The impact of heating, lighting and people in re-using historical buildings: a case study

The impact of lighting, heating and people in re-using historical buildings are discussed for the case study concerning the ceremony room (i.e. the Giant Hall) of a mediaeval palace in Padova. The Hall has substantially four major problems for conservation: (i) the impact of heating, lighting and people when the room is used; (ii) many cracks on the oak panels of the coffered ceiling; (iii) the soiling by dust and soot particles deposited on the frescoes; (iv) the stained glass windows. A microclimate study was performed to know the impact of the environmental variables, and the use of the room, on the artworks preserved inside. The study has proved the impact of the lamps (both incandescence and compact fluorescent lamps) on the ceiling, the penetration of external air in the room, the heat and the moisture released by people, the impact of sunshine through windows and the scatter diagram of the daily cycles in temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). During winter concerts, the strips of lead which are wrapped round the edge of the cut glass pieces in stained glass windows easily drop below the dew point and form condensation, starting corrosion. A discussion concerns the allowed variability, which should not exceed risk thresholds. A safe interval can be established within the area determined by the most frequent T and RH natural cycles. In fact, both of the cycles were compatible with the artefacts, or the artefacts were already damaged to allow the exceeding dimensional changes. Attention should be paid in the variability external to this area, especially approaching or exceeding a limit equal to twice the mode of the natural variability.     

Boosting vocabulary learning through self-assessment in an English language teaching context

This study explores the influence of self-assessment of vocabulary competence on a group of students’ oral fluency. Twenty-four young adult learners participated in a learning process that promoted their oral skills and vocabulary development. Self-assessment was mainly examined through the analysis of students’ learning logs, field notes and artefacts in the form of audio recordings. By contrasting and analysing data sources, and the results obtained from pre- and post-speaking tasks, through a mixed method design approach, it was found that when students self-assess, they are able to acknowledge their learning strengths and drawbacks. This practice enabled students to set learning commitments, use learning strategies that also allow them to raise awareness and take further actions, while self-monitoring them. Consequently, initial improvements in students’ oral fluency development were evinced through the implementation of a systematic cycle that applies self-assessment as a formative assessment source. Thus, the students entered a process in which they gradually become more able to self-monitor, judge and react towards their own gains in language and learning. Findings highlighted the value of goal setting as an essential component in self-assessment. Further longitudinal studies may well support the long-lasting effects of this strategy in similar educational contexts.     

Science,Politics/Policy and the Cold War in Argentina: From Concepts to Institutional Models in the 1950s and ’60s

Minerva - This paper analyses how the Cold War influenced the discourses on basic research and on Science and Technology Policies (STPs) of some leaders of the Argentine research community. It...     

Overcoming feudal constraints on educational research in Spain: the impact of the CIMIE conference

ABSTRACT

Feudal structures and power relationships that Spanish universities inherited from Franco’s dictatorship have damaged the quality of educational research. However, the emergence of initiatives aimed to address these limitations have been identified. In this article, we analyze the impact of the Multidisciplinary International Conference on Educational Research (CIMIE). Specifically, we analyze how CIMIE is contributing to overcome some of the feudal constraints affecting educational research in Spain, such as fragmentation of areas of knowledge, limited international research efforts, and precarious and unstable employment situations of many researchers. Grounded in the communicative methodology of research and using mixed methods, we have conducted a longitudinal study of this research initiative (2012–2016), comprising interviews and communicative observations, analysis of documentation and quantitative data. The results show that participants understand that their involvement in CIMIE is contributing to make them feel released from the constraints of university feudalism by building solidarity networks and egalitarian relationships, and by rethinking research.     

The Impact of a Study Abroad Experience on Preservice Teachers' Dispositions and Plans for Teaching English Language Learners

This study explored how a study abroad experience affected preservice teachers' (PSTs') dispositions towards and plans for teaching English Language Learners (ELLs). This qualitative study involved 16 elementary education initial licensure PSTs who participated in a 2-month study abroad trip to Germany. Data in the form of surveys, interviews, and reflections were collected. The PSTs' experiences left them feeling like outsiders, fostering greater empathy for ELLs. As the PSTs faced the challenges of studying abroad, they developed ways of coping, which influenced their dispositions toward ELLs and the accommodations they wanted to make when teaching ELLs in their future classrooms. A model of the PSTs' learning progression within the study abroad experience is offered as a lens to consider their transformations. Findings suggest it would be beneficial for educators traveling abroad with PSTs to find ways to make explicit the connections between personal encounters and future teaching experiences.     

Neural Correlates of Face Familiarity in Institutionally Reared Children With Distinctive,Atypical Social Behavior

Although the impact of early adverse experience on neural processing of face familiarity has been studied, research has not taken into account disordered child behavior. This work compared the neural processing of familiar versus strangers' faces in 47 institutionalized children with a mean age of 54 months to determine the effects of (a) the presence versus absence of atypical social behavior and (b) inhibited versus indiscriminant atypical behavior. Results revealed a pattern of cortical hypoactivation in institutionalized children manifesting atypical social behavior and that inhibited children displayed larger neural response to a caregiver's face than to the stranger's, while indiscriminant children did not discriminate between stimuli. These findings suggest that neural correlates of face familiarity are associated with social functioning in institutionalized children.     

A hybrid approach to university subject learning activities

In order to get a better understanding of subject design and delivery using a hybrid approach, we have studied a hybrid learning postgraduate programme offered by the University of the Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. The study analyses students' perceptions of subject design and delivery, with particular reference to learning activities and the roles of lecturers and students during moments of interaction. Elements of socio‐cultural activity theory were taken as a reference for subject analysis. It is a qualitative research project containing some quantitative data. For the purposes of the study, the following instruments were designed and applied: a student survey, student interviews (by subject), lecturer interviews, and a subject design and planning observation guide. The study's conclusions present the characteristics of learning activities and of student–lecturer and student–student interaction that fostered the attainment of subject learning objectives. These characteristics can make a positive contribution to the process of subject design and delivery using a hybrid approach, meaning integration between face‐to‐face and e‐learning actions in the delivery of learning activities.     

Higher Education and the Values of Multicultural Civism

Since inter‐ethnic tension and conflict is a potential problem in many parts of east and central Europe, much can be learned from the experience of the Banat region of Romania that is known for its very good inter‐ethnic relations. Efforts to make the study of multi‐ethnicity a part of the university curriculum stimulated the author and a number of other academics at the University of the West in Timi?oara to set up a Center for Comparative East and Central European Studies, a major project of which has been to prepare a multifaceted study of the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the Banat region of Romania. Aspects of this project are described and cited as an example of what can be done elsewhere to link higher education to the furtherance of the aims of civil society, one of which is inter‐ethnic tolerance and peace.