Italy and development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of the “nuovo meridionalismo”

The first aim of this paper on “L’Italia e le politiche di sviluppo dalla golden age alla crisi attuale: il ruolo del “nuovo meridionalismo” (Italy and its development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of “nuovo meridionalismo”)” is to examine the state of the art concerning the strategies for the development of southern Italy. These strategies have been severely weakened, not only because of national policy choices, but also because of the prevailing cultural bias against Southern issues; this culture took hold even amongst those people of Southern Italy committed to “abolish the South”. Only in recent years has the trend been inverted, as the gap between the regions of Southern Italy and those in the Center and Northern areas has grown wider and wider and the attention has been focused back, at the national level, on an “open problem” such as the backwardness of Southern Italy. In order to perform an effective historical evaluation, this paper will reconsider the starting moment of the “nuovo meridionalismo”, when the birth of the SVIMEZ and the efforts carried out to define the industrialization strategies of the less developed area of our country gave life to a complex of unvaluable reforms, beginning with the extraordinary intervention and with the establishment of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. The positive turn impresses by this innovative setup of industrial policy had its roots in those development theories which, from the mid-XX° Century, began to bring the issue of “depressed areas” and of those cornerstone choices necessary to effectively tackle global problems. From them on, all the strategies for productive growth had to contend with defining the gap issue and the dual dynamics of several economies, as it is the (paradigm) case with Southern Italy. Upon the 150th anniversary of Italian unity, to effectively sum up all the main points of this paper, if one wants to meaningfully take on the lesson of “nuovo meridionalismo”, without invoking abstract reasons of social cohesion, a path must be detected. This path should be made of reciprocal interests between two areas: a Northern one and a Southern one; the latter has vast unproductive areas, but also creativity, talents and singe innovative experiences. Within this new and difficult context, the solution to the issues of Southern Italy, if accompanied by a profound conviction and commitment towards the need to stand up to global competition and market choices, can retake its role as a fundamental theme of the national economic policy, in order to benefit the rest of the country as well.Nuovo meridionalismo; SVIMEZ; policies for development; Southern Question; industrialisaton;

Italy and development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of the “nuovo meridionalismo”

The first aim of this paper on “L’Italia e le politiche di sviluppo dalla golden age alla crisi attuale: il ruolo del “nuovo meridionalismo” (Italy and its development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of “nuovo meridionalismo”)” is to examine the state of the art concerning the strategies for the development of southern Italy. These strategies have been severely weakened, not only because of national policy choices, but also because of the prevailing cultural bias against Southern issues; this culture took hold even amongst those people of Southern Italy committed to “abolish the South”. Only in recent years has the trend been inverted, as the gap between the regions of Southern Italy and those in the Center and Northern areas has grown wider and wider and the attention has been focused back, at the national level, on an “open problem” such as the backwardness of Southern Italy. In order to perform an effective historical evaluation, this paper will reconsider the starting moment of the “nuovo meridionalismo”, when the birth of the SVIMEZ and the efforts carried out to define the industrialization strategies of the less developed area of our country gave life to a complex of unvaluable reforms, beginning with the extraordinary intervention and with the establishment of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. The positive turn impresses by this innovative setup of industrial policy had its roots in those development theories which, from the mid-XX° Century, began to bring the issue of “depressed areas” and of those cornerstone choices necessary to effectively tackle global problems. From them on, all the strategies for productive growth had to contend with defining the gap issue and the dual dynamics of several economies, as it is the (paradigm) case with Southern Italy. Upon the 150th anniversary of Italian unity, to effectively sum up all the main points of this paper, if one wants to meaningfully take on the lesson of “nuovo meridionalismo”, without invoking abstract reasons of social cohesion, a path must be detected. This path should be made of reciprocal interests between two areas: a Northern one and a Southern one; the latter has vast unproductive areas, but also creativity, talents and singe innovative experiences. Within this new and difficult context, the solution to the issues of Southern Italy, if accompanied by a profound conviction and commitment towards the need to stand up to global competition and market choices, can retake its role as a fundamental theme of the national economic policy, in order to benefit the rest of the country as well

Italy and development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of the “nuovo meridionalismo”

The first aim of this paper on “L’Italia e le politiche di sviluppo dalla golden age alla crisi attuale: il ruolo del “nuovo meridionalismo” (Italy and its development policies from the golden age to the current crisis: the role of “nuovo meridionalismo”)” is to examine the state of the art concerning the strategies for the development of southern Italy. These strategies have been severely weakened, not only because of national policy choices, but also because of the prevailing cultural bias against Southern issues; this culture took hold even amongst those people of Southern Italy committed to “abolish the South”. Only in recent years has the trend been inverted, as the gap between the regions of Southern Italy and those in the Center and Northern areas has grown wider and wider and the attention has been focused back, at the national level, on an “open problem” such as the backwardness of Southern Italy. In order to perform an effective historical evaluation, this paper will reconsider the starting moment of the “nuovo meridionalismo”, when the birth of the SVIMEZ and the efforts carried out to define the industrialization strategies of the less developed area of our country gave life to a complex of unvaluable reforms, beginning with the extraordinary intervention and with the establishment of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. The positive turn impresses by this innovative setup of industrial policy had its roots in those development theories which, from the mid-XX° Century, began to bring the issue of “depressed areas” and of those cornerstone choices necessary to effectively tackle global problems. From them on, all the strategies for productive growth had to contend with defining the gap issue and the dual dynamics of several economies, as it is the (paradigm) case with Southern Italy. Upon the 150th anniversary of Italian unity, to effectively sum up all the main points of this paper, if one wants to meaningfully take on the lesson of “nuovo meridionalismo”, without invoking abstract reasons of social cohesion, a path must be detected. This path should be made of reciprocal interests between two areas: a Northern one and a Southern one; the latter has vast unproductive areas, but also creativity, talents and singe innovative experiences. Within this new and difficult context, the solution to the issues of Southern Italy, if accompanied by a profound conviction and commitment towards the need to stand up to global competition and market choices, can retake its role as a fundamental theme of the national economic policy, in order to benefit the rest of the country as well

State intervention and economic growth in Southern Italy: the rise and fall of the «Cassa per il Mezzogiorno» (1950-1986)

In the second half of the twentieth century, the Italian government carried out a massive regional policy in southern Italy, through the State-owned agency «Cassa per il Mezzogiorno» (1950-1986). The article reconstructs the activities of the Cassa, by taking advantage of its yearly reports. The agency was effective in the first two decades, thanks to substantial technical autonomy and, in the 1960s, to a strong focus on industrial development; however, since the 1970s it progressively became an instrument of waste and misallocation. Below this broad picture, we find important differences at the regional level, and significant correspondence between the quality of state intervention and the regional patterns of GDP and productivity

State intervention and economic growth in Southern Italy: the rise and fall of the «Cassa per il Mezzogiorno» (1950-1986)

In the second half of the twentieth century, the Italian government carried out a massive regional policy in southern Italy, through the State-owned agency «Cassa per il Mezzogiorno» (1950-1986). The article reconstructs the activities of the Cassa, by taking advantage of its yearly reports. The agency was effective in the first two decades, thanks to substantial technical autonomy and, in the 1960s, to a strong focus on industrial development; however, since the 1970s it progressively became an instrument of waste and misallocation. Below this broad picture, we find important differences at the regional level, and significant correspondence between the quality of state intervention and the regional patterns of GDP and productivity

The association of indwelling urinary catheter with delirium in hospitalized patients and nursing home residents: an explorative analysis from the "Delirium Day 2015"

Backround: Use of indwelling urinary catheter (IUC) in older adults has negative consequences, including delirium. Aim: This analysis, from the "Delirium Day 2015", a nationwide multicenter prevalence study, aim to evaluate the association of IUC with delirium in hospitalized and Nursing Homes (NHs) patients. Methods: Patients underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment, including the presence of IUC; inclusion criteria were age > 65 years, being Italian speaker and providing informed consent; exclusion criteria were coma, aphasia, end-of-life status. Delirium was assessed using the 4AT test (score ≥ 4: possible delirium; scores 1-3: possible cognitive impairment). Results: Among 1867 hospitalized patients (mean age 82.0 ± 7.5 years, 58% female), 539 (28.9%) had IUC, 429 (22.9%) delirium and 675 (36.1%) cognitive impairment. IUC was significantly associated with cognitive impairment (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.19-2.16) and delirium (2.45, 95% CI 1.73-3.47), this latter being significant also in the subset of patients without dementia (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.52-3.43). Inattention and impaired alertness were also independently associated with IUC. Among 1454 NHs residents (mean age 84.4 ± 7.4 years, 70.% female), 63 (4.3%) had IUC, 535 (36.8%) a 4AT score ≥ 4, and 653 (44.9%) a 4AT score 1-3. The multivariate logistic regression analysis did not show a significant association between 4AT test or its specific items with IUC, neither in the subset of patients without dementia. Discussion: We confirmed a significant association between IUC and delirium in hospitalized patients but not in NHs residents. Conclusion: Environmental and clinical factors of acute setting might contribute to IUC-associated delirium occurrence

"Delirium Day": A nationwide point prevalence study of delirium in older hospitalized patients using an easy standardized diagnostic tool

Background: To date, delirium prevalence in adult acute hospital populations has been estimated generally from pooled findings of single-center studies and/or among specific patient populations. Furthermore, the number of participants in these studies has not exceeded a few hundred. To overcome these limitations, we have determined, in a multicenter study, the prevalence of delirium over a single day among a large population of patients admitted to acute and rehabilitation hospital wards in Italy. Methods: This is a point prevalence study (called "Delirium Day") including 1867 older patients (aged 65 years or more) across 108 acute and 12 rehabilitation wards in Italian hospitals. Delirium was assessed on the same day in all patients using the 4AT, a validated and briefly administered tool which does not require training. We also collected data regarding motoric subtypes of delirium, functional and nutritional status, dementia, comorbidity, medications, feeding tubes, peripheral venous and urinary catheters, and physical restraints. Results: The mean sample age was 82.0 ± 7.5 years (58 % female). Overall, 429 patients (22.9 %) had delirium. Hypoactive was the commonest subtype (132/344 patients, 38.5 %), followed by mixed, hyperactive, and nonmotoric delirium. The prevalence was highest in Neurology (28.5 %) and Geriatrics (24.7 %), lowest in Rehabilitation (14.0 %), and intermediate in Orthopedic (20.6 %) and Internal Medicine wards (21.4 %). In a multivariable logistic regression, age (odds ratio [OR] 1.03, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.05), Activities of Daily Living dependence (OR 1.19, 95 % CI 1.12-1.27), dementia (OR 3.25, 95 % CI 2.41-4.38), malnutrition (OR 2.01, 95 % CI 1.29-3.14), and use of antipsychotics (OR 2.03, 95 % CI 1.45-2.82), feeding tubes (OR 2.51, 95 % CI 1.11-5.66), peripheral venous catheters (OR 1.41, 95 % CI 1.06-1.87), urinary catheters (OR 1.73, 95 % CI 1.30-2.29), and physical restraints (OR 1.84, 95 % CI 1.40-2.40) were associated with delirium. Admission to Neurology wards was also associated with delirium (OR 2.00, 95 % CI 1.29-3.14), while admission to other settings was not. Conclusions: Delirium occurred in more than one out of five patients in acute and rehabilitation hospital wards. Prevalence was highest in Neurology and lowest in Rehabilitation divisions. The "Delirium Day" project might become a useful method to assess delirium across hospital settings and a benchmarking platform for future surveys

INFLUENCE OF NONLINEAR MODELING ON CAPACITY ASSESSMENT OF RC FRAMED STRUCTURES

Many existing buildings in the world present serious seismic deficiencies and need to be retrofitted. However, the basis for an effective seismic retrofit intervention is a reliable assessment of the structure. To this end, nowadays structural engineers can simulate the response of structures subjected to earthquake excitation by nonlinear numerical models. These models consider explicitly the mechanical nonlinearities of the structural members, identify the parts of the structure where yielding takes place, quantify the demand of plastic deformation and force. Furthermore, a number of models is available to carry out the nonlinear analysis of structures. All these models are able to provide a detailed representation of the seismic response of the structure. However, they are controlled by many parameters that need to be properly set to obtain an accurate prediction of the response. Based on the framework depicted above, the target of the Reinforced Concrete Work Package 2 of the ReLUIS 2018 project was to examine and compare different nonlinear modelling techniques used to evaluate the response of structures by pushover analysis. To this end, a case study building is analysed by the eight research units involved in the project by different nonlinear numerical models. The building presents very different lateral stiffness and strength in the longitudinal and transverse directions. Each numerical model is run two times including and not including the masonry infills. Furthermore, pushover analysis is run two times with forces in the longitudinal and transverse directions. Finally, the results are compared to illustrate advantages and limitations of each nonlinear modelling techniqu

INFLUENCE OF NONLINEAR MODELING ON CAPACITY ASSESSMENT OF RC FRAMED STRUCTURES

Typescript (photocopy).The overall goal of this research was to establish whether parameters derived from heart rate (HR) variability could be utilized to characterize autonomic states. Specifically, to (1) identify those parameters, derived from R-R interval data, which could be used as measures of dynamic and static autonomic tone, (2) determine the shortest signal duration required to achieve a valid measure of autonomic status, (3) utilize the information from the first two objectives in correctly classifying various autonomic states, (4) compare pharmacologically induced autonomic states with naturally occurring autonomic responses, and (5) characterize the daily changes resulting from evoked stressors. One study involved pharmacological agents which were administered to dogs in a five day study designed to establish specific dynamic and static autonomic conditions. Thirty-two parameters, derived from the frequency spectrum of HR variability waveforms calculated from electrocardiographic signals, were statistically analyzed to evaluate each parameter's ability to classify the three dynamic and three static autonomic conditions. A 94% accuracy in classifying these states was established using cluster analysis of two parameters: HR and power distribution of the low frequency (0.03125 to 0.0625 Hz) components of the HR variability waveform. Thirty-two seconds of HR variability data were needed for this classification. A second study of five days evaluated the day to day autonomic responses resulting from a stressor (air horn) and the anticipatory stress existing immediately before the treatment. Autonomic responses did result from the stressor, but day to day changes were difficult to characterize; anticipatory stress increased for two days, following the stressor, and then decreased on the last day. One of the parameters which proved to be a good discriminator in the pharmacological studies, power distribution of low frequency HR variability components, was significant in these studies. However, sixty-four seconds of data were needed for optimal discrimination..