Student and library services in cooperation

Abstract At Ångström Laboratory, one of the largest campuses at Uppsala University, the Library and the Student Services Office merged in November 2012. This merger is a pilot project to improve service for students and faculty. Ångström Laboratory has around 900 staff and almost 10,000 students, of whom most also spend time at other campuses. In this paper we describe the background and the implementation of the pilot project. One of the main reasons for moving together was the wish to gather together all kinds of student services, including the distribution of written examinations in one place. The central location and open environment of the Library made it a good choice. The heart of the Library and Student Services is an open office consisting of two service desks located in the library area. There are silent study areas; computers for searching and printing, an area for relaxing with newspapers and journals, meeting rooms and offices for the staff. The result is a lively place with a cosy atmosphere. As the Library and the Student Services still belong to different parts of the University we are now starting to find out how best to collaborate. To understand more we log all the questions we get and the services we deliver. We also have meetings together and use the same lunch room to get to know each other and our different functions. We will define which matters can be solved in common, and how we can back each other up when necessary.

Rapport från projektet Multimodala uppgifter och bedömning i matematik : Video och kollaborativa samtal som metod vid lärares bedömning av elevers matematiska kunskaper

This research will discuss some experiences from a four year school research study. It was conducted in cooperation with teachers from four municipalities in Dalarna. The aim of the research was to examine teachers´ professional development when they participated in collaborative discussions based on video recordings and video edited material from specific lessons in their own practice. The study had two foci one was to investigate methods and tools that teachers can use to develop their ability to assess their students while working on multimodal tasks. The other was to examine how video can be used by teachers wanting to obtain knowledge about assessing students. The study is based on several theories about when teachers collaborate to create new knowledge. The first is the design theoretical approach – where visual ethnography and a semiotic approach contribute to problematize the use and mixture of different modes. A basic assumption of the framework here is that meanings are made and communicated in mathematics through a wide range of semiotic modes. By using video as an essential tool in the research the framework theories concerning visual ethnography, video documentation and individuals as reflective practitioners were also needed. The findings can be divided into the following themes: the use of tasks for assessment, collaborative discussion, equipment, ethical dilemmas. Collaborative discussions were evaluated as a meaningful way of sharing knowledge. The use of video recordings in association with these discussions raised important ethical issues. Working with the assessment framework was of great interest to the teachers but it took a lot of time from their ordinary work. In this way the project highlighted more general aspects of school development. The research also concerns teachers´ use of collaborative discussions in assessment work, multimodal tasks in mathematics and video as a research tool in general.

Konceptet mobilitet som tjänst : Viktiga kompetenser och möjliga utmaningar vid vidareutvecklingen av MaaS i Sverige.

Transport and travel is necessary for our society to function. Today, the privately owned car stands for more than half of all personal trips in Sweden. In the last couple of years researchers have highlighted the idea that personal transport is facing a paradigm shift, which means a reduction in the use and dependent of the privately owned car and an increased focus on individuals buying their Mobility as a Service (MaaS). MaaS is described as an integrated mix of different mobility services which are arranged in the form of customized mobility packages to the customer. These mobility packages can be compared to a mobile phone subscription, which includes various mobility services, such as train, bus, subway, taxi, carpool, etc. in various amounts depending on the individual's changing needs. The individual can take care of their own travel planning, booking and payment via an app in their smartphone. What distinguish MaaS from other mobility services is that the customer can travel from door-to-door instead of a predefine station to another. There have been various Maas projects around the world in order to increase understanding of the concept of MaaS, there is still a lot of unanswered questions and researchers would like to see more studies in the field, in order to find factors that are important and vital to the concept MaaS. The aim of the thesis is to: Discuss some competences that may be significant for the further development of the concept Maas in Sweden and discuss potential challenges that may arise at further development of the concept MaaS in Sweden. This study is based on previous research and experiences and thoughts on the concept MaaS from various stakeholders with knowledge and experience of the concept. This study has an abductive approach. Primary data were obtained through qualitative semistructured interviews with eight people who have knowledge and experience of the Maas. The main conclusions in this study is that the competences that are most important in the development of MaaS is collaborative skills and competences required to create an attractive mobility package based on customer needs. One challenge identified in this study is the challenge of creating individualized mobility package in which different types of mobility services are integrated. Another challenge can arise when public and private organizations collaborate and when new organizations enter the transport network and try to cooperate with the established organizations

Juridik eller socialpedagogik? : Skolors strategier för att hantera kränkningar

Legal perspectives or Social Pedagogy? Schools strategies of handling harassments The present study explores how Swedish schools define and categorize situations when students have been exposed to different forms of abusive acts and violence at school. The empirical study is designed as case studie of two urban secondary schools situated in areas with different socioeconomic conditions. One of the schools is located in a suburb in one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in a greater city area. The other school is located in a small town municipality, where the students are relatively privileged in respect to their socio-economic backgrounds. The results indicate that different socio-economic conditions influence how professional’s describe and categorize violence and harassment and the types of strategies chosen. In the suburban school professionals talk and collaborate with the police, reporting cases of violence and harassment. In the small town school the professionals talk about the importance of collaborating with parents.