The Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Italian and American Short Forms

Objective. The aims of this article were to test the measurement invariance of the Italian and American versions of the Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire and to compare adults’ remembrances of parental acceptance–rejection across the two nations. Design. The Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire was administered to 564 Italian adults (M = 23.04 years) and 509 U.S. American adults (M = 22.09 years), matched by gender and age. The measurement invariance of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire was first established by means of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses. Results. The Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire is fully invariant across the two cultures, and adults organize their remembrances of mothers’ and fathers’ parenting around the same four classes of behavior in both nations. Italian and American adults tend to remember their parents as having been quite loving, with Italian parents being remembered as slightly less warm and more hostile than American parents. Conclusions. The full invariance of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire across the two populations represents additional strong evidence for the universality of interpersonal acceptance–rejection theory. Measurement invariance also confirmed that the Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire (short form) can be used to measure adult remembrances of parental acceptance–rejection across these two populations.     

Evaluating the Power of Latent Growth Curve Models to Detect Individual Differences in Change

We evaluated the statistical power of single-indicator latent growth curve models to detect individual differences in change (variances of latent slopes) as a function of sample size, number of longitudinal measurement occasions, and growth curve reliability. We recommend the 2 degree-of-freedom generalized test assessing loss of fit when both slope-related random effects, the slope variance and intercept-slope covariance, are fixed to 0. Statistical power to detect individual differences in change is low to moderate unless the residual error variance is low, sample size is large, and there are more than four measurement occasions. The generalized test has greater power than a specific test isolating the hypothesis of zero slope variance, except when the true slope variance is close to 0, and has uniformly superior power to a Wald test based on the estimated slope variance.     

Cultural analysis of mathematical content in teacher education: the case of Elementary Arithmetic Theorems

This paper deals with the competence of Cultural (epistemological, historical and anthropological) Analysis of the Content (CAC), which is important for teachers’ awareness and autonomy when dealing with educational choices in a changing cultural and institutional context. We report on an 18-hour intervention in a teacher education course at the undergraduate level attended by 12 participants during the fall of 2013. The goal of the intervention was to enhance participants’ CAC in the case of Elementary Arithmetic Theorems by using the rationality construct derived from Habermas’ work. Qualitative analyses of participants’ discussions showed how the construct was gradually appropriated by them and contributed to their CAC. Trends emerging from quantitative comparisons with previous implementations of the same course provided some evidence regarding the effects of the intervention on the quality of participants’ CAC performances at the end of the course. The method chosen for participants’ assessment and their cultural background will be discussed as conditions for the success of the intervention.     

Science,Society and Trends in Science Education‐‐some Thoughts on the Development of Integrated Science in the Educational Systems of the World

Summaries

English

Before constructing a new curriculum for any level in integrated‐science education, it is very important to establish a basic philosophy of science teaching which reflects a symbiotic relationship between education and the socio‐economic development in a particular country of the world.

The curriculum structure of integrated‐science education should broaden the basis of curricular decision and should be designated to follow the expectations of the society in providing professional intellectual training so that education can make a significant contribution to the socio‐economic growth of the country. This basic assumption which established a link between cultural and socio‐economic growth, involves a diversification of the cultural trends of science education which must become appropriate to the economic and historical context of each country in a fast changing world of work.

Therefore, by critically removing outside influences in the transmission of scientific knowledge, there should be less uniformity in the context and methods of teaching, and considerable restructuring of education for each country should occur. Thus, considering the historical and geographical differences, a new order in international division of labour would come into being.

In such a hypothesis, a research‐oriented integrated curriculum in science education can play a central role (certainly a better one than in the traditional, discipline‐oriented scheme of science teaching) in obtaining an adequate interaction between scientific education and social problems; this is required for modern cultural and economic development of the world.     

Reconfiguring confined magnetic colloids with tunable fluid transport behavior

Collective dynamics of confined colloids are crucial in diverse scenarios such as self-assembly and phase behavior in materials science, microrobot swarms for drug delivery and microfluidic control. Yet, fine-tuning the dynamics of colloids in microscale confined spaces is still a formidable task due to the complexity of the dynamics of colloidal suspension and to the lack of methodology to probe colloids in confinement. Here, we show that the collective dynamics of confined magnetic colloids can be finely tuned by external magnetic fields. In particular, the mechanical properties of the confined colloidal suspension can be probed in real time and this strategy can be also used to tune microscale fluid transport. Our experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that the collective configuration characterized by the colloidal entropy is controlled by the colloidal concentration, confining ratio and external field strength and direction. Indeed, our results show that mechanical properties of the colloidal suspension as well as the transport of the solvent in microfluidic devices can be controlled upon tuning the entropy of the colloidal suspension. Our approach opens new avenues for the design and application of drug delivery, microfluidic logic, dynamic fluid control, chemical reaction and beyond.     

Evaluating the Efficiency of Research in Academic Departments: an Empirical Analysis in an Italian Region

This paper investigates the efficiency of university departments in science, technology and medicine in an Italian Region (Lombardy). The aim of the paper is twofold: (i) to analyse the changes in productivity in recent years (from 2004 and 2007); and (ii) to detect factors that are potentially affecting efficiency. The research benefited from a new and unique dataset (called QuESTIO) developed by the Lombardy Regional Government. Using facilities and academic staff as inputs and research grants and publications as outputs, the research activity of academic departments was modelled. The methodological approach for computing efficiency scores is (DEA) Data Envelopment Analysis; Malmquist indexes have been used to measure changes in productivity, while Kruskal‐Wallis tests were employed to study the potential determinants of efficiency. Two main results were obtained. First, the academic departments improved their efficiency but, at the same time, the efficiency frontier worsened. Second, external and measurable factors (such as scientific sector, proportion of tenured staff, location, etc.) have a limited impact in explaining efficiency differentials. The policy implications of both results are discussed.     

Modelling the joint torques and loadings during squatting at the Smith machine

An analytical biomechanical model was developed to establish the relevant properties of the Smith squat exercise, and the main differences from the free barbell squat. The Smith squat may be largely patterned to modulate the distributions of muscle activities and joint loadings. For a given value of the included knee angle (θ(knee)), bending the trunk forward, moving the feet forward in front of the knees, and displacing the weight distribution towards the forefoot emphasizes hip and lumbosacral torques, while also reducing knee torque and compressive tibiofemoral and patellofemoral forces (and vice versa). The tibiofemoral shear force φ(t) displays more complex trends that strongly depend on θ(knee). Notably, for 180° ≥ θ(knee) ≥ 130°, φ(t) and cruciate ligament strain forces can be suppressed by selecting proper pairs of ankle and hip angles. Loading of the posterior cruciate ligament increases (decreases) in the range 180° ≥ θ(knee) ≥ 150° (θ(knee) ≤ 130°) with knee extension, bending the trunk forward, and moving the feet forward in front of the knees. In the range 150° > θ(knee) > 130°, the behaviour changes depending on the foot weight distribution. The conditions for the development of anterior cruciate ligament strain forces are explained. This work enables careful use of the Smith squat in strengthening and rehabilitation programmes.