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Introduction (? L?on-Gontran Damas : Cent ans en noir et blanc)
No full textPresentation of "L?on-Gontran Damas : Cent ans en noir et blanc", First result of an exploration to illustrate the communicative dynamism of an author capable of answering multiple subjects concerning the contemporary man And his position in the world.Pr?sentation de "L?on-Gontran Damas : Cent ans en noir et blanc", premier r?sultat d\u27une exploration visant ? illustrer le dynamisme communicatif d\u27un auteur capable de susciter des r?onses ? des sujet multiples concernant l\u27homme contemporain et sa position dans le monde
Prediction of Persistent Organic Pollutants Biodegradation in Contaminated Marine Sediments Using Passive Sampling Probes
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to evaluate a new configuration (new materials) of the commercial passive sampler Chemcatcher as probe for predicting the bioavailability of persistent organic pollutants in marine sediments. To predict the availability of pollutants to biota, it is important to understand both solution- and solid-phase processes in the sediment, including the kinetics of pollutants release from its binding agent (ligand and/or particle). The present study examined the kinetic of desorption and biodegradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two different marine sediments sampled in the Adriatic Sea. The sediments were spiked with a standard mix of 16 PAHs in the range of 11-12 mg/Kg (dry sediment). Formaldehyde was added into the sediments to prevent biodegradation. After equilibration, the passive probes were placed in the specimens with prevented biodegradation, recovered and analyzed at prefixed time slots (in the range of 50 days) for the assessment of the accumulated PAHs; in parallel a little amount of sediments was collected and the residual concentration of PAHs was measured. Free PAHs in the sediment pore waters were also determined. The results suggest that the kinetically labile solid-phase pool of PAHs, which is included in the DGT measurement, played an important role in biodegradation processes along with the free PAHs in sediment pore water
Recent changes in macroalgae distribution patterns in the Orbetello lagoon (Italy)
Get PDFThis study related recent distribution changes in seven macroalgae taxa (Acetabularia acetabulum, Chaetomorpha linum, Cladophora sp., Gracilariopsis longissima, Spyridia sp., Ulva laetevirens, Valonia aegagrophyla) to spatial (basin) and temporal (time) trophic differences in a meso-eutrophic Mediterranean coastal lagoon (Orbetello, Italy). In July 2003 and July 2009, the coverage percentage (CP) of each considered taxon was measured in 38 stations equally distributed in the Western and Eastern lagoon basins. All data were analysed using SURFER v8.0 software along with ANOVA, ANOSIM and multivariate analyses to produce geostatistical spatial distribution maps and to estimate statistical probabilities for "basin" and "time" factors. Data from this study were integrated with data on phanerogams reported by Giovani et al. (2010)to evaluate changes occurring at a functional group level from 2003-2009 using the Ecological Evaluation Index (EEI). Observed macroalgae changes may have been due to lagoon management activities performed during the study period. The removal of direct nitrate inputs seems to have forced specie-specific shifts that were highly significant only in the Western basin. Statistically significant differences at the taxon level have been indicated for Spyridia sp. (basin and time) and Cladophora sp. (time) taxa. Other non-significant changes included a rarefaction of Chaetomorpha linumin the Western basin and Spyridia sp. in the Eastern basin, and an increase of Gracilariopsis longissima, C. linum and Valonia aegagrophyla in the Eastern basin. EEI application indicated a general improvement in water quality due to management measures applied in Western basin, whereas the Eastern basin evidences stability/slight degradation from 2003-2009
A scuola ci andiamo insieme agli amici. Un progetto di promozione dell\u27autonomia di movimento dei bambini delle scuole primarie nel percorso casa-scuola
No full textThis paper intends to show the importance of independent mobility of children because it has a positive effect on physical and socio-cognitive development of children.Questo contributo ha l\u27obiettivo di mostrare l\u27importanza della mobilit? autonoma dei bambini e della sua influenza sulla salute fisica e sullo sviluppo socio - cognitivo dei bambini
Bell\u27Esempio! Esperimento sul campo sul valore educativo delle multe morali
No full textThe experiment started with the aim to test the feasibility of an intervention "from the bottom" in which children promote obedience to the rules by adults through the use of fines that send a moral evaluation of the offender, without this result in any financial loss to the sanctioned.The experiment is designed to observe the effect that the active role of promoters of the rules on children themselves.L\u27esperimento presentato nasce con l\u27obiettivo di verificare la realizzabilit? di un intervento "dal basso" in cui i bambini promuovono l\u27obbedienza alle norme da parte degli adulti attraverso l\u27utilizzo di multe che permettono di inviare una valutazione morale al trasgressore, senza che ci? comporti alcun danno pecuniario al sanzionato. L\u27esperimento ? anche pensato per osservare l\u27effetto che tale ruolo attivo di promotori delle norme ha sui bambini stessi
Autonomous selection of the "what" and the "how" of learning: an intrinsically motivated system tested with a two armed robot
Get PDFIn our previous research we focused on the role of Intrinsically motivated learning signals in driving the selection and learning of different skills. This work makes a further step towards more autonomous and versatile robots, implementing a 3-level hierarchical architecture with the mechanisms necessary to both select goals to pursue and search for the best way to achieve them. In particular, we focus on the important problem of providing artificial agents with a decoupled architecture that separates the selection of goals from the selection of resources. To verify our solution, we use the architecture to control the two redundant arms of a simulated iCub robotic platform tested in a reaching task within a 3D environment. We compare its performance to a previous model having a coupled architecture where the different goals are associated at design-time to different modules pursuing them
Does the mean adequately represent reading performance? Evidence from a cross-linguistic study.
Get PDFReading models are largely based on the interpretation of average data from normal or impaired readers, mainly drawn from English-speaking individuals. In the present study we evaluated the possible contribution of orthographic consistency in generating individual differences in reading behavior. We compared the reading performance of young adults speaking English (one of the most irregular orthographies) and Italian (a very regular orthography). In the 1st experiment we presented 22 English and 30 Italian readers with 5-letter words using the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) paradigm. In a 2nd experiment, we evaluated a new group of 26 English and 32 Italian proficient readers through the RSVP procedure and lists matched in the two languages for both number of phonemes and letters. The results of the two experiments indicate that English participants read at a similar rate but with much greater individual differences than the Italian participants. In a 3rd experiment, we extended these results to a vocal reaction time (vRT) task, examining the effect of word frequency. An ex-Gaussian distribution analysis revealed differences between languages in the size of the exponential parameter (tau) and in the variance (sigma), but not the mean, of the Gaussian component. Notably, English readers were more variable for both tau and sigma than Italian readers. The pattern of performance in English individuals runs counter to models of performance in timed tasks (Faust et al., 1999; Myerson et al., 2003) which envisage a general relationship between mean performance and variability; indeed, this relationship does not hold in the case of the English participants. The present data highlight the importance of developing reading models that not only capture mean level performance, but also variability across individuals, especially in order to account for cross-linguistic differences in reading behavior
The effect of morphology on spelling and reading accuracy: A study on Italian children
Get PDFIn opaque orthographies knowledge of morphological information helps in achieving reading and spelling accuracy. In transparent orthographies with regular print-to-sound correspondences, such as Italian, the mappings of orthography onto phonology and phonology onto orthography are in principle sufficient to read and spell most words. The present study aimed to investigate the role of morphology in the reading and spelling accuracy of Italian children as a function of school experience to determine whether morphological facilitation was present in children learning a transparent orthography. The reading and spelling performances of 15 third-grade and 15 fifth-grade typically developing children were analyzed. Children read aloud and spelled both low-frequency words and pseudowords. Low-frequency words were manipulated for the presence of morphological structure (morphemic words vs non-derived words). Morphemic words could also vary for the frequency (high vs low) of roots and suffixes. Pseudo-words were made up of either a real root and a real derivational suffix in a combination that does not exist in the Italian language or had no morphological constituents. Results showed that, in Italian, morphological information is a useful resource for both reading and spelling. Typically developing children benefitted from the presence of morphological structure when they read and spelled pseudowords; however, in processing low-frequency words, morphology facilitated reading but not spelling. These findings are discussed in terms of morpho-lexical access and successful cooperation between lexical and sublexical processes in reading and spelling
Reading in Spanish and Italian: Effects of age-of-acquisition in transparent orthographies?
Get PDFDespite the similar transparency of their orthographies, reading in Italian is usually found to be affected by frequency but not age of acquisition (AoA) (Barca, Burani & Arduino, 2002) while reading in Spanish is affected by AoA but not frequency (Cuetos & Barb?n, 2006). We examined this cross-linguistic difference, firstly, through a re-analysis of the Italian and Spanish reading latencies. After eliminating several between-study differences, we replicated the AoA effect in Spanish but not in Italian, and the frequency effect in Italian but not in Spanish. The cross-linguistic comparison could not equate stimulus imageability, therefore, secondly, we compared the Italian reading latencies with new Spanish reading latencies for imageability-matched words. We found frequency effects but neither an AoA effect nor a language by AoA interaction. We argue that the previously reported cross-linguistic difference in the AoA effect resulted from a between-study difference in stimulus imageability. More imageable words induced more semantic involvement in reading, yielding an AoA effect in Spanish
Language development in a bimodal bilingual child with cochlear implant: A longitudinal study
No full textTo address the negative effects of deafness on spoken language acquisition, many clinicians suggest using cochlear implant (CI) and oral education and advise against sign language, even when combined with spoken language (i.e., bilingualism), believing that it may slow down spoken language development. In a deaf child with CI who was exposed at an early age to Italian Sign Language and spoken Italian, we evaluated language development and the relationship between the two languages. The number of words/signs produced by the child consistently increased with age, and the vocabulary growth rate in spoken Italian was equivalent to that of hearing peers. Before CI, the child relied almost exclusively on sign language; after CI, he gradually shifted to spoken Italian yet still used sign language when unable to retrieve words in spoken Italian. We conclude that bimodal bilingualism may scaffold the development of spoken language also in deaf children with CI