Architettura urbana, gender mainstreaming e l’impatto del femminismo

Questo lavoro di tesi esplora i possibili sviluppi di un'architettura urbana sensibile alle questioni di genere, sotto un prisma femminista intersezionale. Dalla fine degli anni '90, le sperimentazioni in questa direzione hanno cominciato a farsi sempre più numerose, a cominciare dall'esempio pionieristico di Vienna, divenuta città di riferimento per eccellenza. Questa tesi è particolarmente interessata ai progetti sperimentali di Parigi, pur mantenendo una visione comparativa con progetti in altre città europee. In quanto approcci che influenzano l'architettura urbana, vengono esplorati anche le politiche pubbliche e l'attivismo, a livello francese e italiano. Il loro contributo evidenzia il potenziale di reinvenzione simbolica e materiale dell'architettura urbana, passando dal sistema eteropatriarcale verso una maggiore inclusione e giustizia spaziale. Gli interrogativi principali di questo lavoro si basano sull'influenza delle teorie femministe nella pratica professionale di architette·i e urbaniste·i, sul loro ruolo nella trasformazione degli approcci alla città e alla pianificazione urbana, nonché nella trasformazione dell'estetica architettonica e urbana. Attraverso un approccio metodologico situato, riflessivo e interdisciplinare, derivante dalle discipline dell'architettura e dell'urbanistica, il fieldwork svolto ha avuto l'obiettivo di ricercare tendenze, evoluzioni e costanti nei progetti di architettura urbana di genere. Tenendo conto dell'evoluzione temporale delle mentalità sul genere e della consapevolezza sempre più profonda delle questioni femministe, questa tesi assume un approccio critico al Gender Mainstreaming. In aggiunta al pdf della tesi è presente un documento riassuntivo in lingua italiana.

Undergraduate teaching of ideal and real fluid flows: The value of real-world experimental projects

This study describes the pedagogical impact of real-world experimental projects undertaken as part of an advanced undergraduate Fluid Mechanics subject at an Australian university. The projects have been organised to complement traditional lectures and introduce students to the challenges of professional design, physical modelling, data collection and analysis. The physical model studies combine experimental, analytical and numerical work in order to develop students’ abilities to tackle real-world problems. A first study illustrates the differences between ideal and real fluid flow force predictions based upon model tests of buildings in a large size wind tunnel used for research and professional testing. A second study introduces the complexity arising from unsteady non-uniform wave loading on a sheltered pile. The teaching initiative is supported by feedback from undergraduate students. The pedagogy of the course and projects is discussed with reference to experiential, project-based and collaborative learning. The practical work complements traditional lectures and tutorials, and provides opportunities which cannot be learnt in the classroom, real or virtual. Student feedback demonstrates a strong interest for the project phases of the course. This was associated with greater motivation for the course, leading in turn to lower failure rates. In terms of learning outcomes, the primary aim is to enable students to deliver a professional report as the final product, where physical model data are compared to ideal-fluid flow calculations and real-fluid flow analyses. Thus the students are exposed to a professional design approach involving a high level of expertise in fluid mechanics, with sufficient academic guidance to achieve carefully defined learning goals, while retaining sufficient flexibility for students to construct there own learning goals. The overall pedagogy is a blend of problem-based and project-based learning, which reflects academic research and professional practice. The assessment is a mix of peer-assessed oral presentations and written reports that aims to maximise student reflection and development. Student feedback indicated a strong motivation for courses that include a well-designed project component.

Teaching an Old Robot New Tricks: Learning Novel Tasks via Interaction with People and Things

As AI has begun to reach out beyond its symbolic, objectivist roots into the embodied, experientialist realm, many projects are exploring different aspects of creating machines which interact with and respond to the world as humans do. Techniques for visual processing, object recognition, emotional response, gesture production and recognition, etc., are necessary components of a complete humanoid robot. However, most projects invariably concentrate on developing a few of these individual components, neglecting the issue of how all of these pieces would eventually fit together. The focus of the work in this dissertation is on creating a framework into which such specific competencies can be embedded, in a way that they can interact with each other and build layers of new functionality. To be of any practical value, such a framework must satisfy the real-world constraints of functioning in real-time with noisy sensors and actuators. The humanoid robot Cog provides an unapologetically adequate platform from which to take on such a challenge. This work makes three contributions to embodied AI. First, it offers a general-purpose architecture for developing behavior-based systems distributed over networks of PC's. Second, it provides a motor-control system that simulates several biological features which impact the development of motor behavior. Third, it develops a framework for a system which enables a robot to learn new behaviors via interacting with itself and the outside world. A few basic functional modules are built into this framework, enough to demonstrate the robot learning some very simple behaviors taught by a human trainer. A primary motivation for this project is the notion that it is practically impossible to build an "intelligent" machine unless it is designed partly to build itself. This work is a proof-of-concept of such an approach to integrating multiple perceptual and motor systems into a complete learning agent.

A Software Platform for Teaching Programming with Grading Systems

Красимир Манев, Милослав Средков, Петър Армянов - Състезателните системи (СС) са незаменимо средство за организация на състезания по програмиране. Напоследък СС се използват и в обучението по програмиране. В статията е предложена платформа, която да интегрира възможностите на СС, създадени или използвани от авторите. Целта е изграждането на проста и ефективна среда за обучение по програмиране, подпомагаща учебния процес. Специфицирани са основните елементи на платформата, като резултат от предходно изследване, и една нейна възможна архитектура.

Vancomycin use in a brazilian teaching hospital: comparison with the Hospital Infection Controlpractices Advisory Committee Guidelines (HICPAC)

This study describes vancomycin prescribing patterns in an average complexity hospital and compare the guidelines proposed by the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). The study was conducted in a 256-bed secondary-care hospital. Data were collected of all patients given vancomycin from March 2003 to February 2004, using a standardized chart-extraction form designed. Appropriate and inappropriate use was reviewed according to the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) guidelines on prudent vancomycin use. Out of 118 prescriptions, 95 (80.5%) were considered appropriate. Out of these 95 orders, 77 (81.1%) were administered for empiric treatment of suspected Gram-positive infections, 17 (17.9%) were administered for treatment of proven Gram-positive infections (76.5% identified as Staphyloccocus aureus-like agents) and 1 (1.0%) for beta-lactam allergy. The majority of the patients (96.6%) had recently used an antimicrobial medication (3 months). The mean pre-treatment hospitalization period was 11±10 days. Out of the 118 treatments, 67 (56.8%) were for nosocomial infections. The more frequent indications for vancomycin use were pneumonia (48.3%) and primary sepsis (18.6%), accounting for more than 66% of all treatments. No restriction policy was suggested because vancomycin use was considered adequate in the majority of the treatment cases. The broad empiric use of this antimicrobial was greater than expected in the institution and its use should be revised.

The Australian Universities Teaching Committee project in 'Learning Outcomes and Curriculum Development in Psychology'

The Australian Universities Teaching Committee (AUTC) funds projects intended to improve the quality of teaching and learning in specific disciplinary areas. The project brief for 'Learning Outcomes and Curriculum Development in Psychology' for 2004/2005 was to 'produce an evaluative overview of courses ... with a focus on the specification and assessment of learning outcomes and ... identify strategic directions for universities to enhance teaching and learning'. This project was awarded to a consortium from The University of Queensland, University of Tasmania, and Southern Cross University. The starting point for this project is an analysis of the scientist-practitioner model and its role in curriculum design, a review of current challenges at a conceptual level, and consideration of the implications of recent changes to universities relating to such things as intemationalisation of programs and technological advances. The project will seek to bring together stakeholders from around the country in order to survey the widest possible range of perspectives on the project brief requirements. It is hoped also to establish mechanisms for fiiture scholarly discussion of these issues, including the establishment of an Australian Society for the Teaching of Psychology and an annual conference.

Engaging with theories of dialogue and voice: Using Bakhtin as a framework to understand teaching and learning Indigenous Australian women's performance

In this paper I explore the Indigenous Australian women's performance classroom (hereafter ANTH2120) as a dialectic and discursive space where the location of possibility is opened for female Indigenous performers to enter into a dialogue from and between both non-Indigenous and Indigenous voices. The work of Bakhtin on dialogue serves as a useful standpoint for understanding the multiple speaking positions and texts in the ANTH2120 context. Bakhtin emphasizes performance, history, actuality and the openness of dialogue to provide an important framework for analysing multiple speaking positions and ways of making meaning through dialogue between shifting and differing subjectivities. I begin by briefly critiquing Bakhtin's "dialogic imagination" and consider the application and usefulness of concepts such as dialogism, heteroglossia and the utterance to understanding the ANTH2120 classroom as a polyphonic and discursive space. I then turn to an analysis of dialogue in the ANTH2120 classroom and primarily situate my gaze on an examination of the interactions that took place between the voices of myself as family/teacher/student and senior Yanyuwa women from the r e m o t e N o r t h e r n T e r r i t o r y A b o r i g i n a l c o m m u n i t y o f B o r r o l o o l a as family/performers/teachers. The 2000 and 2001 Yanyuwa women's performance workshops will be used as examples of the way power is constantly shifting in this dialogue to allow particular voices to speak with authority, and for others to remain silent as roles and relationships between myself and the Yanyuwa women change. Conclusions will be drawn regarding how my subject positions and white race privilege affect who speaks, who listens and on whose terms, and further, the efficacy of this pedagogical platform for opening up the location of possibility for Indigenous Australian women to play a powerful part in the construction of knowledges about women's performance traditions.

Teaching and learning mathematics using moodle

This paper summarizes a project that is contributing to a change in the way of teaching and learning Mathematics. Mathematics is a subject of the Accounting and Administration course. In this subject we teach: Functions and Algebra. The aim is that the student understand the basic concepts and is able to apply them in other issues, when possible, establishing a bridge between the issues that they have studied and their application in Accounting. As from this year, the Accounting course falls under in Bologna Process. The teacher and the student roles have changed. The time for theoretical and practical classes has been reduced, so it was necessary to modify the way of teaching and learning. In the theoretical classes we use systems of multimedia projection to present the concepts, and in the practical classes we solve exercises. We also use the Excel and the mathematical open source software wxMaxima. To supplement our theoretical and practical classes we have developed a project called MatActiva based on the Moodle platform offered by PAOL - Projecto de Apoio Online (Online Support Project). With the creation of this new project we wanted to take advantage already obtained results with the previous experiences, giving to the students opportunities to complement their study in Mathematics. One of the great objectives is to motivate students, encourage them to overcome theirs difficulties through an auto-study giving them more confidence. In the MatActiva project the students have a big collection of information about the way of the subject works, which includes the objectives, the program, recommended bibliography, evaluation method and summaries. It works as material support for the practical and theoretical classes, the slides of the theoretical classes are available, the sheets with exercises for the students to do in the classroom and complementary exercises, as well as the exams of previous years. Students can also do diagnostic tests and evaluation tests online. Our approach is a reflexive one, based on the professional experience of the teachers that explore and incorporate new tools of Moodle with their students and coordinate the project MatActiva.

How to teach mathematics with MOODLE

The aim of this article is to present a Project in the Oporto’s Institute of Accounting and Administration, which pretends to contribute for a change in the way of teaching and learning Mathematics. One of the main objectives of this project is to innovate the teaching and learning processes, exploring technologies as a pedagogical resource and to induce higher motivation to students, improve the rate of success and make available to students a set of materials adapted to their needs. This concern is justified due to the fact that students have a weak preparation, without consolidated basis. Since the year 2007/2008 the courses were adjusted to the Bologna process, which requires several changes in teacher’s and student’s roles, methodologies and assessment. The number of weekly classes has been reduced, so it was necessary to develop new strategies and methodologies to support the student. With the implementation of the Bologna Process in the Accounting degree, we felt a great need to provide other types of activities to students. To complement our theoretical and practical classes we have developed a project called MatActiva based on the Moodle platform offered by PAOL - Projecto de Apoio On-Line (Online Support Project). Moodle allows us to use the language TEX to create materials that use mathematical symbols. Using this functionality, we created a set of easy to use interactive resources. In MatActiva project, the students have access to a variety of different materials. We have followed a strategy that makes the project compatible with the theoretical and practical subjects/classes, complementing them. To do so, we created some resources, for instance multiple-choice tests, which are the most accessed by the students. These tests can be realized and corrected on-line and for each wrong answer there is a feedback with the resolution. We can find other types of resources: diagnostic tests, theoretical notes. There are not only the pre-requirements for subjects mathematics, but also materials to help students follow up the programs. We also developed several lessons. This activity consists of a number of pages, where each page has contents and leads to other pages, based on the student's progress. The teacher creates the choices and determines the next page that the student will see, based upon their knowledge. There is also an area of doubts, where the students can place all the mathematical doubts they have, and a teacher gives the answers or clues to help them in their work. MatActiva also offers an area where we can find some humour, curiosities, contests and games including mathematical contents to test the math skills, as well as links to pages about mathematical contents that could be useful for the study. Since ISCAP receives ERASMUS students and some of them attend mathematics, we developed some materials in English, so they can also use MatActiva. The main objectives of our project are not only to bring success in the subjects of mathematics, but also to motivate the students, encourage them to overcome theirs difficulties through an auto-study giving them more confidence and improve their relationship with the mathematics as well as the communication between students and teachers and among students.

Information and communication technologies in education – a web-based intelligent tutoring system on teaching and learning electrical project

Electrical activity is extremely broad and distinct, requiring by one hand, a deep knowledge on rules, regulations, materials, equipments, technical solutions and technologies and assistance in several areas, as electrical equipment, telecommunications, security and efficiency and rational use of energy, on the other hand, also requires other skills, depending on the specific projects to be implemented, being this knowledge a characteristic that belongs to the professionals with relevant experience, in terms of complexity and specific projects that were made.

Teaching and learning with social software in higher education: content management systems integrated with Web-based applications as a key factor for success

The change of paradigm imposed by the Bologna process, in which the student will be responsible for their own learning, and the presence of a new generation of students with higher technological skills, represent a huge challenge for higher education institutions. The use of new Web Social concepts in teaching process, supported by applications commonly called Web 2.0, with which these new students feel at ease, can bring benefits in terms of motivation and the frequency and quality of students' involvement in academic activities. An e-learning platform with web-based applications as a complement can significantly contribute to the development of different skills in higher education students, covering areas which are usually in deficit.

Agreement between premortem and postmortem diagnoses in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome observed at a brazilian teaching hospital

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the main causes of death in adults worldwide. More commonly than in the general population, in patients with AIDS there is substantial disagreement between causes of death which are clinically suspected and those established by postmortem examination. The findings of 52 postmortem examinations were compared to the premortem (clinical) diagnoses, and there was 46% agreement between them. Fifty two percent of the patients had more than one postmortem diagnosis, and 48% had at least one AIDS-related disease not suspected clinically. Cytomegalovirus infection was the commonest (30.7%) autopsy finding, but not a single case had been suspected premortem. Bacterial infection, tuberculosis, and histoplasmosis were also common, sometimes not previously suspected, postmortem findings. This study shows that multiple infections occur simultaneously in AIDS patients, and that many among them are never suspected before the postmortem examination. These findings suggest that an aggressive investigation of infections and cancers should be done in patients with AIDS, particularly in those who do not respond to therapy of an already recognized condition