Civil Society Actors and the Welfare State. A historically-based analytical framework

Civil society actors have always been crucial players in the development of welfare systems. Far before the appearance of the welfare state, the provision of services to those in need was the domain of charities and guilds, and later on of the mutual aid organizations related to the labour movement. To-gether with providing services, civil society actors have exerted political pressure on the state, demanding an enlargement of social rights or challenging the principles of public intervention. Such a relevant role became even more pivotal after the '70s, when the welfare mix model paved the way for the entrance of third sector organizations into public service provision and governance processes. Within this scenario, this article aims to develop a historically-based conceptual framework, through which the huge heterogeneity of civil society actors and functions can be analyzed. The possibility of performing several roles represents an opportunity for civil society actors, but at the same times engenders contradictions and trade-offs for social movements and the third sector

Risk Perception and COVID-19 During Lockdown: Evidence from an Italian Sample

This paper investigates how a specific extraordinary event such as the COVID-19 pandemic is perceived among individuals. Upsetting the taken-for-granted practices of people’s everyday life, the pandemic caused negative emotional responses, mainly the feeling of concern about its aftermath on health and social and economic aspects. However, these responses are not equally spread among social groups. Some of them are more associated with states of panic and anxiety, according to their socially defined and transmitted roles and identities. This paper focuses on a specific element of the perception of the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. risk, based on a survey conducted in Italy (N = 1,704) during the last three weeks of lockdown (26th of April 2020 – 17th of May 2020). The analyses aim to detect patterns in socio-demographic variables in COVID-19 risk perception in the Italian population during lockdown, also accounting for their variation over time. In fact, the analyses suggest that approaching and being aware of the loosening of lockdown measures (18th of May 2020) may have decreased the perceived risk. Results prove consistent with findings from previous research

Civil Society Actors and the Welfare State. A historically-based analytical framework

Civil society actors have always been crucial players in the development of welfare systems. Far before the appearance of the welfare state, the provision of services to those in need was the domain of charities and guilds, and later on of the mutual aid organizations related to the labour movement. To-gether with providing services, civil society actors have exerted political pressure on the state, demanding an enlargement of social rights or challenging the principles of public intervention. Such a relevant role became even more pivotal after the '70s, when the welfare mix model paved the way for the entrance of third sector organizations into public service provision and governance processes. Within this scenario, this article aims to develop a historically-based conceptual framework, through which the huge heterogeneity of civil society actors and functions can be analyzed. The possibility of performing several roles represents an opportunity for civil society actors, but at the same times engenders contradictions and trade-offs for social movements and the third sector

Women and Pensions in Italy: Gender Imbalances and the Equalization of Retirement Age

This paper examines the age at retirement for men and women in Italy. Despite the expansion of women’s educational attainments, they still display lower employment rates, are frequently engaged in involuntary part-time jobs and have more fragmented careers. As a consequence, the mean age at which women receive a pension is higher than that of men. Using Labour Force Survey (2006 and 2012), the authors test the hypothesis that women’s higher age at retirement is determined by a selection bias towards more educated and work oriented women. A Heckman selection model has been developed. Results show that the main disadvantage is suffered by women with medium and low levels of education who show the highest estimated age at retirement, whereas higher educated women retire on average before men with the same level of education. The authors argue that pension policies, without interventions in the field of work-life balance policies, end up penalizing women with lower levels of education

integrating capacity and logistics of large additive manufacturing networks

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A Wearable SSVEP BCI for AR-based, Real-time Monitoring Applications

A real-time monitoring system based on Augmented Reality (AR) and highly wearable Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) for hands-free visualization of patient's health in Operating Room (OR) is proposed. The system is designed to allow the anesthetist to monitor hands-free and in real-time the patient's vital signs collected from the electromedical equipment available in OR. After the analysis of the requirements in a typical Health 4.0 scenario, the conceptual design, implementation and experimental validation of the proposed system are described in detail. The effectiveness of the proposed AR-BCI-based real-time monitoring system was demonstrated through an experimental activity was carried out at the University Hospital Federico II (Naples, Italy), using operating room equipment

algorithms for a vehicle routing tool supporting express freight delivery in small trucking companies

Abstract We present a tool to support the operations manager of small trucking companies. The tool integrates modules to manage pickup/delivery requests, determine initial assignment to trucks and service routes, react to dynamic events, support demand forecasting. Modules are interconnected by a cloud platform and take advantage from real-time data sharing. The core of the tool is a neighborhood search heuristic for a Vehicle Routing Problem with side attributes, to be solved in both static and dynamic settings. The efficiency of the algorithm is improved by enhanced search strategies, neighbor filtering and parallel implementation. A prototype implementation of the tool currently supports the operations at Trans-cel, a small freight transportation company. Tests on the field on different operational scenarios show that the algorithm fits both static and dynamic settings in terms of running times and quality of the suggested solutions

Strutture ed organi esoscheletrici in Batrisodes oculatus (Aubé) (Coleoptera, Pselaphidae)

EXOSKELETAL STRUCTURES AND ORGANS OF BATRISODES OCULATUS (AUBÉ) (COLEOPTERA, PSELAPHIDAE) Observation by SEM of the integument of both sexes of this species was carried out to search for presence of secondary sex dimorphism. Interesting organs were found in both sexes: i) setae with digitate apex; ii) glandular area of the fore femora; iii) pluricellular gland of the eighth abdominal sternum. Males exhibit additional organs - the well-known antennal glands - and structures which do not concern the sensory system. No particular type of sensilla was found in the females.  Esplorando, al microscopio elettronico a scansione, l'esoscheletro dello Pselafide Batrisodes oculatus, sono stati censiti vari organi e strutture comuni e non comuni ai due sessi. Fra quelli comuni, sono di particolare interesse morfo- funzionale: a) le setole del tipo con digitazioni apicali, b) l'area ghiandolare dei femori anteriori, c) la ghiandola pluricellulare dell'ottavo urosterno. Il dimorfismo sessuale secondario risiede nella presenza nel solo maschio delle ghiandole antennali e di varie strutture aggiuntive, che non riguardano il sistema sensoriale

L’esperienza universitaria ai tempi del Covid-19. Un’indagine sugli studenti dell’Università di Bologna

Lo scoppio dell’emergenza Covid-19 ha investito profondamente l’istituzione universitaria, contribuendo a modificare sensibilmente la quotidianità e le esperienze degli studenti: a partire dai dati raccolti con la survey “Vivere e studiare ai tempi del Covid-19”, il saggio intende approfondire l’impatto del lockdown sulle condizioni di vita e di studio degli studenti iscritti presso l’Ateneo di Bologna. Le modalità tramite cui gli studenti hanno risposto alla situazione emergenziale verranno lette in particolare a partire dalla loro condizione residenziale e dalle caratteristiche delle abitazioni in cui vivono, variabili che vanno ad influenzare sensibilmente gli orientamenti nei confronti delle nuove modalità didattiche adottate. Tali dimensioni permettono di mettere in luce l’eterogeneità di una popolazione che vede nei fuorisede un gruppo portatore di esperienze peculiari nel vivere il rapporto con la città e l’università e che necessita, di conseguenza, di misure e servizi in grado di garantire loro un pieno diritto allo studio.The outbreak of the Covid-19 emergency has deeply affected the university institution, contributing to significantly change the student experiences: starting from the survey “Living and studying at the time of Covid-19”, the essay deepens the impact of the lockdown on the living and study conditions of university students enrolled at the University of Bologna. The accommodation features have significantly influenced the way in which students have faced the pandemic and their orientation towards the new teaching methods. It is thus possible to highlight the heterogeneity of a population that sees the off-site students as a group that bears peculiar experiences in living the relationship with the city and the university and which consequently needs measures and services capable of guaranteeing them a full right to education

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Wearable, {AR}-based {BCI} for Robot Control in {ADHD} Treatment

A highly wearable, single-channel Brain-Computer Interface based on Augmented Reality and Steady-State Visually Evoked Potentials is proposed as a therapy for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) rehabilitation of children. Through the proposed system, the user can drive a social robot, in real-time, by simply looking at the flickering icons rendered on the Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses. The social robot is already successfully employed for ADHD treatment. After a preliminary evaluation of the children adherence to the therapy (involving 18 subjects), a one-month therapy was conducted on 7 participants. During the tests, different tasks were assigned to the children depending on their level of involvement. The obtained results, based on the Italian Battery for ADHD, highlight that for all the participants, an improvement in the various tests proposed could be observed, even with a low number of sessions