Hierarchical Clustering Using Non-Greedy Principal Direction Divisive Partitioning

We present a non-greedy version of the recently published Principal Direction Divisive Partitioning (PDDP) algorithm. The PDDP algorithm creates a hierarchical taxonomy of a data set by successively splitting the data into sub-clusters. At each level the cluster with largest variance is split by a hyper-plane orthogonal to its leading principal component. The PDDP algorithm is known to produce high quality clusters, especially when applied to high dimensional data, such as document-word feature matrices. It also scales well with both the size and the dimensionality of the data set. However, at each level only the locally optimal choice of spitting is considered. At a later stage this often leads to a non-optimal global partitioning of the data. The non-greedy version of the PDDP algorithm (NGPDDP) presented in this paper address this problem. At each level multiple alternative splitting strategies are considered. Results from applying the algorithm to generated and real data (feature vectors from sets of text documents) are presented. The results show substantial improvements in the cluster quality.     

“You Have to Know Why”: The Influence of Different Curricula on Nursing Students' Perceptions of Nursing

The need in modern healthcare for professionals who are self‐directed and autonomous has increased in recent decades. Problem‐based learning is spreading in nursing education as one strategy for meeting these demands. This article deals with the relationship between the design and execution of nursing education curricula and students' understanding of nursing. The aim of the study was to examine nursing students' perceptions of nursing, comparing a problem‐based curriculum to a conventional curriculum. Students were asked to write narratives about nursing. Forty‐three narratives were analyzed using the phenomenological hermeneutic method. Differences between the two groups were found in terms of both structure and content. Problem‐based learning students stressed more the theoretical aspects of nursing. The study shows that educational design might be of great importance to how students understand nursing. Extensive research is needed to further explore the findings, especially related to clinical practice following graduation.     

Fishing for answers: Couples living with dementia managing trouble with recollection

Dementia affects cognitive abilities in several ways, memory dysfunction being one of the most common symptoms. Not only does this have implications for the individual diagnosed with dementia, but also for the life shared with others. Spouses in couples share memories and experiences that make up an extensive common ground that constitutes the basis for their interaction. From video-recorded interviews with 12 couples in which one of the spouses is diagnosed with dementia, this study focuses on instances where the spouse with dementia is unable to recollect information that she is presupposed to know, so-called type-1 knowable. Conversation Analysis is used to analyze how the spouses in interaction manage this problem. Two conclusions are argued for: (a) different expectations of what is, or should be, in common ground may cause communicative problems and distress, and (b) spouses without dementia may use fishing techniques as a way of managing problems regarding recalling knowledge. These techniques do not necessarily enable the person with dementia to recall the information; on the contrary they may cause embarrassment for the person with dementia. By adopting a we-perspective approach to service provision, social workers can make a difference for couples and families living with dementia.     

玄参科Cochlidiosperma Reichenb.属的恢复及其孢粉学证据

  The pollen grains of Cochlidiosperma (Veronica)  hederifolia and  C.  (Veronica) cymbalaria were examined under SEM and TEM. They differ vastly from those of all the others in Veronica (sensu Elenevskij, 1977, 1978).  The taxonomic relationship be- tween the group and the other Veronica spp. is discussed with respect to both gross morphology and pollen characters.  Justification for the restoration of the genus as a valid taxon is argued and, finally, a number of new combinations are proposed.       The group under consideration was sometimes treated as a separate  genus but more often given different ranks in the genus Veronica, which has been a controversial group as to its concept and subdivision.  No detail discussion has been made before on the relationship between the group and Veronica.  Main purpose of the present mork is to examine pollen morphology and gross morphology of the group and to discussits relationship with Veronica.     

University–school collaboration based on complementary needs

This paper discusses school development as collaboration between local schools and universities based on complementary needs. I examine a 10 year case study of a long-term relationship between an elementary school and a university in a town in Sweden. The relationship is jointly constructed and mediated by local, national, and international projects. Such jointly constructed and shared projects represent innovations of both the school’s and the university’s pedagogical practices. The significant actors in the collaborative relationship have been teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, school pupils, and researchers. The collaboration, which still exists, started in 1996 and has experienced stages of varying intensity and scope conceived metaphorically as a thin string. Analysis of the case and collaborative process suggests an answer to the question: Why does this collaboration exist and what makes it sustainable? This case suggests that the collaborative projects provide solutions to problems intrinsic to the respective educational institutions.     

The role of cultural heritage in attracting skilled individuals

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role played by built heritages and cultural environments, alongside other locational factors, in explaining the growth of human capital in Sweden. We distinguish between urban, natural and cultural qualities as different sources of regional attractiveness and estimate their influence on the observed growth of individuals with at least three years of higher education during 2001–2010. Neighborhood-level data are used, and unobserved heterogeneity and spatial dependencies are modeled by employing random effects estimations and an instrumental variable approach. Our findings indicate that the local supply of built heritages and cultural environments explain a significant part of human capital growth in Sweden. Results suggest that these types of cultural heritages are important place-based resources with a potential to contribute to improved regional attractiveness and growth.     

Reliability and validity of a new double poling ergometer for cross-country skiers

Thirty-eight competitive cross-country skiers were divided into three groups to assess the reliability and validity of a new double poling ergometer. Group A (n = 22) performed two maximal 60-s tests, Group B (n = 8) repeated peak oxygen uptake tests on the double poling ergometer, and Group C (n = 8) performed a maximal 6-min test on the double poling ergometer and a double poling time-trial on snow. The correlation between the power calculated at the flywheel and the power applied at the base of the poles was r = 0.99 (P < 0.05). The power at the poles was 50-70% higher than that at the flywheel. There was a high test-retest reliability in the two 60-s power output tests (coefficient of variation = 3.0%) and no significant difference in peak oxygen uptake in the two 6-min all-out tests (coefficient of variation = 2.4%). There was a strong correlation between the absolute (W) and relative power (W x kg(-1)) output in the 6-min double poling ergometer test and the double poling performance on snow (r = 0.86 and 0.89 respectively; both P < 0.05). In conclusion, our results show that the double poling ergometer has both high reliability and validity. However, the power calculated at the flywheel underestimated the total power produced and needs to be corrected for in ergonomic estimations.     

An Ethics of (not) Showing: Citizen Witnessing,Journalism and Visualizations of a Terror Attack

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how news organizations visualize crises in a digital media ecology shaped by citizen witnessing and widespread image circulation on social media. Empirically, the paper draws on the events of 7 April 2017 in Stockholm when a hijacked truck plowed into crowds, killing five and injuring several others. The study is informed by theoretical perspectives and research on citizen photojournalism and witnessing, and examines the function of visual citizen contributions, degrees of explicitness in visual coverage and the impact of proximity on visualizations of crises. Qualitative analyses of visual content and text in digital and print editions of four Swedish newspapers showed both enhancing and featured positioning of visual eyewitness contributions from the public, few examples of explicit imagery, and journalistic commentary foregrounding ethical dimensions of showing and seeing. Based on the findings, the author considers journalism’s civic response as a strategy for staking a claim to credibility and ethics at a moment when the journalistic gatekeeping position is called into question.     

From lesson plan to new comprehension: exploring student teachers’ pedagogical reasoning in learning about teaching

The research reported in this paper is based on an exploration of the ways in which student teachers learn about the issues and concerns that shape their own professional learning. Shulman’s process of pedagogical reasoning and action was used as a conceptual framework to systematically elucidate different critical incidents that student teachers experienced and to then apply it as an analytic framework for developing deeper understandings of the complex task of learning to teach primary science. Primary science student teacher participants (n = 22) were stimulated to reflect upon critical incidents in order to facilitate identifying their teaching concerns and teaching needs. The results indicate that by helping student teachers to focus on critical incidents in their learning to teach, they come to question their practice more deeply and, through such reflection, gain new insights into teaching as being problematic.