139 research outputs found
Autopercezioni di abilità e disagio in ragazzi con basse abilità visuospaziali
No full textIl disturbo non verbale di apprendimento (NLD) sembra essere correlato con il rischio di sviluppare disagio emotivo e depressione. La presente ricerca studia la relazione tra basso indice visuospaziale, che caratterizza il disturbo non verbale, e la presenza di disagio emotivo in ragazzi delle scuole secondarie. Il campione era costituito da 202 soggetti (di cui 95 maschi e 107 femmine) frequentanti le classi I, II e III della scuola secondaria di primo grado. Sono stati somministrati due strumenti di valutazione delle abilità visuospaziali – Shortened Visual-Spatial (SVS) e il Questionario sulle Difficoltà nelle Attività Scolastiche (QDS) – ed un questionario per valutare i sintomi depressivi – Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Dalle analisi risulta una relazione significativa tra basse abilità visuospaziali e la presenza di tratti depressivi. Inoltre, soggetti con basse abilità spaziali tendono a presentare maggiori sintomi depressivi
The Impasse on Gender Differences in Intelligence: a Meta-Analysis on WISC Batteries
No full textThis meta-analysis reviews 79 studies (N = 46,605) that examined the existence of gender difference on intelligence in school-aged children. To do so, we limited the literature search to works that assessed the construct of intelligence through the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) batteries, evaluating eventual gender differences in indices and subtests. The theoretical framework we adopted is the cross-battery approach which locates cognitive abilities into different levels, also considering the possible mediating effect of the version of the WISC being used. As for broad abilities, a notable discrepancy emerged in favour of males for visual and crystallized intelligence, while female/male differences on fluid intelligence were negligible. Conversely, females’ performance on the processing speed factor was superior. Interesting results emerged at the subtest levels, albeit with less pronounced differences in performance. Results generally showed that older versions of WISC batteries displayed larger gender differences compared to the most recent ones
Reliability of the g factor over time in Italian INVALSI data (2010-2022): What can achievement-g tell us about the Flynn effect?
No full textGenerational intelligence test score gains over large parts of the 20th century have been observed to be negatively associated with psychometric g. Recent reports about changes in the cross-temporal IQ trajectory suggest that ability differentiation may be responsible for both changes in g as well as increasingly (sub-)domain-specific and inconsistent trajectories. Schooling is considered to be a main candidate cause for the Flynn effect, which suggests that school achievement might be expected to show similar cross-temporal developments. In the present study, we investigated evidence for cross-temporal changes in achievement-based g in a formal large-scale student assessment in Italy (i.e., the INVALSI assessment; N = 1,900,000+). Based on data of four school grades (i.e., grades 2, 5, 8, and 10) over 13 years (2010–2022), we observed little evidence for changes in achievement g in general. However, cross-temporal trajectories were differentiated according to school grade, indicating cross-temporal g decreases for lower grade students whilst changes for higher grade students were positive. These findings may be interpreted as tentative evidence for age-dependent achievement-g differentiation. The presently observed achievement g trajectory appears to be consistent with recently observed evidence for a potential stagnation or reversal of cognitive test score gains
Intelligenza e Psicopatologia dell'apprendimento
No full textL’articolo bersaglio di Cesare Cornoldi «Le basi cognitive dell’intelligenza» presenta numerosi spunti di riflessione riguardanti il costrutto psicologico di intelligenza. Il primo riguarda l’attenzione rivolta alle differenze individuali non solo in individui con sviluppo tipico, ma anche nella psicopatologia (dalle disabilità intellettive, fino ai disturbi specifici dell’apprendimento) e nell’invecchiamento, che, seppur complesse da analizzare, offrono delle potenziali ricadute applicative. Un secondo punto degno di nota riguarda la distinzione tra intelligenza di base ed intelligenza in uso che, calata nell’ambito dei disturbi specifici dell’apprendimento, consente di comprendere il motivo per cui a parità di quoziente intellettivo (QI), due bambini con la medesima diagnosi (ad es. Dislessia) possano avere una riuscita in ambito accademico, piuttosto che lavorativo da adulti, completamente differente
L'apprendimento della geometria in bambini dai 4 ai 6 anni
No full textIl presente lavoro si propone di fornire, attraverso un nuovo
strumento, un’analisi delle prestazioni dei bambini dai 4 ai 6 anni. Nello specifico gli obiettivi della ricerca erano contribuire alla standardizzazione dello strumento, analizzare le differenze legate all’età e verificare se le competenze geometriche testate potessero essere distinte in conoscenze geometriche di tipo dichiarativo e abilità visuospaziali. A tale scopo lo strumento è stato somministrato a 269 bambini frequentanti le ultime due classi della scuola dell’infanzia e il primo anno di scuola primaria. I risultati indicano che lo strumento possiede buone proprietà psicometriche e che esiste un trend evolutivo dai 4 ai 6 anni. Infine, attraverso l’analisi fattoriale sono stati individuati due fattori, uno relativo alle conoscenze geometriche e uno alle abilità visuospaziali
Cognitive characteristics of intellectually gifted children with a diagnosis of ADHD
No full textSome children may be intellectually gifted, and yet experience behavioral and academic difficulties. We examined 82 twice exceptional children (2e-ADHD), having an excellent General Ability Index (GAI) derived from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (GAI ≥ 125), and a diagnosis of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They accounted for 8.8% of a large sample of children with ADHD, which is twice as high as the proportion of intellectually gifted children in a typical population. This over-representation does not reflect a misdiagnosis of ADHD, as these children showed the typical features predicted on the grounds of data regarding the ADHD sample, including lower scores in working memory and processing speed measures, combined with the inclusion criteria for giftedness. Based on information concerning intellectually gifted children with either a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) or typical development, we observed that these characteristics of intelligence are similar to those seen in SLD, but not in typical development, irrespective of whether 2e-ADHD children had a comorbid SLD
Urban and Rural connection between global and local, between role and reality. What design can do to achieve the synergy?
No full textUrban and rural terms have different significances with reference to the context and their relationship have changed over time according to socio-political changes, always in a dichotomous way. The latest studies overpass this dichotomy and propose multi-sectoral approach focusing on patterns of territorial continuity, which goes beyond boundaries.
On the international level, Habitat II (1996) argued that "Rural and urban development are interdependent. In addition to improving the urban habitat, we must work to provide adequate infrastructure, public services, and employment opportunities to rural areas to increase their attractiveness, develop an integrated network of settlements, and minimize rural-to-urban migration. Small and medium-sized towns need special focus”. Nowadays in a globalized era, where the South and the North are interdependent, and where cities are growing exponentially, the Sustainable Development Goals, do not consider the rural but they have a strong focus on urban dimension. It is true that in 2010 more people live in urban than rural areas, and that in 2030, 60% of the eight billion inhabitants will live in cities, and moreover, in cities 70% of the economy is concentrated; 60% of the global energy consumption; 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of the global waste. This is even more true in Europe, where 70% of the population live in urban area, with a polycentric model of cities of which Italy is a unique example (ASvis, 2016).
The author is however convinced that a step back should be undertaken, and that the policies of the countries should be geared towards achieving a better synergic balance between urban and rural, thus reducing the pressure on cities, as promoted by Cork 2.0 European Conference on Rural Development (2016). In addition, the author discusses some examples of revitalization projects in rural areas in Italy that have contributed to this goal
The Crucial Role of Working Memory in Intellectual Functioning
No full textCognitive psychology offers an important contribution to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying intelligence. In this paper, we synthesize the research showing that, among the different cognitive mechanisms associated with intelligence, working memory has a particularly high explanatory power, especially when considered in its active component involving not only the maintenance (as in short-term memory) but also the manipulation of information. The paper considers two main implications of this finding for the applied and clinical fields. For a start, we examine how intelligence tests take into consideration working memory. Secondly, we consider the highly debated literature on the effects of working memory training on intellectual performance. Theoretical and applied implications for the relationship between working memory and intelligence are discussed
Enhancing power efficiency of doherty power amplifiers using windowing based crest factor reduction technique
No full textThis paper investigates the performance of a Windowing Based Crest Factor Reduction (CFRWB) technique, to enhance the power efficiency of Radio Frequency (RF) power amplifiers. In particular, CFRWB is implemented on a Doherty Power Amplifier (DPA) in conjunction with Generalized Memory Polynomial (GMPDPD), and Volterra series based Digital Predistortion (VDPD) techniques. Key features like spectral regrowth, Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) reduction, efficiency improvement and Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) have been used to measure the efficacy of the proposed method. Both simulation and experimental results show that the proposed combination of CFRWB technique with GMPDPD and VDPD is able to reduce the PAPR of the complex input signals by nearly 60%, with minimal degrading of the EVM and spectral regrowth. Moreover, such signal with reduced PAPR can be used to overdrive the DPA, allowing for a relevant average efficiency enhancement (i.e., up to 25%), while fulfilling the requirements of modern communication standards such as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and long-term evolution (LTE)
Sex differences in cognition: A meta-analysis of variance ratios in the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children
No full textA meta-analytic approach was used to explore sex differences in within-sex variation across different versions of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Mean sex differences and variance ratios (VRs) were obtained from 75 studies that included 124 independent samples, 571 effect sizes. The outcomes included full scale IQ, individual subtests, and composite indices based on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll ability model (e.g., visual processing, gV, and crystallized intelligence, gC). Although males were more variable in several domains (e.g., gV, gC), females were more variable for processing speed (gS), and there were no VR differences for still other domains (e.g., short-term verbal memory). The cross-domain differences in VRs were linearly related to the magnitude of mean sex differences, suggesting that the sex with the advantage at the mean is often the more variable sex. A theoretical model that accounts for this pattern is proposed
- …
