Early adversity experiences and wellbeing at school. A training module for (prospective) teachers

The BRIGHTER FUTURE project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.This publication has been developed in the context of the project BRIGTHER FUTURE: Innovative tools for developing full potential after early adversity, whose working team consists of the following entities: Comune di Torino (Italy) CORA (Spain), PAC UK/ Family Action (United Kingdom), Pharos Expertise Center on Health Disparities (the Netherlands), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain), Università di Verona (Italy), University of Groningen (Netherlands). "Early adversity experiences and wellbeing at school" is an outcome of the project "BRIGHTER FUTURE. Innovative tools for developing full potential after early adversity" co-financed by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union. It aims at providing material for the training of school staff working with children and adolescents who have experienced early adversities and who are in alternative care. During the Brighter Future project, our international team has designed a series of training modules, especially addressed to professionals working at school or with schools, suitable for deployment in multiple contexts. The training modules are the result of a process involving the analysis of the child protection system in different European countries, the review of the scientific literature on school and early adversity, and a qualitative data collection using interviews and focus groups in Spain, Italy and the Netherlands aimed at collecting voices from the key actors in the field: students, teachers, adoptive parents, foster parents, social workers, activists (especially careleavers and parents associations)

miRNAs Copy Number Variations Repertoire as Hallmark Indicator of Cancer Species Predisposition

Aging is one of the hallmarks of multiple human diseases, including cancer. We hypothesized that variations in the number of copies (CNVs) of specific genes may protect some long-living organisms theoretically more susceptible to tumorigenesis from the onset of cancer. Based on the statistical comparison of gene copy numbers within the genomes of both cancer-prone and -resistant species, we identified novel gene targets linked to tumor predisposition, such as CD52, SAT1 and SUMO. Moreover, considering their genome-wide copy number landscape, we discovered that microRNAs (miRNAs) are among the most significant gene families enriched for cancer progression and predisposition. Through bioinformatics analyses, we identified several alterations in miRNAs copy number patterns, involving miR-221, miR-222, miR-21, miR-372, miR-30b, miR-30d and miR-31, among others. Therefore, our analyses provide the first evidence that an altered miRNAs copy number signature can statistically discriminate species more susceptible to cancer from those that are tumor resistant, paving the way for further investigations.Aging is one of the hallmarks of multiple human diseases, including cancer. We hypothesized that variations in the number of copies (CNVs) of specific genes may protect some long-living organisms theoretically more susceptible to tumorigenesis from the onset of cancer. Based on the statistical comparison of gene copy numbers within the genomes of both cancer-prone and-resistant species, we identified novel gene targets linked to tumor predisposition, such as CD52, SAT1 and SUMO. Moreover, considering their genome-wide copy number landscape, we discovered that microRNAs (miRNAs) are among the most significant gene families enriched for cancer progression and predisposition. Through bioinformatics analyses, we identified several alterations in miRNAs copy number patterns, involving miR-221, miR-222, miR-21, miR-372, miR-30b, miR-30d and miR-31, among others. Therefore, our analyses provide the first evidence that an altered miRNAs copy number signature can statistically discriminate species more susceptible to cancer from those that are tumor resistant, paving the way for further investigations

Definire la sostenibilità editoriale. Un’indagine esplorativa sull’editoria indipendente in Italia

Il contributo presenta una ricerca, nata nell’ambito del Master in Editoria, Giornalismo e Management Culturale dell’Università di Roma Sapienza nell’anno accademico 2021-2022, che ha lo scopo di indagare e definire il concetto di sostenibilità nell’ambito dell’editoria indipendente italiana, individuandone i tratti caratterizzanti in relazione ai cambiamenti che stanno interessando il settore negli ultimi anni.Sulla base della definizione di “sviluppo sostenibile” fornita dalla Commissione Mondiale per l’Ambiente e lo Sviluppo (World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1987, p.43), la ricerca vuole rispondere alla domanda: “Cos’è la sostenibilità editoriale e in che modo una casa editrice indipen-dente può perdurare e crescere nel tempo soddisfacendo le necessità editoriali attuali e future?”L’intenzione è stata quindi quella di indagare gli elementi necessari alle case editrici indipendenti per durare e prosperare nel lungo periodo in un settore economico e culturale che oggi deve far fronte alle distorsioni caratterizzanti il sistema produttivo del libro, ai rapporti di forza lungo tutta la filiera, e alle sfide continue che la rivoluzione digitale presenta. L’indagine esplorativa ha coinvolto un campione ragionato di 22 editori indipendenti italiani e ha adottato l’approccio qualitativo della Grounded Theory (GT) e nello specifico ha previsto la realizzazione di interviste se-mi-strutturate. La ricerca ha innanzitutto inteso stimolare gli interlocutori a una riflessione, spesso mai fatta prima, sul tema della sostenibilità edito-riale, un concetto tanto nuovo quanto poco analizzato.Ogni editore ha reagito a questi stimoli in maniera differente, dando for-ma a una definizione ricca e articolata.Sono emersi 115 codici (nel gergo della GT concetti) relazionati tra loro e nel processo di analisi che la GT prevede ricondotti a 15 super-codici (nel gergo della GT categorie concettuali) – la responsabilità editoriale, l’iperproduzione, l’innovazione, solo per citarne alcuni – che definiscono il concetto di sostenibilità dell’editoria indipendente in Italia. La ricerca fornisce ai professionisti e agli studiosi del settore informazioni utili alla comprensione degli elementi definitori dell’identità di una casa editrice, del suo impatto culturale e ambientale, e soprattutto vuole avviare una conversazione intorno agli elementi che permettono a una casa editrice di mantenere senso e valore nel tempo.The paper presents a research, set up within the Master in Publishing, Journalism and Cultural Management of the University [...] in the academ-ic year 2021-2022, that aims to investigate and define the concept of sus-tainability in the context of Italian independent publishing, identifying its characterizing features in relation to the changes affecting the sector in recent years.Based on the definition of “sustainable development” provided by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, Our Common Future, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1987, p.43.), the re-search’s purpose is to answer the following questions: “What is editorial sustainability and how can an independent publisher persist and grow over time by meeting its present needs and those of the future generations?”The exploratory survey involved a theoretical sample of 22 independent Italian publishers that had been consulted through semi-structured in-terviews, developed and carried on using the qualitative approach of the Grounded Theory (GT).The research intended mainly to incite the interlocutors to reflect on the new topic, not yet fully analyzed, that is the concept of editorial sustain-ability. Each publisher has reacted in a different way, giving shape to a rich and articulated definition of sustainability.The data collected through all the interviews gave form to 115 codes (con-cepts in the jargon of GT), related to each other, that have been traced back to 15 super-codes (conceptual categories in the jargon of GT) by the process of analysis expected by GT – e.g. editorial responsibility, hyper-production, innovation. All these super-codes concur to define the concept of sustainability in the independent publishing field in Italy.The research wants to provide professionals and scholars of the sector with useful information for understanding the defining elements of a publishing house’s identity and its cultural and environmental impact. Moreover, it at-tempts to start a conversation around the elements that allow a publishing house to hold its meaning and value over time

Paternità impreviste. Padri omosessuali e relazione con i servizi educativi e la scuola

Within an increasingly open and composite scenario of practices and representations of paternity, the article is focused on the ways couples of homosexual fathers experience their relationship with the educational services attended by their children. The contribution, based on the qualitative data of the Family Lives research, explores in particular the ways in which a men’s couple with children represents a sort of “double unexpected phenomenon” from a symbolic point of view for the professionals working in educational services and its possible consequences. On the one hand, these couples represent an unforeseen family pattern as far as concerns the parental bond between two fathers and their children, a bond that at this time in Italy does not enjoy legal recognition or a collectively shared and accepted morphology; on the other hand, the unexpected dimension refers to the disruption of a set of expectations and implicit beliefs about gender roles that shades light on the lack of acquaintance of early childhood professionals with the idea of a male figure as a primary caregiver. The research is based on the analysis of ten gay fathers’ narrative interviews. All the fathers have children attending child care or preschool in Italy. The results highlight the main critical issues experienced by the parents as they enter the educational settings and involving, more in general, their relationship with school staff and other actors in the context: the role of cultural models centered on the mother figure and the maternal symbolic sphere in the professionals’ and in the other parents’ attitudes and practices; the pressure experienced by fathers to become visible as “very good parents”, and to actively invest in their children’s and their family’s social inclusion; the tendency to self-attribute the task of supporting, in different ways, the educational staff in knowing, understanding, and putting into act inclusive approaches to family diversity