This dissertation deals with Swedish upper secondary school students’ encounter and reception of various fictional texts in and outside of school. The focus of the study is how literary instruction, based on an expanded text concept, succeeds in meeting the students’ expectations and previous experiences of fictional texts. The theoretical framework consists of theories that approach reading as a transaction between text and reader in a social and cultural context. The study is founded on qualitative methods, and the empirical material was collected through participant observation and interviews with students and teachers in four upper secondary school classes between 2001 and 2003. The research questions are: How does literary instruction develop students’ knowledge of fictional texts and reading? In what ways are the students’ textual worlds in and outside of school dialogically interrelated? How do students use different fictional texts in building their identities? Which values regarding different texts are visible in the classroom? Findings indicate that mismatches between teachers’ and students’ literary repertoires are common in upper secondary school literary teaching. Since the literary instruction mainly drew upon traditional fiction, the students’ construction of literary worlds was not sufficiently supported. The students’ expectations of fiction reading were characterized by strong emotional involvement, and this was particularly true for the male students. The female students reported that there was a lack of female perspectives in the literary teaching. The pedagogical implications of the study concern the importance of identifying the students’ literary repertoires and matching those with the literary instruction. Literary pedagogy should aim to expand these repertoires, and to help students acquire new reader roles. One way of achieving this is to promote dialogical teaching that encourages both efferent and aesthetic reading. Findings of the present study also indicate that teachers’ resources for working with an expanded text concept are limited. Consequently, current teacher education programmes and further training of working teachers must deal with reading of fictional texts from new and broader perspectives.

The central nervous system is largely responsible for receiving sensory information from the environment and determining motor output. Yet, centrally-derived behavior and sensation depends on the optimal maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs that feed and support these functions. Most of visceral regulation occurs without conscious oversight, making the spinal cord a key site for integration and control. How the spinal cord modulates output to our organs, or sensory information from them, is poorly understood. The overall aim of this dissertation was to better understand spinal processing of both visceral sensory information to and sympathetic output from the spinal cord. I first established and validated a HB9-GFP transgenic mouse model that unambiguously identified sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs), the spinal output neurons for the sympathetic nervous system. Using this model, I investigated the electrophysiological similarities and diversity of SPNs, and compared their active and passive membrane properties to those in other animal models. My results indicate that while many of the same characteristics are shared, SPNs are a heterogeneous group that can be differentiated based on their electrophysiological properties. Since descending monoaminergic pathways have particularly dense projections to sympathetic regions of the spinal cord, I next examined the modulatory role that the monoamines have on spinal sympathetic output. While each neuromodulator tested had a unique signature of action, serotonin and norepinephrine appeared to increase the excitability of individual SPNs, while dopamine had more mixed actions. Since many autonomic reflexes are integrated by the spinal cord, I also questioned whether these reflexes would be similarly modulated. I therefore developed a novel in vitro spinal cord and sympathetic chain preparation, which allowed for the investigation of visceral afferent-mediated reflexes and their neuromodulation by monoamines. This preparation exposed a dichotomy of action, where sympathetic and somatic motor output is generally enhanced by the monoamines, but reflexes mediated by visceral input are depressed. Utilizing the spinal cord and sympathetic chain preparation, I also investigated how the spinal cord modulates visceral sensory information. One of the most powerful means of selectively inhibiting afferent information from reaching the spinal cord is presynaptic inhibition. I hypothesized that both spinal visceral afferents and descending monoaminergic systems would depress transmission of visceral afferents to the spinal cord. My results demonstrated that activity in spinal visceral afferents can lead to spinally generated presynaptic inhibition, and that in addition to depressing synaptic transmission to the spinal cord, the monoamines also depress the intrinsic circuitry that generates this activity-dependent presynaptic inhibition. Taken together, my results indicate that descending monoaminergic pathways act to limit the amount of visceral sensory information reaching the central nervous system and increase sympathetic output, resulting in an uncoupling of output from visceral sensory input and transitioning to a feed-forward, sympathetically dominant control strategy. This combination offers complex modulatory strategies for descending systems.

[Truncated abstract] The goal of this research was to investigate some of the ways that neurons located in the primary motor cortex (MI) code for skilled movement. The task-related and temporally correlated spike activity that occurred during the performance of a goal-directed reaching and retrieval task invloving multiple motion elements and limbs was evaluated in cats. The contributions made by different neuronal subtypes loctaed in MI (which were identified based upon extracellular spiking features0 to the coding of movement was also investigated. Spike activity was simulateously recorded from microelectrodes that were chronically implanted into the motor cortex of both cerebral hemispheres. Task-related neurons modulated their activity during the reaching and retrieval movements of one forelimb, or the postural reactions of the contralateral forelimb and ipsilateral hindlimb. Spike durations and baseline firing rates of neurons were used to distinguish between putative excitatory (Regular Spiking; RS) and inhibitory (Fast Spiking; FS) neurons in the cortex. Frame by frame video analysis of the task was used to subdivide each task trial into stages (e.g. premovement, reach, withdraw and feed) and relate modulations in neural activity to the individual task stages. Task-related neurons were classified as either narrowly tuned or broadly tuned depending on whether their activity modulated during a single task stage or more than one stage respectively. Recordings were made from 163 task-related neurons, and temporal correlations in the spike activity of simultaneously recorded neurons were identified using shuffle corrected cross-correlograms on 662 different neuronal pairs.... The results of this research suggest that temporally correlated activity may reflect the activation of intracortical and callosal connections between a variety of efferent zones involved in task performance, playing a role in the coordination of muscles and limbs during motor tasks. The differences in the patterns of task-related activity, and in the incidence of significant neuronal interactions that were observed between the RS and FS neuronal populations implies that they make different contributions to the coding of movement in MI.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma. / Includes bibliographical references.

Introdução: O sistema auditivo envolve uma formação em rede e se relaciona com outros sistemas como o da linguagem. O Processamento Auditivo Central (PAC) envolve as habilidades auditivas necessárias para a interpretação dos sons que ouvimos. Atualmente, só é possível detectar uma alteração de PAC a partir dos 7 anos de idade. Por outro lado, sabe-se que nesta idade, a criança já está em processo de alfabetização e que a alteração de PAC pode dificultar seu aprendizado. Objetivos: Investigar se o desempenho em provas auditivas realizadas em crianças aos cinco anos de idade apresenta correspondência com o desempenho alcançado aos sete anos. Método: Em dois momentos distintos, foram realizadas avaliações auditivas e do PAC em 36 crianças. Foi realizada audiometria nas oitavas de frequência entre 0,25 a 8,0 KHz, imitanciometria, avaliação eletroacústica com captação das emissões otoacústicas por estímulos transientes e avaliação do efeito inibitório da via eferente. Os testes para avaliar o PAC foram: Localização Sonora, teste de Memória Sequencial Verbal e Não-verbal, teste \'Pediatric Speech Intelligibility\', teste de Identificação de Figuras com ruído de fundo, teste Dicótico de Dígitos e o teste \'Random Gap Detection\'. As crianças também realizaram o Teste de Vocabulário por Figuras USP. À primeira avaliação, a faixa etária variou entre 5:2 e 6:1 meses e à segunda avaliação entre 7:1 e 7:8 meses. O intervalo entre as avaliações I e II variou entre 18 e 23 meses. A partir dos resultados alcançados nos testes do PAC à segunda avaliação, as crianças foram classificadas em três grupos: G I: 10 crianças com alteração de PAC e queixa de fala; G II: 18 crianças com alteração de PAC; e G III: 8 crianças com o PAC normal. Esta classificação foi mantida retrospectivamente para a avaliação I. Nos testes de hipótese foi fixado nível de significância de 0,05. Resultados: A comparação entre as avaliações mostra que já na primeira avaliação é possível identificar risco para a alteração de PAC. Foi estabelecida uma função discriminante que classificou corretamente as crianças com alteração de PAC à primeira avaliação em 77,8% no G I, 66,7% no G II e 87,5% no G III. Conclusão: Crianças que apresentam alteração do PAC aos 7 anos já demonstraram indicadores de alteração aos 5 anos de idade / Introduction: The auditory system involves a network formation and relates to other systems such as language. Central Auditory Processing (CAP) involves the listening skills necessary to interpret the sounds. Currently, it is not possible to diagnose an CAP disorder before the age of 7. On the other hand, it is known that at this age, children are already in literacy process and CAP disorders may hinder their learning. Objectives: To investigate if the performance of five-year-old children in hearing tests has correspondence with the performance achieved at the age of seven. Method: Hearing and CAP tests were applied to 36 children in two different moments. Pure-tone audiometry was performed between 0.25 to 8.0 KHz, in octave intervals, immitanciometry, electroacoustic evaluation with transient evoked otoacoustic emissions and evaluation of the inhibitory effect of efferent pathway. The tests to assess auditory processing were: Sound Localization, Verbal and Nonverbal Sequential Memory tests, Pediatric Speech Intelligibility test, Figure Identification test with ipsilateral White Noise presentation, Dichotic Digits test and Random Gap Detection test. The children also performed the USP Vocabulary Test by Figures. In the first evaluation, the ages ranged between 5:2 and 6:1 months and in the second evaluation between 7:1 and 7:8 months. The interval between evaluation I and II ranged between 18 and 23 months. From the results achieved in the tests of CAP in the second evaluation, the children were classified into three groups: G I: 10 children with CAP disorders and complaints of speech; G II: 18 children with auditory CAP; and G III: 8 children with normal CAP. This classification was maintained retrospectively for evaluation I. In hypothesis tests was set the 0.05 significance level. Results: The comparison between the evaluations showed that the first evaluation can already identify risk for CAP disorders. The discriminant function was established and appropriately classified children with CAP disorders in the first assessment in 77.8% in G I, 66.7% in G II and 87.5% in G III. Conclusion: Children with CAP disorder at the age of 7 had already shown disorder indicators at the age of 5

Developing critical thinking and mastering its skills has been a vital priority for the curriculum in Swedish upper-secondary school. The National Curriculum for upper-secondary school and the syllabus for the English subject emphasize the importance of implementing and enhancing the development of the students’ critical thinking which leads to having active learners who are able to think creatively and keeps them away from becoming narrow-minded. The purpose of this study is to explore the prospect of teaching critical thinking through reading literature. Guided by the critical thinking skills that are defined in The Delphi Report including (1) interpretation, (2) analysis, (3) evaluation, (4) inference, (5) explanation and (6) self-regulation, this study explores the possibility of promoting critical thinking skills through reading literature. The study also examines the efficacy of the reader-response approach in helping the students to be critical thinkers and active readers. Using qualitative data from conducting interviews, this study analyses teachers’ perspectives and considered the implications for teaching literature in terms of fostering the students’ critical thinking. The study showed that the teachers’ awareness of the significance of integrating literature in teaching English was found to play a great role in fostering the students as critical thinkers. The study also showed that teachers emphasized the importance of in-class discussions about literary works in order to expand the students’ thinking horizons and enhance their sense of self-confidence as contributors to the learning process. It also showed that the reader-response theory has a significant role in fostering the students’ critical thinking even though it is not clearly stated in the teachers’ perspectives on teaching literature.

The object of this study is the reading log that has been issued by the Swedish National Agency for Education’s teachers’ in-service training, The Literacy Boost or Läslyftet. The in-service training programme has been broken down into different modules, and the focus of this study is the reading log that has been addressed by a section of one of the modules. Essentially, this study aims to investigate six different teachers’ perceptions and experiences of the reading log. The method used for this investigation is semi-structured interviews. Consequently, the following research questions were outlined: 1.How do the teachers view the reading log and how have their views been altered by the in-service training?2.Which types of text are the teachers prone to use the reading log for?The results of the semi-structured interviews have shown that the different teachers’ perceptions of the purpose of the reading log were unanimous and aligned with theories addressed in the material. However, the necessity of writing for reflection was questioned by one. Further, all the teachers were acquainted with the reading log prior to the in-service training, and even though only a few new theories were acquired, many teachers benefited from new insights and various ways of using the reading log. Many had also experienced the repetition as positive. Lastly, the interviews also uncovered that the language teachers were more prone to using the reading log for literature studies, whereas teachers who also taught civics were prone to using the reading log for different types of texts.Key words: reading log, reflection, social development theory, reader-response criticism, discussion, the extended concept of text, formative assessment, efferent and aesthetic reading In Swedish with an abstract in English

Detta är ett examensarbete baserat på en etnografiskt inspirerad studie som har syfte att undersöka hur lärare motiverar och utformar undervisningen av äldre texter på gymnasiet samt hur elever på olika gymnasieprogram upplever denna undervisning. För att utföra studien har använt mig av källor som bidragit till att samla in, bearbeta och analysera den empiri som intervjuerna och observationerna resulterat i. Frågeställningarna är baserade på syftet med studien och lyder: 1. Hur använder sig svensklärare av äldre texter i klassrummet idag? 2. Hur motiverar svensklärare undervisningen av äldre texter i klassrummet idag? 3. Skiljer sig litteraturundervisningen av äldre texter åt mellan de olika programmen och i så fall hur? 4. Hur upplever eleverna undervisningen av äldre texter? För att besvara mina frågeställningar utfördes tre lärarintervjuer, tre fokusgruppsintervjuer med elever ur respektive klass samt observerade två av tre klasser under ett lektionstillfälle. Som metod för analys valdes en innehållsanalys där teman vaskades fram. Detta innebar att intressanta träffpunkter valdes ut efter transkriberingen av intervjuerna som därefter formade tre teman. Resultatet delades sedan upp i tre delar baserat på dessa teman. Dessa tre teman är: Läsning för att öppna dörrar, läsning för igenkänning och läsning för läslust. I varje tema presenteras vad som utläses vara hinder och möjligheter med den olika tillvägagångssätten för undervisning av äldre texter.

I skolans svenskämne ingår det att elever får ta del av fiktioner i form av skönlitteratur, men det vidgade textbegreppet innebär att text inte alltid behöver vara typografisk text i tryckta böcker. Även film kan med det vidgade textbegreppet ses som en text som kan läsas. Film behöver dock läsas på ett särskilt vis då mediespecifika verkningsmedel används för att bygga upp berättelsen filmen skildrar. I svenskämnets styrdokument för gymnasiet står det att eleverna skall få kunskaper om berättartekniska och stilistiska drag i dels film. För att kunna studera och iaktta detta i film behöver man ägna sig åt det som Rosenblatt kallar för en efferent läsning – en analytisk läsning. Motsatt finns upplevelseläsning vilket Rosenblatt benämner estetisk läsning. Läskunnighet med ett kritiskt förhållningssätt är ett par av egenskaperna som ingår i begreppet litteracitet som är högst relevant för skolans svenskämne. Tidigare forskning har bland annat visat att svensklärare inte alltid behandlar film som en text som skall läsas med sina mediespecifika verkningsmedel i åtanke när mediet ingick i undervisningen. Därför är syftet i detta arbete att undersöka svensklärares erfarenheter med att arbeta med film, med särskilt fokus på efferent läsning. Metoden för undersökningen är semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex behöriga svensklärare på gymnasiet. De data som insamlats har analyserats med tematisk analys. Den tematiska analysen har styrts och begränsats av det teoretiska ramverket, bakgrunden och syftet och frågeställningarna. Resultatet visar att film främst lästes efferent, men att estetiska läsningar ändå förekommer. Svensklärarna i denna undersökning skiljer inte filmlitteracitet från skönlitterär litteracitet i någon nämnvärd uträckning. Det primära syftet hos lärarna är att eleverna skall förstå det medierna förmedlar. Dock är ett kritiskt förhållningssätt ett uttalat mål med att visa film för eleverna, men sällan ingår kunskap om filmspecifika verkningsmedel i det kritiska förhållningssättet. Det framgår att lärarna går igenom verkningsmedel, men inte tydligt i vilken utsträckning eller på vilket vis. Filmspecifika verkningsmedel omtalas endast i förbifarten hos de flesta av lärarna. Slutsatsen är att lärarna gärna arbetar med film och film läses alltid efferent och ibland också estetiskt. Dock sker undervisning om film i begränsad utsträckning.