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From Higher Education to work transition. The use of narrative in guidance paths
Get PDFThe formative nature of self-narration defines a fundamental support for the development of reflexive competencies useful for the critical observation of a sense of self and experience (Bruner, 1990; Demetrio, 1996; Formenti, 1998). Narrative is inserted among the reflective devices used to a greater extent in the context of guidance interventions focused on subjectivity in order to construct a life plan (Reid & West, 2011). This article focuses on the description of a university guidance path based on the use of self-narration during work transition. The aim is to identify effective educational-guidance processes and tools that might lead to a definition of transferable and implementable practices. Dalla formazione universitaria all’inserimento lavorativo. L’uso della narrazione in percorsi di orientamento formativoLa natura formativa della auto-narrazione definisce un significativo viatico per lo sviluppo di competenze riflessive utili all’osservazione critica del senso di sé e dell’esperienza (Bruner, 1990; Demetrio, 1996; Formenti, 1998). La narrazione si inserisce per questo tra i possibili dispositivi riflessivi maggiormente efficaci nell’ambito di interventi orientativi incentrati sulla soggettività per la costruzione del progetto di vita (Reid & West, 2011). Il presente lavoro si focalizza sulla descrizione di un percorso di orientamento universitario incentrato sull’uso della narrazione autobiografica nella fase di transizione al lavoro. La finalità è quella di individuare processi e strumenti educativo-orientativi efficaci che possano condurre alla definizione di pratiche trasferibili ed implementabili
Social robots and L2 teaching for children: a preliminary study on the embodiment of gestures
Get PDFExperimental research confirms that using social robots with pre-school children as tutors for their learning has important positive effects in terms of children's learning and emotional involvement. In particular, the use of social robots for language learning (L1 and L2) leads to more learned words and a better memory of them. However, many technological limitations prevent from fully implementing the concept of embodiment, a distinctive feature of robotic technology compared to other computer-based technologies, and especially of gestures. In order to contribute to solve the problem, in a preliminary psychological test with Italian children learning English as L2, it was shown that appropriate modifications of the learning environment combined with a more limited use of gestures allow to achieve better results in terms of learning than a larger use of gestures in a less structured environment. If experimentally verified, these results would suggest the development of learning architectures which offer more affordances with respect to the task at hand, while implementing more limited forms of embodiment that are in line with current technological limitations. Robot sociali e insegnamento di L2 ai bambini: uno studio preliminare sull’embodiment della gestualitàLe ricerche sperimentali confermano che l’utilizzo di robot sociali in funzione di tutor per l’apprendimento di bambini nella fascia di età prescolare ha importanti effetti positivi in termini di apprendimento e di coinvolgimento emotivo dei bambini. In particolare, l’uso di robot in supporto all’apprendimento linguistico (L1 e L2) si traduce in un numero maggiore di parole apprese e in un migliore ricordo delle stesse. Numerosi limitazioni tecnologiche impediscono tuttavia la piena realizzazione nei robot sociali del concetto di embodiment, in particolare per quanto riguarda la gestualità. Proprio per contribuire a dare una soluzione al problema, in una prova psicologica preliminare con bambini italiani che apprendono la lingua inglese come L2 si dimostra che in un ambiente di apprendimento opportunamente strutturato una gestualità più limitata permette di conseguire migliori risultati di apprendimento e ricordo delle parole apprese rispetto a un uso maggiore della gestualità in un ambiente meno organizzato. Se sperimentalmente verificati, tali risultati indirizzerebbero verso lo sviluppo di architetture dell’ambiente di apprendimento più ricche di affordance rispetto al compito che consentano conseguentemente di implementare forme di embodiment più limitate in linea con le limitazioni tecnologiche attuali
Ancient languages as a simulation environment
Get PDFThe combination of ancient languages and new technologies has always represented a stimulating oxymoron in didactic reflections: nowadays, the question is not really whether technologies are useful to learn ancient languages, but whether these disciplines can help to acquire the proper mindsets to prepare the conscious, productive and ethical use of technologies as envisaged by the definition of digital skills made in Lisbon. To this end, we examine the specific tool of simulation, since the disciplines of antiquity were indeed a privileged simulation environment a long time before the adoption of digital technology, inspiring the creation of virtual microworlds to express metaphors of reality and sometimes even utopias quite distinct from the real world. The purpose of this paper is to re-establish a coplanar relationship between knowledge of the ancient world and the digital skills that are necessary to design and explore virtual microworlds. Such a relationship aims to train our students in the skills that are likely to be necessary for their personal fulfilment beyond the constraints of their chosen study course.Le lingue antiche come ambiente di simulazioneL’accostamento fra lingue antiche e nuove tecnologie ha sempre rappresentato un ossimoro stimolante nella riflessione didattica: oggi però non dobbiamo chiederci se le tecnologie siano utili all’apprendimento delle lingue antiche, ma se queste discipline siano idonee a realizzare schemi mentali che predispongano all’uso consapevole, produttivo ed etico delle tecnologie previsto dalla definizione delle competenze digitali di Lisbona. Esaminiamo a questo scopo lo strumento specifico della simulazione, perché le discipline dell’antichità costituiscono un ambiente di simulazione privilegiato già da tempi lontanissimi dal digitale, ispirando la creazione di micromondi virtuali per esprimere metafore della realtà e talora perfino utopie distinte dal mondo reale. Lo scopo del presente contributo è ristabilire un rapporto complanare fra la conoscenza del mondo antico e le competenze digitali necessarie alla progettazione ed esplorazione di micromondi virtuali, che abbia come scopo la formazione dei nostri studenti di oggi, oltre i limiti dell’indirizzo di studi scelto, in vista delle probabili competenze necessarie alla loro realizzazione personale
Social justice, empowerment and sustainability. How guidance could enhance a critical consciousness for life-long learning
Get PDFWhich kind of connection can we have in Italy between sustainability and adult education within the educational and regulatory system? Which kind of international and European perspectives allow us to frame this connection and reshape it in methodological choices for didactics in adult education? This paper proposes a reflection on topics such as social justice, empowerment and adult education, considering authors’ participation in mutual learning initiatives, in Europe and Italy, finalized to the implementation of strategies to improve key and transversal skills. Specifically, this reflection focuses on guidance, and aims to analyse it with the lens of critical education research as it investigates the connection among social justice, empowerment, education and well-being. Giustizia sociale, empowerment e sostenibilità. Come l’orientamento può sostenere una coscienza critica nel life-long learningQuale connessione ci può essere in Italia, nel sistema formativo e normativo, tra sostenibilità e istruzione degli adulti? Quali prospettive internazionali ed europee permettono di inquadrare questa connessione e di rimodularla in scelte metodologiche per la didattica nell’istruzione degli adulti? Il presente contributo propone una riflessione sui temi quali la giustizia sociale, l’empowerment e la formazione degli adulti, considerando la partecipazione degli autori a iniziative di mutual learning, in Europa e in Italia, finalizzate all’implementazione di strategie per migliorare le competenze chiave e trasversali. Tale riflessione si concentra sull’orientamento, e lo analizza in rapporto alla ricerca didattica dei critical educators, interessati al rapporto tra giustizia sociale, empowerment, educazione e benessere
The use of systematic reviews of research in Adult Education: perspectives and trends
Get PDFThe paper briefly describes the main phases to conduct a systematic review of research and discusses the use of this method in adult education and lifelong learning. Electronic educational databases and journals on adult education and research reviews with the highest impact factor were screened to determine which types of systematic reviews (qualitative reviews or mixed methods research synthesis vs. meta-analysis) are used and which topics (e.g. employment, lifelong learning) are investigated the most in the reviews. The objective is to obtain a portrayal of the systematic review literature in the field of adult education and lifelong learning of the last five years
The new ethical challenges of robotics. Social robots and psychological hazards
Get PDFOne of the fundamental values in ethical analysis is safety. In the field of robotics, risk analyses usually tend to pay attention to the hazards threatening the physical safety of people. However, there are hazards that affect psychological safety, today more than ever, given the spread of robots with social skills in the market. In this study, we will analyze some of the possible psychological hazards arising from the use of social robots. If on one hand the technology is mature and the market ready to accept these robots, on the other hand the dangers, above all the psychological ones, which could derive from interactions with social robots, are not entirely clear yet. Le nuove sfide etiche della robotica. Robot sociali e pericoli psicologiciUno dei valori fondamentali dell’analisi etica è la sicurezza. Nell’ambito della robotica, l’analisi dei rischi tende di solito a prestare attenzione ai pericoli che minacciano la sicurezza fisica delle persone. Tuttavia esistono pericoli che interessano anche la sicurezza psicologica, oggi più che mai attuali vista la diffusione sul mercato di robot dotati di capacità sociali. In questo studio analizzeremo alcuni dei possibili pericoli psicologici che derivano dall’uso di robot sociali. Se da una parte la tecnologia è matura e l’accettabilità di questi robot sembra avere un buon riscontro sul mercato, dall’altra ancora non sono del tutto chiari i pericoli, soprattutto quelli di tipo psicologico, che potrebbero derivare dall’interazione prolungata con robot dotati di capacità sociali
Characterization and pathogenicity of Colletotrichum spp. causing citrus anthracnose in Tunisia
Get PDFIn the winter and spring of 2014–2015, typical anthracnose symptoms were detected on different citrus varieties in Cap-Bon and Morneg-Tunis regions of Northern Tunisia. Surveys were conducted to determine the casual agents of these symptoms. A total of seven monosporic isolates were obtained from dark lesions on fruits, flowers, leaves and twigs of citrus from six orchards. One Colletotrichum karstii (from the C. boninense species complex) and six C. gloeosporioides isolates were identified through morphological analysis and sequencing of their ITS rDNA sequences. Pathogenicity tests with the seven isolates were performed on symptomless, detached citrus fruits (Valencia orange and Eureka lemon). All tested isolates caused anthracnose lesions after 1 week of incubation. Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by re-isolation of pathogens from the inoculated fruits. This report elucidates the diversity of anthracnose pathogens in Tunisia. This is the first report of C. karstii from citrus in Tunisia
Solženicyn and Wisdom
Get PDFThe article starts by considering one of the main features of Solženicyn’s prose, the presence of proverbs. The author analyzes this attribute in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovič, Matryona’s Home and, especially regarding The Oak and the Calf, discusses these works as part of wisdom literature. Proverbs in Solženicyn’s works are not mere expression of Russian folklore; they reveal God’s order of the world and God’s guidance of human lives. The Gulag is not only a Soviet form of punishment, but also an extraordinary school of life and of wisdom. Experiences teach ultimate truths. The trained zek is not only a good buddy, but is presented as the wise man, the prudent and skilled saddiq who knows how to behave in the extreme Gulag conditions. He is the saddiq who tries to decipher God’s plan for his life. In the end, Solženicyn’s characters must be interpreted in light of wisdom literature, within which they are not heroic, but virile, prudent, slow-moving, meek, thrifty, experts of life and people. The article starts by considering one of the main features of Solženicyn’s prose, the presence of proverbs. The author analyzes this attribute in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovič, Matryona’s Home and, especially regarding The Oak and the Calf, discusses these works as part of wisdom literature. Proverbs in Solženicyn’s works are not mere expression of Russian folklore; they reveal God’s order of the world and God’s guidance of human lives. The Gulag is not only a Soviet form of punishment, but also an extraordinary school of life and of wisdom. Experiences teach ultimate truths. The trained zek is not only a good buddy, but is presented as the wise man, the prudent and skilled saddiq who knows how to behave in the extreme Gulag conditions. He is the saddiq who tries to decipher God’s plan for his life. In the end, Solženicyn’s characters must be interpreted in light of wisdom literature, within which they are not heroic, but virile, prudent, slow-moving, meek, thrifty, experts of life and people.
Русская катастрофа 1917 г. и ‘большое время’ (М. Пришвин, В. Розанов, А. Блок)
Get PDFThis article is devoted to the perception of the social catastrophe of 1917 in the historical and cultural perspective of ‘great time’ (M. Bachtin) represented in the texts of Michail Prišvin, Vasilij Rozanov and Aleksandr Blok. The author analyzes nonfiction and diary texts, primarily published for the first time only in the post-Soviet period – Prišvin’s Diary (1917-1920, first published in 1991) and his book Color and Cross (1917-1918, first published in 2004); The Apocalypse of Our Time by Rozanov (1917-1918, full text published in 2000) and his book The Black Fire (1917, first published in the Paris publishing house ymca-Press in 1991); Blok’s Articles, Diary, Notebooks and Letters (1917-1921, including recently published uncensored texts). The author considers the dialogue of two strategies or discourses in the perception of 1917: the Christian discourse (Prišvin and Rozanov) and the discourse of the Narodnik movement (Blok). The perception of the revolution in these authors’ texts is revealed in the context of the French Revolution, Time of Troubles, national nihilism, Dostoevskij, Ostrovskij, Gor’kij, ‘neo-narodničestvo’, neo-slavophilism, sectarianism and the ideology of the Bolševiks. The author reveals the intertextual Gogolian layer in Rozanov’s, Prišvin’s and Blok’s texts, which becomes a key factor in their understanding of national nihilism as the cause of the social catastrophe of 1917. The ‘life-creation’ strategies of these three authors are also considered, who, despite their opposite attitudes towards October 1917, somehow or other ended up in the overall sacrificial situation of the ‘catacomb’ culture.This article is devoted to the perception of the social catastrophe of 1917 in the historical and cultural perspective of ‘great time’ (M. Bachtin) represented in the texts of Michail Prišvin, Vasilij Rozanov and Aleksandr Blok. The author analyzes nonfiction and diary texts, primarily published for the first time only in the post-Soviet period – Prišvin’s Diary (1917-1920, first published in 1991) and his book Color and Cross (1917-1918, first published in 2004); The Apocalypse of Our Time by Rozanov (1917-1918, full text published in 2000) and his book The Black Fire (1917, first published in the Paris publishing house ymca-Press in 1991); Blok’s Articles, Diary, Notebooks and Letters (1917-1921, including recently published uncensored texts). The author considers the dialogue of two strategies or discourses in the perception of 1917: the Christian discourse (Prišvin and Rozanov) and the discourse of the Narodnik movement (Blok). The perception of the revolution in these authors’ texts is revealed in the context of the French Revolution, Time of Troubles, national nihilism, Dostoevskij, Ostrovskij, Gor’kij, ‘neo-narodničestvo’, neo-slavophilism, sectarianism and the ideology of the Bolševiks. The author reveals the intertextual Gogolian layer in Rozanov’s, Prišvin’s and Blok’s texts, which becomes a key factor in their understanding of national nihilism as the cause of the social catastrophe of 1917. The ‘life-creation’ strategies of these three authors are also considered, who, despite their opposite attitudes towards October 1917, somehow or other ended up in the overall sacrificial situation of the ‘catacomb’ culture
Dahrendorf as champion of a liberal society–border crossings between political practice and sociopolitical theory
Get PDFRalf Dahrendorf is internationally known for his work on role and conflict theory but rather less so for his large body of writing on liberalism, civil society, and the constitutional concept of freedom, little of which has been translated into English or other languages. Focusing on Dahrendorf’s German-language publications, the present article addresses this gap. In developing his concept of liberalism and its implications for practical politics, Dahrendorf centrally invokes his theory of roles—the roles the individual is called upon to play—and strongly defends the individual against the behavioral expectations of society. And from his fundamental thesis of the productivity of regulated conflicts he concludes that such conflicts are fundamental to a free society: a society in which errors can always be revised. In his later publications, the social question of maximizing individual opportunities in life (or what he called life chances) became more central. Even after his death in 2009, Dahrendorf’s ideas have continued to influence discussion about the development of a liberal society