Designing the venue logistics management operations for a World Exposition

World Expositions, due to their size and peculiar features, pose a number of logistics challenges. This paper aims at developing a design framework for the venue logistics management (VLM) operations to replenish food products to the event site, through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. First, an in-depth interview methodology, combined with the outcomes of a literature review, is adopted for defining the key variables for the tactical and operational set-up of the VLM system. Second, a quantitative approach is developed to define the necessary logistics resources. The framework is then applied to the case of Milan 2015 World Exposition. It is the first time that such a design framework for a World Exposition is presented: the originality of this research lies in the proposal of a systematic approach that adds to the experiential practices constituting the current body of knowledge on event logistics.     

Do Cultural Values Affect Quality of Life Evaluation?

Schwartz defines cultural values as motivational types, where each value reflects goals and objectives to be achieved. According to Schwartz, cultural values are related to an orientation that is individualistic (values referred to as power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation and self-direction), collectivistic (benevolence, tradition and conformity) or mixed (security and universalism). Today, there is a theoretical consensus that cultural values are mediators in the evaluation of quality of life (QOL); nonetheless, there are few published studies to date relating them to QOL. To determine whether a significant relationship exits between cultural values and QOL in three Spanish-speaking countries. A total of 821 persons participated: 321 from Chile, 200 from Spain and 300 from Cuba. The Schwartz Cultural Values Survey and the WHOQOL-BREF Quality of Life Scale were used. Analysis of variance, and correlation and regression analyses were preformed after collecting data. Only hedonism was significantly correlated with the global evaluation of QOL in Spain and Chile. Few correlations were found in all three countries between cultural values and the QOL domains evaluated, with the exceptions of the value of self-direction, which was related to physical well-being, and the value stimulation, which was correlated with psychological as well as social well-being in all three countries. Certain values may be associated with a better perception of QOL, depending on the particular culture of the population evaluated.     

Dining with the Devil: Identity Formations in Juarez,Mexico

This article analyzes popular narratives surrounding the theme of drug lords in the Mexican border city of Juarez and their multifaceted social, ideological, and material effects. This analysis takes into consideration the historical context of eruptions of violence that Juarez has endured in the last few years. Complex formations of the Mexican identity are now being reformulated in hierarchical, gendered, and racialized identities, which project the very strong and powerful social frictions currently emerging from complex socioeconomic factors resulting in mass poverty and migration. These elements are evinced in the narco-narratives within their violent contexts. However, violence in Juarez must not be interpreted as upsurges outside the control of the state, but rather as byproducts of conflict within it (see Das and Poole 2004). Thus, on the border, Juarez becomes a central site, not a periphery, in which economic and political forces materialize in the middle of complex social dynamics.     

Adolescent depression: Significant issues in diagnosis and treatment of constricted adolescents

This article examines depression in those adolescents who are constricted emotionally. Specific elements of ego organization are discussed with particular emphasis on loss, grieving, identification, and ego ideal. The authors examine characteristics of such adolescents from a socio-developmental-psychological perspective, utilizing data from the cases of two patients who presented remarkably differing profiles. In terms of treatment, differences in therapeutic style are illustrated to reflect the distinct levels of personality organization achieved by each of the patients. Constricted youth are distinguished from those youngsters who are depressed but are more typically oppositional and negativistic, and reveal a long standing history of chronic acting out.     

On a Mixture Model for Directional Data on the Sphere

We consider mixtures of general angular central Gaussian distributions as models for multimodal directional data. We prove consistency of the maximum‐likelihood estimates of model parameters and convergence of their numerical approximations based on an expectation–maximization algorithm. Then, we focus on mixtures of special angular central Gaussian distributions and discuss the details of a fast numerical algorithm, which allows to fit multimodal distributions to massive data, occurring, for example, in the study of the microstructure of materials. We illustrate the applicability with some data from fibre composites and from ceramic foams.     

The benefits of embedding experiential learning in the education of planners

Abstract

In a future of complexity, uncertainty and fragmented governance we envision planning graduates who will be better prepared for the real world of planning as a result of an experiential learning (EL) approach in undergraduate tertiary education. In this paper, we present the findings of an Australian research project in which planning educators developed and tested a range of experiential planning principles based on sound pedagogical theory. Embedding EL principles and activities within the planning curriculum provides a structured programme of engagement between theory and practice over the four years of an undergraduate Australian planning programme, including opportunities for work-integrated learning. Students gain experience in negotiated decision-making involving a wide range of interactions with planning practitioners. Students become more adaptable—cognizant of mechanisms influencing change, and recognize the value of lifelong learning founded on critical reflection. We propose that a more systematic approach to integrating experiential learning in tertiary planning education culminating in ‘work integrated learning’ would provide a vehicle for further partnerships with responsive local practitioners and communities. Finally, this paper also argues that applying experiential learning does not compromise the quality of planning education based on greater academic rigour.     

Beyond individual war trauma: domestic violence against children in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka

To date, research on the psychosocial consequences of mass trauma resulting from war and organized violence on children has primarily focused on the individual as the unit of treatment and analysis with particular focus on mental disorders caused by traumatic stress. This body of research has stimulated the development of promising individual-level treatment approaches for addressing psychological trauma. In contrast, there is virtually no literature addressing the effects of mass trauma on the family and community systems. Research conducted in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, two long-standing war-torn societies, found that in addition to multiple exposure to war or disaster-related traumatic events children also indicated high levels of exposure to family violence. These findings point to the need for conjoint family- and community-based programs of prevention and intervention that are specifically tailored for the context of the affected society. In particular, programs should take issues such as poverty, child labor, and parental alcohol use into account in assessing and treating children in the aftermath of mass trauma.     

Motor-skill learning in older adults—a review of studies on age-related differences

This paper reviews research on motor-skill learning across the life span with particular emphasis on older age. For this purpose, studies that focus on age-related differences in fine and gross motor skills and studies that analyze the further refinement of known skills as well as learning of unknown motor skills are summarized. The reviewed studies suggest that although motor performance tends to decline in old age, learning capabilities remain intact, and older adults are able to achieve considerable performance gains. The extent to which the learning capability varies with age, however, has to be considered very carefully. While most studies revealed that performance gains in fine motor tasks are diminished in older adults, results for gross-motor-skill learning are more contradictory. Additionally, there is considerable agreement on the finding that age-related learning differences are statistically more robust in complex tasks, whereas in low-complexity tasks, the learning of younger and older adults is very similar. This applies to fine and gross motor skills. Relative age differences seem to become enlarged when effortful resources are required for motor performance. Thus, the decline in motor learning that accompanies aging is task specific and not absolute.

Developing somatic sensibilities for practices of discernment in interaction design

The recent turn in the field of human–computer interaction to design and the aesthetics of interaction has generated a renewed focus on the body as the fundamental site of experience. Interaction design researchers and educators are exploring how to design for the felt dimension of interactions with computing technologies, anchored in the sensing and feeling capacities of the lived body. An expanded view of aesthetics beyond the visual has led to calls for approaches that foster a somatic literacy for interaction design. Our focus in this article centers on the importance of incorporating somatic sensitization in design pedagogy, toward a more holistic approach taking advantage of the sapient capacities of the body as a tool for meaning-articulation. Through the presentation of our case involving a workshop comparing the notions of tactile sensing and felt-sensing, we discuss our strategies for including a somatic learning process in design education, particularly in the context of design evaluation and creativity. We discuss some of the challenges we have experienced in facilitating and developing somatic sensibilities for practices of discernment in the evaluation of the qualities of designed interactive technologies.