Performance agreements for clearer institutional profiles and better division of labour

Tertiary Education and Management - Performance agreements in higher education are seen as a promising steering tool in many countries, including Norway. The aims of the performance agreements in...     

Differential time responses in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers after a marathon: An observational study

ABSTRACT

Acute and adaptive changes in systemic markers of oxidatively generated nucleic acid modifications (i.e., 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2?-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine (8-oxoGuo)) as well as inflammatory cytokines (i.e., C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and tumour necrosis factor alpha), a liver hormone (i.e., fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21)), and bone metabolism markers (sclerostin, osteocalcin, C-terminal telopeptide, and N-terminal propeptide of type 1 procollagen) were investigated following a marathon in 20 study participants. Immediate changes were observed in inflammatory cytokines, FGF21, and bone metabolism markers following the marathon. In contrast, no immediate changes in urinary excretion of 8-oxodG and 8-oxoGuo were evident. Four days after the marathon, decreased urinary excretion of 8-oxodG (-2.9 (95% CI -4.8;-1.1) nmol/24 h, P < 0.01) and 8-oxoGuo (-5.8 (95% CI -10.3;-1.3) nmol/24 h, P = 0.02) was observed. The excretion rate of 8-oxodG remained decreased 7 days after the marathon compared to baseline (-2.3 (95%CI -4.3;-0.4) nmol/24 h, P = 0.02), whereas the excretion rate of 8-oxoGuo was normalized. In conclusion marathon participation immediately induced a considerable inflammatory response, but did not increase excretion rates of oxidatively generated nucleic acid modifications. In fact, a delayed decrease in oxidatively generated nucleic acid modifications was observed suggesting adaptive antioxidative effects following exercise.     

Navigating Worlds of “Trouble and Woe and Worse” in Children’s Literature: An Exploration into the Double Text of Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak’s Brundibar

In this article, the author explores the richly layered double text of Kushner and Sendak’s picturebook, Brundibar (2003)—the historical context of Brundibár as a Holocaust-era children’s operetta by Hans Krása and Adolf Hoffmeister, and the present day manifestation of Brundibar as a children’s picturebook. In order to contextualize the discussion of Kushner and Sendak’s text, Brundibar’s historical origins in Nazi-annexed Czechoslovakia and its transition to the stage in the Nazi “model” concentration camp, Terezín, is presented. An extensive semiotic analysis of Kushner and Sendak’s illustrations and text is also provided within the framework of what Kushner (The art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the present, 2003) terms “a world of trouble and woe and worse” (p. 210). Furthermore, the author discusses the development of Sendak’s Hitlerian Brundibar and the struggles that both Kushner and Sendak faced as they considered how to portray the story’s antagonist, given their somewhat differing conceptions of which difficult themes and topics children should be exposed to during childhood. To round out this discussion, the author explores pedagogical implications for teachers as they read difficult texts, particularly Holocaust texts, with children.     

Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities

This paper presents six principles designed to prevent writing difficulties as well as to build writing skills: (a) providing effective writing instruction, (b) tailoring instruction to meet the individual needs, (c) intervening early, (d) expecting that each child will learn to write, (e) identifying and addressing roadblocks to writing, and (f) employing technologies. Many students with LD experience difficulties mastering the process of writing. We examine how schools can help these children become skilled writers. Six principles designed to prevent as well as alleviate writing difficulties are presented. These include providing effective writing instruction, tailoring writing instruction to meet each child’s needs, intervening early to provide additional assistance, expecting that each child will learn to write, identifying and addressing academic and nonacademic roadblocks to writing, and deploying technological tools that improve writing performance. The mn was sneB[translation:“The man was scared.”[ I think theu shold no how to speek differint langwges. If theu go to like dutch countri sombodie might ask them something theu cold have two kinds of langage     

Academic achievement among first semester undergraduate psychology students: the role of course experience, effort, motives and learning strategies

This study investigated the relationship between multiple predictors of academic achievement, including course experience, students’ approaches to learning (SAL), effort (amount of time spent on studying) and prior academic performance (high school grade point average—HSGPA) among 442 first semester undergraduate psychology students. Correlation analysis showed that all of these factors were related to first semester examination grade in psychology. Profile analyses showed significant mean level differences between subgroups of students. A structural equation model showed that surface and strategic approaches to learning were mediators between course experience and exam performance. This model also showed that SAL, effort and HSGPA were independent predictors of exam performance, also when controlling for the effect of the other predictors. Hence, academic performance is both indirectly affected by the learning context as experienced by the students and directly affected by the students’ effort, prior performance and approaches to learning.     

Performance models of undergraduate students on computer-assisted instruction in elementary logic

Performance data were collected for students taking the computer-assisted instruction course in logic at Stanford University. The fit of the data to the Suppes, Zanotti, and Fletcher trajectory model was found to be good, though a systematic deviation from the model suggested some changes in the curriculum. A quantitative approach was used to pinpoint areas for curriculum revision. In addition, the model was evaluated for use as the basis of a predictive control mechanism.This research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. NSF-SED74-15016. The authors wish to thank Mario Zanotti for several discussions of the original model, and Lauri Kanerva for the use of his program for exponential regression analysis.