Háskólinn á Akureyri
Varanleg URI fyrir þennan undirflokkhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/5666
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Verk Citizen trust in local government in the Nordic Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic(Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2024-11-01) Baldersheim, Harald; Haug, Are Vegaard; Eyþórsson, Grétar Þór; Vegard Haug, Are; Faculty of Business AdministrationThis chapter examines trust in local government among Nordic citizens after more than two years of pandemic and concomitant government interventions in citizens’ daily lives. It has been widely assumed that citizens’ pandemic experiences have jeopardised their trust in government and have most likely led to a decline in trust. Is this also the case in the Nordic countries? Or have the traditionally high levels of trust observed in the North – sometimes referred to as ‘the Nordic gold’ (Andreasson 2017) – survived the pandemic and even possibly been augmented? These are the core issues addressed in this chapter. The analyses presented here go beyond many previous studies of trust by contextualising the issue of trust explicitly within the pandemic experiences of individual citizens and by focussing especially on trust in local institutions. In a comparative perspective, local government is of particular importance in the Nordic countries (Ladner et al. 2019). As demonstrated in previous chapters, the pandemic disrupted local government operations across the board and required adjustment and flexibility to keep a minimum of services running. Local government is the level of government where citizens are most likely to have had the closest encounters with public authorities and their handling of the pandemic. Therefore, charting citizen trust in local government is likely to yield the most reliable account of what citizens’ experiences were like in their encounters with government institutions during the pandemic.Verk Voter turnout in local elections – the impact of municipal amalgamations. : A study of 28 cases in Iceland(2025-12-16) Eyþórsson, Grétar Þór; Faculty of Business AdministrationIn this article I deal with analyzing whether amalgamations of municipalities do affect the voters‘ participation in elections when it comes to the new merged municipality. I use data from six different local government elections in Iceland; the elections 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. I have looked at 28 different municipal amalgamations implemented under that period with 102 municipalities involved. The main question is if the voter turnout in these amalgamated municipalities changes, not least due to the impact of size on democracy. Municipal population size is considered to have a negative effect on democracy as stated in the classic work of Dahl and Tufte (1973). I use accessible data from Statistics Iceland (www.hagstofa.is). The main result is that there is no clear evidence that increased size of municipality through amalgamations ultimately leads to lower voter turnout. However, what is found is that voter turnout seems to go down in pure urban amalgamations and tends to go up in pure rural amalgamations. Communities that are structurally and culturally similar, seem to develop in the same direction looking at voter turnout.Verk Civic engagement and trust among immigrants in Iceland(2026-03-01) Eythórsson, Grétar Thór; Guðmundsson, Birgir; Faculty of Business Administration; Faculty of Social SciencesThe composition of the Icelandic population has undergone a considerable transformation in a relatively short period of time. A medley of different cultural influences brought about by an increased number of immigrants has coloured the traditionally monolithic and culturally homogeneous Icelandic society. In early January 2025, immigrants constituted some 18,9 per cent of the total population, and their number had been rising considerably over the previous two decades, their number being some 7,4 per cent of the total population in 2012. The largest number of immigrants reside in the capital area in Iceland and represent 67,7 per cent of all immigrants. However, the proportion of immigrants among the population in different regions of the country is considerable, about 33 per cent in the South -West peninsula (Suðurnes) and some 24,5 per cent in the Westfjords (Vestfirðir) (Statistics Iceland, 2025). In this paper, we aim to establish how these massive demographic changes impact the civic culture in Iceland. We assess, with the help of specifically designed indices constructed based on empirical data, the extent to which immigrants in Iceland have become part of the civic culture upon which the Icelandic democratic society rests. As far as we know, this is the first time empirical – numerical criteria have been applied to the civic engagement of immigrants in Iceland. The definition of immigrants follows the one used by Statistics Iceland and defines an immigrant as a person who was born abroad and has both parents and grandparents born abroad (Statistics Iceland, 2018). Immigrants in Iceland come from all over the world, although the largest single group comes from Poland (Statistics Iceland, 2025). Thus, they bring with them a variety of new ideas and cultural traditions, some of which are highly visible such as restaurants and culinary cultures, while other ideas might be more hidden such as their attitudes towards the role of government or civic engagement.Verk Amalgamation reforms in Iceland : How strategies have shaped conflicts and outcomes(2026-03-01) Eythórsson, Grétar Thór; Faculty of Business AdministrationMunicipal amalgamation reforms tend to meet resistance and opposition from the municipalities involved. Such territorial reforms can lead to great changes for the municipalities, as well as their inhabitants, since some may have had their jurisdictional boundaries for a long time. Therefore, it is no wonder that conflicts can occur in connection with such reforms (Baldersheim & Rose, 2010). Such shuffling involving not merely municipal boundaries, but also the political landscape, the structure of municipal administration and service delivery, can lead to comprehensive changes for everyone involved. The Norwegian political scientists Baldersheim and Rose (2010) argue that whether such or suggested changes will lead to conflicts can depend on the strategies used during implementation. They also connect this with the institutional context – national and local – and presented an analytical framework in which institutional context determines both the choice of reform strategy and the pattern of conflicts arising from the reform. All this then determines the outcome. Steiner et al. (2016) examined patterns of conflict related to territorial reforms in European countries using this framework. They based their investigation on surveys among experts in 11 European countries. Their main findings were that top-down initiatives and comprehensive reforms were more likely to trigger conflicts and resistance, while more incremental and bottom-up-oriented approaches would probably engender less struggle and defiance, if any. In this article, I take a closer look at Iceland, one of the eleven countries from the Steiner (et al. 2016) study, and use Baldersheim and Rose’s (2010) framework to analyze two cases of municipal structure reforms. Specifically, the Icelandic national authorities have twice tried to implement a comprehensive territorial reform at the local level. This has been done by setting up referendums in majority of the municipalities, first in 1993 and later in 2005. Neither of these reforms (or reform attempts) ended up being successful. To better explain what brought about these outcomes I address the following research questions: What reform strategies were used in the municipal structural reforms in Iceland 1993 and 2005? Were there any conflicts connected to them and if so, what kind of conflicts? Which were the outcomes of these reforms and can they be seen as consequences of the strategies that were used and the conflicts that came up?Verk Evaluation of Ulva lactuca hydrolysates as a feedstock for clostridial fermentations to produce 1,2-propanediol(2026-03-27) Ingvadóttir, Eva María; Scully, Sean Michael; Örlygsson, Jóhann; Faculty of Natural Resource SciencesMacroalgae are an abundant and underutilized renewable feedstock that can be exploited for the production of various low- and high-value biomolecules. The study herein describes a mild acid and base process to hydrolyze the green macroalgae Ulva lactuca into simpler, fermentable carbohydrates, with an emphasis on rhamnose. Hydrolysis experiments involving up to 5% v/v sulfuric acid and 5% w/v sodium hydroxide at temperatures between 25 and 100 °C demonstrated that the highest recovery of fermentable carbohydrates was generally obtained using 2.5% v/v sulfuric acid at 75 °C. Two Clostridium species ( Clostridium strain AK1 isolated from SW Iceland, and Clostridium beijerinckii strain DSM 791) were used to ferment L-rhamnose to 1,2-propanediol, both as a single substrate and as part of macroalgal hydrolysates. Additionally, the impact of culture conditions (pH and initial substrate concentration) on rhamnose fermentation was investigated in batch culture for both strains. Generally, pH did not influence the production of 1,2-propanediol and both strains partially degraded rhamnose at very low (10 mM) initial substrate concentrations. A kinetic investigation of rhamnose utilization using strain AK1 showed that the pentose is degraded much slower as compared with glucose with 1,2-propanediol production lagging and reaching a maximum concentration of 7.7 mM. When Clostridium strain AK1 was cultivated on U. lactuca hydrolysates and non-pretreated U. lactuca , the maximum yields were 7.9 mM 1,2-propanediol. This is the first report of the production of 1,2-propanediol from macroalgal biomass using a moderately thermophilic Clostridia.Verk Réttur til réttargæslumanns : Þjóna skilyrðin vilja löggjafans?(2024-03) Antonsdóttir, Júlí Ósk; LagadeildVictims' rights are in the spotlight these days. This article deals with victims of crime and their right to have a designated or appointed legal aid to protect their interests during the handling of a case concerning a crime against them. It will discuss the conditions set by law for the nomination and appointment of a legal aid and how the courts have interpreted the conditions in case law and why it is necessary to change the conditions to better ensure the interests of victims of crime and especially victims of domestic violence.Verk Evolutionary ecogenomics of North Atlantic ptarmigan(Háskólinn á Akureyri, 2026-03) Squires, Theodore Edgar; Magnússon, Kristinn Pétur; Höglund, Jacob; Centre for Doctoral StudiesÍ þessari doktorsritgerð er nýtt viðmiðunarerfðamengi notað til að samþætta heilerfðamengjagögn úr stofnum og tímaseríum til að skilja aðlögun, lýðfræðidýnamík, og þá vá sem steðjar að framtíð fjallrjúpunnar (Lagopus muta) á Íslandi og í stofnum kringum Norður Atlantshaf. Í grein I er lýst hágæða 1,03 Gb erfðamengi rjúpunnar með kortlögðum genum á litninga sem gerir virknirannsóknir á erfðaefninu mögulegar. Í grein II eru borin saman erfðamengi 99 rjúpna frá níu löndum við Atlantshaf, með því að nota tvö loftslagsgagnasett (CHELSA, WorldClim) og tvö tölfræðiforrit (BayPass, LEA). Niðurstöður sýna með útreikningum að stofnarnir eru mjög aðlagaðir loftslagsskilyrðum, á fjölgenagrunni, og nota má erfðabreytileikamat til að spá fyrir um aðlögunarhæfni í hlýnandi loftslagi (genomic offset), sem er háð vali á loftlagsgögnum og fylgniaðferðum. Stofnar á heimskauta- og fjallasvæðum virðast sérstaklega viðkvæmir fyrir hlýnun. Í grein III eru rannsakaðar samsætutíðnibreytingar 91 erfðamengis í stofnsveiflum yfir ellefu ára tímabil. Niðurstöðurnar sýna sveiflur í takt við hæðir og lægðir stofnsins, og fylgni við erfðabreytileika í genum sem tengjast tauga-, atferlis- og ónæmisfræðilegum hlutverkum, sem eru í samræmi við þéttleikaháð val sem viðheldur erfðabreytileika. Grein IV fjallar um fylgnigreiningu með erfðamengjaskimun (GWAS) á 90 ungfuglum við ástandsbreytur (fitu, stærð, þyngd), þar sem sterk áhrif einstakra lókusa koma ekki fram, sem styður fjölgenavirkni, til að nefna áhugaverð kandídatsgen (t.d. HIVEP3, HTR1F, LAMA3, GALNT9, ACSL3, EBF1) sem bjóða upp á tilgátur fyrir markvissa eftirfylgni í stærra úrtaki. Doktorsritgerðin er hagnýtur vegvísir fyrir framtíðarnáttúrvernd, hvernig megi forgangsraða erfðamengjagrunduðum loftslagslíkönum, nota erfðamengjafræði í vöktun stofna yfir tíma, varðveita virkni erfðabreytileika og þróa svæðisbundna stjórnun til verndunar. Rannsóknirnar hafa leitt til erfðamengjasafna, greiningarferla og ígrundaðs ramma til að spá fyrir um breytingar á rjúpnastofnum og hvernig megi viðhalda þeim í örum umhverfisbreytingum.Verk Unveiling Nordic youth’s aspirations : A multi methods approach(2025-10-27) Lykkegaard, Eva; Carpelan, Raisa; Blom, Thomas; Duek, Susanne; Gunnþórsdóttir, Hermína; Gustavsen, Ann Margareth; Haliseva, Ville; Mælan, Ellen Nesset; Slotte, Anna; Þrastardóttir, Bergljót; Qvortrup, Ane; KennaradeildThis study investigates how different narrative interview methods capture young people’s aspirations. Based on a theoretical conceptualization of aspirations, we argue that methods need to capture the young people’s future and present selves, their moral meanings or normative significance of these selves, their lived experiences and social contexts, as well as the multidimensionality and dynamic aspects of their aspirations. The study is based on 75 individual interviews with 25 young people from Finland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark, conducted over three rounds. The findings reveal that young people shared varied aspects of their aspirations when using different interview approaches. While some methods (timeline interviews and future script interviews) were particularly useful for capturing the young people’s present selves, lived experiences, and social contexts, other methods (inquiry-based interviews) succeeded in addressing students’ future selves and their moral meanings and the normative significance of these selves, and finally, repeated motivational quantifications captured the multidimensionality and dynamic aspects of their aspirations. The study underscores the benefits of a multi-method approach and longitudinal design in capturing young people’s aspirations and highlights how research collaboration is useful when striving towards consistency in cross-national studies and for continuously refining methods and approaches to optimize comprehensions.Verk Students‘ academic well-being in Nordic schools(Springer Nature, 2026-01-01) Gunnþórsdóttir, Hermína; Teglbjærg, Jonas Henau; Rúnarsdóttir , Eyrún María; Roe, Astrid; Klette, Kirsti; Gudmundsdatter Magnusson, Camilla; Sigurjónsson, Jóhann Örn; Faculty of EducationStudents’ learning is affected by multiple factors, and recent reviews have highlighted that teaching quality is more important for students’ learning than several other factors. As schools play an essential role in supporting students’ development of social and emotional skills, knowledge, and behaviours, academic well- being should be a focal point in students’ education. This study aims to identify observable characteristics of classroom practice that might enhance students’ perceptions of academic well-being and understand what characterises captivating teachers based on student reports. Data were collected by video recording lessons from 126 Nordic lower secondary classrooms (Grade 8) in language arts, social science education, and mathematics, and students from these classrooms completed the Tripod Student Perceptions Survey (Ferguson, 2012). We use the students’ answers, particularly for the factor Captivate, as a measure of students’ academic well-being and explore the bivariate associations between well-being and observed aspects of teaching. The findings suggest that students’ sense of academic well- being depends on their teacher’s ability to ensure an orderly classroom where time is spent on relevant learning activities and on their teacher’s propensity to engage in actions that directly help them understand “difficult stuff” through definitions of key academic concepts.Verk Work–family conflict : A classed phenomenon?(2026-02) Ragnarsdóttir, Berglind Hólm; Bjarnadóttir, Valgerður S.; Hjálmsdóttir, Andrea; Víkingsdóttir, Anna Soffía; Faculty of Social Sciences; School of Humanities and Social SciencesPrior research has found that high levels of work–family conflict negatively impact women's well-being. However, variations in the effects of work–family conflict on women based on class have been understudied. Moreover, most estimates of work–family conflict did not distinguish between work-to-family and family-to-work conflict. This study uses data from a cross-sectional phone survey of Icelandic women to assess the association between work–family conflict (in both directions) and symptoms of depression and anxiety among women of differing class positions. Key findings showed that (a) work-to-family and family-to-work conflict were positively related to symptoms of anxiety and depression among all women, but these relationships were contingent on class; (b) working-class women are more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety due to work-to-family conflict than women of higher social strata; and (c) working-class women are more likely to experience symptoms of depression due to family-to-work conflict than women of higher social strata. The results demonstrate the need for further research on how women's ability to reconcile work and family varies by class and how public policy can account for such differences.Verk Frá hlaupara til leiðtoga : Áhrif breytinga á starfsumhverfi og faglegt starf í leikskólum(2025-05-30) Mörk, Svava Björg; Hreiðarsdóttir, Anna Elísa; KennaradeildGjaldfrjáls sex klukkustunda leikskóladvöl var innleidd í Akureyrarbæ og Kópavogsbæ í þeim tilgangi að bæta starfsumhverfi starfsmanna og þjónustu við börn. Tilgangur þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna hvernig leikskólastjórar upplifðu og brugðust við innleiðingu sex klukkustunda gjaldfrjálsrar leikskóladvalar hjá bæjunum tveimur og hvaða áhrif breytingarnar höfðu á faglegt starf, stjórnunarhætti og innra starf leikskólanna. Sérstaklega var skoðað hvaða þættir höfðu mest áhrif á stjórnendur og hverjar væntingar þeirra væru til áframhaldandi þróunar. Tekin voru rýnihópaviðtöl við stjórnendur 17 leikskóla þar sem þeir miðluðu reynslu sinni og mati á breytingunum. Niðurstöður sýndu að breytingarnar höfðu í för með sér tækifæri sem birtust að mati stjórnenda í faglegu starfi. Færri börn síðdegis veittu starfsfólki svigrúm til að einblína á fagleg verkefni og undirbúning, sem leiddi til aukinnar fagmennsku og ánægju meðal starfsfólks. Þátttakendur lýstu áhyggjum af að ávinningurinn gæti verið skammvinnur nema stjórnsýslan styddi við faglegt starf og stöðugleika í starfsumhverfi. Gildi rannsóknarinnar felst í að varpa ljósi á hvernig stjórnendur geta unnið með kerfislægar breytingar á faglegan hátt. Hagnýtt gildi hennar felst í mikilvægi þess að skapa varanlegan stuðning við leikskólastjórnendur og starfsfólk með áherslu á mönnun, símenntun og skýra stefnu til að tryggja sjálfbærar umbætur í leikskólastarfi.Verk Breytingar á rekstrarumhverfi leikskóla : Áhrif á velferð barna(2025-06-18) Hreiðarsdóttir, Anna Elísa; Mörk, Svava Björg; Faculty of EducationUndanfarin misseri hafa nokkur sveitarfélög lagst í breytingar á rekstrarfyrirkomulagi leikskóla. Leiðirnar eru ekki eins en markmiðið er í öllum tilvikum að bæta leikskólastarf og aðstæður barna og starfsfólks. Dæmi um breytingar er að bjóða upp á sex tíma gjaldfrjálsan leikskóla og skilgreina daga sem eru frídagar í grunnskóla sem skráningardaga sem greiða þarf sérstaklega fyrir. Í greininni er fjallað um rannsókn sem fram fór í tveimur sveitarfélögum sem lagst hafa í fyrrnefndar breytingar, en þau eru Akureyri og Kópavogur. Tekin voru rýniviðtöl við skólastjórnendur og spurningakannanir sendar á skólastjórnendur, á deildarstjóra og á starfsfólk sem vinnur með börnum. Tilgangurinn var að skoða reynslu þeirra af breytingunum með áherslu á hvernig sveitarfélögunum tveimur hefur gengið að ná þeim markmiðum sem stefnt var að. Í greininni er unnið með þann hluta í niðurstöðum sem snýr að áhrifum breytinganna á skólastarfið og á velferð barna. Niðurstöður sýna að misjafnt er milli skóla hvort, og þá hve mikið, skólatímum barna fækkar umfram sex gjaldfrjálsu tímana og nýting á skráningardögum er einnig mismunandi á milli skóla. Vinnutímastytting kemur ítrekað fyrir í gögnum og greinilegt að það hefur verið áskorun að mæta henni. Í þeim skólum þar sem skólatímum fækkaði, bæði utan gjaldfrjálsu tímanna og á skráningardögum, gengur betur að mæta vinnutímastyttingu starfsfólks og skólatímum þarf ekki að fækka mikið til að áhrifin verði greinanleg. Stöðugri mönnun hefur létt álagi af starfinu, meiri ró er yfir ákveðnum tímum dagsins og þá bjóðast fleiri gæðastundir í námi og leik. Fólk finnur mun á líðan barna og því hægt að segja að breytingar af þessum toga geti eflt velferð leikskólabarna.Verk Munnleg lokapróf í háskólakennslu : Kostir áskoranir og upplifun nemenda(2025-09-29) Kristjánsdóttir, Vera Kristín Vestmann; ViðskiptadeildMunnleg lokapróf eru sjaldgæf í íslensku háskólakerfi þrátt fyrir aldalanga sögu. Sumar rannsóknir benda til þess að þau bjóði upp á dýpri innsýn í þekkingu og hæfni nemenda og geti þannig endurspeglað námsárangur með öðrum hætti en hefðbundin skrifleg próf. Í þessari grein er fjallað um munnleg próf sem matsaðferð í háskólakennslu, skoðaðir bæði kostir þeirra og áskoranir. Áhersla er lögð á upplifun nemenda, streitu og prófkvíða, auk þess sem borinn er saman árangur nemenda í munnlegum og skriflegum prófum. Rannsóknin byggir á spurningakönnun sem lögð var fyrir nemendur í námskeiði í viðskiptafræði við Háskólann á Akureyri, þar sem munnlegt lokapróf var tekið upp í stað hefðbundins skriflegs prófs. Niðurstöður sýna að þrátt fyrir að margir nemendur upplifi kvíða tengdan munnlegum prófum, meta þeir reynsluna yfirleitt jákvæða eftir á. Upplifun nemenda af að þreyta munnlegt próf reyndist marktækt ólík eftir því hvort þeir upplifðu streitu í prófinu eða ekki. Meirihluti þátttakenda taldi að munnlegt próf krefðist dýpri skilnings og þeir hefðu þar af leiðandi undirbúið sig betur fyrir prófið. Gögnin sýna einnig að meðaleinkunnir voru hærri hjá þeim nemendum sem þreyttu munnlegt próf en hjá fyrri árgöngum sem tóku hefðbundið skriflegt próf. Rannsóknin dregur fram mikilvægi þess að styðja nemendur í gegnum nýjar matsaðferðir og að munnleg próf geti stuðlað að réttlátara námsmati. Niðurstöðurnar styðja við fyrri rannsóknir sem benda til þess að munnleg próf geti verið áhrifaríkari leið til að meta dýpri skilning en skrifleg próf og efli mikilvæga hæfni fyrir atvinnulífið.Verk Repair and reconstruction for urban commoning : The making of the liberated spaces in Naples(2026-01-05) Locorotondo, Martina; Fishwick, Adam; Centre for Doctoral StudiesCommoning requires repair. Where capitalist logics of accumulation, enclosure and exclusion produce abandoned space through the city, urban commoners remake that space to serve the needs of inhabitants. Without hiding the paradoxes and risks of repair, based on years-long ethnography in the Liberated Spaces in Naples, Italy, we demonstrate how repair and reconstruction produced the conditions for societal transformation in the city. We show how this was achieved through four connected processes that underpinned the making of these urban commons. In doing so, we develop a theoretical contribution on the relationship between repair and the commons as it affects: the role of practices of material repair of previously abandoned buildings in shaping the commons; the significance of memory reconstruction in reconstituting these spaces; the formation of social bonds and collective subjectivities through these practices; and the potential of repair in the urban commons to expand these practices and prefigure broader social transformation.Verk Enhancing student motivation and engagement : Exploring higher education students' experiences as co-creators of curriculum(2025-07-02) Olafsdottir, Anna; Zophoníasdóttir, Sólveig; Faculty of EducationThis article presents a study exploring students’ experiences as co-creators of the curriculum in three master’s level courses within a teacher education programme at the University of Akureyri, a small state university in Iceland. The authors, who also oversaw the courses, adopted the principles of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to guide the research. The MUSIC model of motivation served as the analytical framework, focusing on aspects of the learning environment that foster motivation and engagement. Findings indicate that students experienced empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and care—the core components of the MUSIC model—throughout the courses. These factors contributed to strong motivation, active engagement, and increased resilience when facing challenges. The results suggest that student involvement in curriculum design played a significant role in shaping this experience. While based on a relatively small sample, the study provides valuable insights for higher education teaching practices, both within the local context and on a global scale.Verk Graduating nursing students' self‐assessment of clinical competence and need for further training : A Nordic cross‐ sectional study(2025-11-01) Eronen, Lotta; Strandell‐Laine, Camilla; Wangensteen, Sigrid; Rauhala, Auvo; Andersen, Irene Aasen; Henriksen, Jette; Svavarsdóttir, Margrét Hrönn; Fagerström, Lisbeth; Faculty of NursingAim The study aimed to describe and analyse Nordic nursing students' self-assessed clinical competence and their perceived need for further training at the end of their bachelor's studies. Design A cross-sectional survey. Data Sources From five Nordic countries, and 13 different universities, 291 survey answers were included. The Professional Nurse Self-Assessment Scale of clinical core competencies (PROFFNurse SAS II) was used for data collection. Results Graduating nursing students rated their clinical competence highest in acting ethically, taking responsibility for their decisions, and seeking help, and lowest in assessing patients' health via phone, email, or other health technology solutions, and in professional development. The highest need for further training was reported in medication interactions and side effects and differential diagnosis in health assessment. More than half of the respondents want to work in specialised healthcare after graduation, while less than a quarter want to work in primary care. One in five respondents expressed an intention to leave their career and low scores on self-assessed clinical competence were associated with increased intentions to leave. Conclusion The findings highlight the need for educational institutions to evaluate curricula to enhance graduating nurses' clinical competence in the areas needed, especially within eHealth. Implications for the Profession An effective competence development program is necessary to strengthen the competence and career path of newly graduated nurses. Impact Educational institutions play a crucial role in developing competency-based programs that meet quality standards and address current and future health needs, as well as global challenges. By assessing the clinical competence of graduating nursing students regularly nursing education can be developed based on the findings, which promotes high-quality patient care. Reporting Method STROBE guidelines were applied. Patient or Public Contribution Graduating nursing students from the Nordic countries participated in the study and contributed to this research by answering the survey.Verk ChatGPT í háskólastarfi, viðhorf og notkun kennara(2025-12) Elídóttir, Jórunn; Zophoníasdóttir, Sólveig; KennaradeildMarkmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna viðhorf og reynslu háskólakennara af notkun gervigreindarverkfærisins ChatGPT í kennslu og rannsóknum, með hliðsjón af TAM-líkaninu (e. Technology Acceptance Model). Megindleg og eigindleg gögn voru greind út frá svörum 23 kennara við spurningakönnun. Niðurstöðurnar benda til þess að flestir kennarar telji það gagnlegt að nota ChatGPT í kennslu og rannsóknum. Margir þeirra höfðu þó áhyggjur af ChatGPT-notkun nemenda, fræðilegum heilindum og áreiðanleika verkfærisins. Viðhorf kennaranna til ChatGPT mótast meðal annars af gagnsemi verkfærisins og einfaldleika í notkun þess, svo og stuðningi og fræðslu sem þeim býðst. Niðurstöðurnar benda til þess að mikilvægt sé að háskólasamfélagið þrói stefnu um notkun gervigreindarverkfæra og efli gervigreindarlæsi (e. artificial intelligence literacy/AI-literacy) til að stuðla að ábyrgri og skapandi notkun þeirra. Jafnframt er mikilvægt að veita kennurum og nemendum stuðning til að nota tæknina á ábyrgan og árangursríkan hátt.Verk Excessive events : The syntax and semantics of OVER-modification in Icelandic(2025-04-16) Gast, Volker; Putnam, Michael T.; Jóhannsdóttir, Kristín Margrét; Faculty of EducationThis article presents a detailed semantic and accompanying syntactic analysis of predicates denoting events that we describe as ‘excessive’ in Icelandic. Icelandic uses two types of strategies for marking of excess, the preposition yfir complemented by a reflexive pronoun or anaphor (e.g., Sara bakaði yfir sig ‘Sara baked too much’), and the verbal prefix of- (e.g., Sara of-bakaði kökuna ‘Sara over-baked the cake’). We argue that the former strategy expresses excess relative to the external argument, while the latter strategy expresses excess relative to the internal argument. We illustrate how the semantics of such predicates can be analysed using standard semantic approaches to degree predicates with some extensions, and how a decompositional approach to morphosyntax such as Distributed Morphology can capture these distinctions in a conceptually appealing way, with a plausible account of the syntax-semantics interface.Verk Epilepsy grand challenge 2025(2025-09-15) Höller, Yvonne; Trinka, Eugen; Jacobs, Julia; Faculty of PsychologyVerk Enhanced clinical evaluation of Alzheimer disease through rapid automatized naming of emotional pictures(2025-07-10) Lafenthaler, Sandra; Höller, Yvonne; Bergmann, Jürgen; Kirschner, Margarita; Frey, Vanessa; Rossini, Fabio; Trinka, Eugen; Staffen, Wolfgang; Faculty of PsychologyPurpose: Naming tests are commonly incorporated as short versions into clinical evaluation of Alzheimer disease (AD), but evidence suggests they may overestimate semantic abilities. This study investigated whether a more challenging naming task could distinguish cognitively healthy individuals from those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and mild AD, while more effectively capturing lexical-semantic deficits. Method: In this cross-sectionally study, 15 aMCI patients, 15 mild AD patients, and 20 cognitively healthy controls completed a rapid automatized naming (RAN) task using emotionally balanced object and action pictures. Regression analyses and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy and identify influencing factors. Results: Controls significantly outperformed aMCI and AD groups in response times and naming accuracy (all p-values <0.001). Negative pictures elicited slower responses and higher error rates in controls. While the “negative delay” effect was attenuated in patient groups, negative stimuli remained cognitively demanding, as indicated by increased errors. Emotional valence enhanced naming performance for action pictures in the control group, a pattern that diminished or was absent in the patient groups. Regression analyses showed significant associations between response times/error rates and group membership (both p-values <0.001), independent of age, sex, education, anxiety, and depression. ROC analysis revealed moderate diagnostic accuracy for classifying mild AD (AUC of 0.907 for response times; AUC of 0.861 for error rates), but not for aMCI. Conclusion: The RAN task effectively identifies early stages of AD and naming impairments across different stages of cognitive decline. The inhibitory effect of negative valence on lexical retrieval underscores the importance of incorporating emotional valence into naming assessments by further considering emotional reactivity (arousal) and different word classes.