AIFREF 2010: 13th International Conference Family Education and Childcare Services, Fortezza da Basso, Florence, 17-19 November 2010

Hotel Mario's can offer you a beautiful and relaxing accomodation for your conferences. We are very near the congress centre, only three-four minutes. Contact us at hotelmarios@hotelmarios.com or call 0039 055 216 801.
Childcare services have by their nature developed a focus on relations with parents. In the best experiences, parents are involved on a number of occasions, from individual interviews to group meetings, from workshops to parties. Childcare services seem thus to be ready to meet a new challenge, becoming a family education setting.

Conference themes

1. Parenting support policies
Parenting support includes a broad range of activities, from prevention, information and education carried out by social and health services, to the actions increasingly implemented by childcare education services aiming at combining early childhood and parenthood education. Which are the strategies identified? How can services monitor social change in order to adjust their actions, and how do they assess the outcome of their activities?

2. The educational role of the members of the "family system" (mother, father, siblings, grandparents, etc. )
The transformation in family models is generating new types of families and a change in the parental figures of the mother and father, and of the grandparents as well. This in turn deeply modifies the educational roles taken on by the members of the family system as a whole. Whatich are the new needs generated by the family roles reconfiguration? To what extent are family education and parenting support providing instruments to cope with this change?

3. Families' participation in childcare services
Parenting support actions allow help to stimulate parents or future parents to reflect on their educational role, providing them with guidance, references and useful competences for their parental function. These actions also allow for the assessment of parents' participation in the services and programmes addressed to them, as well as their involvement in the care and upbringing of their children. How can services monitor and strengthen parents' participation and involvement? Which strategies are they adopting to reach those parents who are not involved in socio-educational services?

4. The educators' skills (competences and professionalism)
Professionals and educators working in parenting support programmes and services require sound theoretical and practical skills, but must also be able to recognize parents' own competences and the resources provided by their working environment. What are the training opportunities available for these professionals so that they become appropriately qualified to support parenting? Which are the basic qualifications and continuing education required for them?

5. The biographies and experiences of stakeholders (children, parents, educators, etc…)
Parenting support services, both social(socio-medical) and educational, are a potential vantage point on the stakeholders' life experiences. The emphasis on such experiences is instrumental to a more appropriate conception of actions and a more fruitful reshaping of strategies. In parenting support initiatives, to what extent and through which strategies is this focus applied, and what are the results obtained by working on stakeholders' experiences and perceptions?

6. Family education and health
Pedagogy is reappropriating a number of dimensions connected to family -life that over time had become the exclusive competence of medical knowledge. Educators increasingly interact with medical and healthcare staff and with psychologists in the framework of family counselling centres or, for instance, of birth and post-partum preparation courses. Which competences (What skills )are needed by the educators involved in these educational activities? Which are the most important lessons to be learned from their experiences?

ACM 2010 International Conference, 25-29 October 2010, Florence

Hotel Mario's can offer you a beautiful and relaxing accomodation for your conferences. We are very near the congress centre, only three-four minutes. Contact us at hotelmarios@hotelmarios.com or call 0039 055 216 801.
ACM Multimedia 2010 is the worldwide premier multimedia conference and a key event to display scientific achievements and innovative industrial products. ACM Multimedia 2010 offers to scientists and practitioners in the area of Multimedia plenary scientific and technical sessions – with keynote speeches, oral, poster and video presentations, technical demonstrations and exhibits -, opportunities for deepenings – organized as discussion rooms, symposiums and tutorials and panels with worldwide recognized scientists and opinion leaders -, and competitions of research teams on relevant and challenging questions about the industry’s two-five years horizon for multimedia. As a companion event, the Interactive Art program will provide the opportunity of interaction between artists and computer scientists and investigation on the application of multimedia technologies to art and cultural heritage. Workshops associated to ACM Multimedia 2010 will provide in-focus forums of discussion on some of the most relevant and timely scientific topics in the field.

In more detail the complete program of ACM Multimedia 2010 will include:
Scientific presentations

* Full Paper and Short Paper program: including oral and poster presentations selected according to the ACM Multimedia policy and organized in four distinct tracks: Multimedia Content Analysis, Multimedia Systems, Multimedia Interaction, Multimedia Applications.
* Brave New Ideas program: implemented as a special sessions track containing papers extending the boundaries of multimedia research and eventually opening new lines of research development.
* Video program: implemented as a special session track of video displays where researchers can demonstrate their systems or applications without having to bring the equipment for a “live” demo.

Interactive Art program

* Interactive Art program: implemented as a special session track of multimedia art exhibition, and of applications, and technical solutions for cultural heritage.

Competitions

* Open Source Software Competition: aimed at emphasizing the impact the ACM Multimedia conference on software development and practice.
* Multimedia Grand Challenge: presenting challenges from industry leaders, geared to engage the multimedia research community in solving relevant questions about the industry’s 2-5 year horizon. For more informations see the Multimedia Grand Challenge 2010 web site

In-depth courses and discussions

* Tutorials: addressing the state-of-the-art developments of multimedia of interest from novices to mature researchers, from people working in academia to industry professionals.
* Panels: consisting of discussions with recognized experts, addressing some of the most timely and controversial topics in the field of multimedia.
* Discussion Rooms: a new opportunity for researchers to gather freely and start non-structured debates on hot topics of multimedia.
* Doctoral Symposium: an opportunity for students involved in the preparation of a PhD to discuss their research issues and ideas with senior researchers, and receive constructive feedback.

Demos and exhibits

* Technical Demos: showing what is currently possible regarding all aspects of multimedia technology and its applications.
* Industrial Exhibit: providing the exhibition of new multimedia products of industries and companies to stimulate the dialogue between industry and the research community.

Workshops

* Workshops will complement the themes of the main conference with focus on specific thematic subjects that receive significant attention from the research community.

EMERGENCY 2010 - FIRENZE: 9° Emergency national meeting

Oltre 20 mila presenze in sei giorni: nel 2009 l'8° Incontro Nazionale dei volontari di Emergency si è chiuso con una partecipazione calorosa ed emozionante.
Nel 2010 vogliamo ripetere questa esperienza straordinaria.

Dal 7 al 12 settembre, rinnoviamo il nostro appuntamento a Firenze per il 9° Incontro Nazionale di Emergency: incontri, mostre fotografiche, spettacoli e conferenze per raccontare Emergency.

Sei giorni per stare insieme - volontari, sostenitori, personale medico, amici e simpatizzanti -, per vedere, capire e confrontarsi.

Filosofi, giornalisti, intellettuali, scrittori, artisti e musicisti sono nuovamente chiamati a raccolta per discutere del lavoro di Emergency e soprattutto dei valori e dei principi che lo ispirano.
Parleremo di guerra, ma anche di salute, uguaglianza, democrazia, informazione; parleremo non solo del "cosa", ma anche e soprattutto del "come" e del "perché“.

FTI 2010: November 11 - November 13, 2010, Firenze Fiera, Congress & Exhibition Center, Florence, Italy

Welcome to one of the leading International Dental Conferences - Future Trends in Implantology 2010 (FTI2010)
It is our pleasure to invite you to The 2nd Future Trends in Implantology International Dental Conference which will take place in Florence, Italy on November 11-13, 2010.
Designed for leading scientific researchers and clinicians, this prestigious conference is expected to draw hundreds of highly qualified participants from around the world.
The high-quality scientific program will broaden perspectives by exploring the latest innovations in dental implantology. Featuring distinguished speakers, the program will cover a wide range of compelling topics such as treatment planning, implant complications and failures, innovative surgical and prosthetic procedures. Enhance your team's knowledge on the latest in surgical/prosthetic procedures, treatment planning, frequently asked questions, and peri-implant therapy.

III CONGRESSO NAZIONALE CONGIUNTO S.I.C. - FISS 7-9 ottobre 2010, FIRENZE

La S.I.C. è una libera Associazione interdisciplinare, apolitica, senza fini di lucro fondata il 16 luglio 2004 a seguito di sollecitazioni e consensi provenienti da più parti, su iniziativa di un folto gruppo di medici e ricercatori.
La S.I.C., presieduta dal Professor Annibale Volpe, ha come obiettivo primario diffondere e stimolare la conoscenza in materia di contraccezione. Essa intende favorire lo sviluppo della ricerca e dell'informazione, nonché di promuovere l'aggiornamento e l'educazione permanente in tema di contraccezione.
All'interno della S.I.C., che è una O.N.L.U.S., opera il gruppo di lavoro SaBeD (Salute Benessere Donna) con lo specifico compito di promuovere la ricerca nella contraccezione, menopausa e fertilità.
L'Associazione, attraverso attività scientifiche e culturali mirate, si rivolge al contesto scientifico Italiano della contraccezione in tutte le sue diverse connotazioni sia applicative che di base, anche attraverso le più ampie aperture verso le Società scientifiche affini, le Associazioni degli utenti ed il mondo della ricerca e della produzione farmaceutica. I suoi associati sono infatti per lo più medici e ricercatori che operano nei settori della medicina e della contraccezione.

NOSE 2010 International Conference on Environmental Odour Monitoring and Control, Florence 22-24 September 2010

The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering (AIDIC) is organizing NOSE2010: International Conference on Environmental Odour Monitoring and Control which will be held in Florence 22-24 September 2010.
This event focuses on recent developments on odour achievements. Specific attention is dedicated to assessment, measurement and impact evaluation, as well as to odour management for specific sectors of industry, such as waste management and agriculture.
The conference offers to the participants an international window where exchanging views, andachieving a better understanding and available solutions relevant to nvironmental odour problems.
Even though it is universally recognized that the exposure to odours generally represent a nuisance more than a risk for human health, odour exposure may nonetheless cause effects on human activities. Several experiences tend to include odours among the pollutants that have to be controlled and subject to specific regulations. As a matter of fact, odours are considered to be one of the major causes of public complaints to the competent authorities. Population living near odour emitting activities rely on local authorities, on regional agencies or directly on the personnel involved in the odour emitting operation for the problem elimination or reduction.
This event focuses on recent developments in odour policy and regulations, on tools for odour assessment, including emission sampling, odour measurement and impact evaluation, and on odour management for specific sectors of industry, such as waste management and agriculture. The conference should represent a possibility for the members of the increasing community of odour management practitioners to meet, exchange views, and achieve a better understanding of the specific difficulties and available solutions relevant to environmental odour problems.

Battistero di San Giovanni - Baptistery of St. John

The Florence Baptistery or Battistero di San Giovanni is a religious building in Florence (Tuscany), Italy, which has the status of a minor basilica.
The octagonal Baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza di San Giovanni, across from the Duomo cathedral and the Giotto bell tower. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, built between 1059 and 1128. The architecture is in Florentine Romanesque style.
The Baptistery is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures. The south doors were done by Andrea Pisano and the north and east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti. The east pair of doors was dubbed by Michelangelo "the Gates of Paradise".
The Italian poet Dante Alighieri and many other notable Renaissance figures, including members of the Medici family, were baptized in this baptistery. In fact, until the end of the nineteenth century, all Catholic Florentines were baptized here.
The Baptistery has eight equal sides with a rectangular addition on the west side.
The sides, originally in sandstone, are clad in geometrically patterned colored marble, white Carrara marble with green Prato marble inlay, reworked in Romanesque style between 1059 and 1128. The pilasters on each corner, originally in grey stone, were decorated with white and dark green marble in a zebra-like pattern by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1293.
The style of this church would serve as prototype, influencing many architects, such as Leone Battista Alberti, in their design of Romanesque churches in Tuscany.
The exterior is also ornamented with a number of artistically significant statues by Andrea Sansovino (above the Gates of Paradise), Giovan Francesco Rustici, Vincenzo Danti (above the south doors) and others.
The design work on the sides is arranged in groupings of three, starting with three distinct horizontal sections. The middle section features three blind arches on each side, each arch containing a window. These have alternate pointed and semicircular tympani. Below each window is a stylized arch design. In the upper fascia, there are also three small windows, each one in the center block of a three-panel design.
The apse was originally semicircular, but was it was made rectangular in 1202.
The vast interior of the Baptistery recalls the interior of the Pantheon in Rome. The interior is rather dark, light entering through small windows in the ambulatory and through the lantern. The interior is divided in a lower part with columns and pilasters and an upper part with an ambulatory. The Florentines didn't spare any trouble or expense to decorate the baptistery. The interior walls are clad in dark green and white marble with inlaid geometrical patterns. The niches are separated by monolithic columns of Sardinian granite. The marble revetment of the interior was begun in the second half of the eleventh century.
The rectangular apse was faced with mosaics in 1225.

Ecio congress in Florence , July 2010

CIRSE Foundation is organising another meeting dedicated entirely to Interventional Oncology: the second European Conference on Interventional Oncology – ECIO 2010 - will take place on July 21-24, 2010, again in Florence, Italy.
The scientific programme of the conference has been further expanded with respect to 2008, in view of the growing number of novel clinical applications and the many innovative techniques that have been recently introduced. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to choose from several special focus sessions and workshops covering the entire spectrum of oncologic interventions.
ECIO 2010 was postponed to July 21-24 due to the closing down of big parts of Europe’s airspace the week of the congress in April 2010.ECIO 2010 will take place from July 21-24, 2010, in Florence, Italy at the Palazzo dei Congressi. Hotel Mario's is glad to inform you that the Hotel is only 80 metres far from the Palace where the congress will take place and we are ready to take reservations with a fixed price for all the interventionists at ECIO 2010 in Florence. Contact our staff at info@hotelmarios.com or check the dates on the website www.hotelmarios.com
See you in Florence in July!