1,721,126 research outputs found
Ageing- and dementia-friendly design: theory and evidence from cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and environmental psychology can contribute to design guidelines that minimise spatial disorientation.
Full text linkMany older people, both with and without dementia, eventually move from their familiar home environments into unfamiliar surroundings, such as sheltered housing or care homes. Age-related declines in wayfinding skills can make it difficult to learn to navigate in these new, unfamiliar environments. To facilitate the transition to their new accommodation, it is therefore important to develop retirement complexes and care homes specifically designed to reduce the wayfinding difficulties of older people and those with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Residential complexes that are designed to support spatial orientation and that compensate for impaired navigation abilities would make it easier for people with dementia to adapt to their new living environment. This would improve the independence, quality of life and well-being of residents, and reduce the caregivers' workload. Based on these premises, this opinion paper considers how evidence from cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and environmental psychology can contribute to ageing- and dementia-friendly design with a view to minimising spatial disorientation. After an introduction of the cognitive mechanisms and processes involved in spatial navigation, and the changes that occur in typical and atypical ageing, research from the field of environmental psychology is considered, highlighting design factors likely to facilitate (or impair) indoor wayfinding in complex buildings. Finally, psychological theories and design knowledge are combined to suggest ageing- and dementia-friendly design guidelines that aim to minimise spatial disorientation by focusing on residual navigation skills
Individual Differences in Memory Updating in relation to Arithmetic Problem Solving.
No full textThe study investigates the relationship between memory updating and arithmetic word problem solving. Two groups of 35 fourth graders with high and low memory-updating abilities were selected from a sample of 89 children on the basis of an updating task used by Palladino et al. [Memory & Cognition 29 (2002) 344]. The two groups were required to solve a set of arithmetic word problems and to recall relevant information from another set of problems. Several span tasks, a computation test, and the PMAverbal subtest were also administered. The group with a high memory-updating ability performed better in problem solving, recalling text problems, and in the computation test. The two groups did not differ in the PMA verbal subtest or in the digit and word spans. Results were interpreted as supporting the importance of updating ability in problem solving and of the substantial independence between memory updating and problem solving on one hand and verbal intelligence on the other
Relief and Drainage Integration as Geomorphic Expressions of Regional Uplift and Local Footwall Flexure in a Portion of Sila Massif, Southern Apennines (Calabria, Italy)
No full textPresentazione di uno strumento per la valutazione della memoria di lavoro verbale e sua relazione con i disturbi di comprensione
No full textThe Geomorphic Expression of Neotectonic Activity in the Northern Portion of Sila (Calabria, Southern Italy)
No full textEffect of Governance Reforms on Corporate Ownership in Italy: Is it Still Pizza, Spaghetti and Mandolino?
No full textThis paper describes the logics that guide the implementation of corporate governance reforms and investigates the extent to which these logics lead to an increase in investor protection. We use the example of Italy, where major governance reforms were passed in 1998 to protect minority shareholders from the risk of expropriation. Our two-stage mixed-methods longitudinal study (1995-2005) reveals that the reforms were only modestly effective in improving governance practices. On the one hand, we document a greater alignment of cash flow rights and voting rights of ultimate owners after 1998, suggesting that minority shareholders face lower risk of expropriation. Yet, on the other hand, we find that the percentage of firms where control is fully contestable continues to remain low. Our qualitative analysis reveals both facilitators such as institutional investor activism and mandatory provisions, and impediments such as discretionary provisions, weak enforcement and an ingrained culture of high control. This study elaborates extant theory on effectiveness of reforms by adopting a longitudinal design that describes both their underlying logics and their actual effects on business practices. It also offers conceptual clarity to this literature by bringing attention to factors that act as facilitators and impediments to reform efforts. This study prompts lawmakers in countries endeavoring reforms to encourage participation of institutional investors, as also urges them to consider mandatory provisions, especially those which enhance disclosure and representation
Mental rotation training: transfer and maintenance effects on spatial abilities
No full textOne of the aims of research in spatial cognition is to examine whether spatial skills can be enhanced. The goal of the present study was thus to assess the benefit and maintenance effects of mental rotation training in young adults. Forty-eight females took part in the study: 16 were randomly assigned to receive the mental rotation training (based on comparing pairs of 2D or 3D objects and rotation games), 16 served as active controls (performing parallel non-spatial activities), and 16 as passive controls. Transfer effects to both untrained spatial tasks (testing both object rotation and perspective taking) and visual and verbal tasks were examined. Across the training sessions, the group given mental rotation training revealed benefits in the time it took to make judgments when comparing 3D and 2D objects, but their mental rotation speed did not improve. When compared with the other groups, the mental rotation training group did show transfer effects, however, in tasks other than those practiced (i.e., in object rotation and perspective-taking tasks), and these benefits persisted after 1 month. The training had no effect on visual or verbal tasks. These findings are discussed from the spatial cognition standpoint and with reference to the (rotation) training literature
DEM analyses and morphotectonic interpretation: The Plio-Quaternary evolution of the eastern Ligurian Alps, Italy.
No full textEffect of Governance Reforms on Corporate Ownership in Italy: Is it Still Pizza, Spaghetti and Mandolino?
No full textThis paper describes the logic that guides the implementation of corporate governance reforms and investigates the extent to which the logic leads to an increase in investor protection. We use the example of Italy, where major governance reforms were passed in 1998 to protect minority shareholders from the risk of expropriation
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