THE EFFECTS OF A STUDY SKILLS PROGRAM ON SELF-EFFICACY AND SELF-REGULATED LEARNING STRATEGIES USE

This study examined the impact of a study skills program utilizing daily journal writing and weekly peer-group discussions to facilitate the acquisition of effective learning strategies and to enhance perceptions of self-efficacy. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, control group study with random assignment utilizing a 2 X 2 factorial design was conducted. Instructional method with two levels (Study Skills Program Participation and Non-Participation) and students’ grade point average with two levels (High GPA and Low GPA) were the independent variables. Posttest measures for perceptions of self-efficacy and self-regulated learning strategies use were the dependent variables with pretest measures used as covariates. The sample consisted of sixth grade students (n = 83) from a suburban, northeastern, public middle school. The Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies subtests of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), Middle School Level, were administered as pretests and posttests to measure potential benefits of study skills instruction; two-way ANCOVAs (p = \u3c .05) were conducted to analyze the data collected for each of the two dependent variables. Data analysis revealed that for self-efficacy there was a significant main effect for group where the treatment group showed significant growth over the control group; as well as a significant interaction where the low GPA students in the treatment group showed significant growth over each of the other three cells. No significance effect was measured for the dependent variable of self-regulated learning strategies use

Progetto di ristrutturazione della bonifica a sollevamento meccanico della Mazzanta

Il lavoro analizza l'attuale bonifica a sollevamento meccanico della Mazzanta, località a Vada in provincia di Livorno. Lo studio parte dall'analisi idrologica, per affrontare la verifica dell'attuale rete e proporre un nuovo progetto sia di questa che dell'impianto idrovoro

Failure analysis of high performance ballistic fibers

High performance fibers have a high tensile strength and modulus, good wear resistance, and a low density, making them ideal for applications in ballistic impact resistance, such as body armor. However, the observed ballistic performance of these fibers is much lower than the predicted values. Since the predictions assume only tensile stress failure, it is safe to assume that the stress state is affecting fiber performance. The purpose of this research was to determine if there are failure mode changes in the fiber fracture when transversely loaded by indenters of different shapes. An experimental design mimicking transverse impact was used to determine any such effects. Three different indenters were used: round, FSP, and razor blade. The indenter height was changed to change the angle of failure tested. Five high performance fibers were examined: Kevlar® KM2, Spectra® 130d, Dyneema® SK-62 and SK-76, and Zylon® 555. Failed fibers were analyzed using an SEM to determine failure mechanisms. The results show that the round and razor blade indenters produced a constant failure strain, as well as failure mechanisms independent of testing angle. The FSP indenter produced a decrease in failure strain as the angle increased. Fibrillation was the dominant failure mechanism at all angles for the round indenter, while through thickness shearing was the failure mechanism for the razor blade. The FSP indenter showed a transition from fibrillation at low angles to through thickness shearing at high angles, indicating that the round and razor blade indenters are extreme cases of the FSP indenter. The failure mechanisms observed with the FSP indenter at various angles correlated with the experimental strain data obtained during fiber testing. This indicates that geometry of the indenter tip in compression is a contributing factor in lowering the failure strain of the high performance fibers. TEM analysis of the fiber failure mechanisms was also attempted, though without success

God-like robots : the semantic overlap between representation of divine and artificial entities

Artificial intelligence and robots may progressively take a more and more prominent place in our daily environment. Interestingly, in the study of how humans perceive these artificial entities, science has mainly taken an anthropocentric perspective (i.e., how distant from humans are these agents). Considering people’s fears and expectations from robots and artificial intelligence, they tend to be simultaneously afraid and allured to them, much as they would be to the conceptualisations related to the divine entities (e.g., gods). In two experiments, we investigated the proximity of representation between artificial entities (i.e., artificial intelligence and robots), divine entities and natural entities (i.e., humans and other animals) at both an explicit (Study 1) and an implicit level (Study 2). In the first study, participants evaluated these entities explicitly on positive and negative attitudes. Hierarchical clustering analysis showed that participants’ representation of artificial intelligence, robots and divine entities were similar, while the representation of humans tended to be associated with that of animals. In the second study, participants carried out a word/non-word decision task including religious semantic-related words and neutral words after the presentation of a masked prime referring to divine entities, artificial entities and natural entities (or a control prime). Results showed that after divine and artificial entity primes, participants were faster to identify religious words as words compared to neutral words arguing for a semantic activation. We conclude that people make sense of the new entities by relying on already familiar entities and in the case of artificial intelligence and robots, people appear to draw parallels to divine entities

Implicit Attitudes Towards Robots Predict Explicit Attitudes, Semantic Distance Between Robots and Humans, Anthropomorphism, and Prosocial Behavior: From Attitudes to Human–Robot Interaction

AbstractHow people behave towards others relies, to a large extent, on the prior attitudes that they hold towards them. In Human–Robot Interactions, individual attitudes towards robots have mostly been investigated via explicit reports that can be biased by various conscious processes. In the present study, we introduce an implicit measure of attitudes towards robots. The task utilizes the measure of semantic priming to evaluate whether participants consider humans and robots as similar or different. Our results demonstrate a link between implicit semantic distance between humans and robots and explicit attitudes towards robots, explicit semantic distance between robots and humans, perceived robot anthropomorphism, and pro/anti-social behavior towards a robot in a real life, interactive scenario. Specifically, attenuated semantic distance between humans and robots in the implicit task predicted more positive explicit attitudes towards robots, attenuated explicit semantic distance between humans and robots, attribution of an anthropomorphic characteristic, and consequently a future prosocial behavior towards a robot. Crucially, the implicit measure of attitudes towards robots (implicit semantic distance) was a better predictor of a future behavior towards the robot than explicit measure of attitudes towards robots (self-reported attitudes). Cumulatively, the current results emphasize a new approach to measure implicit attitudes towards robots, and offer a starting point for further investigations of implicit processing of robots

PTPN11 mutation manifesting as LEOPARD syndrome associated with hypertrophic plexi and neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND: LEOPARD syndrome (LS) belongs to the family of neuro-cardio-facio-cutaneous syndromes, which include Neurofibromatosis-1 (NF1), Noonan syndrome, Costello Syndrome, cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome, Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair and Legius syndrome. These conditions are caused by mutations in genes encoding proteins involved in the RAS-MAPK cellular pathway. Clinical heterogeneity and phenotype overlaps across those different syndromes is already recognized. CASE PRESENTATION: We hereby report a heterozygous de novo mutation in the PTPN11 gene (c.1403C > T) manifesting with a clinical picture of LS during childhood, and later development of neuropathic pain with hypertrophic plexi, which are typically observed in NF1 but have not been reported in LS. CONCLUSION: LS caused by PTPN11 mutations may be associated with hypertrophic roots and plexi. Consequently, clinicians should be aware of the possible development of neuropathic pain and consider specific diagnostic work-up and management

First evidence of contourite drifts in the north-western sicilian active continental margin (Southern tyrrhenian sea)

We present the results of an integrated geomorphological and seismo-stratigraphic study based on high resolution marine data acquired in the north-western Sicilian continental margin. We document for the first time five contourite drifts (marked as EM1a, EM2b, EM2, EM3a, and EM3b), located in the continental slope at depths between ca. 400 and 1500 m. EM1a,b have been interpreted as elongated mounded drifts. EM1a,b are ca. 3 km long, 1.3 km wide, and have a maximum thickness of 36 m in their center that thins northwards, while EM1b is smaller with a thickness up to 24 m. They are internally characterized by mounded seismic packages dominated by continuous and parallel reflectors. EM2 is located in the upper slope at a depth of ca. 1470 m, and it is ca. 9.3 km long, more than 3.9 km wide, and has a maximum thickness of ca. 65 m. It consists of an internal aggradational stacking pattern with elongated mounded packages of continuous, moderate to high amplitude seismic reflectors. EM2 is internally composed by a mix of contourite deposits (Holocene) interbedded with turbiditic and/or mass flow deposits. EM1a,b and EM2 are deposited at the top of an erosional truncation aged at 11.5 ka, so they mostly formed during the Holocene. EM3a,b are ca. 16 km long, more than 6.7 km wide, and have a thickness up to 350 m. Both EM2 and EM3a,b have been interpreted as sheeted drift due to their morphology and seismic features. The spatial distribution of the contourite drifts suggests that the drifts are likely generated by the interaction of the LIW, and deep Tyrrhenian water (TDW) on the seafloor, playing an important role in the shaping this continental margin since the late Pleistocene-Holocene. The results may help to understand the deep oceanic processes affecting the north-western Sicilian continental margin

Il giudice delle leggi dice 'no' al riconoscimento dell'omogenitorialità per via estensiva. Non è la Corte costituzionale il luogo ma il Parlamento. A margine della sentenza n. 230 del 2020 della Consulta

Il presente contributo trae spunto dalla recente sentenza della Corte Costituzionale n. 230 del 2020 in tema di omogenitorialità per procreazione medicalmente assistita. Dopo aver inquadrato il fatto e attraverso la più recente evoluzione giurisprudenziale e dottrinale, si tenterà di “fare il punto” e analizzare criticamente la pronuncia. La tensione interpretativa è arrivata a un tale punto da richiedere, da più parti, un intervento del legislatore che possa risolvere il problema dei minori nati nell’ambito di un progetto genitoriale omosessuale. L’introduzione di una equilibrata disciplina sulla stepchild adoption potrebbe essere una soluzione.The recent sentence of the Constitutional Court n. 230 of 2020 inspired this contribution on topic of homosexual parenting through medically assisted procreation. After framing the fact and through the most recent jurisprudential and doctrinal evolution, we will try to "take stock the situation” and to critically analyze the pronunciation. The interpretative tension has reached such a point that it requires, from many sides, a legislative intervention with which solve the problem of minors born in a homosexual parenting context. The introduction of a balanced discipline on stepchild adoption could represent a solution