Older workers and learning in industrial activities: when objects and personal senses matter

The issue of vocational learning (VL) for older workers (OWs) has become pivotal in European regions with an ageing workforce and facing economic changes and pressure to innovate. European Union policies recognize the value of formal, non-formal and informal learning to enhance workers’ skills, but report low participation of OWs in continuing formal VL. I contend that EU documents conceptualize learning according to a ‘cognitivist’ view and motivation as an individual endeavour, failing to acknowledge OWs’ subjectivities and working activities in providing the context for the development of their motives for learning. I adopt Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to direct the attention to the OWs’ subjectivities and their personal relationships with their objects of activities (work). CHAT allows subjectivities and activities to be brought together in a holistic framework. To illuminate the different ways in which objects influence motivation and learning, I introduce sociological strategies of production as objects of industrial activities and identify two radically different models as mass production and flexible specialization. Two case studies, based on unstructured interviews with OWs and managers in two firms representing both production models, provide elements to analyse the interrelation between OWs’ activities objects and their personal senses of these. My thesis concludes that: (i) OWs’ relation with their work contexts, rather than their personal qualities, influences their engagement in their working practices and leads to the development of motives for learning; (ii) strategies of production influence the intensity and richness of OWs’ workplace learning; (iii) OWs’ previous and parallel experiences of active roles contribute to the judgement of the current work and to engagement in this; (iv) EU policies for VL need to take into account how to support the OWs’ engagement in their jobs

Older workers and learning in industrial activities:\ud when objects and personal senses matter

The issue of vocational learning (VL) for older workers (OWs) has become pivotal in\ud European regions with an ageing workforce and facing economic changes and pressure\ud to innovate. European Union policies recognize the value of formal, non-formal and\ud informal learning to enhance workers’ skills, but report low participation of OWs in\ud continuing formal VL.\ud I contend that EU documents conceptualize learning according to a ‘cognitivist’ view\ud and motivation as an individual endeavour, failing to acknowledge OWs’ subjectivities\ud and working activities in providing the context for the development of their motives for\ud learning.\ud I adopt Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to direct the attention to the OWs’\ud subjectivities and their personal relationships with their objects of activities (work).\ud CHAT allows subjectivities and activities to be brought together in a holistic framework.\ud To illuminate the different ways in which objects influence motivation and learning, I\ud introduce sociological strategies of production as objects of industrial activities and\ud identify two radically different models as mass production and flexible specialization.\ud Two case studies, based on unstructured interviews with OWs and managers in two\ud firms representing both production models, provide elements to analyse the interrelation\ud between OWs’ activities objects and their personal senses of these.\ud My thesis concludes that:\ud (i) OWs’ relation with their work contexts, rather than their personal qualities,\ud influences their engagement in their working practices and leads to the\ud development of motives for learning;\ud (ii) strategies of production influence the intensity and richness of OWs’\ud workplace learning;\ud (iii) OWs’ previous and parallel experiences of active roles contribute to the\ud judgement of the current work and to engagement in this;\ud (iv) EU policies for VL need to take into account how to support the OWs’\ud engagement in their jobs

Fertility in an urban context. A complex phenomenon

Quaderni di ricerca Ires ; n.102- Contents #4- Having Children in a Big City: Different Social Groups, Different Conditions, Different Behaviours #6- Introduction #11- The Turin Longitudinal Study for the Analysis of Fertility #13- Turin: the Urban Context #25- The Changing Relationship between Female Labour Force Participation and Fertility #47- Lowest-Low Fertility in an Urban Context. When Migration Plays a Key Role #62- Summary and Conclusion #8

L'artigianato nella prospettiva della green economy

- Indice #5- Green Economy e settore delle costruzioni #13- Sostenibilità, Green economy ed Eco-industry #17- Tendenze evolutive e direzioni di trasformazione del settore #43- Gli attori e i settori #69- Piccole imprese e artigiani dell'eco-costruzione in Piemonte #161- Conclusioni e indicazioni per le politiche regionali #22

La popolazione scolastica e le forze lavoro nei prossimi 10 anni in Piemonte

La popolazione scolastica e le forze lavoro nei prossimi 10 anni in Piemonte- Indice #4- Capitolo 1. La popolazione scolastica nei prossimi 10 anni #6- Capitolo 2. La popolazione attiva #2

Evidence of another anthropic impact on iguana delicatissima from the lesser Antilles: the presence of antibiotic resistant enterobacteria

The improper use of antibiotics by humans may promote the dissemination of resistance in wildlife. The persistence and spread of acquired antibiotic resistance and human-associated bacteria in the environment, while representing a threat to wildlife, can also be exploited as a tool to monitor the extent of human impact, particularly on endangered animal species. Hence, we investigated both the associated enterobacterial species and the presence of acquired resistance traits in the cloacal microbiota of the critically endangered lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima), by comparing two separate populations living in similar climatic conditions but exposed to different anthropic pressures. A combination of techniques, including direct plating, DNA sequencing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing allowed us to characterize the dominant enterobacterial populations, the an- tibiotic resistant strains and their profiles. A higher frequency of Escherichia coli was found in the samples from the more anthropized site, where multi-drug resistant strains were also isolated. These results confirm how human-associated bacteria as well as their antibiotic-resistance determinants may be transferred to wildlife, which, in turn, may act as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance

Diverse MicroRNAs-mRNA networks regulate the priming phase of mouse liver regeneration and of direct hyperplasia

OBJECTIVES: Adult hepatocytes are quiescent cells that can be induced to proliferate in response to a reduction in liver mass (liver regeneration) or by agents endowed with mitogenic potency (primary hyperplasia). The latter condition is characterized by a more rapid entry of hepatocytes into the cell cycle, but the mechanisms responsible for the accelerated entry into the S phase are unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Next generation sequencing and Illumina microarray were used to profile microRNA and mRNA expression in CD‐1 mice livers 1, 3 and 6 h after 2/3 partial hepatectomy (PH) or a single dose of TCPOBOP, a ligand of the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR). Ingenuity pathway and DAVID analyses were performed to identify deregulated pathways. MultiMiR analysis was used to construct microRNA‐mRNA networks. RESULTS: Following PH or TCPOBOP we identified 810 and 527 genes, and 102 and 10 miRNAs, respectively, differentially expressed. Only 20 genes and 8 microRNAs were shared by the two conditions. Many miRNAs targeting negative regulators of cell cycle were downregulated early after PH, concomitantly with increased expression of their target genes. On the contrary, negative regulators were not modified after TCPOBOP, but Ccnd1 targeting miRNAs, such as miR‐106b‐5p, were downregulated. CONCLUSIONS: While miRNAs targeting negative regulators of the cell cycle are downregulated after PH, TCPOBOP caused downregulation of miRNAs targeting genes required for cell cycle entry. The enhanced Ccnd1 expression may explain the more rapid entry into the S phase of mouse hepatocytes following TCPOBOP

L'effetto occupazionale della formazione professionale in Piemonte. Uno studio sui qualificati nel 2016

L’effetto occupazionale della formazione professionale in Piemonte- Indice #6- La formazione come strumento di contrasto alla disoccupazione: la sua valutazione #8- Il metodo in pillole #8- Effetti differenziati #14- Alcuni spunti di riflessione #20- Conclusioni #2

Tracking Acquired Antibiotic Resistance in Commensal Bacteria of Galápagos Land Iguanas: No Man, No Resistance

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance, evolving and spreading among bacterial pathogens, poses a serious threat to human health. Antibiotic use for clinical, veterinary and agricultural practices provides the major selective pressure for emergence and persistence of acquired resistance determinants. However, resistance has also been found in the absence of antibiotic exposure, such as in bacteria from wildlife, raising a question about the mechanisms of emergence and persistence of resistant strains under similar conditions, and the implications for resistance control strategies. Since previous studies yielded some contrasting results, possibly due to differences in the ecological landscapes of the studied wildlife, we further investigated this issue in wildlife from a remote setting of the Galapagos archipelago. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Screening for acquired antibiotic resistance was carried out in commensal enterobacteria from Conolophus pallidus, the terrestrial iguana of Isla Santa Fe, where: i) the abiotic conditions ensure to microbes good survival possibilities in the environment; ii) the animal density and their habits favour microbial circulation between individuals; and iii) there is no history of antibiotic exposure and the impact of humans and introduced animal species is minimal except for restricted areas. Results revealed that acquired antibiotic resistance traits were exceedingly rare among bacteria, occurring only as non-dominant strains from an area of minor human impact. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Where both the exposure to antibiotics and the anthropic pressure are minimal, acquired antibiotic resistance traits are not normally found in bacteria from wildlife, even if the ecological landscape is highly favourable to bacterial circulation among animals. Monitoring antibiotic resistance in wildlife from remote areas could also be a useful tool to evaluate the impact of anthropic pressure