Bullying in Italian schools: the role of perceived teacher unfairness

The principal aim of the study is to examine the role of perceived teacher unfairness in predicting bullying behaviour. Data were taken from the “Health Behaviour in School Aged Children” project, a cross-sectional survey investigating health behaviours among early adolescents in selected European countries. Bullying behaviour (bully, victim, and bully/victim), perceived teacher unfairness and others confounding factors were measured through a self-administered questionnaire filled out by a representative sample of 4,386 (48.4% males) Italian students (11, 13, and 15 years old). Covariates included demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, school performance and other psychological factors. After adjusting for age and gender, teacher unfairness showed a significant association with being a bully (OR = 1.59; CI = 1.40–1.80) and a bully or victim (OR = 1.47; CI = 1.21–1.78). This relationship remained significant after additional adjustment for several potential confounding factors. Results show that characteristics of the school setting such as teacher unfairness can be significant predictors of involvement in bullying behaviour among early adolescents.     

Changes in University Governance in France and in Italy

Tertiary Education and Management - The transformation of higher education systems under the pressure of new needs required by the “society of knowledge” in France and Italy has had a...     

萝卜硫烷对脑线粒体的影响:机理观点和未来发展方向

有机硫化物萝卜硫烷(SFN)是一种有效的细胞保护剂,在体外和体内实验模型中均可促进抗氧化、抗炎、抗糖化和抗菌作用。因为氧化磷酸化系统的存在,所以线粒体是三磷酸腺苷(ATP)的主要产生部位。同时,线粒体也是具核人体细胞中产生活性氧的主要场所。线粒体损伤在多种人类疾病中起着重要作用,包括神经退行性病变和代谢异常。本文描述和讨论了SFN调节哺乳动物细胞中线粒体功能和动力学的作用和机理,以及其对肿瘤细胞中线粒体促凋亡途径的促进作用。SFN对线粒体的调节作用使得它在一定程度上被认为是一种细胞保护剂。本文还指出了几个需要通过进一步实验解决的问题,即未来的可能研究方向,这可能会对该领域的研究人员具有指导作用。     

The building stones of the ancient centre of Naples (Italy): Piperno from Campi Flegrei. A contribution to the knowledge of a long-time-used stone

Piperno, a Late Quaternary magmatic rock cropping out on the eastern side of the Campi Flegrei (Italy), is probably the most important building stone of Naples, used over a time-span from at least the Roman age until the beginning of the 20th century. Despite its wide diffusion in the monumental architecture of Naples, very little is known about this rock, as regards its technical features, as well as the geological aspects. This paper aims at providing a first overall contribution towards a rediscovery of this long-time-used material, in view of careful restoration works, which nowadays at Naples only take into account the proper geological features of the stone in a few peculiar cases. Thus, it seems of extreme importance to understand the basic parameters of Piperno and, above all, its response to weathering agents. Main mineralogical, petrographical and engineering–geological properties are presented here for the first time, with specific reference to two sampling areas, located at Pianura and Soccavo, in the western sector of the Neapolitan urban area. As far as many of its physico–mechanical features are concerned, Piperno extends over a wide range of values, which allow different varieties of the rock to be identified. This preliminary result is seemingly in accordance with data from old historical literature, which stated the existence of six horizons in the Piperno formation.     

Induced beliefs about a fictive energy drink influences 200-m sprint performance†

Placebo and nocebo effects occur in response to subjective expectations and their subsequent neural actions. Research shows that information shapes expectations that, consequently, influence people’s behaviour. In this study, we examined the effects of a fictive and inert green colour energy drink provided for three groups (n?=?20/group) with different information. The first group was led to expect that the drink augments running performance (positive information), the second group was led to expect that the drink may or may not improve performance (partial-positive information), while the third group was told that earlier research could not demonstrate that the drink improves performance (neutral/control). At baseline, the three groups did not differ in their 200-m sprint performance (p?>?.05). One week later, 20-min immediately after ingesting the drink, all participants again ran 200?m. The positive information group increased its performance by 2.41?s, which was statistically significant (p?<?.001) and also perceived its sprint-time shorter (p?<?.05) than the other two groups. A better performance (0.97?s) that approached but did not reach statistical significance was also noted in the partial-positive information group, and a lesser change (0.72?s) that was statistically not significant was noted in the neutral information control group. These results reveal that drinking an inert liquid, primed with positive information, changes both the actual and the self-perceived time on a 200-m sprint. The current findings also suggest that the level of certainty of the information might be linked to the magnitude of change in performance.     

On the use of extended TAM to assess students' acceptance and intent to use third‐generation learning management systems

Service‐oriented e‐learning platforms can be considered as a third generation of learning management systems (LMSs). As opposed to the previous generations, consisting of ad hoc solutions and traditional LMS, this new technology contemplates e‐learning systems as services that can be integrated into different learning scenarios. This paper shows that the flexibility of these systems allows building personal learning environments and proposes the use of an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) to assess the acceptance and intention to use a third generation of LMS. To fit and validate the service‐oriented e‐learning platforms acceptance model, structural equation modeling and path analysis have been implemented. The results point out that the intention to use this third‐generation LMS is determined by the gadgets and container design, both of which are structural elements of this technology. Finally, it is also shown that previous experience does not determine the use intention of this technology.     

Effectiveness of bibliographic searches performed by paediatric residents and interns assisted by librarians. A randomised controlled trial

Background: Considerable barriers still prevent paediatricians from successfully using information retrieval technology. Objectives: To verify whether the assistance of biomedical librarians significantly improves the outcomes of searches performed by paediatricians in biomedical databases using real‐life clinical scenarios. Methods: In a controlled trial at a paediatric teaching hospital, nine residents and interns were randomly allocated to an assisted search group and nine to a non‐assisted (control) group. Each participant searched Pub Med and other online sources, performing pre‐determined tasks including the formulation of a clinical question, retrieval and selection of bibliographic records. In the assisted group, participants were supported by a librarian with ≥5 years of experience. The primary outcome was the success of search sessions, scored against a specific assessment tool. Results: The median score of the assisted group was 73.6 points interquartile range (IQR = 13.4) vs. 50.4 (IQR = 17.1) of the control group. The difference between median values in the results was 23.2 points (95% CI 4.8–33.2), in favour of the assisted group (P‐value, Mann–Whitney U test: 0.013). Conclusions: The study has found quantitative evidence of a significant difference in search performance between paediatric residents or interns assisted by a librarian and those searching the literature alone.     

Promotion of autonomy for participation in physical activity: a study based on the trans-contextual model of motivation

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of a school-based intervention to promote physical activity, utilising the postulates of the trans-contextual model of motivation. The study examined two separate classes of elementary school students (mean age 11.28?years), one of which served as the control group (n?=?26) and the other as the experimental group (n?=?21). The intervention in the experimental group consisted of showing videos related to physical activity participation, conducting discussions and doing tasks related to the content presented in the videos and conducting family discussions. Autonomy support from teachers, peers and parents; motivation in physical education and leisure time physical activity; the different variables of theory of planned behaviour; and physical activity, were measured before and after the intervention. Results showed an increase in teacher autonomy support, identified regulation in physical education, autonomy support from parents and peers, integrated and identified regulation in leisure time physical activity, control, subjective norm, intention and physical activity in the experimental group. Furthermore, this increase resulted in post-intervention differences across groups in such variables. Results are discussed in relation to the important role of families in the promotion of physical activity participation.     

“If There is No Struggle, There is No Progress”: Transformative Youth Activism and the School of Ethnic Studies

In the wake of the Tucson Unified School District dismantling its highly successful Mexican American Studies (MAS) program, students staged walkouts across the district to demonstrate their opposition. Student-led walkouts were portrayed as merely “ditching,” and students were described as not really understanding why they were protesting. After these events, a group of student activists called UNIDOS organized and led the School of Ethnic Studies. This was a community school dedicated to teaching the forbidden MAS curriculum. In this article we present counternarratives from organizers, presenters, and participants in the School of Ethnic Studies. These narratives demonstrate the transformative resistance of students who created their own form of liberatory education. Our analysis highlights how student organizers led the creation of an autonomous, community-based educational space to allowed young people to engage in political analysis, self-reflection, and strategic organizing. We conclude with the implications for Ethnic Studies, urban education, and counternarrative.