Jonas Almqvist

Education for sustainable development in early childhood education: a review of the research literature

The aim of the study is to describe and analyse research articles relating to the subject of education for sustainable development (ESD) for early childhood education (ECE), published during the years 1996–2013. This is done by answering three specific questions: (1) How is ESD defined by researchers in ECE? (2) What are the major research inquiries and results? (3) What does the research say about young children acting for change in relation to sustainability? Our analysis identified two different definitions of ESD: first, as a threefold approach to education based on questions concerning education about, in and for the environment; and, second, as an approach to education that includes three interrelated dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Two major research areas are identified in this study. The first area relates to how teachers understand ESD, while the second area focuses on how ESD can be implemented in educational practice. During the period studied, the research has evolved from teaching children facts about the environment and sustainability issues to educating children to act for change. This new approach reveals a more competent child who can think for him- or herself and make well-considered decisions. The decisions are made by investigating and participating in critical discussions about alternative ways of acting for change.

Molecular and Biochemical Analysis of Chalcone Synthase from Freesia hybrid in Flavonoid Biosynthetic Pathway.

Chalcone synthase (CHS) catalyzes the first committed step in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. In this study, the cDNA (FhCHS1) encoding CHS from Freesia hybrida was successfully isolated and analyzed. Multiple sequence alignments showed that both the conserved CHS active site residues and CHS signature sequence were found in the deduced amino acid sequence of FhCHS1. Meanwhile, crystallographic analysis revealed that protein structure of FhCHS1 is highly similar to that of alfalfa CHS2, and the biochemical analysis results indicated that it has an enzymatic role in naringenin biosynthesis. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR was performed to detect the transcript levels of FhCHS1 in flowers and different tissues, and patterns of FhCHS1 expression in flowers showed significant correlation to the accumulation patterns of anthocyanin during flower development. To further characterize the functionality of FhCHS1, its ectopic expression in Arabidopsis thaliana tt4 mutants and Petunia hybrida was performed. The results showed that overexpression of FhCHS1 in tt4 mutants fully restored the pigmentation phenotype of the seed coats, cotyledons and hypocotyls, while transgenic petunia expressing FhCHS1 showed flower color alteration from white to pink. In summary, these results suggest that FhCHS1 plays an essential role in the biosynthesis of flavonoid in Freesia hybrida and may be used to modify the components of flavonoids in other plants.

Competing for ideal bodies: a study of exergames used as teaching aids in schools

Since the development of the welfare state, the Swedish school subject Health and Physical Education (HPE) has been regarded as an important site for public health work, and still assumes a central role in promoting the health of the coming generation. A specific type of health intervention, promoted by researchers in recent years, is the use of so-called exergames. In some countries, these fitness games are used as teaching aids in physical education classes and can be seen as examples of how public health issues and popular culture are shaping HPE in schools. The aim of the study reported in this paper is to examine which messages about health and body are offered, and how these are expressed in some of the fitness games used as teaching aids in school. The results of the study highlight the dangers of using exergames in the teaching of HPE in schools. The messages communicated by the games have a number of potentially harmful consequences, particularly with regard to the creation of specific health and bodily norms based on a measurable ideal. The use of this tool in education is thus far from value free, and the problems that might be solved when using the games are not necessarily the ones that education should privilege.

Teaching for action competence

The focus of this article is to explore preschool children’s possibilities to learn to act for sustainable development. The purpose is to describe and analyze which actions are privileged when children participate in preschool activities. Analyses of video recordings of everyday preschool activities show how children experience activities where they critically discuss and make value judgments about actions. The results of the analyses also show how different actions become relevant in different practices. Furthermore, comparisons are made between the preschool practices and three teaching principles within education for sustainable development (ESD). In ESD, action competence is the ability to critically make value judgments about different alternative ways to act for a sustainable future. The result shows how children make value judgments in situations where facts are not sufficient for solving a problem.

How wii teach physical education and health

The use of educational computer games in physical education (PE) has become more popular in recent years and has attracted research interest. The aim of the article is to investigate how physical activities and images of the human body are offered by the game. The results show how the “teacher” constituted in the games is one who instructs and encourages the players to exercise and think about their bodies, but not a “teacher” who can help students to investigate, argue, or discuss images of health and the human body. We argue that the use of a wide range and variety of ways of teaching would make the teaching richer and offer a deeper understanding about the body and health.

Exergames as a Teaching Tool in Physical Education

Abstract Video games are often highlighted as risk factors in relation to physical inactivity and increasing levels of obesity. Now a new type of video game, the exergame, has entered the market. In recent years, several countries have increasingly foregrounded exergames as a possible activity for use in school PE and as perhaps improving young people’s knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors in relation to health and physical exercise. The purpose of this study is to explore Swedish PE teachers’ perceptions and use of exergames and also the barriers to and reasons for using exergames based on a survey containing closed- and open-ended questions. A total of 493 teachers (10% of all Swedish PE teachers) answered the questionnaire. The responses were coded and entered into SPSS, allowing for both descriptive data and cross-table analyses. The results show that 80 percent are familiar with exergames, 17 percent are recreational exergamers, and a few (3%) have tried using exergames in physical education and health. The reasons for introducing exergames are generally as follows: encouraging physical activity, offering different types of movement, and having fun. The barriers to introducing exergames are mainly: financial, prioritizing other activities, and the teachers’ own knowledge. The majority of the PE teachers are generally positive to introducing exergames as a teaching aid into their subject. However, this requires developing the teachers’ own knowledge of exergames. The choice of teaching content and the introduction of new activities and teaching tools also involve critically examining the games, and this, in turn, entails didactic reflection.

Wii Teach Movement Qualities in Physical Education

Abstract In Sweden, the PE curriculum states that students are expected to develop a number of abilities, a variety of movement activities and qualities. Interesting to explore is then if exergames (video games that includes physical activity) can be seen as a teaching resource to learn different movement’s qualities. With a new teaching tool that has been introduced in education and new policy documents emphasising development of different movement qualities, the purpose of this article is accordingly to investigate students’ use of different movement qualities when playing various exergames during PE. For this we use a version of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) adapted for exploring exergames in PE practice. The empirical data include video-recordings from PE lessons. The games offered were of three different characters; sports games, exercise games and dance games. We are inspired by the LMA framework and explore students’ movement qualities on the basis of four aspects; body, effort, space and relations. Further, with socio-cultural learning theory, recognition of artefacts, other people and the offered content of the exergames are also involved in the analysis. Our findings show that exergames are creating opportunities for PE teachers and students to pay attention to different movement qualities. In PE the player is accordingly involved in a complex context of movement qualities, interacting with the game and with other students.

The Escherichia coli CysZ is a pH dependent sulfate transporter that can be inhibited by sulfite

The Escherichia coli inner membrane protein CysZ mediates the sulfate uptake subsequently utilized for the synthesis of sulfur-containing compounds in cells. Here we report the purification and functional characterization of CysZ. Using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry, we have observed interactions between CysZ and its putative substrate sulfate. Additional sulfur-containing compounds from the cysteine synthesis pathway have also been analyzed for their abilities to interact with CysZ. Our results suggest that CysZ is dedicated to a specific pathway that assimilates sulfate for the synthesis of cysteine. Sulfate uptake via CysZ into E. coli whole cells and proteoliposome offers direct evidence of CysZ being able to mediate sulfate uptake. In addition, the cysteine synthesis pathway intermediate sulfite can interact directly with CysZ with higher affinity than sulfate. The sulfate transport activity is inhibited in the presence of sulfite, suggesting the existence of a feedback inhibition mechanism in which sulfite regulates sulfate uptake by CysZ. Sulfate uptake assays performed at different extracellular pH and in the presence of a proton uncoupler indicate that this uptake is driven by the proton gradient.

Teaching Traditions in Science Teachers’ Practices and the Introduction of National Testing

ABSTRACT Our main interest in this article is to explore whether Swedish teachers changed their teaching and assessment practices in relation to the new national tests in science education that were introduced 2009. Data was collected using a web-distributed questionnaire, which was answered by 407 teachers. The concept of teaching traditions is used to capture patterns of what is emphasized by teachers in terms of goals and content in teaching and the design of the questionnaire was based on the concept of curriculum emphases. The results show two distinct groups of focus, which are compared with two traditions within science education: the Academic and the Moral tradition. The main content where teaching has been changed is in making science more applied than before, where applied not only means the application of science knowledge to practical technical issues, but also to moral and political issues.

A selective class of inhibitors for the CLC-Ka chloride ion channel

Significance Chloride ion channels and transporters (CLCs) are critical to cardiovascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal function. Small molecules capable of selectively inhibiting CLCs would serve as valuable tools for investigating CLC function and would have potential applications for treating CLC-related disorders. The lack of such agents has impeded efforts to study this family of proteins. This work introduces a class of inhibitors with unprecedented selectivity for a single CLC homolog, CLC-Ka. Insights gained through experiments to validate a predicted ligand binding site and to evaluate structure–activity relationships rationalize inhibitor potency and CLC-Ka selectivity. Our findings provide tools for studies of CLC-Ka function and will assist subsequent efforts to advance specific molecular probes for different CLC homologs. CLC proteins are a ubiquitously expressed family of chloride-selective ion channels and transporters. A dearth of pharmacological tools for modulating CLC gating and ion conduction limits investigations aimed at understanding CLC structure/function and physiology. Herein, we describe the design, synthesis, and evaluation of a collection of N-arylated benzimidazole derivatives (BIMs), one of which (BIM1) shows unparalleled (>20-fold) selectivity for CLC-Ka over CLC-Kb, the two most closely related human CLC homologs. Computational docking to a CLC-Ka homology model has identified a BIM1 binding site on the extracellular face of the protein near the chloride permeation pathway in a region previously identified as a binding site for other less selective inhibitors. Results from site-directed mutagenesis experiments are consistent with predictions of this docking model. The residue at position 68 is 1 of only ∼20 extracellular residues that differ between CLC-Ka and CLC-Kb. Mutation of this residue in CLC-Ka and CLC-Kb (N68D and D68N, respectively) reverses the preference of BIM1 for CLC-Ka over CLC-Kb, thus showing the critical role of residue 68 in establishing BIM1 selectivity. Molecular docking studies together with results from structure–activity relationship studies with 19 BIM derivatives give insight into the increased selectivity of BIM1 compared with other inhibitors and identify strategies for further developing this class of compounds.