A Playful Experiential Learning System With Educational Robotics

This article reports on two studies that aimed to evaluate the effective impact of educational robotics in learning concepts related to Physics and Geography. The reported studies involved two courses from an upper secondary school and two courses froma lower secondary school. Upper secondary school classes studied topics ofmotion physics, and lower secondary school classes explored issues related to geography. In each grade, there was an “experimental group” that carried out their study using robotics and cooperative learning and a “control group” that studied the same concepts without robots. Students in both classes were subjected to tests before and after the robotics laboratory, to check their knowledge in the topics covered. Our initial hypothesis was that classes involving educational robotics and cooperative learning are more effective in improving learning and stimulating the interest and motivation of students. As expected, the results showed that students in the experimental groups had a far better understanding of concepts and higher participation to the activities than students in the control groups

The use of technology in the promotion of children’s emotional intelligence : the multimedia program “Developing Emotional Intelligence”

"Developing Emotional Intelligence” is an Italian language multimedia tool created for children between 8 and 12 years of age. The software is based on the four ‘branches’ of model of emotional intelligence proposed by Mayer and Salovey and aims to evaluate and improve abilities in perception of emotions; using emotion to facilitate thought; understanding emotions; and managing emotions. In the software, four characters represent the four branches of emotional intelligence and guide children through the ‘world of emotions’ using drawings, animations, music, sounds and verbal instructions. The software is comprised of two components, namely an assessment section (27 items) and a training section (46 exercises). Both the assessment and the training sections aim to measure and improve children’s abilities in perceiving emotions (faces, drawings and music); using emotions (emotional synaesthesia and facilitation); understanding emotions (blend and transformation of emotions); and managing emotions (personal and interpersonal situations). Two studies involving primary and secondary school children respectively, demonstrated the efficacy of the training performed with the software in improving performance in emotional tasks and academic achievement in the linguisticliterary area. A comparison between the two studies offers interesting insights about the best ways to integrate technology in social and emotional learning programs.peer-reviewe

Sex differences in emotional and meta-emotional intelligence in pre-adolescents and adolescents

The study focuses on sex differences in emotional and meta-emotional intelligence in a sample of 355 pre-adolescents and 164 adolescents. Emotional and meta-emotional intelligence were measured using the multi-trait multi-method IE-ACCME test, allowing to define individuals' profiles of ability EI, emotional self-concept, meta-emotional knowledge, meta-emotional ability in self-evaluation and meta-emotional beliefs. Meta-emotional dimensions refer to the awareness of individuals about their emotional abilities and to their beliefs about the functioning of emotions in everyday life. Results demonstrated that girls scored better than boys in ability-EI, in particular in adolescents' group, whereas boys reported higher score than girls in emotional self-concept in both groups of age. Result about meta-emotional knowledge and meta-emotional ability in self-evaluation revealed that boys systematically overestimate their emotional abilities whereas girls, particularly in the adolescent group, tend to underestimate them. Finally, in both age groups, girls scored higher than males in metaemotional beliefs. The adoption of the meta-emotional intelligence framework may help to explain the discordances about sex differences found in previous studies using self-report vs. performance measures of EI. Moreover, it may contribute to shed light on the nature-nurture debate and on the role of meta-emotional variables for explaining sex differences in EI

Beyond emotional intelligence: The new construct of meta-emotional intelligence

Meta-emotional intelligence is a recently developed multidimensional construct that, starting from the original ability model of emotional intelligence, focuses on the cognitive aspects of emotional abilities and on the metacognitive and meta-emotional processes that influence our emotional life. Thus, meta-emotional intelligence is the combination of emotional abilities and meta-emotional dimensions, such as the beliefs about emotions, the self-concept about one's emotional abilities, and the self-evaluation of performance. This article aims to illustrate the theoretical and methodological background of this construct and to describe the IE-ACCME test, an original multi-method tool that has been developed to measure the different variables that compose meta-emotional intelligence. Applications of this construct will be discussed, as well as future directions

The Relationship between Coping Strategies and State Anxiety during COVID-19 Lockdown: The Role of Perceived Emotional Intelligence

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented and unexpected change all around the globe. The long-term effects are still ongoing, especially those related to the confinement measures. The study took place during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Italy, where everyone was forced to stay home in order to reduce the spread of the virus. The aim was to investigate the role of perceived emotional intelligence abilities (PEI) in coping with COVID-19-related anxiety. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed, and this study used an online survey launched through social networks, inviting adults to participate. The participants anonymously completed a three-scale online measurement of self-reported emotional abilities, coping strategies (approach and avoidance), and state anxiety towards COVID-19. Results: perceived emotional intelligence and approach coping significantly predicted state anxiety. In addition, perceived emotional intelligence mediated the relationship between approach coping and state anxiety. Conclusions: the study highlights the positive role of perceived emotional abilities in dealing with the unprecedented event represented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular, in coping with anxiety related to lockdown and confinement. Their results highlight the importance of fostering emotional intelligence for navigating critical life events

Robot's Inner Speech Effects on Trust and Anthropomorphic Cues in Human-Robot Cooperation

Inner Speech is an essential but also elusive human psychological process which refers to an everyday covert internal conversation with oneself. We argue that programming a robot with an overt self-talk system, which simulates human inner speech, might enhance human trust by improving robot transparency and anthropomorphism. For this reasons, this work aims to investigate if robot’s inner speech, here intended as overt self-talk, affects human trust and anthropomorphism when human and robot cooperate. A group of participants was engaged in collaboration with the robot. During cooperation, the robot talks to itself. To evaluate if the robot’s inner speech influences human trust, two questionnaires were administered to each participant before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the cooperative session with the robot. Preliminary results evidenced differences between the answers of participants in the pre-test and post-test assessment, suggesting that robot’s inner speech influences human trust. Indeed, participant’s levels of trust and perception of robot anthropomorphic features increase after the experimental interaction with the robot

An Exploratory Study

The study investigates the relationship between perceived emotional intelligence, burnout, work engagement, and job satisfaction in 238 Italian school teachers. The mean age was 50 years, ranged from 26 to 66 (SD = 9.16). The research protocol included a demographics data sheet, the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS; Wong & Law, 2002), the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen, & Christensen, 2005), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli, Bakker, & Salanova, 2006), and the Organizational Satisfaction Scale (QSO; Cortese, 2001). Several international studies already demonstrated an association among these variables. Our results showed that perceived emotional intelligence positively correlates with work engagement and job satisfaction, and negatively correlates with burnout. Hierarchical regression analyses also point out that, among all the perceived emotional intelligence subdimensions, the use of emotion is the best predictor of the study variables, even when controlling for gender differences. These results suggest that emotional intelligence may have a protective role in preventing negative working experiences of teachers

Bio-based Materials. Standardizzazione e processi per la commercializzazione

Il contributo si occupa degli aspetti normativi nel campo della produzione e uso di una malta con componenti organici derivanti dal riciclo di scarti agricoli e silvo-pastorali. Viene prestata attenzione alla normativa internazionale più diffusa e nota, a quella europea e a quella italiana. La riduzione del consumo di suolo e di risorse lapidee, degli scarti, la limitazione dell’utilizzo di materiali di cava naturali sono solo alcuni benefici che hanno indotto la comunità scientifica a investire nell’uso di materie prime-seconde di origine vegetale, ecosostenibili; oggi, lo stato dell’arte è molto ricco. Tuttavia, non ci sono ancora normative tecniche e procedurali relative ai materiali che derivano dal riciclo di scarti vegetali; in questo contributo si pone l’attenzione particolarmente su malte da muratura. La normativa esistente non è utilizzabile ed adattabile e rimangono in particolare due aspetti che risultano ancora non definiti quali la vulnerabilità ai fattori di degrado e la tenuta delle prestazioni nel tempo. Ulteriore problematica, rispetto ad una logica di commercializzazione, è la mancanza di normativa di riferimento e, quindi, di indicazioni di processo e test di prodotto, rendendo più complesso il processo di certificazione. Tale circostanza vanifica gli sforzi scientifici e produttivi. La singolarità della questione è accentuata dalla normativa italiana relativa ai Criteri Ambientali Minimi per l'affidamento di servizi di progettazione ed esecuzione di lavori per la nuova costruzione, ristrutturazione e manutenzione di opere pubbliche che impone l’utilizzo del 15% di materiali di materia prima seconda e che potrebbe dare ampio spazio all’uso dei materiali bio-based. Il contributo, a partire dal constatato ritardo della normativa rispetto al progresso scientifico, indica la necessità di prove che possano certificare le qualità specifiche dei bio-based materials relativamente a caratteristiche quali: durabilità, tossicità di fumi, attaccabilità da insetti e parassiti, ecc., e rendere possibile l’applicazione dei materiali sperimentati

Technology-Based Behavioral Interventions for Daily Activities and Supported Ambulation in People With Alzheimer's Disease:

Objectives:These 2 studies evaluated technology-based behavioral interventions for promoting daily activities and supported ambulation in people with mild-to-moderate and moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease, respectively.Methods:Study 1 included 8 participants who were taught to start and carry out daily activities on their own using a tablet or smartphone device, which provided activity reminders, step instructions, and praise. Study 2 included 9 participants who were taught to engage in brief periods of ambulation using a walker combined with a tilt microswitch and a notebook computer, which monitored step responses and provided stimulation and prompts.Results:The participants of study 1 succeeded in starting the activities independently and carrying them out accurately. The participants of study 2 largely increased their ambulation levels and also showed signs of positive involvement (eg, smiles and verbalizations).Conclusion:The aforementioned technology-based interventions may represent practical means for supporting people with Alzheimer's disease