Educational pathways of minority youth in Norway: intersections of gender, ethnicity and social class

Educational aspirations during lower secondary school and choice of upper secondary education are important for young people’s future trajectories into higher education and labour market positions. In line with ideas about reflexive, autonomous individuals (Giddens, 1991), choice of education is often represented as a young person’ individual decision, and educational guidance as aimed at discovering what ‘fits’ an individual’s personality, interests and abilities. Educational aspirations and choices are also social patterns that are reproduced. Some population categories represent exceptions from expected patterns of social reproduction of educational level and professions. In several countries, one such category is young people from families with migration experiences (Lauglo, 2000; Modood, 2004). In Norway, students have a legal right to non-compulsory upper secondary schooling and 96 percent of the students continue from lower to upper secondary school. In spite of positive developments regarding minority youths’ completion of upper secondary and higher education in later years, studies still persistently show lower educational attainment among minority youth, particularly among boys (Fekjaer, 2006). However, in lower secondary school, minor ity youth tend to have markedly higher educational aspirations and stronger learning motivation than their majority peers, as well as greater effort in school and strong adherence to school values (Lauglo, 2000) despite lower educational attainment or lower socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, gender differences in educational aspirations seem to be smaller among minority youth. The principal objective of the study in progress that will be presented in this paper, is to describe how processes relating to gendered, ethnic and class-based identities influence young people’s educational choices. The study is undertaken as a PhD project in social anthropology. The methodological approach is ethnographic longitudinal fieldwork in two multicultural lower secondary schools in Oslo. The study is part of a larger project that also include quantitative analyses of longitudinal data covering 9th graders in Oslo 2006 through four data collections during lower and upper secondary school.

Higher education as formation of the self and citizenship: an ethnography of the University Students from Amman, Jordan

My interest in higher education and citizenship in the Middle East at large and in Jordan in particular is fostered by some of the reflections Eickelman proposed (1992). Being a quite recent phenomenon, intimately linked with the more general topic of state formation it seemed to me more suitable to study it in a little country with a recent history (a field study left almost unexplored until now as far as Jordan is concerned, to the best of my knowledge, since Antoun 1994 focuses on the migration as a quest for higher education). The process of state formation in Jordan is quite studied. I thus intended to study the higher education policies as an attempt both to create a national citizenry and more recently as a way of controlling the more problematic part of the population (youth, which constitutes more than the double of the population. See UNDP and Ministry of Planning 2000). How do the young students enter the university system, and in which way does this system work? How is this system designed, in order to retain social control of the students (since they are usually perceived to be a factor of social and political instability, as in Iran or in Egypt)? Is there any significant difference between different faculties? And if so, why? My conclusions at this stage are that the university system is an integral part of the survival of the regime. The system works quite well, and Jordan has one of the best educational position in the region. Yet there are important distinctions to be made: the access to the better faculties is socially selective while the less valued faculties are left to the poorer and less wealthy youth. This results in a different treatment of the students and of the courses that I analysed. In the better faculties the teaching standards are quite high, and the relationship between professors and students is almost on a same-level base, while in the less privileged faculties the opposite is true. Thus we can observe a concrete politics of divide et impera intended to split the youth in two. For the more privileged there are some freedoms, both within and outside classes, designed I guess at forging them as autonomous individuals. On the opposite the less privileged are kept under tight control, even if also these students are a privileged category among youth at large.

Pandemic Influenza Background (PDF 99 KB)

The Presence of highly pathogenicH5N1 avian influenza has been confirmed in birds in Turkey, Romania, Russia and Kazakhstan. There have been a total of 4 confirmed cases of human infection in Eastern/South Eastern Turkey that has resulted in 2 deaths. Background Avian influenza naturally circulates in wild waterfowl such as ducks and geese often causing little or no symptoms. Many other bird species are susceptible to infection with these influenza viruses and in many of these species it may cause severe disease associated with high mortality. Outbreaks associated with high bird mortality are called Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) to distinguish them from less pathogenic influenza. In January 2004 avian influenza in poultry was confirmed in Vietnam. Subsequently, there have been very substantial outbreaks of avian influenza associated with high mortality affecting poultry in various countries throughout Asia including Vietnam, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Mongolia, North & South Korea, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and Japan. These outbreaks are caused by H5N1 subtype of influenza A virus, the same subtype (but not identical to the virus) that caused the outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997. åÊ

Teacher training in "multicultural" Sweden

This paper builds on the experience of the on-going, mainly ethnographic, research project called Teacher training in’ multicultural’ Sweden. Class, gender and ethnicity. In this multi-disciplinary project a number of scholars conduct research through participant observation in, and through the study and analysis of documents from, a number of teacher training colleges in Sweden. In this paper I will use empirical material gathered from two teacher training colleges to discuss this basic issue. One college is situated in a suburb outside Stockholm and it consciously portrays itself as a college for ‘multicultural’ students who will later teach in ‘multicultural’ suburbs. The other college is situated in a small town and although ‘multiculturalism’ is seen as important in the educational system students with mainly ‘Swedish’ background are recruited. In the first college ‘differences’ are lauded and students are encouraged to ponder upon and develop their ethnic profile. In the second ‘similarities’ are more taken for granted. I will argue, however, that within these colleges ‘differences’ and ’similarities’ are not only discussed but actually created against a backdrop of macro-constraints which are not much scrutinized within these colleges.

The ethnography of study abroad: what is study abroad as a cultural event?

Recent research in the field of study abroad shows that study abroad participation among all U.S. students increased 20% since 2001 and nearly 200,000 U.S. students currently go abroad each year. Additionally, about 8% of all undergraduate degree recipients receive part of their education abroad. Although quantitative studies have dominated research on study abroad, my research project calls for a qualitative approach since the goal is to understand what study abroad is as a cultural event, what authentic cultural immersion is, how program stakeholders understand and perceive cultural immersion, and how cultural immersion in programs can be improved. Following the tradition of ethnographic and case study approaches in study abroad research, my study also pivots on ethnography. As an ethnographer I collected data mainly through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The study abroad participants were a group of undergraduate native speakers of English studying Spanish for seven weeks in Cádiz, a small costal city in southern Spain, as well as program coordinators, host community members, and professors. I also examined the specific program design features, particularly the in-class and out-of-class activities that students participated in. The goal was to understand if these features were conducive to authentic immersion in the language and culture. Eventually, I elaborated an ethnographic evaluation of the study abroad program and its design features suggesting improvements in order to enhance the significance and value of study abroad as a cultural event. Among other things, I discussed the difficulties that students had at the beginning of their sojourn to understand local people, get used to their host families’ small apartments, get adjusted to new schedules and eating habits, and venture out from the main group to individually explore the new social and cultural fabric and interact with the host community. The program evaluation revealed the need for carefully-designed pre-departure preparation sessions, pre-departure credit-bearing courses in intercultural communication, and additional language practice abroad and opportunities to come in contact with the local community through internships, volunteer or field work. My study gives an important contribution in study abroad research and education. It benefits students, teachers, and study abroad directors and coordinators in suggesting ideas on how to improve the program and optimize the students’ cultural experiences abroad. This study is also important because it investigated how US undergraduate learners studying the Spanish language and culture approach and perceive the study abroad experience in Spain.

Identidades y pertenencias socioculturales entre los estudiantes de magisterio: un análisis etnográfico

La identidad y los procesos por los que la construimos son de fundamental importancia en el reconocimiento de la diversidad y, por ende, de la forma en la que nos identificamos e identificamos a los demás. En nuestra opinión, el estudio de la identidad ha de ser abordado desde el conocimiento conceptual que los distintos colectivos manejan. Dicho conocimiento constituye el andamiaje básico, desde nuestro punto de vista, sobre el que se estructuran las posibles discriminaciones, prejuicios y estereotipos hacia grupos e individuos. En esta línea, nuestra pretensión es apuntar el conocimiento conceptual sobre la “identidad” de un colectivo fundamental en el ámbito educativo, por el papel que desempeñan a medio plazo: los estudiantes de magisterio. Partimos de la premisa de que los futuros docentes están familiarizados con esta profesión gracias a las miles de horas que han pasado en las aulas, aunque sea desempeñando el rol de estudiante, lo cual tiene dos implicaciones para su proceso formativo inicial. En primer lugar, como dice Bullough (1997), muchos estudiantes entran en la formación inicial de magisterio convencidos de su propia habilidad para enseñar por la familiarización con la profesión docente de la que hablábamos antes. En segundo lugar, este mismo hecho, según Winstein (1990, citado en Bullough, 1997) impide que en numerosas ocasiones los estudiantes de magisterio aprecien la complejidad e incertidumbre del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en los contextos educativos en los que se va a desarrollar su labor profesional. Es imprescindible, por tanto, que desde la formación inicial se aprovechen las limitaciones y ventajas que tiene el que los estudiantes de magisterio conozcan de cerca la profesión docente (Bullough, 1997). Precisamente, con la presente comunicación nos proponemos incitar a la reflexión en torno al concepto de identidad de los estudiantes de magisterio. Para ello tendremos en cuenta los datos recopilados en una investigación en la que se analizó un caso de formación inicial del profesorado en el ámbito de la diversidad étnico-cultural. En ella se estudió el proceso formativo de un grupo de estudiantes de la Universidad de Almería matriculados en “Educación y diversidad sociocultural” (EDSC), asignatura optativa que se cursó durante el segundo cuatrimestre del curso académico 2003/2004. Aquí nos detendremos únicamente en los resultados y conclusiones vinculadas al concepto de “identidad”, aunque cabe mencionar que se examinaron otros conceptos (“racismo”, “xenofobia”, “etnia”, “cultura”, “inmigración”, “escuela”, etc.) así como otros aspectos como el clima del grupo de clase o el sistema de evaluación.

La diversidad religiosa en los centros educativos catalanes: un elemento para construir identidad

Puede parecer una obviedad pero, aún así, resultaría pertinente comenzar nuestra comunicación expresando que religiones a nuestro alcance hay más de una. De entrada, nos damos cuenta de que el hecho de hablar de «religión» para referirnos al catolicismo, el budismo o el Islam representa una conquista cultural porque implica englobarlas a todas dentro de una misma categoría: Aquello que da sentido. Y hoy, más que en otras épocas, tenemos que hablar de religiones porque la realidad contemporánea lo exige al son de un pluralismo religioso que muestra cambios en el papel y resalta la importancia de las distintas formas de religiosidad. Simultáneamente a este hecho, parecería que se da una progresiva secularización de la sociedad, que paradójicamente cabe combinar con un incremento del número de creencias y una mayor difusión de éstas. Estos dos elementos, pluralismo y secularización, son el germen de un proyecto de investigación cuyos resultados pretendemos mostrar en esta ponencia. Dicho estudio se ha llevado a cabo por el grupo de investigación ISOR, Investigaciones en Sociología de la Religión de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. El estudio perseguía justamente facilitar estrategias, instrumentos e información al personal de los centros educativos, para un reconocimiento mutuo entre los actores en situaciones de diversidad religiosa. El objetivo se enmarcaba en un interés más general: Demostrar hasta qué punto la pluralidad religiosa convierte las situaciones cotidianas y evidentes en situaciones “cuestionadas” que exigen adaptación. Este trabajo de investigación partió de un análisis exhaustivo de la diversidad religiosa en diferentes ámbitos educativos enfatizando tanto aquello que es evidente como lo que pasa desapercibido. La información utilizada procede de un análisis detallado de 26 entrevistas en profundidad realizadas a miembros de distintos centros educativos catalanes, seleccionados según los siguientes criterios: el tipo de centro (infantil, primaria, secundaria), la titularidad del centro (público, privado, concertado), la diversidad territorial, y la presencia proporcionalmente significativa de alumnado de tradiciones religiosas minoritarias. El resultado de nuestra investigación nos permite afirmar que, teniendo en cuenta sólo los elementos religiosos, podemos constatar que en la inmensa mayoría de las ocasiones la diversidad religiosa no plantea problemas graves en los centros educativos. Sin embargo, al tiempo que hacemos esta afirmación, no podemos obviar la generalización de un conjunto de situaciones potencialmente conflictivas por la diversidad religiosa y que, pese a todo, son invisibilizadas, entre otras razones, por el capital cultural de las familias, el dominio que éstos tienen del idioma, o la incomprensión de los códigos de relación.

Identidad y marginación: experiencias cotidianas de niños inmigrantes marroquíes en una escuela pública española

Uno de los debates más candentes de la situación socio-política europea es el de la inmigración y las políticas de identidad. A causa de acontecimientos recientes, como la “Ley del Velo” o los disturbios en Francia en el 2005, el discurso que domina discusiones políticas y educativas sobre la inmigración, es el de una crisis de “los modelos de integración”, particularmente en lo que concierne a las segundas generaciones de inmigrantes. La Oficina Central de Estadística en Holanda, por ejemplo, ha publicado datos que indican que los jóvenes de segunda generación turcos y marroquíes se sienten menos “en casa” en el país, que sus propios padres (2006). Una pregunta importante es: ¿Cómo se llega a ese sentimiento de alienación? Aunque esta ponencia no puede abarcar esta pregunta en toda su complejidad, lo que sí ofrece es la rara oportunidad de examinar las interacciones de la vida cotidiana de un grupo de niños/as marroquíes con sus compañeros/as españoles durante la jornada escolar. Investigar las relaciones que los niños/as inmigrantes tienen con otros niños/as es crucial porque las identidades que desarrollan estos niños/as y su propio sentido de quiénes son, dependen, no sólo de las interacciones que tienen en su vida privada, sino también de las reacciones de otros compañeros/as y de sus interacciones en la escuela y otras instituciones (Appiah, 2006; Taylor, 1994). Es importante entender este fenómeno porque estos/as niños/as van a crecer o bien sintiendose miembros de pleno derecho de la sociedad española, o bien con un acusado sentido de alienación y no-pertenencia. Por lo tanto, el análisis de estas interacciones es una ventana que puede ofrecernos un resquicio para dilucidar como estos procesos de exclusión y alienación podrían empezar en la infancia y la pre-adolescencia. Este análisis es parte de un estudio etnográfico de socialización lingüística desarrollado en 12 meses, durante los cuales investigué la vida cotidiana de los niños/as de seis familias marroquíes en un pueblo del suroeste español. Este estudio consistía en grabar las rutinas de interacción en las que los niños/as participaban. Para este trabajo, he analizado 17 horas de video recogidos en la escuela primaria del pueblo. El análisis se centra en las prácticas lingüísticas y no-verbales que organizan formas de exclusión social de niños/as inmigrantes marroquíes por parte de sus compañeros/as españoles, a pesar del discurso público de inclusion, tolerancia y respeto que caracterizan los planes curriculares oficiales del centro escolar. A través de estas prácticas, se mostrará como a los niños/as inmigrantes se les adscriben características negativas y se les asignan posiciones para un trato diferencial.

Diagnostic performance characteristics of rapid dipstick test for Plasmodium vivax malaria

We compared the diagnostic performance characteristics of newly developed method, the rapid dipstick test, which provides colorimetric determination by developing antibody to the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme of parasites, with conventional standard thick-blood film examination. For the rapid test, OptiMAL commercial kits were used. The results were also evaluated with clinical findings from patients. The parasites were determined by microscopic examination of thick-blood films from 81 patients with vivax malaria from southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. The OptiMAL test results were found to be negative in five patients who were diagnosed clinically and through thick-film testing as having vivax malaria. There was no false positivity observed with the OptiMAL test. We concluded that this rapid malaria test has a lower level of sensitivity than the classical thick-blood-film test for malaria, but that these methods have equal specificity.

Els ocellaires de la Catalunya Central

El TFC està pensat per a emmarcar en l'actualitat una tradició centenària portada a terme pels ocellaires de la Catalunya Central, concretament a les comarques d'Osona i el Ripollès.

Have a healthy, happy Christmas

This booklettells you how to have asafe, cheap and delicious Christmas. It includes tips on how to be a thrifty shopper and the importantfood safety tips you need toknowthis Christmas. Make your Christmas special and cheapby cooking it all yourself this year. This booklet includes delicious recipes for cooking your Christmas dinner, healthier desserts and some cheap and cheerful leafover ideas foryour leftover turkey.

Tethyan margins in space and time

Rifting processes, leading to sea-floor spreading, are characterized by a sequence of events: transtensive phase of extension with syn-rift volcanism; simple shear extension accompanied by lithospheric thinning and asthenospheric up-welling and thermal uplift of the rift shoulder and asymmetric volcanism. The simple shear model of extension leads to an asymmetric model of passive margin: a lower plate tilted block margin and an upper plate flexural, ramp-like margin- Both will be affected by thermal contraction and subsidence, starting soon after sea-floor spreading. Based on these actualistic models Tethyan margins are classified as one type or the other. Their evolution from the first transtensional phase of extension to the passive margin stage are analyzed. Four main rifting events are recognized in the Tethyan realm: an episode of lower Paleozoic events leading to the formation of the Paleotethys; a Late Paleozoic event leading to the opening of the Permotethys and East Mediterranean basin: an early Mesozoic event leading to the opening of the Pindos Neotethys and a Jurassic event related to the opening of the Alpine/Atlantic Neotethys. Type margins are given as example of each rifting event: -Northern Iran (Alborz) as a type area for the Late Ordovician to Silurian rifting of Paleotethys. -Northern India and Oman for the Late Carboniferous to early Permian rifting of Permotethys. -The East Mediterranean (Levant, Tunisia) as a Late Carboniferous rifting event. -The Neotethyan rifting phases are separated in two types: an eastern Pindos system found in Turkey and Greece is genetically linked to the Permotethys with a sea-floor spreading delayed until middle Triassic: a western Alpine system directly linked to the opening of the central Atlantic is characterized by a Late Triassic transtensive phase, an early to Middle Liassic break-away phase and. following sea-floor spreading, a thermal subsidence phase starting in Dogger. Problems related to the closure of the Paleozoic oceanic domains are reviewed. A Late Permian, early Triassic phase of `'docking'' between an European accretionary prism (Chios) and a Paleotethyan margin is supported by recent findings in the Mediterranean area. Back-arc rifting within the European active margin led to the formation of marginal seas during Permian and Triassic times and will contribute to the closure of the Paleozoic oceans.

El Jaufré i els seus patrons temàtics

El Jaufré és una obra que ens permet explicar, de manera molt il·lustrativa, la particular concepció medieval de la creació literària. L'autor del Jaufré, com els altres autors de ficció medievals, reescriuen les autoritats literàries i la tradició. No són ni creadors d'històries ni de referents nous. D'aquesta manera, per una banda, en comparar aquesta novel·la amb El cavaller del lleó de Chrétien de Troyes tenim un clar exemple de la reescriptura d'un text d'una autoritat com era l'autor francès de les novel·les artúriques. Per altra banda, el Jaufré també reflecteix la tradició i el folklore que servien de base temàtica a la ficció medieval i això ho podem comprovar si fem una anàlisi paral·lela, al mateix temps, amb els Lais de Maria de França. Amb tot, en paral·lel, podrem assenyalar algunes particularitats del Jaufré, que les té, en part degudes a la data més tardana de la seva escriptura i a l'origen cultural del seu escriptor (no pas francès, ni bretó), com poden ser les pinzellades de paròdia amb les quals descriu alguns fets de la narració que serien del tot impensables en el tractament que n'hagués fet un autor com Chrétien de Troyes o com pot ser la intenció crítica de la seva realitat política concreta.

Genome-wide linkage and association analyses to identify genes influencing adiponectin levels: the GEMS Study.

Adiponectin has a variety of metabolic effects on obesity, insulin sensitivity, and atherosclerosis. To identify genes influencing variation in plasma adiponectin levels, we performed genome-wide linkage and association scans of adiponectin in two cohorts of subjects recruited in the Genetic Epidemiology of Metabolic Syndrome Study. The genome-wide linkage scan was conducted in families of Turkish and southern European (TSE, n = 789) and Northern and Western European (NWE, N = 2,280) origin. A whole genome association (WGA) analysis (500K Affymetrix platform) was carried out in a set of unrelated NWE subjects consisting of approximately 1,000 subjects with dyslipidemia and 1,000 overweight subjects with normal lipids. Peak evidence for linkage occurred at chromosome 8p23 in NWE subjects (lod = 3.10) and at chromosome 3q28 near ADIPOQ, the adiponectin structural gene, in TSE subjects (lod = 1.70). In the WGA analysis, the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) most strongly associated with adiponectin were rs3774261 and rs6773957 (P < 10(-7)). These two SNPs were in high linkage disequilibrium (r(2) = 0.98) and located within ADIPOQ. Interestingly, our fourth strongest region of association (P < 2 x 10(-5)) was to an SNP within CDH13, whose protein product is a newly identified receptor for high-molecular-weight species of adiponectin. Through WGA analysis, we confirmed previous studies showing SNPs within ADIPOQ to be strongly associated with variation in adiponectin levels and further observed these to have the strongest effects on adiponectin levels throughout the genome. We additionally identified a second gene (CDH13) possibly influencing variation in adiponectin levels. The impact of these SNPs on health and disease has yet to be determined.

Hacer castells, construir nación: castells, modelo festivo y catalanismo

Este trabajo propone un análisis del proceso del catalanismo, los modelos festivos y los castells para interpretar el modo en que esta relación es histórica y ha pasado por diferentes etapas. Si bien el catalanismo se había aliado con las sardanas hasta los años cincuenta, lo que se ha denominado el modelo festivo de la Catalunya Vella, a partir de este momento y con el inicio de la modernidad castellera, las alianzas se afianzan con los castells, el modelo festivo de la Catalunya Nova. Esto se produce porque los castells pueden hacer frente a los retos de la nueva realidad española y del nuevo nacionalismo que guiará el proceso de construcción de la Cataluña en que vivimos actualmente