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Purpose: This paper aims to examine uncertain situations with potential for learning in care work. While the dominant learning strategy in elderly care is lecture-based education, learning from and during daily care work routines is crucial and suitable. However, little is known about the potential for learning in daily work in elderly care. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a doctoral study conducted in Danish nursing homes. Shadowing care workers led to the construction of care work vignettes, which were analyzed and validated in analytic dialogues with field practitioners. Here, a selected vignette forms the empirical base for analyzing uncertainty through the lens of Dewey's philosophy of learning. Findings: The results suggest labeling uncertain situations as noisy, as they are sensorily felt, prompting doubt and perplexity and, hence, reflection and learning. Noisy situations cause breakdowns in action experienced as a tension that triggers reflection, often with colleagues, alongside work. A critical discussion draws attention to silent situations that proceed undisturbedly, according to routine, and, hence, often without reflection. To handle uncertainty, either noisy or silent, care workers must be considered as learning actors. Space and time for reflection are mandatory. Originality/value: By focusing on uncertainty in care work, this study contributes to the understanding of workplace learning potential by clarifying the characteristics of situations useful for systematic exploration and collaborative learning from specific instances in work.

Our main goal was to investigate if and how using multiple immersive virtual reality (iVR) simulations and their video playback, in a science course, affects student learning over time. We conducted a longitudinal study, in ecological settings, at an undergraduate field-course on three topics in environmental biology. Twenty-eight undergraduates were randomly assigned to either an iVR-interaction group or a video-viewing group. During the field-course, the iVR group interacted with a head-mounted device-based iVR simulation related to each topic (i.e. total three interventions), while the video group watched a pre-recorded video of the respective simulation on a laptop. Cognitive and affective data were collected through the following checkpoints: a pre-test before the first intervention, one topic-specific post-test immediately after each intervention, a final post-test towards the end of the course, and a longitudinal post-test deployed approximately 2 months after the course. Through a descriptive analysis, it was found that student performance on the knowledge tests increased considerably over time for the iVR group but remained unchanged for the video group. While no within- or between-group differences were noted for intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy measures, students in the iVR group enjoyed all the simulations, and perceived themselves to benefit from those simulations.

Students' images of science and scientists are generally assumed to influence their related subject choices and aspirations for tertiary education within science and technology. Several research studies have shown that many young people hold rather stereotypical images of scientists, making it hard for them to see themselves as future scientists. Adolescents' educational choices are important aspects of their identity work, and recent theories link individual choice to the perceived match between self and prototypical persons associated with that choice. In the present study, we have investigated images of scientists among the segment of the upper secondary school students (20% of the cohort) from which future Danish scientists are recruited. Their images were rather realistic, only including vague and predominantly positive stereotypical ideas. With a particular Science-and-Me (SAM) interview methodology, we inquired into the match between self- and prototypical-scientists (N?=?30). We found high perceived similarity within a core of epistemological characteristics, while dissimilarities typically related to a social domain. However, combining interview data with survey data, we found no significant statistical relation between prototype match and aspirations for tertiary education within science and technology. Importantly, the SAM dialogue revealed how students negotiate perceived differences, and we identified four negotiation patterns that all tend to reduce the impact of mismatches on educational aspirations. Our study raises questions about methodological issues concerning the traditional use of self-to-prototype matching as an explanatory model of educational choice.

We have followed a group of students in the potential pipeline for science through their last years of upper secondary school and in the context of a university mentorship program. The student group is defined by their choice of Mathematics at A-level which is mandatory for admission to tertiary STEM education in Denmark. Rich data (repeated interviews, questionnaires (pre-and post-) and observations) from 14 target students have been collected. Using Late Modern identity theory as a lens, we have analysed students' identity narratives in order to establish their trajectories in relation to university in general, and towards science studies and science careers in particular. We find that the diversity of students' educational identity narratives can be characterized and their trajectories understood in terms of a Four Factor Framework comprising: general "identity process orientations" ("reflecting," "committing," "exploring"), "personal values," "subject self-concepts and subject interests." In various ways these constructs interact and set the range and direction of the students' searches for future education and careers. Our longitudinal study suggests that they have enough permanence to enable us to hypothesize more or less secured paths of individual students to tertiary science (or other areas of academia).

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic influence of multifocality in breast cancer patients. In a cohort of 7196 patients there were 945 patients with multifocality. We found no prognostic influence of multifocality on overall survival when controlling for known prognostic factors. We found a small but significant influence on disease-free survival (HR=1.16 [1.03–1.31]) and a strong correlation between multifocality and known prognostic factors. This was in accordance with an earlier study done on a smaller population and in a different period of time [Pedersen L, Gunnarsdottir KA, Rasmussen BB, Moeller S, Lanng C. The prognostic influence of multifocality in breast cancer patients. Breast 2004;13:188–193]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To save energy ceilings towards a ventilated cold attic space are normally insulated. In Denmark the insulation material thickness and type varies but the common used insulation material type is mineral wool or cellulose-based insulation. Furthermore, some attics have vapour barriers, whereas others do not or only have poorly sealed vapour barriers. The effect of these variations on the humidity conditions in cold ventilated attics was investigated in preparation for evaluating the existing recommendations on when and how to add additional insulation to ventilated attics to reduce energy consumption. The investigation has been done by examining and measuring the relative humidity and temperature for at least one year in 34 attics in inhabited single-family houses. In addition, outdoor and indoor temperatures and relative humidity were measured. The results were divided into different groups based on the vapour barrier type, amount of insulation, and insulation material type. Most of the attics were ventilated according to the Danish recommendations. Contrary to the expectations, the thickness of insulation material had no effect on the temperature or relative humidity in the attic. The type of insulation material or the presence of a vapour barrier also did not have any noticeable effect. Apparently, the air change rate (ACH) is more important than the investigated parameters. Combined with previously published results from controlled full-scale experiments, the results from this study are valuable input to new recommendations on how to apply additional insulation in existing ventilated attics. • The ventilation of a cold attic is an important factor to the moisture level. • Ceilings under sufficiently ventilated cold attic does not need a vapour barrier. • Hygroscopic insulation properties have no significant impact on the moisture level. • Insulation thickness has no significant impact on the moisture level in attics. • Additional insulation on ceiling against attics do not influence the moisture level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]