An assessment of a social–cognitive model of academic performance in mathematics in Argentinean middle school students

This study tested a set of hypotheses derived from the model of academic achievement in mathematics of the Social Cognitive Career Theory in a sample of Argentinean middle school students. To this aim, 277 students (male and female; age: 13–15 years) were assessed using the following instruments: logical–mathematical self-efficacy scale, mathematics outcome expectations, mathematics performance goals, and mathematics ability test. All of these instruments had been adapted for use in Argentinean students. Academic achievement in mathematics (i.e., grades obtained on regular school exams) was the variable to be modeled through the path analysis technique. The analysis allowed identification of interrelations among the variables and identification of direct and indirect effects. Academic achievement in mathematics was partially explained by the model. Overall, the results support the theoretical postulates of Social Cognitive Career Theory.     

Digital Publishing in Europe: a Focus on France,Germany, Italy and Spain

In this article we will provide a general overview of the situation of the digital publishing in Europe starting from the insights provided by the Editech conference, the international day of advanced study organized by the Italian Publishers Association and focused on the trends, perspectives and applications of technological innovation in publishing at an international level. It is the main Italian event dedicated to book publishing with the aim of helping publishers define their short- and medium-term digital strategies, while being aware of the opportunities and risks involved in the conversion to digital of their business model. The Editech 2010 main focus had been: the market and the national and international situation of digital publishing, the new buying and reading behaviors of consumers, e-books and content for e-readers and mobile devices, new production processes (XML, ePub, digital printing) and the distribution scenario and the diffusion of digital content.     

Effects of competition level on the centre forward role of men's water polo

This study aimed to compare specific technical and tactical indicators of the team and centre forward role of Euro League, and Italian Serie A1, Serie A2, and Serie B men's water polo club competitions. A notational analysis was performed on 21 water polo matches to evaluate the occurrence of technical and tactical team and centre forward indicators, highlighting differences among championships according to chi-square analyses. Differences emerged for Counterattack (P < 0.001) and Power-Play (P < 0.001) possessions, Even (P < 0.001; Euro League: 3 ± 1, Serie A1: 3 ± 2, Serie A2: 3 ± 2, Serie B: 6 ± 4) and Power-Play (P = 0.001) goals, and exclusions and penalties (P = 0.008) of the team during Even possessions. Relatively to the role analyses, effects emerged for perimeter players playing events (P = 0.049), as well as for centre forwards' goals (P = 0.007) and exclusions and penalties (P < 0.001; Euro League: 8 ± 1, Serie A1: 6 ± 2, Serie A2: 6 ± 2, Serie B: 3 ± 2) occurring at the end of Even possessions. Therefore, in Euro League, and Italian Serie A1 and Serie A2, teams perform a high occurrence of Power-Play possessions following up an exclusion, especially achieved by the centre forward during Even possessions, while, in Italian Serie B, goals were mostly scored during Even possessions, with a relevant contribution from the centre forward role.     

Approaches to studying in higher education Portuguese students: a Portuguese version of the approaches and study skills inventory for students

This paper examines the validity of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students—short version (ASSIST; Tait et al. in Improving student learning: Improving students as learners, 1998), to be used with Portuguese undergraduate students. The ASSIST was administrated to 566 students, in order to analyse a Portuguese version of this inventory. Exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factor analysis followed by direct oblimin rotation) reproduced the three main factors that correspond to the original dimensions of the inventory (deep, surface apathetic and strategic approaches to learning). The results are consistent with the background theory on approaches to learning. Additionally, the reliability analysis revealed acceptable internal consistency indexes for the main scales and subscales. This inventory might represent a valuable research tool for the assessment of approaches to learning among Portuguese higher education students.     

Magic Women on the Margins: Ec-centric Models in Mary Poppins and Ms Wiz

This paper offers a comparative analysis of two characters belonging to the tradition of empowered “spinster” in children’s fiction, namely Mary Poppins and Ms Wiz, from the perspective of gender politics and child/adult interactions. A distinction is made between the figure portrayed in P. L. Travers’ texts and the Disney film starring Julie Andrews, which turned the magic nanny into a cultural icon. These two renderings of the powerful, single woman, in turn, are contrasted with Terence Blacker’s postmodern depiction of the good witch in the “Ms Wiz” series, with a view to tracing the evolution of the ostracised female wizard, a character inherited from folklore that has its origin in the Great Mother archetype. As is demonstrated, each representation of the supernatural woman modifies the manner in which the feminine influences the patriarchal order.     

博物馆,生态博物馆,和反博物馆:解决遗产、社会和发展的思路

此探讨遗产与社会和发展间应当建立起新的关系。认为应当反思，从考虑遗产和其特性的方式上，尤其应当关注遗产地情况。在全球化的今天，化被认为是地区性的，——由地理边界划分。遗产的确定取决于它所处于的社会群体对价值的重要性的认识。因此，我们不能忘记民俗和传统的重要性是自发表现的。 地方遗产面对世界性强势化建立的不正当游戏规则的矛盾现实，所进行的运动是寻找有效的解决方法，世界遗产正在引起人们的重视。这样可能提供一种真正的生存，特别是对于小的社区，他们的社会经济结构和他们的价值观和行为动力相关联——确保可持续地发展他们的经济。地方社区才能对全部遗产的博物馆化作出反应。当我们考虑现在范例的时候，博物馆就可作为一种可持续发展的工具，以更加人性化的行动保护全部遗产。     

… I ever loved thee,lady mine,and yet my love increases: Rhodian Portrait Ceramics and Cultural Dialogue in the Mediterranean

The medieval city of Rhodes kept a secure position as artistic and commercial crossroads, where pottery was the most intensely traded commodity. Here, I focus on a group of fifteenth-century ceramics decorated with profile busts of men and women excavated there, near the Orthodox Church of St. Spyridon. Used in a culturally complex urban centre, these vessels borrowed elements of design, and the concept of portrait-ceramics and love pots from Italy, where spouses and lovers exchanged such objects as ritual gifts. I explore the patronage, production, and function of these ceramics within the specifics of Rhodes, to see how they were suited to serve this cosmopolitan society governed by the Hospitaller Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, while displaying comparable feelings of power and (romantic) character common in Italian portraiture.