L’aggressività interpersonale: dalla riflessione teorica alla progettualità educativa

This paper summarizes the sensitive issue of aggressiveness that takes on ever growing importance in the social, psychological and psycho-pedagogical area.The world of scientific research, despite the numerous studies and articles on such subject, gives rise to a series of problems arising on one hand from the difficulty in finding a definition of aggressiveness which is accepted unanimously, on the other hand it emphasizes the importance still on the debate about termssuch as aggressiveness, aggression and aggressive behaviour. Whereas aggression presents causes, manifestations and very different consequences, it is not surprising that it has been studied in various fields of research, with contributions and specific characteristics for each of the different approaches considered.What is also highlighted is how each theoretical orientation is reflected, at the level of education, in the elaboration of possible actions and routes aimed at reducing the various forms of aggressivenessNel presente lavoro viene presentato sinteticamente la delicata questione dell’aggressività che assume rilievo sempre più crescente nell’ambito sociale, psicologico e psicopedagogico. Il mondo della ricerca scientifica, malgrado i numerosi studi e lavori su tale argomento, pone in essere una serie di problemi derivanti in parte dalla difficoltà nel trovare una definizione del concetto di aggressività che sia accettata in maniera unanime, dall’altra sottolinea l’importanza del dibattito ancora acceso su termini come aggressività, aggressione e comportamento aggressivo. Considerando che l’aggressività presenti cause, manifestazioni e conseguenze molto varie, non sorprende che essa sia stata oggetto di studio nei più svariati campi di ricerca, con contributi e caratteristiche peculiari per ognuno dei diversi approcciconsiderati. Ciò che viene inoltre evidenziato è come ogni singolo orientamento teorico si rifletta, a livello educativo, nell’elaborazione di possibili azioni e percorsi, tesi a ridurre le diverse espressioni dell’aggressivit

Dalla crisi alle sfide: cambiamento, trasformazione, evoluzione

This research work draws on a reflection about the issue of the crisis. Current crisis is something that exists and that is continuously changing—i.e. it has already changed the entire world, as far as conditions of lives are concerned.This deep crisis affects moral and spiritual values and it involves anincreasingly low sense of human community. However, it ought to be understood as a valuable moment which shakes us and make us face questions about the real conditions of life within a society. Therefore, crisis ought to be meant as an opportunity to reconsider the sense of education, together with a responsible attitude towards the availability of tasks that require personal involvement and individual solutions.This challenge is important because of its common character: it triggers the quest for success when trying to accomplish educational practices in a complex environment. Pedagogy—as a science dedicated to the study of education, training and overall formation of the human being—can help mankind to stir through this deep crisis. Nowadays, more than ever, pedagogy providesanswers to the needs of people who live in a very complex society. It does so by thanks to interpretation and knowledge achieved through the means of education and training. The needs it satisfies are: the necessity of individual education and the construction of new and better existential paths.Il mio lavoro di ricerca nasce da una riflessione sul problema della crisi,crisi che esiste e che sta cambiando, o meglio ha già cambiato in tutto il mondo le condizioni di vita di milioni di persone. E ‘una crisi profonda che, pur investendo i valori morali e spirituali e coinvolgendo la perdita del senso di comunità umana, deve essere vissuta come un momento privilegiato in grado di scuoterci, ponendoci domande sul senso della nostra esistenza e sullecondizioni reali di equilibrio della società. La crisi deve essere vissuta come opportunità per ri-considerare valore e senso dell’educazione, per assumere un atteggiamento di responsabilità, di disponibilità e di impegno per affrontare un compito cui nessuno può ritenere oggi di far fronte da solo.Occorre ingaggiare una sorta di sfida, che sia però una sfida comune, una provocazione, una sollecitazione a darsi da fare per riuscire ad attivare e realizzare l’educazione nella complessità e alla complessità. La pedagogia, in qualità di scienze dell’educazione e della formazione, può contribuire a risollevare l’uomo da questa profonda crisi. Oggi più che mai, la pedagogia, interpretando, conoscendo e orientando l’educazione e la formazione, deverispondere ai bisogni degli uomini che, vivendo in una società iper-complessa, necessitano di essere ri-educati alla speranza, al progetto e alla costruzione di un nuovo e migliore itinerario esistenziale

Professionalità docente Futuro da “protagonista” delle nuove generazioni

Being a teacher is difficult, especially in the contemporary society where the educational issue appears increasingly complex, so much to see a disappearance of the idea of education from the cultural horizon and a transformation of interests and needs. The formation of the teaching profession is the carrying element of the change and innovation for a school lived as environment of research and learning. The school should be seen as institution ad hoc with teachers who know how to integrate into the territory intoan integrated and polycentric educational system, able to provide individuals with the whole knowledge (knowledge- know-how – knowing how to be) necessary to fully realize its own life project and promote the growth of the local, national, European and global community. It thus requires school systems a remarkable renewal effort to respond to all challenges and qualify as a factor of development adherent to the social reality in which they operate. It is necessary to bring the education to the centre of the reflectionand daily life in the belief that education is really the key that canpositively redefine the future of our societyEssere insegnante è difficile, soprattutto nella società contemporanea dove la questione educativa si presenta sempre più complessa, tanto da assistere ad una sparizione dell’idea di educazione dall’orizzonte culturale e ad una trasformazione di interessi e necessità. La formazione della professionalità docente è l’elemento portante del cambiamento e dell’innovazione per una scuola vissuta come ambiente di ricerca e di apprendimento. Lascuola deve configurarsi come istituzione ad hoc con docenti che sappiano integrarsi nel territorio in un sistema educativo integrato e policentrico, capace di fornire ai singoli l’insieme dei saperi (il sapere- il saper fare – il saper essere) necessari a realizzare pienamente il proprio progetto di vita e a promuovere la crescita della comunità di appartenenza locale, nazionale, europea, mondiale. Si richiede, quindi, ai sistemi scolastici un rilevantesforzo di rinnovamento per rispondere a tutte le sfide e qualificarsi come fattore di sviluppo aderente alla realtà sociale nella quale essi operano. Occorre riportare l'educazione al centro della riflessione e dell'agire quotidiano nella convinzione che proprio nell'educazione si trova la chiave capace di ridefinire in positivo il futuro della nostra società

Endogenous small-noncoding RNAs and potential functions in desiccation tolerance in Physcomitrella patens

Early land plants like moss Physcomitrella patens have developed remarkable drought tolerance. Phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) protects seeds during water stress by activating genes through transcription factors such as ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE (ABI3). Small noncoding RNA (sncRNA), including microRNAs (miRNAs) and endogenous small-interfering RNAs (endo-siRNAs), are key gene regulators in eukaryotes, playing critical roles in stress tolerance in plants. Combining next-generation sequencing and computational analysis, we profiled and characterized sncRNA species from two ABI3 deletion mutants and the wild type P. patens that were subject to ABA treatment in dehydration and rehydration stages. Small RNA profiling using deep sequencing helped identify 22 novel miRNAs and 6 genomic loci producing trans-acting siRNAs (ta-siRNAs) including TAS3a to TAS3e and TAS6. Data from degradome profiling showed that ABI3 genes (ABI3a/b/c) are potentially regulated by the plant-specific miR536 and that other ABA-relevant genes are regulated by miRNAs and ta-siRNAs. We also observed broad variations of miRNAs and ta-siRNAs expression across different stages, suggesting that they could potentially influence desiccation tolerance. This study provided evidence on the potential roles of sncRNA in mediating desiccation-responsive pathways in early land plants

Characterization of Three Rice Basic/Leucine Zipper Factors, Including Two Inhibitors of EmBP-1 DNA Binding Activity

The promoter of the wheat Em gene contains elements with a CACGTG core sequence (G-boxes), which are recognized by EmBP-1, a wheat basic/leucine zipper (bZIP) protein. G-boxes are required for Em expression in response to the phytohormone abscisic acid and for transactivation by the Viviparous-1 protein (VP1) using transient expression systems. In order to identify other factors that are part of the transcriptional complex that associates with G-boxes, we have screened a rice (Oryza sativa) cDNA library with biotinylated EmBP-1. We have isolated osZIP-1a, a homolog of EmBP-1 and other plant G-box-binding factors. We show that EmBP-1 and osZIP-1a will preferentially heterodimerize in vitro. Overexpression of osZIP-1a in rice protoplasts can enhance expression from the Em promoter only in the presence of abscisic acid. Two other clones have been identified by screening with EmBP-1: osZIP-2a and osZIP-2b. These osZIP-2 factors represent a novel class of bZIP proteins with an unusual DNA-binding domain that does not recognize G-boxes. The osZIP-2 factors can heterodimerize with EmBP-1 and prevent it from binding to the Em promoter. Interestingly, osZIP-1a does not heterodimerize with the osZIP-2 factors and its DNA binding activity is unaffected by their presence. Thus, osZIP-2 factors may be involved in sequestering a particular group of G-box-binding factors into inactive heterodimers

Polar localization of a dihydropyridine receptor on living Fucus zygotes

We have used a fluorescently-labeled dihydropyridine (FL-DHP) to vitally stain living Fucus zygotes during the establishment of cell polarity. Localization of FL-DHP is primarily at the plasma membrane and FL-DHP binding is competitively blocked by an unlabeled dihydropyridine. Distribution of FL-DHP is initially symmetrical before fixation of the polar axis, but becomes asymmetrical in response to a unilateral light gradient. The distribution of FL-DHP receptors can be relocalized when the direction of the photopolarizing stimulus is changed. Treatment of cells with cytochalasin B prior to axis fixation reversibly prevents localization of FL-DHP receptors. Observation of FL-DHP labeling by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy indicates that the existing receptors are redistributed during polar axis formation. The asymmetric distribution of FL-DHP receptors coincides temporally and spatially with increased local intracellular calcium ion concentrations, as measured by calcium green dextran. Based on the site, timing, photo-reversibility, and actin dependence of the asymmetric localization of FL-DHP receptors, we conclude that FL-DHP is a vital probe for the later stage of polar axis formation in Fucus zygotes. Furthermore, we propose that FL-DHP receptors correspond to ion channels that are transported to the future site of polar growth to create the changes in local calcium concentration required for polarity establishment

The role of targeted secretion in the establishment of cell polarity and the orientation of the division plane in Fucus zygotes

In this study, we investigate the role of polar secretion and the resulting asymmetry in the cell wall in establishing polarity in Fucus zygotes. We have utilized brefeldin-A to selectively interrupt secretion of Golgi-derived material into the cell wall as assayed by toluidine blue O staining of sulfated fucoidin. We show that the polar secretion of Golgi-derived material is targeted to a cortical site of the zygote identified by the localization of actin filaments and dihydropyridine receptors. The deposition of Golgi-derived material into the cell wall at this target site is temporally coincident with and required for polar axis fixation. We propose that local secretion of Golgi-derived material into the cell wall transforms the target site into the fixed site of polar growth. We also found that polar secretion of Golgi-derived material at the fixed site is essential for growth and differentiation of the rhizoid, as well as for the proper positioning of the first plane of cell division. We propose that the resulting asymmetry in the cell wall serves as positional information for the underlying cortex to initiate these polar events. Our data supports the hypothesis that cell wall factors in embryos, previously shown to be responsible for induction of rhizoid cell differentiation, are deposited simultaneously with and are responsible for polar axis fixation. Furthermore, the pattern of polar growth is attributable to a positional signal at the fixed site and appears to be independent of the orientation of the first cell division plane. Thus, the establishment of zygotic cell polarity and not the position of the first division plane, is critical for the formation of the initial embryonic pattern in Fucus

Regulation of Em Gene Expression in Rice : Interaction between Osmotic Stress and Abscisic Acid

Expression of th