Beliefs about learning : Social background, gender, and classroom environment

Background: Increasing students’ learning and their completion of high school has been a policy challenge for many years. This thesis investigates how the psychological mechanism of growth mindset is related to educational outcomes in the Norwegian school context. The theoretical starting point for mindset theory is the assumption that students’ beliefs about the nature of intelligence play a larger role for motivation than is generally acknowledged in the education sector. Aims: The aim was to empirically investigate students’ beliefs about the nature of intelligence and how these beliefs are related to outcomes in high school as well as to societal factors already known to be related to inequality in learning outcomes. Specifically, the thesis investigates the relationship between academic mindset and socioeconomic background, gender, and experiences from middle school. Article One investigates how mindset is related to social background and grades in high school while Article Two investigates how it is related to gender and completion. In Article Three, my coauthor Maximiliaan W. P. Thijssen and I investigate how classroom effects on growth mindset in middle-school affect academic choices in high school. Methodology: This thesis has a quantitative approach. All three studies are empirical investigations of a sample of about 10,000 students in public high schools in two counties in Norway. The data material derives from three sources. First, there are survey data from when the students entered the first year of high school in 2017. Second, the county administrations provided registry data on middle-school grades and results from high school. Third, Statistics Norway, a government agency, provided data on background characteristics such as parents’ education, income, and country of birth. Results: Article One and Article Two demonstrate that boys and students whose parents have a low level of education express lower levels of growth mindset upon entry to high school than girls and students whose parents have a high level of education. However, these differences are for a large part related to the students’ grade-point average (GPA) from middle school. Nevertheless, the level of growth mindset predicts educational outcomes in high school even among similar performing students. In Article Three, my coauthor and I find within-middle-school variation in the classroom effects on growth mindset, and we also find that classroom effects on growth mindset predict academic choices ahead of and in high school. Conclusion: One finding common to all three articles is the central role played by students’ expressed level of growth mindset as a distinct predictor of educational success in high school. Several theories propose that students’ beliefs about the nature of intelligence and ability are important for their educational behavior. The empirical investigations contribute to our understanding of the fundamental relationships between mindset and other factors known to be important for inequality in education. Specifically, it is an important mechanism for understanding prevailing differences in educational outcomes across social background and gender. The majority of the findings in the thesis are correlational, and further studies are needed to fully understand the causal mechanisms involved. However, the thesis provides evidence suggesting a relationship between mindset and how students take advantage of learning opportunities in high school

Quantitative diffusion-weighted J-difference spectroscopy of common brain metabolites

Masteroppgave i kjemiKJEM399MAMN-KJE

Modeling fluid flow in sedimentary basins with sill intrusions: Implications for hydrothermal venting and climate change

Large volumes of magma emplaced within sedimentary basins have been linked to multiple climate change events due to release of greenhouse gases such as CH4. Basin-scale estimates of thermogenic methane generation show that this process alone could generate enough greenhouse gases to trigger global incidents. However, the rates at which these gases are transported and released into the atmosphere are quantitatively unknown. We use a 2D, hybrid FEM/FVM model that solves for fully compressible fluid flow to quantify the thermogenic release and transport of methane and to evaluate flow patterns within these systems. Our results show that the methane generation potential in systems with fluid flow does not significantly differ from that estimated in diffusive systems. The values diverge when vigorous convection occurs with a maximum variation of about 50%. The fluid migration pattern around a cooling, impermeable sill alone generates hydrothermal plumes without the need for other processes such as boiling and/or explosive degassing. These fluid pathways are rooted at the edges of the outer sills consistent with seismic imaging. Methane venting at the surface occurs in three distinct stages and can last for hundreds of thousands of years. Our simulations suggest that although the quantity of methane potentially generated within the contact aureole can cause catastrophic climate change, the rate at which this methane is released into the atmosphere is too slow to trigger, by itself, some of the negative δ13C excursions observed in the fossil record over short time scales (< 10,000 years)

Najsjeverniji nalaz glavoča repaša Lesueurigobius friesii (Malm, 1874) (Pisces: Gobiidae) i smanjivanje raznolikosti glavoča uzduž Norveške obale

Lesueurigobius friesii was collected in Eidsfjorden, Sognefjorden, Norway, extending its known distribution range north as the new northernmost locality of this species. Globally, the northernmost presence of gobies is along the coast of Norway. Their diversity along the Norwegian coast showed an evident latitude gradient of gobiid diversity with a clear decrease from south to north. The significant regression structural change was found at the 63/64° N latitude band followed by a 36.4% decrease in gobiid species diversity. The species traits of gobiids north of the regression breaking point and those restricted to the south of it were compared. The only significantly more frequent characteristic of species passing north of the regression breaking point is the large depth range that reach down to the shelf break. All species present north of the point, except Thorogobius ephippiatus (that barely passes it) belong to Oxudercinae (i.e. to Pomatoschistuslineage of that subfamily).Glavoč repaš Lesueurigobius friesii sakupljen je u Eidsfjorden, Sognefjorden, Norveška, što predstavlja najsjeverniji nalaz ove vrste. Globalno, najsjevernija rasprostranjenost glavoča nalazi se uz obale Norveške. Raznolikosti vrsta glavočajasno se smanjuje od juga prema sjeveru uzduž Norveške obale. Statistički značajna strukturna promjena regresije utvrđena je na pojasu 63/64° sjeverne zemljopisne širne popraćena 36.4% smanjenjem raznolikosti vrsta glavoča. Osobine vrsta glavoča sjeverno od točke loma regresije uspoređene su s osobinama vrsta ograničenim južno od nje. Jedina značajno češća osobina vrste glavoča koje prolaze sjeverno od točke loma regresija je veći raspon dubina, koji kod ovih vrsta seže do ruba kontinentske podine. Također sve vrste sjeverno od točke loma, osim vrste Thorogobius ephippiatus (koja je jedva prolazi), pripadaju potporodici Oxudercinae, točnije Pomatoschistus grupi te potporodice

The effects of protective legislation on occupational segregation in the United States and Australia

Gender-specific protective labour laws are considered unacceptable by many analysts because it is presumed they must necessarily adversely affect employment opportunities for women. This paper reviews United States research which has sought to assess the validity of this assumption; and reports on the impact of these laws within Australia. The assumption that gender-specific labour laws adversely affect female employment opportunities is not supported by United States research or Australian data. It is concluded that a reform strategy centred on simple abolition may involve loss of employee protection without necessarily producing any compensating increase in opportunities for women

Acute low back pain – a cross sectional study: Fear-avoidance beliefs and associated characteristics

Abstract Background/Aim: Fear-avoidance beliefs (FAB) is exsessive fear of movements that may lead to movement avoidance and contribute to maintenance of LBP. The aim of the study was (i) to identify the percentage of fear-avoidance beliefs (FAB) in patients with acute low back pain (ALBP) and (ii) find any association that may exist between demographic variables, pain and FAB in the sample. Design: The study is a cross sectional survey with a strategic sample. Material: 115 patients between 20 and 70 years of age with acute (less than 12 weeks) low back pain recruited from physiotherapists in outpatient clinics in Norway in the period November 2006 to February 2007. Method: A questionnaire including questions on fear-avoidance beliefs (FABQ) was used. The questionnaire has two parts with five questions about Physical Activities (FABQ-PA) and 11 questions about work related issues. The scores go from 0-6 where 6 is worst. No cutoff values are indicates in the questionnaire, the cut values in the article are quoted from other authors. The patients were also asked for demographic variables and pain. Result: 115 patients participated in the survey: 85 percent answered the FABQ-W part and 20.4 per cent of these had high scores at a cutoff >29. In total 95 per cent answered the FABQ-PA part and 32.1 per cent of these had high scores at a cutoff >14. Mean scores of FABQ-W were 18.3 (10.9) and FABQ-PA 12.3 (5.8). Patients with lowest level of education were significantly associated with high scores on FABQ-W. Conclusion: Increased pain at present (current pain) was significantly associated with high score on the FABQ-PA. Further, being on sick leave and having attained the lowest level of education were independently associated with having high FABQ-W to a significant degree. Keywords: Acute low back pain, fear-avoidance beliefs, cutoff score, formal education

SILLi 1.0: A 1D Numerical Tool Quantifying the Thermal Effects of Sill Intrusions

Igneous intrusions in sedimentary basins may have a profound effect on the thermal structure and physical properties of the hosting sedimentary rocks. These include mechanical effects such as deformation and uplift of sedimentary layers, generation of overpressure, mineral reactions and porosity evolution, and fracturing and vent formation following devolatilization reactions and the generation of CO2 and CH4. The gas generation and subsequent migration and venting may have contributed to several of the past climatic changes such as the end-Permian event and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Additionally, the generation and expulsion of hydrocarbons and cracking of pre-existing oil reservoirs around a hot magmatic intrusion is of significant interest to the energy industry. In this paper, we present a user-friendly 1D FEM based tool, SILLi, which calculates the thermal effects of sill intrusions on the enclosing sedimentary stratigraphy. The model is accompanied by three case studies of sills emplaced in two different sedimentary basins, the Karoo Basin in South Africa and the Vøring Basin offshore Norway. Input data for the model is the present-day well log or sedimentary column with an Excel input file and includes rock parameters such as thermal conductivity, total organic carbon (TOC) content, porosity, and latent heats. The model accounts for sedimentation and burial based on a rate calculated by the sedimentary layer thickness and age. Erosion of the sedimentary column is also included to account for realistic basin evolution. Multiple sills can be emplaced within the system with varying ages. The emplacement of a sill occurs instantaneously. The model can be applied to volcanic sedimentary basins occurring globally. The model output includes the thermal evolution of the sedimentary column through time, and the changes that take place following sill emplacement such as TOC changes, thermal maturity, and the amount of organic and carbonate-derived CO2. The TOC and vitrinite results can be readily benchmarked within the tool to present-day values measured within the sedimentary column. This allows the user to determine the conditions required to obtain results that match observables and leads to a better understanding of metamorphic processes in sedimentary basins

The Past as a Mirror: Deep Time Climate Change Exemplarity in the Anthropocene

During the past decades, notions of Earth dynamics and climate change have changed drastically, as anthropogenic CO2-emissions are linked to measurable Earth system changes. At the same time, Earth scientists have discovered deep time climate changes triggered by large scale and natural release of CO2. As the understanding of past climatic changes improved, they were used to envision what might happen in the near future. This article explores the use of deep time climate examples by analyzing publications on a 56-million-year-old greenhouse gas-driven rapid global warming event, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). We explore how the PETM is framed and used as an example of “extreme climatic warming” in four cases across different scientific genres. The scientific knowledge about the PETM is considered too uncertain to draw conclusions from, but our analysis shows that, by being presented as an example, the PETM may still contribute to the scientific understanding of ongoing climate change. Although the PETM is regarded as too uncertain to guide present day climate change modeling, it is still considered morally significant, and is allowed to influence public opinion and policy making. We argue that the PETM is used as an example in ways that have formal similarities with the early modern historia magistra vitae topos. The PETM example highlights the ambivalence that characterizes the Anthropocene as a temporal conception. The Anthropocene is “completely different”, but at the same time pointing to the similarity between the present and the deep past, thereby allowing for comparison to past geological events. Thus, the Anthropocene is not so “completely different” after all. Just a little bigger, a lot faster, and a lot scarier to humans.publishedVersio

Cellular analysis and PNA encoded libraries

A peptide nucleic acid (PNA) encoded 1296 member peptide library was synthesised and incubated with a variety of cell types. Library members entering cells were extracted, hybridised onto DNA microarrays and the peptide identity was determined via deconvolution. Global consensus analysis highlighted the tetrapepide, Glu-Llp- Glu-Glu (Llp is 6-hexamine-N-aminoacetic acid), a surprise in view of the basic residues typically observed in cell penetrating peptides. When evaluated, Glu-Llp- Glu-Glu revealed cellular uptake comparable to a known basic peptide (tetraLlp). In depth delineation via clustering analysis allowed assessment of differential cellular uptake, with the identified peptides showing clear cellular specificity. This was verified by peptide synthesis and cellular uptake analysis by flow-cytometry, and in all cases an endocytic uptake mechanism was confirmed. This approach establishes a strategy for the identification of short peptides as tools for selective delivery into specific cell types. The incubation of a 10,000 member PNA-encoded peptide library with D54 and HEK293T transfected with CCR6 cells followed by microarray analysis allowed detailed information on the interaction between peptide-ligands and cell surface receptors to be extracted. This allowed the identification of new ligands for integrins and G-protein coupled receptors and offers a novel approach to ligand discovery allowing the comparative analysis of different cell types for the identification of differences in surface-receptor ligands and/or receptor expression between various cell types. In addition, this work included the development of a novel method for the indirect amplification of a PNA library by amplification of a complementary DNA library hybridised to the PNA. The generation of 10,000 defined pieces of DNA would have a myriad of applications, not least in the area of defined or directed sequencing and synthetic biology, but also in applications associated with encoding and tagging. By this approach DNA microarrays were used to allow the linear amplification of immobilised DNA sequences on an array followed by PCR amplification. Arrays of increasing sophistication (1; 10; 3875; 10,000 defined oligonucleotides) were used to validate the process, with sequences verified by selective hybridisation to a complementary DNA microarray with DNA sequencing demonstrating error rates of ca ≈ 0.2%. This technique offers an economical and efficient way of producing hundreds to thousands of specific DNA primers, while the DNA-arrays can be used as “factories” allowing specific DNA oligonucleotide pools to be generated with or without masking. This study also demonstrated a significant variance observed between the sequence frequencies found via Solexa sequencing compared to microarray analysis