The relationship to professionals has proved to be a helping factor for personswith severe mental illness, but it is also a relationship characterised by anunbalanced power relation. The aim of this study was to compile and analyze theknowledge of what persons with severe mental illness themselves consider to behelping in the relationship to professionals, and to specifically analyse this from apower perspective. The analysis was conducted using Foucault’s ideas of powerand knowledge, and an empowerment perspective. The method used was anarrative review. Fourteen relevant studies were included, in which fouroverarching themes were identified; building the basis for helping, workingtogether, more than a consumer and the professional role. The institutionalisedknowledge regarding the consumers, their problems and in which way thisrelationship is helping, was understood as an integral part of the power within therelationship. To share power by looking beyond this knowledge, going beyond theinstitutionalised way of helping and instead taking the consumer’s view intoaccount, was seen as helping. This knowledge calls for professionals to, inambition to helping individuals with severe mental illness, be open to the variousdifferent ways of doing so.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the comparative effects of prediction/discussion-based learning cycle (HPD-LC), conceptual change text (CCT), and traditional instructions (TI) on 8th grade students&rsquo / understanding of genetics concepts and on their perceived motivation and perceived use of learning strategies. This study was carried out during 2006-2007 fall semester at a public elementary school in Ankara. A total of eighty-one 8th grade students from three intact classes were involved in the quantitative part of this study. Students in the first and second experimental groups instructed with HPD-LC and CCT, respectively. The students in control group received TI. In the qualitative part, pre- and post-instructional interviews held with six students were interpreted by using a multidimensional interpretive framework of conceptual change. In this study the Genetics Concept Test was administered as pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test in order to examine the effects of instructional strategies on students&rsquo / genetics understanding and retention. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire was administered as pre-test and post-test to examine the effects of instructional strategies on students&rsquo / motivation and use of learning strategies. The results of mixed between-within subjects ANOVA revealed that students in both experimental groups understood the genetics concepts and retained their knowledge significantly better than students in control group. One-way MANOVA results revealed that HPD-LC students used elaboration strategies significantly more than CCT students. Interview analysis by considering ontological, epistemological, and social/affective perspectives of conceptual change indicated that some students from each group underwent conceptual change concerning the genetics concepts.

As we embark upon the 21st century, the world is becoming increasingly interconnected. Yet, despite increasing globalization, educational systems are not reflecting this phenomenon. The overwhelming majority of countries, including the United States, still emphasize nationalistic curricula (Parker, 2008; Tye, 2009). Global education is a movement whose supporters advocate an education reflecting the push towards globalization by providing students with the components necessary to live and thrive in an increasingly interconnected world system. Global educators have a common bond as advocates that a global perspective needs to be developed in the classroom. The degree to which this is being done is unknown. Further, how a global educator is prepared and formed is unknown. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research in global education (Gaudelli, 2003). Personal experiences have a major influence to what a teacher attributes his or her beliefs and values (Lincoln, 2005), and this is an area of study that has not been examined in global education. Using a mixed-methods design that includes a background survey, a global-mindedness survey and interviews would provide a better understanding of what self-identifying global educators attribute their global-mindedness. By presenting a rich account of the perspectives of high school social studies teachers who are involved with a global education initiative, social studies teacher education programs can gain insight about providing the best preparation that will lead to teacher candidates gaining the skills necessary to teach from a global perspective The case study presented here consisted of 2 surveys, multiple interviews, and examination of program documents. Analysis resulted in 8 themes identified by the participants as being attributed to the development of a global perspective: (a) family, (b) exposure to diversity, (c) minority status, (d) curious disposition, (e) global education courses, (f) international travel, (g) having a mentor, and (h) professional service. Additionally, the themes were perceived to influence curricular decision making by providing strategies, resources, and empathy towards students. The participants‘ perspectives have implications on social studies teacher education programs and future research. These implications include the types of instructional methods, themes, and global dimensions that should be addressed in teacher education programs. Future research should focus on issues underlying the nature of global education courses being taught in social studies teacher education programs, the teaching methods being used by graduates of those programs, and further analysis on emerging themes perceived to be critical in developing a global perspective.

The researcher found few studies that explore decisions of social studies teachers as they plan what and how to teach their classes. Over a century, social studies educators have adapted and responded to political, social, and economic changes. From educating immigrants a century earlier to addressing contemporary cross-border issues, social studies educators inherit unique challenges in today's increasingly globalized world. In addition to these external forces, constraints are placed on teachers which prescribe what content must be included in an already crowded curriculum. This qualitative approach using a case study provides a better understanding of the influence a globally oriented program has on participants' teaching social studies by investigating how participation in UNA-USA Global Classrooms program influenced how social studies teachers teach social studies. The goal was to provide a rich, compelling account of experiences of high school social studies teachers so that others can understand the issues reflected in their experiences better. The primary method of gathering data was the hour-long interview, in a case study approach. Analysis resulted in six themes: (1) teachers' perceived influence of Global Classrooms on student interest and engagement, (2) content expertise and confidence, (3) challenges to teaching global perspectives stemming from students, (4) challenges to teaching global perspectives stemming from school environment (5) innovative pedagogy and learning activities, and (6) projects and advocacy dimensions evolved from Global Classrooms experiences. Participants' unique experiences underscore the importance of studying the influence of globally oriented curriculum programs on social studies instruction. Implications include (1) teacher preparation and inservice training needs to be responsive to the need to develop an emerging cadre of teachers who are becoming increasingly aware of the need to infuse global perspectives into the social studies curriculum, (2) it is important that school districts realign professional development programs to help teachers gain content knowledge and expertise on global issues (3) participants in this study confirm that globally oriented programs such as the UNAUSA Global Classrooms Curriculum enable teachers to build pedagogical content expertise in teaching about global issues, and (4) as pedagogical knowledge improved, participants became more adept at reinventing the curriculum and infusing components to serve the courses they taught.

This investigation examined first-grade teachers' literacy beliefs and practices and its relationship with their students' conceptions about reading and writing. For the first part of the study a sample of 76 first-grade teachers, from two school districts in Puerto Rico, completed the Literacy Orientation Survey (LOS). The combined score of the LOS was calculated and used to categorize teachers according to their literacy beliefs and practices as constructivist, eclectic, or traditional. After matching by years of experience and educational level, a stratified random sample of six teachers, two from each literacy viewpoint (traditional, eclectic, and constructivist), and 48 first-grade students was selected to participate in the second part of the study. A simple random sample of eight students (four low-achieving readers and four high-achieving readers) was selected from the classrooms of each of the six teachers, who represented the three differing literacy beliefs. Individual interviews were conducted with the students, using Wing's (1989) interview protocol, in order to assess their conceptions of reading and writing. The results of this study regarding the nature of teachers' literacy beliefs indicated that most teachers appear to hold traditional literacy beliefs and practices, whereas a very small number of the participant teachers seem to hold literacy beliefs and practices categorized as constructivist. A statistical significant association was found between teachers' literacy viewpoint and students' conceptions about reading and writing. First-grade students whose teachers held a constructivist literacy viewpoint seemed to have more holistic conceptions of literacy, whereas students whose teachers held a traditional or an eclectic literacy viewpoint seemed to have more skills or test-based conceptions of reading and writing. Results indicate that first-grade students' ideas regarding the purposes and nature of reading and writing appear to be compatible with their teachers' literacy beliefs and practices. No significant relationship was found between students' conceptions of reading and writing and their reading ability. Implications for literacy teaching, learning, and further research are discussed.

This qualitative study explores six child care teachers’ perceptions of their work as gendered work. The purpose of the study is to understand how the experiences of women child care teachers are connected to the larger issue of gendered teaching embedded in culturally pervasive beliefs about child care teaching. This study answers the following questions: 1) What do child care teachers perceive about their work? 2) How do they conceptualize child care teaching as women’s work? 3) How do they describe the practice of their perceived work as women’s work? Data were collected through in-depth interviews and, following Corbin and Strauss’s (2008) grounded theory methodology, analyzed to find emergent themes. Six themes emerged from the analysis of interview data: 1) child care teaching is not gendered work, 2) child care work is an identification of self, 3) child care teaching is a way of relating to one another, 4) vulnerabilities of child care work, 5) child care is hard work, and 6) contradictions and paradoxes. These themes answer the three research questions. First, these teachers perceive their work to be gender-neutral work, self-identification, mutuality, vulnerabilities, and labor profession. Second, the teachers conceptualize child care work both as gender-neutral and gendered, as creating women’s culture, and as women’s culture being stigmatized. Third, the teachers show paradoxical and inconsistent attitudes about the practice of their perceived child care work as gendered work. The categories about the participants’ conceptions of their work are interrelated and interwoven. They reflect a complexity in the participants’ understandings. The inconsistencies of the teachers’ perceptions reflect the complexity of child care teachers’ reality and their negotiations between dominant beliefs about what child care work means and the elements of their individual and collective experiences that they bring to their profession (Biklen, 1995; Dillabough, 1999, 2005; Murray, 2006; Ryan & Grieshaber, 2005). The findings of this study provide implications for teacher educators. The implications involve the need to utilize contemporary theories and feminist perspectives to better understand the nature of child care teachers’ work and to help teachers develop a critical and more realistic understanding of the nature of their work. / text

Magistro darbe yra analizuojamos veiklos ir priežąstys skatinančios elektroninės komercijos plėtrą Lietuvoje, vertinamos tendencijos, perspektyvos ir vartotojų nuomonė. Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių teoriniai ir praktiniai elektroninės komercijos plėtros tyrimai, pateikti ir įvertinti interneto tyrimus atliekančių bendrovių gauti rezultatai, nustatytos tendencijos. Patvirtinta darbo autoriaus suformuluota mokslinio tyrimo hipotezė, kad Lietuvos elektroninės komercijos rinka artimiausiais metais sparčiai tobulės ir ims konkuruoti su tradicinėmis verslo formomis. / This master‘s final paper analyse effects ant reasons of e-commerce development in Lithuania. Estimate tendency perspectives and user oppinion. It analyzes and systemizes theoretical and practical e-commerce development researches conducted by various Lithuanian and foreign authors. It is produced and analysed results of internet research companys estimated tendencys. The paper presents a detailed analysis of scientific problems of Lithuanian e-commerce market which in the future will become perfect and will compete with tradicional forms of business.

Min essä handlar om ett problem som jag ofta mött i mitt arbete på förskolan – hur man ska hantera barn och föräldrar som kommer sent. Det blir ofta ett dilemma när olika värden ställs mot varandra så som kollegornas olika synsätt på verksamheten och på lärande, individ och gruppens behov och strukturer och regler mot vad som är praktiskt i situationen. Jag inleder essän med två berättelser om situationer från mitt arbete i förskolan som illustrerar dilemmat. Dessa situationer tar jag sedan som utgångspunkt när jag reflekterar över dilemmat med hjälp av olika teorier. Syftet med denna essä är att belysa och undersöka ett problem som jag tror många förskollärare möter. Hur det hanteras får konsekvenser för att alla barn ska få möjlighet att få uppleva sin tid på förskolan som både lärorik och rolig, och för att de ska få den omsorg och bemötande som de förtjänar. I min essä har jag undersökt hur det är möjligt att som pedagog förstå och förhålla sig till den här typen av situationer. Jag har även reflekterat över mitt eget förhållningssätt i situationen, varför jag gör som jag gör och om vad som tyckts fungera respektive innebära problem. / My essay is about a dilemma that I often face at my work in preschool – how to handle children and parents that show up late for school. It often becomes a problem when different values are in conflict, as can happen when colleagues have different views on how to handle daily activities and teaching. Furthermore, the needs of the individual and the group as a whole, in terms of structure and rules, may be in conflict against what’s practical in the situation when parents and children show up late. My essay contains two stories about situations at my work in preschool that illustrate the dilemma. I will use those two situations as a base, as I reflect over the dilemma using different types of theories. The purpose with this essay is to bring into light and investigate a problem I believe many teachers have. The consequence of my investigation will affect the children’s opportunities to find their time at preschool both instructive and fun, and that they also receive the care and treatment they deserve. In my essay I have investigated how it is possible for an educator to understand and relate to these types of situations. I have also reflected on my own approach in the situation, why I do as I do, what seems to work and what seems to create problems.

Magistro darbe yra nagrinėjama viena iš aplinką bei išteklius tausojančių ūkininkavimo sistemų - tai ekologinis žemės ūkis. Ateities žemės ūkio sistemos pagrindiniai tikslai - subalansuotai spręsti ekologinius, socialinius ir ekonominius klausimus ir įgyvendinti tausojamojo ūkininkavimo principus. Išanalizuoti ir susisteminti įvairių Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių literatūros šaltiniai. Išsamiau analizuojamos Ekologinių ūkių plėtros galimybės ir perspektyvos ES. Įvertinti Ekologinio ūkininkavimo pokyčiai. Atliktas tyrimas su vartotojais, skirtas nustatyti ekologinių produktų rinką. / Master’s degree work considers one of the farming system which is saving environment and resources i.e. agricultural economy. The main purposes of the system of the future agricultural economy’s are to work on ecological, social and economical problems and to implement principles of saving farming. In master’s degree work there are analised and systematized sources of different lithuanian and foreign literature authors. There are more properly analised possibilities and perspectives of ecological economy development in UE. There are also appreciated changes of ecological farming. The research which is accomplished with users is designed to set the market of ecological products.

Magistro darbe yra pristatomos ekologiškų produktų (daržovių) rinkos perspektyvos Lietuvoje, atsižvelgiant į vartotojų požiūrį. Analizuojami ekologinio ūkininkavimo privalumai, trūkumai ir ekologinio ūkio sukuriamų produktų išskirtinumas. Darbe aprašytas ekologiškų produktų (daržovių) vartotojų požiūrio nuostatų tyrimas ir vertinimas. Tyrimo hipotezė, kad vartojimo kultūra, pasirinkimo galimybės ir kiti veiksniai turi įtakos ekologiškų produktų rinkos perspektyvai pasitvirtino. Pateikiamos išvados ir numatytos rekomendacijos, kurios paskatintų ekologiškų produktų paklausą, o taip pat sudarytų prielaidas ekologiškų produktų augintojams toliau didinti ekologinių žemės ūkių plotus bei auginti ir tiekti rinkai užaugintus ekologiškus produktus nekenkiant aplinkai. / Market perspectives for ecological products (vegetables) in Lithuania in regard to consumers opinion is presented in this master thesis. Pros and cons of ecological farming as well as distinctiveness of products produced by means of ecological farming are analyzed. Research hypothesis – consumption culture, variety of choices and the other factors having impact on ecological products market perspectives proved to be accurate. Conclusions are presented as well as recommendations suggested on how to increase demand for ecological products in Lithuania which itself would create good climate for ecological product-farmers welfare by means of expanding ecological products producing farms and supplying market and consumers with ecological products which are produced without harm for environment.