bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Modeling on Robust Inventory Management Under Demand Uncertainty
Authors: Solyalı Oğuz , Cordeau Jean-François , Laporte Gilbert
Published: October 2015

This study considers a basic inventory management problem with nonzero fixed order costs under interval demand uncertainty. The existing robust formulations obtained by applying well-known robust optimization methodologies become computationally intractable for large problem instances due to the presence of binary variables. This study resolves this intractability issue by proposing a new robust formulation that is shown to be solvable in polynomial time when the initial inventory is zero or negative. Because of the computational efficiency of the new robust formulation, it is implemented on a folding-horizon basis, leading to a new heuristic for the problem. The computational results reveal that the new heuristic is not only superior to the other formulations regarding the computing time needed, but also outperforms the existing robust formulations in terms of the actual cost savings on the larger instances. They also show that the actual cost savings yielded by the new heuristic are close to a lower bound on the optimal expected cost.

Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2183 .

This paper was accepted by Dimitris Bertsimas, optimization.
Service Competition and Product Quality in the U.S. Automobile Industry
Authors: Guajardo Jose A. , Cohen Morris A. , Netessine Serguei
Published: October 2015

We study the impact of service attributes (warranty length, after-sales service quality) on consumer demand in the U.S. automobile industry, examining the presence of complementarities/substitution between service attributes and product quality. Our results estimate a median willingness to pay for one year of a warranty of approximately $850, which is equivalent to 3.1% of the median vehicle price in our sample. We find that, for a car with median characteristics, the effect on consumer utility of a 1% price decrease is equivalent, all else being equal, to increasing product quality by 2.2%, and is in turn equivalent to increasing the warranty length by 8%. Our results also indicate that service attributes play a compensatory role with respect to product quality; i.e., the impact of warranty length and service quality on demand increases when product quality decreases. Conversely, both service metrics are complementary with respect to demand; i.e., the better the service quality, the higher the marginal effect of longer warranties. Our results thus imply that, in our period of analysis, warranties played a more important role for American firms than for foreign firms, consistent with the fact that American manufacturers exhibited lower product quality and higher service quality than non-American firms.

This paper was accepted by Martin Lariviere, operations management.
A Study of Association between Cognitive Attributions, Appraisals and Depression in Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders
Authors: Sharma Shilpi
Published: October 2015

Children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) have been shown to exhibit co-morbid symptoms of clinical depression and also exhibit a negative attribution style. Research evidence from studies carried out with children without autism has shown a significant association between negative attributions and depression, there is however limited research evidence in the case of children with autism. The current study assessed cognitive attributions using Children’s Cognitive Style Questionnaire and depression through Beck Depression inventory, in a sample of 47 children with HFASD and 45 typically developing (TD) controls. Children in the HFASD group were found to exhibit a negative attribution style characterised by higher scores for internality, globality and stability attribution dimensions; and higher scores for depressive symptomatology, compared to the TD group. Attributions were found to be significant predictors of depressive symptomatology in a regression model, for the HFASD group.
Conference Review
Authors: Bianchini Franco
Published: October 2015

International Perspectives on Particip ation and Engagement in the Arts, Utrecht University, 20–21 June 2014
Contesting agendas of participation in the arts
Authors: Price Jonathan
Published: October 2015

Forms of participatory practice have become ever more widely employed across the arts in recent years, operating across various institutional settings and social contexts. It is misleading, however, to assume that a single agenda binds these developments or that they serve the same social values and interests. Veils of common terminology can conceal important differences of political intent and ethical integrity. Conceptions of art, artists, culture and community vary widely, while terms such as participation, engagement and co-creation are rarely well defined. This article draws on current research into UK cultural and artistic leadership, as well as established theories of participation and action, to explore the complex power relations that underpin participatory discourse. It critiques policies and practices that claim ‘participation’ as an automatic methodological virtue, questioning the positive connotations of participatory language, particularly in relation to shaping assumptions of shared interest. It argues that there is a need for improved critical selfawareness on the part of artists involved in participatory projects and processes, discussing possible frameworks for analysis of the relevant power relationships.
Theatre for social change: Collective Encounters on rediscovering the radical
Authors: Thornton Sarah
Published: October 2015

This article will describe Collective Encounters’ participatory practice and situate it within the field of Theatre for Social Change (TFSC). It will argue that in the current political climate TFSC can be a useful tool of opposition. The article will chart the company’s radicalization and call for a repoliticization of the participatory arts sector. It will explore how theatre can contribute to social justice in the context of austerity, how it can challenge the ubiquitous neo-liberal narrative, and what kinds of participatory arts practices might aid the global movement for radical change.

Collective Encounters is a professional arts organization specializing in TFSC. The company is based in north Liverpool, an area of extreme disadvantage, ranked among the top ten in England’s Indices of Multiple Deprivation (DCMS 2011). It works with diverse marginalized communities both here and in the wider North West: many participants are casualties of the prevailing system and feel the direct impact of benefit cuts and the shrinking of the state. Collective Encounters is a small charity employing seven staff members and additional freelance artists as required. It is governed by a board of directors and has a formal legal company structure. The company provides all its work free at the point of use, and thus is dependent on public funding as well as on grants from trusts and foundations. Since 2004, Collective Encounters has maintained three strands to its work: a participatory programme, a professional theatre programme and a research lab. The company is driven by a research imperative to explore ways in which theatre can contribute to the world-wide ‘multitude of opposition’1, working towards greater social justice and against global corporate capitalism’ (Thornton 2015: 2). Over the past five years it has shifted from a liberal to a radical change agenda, and has conducted academic, practical and sectoral research in order to understand and define its field. It has thus identified TFSC as a discernable set of practices by drawing out five key characteristics: intentionality, community, hyphenation, conscientization and aesthetics. While individually they are not unique to TFSC, taken together they frame the field; they are the driving forces behind Collective Encounters thinking and provoke the ethical dilemmas with which the company grapples. They provide an interesting lens through which to view participatory arts practice within the current social and political climate.
Participatory film-making for social change: Dilemmas in balancing participatory and artistic qualities
Authors: Goris Margriet , Witteveen Loes , Lie Rico
Published: October 2015

This study contributes to the field of films for social change by exploring the production process of participatory film-making for social change, whereby explicit claims of community empowerment, participation and social change are the very justification of the production. To do so, it investigates the definitions and production processes of community art, participatory video and mediated participation. Using ‘practice as research’ as a key method of enquiry, we examine three film practices to explore aspects of professionalism. The objective of this examination is to elucidate the process of community member participation in collaboration with film-makers, facilitators and action researchers. People participate in film production processes by contributing to the script, acting, location scouting or any other activity at any stage of the film production. In examining this collaborative process, we focus on dilemmas encountered in relation to integrating participatory qualities and artistic qualities in a work of overall interdisciplinary and professional quality. The material used for the enquiry consists of participatory observations, scripts, films, course materials, audience observations, evaluation forms and in-depth interviews collected over the years in different projects. The analysis of the material indicates that the film-makers deal with dilemmas regarding the balance of the film’s participatory and artistic qualities and the production process. The expectations of the film-making community regarding the process, the resulting film and the related audience influence the balance between the participatory quality of the process and the artistic quality of the film. Finding a balance between participatory quality and artistic quality is a challenge, and in practice the stakeholders involved experience tensions in a continuous process of negotiation. This article demonstrates the tensions and illustrates the continuous process of negotiation between the (roles of) film-makers, facilitators, action researchers and community members.
Three cases of engaged research. The participation of the researcher in arts participation projects
Authors: Hansen Louise Ejgod
Published: October 2015

The article is a case study of three different applied research projects analysing and discussing the relationship between practice and research. The three projects are all arts projects occupied with participation in different forms: ‘Theatre Talk’ is an audience development project conducted at professional theatres focusing on new audiences’ experience of performances. ‘Art on the Fringe’ is a project in which seven theatres cooperating on the development of local festive weeks with a strong participatory element within a theatrical framing. ‘Stepping Stones’ is a project aiming at developing new frameworks for the way in which children and youngsters engage in creative practices emphasizing collective co-creation. Theoretically, the article is based on the concept of engaged scholarship, practice as research and types of partnership all of which contribute to the analysis of the relationship, purpose, and outcomes of the cooperation between practice and research.
3.2. Instrumentos da construção das ideias
Authors: Almeida Joaquim Carlos
Published: October 2015

O ensino da Arquitectura, em resultado das mudanças introduzidas por Bolonha, fragmentou os planos de estudo e descaracterizou os instrumentos de ensino aceites e consolidados. Confrontar, a actual realidade, neste momento de mutação, as suas metodologias, instrumentos e resultados, observando as suas transformações e permanências, implica uma reflexão eficaz, cujo objectivo é a melhoria do processo de ensino (Labarta, 2011, p. 8-9).
Between knowledge and skills in teaching design courses in architecture integrated in Bologna
Authors: Viegas Luís Sebastião
Published: October 2015

In the teaching of design in architecture courses integrated in Bologna becomes evident the central importance of the student in the teaching/learning process. If the antinomy process/product is recurrent in didactic and pedagogical atmosphere in our historical context and teaching experience, others seem to arise with greater acuity, interest and additional platforms to enriching the debate, such as the relationship between problem/solution, knowledge/skills and experience/awareness. In these scenarios of antinomic problematic is important to understand the special role of the teacher and student, especially, to know how to organize the relative weights of each component during the academic years of two different cycles. It seems clear that the importance of process and product is not the same along the different academic years. It is also a fact that the teacher's role in the construction of the solution or of the problem is variable in the progression of learning, especially because the student needs to gain greater autonomy and judgment. Also, the acquisition of skills (reinforcing the disciplinary culture and methodological aspects) must constitute themselves as nuclear (1st cycle) and the knowledge (as global problematic) can be worked when the student has more autonomy and critical consciousness (2nd cycle). Because the experience of “to do” it isn’t always simultaneous of the awareness of “to know”, the optional courses should only provide eventual specialization in the 2nd cycle of studies.
Causation and Determinate Existence of Finite Modes in Spinoza
Authors: Shein Noa
Published: October 2015

Proposition 28 of Part One of Spinoza’s
On the index of symmetric spaces
Authors: Berndt Jürgen , Olmos Carlos
Published: October 2015

Let M be an irreducible Riemannian symmetric space. The index of M is the minimal codimension of a (nontrivial) totally geodesic submanifold of M. We prove that the index is bounded from below by the rank of the symmetric space. We also classify the irreducible Riemannian symmetric spaces whose index is less than or equal to 3.
Singular values and evenness symmetry in random matrix theory
Authors: Bornemann Folkmar , Forrester Peter J.
Published: October 2015

Complex Hermitian random matrices with a unitary symmetry can be distinguished by a weight function. When this is even, it is a known result that the distribution of the singular values can be decomposed as the superposition of two independent eigenvalue sequences distributed according to particular matrix ensembles with chiral unitary symmetry. We give decompositions of the distribution of singular values, and the decimation of the singular values – whereby only even, or odd, labels are observed – for real symmetric random matrices with an orthogonal symmetry, and even weight. This requires further specifying the functional form of the weight to one of three types – Gauss, symmetric Jacobi or Cauchy. Inter-relations between gap probabilities with orthogonal and unitary symmetry follow as a corollary. The Gauss case has appeared in a recent work of Bornemann and La Croix. The Cauchy case, when appropriately specialised and upon stereographic projection, gives decompositions for the analogue of the singular values for the circular unitary and circular orthogonal ensembles.
Satire as uncertain territory: Uncertainty expression in discussion about political satire, opinion, and news
Authors: Landreville Kristen D.
Published: October 2015

This study integrates satire literature and uncertainty-based theories in order to introduce more theoretical organization into the political communication and discussion literature. In doing so, the main goals of this study are (1) to bring conceptual organization to various types of political messages (i.e., satire and news), (2) to show how and why satire, in particular, is linked with uncertainty, and (3) to examine the extent to which satire and news can arouse uncertainty and encourage discussion of uncertainty in political conversations. Four types of political media messages (traditional news, opinion news, juvenalian satire, and horatian satire) are used in a computer-mediated discussion experiment to answer the study’s hypotheses. Results show that uncertainty differed across political messages (i.e., satire aroused more uncertainty) and uncertainty was expressed in discussion.
Automatic Data Clustering Using Parameter Adaptive Harmony Search Algorithm and Its Application to Image Segmentation
Authors: Kumar Vijay , Chhabra Jitender Kumar , Kumar Dinesh
Published: October 2015

In this paper, the problem of automatic data clustering is treated as the searching of optimal number of clusters so that the obtained partitions should be optimized. The automatic data clustering technique utilizes a recently developed parameter adaptive harmony search (PAHS) as an underlying optimization strategy. It uses real-coded variable length harmony vector, which is able to detect the number of clusters automatically. The newly developed concepts regarding “threshold setting” and “cutoff” are used to refine the optimization strategy. The assignment of data points to different cluster centers is done based on the newly developed weighted Euclidean distance instead of Euclidean distance. The developed approach is able to detect any type of cluster irrespective of their geometric shape. It is compared with four well-established clustering techniques. It is further applied for automatic segmentation of grayscale and color images, and its performance is compared with other existing techniques. For real-life datasets, statistical analysis is done. The technique shows its effectiveness and the usefulness.
Development of 77Ge/77As parent-daughter system for periodic removal of 77As for environmental sanitation and biochemical purposes
Authors: Oláh Zita , Szűcs Zoltán , Varga Zoltán , Dóczi Rita
Published: October 2015

A simple method was developed for the separation of radioactive 77As from neutron irradiated natural GeO2 samples
for environmental and biochemical studies. The method is based on the volatility of GeCl4. The GeCl4 was
co-evaporated from the reaction mixture with an azeotropic mixture of HCl and water, and immediately condensed into a separate finger
part of the special glass apparatus which was cooled by liquid nitrogen.

By inverting the room temperature and the deep frozen parts of the glass equipment after three half-lives of the 77Ge the
separation process can be repetitive, getting a special type of 77Ge/77As parent-daughter system. The
radionuclidic purity of the remaining As fraction was found to be 99.95%. Its yield, however, drastically decreased in the
second and subsequent separations.
Holiness Language in II Kings 23? A Note on a Recent Proposal
Authors: Rhyder Julia
Published: October 2015

This note examines Lauren Monroe’s recent suggestion that a Holiness (H) substratum can be detected in the ritual and cultic elements of Josiah’s reform in II Reg 23. Critical review of Monroe’s arguments suggests that she is correct that the extent of non-D language evident in II Reg 23 is an issue requiring re-examination. However, the specific connections she identifies between II Reg 23 and H are ultimately uncompelling.

Dieser Beitrag untersucht Lauren Monroes aktuellen Ansatz, der davon ausgeht, dass ein Grundbestand des Heiligkeitgesetzes (H) in den rituellen und kultischen Elementen der Reform des Josiah in II Reg 23 festgestellt werden kann. Nach einer kritischen Abwägung ihrer Argumentation kann Monroe dahingehend zugestimmt werden, dass das Ausmaß von nicht-D-Sprache, das in II Reg 23 festgestellt werden kann, neuerer Untersuchungen bedarf. Allerdings sind die Verbindungen, die sie zwischen II Reg 23 und H ausmacht, nicht unbedingt zwingend.

La présente note examine une proposition récente de Lauren Monroe, selon laquelle un substrat H (=école de sainteté) serait identifiable dans les éléments rituels et cultuels de la réforme de Josias en 2 Rois 23. Une évaluation de l’argumentation de Monroe suggère que la place du langage non-deutéronomiste en 2 Rois 23 mérite effectivement d’être réexaminée, ainsi que l’auteure le défend. Cependant, les liens spécifiques que Monroe identifie entre 2 Rois 23 et H ne peuvent pas être considérés comme convaincants.
Synthesis of some 6-alkylureido-4-aryl-2(1H)-pyridones: further transformations and pharmacological activity
Authors: Raev Lyubomir Dimitrov , Ivanov Ivo Christov , Astroug Henri Angel , Frey Wolfgang , Agontseva Silviya Georgieva
Published: October 2015

The Michael addition of enaminoesters to coumarins (1) does not lead to the formation of simple adducts3but to the rearranged 4-aryl-2-pyridone4a. Now,N-carbamoylation of the 6-amino-2-pyridone4awith alkyl isocyanates and further transformation of the corresponding novel ureido-2-pyridone derivatives6a–ginto chromeno[3,4-c]pyridines5d,gandO-acetyl derivatives7a–gare reported. All newly synthesized compounds were characterized by means of1H/13C NMR, MS, IR spectra and elemental analysis. The structure of the ureide6fand of theN-cyclohexyl-O-acetyl derivative7gwere additionally confirmed by crystal structure determinations. Acute toxicity after intraperitoneal administration, blood clotting time, analgesic activity and the effects on the hexobarbital sleeping time were tested on laboratory animals (compounds4a,6a,6c,6dand6g).
Sensor-Enabled Geogrids for Performance Monitoring of Reinforced Soil Structures
Authors: Yazdani Hessam , Hatami Kianoosh , Grady Brian P.
Published: October 2015

Sensor-enabled geogrid (SEGG) technology has been introduced by the authors in the past few years as a new category of geogrid products that possess embedded strain-sensing capability in addition to their conventional reinforcement/stabilization function in geotechnical and transportation applications. In this technology, the strain-sensing function of modified geogrids (SEGG products) arises from their tensoresistivity, which is the sensitivity of the polymer composite electrical conductivity to tensile strain. An SEGG product is filled with a target concentration of conductive fillers such as carbon blacks and carbon nanotubes. The authors' previous studies on SEGG to date were focused on the in-isolation performance of the unitized SEGG and the coating of yarn-type SEGG samples. In the continuation of a long-term study, this paper reported the latest findings on both the in-isolation and in-soil tensoresistivity performance of polyethylene terephthalate (polyester) yarn SEGG specimens that were coated with a strain-sensitive carbon black-filled PVC composite. The formulation of the coating composite was presented and the influences of the soil confining pressure and loading (i.e., strain) rate on the tensoresistivity and tensile strength of SEGG specimens were investigated. It was found that greater confining pressures and strain rates both result in a reduction in the tensoresistivity of the SEGG samples. However, both the magnitude and reproducibility of the measured tensoresistivity in the in-soil tests carried out in this study were judged to be acceptable for civil engineering applications, given that the accuracy of strain distributions in geogrids can be improved by increasing the number of strain data points in each reinforcement layer at a significantly lower cost compared to the conventional methods. It was thus concluded that the SEGG technology holds promise to serve as an alternative to conventional instruments for the performance monitoring of geotechnical structures.
Performance Evaluation of Chip Seals for Higher Volume Roads Using Polymer-Modified Emulsions: Laboratory and Field Study in North Carolina
Authors: Im Jeong Hyuk , Kim Y. Richard
Published: October 2015

This paper presented a study to evaluate the performance of chip seals for higher traffic volume roads. The evaporation test, bitumen bond strength (BBS) test, and Vialit test were used to investigate curing and adhesive behavior. For the laboratory performance, the third-scale model mobile load simulator (MMLS3) was employed to test for aggregate retention, bleeding, and rutting performance. In field, a total of ten test sections were constructed on three different traffic volume roads using different materials and seal types. Some of the field samples were extracted and moved to the laboratory for performance testing. Also, the field sections were monitored to compare the field performance with the laboratory performance. The main findings presented in this paper were as follows: (1) the laboratory test results indicated that the use of polymer modified emulsions (PMEs) improved the chip seal performance in all areas, i.e., curing and adhesive behavior, aggregate retention, bleeding, and rutting; and (2) the field observations indicated that PME-A (styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) polymer-modified emulsion) performs the best of all the emulsions, regardless of seal type and traffic volume.
Generation of the Two-Dimensional Discrete Element Sample of Asphalt Mixtures
Authors: Hou Shuguang , Zhang Dong
Published: October 2015

The discrete element method is now increasingly used in the micro-mechanical analysis of asphalt mixtures. The digital image-based method is usually used to prepare the 2D discrete element sample. However, this method is costly and time-consuming. In this study, a series of algorithms were developed to generate the 2D discrete element sample of asphalt mixtures based on the probability analysis. Firstly, the shapes and sizes of the 2D aggregates cut from 3D aggregates were analyzed and their probabilities were computed. Based on this, an algorithm was proposed to generate the 2D aggregates. Secondly, a method was developed to calculate the number of 2D aggregates in the 2D asphalt mixture sample. Lastly, the algorithms for generating the 2D discrete element sample were summarized and discussed. With these algorithms, the 2D discrete element sample of asphalt mixtures can be generated directly and rapidly.
Selection of Sampling Inspection Plans for Life Tests Based on Lognormal Distribution
Authors: Vijayaraghavan R. , Uma S.
Published: October 2015

Product control is the methodology that consists of sampling inspection procedures with which acceptability or non-acceptability of a lot of finished items can be determined by examining one or more samples of items drawn randomly from the lot. Sampling inspection plans for life tests, also termed as reliability sampling plans, are the special procedures under product control that are employed for taking decisions about the lot based on tests of the lifetime of the items and on an observed number of failures of items. A specific life-test sampling plan can be devised with reference to the lifetime of the products as the quality characteristic, which is modeled by an appropriate continuous-type probability distribution. Various procedures and rules for the design and evaluation of life-test sampling plans based on the tests of sampled lifetime data have been developed and are found in the literature of reliability sampling. In this paper, evaluation of life-test sampling plans under the conditions for the application of lognormal distribution is considered. A procedure for the selection of such plans indexed by acceptable and unacceptable mean life is evolved. Three different criteria for designing life-test plans when lot quality is evaluated in terms of mean life, hazard rate, and reliability life are proposed. Factors for adapting MIL-STD-105D to life and reliability testing indexed by acceptable quality level under the assumption of lognormal distribution are also illustrated.
Jane's Stroke
Authors: Speedy Jane , Davies Bronwyn
Published: October 2015

This exchange of poems began when Bronwyn Davies heard on email from Jane Speedy's friends in Bristol, United Kingdom, that she had had a massive stroke. Bronwyn responded by writing a poem, sending it to Jane's friends—as a contribution to their emails to each other, in which they expressed their shock and sorrow—and she posted it by snail mail to Jane, hoping one day she would be up to reading it. Some considerable time later, Jane responded with another poem, and so this conversation between two academic women, whose lives are changing in totally unanticipated ways, began.
Adropin induction of lipoprotein lipase expression in tilapia hepatocytes
Authors: Lian Anji , Wu Keqiang , Liu Tianqiang , Jiang Nan , Jiang Quan
Published: October 2015

The peptide hormone adropin plays a role in energy homeostasis. However, biological actions of adropin in non-mammalian species are still lacking. Using tilapia as a model, we examined the role of adropin in lipoprotein lipase (LPL) regulation in hepatocytes. To this end, the structural identity of tilapia adropin was established by 5′/3′-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The transcripts of tilapia adropin were ubiquitously expressed in various tissues with the highest levels in the liver and hypothalamus. The prolonged fasting could elevate tilapia hepatic adropin gene expression, whereas no effect of fasting was observed on hypothalamic adropin gene levels. In primary cultures of tilapia hepatocytes, synthetic adropin was effective in stimulating LPL release, cellular LPL content, and total LPL production. The increase in LPL production also occurred with parallel rises in LPL gene levels. In parallel experiments, adropin could elevate cAMP production and up-regulate protein kinase A (PKA) and PKC activities. Using a pharmacological approach, cAMP/PKA and PLC/inositol trisphosphate (IP3)/PKC cascades were shown to be involved in adropin-stimulated LPL gene expression. Parallel inhibition of p38MAPK and Erk1/2, however, were not effective in these regards. Our findings provide, for the first time, evidence that adropin could stimulate LPL gene expression via direct actions in tilapia hepatocytes through the activation of multiple signaling mechanisms.
The Effect of Computer-Assisted Instruction on 7th Grade Students’ Achievement and Attitudes toward Mathematics: The Case of the Topic “Vertical Circular Cylinder” / Utjecaj nastave uz pomoć računala na postignuća i stavove učenika sedmog razreda prema ma
Authors: Birgin Osman , Bozkurt Erhan , Gürel Ramazan , Duru Adem
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) regarding concepts of “surface area and volume of vertical circular cylinder” on seventh grade students’ achievement and attitudes toward mathematics. A pre-test and post-test control group with quasi-experimental study design was used. This research was carried out with 49 seventh grade Turkish students (24 students in the experimental group, and 25 students in the control group). The students in the experimental group were taught with CAI, while the students in the control group were taught in the traditional way (textbook-based direct instruction). The “Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT)” and the “Mathematics Attitude Scale (MAS)” were administered to both groups as a pre-test and a post-test. The data were analyzed with multivariate analysis of variance (MANCOVA). The results indicated that CAI significantly improved students’ mathematics achievement compared to the results achieved through traditional instruction. However, it was found that short-term CAI implementation did not make a significant difference on students’ attitudes toward mathematics. Key words: attitudes toward mathematics; computer-assisted instruction (CAI); mathematics achievement; mathematics education; seventh grade student. ---SažetakCilj je ovoga rada ispitati učinak nastave uz pomoć računala na postignuća i stavove učenika sedmog razreda prema matematici kada se radi o pojmovima kao što su „oplošje i obujam uspravnog kružnog valjka“. Korišten je kvazieksperimentalan dizajn istraživanja koji je uključivao kontrolnu skupinu na kojoj je proveden predtest i posttest. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 49 učenika sedmog razreda u Turskoj (24 učenika u eksperimentalnoj skupini i 25 učenika u kontrolnoj skupini). Učenike u eksperimentalnoj skupini poučavalo se uz pomoć računala, a učenici u kontrolnoj skupini poučavani su na tradicionalan način (izravna nastava koja se temelji na udžbenicima). Na obje skupine proveden je „Test postignuća iz matematike“ i „Ljestvica za ispitivanje stavova prema matematici“, kao predtest i posttest. Podaci su analizirani multivarijatnom analizom varijance (MANCOVA). Rezultati upućuju na to da nastava uz pomoć računala značajno poboljšava postignuća učenika u matematici u usporedbi s rezultatima dobivenima provedbom tradicionalnog načina nastave. Međutim, pokazalo se da kratkotrajna primjena nastave uz pomoć računala nije značajno promijenila stavove učenika prema matematici.Ključne riječi: matematičko obrazovanje; nastava uz pomoć računala; postignuća u matematici; stavovi prema matematici; učenik sedmog razreda.
Does Intention Really Lead to Actual Use of Technology? A Study of an E-learning System among University Students in Malaysia / Vodi li namjera korištenja tehnologijom njezinoj stvarnoj upotrebi? Istraživanje sustava e-učenja među studentima u Maleziji
Authors: Lo May Chiun , Ramayah Thurasamy , Mohamad Abang Azlan
Published: October 2015

AbstractThis paper intends to investigate the long debated notion of whether intention really leads to actual behavior in the e-learning environment. A model based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was tested using data gathered through a structured questionnaire with participation of undergraduate students from a number of universities in Malaysia. Using the variance based structural equation modeling analysis of Partial Least Square (PLS) the model obtained a GoF value of 0.602 which exceeded the 0.36 cut-off value for large effect sizes of R2, thus providing adequate support to validate the PLS model globally. All the hypotheses developed were corroborated with strong support for the Intention related to the Actual use, thus confirming the validity of the TAM in e-learning and within a context of a developing country. Implications for developers and administrators are further elaborated.Key words: e-learning; intention and use; perceived ease of use; perceived usefulness; university students.---SažetakOvaj rad ima za cilj istražiti problem o kojemu se već dugo raspravlja – vodi li namjera korištenja tehnologijom takvom stvarnom ponašanju u okruženju za e-učenje. Testiran je model koji je utemeljen na modelu prihvaćanja tehnologije korištenjem podacima prikupljenim putem strukturiranog upitnika. Upitnike su ispunjavali studenti dodiplomskih studija s različitih sveučilišta u Maleziji. Korištenjem metode parcijalnih najmanjih kvadrata utemeljene na modelu varijance strukturne jednadžbe taj je model postigao vrijednost prikladnosti od 0,602, što nadilazi graničnu vrijednost od 0,36 za značajnu veličinu učinka R2. Stoga je dao dovoljno argumenata da bi se globalno potvrdila valjanost metode parcijalnih najmanjih kvadrata. Sve navedene hipoteze čvrsto su potvrđene što se tiče namjere koja vodi stvarnoj upotrebi tehnologije, a tako je potvrđena i valjanost modela prihvaćanja tehnologije u e-učenju i u kontekstu zemlje u razvoju. Dalje se navode implikacije za stručnjake koji se bave razvojem softvera i za rukovodeće strukture sveučilišta.Ključne riječi: e-učenje; namjera i korištenje; percipirana korisnost; percipirana lakoća korištenja;  studenti.
Literatura włoska tylko w przekładzie (ostatnie powieści autorskiej spółki Monaldi & Sorti)
Authors:   Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Łukaszewicz Justyna
Published: October 2015

The article presents an exceptional case of literary works published only in translation: I dubbi di Salaì and L’uovo di Salaì by Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti, a writing Italian couple. A tension between the exotic and the familiar, characteristic of these novels and made clear during the translation, is shown on the background formed by Polish and international reception of the works. The analysis concerns some linguistic problems linked to the complex stylization of the texts, the references to the historic facts and the intertextual allusions, as well as the strategies and solutions adopted by the translator, such as the compensation and the translator’s notes.
L’utilità dei testi d’intrattenimento popolare nella formazione professionale degli insegnanti d’italiano
Authors:   Nauczycielskie Kolegium Języków Obcych w Gliwicach, Augustyn Danuta
Published: October 2015

This paper refers to the workshop “Laboratorio ludico” that took place at the Teachers Training College in Gliwice. Its aim was to help students, future teachers of Italian language, discover the rules of effective recreational teaching. The article is divided into three chapters. Chapter one analyses the structure and the contents of the course. Chapter two describes opportunities and cultural exploration found in the chosen examples of childrens’ folklore stories. Chapter three evaluates their impact on the perception of the Italian culture by the students and the usefulness of the project in the students’ learning process.
Implicit culture in texts’ dialogues
Authors:   Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Kucharska Anna
Published: October 2015

The article points out the importance of implicit information transmitted in dialogues whose principle aim is to introduce new vocabulary and grammar items. The handbooks often constitute the first contact with Italian culture apart from the existing stereotypes. Each book has a separate part dedicated to the civilisation nevertheless students also pay their attention to the information and to the attitudes presented by the protagonists of dialogues. Teachers of foreign languages should accomplish the role of a cultural mediator able to explain the signification of certain types of behaviour. The analysis of four books for elementary course enables to observe several characteristics of Italian society presented in an implicit manner in the dialogues or readings. The image of an Italian that arises is a talkative and noisy person who likes enjoying his life, loves eating, especially pasta and pizza, and cannot imagine a day without a telephone conversation with friends or without siesta. Teachers must be conscious of this implicit cultural content to be prepared to clarify this image or to enrich it with other examples.
Lo scenario sociolinguistico per l’insegnamento della lingua italiana. Problemi e sfide
Authors:   Università del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, Vercelli, Mosca Monica
Published: October 2015

The recent migration flows have changed the linguistic balance in some European countries that are more exposed than others. Italy is among them. The Barcelona Agreement states basic rights for the promotion of all linguistic varieties, but language differences may represent a barrier to human promotion. Unfortunately, immigrant students in Italian schools accumulate delays in their career, even if they are of second generation (born in Italy), and this is due to hindering linguistic competences. Thus the teaching of Italian as a foreign language at school in such a situation of new multilingualism requires the activation of dynamic teaching techniques more oriented to communicative skills than to grammatical rigor.
E-learning 2.0 per apprendere e insegnare l’italiano l2: i social network, facebook e le tecniche didattiche
Authors:   Università degli Studi di Genova, Cotroneo Emanuela
Published: October 2015

Nowadays it would not be possible to plan an Italian language and culture class without considering the opportunity to use ICT. After the evolution from web to web 2.0 and from e-learning to e-learning 2.0, teachers approached a new concept of learning and teaching online. Web 2.0 tools, the social networks in particular, are considered a valuable resource for communicating, interacting and sharing linguistic and cultural contents, in formal and informal learning. Facebook, the most famous social network, becomes a virtual learning environment for students of Italian as a Second Language where posts, images, links and videos can be shared and used as L2 input. The Facebook page Lingua Italiana Per Stranieri (progetto LIPS), that we described it in this article, represents an example of a didactic use of this famous social network.
I Promessi Sposi in 10 minuti. Materiale autentico per attività didattica
Authors:   Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków, Santoliquido Serafina
Published: October 2015

The teaching of grammar cannot be separated from the teaching of vocabulary, but it is often the case that teachers fail to treat vocabulary with due importance and prefer to focus on explaining grammar instead. Very often the same attitude is reflected in textbooks, which do not teach lexicon in a systematic and organized manner, offering merely sporadic exercises presenting new words and neglecting those aimed at retention and re-use of newly acquired vocabulary. Recently, many scholars in the field of Italian as SL/L2 have undertaken regular studies on the “living language” and its application in teaching. In fact, authentic materials present various examples of language, registers, dialects, regional variations, diversity of styles and multiple thematic situations. What is more, contextualisation of the language increases the level of comprehension and, in consequence, learner’s motivation. The aim of the article is to present a proposal of using a video material available on youtube, which summarizes the historical novel par excellence of Italian literature, for didactic purposes.
La letteratura italiana nelle scuole polacche: Pinocchio forever?
Authors:   Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Łukaszewicz Justyna
Published: October 2015

This article presents aspects of the way Pinocchio is known and understood in Poland, based on the availability and use of Italian literature in primary and secondary schools in that country since the Second World War. It focuses on the paratexts and contexts of the last two translations of Collodi’s masterpiece, particularly the translation by Jarosław Mikołajewski with illustrations by Roberto Innocenti, published in 2011.
Co przewodnik turystyczny mówi we Wrocławiu Włochom o ich rodakach?
Authors: Pazda Ziemowit
Published: October 2015

CHE COSA UNA GUIDA TURISTICA DI BRESLAVIA DICE AGLI ITALIANI A PROPOSITO DEI LORO CONNAZIONALI? WHAT DOES A WROCŁAW CITY GUIDE TELL ITALIAN TOURISTS ABOUT THEIR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN? The author describes the standard tourist itinerary across the city of Wrocław, especially the sites that concern the Italian presence in Wrocław or the merits of the Italian people regarding the region and its capital (artists, architects, exponents of the Church, soldiers, immigrants, etc.). He expresses the opinion that knowledge about elements of history associated with those of the same origins as the tourist group may help guides to interest and involve the group more and to improve the quality of their work. He briefly describes the preparation of the guides for their work and their sources of information, and presents the necessity of choice and selection of the material, depending on the current target audience.
Artystyczna fundacja kanonika Johanna Jakoba Brunettiego dla katedry wrocławskiej
Authors:   Akademia Muzyczna we Wrocławiu, Galewski Dariusz
Published: October 2015

ART FOUNDATION OF JOHANN JAKOB KANON BRUNETTI FOR THE WROCŁAW CATHEDRAL The text concerns the creation of the first Baroque chapel erected at the southern aisle of the Wrocław cathedral in 1672, and its interior. The founder of the chapel was Wrocław Canon Johann Jakob Brunetti (1629–1692), who came from Massa di Carrara, Tuscany and was laid to rest in the chapel’s crypt along with his brother Johann (1646–1703), the assistant bishop. Despite its modest size the work deserves attention for its preserved decor – the altar and two epitaphs made of Dębnik marble and rich acanthus frieze, contrasting with the dome’s vault, decorated with coffers and rosettes. The applied forms indicate good knowledge of both Italian Renaissance and early Baroque traditions displayed by the designer of the work, Carlo Rossi, who came from the vicinity of Como, Lombardy. It makes the chapel an interesting work of art of dual stylistic character, which along with the chapel of St. Cross at the Church of BVM on Piasek Island, initiated the erection of further works of this type at the cathedral and at the Dominican and Premonstratensian churches in Wrocław.
Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski. Cmentarz Żołnierzy Włoskich we Wrocławiu z okresu pierwszej wojny światowej i jego dalsze losy
Authors:   Archiwum Państwowe we Wrocławiu, Trzaskowska Grażyna
Published: October 2015

FROM THE ITALIAN LAND TO POLAND. THE ITALIAN MILITARY CEMETERY OF WORLD WAR I IN WROCŁAW The article deals with a little-known subject of the Italian Military Cemetery in Wrocław with the graves of soldiers from World War I. It is the only preserved Italian necropolis from that period in Poland. It was established in the 1920s in the District of Grabiszyn at the Italian Government’s suggestion. The cemetery includes the collective graves of Italian POWs who had died in German captivity in 1917-1919. The opening ceremony of this necropolis, together with its consecration, took place on November 2nd, 1928. The soldiers’ graves are situated in four sections located around a central point. They are also commemorated in the form of an obelisk. Between 1943 and 1945 another 48 victims of World War II were buried, among them some Italian POWs and a number of civilians. In 1957 their remains were exhumed and transferred to the Italian Military Cemetery in Warsaw. The only graves which remain in Wrocław were the graves of the World War I soldiers, among others of those who fought at Caporetto, the battle which started their prisoners’ way, finally ending in Polish Wroclaw.
Sulle tracce di Jerzy Grotowski: la tappa di Breslavia
Authors:   Uniwersytet Pedagogiczny im. KEN w Krakowie, Woźniak Katarzyna
Published: October 2015

At the beginning of 1965 Jerzy Grotowski and The Theatre of 13 Rows were forced to transfer their headquarters from Wrocław to Opole. One of the most difficult periods in the history of the company coincided with the resounding success of The Constant Prince, based on Julius Slowacki’s translation of Calderon’s play. In under two years this production brought him fame and a reputation as one of the most important artists of the contemporary theatre. Until the introduction of martial law in Poland in December 1981 and the exile of Grotowski first to the United States, then to Italy, Wrocław became a witness to the most important artistic works of Grotowski and the profound changes in his artistic practice: from the theatre, through the paratheatre, to his activities in the Theatre of Sources.
Clinical and genetic basis of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Souza Paulo Victor Sgobbi de , Pinto Wladimir Bocca Vieira de Rezende , Chieia Marco Antônio Troccoli , Oliveira Acary Souza Bulle
Published: October 2015

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis represents the most common neurodegenerative disease leading to upper and lower motor neuron compromise. Although the vast majority of cases are sporadic, substantial gain has been observed in the knowledge of the genetic forms of the disease, especially of familial forms. There is a direct correlation between the profile of the mutated genes in sporadic and familial forms, highlighting the main role ofC9orf72 gene in the clinical forms associated with frontotemporal dementia spectrum. The different genes related to familial and sporadic forms represent an important advance on the pathophysiology of the disease and genetic therapeutic perspectives, such as antisense therapy. The objective of this review is to signal and summarize clinical and genetic data related to familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.