Il ristorante italiano tra ethnoscapes e mediascapes

Il contributo costituisce l’introduzione al numero monografico di Comunicazionepuntodoc n. 19 2018, Il ristorante italiano. Memoria, cultura, identità, esperienze. Mentre molti studi internazionali si concentrano sul ruolo dei ristoranti italiani nel cambiamento dei Paesi di destinazione migratoria, gli studi italiani sul ristorante italiano all’estero e nel nostro Paese risultano a oggi carenti, sia pur con autorevoli eccezioni (Montanari 2002; Cipolla 2008). Il contributo introduce il particolare “ristorante etnico” che è il ristorante italiano in Italia e fuori d’italia e le sue pratiche di iper-ritualizzazione dei tratti della tradizione (cibo, arredi, identità visiva del locale, ecc.) di modo da offrire – come ha spiegato Erving Goffman (1979, p. 37) – non “una immagine di come stanno le cose, bensì una guida esortativa alla loro percezione”

Chapter II. Corrections <Corr.Lex.Mat.> 7 – 16

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Cooperazione interistituzionale nelle Pubbliche Amministrazioni: l'Ufficio intercomunale

Nell'ambito dello scenario istituzionale caratterizzato da profonde trasformazioni (si pensi ad esempio alla riforma del titolo V della Costituzione), l'innovazione nella pubblica amministrazione risulta assumere un importanza rilevante. Gli Enti Locali dovranno prepararsi ed adeguarsi a ricevere le funzioni e le responsabilita' derivanti dall'attuazione della riforma. In questo quadro di riferimento si inserisce il presente progetto che individua come idea forza la collaborazione inter-istituzionale come fattore decisivo nella valorizzazione e nell'uso strategico delle risorse turistico culturali del territorio preso in esame. L'area analizzata e' quella dell'alto Casertano, nello specifico i nove Comuni che hanno dimostrato una buona propensione alla collaborazione: Alife, Castello del Matese, Gallo Matese, Letino, Piedimonte Matese, San Gregorio Matese, San Potito Sannitico, Sant'Angelo d'Alife e Valle Agricola. L'idea progetto consiste nella stipulazione di una convenzione tra questi Comuni al fine di istituire un ufficio intercomunale per la gestione associata di diverse funzioni che risultano essere fondamentali per un maggiore coordinamento istituzionale. Il progetto e' strutturato secondo il seguente schema: analisi del cambiamento istituzionale risorse culturali come fattore di sviluppo analisi del quadro di riferimento territoriale analisi swot formulazione della strategia e degli obiettivi idea forza idea progetto aspetti tecnic

First-time mothers’ experiences of early labour in Italian maternity care services

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore first-time mothers' experiences of early labour in Italian maternity care services when admitted to hospital or advised to return home after maternity triage assessment.SETTING: The study was conducted in a second-level maternity hospital in northern Italy with an obstetric unit for both low- and high-risk women.PARTICIPANTS: The participants included 15 first-time mothers in good general health with spontaneous labour at term of a low-risk pregnancy who accessed maternity triage during early labour, and were either admitted to hospital or advised to return home.DESIGN: A qualitative interpretive phenomenological study was conducted. A face-to-face recorded semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant 48-72h after birth.FINDINGS: Four key themes emerged from the interviews: (a) recognising signs of early labour; (b) coping with pain at home; (c) seeking reassurance from healthcare professionals; and (d) being admitted to hospital versus returning home. Uncertainty about the progression of labour and the need for reassurance were cited by women as the main reasons for hospital visit in early labour. An ambivalent feeling was reported by the participants when admitted to hospital in early labour. In fact, while the women felt reassured in the first instance, some women subsequently felt dissatisfied due to the absence of one-to-one dedicated care during early labour. When advised to return home, a number of women reported feelings of disappointment, anger, fear, discouragement and anxiety about not being admitted to hospital; however, some of these women reported a subsequent feeling of comfort due to being at home and putting in place the suggestions made by the midwives during the maternity triage assessment. The guidance provided by midwives during triage assessment seemed to be the key factor influencing women?s satisfaction when advised either to return home or to stay at the hospital during early labour.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: During antenatal classes and clinics, midwives should provide clear information and advice about early labour in order to increase women?s confidence and self-efficacy, and decrease their anxiety and fear. During early labour, appropriate maternity care services should be offered according to individual needs. When home visits are not provided by midwives, a telephone triage run by midwives should be considered as a routine service for the first point of contact with women during early labour

The experiences of childbearing women who tested positive to COVID-19 during the pandemic in northern Italy

ProblemThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly challenged maternity provision internationally. COVID-19 positive women are one of the childbearing groups most impacted by the pandemic due to drastic changes to maternity care pathways put in place.BackgroundSome quantitative research was conducted on clinical characteristics of pregnant women with COVID-19 and pregnant women’s concerns and birth expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic, but no qualitative findings on childbearing women’s experiences during the pandemic were published prior to our study.AimTo explore childbearing experiences of COVID-19 positive mothers who gave birth in the months of March and April 2020 in a Northern Italy maternity hospital.MethodsA qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach was undertaken. Audio-recorded semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 women. Thematic analysis was completed using NVivo software. Ethical approval was obtained from the research site’s Ethics Committee prior to commencing the study.FindingsThe findings include four main themes: 1) coping with unmet expectations; 2) reacting and adapting to the ‘new ordinary’; 3) ‘pandemic relationships’; 4) sharing a traumatic experience with long-lasting emotional impact.DiscussionThe most traumatic elements of women’s experiences were the sudden family separation, self-isolation, transfer to a referral centre, the partner not allowed to be present at birth and limited physical contact with the newborn.ConclusionKey elements of good practice including provision of compassionate care, presence of birth companions and transfer to referral centers only for the most severe COVID-19 cases should be considered when drafting maternity care pathways guidelines in view of future pandemic waves

Health impact of the emissions from a refinery: case-control study on the adult population living in two municipalities in Lomellina, Italy

Background: In the municipalities of Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi and Ferrer Erbognone (District of Lomellina, Pavia, Lombardy, Italy), an oil refinery is operating since 1963. In 2008, the company running the plant (eni S.p.A.) asked the competent bodies the permission for building a new facility (“EST”). The present work is aimed at evaluating the ante-operam health impacts of the existing facility refinery. Methods: A case-control study design was implemented. Cases were subjects admitted to hospital in 2002-2014 due to acute respiratory, cardiovascular or gastrointestinal conditions. Controls were selected among those who had not been hospitalised in that timespan. Cases and controls had to be alive at enrolment, aged 20-64 years, and were frequency-matched by age, gender and municipality. Data were extracted from the health insurance registry and from Hospital Discharge Records (ATS Pavia). Enrolled subjects were asked to complete a mailed survey. Environmental exposure was the fallout of refinery emissions (PM10) at participants’ homes, as predicted by an AERMOD model. Results: 541 respondents (125 cases, 416 controls) were included in the analyses. Response bias was excluded. Individual PM10 exposure was not significantly different between cases and controls, while it was significantly associated with municipality (being higher in Sannazzaro). The crude effect estimate of PM10 over case/control status indicated a not-significant excess of hospitalisation with the increase in PM10 exposure. Multivariate analyses confirmed those results. Conclusion: Findings indicate a possible excess of hospitalisation risk in most exposed people, but the effect is not statistically significant and may be affected by bias

Timing of hospital admission in labour: latent versus active phase, mode of birth and intrapartum interventions: a correlational study

Background Hospitalization of women in latent labour often leads to a cascade of unnecessary intrapartum interventions, to avoid potential disadvantages the recommendation should be to stay at home to improve women’s experience and perinatal outcomes. Aim The primary aim of this study was to investigate the association between hospital admission diagnosis (latent vs active phase) and mode of birth. The secondary aim was to explore the relationship between hospital admission diagnosis, intrapartum intervention rates and maternal/neonatal outcomes. Methods A correlational study was conducted in a large Italian maternity hospital. Data from January 2013 to December 2014 were collected from the hospital electronic records. 1.446 records of low risk women were selected. These were dichotomized into two groups based on admission diagnosis: ‘latent phase’ or ‘active phase’ of labour. Findings 52.7% of women were admitted in active labour and 47.3% in the latent phase. Women in the latent phase group were more likely to experience a caesarean section or an instrumental birth, artificial rupture of membranes, oxytocin augmentation and epidural analgesia. Admission in the latent phase was associated with higher intrapartum interventions, which were statistically correlated to the mode of birth. Conclusions Women admitted in the latent phase were more likely to experience intrapartum interventions, which increase the probability of caesarean section. Maternity services should be organized around women and families needs, providing early labour support, to enable women to feel reassured facilitating their admission in labour to avoid the cascade of intrapartum interventions which increases the risk of caesarean section

Assessment of the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the perceptions of empowerment in midwifery practice scale-revised (PEMS-R-IT) in midwives

Introduction:A higher degree of midwives’ empowerment is associated with greater job satisfaction and better midwifery care outcomes for women and their families. Empowered midwives are able to better empower women who in turn have a positive influence on the midwives’ empowerment. The aim of this study was the translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the perceptions of empowerment in midwifery scale-revised (PEMS-R) in a group of Italian midwives.Methods:The World Health Organization (WHO) method was adopted to achieve the PEMS-R Italian version. This process involved five steps: 1) forward translation, 2) expert panel translation, 3) back-translation, 4) pre-testing and cognitive interviewing, and 5) final version. The test’s internal consistency and validity were assessed by following international guidelines. Internal consistency was examined through Cronbach’s alpha (α) coefficient.Results:The PEMS-R-IT was administered to 147 Italian midwives from northern Italy. Factor analysis of the 19 items, extracted 4 factors that explained 74.96% of the variance. The Student’s t-test for independent samples was used to identify a possible correlation between a higher/lower perception of empowerment and: 1) the education level, and 2) the years of experience of recruited midwives. No statistically significant differences were obtained in either case. The PEMS-R-IT was found to have a good internal consistency for each of its 4 subscales.Conclusions:The PEMS-R-IT is a valid and reliable tool, useful to assess midwives’ empowerment. It can be used in both clinical practice and research in order to investigate the level of empowerment of midwives within the Italian national context

The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the workloads of UPMC advanced radiotherapy centers in Italy

GOALS The Advanced Radiotherapy Centers of UPMC San Pietro FBF of Rome (CC#1) and UPMC Villa Maria of Mirabella Eclano (CC#2) conducted a study to review variations in department workloads and workflows experienced during the pandemic. The potential relation between these variations and the new procedures introduced to prevent and contain the COVID-19 infection was also studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS The data used were obtained from reports present in the ARIA® system (v. 15.1 Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A.). To examine the workloads was used the Downtime, an indicator that directly quantifies the inactivity of the department, derived from the ratio between the daily stand-by time of the LINACs (TrueBeam STx®, Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A.) and the mean number of treatments performed every day. In order to examine the workflows and possible delays, we measured the time between the treatments ("Therapy intervals"). RESULTS The Downtime average at CC#1 slightly increased from 3.1% in 2019 to 3.8% in 2020. However, the monthly analysis shows significant reduction (March-April-May) and increase (November-December) peaks. At CC#2, the 2020 Downtime trend was fairly consistent (average value: 3.3%), with an increase during the first wave of the pandemic. The "5-10 min" Therapy intervals at CC#1, reviewed comparing the March-April-May 2020 quarter with 2019, were higher in the first months and lower in May; the "10-15 min" intervals were stable; the ">20 min" intervals slightly increased in March 2020. At CC#2, the trend in 2020 decreased during the months of higher health care emergency and increased during the summer months. CONCLUSIONS The fact that the trends of the indicators show peaks only during the periods of major health care emergency indicates an impact of the pandemic, both on the workload and on the workflow. However, they also highlight the staff's ability to rapidly adapt to the new procedures, without affecting the overall performance of the both centers