Encountering Place, Pedagogy, and Culture: Study Abroad and Experiential Learning in Morocco and Indonesia

Efforts to globalize higher education have resulted in study abroad climbing to an all-time high in the United States. Amidst this growth, emergent bodies of literature have uncovered problematic trends in study abroad that reproduce hierarchies of power and colonialism, perpetuate views of an exotic cultural “other,” and privilege tourism over education. In my dissertation, I respond to these problems by exploring ways of teaching and learning in study abroad that embrace the pedagogical power of place to foster awareness of the self in relation to other, cultivate relationality, and deconstruct the exotic. Rather than focusing on the individual as the unit of analysis, I was concerned with wider phenomena of experiential learning, including understanding how knowledge was produced in study abroad programs to Rabat, Morocco and Bali, Indonesia, with a focus on place. In 2014, I spent seven weeks abroad with these programs as a participant-researcher, collected over 200 written narratives in the form of reflective journals with 26 students, and conducted one-year post-program interviews. I looked to Henri Lefebvre’s (1991/1974) theory on the production of space to formulate the overarching research question that guided this dissertation: What is the role of place in the production of experiential learning space in study abroad? I introduce the concept of experiential learning space as situated within sociocultural (Rogoff, 2003; Vygotsky, 1962) and socio-spatial perspectives, which allows for exploration into the ways in which experiences in/of place are both socially produced and socially producing through engagement with surrounding environments. Three sub-questions arose in order to explore my research question fully: How can a socio-spatial perspective of experiential learning advance place-based research? How does student engagement with place contribute to the production of experiential learning space? How might the inclusion of a place-responsive pedagogical intervention shape student experiences in/of an exotified cultural environment? Analyses of each sub-question are presented in three interrelated chapters that act as standalone units and make up the main body of this dissertation. Findings indicate engagement with place was fundamental to the production of experiential learning space in the Morocco and Bali programs, mediated through pedagogies that engaged students with local rhythms, meanings, and histories; social interaction with locals, each other, and participation in cultural communities; and cultural tools that engaged students in alternative ways of knowing and being the world before and during the trip, including narrative activities and a pre-trip pedagogical intervention. Comparative case analysis suggests pairing experiential place-based pedagogies with narratives activities encouraged students’ acknowledgment and renegotiation of representations of Moroccan-ness and Bali-ness, deconstruction of the exotic, and enhanced relationality between self and other that remained a year later, while simultaneously guiding students in the unpacking of their own cultural baggage. Transcending categorical hierarchies of cultural difference and reversing the colonial gaze in study abroad requires providing students with tools that help them embrace difference, while at the same time, find some common ground or relationality within their experiences in/of place. To this end, I advise that study abroad educators adapt the intentions and practices of their programs to embrace the pedagogical potential of place, and provide a theoretical framework, five epistemological commitments, and several pedagogical strategies to guide future program development with an eye toward social change

Epidemiology of psoriatic arthritis

Epidemiological studies on psoriatic arthritis have long been hampered by the absence of widely accepted classification criteria. The development of the CASPAR (ClASsification criteria for Psoriatic ARthritis) criteria has recently provided the framework for conducting epidemiological studies in psoriatic arthritis using uniform recruitment criteria. However, so far, only a minority of studies have adopted such criteria. In addition to the lack of shared classification criteria, differences in study settings, designs, and ascertainment methods have contributed to yield substantial disparities in the estimates of the incidence (from 3,02 to 23,1 cases per 100,000 people) and prevalence (from 49,1 to 420 cases per 100,000 people) of psoriatic arthritis around the globe. Overall, the available data suggests that the prevalence of psoriasis in the general population is approximately 2-3%, with about a third of patients with psoriasis having arthritis. Therefore, psoriatic arthritis may affect 0,3- 1,0% of the population, a frequency not dissimilar from that of rheumatoid arthritis. Future epidemiological studies should be carried out in larger numbers of patients diagnosed using consistent criteria

Clinical assessment in psoriatic arthritis

Due to the heterogeneous clinical picture, with a possible combination in any individual patient of axial disease, peripheral arthritis, enthesitis and dactylitis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is difficult to assess. Validated assessment tools for PsA are lacking. Recently, international study groups have a special interest in developing and validating standardized tools to assess PsA. We will review the existing assessment modalities of PsA focusing on axial disease, peripheral arthritis, enthesitis and dactylitis. Measures of function and disability recommended for PsA will be also reviewed

Hydroseeding application on degraded slopes in the southern Mediterranean area (Sicily).

Hydroseeding is a technique increasingly used to establish vegetation on degraded areas in order to provide environmental protection. The objective of this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of four different hydroseeding methods (bonded fiber matrix hydroseeding, thick hydroseeding, reinforced hydroseeding plus water retention, and reinforced hydroseeding) on a degraded artificial slope in the southern Mediterranean area determining total vegetation cover, hydroseeding vegetation cover, hydroseeding success index (HSI), natural and hydroseeded vegetation height. The test area does not allow the use of any operating machinery for soil and vegetation management, and the only applicable technique is therefore hydroseeding. After hydroseeding was applied (in December 2010), 21 checks were carried out every 15 days (from January 2011-December 2011) to verify the occurrence and development of the hydroseeded species in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the different hydroseeding techniques in the study area. The results of the first experimentation performed in Sicily show that hydroseeding has good prospects of application on degraded areas in semiarid Mediterranean environments. In our study HSI > 0.8 was obtained only in test 2 (thick hydroseeding, period February-June 2011) where there was the simultaneous presence of earthworm humus and mulch

A Review of Selected Applications of GNSS CORS and Related Experiences at the University of Palermo (Italy)

Services from the Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) provide data and insights to a range of research areas such as physical sciences, engineering, earth and planetary sciences, computer science, and environmental science. Even though these fields are varied, they are all linked through the GNSS operational application. GNSS CORS have historically been deployed for three-dimensional positioning but also for the establishment of local and global reference systems and the measurement of ionospheric and tropospheric errors. In addition to these studies, CORS is uncovering new, emerging scientific applications. These include real-time monitoring of land subsidence via network real-time kinematics (NRTK) or precise point positioning (PPP), structural health monitoring (SHM), earthquake and volcanology monitoring, GNSS reflectometry (GNSS-R) for mapping soil moisture content, precision farming with affordable receivers, and zenith total delay to aid hydrology and meteorology. The flexibility of CORS infrastructure and services has paved the way for new research areas. The aim of this study is to present a curated selection of scientific papers on prevalent topics such as network monitoring, reference frames, and structure monitoring (like dams), along with an evaluation of CORS performance. Concurrently, it reports on the scientific endeavours undertaken by the Geomatics Research Group at the University of Palermo in the realm of GNSS CORS over the past 15 years

PROGETTAZIONE E VERIFICA SPERIMENTALE DI UNA MICROTURBINA IDRAULICA PER L\u2019INDUSTRIA ALIMENTARE

In questo articolo sono descritte le attivit\ue0 di ricerca e sviluppo di una micro-turbina idraulica inserita all\u2019interno di un macchinario che opera un nuovo processo di abbattimento della carica batterica applicabile nell\u2019industria dell\u2019imbottigliamento delle bevande. Peculiarit\ue0 della turbina progettata \ue8 la geometria della palettatura della girante, dritta ed a sviluppo puramente assiale, che ne rende estremamente economica la realizzazione. Lo scambio di energia avviene grazie al moto vorticoso impresso al fluido (swirl) mediante opportuno posizionamento dei condotti di adduzione. Lo studio della turbina \ue8 stato condotto mediante classico approccio unidimensionale, mentre il dimensionamento \ue8 stato effettuato con l\u2019ausilio di simulazioni CFD. Ultimata la progettazione, la turbina \ue8 stata realizzata e si \ue8 avviata una campagna di prove sperimentali su un banco di flussaggio appositamente allestito che ha consentito di verificare il soddisfacimento delle specifiche progettuali

Aspetti dell'alimentazione di alcune specie di selaci del Canale di Sicilia

I Selaci occupano gli ultimi livelli delle reti trofiche marine: si tratta infatti di carnivori che, spesso, predano risorse utili anche all'uomo. Numerose specie demersali (squali, razze e torpedini) si alimentano, infatti, con organismi di interesse commerciale come Aristeidi, Peneidi, Cefalopodi e Pesci ossei. Le abitudini alimentari dei Selaci demersali del Canale di Sicilia sono quasi completamente sc onosciute; esistono in letteratura i lavori di Capapé relativi alle acque tunisine, che si limitano ad una descrizione puramente qualitativa delle diete ma che hanno tuttavia evidenziato preferenze verso Crostacei Decapodi, Cefalopodi e Teleostei. Lo studio dei contenuti stomacali dei Selaci può fornire dunque elementi utili alla comprensione delle reti trofiche demersali, all'indagine sull'esistenza di competizione tra le diverse specie e allo studio dell'interferenza con prede di valore commerciale

Chronic Contained Rupture of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: From Diagnosis to Endovascular Resolution

A male patient, 69 years old, presented with fever, leucocytosis, and persistent low back pain; he also had an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), as previously diagnosed by Doppler UltraSound (US), and was admitted to our hospital. On multislice computed tomography (msCT), a large abdominal mass having no definite border and involving the aorta and both of the psoas muscles was seen. This mass involved the forth-lumbar vertebra with lysis, thus simulating AAA rupture into a paraspinal collection; it was initially considered a paraspinal abscess. After magnetic resonance imaging examination and culture of the fluid aspirated from the mass, no infective organisms were found; therefore, a diagnosisof chronically contained AAA rupture was made, and an aortic endoprosthesis was subsequently implanted. The patient was discharged with decreased lumbar pain. At 12-month follow-up, no evidence of leakage was observed. To our knowledge, this is the first case of endoprosthesis implantation in a patient, who was a poor candidate for surgical intervention due to renal failure, leucocytosis and high fever, having a chronically contained AAA ruptured simulatingspodilodiscitis abscess. Appropriate diagnosis and therapy resolved potentially crippling pathology and avoided surgical graftrelated complications. Keywords Abdominal aortic aneurysm Endoprosthesis implantation Vertebral erosio

GEOMATIC METHODOLOGIES FOR THE STUDY OF TEATRO MASSIMO IN PALERMO (ITALY)

This work illustrates the use of geomatics techniques for the documentation of Teatro Massimo in Palermo (Italy), one of the most important and big in Italy and in Europe. The theatre is characterized by a very complex structure and is realized also using innovative solution, studied at the time of the project specifically for this building; for example, an original system was realized for a natural air-conditioning system of the auditorium. Due to his complexity, the documentation of the Teatro Massimo requires studying specific survey solutions for the different parts of the building. In this paper, some studies on two of the most representative parts of the building were described. In particular, a 3D survey of the auditorium was carried out to obtain a first 3D model of the most important internal part; a very accurate monitoring of structure inside the dome of the theatre was also carried out. The survey of the auditorium was realized by a Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS), that has allowed the creation of a digital archive of point clouds, showing, however, the some level of criticality due to the complex shapes of building and of architectural details. The work has highlighted that specific strategy to optimize the number of acquisitions needed for the complete documentation of the auditorium. The monitoring of the structure inside the dome was carried out by topographic and photogrammetric techniques. The monitoring was aimed at measuring the displacements of the support devices connecting the iron structure of the dome. The monitoring has allowed to understand and to test the proper functionality of this complex system. Some tests were carried out also by a thermal camera to correlate the displacements of the support devices with the dilatations produced by steel thermal gradients

Nrtk, ppp or static, that is the question. Testing different positioning solutions for gnss survey

Worldwide, the determination of the coordinates from a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) survey (in Network Real Time Kinematic, Precise Point Positioning, or static mode) has been analysed in several scientific and technical applications. Many of those have been carried out to compare Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Network Real Time Kinematic (NRTK), and static modes’ solutions, usually, using the latter as the true or the most plausible solution. This approach is not always possible as the static mode solution depends on several parameters (baseline length, acquisition time, ionospheric, and tropospheric models, etc.) that must be considered to evaluate the accuracy of the method. This work aims to show the comparison among the GNSS survey methods mentioned above, using some benchmark points. The tests were carried out by comparing the survey methods in pairs to check their solutions congruence. The NRTK and the static solutions refer to a local GNSS CORS network’s analysis. The NRTK positioning has been obtained with different methods (VRS, FKP, NEA) and the PPP solution has been calculated with two different software (RTKLIB and CSRS-PPP). A statistical approach has been performed to check if the distribution frequencies of the coordinate’s residual belong to the normal distribution, for all pairs analysed. The results show that the hypothesis of a normal distribution is confirmed in most of the pairs and, specifically, the Static vs. NRTK pair seems to achieve the best congruence, while involving the PPP approach, pairs obtained with CSRS software achieve better congruence than those involving RTKLIB software