A comparison of Waldorf and non-Waldorf student-teachers’ social-emotional competencies: can arts engagement explain differences?

Teachers are confronted with complex and unexpected classroom situations that not only demand knowledge but also social–emotional competencies. Consequently, researchers have tried to identify conditions that support the development of relevant abilities in this domain. This study examined the frequently stated, but not yet empirically investigated, idea of immersion in the arts as a facilitator of aspects of empathy and tolerance of ambiguity (ToA). The paper compares Waldorf student-teachers who are strongly immersed in arts activities in their training with non-Waldorf student-teachers who do not participate in the arts on the constructs of empathy and ToA. Results indicated higher scores in the Waldorf group on both emotional and cognitive dimensions of the empathy construct and marginally higher scores on ToA. The results of this study and subsequent discussion suggest a new perspective on the relation between arts engagement and the specific domain of social–emotional competencies.     

Does local dynamic stability of kayak paddling technique affect the sports performance? A pilot study

During competition, kayak athletes must optimally adapt to environmental factors (e.g. wind, waves) to achieve peak performance. However, the ability to adapt to such perturbations has never been assessed in kayak paddling. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the local dynamic stability in sports technique of youth sprint kayak athletes. In a cross-sectional study, 14 healthy male athletes were recruited from an elite youth sprint kayak squad. During an incremental kayak ergometer test, mean power, heart rates and local dynamic technique stability of hands, arms, trunk and paddle were registered and the association with the athletes 2000?m free-water times were estimated using mixed models. The 2000?m free-water performance significantly predicted the paddles (p?=?.037) local dynamic stability whereas no association was found for the trunk or the upper extremity kinematics. In conclusion, kayak athletes with high-performance capability over 2000?m paddling depict high local dynamic technique stability. This emphasizes the importance of a stable technique for advanced kayak skills, especially regarding paddling movements.     

Price Indices for Artists – A Proposal

This paper proposes a price index for artists adjusted for the quality of the paintings, based on the ratio between the average market price and the average pre-sale estimate for paintings. We apply this methodology to a group of selected artists and schools presented in auctions worldwide in the period 1990–2001. A comparison with quality unadjusted and hedonic indices is also conducted.JEL Classification: C10, Z11     

Red blood cell dynamics in polymer brush-coated microcapillaries: A model of endothelial glycocalyx in vitro

The confined flow of red blood cells (RBCs) in microvasculature is essential for oxygen delivery to body tissues and has been extensively investigated in the literature, both in vivo and in vitro. One of the main problems still open in microcirculation is that flow resistance in microcapillaries in vivo is higher than that in vitro. This discrepancy has been attributed to the glycocalyx, a macromolecular layer lining the inner walls of vessels in vivo, but no direct experimental evidence of this hypothesis has been provided so far. Here, we investigate the flow behavior of RBCs in glass microcapillaries coated with a polymer brush (referred to as “hairy” microcapillaries as opposed to “bare” ones with no coating), an experimental model system of the glycocalyx. By high-speed microscopy imaging and image analysis, a velocity reduction of RBCs flowing in hairy microcapillaries as compared to bare ones is indeed found at the same pressure drop. Interestingly, such slowing down is larger than expected from lumen reduction due to the polymer brush and displays an on-off trend with a threshold around 70 nm of polymer brush dry thickness. Above this threshold, the presence of the polymer brush is associated with an increased RBC deformation, and RBC velocity is independent on polymer brush thickness (at the same pressure drop). In conclusion, this work provides direct support to the hypothesis that the glycocalyx is the main factor responsible of the higher flow resistance found in microcapillaries in vivo.     

Crowdsourcing interactions: using crowdsourcing for evaluating interactive information retrieval systems

In the field of information retrieval (IR), researchers and practitioners are often faced with a demand for valid approaches to evaluate the performance of retrieval systems. The Cranfield experiment paradigm has been dominant for the in-vitro evaluation of IR systems. Alternative to this paradigm, laboratory-based user studies have been widely used to evaluate interactive information retrieval (IIR) systems, and at the same time investigate users’ information searching behaviours. Major drawbacks of laboratory-based user studies for evaluating IIR systems include the high monetary and temporal costs involved in setting up and running those experiments, the lack of heterogeneity amongst the user population and the limited scale of the experiments, which usually involve a relatively restricted set of users. In this paper, we propose an alternative experimental methodology to laboratory-based user studies. Our novel experimental methodology uses a crowdsourcing platform as a means of engaging study participants. Through crowdsourcing, our experimental methodology can capture user interactions and searching behaviours at a lower cost, with more data, and within a shorter period than traditional laboratory-based user studies, and therefore can be used to assess the performances of IIR systems. In this article, we show the characteristic differences of our approach with respect to traditional IIR experimental and evaluation procedures. We also perform a use case study comparing crowdsourcing-based evaluation with laboratory-based evaluation of IIR systems, which can serve as a tutorial for setting up crowdsourcing-based IIR evaluations.     

The robed baron: The academic profession in the Italian university

The Italian academic profession is subject to complex bureaucratic structures and many strains as the result of rapid academic expansion but very limited resources. The ladder up the academic profession is both complicated and very difficult. Norms of professionalism are in conflict with the traditional patron system. This paper analyzes the current situation of the academic profession in Italian universities, and stresses a discussion of the career ladder and how it works in the academic system.Data for this paper have been collected as part of a research grant no. 73.00982.09 from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.     

Is traditional teaching really all that bad? A within-student between-subject approach

Recent studies conclude that teachers are important for student learning but it remains uncertain what actually determines effective teaching. This study directly peers into the black box of educational production by investigating the relationship between lecture style teaching and student achievement. Based on matched student-teacher data for the US, the estimation strategy exploits between-subject variation to control for unobserved student traits. Results indicate that traditional lecture style teaching is associated with significantly higher student achievement. No support for detrimental effects of lecture style teaching can be found even when evaluating possible selection biases due to unobservable teacher characteristics.     

Effects of condensed water on limestone surfaces in a marine environment

We have evaluated the effects of condensed water on limestone surfaces through a procedure that foresaw the cooling of the samples before their exposition to the open air, so that the condensation phenomena could occur easily. The effects of the condensed water were evaluated by measuring the weight change of the samples, through SEM observations and analysis of the 3-D profile, using laser profilometer. The results show the weak action of condensed water on the stone surface, particularly if compared with that of rain.