Material characterization,stratigraphy, textures,and painting techniques of the mural painting The Allegory of the Industrial Development of São Paulo by Fulvio Pennacchi

ABSTRACT

This work presents a study of samples of the mural painting The Allegory of the Industrial Development of São Paulo (Alegoria ao Desenvolvimento Industrial Paulista), made in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, by the artist Fulvio Pennacchi. Using transmitted light petrographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and X-ray fluorescence, the stratigraphy, the textures, the mineralogy, and the chemical compositions of the mural were established; therefore the painting techniques, pigments, and materials applied by the artist were identified. The mural was painted with the fresco technique and variations. This technique involves the use of materials of mineral origin, both in the support and for the pigments. About the artist’s relevance, Fulvio Pennacchi is considered an important muralist of his time, being one of the pioneers in the production of frescoes in Brazil. The mural, measuring approximately 11?×?6?m, painted in 1954, was removed from where it was originally made, in consequence of a fire that affected the place. Specialized engineers transported it, and today it is stored awaiting restoration. The data presented here can support the process of restoration of the mural, as well as contribute to the improvement of protocols for the analysis of works of art, and to the historical record of mural painting techniques over time.     

Communicating spirit in a collaborative alliance

This case study identified communicative practices that supported “collaborative spirit”; in a collaborative alliance. Two components of collaborative spirit previously identified in the literature were examined: shared mission and shared power. Communication practices associated with the shared mission principle included discussion of the mission, reaffirmation, testimony, and pride statements. Communication practices associated with the shared power principle included use of a consent process, barter and negotiating behavior, provision of equal opportunity, soliciting others’ input, and the rotating chairperson.     

Teacher Access and Mentoring Abilities: Predicting the Outcome Value of Extra Class Communication

Reasoning from Sunnafrank's theory of predicted outcome value (POV), this investigation examined how students' assessments of their teachers' accessibility and mentoring abilities influenced their perceptions of the predicted value of engaging in extra class communication (ECC). Student perceptions of teacher physical and social accessibility, along with teacher mentoring abilities (including career, course, and psychosocial), were all substantially and positively related to students' ratings of the POV of ECC. However, only social accessibility, course mentoring, and career mentoring emerged as significant predictors of POV in the regression model. These findings validate POV theory by confirming that students readily assess what they have to gain (or lose) from potential ECC encounters based on what their teachers can offer them. These findings are discussed with regard to understanding how students may be motivated to realize the benefits of ECC.     

Communicating Prevention: The Effects of the keepin’ it REAL Classroom Videotapes and Televised PSAs on Middle-School Students’ Substance Use

This study sought to determine if exposure to two communication-oriented activities, videotapes and public service announcements, accounts for changes in substance use among adolescents participating in the Drug Resistance Strategies Project's keepin’ it REAL adolescent substance use prevention curriculum. Middle-school students (4,734, 72% Latino) responded to questionnaires related to these analyses. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model was fit separately to six substance use outcomes. The results suggested that intervention students who saw four or five videos engaged in less substance use in the past month than did students who saw fewer videos. Having seen the PSAs one or more times did not predict the reported change in substance use.     

Effect of Item Arrangement,Knowledge of Arrangement,and Test Anxiety on Two Scoring Methods

Number right (NR) and elimination (EL) scores were analyzed on 48-item college level mathematics exam that was assembled from pretest data in three forms by varying the item orderings: easy-hard, uniform, random. One-half of the forms contained information explaining the item arrangement and suggesting strategies for taking the test. Several anxiety measures were administered in a balanced order along with the experimental forms to 97 undergraduates. Multivariate ANOVA revealed no significant effects of the independent variables (order, knowledge, anxiety condition) on either cognitive dependent measure (NR or EL) (a = .05). Multivariate ANCOVA, using measures of anxiety as multiple covariates, also failed to show any significant influence (a = .05) on the cognitive dependent measures or a set of perceptional dependent measures. Results suggest that neither test scores nor attitudes are influenced by item order, knowledge thereof, or anxiety level, although factors contributing to the non-significance may have been inherent in the research design because of inadequate power and/or student performance motivation.     

How young children view mathematical representations: a study using eye-tracking technology

This paper reports on a study which investigated the support needs of pupils in mainstream school with a chronic illness or physical disability. The research was carried out in three local education authorities covering both rural and urban areas. In-depth, qualitative data were collected from 33 pupils in secondary school; 58 parents of primary and secondary school pupils; and 34 primary and secondary school teachers. Overall, the data from young people suggest variability in the support offered to pupils by teachers, even by teachers within the same school, and highlights the importance of teachers' awareness and understanding of special health needs. A number of areas where young people need support from teachers were identified, including: dealing with school absence; taking part in school activities; peer relationships; explaining the condition to other pupils; and having someone to talk to about health-related worries. Data from teachers and parents indicate that school staff need assistance with obtaining health-related information; ensuring health-related information is passed between and within schools; providing emotional support; the provision of medical care; and coordinating support for this group of pupils. The implications of the findings for teachers, schools and educational policy are discussed.     

THE PLOWDEN REPORT'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IDENTIFYING CHILDREN IN NEED OF EXTRA HELP

The inadequacies of an area or school‐based approach to the problem of identifying children who are in need of extra help at school are illustrated with data collected from the infant reception classes of 12 schools. These sample schools were each nominated for one of three categories according to the characteristics of the areas which they served. The two local education authorities involved each nominated an advantaged school, a settled working‐class school, and four deprived schools. The socio‐economic and developmental characteristics of the infant reception class intakes of these categories of school type were examined. The findings were that categories of school type are not as socio‐economically disparate as may often be assumed; and that there appears to be a sizeable relationship between school type and the school entrants’ developmental characteristics, but there are too many exceptions to this general trend to justify the use of school characteristics for identifying ‘children at risk’.     

When enough is too much: Communication apprehension and employee information experiences

This study examines the relationships between supervisor communication apprehension, employee communication apprehension, and employees' reports of information received from their supervisor. Results indicated that supervisor communication apprehension was negatively related to employees' reports of information received. Employee communication apprehension and employees' reports of information received from supervisors were not significantly related. Supervisor communication apprehension was negatively related to the information load reported by employees. Finally, a positive relationship was identified between employee communication apprehension and the information load reported by employees.     

Communications research and the rule of law: An opportunity for access to judicial decision making

This essay argues that students of communication should become more immediately involved in legal decision making by targeting behavioral research at topics under litigation and by pressing their studies as friends of the courts. The judiciary is the component of the American political system most receptive to institutional reform. Yet, communications research input is virtually non‐existent in at least two critical areas of First Amendment legal theory. The means whereby scholarship from our field can be brought to bear on the judiciary are easily attainable if the Supreme Court's long standing challenge is accepted.