The Neue Nationalgalerie by Mies van der Rohe between Preservation and Minimal Improvement

The NeueNationalgalerie (1968) is considered an icon of the 20th century and part of the legacy of Mies van der Rohe. Almost 50 years after its construction the building showed some physiological decay; however, it has been considered obsolete due to the changing standards of use and comfort of an international art gallery affected also by a growing flux of visitors.The paper investigates the future of such an icon of modern architecture moving from some open issues of the intervention carried out by David Chipperfield started up in 2015 and now in an advanced stage. The refurbishment is pursuing the modernization of the building, but trying to match the historical values with the requirements of climate control and safety. The binomials memories/requirements and authenticity/form are at the base of the investigation. Although the intervention confirms the continuity of original use and it is aimed at keeping the image of the icon, it imposes transformations that belong to very different strategies, sometimes incompatible with the preservation of material meanings and values. The restoration work on modern heritage outlines how new cultural and socio-economic needs confront themselves with respecting/reproducing the appearance of the monument

APPRENDIMENTO, LINGUAGGIO E PROBLEM SOLVING

La prevalenza di studenti dislessici in Italia appare inferiore rispetto a quella dei dislessici di lingua Inglese. All’interno di questo articolo, dopo una breve analisi delle cause e delle caratteristiche della dislessia, si cercherà di confrontare, a livello linguistico, la differenza tra i dislessici di lingua Italiana e quelli di lingua Inglese. Particolare rilevanza verrà data agli aspetti linguistici strutturali della lingua Inglese che sembrerebbero essere gli elementi scatenanti la prevalenza di tale disturbo nei paesi di lingua Inglese

UN DISTURBO DELL'APPRENDIMENTO: LA DISLESSIA NELLA LINGUA ITALIANA E NELLA LINGUA INGLESE

The percentage of dyslexic students in Italy is lower than in the United Kingdom. In this article, after a brief analysis concerning the main dyslexia causes and symptoms, a differen - ce between Italian and English dyslexic will be made on a lin - guistic level. The linguistic aspects of English language will be analysed because they seem to be the main cause of the major prevalence of dyslexia in students speaking English

Metaphor and Brain: A Neuropragmatic Overview

This article offers an overview of the different types of metaphor and cognitive abilities that are required in metaphor comprehension. It does so in connection with the general psycholinguistic and prag- matic theories of metaphor, which are examined briefly. Attention is then turned to neuropragmatic functions and the brain in terms of anatomic structure and functioning. Finally, the article suggests some relevant areas for future research

English for Nurses: Needs Analysis and Syllabus

In recent years, health profession degree courses entirely taught in English have become more and more frequent in Italy. Among these degree courses, the Associate Degree in Nursing has gradually spread in Italy since nursing is a profession that is highly required all over the world. As a matter of fact, Nursing is a profession that requires much specialized clinical competences and advanced communication skills (Schmidt 2003; Collins, 2005). From a linguistic standpoint, nurses have been defined as a sort of ‘communication broker’ (Bourhis et al., 1989) becoming linguistic mediators between doctors and patients (Garone & Van de Craen, 2017) since they have both to understand the doctor’s technical language and ‘translate’ it into the patient’s every day one. Thus, teachers face two main problems when designing an English course in Nursing: 1) the identification of student needs, which are technical and specific; 2) the development of a syllabus that considers the heterogeneous level of students who are quite often English native speakers. In this study, a syllabus designed for students attending the nursing degree course entirely taught in English at the University of Palermo based on the findings of the needs analysis will be proposed. Particular attention will be paid to the different communicative teaching strategies and techniques employed in order to help students to communicate more effectively in a clinical setting

English for Nurses: Needs Analysis and Syllabus

In recent years, health profession degree courses entirely taught in English have become more and more frequent in Italy. Among these degree courses, the Associate Degree in Nursing has gradually spread in Italy since nursing is a profession that is highly required all over the world. As a matter of fact, Nursing is a profession that requires much specialized clinical competences and advanced communication skills (Schmidt 2003; Collins, 2005). From a linguistic standpoint, nurses have been defined as a sort of ‘communication broker’ (Bourhis et al., 1989) becoming linguistic mediators between doctors and patients (Garone & Van de Craen, 2017) since they have both to understand the doctor’s technical language and ‘translate’ it into the patient’s every day one. Thus, teachers face two main problems when designing an English course in Nursing: 1) the identification of student needs, which are technical and specific; 2) the development of a syllabus that considers the heterogeneous level of students who are quite often English native speakers. In this study, a syllabus designed for students attending the nursing degree course entirely taught in English at the University of Palermo based on the findings of the needs analysis will be proposed. Particular attention will be paid to the different communicative teaching strategies and techniques employed in order to help students to communicate more effectively in a clinical setting

Privatizations are synonymous with economic efficiency?: Reflection on the argentine case

During the 1990S Argentina implemented a profound process of transferring to private capital of public enterprises and strategic areas that historically had remained under the ownership and management of the national State. These privatizations has as target the promotion of economic efficiency of the companies subject to privatization and, therefore, the overall economy. However, the privatizations were mostly of public services operating in markets are not competitive enough, therefore the degree of economic efficiency is more conditioned by the own competence and regulating that by the ownership private or public of the company.Privatizaciones, estructura del mercado

Design and implementation of rural microgrids : Laguna Grande case study

In 2015 the United Nations established the 17 Sustainable Development Goals: a set of interrelated objectives and a guide to reach a more sustainable and higher quality future for all humanity. The goals were set with a timeline for 2030, the seventh goal refers specifically to the universal access to “affordable and clean energy”. Taking account the considerable fraction of world population that do not have access to electricity, especially in rural areas, this goal still requires a great effort and investment. Rural hybrid microgrids, that integrate and manage solar and wind energy resources to provide electric service to remote locations, are a promising solution to reach this “last mile” scenario. However, as is reported in the literature, there is still scarce information about the performance of these systems based on measured data obtained in real working field conditions. This work aims to contribute to this aspect mainly by analyzing the data obtained in the 9 kW Laguna Grande community hybrid microgrid, which is cooperative since 2016 in the coast of Perú, and has been equipped with sensors and data acquisition systems that measure and register solar radiation, wind speed, temperatures, and all the relevant electric parameters. As a preliminary study, the rural electrification gap and costs are assessed, as well as the availability of solar and wind resources in the area of interest. A literature and state of the art review is undertaken followed by the definition of the microgrid concept and the different ways in which a rural microgrid can be configured. The particular way in which the Laguna Grande microgrid is configured and instrumented is described. Measured meteorological conditions as solar radiation, wind speed and temperature are analyzed and related to the power generated by the photovoltaic arrays and wind turbine. This in turn leads to a balance with respect to the power delivered to the community and consequently to the voltage levels of the battery bank. Battery dynamics concepts are used to determine the depth of discharge (DOD) of the batteries in a real time regime. The statistics of the DOD values allows for the duration of the battery to be estimated which is a key factor to the microgrid economics and reliability. A parametric study is done to assess the effect of varying battery size on the technical and economic performance of the microgrid; similarly, with generating capacity in both photovoltaic arrays and wind turbines. Complementarily, a commercial software is used to optimize the microgrid, introducing state of the art components as lithium-ion batteries, power electronics and photovoltaic modules for a future upgrade. Finally, this study would not be complete without emphasizing the importance and adequate consideration of the human factor for the success and long-term sustainability of rural electrification projects.En el año 2015 las Naciones Unidas estableció los 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible: un conjunto de objetivos interrelacionados y una guía para alcanzar un futuro más sostenible y de mayor calidad para toda la humanidad. Las metas se establecieron con una línea de tiempo para el 2030, la séptima meta se refiere específicamente al acceso universal a “energía limpia y asequible”. Teniendo en cuenta la fracción considerable de la población mundial que no tiene acceso a la electricidad, especialmente en las zonas rurales, este objetivo aún requiere un gran esfuerzo e inversión. Las microrredes híbridas rurales, que integran y gestionan los recursos de energía solar y eólica para proporcionar servicio eléctrico a lugares remotos, son una solución prometedora para llegar a este escenario de “última milla”. Sin embargo, como se reporta en la literatura, aún existe poca información sobre el desempeño de estos sistemas basada en datos medidos y obtenidos en condiciones operativas, reales de campo. Este trabajo busca contribuir en este aspecto principalmente mediante el análisis de los datos obtenidos en la microrred híbrida comunitaria de 9 kW en Laguna Grande, que está operativa desde 2016 en la costa de Perú. Esta microrred ha sido equipada con sensores y sistemas de adquisición de datos que miden y registran la energía solar, radiación, velocidad del viento, temperaturas y todos los parámetros eléctricos relevantes. Como estudio preliminar se evalúa la brecha y costos de electrificación rural, así como la disponibilidad de recurso solar y eólico en la zona de interés. Se realiza una revisión bibliográfica y del estado del arte, seguida de la definición del concepto de microrred y las diferentes formas en que se puede configurar una microrred rural. Se describe la forma particular en que se configura e instrumenta la microrred de Laguna Grande. Las condiciones meteorológicas medidas como la radiación solar, la velocidad del viento y la temperatura se analizan y relacionan con la energía generada por los arreglos fotovoltaicos y la turbina eólica. Esto a su vez conduce a realizar un balance con respecto a la potencia entregada a la comunidad y consecuentemente a los niveles de voltaje del banco de baterías. Los conceptos de dinámica de batería se utilizan para determinar la profundidad de descarga (DOD) de las baterías en un régimen a tiempo real. Las estadísticas de los valores DOD permiten estimar la duración de la batería, lo cual es un factor clave para la economía y confiabilidad de la microrred. Se realiza un estudio paramétrico para evaluar el efecto de variar el tamaño de la batería en el desempeño técnico y económico de la microrred; de igual forma, con la capacidad de generación tanto en arreglos fotovoltaicos como turbinas eólicas. Complementariamente, se utiliza un software comercial para optimizar la microrred, introduciendo componentes de última generación como baterías de iones de litio, electrónica de potencia y módulos fotovoltaicos para una futura actualización. Finalmente, este estudio no estaría completo sin enfatizar la importancia y la adecuada consideración del factor humano para el éxito y la sostenibilidad a largo plazo de los proyectos de electrificación rural.Postprint (published version

TOURISM DISCOURSE MEETS MIGRATION DISCOURSE: GODFATHER PROMOTIONAL WEBSITES TO SICILY

In recent years, film-induced tourism has promoted tours to film locations through various travel websites, focusing on the symbolic and cultural value that some tourists associate with their favourite film scenes. Among the film locations that have long fascinated tourists in Sicily, the Godfather Tour or Mafia Tour seems to have a particular cultural value for a specific target group of tourists: Italian-Americans. It is well known that the Godfather saga reflects the stereotypical image that Americans have of Sicilian-American immigrants, but also evokes traditional Sicilian culture and the feelings of Sicilian immigrants who, in reaction to isolation and in defence of their identity, have tried to achieve the American dream. Based on these assumptions, this paper deals with the contemporary cultural tourism referring to The Godfather film and the Mafia phenomenon in Sicily. It will be shown how the tourism discourse found in a selected corpus of American tour operators, promotes the film locations and recalls some scenes as something fascinating, evoking the identity of Italian-Americans through specific linguistic persuasive strategies