Be friendly, stay well: The effects of job resources on well-being in a discriminatory work environment

Many studies have focused on the negative effects of discrimination on workers’ well-being. However, discrimination does not affect just victims but also those people who witness discriminatory acts or who perceived they are working in a discriminatory work environment. Although perceiving a discriminatory work environment might be a stressor, the presence of job resources might counteract its negative effects, as suggested by the Job Demand-Resources model. The goal of this study is to test the effect of perceiving a discriminatory work environment on workers’ psychological well-being when job autonomy and co-workers and supervisor support act as mediator and moderators respectively. To test the moderated mediation model data were gathered with a sample of Italian 114 truckers. Results demonstrated that job autonomy partially mediates the relationship between perceiving a discriminatory work environment and workers’ well-being. Main interactional effects have been observed when co-workers support is introduced in the model as moderator, while no main interactional effects exist when supervisor support is introduced. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal) SFRH/BPD/121748/2016Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España PSI2015-64894-

Approaching the discriminatory work environment as stressor: The protective role of job satisfaction on health

Discrimination is a complex phenomenon with adverse consequences at personal and organizational levels. Past studies have demonstrated that workers who are victims of discrimination might show less job satisfaction, less organizational commitment and worse levels of health and productivity. Although most research has focused on the effects of discrimination on victims, less is known about the extent to which discrimination produces consequences on workers who perceive the existence of a discriminatory work environment. The goal of this article is to analyze the consequences of the perception of a discriminatory work environment on employees' health. The importance of this relationship is studied taking into account the mediating effect of job satisfaction. In order to reach this goal a cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 1633 Italian workers (male = 826, female = 764), employed in private and public sectors, and in different hierarchical positions. Results suggest that the perception of a discriminatory work environment is negatively associated with employees' health. This relationship is partially mediated by job satisfaction (R (2) = 0.17). This study demonstrates that perceiving a discriminatory work environment might have a negative impact on workers' health. A higher level of job satisfaction might buffer this effect. These findings have several practical implications. On the one hand, Human Resource Managers need to intervene in order to recognize and diminish implicit biases, creating a healthy and inclusive environment (e.g., through training, diversity policies, etc.). On the other hand, promoting job satisfaction (e.g., providing mechanisms of voice) might help workers to preserve their well-being, coping with the negative effects of a discriminatory work environment

Risk of psychosis in autism spectrum disorder individuals exposed to psychosocial stressors: A 9-year chart review study

Psychosocial stressors have been suggested to precipitate psychotic episodes in patients with pre-existing psychosis and otherwise healthy subjects. However, such a risk has never been formally investigated in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sixty-nine autistic adolescents hospitalized for psychotic/manic symptoms (PSY) and other mental health issues (NPSY) over a 9-year period were compared with reference to their previous exposure to psychosocial stressors. ASD diagnoses satisfied the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 criteria. Psychotic/manic symptom assessment followed the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS). Psychosocial stressor exposure was collected separately at each admission. Preliminarily, univariate between-group comparisons were conducted. Then, a binomial model was adopted to investigate associations with previous exposure to psychosocial stressors. Results were reported with a change in AIC (ΔAIC). PSY patients presented with higher previous exposure to adverse life events (30.43% vs. 6.52%, OR = 6.079 [1.209, 40.926], p = 0.013) and school/work difficulties (30.43% vs. 8.70%, OR = 4.478 [0.984, 23.846], p = 0.034) than NPSY ones. Admissions for psychotic/manic symptoms occurred more likely in the context of family disturbances (OR = 2.275 [1.045, 5.045], p = 0.030) and adverse life events (OR = 3.489 [1.194, 11.161], p = 0.014). The fitted binomial model was found to be significant compared to the random effects model (ΔAIC = -1.962; χ2 10  = 21.96, p = 0.015), with the risk of presenting psychotic/manic symptoms being increased by family disturbances (z = +4.118) and school/work difficulties (z = +2.455). The results suggest a potential psychosis-inducing effect of psychosocial stressors in ASD, which has clinical and policy implications

Conservative treatment of invasive bladder carcinoma by transuretral resection, protracted intravenous infusion chemoterapy and hyperfractionated radiotherapy ; Long term results

Astratto BACKGROUND Conservazione degli organi è stato studiato in pazienti affetti da carcinoma muscolo-invasivo della vescica negli ultimi decenni come alternativa alla cistectomia radicale. La maggior parte degli studi ha riportato che gli orari di trimodali, tra cui la resezione transuretrale del tumore della vescica (TURB), radioterapia (RT), e la chemioterapia, sono una fattibile e sicuro organo-sparing approccio, senza rinviare la probabilità di sopravvivenza. Tuttavia, per la conoscenza degli autori la migliore combinazione di RT e chemioterapia deve ancora essere ben definito. Il presente studio ha valutato i risultati a lungo termine di un programma di trattamento concomitante con cisplatino e 5-fluorouracile (5-FU) somministrato come prolungate infusioni per via endovenosa (PVI) durante la radioterapia iperfrazionati (HFRT) con organo-sparing in pazienti con intenti infiltrante carcinoma a cellule transizionali della vescica (TCCB). METODI Settantasette pazienti con una classificazione di T2-T4aN0M0 TCCB sono stati arruolati in questo studio. Dopo una mappatura completa TURB e della vescica, 42 di 77 pazienti sottoposti a 2 cicli di chemioterapia di induzione. Tutti i 77 pazienti sono stati sottoposti HFRT e un calendario di cisplatino (4-6 mg / m 2 al giorno) e 5-FU (180-220 mg / m 2 al giorno) in quanto concomitante PVI (radiochemioterapia [RCT]). Da sei a 8 settimane dopo RCT, la risposta del paziente è stata valutata mediante tomografia computerizzata, citologia urinaria, e TURB. I pazienti che hanno raggiunto una risposta completa (CR) sono stati seguiti ad intervalli regolari. Per i pazienti con recidiva di tumore residuo o invasive, la cistectomia di salvataggio è stato raccomandato. RISULTATI Settantadue pazienti erano valutabili per la risposta: 65 ha raggiunto una CR (90,3%) e 7 (9,7%) hanno raggiunto una risposta parziale. Nessuna differenza significativa è stata osservata per i diversi fattori prognostici, ad eccezione della fase di malattia (T2 [95,7%] vs T3-T4a [80,0%], P = 0,04). La tossicità osservata, soprattutto ematologica, era più alta tra i pazienti sottoposti a chemioterapia di induzione rispetto ai pazienti che non hanno ricevuto chemioterapia di induzione, anche se la differenza non era statisticamente significativa. Dopo un follow-up mediano di 82,2 mesi (range: 30-138 mesi), 44 di 65 (57.1%) pazienti che hanno raggiunto una CR erano vivi. Di questi 44 pazienti, 33 hanno tumore senza vesciche. L'hotel a 5 anni in generale, della vescica-intatti, tumore-specifica, libera da malattia, e cistectomia tassi di sopravvivenza libera per tutti i 77 pazienti sono stati 58,5%, 46,6%, 75,0%, 53,5% e 76,1%, rispettivamente. Nessuna associazione è stata osservata in termini di sopravvivenza globale e tumore-specifica con diversi fattori prognostici. CONCLUSIONI Il trattamento combinato è apparso per fornire elevati tassi di risposta e può essere offerto come opzione alternativa alla cistectomia radicale in pazienti selezionati che rifiutano o non sono adatti per la chirurgia. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society

Schemata, formae e rituali coreutici tra Antichit\ue0, Medioevo ed Et\ue0 moderna

Questo numero di Mantichora. Italian Journal of Performance Studies [10 (2020)] ospita, a cura di Licia Butt\ue0, Luigi Canetti e Donatella Tronca, uno degli esiti del progetto di ricerca \u201cChoreutic Heterotopias: Dance and Performance in the Visual and Literary Culture of the Mediterranean from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages\u201d (HECO) (HAR2017-85625-P 2018-2020) coordinato da Licia Butt\ue0. Si tratta di alcuni fra i contributi presentati in occasione di due Workshop \u201cSchemata, formae e rituali coreutici tra Antichit\ue0, Medioevo ed Et\ue0 moderna\u201d che hanno avuto luogo a Tarragona (11 marzo 2019) e a Ravenna (10 dicembre 2019

Cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea: Encounter Rate, Dominant Species, and Diversity Hotspots

We investigated the presence and diversity of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, analysing the data collected by 32 different research units, over a period of 15 years (2004–2018), and shared on the common web-GIS platform named Intercet. We used the encounter rate, the species prevalence, and the Shannon diversity index as parameters for data analysis. The results show that cetacean diversity, in the context of the Mediterranean basin, is generally quite low when compared with the eastern Atlantic, as few species, namely the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the fin whale, and the sperm whale, dominate over all the others. However, some areas, such as the Alboran Sea or the north-western Mediterranean Sea, which includes the Pelagos Sanctuary (the Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest located in the northern portion of the western basin), show higher levels of diversity and should be considered hotspots to be preserved. Primary production and seabed profile seem to be the two main drivers influencing the presence and distribution of cetaceans, with the highest levels of diversity observed in areas characterized by high levels of primary production and high bathymetric variability and gradient. This collective work underlines the importance of data sharing to deepen our knowledge on marine fauna at the scale of the whole Mediterranean Sea and encourages greater efforts in the networking process, also to accomplish the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with particular reference to Descriptor 1: biological diversity is maintained

Transitioning to adult mental health services for young people with ADHD: an Italian-based survey on practices for pediatric and adult services

BackgroundSupporting young ADHD patients in transition to adult services is essential. Yet, the low percentages of successful referrals and the issues reported by patients and clinicians stress the need for further attention to transitioning practices. The present study assessed the transitioning process of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) patients in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) in the Italian territory. We asked child and adult psychiatrists to report the current state of services and their observations on limitations and possible future matters that must be addressed.MethodSeventy-seven centers (42 CAMHS, 35 AMHS) filled in a web-based survey in which they reported the number of ADHD patients, how many transitioning patients they had within the past year, and how they structured transition.ResultsA fragmented picture emerged from the survey. Lack of resources, training, and communication between services hinder the transition process, and many adult patients remain under CAMHS' care. While some services have a protocol, there is no structured guidance that can help improve integration and continuity of treatment.ConclusionThe observed situation reflects a need for improvement and standard guidelines to enable a successful transition process, considering clinicians' and patients' necessities