The objective of this study has been to investigate the beliefs of Swedish middle school teachers in supporting the development of students’ reading comprehension of literature. The study is based on two central research questions that include what motivates teachers in choosing literature for reading comprehension instruction as well as considerations of reading strategy instruction aimed towards developing the reading comprehension of Swedish middle school students in grades 4 – 6. The theoretical basis of the study is grounded in teacher cognition regarding teachers’ beliefs in addition to reader-response theory as it relates to methods of literature reading comprehension instruction. The study method consists of directed qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews with six teachers alongside document analysis of teaching materials used by the informants. Teachers were selected to emulate a representative sample of the teacher population with a variation in professional experience. The results show a consensus among teachers in the literature selection criteria that involve appropriate language complexity in addition to opportunities for students to appeal to and identify with familiar thematic content. Furthermore, personal experiences and interests influence teachers in the literature selection process. Moreover, the results indicate that the teachers make use of a content-focused approach and that reading strategies are applied to a varying extent in reference to influential instructional models, professional experience as well as school structures. The teachers convey insecurities in providing adequate equal support for students, which demonstrates a need for improved structural professional development. Suggestions for future research in reading strategies instruction development are also discussed. / Studiens syfte har varit att undersöka uppfattningar hos lärare i årskurs 4 – 6 om arbetet medutvecklingen av elevers läsförståelse av skönlitteratur. Undersökningen genomfördes utifrån tvåcentrala frågeställningar om lärarnas val av skönlitteratur i undervisning i läsförståelse och hur lärareväljer att arbeta med lässtrategier för att utveckla läsförståelsen av skönlitteratur hos elever i årskurs 4 – 6. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkter utgörs av lärarkognition gällande lärares uppfattningar såvälsom receptionsteori i anslutning till beskrivningar av arbetet med läsförståelse av skönlitteratur.Studiens datainsamling har utgjorts av riktad kvalitativ innehållsanalys av semistrukturerade intervjueri anslutning till dokumentanalys av undervisningsmaterial med sex lärare som valts för att efterliknaett representativt tvärsnitt av lärarpopulationen utifrån yrkeslivserfarenhet och skolform. Resultatet avstudien visar att lärarna uttrycker en samstämmighet i motiveringar till skönlitteratur och att verk väljsutifrån kriterier gällande böckernas språkliga nivå och tematiskt innehåll som eleverna identifierar sigmed och engageras av. Lärarna baserar även litteraturvalen på sina personliga övertygelser ocherfarenheter. Resultatet visar dessutom att lärarna fokuserar på läsningens innehåll och undervisar ilässtrategier i varierad omfattning med hänvisning till enstaka strategiprogram, erfarenheter ochskolans strukturer. Lärarna uppvisar osäkerheter i likvärdighetsarbetet och ger uttryck för ett behov avett kontinuerligt fortbildningsarbete. Förslag på vidare forskning inom området för utvecklingen avarbete med lässtrategier presenteras.

The Last Two Years of David Brachman is a feature-length digital film directed, written and produced by Marcos Casilli in pursuit of the Master of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Media from the University of Central Florida. This is a very personal film that presents a sometimes-humorous approach to the following question: what makes life worth living? The film was made on what is categorized as a microbudget, but following the studio production model for the most part. This thesis presents a critique of that combination, advocating for a "slow cinema" model instead.

This thesis documents my creative process as the Production Designer on the feature length micro budget film The Last Two Years of David Brachman, written and directed by Marc Casilli. The film is a dark comedy chronicling the life of David Brachman, a twenty-five year old with a stagnant life that is seemingly leading nowhere, as he pledges on his twenty-fifth birthday to change the path of his life in the next two years or commit suicide if he fails. The overall design concept of the film is rooted in realism, but allowed to contain elements that will remove the audience in order to lighten the load of the serious topic of death. With a nod to the 1950s family home and the nostalgia of decades past; David’s world is created to show drastic shifts from his inert, routine life at home to the outside working world in to which he thrusts himself. The world outside of David’s home is seen through a lens that exemplifies stereotypical social roles and thereby adds to his feelings of outcast and loneliness. Creating the versatile world of David Brachman presented challenges with the amount of locations, characters, and costumes changes; however, these challenges were further complicated by working on an overall micro budget of thirty-six thousand dollars, with approximately fifteen hundred dollars allocated to the art department and costuming. These challenges created a need for resourceful acquisition techniques and budgeting to ensure that the overall artistic vision was not sacrificed. Remaining true to the design aesthetic and the director’s vision, my staff and I were able to overcome budgetary challenges, staffing changes that occurred during filming, and shifts in the production dynamic that created a sometimes chaotic filming environment. The careful iv planning and organization of each design element and their execution ensured the successful creation of David’s world and a visual story to compliment the screenplay. Within this thesis I document my design process from my initial design proposal to the director through post production and final viewing of the completed film. Included here are specific details of my design process including script analysis, script breakdowns, location plots, budget tracking, stills from the film, a copy of the finished film, and all the paperwork generated in creating the film. A detailed journal of the filming process including obstacles I encountered as well as the solutions created throughout this process and a self evaluation and reflection on the final product of work are included.

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This study examines German illustrated broadsheets that were manufactured and published in the Holy Roman Empire between 1630-1633. They were part of a pro-Swedish media campaign launched soon after the arrival of the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf and the Swedish army in the Holy Roman Empire in June 1630 with the intention to legitimate the Swedish king’s presence in the Holy Roman Empire.  Inspired by Jan Glete’s notion about the early fiscal-military states as protection-selling enterprises, this study uses pro-Swedish illustrated broadsheets as a source material in order to examine how they were used to encourage German Protestants to buy Swedish protection. By looking for protection-selling arguments, this study wants to find out how Swedish protection was portrayed in the illustrated broadsheets. This study also makes a distinction between confessional and non-confessional protection-selling arguments, making it possible to distinguish which aspects of the protection-selling arguments that had a more religious character and vice versa. After the analysis of the source material, the protection-selling arguments are organised into various categories of representation, which enables the study to establish how Sweden and Gustav II Adolf were portrayed, and what they were claimed to represent in terms of protection.  The study concludes that the illustrated broadsheets portrayed Sweden and Gustav II Adolf as competent seller of protection who had the ability to protect its allies and co-religionists against aggression, religious oppression, plundering, murdering, destruction, the Devil and his collaborators, and consequences of the Edict of Restitution. Gustav II Adolf represents the Swedish state, and the illustrated broadsheets highlight his courage, competence as a political and military leader, and his Protestant devotion.  Their enemies are portrayed as dissident aggressors who represented religious oppression, plundering, murdering, destruction, heresy, devil-worshiping, and witchcraft. They were said to possess the negative qualities of hypocrisy and mortal sin, as well as an incapable military leadership.

Denna kvantitativa enkätstudie riktar sig till yrkesverksamma pedagoger i förskolan. Syftet är att undersöka kunskapsläget hos pedagoger i Sveriges förskolor och deras behov av stöd och resurser i förhållande till barns traumatiska erfarenheter utifrån pedagogernas utbildningsnivå, år i yrket och vilket socioekonomiskt område de arbetar i. Undersökningen visar att barndomsrelaterade trauman är vanligt förekommande och att det råder en kunskapsbrist hos pedagoger i Sveriges förskolor om barns traumatiska erfarenheter. Studien visar inga signifikanta skillnader beroende på pedagogernas utbildningsnivå. Emellertid är pedagogernas antal år i yrket av betydelse då pedagoger med mer yrkeserfarenhet av förskolans verksamhet i större utsträckning fått tillräckliga stöd och resurser för att möta barn med traumatiska erfarenheter, jämfört med pedagoger med mindre erfarenhet. Mer yrkeserfarna pedagoger och de som arbetar i områden med socioekonomiska utmaningar har mött fler barn med traumatiska erfarenheter. Resultatet visar att pedagoger efterfrågar mer utbildning i form av kompetensutveckling samtidigt som tidigare forskning visar att det finns kunskap att tillgå. Detta indikerar att pedagogerna antingen inte är medvetna eller inte har tillgång till relevant fortbildning och kompetensutveckling för att möta barn med traumatiska erfarenheter. / This quantitative survey study is aimed at professional educators in preschools. The aim is to examine the level of knowledge among educators in Swedish preschools and their needs for support and resources regarding children's traumatic experiences, based on the educators' level of education, years in the profession, and the socioeconomic areas in which they work. Our survey shows that childhood-related traumas are commonly prevalent, and there is a lack of knowledge among educators in Swedish preschools regarding children's traumatic experiences. The study reveals no significant differences based on the educators' level of education. However, the number of years in the profession is significant as educators with more experience in preschool activities have received adequate support and resources to address children with traumatic experiences to a greater extent compared to those with less experience. More experienced educators and those working in socioeconomically challenging areas have encountered a higher number of children with traumatic experiences. The results indicate that educators demand more education in the form of professional development, despite previous research suggesting the availability of knowledge. This indicates that educators are either unaware or do not have access to relevant further education and professional development to address children with traumatic experiences.

The goal of improving student achievement is of paramount interest to all public schools. The focus of this research was to determine the difference between inquiry based teaching strategies and student achievement. Additionally, the researcher investigated the origin of inquiry based teaching knowledge and International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP) affiliation. IBPYP affiliation was studied due to the nature of the IBPYP as an inquiry based philosophy of teaching. The McGill Strategic Demands of Inquiry Questionnaire (MSDIQ) was used to determine teacher beliefs of inquiry based teaching strategies. Student achievement was measured using Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) levels. Results from the MSDIQ indicated strong beliefs among participants of inquiry based teaching indicators within three domains: planning, enactment, and reflection. The researcher recommended further research into the origin of inquiry based teaching strategies knowledge to determine accurate professional development from districts that require inquiry based teaching strategies in evaluation systems. In addition, further research was recommended to determine the relationship between IBPYP affiliation and student achievement.

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