Cascaded and thresholded processing in visual word recognition: does the Dual Route Cascaded model require a threshold?

The current thesis aims to investigate cascaded processing in visual word recognition by testing the predictions of the Dual Route Cascaded (DRC) model of reading. Despite widespread acceptance of the idea that visual language processing is cascaded, there are circumstances in which such an account is not easily reconciled with the data produced by skilled readers. Recent experiments involving factorial manipulations in reading showed, in particular, additive effects of stimulus quality (i.e., clear vs. degraded stimuli) with letter string length and orthographic neighbourhood size in nonword reading and with word frequency and lexicality when words and nonwords were mixed in the task, thus suggesting that information processing implicated in visual word recognition must be at least partially thresholded. Six experiments have been presented in this thesis: on one hand, a new variable that has a role when the stimuli are degraded – the Total Letter Confusability – has been introduced; on the other hand, the effects due to list composition have been analyzed when the stimuli were degraded in the task. In general, the results obtained suggest a novel interpretation of the additivities previously observed; these findings have been explained within the DRC model which also correctly simulates a significant amount of the data. The empirical evidence collected so far clearly indicates that there is currently no need to assume thresholded processing in the reading system

La valutazione medico-legale dei disturbi cognitivi nel settore assistenziale

The authors examine cognitive disorders (dementia in particular) and the Italian norms concern it. They discuss the interpretative problems regarding the definition of daily living activity and analyze different multidimensional evaluation scales internationally proposed. Finally, they purpose an interpretative framework of dementia multi-axis evaluation and individualize an operative proposal to evaluate the absence of self-sufficiency

Metodo e strategie di studio: cosa sanno gli studenti? Un’indagine all’Università di Trento

Study Methods And Learning Strategies: What Do Students Know? A Survey At The University Of Trento.How do students study? What do students know about study methods and learning strategies? Recent research has shown that most students rely on ineffective study methods. This behavior could be ascribed to a limited knowledge about learning strategies: students might rely on ineffective study methods because they have erroneous views about which learning strategies are effective. The aim of our research has been to further address this topic at the University of Trento. Here, we present and discuss the results of a survey study that investigates the students’ knowledge of some common learning strategies, the beliefs about their utility, and how much students intended to use them during the semester. Our results confirm that students are often not aware of which learning strategies are most effective. Furthermore, our data suggests that even when students do know how they should study, they do not always reflect it in their study activities. These conclusions requires appropriate considerations and intervention in educational contexts

L’aggiornamento dell’anagrafe dell’handicap della Provincia autonoma di Trento

[Update of the handicap registry of the Autonomous Province of Trento]There are some good reasons that support our effort to annually update the handicap registry of the Autonomous Province of Trento.The first reason is due to the fact that in our country there is an incomprehensible dispersion of information that feed the numerous existing databases on disability. This dispersion does not allow to have precise information on the actual number of people with disabilities and their characteristics.A second reason is that each functional articulation of the National Healthcare Systems is accountable to the community of what is enacted for the protection of the fundamental right to health, as proclaimed in Article 32 of the Constitution.A third reason is to make statistical data accessible to policy makers and to all the government since they have a responsibility in making strategic decisions and planning the supply of social and health services dedicated to people with disabilities.The fourth and final reason is the uniqueness of the protection given by our country to people with disabilities. But there is a fourth and final reason that supports our obstinacy: we indicate the typicality of the protection given by our country to people with disabilities. Protection that, in absolute contrast with the general logic of our welfare system, is aimed to the right of citizenship of these people (and their families) when they are not yet hospitalized in long-term structures. With the result that this database, beyond the general macro-statistical indicators, provides a clear idea of the needs that disabled people have when they actually live in the home, witnessing the strong commitment exercised by the network of relatives and the difficulties faced by families in the care burden.Between 1992 and 2012 the database managed by the Operative Unit of Legal Medicine, APSS (Azienda provinciale per i Servizi sanitari di Trento), recorded 18,380 people with disabilities who have submitted 23,920 applications designed to obtain the benefits and facilities provided by the Law of 25 February 1992, no. 104.The article presents the macro-statistical indicators database (sex and age) and some other indicators that represent the complexity of the phenomenon, such as trends of applications, types of disabilities, impairments causing disability, benefits and facilities recognized