The role of content management systems in publishing firms

This paper investigates the interaction between technological and organizational parameters. Recent studies have been focused on the information and communication impact on organizational parameters, owing to the growing need to acquire and process information. We focus on the impact of the content management system on publishing firms and through the study of ten Italian cases we identify the socio-technical context which favor the adoption of technology as well as the organizational parameters influenced by the technology use.     

Microclimate inside a semi-confined environment: Valuation of suitability for the conservation of heritage materials

The microclimatic analysis of the Petrarca's tomb in Arquà Petrarca, Padua (Italy) was performed to assess the suitability of a closed environment located outdoors respect to the conservation requirements of heritage materials. Results showed that the thermo-hygrometric conditions inside the tomb were not suitable for the conservation of organic materials, like bones and wood. The orientation (north or south) was the main responsible for the different damage features of the two sides of the wooden case housing the human remains inside the tomb. Technical solutions were finally implemented to improve the conservation conditions, thus avoiding further damage.     

How Instruction Influences Conceptual Development: Vygotsky's Theory Revisited

Although current interpretations of Vygotsky's theory largely assume that instruction pushes development, the issue of how this occurs has yet to be clarified. For example, the notion of “zone of proximal development” has aroused strong disagreement, and the common conceptualization of the notion of “nonspontaneous concept” has been widely recognized as unsatisfactory. This article proposes a new interpretation of Vygotsky's theory of cultural development, closely based on Vygotsky's writings, that clarifies why and how instruction pushes development and resignifies the notions of zone of proximal development and nonspontaneous concept. The article introduces important nuances into the widely held interpretations of Vygotsky's theory and discusses some of the implications of these nuances for research and practice in educational psychology.     

Following the instructions!: Effects of gender beliefs in mental rotation

Research has widely demonstrated male superiority in the Mental Rotation Test (MRT). Various explanations have been put forward to account for these differences. We considered gender beliefs and argued that women may fare less well than men partly because they are considered unable to perform this kind of task. Beliefs about spatial ability were experimentally manipulated in samples of 107 female and of 90 male high-school students, divided into three groups, following the instructions: men are better, women are better, general (with no gender reference). Our data show that women who expect to be more able than men and men who expect to be more able than women outperformed their counterparts. MRT performance fell for those expecting to be less able. The effects of induced beliefs on cognitive performance are stressed, particularly in the educational context.     

The Relation Between Global and Specific Mindset With Reading Outcomes for Elementary School Students

An emerging body of research has evaluated the role of growth mindset in educational achievement, yet little work has focused on the unique role of mindset to standardized reading outcomes. Our study presents 4 key outcomes in a sample of 195 fourth-grade students. First, we evaluated the dimensionality of general and reading-specific mindset and found that a global factor of growth mindset (GGM) existed along with specific factors of general and reading mindset. Second, GGM and reading mindset strongly predicted word reading and reading comprehension. Third, GGM and reading mindset uniquely predicted reading comprehension after controlling for basic word reading skills. Fourth, GGM was more strongly associated with reading comprehension for those individuals with weaker reading comprehension skills, whereas reading mindset was more strongly associated with reading comprehension for those with stronger reading comprehension skills. Our findings suggest the potential importance of assessing general and reading-specific mindset linked to reading.     

The specific involvement of verbal and visuospatial working memory in hypermedia learning

Many models have hypothesized that multimedia comprehension requires the concurrent processing of verbal and visuospatial information by limited information processing systems. However, in spite of the emphasis devoted to the concurrent processing of verbal and visuospatial information, little research has so far investigated the specific role played by verbal and visuospatial abilities in multimedia comprehension. The present paper aims to study the specific involvement of verbal and visuospatial working memory in multimedia learning. Ninety‐two students (39 boys and 53 girls) from a middle school in a small city in the northeast of Italy, were asked to learn new information on the physical and social geography of Germany from a hypermedium. Participants were also required to perform a reading comprehension test, two short‐term memory tasks, and two working memory tasks, which assessed either verbal or visuospatial memory. The results support the hypothesis that both verbal and visuospatial working memory sub‐components play a role in hypermedium processing, but with specific and distinct functions: the performance in the verbal working memory task was able to predict the semantic knowledge children can derive from hypermedia learning. In contrast, visuospatial working memory seemed to have lower connections to the semantic knowledge children derived from a hypermedia document, whereas its role emerged in the ability to construct a representation of the document structure.     

CONTEXTUAL PREDICTORS OF SELF‐DETERMINED ACTIONS IN STUDENTS WITH AND WITHOUT INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Research in the field of intellectual disability suggests that promotion of self‐determination triggers positive transition outcomes for youth with intellectual disability. This article examines the contributions of personal and environmental variables in predicting self‐determined action in students with and without intellectual disability. The Spanish pilot versions of the Self‐Determination Inventory and the AIR Self‐Determination Scale were administered to 114 youth with and without intellectual disability. Personal and environmental variables were treated as predictor variables for analytic purposes. The results indicate the relevance of environmental variables in predicting both self‐reported capacity for self‐determination and the essential characteristics of self‐determined action. Particularly, age and opportunities at school and at home to engage in self‐determined action played a significant role. The practical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Newspaper coverage of women's sports during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games: Belgium, Denmark, France, and Italy

In general, women are well represented among sport participants and sport audiences but not in the media. Data show that women's sport is greatly underreported and trivialized in newspapers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to measure press coverage during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in the largest circulating Belgian, Danish, French, and Italian daily newspapers by: (a) number of articles, (b) size, (c) page placement, (d) accompanyingphotographs, and (e) photograph size. For each sport covered, the athletes' nationality and the gender were recorded. Compared to the 1996 Atlanta Games, there was an increase of 326 female athletes (+4 %), and women competed in 25 sports and 132 events (44 %) of the total 300 events. Although only 29.3 % of the articles and 38 % of photos were on women 's sports, the newspaper coverage was similar to the distribution of participating athletes and events. No significant gender differences were found with respect to article size, page placement, accompanying photographs, or photograph size. The most covered sport was track and field, independent of national achievement. Other sports received different coverage in relation to national expectations, achievement, and participation. In conclusion, there was a trend to overcome gender inequities in media coverage during the Olympic Games, which may be due to the International Olympic Committee's actions to promote increased participation of women in sport activities and to publicize their achievements. Moreover, during the Olympic Games, a nationalistic fervor might affect the equality of gender coverage.