Hobby activities can be viewed through the lens of informal, free-choice learning. A wide range of hobbies combine fun and learning-intensive practices, and can contribute to scientific literacy. Hobby learning involves clear goal orientation, persistence and effort, and often results in more richly and strongly connected knowledge; traits highly valued in both in and out-of-school science learning. In this study, I used koi hobbyists as subjects to discover and explore hobbyists' information-seeking strategies under different learning scenarios. I approached koi hobbyists' learning about koi and their koi hobby in both quantitative and qualitative ways. I designed a Stage of Engagement Model to illustrate koi hobbyists' engagement with their hobby, and adapted Falk and Dierking's Contextual Model of Learning to explain how personal, socio-cultural and physical contextual factors affect koi hobbyists' learning. An instrument was developed to assess koi hobbyists' experience with keeping koi, knowledge about the hobby, motivation/goals, interaction with other hobbyists, and the information-seeking strategies they used under different learning scenarios. I administered this questionnaire to koi hobbyist communities in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and online. Based on the quantitative analysis, the results supported my hypotheses that koi hobbyists chose different information-seeking strategies based on personal contextual factors such as previous experience, motivation and learning goals; socio-cultural contextual factors such as interactions with other koi hobbyists; and physical contextual factors such as the nature of the problems they encounter. Koi hobbyists also chose different information-seeking strategies based upon their stage of engagement with their hobby. The long-term potential of this study is to offer insights into how learners construct their knowledge by applying different learning strategies under different personal, socio-cultural and physical circumstances, and to provide a framework for the future study of other kinds of hobbies and hobbyists that will help to promote public scientific literacy. / Graduation date: 2012

Idag går majoriteten av eleverna vidare från grundskolan till gymnasiet. Valalternativen är många och eleverna ställs inför ett beslut som kan vara svårt att ta. Studien handlar om gymnasievalet och beskriver skolan under 1900-talet samt karriärvägledningsteorier och socialpsykologiska teorier som kan appliceras på elevernas beslutsprocess. Syftet är att undersöka faktorer som påverkar eleverna i deras val för att ge ökade kunskaper och insikt till studie och yrkesvägledningens profession. I en undersökning med elever från det naturvetenskapliga programmet på gymnasiet har en kvantitativ metod använts. Parallellt har även en litteraturstudie bidragit med uppgifter från tidigare forskning inom området. Resultaten från studien visar hur eleverna uppfattar faktorer som kan påverka dem. Resultaten pekar på att eleverna anser att de väljer utifrån uppsatta mål som att gå en utbildning som ger bred grund för vidare studier och inte är så beroende av omgivningen. Studien visar också att det finns faktorer i elevens sociala sfär som påverkar dem vilket överensstämmer med tidigare forskning såsom föräldrar med högskoleutbildning eller ett samhällsklimat som idag förutsätter att ungdomar skolar sig längre än tidigare. / Today the majority of pupils proceed from the nine-year compulsory school to upper secondary school. There are several choices available and the pupils face a difficult decision. This study is about the choice of upper secondary school and describes the Swedish school system during the 20th century and the theories of career guidance and social psychology that can be applied to pupils’ decision-making. The aim is to examine factors affecting the pupils in their choices to provide increased knowledge and insight into the counselling profession. A quantitative method has been used in a study with pupils from the science programme in upper secondary school. In parallel, a literature study has contributed with data from previous research in this field. The results of the study show how pupils perceive the factors that may affect them. The results indicate that pupils make their choices on the basis of set targets like choosing an education that provides a broad basis for further studies and are not particularly affected by their social surrounding. The study also shows that there are factors in the pupil’s social sphere affecting them which is consistent with previous research, such as parents with higher education or a social climate that now requires that young people stay in education longer than before.

<p>Vilken roll har utomhuspedagogik i grundskolan, närmare bestämt i år sju? Kan utomhuspedagogik som metod, eller process/arbetssätt, vara ett sätt att få eleverna mer intresserade av NO i skolan, ett intresse som dalar ju högre upp i år en i grundskolan eleverna kommer, vilket även gäller för kunskaperna enligt nationella och internationella undersökningar. Jag undersöker särskilt vilken roll problemlösande aktiviteter, valmöjligheter hos eleverna och miljöns utformning har för elevernas intresse av NO. Undersökningen bygger på litteratur, observationer och intervjuer, där hermeneutik - tolkning - fenomenografi - jämförelse av olika perspektiv och uppfattningar hos de personer som ingår i undersökningen - och empiri - erfarenheter ute på fältet vid observationerna och intervjuerna - är viktiga delar i undersökningen. Undersökningen visar att eleverna tycks ha ett behov av uteundervisning eftersom de ser fördelar med det, till exempel att de får frisk luft, får röra sig mer än i klassrummet men framför allt att det innebär en vardagsanknytning, en konkretisering av lärostoffet. När eleverna har uteundervisning vill eleverna ha uppgifter, de vill undersöka och upptäcka, inte främst att läraren står och pratar. Undersökningen visar också att eleverna vill vara delaktiga i undervisningen och i de beslut som gäller dem. Det är tre frågor som får eleverna intresserade: när eleverna får uppleva något nytt och lite oväntat, när frågor väcks som de vill ha svar på och när de sätts i rörelse med praktiskt arbete. Ett stort hinder för uteundervisning tycker eleverna är dåligt väder. Undersökningen visar också att eleverna har ett socialt behov. Den kritik som finns mot uteundervisning kommer främst från aktiva pedagoger, och jag gör ett försök att bemöta kritiken.</p> / <p>What part does outdoor education play in the compulsory school in Sweden, more specifically in school year 7? Can outdoor education be a tool/a process to get the pupils more interested in the natural sciences the way it is taught in school, as national and international studies show that this interest decrease with increasing grade in school, and this also applies to the knowledge. I investigate in more detail what part activities of problem solving, the availability of free choice for the pupils and the kind of the environment plays in determining the pupils- interest in the natural sciences. The study is based on literature study, observations and interviews, where hermeneutics - interpretation - fenomenografics - comparison of the different perspectives and views of the persons in the study - and empirical techniques - experiences made in the observations and during the interviews - are important parts in the study. The study shows that the pupils seems to have a craving for outdoor education while they see advantages with it, for example the possibility to get fresh air, the ability to move around more than the space in the classroom allow but utmost that it means a way to concretise, to tie school stuff to a reality that the pupils know about outside school. During outdoor education the pupils want tasks to do, assignments, which give them a chance to investigate, explore and to discover, not foremost that the teacher lectures. The study also shows that the pupils prefer to take an active part during the lesson, at least during part of it, and in decisions that applies to them. Three issues make the pupils interested: when they get to experience something new and a bit unexpected, when questions pop up in their head they want answers to and when they are put into action with some practical work. A great, massive obstacle to outdoor education, the pupils say is bad weather. The study also shows that there is a need among the pupils for socializing. The critiques that exist against outdoor education, primarily comes from active educationalists, and I try to meet this critique in a constructive way.</p>

Pour considérer le libre-arbitre, Augustin doit mobiliser des conceptions déjà établies sur la nature divine, sur la nature du mal, ainsi que sur la nature du bien. À mesure que de telles conceptions se modifient, le libre-arbitre de la volonté prend des contours variés jusqu’au point d’atteindre la forme la plus achevée. Et c’est là où il se révèle en tant que racine du mal moral – nul rapport avec l’action divine – et où il se montre essentiellement vicié – sans autre alternative que d’accepter l’aide divine. Ainsi, si d’un côté le libre-arbitre de la volonté n’exige aucun rapport de Dieu à la cause du mal, d’un autre côté exige le rapport à Dieu comme le seul et unique chemin de correction du mal. Le but de ce travail de recherche est d’analyser les trames conceptuelles supposées dans la conception du libre-arbitre, voyant en cette dernière une clé de lecture assez forte pour mettre en évidence une certaine logique interne dans le mouvement qui implique la conversion d’Augustin au christianisme. / In order to consider the free choice of the will, Augustine has to mobilize concepts already established about the divine nature, the nature of evil and also the nature of the human soul. As such concepts change, the free choice of the will takes on different features until it reaches its most defined form, in which it is revealed as the origin of moral evil – without reference to the divine authorship – and in which it is also revealed as essentially vicious – without any alternative but to accept divine aid. Therefore, if on the one hand the free choice of the will does not entail a relationship between God and the cause of evil, on the other hand it requires the relationship between God and the only way to stop evil. The objective of this work is to analyse the conceptual webs entailed in the concept of free choice, viewing it as a reading key capable of evidencing a certain internal logic in the movement involving Augustine's conversion to Christianity. / Para considerar o livre-arbítrio da vontade, Agostinho deve mobilizar concepções já estabelecidas sobre a natureza divina, sobre a natureza do mal e também sobre a natureza da alma humana. À medida que tais concepções se modificam, o livre-arbítrio da vontade assume contornos diversos até obter sua forma mais acabada, na qual se revela como raiz do mal moral – sem nada referir à autoria divina – e na qual se revela também como essencialmente viciado – sem ter outra alternativa senão a de aceitar a ajuda divina. Assim, se de um lado o livre-arbítrio da vontade não exige relacionar Deus com a causa do mal, de outro lado exige relacionar Deus com a única forma de corrigir o mal. Nosso trabalho tem o objetivo de analisar as tramas conceituais supostas na concepção de livre-arbítrio, vendo nesta uma chave de leitura com força de evidenciar certa lógica interna no movimento envolvendo a conversão de Agostinho ao cristianismo.

Vilken roll har utomhuspedagogik i grundskolan, närmare bestämt i år sju? Kan utomhuspedagogik som metod, eller process/arbetssätt, vara ett sätt att få eleverna mer intresserade av NO i skolan, ett intresse som dalar ju högre upp i år en i grundskolan eleverna kommer, vilket även gäller för kunskaperna enligt nationella och internationella undersökningar. Jag undersöker särskilt vilken roll problemlösande aktiviteter, valmöjligheter hos eleverna och miljöns utformning har för elevernas intresse av NO. Undersökningen bygger på litteratur, observationer och intervjuer, där hermeneutik - tolkning - fenomenografi - jämförelse av olika perspektiv och uppfattningar hos de personer som ingår i undersökningen - och empiri - erfarenheter ute på fältet vid observationerna och intervjuerna - är viktiga delar i undersökningen. Undersökningen visar att eleverna tycks ha ett behov av uteundervisning eftersom de ser fördelar med det, till exempel att de får frisk luft, får röra sig mer än i klassrummet men framför allt att det innebär en vardagsanknytning, en konkretisering av lärostoffet. När eleverna har uteundervisning vill eleverna ha uppgifter, de vill undersöka och upptäcka, inte främst att läraren står och pratar. Undersökningen visar också att eleverna vill vara delaktiga i undervisningen och i de beslut som gäller dem. Det är tre frågor som får eleverna intresserade: när eleverna får uppleva något nytt och lite oväntat, när frågor väcks som de vill ha svar på och när de sätts i rörelse med praktiskt arbete. Ett stort hinder för uteundervisning tycker eleverna är dåligt väder. Undersökningen visar också att eleverna har ett socialt behov. Den kritik som finns mot uteundervisning kommer främst från aktiva pedagoger, och jag gör ett försök att bemöta kritiken. / What part does outdoor education play in the compulsory school in Sweden, more specifically in school year 7? Can outdoor education be a tool/a process to get the pupils more interested in the natural sciences the way it is taught in school, as national and international studies show that this interest decrease with increasing grade in school, and this also applies to the knowledge. I investigate in more detail what part activities of problem solving, the availability of free choice for the pupils and the kind of the environment plays in determining the pupils- interest in the natural sciences. The study is based on literature study, observations and interviews, where hermeneutics - interpretation - fenomenografics - comparison of the different perspectives and views of the persons in the study - and empirical techniques - experiences made in the observations and during the interviews - are important parts in the study. The study shows that the pupils seems to have a craving for outdoor education while they see advantages with it, for example the possibility to get fresh air, the ability to move around more than the space in the classroom allow but utmost that it means a way to concretise, to tie school stuff to a reality that the pupils know about outside school. During outdoor education the pupils want tasks to do, assignments, which give them a chance to investigate, explore and to discover, not foremost that the teacher lectures. The study also shows that the pupils prefer to take an active part during the lesson, at least during part of it, and in decisions that applies to them. Three issues make the pupils interested: when they get to experience something new and a bit unexpected, when questions pop up in their head they want answers to and when they are put into action with some practical work. A great, massive obstacle to outdoor education, the pupils say is bad weather. The study also shows that there is a need among the pupils for socializing. The critiques that exist against outdoor education, primarily comes from active educationalists, and I try to meet this critique in a constructive way.

Le soin est indissociable de la relation de confiance et de la mobilisation de la capacité du patient à exprimer librement ses décisions, aptitude centrale dans la relation de soins. Si les objectifs d’accès aux soins et de protection des droits du patient sont clairement posés, la question de la liberté de choix du malade mental reste sujette à caution. En France, les textes législatifs ne spécifient pas de claire délimitation de l’incapacité à consentir aux soins et il revient au médecin d’en authentifier le bien fondé. Le consentement, valorisé par notre moderne démocratie sanitaire, est contesté par le besoin de sécurité mentale mais conforté par la recherche d’alliance thérapeutique. La permanence d’une telle situation conflictuelle rend compte d’un affrontement entre la défense des droits de l’homme, ici et maintenant, et l’affirmation du « libre choix » de la société. / We cannot separate a relationship’s care based on trust from the raising of patient’s ability to freely express his decisions, the core capability of health relationships. If the goals in access of care and patient’s rights protection are clearly laid down, the issue about the freedom of choice of the mentally ill person is still subject to caution. The French legislative texts do not specify a clear boundary about the inability to consent to the care and it is up to the doctor to approve of its validity. The consent, valued by modern sanitary democracy, is disputed by the need for mental security but is consolidated by the search for a therapeutic alliance. The permanence of a conflicting situation explains the confrontation between a defense of the human Rights, hic and nunc, and a free choice assertion by the society

This paper is concerned with theoretical assumptions and consequences of a free banking system. The main theme is critical inquire of Hayek`s notion of creating the system of free banks independent of central bank, which issue differentiated currencies. The main purpose of this system is to force the government institution to provide a currency more stable than it does now. However there are some crucial objections which target the possibility of operating such system in practice. The main theme is further widen by the question about fractional and full reserve banking. Based on the comparison of the different reserve system, there is a notion of a system combining both, but keeping them strictly separated. The foundation of the paper is analysis of money definition from the austrian school point of view. These arguments are applied to the inflation and deflation. The object of research are conditions of existence and consequences of both effects. The inflation analysis is used to describe current system of central institution and the net of commercial banks.

The hippocampus plays a critical role in the detection of changes in familiar contexts. It accomplishes these functions through a continual process of comparing predicted features of a context or situation to those experienced. A mismatch between expected and experienced decision-making skills has been proven in previous studies that can be shown using the water maze, a test that is widely used to study spatial and working memory. Expectations are processed by specific neuronal networks, including the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, to aid subsequent decision-making and response selection. Mice undergoing reversal learning in the water maze test must process the information relative to the new position of the escape platform and decide whether to navigate towards the latest or to the previous target. From previous studies conducted in the lab, it has been observed that an enhanced inter-individual variability in decision-making during reversal learning. Noteworthy, the decision-making of individual mice can be predicted based on their intrinsic state of anxiety and activity of stress response. Here, we aim at investigating: 1) How individuality affects decision making and 2) The neuronal activity controlling decision making and the selection of specific behavioral responses. We observed that based on their individual behaviour and intrinsic anxiety, the time taken to reach a goal platform as well as the distance covered by each mouse differs from one another.

This study explored the current practices implemented by Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) caregivers / preschool teachers in Swaziland. It further investigated how the lack of an appropriate policy on Early Childhood Care and Development impacted on the delivery of services to the sector. The research was conducted using a qualitative methodology, eliciting responses through semistructured interview schedules. In order to conduct a more in-depth analysis, eight interviews were held at various early childhood care and development sites. The criteria for selection depended on whether the participating caregiver had direct, hands-on experience of the day-to-day care and running of ECCD sites. They also had to be involved in a full-time preschool teaching programme and were purposively selected from the geographical location of Manzini, in Swaziland. The sites could be distinguished into three categories, namely: community (non-profit making), private and church or missionrun centres. The results showed that caregivers implemented diverse and uncoordinated practices and that there was no uniformity in terms of professional training, classroom practice and curriculum application. It was evident that the participants did not link the theory of their training to their practice, leaving gaps in the provision of services and educational programmes to the children. The study concluded that unless the government of Swaziland and the ECCD unit at the national level of Education made a concerted effort to formulate a national ECCD policy, Education for All would remain a pipedream. The study recommended that government should formulate national ECCD policy guidelines to encourage uniformity in practice and provision of ECCD sites. Not only should government accelerate the development of the guidelines but they should also support the caregivers by continuous professional development activities.

No description available.