The Sassenach

Although researchers have studied the effectiveness of single-sex education (SSE), the findings have been mixed. This exploratory study reports the perceived goals and effectiveness of single-sex education based on interviews with a small group of educators involved with SSE in various ways. Research participants included a school principal and two teachers from the same elementary school, and two university professors. The interview data regarding single-sex education for girls and boys are categorized according to the following areas: reasons for using single-sex settings, strengths and weaknesses of single-sex schooling, suggestions for successful SSE implementation, and future directions of and suggested research for single-sex education. The study participants offer experience-based ideas that both resonate with and expand on current literature.     

The Significance of Education for Establishment in the Care Sector: Women and Men and Care Workers with a Migrant Background

In this article, we have followed women and men with a Swedish or an immigrant background that have completed the Upper Secondary Health Care Program. In which occupations do they work? Who employs them? Which target groups do they serve? Official statistics and survey data were used. The interaction between occupational structure and educational experiments was in focus. Gendered and cultural segregation and concentration within and between occupational groups were analysed in relation to defined target groups and employer. We found that official statistics were not sensitive enough to capture the latent structure, while the survey uncovered signs of concentration and segregation of the care workers to certain occupations or target groups. Traditional career patterns were strengthened. Elderly care attracted women while mental care attracted men. We also found some unexpected paths among immigrant workers who chose more autonomous niches.     

Why unreal punishments in response to unreal crimes might actually be a really good thing

In this article I explore ways to argue about punishment of personal representations in virtual reality. I will defend the idea that such punishing might sometimes be morally required. I offer four different lines of argument: one consequentialistic, one appealing to an idea of appropriateness, one using the notion of organic wholes, and one starting from a supposed inability to determine the limits of the extension of the moral agent. I conclude that all four approaches could, in some cases, justify punishing a virtual reality representation; an avatar. As a consequence of my conclusion, I suggest that our institutionalized criminal justice system must be broadened in scope and punitive measures, in order to cover the new and difficult cases arising in virtual reality.     

Becoming an Ironman triathlete. Extreme exercise,gender equality and the family puzzle

Departing from a qualitative research approach, this article focuses on Swedish amateur Ironman triathletes and their family life. The purpose of the paper is to investigate how an elite amateur lifestyle is upheld and balanced with the demands of a sustainable family and social life. The results indicate that the process of becoming and staying an Ironman creates tensions in intimate relationships, making it hard to bring the family life puzzle together. Although the participants interviewed often talk about family life in terms of sharing things fairly equally, in terms of gender equity and involved parenthood, this seemingly is not always an easy ideal to fulfil in practice. On a broader cultural level, these findings can thus be contextualized in relation to discourses associated with the gendering of families and functions, and, of course, the gender of sport and performance.     

Trajectories in teacher education: Recognising prior learning in practice

This article analyses the trajectories into teacher education of a group of child minders who are studying to become pre-school teachers. The specific focus is what impact their prior experiences and learning from pre-school have on their trajectories, and how these experiences and learning are recognised in the first year of teacher education. A situated learning perspective is applied, with a focus on participation and trajectories in the two communities of practice in which teacher education is situated – the university and the pre-school. The data consist of transcribed interviews with ten student teachers, and additional data are gathered from stakeholders in the program. The results show that prior experiences and learning are given implicit and indirect recognition. In the practice of the pre-school, the trajectory means a shift in identity, from child minder to student teacher and pre-school teacher. In the practice of the university, prior experiences and learning help students in their trajectories from peripheral to fuller participation.     

Preparing early childhood preservice teachers for science teaching: aligning across a teacher preparation program

In early childhood education and early childhood teacher preparation, science is often a challenging academic content area. However, young children are primed for science learning, and early science learning is important for later science achievement. The current study presents an embedded case study of one early childhood teacher preparation program that undertook a process of infusing and aligning science teaching preparation across a curriculum preparing preservice teachers to work with children ranging in age from birth through third grade. Major themes fell into the three categories—motivation for change; the process of improving and aligning across a program; and science attitudes, beliefs, and experiences in the midst of change. Implications are discussed in terms of improving preparation for teaching early science and aligning across courses in early childhood teacher preparation.     

Dorsomedial Prefrontal Activity to Sadness Predicts Later Emotion Suppression and Depression Severity in Adolescent Girls

The present study used cross‐lagged panel analyses to test longitudinal associations among emotion regulation, prefrontal cortex (PFC) function, and depression severity in adolescent girls. The ventromedial and dorsomedial PFC (vmPFC and dmPFC) were regions of interest given their roles in depression pathophysiology, self‐referential processing, and emotion regulation. At ages 16 and 17, seventy‐eight girls completed a neuroimaging scan to assess changes in vmPFC and dmPFC activation to sad faces, and measures of depressive symptom severity and emotion regulation. The 1‐year cross‐lagged effects of dmPFC activity at age 16 on expressive suppression at age 17 and depressive symptomatology at age 17 were significant, demonstrating a predictive relation between dmPFC activity and both suppression and depressive severity.     

Associations of accelerometer-determined physical activity and sedentary behavior with sarcopenia and incident falls over 12 months in community-dwelling Swedish older adults

PurposeThis study was aimed to determine associations of accelerometer-determined time and bouts of sedentary behavior, light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) with sarcopenia and incident falls over 12 months.MethodsA total of 3334 Swedish 70-year-olds were assessed for sarcopenia, as defined by the revised definition of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Assessments were based on low scores for appendicular lean mass (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), hand grip strength, and the Timed Up and Go test. For 7 days after baseline, total time and total number of bouts (≥10 min of continuous activity at a given intensity) of activity performed at sedentary, LPA, and MVPA intensities were assessed by accelerometer. Incident falls were self-reported 6 months and 12 months after baseline.ResultsOnly 1.8% of participants had probable or confirmed sarcopenia. After multivariable adjustment for other levels of activity, only greater MVPA time was associated with a decreased likelihood of having low appendicular lean mass, low hand grip strength, and slow Timed Up and Go time as defined by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People criteria (all p < 0.05), and only MVPA time was associated with lower likelihood of probable or confirmed sarcopenia (odds ratio = 0.80, 95% confidence interval: 0.71–0.91 h/week). Similar associations were identified for total number of bouts, with no evidence of threshold effects for longer duration of bouts of MVPA. A total of 14% of participants reported ≥1 fall, but neither total time nor bouts of activity was associated with incident falls (all p > 0.05).ConclusionHigher amounts of accelerometer-determined MVPA are consistently associated with a decreased likelihood of sarcopenia and its components, regardless of the length of bouts or amounts of sedentary behavior.     

Intervening with care – varying outcomes of a training and development programme in elderly care in Sweden

Awareness of the mechanisms underlying training and development (T&D) programmes is crucial in creating sustainable learning conditions in organisations. The organisational and psychosocial aspects of the work environment in Swedish elderly care is the focus of this longitudinal study, and the relation between process and results of a T&D programme is investigated. A mixed-methods design enabled exploration of the content of the quality improvement efforts, followed by an examination of how aspects of the work environment are influenced. The perceived learning climate, workload and resource adequacy are shown to be influenced differently by different contents. Insights into the complexity surrounding T&D programmes are then offered. It is concluded that even if a seemingly sound method of quality improvement is implemented, this is not enough to guarantee success. Also, it is apparent that changes may sometimes be at the expense of employees’ work environment, which may hamper continuous learning.