Multicultural distant education: virtual communities as group models for a peaceful cohabitation

This paper presents a point of some learnings and reflections from the experience of a virtual classroom, within the GETT project, made of 20 Italian students, who worked cooperatively through videoconference and chat and email with some 20 students from your university, and 20 from Lebanon and 20 more from US. Moreover the research faces some critical issues starting from a flash on globalisation and its impact on educational systems; then moving to the knowledge society and presenting the cooperative learning as a model to build international and trans-cultural virtual communities. Focus of the study is the issue of group dynamics in virtual classes, which do play a crucial role in the effectiveness of the VCs themselves. Finally, mentioning some of the most recent studies on the impact hypothesis (Eller & Abrams, 2004; Molina, Wittig & Giang, 2004; Zagefka & Brown, 2002), it is discussed how the GETT project has highlighted similarities between real and virtual groups working to reduce mutual prejudices

The Reggio Childhood Studies PhD as a learning community

Exploring visions and methods to pursue high level education means to study how each person is allowed to develop new intellectual, aesthetic, and operational perspective, as well as grasp new insights for growth and enrichment of one’s understanding of the world. The authors present the pilot phase of an analysis of the first industrial doctorate in Reggio Chilhood Studies, organized by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in collaboration with the Reggio Children Foundation: its socio-constructivist matrix is highlighted. In fact, constructing a community of learners allows cross-fertilization among diverse disciplinary knowledge and many cultures. The study hereby presented explores the variables of such learning community, through the analysis of in-depth interviews of the PhD fellows. Results show factors and variables that can affect and challenge the existence of the community. Recommendations are made to continue exploring the doctoral community, bringing in the picture all the stakeholders involved

Listening and Documenting in the Reggio Approach: The Challenge and the Vision Stemming from Bruner’s Contribution

The pedagogy of listening was born and developed in Reggio Emilia’s schools, in northern Italy. This article analyses the pedagogy of listening in the light of the fundamental texts of the Reggio Approach’s literature. The aim is to explore some key-concepts such as language, context, relationship and evaluation and also to link them to Jerome Bruner’s work and contributions. Moreover, the authors attempt to offer an in-depth view of “documentation” as the crucial tool to ground the listening into the dynamics among the many educational actors involved. In the last part of the article, we underline the importance of democratic values in the Reggio Approach and in its socio-constructivist approach to active citizenship and children’s rights

The Role of Group Dynamics in Creativity: A Study Case from Italy

Modern society requires people to be flexible and to develop innovative solutions to unexpected situations. Creativity refers to the “interaction among aptitude, process, and the environment by which an individual or group produces a perceptible product that is both novel and useful as defined within a social context”. It allows humans to produce novel ideas, generate new solutions, and express themselves uniquely. Only a few scientific studies have examined group dynamics' influence on individuals' creativity. There exist some gaps in the research on creative thinking, such as the fact that collaborative effort frequently results in the enhanced production of new information and knowledge. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate creativity via social settings. The study aimed at exploring the group dynamics of young adults in small group settings and the influence of these dynamics on their creativity. The study included 30 participants aged 20 to 25 who were attending university after completing a bachelor's degree. The participants were divided into groups of three, in gender homogenous and heterogeneous groups. The groups’ creative task was tied to the Lego mosaic created for the Scintillae laboratory at the Reggio Children Foundation. Group dynamics were operationalized into patterns of behaviors classified into three major categories: 1) Social Interactions, 2) Play, and 3) Distraction. Data were collected through audio and video recording and observation. The qualitative data were converted into quantitative data using the observational coding system; then, they were analyzed, revealing correlations between behaviors using median points and averages. For each participant and group, the percentages of represented behavior signals were computed. The findings revealed a link between social interaction, creative thinking, and creative activities. Other findings revealed that the more intense the social interaction, the lower the amount of creativity demonstrated. This study bridges the research gap between group dynamics and creativity. The approach calls for further research on the relationship between creativity and social interaction

COMPETENZE PSICOLOGICHE DEGLI EDUCATORI E CONDUZIONE DI GRUPPO

La presente ricerca muove da una sperimentazione didattica in corso dal 2006 presso l’insegnamento di Processi e Dinamiche di Gruppo a Reggio Emilia (Mineo, 2007): accanto al corso obbligatorio per gli iscritti al II anno di Scienze dell’Educazione, viene offerto un percorso ‘avanzato’ con la possibilità di sperimentare de vivo le dinamiche evolutive dei gruppi di grande formato e, attraverso la conoscenza analitica dei processi sottesi al funzionamento degli stessi, la formazione in un contesto a conduzione psicodinamica.Il focus della ricerca è quello di esplorare e ripensare il metodo di intervento con i grandi gruppi, ritenendo inadeguata la letteratura sulle finalità e sugli obiettivi di tali dispositivi, che elude un ragionamento approfondito sulle dinamiche proprie della fondazione dei gruppi e sulle motivazioni che la sottendono. Tali dinamiche, nel gruppo di formazione, rimandano alla questione del primary task (Miller & Rice, 1990): compito che si declina a seconda dello stadio evolutivo del gruppo (Tuckman, 1965), del set/ting specifico (Lo Verso, 1994) e dello “spazio mentale ed esperenziale che coinvolge gli universi soggettivi e transpersonali” dei partecipanti e dei conduttori (Di Maria, Formica, 2009, p.101).La sperimentazione didattica, che deve fare i conti con un curricolo accademico e una dimensione istituzionale che marginalizza la psicologia dinamica nel profilo in uscita, consta di tre fasi: nella prima, lo studente, oltre ad assistere alle lezioni frontali che inquadrano i temi della psicodinamica in una cornice teorica e metodologica che va da Lewin a Bion, da Foulkes a Kaes, dalla Klein a Rice, partecipa a gruppi mediani ed allargati, lavora in piccoli gruppi alla presentazione di approfondimenti tematici e si incontra su un forum online moderato dalla docente. Nella seconda fase, intraprende un percorso di osservazione dei gruppi, offre consulenza agli studenti junior sui lavori di piccolo gruppo e partecipa ad un gruppo di supervisione. Nella terza infine, co-conduce i gruppi e partecipa alle sessioni di supervisione. Il percorso formativo, dunque, prevede un graduale passaggio da ruoli discenti a ruoli di co-responsabilità dei contenuti del corso, offrendo l’opportunità di giocare ruoli diversi e differenziati, a servizio del gruppo: in questa altalena di funzioni, si attiva un processo di esplorazione e di contaminazione di attese, desideri, ansie, consapevolezze e tecniche, che diventano oggetto del percorso individuale di crescita e formazione alla conduzione di gruppi educativi.Rimane da verificare quanto il percorso formativo sia sufficiente all’elaborazione di un profilo di educatore in grado di progettare e realizzare gruppi a vertice psicodinamico.Tuttavia, l’opportunità di esplorare il campo controtransferale da una molteplicità di punti di vista –partecipante, osservatore, co-conduttore, facilitatore, esperto, consulente-, attiva ed esplicita un pensiero riflessivo sulle relazioni inter-soggettive, sui fenomeni di risonanza, sui rispecchiamenti, sulle co-responsabilità del processo e dei compiti. Il gruppo di formazione diventa così uno spazio di transito, di elaborazione rituale di eventi critici, e “assume una valenza emotiva e una presenza tanto più forte quanto più nel sociale sembrano scomparire i luoghi culturalmente deputati all’organizzazione e ritualizzazione dei passaggi evolutivi del singolo e della comunità” (Profita et al., 2007, p.118)

The Prevalence of Benzodiazepine Use among Italian Drivers in 15,988 Cases of Driving License Regranting from 2015 to 2023: Risks and Implications for Driving Fitness

The use of benzodiazepines is strongly associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents due to their side effects of sedation and drowsiness, which can significantly impair driving performance. the main aim of our study was to investigate the trend of benzodiazepine use over nine years (2015-2023) in a population of 15,988 subjects who had their license suspended for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs. among the 15,988 users accessed to our laboratory, 924 tested positive for at least one benzodiazepine. an increase in the number of positive-testing users was observed in the period 2015-2018, followed by a slight decrease in 2019. overall, the trend of benzodiazepine use was stable over the next four years (2020-2023), with the highest incidence in 2022. the most common benzodiazepines, and/or metabolites, found in urine samples were alpha-OH-alprazolam (28.66%; n = 366) and oxazepam (27.25%; n = 348). Several cases of mixed positivity were observed in the study population. the main substances taken with benzodiazepines were cocaine and Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Our findings suggest that people taking benzodiazepines should be monitored, as these have a relevant impact on driving ability in addition to significant interindividual differences in the behavioral effects of benzodiazepines on driving performance

Understanding the interaction between soft protons and X-ray mirrors

Low energy (< 300 keV) protons entering the field of view of the XMM-Newton telescope and scattering with the mirror surface are observed in the form of a sudden increase in the background level. Such flaring events, affecting about 30-40% of the XMM-Newton observing time, can hardly be disentangled from true X-ray events and cannot be rejected on board. All future high throughput gracing incidence X-ray telescopes operating outside the radiation belts (e.g. ATHENA) are potentially affected by soft proton induced contamination that must be foreseen and limited since the design phase. On the other side, a clear description of the interaction model would link the observed soft proton spectra by XMM-Newton to the ones hitting the telescope pupil, mapping the low energy particle environment along its orbit. Thanks to the latest validation studies on the physics models describing the reflection process of protons at grazing angles, we build a proton response matrix for the XMM-Newton and ATHENA missions, describing the effective area and energy redistribution of protons entering the mirror aperture. The simulation pipeline comprises two independent simulation frameworks for the X-ray optics reflectivity, based on ray-tracing and Geant4, and a Geant4 simulation for the proton transmission efficiency caused by the combination of optical filters, on-chip electrodes and the detection depletion regions, requiring a detailed mass model of the focal plane assemblies. The response matrix for protons will allow a better understanding of the proton radiation environment, with the aim of modeling the in-flight non X-ray background of current and future X-ray focusing telescopes. The XMM-Newton matrix will be used to analyze the mean energy spectra of the background flares, converting the mission into a “proton telescope”, while characterizing its particle background. The matrices for the ATHENA telescope will allow for a fast evaluation of the soft proton induced background for any input population, driving the design of shielding solutions. The response matrix is formatted according to the NASA OGIP (Office of Guest Investigators Program) calibration database (caldb) format, and it consists of an RMF and ARF file in FITS (Flexible Image Transport System) format. X-ray data analysis tools available to the X-ray astronomy community such as Xspec and SPEX can be used to simulate or analyse the soft proton-induced background spectra

Rottlerin-mediated inhibition of Toxoplasma gondii growth in BeWo trophoblast-like cells

Autophagy is a crucial and physiological process for cell survival from yeast to mammals, including protozoan parasites. Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular parasite, typically exploits autophagic machinery of host cell; however host cell upregulates autophagy to combat the infection. Herein we tested the efficacy of Rottlerin, a natural polyphenol with autophagic promoting properties, against Toxoplasma infection on the chorioncarcinoma-derived cell line BeWo. We found that Rottlerin, at sub-toxic doses, induced morphological and biochemical alterations associated with autophagy and decreased Toxoplasma growth in infected cells. Although autophagy was synergically promoted by Toxoplasma infection in combination with Rottlerin treatment, the use of the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine revealed that Rottlerin anti-parasitic effect was largely autophagy-independent and likely mediated by the converging inhibitory effect of Rottlerin and Toxoplasma in host protein translation, mediated by mTOR inhibition and eIF2α phosphorylation. Both events, which on one hand could explain the additive effect on autophagy induction, on the other hand led to inhibition of protein synthesis, thereby depriving Toxoplasma of metabolically essential components for multiplication. We suggest that modulation of the competition between pathogen requirement and host cell defense might be an attractive, novel therapeutic approach against Toxoplasma infection and encourage the development of Rottlerin-based new therapeutic formulations