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The school internship of the teaching qualification courses of the eCampus University. The students' point of view and the prospects for improvement
No full textElectromyographic Analysis of Back Muscle Activation During Lat Pulldown Exercise: Effects of Grip Variations and Forearm Orientation
No full textObjectives: The lat pulldown machine is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment for back strengthening, allowing variations in grip and load. However, there are significant gaps in the literature regarding the relationship between exercise modality and specific muscle activation. Methods: This study examined the electromyographic (EMG) activity of major back muscles during seven lat pulldown exercise variants that differed in grip type, width, and trunk inclination. Forty male subjects, with at least 5 years of resistance training experience, performed five repetitions of lat pulldown exercise using 70% of their repetition maximum. Prior to the surface EMG analysis, maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) tests were performed for each muscle group analysed, specifically the latissimus dorsi, posterior deltoid, brachial biceps, middle and lower trapezium, and infraspinatus. The normalised root mean square of the EMG (NrmsEMG) activity for each muscle was recorded during full, concentric, and eccentric movements. Results: Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed no significant difference in the NrmsEMG muscle activation across the different lat pulldown exercise variations (all p > 0.05). A significant difference was found in the posterior deltoid where the wide-pronated grip with a 30° trunk inclination showed greater EMG activation compared to the wide pronated grip (p = 0.011) and wide neutral grip (p = 0.017). Conclusions: These findings suggest that grip variations may not significantly alter latissimus dorsi recruitment, challenging the assumption that grip effectiveness targets this muscle. The results highlight the need for individualised approaches to exercise selection, given the variability in muscle activation patterns observed
Age-dependent modulation of inhibitory control: behavioral and EEG evidence from the Stroop paradigm
No full textAim: Aging is associated with reduced inhibitory control, leading to challenges in attention, decision-making, and everyday cognitive tasks. To better understand these difficulties, it is important to adopt well-designed experimental approaches that specifically assess inhibitory control mechanisms. A commonly used tool to assess how inhibitory control changes with age is the Stroop Color and Word Test, which evaluates the capacity to suppress automatic responses in favor of appropriate behavior. Methods: In the present study, a sample of 91 healthy individuals was examined to investigate how cognitive functions underlying Stroop task performance vary across the adult lifespan. Pearson correlations were computed between participants’ age and response times (RTs) recorded in each of the three Stroop conditions, as well as the mean RTs across all conditions. Furthermore, to assess whether these behavioral patterns were mirrored at the neurophysiological level, power spectral density (PSD) analyses were performed on resting-state electroencephalographic recordings. Results: In all cases, Pearson correlations were strongly significant, with stronger effects observed as task difficulty increased. At the neurophysiological level, a correlation emerged between RTs and PSD in the occipital region within the alpha 2 frequency band, which, like the behavioral effects, became progressively stronger with increasing task difficulty. In contrast, no significant correlations were observed for the alpha 1 band, suggesting that these neurophysiological changes are specific to higher alpha frequencies linked to increased cognitive demands and inhibitory control processes. Conclusions: These findings contribute to a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying age-related declines in inhibitory control and may inform the development of interventions aimed at mitigating cognitive deficits in older adults
GAMIFIED LEARNING IN THE WORKPLACE: A CORPORATE TRAINING CASE STUDY
No full textThis paper explores the role of business games (BG) in fostering knowledge sharing within organizational training programs. The study highlights the potential of BG to enhance employee engagement and knowledge retention, addressing limitations of traditional training methods. The research focuses on organizations in Southern Italy and demonstrates the valuable opportunities for strategic leaders to manage training and knowledge sharing. The first results show that game-based training positively influenced employee engagement, boosting the ability to retain and apply knowledge
effectively at work. The study contributes to the fields of knowledge management and organizational learning. Future research will extend the study to the national level, exploring how cultural and organizational characteristics specific to the Italian context may influence the effectiveness of professional training. This will enhance the contribution of the research and provide insights for strategic leaders
Adjusting strategies when reading reliable and unreliable texts
No full textBackground: Effective multiple-text comprehension tasks require readers to integrate information from various sources, which often present contradictions and differing levels of reliability. Understanding how source reliability affects the use of intertextual integration strategies is crucial for comprehending conflicting information. Aims: This study aimed to investigate how the reliability of sources influences the application of intertextual integration strategies—specifically refutation, weighing, and synthesis—during the processing of conflicting information. Sample: The study involved 130 university students. Methods: Participants were tasked with processing multiple texts while their responses were analyzed for the use of intertextual integration strategies. The study manipulated the reliability of sources to observe its effect on the participants' integration strategies. Results: The findings revealed that students rarely employed weighting and refutation strategies, which hindered a comprehensive assessment of their ability to adjust these strategies based on source reliability. However, the manipulation of source reliability significantly impacted the effective use of the synthesis strategy. Prior beliefs seemed to influence the use of synthesis as an intertextual integration strategy across texts with varying levels of reliability. Additionally, participants' awareness of intertextual integration strategies was found to predict their integration capacity, regardless of the source reliability manipulation. Conclusions: The results suggest that while students may struggle with certain integration strategies, enhancing awareness of intertextual integration can improve their ability to reconcile conflicting information. Future research should further explore instructional methods to support strategy adjustment based on source reliability
Reti, nodi, assemblaggi. Ripensare metodi e saperi nella crisi del presente
No full textSulla base della nostra esperienza di ricerca, diventa sempre più evidente che
non è più possibile strutturare l'analisi attorno a paradigmi che si rivelano
inefficaci quando vengono messi alla prova dalla realtà.
Ripensare metodi e approcci non è solo un compito della ricerca, ma anche un
imperativo etico di fronte alle trasformazioni radicali che stanno plasmando il
nostro tempo. L'idea è che le crisi etiche, politiche, economiche e climatiche che
stiamo attualmente vivendo non sono semplicemente momenti di transizione,
ma portano con sé la posta in gioco del futuro. In quest'ottica, abbiamo scelto
di riflettere su alcune immagini – "reti, nodi e assemblaggi" – concetti forse
abusati, ma il cui potenziale euristico rimane poco esplorato.
Non si tratta solo di delinearne i confini – la maglia della rete, le intersezioni
dei nodi conflittuali e non conflittuali – ma anche di indagare i vuoti che
essi delineano. L'attenzione si sposta dall'autonomia e dalla dispersione all'
(inter)dipendenza e al (ri)assemblaggio: dalle dimensioni sociali, economiche,
storiche e giuridiche alle pratiche linguistiche, dalle relazioni interculturali
alle esperienze spaziali, dalla diffusione delle informazioni alle strutture
algoritmiche, dall'architettura neuronale della mente alle forme ibride assunte
dalle città e dai collettivi. Questo volume raccoglie i contributi presentati
durante una giornata di studio interdipartimentale, concepita dalla necessità
di ripensare gli strumenti e i paradigmi di ricerca di fronte alle profonde
trasformazioni odierne. In un contesto segnato da crisi etiche, politiche,
economiche e climatiche, le categorie analitiche tradizionali spesso non
riescono a cogliere la complessità della realtà. I contributi qui raccolti esplorano
il potenziale delle immagini di reti, nodi e assemblaggi come chiavi per
comprendere le dinamiche di interdipendenza, conflitto e riorganizzazione in
molteplici ambiti del sapere. Dalla linguistica alla sociologia, dalla filosofia alla
storiografia, dalla trasformazione urbana alle relazioni internazionali, gli autori
esaminano come sono strutturate le connessioni, il significato delle lacune
e delle rotture e le pratiche di ricomposizione e innovazione metodologica.
Questo volume si propone quindi come uno spazio di dialogo aperto tra
discipline e approcci, con l'obiettivo di costruire nuovi percorsi di ricerca e
riflessione collettiva
Anxiety sensitivity in late-life depression. Links to cognitive impairment, insomnia, and health-related quality of life
No full textBackground and aims: Anxiety sensitivity (AS)-the fear of anxiety-related sensations driven by beliefs about their harmful consequences-is a well-established transdiagnostic vulnerability factor in younger and adult populations, but it has been less studied in late-life depression. This study investigated AS in older adults with major depressive disorder. Methods: A total of 432 patients aged ≥60 years were evaluated for depressive symptoms (Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale; Hamilton Depression Rating Scale), anxiety (Brief Symptom Inventory; Penn State Worry Questionnaire), cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination; Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status; Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System), health-related quality of life (HRQOL: Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey; Cumulative Illness Rating Scale), and antidepressant-related side effects (Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale; Barnes Akathisia Scale; Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser scale). Anxiety Sensitivity Index was used to assess AS. Results: Patients with higher AS levels were more frequently women, had fewer education years, and exhibited greater depressive and anxiety severity, higher rates of panic disorder, poorer cognitive performance, worse physical HRQOL, and a higher burden of antidepressant side effects. Associations with insomnia were limited to the middle-of-the-night subtype. Limitations: The cross-sectional design and diagnostic constraints limit generalizability and causal inference. Conclusions: In older adults with major depression, moderate to high AS levels correlate with cognitive, clinical, and functional vulnerability. These findings support the role of anxiety sensitivity as a prognostic marker in late-life depression