Journal Staff

Idag är det inte bara genom traditionella utbildningar som värdefulla förmågor kan erhållas, utan detta kan även ske genom internet, samt på andra fysiska platser utanför skolan. Dessvärre finns det inte något allmänt accepterat sätt att redovisa denna informella kompetens. För att lösa detta problem har den amerikanska stiftelsen Mozilla Foundation, känd för att ha utvecklat webbläsaren “Mozilla Firefox”, skapat “Open Badges”. Open Badges är en typ av e-utmärkelse, dvs. ett digitalt certifikat, som till skillnad från andra innehåller metadata som gör det möjligt att verifiera vem som är utgivaren, vad som krävdes för att skaffa och vem badgen är utgiven till m.m.   Genom denna uppsats ämnar vi ta reda på om och i sådana fall varför denna typ av belöning motiverar studenter att slutföra en onlinekurs om miljömedvetenhet. För att undersöka detta skapades en hemsida och en kurs med en uppdragsbaserad struktur. Två olika grupper med tio personer vardera erbjöds genomföra kursen. Den ena gruppen informerades om hur Open Badges fungerar och att de skulle belönas med en sådan om de slutförde kursen (“Open Badges-gruppen”). Den andra gruppen fick inte denna information (“kontrollgruppen”). Efter kursomgångens slut kallades de medverkande till en fokusgrupp för att diskutera Open Badges.   Vi fann att i den grupp som informerades om Open Badges slutförde två av tio kursen medan noll av tio i kontrollgruppen slutförde kursen. I fokusgruppen förklarade de två som slutförde kursen att det var specifikt deras önskan att få en Open Badge som motiverade dem att utföra de uppdrag de tyckte var jobbiga. Samtliga personer i fokusgruppen tyckte även att framtiden för Open Badges beror på arbetsgivares användning av dem.   Eftersom det bara var personer i Open Badges-gruppen som slutförde hela kursen tyder detta på att Open Badges fungerar bra som motivationskälla. Detta styrks även av att studenterna i fokusgruppen slutförde vissa uppdrag eftersom de blev motiverade av Open Badgen, även om de tyckte dessa uppdrag var svåra eller jobbiga.   De deltagare som genomförde kursen ansåg att Open Badges gav motivation för att det kändes som ett slutmål. De ansåg även att det var spännande och intressant och såg även en potential i Open Badges i allmänhet, inte endast för den badge vi utdelade, som merit på arbetsmarknaden.   Alla deltagare såg användningsområden för Open Badges både online (utanför traditionella utbildningsinstitut) och offline (vid traditionella utbildningsinstitut). De tyckte att Open Badges kunde användas online för att visa på att man lärt sig något på egen hand, och offline för att belöna exemplariskt arbete, till exempel en Badge för bästa kursresultat i någon speciell kurs.Today it is not only through traditional education that skills can be acquired. Skills can also be gained through the internet as well as at physical locations other than academic institutions. However there is currently no universally accepted way to display this informal knowledge. To solve this problem the American organization Mozilla Foundation, who created the web browser “Mozilla Firefox”, has created “Open Badges”. An Open Badge is a type of achievement that, in contrast to other achievements, contains metadata which enables verification of the issuer, the steps needed to receive the Badge and information about who received the badge etc.   Through this essay we intend to find out if and why this kind of reward motivates students to complete an online course about environmental awareness. To investigate this we created a homepage containing an online course with a mission based structure. Two different groups with ten members each had the choice to complete the course. In one of the groups the participants were informed about Open Badges and how it works (the “Open Badges group”). The participants in the other group did not get this information (the “control group”). After the online course’s deadline was due we held a focus group meeting to discuss Open Badges.   We found that in the Open Badges group two out of ten students completed the course. Zero out of ten students in the control group completed the course. At the focus group meeting the two students who completed the course explained that Open Badges explicitly motivated them to complete the missions in the online course which they thought were strenuous. All of the students in the focus group argued that for Open Badges to work, it needs to be adopted by the labor market.   Since the students who completed the course were in the Open Badges-group, the results lean toward showing that Open Badges in fact work as a motivational source. This claim is also supported by the fact that the students in the focus group completed some missions just because they were motivated by the Open Badge, even though they considered these missions hard or strenuous.   The participants who completed the course believed Open Badges gave them motivation because it felt like a final goal. They also thought it was exciting and interesting. Additionally, they saw potential in Open Badges in general, not only for the Badge they received, as a merit on the labor market. All participants saw ways of using Open Badges both online (outside of traditional educational institutions) and offline (at traditional educational institutions). They thought that Open Badges could be used online in order to show what you have learned on your own, and offline to reward exemplary work, for example a Badge for the best course result in a specific course

Human Rights in a world of diversity : Chinese perspectives

Paper presented at the Conference on Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Human Rights held in Wuppertal (Germany) online from 9–12 April 202

Circovirosi porcina, patogènesi i estudis ultraestructurals

El treball desenvolupat en aquesta tesi doctoral suposa un pas important en la lluita contra la circovirosi porcina. Aquesta malaltia, provocada essencialment pel circovirus porcí tipus 2 (PCV2), provoca el retardament en el creixement i la mort durant els primers mesos de vida del porc. Aquesta innnovadora recerca consitueix el primer estudi morfogenètic del PCV2 en cultius cel·lulars, aporta descripcions ultraestructurals dels teixits afectats i desvetlla la relació de la malaltia amb les mitocòndries.El trabajo desarrollado en esta tesis doctoral supone un paso importanteen la lucha contra la circovirosis porcina. Esta enfermedad, provocada esencialmente por el circovirus porcino tipo 2 (PCV2), provoca el retraso en el crecimiento y la muerte durante los primeros meses de vida del cerdo. Esta innovadora investigación constituye el primer estudio morfogenético del PCV2 en cultivos celulares, aporta descripcion ultraestructurales de los tejidos afectados y desvela la relación de la enfermedad con las mitocondriasThis PhD thesis is an important step in the fight against post-weaningmulti systemic wasting syndrome. The disease, in which the porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the causative agent, produces growth delayand death during the first months of life of the piglet. This innovativere search is the first morphogenetic study of PCV2 in cell cultures and provides ultrastructural descriptions of the affected tissues and revealsthe relationship of the disease with mitochondries

Introducción: Una historia ambiental para Baja California Sur, México

Introducción al dossie

A Retreat from the Ideal: Reflections on a Frustrated Attempt to Study a Social Phenomenon the Natural Science Way

To provide Filipino social scientists an opportunity to design their own methodology for the analysis of socioeconomic impacts of a spectrum of governmental programs, the Economic and Social Impact Analysis/ Women in Development program has been instituted. This paper revisits this project and exposes what the author think as unexamined theories behind the usually accepted assumptions of the classic evaluation design and the casual model it implies. This is in the hope of better understanding not only of the difference between social and natural sciences but also of the linkage between methodology and theory as well.rural sector, impact analysis, sociology, evaluation design

From Pre-Alpha to Freestyle: Figure Skating Through the Lens of Filipino Figure Skaters

Figure skating has been around since 1772 when an Englishman by the name of Robert Jones gave a whole new meaning to the concept of skating on ice, and since then, it has been a sport loved by many around the world. However, despite its long history, many researchers have stated that there is still a paucity of information regarding figure skating. In the Philippines, the dance sport was only introduced in the 1990s; hence, it is a relatively new concept that most researchers have yet to touch on. This study, therefore, aims to analyze figure skating in the Philippines through the lens of Filipino figure skaters. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews (SSI) with figure skaters and Philippine Skating Union (PHSU) coaches and officials. It was found that the practices which Filipino figure skaters do are the same ones being practiced abroad because as a country new to figure skating, the dance sport does not have much popularity yet which limits the chances of having practices that are uniquely Filipino. Despite this, there are still attempts to adapt foreign concepts to better fit the local skaters. The Filipino identity in figure skating also seems blurred as the respondents have varying perspectives on whether or not their fellow skaters instill a sense of Filipino identity into their routines. It was concluded that the dance sport is still far too young to be able to have an established perspective

Simulation Procedure In Periodic Cancer Screening Trials

A general simulation procedure is described to validate model fitting algorithms for complex likelihood functions that are utilized in periodic cancer screening trials. Although screening programs have existed for a few decades, there are still many unsolved problems, such as how age or hormone affects the screening sensitivity, the sojourn time in the preclinical state, and the transition probability from diseasefree state to the preclinical state. Simulations are needed to check reliability or validity of the likelihood function combined with the associated effect functions. One bottleneck in the simulation procedure is the very time consuming calculations of the maximum likelihood estimates (MLE) from generated data. A practical procedure is presented, along with results for when both sensitivity and transition probability into the preclinical state are age-dependent. The procedure is also suitable for other applications

Oasis sudcallfornianos: transferencia cultural del viejo al nuevo mundo áridos

The history of South Californian oases shows social adaptability to extreme environmental conditions (isolation, aridity and socio-political impositions), self-sufficiency in terms of water and land management, and austerity in production and consumption. This starts with the introduction of missionary areas created by Jesuits in wetlands converted into oases, and continues with their extension into the dry lands, where ranching communities practised extensive cattle farming. The modernisation of the local economy leads to the extinction of the oases ond condemns the oasis identity to disappear. This article is a long-term analysis which explains the success (and failure) of the oases agro-ecological system in South Lower California.La historia de los oasis sudcalifornianos muestra la adaptabilidad social a condiciones ambientales extremas (aislamiento, aridez e imposiciones sociopolíticas), la autosuficiencia en el manejo sustentable del agua y la tierra, y la austeridad en la producción y el consumo. Esta historia inicia con la producción del espacio misional creado por los jesuitas en los humedales convertidos en oasis y continua con su ampliación al seca no, donde las comunidades rancheras practican la ganadería extensiva. La modernización de la economía local conduce los oasis hacia la extinción y condena la identidad oasiana a la desaparición. Este artículo es una reflexión de ciclo largo para explicar el éxito (y fracaso) del sistema agroecológico de los oasis en Baja California Suro