Effects of temperature and humidity excursions and wind exposure on the arch of Augustus in Aosta

This study presents the results of the microclimate monitoring of the Arch of Augustus. This is a monument from the Roman era, situated in an urban area in the Western Alpine region of Aosta Valley, Italy. Measurements were carried out on different monument positions, corresponding to the four faces and below the vault. The measurements refer to air and surface temperature, air relative humidity, wind speed and direction. The environmental conditions are described in order to underline the differences among the four faces of the monument and to explain the nature of the decay observed on the monument. The damage risk, caused by the occurrence of phenomena like freezing-thawing cycles, thermal stress and water condensation, is estimated by relating microclimatic conditions to the stone damage processes. The results are compared to the decay map and the correlation between damage and microclimate are finally discussed.     

A Mössbauer study of some coloured marbles (cipollino mandolato, rosso antico and fior di pesco): implications on the nature of their colour

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy permits an explanation of the formation of the iron-bearing species present in three types of coloured marbles, known as cipollino mandolato, rosso antico and fior di pesco. Structural Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ located in silicates, together with the remains of weakly ferromagnetic hematite, arise from primary sediments. Fe²⁺ located in carbonates and anti-ferromagnetic hematite are formed by redox processes during marble formation. The relative contents of the iron species in the three types of marbles depend on the composition of the primary sediments and on local conditions during metamorphism. Knowledge of the type and amount of the iron species in marbles may help in the reconstruction of the redox processes, which took place during marble formation. The deviations of the Morin transition of the hematites play the role of genetic indicator because purity, crystallinity and the red hues of hematites in marbles can be related to the environment of formation.     

CREATIVE PROCESSES IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY

At present, computational models of scientific discovery and theory formation play a prominent role in illuminating transformations of rational conceptual systems. A new abstraction paradigm aimed at unifying the different perspectives and providing insight for future ones is proposed here. The aim is to emphasize the significance of “abduction” in order to propose a unified epistemological model of scientific discovery. This model first describes four meanings of the word abduction (creative, selective, visual, inference to the best explanation) in order to clarify their significance in epistemology and “Artificial Intelligence” (AI). Among the different abductive roles played by various kinds of conceptual transformations in developing scientific creative reasoning–such as radical ontological change, conceptual combination, analogical and visual thinking, anomaly resolution, thought experiment — visual mental imagery in thinking may be relevant to “scientific” hypothesis generation.     

Being in the users' shoes: Anticipating experience while designing online courses

While user‐centred design and user experience are given much attention in the e‐learning design field, no research has been found on how users are actually represented in the discussions during the design of online courses. In this paper we identify how and when end‐users' experience—be they students or tutors—emerges in designers' discussions during their meetings in well‐established open universities. More precisely, we observed 15 design meetings of two design teams during the development of specific online courses. Designers' discourse was analysed on the basis of six dimensions regarding relevant actors, contents and strategies (purposes) of user experience anticipation. Results show the emergence of a solution‐oriented anticipatory discourse in form of scenarios regarding how learners and tutors will react to the course and the proposed activities. Moreover, this discourse is related to an emergent type of users‐based expertise, translated as the capacity of some designers to empathise with the end‐users more than other designers do. The participation of designers with this type of expertise in e‐learning design teams emerges as relevant for the decisions related to the course activities, interface or overall experience. Further research is invited towards this direction. Further discussion on this article can be found in “Being in the users' shoes: Is there maybe another way?” (DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12104 ).     

The use of augmented reality to improve the development of activities of daily living in students with ASD

Education and Information Technologies - In today's society, technology plays a fundamental role. More and more activities of daily life are being developed with the help of technology. One of...