Italian translation of the questionnaire for professional training evaluation

This works illustrates the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Questionnaire for Professional Training Evaluation (Q4TE), validated by Grohmann and Kauffeld (2013). This 12-item questionnaire provides evaluation for different training outcomes, it is time efficient and applicable to several professional contexts, and it shows sound psychometric properties. In order to test the Italian form, we led two studies. In study 1 (N=125), an EFA led to a two-factor solution accounting for short and long-term training outcomes. In study 2 (N=122) a five-model comparison was performed. Although at a first stage a two factor solutions seemed to emerge, CFA found the best fit in a 6 inter-correlated first-order factors model (satisfaction, utility, knowledge, application to practice, individual organizational results and global organizational results). Relationships with learning transfer, transfer quantity, type of training, training methodologies, and individual variables (gender, age, tenure) are explored. Limitations, research and practical implications are discussed

Innovazioni nella certificazione dei marittimi e corrispondenti abilitazioni

Talune categorie del personale marittimo devono essere in possesso di particolari titoli professionali, che attestano l'astratta idoneità ad esplicare le attività che esse intendono esercitare. Il Ministro dei trasporti, con proprio decreto, stabilisce i requisiti ed i limiti delle abilitazioni della gente di mare e ne disciplina la necessaria attività di certificazione (art. 123 cod. nav.). Numerosi sono stati i decreti ministeriali emanati per disciplinare i nuovi requisiti richiesti per ottenere le qualifiche professionali della gente di mare. Per portare alcuni esempi, si può ricordare il decreto 7 agosto 2001, istitutivo del comando all'uso del radar osservatore normale per il personale marittimo, che decreta la durata del corso in quarantacinque ore articolate in sei giorni, di cui almeno diciassette ore articolate in esercitazioni pratiche (art. 1)

BIM Application for the Basilica of San Marco in Venice: Procedures and Methodologies for the Study of Complex Architectures

The BIM (Building Information Model) of the Basilica of San Marco contains the solutions to the many problems encountered during its acquisition and modelling stage. The complexity of the church and the variety of its materials (golden mosaics, capitals of different styles and origins, statues and decorations in many different marble types), the large and continuous stream of visitors, and the request for high-resolution models and orthophotos forced us to devise a strategy for the digitization process: a multiscale photogrammetric approach allowed us to acquire all materials and decorations of the basilica and, according to the use of a reference topographic network, we could split the whole work into smaller parts. Later, in the modelling stage, the decision to use a non-commercial BIM software allowed us to use NURBS (non-uniform rational B-spline) for a more accurate restitution of architectural elements and decorations and to integrate high-resolution orthophotos for the description of all surfaces (both marbles and golden mosaics). The established workflow started with the initial acquisition of images and resulted in both final models and high-quality orthophotos, so we were able to obtain different outcomes to answer the specific needs of the church, its managers, and its users

Ethical Considerations of Dissemination and Restitution of Findings in Global Health Research

Étude de cas / Case studyThis case study discusses ethical obligations regarding the extent and scope of knowledge dissemination and restitution strategies in the context of global health research.Cette étude de cas porte sur les obligations éthiques concernant l’étendue et la portée des stratégies de dissémination et de restitution des connaissances dans un contexte de recherche en santé mondiale

BIM SYSTEM FOR THE CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE MOSAICS OF SAN MARCO IN VENICE

The Basilica of San Marco in Venice is a well-known masterpiece of World Heritage. It is a real multi-faceted architecture. The management of the church and its construction site is very complicated, and requires an efficient system to collect and manage different kinds of data. The BIM approach appeared to be the most suitable to collect multi-source data, to monitor activities and guarantee the well-timed operations inside the church. The purpose of this research was to build a BIM of the Basilica, considering all aspects that characterize it and that require particular care.Many problems affected the phase of the acquisition of data, and forced the team to establish a clear working pipeline that allowed the survey simultaneously, hand in hand, with all the usual activities of the church. The fundamental principle for the organization of the whole work was the subdivision of the entire complex in smaller parts, which could be managed independently, both in the acquisition and the modelling stage. This subdivision also reflects the method used for the photogrammetric acquisition. The complexity of some elements, as capitals and statues, was acquired with different Level of Detail (LoD) using various photogrammetric acquisitions: from the most general ones to describe the space, to the most detailed one 1:1 scale renderings. In this way, different LoD point clouds correspond to different areas or details.As evident, this pipeline allows to work in a more efficient way during the survey stage, but it involves more difficulties in the modelling stage. Because of the complexity of the church and the presence of sculptural elements represented by a mesh, from the beginning the problem of the amount of data was evident: it is nonsense to manage all models in a single file.The challenging aspect of the research job was the precise requirement of the Procuratoria di San Marco: to obtain the 1:1 representation of all the mosaics of the Basilica. This requirement significantly increased the effort in the acquisition stage, because it was necessary to reach a submillimetre resolution in the photographic images sufficient to distinguish perfectly each single tessera, also in the highest domes (28 meters). Furthermore, it introduced a new problem about the management of the gigapixel - orthophotos.The BIM approach presented in this paper tries to offer a solution to all these problems. The BIM application is based not on commercial software, but on a self-implemented system, which was previously tested on the Main Spire of Milano Cathedral. The multi-scale and multi-area approach have also been maintained in the BIM construction phase.In the case of Basilica di San Marco, the most important requirement was the management of the orthophotos of each single element. It was necessary to give the user the possibility to recover, for each item, not only the geometric model, but also the raster representation -orthophoto- of its surface: in order to do it, the BIM model acts as a three-dimensional catalogue

Aesthetic Perspectives in Group Decision and Negotiation Practice

This paper explores the role of the aesthetics in Group Decision and Negotiation (GDN) practice, specifically how it affects the methods and the cognitive processes in the architectural field. We intend aesthetics as “scientia cognitionis sensitivæ”, a particular process and way of knowing and experiencing the problem through senses, imagination and empathy. We argue that (a) aesthetics and aesthetic features can (and do) convey knowledge about the problem; (b) we can distinguish between two kinds of aesthetics, one of the process and one of the product and (c) the aes-thetics can contribute to create a “plural subject”. The issue is investigated through a decision problem about the transformation of an iconic building in the centre of Turin (Italy), in two ways: (1) by merging the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) with architectural design and (2) by approaching the same issue with Storytelling, as a method for problem-based instruction. Considering the aesthetics as a specific form of language, the paper offers innovative considerations about the role of repre-sentation and visualisation tools and models—drawing, scheme, diagrams, but also video and text—as support for group decisions and negotiations, in the construction of knowledge within decisional processes

Theoretical Puncture Mechanics of Soft Compressible Solids

Accurate prediction of the force required to puncture a soft material is critical in many fields like medical technology, food processing, and manufacturing. However, such a prediction strongly depends on our understanding of the complex nonlinear behavior of the material subject to deep indentation and complex failure mechanisms. Only recently we developed theories capable of correlating puncture force with material properties and needle geometry. However, such models are based on simplifications that seldom limit their applicability to real cases. One common assumption is the incompressibility of the cut material, albeit no material is truly incompressible. In this paper we propose a simple model that accounts for linearly elastic compressibility, and its interplay with toughness, stiffness, and elastic strain-stiffening. Confirming previous theories and experiments, materials having high-toughness and low-modulus exhibit the highest puncture resistance at a given needle radius. Surprisingly, in these conditions, we observe that incompressible materials exhibit the lowest puncture resistance, where volumetric compressibility can create an additional (strain) energy barrier to puncture. Our model provides a valuable tool to assess the puncture resistance of soft compressible materials and suggests new design strategies for sharp needles and puncture-resistant materials