Academic literature on the topic 'Italian validation'

Neuropsychological testing is a milestone of good practice to document cognitive deficits in a rapidly aging population. The aim of this paper is to validate the Italian version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). We compared subjects performance at the Italian version of MoCA with performance at standard Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The whole sample is composed of 287 subjects. All participants were administered three MoCA and a standard MMSE within 4 weeks. Through ROC analysis the optimal MoCA cut-off point was identified, showing high levels of sensitivity and specificity and an accuracy of .96, with 95% confidence interval. Intra rater reliability and intra rater reliability are highly significant with respect to the MMSE. Results highlight that MoCA is a valid instrument in clinical and research screening and monitoring of subjects affected by cognitive disorders. Further studies may be directed to the deepening of the reliability and validity of the test.

The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Valencia Eustress-Distress Appraisal Scale (VEDAS). Two hundred and thirty-two Italian workers were involved in the study. Dimensionality, reliability, and concurrent validity were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-dimensional structure. In addition, the Italian version of the scale showed good internal consistency and validity. The results indicate that the Italian version of the VEDAS is a valid instrument for measuring eustress and distress appraisal in the Italian context.

Background: The aim of this study was to provide an Italian version of the Haemophilia Activities List (HAL) and check its reliability in Italian medical centers. Methods: The Italian version of this assessment was administered to 80 patients (aged 18-65 years) affected by haemophilia A and B (moderate or severe). The validation was accomplished by comparing it to the revised and expanded Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS2). Results: The internal consistency of the Italian version of the HAL had statistically high results: Cronbach's α 0.957-0.579. The highest internal consistency was measured in the domains ‘leg functionality' and in the overall points of the HAL questionnaire. The correlation between the AIMS2, which has been translated into Italian, and the version of the HAL questionnaire that we proposed, yielded good results for the following correlations: AIMS2 all and HAL overall (r = 0.64), AIMS2 physical function and HAL overall (r = 0.66), AIMS2 pain and HAL overall (r = 0.66). Conclusion: The Italian version of the HAL questionnaire presents both internal coherence and convergent validity. It can be used in addition to other functional tests to measure outcomes in moderate and severe haemophiliac diseases or to determine the quality of life as observed in the everyday life of patients.

Purpose To validate the Near Activity Vision Questionnaire (NAVQ) in Italian to allow the assessment of presbyopia corrections in Italian-speaking patients. Methods An Italian version of the NAVQ was arranged through several steps: an initial forward translation (from English to Italian), a backward translation (from Italian to English), and finally a consensual version to check against the original NAVQ. This prospective study enrolled native Italian-speaking presbyopic patients with corrected distance visual acuity of 0.20 logMAR or better in each eye and free of ocular anomalies. Six different groups of patients were asked to complete the questionnaire: emerging presbyopic patients, reading spectacle users, multifocal spectacle users, multifocal contact lens (CL) wearers, monovision CL wearers, and monofocal intraocular lens patients. Subjects were asked to answer the questionnaire again 2 weeks after the first completion. Results A total of 207 subjects completed the questionnaire. Data analysis showed good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.93) and factorial validity with only one factor explaining 62.0% of the variance. Test-retest reliability was extremely good (ICC = 0.92) as well as discriminatory power of the questionnaire's ability to discriminate between subjects with different forms of presbyopic correction. Conclusions The Italian version of the NAVQ matches the properties of the original English version. It is a valid instrument to evaluate near activity visual quality of presbyopic Italian speakers.

To date, several models that predict deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat at harvest are available. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of two of such models, including a mechanistic model developed in Italy and an empirical model developed in the Netherlands. To this end, field data collected in the periods 2002-2004 and 2009-2011 in Italy, and in the period 2001-2010 in the Netherlands were used. These historical data covered farm observations at 1,306 wheat fields, of which 155 in the Netherlands and 1,151 in Italy. A subset of 10% of the Italian data, derived by random sampling from the total Italian dataset, was used to validate both the Italian and the Dutch model. Additionally, the Italian mechanistic model was validated using the total Dutch dataset. Before validating the Dutch model, it was recalibrated using the remaining 90% of the Italian data. Results showed that predictions of both modelling approaches (mechanistic and empirical) for independent wheat fields were in accordance. Applying a threshold for DON concentration of 1,250 ?g/kg, the mechanistic DON model predicted 90% of the samples correctly. Results for cross-validation of the mechanistic DON model and the recalibrated empirical DON model showed that 93% of the samples were correctly predicted. In general, no more than 6% of underestimates were observed.

We illustrate the development of a 20-year prediction model of first major coronary or ischemic stroke event in a Northern Italian population of men and women aged 35 to 69 years at baseline. The model included age, blood lipids, systolic blood pressure, anti-hypertensive treatment, smoking habits and diabetes. The discrimination ability of the model was high as 0.736 in men and 0.801 in women. The model has been internally and externally validated using a different cohort study of subjects enrolled in Latina. Based on the external validation analysis, the risk score seems to be appropriate for long-term risk prediction in Italy and, more generally, in low-incidence populations. The clinical utility of the risk score in stratifying subjects in risk categories has been evaluated considering two strategies for the identification of “high-risk” subjects with contrasting public health goals, either to decrease the fraction of missed events or to decrease un-necessary treatment. These can be implemented by choosing threshold values for the predicted risk driven by either sensitivity or by specificity, respectively. The risk stratification based on 20-year absolute predicted risk had a higher clinical utility than any stratification based on the number of risk factors. Finally, we discussed from the statistical perspective the concept of “improvement” in risk prediction through the paradigmatic analysis of two indicators of disease heritability and social status, i.e. family history of coronary heart disease and educational level, added to the initial model. A new SAS package, Risk Estimation in Survival Analysis using SAS 9.2 [reSAS], detailed in the appendix, has been specifically developed from the author.

Abstract. Title: Breastfeeding: validation of a reduced Breastfeeding Assessment Score (BAS) in a group of Italian women Aim and objective. To assess the accuracy of a reduced Breastfeeding Assessment Score (BAS) in a group of Italian women; the reduced BAS considers only 5 of the 8 original BAS items studied, those not indicating a pathology. Background. The WHO and many Professional Organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life because of its many benefits for mother and child. A prognostic approach that identifies mothers at increased risk of early breastfeeding cessation is needed in order to provide preventive support. The BAS, elaborated in Kansas, is useful to this approach. Design. This is a descriptive, prospective study. This study involves two Italian hospitals. Method. We included healthy Italian mothers who gave birth from July 7, 2008 to January 15, 2009. The exclusion criteria on the convenience sample were: non-Italian nationality, birth under 36 wks and twin birth. The authors calculated a reduced BAS (“reduced” because the original 8 items studied by Hall, were reduced to 5) 48 hours after birth. After 4 weeks a structured follow-up telephone interview was carried out: the primary outcome was breastfeeding cessation (including mixed feeding). Results. We recruited 386 women, with 6 lost during follow-up. Out of 380 women, 127 (33.4%) stopped breastfeeding. With a cut off point of 8, the reduced BAS sensitivity was 52.0%, which increased to 77.9% by using a cut-off point of 9. We also calculated a modified BAS with different age categories, which is adequate based on the Italian situation: in this case sensitivity was 70.1%. This study suggests that a reduced BAS with a different cut-off point or modified with a different age classification is useful in identifying Italian mothers who will discontinue breastfeeding, as in both cases sensitivity does increase. Relevance to clinical practice. Italian midwives could use this modified BAS to identify mothers at increased risk of early breastfeeding cessation needing special support.

Physical functioning is crucial to participation in life activities and it should always be accurately assessed in children with cerebral palsy, as it is a key element in the rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities. The Activities Scale for Kids (ASK) is one of the few reliable and responsive outcome measures that allows children and adolescents to accurately report their physical functioning in typical activities for this age. The performance version of the ASK has recently been translated and culturally adapted to the Italian context and, in its original language, is currently used to assess children with cerebral palsy, although its psychometric properties have never been investigated in a wide sample of this population. This PhD Thesis has been implemented to validate the Italian ASK performance version in children with cerebral palsy. Three cross-sectional studies were carried out to: a) provide a description of the ASKp score distribution in a population of 209 Italian healthy school aged individuals, b) test its internal consistency and construct validity in a population of 206 children with cerebral palsy; c) collect evidence of construct convergent validity of the ASKp in a population of 60 children with cerebral palsy, by comparing its results with the 66-item Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) and with the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and testing the ASKp’s ability to discriminate between individuals with different functional capabilities. In conclusion, the ASKp is valid to assess physical functioning, a crucial domain in the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy.

Background The 5-item Compliance Questionnaire for Rheumatology (CQR5) allows the identification of patients likely be high adherers (HA) to anti-rheumatic treatment (i.e. taking ≥80% of their medications correctly), or “low” adherers (LA). The objective of the entire study was to validate an Italian version of I-CQR5 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Furthermore, a cross-sectional analysis was conducted to investigate what factors are associated with high treatment adherence. Methods RA patients (with disease duration >1 year, undergoing treatment with ≥1 self-administered biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) or conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs), willing and capable of completing the questionnaire unaided) were enrolled in the study. The cross-cultural adaptation into Italian and validation of I-CQR5 followed standardized guidelines. The I-CQR5 was completed by patients on one occasion. Data were subjected to Partial Credit model Parametrisation (PCM) to assess the construct validity and reliability of I-CQR5. Patients who gave consent to retrieve their clinical data were included in the analysis of factors associated with high adherence to anti-rheumatic treatment. Factors included were demographic and social characteristics of the patients, and clinical and treatment information. Factors achieving a p<0.10 in univariate analysis were included in a multivariate regression analysis. Separate models were conducted in the entire cohort and in the csDMARD only- and bDMARD- treated groups. Results Among 604 RA patients, 401 were eligible for the analysis: 274 patients were included in the validation analysis and 328 in the cross-sectional analysis. Median age of the patients was 57 years (48-134), most were females (232, 82%), median disease duration was 12 years (7-19); 64.3% (193/300) of patients was treated with bDMARDs and 54.6% (107/300) with csDMARD treatment; 90.3% (270/299) of the patients was in low disease activity or 1 remission. Issues regarding the adaptation of CQR5 were discussed and solved by an expert committee assessment. The I-CQR5 was well understood by patients. Factor analysis and PCM confirmed the construct validity, unidimensionality and internal consistency of the I- CQR5. HA were found to be 35.2% (109/310) of the patients: 40.2% (79/193) in patients treated with bDMARDs and 22.4% (24/107) with csDMARDs only. bDMARD treatment and employment were found to be independently associated with high adherence: OR 2.88 (1.36-6.1), p=0.006 and OR 2.36 (1.21-4.62), p=0.012 respectively. Older age, lower education level, higher prednisone daily dose, use of a csDMARD (particulary hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine) and higher patient-VAS were significantly more frequent in LA compared with HA but the association was not confirmed by the multivariate analysis. No independent predictors were found in the group of patients treated with csDMARDs only. Employment was also positively and significantly associated with high adherence considering patients treated with bDMARDs: OR 2.89 (1.3-6.44), p=0.009. Conclusions Only one third of Italian RA patients were found to be highly adherent to treatment according to the I-CQR5. Treatment with bDMARDs and employment status were the major determinants, increasing by almost 3-fold the likelihood of being adherent. Age, education level, PDN daily dose, and patient global assessment on a visual analogic scale, might contribute in explaining adherence in RA patients.
Introduzione Il Compliance Questionnaire for Rheumatology (CQR5) a 5 domande permette l’identificazione dei pazienti che sono aderenti al trattamento anti-reumatico (high adherers, HA), ovvero pazienti che assumono ≥80% del trattamento correttamente, oppure poco aderenti (low adherers, LA). L’obiettivo dello studio era validare una versione italiana del CQR5 (I-CQR5) in pazienti con artrite reumatoide (AR). Inoltre è stata condotta una analisi trasversale per individuare i fattori associati ad elevata aderenza al trattamento. Metodi Sono stati arruolati pazienti con AR con una durata di malatti > 1 anno, in trattamento con ≥1 farmaco anti-reumatico biologico (bDMARD) o convenzionale (csDMARD) auto-somministrato, in grado di completare il questionario da soli e che avessero acconsentito alla partecipazione allo studio. L’adattamento cross-culturale in italiano di I-CQR5 ha seguito le linee guida stansardizzata. I-CQR5 è stato completato dai pazienti in una unica occasione. I dati sono stati analizzati con Partial Credit model Parametrisation (PCM) per valutare la validità strutturale e la reliability del I-CQR5. I pazienti che hanno acconsentito all’utilizzo dei loro dati clinici sono stati inclusi nell’analisi dei fattori associati all’aderenza al trattamento. I fattori analizzati erano: caratteristiche sociali e demografiche dei pazienti e informazioni cliniche e del trattamento. Tutti i fattori che hanno raggiunto una associazione con p<0.10 nell’analisi univariata sono stati inclusi nell’analisi di regressione multivariata. Modelli separati sono stati utilizzati per l’analisi nell’intera coorte di pazienti e nella coorte di pazienti in trattamento con soli csDMARD e nella coorte di pazienti trattati con bDMARDs. Risultati Di 604 pazienti con RA, 401 sono stati inclusi nell’analisi. Di questi 274 sono stati inclusi nell’analisi di validazione e 328 anche nello studio trasversale. L’età media dei pazienti era 57 anni (48-134), la maggior parte erano femmine (232, 82%) con durata mediana di malattia di 12 anni (7-19); 64.3% (193/300) erano trattati con bDMARDs e 54.6% (107/300) con csDMARD; 90.3% (270/299) presentavano una bassa attività di malattia o remissione. Le problematiche relative all’adattamento cross-culturale del CQR5 sono state discusse e risolte da una commissione di esperti. I-CQR5 è stato ben compreso dai pazienti. L’analisi dei fattori e la PCM hanno confermato la validità, l’unidimensionalità e la consistenza interna del I-CQR5. Gli HA erano 35.2% (109/310) dei pazienti: 40.2% (79/193) tra coloro trattati con bDMARDs e 22.4% (24/107) con soli csDMARDs. Il trattamento con bDMARD e l’impiego lavorativo sono rislutati indipendentemente associati con elevata aerenza al trattamento: OR 2.88 (1.36-6.1), p=0.006 e OR 2.36 (1.21-4.62), p=0.012 rispettivamente. Una età maggiore, un basso livello di educazione una dose maggiore giornaliera di corticosteroide e l’utilizzo di un csDMARD (in particolare idrossiclorochina e sulfasalazina) e la percezione di una maggiore attività di malattia da parte del paziente erano significativamente più frequenti tra i LA rispetto agli HA ma l’associazione non è stata confermata all’analisi multivariata. Nessun predittore di elevata aderenza al trattamento è emerso nel gruppo di pazienti trattati con soli csDMARDs. L’impiego lavorativo è risultato invece significativanente associato ad elevata aderenza al trattamento in pazienti trattati con bDMARDs: OR 2.89 (1.3-6.44), p=0.009. Conclusioni Solo un terzo di pazienti Italiani con AR sono risultati molto aderenti al trattamento misurando l’aderenza con I-CQR5. I maggiori determinanti di elevata aderenza al trattamento erano il trattamento con bDMARDs e l’impiego lavorativo aumentanto di circa 3 volte la probabilità di essere molto aderenti al trattamento.

The aim of the thesis was to provide a contribution toward the validation of the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (JEPQ-R) in the Italian context, providing in addition further evidence about the meaning and functioning of its Lie scale (social desirability scale). The first theoretical and introductory chapters of the essay are devoted to describing the main theories in the field of personality psychology. Great attention has been addressed to traits theories and to the development of personality. Furthermore special attention has been devoted to the Eysenck model, well-known as "Giants Three" or PEN model, because of the names of the three main dimensions (or traits) at the basis of the theory: Psychoticism (or tough-mindedness), Extraversion (as opposed to introversion ) and Neuroticism (as opposed to emotional stability). The experimental part, instead, has been organized into four main studies. The first, specifically, was aimed to provide a contribution toward the validation of the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (JEPQ-R) in the Italian context. To this purpose in the first step of the research the instrument was translated from English to Italian and afterward back-translated by a native English speaker, for the assessment of linguistic and cultural equivalence. Finally the questionnaire was administered to a large sample of adolescents (N = 595) aged between 13 and 17, and data were analyzed in order to test the metric characteristics of the instrument. Specifically reliability, validity, factor structure and its metric invariance (across genders and two age classes: 13-15 and 16-17) were tested; results supported the adequacy of the metric characteristics of the instrument as well as its invariance. Analyses suggested that scales have the same meaning across groups and reliability coefficients were in line with the results of the original version. Moreover validity coefficients of PEN-L scale, assessed in relation to another well-known validated questionnaire, such as: BFQ-2, provided support to the adequacy of the questionnaire. Further studies, moreover, were performed in order to better understand the functioning and meaning of the Lie scale of the questionnaire. Specifically, the second study analyzed in detail the factor structure of the scale and its strong invariance across two conditions: standard and "fake-good" instructions. Results supported the one-factor solution and its invariance. The third study was, instead, aimed to verify the effectiveness of Lie scale in identifying dissimulation tendencies. In this study the abbreviated version of the questionnaire (JEPQR-Abbreviated), comprising 24 items only (six items for each scale: PEN-Lie), was used. In the first part of the research the adequacy of the metric characteristics of the questionnaire (reliability and factor structure) was evaluated, while, subsequently some analyses were performed in order to test the effectiveness of the scale as fake-detector. Analyses were performed comparing self and informant-report and results suggested a limited effectiveness of the scale in assessing dissimulation tendencies, providing, on the contrary, some support for an interpretation more tied to a social conformity disposition. This suggestion was finally tested in the fourth study. In this research a structural equation model was tested in order to explore relations between three religiosity facets (intrinsic orientation, extrinsic orientation, and quest orientations), PEN traits and Lie scale, conceived as a social conformity measure. The relationship between social desirability scales and religiosity, even though rather controversial, is in fact well known in literature. In this study it was, therefore, suggested that this curious relationship could be better explained, conceiving Lie scale as the measure of a social acquiescence disposition. Specifically, in the study it was assumed that the relationship between PEN-L traits and religiosity could be mediated by four sets of values described in the Schwartz model (second-order factors: openness to change, conservatism, self-transcendence, and self-enhancement). In particular, it was hypothesized that the Lie scale, representing a social conformity measure, would have reported strong relations with conservatism-related values (security, tradition, conformity), which in turn were expected to show a role in religious experience. These assumptions were substantially supported by the empirical data of the present work and moreover some contributions were provided about the controversial relations, described in literature, between PEN traits and religiosity. The thesis ends with a summary of the main results and with a comprehensive and systematic discussion about the main findings obtained in the research.
Lo scopo della tesi è stato quello di fornire un contributo alla validazione del questionario Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (JEPQ-R) nel contesto italiano, approfondendo inoltre il significato e il funzionamento della scala Lie (scala di desiderabilità sociale) in esso contenuta. Nella parte iniziale dell’elaborato alcuni capitoli teorici e introduttivi sono stati dedicati a delineare le principali teorizzazioni nell’ambito della psicologia della personalità. Dopo un excursus volto a chiarire le principali teorie sull’argomento, ampio spazio è stato dedicato alle teorie dei tratti e alle formulazioni rivolte all’età evolutiva. Inoltre una speciale attenzione è stata indirizzata al modello di Eysenck, noto anche come modello “Giants Three” o modello PEN, dal nome delle tre dimensioni (o tratti) alla base della teoria: Psicoticismo (o mentalità dura), Estroversione (opposta all’introversione) e Nevroticismo (opposto alla stabilità emotiva). La parte empirica dell’elaborato è stata, invece, articolata in quattro principali studi. Il primo, in particolare, è stato dedicato a fornire un contributo alla validazione del questionario Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (JEPQ-R) nel contesto italiano. A tale scopo il questionario è stato dapprima tradotto dall’inglese e successivamente sottoposto al vaglio di un esperto madrelingua che potesse valutare l’equivalenza culturale e linguistica della versione tradotta. Il questionario è stato, infine, somministrato ad un campione di adolescenti (N=595) di età compresa tra i 13 e i 17 anni ed i dati raccolti sono stati accuratamente analizzati al fine di testare le caratteristiche metriche dello strumento. In particolare sono state verificate attendibilità, validità, struttura fattoriale e invarianza metrica delle scale attraverso generi (maschie e femmine) e classi di età (13-15 e 16-17 anni). I risultati hanno confermato l’adeguatezza delle caratteristiche metriche dello strumento e la sua invarianza. Le analisi hanno chiarito che le scale hanno lo stesso significato nei diversi gruppi considerati e i coefficienti di affidabilità si sono dimostrati in linea con quelli della versione originale. Inoltre i coefficienti di validità, calcolati utilizzando come strumento di confronto il noto questionario BFQ-2 (Big Five Questionnaire-2), hanno fornito supporto all’adeguatezza del questionario JEPQ-R. I successivi studi sono stati dedicati, invece, ad approfondire funzionamento e significato della scala Lie del questionario. In particolare il secondo studio ha verificato attentamente la struttura fattoriale della scala e la sua invarianza scalare attraverso due condizioni: istruzioni standard e istruzioni “fake-good”. I risultati hanno confermato la struttura mono-fattoriale della scala e la sua invarianza. Il terzo studio è stato finalizzato a verificare l’efficacia della scala Lie nell’identificare le tendenze a dissimulare. In questo studio è stata utilizzata la versione abbreviata del questionario (JEPQR-Abbreviated), composta da 24 item (6 item per ogni scala: PEN-Lie). Nella prima parte della ricerca è stata valutata l’adeguatezza delle caratteristiche metriche del questionario (attendibilità e struttura fattoriale). Successivamente, invece, alcune analisi sono state effettuate al fine di testare l’efficacia della scala come fake-detector. Le analisi sono state condotte confrontando self e informant-report ed hanno permesso di attribuire alla scala una limitata capacità di valutare le tendenze a dissimulare, suggerendo che lo strumento possa essere meglio inteso come una misura di conformismo sociale. Tale possibilità è stata, infine, verificata nel quarto studio. In questa ricerca attraverso un modello di equazioni strutturali sono state esplorate le relazioni fra tre orientamenti religiosi (religiosità intrinseca, estrinseca e quest), i tratti PEN e la scala Lie, interpretata come misura di conformismo sociale. La relazione tra scale di desiderabilità sociale e religiosità è, infatti, ben nota in letteratura anche se piuttosto controversa. Nello studio è stato quindi ipotizzato che tale curiosa relazione possa essere meglio spiegata attribuendo alla scala Lie un significato non tanto legato alla misurazione della dissimulazione ma piuttosto al conformismo sociale. In particolare nello studio si è ipotizzato che le relazioni tra i tratti PEN-L e la religiosità fossero mediate dai quattro orientamenti valoriali descritti nel modello di Schwartz (fattori di secondo ordine: Apertura al cambiamento, Autoaffermazione, Autotrascendenza e Conservatorismo). Nello specifico è stato ipotizzato che la scala Lie, rappresentando la misura di un tratto di acquiescenza sociale, avrebbe riportato forti legami con i valori di conservatorismo (sicurezza, tradizione, rispetto delle convenzioni), che si riteneva avrebbero dimostrato a loro volta di essere legati all’esperienza religiosa. Tali ipotesi sono state supportate dai dati empirici, che, inoltre, hanno chiarito anche i controversi legami descritti in letteratura tra i tratti PEN e la religiosità. Il lavoro si conclude con un sommario dei principali risultati ottenuti e con una discussione generale che mette in luce i punti di maggiore interesse con un approccio globale ed organico.

The term boni homines was widely used in early medieval charters in Europe to refer to trusted people who gave oaths or were called to give evidence or from whom judges were chosen. Despite the common heritage, in Iberian texts the term is very rare before the late tenth century, when it was used both very generally to signify the presence of acceptable people but also much more specifically to refer to individuals (often named) who had a practical and distinctive role in judicial process or in concluding and validating transactions. In court they are particularly associated with intercession to get penalties reduced and in other kinds of meeting with fixing prices and distributing property. There is much to suggest that the people referred to as boni homines in court cases were aristocrats, rather than the local worthies one might expect. This chapter explores whether or not the functions of the boni homines of northern Iberia were differentiated by social status and how far they were different from their Italian and other western European counterparts.

AbstractThree building case studies were chosen with the purpose of demonstrating the BIM4EEB BIM-based toolkit. The selected buildings are both social houses and residential apartments respecting the needs of vulnerable inhabitants. To increase the representativeness of the test case the buildings are located in three different locations with different climatic conditions, specifically Italy, Poland, Finland. For all the case studies analysed, BIM models were created with different levels of detail (LOD), which, thanks to the interaction with the BIMMS, make it possible to create a common environment for the representation and use of the data collected and subsequently shared between the different tools. Among the three demonstration sites, the Italian site is undergoing building envelope renovation interventions such as the realization of the thermal insulation with ETICS technologies and the replacement of external windows. In order to test the different tools, a demonstration procedure has been defined for them, constituted mainly by workshop activities and quantitative and qualitative evaluations. To assess the level of accomplishment with respect to stated objectives and project success a validation methodology based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) was delineated. Precisely, two categories of KPIs have been identified: “mandatory” and “secondary” addressing project objectives and in connection with the literature review and project use cases and tools. To calculate the KPIs standard baselines were estimated, such as are currently in an ongoing process to assess the traditional process that can be compared with the actual value associated with the BIM-based process. The chapter will present the methods and the first intermediate results of a demonstration process that is currently not yet completed and will later see a further application of the tools in dedicated demo sites. Environmental monitoring sensors were installed in selected apartments in Polish and Italian demo site, while were installed in common spaces for the Finnish building. Specific sensors set up have been analysed and chosen to fulfil the different needs related to the specific project outcomes. Inhabitants’ availability, technical condition and flat exposition were criteria followed for the choice of apartments. Sensors allowed to improve the occupancy monitoring and to have a historical record of environmental values such as temperature, humidity and light strictly connected to users’ preferences. The mobile application about renovation activities performed and residents’ indoor home conditions—BIM4Occupants—has been installed by the users and specific workshops with inhabitants were carried out for registration purposes. The BIM Management System is currently collecting sensors’ data stream and data stream between tools such as BIM4Occupants and BIMPlanner. Project monitoring and better communication among users were tested in a different workshop by applying the BIMPlanner tool in the plans and progress site operations. The functionalities of the refurbishment scenario simulation tool—BIMeaser—were tested in qualitative and quantitative design workshops respectively with the construction professionals using the two pilot sites in Italy and in Finland and with the aim of assessing the achieved time savings of using this tool compared to the manual data input process of the scenario simulation.

This chapter considers the work of Italian critical theorist Alessandro Ferrara on exemplarity that forms part of his broader attempt to place a notion of disclosure at the heart of democratic reasoning. At its best, political thought should have the capacity to animate the democratic imagination by disclosing, through exemplary instances, new political possibilities for thought and action. Ferrara’s notion of exemplarity provides important conceptual resources for a regrounding of critical theory in the type of experientially based disclosing critique that has, post Habermas, been marginalized. Exemplary universalism suggests a way of reasoning inductively from concrete particularity that is normatively more inclusive of the voices of the marginalized and disempowered than procedural universalism. Moreover, contra Habermas, far from being an unstable process of meaning creation, exemplary disclosure has a systematic internal rationale that renders it amenable to practical inter-subjective validation. The critical promise of Ferrara’s idea of exemplarity is ultimately unfulfilled however. because of its grounding in the speculative, context-transcending construct of sensus communis understood as a matrix of precultural intuitions about human flourishing. This socially weightless abstraction undermines sensitivity to context and forecloses consideration of how enduring inequalities of race, gender, and class may prevent groups subscribing to shared ideals of flourishing. Drawing on critical race theorists such as Angela Davis, a politicized understanding of exemplary disclosure is proposed, the normative impact of which is located in the dynamics of concrete struggles against oppression.

This chapter discusses Latin, Greek and Italian artefact labels used in the Giornali degli Scavi and in the Pompeian inventories on which this artefact catalogue is based, as well as English labels frequently used by modern scholars for Roman artefacts more generally. Scholars tend to use these labels to distinguish artefacts according to shape or form. In general, they have followed Daremberg and Saglio’s detailed study of Greek and Latin terminology. However, some of these labels (e.g., unguentarium) are not original Latin words but have been invented by archaeologists for certain forms of artefacts. Essentially, archaeologists, writing typological catalogues of Roman artefacts, have tended to formalize nomenclature to enable them to classify excavated material according to form and type, in a manner which is comprehensible to other archaeologists. That said, however, the use of this nomenclature is not always consistent across the discipline. More significantly, this formalization often ascribes function to Roman artefacts without adequate validation. Labelling is useful for organizing the material typologically for production-oriented studies, but it can sometimes be misleading for consumption-oriented studies and for studies concerned with artefact function. An important issue, especially with regard to Latin labels for found objects, is that textual nomenclature and archaeological form are not necessarily equivalent. For example, Apicius’ frequent use of the term caccabus, for cooking pot, probably signifies that this was a more generic term than ahenum, rather than that the two terms represent two different forms that are distinguishable in the material record. Such lack of correspondence between the textual terminology and the material record is apparent when one compares, for example, the discussion of the term fritillus by Daremberg and Saglio with the uses and formalization of this term by archaeologists. The following list and discussion identifies the types of Pompeian artefacts to which a specific, largely standardized, nomenclature has been assigned, in both the Pompeii archives and in publications of Pompeii material. By understanding which term is used for which artefact, it is often possible to ascertain the type of an artefact catalogued in the Giornali degli Scavi or in the Pompeii inventories when that particular artefact is no longer extant.

"We present two versions of assessment/intervention tools for metaphors awareness or their comprehension: the TCM, Metaphor Comprehension Test, for children aged 9 to 14, or elementary school (Portugal), and the junior TCM, for children aged 4 to 6 years, or preschool age. They are versions/adaptations for European Portuguese of existing tools in Italian. The authors of the Italian versions are professors at the University of Sapienza, Rome, Italy, with internationally recognized work, presenting the original versions with good psychometric qualities. At the moment, the two instruments are already adapted for Portuguese, in the process of being applied in order to obtain the normative data and their validation. We expect, similar to what happens with the Italian versions, to obtain valid tools, with triple instrumentality: psychometric assessment and dynamic assessment and intervention resource, for various stages of development."