Multicultural Libraries' services and social integration: The case of public libraries in Montreal Canada     

M. A. Paola Picco 《Public Library Quarterly》2013,32(1):41-56

Montreal is a multicultural city, with a high percentage of immigrants where great value is given to culture. The city has a network of public libraries, which are located in the different districts. The provincial government has just opened the new Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec, which combines a national library service with those of a public library. The Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec and the public libraries in Montreal have set a goal to facilitate the integration of immigrants into Montreal society. In this context, the objective of this research is to find out to what extent the public libraries in Montreal are facilitating the integration of immigrants into society and to discover what important role the libraries actually play in this process.  相似文献   

Energy balance of locomotion with pedal-driven watercraft     

Paola Zamparo  Giuseppe Carignani  Luca Plaino  Barbara Sgalmuzzo  Carlo Capelli 《Journal of sports sciences》2013,31(1):75-81

Abstract

In this study, we examined the mechanics and energetics of locomotion with a paddle-wheel boat and a water bike. Power output ([Wdot] _tot) was measured directly on the water bike by means of an instrumented chain-ring. The simultaneous assessment of oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O₂) allowed the computation of the “overall” efficiency of locomotion (η _o = [Wdot] _tot / [Vdot]O₂). Mean η _o was 0.27 (s = 0.02), which was unaffected by the speed, and was assumed to be the same for the two boats as both are semi-recumbent bicycles. For the paddle-wheel boat, [Wdot] _tot was then obtained from η _o and measures of [Vdot]O₂. The power to overcome (passive) drag was calculated as [Wdot] _d = D · v (where D is the force measured by means of a load cell when towing the boats at given speeds). Propelling efficiency was calculated as η _p = [Wdot] _d / [Wdot] _tot, which was lower with the paddle-wheel boat (mean 0.35, s = 0.01) than with the water bike (mean 0.57, s = 0.01). The observed differences in η _p and [Wdot] _d explain why at the highest speed tested (～3 m · s^?1), the energy required to cover a unit distance with the water bike is similar to that required to move the paddle-wheel boat at 1.3 m · s^?1.  相似文献   

Design of Learner-centered Tools for Continuous Training in SMEs     

Paola Forcheri  Maria Teresa Molfino  Alfonso Quarati 《Education and Information Technologies》1998,3(3-4):261-276

Multimedia and networked educational tools may provide an effective answer to the training needs of small-medium enterprises (SMEs). In accordance with this idea, we are developing a project called Qualification 2000 supported by the E.C.'s Adapt initiative. The project focuses on the use of educational technology for continuous training in informatics and its applications in office automation. The target is women employed in small-medium enterprises. The attitude of the target towards innovation makes the design of effective tools a particularly delicate problem; thus, careful design of the interface is particularly important to make these kinds of tools productive. With these ideas in mind, we carried out a series of interviews with employees, aimed at deriving a core of common needs and difficulties. The results of the interviews have been used to build a learner-centred interface based on experimental pedagogical assumptions. © IFIP, published by K luwer Academic Publishers  相似文献   

Familiarity and relatedness: Effects on social learning about foods by Norway rats and Mongolian gerbils     

Bennett G. Galef  Brigitte Rudolf  Elaine E. Whiskin  Elena Choleris  Marisa Mainardi  Paola Valsecchi 《Learning & behavior》1998,26(4):448-454

In recent experiments in which the social influences on feeding in Mongolian gerbils were investigated, observer gerbils acquired food preferences from conspecific demonstrators only if the demonstrators and observers were either related or familiar. Even then, the effects of demonstrator gerbils on observers’ food choices lasted less than 24 h. In similar experiments with Norway rats, the familiarity/relatedness of demonstrators and observers had little effect on social learning, and the demonstrators’ influence on observers’ food choices lasted many days. We examined the causes of these differences and found that, after observer gerbils interacted with either unfamiliar or familiar conspecific demonstrators that had been fed using procedures typically used to feed demonstrator rats, they showed long-lasting social learning about foods, whereas observer rats interacting with conspecific demonstrators that had been fed as demonstrator gerbils normally are fed showed effects of familiarity/relatedness to demonstrators on their social learning about foods. Procedural differences, rather than species differences, seem to be responsible for reported inconsistencies in social learning about foods by rats and gerbils.  相似文献   

From childhood nature experiences to adult pro-environmental behaviors: An explanatory model of sustainable food consumption     

Erica Molinario  Caterina Lorenzi  Flavia Bartoccioni  Paola Perucchini  Sebastian Bobeth  Agathe Colléony 《Environmental Education Research》2020,26(8):1137-1163

Abstract

In two studies, the role of nature experiences and social norms during childhood is explored next to adulthood biospheric values, connectedness to nature, environmental identity, and objective knowledge in relation to pro-environmental behaviors. Study 1 (N?=?185) tested the hypothesized model in the realm of general pro-environmental behaviors and sustainable fruit consumption on a sample of students. Study 2 (N?=?155) tested the model in the realm of sustainable seafood consumer choice on a general population sample. Path analyses show consistent results across samples. Results show that childhood nature experiences and exposure to pro-environmental social norms during childhood are related to adulthood development of connectedness with nature and biospheric values; these, in turn, help in shaping adulthood environmental self-identity ultimately influencing the enactment of sustainable food choices during adulthood. These findings point toward the relevance of childhood experiences for pro-environmental behaviors as compared to the provision of information. The role of objective knowledge across samples is inconsistent, thus requiring future investigations.  相似文献   

Contributions of Academic Language,Perspective Taking,and Complex Reasoning to Deep Reading Comprehension     

Maria LaRusso  Ha Yeon Kim  Robert Selman  Paola Uccelli  Theo Dawson  Stephanie Jones 《Journal of research on educational effectiveness》2016,9(2):201-222

ABSTRACT

Deep reading comprehension refers to the process required to succeed at tasks defined by the Common Core State Literacy Standards, as well as to achieve proficiency on the more challenging reading tasks in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) framework. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that three skill domains not frequently attended to in instruction or in theories of reading comprehension—academic language, perspective taking, and complex reasoning—predict outcomes on an assessment of deep reading comprehension. The Global Integrated Scenario-based Assessment (GISA; O'Reilly, Weeks, Sabatini, Halderman, & Steinberg, 2014 O'Reilly T., Weeks, J., Sabatini, J., Halderman, L., & Steinberg, J. (2014). Designing reading comprehension assessments for reading interventions: How a theoretically motivated assessment can serve as an outcome measure. Educational Psychology Review, 26, 403–424. doi:10.1007/s10648-014-9269-z[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) is designed to reflect students' abilities to evaluate texts, integrate information from an array of texts, and use textual evidence to formulate a position, all features of deep reading comprehension. We tested the role of academic language, perspective taking, and complex reasoning in explaining variance in end-of-year GISA scores, controlling for beginning-of-year scores and student demographics. All three predictors explained small, but significant, amounts of additional variance. We suggest that these three skill domains deserve greater attention in theories of reading comprehension and in instruction.  相似文献   

Verifying the operation of an elastic crossbar system applied to a panel painting: the Deposition from the Cross by an anonymous artist from Abruzzo,sixteenth century     

Linda Cocchi  Bertrand Marcon  Giacomo Goli  Paola Mazzanti  Ciro Castelli  Andrea Santacesaria 《文物保护研究》2017,62(3):150-161

This study deals with the post-treatment evaluation of the elastic crossbar system already designed and installed on the recently restored panel painting Deposition from the Cross by an anonymous artist from Abruzzo (sixteenth century). After the restoration, the panel and the crossbars were subjected to mechanical tests to identify their elastic characteristics. Then the panel, equipped with the elastic crossbar system, was subjected for about two months to controlled environmental cycles made up of approximately constant humidity periods. During the two months, the forces exerted by the springs and the deformations of both panel and crossbars were continuously monitored. A mathematical model, calibrated on the specific parameters derived from the analysis of the panel, provided the deformation that the panel would have shown without the crossbars; comparing the model output with the measured data provided a restraining effect (RE) of approximately 7% (RE could range between zero – no restraint – and 100% – total restraint). Future developments of this project will define appropriate procedures to design an elastic crossbar system for a given panel, once the expert judgement of restorers has identified the most desirable RE to be achieved.  相似文献   

University students’ perceptions of summative assessment: The role of context     

Paola Iannone  Adrian Simpson 《Journal of Further & Higher Education》2017,41(6):785-801

We report on a mixed-method study that compared students’ perceptions of summative assessment across two distinct disciplines – education and mathematics, at two research-intensive institutions in the UK. The disciplines chosen represent opposing positions in Biglan’s classification of academic disciplines, as well as having very different assessment practices. Results suggest that these education students prefer to be assessed by methods they perceive to discriminate on the basis of academic abilities. Moreover, they perceive the traditional closed-book examination as inadequate to assess the capabilities which are key to being successful in their subject, which fits some but not all of the general findings in the literature. However, comparing these results with those of an identical study with mathematics students, we find that the perceptions of summative assessment are very different. We account for that difference by suggesting that students’ epistemic beliefs play a role in shaping these perceptions and conclude that, in designing summative assessment in higher education, generalised and centralised forces for change need to be tempered by contextual and disciplinary factors.  相似文献   

Researching research: mathematics education in the Political     

Alexandre Pais  Paola Valero 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》2012,80(1-2):9-24

We discuss contemporary theories in mathematics education in order to do research on research. Our strategy consists of analysing discursively and ideologically recent key publications addressing the role of theory in mathematics education research. We examine how the field fabricates its object of research by deploying Foucault’s notion of bio-politics—mainly to address the object “learning”—and ?i?ek’s ideology critique—to address the object “mathematics”. These theories, which have already been used in the field to research teaching and learning, have a great potential to contribute to a reflexivity of research on its discourses and effects. Furthermore, they enable us to present a clear distinction between what has been called the sociopolitical turn in mathematics education research and what we call a positioning of mathematics education (research) practices in the Political.  相似文献   

Perceived Professional Identity among Experienced Canadian Counsellors: A Qualitative Investigation     

Sara Alves  Nicola Gazzola 《International journal for the advancement of counseling》2013,35(4):298-316

This qualitative study addressed how experienced Canadian masters-level counsellors perceived the collective identity of their profession in terms of roles, abilities, reputation, and sense of unity. The study employed a variation of grounded theory methodology guided by two research questions: (a) how do experienced counsellors view the professional identity of counselling?, and (b) how do counsellors describe their professional roles and practices? Nine categories of counsellor perceived identity and nine categories related to roles and practices emerged. Findings are discussed in light of the emerging trend toward the statutory regulation of counselling and psychotherapy in Canada.  相似文献