Do Board Games Make People Smarter? Two Initial Exploratory Studies

In recent years, the authors have witnessed the rebirth of board games. This contribution aims to investigate the educational potential of non-random board games in two ways: the comparison of performances of “expert adult players” and “adult non-players” through a correlation study (n=45) and the comparison between the results achieved by a group of children after 26 hours of game training (n=10) and those of a control group that carried out traditional educational activities (n=10) by using a nonrandomized control group pretest-posttest. Specifically, the findings relating to fluid intelligence, analytical and converging cognitive processes and creativity were compared. The results suggest that non-random board games can be an important stimulus for the cognitive functions, with a particular focus on the creative side, and therefore have an important educational function

Cooperative Interference Detection, Localization, and Mitigation in GNSS

Due to the low cost of GNSS receivers and their consequent diffusion, a wide range of location-aware applications are arising. Some of these applications are critical and have strict requirements in terms of availability, integrity and reliability. Examples of critical applications are precision landing and en-route navigation in air transportations; automated highways and mileage-based toll in road transportations; search and rescue in safety of life applications. A failure in fulfilling one or more requirements of a critical application may have dramatic consequences and cause serious damage. One of the most challenging threats for critical GNSS application, is represented by interference. In particular, jamming devices, operating inside GNSS bands, are easily and cheaply purchasable on the Internet. These devices transmit disturbing signals with the aim of preventing the correct operations of GNSS receivers. In order to satisfy the requirements of critical applications, it is necessary to promptly detect, localize and remove such interfering sources. Moreover, it is important to characterize the interfering signals in order to develop interference avoidance and mitigation techniques that ensure robustness of GNSS receivers to interference. This thesis studies the problem of interference in GNSS, from a cooperative perspective

Internal investigations in the trial of corporations in Italy: the practical implication of their admissibility for trial purposes = Investigações internas no julgamento de empresas na Itália: implicações práticas de sua admissão para fins de julgamento

Realiza uma análise abrangente da responsabilidade penal corporativa na Itália, com foco específico nas investigações internas corporativas. Fornece uma breve visão geral do sistema legal italiano em relação à responsabilidade penal corporativa e compara as investigações internas conduzidas pelas empresas com as investigações preliminares do Ministério Público

Allium ducissae (A. subgen. Polyprason, Amaryllidaceae) a New Species from the Central Apennines (Italy)

In this paper, Allium ducissae (the LSID for the name Allium ducissae is: 77254606-1) is described as a new species based on morphological and molecular analyses, and its taxonomic relationships are discussed. It grows in crevices on calcareous rocks, rocky slopes and grassy ledges in the subalpine belt, within two regional protected areas in the Lazio and Abruzzo administrative regions (Central Apennines, Italy). Previously, these populations were attributed to A. strictum, a species described from Siberia, belonging to A. sect. Reticulatobulbosa. The new species is distinct from A. strictum in the morphology of vegetative and reproductive structures. Indeed, it is close to A. palentinum, an endemic species to Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain). Both molecular and morphological data support the recognition of the Allium populations coming from the Central Apennines as a new species. Allium ducissae can be clearly distinguished from A. palentinum by longer and wider tepals, longer filaments, tooth of inner filament, flower pedicels, spathe appendage, and smaller seeds. Moreover, seed testa micro-sculptures revealed slight differences between A. ducissae and A. palentinum. Chromosome counts showed that A. ducissae is diploid with 2n = 16 chromosomes, as already known for A. palentinum. Molecular analyses support the affiliation of A. ducissae and A. palentinum to A. sect. Falcatifolia, contrary to what is known for the latter species, usually included in A. sect. Daghestanica. Finally, the IUCN assessment for the newly described species is proposed and briefly discussed

Paper or Facebook? An experiment on the comprehension of texts with a group of dropouts

Reading texts on the web using technological devices is a practice that is increasing, especially among the younger generation, and this raises questions about the skills that are required to do this, the role and effects of the distractors present around the text, and the cognitive reorganisation that involves a change in the tools used for reading. It appears possible to hypothesise that the meaning of texts is destined, in time, to be more accessible through technological devices rather than via paper. This article presents the results of an experiment conducted with a group of dropouts, a category identified for placement outside the classic route of education, and therefore further removed from the daily use of traditional, printed texts encountered in a professional training course. Using evidence from the survey released by OECD-PISA, our intention is to compare the understanding of these texts when presented on paper compared to when they appeared on Facebook

Dispersione scolastica. Ascoltare i protagonisti per comprenderla e prevenirla

A fact-finding research conducted together with college students to listen to secondary school students, teachers and directors about the issue of school dispersion. Which are the motivations behind the school dispersion? What we can do to prevent it? What is its consistency? How many students have failed the exams? These are some of the questions on which the perception of the participants has been solicited, with a particular focus on the students' voice, received by other older students.Publishe

Dispersione scolastica. Ascoltare i protagonisti per comprenderla e prevenirla

A fact-finding research conducted together with college students to listen to secondary school students, teachers and directors about the issue of school dispersion. Which are the motivations behind the school dispersion? What we can do to prevent it? What is its consistency? How many students have failed the exams? These are some of the questions on which the perception of the participants has been solicited, with a particular focus on the students' voice, received by other older students