A Qualitative Investigation of Preservice Special Education Teacher Programs’ Preparation of Preservice Special Education Teachers to Work with Paraprofessionals

Research shows the number of paraprofessionals who provide support to students with exceptionalities is increasing (Data Accountability Center [DAC], 2010) and that special educators are becoming increasingly responsible for managing, training, and supervising paraprofessionals who support students with exceptionalities (Carlson, Brauen, Klein, Schroll, & Willing, 2002; Douglas, Chapin, & Nolan, 2016; Drecktrah, 2000). The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to investigate how preservice programs were preparing teachers to manage, train, and supervise paraprofessionals who provide support to students with significant needs. Ten leading experts in the field of paraprofessional research who work at universities with special education teacher preparation programs were interviewed with the intent to identify current practices in preparing preservice special education teachers to manage, train, and supervise paraprofessionals. In addition to investigating how leading experts in the field prepare preservice special education teachers to work with paraprofessionals, participants’ experiences and beliefs were also analyzed. The results of this study revealed five themes: (a) obstacles to preparing preservice teachers to work with paraprofessionals, (b) we do not do a good job preparing them to manage adults, (c) preservice teachers don’t know what they don’t know, (d) why paraprofessionals should be a part of preservice training, and (e) knowledge, skills, and approaches needed to prepare preservice teachers This study added to the current literature by highlighting issues that impact preservice special education teacher preparation programs’ ability to effectively prepare special education teachers to work with paraprofessionals including how this topic is addressed in special education preservice preparation programs. This study also added to the growing literature on best practices for preparing preservice special education teachers to work with adult learners as well as how to effectively train paraprofessionals to support students with exceptionalities including students with severe needs. Implications for special education preservice preparation programs, policy for special education preservice preparation programs, and future research were addressed

Enabling Bidirectional Interoperability between BIM and BPS through Lightweight Topological Models

Building Performance Simulation (BPS) tools have become prevalent in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operation (AECO) sector to assess building performance for various purposes. However, some challenges persist in achieving full interoperability between BPS and Building Information Modeling (BIM). This paper proposes a different approach to BIM-BPS interoperability based on creating space-based Topological Models (TM) for data exchange using Visual Programming (VP) algorithms. The VP approach allows for complex geometrical operations, the automatic reflection of changes made to the BIM model in the BPS model, and easy synchronous modification of these models to encourage design exploration. The proposed workflow is tested on the heritage building of the Faculty of Engineering in Bologna, Italy, with the aim of establishing the basis for developing a Digital Twin (DT) of the building for optimising its energy management. This approach can also be used for the early-stage analysis of new constructions, providing a comprehensive view of building performance

TOWARDS DIGITAL TWIN DRIVEN CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT: A HBIM-BASED WORKFLOW FOR ENERGY IMPROVEMENT OF MODERN BUILDINGS

Europe has numerous historic buildings that need to become more energy-efficient, which need permanent maintenance and refurbishment to fulfill sustainability and use requirements. Asset owners and asset managers need to adopt new strategies to protect listed buildings while optimizing costs and benefits during their life cycle. In this sense, the digital transition proves to be a moment to seize for opening new scenarios. The Digital Twin paradigm promises to be valuable for enabling the sustainable knowledge, conservation, restoration, and management of built assets and solving the dilemma about protecting the architectural identity of these buildings while adapting them to the functional and performance requirements dictated by the regulatory framework. This study proposes a workflow that integrates Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) and Building Performance Simulation (BPS) tools for data-driving the energy improvement of Italian listed modern buildings built between the 1920s and 1960s. After acquiring information about the building, the HBIM model and the Building Energy Model (BEM) are realized based on the International Foundation Classes (IFC) standard. Energy intervention measures are defined, construction costs are computed, and benefits during the intervention life cycle are predicted in thermal demand. Finally, an expeditious multi-criteria analysis allows for comparing different intervention combinations and indicating the optimal solution for the energy improvement of the building concerning energy, economic, and financial issues. These outcomes represent the first step towards realizing a dynamic, accessible, and sharable Digital Twin

Hybridisation of an imperial encounter: Egypt and the Wadi Gaza in the Late Bronze Age

Processes of culture contact have been approached in traditional studies on early empires through unilateral perspectives such as acculturation studies and World System theories. Over the past decades, however, a new scepticism of these dominant narratives has emerged. The Wadi Gaza area during the period of Egyptian New Kingdom imperialism provides a to-date little utilised analytical arena in which to explore the challenges and opportunities of a different approach. This research aims to critically examine the imperial encounter between Egypt and the Gaza area, revaluating its timeframe and changing nature, and highlighting differences from previous interpretations of Egyptian imperial narrative. I approach these issues using a conceptual framework based on postcolonial concepts of hybridisation and cultural fluidity, which sees contact between cultures as a constant negotiation. The aims are addressed through a multiscalar approach, focusing on the regional scale, first, and on two site-specific case studies, Tell el-ᶜAjjul and Tell el-Farᶜah (South), then. I investigated these case studies through the analysis of their major “Egyptianizing” features alongside significant local material evidence. I took into account architecture, funerary customs, and pottery, examining the contribution of both cultures, Egyptian and Canaanite, in the creation of objects and practices. The results of this research demonstrate that a hybridisation perspective provides a new and more balanced account of the cultural dynamics resulting from the Egypto-Canaanite encounter and its negotiation. Liberated from the restraints of a literal interpretation of Egyptian sources, this nuanced interpretation casts new light on the material evidence, and provides fresh avenues for research on cultural encounters and early empires

Building Information Modeling and Building Performance Simulation-Based Decision Support Systems for Improved Built Heritage Operation

Adapting outdated building stocks’ operations to meet current environmental and economic demands poses significant challenges that, to be faced, require a shift toward digitalization in the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation sectors. Digital tools capable of acquiring, structuring, sharing, processing, and visualizing built assets’ data in the form of knowledge need to be conceptualized and developed to inform asset managers in decision-making and strategic planning. This paper explores how building information modeling and building performance simulation technologies can be integrated into digital decision support systems (DSS) to make building data accessible and usable by non-digital expert operators through user-friendly services. The method followed to develop the digital DSS is illustrated and then demonstrated with a simulation-based application conducted on the heritage case study of the Faculty of Engineering in Bologna, Italy. The analysis allows insights into the building’s energy performance at the space and hour scale and explores its relationship with the planned occupancy through a data visualization approach. In addition, the conceptualization of the DSS within a digital twin vision lays the foundations for future extensions to other technologies and data, including, for example, live sensor measurements, occupant feedback, and forecasting algorithms

Wooden Truss Analysis, Preservation Strategies, and Digital Documentation through Parametric 3D Modeling and HBIM Workflow

The main focus of this paper is the most recent phase of a large research project that has studied several wooden roof structures in the area of Bologna, belonging to a set of important historical buildings, all dating back to the 16th and 18th centuries. In particular, the behavior of the wooden trusses that support pitched roofs is analyzed, according to a methodological approach, based on generative algorithms that can help researchers and technicians to improve the comprehension of wooden structures\u2019 behavior during their entire lifespan. While all the previous case studies concerned churches, this latest step extends the survey to the roofing system of the Municipal Theater of Bologna, which has a span of approximately 25 m. The core of the process concerns the automatic transformation of the point cloud into 3D models using parametric modeling tools, such as Grasshopper generative algorithms. Following this workflow, it is possible to speed up the creation of different truss models by changing only a few input parameters. This updating of the research protocol automatically creates a Building Information Modeling (BIM) model and a calculation model for the wooden trusses to perform a structural stress analysis by linking Grasshopper tools with Dynamo-Revit features. The procedure that has been developed from previous studies is still evolving and aims to speed up the modeling procedure and introduce new tools and methods for interpreting the functioning of these structural elements when surveyed through terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) devices

CORRELATI CLINICO-FUNZIONALI NEL MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: LA PET CON FLUORODESOSSIGLUCOSIO COME PREDITTORE DI PROGRESSIONE A MALATTIA DI ALZHEIMER

La Malattia di Alzheimer è la causa più comune di demenza neurodegenerativa. Con l’aumento dell’età della popolazione è divenuta la patologia cerebrale degenerativa più frequente: colpisce, infatti, circa il 10% della popolazione al di sopra dei 75 anni. Nel corso degli anni si è delineata l’importanza di una diagnosi sempre più precoce, in virtù di potenziali terapie "disease modifying", con l’introduzione negli ultimi anni di una condizione precedente premorbosa di “Mild Cognitive Impairment” (MCI). Approssimativamente, il 10-15% annuo dei pazienti con MCI progredisce ad AD. Negli ultimi anni sono stati condotti numerosi studi volti all’individuazione di biomarcatori in vivo di conversione verso AD, tra i quali emerge il ruolo della PET con FDG. Oggetto della presente tesi è lo studio dell' utilità della PET cerebrale con FDG, associata alle informazioni derivate dai sintomi clinici, neuropsicologici e neuropsichiatrici nella predittività di conversione da MCI a AD. Mediante uno studio retrospettivo condotto su 39 pazienti con MCI amnesico, sono state valutate le caratteristiche cliniche quali età di esordio, severità dei sintomi cognitivi e comportamentali, presenza di alterazioni del linguaggio ed è stato analizzato se queste erano associate a uno specifico pattern metabolico di metabolismo cerebrale. Dai risultati emerge che le informazioni derivanti dalla PET con FDG, anche mediante l’individuazione di indici quantitativi, sono in grado di predire la conversione e il timing di conversione in pazienti con MCI. Inoltre, parametri clinici quali severità dei sintomi cognitivi, alterazioni del linguaggio e disturbi comportamentali contribuiscono all’individuazione di MCI converters e alla predizione del tempo di conversione. In conclusione, un approccio combinato clinico e strumentale mediante PET con FDG è in grado di predire con sensibilità e specificità adeguate la conversione e il tempo di conversione di MCI amnesici verso AD, consentendo una diagnosi sempre più precoce di malattia

Progress and challenges of selective Farnesoid X Receptor modulation.

Bile acids are amphipathic molecules that were previously known to serve as fat solubilizers in the intestine in postprandial conditions. In the last two decades, bile acids have been recognized as signaling molecules regulating energy metabolism pathways via, amongst others, the farnesoid X receptor (FXR). Upon bile acid activation, FXR controls expression of genes involved in bile acid, lipid, glucose and amino acid metabolism. In addition, FXR activation has been shown to limit the inflammatory response. The central role of FXR in various aspects of metabolism and inflammation makes FXR an attractive drug target for several diseases, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, cholestasis and chronic inflammatory diseases of the liver and intestine. However, most of the currently available compounds impact on all discovered FXR-mediated functions and may have, on top of beneficial effects, undesired biological actions depending on the disease. Therefore, research efforts are increasingly focused on the development of selective FXR modulators, i.e. selective bile acid receptor modulators (SBARMs), aimed at limiting the potential side-effects of conventional full FXR agonists upon chronic treatment. Here, we review the rationale for the design of SBARMs comprising dissociation between metabolic and inflammatory signaling, gene-selective and tissue-specific targeting. We discuss the potential structural mechanisms underlying the binding properties of dissociating ligands of FXR in light of ongoing efforts on the generation of dissociated ligands for otxher nuclear receptors, as well as their pharmacological and therapeutic potential

Proyecto de Graduación: evaluación del proceso y del producto

Esta ponencia abordará la metodología establecida para la evaluación integral de los Proyectos de Graduación de las carreras de cuatro años de la Facultad de Diseño y Comunicación de la Universidad de Palermo y de los Ciclos de Licenciatura en Diseño y en Negocios de Diseño y Comunicación. La misma contempla dos etapas: la evaluación del proceso de elaboración del Proyecto de Graduación en el desarrollo de las cursadas de las asignaturas Seminario de Integración I y II –correspondientes a las carreras de grado– e Investigación y Desarrollo I y II –correspondientes a los Ciclos de Licenciatura–, y la evaluación del producto final, es decir, del Proyecto de Graduación terminado. Cada una de estas etapas involucra criterios de evaluación específicos y herramientas de registro adecuadas a cada instancia.&nbsp