Innovation as socially shared practice: the contribution of the Teaching and Learning Center

The contribution describes a study on the organizational devices and the professional development programs carried out at the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) of the University of Siena and at the Teaching and Learning Lab (TLL) of the University of Macerata. The focus is on systemic actions capable to elicit innovation at an organizational level, starting from the work of the institutional centers for research, professional training, and digital enhanced learning embedded in the university. In the final paragraph, future developmental trajectories for constituting an inter-universities network of TLCs are discussed

Active Labor Market Policies and Transitions to Permanent Employment. The Potential of Administrative Data

This chapter aims at shedding some light on the effectiveness of existing Active Labor Market Policies. The main goal of this contribution is to show how it is possible to combine three sources of administrative data, namely the system of Compulsory Communications (Comunicazioni Obbligatorie CO), the archives of local agencies in charge of active labor market policies, and the equivalent economic/financial status indicator (EES) data drawn from fiscal assistance centers. We also discuss possible identification strategies to assess the effectiveness of active labor market programs which exploit discontinuity stemming from labor market reforms. Finally, we use event history analysis to model the time to exit to a permanent job as a function of individual characteristics previous labor experience and participation to programs

Competenze trasversali, innovazione didattica e presidi organizzativi (Cap. 4.)

Gli odierni scenari lavorativi, le nuove professioni, con i relativi bisogni di conoscenza, hanno enfatizzato le criticità e le contraddizioni di approcci didattici troppo spesso ancorati a logiche teorico-disciplinari e offerte formative costruite su criteri autoreferenziali. • Le Università progettano centri, curriculum e percorsi di apprendimento capaci di promuovere l’acquisizione di competenze pratiche utili per i futuri professionisti. • Necessità di promuovere esperienze concrete (Teaching and Learning Center) che attivino offerte formative in grado di intercettare bisogni di apprendimento emergenti e sfidanti rispetto agli attuali scenari lavorativi, e di dialogare con gli stakeholder. • Costruire una rete nazionale dei Teaching and Learning Center dei diversi Atenei italiani al fine di condividere esperienze di didattica innovativa e di supportare lo sviluppo delle competenze trasversali degli studenti e dei docenti

Ghrelin and eating disorders

Background Ghrelin is a potent hormone with central and peripheral action. This hormone plays an important role in the regulation of appetite, food intake, and energy balance. Studies have suggested that ghrelin is involved with eating disorders (ED), particularly bingeing and purging. Genetic variants have also been studied to explain changes in eating behavior. Methods We conducted a literature review; we searched PubMed, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), and LILACS databases using the keywords “eating disorder”, “ghrelin”, “polymorphism”, “anorexia nervosa”, “bulimia nervosa”, “binge eating disorder”, and their combinations. We found 319 articles. Thirty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria. Results High levels of ghrelin were found in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), especially in the purging subtype (AN-P). There was also a positive correlation between fasting ghrelin level and frequency of episodes of bingeing/purging in bulimia nervosa (BN) and the frequency of bingeing in periodic binge eating disorder (BED). Some polymorphisms were associated with AN and BN. Conclusion Changes in ghrelin levels and its polymorphism may be involved in the pathogenesis of EDs; however, further studies should be conducted to clarify the associations

Enhancing User-Engagement in the Design Process through Augmented Reality Applications

Augmented Reality (AR) technologies are often perceived as the most impactful method to enhance the communication between the designer and the client during the iterative design process. However, the significance of designing the User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX) are often underestimated. To intercede, this research aims to employ new and existing techniques to develop UI's, and comparatively assess ``the accuracy and completeness with which specified users can achieve specified goals in particular environments'' (Stone, 2005) - a notion this research delineates as `effectiveness'. Prompted by the work of key scholars, the developed UI's were assessed through the lens of existing UI evaluation techniques, including: Usability Heuristics (Nielsen, 1994) and Visual and Cognitive Heuristics (Zuk and Carpendale, 2006). In partnership with PTW Architects, characteristics such as the rapidity and complexity of interactions, in conjunction with the interface's simplicity and intuitiveness, were extracted from 15 trials underwent by architectural practitioners. The outcomes of this research highlights strategies for the effective development of user interface design for mobile augmented reality applications