87,195 research outputs found
Bosphorus
No full textLaboratorio di Progettazione sul tema Learning from Cities a margine della X Mostra Internazionale di Architettura- Biennale di Venezia "Città, Architettura e Società", Venezia 10 Settembre- 19 Novembre 2006. La Facoltà di Architettura di Napoli rappresentata da Roberto Serino e dagruppo di studenti Lombardi R., Galante P., Filosa F., Iacone D., Marino S., Pagnano R., Pompele M., ha prodotto un DVD su Istanbul
Visuo-tactile synesthesia in non-synethetic subjects: a distinction between self and other.
No full textVisuo-tactile synesthesia in non-synesthetic subjects. A distinction between self and other.
Andrea Serino 1,2, Francesca Pizzoferrato 2 & Elisabetta Làdavas1,2.
1 – Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Bologna.
2 – Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Cesena
Abstract
Observation of actions, sensations or emotions activates the same brain areas directly involved in action execution, sensory and emotional feelings, respectively, i.e. the so called “mirror system” (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004). In this study, we show that such resonance of brain activity when observing and feeling has a behavioural landmark in the domain of touch. Observing an image of a face being touched by human hands enhanced tactile processing on the face. This effect was: a) specific for observation of touch: tactile enhancement was found when the hands touched the face compared to when they just approached the face; b) specific to viewing a body part: viewing the image of a house being touched did not improve touch; c) sensitive to the identity of the observed face: tactile enhancement was stronger when subjects viewed their own face rather than another person’s face.
These findings suggest that observation of touch directly modulates tactile processing, probably by activating primary somatosensory areas in a mirror-like way. Such modulation is stronger when visual information is related to the self. This suggests a gradient in mirror-like activity due to observation of touch that discriminates between observing an another person and the self
Tool use induces complex and flexible plasticity of human body representations
No full textPlasticity of body representation fundamentally underpins human tool use. Recent studies have demonstrated remarkably complex plasticity of body representation in humans, showing that such plasticity: (1) occurs flexibly across multiple time-scales, and (2) involves multiple body representations responding differently to tool use. Such findings reveal remarkable sophistication of body plasticity in humans, suggesting that Vaesen may overestimate the similarity of such mechanisms in humans and non-human primates
MicroRNAs in kidney diseases: New promising biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring
No full textA series of microRNAs (miRNAs) have a critical role in many cellular and physiological activities such as cell cycle, growth, proliferation, apoptosis and metabolism. miRNAs are also important in the maintenance of renal homeostasis and kidney diseases. In vitro and in vivo animal models have shown a critical role of miRNAs in the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and in the progression of renal fibrosis. Specific miRNAs in renal tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are up and downregulated in different kidney diseases. They represent new potential biomarkers for diagnosis and targeted therapy. In addition, urinary miRNAs may be considered non-invasive biomarkers for monitoring the progression of renal damage. The activity of miRNAs can be modified by different approaches such as the use of antisense oligonucleotide inhibitors (antagomirs), tandem miRNA-binding site repeats manufactured by Decoy or Sponge technologies and miRNA mimics. The use of miRNA blockers or antagonists as therapeutic agents is very attractive but new information will be necessary considering their role in other systems. © The Author 2013
Pompeii water supply - Route and tunnels of the Serino aqueduct
No full textOur study continues on the water routes and engineering of the aqueducts serving ancient Pompeii. The main focus of the research was to perform a study of the topography between the spring water source and Pompeii by means of field GPS investigations and historical research. When the Serino Aqueduct was built under the Emperor Augustus (arguably between 33 and 12 B.C.), it crossed hilly terrain with channel gradients that varied, impacting hydraulics. Nevertheless, a flow of at least 1,000 liters per second was possible. A great portion of the Serino Aqueduct was engineered to be tunneled under the hilly terrain, with some sections as much as 65 to 97 meters below the existing grade
Immigrazione e Diritto alla Salute: una prospettiva psico-sociale
No full textThe present paper focuses on the current perception of “human rights” from a social-psychological point of view.
In particular, we consider Health and Well-Being, wandering whether these are to be considered as fundamental Human Rights and to what extent this view is shared by individuals and groups in a given community.
To this aim, we focus on the Italian present situation, wherein some specific norms have been recently enacted. Some of these are directed, in particular, to regulate the medical caregivers’ action in favor of immigrant patients with no residence permit.
Different orientations are compared with each other, by referring, in particular, to the July/2009 Italian Government Law and to the December/2009 Regional Law of Apulia, and considering, in this way, both national and local levels. Of course, we focused ,mostly, on the social-psychological issues, by considering, in particular, the population social representations and the caregivers’ social judgments as to the “status” of Health Care : we wander whether, in their view, this is to be deemed a fundamental human right.
Some first findings from our studies in progress are briefly recalled, the role of people’s attitudes and shared beliefs in supporting the effectiveness of norms is emphasized, by considering in this lights some seminal studies on the social representations of human rights (Doise et Al., 1999
Governing Fintech for sustainable development: evidence from Italian banking system
No full textCustomer satisfaction has been traditionally the main goal for managers. Focusing on the banking industry, the importance of this concept is even greater because of the increasing focus of banks on mobile services to reach out to a larger set of customers. To investigate user’s behavior in a Fintech context, this study aim to focus on two relevant issues: service quality and perceived risk. For the purpose, the authors integrated a technology quality-based model with a green image perspective to investigate the impact on customer satisfaction in Fintech users. The authors find that some of quality services factors impact on user satisfaction as well as the trust in Fintech providers. Moreover, the empirical findings highlight that the importance of a green
reputation in Fintech providers from the perspective of consumer as it enhances both the trust and the satisfaction in internet banking services offered. It is needed to highlight that the most important thing for a Fintech provider is to secure loyalty and to be sustainable in a green perspective. The authors found that trust and green image give great influence on use intention. Therefore, it is most important for financial providers to develop financial products with trust and e-loyalty in mind
Going beyond the boundaries between self and other
No full textBodily self-representation is considered to be built along development and then keep relatively stable in the adult life. We propose rather that the representations of self and others are constantly updated through social interactions. The integration of visual and tactile information pertaining one's own and other persons' body might play a critical
role in such representations. In the present study we show that sharing multisensory experience with others might modify both the representation of the self in relation to the other, and the processing of shared sensory stimuli. As previously shown, the perception of tactile stimuli on one's own face is stronger when viewing touch towards
one's own face as compared to when viewing touch towards another person's face (Visual remapping of touch effect, VRT;Serino et al., 2008). Behaviourally and psychometrically we show that, if subjects observe another person's face being stroked and are stroked on their own face simultaneously (Tsakiris, 2008), the self-related enhancement of VRT disappears, so that tactile perception is analogously influenced by viewing touch on the self and on the other. These findings suggest that the boundaries between the representation of the self and the other might be overcome by shared multisensory experiences
The context of empathy: culture,groups, social comparison
No full textEmpathy is one of the most peculiar and intriguing phenomena in
social life. It is a complex, multifaceted experience, which can be
observed in several different contexts and analysed at different
levels. In this paper, we focus on empathy as a social experience, dealing
with interpersonal and intergroup relationships, culture and the shared
representations of the world, with our identities and our ways of
comparing ourselves with others. In particular, we aimed to stress the
importance of a socio-psychological analysis of empathy; to discuss some
studies where empathy is linked to some typical objects of social psychological
theory and research; to present one of our studies on empathy and
social categorisation. In this experiment, empathy towards a person in
need was manipulated by ‘perspective taking’ instructions. Participants
(seventy-nine female students) were instructed either to ‘try to be as
objective as possible’ about what happened to the person interviewed
(Low Empathy condition) or to ‘imagine how the person interviewed
may feel’ and to ‘try to identify with her’ (High Empathy condition).
The dependent variables were the following: effectiveness of empathy
manipulation; scores on ‘Batson’s Empathy Scales’; scores of Self-
Other similarity; classification levels; Self-Other merging measures. By
both qualitative and quantitative techniques, the connections between
empathy, similarity and social categorisation are investigated. The
rhetorical dimension of interpersonal similarity is put forward, while
the role of social system and culture as crucial components of empathising
are underlined
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