Syftet med denna studie är att öka kunskapen om hur elevens upplevda relationer med lärare påverkar resultaten och om även upplevd tydlighet i undervisningen påverkar elevresultat. Enkätdata samlades in för att mäta elevernas upplevelse och elevtester genomfördes för att få syn på elevernas kunskapsutveckling över tid. Enkätfrågorna är utformade så att eleverna svarar på hur de upplever sin lärares undervisning. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten har varit ramverket The 7C’s of effective teaching. Elevenkäter genomfördes under vårterminen i åk 7 och elevtesterna genomfördes i början av åk 7 och i början av åk 8. Sammanlagt 31 klasser, fördelade över 14 skolor spritt över hela Sverige, har deltagit i studien. Studiens resultat visar att klasserna överlag upplever att deras lärare är bra på att skapa relationer och de upplever också att deras undervisning är tydlig. De klasser som har ökat sina resultat mest mellan test 1 och test 2 har höga värden på enkätfrågorna om både relationer och tydlighet. Däremot så är det inte ett resultat som stämmer in på alla klasser. Även de klasser som har ökat sina resultat minst har relativt höga värden på enkätfrågorna. Varken korrelationen mellan relationer och testresultat eller korrelationen mellan lärarens tydlighet och testresultatet är inte särskilt höga, vilket går emot tidigare forskning.

Abstract Over the past half a decade, new forms of knowledge sharing, collaboration and online participation have emerged. As a result, a new generation of IT tools are being used for the creation and exchange knowledge. This dissertation uses a knowledge management framework known as the 7C model and applies a multi-method approach to deepen the understanding on how new knowledge emerges with these tools. As the benefits of knowledge are realized when it is applied, this dissertation places special emphasis also on the usability of the knowledge. The results indicate that the knowledge creation sub-processes of comprehension and conceptualization need more scientific attention. In addition, the results suggest that comprehension can be supported by helping users to reflect and by utilizing guideline information. Supporting deeper interaction and improved linking with the existing content, allowing users to stay in a state of flow, and using decision aids can help in comprehension. Conceptualization can be supported through knowledge rationale, metaphors and analogues, decision aids, and by helping users to reach common ground and shared understanding. In order for the knowledge to be really usable, the knowledge creation should aim at producing knowledge in explicit and actionable form. Producing knowledge in the form of guidelines was found to be beneficial for the utilization of knowledge. Guidelines support learning-by-doing and reflection-in-action, which are crucial for the emergence of new tacit knowledge. Evidence-based information and decision aid tools can help in choosing the knowledge that is to be applied. Finally, the results suggest that in the era of Web 2.0, many low-cost experiences inducing constant exposure to knowledge might work better than a few high-cost experiences requiring very deep thinking. The reason for this is that contemporary users seem to be so accustomed to the ease-of-use of Web services that they simply will not use more useful but less usable solutions.

Alligator mississippiensis is only distantly related to the other extant alligator (A. sinensis), with much closer relatives known from the geologic past of North America. While A. mississippiensis is well known from the early Pleistocene and later, no Alligator was known from the middle and late Pliocene until the discovery of Haile 7C and 7G late Pliocene (~2 Ma) sites from Florida. These specimens were analyzed using a diagnostic character matrix along with systematic analyses of the results. This research upholds A. mefferdi as a valid taxon, and the utility of the species in fossil identification is further established. The Haile material cannot be placed within either of the aforementioned taxa, and a new species description is planned in a later publication. Furthermore, the systematic analysis used in this research suggests that the line leading to A. sinensis diverged before the earliest known Alligator. An Eocene dispersal of the genus into Asia is plausible.