Dagbok hållen under en Resa genom Asiastiska Turkiet till Persien, och vidare tillbaka till Frankrike åren 1807 och 1808. Ofversättning.

Mode of access: Internet.

Enhanced renewable energy adoption for sustainable development in India:interpretive structural modeling approach

Poverty alleviation and social upliftment of rural India is closely linked with the availability and use of energy for development. At the same time, sustainable supply of clean and affordable renewable energy sources is required if development is to be sustainable, so that it does not cause any environmental problems. The purpose of this paper is to determine the key variables of renewable energy implementation for sustainable development, on which the top management should focus. In this paper, an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) - based approach has been employed to model the implementation variables of renewable energy for sustainable development. These variables have been categorized under ‘enablers’ that help to increase the implementation of renewable energy for sustainable development. A major finding of this research is that public awareness regarding renewable energy for sustainable development is a very significant enabler. In this paper, an interpretation of variables of renewable energy for sustainable development in terms of their driving and dependence powers has been examined. For better results, top management should focus on improving the high-driving power enablers such as leadership, strategic planning, public awareness, top management support, availability of finance, government support, and support from interest groups.

Fuel supplier selection for large scale UK bioenergy schemes

This article presents a potential method to assist developers of future bioenergy schemes when selecting from available suppliers of biomass materials. The method aims to allow tacit requirements made on biomass suppliers to be considered at the design stage of new developments. The method used is a combination of the Analytical Hierarchy Process and the Quality Function Deployment methods (AHP-QFD). The output of the method is a ranking and relative weighting of the available suppliers which could be used to improve optimization algorithms such as linear and goal programming. The paper is at a conceptual stage and no results have been obtained. The aim is to use the AHP-QFD method to bridge the gap between treatment of explicit and tacit requirements of bioenergy schemes; allowing decision makers to identify the most successful supply strategy available.

Bioenergy decision support systems:worth the effort?

The purpose of this research is to explore the disparity between the existing model-orientated bioenergy decision support system (DSS) functions and what is desired by practitioners, in particular bioenergy project developers. This research has compiled the published bioenergy project development models, to highlight the characteristics emphasised by academics. When contrasted against a UK practitioner’s perspective through the administration of a Likert style questionnaire, it is clear that the general DSS issues still persist. Finally, the research suggests how this ’theory-practice’ divide could be addressed. The research contribute

Citizenship formation for a new millennium in Sweden : a prognosis of our time

The aim of this article is to forecast the present situation of citizenship formation in the field of Swedish education. In highlighting trends and tendencies in the educational assignment to provide for democratic citizenship in the first decade of the 21st century, which can be characterised as lacking collective visions for change, three depictions of citizenship are prevailing: citizenship formation for deliberation, for entrepreneurship and for therapeutic intervention. These depictions are analysed in terms of the direction for action taking and attention that they stress and produce as concerns citizenship in the making. The first one, citizenship formation for deliberation, stresses an inward-looking and inward-feeling citizenship. The second one, citizenship formation for entrepreneurship, stresses an inward-looking and outward-making citizenship, and the third one, citizenship formation for therapeutic intervention, stresses an inward-looking and outward-making citizenship. Taking on this forecast, which actualises democracy as something that is already achieved as a consequence of an assumedly post political situation, we argue that citizenship as well as society itself risks being pictured as apolitical and democratically “saturated.” This situation is hazardous, we argue, as it does not open up for change to come into question as desirable or even possible. Put differently, it leaves us with the notion that things have to be as they are, as we are living in the best of worlds. 

Medborgarskapande för ett nytt millennium : utbildning och medborgarfostran i 2000-talets Sverige.

Citizenship in the making for a new millenium – education and citizen formation in 21st century Sweden. The aim of this article is to analyse citizenship formation in Swedish education. In highlighting trends regarding the assignment of the educational system to provide for democratic citizenship there are certain depictions of citizenship prevail- ing. The first stresses an inward-looking and inward-feeling citizenship, characterizing the citizen as deliberative and emotional. The second stresses an inward-looking and outward-making citizenship, characterizing the citizen as entrepreneurial and willing. Here, democracy is portrayed as already achieved. This, we argue, is hazardous as society risk being pictured as apolitical and democratically ‘saturated’. This situation does not open up for democratic change to come into question as desirable or even possible. Put differently, it leaves us with the notion that things have to be as they are, as we are living in the best of worlds.

Från nationsbyggare till global marknadsnomad : Om medborgarskap i svensk utbildningspolitik under 1990-talet

I den här avhandlingen är intresset riktat mot svensk utbildningspolitik och medborgarskap. I tider av globalisering, och med ett etablerat svenskt medlemskap i Europeiska unionen, har det nationella policyskapandet kring utbildningens medborgardanande funktion hamnat under ökat tryck. I studien undersöks hur detta hanteras i svensk utbildningspolitik under 1990-talet, en tid som utmärker sig genom betydande förändringar på utbildningsområdet i Sverige. Frågan är, mera precist, vilken riktning för skolans, enligt lag befästa, uppdrag att fostra demokratiska medborgare som utstakas i svensk utbildningspolitik vid denna tid. Genom att fästa vikt vid mål, visioner och motiv som formuleras i utbildningspolitiska 1990-talstexter klarläggs förståelser av medborgarskap som karaktäriserar svensk utbildningspolitik under denna tid. Även en bredare historisk analys görs, ur vilken historiska målsättningar med skolans medborgarfostran som föregår 1990-talets framträder. Studiens syfte är kritiskt. Förståelserna granskas utifrån vad de innesluter och vad de utesluter, vilka möjliga konsekvenser de kan tänkas få för olika individer och grupper i samhället, och om det finns öppningar för tänkbara alternativ. Studien visar på två historiska skiften vad gäller medborgarskapets innehåll och mening i det inhemska policyskapandet. Det första skiftet äger rum under 1990-talets tidiga del. Då bryts en etablerad samhällsbyggande medborgarroll upp, till förmån för andra mera marknadsorienterade medborgarroller. Under 1990-talets senare del, då marknadsorienteringen förstärks i neoliberal riktning, sker ett andra skifte; en historiskt vedertagen gemenskapstanke – nationen – bryts upp som grund för medborgerlig gemenskap. Denna tanke ersätts av en annan som är globaliseringsinriktad, vilken visar sig ha andra inne- och uteslutande mekanismer för olika individer och samhällsgrupper. Utifrån dessa forskningsrön tecknas avslutningsvis några konturer till ett alternativt sätt att tänka kring medborgarskap och gemenskap. Detta alternativ tar form i ambitionen att, i högre grad än vad som blir synligt i svensk utbildningspolitik, resonera kring möjligheter för ett medborgarskap bortom förhandstecknade indelningsgrunder för ett “vi”. Språk som politisk och samhällelig förändringskraft ges en central betydelse i avhandlingen. I analysen av texternas tal om skolans medborgarfostrande roll undersöks pågående politiska motsättningar när det gäller att vinna tal- och tolkningsföreträde till skolans fostransmål. Utgångarna av dessa motsättningar belyses genom tre områden för medborgarfostran som urskilts som centrala; ett politiskt, ett kulturellt samt ett ekonomi- och arbetslivsriktat. Genom dessa har rådande medborgarskapsdiskurser tagit form, ur vilka de utbildningspolitiska förståelserna av medborgarskap gestaltas och diskuteras.

Student's second-language grade may depend on classroom listening position

The purpose of this experiment was to explore whether listening positions (close or distant location from the sound source) in the classroom, and classroom reverberation, influence students' score on a test for second-language (L2) listening comprehension (i.e., comprehension of English in Swedish speaking participants). The listening comprehension test administered was part of a standardized national test of English used in the Swedish school system. A total of 125 high school pupils, 15 years old, participated. Listening position was manipulated within subjects, classroom reverberation between subjects. The results showed that L2 listening comprehension decreased as distance from the sound source increased. The effect of reverberation was qualified by the participants' baseline L2 proficiency. A shorter reverberation was beneficial to participants with high L2 proficiency, while the opposite pattern was found among the participants with low L2 proficiency. The results indicate that listening comprehension scores-and hence students' grade in English-may depend on students' classroom listening position.

Is "football for all" safe for all? : Cross-Sectional Study of Disparities as Determinants of 1-Year Injury Prevalence in Youth Football Programs

Football (soccer) is endorsed as a health-promoting physical activity worldwide. When football programs are introduced as part of general health promotion programs, equal access and limitation of pre-participation disparities with regard to injury risk are important. The aim of this study was to explore if disparity with regard to parents' educational level, player body mass index (BMI), and self-reported health are determinants of football injury in community-based football programs, separately or in interaction with age or gender. Methodology/Principal Findings Four community football clubs with 1230 youth players agreed to participate in the cross-sectional study during the 2006 season. The study constructs (parents' educational level, player BMI, and self-reported health) were operationalized into questionnaire items. The 1-year prevalence of football injury was defined as the primary outcome measure. Data were collected via a postal survey and analyzed using a series of hierarchical statistical computations investigating associations with the primary outcome measure and interactions between the study variables. The survey was returned by 827 (67.2%) youth players. The 1-year injury prevalence increased with age. For youths with parents with higher formal education, boys reported more injuries and girls reported fewer injuries than expected; for youths with lower educated parents there was a tendency towards the opposite pattern. Youths reporting injuries had higher standardized BMI compared with youths not reporting injuries. Children not reporting full health were slightly overrepresented among those reporting injuries and underrepresented for those reporting no injury. Conclusion Pre-participation disparities in terms of parents' educational level, through interaction with gender, BMI, and self-reported general health are associated with increased injury risk in community-based youth football. When introduced as a general health promotion, football associations should adjust community-based youth programs to accommodate children and adolescents with increased pre-participation injury risk.

Empowering single mothers in Iran : Applying a problem-solving model in learning groups to develop participants' capacities to improve their lives

Since 2000, a problem-solving model has been taught to the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child, and teachers and  students of social work in two universities in Iran. Since 2006, with the initiation of UNICEF, social workers, psychologists  and even some psychiatrists in Iran have been learning this model. In 2008, a group of researchers created an empowerment-oriented  psycho-social group and private intervention project to assess whether a group of Iranian single mothers could use this model, which was traditionally used by professionals only, to effectively and independently meet challenges in their own lives. Our results show that all women used the model effectively and, consequently, made more deliberate decisions to improve their life situations. Some of the women succeeded in finding a job and many improved their family relationships. This study suggests that empowerment-oriented social work can help many clients to achieve their goals, and that this psycho-social intervention project can be a useful model for social work in Iran and many other societies.

What is best for Esther? Building improvement coaching capacity with and for users in health and social Care-A case study

While coaching and customer involvement can enhance the improvement of health and social care, many organizations struggle to develop their improvement capability; it is unclear how best to accomplish this. We examined one attempt at training improvement coaches. The program, set in the Esther Network for integrated care in rural Jonkoping County, Sweden, included eight 1-day sessions spanning 7 months in 2011. A senior citizen joined the faculty in all training sessions. Aiming to discern which elements in the program were essential for assuming the role of improvement coach, we used a case-study design with a qualitative approach. Our focus group interviews included 17 informants: 11 coaches, 3 faculty members, and 3 senior citizens. We performed manifest content analysis of the interview data. Creating will, ideas, execution, and sustainability emerged as crucial elements. These elements were promoted by customer focusembodied by the senior citizen trainershared values and a solution-focused approach, by the supportive coach network and by participants' expanded systems understanding. These elements emerged as more important than specific improvement tools and are worth considering also elsewhere when seeking to develop improvement capability in health and social care organizations.

The strategic role of design in supporting knowledge exchange

Within the last decade design has had a strategic role in tackling escalating environmental, social and economic problems. Through design thinking, creative methods have been applied to problem solving in a process of collaboration and designers working in new territories and knowledge domains. As the designer has moved further afield the method of Knowledge Exchange (KE) has become more recognised as a democratic approach to collaboration with the ethos that everyone has something creative and productive to offer. This paper provides reflections on early stage findings from a strategic design innovation process in which collaborative partnerships between academics, SMEs and designers emerged through KE and suggests that there is value to be had from using design strategically for not only those from a business or academic background but also for those from the design community and points to a need for more training for designers from all disciplines in how to use design strategically

Oral Administration of Lactobacillus reuteri during the First Year of Life Reduces Caries Prevalence in the Primary Dentition at 9 Years of Age

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on oral health, at age 9 years, of daily oral supplementation with the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri, strain ATCC 55730, to mothers during the last month of gestation and to children through the first year of life. The study was a single-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial involving 113 children: 60 in the probiotic and 53 in the placebo group. The subjects underwent clinical and radiographic examination of the primary dentition and carious lesions, plaque and gingivitis were recorded. Saliva and plaque were sampled for determination of mutans streptococci (MS) and lactobacilli (LB) in saliva and plaque as well as salivary secretory IgA (SIgA). Forty-nine (82%) children in the probiotic group and 31 (58%) in the placebo group were caries-free (p < 0.01). The prevalence of approximal caries lesions was lower in the probiotic group (0.67 ± 1.61 vs. 1.53 ± 2.64; p < 0.05) and there were fewer sites with gingivitis compared to the placebo group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to frequency of toothbrushing, plaque and dietary habits, but to intake of fluoride supplements (p < 0.05). There were no intergroup differences with respect to L. reuteri, MS, LB or SIgA in saliva. Within the limitation of this study it seems that daily supplementation with L. reuteri from birth and during the first year of life is associated with reduced caries prevalence and gingivitis score in the primary dentition at 9 years of age.

What Are Effective Program Characteristics of Self-Management Interventions in Patients With Heart Failure? : An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis

Background To identify those characteristics of self-management interventions in patients with heart failure (HF) that are effective in influencing health-related quality of life, mortality, and hospitalizations. Methods and Results Randomized trials on self-management interventions conducted between January 1985 and June 2013 were identified and individual patient data were requested for meta-analysis. Generalized mixed effects models and Cox proportional hazard models including frailty terms were used to assess the relation between characteristics of interventions and health-related outcomes. Twenty randomized trials (5624 patients) were included. Longer intervention duration reduced mortality risk (hazard ratio 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.97–0.999 per month increase in duration), risk of HF-related hospitalization (hazard ratio 0.98, 95% CI 0.96–0.99), and HF-related hospitalization at 6 months (risk ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.92–0.995). Although results were not consistent across outcomes, interventions comprising standardized training of interventionists, peer contact, log keeping, or goal-setting skills appeared less effective than interventions without these characteristics. Conclusion No specific program characteristics were consistently associated with better effects of self-management interventions, but longer duration seemed to improve the effect of self-management interventions on several outcomes. Future research using factorial trial designs and process evaluations is needed to understand the working mechanism of specific program characteristics of self-management interventions in HF patients.