Suchergebnisse

Design science research was used for the generation, use and evaluation of a model for knowledge sharing in the user community through open educational resources (OER). The focus of interest was on the development process of a model for knowledge sharing that emphasizes the characteristics and the needs of the user community; the empowerment and democratic issues of openness; the collaboration between institutions and dialog with society; and the consideration of quality and sustainability issues. Initially, the community needs were analyzed through surveys and workshops, and the findings used, through negotiations, to formulate the development process. An open-training platform served as an infrastructure and included a repository with OER, a wiki and a discussion forum. The purpose of this article is an attempt to provide universities with a plan and template for integrated knowledge sharing that responds to societal needs. Usability and usefulness has not been evaluated. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This report reports assessments of the risk as lead residues of ammunition in venison can constitute. The assessment of the health risk for consumers is mainly based on blood lead levels in hunter-gatherer families. The results showed that adult individuals in the so-called hunter study had significantly higher blood lead level compared with the adult individuals in the National Food Administration's latest eating habits survey who did not report game consumption. In the hunter study, a relatively clear correlation was observed between the number of shots fired (the most recent six months) and blood lead level. No significant trend (monotonically increasing relationship) between blood lead level and amount of game meat consumed could be observed in the hunter study. More generally, the results from the hunter study show that blood lead levels need to be decreased as the lead exposure reference points, established by the European the Authority for Food Safety (EFSA), were clearly exceeded. Of the men, 70 percent had blood lead levels that exceeded the reference point; of the children, 40-50 percent had levels that exceeded the reference point; and of the women, 30 percent had concentrations that exceeded the reference point. In addition to assessments based on the hunter study, basis for advice on 'reindeer cutting of game' has been produced. Developed health-based critical levels for lead in game meat show that the median level of lead in game meat drops to relatively tolerable levels at a distance from the wound canal of at least 10 centimeters. Note: this report is published by the Swedish Food Agency as part of their SLV-Report Series (ISSN: 1104-7089) ; SE; PDF; Efsa.focalpoint@slv.se

The imprint on rural areas from social change since the 1950s is a decline in population, farming and other local working places, services, political platforms and meeting places. The aim of the thesis is to understand how these changes have affected the interrelations between people, place and history. The fieldwork was conducted in Locknevi, a parish in Småland. Interviews and participant observation were undertaken for four months, during a span of five years. In spite of the impoverishment of rural areas inhabitants seek to maintain social and time-space relations through new practises, mostly in local associations. These associations were once an important arena for modernising both agriculture and rural life. Now they are divided into agricultural and community based associations. People moving into the community often engage in community based associations. Hence local communities are now upheld by activities within associations and among friends instead of by work within agriculture. Three cases from Locknevi are the basis for discussions of the effect of social change over the last decades. For example the school is an important institution and meeting place. Here the struggle to retain the village school shows that when meeting places are in danger of disappearing people tend to mobilize against deterioration in living conditions. Furthermore the church is an important local political arena, institution and meeting place. The conflict within church leadership represents divergent views in the community, namely the old independent view and the new view incorporated in a global world. Moreover the moose hunt as an institution serves to maintain the sense of community. In this regard the effects of change are manifested in the way the local hunting teams respond to the activities of hunting tourism. Here tensions often emerge between cultural/social and economic stakes within the community. The empirical findings shows no conflict between seeking to maintain a strong place identity and embracing an openness towards society. On the contrary, this combination could well be the fundamental driving force for building society. However it is hard to create a viable community in the absence of local subsistence, meeting places, institutions and a concrete use of place.