Educational assortative mating in Italy: what can Gini’s homogamy index still say?

The homogamy index proposed by Gini is applied to describe the changes occurred in marital choice - across time and regions in Italy. The relevant increase in education by women has provoked an increase in the number of homogamous couples and in an increasing proportion of women who marry downward. Relevant differences are observed in the case of informal unions and mixed marriages

Housework and childcare in Italy: a persistent case of gender inequality

This article focuses on the gender gap in housework and childcare in Italian couples. Italian women still carry out three-quarters of domestic work and two-thirds of childcare. We focus on three possible theoretical explanations for the persistence of the gendered division of labor: time availability, relative resources, and conformity with traditional gender ideology. Time Use data from the 2008/09 Survey edition have been used: we considered couples, married or in consensual unions, with at least one child under 14 years of age and with the mother employed

Beyond 'behaviour' : the institutionalisation of practice and the case of energy-efficient lighting in Denmark

In contrast with approaches which focus on behaviour relating to purchasing decisions and attitudes of consumers, research on social practices emphasises the analysis of what people routinely do and the elements of practice underpinning institutionalisation of collective conventions. This article contributes to this growing stream of literature by investigating social practices relevant to energy-efficient lighting in Denmark. It reports on data collected from ‘ethnographic interviews’ conducted in 16 Danish households and suggests that drawing on insights from institutional theory could enrich our understanding of social practices, for example, in relation to the emergence and embedding of new practices and shedding of ‘old’ ones. In addition to highlighting the elements of practice previously identified as integral to collective conventions and connections among different domains of practice, this article recognises the importance of phenomena usually examined in work emphasising institutional analysis. It suggests that policy interventions need to recognise various kinds of institutional rules and processes which confer legitimacy to emerging practices, to facilitate their sedimentation and contribute to realising environmentally sustainable systems and societies.</p

\u3ci\u3eMcphersonarcys\u3c/i\u3e, a New Genus for \u3ci\u3ePentatoma Aequalis\u3c/i\u3e Say (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

A new monotypic genus, Mcphersonarcys is erected to hold Pentatoma aequalis Say, a species formerly placed in the genus Hymenarcys. Based on the distribution of 19 character-states Hymenarcys forms a clade with its sister genus Coenus. Both genera are related to the large genus Euschistus. Mcphersonarcys is basal to Euschistus, whereas the clade with Hymenarcys and Coenus is derived. Removal of P. aequalis to a new genus resolves the paraphyly of Hymenarcys sensu lato

DESCRIPTION OF \u3ci\u3eHAKKA\u3c/i\u3e, A NEW GENUS OF JUMPING SPIDER (ARANEAE, SALTICIDAE) FROM HAWAII AND EAST ASIA

We describe a new genus for a jumping spider that was originally placed in the large genus Menemerus Simon 1868, from which the new genus is clearly different. They were later reclassified as Icius, then as Pseudicius, and still later as Salticus. These initial classifications were repeated by a number of authors. The distinctive features of the male, and somewhat ambiguous features of the female, do not fit any known genus; and this species is here assigned to the new genus Hakka