Disposable Workforce in Italy

This paper explores the “disposable” patterns of workforce utilization in Italy. The term “disposable” reflects the fact that people enter the labor market, their services are “used” as a disposable commodity for few years, after which they leave the labor market and are no longer observable in the official data. Out of 100 new young entries, only 70 are still in the labor market 10 years after entry if their first job spell was at least one year long. For those – three times as many - whose first job is short (youth employment, unemployment, unemployment duration.

Disposable Workforce in Italy

This paper explores the "disposable" patterns of workforce utilization in Italy, well under way before the cyclical downturn of the early 90's and before the main reforms of the Italian labor market. The term "disposable" reflects the fact that many young people enter the labor market, their services are "used" as a disposable commodity for a few years, after which they leave the labor market altogether and are no longer observable in the official (administrative) data. Workforce disposal is evident and dramatic: out of 100 new young entries, about 70 are still in the labor market 10 years after entry if their first job spell was at least one year long. For those – three times as many – who have started their career with a short employment spell (youth employment, unemployment, unemployment duration

Long term youth unemployment or disposable workforce?

This paper explores a process which I denote as “young workforce disposal” (YWD). YWD reflects the fact that many young people enter the labor market as dependent employees, at some later time they are dismissed and (presumably) move into never-ending unemployment. Long term unemployment may last two, three, four years, but, in the end, it should lead to re-entry in working activities. If it does not, i.e. if we observe young men separating from their jobs for whatever reason, and, for as long as ten or more years, disappearing from the labor force altogether, then it becomes problematic to define such events simply as long term unemployment. YWD seems to be an appropriate denomination, as it conveys the idea that young workers become a disposable commodity. Workforce disposal is evident and dramatic in Italy: out of 100 new young entries, about 70 are still in the labor market 10 years after entry if their first job spell was at least one year long. For those – three times as many - who have started their career with a short employment spell (

The Master in International Health of Parma University: a possible model of sanitary cooperation with developing Countries

The Master in “International Health and Medicine for Cooperation with Developing Countries” was established by CUCI, based on the evaluation that many health facilities and hospitals in the low-middle income Countries are not properly equipped to face daily emergencies. The objective of the Master’s program is to train doctors with multi-sector skills, necessary to operate in healthcare ambulatories, hospitals and medical districts, characterized by poor infrastructures and management systems, that are typical in areas of high-poverty, facing cases of emergencies of various entities. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is funding a number of scholarships for the best candidates classified in the final selection rating and residing in African Countries. The Course is also open to Italians who wish to extend their professional skills in order to work in resource-constrained settings. The Master course lasts one year and includes lectures, seminars, videoconferencing and internships both at the University Hospital of Parma and in other Structures / Laboratories. The final work includes a scientific section and a project work for future collaboration with the Countries from which the doctors come from. Besides the various fields of medicine, other important themes are addressed in the course, like guidelines for hospital managements, health cooperation, development, prevention strategies. Why this Master could be a model of sanitary cooperation? The WHO and the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research provide scientific support and they are involved in the teaching programme; the physicians formed in the course, once back in their Countries, are expected to facilitate training of the local staff (physicians, nurses and auxiliary personnel) and to continue collaboration; the project allows strengthening of partnerships with other Universities, Ministries, local and international Associations, NGO. The feedback of the participants who have attended the previous editions will also be discussed

L'avancement des recherches en géoprosodie et le Project AMPER

Depuis 2001, l'Atlas Multimédia Prosodique de l’Espace Roman (AMPER) réunit des dizaines d'équipes de différents laboratoires d'Europe et d'Amérique qui visent à la description et à la comparaison des traits prosodiques des variétés linguistiques romanes. C'est grâce à la rencontre de plusieurs chercheurs (dialectologues, phonéticiens, sociolinguistes, philologues etc.) et à leur décision d'accepter de partager un même paradigme expérimental que les recherches en géoprosodie romane (souhaitées par Contini, 1992) ont commencé à recevoir des contributions importantes avec un objectif commun et dans un cadre structuré. L'adhésion au projet, qui ne s'est pas fixé une date limite pour la cloture des travaux, est ouverte aux contributions de tous les spécialistes du domaine. Ses dimensions et sa popularité dans certains secteurs de la recherche académique internationale, auxquelles a aussi contribué le Laboratori de fonètica de la UB, ont attiré l'attention même de chercheurs qui travaillent dans d'autres cadres théoriques. Si les travaux en cours ne manquent pas de détailler les particularités locales détectées dans des espaces régionaux, une étude qui fasse le point sur la variabilité globale reste encore un objectif ambitieux. Nous essayons de résumer ici quelques unes des réflexions préalables présentées en d'autres occasions, de dresser un bilan sur l'état des travaux et de discuter de nouvelles propositions pour le classement et l'évaluation des données déjà disponibles.Since 2001, the Atlas Multimédia Prosodique de l’Espace Roman (AMPER) has glued several research teams from various laboratories, in Europe and America, aiming to give a description and a comparison of the prosodic features of Romance linguistic varieties. Thanks to the participation of a number of researchers (dialectologists, phoneticians, sociolinguists, philologists and so on) and to their decision to share the same experimental paradigm, studies in Romance geoprosody (fostered by Contini, 1992) began to receive important contributions in view of a common target and within a structured framework. The project does not have a deadline for its achievement and is open to contributions from all involved fields. Its dimensions and its popularity, to whom the Laboratori de fonètica de la UB contributed as well, in certain areas of the international academic research, drew the attention of researchers working within different theoretical frameworks. Even though works in progress are highlighting local peculiarities in regional domains, a general review on global variability is still an ambitious aim. We summarise in this paper some preliminary reflections already presented elsewhere, in order to sketch a balance on the state of the art of the project and to discuss new ideas concerning both the classification and the evaluation of available data

Multi-Year Concentrations, Health Risk, and Source Identification, of Air Toxics in the Venice Lagoon

This work presents and discusses the results of multi-year measurements of air toxics concentrations from different sites of Venice Lagoon. The aim of the study is the characterization of the air quality of the area, in terms of PM10, PM10-bound metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations, even with the individuation of the related inhalation risk and the identification of the main contaminants' sources. The study moreover provides an important multi-years trend of chemical characterization of the Venice Lagoon. Sampling for PM10 and its metal content was carried out between 2010 and 2015, using low volume sequential aerosol samplers; V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Cd, Sb, Tl, and Pb were measured by ICP-MS. Samples for PAHs concentration in gas and particle phases were collected from 2010 to 2014, using a high-volume air sampler that allows to sample both phases simultaneously. Samples for PAHs determinations were analyzed by GC-HRMS. Concentrations of air toxics have been studied with the use of enrichment factor, the coefficient of divergence, and the Mann-Kendal test, to individuate eventual local divergences, seasonal and other temporal trends. The inhalation risk assessment has been achieved by the calculation of the cumulative incremental carcinogenic risk for all the air toxics analyzed. The sources' identification and impact evaluation have been carried out using the atmospheric vanadium concentration, to calculate the primary contribution of ship traffic to PM10, the Positive Matrix Factorization, and the Diagnostic Ratios, with the aim of evaluating the impact of construction activities of M.o.S.E, (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico-Electromechanical Experimental Module) as well as of ship traffic and other possible air toxics' sources. Temporal trends indicate a slight decrease of PAHs and PM10 and of its content of Pb, Zn, Sb. Sharp increases of As and Cd during 2014 and 2015 may be due to local sources like emissions from the construction yard, ship, and road traffic. The cumulative incremental carcinogenic risk was below the unconditionally acceptable risk; Co and As are the most important contributors among metals, followed by Cd and Ni while the PAH congeners that most contribute to the carcinogenic risk were benzo(a)pyrene and dibenzo(A,H)anthracene

Predictive Factors of Surgical Site Infection in Prosthetic Joint Surgery: A Prospective Study on 760 Arthroplasties

Purpose. The success of total joint arthroplasty (TJA) has led to consistent growth in the use of arthroplasty in progressivelyyounger patients. However, more than 10 percent of patients require revision surgery due to implant failure caused by asepticor septic inflammation. Among the latter, surgical site infection (SSI) represents one of the worst complications of TJA,potentially resulting in the removal of the prosthesis. The aim of our study was to identify potential risk factors for SSIs in apopulation of patients undergoing TJA. Methods. TJA were prospectively recruited at Casa di Cura Santa Maria Maddalenafrom February 2019 to April 2020. Age, sex, major comorbidities, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class, length ofsurgery, type of surgical suture, total hospital length of stay, and clinical laboratory data were collected. The study populationwas then divided into two groups: Group A, normal postoperative course, and Group B, patients who developed SSI at follow-up (17-25 days). Results. 25/760 (3.3%) patients developed SSIs at follow-up. Clinical and demographic parameters were notdifferent between the two groups. Total leucocyte and neutrophil values at discharge resulted to be significatively higher inGroup B compared to Group A (p = 0:025 and p = 0:016, respectively). Values of 7860/μL for total leucocyte and 5185/μL forneutrophil count at discharge significantly predicted the future development of SSI (AUC 0.623 and AUC 0.641, respectively; p< 0:05) independently from confounding factors (total leukocytes: O:R: = 3, 69 [95% C.I. 1,63-8,32]; neutrophils: O:R: = 3, 98[95% C.I. 1,76-8,97]). Deep SSIs has been diagnosed significantly before superficial SSIs (p = 0,008), with a median advance of9 days. Conclusion. Total leukocytes and neutrophils at discharge seem useful to identify a population at risk for thedevelopment of septic inflammation at the surgical site following TJA. Further studies with larger populations are needed to develop a predictive SSIs risk score that should include those variables