgangspunkt for oppgaven. Spørsmålene er, hvordan endres krav og forventninger til ledelse, hva forklarer endringene, og hvilken betydning har det fått for rekruttering av ledere. Vi har hatt teorien og analyseverktøy skrevet og utarbeidet av Torodd Strand som hoved grunnlag i oppgaven, og komplimentert med teorier og forfattere som vi har fått kjennskap til gjennom mastergradsstudiet. Teorien på området viser en endring fra fagledelse til generell management i perioden, noe som støtter de analyser og funn vi har foretatt