Questionable Accountability: MSF and Sphere in 2003.

This article examines the relationship between Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Sphere Project. Prior to revisiting the concerns MSF had with the project, it looks at factors that give rise to differences between NGOs and cites some reasons for why an organisation such as MSF would not embrace such a project and clarifies some key elements of MSF-style humanitarianism. The author revisits the original concerns and arguments presented by MSF when it decided not to participate beyond assisting with the establishment of technical standards and key indicators for the handbook. This is followed by a critical discussion examining these concerns and counter-criticism with reference to experiences a few years after the inception of Sphere. It concludes with MSF's perceptions and stance regarding Sphere and accountability in 2003

Conversation as an Ecology of Learning. An analysis of asynchronous discussions within an online professional community working to develop a democratic practice in education

Teachers learn important things together through talking. Conversationbased continued professional development (CPD) for teachers has been insufficiently researched. In the context of current policy and practice - that remains top-down and controlling in terms of educators’ autonomy and self-direction - more agile and transformative means of professional learning are key. The research is a case study aiming to investigate the characteristics of the participation of education professionals (teachers, teacher educators, school heads…) from 50 European countries in an online professional learning community (OPLC) developed under the umbrella of Council of Europe’s Pestalozzi Programme (PP). The study is also interested in how online asynchronous conversation can be a sustainable mode of CPD helpful for the creation of democratic spaces for learning. It directs attention to the nature of the conversation, taking place in the online interaction, the details of which turn out to be of crucial importance. The study is based on activities and data, neither of which was planned or collected for research purposes. The data is composed of the transcripts of participants postings between 2012 and 2017, and the interactions that are contained in the dialogic space that is the PP platform. Therefore, the design of the study deals with the complexity and scope of the context and data, that brings in the international, intercultural composition of participants who arrive with different histories and perhaps engrained assumptions and norms; the professional development context that is unusual; the online set up that is also particular due to the conversational nature of its activities; and lastly the complexity of the issue of democracy in education which may not fit so easily in the school curricula, or the culture of school, or institution and their education aims. To address this complexity, the framework of ecology was chosen to cater to the many parts of the context and the relationships these entertain to form the environment of the OPLC. The framework of ecology and its analysis may inform on what affordances are observed for an OPLC to reach its full transformative potential for participating educators. It is helpful to consider these and to conceptualize conversation as an ecology of learning that is conducive to engagement in online professional learning and development. 6 Transcripts of asynchronous discussion threads were analyzed, through thematic analysis and statistical treatment, to capture the structure and affordances of conversation-based online professional learning communities that foster the establishment of an ecology of learning that is conducive to the development of democratic practices in educational settings. To answer this overall concern, three main research questions were identified and chosen to form the core of the investigation. The first question concerns the features of the collaboration to identify elements that support – or impede – co-construction of knowledge among participants. The second research question focuses on the discernible factors and conditions that foster participants’ motivation to engage and uses Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a basis to investigate the data. The third research question is centered on participants’ mental models of what constitutes a democratic teaching practice, and how educators’ engagement in the conversation may support transformative action in the classroom. The results highlight enabling behaviors that help regulate pace, cohesion, topical persistence, strong ties, and congeniality in the conversation to enhance the potential for meaning making and coconstruction of knowledge. Two moderator-presences, ‘teaching presence ‘and ‘peer presence’, were found, thus the study enhances previous research on online presences (RQ1). Furthermore, eight factors were found to contribute to participants’ motivation to engage and remain active in the conversation, specifically: self-confidence in one’s practice, persistence towards attaining goals, sprightliness, inclusion, ethos, control, accountability, and curiosity. The SDT positing the need for competence, relatedness and autonomy was completed with a fourth need that is curiosity (RQ2). Finally, discursive alignments and tensions were found, that provoke a cognitive dissonance having the effect of helping participants to agree on objectives and seek ways to achieve more democracy in educational environments, which are not fundamentally democratic. As educators develop democratic dimensions, an ‘activist presence’ was found to be a response to these tensions (RQ3). Finally, concerning the overall question of affordances, the studied ecology, and the responses to the RQs suggest a development leading to the establishment of five structures in the OPLC. An ethos structure, an affect and identity structure, a communication structure, and a power structure are revealed as shaping the relations between members. All participate in forming an ensemble of affordances of conversation based OPLCs fostering an ecology of learning for the development of democratic practices in educational settings.Samræða kennara getur verið mjög lærdómsrík. Samt sem áður er ekki digur sá sjóður rannsókna sem beinist að starfsþróun og samræðu á vettvangi menntunar. Nútíma stefnumótun í menntun hættir til að vera stýrt að ofan og vantar fyrir bragðið ákveðinn sveigjanleika og sjálfræði sem laðar fram mikilvægar breytingar í starfinu og gefur faglegu námi kennara dýpri merkingu. Þessi rannsókn er tilviksrannsókn sem beinist að athugun á því sem einkennir þátttöku fagfólks í menntageiranum (sem eru einkum kennarar, skólastjórar og kennaramenntendur) frá fimmtíu Evrópulöndum í rafrænu lærdómssamfélagi sem var þróað á vegum Pestalozzi starfsþróunarverkefnis Evrópuráðsins. Mikilvægt áhersluatriði var að kanna hvernig samræða á netinu sem ekki er samstillt í tíma getur verið varanleg leið í starfsþróun á vettvangi fagfólksins. Sérstaklega þar sem markmiðið var að styðja við lýðræðislegt fyrirkomulag slíkrar menntunar. Í rannsókninni er sjónum beint eðli samræðunnar sem fer fram á netinu og bent er á fjölmörg einstök atriði sem þar skipta máli. Gögnin sem rannsóknin byggir á eru skrifleg samskipti fagfólks innan menntakerfa á svæði Pestalozzi starfsþróunarverkefnisins sem fram fóru á árunum 2012–2017. Hvorki val þátttakenda, útfærsla samskiptanna né gögnin voru skipulögð með rannsókn í huga. Skipulag rannsóknarinnar sjálfrar þarf því að taka tillit til fjölmargra flækja. Þær tengjast ekki síst fjölþjóða samsetningu þátttakenda og þeirri margmenningu sem í henni felst. Þeir höfðu afar ólíkan bakgrunn og ólíkar hugmyndir um viðmið og gildi. Starfsþróunarumhverfið var að ýmsu leyti framandi, m.a. vegna þess hve mikil áhersla var lögð á samræðuþáttinn á netinu. Við þetta bættist viðfangsefni námsins, þ.e. ýmsar hliðar lýðræðis í skólastarfi sem féll iðulega hvorki inn í það námsefni sem skólarnir glímdu við, né inn í menningu skólanna, eða annara stofnana, né almennt inn í höfuðmarkmið þeirra menntunar sem margir þátttakenda fengust við. Til þess að glíma við þetta flækjustig var hugmyndin um vistfræði menntunar notuð til þess að ná utan um ólíka þætti aðstæðna og tengsla á milli þeirra í rafrænu lærdómssamfélagi. Sá rammi og jafnframt greining sem vistræðihugtakið leggur til, bendir til ólíkra möguleika sem hið rafræna netsamfélag býður þáttakendum upp á. Það er því rökstutt að gagnlegt sé að greina samræðu sem beinist að þeirri flóknu starfsþróun sem um ræðir frá sjónarhorni vistfræði menntunar. Texti ofangreindra samræðna var þemagreindur og ákveðinni tölfræðilegri athugun beitt til þess að fá hugmynd um uppbyggingu hans og þá möguleika sem rafrænt samfélag, sem beinist að starfsþróun, felur í sér. Í þessu tilviki beindist samræðan að mótun og þróun lýðræðislegra hugmynda í skólastarfi. Til þess að svara þessari áskorun voru þrjár rannsóknarspurningar mótaðar og eru þær kjarni rannsóknarinnar. Fyrsta spurningin spyr um einkenni samstarfsins og leitast við að bera kennsl á þá þætti samvinnu þátttakenda sem styðja, eða hindra mótun sameiginlegrar þekkingar. Næsta spurning beinist að aðstæðum, í ljósi sjálfsákvörðunakenningar (SDT), sem laða þátttakendur til þátttöku. Þriðja spurningin beinir sjónum að hugmyndum þátttakenda um þeirra upplifun af lýðræðislegum kennsluháttum og menntun og hvernig framlag þeirra í umræðunni geti stutt við umbætur í kennslustofunni að þessu leyti. Niðurstöðurnar sýna hvað það er í samskiptunum sem stýrir hraða, samheldni, tryggð við umræðuefnið, tengsl þátttakenda og þægilegu viðmóti í samskiptunum sem allt stuðlar jafnframt að skilningi og mótun frekari þekkingar hjá hópnum. Það mátti auk þess sjá tvenns konar áhrif þeirra sem stýrðu umræðunni, annars vegar það sem kalla mætti kennaraáhrif og hins vegar áhrif sem eiga frekar skylt við jafningjaáhrif (RSP1). Átta þætti mátti greina sem stuðla að áhuga þátttakenda til virkrar þátttöku í þeirri samræðu sem boðið var upp á og skipta máli til að halda henni áfram (sjá Töflu 18). Þeir eru, sjálfstraust í faglegu starfi, ásetningur að ná settu markmiði, lifandi áhugi á verkefninu, ásetningur um að virða sjónarmið annarra og hafa jafnræði í samræðu, svipuð gildi og siðferði þátttakenda, tilfinning fyrir að hafa stjórn á aðstæðum, ábyrgð á þátttöku öxluð og forvitni um efni verkefnisins. Innviðir sjálfsákvörðunarkenningarinnar komu fram, þ.e. þörfin fyrir hæfni, tengsl og sjálfræði, en nauðsynlegt var að bæta við þættinum forvitni (RSP2). Hugrænt misræmi birtist í samstöðu annars vegar og togstreitu hins vegar þegar þátttakendur glímdu við markmið sem stefndu að auknu lýðræði í skólastarfi sem var fyrir, í grundvallaratriðum, ólýðræðislegt. Í glímu við þá togstreitu sem fram kom mátti greina að þátttakendur sýndu merki um aktífisma (RSP3). Þegar skyggnst er heildrænt eftir þeim möguleikum sem fólust í skipulagi Pestalozzi- starfsþróunarverkefnisins í ljósi þeirrar umgjarðar sem vistfræði menntunar leggur til ásamt svörum við rannsóknarspurningunum, þá eru dregnir fram í dagsljósið fimm þættir (sjá t.d. Mynd 31), eða kerfi sem saman mynda ákveðna heild. Þau eru nefnd gildiskerfi (sem snýst um að huga að megin markmiðum hins sameiginlega verkefnis), ímyndarkerfi (þar sem viðkomandi þróa faglega ímynd sína), samskiptakerfi (þar sem þátttakendur þróa samskipti í leit að sameiginlegum skilningi), netkerfi (þar sem þátttakendur stilla strengi til að virða og notfæra sér samskiptin) og valdakerfi (þar sem leitað er jafnvægis á milli stýringar og jafnræðis). Þessir þættir ofnir saman mynda hið margslungna vistkerfi menntunar sem er gagnlegt til þess að lýsa starfsþróun í netheimum og það sem þeir bjóða upp á þegar fengist er við þróun lýðræðislegra starfshátta og hugmynda í skólastarfi.Doctoral grant Number RSJ-PhD-2020 - University of Iceland's Eimskip Fun

Serum Analysis for HIV-1 Envelope Specific and Autoantigen Reactive IgG and IgM antibody response in HVTN 702 Trial Participants

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation Physical & Applied Scienceshttps://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/sp-expo/1128/thumbnail.jp

Criminal Records as Predictors of Harm: Questioning Social Work’s Reliance on Records for Gatekeeping

The National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics requires advocacy on behalf of groups experiencing oppression, and yet it can be difficult to recognize when the oppression is emanating from the profession itself. Social work has enacted numerous barriers to entry for people with criminal records, a group that disproportionately includes people who are poor, Black, disabled, and or LGBTQ+. While previous articles have examined the role of criminal records in the social work admission process, scholars have not comprehensively examined the role criminal records play throughout the career of a social worker. This article provides an overview of how records are used in higher education admissions, licensing, and employment, highlighting the limitations of criminal records as future indicators of harm. We argue that the broad use of criminal record checks not only harms marginalized individuals with records but is a disservice to clients who would benefit from the unique strengths derived from their social work training and lived experience. We conclude with future policy directions informed by abolitionist practices including non-reformist reforms that can reduce barriers to entry into the profession and build upon the strengths of people with lived experience in the criminal legal system.

Edukacja obywatelska i edukacja na rzecz praw czlowieka jako zadanie wszystkich nauczycieli

Poradnik dla nauczycieli i dyrektorów gimnazjów dot. stosowania metody projektów na III etapie edukacj

Rumo ao cuidado ético em residências de saúde durante a pandemia de COVID-19: um estudo qualitativo com migrantes internacionais no Chile

Migrantes internacionales han sido reconocidos como población de riesgo en el contexto de la pandemia de COVID-19. A nivel mundial se han desplegado diversas estrategias para la protección de esta población, como la habilitación de centros de recepción y cuarentena o aislamiento. El artículo da cuenta de los resultados de un estudio que exploró las experiencias de migrantes internacionales en residencias sanitarias dispuestas en Chile para la realización de cuarentenas seguras en el marco de la pandemia COVID-19, desde un enfoque de condiciones éticas para el cuidado. Se realizó un estudio cualitativo entre los años 2020-2021. Se efectuaron 30 entrevistas individuales semi-estructuradas en línea en las ciudades de Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta y Santiago a migrantes internacionales con experiencia de uso de residencias sanitarias; equipos de salud de residencias sanitarias; mánagers de dichos recintos; autoridades locales; y expertos nacionales. Se realizó análisis temático de la información. El estudio concluye que para migrantes internacionales, si bien la experiencia en residencias sanitarias ha significado un apoyo sanitario significativo, es imprescindible que el cuidado proporcionado, además de la exigencia que se enmarque en un enfoque de derechos y de respeto a la dignidad de cada persona, incorpore la perspectiva de la interculturalidad en su quehacer, es decir, asegurando el derecho a servicios de salud culturalmente pertinentes, respetuosos de la cultura de las personas, las minorías, los pueblos y las comunidades.Versión publicad

Human muscle-derived CLEC14A-positive cells regenerate muscle independent of PAX7

Skeletal muscle stem cells, called satellite cells and defined by the transcription factor PAX7, are responsible for postnatal muscle growth, homeostasis and regeneration. Attempts to utilize the regenerative potential of muscle stem cells for therapeutic purposes so far failed. We previously established the existence of human PAX7-positive cell colonies with high regenerative potential. We now identified PAX7-negative human muscle-derived cell colonies also positive for the myogenic markers desmin and MYF5. These include cells from a patient with a homozygous PAX7 c.86-1G > A mutation (PAX7null). Single cell and bulk transcriptome analysis show high intra- and inter-donor heterogeneity and reveal the endothelial cell marker CLEC14A to be highly expressed in PAX7null cells. All PAX7-negative cell populations, including PAX7null, form myofibers after transplantation into mice, and regenerate muscle after reinjury. Transplanted PAX7neg cells repopulate the satellite cell niche where they re-express PAX7, or, strikingly, CLEC14A. In conclusion, transplanted human cells do not depend on PAX7 for muscle regeneration

Diaphragm: Pathophysiology and Ultrasound Imaging in Neuromuscular Disorders.

Respiratory muscles are classically involved in neuromuscular disorders, leading to a restrictive respiratory pattern. The diaphragm is the main respiratory muscle involved during inspiration. Ultrasound imaging is a noninvasive, radiation-free, accurate and safe technique allowing assessment of diaphragm anatomy and function. The authors review the pathophysiology of diaphragm in neuromuscular disorders, the methodology and indications of diaphragm ultrasound imaging as well as possible pitfalls in the interpretation of results

Symbolic Exchanges: Haiti, Brazil and the Ethnopoetics of Cultural Identity

This work is a comparative study of the influence of the pan-Africanist discourse of ethnographers Dr. Jean Price-Mars of Haiti and Dr. Arthur Ramos of Brazil, and its impact on the respective literatures and cinemas of the two nations. Beginning in the first quarter of the 20th Century, and stemming from a developing auto-ethnography undertaken by the two scholars, a growing concern over defining cultural identity inspired a generation of writers to appropriate ethnographic methodology and apply it to their fictional works. The discourse of representation, which looked to popular sources for inspiration (Haitian Indigénisme and Brazilian Regionalismo, or which rebelled against literary conventions (modernists of both nations), gave rise to a contentious dispute over a State-sanctioned national identity versus a cultural identity spearheaded by the literati. In looking at the battle over signification, I examine the development of an ethnopoetics in the works of such writers as René Depestre, Jean-Baptiste Cinéas, Jacques Roumain, Jorge Amado, Rachel de Queiroz, Mário de Andrade and others, that is persistently used to subvert and oppose the official discourse of the State and its allies. Following the model provided by the Indigénistes, Regionalists and Modernists, and utilizing the framework of French filmmaker Jean Rouch\u27s conceptualization of ethnofictions, the final chapter of the dissertation examines the blurring of the lines between narrative cinema and documentary as a counterdiscursive strategy in Haitian and Brazilian films