Assessment of subcutaneous adipose tissue using ultrasound in highly trained junior rowers

Introduction: There is a large variety of body fat (BF) measurements, which differ in validity and reliability. The aim of this study was to measure subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) using ultrasound (US) in highly trained junior rowers in a field setting, establish fat patterning profiles, and compare the profiles between male and female athletes. Skinfold thickness (SKF) measurements were also taken and compared to US measurements. Methods: Sixteen athletes participated. US measurements were taken at eight sites and reported as a sum of SAT (D): D_Excl (without embedded structures) and D_Incl (including embedded structures). SKF was measured at three sites and reported as a sum of adipose tissue thickness (SUM_SKF). Results: Mean SAT thickness (D_Incl) was 27.6?±?12.4?mm for males and 65.5?±?11.8?mm for females. Females had significantly more embedded structures than males (P?=?.016). Significant correlations were found (P?<?.001, r?=?0.92) comparing SUM_SKF to D_Incl and between SKF and US measurements at the thigh site (P?<?.001, r?=?0.86). Conclusion: US is a suitable tool to measure BF in the field testing of athletes and enables measurements of SAT with an accuracy and reliability not reached before. The sum of thicknesses (D_Incl or D_Excl) can be used to represent subcutaneous fat based on accurate measurements of uncompressed SAT thicknesses.     

U 68 — A reform proposal for Swedish higher education

The Swedish 1968 Educational Commission (U 68) completed its main report in 1973. The Commission recommends a very wide definition of the concept of higher education so as to include any qualified education or training for adults, whether academic or vocational in nature. Higher education should be seen in the context of an overall educational planning, with the aim of distributing educational resources to meet the needs of every citizen. As a consequence, U 68 proposes a numerus clausus for higher education as a whole. The geographic distribution of higher education is also being stressed, and the creation of one comprehensive institutional organisation for the main part of all higher education is proposed.The proposals of the commission should be seen in the perspective of recurrent education. The author points to the possible, development of a new educational structure, the main feature of which is the division into compulsory and post-compulsory education.Formerly Secretary of the 1968 Educational Commission.     

Neurodevelopmental Effects of Early Deprivation in Postinstitutionalized Children

The neurodevelopmental sequelae of early deprivation were examined by testing ( N  =   132) 8- and 9-year-old children who had endured prolonged versus brief institutionalized rearing or rearing in the natal family. Behavioral tasks included measures that permit inferences about underlying neural circuitry. Children raised in institutionalized settings showed neuropsychological deficits on tests of visual memory and attention, as well as visually mediated learning and inhibitory control. Yet, these children performed at developmentally appropriate levels on similar tests where auditory processing was also involved and on tests assessing executive processes such as rule acquisition and planning. These findings suggest that specific aspects of brain-behavioral circuitry may be particularly vulnerable to postnatal experience.     

I. CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE: DELAYED DEVELOPMENT AND RESILIENCE

Children exposed to institutional care often suffer from “structural neglect” which may include minimum physical resources, unfavorable and unstable staffing patterns, and socially emotionally inadequate caregiver‐child interactions. This chapter is devoted to the analysis of the ill effects of early institutional experiences on resident children's development. Delays in the important areas of physical, hormonal, cognitive, and emotional development are discussed. The evidence for and against the existence of a distinctive set of co‐occurring developmental problems in institutionalized children is weighed and found to not yet convincingly demonstrate a “postinstitutional syndrome.” Finally, shared and nonshared features of the institutional environment and specific genetic, temperamental, and physical characteristics of the individual child are examined that might make a crucial difference in whether early institutional rearing leaves irreversible scars.     

Swedish technology teachers’ attitudes to their subject and its teaching

Background: From previous research among science teachers it is known that teachers’ attitudes to their subjects affect important aspects of their teaching, including their confidence and the amount of time they spend teaching the subject. In contrast, less is known about technology teachers’ attitudes.

Purpose: Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate Swedish technology teachers’ attitudes toward their subject, and how these attitudes may be related to background variables.

Sample: Technology teachers in Swedish compulsory schools (n = 1153) responded to a questionnaire about teachers’ attitudes, experiences, and background.

Methods: Exploratory factor analysis was used to inwvestigate attitude dimensions of the questionnaire. Groupings of teachers based on attitudes were identified through cluster analysis, and multinomial logistic regression was performed to investigate the role of teachers’ background variables as predictors for cluster belonging.

Results: Four attitudinal dimensions were identified in the questionnaire, corresponding to distinct components of attitudes. Three teacher clusters were identified among the respondents characterized by positive, negative, and mixed attitudes toward the subject of technology and its teaching, respectively. The most influential predictors of cluster membership were to be qualified for teaching technology, having participated in in-service-training, teaching at a school with a proper overall teaching plan for the subject of technology and teaching at a school with a defined number of teaching hours for the subject.

Conclusions: The results suggest that efforts to increase technology teachers’ qualifications and establishing a fixed number of teaching hours and an overall teaching plan for the subject of technology may yield more positive attitudes among teachers toward technology teaching. In turn, this could improve the status of the subject as well as students’ learning.     

Standardization of Work: Co-constructed Practice

There is strong pressure to achieve greater uniformity, standardization and application of best practices in the service professions, a sector that is growing in presence and importance. At the same time, there is a conflicting demand for the delivery of high-quality (or high-priced or “knowledge-intensive”) specialized or localized services. Our article analyzes information systems-enabled standardizing of service work through an in-depth interpretative study of an ongoing standardization initiative within the field of nursing. Nursing provides a graphic illustration of the dilemmas involved in the standardization of service work. In nursing, standardization is commonly a feature of projects to improve both efficiency and quality in health care. In contrast to the dominant conception of standardization as a largely top-down, imposed process, we offer a view of standardization as incomplete, co-constructed with users, and with significant unintended consequences. The article contributes by (a) developing a theoretical perspective for the standardization of information-system-embedded service work and (2) providing operational and practical implications for system design and health care management.