Práce zkoumá možnosti analýzy mechanismů působících během vstupu ČR do EU pomocí 2 ekonometrických modelů. První model je makroekonomický, vychází z Romerova IS-MP modelu. Je specifikovaný a odhadnutý jako GARCH model za použití časových řad pozorování, na jeho základě jsou stanoveny předpovědi. Výsledky ukazují velkou propojenost ekonomiky ČR s ekonomikou EU v období před vstupem do EU. Druhý model je mikroekonomický, tzv. "model obecné rovnováhy" (GE model). Jeho parametry jsou kalibrovány na základě dat z jednoho období. Model lze využít k simulacím změn souvisejících se vstupem ČR do EU.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-14T14:51:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 451624.pdf: 961299 bytes, checksum: 1cc816e2a5732637ef64d561c9f1cccc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-24 / Introduction : Oxaliplatin is an antineoplastic agent widely used in the treatment of some tumors. It is a third-generation platinum compound developed with the purpose of overcoming the limitations of toxicity, tumor resistance and poor oral bioavailability associated to cisplatin administration. Oxaliplatin-associated neurotoxicity represents the main dose limiting and there is not suitable treatment. Increasing doses of oxaliplatin can leed to the development of mechanical allodynia, cold sensitivity and peripheral sensory neuropathy, with increase of symptoms. Furthermore, despite its usefulness, chemotherapy with oxaliplatin increases the rate of developing hepatic damages together with inflammatory activity. This might be termed chemotherapy-associated steatohepatitis (CASH), a most severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Therefore, in the presentstudy, we aimed to compare the effect of antioxidant compounds on simultaneous development of oxaliplatin-induced hepato and neurotoxicity in mice. Methods : The Balb/c mice were treated with doses of oxaliplatin (OXA) for 6 weeks, 10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p), resulting in mechanical allodynia, and hepatic steatosis. We administered antioxidants compounds such as rutin (RUT) (20 mg/Kg/d), resveratrol (RVS) (100 mg/Kg/d), quercetin (QT) (20 mg/Kg/d) and nanoquerecetin (NQT) (20 mg/Kg/d) daily by gavageto Balb/c. N-acetyl-cysteine was used as control. Euthanasiaoccurred onday 43after treatment. We evaluated mechanical nociceptive threshold, ALT/AST, histopathological analysisand MPOactivity. Statistical analyses were made one way ANOVA, followed by Bonferroni post hoc test. Results : The treatments with RSV, RUT or NQT were able to prevent mechanical allodynia when compared to OXA group. Regarding the effect on steatohepatitis, resveratrol, quercetin and quercetin nanoemulsion almost completely reversed the mean liver weight increase by OXA. In accordance with these previous data, histological evaluation depicted attenuation all features of hepatic steatosis evaluated in resveratrol, rutin, quercetin and quercetin nanoemulsion groups. On the other hand, only quercetin and quercetin nanoemulsion treatments were able to reduce neutrophils migration measured by MPO activity. Conclusion : These results suggest that the use of compounds such as resveratrol, rutin, quercetin and quercetin nanoemulsion can beeffective to avoid oxaliplatin-inducing hepato and neurotoxicity in a rodent model. / Introdu??o : A oxaliplatina ? um agente antineopl?sico e tem sido amplamenteutilizado no tratamento de v?rios tumores. ? um composto derivado da platina de terceira gera??o desenvolvido com o prop?sito de ultrapassar as limita??es da toxicidade, a resist?ncia do tumor e a fraca biodisponibilidade oral associada ? administra??o decisplatina. Sintomas de neurotoxicidade est?o associados ao uso da oxaliplatina e n?o existe tratamento adequado. Doses crescentes de oxaliplatina podem levar ao desenvolvimento de sensibilidade a frio e neuropatia sensorial perif?rica, e a um aumento da intensidade dos sintomas. Al?m disso, apesar da sua utilidade, a quimioterapia aumenta a taxa de desenvolvimento de danos hep?ticos com atividade inflamat?ria. Esta manifesta??o pode ser chamada de esteato-hepatite associada ? quimioterapia (CASH), uma forma mais grave da doen?a hep?tica gordurosa n?o alco?lica. Deste modo, o presente estudo, objetivou comparar o efeito de alguns compostos antioxidantes no desenvolvimento simult?neo da hepato e neurotoxicidade induzida pela oxaliplatina em camundungos. M?todos : Os camundongos Balb/c foram tratados intraperitonealmente (i.p.), com doses de 10 mg/kg de oxaliplatina durante 6 semanas, resultando em anodinia mec?nica, e indu??o de esteatose hep?tica. Os compostos rutina (RUT) (20 mg/Kg/d), resveratrol (RSV) (100 mg/Kg/dia), quercetina (QT) (20 mg/Kg/dia) e nanoquerecetina (NQT) (20 mg/Kg/dia), foram administrados diariamente por gavagem aos camundongos. N-acetilciste?na foi utilizada como controle. A eutan?sia ocorreu no 43? dia ap?s o tratamento. Foram analisadas a nocicep??o mec?nica, as aminotransferases ALT/AST, foi realizada avalia??o histopatol?gica e da atividade da mieloperoxidase. A an?lise estat?stica foi realizada por ANOVA de uma via seguida do teste de Bonferroni. Resultados : Os tratamentos comresveratrol, rutinaouquercetina em nanoemuls?oforam capazes de impedira alodiniamec?nica, quandocomparados com o grupotratado com oxaliplatina. Em rela??o aoefeito sobre aesteato-hepatite, os tratamentos com resveratrol, quercetina e quercetina em nanoemuls?oreverteramsignificativamenteoaumento depeso m?dio do f?gadoinduzido pela oxaliplatina. Corroborando com estes dados, a avalia??ohistol?gicamostrou uma atenua??o em todas as caracter?sticas deesteatose hep?tica avaliados nos grupostratados com resveratrol, rutina, quercetina e quercetina em nanoemuls?o, apresentando caracter?sticas semelhantes ao controle positivo com N-acetilciste?na. Por outrolado,apenasos tratamentoscom quercetina e quercetina em nanoemuls?o foram capazes dereduzir a migra??ode neutr?filosmedidapela atividadede mieloperoxidase. Conclus?o : Os resultados sugerem que o uso dos compostos resveratrol, rutina, quercetina e quercetina em nanoemuls?opodem se alternativas efetivas para o tratamento

Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2018-05-02T19:07:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014 - Rafael Sanches Pacheco.pdf: 1387070 bytes, checksum: c73e833c8d495bf472f647befeedd57e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-02T19:07:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014 - Rafael Sanches Pacheco.pdf: 1387070 bytes, checksum: c73e833c8d495bf472f647befeedd57e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-19 / CNPq / The 15N natural abundance technique to measure the biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in legumes is based on the slight enrichment of 15N observed in soils to the atmosphere and does not require the application of labelled fertilizers. The objectives of this work were: to quantify the BNF contribution in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cultivars under field conditions through the 15N natural abundance technique; to evaluate the agronomic performance of these cultivars under inoculation; to estimate the isotopic fractionation value during BNF (B value) of common bean cultivars grown in nutrient solution. Two experiments were conducted in greenhouse in nutrient solution without N, in the years 2012 and 2013 in Serop?dica, RJ. Three common bean cultivars were evaluated. Plant biomass was sampled at different growth stages, where the N natural abundance was analyzed. In 2012 experiment, the nodules showed positive ?15N, with deltas of 6.63? and 8.18? in Grafite and Radiante cultivars, respectively. The B value in shoot was ?0.919?, ?0.734? and ?0.724? for cultivars Grafite, Ouro Negro and Radiante, respectively. In 2013 experiment, the nodules showed great enrichment in 15N, with 9.11? and 8.36? deltas in Radiante and Grafite cultivars. The B value in shoot was -1.06? and -1.40? for cultivars Radiante and Grafite, respectively. The average B value in shoots of common bean cultivars was ?1.23?, and the B value of ?1.2 was used in the calculation of the BNF contribution in the field experiments of this study. Eight common bean cultivars were grown in field conditions in 2011 and 2012, with two N sources (inoculation with commercial inoculant with rizhobia or fertilization with 90 kg ha-1 of mineral N), with four replications, at Embrapa Rice and Bean in Santo Antonio de Goias, GO. Biomass of the shoot, root, nodules and grains were sampled, and total N and 15N natural abundance were analyzed in shoots and grains. In the experiment in 2011, the Ouro Negro cultivar produced higher nodule mass under inoculation, also at reproductive stages, and the Jalo Precoce and Radiante cultivars showed the lowest nodule mass. The grain yield of the eight cultivars was 1614 and 2942 kg ha-1 under inoculation or mineral N, respectively. Under inoculation, the Ouro Negro cultivar showed the highest N accumulation in shoots and grains and the highest grain yield, reaching 2200 kg ha-1, equivalent to 73% of yield under mineral N. In 2011, the N accumulation derived from BNF in grains of the eight cultivars ranged from 5.8 to 16.4 kg ha-1, which corresponded to a BNF contribution of 17% and 33% in Marfim and Ouro Negro cultivars, respectively. In 2012, the higher nodule mass occurred in Vereda and Estilo cultivars, in the first and second samples, respectively, whereas Radiante cultivar had the lowest nodule mass. The average grain yield of the eight cultivars was 3284 and 3919 kg ha-1 under inoculation and mineral N, respectively. The N accumulation derived from BNF in grains was 68.4, 38.7, and 21.6 kg ha-1 in Ouro Negro, Grafite and Radiante cultivars, respectively, corresponding to a BNF contribution of 49, 29 and 32%. The method of 15N natural abundance provided the identification of BNF potential for the supply of N in different common bean genotypes, arising as a tool for providing subsidies to guide breeding programs in order to increase BNF efficiency. / A t?cnica da abund?ncia natural de 15N para mensurar a fixa??o biol?gica de nitrog?nio (FBN) em leguminosas baseia-se no ligeiro enriquecimento de 15N observado nos solos em rela??o ? atmosfera e n?o exige a aplica??o de fertilizantes marcados. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram: quantificar, atrav?s da t?cnica da abund?ncia natural de 15N, a contribui??o da FBN em cultivares de feijoeirocomum (Phaseolus vulgaris) em condi??es de campo; avaliar o desempenho agron?mico dessas cultivares sob inocula??o; estimar o valor do fracionamento isot?pico durante a FBN (valor B) de cultivares de feijoeiro crescidas em solu??o nutritiva. Foram conduzidos dois experimentos em casa de vegeta??o, em solu??o nutritiva isenta de N, nos anos de 2012 e 2013, em Serop?dica, RJ. Foram avaliadas tr?s cultivares de feijoeiro, efetuando-se coletas de biomassa em diferentes est?dios e analisando-se a abund?ncia natural de 15N do material vegetal. No experimento em 2012, os n?dulos apresentaram ?15N positivo, com deltas de 6,63? e 8,18? nas cultivares Grafite e Radiante, respectivamente. O valor B da parte a?rea foi de ?0,92?, ?0,73? e ?0,72?, nas cultivares Grafite, Ouro Negro e Radiante, respectivamente. No experimento em 2013, os n?dulos apresentaram deltas de 9,11? e 8,36? nas cultivares Radiante e Grafite. O valor B da parte a?rea foi de ?1,06? e ?1,40? nas cultivares Radiantee Grafite, respectivamente. O valor B m?dio da parte a?rea das cultivares foi de ?1,23?, sendo o valor B de ?1,2 utilizado nos c?lculos da contribui??o da FBN nos experimentos de campo desse estudo. Oito cultivares de feijoeiro foram crescidas em condi??es de campo em 2011 e 2012, sob duas fontes de N (inocula??o com inoculante comercial com riz?bio ou aduba??o com 90 kg ha-1 de N mineral), com quatro repeti??es, na Embrapa Arroz e Feij?o, em Santo Antonio de Goi?s, GO. Foram efetuadas amostragens de biomassa de parte a?rea, raiz, n?dulos e gr?os e an?lises de N total e abund?ncia natural de 15N na parte a?rea e gr?os. No experimento em 2011, a cultivar Ouro Negro produziu maior massa de n?dulos sob inocula??o, inclusive nos est?dios reprodutivos, e as cultivares Jalo Precoce e Radiante apresentaram a menor massa de n?dulos. O rendimento m?dio de gr?os das oito cultivares foi de 1614 e 2942 kg ha-1 sob inocula??o ou N mineral, respectivamente. Sob inocula??o, a cultivar Ouro Negro apresentou os maiores ac?mulos de N na parte a?rea e nos gr?os e a maior produtividade, atingindo 2200 kg ha-1 de gr?os, equivalente a 73% da produ??o sob N mineral. Em 2011, o ac?mulo de N derivado da FBN nos gr?os das oito cultivares variou de 5,8 a 16,4 kg ha-1, que correspondeu a 17% e 33% de contribui??o da FBN nas cultivares Marfim e Ouro Negro, respectivamente. Em 2012, a maior massa de n?dulos ocorreu nas cultivares Vereda e Estilo, na primeira e segunda coletas, respectivamente, e a cultivar Radiante apresentou a menor massa de n?dulos. O rendimento m?dio de gr?os das oito cultivares foi de 3284 e 3919 kg ha-1 sobinocula??o e N mineral, respectivamente. O ac?mulo de N derivado da FBN nos gr?os foi de 68,4 kg ha-1 na cultivar Ouro Negro, 38,7 kg ha-1 na cultivar Grafite e 21,6 kg ha-1 na cultivar Radiante, que correspondeu a 49, 29 e 32% de contribui??o da FBN, respectivamente. A t?cnica da abund?ncia natural de 15N possibilita a identifica??o do potencial de FBN para o fornecimento de N em diferentes gen?tipos de feijoeiro, e mostra-se como uma ferramenta capaz de fornecer subs?dios para orientar os programas de melhoramento da esp?cie, visando aumentar a efici?ncia da FBN.

I den här studien presenteras undersökning som gjorts inom ramen för ett historiebruk med fokus på IS tidskrifter, där en textanalytisk undersökningsmetod har legat till grund för studien. Syftet med denna analys har varit att undersöka Islamiska statens historiebruk i tidskrifterna Dabiq och Rumiyah med tonvikt på dess motståndare. Frågeställningar som denna studie har behandlat sammanfattas enligt följande: • Hur använder IS historien för att rättfärdiga sitt handlande gentemot sina motståndare? • Hur och vilka framställs som motståndare i IS tidskrifter? • Vilka kopplingar finns det i IS tidskrifter mellan vår nutid och händelser i vår dåtid? Studien har visat hur IS historiebruk har påverkat synen på motståndarna. Med IS tidskrifter har det historiska vapnet kunnat användas genom historiska texter, händelser, ord samt personer. Således har IS skräck-propaganda påverkat individers tolkning av historiska källor där haditherna samt Koranens relevans har bidragit till motståndarnas exekution. Med hjälp av historia kan organisationen ifrågasätta motståndarnas tro för att stärka sin egen ideologi. Artiklarna använder historiska ord för att stärka föraktet men även bygga upp en gemensam tradition där historiebruket rättfärdigar handlandet mot motståndarna. Resultatet visar att motståndarbilden består av korsfarare, shiamuslimer, murtaddin samt mushrikin som med hjälp av ett historiebruk ur islams historia stärker IS identitet samt tillväxt.

Three students were picked to be the focus students for this ethnography. The criteria used to pick the three focus students are: focus student one has to be an English language learner, focus student two student has to have an IEP or a 504 plan, and focus student three has to have had a significant life experience. Included in the ethnography are student works, analysis of assessments, and interviews with students and families. I used scholarly resources to support data, such as How to be an Effective Teacher by Harry K. Wong (2009). I discuss the effectiveness of my action plan by discussing the results of the students progression, or the need to amend the action plan. The purpose of ethnography is to get to know the student as a whole, and not through assessments. I describe students’ interests, likes and dislikes, and family life. In addition to getting to know the students, there is an in depth look at the educator, and her motivations.

Att läsa litteratur och under läsakten föreställa sig en röst tycks vara en både vanlig och abstrakt företeelse. I den här uppsatsen används narratologiska och stilistiska redskap för att utreda om inomtextliga moment kan främja en föreställning av röst i Mare Kandres (1962-2005) novell "Is" (1988). Med utgångspunkt i frågeställningar som rör novellens berättarsätt, novellens språk och deras effekter synliggörs och diskuteras narrativa moment och stildrag som tillsammans kan understödja en föreställning av röst i "Is".

Abstract The "Defective" Generation: Disability in Modernist Literature aims to provide an analysis of how Anglo-American authors in the early twentieth century conceived of, utilized, and portrayed disability in their fiction. Building on the existing scholarship in the field of Disability Studies, I argue that modernists revise the tradition of representation to make disabilities a generational trait rather than a sign of individual deviance. In novel after novel, multiple characters exhibit some form of illness or impairment, which appears as both cause and effect of the instabilities and traumas of modernity. Like many of their predecessors, then, these authors portray diverse health conditions as "defects" rather than natural variations in the human body, and most draw little distinction between the types of "disorders" they represent. This perspective, however, becomes particularly destructive in the era leading up to the Holocaust, when eugenical attitudes would lead to the murder or sterilization of over a million people with disabilities. Modernists also continue to exploit disability's potential for metaphor and sometimes evoke traditional stereotypes. Unlike traditional representations, however, these works do not resolve what the authors perceive as the "problem" of disability by curing or eliminating it; instead, they portray characters struggling to lead fulfilling lives despite feeling limited by their health. Working against the public's conception of disability as solely a medical condition, many of these authors further depict the social forces that turn a perceived "difference" into a "disability." The project is arranged into four chapters. In the first, "Idiots and Other Degenerates: Disability at the Dawn of Modernism," I use Joseph Conrad's novel The Secret Agent to illustrate how disability becomes characteristic of a generation, primarily through the influence of degeneration theory. Mocking the popular conception of a society divided into the "fit" and "unfit," Conrad creates a circle of characters who judge others to be degenerate while ignoring their own similar traits. From that beginning, I move in chapter 2, "Modernist Style: The Inward Turn and Portrayals of Mental Illness," to an analysis of the effects of stylistic experimentation on depictions of disability in both Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. The authors' use of multiple points of view in these works leads to a representation of both an individual's experience of psychosis and the stigma that can accompany such illness, and, like Conrad, both writers elide the differences between the seemingly able-bodied characters and those they deem disabled. These authors also offer a contrast in perceptions. Whereas Woolf treats shell shock and emotional instability largely as the unavoidable effects of World War I, Fitzgerald links both schizophrenia and alcoholism to decadent behavior, thus aligning himself with the public's perception of illness as a matter of intent. Moving from style to theme, in chapter 3, "Impaired Relationships: Physical Injury and the Pursuit of Romance," I explore the ways in which authors depict physical impairments as obstacles to personal relationships. Through a comparison of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and the "Nausicaa" chapter of James Joyce's Ulysses, I discuss the intersection of gender identity, disability, and romance. I argue against the critical consensus that Jake Barnes feels emasculated by his injury and that Gerty MacDowell is "doomed" to spinsterhood because she limps, contending that both authors allow their characters to maintain a sense of masculinity or femininity consistent with the hegemonic ideals of their time. While Hemingway presents Jake's wound as a physical disability that prevents his having the relationship he desires, Joyce uses Gerty's limp to mark her as an imperfect beauty in preference to an array of idealized iconic images, and in her encounter with Leopold Bloom grants her the sexual attention that she desires. In my final chapter, "African American Modernism and a Deadly Game of Blind Man's Buff," I shift focus from mainstream to African American modernism with an analysis of Richard Wright's Native Son,, addressing the author's use of folklore in relation to the metaphor of blindness. Posing the literally blind Mrs. Dalton as a revenant of the American colonists who ignored the humanity of those they enslaved and as a symbol of continuing oppression, Wright develops Bigger Thomas as both a trickster who exploits the "blindness" of others and a badman who rebels against it. My conclusion then addresses the use of disability metaphors, the attitudes those metaphors expose, and the authors' apparent agreement with or challenges to contemporary perceptions of disability. Although critics have previously analyzed specific works or certain aspects of disability representations during this era, this project seeks a more comprehensive discussion of disability in modernist fiction than currently exists. My hope is that it will enhance our understanding of both the period's literature and the harmful attitudes that existed at the time, which the work of Disability Studies has endeavored to overturn.

This study involved using a classroom environment questionnaire in North Carolina to assess and improve biology classroom environments and to relate classroom environment to the student outcomes of achievement and attitudes. Part 1 of the study involved 364 Grade 9 and 10 students in Biology 1 at a large comprehensive urban high school in Charlotte, North Carolina. These students completed preferred and actual forms of a modified version of the What Is Happening In this Class? learning environment questionnaire assessing student cohesiveness, teacher support, involvement, investigation, task orientation, cooperation, and equity. Also an eight-item scale from the Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA) was included to measure students' attitudes towards science. Finally, student achievement in biology was assessed using the results of a districtwide achievement test. Analyses of data collected in Part 1 of the study supported the WIHIC's a priori factor structure, internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity and ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. Investigation of gender and ethnic (black vs non-black) differences in classroom environment revealed no ethnic differences, but there were gender differences for several scales (with boys perceiving more involvement and investigation and less cooperation than girls). / Various analyses of outcome-environment relationships suggested that student achievement is higher in more cohesive classes, whereas student attitudes to science are particularly favourable in investigative, task-oriented and equitable classes. Part 2 involved one class in intervention aimed at improving both classroom environment and student achievement by giving greater emphasis to those features of the learning environment found to be empirically linked to achievement in Part 1. The students involved in the intervention were chosen because they were `at risk' of failing at school. It was found that this intervention involving a cooperative action research plan led to improvement in both classroom environment and achievement for these `at risk' students. Because the methods used in the intervention are lowcost and available to most teachers, they are of wide potential interest to others.

The science education literature was examined in order to identify the methodologies that various authors considered to characterise inquiry teaching. On the basis of this examination, a new classroom environment instrument, the Is This an Inquiring Classroom or ITIC was developed. The final version of the ITIC contained forty items in five different scales, Freedom in Practical Work, Communication, Interpretation of Data, Science Stories and Uncertainty in Science.The Actual and Preferred Forms of the ITIC were administered to 2,207 Grade 7-12 students and 65 teachers from 15 different schools. The results of this investigation showed that both students and teachers would prefer there to be higher levels of inquiry behaviours in Tasmanian science classrooms, with teachers indicating a preference for significantly higher levels than students. The perceptions of different sub-groups within the student population were also analysed.An examination of the Tasmanian curriculum documents showed that they supported the use of inquiry teaching methodologies, as defined by the ITIC scales. From the above investigations it was concluded that it would be desirable for there to be higher levels of inquiry methodologies in Tasmanian science classes, and that the production of the ITIC provides a means of monitoring and measuring any change.

This study investigated the educational practices and learning outcomes in rural and urban lower secondary school science classrooms of Kalimantan Selatan, Indonesia. Guided by six research questions, this study focused on curriculum implementation and its association with the existing working and learning environment, learning process and learning outcomes. The investigations were conducted in two stages and used two research methods. The classroom learning environment and school level environment were investigated at the first stage using the questionnaire survey as a research method. The questionnaires were developed and validated with a sample of 1188 Year 9 students and their teachers in 16 schools. Validation of the questionnaire confirmed that the Indonesian version of the modified WMIC is a valid and reliable instrument to measure the classroom learning environment in the Indonesian educational context. The results regarding the status of the classroom learning environment are summarised in four assertions. First, students tended to prefer a more favourable classroom learning environment than the one they actually experienced. Second, female students generally held slightly more positive perceptions of both actual and preferred learning environments. Third, students in rural schools experienced a less positive learning environment than did their counterparts in urban areas. Fourth, teachers’ perceptions were more favourable than their students on both the actual and preferred learning environment for all seven scales, except on Task Orientation in which their perceptions were matched. This study also confirmed that the Indonesian version of SLEQ, administered to relatively small number of respondents, has gained in merit as a good instrument. / Each scale of the Indonesian SLEQ has acceptable internal consistency reliability and was able to differentiate between the perceptions of teachers in different schools. Further analysis indicated differences between perceptions of school environments of biology and physics teachers and of rural and urban school teachers, particularly on Resources Adequacy. This study also indicated the differences between teachers’ views of the actual and preferred school environments in which the differences are not only statistically but also practically significant. It is suggested that research for improving school environments, by matching teachers’ actual and preferred perceptions, is noteworthy and more research needs to be conducted. The second stage of this study explored the existing science curriculum documents, teachers’ perceptions of the science curriculum, the implementation of science curriculum in the classrooms, and the students’ outcomes in school science. In lower secondary school, science is compulsory for all students of all Year levels, and is aimed to introduce the students to the basic concepts of scientific knowledge and to emphasize the use of tools and equipment during laboratory observations. Science in the lower secondary school consists of physics and biology subjects that were taught separately, but were given the same amount of classroom periods per week. The content was organized into themes or topics. Despite the content to be taught, the development of students’ process skills and students’ attitudes towards science and the environment were also emphasized. / The suggested teaching approaches included the conceptual approach, the problem-solving approach, the inductive-deductive approach and the environmental approach, whereas the suggested teaching methods in science classroom are the experimental method, the demonstration method, the discussion method, the excursion method and the lecturing method. The evaluation and assessment sections of the curriculum documents expected science teachers to systematically and continuously assess the students. Three techniques were suggested to conduct evaluation in the science classroom, which included paper and pencil tests, verbal evaluations, and practical tests. Science teachers and superintendents possessed different perceptions of the science curriculum as expressed in their preferences towards curriculum metaphors. The metaphor ‘Curriculum as Content or as Subject Matter’ was a view perceived by three teachers. ‘Curriculum as intended learning outcome’ was the second metaphor preferred by two teachers, who hold this view for different reasons. In contrast, two superintendents expressed their most preference on the metaphors ‘Curriculum as discrete task and concepts’ and ‘Curriculum as programme planned activity’, respectively. Investigation of the implementation of the science curriculum in the classrooms confirmed that science-teaching practices in urban lower secondary schools was in agreement with those suggested in the curriculum documents. / Science teachers in urban schools tended to use a variety of teaching methods, employed good questioning techniques, provided clear explanations and had high outcomes expectation, and maintained effective classroom management. On the other hand, to some extend science teaching practice in the rural lower secondary schools was not as expected in the curriculum document. Mostly, teachers in rural schools tended to use traditional chalk-and-talk teaching methods, employed a limited questioning techniques, had relatively unclear outcomes expectation, and performed less effective classroom management skills. With regard to students’ outcomes, this study showed less favourable results. Students’ attitudinal outcomes, which were measured by the Indonesian version of adapted TOSRA, were not maximised, and students’ cognitive outcomes are disappointing. The mean scores on the national wide examination, which is 5.46 out of possible maximum score of 10.00, indicated the poor performance of students in learning School Science. No statistically significantly differences were found on attitudinal outcomes between rural and urban and between male and female students’ perceptions. However, the study identified that students’ cognitive scores were statistically significantly different between rural and urban schools. Students in urban schools scored higher in the examination than did their counterparts in rural schools. The study found association between students’ outcomes and the status of classroom learning environments. Both simple analysis and multiple regression analysis procedures showed that all scales of the Indonesian WMIC were statistically significantly associated with two scales of the Indonesian adapted TOSRA and students’ cognitive scores.