484 research outputs found
Teachers’ attitudes: learner’s errors and standard norms.
No full textThe aim of this chapter is to focus on the pedagogical implications of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) as regards the reconceptualization of learners’ deviations from native-speaker standard norms, traditionally referred to as errors. The author provides a preliminary historical overview of approaches to English language teaching (ELT) to highlight the evolution of psycholinguistic notions in the area of cognitive processes and second language acquisition. The phenomenon of language variation is seen through the lens of Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, which leads to a different understanding of the learner’s personal voice and of their identity in multicultural global communication. Finally, the author presents some of the results of a teacher’s survey on the attitudes of a group of Italian teachers of English about the emergence of ELF in the English classroom
Wage--size relation and the structure of work-force composition in Italian manufacturing firms
No full textIn this paper we study the impact of firms' productivity and scale of activity on the cost of labour for Italian manufacturing firms, investigating how the work-force composition affects the total expenditures for wages. Our analysis reveals that once productivity differences among firms are accounted for, size still retains a positive effect on cost of labour. We show that the source of this phenomenon is the relatively higher proportion of non-production workers in bigger firms, which results in a cost of labour for white collar workers that increases with increasing firm size. Copyright The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.
Dinamiche della produttività e del costo del lavoro nelle imprese manifatturiere italiane
No full textNon disponibil
PREVALENCE IN OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HABITS IN CHILDREN
No full textAim: To evaluate the prevalence in overweight/obesity children attended the primary school [2007-08, (T1) in Ferrara,
Italy] and the variation in prevalence by sex and lifestyle.
Materials and Methods: 2.151 children [1.133 males (M), 1.018 females (F)] were measured height, weight, Body Mass
Index (BMI). Eating and physical activity habits were evaluated by the compilation of a questionnaire. To evaluate the
trend of BMI we compared this study with a previous one performed in 2003-04 (T0).
Results: 22% were overweight and 9% were obesity. 74% engaged in regular physical activity. Children’s parents: 56%
both were sedentary, 29% only one was active, 15% both were active.
10 years old children were allocated into 2 groups: active and not active. The mean BMI was lower* in active group, M
(T0: 19, T1: 18.8) and F (T0: 18.8, T1: 18.1). The prevalence of overweight and obesity is lower* in active population (M:
28.9% vs 39.1%; F: 26.6% vs 31.9%). The prevalence of active children is higher* even if the parents were active (91%
vs 73%). We found a lower BMI, M: from (T0) 18.9 to (T1) 18.5, F: form (T0) 18.7 to (T1) 17.1.
Even the prevalence of overweight and obesity detected in the T1 study was lower*, M: 38.3% (T0) vs 30.8% (T1), F:
38.1% (T0) vs 28% (T1).
(*T-test, P<0.05)
Conclusion: An active lifestyle has positive effect on body mass composition in primary school children and the parents
lifestyle influence children’s one, consequently one of the prior educational effort should start from school
Telecollaboration and the Remediation of Intercultural Communication
No full textThis paper illustrates the phases of a research project called Intercultural Telecollaboration that is based on the remediation of linear written discourse via the integration of digital tools. The aim of this study is to discuss the pedagogical use of hypermedia to promote Telecollaboration, which represents one of the greatest achievements of Web applications thus far focused on the improvement of foreign language learning and intercultural competence. Ten Italian high-school students of English and ten American intermediate-level students of Italian were paired up and interconnected online in order to use their L2s to discuss several conversational topics regarding their sociocultural backgrounds. Participants were encouraged to improve their mutual intelligibility through e-partnering, that consists in the voluntary exchange of selective corrective feedback. Moreover, a pre- and a post-survey were conducted to collect qualitative data about the students' experience in taking part in the project
ELF in the English Classroom: Great Ideas and Burning Open Questions
No full textResearch in the field of English as a lingua franca (ELF) has been inherently connected to studies in the broad areas of Applied Linguistics and English language teaching (ELT) ever since the unresolved academic controversy on the nature of English as a global language started, in the early eighties. So far, several research projects have been carried out to enhance ELF-informed pedagogy and incorporate the use of ELF into the English syllabus through innovative teaching/learning practices (Author 2013; Bowles and Cogo 2015; Gagliardi and Maley 2010; Vettorel 2015). However, even though a shift in perspective has been advocated in order to reconceptualise the traditional approach to ELT (Lopriore 2010), this transition poses challenging open questions for discussion, including: Should any native-speaker language model be provided in language education? How are ʽerrors’ going to be distinguished from creative forms of ELF? How are teachers supposed to behave when deviations from the adopted language model take place? How should teachers assess the use of ELF in the English classroom?
The aim of this paper is to focus on these queries and stimulate a discussion to provide tentative answers
Trajectories of change in English language teaching. An ELF-aware approach.
No full textThe spread of English as the world’s primary lingua franca (ELF) is an epiphenomenon of globalisation that has enhanced the importance of intercultural contact between speakers of different mother tongues. Inevitably, this will have a far-reaching impact on English language teaching (ELT), for the reality of ELF challenges the primacy of standard English and the traditional native-speaker model in foreign language education.
In particular, the topics under discussion focus on:
• A definition of ELF based on the most recent studies in this area.
• The views of interculturalists on ELF through a survey involving members of Professor Michael Byram’s CultNet.
• An exploration of controversial issues regarding the incorporation of ELF into the English language syllabus (e.g. the role of the native-speaker model in ELT; errors and creative forms of ELF; the assessment of ELF in the English classroom).
• The implementation of telecollaboration in the English classroom to improve learners’ intercultural competence through ELF-based networked activities.
This book is designed to provide language educators, teachers of English, and researchers with a vision for the future of ELT based on a plurilithic notion of English and intercultural understanding. This, the author believes, is all the more necessary in the present age, characterised by the socio-political challenges posed by globalisation
Different effects of ACTH fragments on hippocampal EEG and behavior
No full textThe hippocampal electrical activity and behavior of rabbits have been studied in the presence of novel and emotional stimuli. The effects of these stimuli have been recorded in controls and in groups of animals treated with ACTH (4-10)(10 micrograms/100 g, i.m.) and ACTH (1-24) (10 micrograms/100 g, i.m.). Recordings were made immediately and 30 min after injection. ACTH (4-10) injection failed to evoke any significant behavioral or electrical response. Rabbits recorded 30 min after ACTH (1-24) injection showed a reduction of hippocampal RSA (rhythmic slow activity) frequency and behavioral activity. In particular, reduction of exploration, self-grooming, motor activity and approaches to the new object have been observed. Since ACTH is characterized by a corticotropic action these results can be due to corticosteroid stimulation
Assessing the impact of credit ratings and economic performance on firm default
No full textThe study of firms' default has attracted wide interest among both practitioners and scholars. However, attention has often been limited to a relatively small set of financial variables. In this work, we try to increase the scope of analysis extending the investigation to other possible determinants of default. In particular, we rely on credit ratings to summarize firms' financial conditions, and we address the potential predictive power of a set of economic dimensions size, growth, profitability and productivity which industrial economics suggest to be meaningful determinants of survival. We present novel results based on a large Italian dataset reporting credit ratings for all the firms in the sample. As far as financial conditions and default are concerned, we find that the firms displaying the worst credit ratings are quite turbulent, but also exhibit non-negligible chances to recover. Moreover, the analysis of the distribution of firms' economic performance reveals that profitability stands up as the only relevant economic variable telling apart defaulting firms from surviving ones, at different time distance to default. Finally, probit and logit estimation of default probabilities, testing for the simultaneous effect of economic and financial dimensions, suggest that growth, in addition to credit ratings, significantly affects the likelihood of default, albeit in a positive (and as such unexpected) way in the manufacturing industry
Trade and Profitability: Is there an export premium? Evidence from Italian manufacturing firms
No full textUsing firm level data this study investigates the relation between export activity and firm's profitability. The paper shows that, contrary to other performance indicators such as productivity, exporting activity is not systematically associated to higher firm's profitability. This is shown both by means of non-parametric methods and, with an approach that is more standard within the empirical trade literature, by regression techniques that try to identify an "export premium".export premium; productivity; profitability
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