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The traditional view of vision is that neurons in early cortical areas process information about simple features (e.g. orientation and spatial frequency) in small, spatially localised regions of visual space (the neuron's receptive field). This piecemeal information is then fed-forward into later stages of the visual system where it gets combined to form coherent and meaningful global (higher-level) representations. The overall aim of this thesis is to examine and quantify this higher level processing; how we encode global features in natural images and to understand the extent to which our perception of these global representations is determined by the local features within images. Using the tilt after-effect as a tool, the first chapter examined the processing of a low level, local feature and found that the orientation of a sinusoidal grating could be encoded in both a retinally and spatially non-specific manner. Chapter 2 then examined these tilt aftereffects to the global orientation of the image (i.e., uprightness). We found that image uprightness was also encoded in a retinally / spatially non-specific manner, but that this global property could be processed largely independently of its local orientation content. Chapter 3 investigated if our increased sensitivity to cardinal (vertical and horizontal) structures compared to inter-cardinal (45° and 135° clockwise of vertical) structures, influenced classification of unambiguous natural images. Participants required relatively less contrast to classify images when they retained near-cardinal as compared to near-inter-cardinal structures. Finally, in chapter 4, we examined category classification when images were ambiguous. Observers were biased to classify ambiguous images, created by combining structures from two distinct image categories, as carpentered (e.g., a house). This could not be explained by differences in sensitivity to local structures and is most likely the result of our long-term exposure to city views. Overall, these results show that higher-level representations are not fully dependent on the lower level features within an image. Furthermore, our knowledge about the environment influences the extent to which we use local features to rapidly identify an image.

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The purpose of this study is to inquire into how teaching educators within the Social Work Program at the Linneaus University of Sweden are comprehend the concept of sustainable development. Both in relation to the relevancy the concept has in social work as a profession and within the realms of education. The aim is to examine the discrepancies between what is stated in policy documents and what is actually taught. The study is based upon semi-structured interviews with a group of teaching educators from the Department of Social Work at the Linneaus University. Conclusions show that there is some obscurity surrounding what sustainable development as a concept really is and that general comprehension of the concept is limited. Not one of the participants in the study could describe concretely in which way the concept of sustainable development could be of relevance for social work as a profession. Furthermore it can also be concluded that a clear definition of sustainable development from the Linneaus University management is missing as well as the right tools and conditions for implementation, of the concept stated within the policy documents, are insufficient. The study also aims to contribute towards the discussion concerning everyone’s responsibility when it comes to a common journey towards a sustainable future.

Nurse education is continually adapting to meet the requirements of employers to develop increasingly autonomous practitioners who can provide evidence-based, high quality care. The work-based project examines the support available to mentors, known as practice teachers, in their role as assessors of nursing students in higher level practice. A qualitative study: the project employs a grounded theory approach to the analysis of data elicited from practice teachers and academics. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups alongside regular reviews of the literature are utilised to elicit data, and via an inductive process, categories emerging from the analysis are constructed to present new insights and understanding of the subject under scrutiny. Whilst it is clear that a degree of support is available to practice teachers in response to a rudimentary understanding of their role in higher level practice, it is also clear that this support is limited by a number of factors. The product of practice assessment for the employer is a newly-qualified practitioner who is able to carry out a role based on a specified set of competencies. For the educator, whether within the higher education institution or in practice, the process of education is ongoing; producing a practitioner with the capability to utilise higher level practice in ever-changing contexts and situations. Support for the practice teacher can only be enhanced if recognition of the role is promoted. This requires a shared understanding of the importance of developing both competence and capability for higher level practice. Only then will the vital contribution made by the practice teacher in the student’s development be understood by those supporting them. Converging rather than competing philosophies of training for competence and educating for capability are necessary to maintain the status and commitment of the practice teacher and consequently the rigour required of assessment in practice.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study set out to investigate the social and institutional factors which impact on the retention and progression of female academics in four universities in Zimbabwe. Drawing on a qualitative research methodology the aim of the study was to understand the social and institutional factors related to the retention and progression of female academics in four institutions in Zimbabwe. In seeking to unpack the factors that shape the low representation of female academics in occupational spheres, the study finds unequal gender-based patterns in Zimbabwean society as a key condition that finds its way into the four institutions. In this regard, the patterns and shape of gender relations, based on the principles of kinship, become the platform for unequal relations among male and female academic staff. This manifests itself in different ways, including the (negative) role played by the extended kin family in the progression of married women academics to higher level management posts, resistance to women's authority by both men and women, the culture of male domination within institutions which works to the disadvantage of female academics and stereotypical behaviour by men within the institutions.

Students' lack of participation in higher-level mathematics courses is a pressing concern. In a small rural district in Alaska, many high school students elect to opt out of taking higher-level mathematics once the minimum requirement is reached. According to Bandura's self-efficacy construct, a learners' motivation is influenced by their self-beliefs and affect towards learning. Moreover, research on student learning experiences in mathematics suggests a gender difference, with girls preferring that less abstract conceptual knowledge be taught through hands-on activities. As mathematics instruction is traditionally taught through lecture and demonstration, both of which are preferences of the assimilator learning style, this study explored the role of learning styles in the lack of participation (particularly amongst girls) in higher-level mathematics. A mixed methods sequential explanatory design was used to explore the relationships among students' learning styles, participation in higher-level mathematics, and gender through a self-efficacy framework. Archival survey data were obtained for all high school students in the district (n = 63) and interviews were conducted with a subsample of students (n = 8) who volunteered to participate. Chi square analyses were performed on survey data to test for relationships between participation in higher-level mathematics, gender, and learning style. No significant relationships were found. Findings from the analysis of interview data indicated that students who opted not to take higher-level math had little knowledge of the importance of math as it relates to potential college and career options. A series of guidance lessons aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of math for future learning and potential career fields was created. This project study will promote social change by improving student awareness of, and achievement in, mathematics-related careers.

This study investigated teacher questioning practices and rationales in released-time seminary classes for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church of Jesus Christ or the Church). Seminary teachers focus their questions on helping students learn course principles, value those principles, and apply them to their lives by discussing potential actions that can be taken by students outside of class. The purpose of this study was to observe and interview teachers relative to their questions and questioning practices in class and the reasoning and rational they explain underlying those practices. The resultant findings indicate the specific questioning principles and practices participants used to target cognitive, affective, and social/behavioral outcomes. Further, the analysis of the data yielded a descriptive model of multidimensional questioning that both describes and depicts teacher questioning in seminary and informs future instructional practice, training, and research of teacher questioning

This diploma thesis deals with speaking skills and their development for the purposes of the Maturita exam. It is divided into 6 chapters. The theoretical part deals with speaking as a skill, basic definitions of the Maturita exam and, more specifically, it gives a detailed overview and comparison of the Maturita oral performance and interactive skills at both levels. The practical part covers the analysis of three sets of books that are used during the English lessons in secondary education. Key words: Maturita exam, basic level, higher level, evaluation, course books

Le rôle respectif des ganglions de la base (GB) et de la région locomotrice dans le contrôle locomoteur et postural n'est pas établi chez l'homme. Au sein de ces circuits, le noyau sous-thalamique (NST) et le noyau pédunculopontin (NPP) semblent impliqués dans le pattern locomoteur et le maintien de l'équilibre. En effet, chez les patients avec maladie de Parkinson (MP), caractérisée par une perte des neurones dopaminergiques et représentant un modèle de dysfonctionnement des GB, des dysfonctionnements de l'activité du NST seraient à l'origine d'un freinage du mouvement, jusqu'au blocage moteur (freezing de la marche-FOG). Dans le NPP, des lésions cholinergiques sont retrouvées chez les patients MP avec des chutes. Dans ce travail de recherche nous avons étudié le rôle du NST et les effets de la modulation de l'activité du NPP sur les étapes de l'initiation de la marche (GI) chez les patients avec MP. Nous avons retrouvé une synchronisation dans la bande de fréquence alpha précédant l'exécution du pas, en cohérence avec le NPP. La stimulation à basse fréquence du NPP améliore le contrôle postural. Ces données suggèrent que le NST est impliqué dans la préparation de la GI, et que le NPP a un rôle dans le contrôle postural chez l'homme. Dans une seconde partie, nous avons examiné le rôle des lésions du circuit cortex-GB-NPP dans la survenue du FOG et des chutes chez des sujets âgés non-parkinsoniens et démontré une lésion sélective de ce circuit chez ces sujets. Finalement, l'ensemble de ces données confortent les hypothèses physiopathologiques à l'origine des troubles de la marche et de l'équilibre chez les patients MP avec lésion/dysfonction du circuit cortex-GB-NPP. / The respective roles of basal ganglia (BG) and the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) in the postural control and locomotion are not clearly established in humans. In these circuits, the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the pedunculopuntine nucleus (PPN), two interconnected structures, appear to be involved in the locomotor pattern control and postural maintenance. Indeed, in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons and representing a model of dysfunction of the BG, there are dysfunctions of STN activity that could cause braking of movement underlying motor block (freezing of gait-FOG). In the PPN, greater loss of cholinergic neurons is observed in PD patients with falls. In this research, we studied STN activity and the effects of modulating the PPN activity during the stages of gait initiation (GI) in patients with PD. We found a modulation of activity of the STN with synchronization in the alpha frequency band before the postural adjustments and the execution of step, with PPN coherence. Low frequency stimulation of the PPN improved postural control with no significant effect on the locomotion. These data suggest that the STN is involved in the preparation of GI and the PPN has a leading role in postural control in humans. In a second part, we examined the role of the cortex-basal ganglia-PPN circuit in FOG and falls in a non-parkinsonian elderly population and demonstrated a selective lesion of this circuit in these subjects. Taken together, these data support the pathophysiological hypothesis for the origin of abnormal gait and balance in patients with PD, with lesion and/or dysfunction of the cortex-BG-PPN.