Critical factors in the use of evaluation in Italian universities

The use made of evaluation output is crucial for understanding the position and effectiveness of evaluation systems. This article examines the development of evaluation in the Italian university system from the 1990 s onwards where serious problems have been and continue to be addressed in the use of evaluation output to improve academic activities and make universities accountable for their behaviour. There is a tendency for evaluation to generate inappropriate or undesired effects and for those being assessed to adopt opportunistic behaviour. Underestimation of the universities’ organisational features is the main reason for so many difficulties.     

Identifying the optimal body shape and composition associated with strength outcomes in children and adolescent according to place of residence: An allometric approach

The purpose of the study was to identify the optimal body shape and composition associated with physical fitness levels of children living in urban and rural areas of Italy. A total of 7102 children (11–14 years) were assessed for weight, height, percentage body fat (FM%), sit-and-reach flexibility (SAR), standing broad jump (SBJ) and sit-ups (SUP). A multiplicative allometric model, Y = a · mass^k1 · height^k2 ·ε, was used to predict the physical outcome variables Y = SBJ and SUP. The model was expanded to incorporate FM% and SAR as follows Y = a · mass^k1 · height^k2 · FM%^k3 · exp(b· FM% + c· SAR) ·ε. Note that FM% was incorporated as a “gamma function” that allows an initial growth, and subsequent decline in Y as FM% increases in size. Although having an ectomorph body shape appears advantageous, being too thin appears detrimental to the strength outcomes. Being flexible would also benefit physical fitness levels. Finally, our results indicate that ursban children aged 11–14 have superior strength outcomes compared with rural children, having controlled for differences in body shape and composition, a finding that may be associated with rural environments having fewer exercise facilities compared with urban conurbations.     

Thermo-formation process of plastic shells for winter sport boots for improved comfort

We have performed a study on the thermo-formation process of plastic shells of boots for winter sports. The aim of the work has been to determine how the process parameters can improve the ergonomic and thermal comfort for athletes and winter sports participants. We have found that the initial deformation and memory effect are strongly influenced by the type of thermoplastic material used, heating time and cooling procedure. We have also found that the ovens currently used for this process are not correctly designed to obtain an efficient heat transfer and, therefore, a heating time of at least 12 min is necessary to achieve an average deformation of more than 2 mm. The measure of the boot flexural stiffness has shown that there are no changes in the load–deflection behavior after the thermo-formation process of a ski boot made of thermoplastic polyurethane. We have also found that the thermo-formation process decreases the pressure on skier’s feet of more than five times and, therefore, improves the comfort of the skier.     

Development of raw acceleration cut-points for wrist and hip accelerometers to assess sedentary behaviour and physical activity in 5–7-year-old children

ABSTRACT

This study validated sedentary behaviour (SB), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA) accelerometer cut-points in 5–7-year-old children. Participants (n = 49, 55% girls) wore an ActiGraph GT9X accelerometer, recording data at 100 Hz downloaded in 1 s epochs, on both wrists and the right hip during a standardised protocol and recess. Cut-points were generated using ROC analysis with direct observation as a criterion. Subsequently, cut-points were optimised using Confidence intervals equivalency analysis and then cross-validated in a cross-validation group. SB cut-points were 36 mg (Sensitivity (Sn) = 79.8%, Specificity (Sp) = 56.8%) for non-dominant wrist, 39 mg (Sn = 75.4%, Sp = 70.2%) for dominant wrist and 20 mg (Sn = 78%, Sp = 50.1%) for hip. MVPA cut-points were 189 mg (Sn = 82.6%, Sp = 78%) for non-dominant wrist, 181 mg (Sn = 79.1%, Sp = 76%) for dominant wrist and 95 mg (Sn = 79.3%, Sp = 75.6%) for hip. VPA cut-points were 536 mg (Sn = 75.1%, Sp = 68.7%) for non-dominant wrist, 534 mg (Sn = 67.6%, Sp = 95.6%) for dominant wrist and 325 mg (Sn = 78.2%, Sp = 96.1%) for hip. All placements demonstrated adequate levels of accuracy for SB and PA assessment.     

Item Response Theory analysis and Differential Item Functioning across age,gender and country of a short form of the Advanced Progressive Matrices

Item Response Theory (IRT) models were applied to investigate the psychometric properties of the Arthur and Day's Advanced Progressive Matrices-Short Form (APM-SF; 1994) [Arthur and Day (1994). Development of a short form for the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices test. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54, 395–403] in order to test if the scale is a reliable and valid tool to assess general fluid ability in a short time frame. The APM-SF was administered to 2264 high-school and university students. Once attested the one-factor structure of the scale, unidimensional IRT analyses for dichotomous data were applied to investigate the increases in item difficulty levels, Test Information Function, and Differential Item Functioning across age, gender, and country (comparing Italian and British respondents). Additionally, validity measures were reported. Findings attest that the Arthur and Day's APM-SF is a sound instrument for assessing fluid ability within a short time frame.     

Intellectual capital and knowledge sharing: the mediating role of organisational knowledge-sharing climate

Healthcare organisations are facing the constant trade off to contain expenditures without sacrificing the quality of patient's care. This challenge to do ‘more with less’ induced healthcare executives to heavily invest in innovations activities in order to increase the efficiency of their organisations. By taking an individual-level perspective, our study focuses on knowledge-sharing behaviour among healthcare practitioners as a critical element to continuously improve the performance of healthcare organisations. Specifically we explore the effect of intellectual capital on practitioners’ knowledge-sharing behaviour, and propose organisational knowledge-sharing climate as mediator. We conducted a survey on three healthcare organisations. Our results substantiate the positive link between intellectual capital and knowledge-sharing behaviour, and reveal that organisational knowledge-sharing climate fully mediates this relationship. These findings provide hospital managers with key implications for the management of intellectual capital as a lever to improve the sharing and the diffusion of knowledge among practitioners.     

Innovative uses of 3D digital technologies to assist the restoration of a fragmented terracotta statue

This paper describes how some innovative methodologies have been designed and employed to support the restoration of the Madonna of Pietranico, a terracotta statue severely damaged in the 2009 earthquake. The statue, fragmented in many pieces, has undergone a complex restoration performed by a multidisciplinary working group. The contribution of digital technologies was planned from the very beginning, since the complexity of this restoration originated the design of innovative procedures for managing the reassembly and restoration process. The Madonna test bed was therefore an example of how technology innovation could be pushed by clear application needs. A first important contribution was the study of the recombination hypothesis of the fragments. This initial phase was performed on digitized 3D models of the statue fragments, with the aim of reducing fragments manipulation, preventing further damages and increasing the capabilities to rehearse and evaluate different reassembly options. The accuracy of the 3D scanned models and the new recombination procedure introduced in this paper allowed to manage this phase in the digital domain with successful results. The digital 3D models were also used to design and produce an innovative supporting structure, constructed with a rapid prototyping device. Another important contribution concerned the study and virtual restoration of the polychrome decoration of the statue; our aim was to reproduce and restore in the virtual 3D domain the very complex original polychrome decoration, on the base of the remaining traces. Consequently, new virtual painting functionalities have been designed on the MeshLab platform (an open-source tool for 3D models visualization and manipulation) for reproducing pictorial decorations over digital 3D models and have been assessed on this specific test bed. This allowed us also to investigate the complexity of the virtual repainting process and to identify further technology enhancements. Finally, computer graphics technologies have been also used to produce a video that tells the story of the restoration.     

Novel insight into bronze disease gained by synchrotron-based photoelectron spectro-microscopy,in support of electrochemical treatment strategies

A recent assessment (Giovannelli, G., D'Urzo, L., Maggiulli, G., Natali, S., Pagliara, C., Sgura, I. & Bozzini, B. 2010. Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry, 14: 479–94.) of the corrosion state of a late Bronze Age artefact (ca. 1100 BCE) exposed to a coastal environment, based on optical and scanning electron microscopies, X-ray fluorescence mapping, and X-ray diffractometry, led to recognition of bronze disease conditions essentially related to the presence of nantokite locked inside mesoscopic subsurface pits. The object was then treated successfully with a novel electrochemical approach specifically designed to allow penetration of the electric field into deep, screened pits. In order to further develop and optimize this promising approach by fine-tuning the capabilities of electrochemical control, more insight is required on the specific morphochemistry of the corrosion product scenario. To this end, here we report a space-dependent compositional and chemical-state analysis, performed with synchrotron-based scanning photoelectron microspectroscopy. The investigated object consists of a segregated cast bronze. The prevailing corrosion form is preferential attack of Sn-rich phases, accompanied by a synergistic type of Sn and Cu attack triggered by the peculiar type of decuprification taking place in a bronze disease framework and characterized by the formation of Sn(OH)Cl as a result of local HCl generation in the Cu corrosion process.     

The ethics of information transparency

The paper investigates the ethics of information transparency (henceforth transparency). It argues that transparency is not an ethical principle in itself but a pro-ethical condition for enabling or impairing other ethical practices or principles. A new definition of transparency is offered in order to take into account the dynamics of information production and the differences between data and information. It is then argued that the proposed definition provides a better understanding of what sort of information should be disclosed and what sort of information should be used in order to implement and make effective the ethical practices and principles to which an organisation is committed. The concepts of “heterogeneous organisation” and “autonomous computational artefact” are further defined in order to clarify the ethical implications of the technology used in implementing information transparency. It is argued that explicit ethical designs, which describe how ethical principles are embedded into the practice of software design, would represent valuable information that could be disclosed by organisations in order to support their ethical standing.     

Recent advances in short-range microwave imaging in europe

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