Search results for " experimental"
showing 10 items of 3530 documents
Interpersonal forgiveness and meaning in life in older adults: The mediating and moderating roles of the religious meaning system
2021
Forgiving others may play an important role in achieving meaning in life as it offers a valuable platform for deliberate moral acts of acceptance of positive affect, behaviour, and cognition towards a transgressor. The aim of this paper was to analyse the relationship between forgiveness and presence, and the search for meaning in life, as well as the mediating role of the religious meaning system in this relationship among older adults. A total of 205 older adults, 112 women and 93 men, participated in the study. The mean age was 72.59. The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Religious Meaning System Questionnaire were employed …
Strengthening of Masonry Columns with BFRCM or with Steel Wires: An Experimental Study
2016
Nowadays, innovative materials are more frequently adopted for strengthening historical constructions and masonry structures. The target of these techniques is to improve the structural efficiency with retrofitting methods while having a reduced aesthetical impact. In particular, the use of basalt fiber together with a cementitious matrix emerges as a new technique. This kind of fiber is obtained by basalt rock without other components, and consequently it could be considered a natural material, compatible with masonry. Another innovative technique for strengthening masonry columns consists of applying steel wires in the correspondence of mortar joints. Both techniques have been recently pr…
Toward Value Co-Creation: Increasing Women’s Presence in Management Positions through Competition against a Set Target
2017
Despite empirical evidence that women’s presence in management positions is a source of value co-creation for firms, these positions are still male-dominated. Some evidence from experimental economics suggests that one reason for this imbalance is that women shy away from competition. However, most of these studies have focused on competition systems that pit individuals against each other. We present an economic laboratory experiment that compares competition against others with competition against a set target. The crucial difference is that whereas the former involves competing against opponents, the latter does not. Our results show that significantly more women are willing to compete a…
Introducing evidence-based practices to manage problem behaviours at school: The behave application
2020
In the last years, an increasing awareness amongst educator and scholastic psychologists of the relevance to manage behavioural and emotional problems applying evidence-based approaches, and quasi-experimental designs is emerging. This request, however, must come to terms with certain barriers that persist in the school environment. The introduction of quantified methods to assess and monitor student's results, to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention, to understand the evolution of the single, is not part of the usual teacher's curriculum. The present paper describes the BEHAVE (Behavioral management model across Europe) application, a tool able to support the transition of all educato…
Open science as a better gatekeeper for science and society: a perspective from neurolaw
2018
Results from cognitive neuroscience have been cited as evidence in courtrooms around the world, and their admissibility has been a challenge for the legal system. Unfortunately, the recent reproducibility crisis in cognitive neuroscience, showing that the published studies in cognitive neuroscience may not be as trustworthy as expected, has made the situation worse. Here we analysed how the irreproducible results in cognitive neuroscience literature could compromise the standards for admissibility of scientific evidence, and pointed out how the open science movement may help to alleviate these problems. We conclude that open science not only benefits the scientific community but also the le…
Increased Gamma Connectivity in the Human Prefrontal Cortex during theBereitschaftspotential
2017
The Bereitschaftspotential (BP) is a slow negative cortical potential preceding voluntary movement. Since movement preparation is dependent upon the synchronous activity of a variety of neurons, BP may develop through the exchange of information among motor-related neurons. However, the relationship between BP and information flow is not yet well-known. In the present study, we aimed to investigate how the connectivity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) changes during the occurrence of BP. Electrocorticography (ECoG) was recorded in five patients with epilepsy. The subjects performed self-paced hand grasping. We compared the intraregional connectivity between PFC and non-PFC regions using parti…
New Polylactic Acid Composites Reinforced with Artichoke Fibers
2015
In this work, artichoke fibers were used for the first time to prepare poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based biocomposites. In particular, two PLA/artichoke composites with the same fiber loading (10% w/w) were prepared by the film-stacking method: the first one (UNID) reinforced with unidirectional long artichoke fibers, the second one (RANDOM) reinforced by randomly-oriented long artichoke fibers. Both composites were mechanically characterized in tensile mode by quasi-static and dynamic mechanical tests. The morphology of the fracture surfaces was analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, a theoretical model, i.e., Hill's method, was used to fit the experimental Young's modu…
Hedysarum coronarium-Based Green Composites Prepared by Compression Molding and Fused Deposition Modeling
2022
In this work, an innovative green composite was produced by adding Hedysarum coronarium (HC) flour to a starch-based biodegradable polymer (Mater-Bi®, MB). The flour was obtained by grinding together stems, leaves and flowers and subsequently sieving it, selecting a fraction from 75 μm to 300 μm. Four formulations have been produced by compression molding (CM) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) by adding 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of HC to MB. The influence of filler content on the processability was tested, and rheological, morphological and mechanical properties of composites were also assessed. Through CM, it was possible to obtain easily homogeneous samples with all filler amounts.…
Creep Behavior of Poly(lactic acid) Based Biocomposites
2017
Polymer composites containing natural fibers are receiving growing attention as possible alternatives for composites containing synthetic fibers. The use of biodegradable matrices obtained from renewable sources in replacement for synthetic ones is also increasing. However, only limited information is available about the creep behavior of the obtained composites. In this work, the tensile creep behavior of PLA based composites, containing flax and jute twill weave woven fabrics, produced through compression molding, was investigated. Tensile creep tests were performed at different temperatures (i.e., 40 and 60 °C). The results showed that the creep behavior of the composites is strongly inf…
Performance analysis in sport: Contributions from a joint analysis of athletes’ experience and biomechanical indicators
2011
The purpose of this study was to test the usefulness of combining two types of analysis to investigate sports performance with the aim of optimizing it. These two types of analysis correspond to two levels of athletes’ activity: (a) their experiences during performance and (b) the biomechanical characteristics of their movements. Rowing served as an illustration, and the activity of one female crew member was studied during a race. Three types of data were collected: (a) audiovisual data recorded during the race; (b) verbalization data obtained in interviews conducted afterward; and (c) biomechanical data. The courses of experience of the two rowers during the race were reconstructed on the…