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„Sál mín heldur sér fast við þig, hægri hönd þín styður mig“: Um innrömmun sem stílbragð í Sálmi 63.2–9
Get PDFAbstractIn the newly introduced Third Lectionary in The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, the reading from the Old Testament on the last Sunday of the Church Year Calendar comprises Ps 63:2‒9 (1‒8 in most English translations). Unlike the readings for the same Sunday in the First and Second Lectionaries, there is no eschatological motive in Ps 63‒‒unless v. 4a is interpreted as if it expresses some sort of a death wish or a yearning for an afterlife under the aegis of the Lord. In this article, it will be argued that in the context of the psalm, “life” is not used in a quantitative biological sense (= + alive) but rather a qualitative one (= + good health, prosperity). In choosing vv. 2–9 as a reading and excluding vv. 10–12, attention is drawn to the semantic and poetic structure of the psalm, which is in some way unique. In his commentary on the Psalms, Hermann Gunkel concluded that the transmitted text of Psalm 63 was incoherent and illogical. Therefore, Gunkel concluded, its verses needed to be rearranged in order to make sense. Certainly, such conclusions are not warranted. Old Testament scholarship has since Gunkel’s time become more cautious in making major emendations of Old Testament psalms based on presupposition about the ‘correct’ metre or the ‘correct’ order of the semantic-pragmatic elements or parts of a psalm. As well as trying to shed a light on what the author means by stating that God’s lovingkindness is better than life, this article demonstrates how the poetic macro-structure of Ps 63:2‒9 in its present state reveals a structure consisting of several inclusions or ‘envelope figures’, the innermost framing of the hymnic core of the psalm. It is of course impossible to say if this framing structure was intended by the author or whether it was his compositional point of departure. However, it clearly demarcates vv. 2‒9 from vv. 10‒12 in a way which raises the suspicion that the two parts have different origins, although this cannot be asserted by the evidence of the poetic structure. Be that as it may, on the basis of the analysis put forth in this article, Ps 63:2‒9 is shown to be a carefully composed and integrated whole. Therefore, it is only appropriate that the reading from the Old Testament on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, according to the Third Lectionary, comprises these verses. Furthermore, v. 9 may be interpreted as reflecting the very nature of the relationship between God and man, on which the Church’s existence stands and revolves respectively: “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” (NRSV)ÚtdrátturSíðasta sunnudag kirkjuársins skv. hinni nýju þriðju textaröð þjóðkirkjunnar er Slm 63.2–9 lexía dagsins. Ólíkt textum fyrstu og annarrar textaraðar hefur Slm 63 ekki hina hinstu tíma að umfjöllunarefni — nema v. 4a sé túlkað á þann veg að þar setji höfundur fram eins konar dauðaósk eða þrá eftir lífi handan þessa heims í faðmi Guðs. Í greininni eru færð rök fyrir því að svo sé ekki, „líf“ sé í samhengi sálmsins notað í merkingunni „velgengni“ eða „heilsa“ en ekki sem andstæða þess að vera dauður, líflaus. Val textans og um leið sú ákvörðun að nota ekki v. 10–12 vekur athygli á vissum einkennum á byggingu sálmsins. Hermann Gunkel, frumkvöðull í nútímasálmarannsóknum og greiningu ólíkra bókmenntaforma í Gamla testamentinu, komst að þeirri niðurstöðu í skýringarriti sínu um Saltarann að Slm 63 væri samhengislaus og því þyrfti að breyta uppröðun versanna til þess að fá botn í textann. Í þessari grein er hins vegar sýnt fram á að í það minnsta v. 2–9 eru vel samin heild, reyndar svo að þau virðast bæði efnislega og hvað samsetningu varðar vera fullkomlega aðskilin frá v. 10–12. Það er ómögulegt að sýna fram á með óyggjandi hætti að sálmurinn sé ekki upp-runaleg heild. Greining á endurtekningum í textanum leiðir í ljós að þær mynda mynstur sem samanstendur af fjórum römmum; sá ysti rammar inn allan textann en sá innsti rammar inn „miðju“ textans sem inniheldur lofgjörð og lofgjörðarheit skáldsins. Í umfjölluninni er jafnframt reynt að varpa ljósi á það hvað skáldið á við þegar það lýsir því yfir að miskunn Guðs sé betri en lífið en niðurstaða höfundar er sú að því fari fjarri að um sé að ræða lífsfjandsamlega afstöðu þar sem „líf“ í samhengi sálmsins hafi ekki líffræðilega merkingu. Greining á byggingu og innihaldi sálmsins styður réttmæti þess að nota v. 2–9 sem heildstæðan sálmatexta þar sem tjáning á trúartrausti er sett fram og er sálmurinn þannig afar viðeigandi sem lexía síðasta sunnudag kirkjuársins. Það á við hvort sem v. 2–9 mynduðu frá upphafi heildstæðan texta með v. 10–12 eða ekki.
AbstractIn the newly introduced Third Lectionary in The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, the reading from the Old Testament on the last Sunday of the Church Year Calendar comprises Ps 63:2‒9 (1‒8 in most English translations). Unlike the readings for the same Sunday in the First and Second Lectionaries, there is no eschatological motive in Ps 63‒‒unless v. 4a is interpreted as if it expresses some sort of a death wish or a yearning for an afterlife under the aegis of the Lord. In this article, it will be argued that in the context of the psalm, “life” is not used in a quantitative biological sense (= + alive) but rather a qualitative one (= + good health, prosperity). In choosing vv. 2–9 as a reading and excluding vv. 10–12, attention is drawn to the semantic and poetic structure of the psalm, which is in some way unique. In his commentary on the Psalms, Hermann Gunkel concluded that the transmitted text of Psalm 63 was incoherent and illogical. Therefore, Gunkel concluded, its verses needed to be rearranged in order to make sense. Certainly, such conclusions are not warranted. Old Testament scholarship has since Gunkel’s time become more cautious in making major emendations of Old Testament psalms based on presupposition about the ‘correct’ metre or the ‘correct’ order of the semantic-pragmatic elements or parts of a psalm. As well as trying to shed a light on what the author means by stating that God’s lovingkindness is better than life, this article demonstrates how the poetic macro-structure of Ps 63:2‒9 in its present state reveals a structure consisting of several inclusions or ‘envelope figures’, the innermost framing of the hymnic core of the psalm. It is of course impossible to say if this framing structure was intended by the author or whether it was his compositional point of departure. However, it clearly demarcates vv. 2‒9 from vv. 10‒12 in a way which raises the suspicion that the two parts have different origins, although this cannot be asserted by the evidence of the poetic structure. Be that as it may, on the basis of the analysis put forth in this article, Ps 63:2‒9 is shown to be a carefully composed and integrated whole. Therefore, it is only appropriate that the reading from the Old Testament on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, according to the Third Lectionary, comprises these verses. Furthermore, v. 9 may be interpreted as reflecting the very nature of the relationship between God and man, on which the Church’s existence stands and revolves respectively: “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” (NRSV
Áhrif kynjakvóta á stjórnarbrag að mati stjórnarmanna
No full textIceland is one of the nations that has passed a gender quota law for private and public corporate boards. The effects of this law on board effectiveness are currently under-researched. The objective of this study is to explore the opinions of active directors regarding if and how board effectiveness has been affected by the increased gender diversity on boards. The director’s attitude towards board decision-making and monitoring activities are researched, as well as if corporate governance practices have improved in their opinion. Data was collected in 2014, one year after the gender quota legislation came into effect, and hence the measures capture directors’ perception of the first effects. A total of 244 directors answered an online questionnaire, of which 41% were female directors. Results show that male direc- tors were more negative in their views towards the gender quota legislation when it was passed by the legislator, but both females and males are more positive one year after the legislation took effect. Results show that directors reported that more viewpoints are now being discussed at the board table and that there have been some improvements in the decision-making process. When it comes to the moni- toring role of the board, it is board directors, female directors, and those who had more positive attitudes towards the legislation that report improvements in CEO monitoring. Directors report improvement in overall corporate governance. Finally, the results show significant differences in the attitudes of the chair of the board vs. directors, when it comes to the monitoring role of the board, with chairs reporting more improvement. In addition, female directors consistently are significantly more of the opinion than male directors, that board effectiveness has improved after the legislation was passed.Ísland er eitt þeirra landa sem hefur lögleitt kynjakvóta í stjórnir fyrirtækja. Áhrif þessarar lagasetningar, sem í fræðunum kallast „hörð leið“, hafa takmarkað verið rannsökuð. Við lagasetninguna var tekist á um hvort kynjakvóti í stjórnum fyrirtækja myndi leiða til breyttra stjórnarhátta og hafa áhrif á samkeppnishæfni fyrirtækja. Þessi rannsókn hefur að markmiði að afla þekkingar á viðhorfi stjórnarmanna til upptöku kynjakvóta í stjórnum og viðhorfa þeirra til þess hver fyrstu áhrif á stjórnarbrag eru. Greind eru viðhorf stjórnarmanna til þess hvort stjórnarhættir og ákvarðanataka stjórna hafi breyst með tilkomu kynjakvóta og hvort stjórnir sinni aðhalds- og eftirlitshlutverki sínu með öðrum hætti en áður. Mælingar sem greint er frá í þessari rannsókn fóru fram árið 2014, einu ári eftir að lögin tóku að fullu gildi, og gefa því til kynna fyrstu áhrif lagasetningar að mati stjórnarmanna. Alls svöruðu 244 stjórnarmenn rafrænum spurningalista, 41% svarenda var kvenkyns. Niðurstaða rannsóknarinnar varpar ljósi á að karlkyns stjórnarmenn voru neikvæðari gagnvart kynjakvóta í stjórnum þegar lögin voru upphaflega samþykkt en dregið hafði úr þeim kynjamun þegar lögin höfðu tekið gildi. Niðurstöður sýna jafnframt að skömmu eftir lagasetninguna töldu stjórnarmenn almennt að kynjakvótinn hefði leitt til fjölbreyttari skoðanaskipta við stjórnarborðið og að ferlið við ákvarðanatöku stjórna sé betra en áður. Ofantalið var marktækt fremur skoðun stjórnarformanna, kvenkyns stjórnarmeðlima og þeirra sem jákvæðari voru gagnvart löggjöfinni um kynjakvóta þegar hún var upphaflega sett. Niðurstöður sýna jafnframt að stjórnarmenn telja að betri stjórnarhættir séu stundaðir eftir innleiðingu laganna. Niðurstöður sýna marktækan mun á skoðunum almennra stjórnarmanna til laganna annars vegar og formanna stjórna hins vegar þegar kemur að eftirlitshlutverki stjórna. Jafnframt eru kvenkyns stjórnarmenn ávallt marktækt jákvæðari í viðhorfum sínum gagnvart breytingum í kjölfar kynjakvóta í stjórnum fyrirtækja en karlkyns stjórnarmenn
Umsátur víkinga í Barda árið 943
No full textÞeir eru mikil þjóð, stórvaxnir og afburða hugrakkir. Þeir þekkja ekki ósigur og enginn þeirra gefst upp fyrr en hann hefur drepið, eða er drepinn. Hver þeirra ber, ásamt vopnum sínum, tól handverksmannsins; exi, sög, hamar og þvíumlíkt.Þeir eru mikil þjóð, stórvaxnir og afburða hugrakkir. Þeir þekkja ekki ósigur og enginn þeirra gefst upp fyrr en hann hefur drepið, eða er drepinn. Hver þeirra ber, ásamt vopnum sínum, tól handverksmannsins; exi, sög, hamar og þvíumlíkt
Þegar þýtt er úr millimáli – Neyðarbrauð eða nauðsyn?
No full textUNESCO recommends that as a general rule, translations should be made from the original work. Nonetheless, indirect translations, i.e., translations of translations, are still quite common around the world and count as one of the prerequisites of so-called world literature. In this paper, the main reasons for indirect translations are discussed and several translations of that sort are mentioned, Icelandic as well as international. The main focus of the article is, however, on the problematics of indirect translations, such as how the approach of the translator can shape the indirect translation and lead for instance to foreignization or domestication. Finally, the author asks whether indirect translations are justifiable in this day and age and comes to the conclusion that they are inevitable for small languages such asIcelandic. As literary texts they need not be inferior to direct translations either.Í viðmiðum UNESCO um þýðingar er ekki mælt með því að þýða úr millimáli, þ.e. að þýða þýðingu. Eigi að síður er það enn stundað víða um heim og telst enn vera ein af meginstoðum svokallaðra heimsbókmennta. Í greininni eru skoðaðar helstu ástæður þess að bókmenntatextar eru þýddir úr millimáli og nefnd dæmi um slíkar þýðingar, bæði íslenskar og erlendar. Þá er gerð grein fyrir þeim vanda sem við er að etja þegar þýtt er úr millimálum og því sem þýðendur þurfa helst að varast. Þar getur nálgun milliþýðandans skipt miklu máli, s.s. hvort hann aðhyllist framandgerandi þýðingar eða heimfærslu. Að lokum er spurt hvort þýðingar úr millimálum séu réttlætanlegar enn í dag og er niðurstaða greinarhöfundar sú að þær séu óhjákvæmilegar í litlu málsamfélagi, eins og því íslenska, enda geti þær verið vel heppnaðar sem bókmenntaverk.Lykilorð: þýðingar úr millimáli, bókmenntaþýðingar, þýðingarýni, áhrifajafngildi, ráðandi staða ensk
Mörk í nánu rými: #MeToo í sviðslistum og íþróttum
No full textFew things have caused as much upheaval in Western societies in the last years as women’s publication of their experiences of sexual harassment and sexual violence under the hashtag #MeToo. In Iceland, the debate began in November 2017 when the first stories from women’s groups were made public. A total of 17 groups published stories that winter. Some groups called for changes in general terms, while others made clear and specific demands for action.The purpose of our study was to map out the demands of women in #MeToo and try to evaluate the effectiveness of this social movement. In addition to formal change, we also wanted to try to capture the experience of informal change. We looked at sports and the performing arts by analysing available data and conducted interviews with women athletes, women in the performing arts and influential people connected to these two groups. We used a semi-structured interview framework and asked interviewees to tell us if anything had changed in their daily work after #MeToo, something that was not necessarily related to formal changes. The reason why we chose those two groups was the need to narrow the research, but it also appeared that these two groups have certain elements in common that could lead to similar experiences. This idea was confirmed in the interviews. It revealed that special circumstances and cultures exist in both the field of sports and the performing arts, which means that the stories of these groups differ from many others in terms of the seriousness of violence. What these groups also have in common is that the body is in the foreground and a great deal of intimacy is necessary, which means that it can be more difficult to set physical and social boundaries.The main results are that there were significant formal changes in the sports movement, but less so in the performing arts. However, our interviewees agreed that there had been changes in behaviour and conduct within both groups; more was discussed than before and inappropriate treatment was discussed immediately. More specific results are that these two groups share a strong imbalance of power; individuals (athletes or actors) have a lot at stake and are in a difficult position with regard to powerful individuals, coaches, or directors. There is a sense of closeness; the workspace is small, and people know one another well. Part of learning, training, and working involves moving or stretching boundaries to reach goals, under the guidance of a director or a coach. In such settings it can be difficult to see and realise when boundary stretching develops into abuse of power. This was evident in the stories shared by both women in sports and in the performing arts.It is important to name and make visible the system that creates power imbalance. Only when visible, can it be resisted. The dominant culture within the performing arts and the sports movement seems to have maintained silence and an imbalance of power. Within this culture, boundaries are blurred and often broken. Due to the closeness, colleagues will be like family and difficult matters such as sexual abuse are hard to discuss. To add to this, managers (directors and coaches) have almost totalitarian power over participants.To explain how such a culture prevails and perpetuates, we used Erving Goffman’s (1959) theories on social interaction, Sara Ahmed’s (2010) writing on the killjoy, and epistemological injustice (Jackson, 2018). Goffman uses theatrical metaphors to explain the social rules of interaction, such as actors, play, role, and script. He points out that it seems to be important for all participants in the communication not to “rock the boat”; that in fact the perpetrator, the victim(s) and those who are in the role of spectators, are on the same team. All are concerned that there will be no disruption of the play. This is precisely the aspect that our participants mentioned as contributing to the non-commenting on unwelcome behaviour, neither on the part of the victim nor of those who witness it. It is, however, clear that everyone is not on the same team, because when a survivor reveals the violence, the group becomes hostile towards the teller (Jackson, 2018). The teller is the one breaking up the family (Ahmed, 2017) and disrupting the play. It can be said that sexual harassment and violence against women is written into the script (Ahmed, 2017). This social script makes it difficult for survivors to report violence, or to stop sexual harassment when it occurs. The reason is that when women set boundaries, they are said to be oversensitive, cannot take jokes, or praise (Ahmed, 2017). The victim is, therefore, the one who is made responsible for maintaining social stability by not speaking out – or else sabotaging her future within the institution (Ahmed, 2021). It is not the person who harasses or uses violence who is considered to interrupt the play. Built-in the script, seems to be room for harassment and violence. #MeToo managed to draw forward that the whole script needs to be rewritten and changed.Fátt hefur valdið jafnmiklu umróti í samfélaginu síðustu ár og reynslusögur kvenna af kynferðislegri áreitni og kynferðislegu ofbeldi sem birtar voru undir merkjum #MeToo. Á Íslandi hófst umræðan fyrir alvöru í nóvember 2017 þegar fyrstu sögur hópa kvenna birtust opinberlega. Alls birtu 17 hópar sögur þennan vetur. Sumir hópar kölluðu eftir breytingum með almennu orðalagi en aðrir lögðu fram sky?rar kröfur um aðgerðir. Tilgangur rannsóknar okkar var að kortleggja þessar kröfur og viðbrögðin við þeim til að reyna að meta árangur þessarar samfélagslegu hreyfingar. Við þrengdum viðfangsefnið og skoðuðum íþróttir og sviðslistir með greiningu fyrirliggjandi gagna og viðtölum við íþróttakonur, konur í sviðslistum og áhrifafólk tengt þessum tveimur hópum. Hóparnir eiga það sameiginlegt að eiga mikið undir valdamiklum einstaklingum, þjálfurum eða leikstjórum. Valdaójafnvægi er því mikið. Eins er návígið mikið, starfsvettvangur er lítill og fólk þekkist vel. Hluti af námi, þjálfun og starfi felst í að færa til mörk og þenja sig til hins ítrasta undir leiðsögn. Þá getur verið erfitt að átta sig á hvenær slíkt þróast yfir í misnotkun valds.Við notuðum hálfstaðlaða viðtalsramma og báðum viðmælendur að segja okkur hvort eitthvað hefði breyst í daglegum störfum þeirra eftir #MeToo, eitthvað sem væri ekki endilega tengt formlegum breytingum.Meginniðurstöður eru þær að formlegar breytingar urðu hvað íþróttahreyfinguna varðar en síður í sviðslistunum. Viðmælendur okkar voru þó sammála um að breytingar hefðu orðið á hegðun og framkomu hjá báðum hópum. Fleira væri rætt en áður og frekar tekið strax á óviðeigandi framkomu. Sértækari niðurstöður eru settar í kenningarlegt samhengi við félagslegan stöðugleika, hlutverk gleðispillisins og þekkingarlegt óréttlæti
Alþjóðlegur bakgrunnur, skólasókn og brotthvarf úr íslenskum framhaldsskólum 2001-2021
No full textReducing early school leaving has been one of the main priorities of European states in the field of education in recent years. The proportion of early school leavers has been higher in Iceland than among its Nordic neighbours and only a few European countries have higher drop-out rates than Iceland. Icelandic education authorities defined two principal goals in 2014, in which one was for 60% of upper secondary students to graduate on time by the year 2018. At the time, 44% reached this level. This study investigates upper secondary school attendance in two cohorts, one born between 1985–88, the other ten years later (1995–98). Our dataset includes all individuals in those cohorts who lived in Iceland the year they completed elementary school, i.e., the year they turned 16. The focus is on gender and ethnic background.When the first cohort started school, important changes in international migration patterns in Iceland were taking place. Iceland became part of the European Economic Area in the early 1990s which eventually changed the profile of the immigrant population. Until the late 1990s, however, immigrants were few in Iceland, but this changed with the economic boom in the first decade of a new century accompanied by a growing demand for workers, in particular in the construction sector. The economic recession, starting in 2008, had only little and temporary negative impact on the proportion of immigrant population in Iceland and in 2021 15.5% of Iceland’s population were immigrants as compared to 3.6% in 2001.The relatively recent transformation of Icelandic society into an immigrant country can be seen when looking at the age structure of the immigrant population. Currently, almost one out of three inhabitants in their late 20s and early 30s are immigrants, whereas immigrants only account for 6.9% of the population in the age group 15–19 years (compared to 1.7 % in 2001). As for second generation immigrants, the share is even lower. In the study we also focus on other groups with international backgrounds, i.e., students of mixed background but also students with an Icelandic background who were born abroad (both parents born in Iceland).In line with recent studies on school attendance, our study shows that overall, school enrolment rates increase between our two cohorts. This is the case with all ethnic groups in the study and for both genders. However, drop-out rates among males are considerably higher than among females. In the first cohort, the group born abroad with an Icelandic background stands out with the highest school attendance rates and lowest share of early school leavers in all groups. In the second cohort this difference is reduced as school enrolment has increased in the Icelandic born group. Still, however, the share of early school leavers is higher in this group than among its Icelandic peers born abroad.In both cohorts, dropout among immigrants and other students with an international background is higher than among those with an Icelandic background. In the case of students with an international background who are born in Iceland, the difference is, however, largely reduced between the two cohorts and in this group school attendance is close to school attendance of students with Icelandic background. In the case of immigrants, the age at arrival in Iceland strongly affects the dropout rates. Thus, those immigrants who lived in Iceland already at the age of six were equally likely to complete upper secondary school as their Icelandic peers. Overall, dropout rates among immigrants were high in both cohorts, especially as regards males. More than 50% of all immigrant males in both cohorts thus belonged to the group of early school leavers (58.2% in the first cohort and 52.8% in the second cohort). Our study strongly indicates that there is need for more research into the situation of youths with a foreign background in Icelandic schools.Jón Torfi Jónasson hefur á ferli sínum dregið fram hið lítt öfundsverða hlutskipti íslenskra framhaldskólanema sem birtist í miklu brotthvarfi þeirra frá námi. Í þessari rannsókn er sjónum beint að framhaldsskólasókn, þar sem kannaðar eru líkur á því að nemendur hefji nám að loknum grunnskóla og er þeim svo fylgt til 22 ára aldurs. Markmiðið er að bera saman framhaldsskólasókn fjögurra árganga (1985–88) sem luku grunnskóla við upphaf 21. aldar og fjögurra árganga (1995–98) sem luku grunnskóla tíu árum síðar. Könnuð er framhaldsskólasókn eftir uppruna nemenda, þ.e. hvort þeir hafa innlendan eða alþjóðlegan bakgrunn og eftir kyni. Byggt er á gögnum frá Hagstofu Íslands úr gagnagrunnum um mannfjölda, prófaskrá og nemendaskrá. Svipmót íslensks samfélags hefur tekið miklum breytingum á þessum tíma og er nú mun alþjóðlegra en það var við upphaf aldarinnar. Innflytjendum og ungmennum með alþjóðlegan bakgrunn hefur þannig fjölgað í íslenskum skólum og er verulegur munur milli hópanna sem hér eru til skoðunar. Af þessum ástæðum er mikilvægt og gagnlegt að fylgjast með þróun skólasóknar hjá þessum hópi ungmenna. Þegar litið er til alls hópsins hefur dregið talsvert úr brotthvarfi frá námi milli eldri og yngri fæðingarárganganna. Fleiri ungmenni í yngri fæðingarárgöngunum en þeim eldri hefja þannig nám í framhaldsskóla og fleiri ljúka því fyrir 22 ára aldur. Þetta á bæði við um íslenska nemendur og ungmenni með alþjóðlegan bakgrunn. Líkur á því að þau sem fædd eru erlendis hefji nám í framhaldsskóla aukast á milli fæðingarárganganna og hlutfallslega fleiri ljúka nú framhaldsskólanámi en áður var. Áfram er hlutfall nema með alþjóðlegan bakgrunn sem ekki ljúka námi fyrir 22 ára aldur hátt. Í báðum hópunum hafa þannig meira en helmingur karla í hópi innflytjenda horfið frá námi fyrir 22 ára aldur. Brotthvarf karla frá námi er áberandi meira en meðal kvenna hvort sem litið er til fólks með innlendan eða alþjóðlegan bakgrunn
Hvernig gengur leikskólakennurum og grunnskólakennurum að samræma vinnu og einkalíf?
Get PDFWork-life balance has always been a concern of those who are interested in the quality of professional life and employment and its relation to the broader quality of life. Well-being includes, among other things, balancing the different roles we are obligated to play, such as being an employee, parent, spouse, and friend. The aim of the study was to examine how preschool teachers and primary school teachers were able to manage the balance between work and private life and to examine the relationship between work-life balance and professional satisfaction, turnover intentions, job demands, and overtime. The study was based on five cross-sectional data collections gathered in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2019 by online surveys. The response rate was (67.5%, 62.0%, 71.5%, 69.8% and 65.3%). Women were 87% of the respondents. The high proportion of women well reflects the gender gap among municipal teachers. The average age of respondents was around 45 years, the highest in 2013 (46.4 years) and the lowest in 2010 (44.6 years). Most of the respondents were married or cohabiting but the proportion of single respondents increased between the studies; this was 15.8% in 2010 and 19.0% in 2019. Most respondents had children at home, but the trend was that their proportion decreased steadily between the studies, from 71% in 2010 to 62% in 2019. Then the proportion of those who were in full-time employment during the study period increased, being lowest in 2010 (69%) and highest in 2019 (73%).The results showed that the average score for work-life balance decreased steadily between 2010 and 2015 for both pre-school teachers and primary school teachers; it was slightly higher in 2019 than in 2015, although not as high as in 2010. The results indicate that fewer and fewer teachers agreed that they were achieving a reasonable balance between work and private life. The average work-life balance was significantly lower in all years for primary school teachers than for pre-school teachers. The results also showed a positive relationship between work-life balance and job satisfaction among both pre-school and primary school teachers and a negative relationship between work-life balance and the desire to quit work, job requirements, and overtime. These results can be interpreted as meaning that preschool teachers and primary school teachers who experience more work-life balance consequently enjoy greater job satisfaction, have less desire to quit work, are subjected to less workload, and feel less likely to have to work overtime.The study covered all preschool teachers and primary school teachers working in most Icelandic municipalities with 2000 inhabitants or more from the years 2010 to 2019. The main weakness of the study is that it does not apply to teachers in the city of Reykjavík, as the city’s representatives refused to participate in the study, although all other municipalities in the capital area were participants. This is also a five-section study, not a long-term panel study that works with experiences from the same participants, and therefore it is not possible to predict how the variables are interconnected, although we can conclude that there is a relationship.One of the key factors for well-being at work is experiencing a balance between work and private life, and if there are conflicts between those two areas, it is necessary to have the resources to solve them; this applies to both preschool teachers and primary school teachers. To support the teachers’ balance between work and private life, enhance their well-being and reduce untimely resignations, it is proposed that school administrators and those who formulate municipal human resource policies should focus on creating a more flexible work environment since this has an impact on teachers’ performance and welfare at work.Almenn vellíðan fylgir því að ráða við daglegar áskoranir í lífinu, svo sem að geta haldið jafnvægi milli þeirra ólíku hlutverka sem við gegnum daglega. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að skoða hvernig leikskólakennurum og grunnskólakennurum gengi að samræma vinnu og einkalíf og skoða tengsl þess við starfsánægju, löngun til að hætta í starfi, starfskröfur og yfirvinnu. Rafrænn spurningalisti var lagður fimm sinnum fyrir grunnskólakennara og leikskólakennara á árunum 2010–2019. Svarhlutfall var á bilinu 62–72%. Niðurstöðurnar sýna að leikskólakennurum og grunnskólakennurum gekk verr að samræma vinnu og einkalíf seinni árin en hin fyrri. Einnig sýna niðurstöðurnar að þeir sem náðu betra jafnvægi milli vinnu og einkalífs upplifðu meiri starfsánægju, höfðu minni löngun til að hætta í starfi, upplifðu minna álag í starfi og töldu sig þurfa sjaldnar að vinna aukavinnu. Mikilvægt er að hafa þetta í huga við að skapa leikskólakennurum og grunnskólakennurum gott starfsumhverfi
Styðjandi þættir í starfi grunnskóla við karlkyns nýliða
Get PDFThis article reports from an interview study with seven male novice teachers who taught in six compulsory schools across Iceland. They taught mostly in Grades 4 to 10. The teachers were interviewed five times each during their first two years of teaching. The study was carried out to study gender-related issues in the induction of novice male teachers. This article focuses mainly on more general issues in their induction and has two goals: To cast light on what the novices saw as supportive and to propose pathways about the arrangement and expansion of novice induction in Iceland. We also asked which and what kind of factors in the school environment were supportive of male novice teachers The article is based on research about novice teachers, mentoring, and supervision. There is a general agreement in the literature that novices need careful induction into the job; also, that the induction needs to be formal but that informal factors can support formal mentoring and supervision. Several Icelandic studies have shown that formal induction and mentoring is seldom the case in Icelandic compulsory schools. Only two of the seven participants in this study had a formal mentor and, in these instances, they did not even meet as regularly as recommended. We knew this before we began analyzing our data, with the question about supporting factors in the school environment in mind. Our main findings include that our interviewees experienced a general welcoming attitude in the schools. They told us that they could ask anyone about what they needed, not only teachers but also school administrators, career counselors, and support staff. The most important support probably came from team teaching and other forms of cooperation with more experienced teachers. Although not all of our interviewees worked in a formal team-teaching setting, many of them knew of such settings within the same school, and they also pointed out that much support was provided in many varieties of informal cooperation between teachers during preparation for teaching. In four of the schools, there were male-only clubs that our interviewees told us were supportive. The results are, overall, consistent with previous findings in Iceland which have included both short-term and longitudinal qualitative studies as well as a survey study. In conclusion, we argue that the induction of novice teachers in Icelandic compulsory schools (of all genders) can be expanded. We suggest five pathways. First, the traditional one of a mentor-mentee. Each novice should be assigned a mentor, preferably in the same subject or in the same year group (see also María Steingrímsdóttir & Guðmundur Engilbertsson, 2018). Such relationships need to be strengthened and perhaps supervised by the school principals. Secondly, it seems like supervision of novices can be linked to formal or informal team teaching in such a way that a team of three or four teachers can take on a co-responsibility for the induction of the novice teacher (e.g., Pennanen et al., 2020). Such induction can be integrated with the traditional model of mentor-mentee. The third way is to link novice teachers together in effective ways as a peer-group support. One approach is that an experienced teacher can supervise meetings of novices, for instance in the form of “a novice-café” meetings (Hildur Hauksdóttir, 2017a). In the fourth place, the feasibility of male-only meetings should be examined, either all male teachers and male staff in the school, or only male novices. If this is done, it is important that this kind of support includes reflective discussions about stereotypes of male and female teachers, including the idea that male teachers – even novice teachers – are better at discipline management than female teachers (e.g., Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson et al., 2022). The last method we emphasize is regular observations in the classrooms of the novice, not only linked to formal assessment or only performed when problems arise. Overall, induction of novices needs to be taken more seriously in Icelandic compulsory schools. The four last pathways we mentioned are not to replace the mentor-mentee form of induction, but to support that formRannsóknin er um fyrstu tvö ár sjö kennslukarla í starfi sem grunnskólakennarar. Spurt var: Hvaða og hvers konar formlegir sem óformlegir þættir í skólunum reyndust styðjandi við starf nýju kennslukarlanna? Fram kom að formleg leiðsögn var takmörkuð en margt í starfi skólanna reyndist þeim notadrjúgt, þar með taldar góðar móttökur og vinsamlegt viðmót. Samvinnan við aðra kennara, óformleg eða í formlegri teymiskennslu, virtist vera sá styðjandi þáttur sem mestu skipti fyrir viðmælendur. Í sumum skólanna voru sérstakir karlaklúbbar sem viðmælendur töldu jákvæða fyrir aðlögun sína að starfinu. Í lok greinarinnar eru settar fram fimm leiðir til að styðja nýliða í kennarastarfinu: Í fyrsta lagi að efla formlega leiðsögn eins leiðsagnarkennara við hvern nýliða, í öðru lagi að tengja formlegu leiðsögnina við teymiskennslu, í þriðja lagi nýliðakaffi, í fjórða lagi að skoða hvort kynjaskiptir klúbbar nýliða komi að notum og loks að tekið verði upp reglubundið áhorf í kennslustofum nýlið
Girnilegt til fróðleiks: Syndafallssagan og Júdítarbók
Get PDFÚtdrátturSköpunarsögurnar í Fyrstu Mósebók eru hér skoðaðar út frá því hvernig Guð mótar anda mannsins áður en hann yfirgefur Paradís. Skoðað er hvað Guð ætlaði sér með falli mannsins, samkvæmt sögunum. Horft er sérstaklega á Evu og það að henni fannst forboðni ávöxturinn girnilegur til fróðleiks áður en hún smakkaði hann. Er ormurinn í Paradís Guð í dulargervi að ala upp börnin sín? Til að skoða syndafallssöguna nákvæmlega er hún borin saman við apókrýfu bókina um Júdít. Þegar Eva er borin saman við Júdít má spyrja sig hvort Júdítarbók sé meðal annars hugsuð sem túlkun á Evu í sköpunarsögunni. Eva og Júdít spegla hvor aðra með athyglisverðum hætti sem dregur fram margt í sköpunarsögunum sem annars dvelur undir yfirborðinu.
AbstractIn this article the creation stories in Genesis are explored in order to find out how God shapes the human spirit before the first human beings are expelled from Paradise. The question is also asked, what, according to these stories, God intended with the Fall. Eve is especially looked at, and the fact that she found the forbidden fruit desirable to make one wise, before she tasted it.Furthermore, the history of the Fall is compared to the apocryphal book of Judith. When Eve is compared with Judith, one wonders if the book of Judith is meant as an interpretation of the character of Eve in the creation story and the story of the Fall. Eve and Judith mirror each other in a way that highlights many elements in the creation stories, that otherwise remain beneath the surface. The mirroring of the stories prompts many unexpected ques-tions, for example if the worm in Paradise is in fact God in disguise, raising his children
Framvinda og áhrifaþættir í opnum málanámskeiðum á netinu
No full textThe issue of low completion rates in massive open online courses (MOOCs) calls into question the quality of their learning materials, instruction, and support. This paper identifies crucial factors of engagement and retention in language massive open online courses (LMOOCs) in the context of the open online program Icelandic Online, a self-guided course for L2 learners of Icelandic. The study explores the impact of factors associated with the course’s instructionaldesign and tutor support on engagement and retention, as well as other motivational and individual factors. This is a mixed-method study that relies on: a) tracked retention data from learners in seven sequential courses (n = 43,468), of which two are delivered in three different delivery modes, b) survey data in correlation with tracking data in one course (n = 400), and c) qualitative data elicited through a survey (174 informants) in one course. This paper builds on already published articles on significant determinants of student retentionand efficient engagement strategies in LMOOCs (Friðriksdóttir 2018, 2021a, 2021b). The findings show overall low completion rates across all courses and modes of delivery, and that blended learning modes are more effective in retaining learners than other delivery modes. Patterns of attrition were identified and also user engagement patterns across all courses and modes. Six content-specific factors affected motivation and to some extent retention: Curated and sequenced course structure, clear and salient learning objectives, gradual andscaffolded presentation of input, variety in types of learning objects, form-focused and scaffolded presentation of grammar, and continuing storylines. Similarly, four tutor-specific factors influenced motivation and in some cases retention: Set syllabus, private interaction with the tutor, detailed introduction of the program, and overall tutor support. The results also showed that initial intention to complete a course affected retention and that age, but not gender, had a negative predictive value on retention. The final qualitative findings revealed various motivators for continuing with the course, while other factorsunrelated to the course caused attrition.Keywords: L2 online learning; LMOOC retention; CALL; content factors; tutored factors; mixed methods; Icelandic OnlineAlþjóðlegar rannsóknir á notkun opinna málanámskeiða á netinu sýna að hlutfallslega fáir ljúka námskeiðum. Spurningar hafa því vaknað um gæði slíkra námskeiða, kennslufræðina og námsumgjörðina. Meginmarkmið rannsóknarinnar var að greina þætti sem hafa áhrif á framvindu (e. retention) í opnum netnámskeiðum og varpa ljósi á kennsluaðferðir og námsumgjörð sem gætu átt þátt í að auka þátttöku nemenda. Byggt var á gögnum frá nemendum í sjö netnámskeiðum Icelandic Online (IOL) í íslensku sem öðru máli sem eru sjálfstýrð og gagnvirk, ætluð fullorðnum. Tvö námskeiðanna eru tiltæk undir umsjón kennara: í blandaðri námsumgjörð og fjarnámsumgjörð. Rannsóknin grundvallaðist á blandaðri rannsóknaraðferð. Stuðst var við a) megindleg gögn úr rakningarkerfi (e. tracking system) frá nemendum úr öllum IOL námskeiðunum (n = 43.468), b) megindleg gögn úr spurningakönnun (n = 400) frá nemum úr einu námskeiði auk c) eigindlegra gagna (174 svarendur) úr einu námskeiði sem aflað var í spurningakönnun. Athugað var hvort eftirfarandi þættir í IOL hefðu áhrif á þátttöku og námsframvindu: a) Efnis- og kennslufræðilegir þættir, b) stuðningsþættir kennara, c) markmið nemenda m.t.t. þátttöku og d) aldur/kyn. Einnig voru nemendur beðnir um að tilgreina hvað hefði hvatt þá til að klára eða latt þá. Þessi grein byggist á áður birtum tímaritsgreinum um framvindu og áhrifaþætti í opnum málanámskeiðum á netinu (Kolbrún Friðriksdóttir 2018, 2021a, 2021b). Niðurstöður byggðar á rakningargögnum sýndu að hlutfallslega fáir luku námskeiðum og að nemar í blandaðri námsumgjörð kláruðu frekar en aðrir nemar. Greining á brotthvarfsmynstri og þátttökumynstri leiddi jafnframt í ljós að brotthvarfshætta er mest í upphafi námskeiða og að margir luku meirihluta námsefnis jafnvel þótt þeir kláruðu ekki námskeiðið. Niðurstöður úr spurningakönnuninni sýndu að meirihluti taldi efnis- og kennslufræðiþættina sex sem voru til skoðunar eiga mikilvægan þátt í að hvetja þá áfram í námskeiðinu. Þrír þáttanna höfðu áhrif á framvindu samkvæmt mælingum rakningarkerfisins. Varðandi stuðning kennara töldu flestir þættina fjóra sem voru til athugunar hafa hvetjandi áhrif á þátttökuna. Þeir höfðu jákvæð áhrif á framvindu nemenda í blönduðu námi en ekki í fjarnámi. Einnig sýndu niðurstöðurnar að meirihluti hafði ætlað sér að ljúka námskeiði og að sá þáttur hefði áhrif á námsframvindu. Aldur reyndisthafa neikvætt forspárgildi m.t.t. framvindu en ekki kyn. Loks leiddi þemagreining eigindlegra gagna í ljós margvíslegar ástæður þess að nemendur luku námskeiði eða hættu. Heildarniðurstöðurnar sýna fram á margvíslega þætti sem hafa áhrif á þátttöku og framvindu í opnum málanámskeiðum á netinu og fela í sér mikilsvert innlegg í fræðilega umræðu um þróun slíks efnis.Lykilorð: annarsmálsnám; opin tungumálanámskeið á netinu; tölvustuddmálakennsla og -nám; kennslufræðilegir þættir námsefnis; stuðningur kennara; blönduð rannsóknaraðferð; Icelandic Onlin