<p>Namibia is a country where the official language has been English since independence in 1990. There are different national languages in the country and a majority of the people do not have English as a mother tongue. Nevertheless, the language of instruction from fourth grade and onwards is indeed English. Consequently, for the majority of the population the education is in their second language. What this essay explores is the role English as a second language has as a medium of instruction and the implications it may have. It is a minor field study that was carried out with the help of a scholarship from SIDA (Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation) and it took place in a school in Northern Namibia, April and May 2007. It is a qualitative study that explores the use of English among teachers and students as well as the transition from mother tongue instruction to English instruction and the implications that this can have for the quality of education. The reality of the Namibian students that have to study and perform in a second language is questioned and discussed from pedagogical and linguistic points of view. The results show that most pupils do not speak English before starting fourth grade. Furthermore, the sudden transition from mother tongue to English instruction creates some descent in the participation of the pupils and possibly in the learning, not only of the new language but also of the content subjects. As far as the teachers concern, there are positive but ambiguous opinions among them concerning English as a medium of instruction.</p>

published_or_final_version / Surgery / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Surgery / Master / Master of Philosophy

As an effort to gain a better understanding of the processes that enable and sustain coal bed methanogenesis in the western Powder River Basin, a steady-state groundwater flow model using MODFLOW 2005 was constructed. The model covers the middle Tongue River Watershed of north-central Wyoming and southeastern Montana and is comprised of five heterogeneous layers. The model is designed to determine the location of recharge and quantify the volume and velocity of groundwater fluxes to, from and within methanogenic coal beds. Analysis of the model's results indicate a groundwater regime dominated by horizontal flow, with little hydrologic connection between the methanogenic coal beds and the near-surface aquifers and streams. The model predicts only 3.88 cubic feet per seconds (cfs) or 2.17 percent of the total steady state flux within the modeled domain percolates downward to potentially reach the methanogenic coal beds. Most of this downward flux is predicted to occur at the base of the Bighorn Mountains. Additionally, the model predicts that the transit time to and resultant groundwater age within the methanogenic coal beds in the study area is on the order of thousands of years (predicted minimum age of 8,967 years).

English is an international and global language that students, regardless of mother tongue, encounter in their everyday lives. In Sweden, students are introduced to English teaching in year 1, 2 or 3, and in some cases, year 4. English teaching can sometimes be problematic when the language of instruction often consists of Swedish, which for second language students becomes a challenge to acquire new skills in a week language. The study aims to examine, with a qualitative study, how pedagogues plan and implements English teaching in first grade with students whose mother tongue are other than Swedish. Further, the aim was to examine how pedagogues say they relate to the fact that second language pupils participating in English lessons and if they think it affects their English teaching. The conclusions is that the pedagogues has probably not been problematized the phenomenon examined and say they do not adapt their teaching. In the interviews reveals information about the teaching method which, in my opinion, indicates that, unconsciously, adapting their teaching when they have second language students. Furthermore, the study points out the importance of English as language of instruction when there is a more equal situation for all students regardless of language. Second langue students do not need to go through the Swedish language to be taught in English.

My study is about a preparation class in a selected municipality. It is based on the child¹s perspective, and it tries to highlight the school situation of new arrivals in a school where the majority of the pupils are of Swedish origin. The purpose of my study is to visualize how the education for newly arrived children is organized in the municipality, and to get an understanding of a range of student’s view of the schooling in the preparation class as an introduction to a regular class. To reach my goal, I have used qualitative methods, based on qualitative interviews. The interviews were made with six newly arrived pupils, and one interview was made with the deputy head of the school, which is in charge of immigrant education in the municipality. The results show that the four primary schools in the municipality have two preparation classes located in a school for year 1-5 and 6-9. The interviewed pupils are between 13 and 15 years old. The interview reveals deficiencies in different areas, concerning the newly arrived children. The pupils are relatively segregated in school and they have no opportunities to form relationships with other pupils, which can lead to stigma. The education is characterized by lower expectations, and it is not ideal for the children’s cognitive development. The pupils also receive mother tongue education, and a few of them get student consolation. Most of them prefer student consolation, where the education is in Swedish simultaneously with their native language. The mother tongue education is not yet suited to the pupils’ abilities and needs, and the teachers in mother tongue language have a lack of qualifications.

This paper aims to examine the mother tongue subject and it´s existence and condition in a school located in the south of Stockholm. I have performed interviews with four teachers about their opinions and attitudes regarding the mother tongue subject in the school were they work. Two of the teachers are teachers in social studies and two of them are teachers in the mother tongue subject. My aim is also to examine whether an interest exists among the teachers to collaborate in between the subjects and what possibilities and conditions such collaboration would have in effect. I have applied a qualitative method based on personal interviews with semi-structured questions as my data acquisition method. I have also performed document studies to strengthen and support the qualitative interviews. The result, based on the interviews, shows that there was no existing collaboration between the teachers at the time of the interviews. All of the teachers said that they are willing to collaborate and that they believe that such collaboration would be profitable

Bilingualism and multilingualism have always existed in Sweden. Preschool teachers must provide a stimulating pedagogical environment adapted to bilingual children. The purpose of this examination is to study the perspective of the preschool teachers and their knowledge regarding bilingual and multilingual children. Their knowledge will be examined related to their language experiences. I hope to find similarities and dissimilarities in the preschool teachers’ opinions concerning teaching and learning what they actually do when they are teaching. My study is based on qualitative method, based on interviews and repeated observations. My study is based on interviews with four preschool teachers from different preschools. The information given in the interviews has been analyzed using socio-cultural and social constructivist theories and previous research. My conclusion is that the preschool teacher’s attitude towards children’s bilingualism and multilingualism is based on a positive perspective rather than a negative perspective regarding the importance of mother tongue and identity as well as ethics. Preschool teachers with foreign background and with Swedish background had similar thoughts. At the same time, they seem to have a critical perspective concerning bilingual children’s learning process in Swedish. In many cases these preschool teachers consider bilingual and multilingual children’s cultural and social habits a hindrance in learning the Swedish language. But at the same time, as preschool teachers, they are aware of the importance in learning at least a few words in the bilingual children’s language.

Control de calidad sensorial de bebidas alcohólicas utilizando rápidos sensores químicosEn la presente tesis Doctoral, han sido aplicados dos sensores artificiales para el análisis debebidas alcohólicas: la nariz electrónica basada en la espectrometría de masas (MS) y la lenguaelectrónica basada en la espectroscopía infrarroja con transformada de Fourier (FTIR). Elpropósito fue desarrollar nuevas estrategias para analizar la autenticidad de estos productos,desde un punto de vista sensorial, por medio de técnicas las espectrales antes mencionadas.Adicionalmente, ha sido utilizado un espectrofotómetro UV-visible como ojo electrónico. Eltrabajo presentado pretende ser un avance significativo hacia el desarrollo de un catadorelectrónico mediante la fusión de los tres sensores químicos: nariz electrónica, lenguaelectrónica y ojo electrónico.Sensory quality control of alcoholic beverages using fast chemical sensorsIn the present Doctoral Thesis, two chemical artificial sensors are applied to the analysis ofalcoholic beverages: the Mass Spectrometry (MS)-based electronic-noses and Fouriertransform infrared (FTIR)-based electronic-tongue. The aim was developing new strategies totest the authenticity of these products, from a sensory point of view, by means of the spectraltechniques above mentioned. Additionally, has been used an UV-visible spectrophotometer aselectronic eye. The work presented wants to be a significant advance towards the developmentof an electronic taster through the fusion of three chemical sensors: electronic nose, electronictongue and electronic eye.

XXI a. iššūkiai - gilėjanti globalizacija, kultūrinė integracija bei ekonominė emigracija. Šie reiškiniai stipriai veikia ir Lietuvos gyvenimą, kurį pradėta sieti su ryšių Vakaruose stiprinimu, net tapatumo siekimu. Tai skatina domėtis kosmopolitizmu, atitolina nuo savosios tautos šaknų. Gimtoji kalba laikoma svarbiausiu tautinės individualybės simboliu, nebetenka savo vaidmens, nes stiprėja mokinių abejingumas lietuvių kalbai, o angliškos leksemos tampa tautos žmonių kultūrine siekiamybe. Tai stiprina tautinio ugdymo poreikį mokyklose, tačiau, visų pirma, reikia išsiaiškinti, kokie veiksniai gali daryti palankų poveikį jo tobulinimui. Todėl šio darbo tikslas - ištirti V klasių mokinių nuostatą į gimtąją kalbą kaip tautinio susipratimo veiksnį. Tyrimo objektas − V klasių mokinių nuostata į gimtąją kalbą ir kitus tautinio susipratimo komponentus. Nuostatą į gimtąją kalbą atskleidžiantys rezultatai rodo, kad tautiškumo lygmenyje išryškėja žinios apie lietuvių kalbos turtingumą. Tiriant patriotiškumą, nustatyta, kad pusė respondentų brangina gimtąją kalbą, o beveik visų mokinių išryškėja stiprus nacionalinis susipratimas, nes jie žino istorinį ir gramatinį lietuvių kalbos savitumą. Nuostata į kitus tautinės kultūros dalykus išryškėja tautiškumo lygmenyje, kai mokiniai labiausia norėtų dalyvauti istorinėse ekskursijose. Taip pat atskleista, kad daugiau nei pusė mokinių brangina tautos kultūrą ir mato šviesią Lietuvos ateitį. Ugdymo projektas rodo, kad labai pasikeitė penktos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Such phenomena as challenges of the XXI 21st century, deepening globalisation, cultural integration and economic emigration deeply influence Lithuanian life which is to be associated with strengthening ties in the West, even seeking for identity. This encourages us to concern with cosmopolitanism and makes a distance from the roots of your mother-tongue. Mother-tongue which is regarded as the most important symbol of national individuality is no longer important because of strengthening pupils' indifference to Lithuanian language. Moreover, English lexemes are becoming a national cultural aspiration. This reinforces the need of national upbringing in schools; however firstly let us reveal factors having favourable influence on school improvement. Therefore the aim of the work is to examine 5th year school children' attitude towards mother-tongue as a subject of national consciousness. The object of this research is 5th year school children' attitude towards mother-tongue and other components of national consciousness. Research data shows that in the level of nationality pupils' knowledge of the richness of Lithuanian language develops. Regarding language patriotism it turned out that half of respondents appreciate mother-tongue and almost all of them are national conscious because they know historical and grammatical peculiarities of Lithuanian language. Attitude to other objects of national culture develops in the national level when pupils mostly would like to go on... [to full text]