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- Alatalo, Tarja, 1961
(author)
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Skicklig läs- och skrivundervisning i åk 1-3: Om lärares möjligheter och hinder
- 2011
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This study focuses on teachers’ opportunities and obstacles to perform skillful reading and writing instruction. It’s about the ability to accurately identify where students are in their reading and writing process and to help them develop good reading skills. It is also about the ability to recognize signs of difficulties that students may have in their written language development and to know what efforts are needed to help them advance their reading and writing skills. The research is based on teachers’ own statements and survey responses on the external conditions for teaching and on their approach, attitudes and knowledge in reading and writing. The empirical material consists of interviews, surveys and test data. The interview study was conducted with eight teachers. The questionnaire was answered by 249 teachers, while the knowledge test was conducted of 269 teachers and 31 special education teachers. Many of the teachers in this study have lack knowledge in the structure of language and common Swedish spelling rules. Furthermore, it appears that a large part of them are unaccustomed to explaining, in detail, students’ reading development and find it difficult to systematically describe the aspects of daily literacy instruction. The overall picture is that many teachers teach without having tools to reflect on how their education really affects students’ reading and writing. These shortcomings make it difficult to conduct effective literacy instruction. Once students have learned to decode or if they have reading difficulties, many teachers seem to one-sidedly focus on getting students to read more. The consequence could be that those who would need to practice more on the technical basic of reading or comprehension strategies are left without support. Lack of variety and individuality in fluency and comprehension training can challenge the students’ reading and writing development. The teachers in the study, who have the old junior school teacher and elementary teacher education, have the highest amount of knowledge of reading and writing (the test). Good education can provide student teachers with professional skills that they may develop further in their careers. Knowledge of the meaning of phonological and phonemic awareness as well as knowledge of how to count phonemes seem to be important for knowledge of reading and writing (the test). Knowledge of basic reading processes can be obtained by systematic and structured work with students’ linguistic development, and through continuous dialogues with experienced colleagues on how and why questions. This is one important way to work also in teacher training. When essential professional skills are established in the teacher education, in practice students will obtain the school’s learning goals.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Pierre
(author)
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Actitudes hacia la variedad caló : Un estudio sociolingüístico de adolescentes andaluces
- 2011
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Caló is a language/variety spoken by the Spanish Calé (i.e. the Roma). The variety belongs to a group of languages referred to as “Para-Romani”, characterized by Romani vocabulary, but largely non-Romani morphology, phonology and syntax, in the case of Caló deriving from Spanish.Much research has been carried out regarding the vocabulary and the grammar of this variety. The conclusions drawn in those studies indicate that Caló is on its way to extinction. However, there is an expressed inter... merest in reintroducing the variety, in a form called “Romanó-Caló”.Language attitudes play a decisive role for the destiny of endangered languages. In order for a revitalization project to be successful, the attitudes towards the variety being reintroduced have to be positive. The aim of this study is to measure the attitudes that both Calé and non-Calé have towards Caló and Caló speakers, a type of study never carried out in the past. The methods applied are both direct and indirect. In part one, 231 informants listened to different recordings of voices acting as either a “Spanish speaking person” or a “Caló speaking person”, a technique referred to as ‘matched guise’. Firstly, the informants were asked to write down their first three impressions of the speakers. Secondly, nine short questions related to the voices were asked, to which the subjects expressed their answers on attitude scales. They were also asked to match the voices with photos of people. Furthermore, the informants have answered questions regarding what variety is spoken at home, as well as if he or she has any knowledge of, or contact with, any language/variety, apart from Spanish. 182 informants continued with part two of the questionnaire, which consisted of 20 items – positive and negative statements towards Caló and Caló speakers. The informants have rated their agreement or disagreement to these statements on a Likert scale. Another exercise measured the willingness of the informants to use Caló words for naming various objects. In addition, the subjects were tested on their knowledge of some Caló words, as well as asked whether they thought it was “useful” to know how to speak Caló. Various statistical methods have been used in order to establish whether or not the results are statistically significant.The results of the analysis indicate that the attitudes differ towards Caló and Caló speakers, depending on the informant’s (a) ethnicity (b) contact with Caló as well as with Caló speakers, and (c) gender. It is those who – in their own opinion – belong to the ethnic group Calé, as well as those who claim that they have some contact with the variety and its speakers, who show positive attitudes in both parts of the study. The women also show more positive attitudes than the men. It is also possible to note positive attitudes towards the variety and its speakers among the subjects with a high level of knowledge of Caló words, as well as among those with the highest willingness to use Caló.These observations suggest that a revitalization project of the variety Caló has a clear chance of being successful.
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| 3. |
- Arking, D. E., et al.
(author)
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Genetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization
- 2014
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 46:8, s. 826-836
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The QT interval, an electrocardiographic measure reflecting myocardial repolarization, is a heritable trait. QT prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) and could indicate the presence of the potentially lethal mendelian long-QT syndrome (LQTS). Using a genome-wide association and replication study in up to 100,000 individuals, we identified 35 common variant loci associated with QT interval that collectively explain ∼ 8-10% of QT-interval variation and highlight the importance of calcium regulation in myocardial repolarization. Rare variant analysis of 6 new QT interval-associated loci in 298 unrelated probands with LQTS identified coding variants not found in controls but of uncertain causality and therefore requiring validation. Several newly identified loci encode proteins that physically interact with other recognized repolarization proteins. Our integration of common variant association, expression and orthogonal protein-protein interaction screens provides new insights into cardiac electrophysiology and identifies new candidate genes for ventricular arrhythmias, LQTS and SCD. © 2014 Nature America, Inc.
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| 4. |
- Arnqvist, Anders, 1953-, et al.
(author)
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Skolutveckling på vetenskaplig grund
- 2012
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In: Forskning om undervisning och lärande. - Stockholm : Stiftelsen SAF. ; , s. 19-:8, s. 19-28
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Reports (other academic/artistic)
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Brorsson, Sofia, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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Differences in muscle activity during hand-dexterity tasks between women with arthritis and a healthy reference group
- 2014
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In: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. - London, England : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2474. ; 15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Impaired hand function is common in patients with arthritis and it affects performance of daily activities; thus, hand exercises are recommended. There is little information on the extent to which the disease affects activation of the flexor and extensor muscles during these hand-dexterity tasks. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation during such tasks in subjects with arthritis and in a healthy reference group. Methods: Muscle activation was measured in m. extensor digitorium communis (EDC) and in m. flexor carpi radialis (FCR) with surface electromyography (EMG) in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 20), hand osteoarthritis (HOA, n = 16) and in a healthy reference group (n = 20) during the performance of four daily activity tasks and four hand exercises. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) was measured to enable intermuscular comparisons, and muscle activation is presented as %MVIC. Results: The arthritis group used a higher %MVIC than the reference group in both FCR and EDC when cutting with a pair of scissors, pulling up a zipper and-for the EDC-also when writing with a pen and using a key (p < 0.02). The exercise "rolling dough with flat hands" required the lowest %MVIC and may be less effective in improving muscle strength. Conclusions: Women with arthritis tend to use higher levels of muscle activation in daily tasks than healthy women, and wrist extensors and flexors appear to be equally affected. It is important that hand training programs reflect real-life situations and focus also on extensor strength.
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| 7. |
- Dafgård, Lena, 1958
(author)
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Desktop conferencing in distance higher education
- 2014
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In: ICED 2014 Educational Development in a Changing World, June 2014, KI, Stockholm, Sweden: Abstracts.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In recent years, desktop conferencing tools with video and audio have emerged, e.g. Skype and Adobe Connect. In order to get an overview of the use of desktop conferencing, a national whole population survey was conducted in higher distance education. The results indicate that amazingly few teachers have experience of using desktop conferencing, but those who use it, utilise its special features.
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| 8. |
- Eilegård Wallin, Alexandra, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Bereaved siblings' perception of participating in research : a nationwide study
- 2013
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In: Psycho-Oncology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1057-9249 .- 1099-1611. ; 22:2, s. 411-416
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ObjectiveThe objective of the present study is to examine bereaved siblings' perception of research participation.MethodsA Swedish nationwide study on avoidable and modifiable health care‐related factors in paediatric oncology among bereaved siblings who lost a brother or sister to cancer between the years 2000 and 2007 was conducted. Data are presented as proportions, and the differences between groups were statistically tested at the 5% significant level using Fisher's exact test.ResultsOut of 240 eligible siblings, 174 responded (73 %). None of the siblings (0/168) thought their participation would affect them negatively in the long term. However, 13% (21/168) stated it was a negative experience to fill out the questionnaire, whereas 84% (142/169) found it to be a positive experience. Women were more likely to report their participation as positive in a long‐term perspective compared with men (p = 0.018).ConclusionsNone of the bereaved siblings in this Swedish nationwide study anticipated any long‐term negative effect from their research participation. A majority reported it as positive to revisit their needs and experiences throughout their brother or sister's illness and death 2–9 years following the loss. We believe that the stepwise approach used in this study contributed to the high acceptance.
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| 9. |
- Eilegård Wallin, Alexandra, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Psychological health in siblings who lost a brother or sister to cancer 2 to 9 years earlier
- 2013
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In: Psycho-Oncology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1057-9249 .- 1099-1611. ; 22:3, s. 683-691
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to assess long-term psychological distress in siblings who lost a brother or sister to cancer 2 to 9 years earlier, as compared with a control group of non-bereaved siblings from the general population.METHODS: During 2009, we conducted a nationwide follow-up study in Sweden by using an anonymous study-specific questionnaire. Siblings who had lost a brother or sister to cancer between the years 2000 and 2007 and also a control group of non-bereaved siblings from the general population were invited to participate. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure psychological distress, and to test for differences in the ordinal outcome responses between the groups, we used Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank-sum test.RESULTS: Among the bereaved siblings, 174/240 (73%) participated and 219/293 (75%) among the non-bereaved. Self-assessed low self-esteem (p = 0.002), difficulties falling asleep (p = 0.005), and low level of personal maturity (p = 0.007) at follow-up were more prevalent among bereaved siblings. However, anxiety (p = 0.298) and depression (p = 0.946), according to HADS, were similar.CONCLUSION: Bereaved siblings are at increased risk of low self-esteem, low level of personal maturity and difficulties falling asleep as compared with non-bereaved peers. Yet, the bereaved were not more likely to report anxiety or depression.
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| 10. |
- Eilertsen, M. E. B., et al.
(author)
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Impact of Social Support on Bereaved Siblings' Anxiety: A Nationwide Follow-Up
- 2013
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In: Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing. - : SAGE Publications. - 1043-4542 .- 1532-8457. ; 30:6, s. 301-310
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose:To assess adolescent and young adult siblings' perception of social support prior to and following the loss of their brother or sister to cancer, 2 to 9 years earlier, and their anxiety at follow-up. Method: In 2009, 174 (73%) bereaved siblings (12-25 years) participated in a nationwide, long-term follow-up study in Sweden using an anonymous study-specific questionnaire. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to measure self-assessed anxiety. Results: Siblings had a higher risk of anxiety if they perceived their need for social support was unsatisfied during their brother or sisters' last month before death, relative risk (RR) = 3.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.8-7.3); time after death, RR = 2.9 (95% CI = 1.5-5.6); and at follow-up, RR = 3.8 (95% CI = 2.0-7.2). Furthermore, a higher risk for anxiety was shown for siblings if they did not perceive that their parents and neighbors cared for them after their brother or sisters' death, RR = 2.7 (95% CI = 1.3-5.5), RR = 5.4 (95% CI = 1.3-21.9), respectively. Conclusion: Bereaved siblings had a greater probability to report self-assessed anxiety if they perceived that their need for social support was not satisfied prior to and following death. Information from both nurses and other health care professionals to families about the impact of social support may contribute to lessen the siblings' risk of anxiety.
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