168 research outputs found

    The Fear of Contagion and the Attitude Toward the Restrictive Measures Imposed to Face COVID-19 in Italy: The Psychological Consequences Caused by the Pandemic One Year After It Began

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    open2The pandemic nature of COVID-19 has caused major changes in health, economy, and society globally. Albeit to a lesser extent, contingent access to shops and places to socialize the imposition of social distancing and the use of indoor masks is measures still in force today (more than a year after the start of the pandemic), with repercussions on economic, social, and psychological levels. The fear of contagion, in fact, has led us to be increasingly suspicious and to isolate ourselves from the remainder of the community. This has had repercussions on the perception of loneliness, with significant psychological consequences, such as the development of stress, anxiety, and, in extreme cases, depressive symptoms. Starting from these assumptions, this research was developed with the aim of deepening the perceptions that the participants have of their own mental health, loneliness, fear linked to contagion, and attitudes toward imposed social distancing. In particular, we wanted to analyze whether there is a relationship between perceived fear and the perceived level of mental health, loneliness, and attitude toward social distancing. Finally, we wanted to analyze whether there are differences related to gender, age, marital status, current working mode, and educational qualifications. The research, performed after the diffusion of the vaccination in Italy, lasted 14 days. The participants were 500 Italians who voluntarily joined the study and were recruited with random cascade sampling. The research followed a quantitative approach. The analyzed data, from participants residing throughout the national territory, allow us to return the picture of the perceptions that Italians have of the fear of contagion, of their level of mental health, of loneliness and of their attitude toward social distancing. In particular, the data show that fear of COVID-19 is an emotional state experienced by the entire population and that young people have suffered more from loneliness and have been less inclined to accept the imposed social distancing. The data that emerged should make policymakers reflect on the need to find functional strategies to combat COVID-19 or other health emergency crises whose effects do not affect the psychological wellbeing of the population.openRania, Nadia; Coppola, IlariaRania, Nadia; Coppola, Ilari

    Le politiche di Employer Branding: come comunicare le cose giuste alle persone giuste.

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    Partendo dal concetto di employer branding, cercherò illustrare questo processo strategico attraverso il suo compito principale: quello di comunicare le cose giuste, alle persone giuste. In accordo con il contesto del mercato del lavoro di oggi e del recruiting aziendale, verrà ripercorsa la definizione di questo processo ed in particolare si analizzeranno gli strumenti di marketing e comunicazione nelle politiche di assunzione, affrontando le sue fasi di pianificazione e realizzazione delle attività di marketing legate ai processi HR per attrarre nuove e brillanti risorse e trattenere il personale di talento inserito in azienda. L’analisi dei nuovi canali attraverso i quali si opera il recruiting aziendale sarà poi applicata al’uso che ne fa il Gruppo Piaggio, per evidenziare come sia cambiata la cultura e la concezione della risorsa umana all’interno delle imprese e più in generale nel mondo del lavoro

    Intercultura e mediazione comunitaria tra pari nel contesto penitenziario italiano

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    Over the years, many researches and studies have been carried out in the international and Italian context aimed at understanding, with different approaches, the birth of the prison and the functions attributed to it. In particular, historians and sociologists have devoted much attention to the analysis of the objectives that have diversified over time and of the real effectiveness of these structures. More recently, with a socio-psychological approach, various aspects, related to the well-being of both the inmates and those who are called upon to perform a control function within these total structures, have also been investigated; in fact, research has highlighted the importance of the role played by correctional officers who daily share a restricted space with inmates for a large number of hours. In Italy, in particular, correctional officers, thanks to Law 395/90, have taken on a more participatory role in the treatment of prisoners, and this aspect has made them decisive in achieving the ultimate goal of prison: the reintegration of the prisoner into society. However, although the law has complexified and enriched the role played by this professional figure, not as much attention has been paid to implement the skills necessary to carry out the new tasks required. In fact, being involved in the treatment of prisoners implies the acquisition of relational and intercultural skills, which do not find their proper place in the training intended for this professional figure. The objectives that this paper sets out to achieve are twofold. A first objective is to return an analysis of the literature related to the birth and functions of the prison that have been changing over the centuries and the psychological aspects related to some of the main figures in the prison system: prison officers and inmates. The second objective is to report, analyze and discuss the data that emerged from three researches carried out in some prison institutions in Northern Italy. The thesis consists of five chapters: the first two constitute the theoretical framework, through which the birth and evolution of the prison and the function played by the correctional officers are traced; the last three, on the other hand, are dedicated to three researches carried out with different methodologies within some penitentiary institutions in Northern Italy. In particular, the first chapter is initially devoted to penitentiary institutions and the different structures and functions that have been attributed to them over time, starting with a socio-historical analysis. Ample space will be devoted to the Italian context, starting with the management of prisons and the functions held by those in charge in the early twentieth century; it will then come to Laws 354/75 and 395/90, currently in force, which respectively introduce regulations in favor of interventions aimed at the social reintegration of prisoners and the establishment of the correctional officers, which is entrusted with the dual task of providing security and actively participating in the re-educational treatment of inmates. Next, the second paragraph of the first chapter will address the issue of overcrowding, a problem encountered both internationally and in the Italian context; the main causes of this critical issue and the effects found both on inmates and on prisoner control and treatment personnel will then be outlined. Finally, the third section will be devoted to the psychological aspects associated with living in prison. The second chapter will be devoted to the analysis of two of the actors in the prison system: correctional officers and inmates. The next three chapters will be focused on results that emerged from three different research conducted in some penitentiary institutions in northern Italy. In particular, the third chapter will focus on the research "Intercultural Sensitivity of the Correctional Officers: Between Life Satisfaction and Burnout," which, through the use of a quantitative methodology, involved 400 correctional officers employed at sixteen penitentiary institutions in three regions of northern Italy. The main objective of the research was to investigate whether there was a significant relationship between cross-cultural sensitivity, workplace stress and perceived life satisfaction. In addition, the results that emerged from the comparison made with some previously conducted research that focused on health professionals will be reported. Then from the analysis of socio-demographic variables, the differences between groups that emerged in relation to the investigated constructs will be reported. Finally, based on the hypotheses, the existence of correlation among the investigated variables will be tested and the factors that most affect life satisfaction, emotional exhaustion and cross-cultural sensitivity will be examined. The last two chapters will focus on the restitution of findings from two research-intervention projects carried out in two penitentiary institutions in a region of northern Italy, with the aim of fostering the development of greater awareness of self and other and tools for conflict transformation, through active sharing and participation, with a view to individual and group empowerment. The fourth chapter will present findings related to the theme of interculturality within prison settings, starting from the experience of training and awareness-raising in community and peer mediation, from an intercultural dialogue perspective. The project presented, "Community and Peer Mediation from an Intercultural Perspective in the Prison Context: the InterMed Project," was aimed at both the staff of the institution and the inmate population. Data were collected through a qualitative methodology. Finally, the fifth chapter will present the results that emerged from an evaluation of a community mediation intervention project carried out in a women's prison setting, "A Women's Community Mediation: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Research-Intervention Project," whose strengths and weaknesses were highlighted. Data were collected through a qualitative methodology

    Women Face to Fear and Safety Devices During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: Impact of Physical Distancing on Individual Responsibility, Intimate, and Social Relationship

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    The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 in Italy had its first epidemic manifestations on January 31, 2020. The socio-sanitary rules imposed by the government concerned the social distance and management of intimate relationships, the sense of individual responsibility toward public health. Physical distancing and housing isolation have produced new representations of intrafamily, generational, neighborhood, community responsibility, bringing out a new “medicalized dimension” of society. In light of this contextual framework, the research aims are to analyze how: the perception of individual responsibility for public and familial health and physical distancing has redrawn the relation between subjects-family-community; the State’s technical-health intervention has reformulated the idea of social closeness, but also how the pandemic fear and social confinement has re-evaluated a desire for community, neighborhood, proximity; during the lockdown families, friends, neighbors have reconstructed feelings of closeness and forms of belonging. The methodology used is quanti-qualitative and involved 300 women through an online questionnaire. The data collected highlight how the house during the lockdown is perceived as a safe place and how women implement both the recommendations and the behaviors aimed at preventing contagion, but also ways that allow coping with the situation from a perspective of well-being. Furthermore, the data show how the dimension of distancing has loosened the relational dimension outside the family unit, with a greater distancing compared to pre-pandemic data. However, the majority of women report that they have joined solidarity initiatives, demonstrating that they want to maintain ties and participate actively in community life

    Family well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: Gender differences and solidarity networks of care

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    During the COVID-19 pandemic, families experienced new challenges related to reorganizing living spaces and the need to renegotiate domestic and care roles. This paper aims to understand how Italian families have reacted to this situation with respect to psychological well-being, the management of domestic and care activities and solidarity networks of care. The participants were 560 Italian subjects who reported having a parental role. The protocol included a measure of well-being (the General Health Questionnaire-12) and some questions related to the time dedicated to domestic activities or to caring for people, the perception of conflict within the family and solidarity networks of care. The data underline how mothers continued to devote more time to home and care activities than fathers, despite the presence of both partners at home during the lockdown. The results also indicate that mothers participated to a greater extent than fathers in solidarity activities, confirming that this dimension is linked to gender. Furthermore, fathers and mothers perceived a lower condition of well-being in relation to the pre-pandemic period

    Care Tasks and New Routines for Italian Families during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from Women

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    The lockdown management during the COVID-19 pandemic has been very complex for families. The present study is part of a broader interdisciplinary research and follows the gender perspective, which has made it possible to bring a focus on the pandemic starting with women who, within family dynamics, have suffered most from the effects of the lockdown, having to manage multiple roles simultaneously and in the same place. The data were collected through an on-line survey. The aim is to understand how family routines were structured during the lockdown and how women’s emotional regulation developed during this period. Moreover, a further area of investigation focused on the distribution of domestic work and childcare among partners and on the relationships between smart working and the family dimension. The participants are 300 women living in different Italian region. The data highlights how during lockdown women with children have more regulatory and relational routines than women without children and that during this period both regulatory and relational routines become less consistent. It also emerges that women perceive that they dedicate more time to domestic activities and childcare than their partners do anthe effects of the lockdown, having to manage multiple roles simultaneously and in the same place. The data were collected through an on-line survey. The aim is to understand how family routines were structured during the lockdown and how women’s emotional regulation developed during this period. Moreover, a further area of investigation focused on the distribution of domestic work and childcare among partners and on the relationships between smart working and the family dimension. The participants are 300 women living in different Italian region. The data highlights how during lockdown women with children have more regulatory and relational routines than women without children and that during this period both regulatory and relational routines become less consistent. It also emerges that women perceive that they dedicate more time to domestic activities and childcare than their partners do and that the time dedicated to childcare is greater in the 0-6 year range. Moreover, it emerges clearly how reconciling the smart working with the family dimension is not always easy

    Variable stars in the ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxy Ursa Major I

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    We have performed the first study of the variable star population of Ursa Major I (UMa I), an ultra-faint dwarf satellite recently discovered around the Milky Way by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Combining time series observations in the B and V bands from four different telescopes, we have identified seven RR Lyrae stars in UMa I, of which five are fundamental-mode (RRab) and two are first-overtone pulsators (RRc). Our V, B-V color-magnitude diagram of UMa I reaches V~23 mag (at a signal-to-noise ratio of ~ 6) and shows features typical of a single old stellar population. The mean pulsation period of the RRab stars = 0.628, {\sigma} = 0.071 days (or = 0.599, {\sigma} = 0.032 days, if V4, the longest period and brightest variable, is discarded) and the position on the period-amplitude diagram suggest an Oosterhoff-intermediate classification for the galaxy. The RR Lyrae stars trace the galaxy horizontal branch at an average apparent magnitude of = 20.43 +/- 0.02 mag (average on 6 stars and discarding V4), giving in turn a distance modulus for UMa I of (m-M)0 = 19.94 +/- 0.13 mag, distance d= 97.3 +6.0/-5.7 kpc, in the scale where the distance modulus of the Large Magellanic Cloud is 18.5 +/- 0.1 mag. Isodensity contours of UMa I red giants and horizontal branch stars (including the RR Lyrae stars identified in this study) show that the galaxy has an S-shaped structure, which is likely caused by the tidal interaction with the Milky Way. Photometric metallicities were derived for six of the UMa I RR Lyrae stars from the parameters of the Fourier decomposition of the V-band light curves, leading to an average metal abundance of [Fe/H] = -2.29 dex ({\sigma} = 0.06 dex, average on 6 stars) on the Carretta et al. metallicity scale.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

    Mind the dad–A review on the biopsychosocial influences of drug abuse on father-infant interaction

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    Substance use disorder (SUD) is an issue of concern that can have inter- generational impacts. Fathers affected by this disorder can exhibit atypical parenting that leaves pronounced, adverse consequences for the child, espe cially during a critical window for development, such as neonatal life and infancy. However, factors sustaining paternal drug use and its associated health outcomes remain elusive. The present review provides a systematic literature search of the scientific evidence published until February 2021 on PubMed Central, Scopus, PsycInfo, and PubMed databases. Adopting a biopsychosocial model, this review provides comprehensive insights into the issue, detailing: (i) the neurobiological correlates of paternal substance use and atypical parenting mechanisms, (ii) influence of drug consumption on paternal psychological state, and (iii) the social environment modulating the social dynamics central to fathers with SUD. Attention is also paid to the bidirectional relationships between paternal drug abuse and fatherhood, which has been severely neglected so far. Findings shed new light on the importance of paternal contributions to the father-child interaction, supporting the formulation of more targeted multidisciplinary interventions aimed at restoring such a crucial and overlooked relationship.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

    The Influences of Drug Abuse on Mother-Infant Interaction Through the Lens of the Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Illness: A Review

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    Women who abuse illicit drugs often engage in atypical parenting behaviors that interfere with the natural development of mother-infant interaction and attachment. Maternal caregiving deficits leave pronounced adverse consequences in the wake of drug abuse relapse, which often occurs and in early infancy. These are times when the child requires optimal parental care. The contemporary literature documents long-term implications of illicit drug-abuse in parenting on infants. However, factors that drive and sustain the influence of drug abuse on parent-infant outcomes remain elusive. This review adopts a biopsychosocial approach to synthesizing the existing state of knowledge on this issue. Mother-infant interaction is a dynamic socio-relational process that occurs at multiple levels of organization. As such, a biopsychosocial perspective enables us to uncover: (i) roles of specific physiological mechanisms and biological characteristics of atypical parenting in mothers who abuse drugs, (ii) the influence of drugs on maternal psychological state (i.e., beliefs regarding parenting practices, emotional regulation), and (iii) social relationships (i.e., relationships with spouse and other drug abusers) and contextual cues (i.e., triggers) that moderate non-optimal maternal caregiving. A comprehensive review of these key domains provides a nuanced understanding of how these several sources interdependently shape atypical parent-infant interaction amongst drug abusing mothers. Systematic elucidation of major factors underlying drug-abused maternal behaviors facilitates the development of targeted and more effective interventions

    Infertility in Fabry's disease: role of hypoxia and inflammation in determining testicular damage

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    Fabry’s disease (FD) is a genetic X-linked systemic and progressive rare disease, which is characterized by the accumulation of glycolipid bodies (GB) into the lysosomes of almost all cell types and consequently by a multiform clinical picture. Here we studied testicular biopsies of a 42 ys old FD patient, presenting infertility with a reduced number of spermatozoa and preserved sexual activity. Testicular biopsies have been analyzed by optical microscopy (OM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). OM, showed a severe involvement of testis interstitium blood vessels with reduced or closed lumen, an increased of connective tissue, and a substantial thicketing of peritubular region. TEM, showed that GB were abundant in vessel wall cells and in myofibroblast of the peritubular region. In contrast with literature reports, Leydig cells were constantly unaffected by GB accumulation showing well-preserved ultrastructural organization. On the contrary, tubular cells, although not affected by GB accumulation, appeared severely damaged. These data led us to hypothesize that the diffusion of oxygen and nutrients from the blood to tubules could be impaired. To test this hypothesis we explored, by immunofluorescence (IF) and molecular biology (MB) coupled to laser capture microdissection (LCMD), the activation of HIF/NFkB pathway. IF showed increased signal for HIF1a in all stromal components, while it appeared almost absent in seminiferous tubules. On the contrary, NFkB fluorescence was evident in tubules. mRNA of tubular and interstitial tissue fractions, separately extracted by LCMD, confirms that HIF1a and hypoxic-related genes such as alarmin recepters (RAGE, TLR4) were overexpressed in the interstitial cells. At the same time, NFkB and a number of proinflammatory genes such as HMOX1, PTGES, SAA1-SAA2 were up-regulated in the tubule microenvironment. Taken together, these results suggest that the GB accumulation in the interstitium, reducing vessel lumen and increasing the distance between vessel and tubular cells, leads to chronic progressive hypoxia. Hypoxia has two effects: 1) Necrosis of cells more distant from vessels, especially germinative epithelium, and Sertoli cells, releasing alarmins; 2) Adaptation to low levels of O2, with activation of HIF1a. In both cases, strong activation of NFkB occurs that trigger a inflammatory response (IR). We suggest a role for the IR activation in determining intratubular cells damage and consequently, infertility in FD
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