Design of educational artifacts as support to learning process

The aim of this paper is to identify utilization schemes developed by students and teachers in their interaction with educational workstations in the electronic measurement and instrumentation laboratory at the Department of Electrical Engineering in the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. After that, these schemes were used to design a new workstation. For this, it was important to bear in mind that the mentioned artifacts contain two key characteristics: (1) one from the designers themselves, resulting from their experience and their technical knowledge of what they are designing and (2) the experience from users and the means through which they take advantage of and develop these artifacts, in turn rendering them appropriate to perform the proposed task - the utilization schemes developed in the process of mediation between the user and the artifact. The satisfactory fusion of these two points makes these artifacts a functional unit - the instruments. This research aims to demonstrate that identifying the utilization schemes by taking advantage of user experience and incorporating this within the design, facilitates its appropriation and, consequently, its efficiency as an instrument of learning.     

Mapping of noise impact provoked by the execution of foundation piles at high rise building sites

The objective of this work is to map, in a limited area inside and outside of the worksite, the environmental impact generated by sound pollution coming from the driving of foundation piles for high rise buildings, as well as to observe and check if the noise levels produced by the emitting source are tolerable in the urban environment. The methodology of the work includes a survey of technical references about the subject; measurement of noises surrounding the worksite during the foundation phase for four distinct buildings, with different types of piles: prefabricated piles, continuous helical displacement piles , traditional compaction piles and Terra Probe compaction piles. A grid of points was built due to the time of driving and after that the measurements of environmental noises were performed emitted by the execution of each type of pile using a sound level meter. The interpretation of the measurements and their impacts on the neighborhood of the building were performed using the computational tool Suffer for creating noise level contours. The X and Y axes of the grid represent the distances in meters of the area studied and the Z axis represents the noise measured in dB. The contours developed represent the mapping of the noise at the worksites and their surroundings. The mapping of the urban impact of noise, the measurement of its dimensions, and the examination of its propagation around the building are important subsides to adequate individual and collective protection procedures. Seventy one points were measured at four building sites with different types of piles, and the results showed that at only three points was the noise within the limits of the Municipal Law of Recife of 70 dB, which proves the relevance of the research. Finally, the comparative analysis between the four types of piles shows that the continuous helical displacement pile emits the lowest noise level among the four pile types studied.     

Voices of Nigerian Women Survivors of Trafficking Held in Italian Centres for Identification and Expulsion

This article examines the vicissitudes that affect the migration trajectories of many Nigerian women who experienced trafficking before arriving in Italy, and end up in Centers for Identification and Expulsion (CIE) for undocumented migrants. Their life stories, collected within the CIE of Ponte Galeria (Rome), revealed violence as “a rule of action” with which these women are obliged to cope with at different levels. Moreover, they highlighted the failure of traditional security approaches to human trafficking, and the necessity to rethink the measures adopted to ensure survivors' protection and rights. As it is conceived, the system of immigration control prevents the full guarantee of survivors' rights, often labelling them as “illegal migrants”. Finally, there is the need to extend protection to all survivors of human trafficking even if the crime against them has not happened in Italy.     

Testing the reactance vs. the reciprocity of politeness explanations for the effectiveness of the “but you are free” compliance-gaining technique

Two studies were conducted to assess whether reactance or politeness offers a better explanation of the effectiveness of the “but you are free” (BYAF) technique of gaining compliance. The first was conducted with an online survey in the US (N = 131) and found that the BYAF was associated with lower perceived freedom threat than a control or polite request. The second was a field study and collected data in France (N = 372), Norway (N = 360), and the US (N = 108) to test a 3 (direct request, polite request, or BYAF) × 2 (requester benefits or 3rd party group benefits) design. The BYAF was associated with higher compliance than the other two messages.     

Human resource development at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: origins and international growth

This article provides an overview of the history and current status of graduate and undergraduate Human Resource Development (HRD) programs at the University of Minnesota. The HRD program at the UMN is situated within the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development of the College of Education and Human Development. The program offers undergraduate, master’s, and PhD degrees, and is characterized by healthy enrollment numbers and a strong alumni base, both nationally and internationally. The UMN HRD program has a long history of significant contributions to the development of HRD with research and strong education programs which continue to influence the academic field and professional field of practice in the U.S. and internationally.     

A new characterization of the jump rate for piecewise-deterministic Markov processes with discrete transitions

Piecewise-deterministic Markov processes form a general class of non diffusion stochastic models that involve both deterministic trajectories and random jumps at random times. In this paper, we state a new characterization of the jump rate of such a process with discrete transitions. We deduce from this result a non parametric technique for estimating this feature of interest. We state the uniform convergence in probability of the estimator. The methodology is illustrated on a numerical example.     

Asymptotic results for lower exponential spacings

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate distributional and asymptotic properties of lower exponential spacings. We find conditions under which the sequence of logarithmic lower spacings converges in probability and with probability one.     

Does control concentration affect board busyness? International evidence

Journal of Management and Governance - Previous literature suggests that shareholders can concentrate control without cash flow rights, creating incentives to expropriate firm resources. However,...