Immatures of Parandra (Tavandra) longicollis Thomson, 1861 and comments on the larvae of Parandrinae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

The last larval instar and pupa of Parandra (Tavandra) longicollis Thomson, 1861 are described and illustrated. The taxonomy and morphology of immatures of Parandrinae are discussed. A key to larvae and synopsis table to known immatures of Parandrinae are provided

Hermeneutic single case efficacy design: A systematic review of published research and current standards

open4siThis article systematically reviews the methodological characteristics of Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design (HSCED) studies published in peer-reviewed journals. HSCED provides researchers with a flexible and viable alternative to both between-groups and within-subject experimental designs. This article includes a description of the evolution of the methodology distinctive to HSCED; a discussion of results of HSCED studies considered within a framework of contemporary standards and guidelines for systematic case study research; a presentation of recommendations for key characteristics (e.g., diagnosis, hermeneutic analysis, adjudication procedure). Overall, the aim is provide researchers and reviewers with a resource for conducting and evaluating HSCED research. The results of a systematic review of 13 studies suggests that published HSCED research meets contemporary criteria for systematic case study research. Hermeneutic analysis and adjudication emerged as areas of HSCED practice characterized by a diversity of procedures. Although consensus exists along key dimensions of HSCED, there remains a need for further evaluation of adjudication procedures and reporting standards.openBenelli, Enrico; De Carlo, Alessandro; Biffi, Diana; Mcleod, JohnBenelli, Enrico; De Carlo, Alessandro; Biffi, Diana; Mcleod, Joh

Human resources management per la valorizzazione del capitale umano nelle universit\ue0: reinventing il personale per la ricerca, la didattica, la gestione

Con la riforma Universitaria del 2010 vengono, nel volume, rivisitate e analizzate le variabili costituenti l'Universit\ue0 e i suoi meccanismi di funzionamento. Nel contributo una analisi ed un modello di lavoro per la revisione del sistema di HR management del personale docente e non

Evaluation von Bildungssoftware im Spannungsfeld von Objektivität und praktischer Anwendung

Das Angebot an Bildungs- bzw. Lernsoftware umfasst eine breite Palette von sehr unterschiedlichen Produkten. Eigentliche Unterrichtssoftware, die speziell für den Unterricht hergestellt und auf Lehrmittel und Curriculum abgestimmt ist, gibt es kaum. Im Projekt «Lernsoftware Evaluation» des Pestalozzianums Zürich ermitteln Lehrpersonen die Qualität von Bildungssoftware, indem sie diese im Unterricht einsetzen und anhand eines Kriterienrasters beurteilen. Eine Analyse der in der Evaluation generierten Daten belegt die Problematik des Anspruchs einer objektiven Qualitätsbeurteilung. Es werden die Probleme bei der Anwendung von Kriterienraster und Beurteilungsmodus aufgezeigt und ermittelt, worin die subjektiven Qualitätsmassstäbe der Evaluierenden begründet sind. Diese Ausführungen sind Teil eines Forschungsprojekts für die Weiterentwicklung einer theoretisch fundierten, aber dennoch praxisnahen Evaluation von Bildungssoftware

Machine learning approaches to model cardiac shape in large-scale imaging studies

Recent improvements in non-invasive imaging, together with the introduction of fully-automated segmentation algorithms and big data analytics, has paved the way for large-scale population-based imaging studies. These studies promise to increase our understanding of a large number of medical conditions, including cardiovascular diseases. However, analysis of cardiac shape in such studies is often limited to simple morphometric indices, ignoring large part of the information available in medical images. Discovery of new biomarkers by machine learning has recently gained traction, but often lacks interpretability. The research presented in this thesis aimed at developing novel explainable machine learning and computational methods capable of better summarizing shape variability, to better inform association and predictive clinical models in large-scale imaging studies. A powerful and flexible framework to model the relationship between three-dimensional (3D) cardiac atlases, encoding multiple phenotypic traits, and genetic variables is first presented. The proposed approach enables the detection of regional phenotype-genotype associations that would be otherwise neglected by conventional association analysis. Three learning-based systems based on deep generative models are then proposed. In the first model, I propose a classifier of cardiac shapes which exploits task-specific generative shape features, and it is designed to enable the visualisation of the anatomical effect these features encode in 3D, making the classification task transparent. The second approach models a database of anatomical shapes via a hierarchy of conditional latent variables and it is capable of detecting, quantifying and visualising onto a template shape the most discriminative anatomical features that characterize distinct clinical conditions. Finally, a preliminary analysis of a deep learning system capable of reconstructing 3D high-resolution cardiac segmentations from a sparse set of 2D views segmentations is reported. This thesis demonstrates that machine learning approaches can facilitate high-throughput analysis of normal and pathological anatomy and of its determinants without losing clinical interpretability.Open Acces

NARRATING EDUCATION : THE ROLE OF WRITING PRACTICES IN THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATORS

The professional development of those who work in the educational sector is a theme that is widely debated at the European level. It is related to the need to guarantee high standards of educational work and high quality educational services. This paper addresses the theme from the viewpoint of the writing practices and documenting of educational work carried out by educators. Independently of the specific educational context, these professionals are called on to narrate their work, especially in written form, both as an internal record, and to externally communicate the meaning of their actions in the area where the service is based and to other stakeholders. The theory explored by the current paper is that the act of writing up their own educational work is also a valuable means of enhancing educators’ professional development