L'apprendimento della probabilità: un'indagine su un gruppo di studenti

La prima parte della mia tesi contiene una breve rassegna storica dell'evoluzione del Calcolo delle probabilità. Dopo aver inserito un riferimento alle attuali Indicazioni Nazionali, che stabiliscono i contenuti essenziali delle diverse discipline nei diversi corsi di studio della Scuola Secondaria nel nostro Paese, ho esaminato un libro di testo, ampiamente adottato nelle scuole italiane, per vedere come l'argomento viene trattato. Successivamente ho consultato diversi lavori di ricerca in Didattica della Matematica attinenti alla probabilità riportandoli poi nella mia tesi. La parte principale del mio lavoro di tesi riguarda però un'indagine condotta su un gruppo di studenti di scuola secondaria e sugli studenti frequentanti il primo anno del Corso di Laurea in matematica a Bologna. A questi ragazzi è stato sottoposto un test anonimo (che avevo preparato in precedenza), uguale per tutti, contenente sette problemi di probabilità. Alcuni degli studenti liceali non avevano ancora affrontato l'argomento; di ciò ero consapevole, e su di loro lo scopo era mettere alla prova la loro intuizione, vedere come il loro buon senso poteva aiutarli (oppure ingannarli) nel rispondere a ciascun quesito. Alcune delle risposte più interessanti sono state poi riportate e analizzate in questo mio lavoro di tesi

Associations of family and social contact with health among Italian grandparents

Abstract Past research has documented the positive influence of frequent interactions with social networks on several health outcomes in later life, with different patterns by gender. In this study, we explore the association of frequent contact with different members of the social network (namely partner, grandchildren, siblings, friends and neighbours) on self-perceived health status and the limitation of illnesses among older grandparents in Italy, using a large national representative survey. Our results confirm the positive association between good health indicators and frequent contact with members of the "horizontal" network (partner, siblings and friends), while a more ambiguous association has been found with frequent face-to-face contact with children and grandchildren. The results hold for both male and female grandparents. The Mediterranean family-focused culture may possibly explain the distinctly Italian results

School Climate: Parents\u2019, Students\u2019 And Teachers\u2019 Perceptions

Because of the importance of individual perceptions, schools often assess how students or teachers or parents feel about their school, and school climate has often been associated with improved school achievement, but rarely they take into account all these \u201cactors\u201d at the same time. The main aim of this work is to compare the results obtained in a population study on school climate that involves students, parents, teachers and non-teaching staff. In this paper, we will present the results of parents\u2019, students\u2019, teachers\u2019 and no-teacher personnel's perception. We have administered 13,500 structured questionnaires addressed to students, parents, teachers, educational assistance personnel, involved in the four orders of schools (Pre-school, Elementary, Middle, High) of the province of Bolzano. Parental permission was obtained for young people. The present study has been conducted in the province of Bolzano, northern Italy, between January and April 2012. A School Climate Perception Questionnaire (SCPQ), that can be completed in 10 minutes, has been developed to assess environments and climate of all Italian language schools. In order to determine the interrelationships among the questionnaire items, a Principal-Axis Factor Analysis was performed. The final scale was used for Confirmatory Factor Analysis that was done to assess its construct validity. We will present the results regarding the school climate perceptions of teachers, parents and students and their comparison

Use of the Choquet Integral for Combination of Classifiers in P300 Based Brain-Computer Interface

One of the key issues in the development of braincomputer interfaces (BCIs) is the improvement of their current information transfer rate. In order to achieve that objective at least two aspects of BCI design should be considered: classification accuracy and protocol specification. In this paper we show how combination of classifiers using fuzzy measures and the Choquet integral can be applied to the context of EEG-based BCI and study whether its use, together with an appropriate application protocol, can lead to an increase in the information transfer rate

Il clima scolastico come struttura che connette. Percezioni e prospettive degli studenti coinvolti.

Negli ultimi tre decenni, i ricercatori e gli educatori hanno infatti riconosciuto l’importanza del clima nella scuola. In tutto il mondo, e in particolare negli Stati Uniti, vi è un crescente interesse per il clima scolastico, come valida strategia di miglioramento della scuola, per promuovere un contesto più sicuro, più solidale, più civile, cognitivamente significativo, dalle scuole dell’infanzia alla secondaria di secondo grado. Il progetto “Il clima scolastico”, coordinato e progettato da Liliana Dozza, con la collaborazione di Giulia Cavrini, Gina Chianese e l’Intendenza scolastica italiana della Provincia di Bolzano, è uno studio di popolazione che ha coinvolto tutta la scuola di lingua italiana dell’Alto Adige, e che si poneva i seguenti obiettivi principali: 1) sviluppare e convalidare una misura del clima scolastico da poter usare con genitori, studenti, insegnanti e personale non docente; 2) fornire un supporto preliminare alla validità per l’utilizzo di questa misura utilizzando sia l’Analisi Fattoriale Esplorativa (EFA) sia l’Analisi Fattoriale Confermativa (CFA); 3) confrontare la percezione del clima scolastico dei diversi attori: genitori, studenti, insegnanti e personale non docente e individuare le variabili relative alla qualità e alle caratteristiche della vita scolastica che influenzano maggiormente la percezione del clima scolastico da parte dei differenti “attori” della vita educativa della scuola; 4) acquisire elementi di conoscenza sul clima scolastico e di classe che rappresentino una prima base di discussione per i collegi dei docenti e i team di classe interessati, al fine di mettere a punto dei piani di miglioramento della qualità e delle caratteristiche della vita di scuola e di classe

Development of a Usutu virus specific real-time reverse transcription PCR assay based on sequenced strains from Africa and Europe

Usutu virus (USUV) has been isolated in several African and European countries mainly from mosquitoes and birds. However, previous benign and two recent severe cases of human infections point out the need of a tool for the identification of USUV in human samples. A published real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR assay for the detection of USUV in human blood or cerebrospinal fluid does not take into account the genetic variability of USUV in different geographic regions. Therefore, this article presents a quantitative real-time RT-PCR assay based on sequences from Europe and Africa. Primers and probe were designed in conserved regions among USUV strains that differed from closely related flaviviruses. The specificity of the assay was investigated by testing 16 other flaviviruses circulating in Africa. The sensitivity was determined by testing serial dilutions of virus and RNA standard. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were evaluated by 10 reactions in a same and in different assays, respectively. The assay provides high analytical specificity for USUV and detection limits of 1.2pfu/reaction for virus dilutions in L-15 medium or human serum and 60 copies/reaction for the RNA standard. The assay needs to be evaluated in a clinical context and integrated in standard diagnosis of flaviviral diseases

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection: Analytical performance of real-time NASBA assay

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Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analysis of the first usutu virus isolate from a human patient presenting with neurological symptoms.

Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus, belonging to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex, that circulates among mosquitoes and birds. We describe and analyze the complete genome sequence of the first USUV strain isolated from an immunocompromised patient with neuroinvasive disease. This USUV isolate showed an overall nucleotide identity of 99% and 96%, respectively, with the genomes of isolates from Europe and Africa. Comparison of the human USUV complete polyprotein sequence with bird-derived strains, showed two unique amino acid substitutions. In particular, one substitution (S595G) was situated in the DIII domain of the viral Envelope protein that is recognized by flavivirus neutralizing antibodies. An additional amino acid substitution (D3425E) was identified in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain of the NS5 protein. This substitution is remarkable since E3425 is highly conserved among the other USUV isolates that were not associated with human infection. However, a similar substitution was observed in Japanese encephalitis and in West Nile viruses isolated from humans. Phylogenetic analysis of the human USUV strain revealed a close relationship with an Italian strain isolated in 2009. Analysis of synonymous nucleotide substitutions (SNSs) among the different USUV genomes showed a specific evolutionary divergence among different countries. In addition, 15 SNSs were identified as unique in the human isolate. We also identified four specific nucleotide substitutions in the 59 and 39 untranslated regions (UTRs) in the human isolate that were not present in the other USUV sequences. Our analyses provide the basis for further experimental studies aimed at defining the effective role of these mutations in the USUV genome, their potential role in the development of viral variants pathogenic for humans and their evolution and dispersal out of Africa

Analysis of Amphetamine and Congeners in Illicit Samples by Liquid Chromatography and Capillary Electrophoresis

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Analysis and characterization of mouse monoclonal antibodies reactive to Chikungunya virus (CHIKV)

occurring in 1984). However, plague has made an astonishing comeback in the last decade. Methods: n/a. Results: After a silence of 50 years, an outbreak of bubonic plague suddenly occurred close to Oran in Algeria, in June 2003. Eighteen bubonic cases were identified, and Yersinia pestis was isolated from 6 patients. In July 2008, a new cluster was reported among nomads 300 km south of the first one. Four members of one family were affected and one died. The bacillus was isolated from one patient. No epidemiological association was identified between the two events. On June 2009, 25 years after the last occurrence in the country, Libya reported five confirmed cases of bubonic plague in the Tobruk area. Y. pestis was isolated from three patients. In all these cases, further local ecological investigations confirmed the existence of a natural focus The re-emergence of human plague in the region is not without international consequences. Two of the last concerned natural foci are close to an international port which raises the question of the potential exportation of infected rodents. Cross-border tensions, between ''plague countries'' and ''plague-free countries'' have been observed although the foci's limits are unknown as any systematic ecological investigation and surveillance is lacking. Additionally, the potential weaponization of Y.pestis together with international political tensions feed a recurrent interest in plague in North Africa. False rumors of alleged military laboratory accidents or terrorist acts are routinely mentioned, although events could be first explained by the natural history of the disease. Conclusion: In this context, and although the number of human cases has been very limited so far, the first priorities are to establish appropriate ecological surveillance and agree on a common plague control strategy for the region