The school has an anti-racist mission where teachers, especially social studies teachers, have a central role. Previous research shows, however, that the school often lacks in counteracting racism, which raises questions about how teachers see racism as a phenomenon and school as an anti-racist place. There is a lack of knowledge about how social studies teachers perceive the anti-racist work and whether and, in such cases, how they implement anti-racism within the framework of social science teaching. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate social studies teachers' perceptions of and implementation of an anti-racist mission in upper secondary school. This was done through five semi-structured interviews which were analyzed with Michael Lipsky's (2010) theory of grassroots bureaucracy which is supplemented by Gert Biesta and Sarah Robinson's (2015) theory of cultural and structural factors, Nicholas Abercrombie, Stephen Hill & Brian Turners (2006) definitions of individual and structural racism and Emma Arnebacks (2012) identified courses of action against racism. The results show that no teacher has an explicit anti-racist attitude, but they perceive the task as aimed at counteracting students 'tendencies to express "problematic" thoughts or opinions, which is a description of purpose that is influenced by teachers' understanding of racism as an individual phenomenon. The attitude to the assignment is positive, but it is perceived to be fraught with challenges that arise partly because of a perceived limited scope for action, and partly because of the teachers believing that there is a measure of anti-racism in the teaching. The teachers also perceive the social studies teacher's special role in an anti-racist assignment partly negatively as it is described as becoming a workload. Criticism is directed at a deficient teacher education that structurally limits the anti-racist work as they feel that it has to a low degree equipped them with competence in racism despite the subject's special relevance, and partly because the entire teacher education was not characterized by this which could even the workload. The teachers believe that they implement the anti-racist mission, and the courses of action are mediating, democratizing, and partly relationally characterized where concrete strategies in social studies are to provide knowledge and practice critical reflection in the students. Important knowledge is mainly about democracy and human rights, and an important skill is critical thinking. The study's conclusions are that social studies teachers do not perceive the school as an explicit anti-racist place, but rather in an implicit way. The fact that the mission is not explicitly carried out can mean that anti-racism is lacking when knowledge of racism is limited, especially when a structural reflexivity is lacking. Although teachers may neglect different expressions of racism in school, the implementation is still often consistent with the curricula's formulations of the anti-racist mission.

The shortage of housing increases the demand for apartment buildings, while pressing climate change forces the construction sector to reduce its carbon footprint. In this context, solid wood and engineered wood products have been shown to be a more sustainable alternative to traditional building materials.  The present study investigates how living in wooden high-rise apartments impacts the wellbeing of its occupants. Nine people currently living in high-rise wooden buildings were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The data was processed using a qualitative content analysis. The residents expressed having a “clear conscience” regarding their choice of housing and were proud to contribute to sustainability from an ecological perspective. In addition, the majority of the participants linked exposed wood in the indoor and outdoor living environment to feelings of comfort and wellbeing. In general, the touch of wood was perceived as softer, warmer and more alive than other materials such as stone. The conclusion points towards the outdoor and indoor environment of wooden high-rise buildings having a positive effect on the wellbeing of its residents.

教育首重教師，而師資培育也是國內教育科系設立的首要目標，而培養優良教師更是其中最重要的目的，因此如何成為優良教師的知識學問其重要性自不待言。本研究乃環扣此一立意，初衷乃在探究如何成為師鐸獎教師的原因，以提供有志成為優良教師之人努力的方向。 本研究採用訪談法進行研究，研究對象為2010年台北市十位師鐸獎教師。由於師鐸獎教師的故事各有其多元繽紛的色彩，很難用一個固定模式加以齊一，但是從長遠的縱貫發展的觀點來看，仍然透露出各個階段的主要特徵。所以研究者從文獻探討中歸納出教師發展的三個階段：適應與建立能力、專業成長與發展、以及專業成熟，並以此為框架將師鐸獎教師們各自的精彩故事做為內容敘述，使得各階段的理論概念敘述得到生活實例的印證。再者，除了理論性的階段探討與故事敘述的印證外，本研究還以進入教職以後的「教師生涯發展」為主軸，另加入影響教師專業發展六個影響因素的內容為輔，鋪敘出九位師鐸獎教師的生涯發展故事，使得本研究不僅有理論概念的探討，也有具體可親活生生的故事呈現。 另外，師鐸獎教師為何能夠成為師鐸獎教師，本研究從「教師專業發展」的角度著手，藉由文獻探討歸納六個重要的影響因素：「家庭」、「高中以前的求學歷程」、「教育專業訓練」、「學校組織環境」、「在職成長」以及「個人特質」，並且從這六個因素去訪問師鐸獎教師們，並以師鐸獎教師的回答內容為基礎，再進一步的濃縮成概念性的內容。 最後，本研究以整體的角度為「師鐸獎教師的生涯發展」與「生涯發展的重要因素」主題做結論的總結如下： 一、 在六個影響因素當中，最重要的是盡心付出的個人特質； 二、 原生家庭父母親的身教影響深遠； 三、 小時候家庭環境的辛苦不一定有害，也可能成為未來的助益，關鍵乃在於正面的面對方式； 四、 「不反對」是婚姻家庭方面的基本支持； 五、 過去師長的言行態度是從事教職的重要參考； 六、 教育專業訓練對當事人主觀上的教育專業發展似乎意義不大； 七、 學校組織環境是累積能力的良好環境； 八、 教師專業成長從教學開始，進而充分發揮教師的角色功能； 九、 當事人的在職成長皆表現出不同於一般的具體投入行為； 十、 在職成長缺少有系統有組織的整體明確規劃； 十一、 積極正面的做事態度是很重要的個人特質； 最後，根據研究結果與討論提出關於成為優良教師的建議，乃分別從對教師個人、對學校、對教育政策，以及對未來研究四個方面進行條列式的建議。 / Teachers are the most important elements of teaching, and teacher cultivation is the most crucial task in the establishment of departments of education nationwide. The chief objective of all such institutions is to cultivate excellent teachers. Therefore, the importance of knowing how to become an excellent teacher goes without saying. The present study focuses on the above knowledge by exploring the experiences of teachers who have won the Teaching Excellence Award in order to provide examples for others striving to become excellent teachers. This study adopted the interview method and recruited ten teachers who won the Taipei City 2010 Teaching Excellence Award as participants. Due to the diverse nature of the stories of these award-winning teachers, it was hard to unify them into a single framework. However, when viewed from a more distant perspective, we are still able to make out the main features of the phases that these teachers went through. We were also able to identify three phases of teacher development based on a literature review: adaptation and establishment, professional growth and development, and professional maturity. These three main phases were then used as a framework to better understand the helpful stories of these award-winning teachers. The stories can in turn provide real life proof for the concept of each phase. In addition to discussing the theories related to these phases and proving them with actual examples, the current study also used “teaching career development” as a theme and incorporated six influencing factors relating to the professional development of teachers to illustrate the professional development stories of nine award-winning teachers. This research not only contains discussions on the theoretical concepts, but also presents specific, real-life stories. The reasons behind becoming a Teaching Excellence Award winning teacher are viewed from the “teaching professionalism development” perspective, and explored through the six important influencing factors identified via literature review, specifically, “family,” “the course of education prior to high school,” “educational professional training,” “school system and environment,” “professional growth,” and “personal features.” The award-winning teachers were interviewed with the above six factors in mind, and conceptual content was then further extracted through their answers. Lastly, the study used “the teaching career development of the Teaching Excellence Award winning teachers” and “the important factors influencing career development” as the overall perspective themes and concluded the following: 1. The most important factor among the six influencing factors is the personal feature of devoted effort; 2. The family-of-origin parenting effects are profound; 3. Hardships encountered during childhood are not necessarily detrimental and can even become beneficial in the future; the key lies within the way one directly confronts these hardships; 4. “Not objecting” is the most fundamental way of expressing support in married families; 5. The behaviors and attitudes of the teachers in the past are important references for teaching conduct; 6. Educational professional training seems relatively unimportant to the course of education professionalism development from the participants’ point of view; 7. The school system and environment is a good place to acquire and accumulate teaching abilities; 8. A teacher’s professional growth begins with teaching and expands to the full display of the teacher’s function and role; 9. The subjects showed exceptional activity in contributing to their own professional growth when compared to others; 10. Professional growth in general lacks clear overall systematic and organized planning; 11. Proactive and positive attitudes are very important personal features. In conclusion, based on research results and discussions, many helpful suggestions were made regarding the process of becoming an excellent teacher. Itemized suggestions for teachers, schools, education policies, and future research aspects were included. Keywords: Teaching Excellence Awards, teaching career development, teaching professionalism development, interview method

China and India claimed two territories along their borders on the Himalayas: Aksai Chin in the west and the North-East Frontier Agency in the east. The border dispute escalated and, on October 20, 1962, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) opened fire on the two fronts and advanced into the disputed territories. One month later, on November 21, China declared a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew behind its disputed line of control. In response, the Indian government arrested over 2,000 Chinese living in India and interned them in Deoli, Rajasthan. When the Chinese were released between 1964 and 1966, they found their properties sold off by the Indian government. Many left India and immigrated to Canada. I interviewed four Indian-born Chinese who were interned and who now live in the Greater Toronto Area. I recorded their accounts of life in Deoli Detention Camp in Rajasthan.

China and India claimed two territories along their borders on the Himalayas: Aksai Chin in the west and the North-East Frontier Agency in the east. The border dispute escalated and, on October 20, 1962, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) opened fire on the two fronts and advanced into the disputed territories. One month later, on November 21, China declared a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew behind its disputed line of control. In response, the Indian government arrested over 2,000 Chinese living in India and interned them in Deoli, Rajasthan. When the Chinese were released between 1964 and 1966, they found their properties sold off by the Indian government. Many left India and immigrated to Canada. I interviewed four Indian-born Chinese who were interned and who now live in the Greater Toronto Area. I recorded their accounts of life in Deoli Detention Camp in Rajasthan.

Queer-identified women in Canada and elsewhere are underserved as a community with regard to the provision of support for drug use related problems. In order to provide much needed inclusive support services, researchers, policy makers and treatment providers must recognize and act on the interface of oppression with substance use in populations of queer women. The homophobia and heterosexism endemic to our society is an issue that necessitates the exploration, development, and inclusion of responsive policies and services for queer women who seek - or desire to seek - support for problematic substance use. This research study explores the support needs of queer-identified women who experience difficulties as a result of drug use. Through qualitative, interview-based research, my inquiry examines responses to the question: What are the support needs of women who are impacted by the confluence of heteronormativity and problematic drug use? Data are derived from nine, semi-structured in-depth interviews with women in the Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland areas of British Columbia. The methodological framework incorporates a critical feminist approach. A thematic analysis technique was utilized to analyse the interviews, with data categorized into three primary themes of discrimination, resistance, and support. Findings indicate that queer women require distinct support services for problematic substance use issues in an effort to redress systemic heteronormativity.