Distributed model reference adaptive containment control of heterogeneous multi-agent systems with unknown uncertainties and directed topologies

In this paper, the containment control problem of heterogeneous uncertain high-order linear Multi-Agent Systems (MASs) is addressed and solved via a novel fully-Distributed Model Reference Adaptive Control (DMRAC) approach, where each follower computes its adaptive control action on the basis of local measurements, information shared with neighbors (within the communication range) and the matching errors w.r.t. its own reference model, without requiring any previous knowledge of the global directed communication topology structure. The approach inherits the robustness of the direct model reference adaptive control (MRAC) scheme and allows all agents converging towards the convex hull spanned by leaders while fulfilling at the same time local additional performance requirements at single-agent level, such as prescribed settling time, overshoot, etc. The asymptotic stability of the whole closed-loop network is analytically derived by exploiting the Lyapunov theory and the Barbalat lemma, hence proving that each follower converges to the convex hull spanned by the leaders, as well as the boundedness of the adaptive gains. Extensive numerical analysis for heterogeneous MAS composed of stable, unstable and oscillating agent dynamics are presented to validate the theoretical framework and to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Modelling blended solutions for higher education: teaching,learning, and assessment in the network and mobile technology era

The article addresses the role of network and mobile technologies in enhancing blended solutions with a view to (a) enriching the teaching/learning processes, (b) exploiting the opportunities it offers for their observability, and hence for their monitoring and formative/summative assessment. It will also discuss how such potential can only be captured by solidly integrating the process of instructional design with that of monitoring and assessment. First, the article presents the proposed conception of blended solutions, giving examples. In the second part, the article discusses a possible breakdown of blended solutions into its various components and how these can enrich both the teaching/learning and the assessment processes. Finally, it addresses the question of how to combine and/or use singly the various components of blended solutions. To conclude, implications for the implementation of blended solutions are discussed, also in relation to emerging contexts such as Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs).     

A Quantitative Approach to Evaluate the Relative Efficiency of Museums

Data Envelopment Analysis is used for evaluating the technical efficiency of museum institutions. This approach enables us to create for each museum a relative efficiency measure, which takes into account both the resources used by museums and the results of their activities. Moreover this technique is able to overcome some of the difficulties found when applying more traditional indicators of productivity in evaluating the technical efficiency of cultural institutions. An empirical analysis carried out on data from Italian municipal museums illustrates this application of the operational research model.     

A ‘power law’ based method to reduce size-related bias in indicators of knowledge performance: An application to university research assessment

The knowledge production provided by universities is essential to sustaining a country’s long-term economic growth and international competitiveness. Many nations are thus driving to create sustainable and effective funding environments. The evaluation of university knowledge, productivity and research quality becomes critical, with ever increasing share of public funding allocated on the basis of research assessment exercises. Nevertheless, the existing methods to assess the universities’ knowledge production are often affected by limits and biases, extensively discussed in the scientific literature.In this paper we study how to reduce the effect of size-related bias due to university size on the indicators of knowledge performance used in evaluation exercises. We propose an innovative utilization of the scale-free property of the power laws as a scaling relationship, to normalize research productivity indicators, and provide results independent by the university size. Our method has evident policy implications and gives a contribution for the future design of assessment exercises.We apply our findings in a recent Italian research assessment exercise.     

Perceptions of art and design faculty on the instructional value of iPads

The widespread use of iPads in higher education brings to the forefront questions about the contribution of these computer tablets towards teaching and learning. However, there is a noticeable gap in research on the educational potential of iPads in higher education. This article describes the second stage of a research project on the use of iPads in undergraduate art and design disciplines, and in particular the views and experiences of faculty in two different art and design schools over a period of one semester. The first stage of the project investigated the perceptions of art and design students about the educational value of iPads. For the second stage, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model was used to gauge adoption of the iPad for teaching and learning, and the participants provided qualitative data that was used for this phenomenographic study. The outcomes of this investigation provide an overview of challenges and obstacles from the perspective of art and design faculty in embedding the use of iPads in teaching and learning.     

Lexical effects on children’s pseudoword reading in a transparent orthography

The present study investigated the involvement of lexical knowledge in pseudoword reading by Italian children aged 8–10. In both lexical decision and reading aloud tasks, inhibitory effects were found on pseudowords derived from high-frequency words in comparison to pseudowords derived from low-frequency words. A group of adult readers showed inhibitory effects on pseudowords based on high-frequency words only in lexical decision. The inhibitory effects were interpreted as due to interference on pseudoword processing caused by lexical activation of a high-frequency base-word. The results support the view that lexical information is exploited even in the development of reading of a transparent orthography.     

Parental Age and Offspring Childhood Mental Health: A Multi-Cohort,Population-Based Investigation

To examine the contributions of maternal and paternal age on offspring externalizing and internalizing problems, this study analyzed problem behaviors at age 10–12 years from four Dutch population-based cohorts (N = 32,892) by a multiple informant design. Bayesian evidence synthesis was used to combine results across cohorts with 50% of the data analyzed for discovery and 50% for confirmation. There was evidence of a robust negative linear relation between parental age and externalizing problems as reported by parents. In teacher-reports, this relation was largely explained by parental socio-economic status. Parental age had limited to no association with internalizing problems. Thus, in this large population-based study, either a beneficial or no effect of advanced parenthood on child problem behavior was observed.     

Statement of Theme

School accountability and student assessment are closely associated in educational jurisdictions’ attempts to monitor student achievement, focus instruction, and improve subsequent student and school performance. The research reported in this article examines the School Effectiveness Framework in Ontario, Canada, exploring the foundations upon which the framework is based and educators’ efforts to use assessment information to monitor the effectiveness of their reform efforts. Through document analysis and interviews, the researchers highlight the challenges and opportunities surrounding the accountability and assessment partnership.