Outsourcing elderly care to migrant workers: the impact of gender and class on the experience of male employers

This article, based on semi-structured interviews, addresses masculinity in the international division of reproductive labour through an analysis of the impact of gender and class on the outsourcing of elderly care services to migrant care workers. In the Italian context, characterised by a limited provision of long-term care services and by cash-for-care benefits, the strategies of men as employers of migrant care workers are shaped by class and gender. The outsourcing of care to migrant workers reproduces hegemonic masculinity in so far as male employers are able to withdraw from the ‘dirty work’. At the same time, men engage with tasks which are, in principle, kept at a distance. The employers’ family status, combined with their class background, are crucial factors in shaping the heterogeneity of men’s experiences as employers and managers of care labour, and the ways in which they make sense of their masculinity

Religione, genere e lavoro di cura. Il caso degli uomini migranti in Italia

No abstract available

Creating Gurdwaras, Narrating Histories: Perspectives on the Sikh Diaspora in Italy

The creation of places of worship in the Indian diaspora has received due attention in social sciences. The current literature has rightfully highlighted the role of religious places in connecting ethnic minority fellows across generations, in promoting continuity with different diasporic locations and in allowing migrants to enter the public sphere in receiving contexts. A minor attention has been paid to how communities’ internal differences and potential conflicts are reflected in migration histories and how this informs heterogeneous understanding of religious places. The article explores how the establishment of Sikh gurdwaras in Central Italy is made differently meaningful in generational migration histories and how this process takes different forms in various Italian localities. It particularly focuses on how religious places are ascribed shifting—and often conflicting—meanings according to the biographical time of migrant experiences in the new territory. The article argues that the public recognition of gurdwaras partly results from Sikh migrants’ spatial move from large metropolitan areas to semi-urban and rural localities. This important passage reflects collective histories of transformation from irregularity to temporarily regular status, as well as a progressive emancipation from bonded labour conditions promoted by ethnic (and Italian) fellows

Migrant masculinities in-between private and public spaces of reproductive labour: Asian porters in Rome

This article explores the construction of migrant masculinities in the context of reproductive labour. It focuses on Asian Christian men working as porters in upper middle-class residential buildings in Rome (Italy). This masculinised niche of reproductive labour combines differently gendered chores: feminised tasks (cleaning and caring) - mainly performed in the most private spaces of the home - and masculinised tasks (maintenance and security), carried out in the public or semi-public spaces of the buildings. The analysis addresses the dearth of studies on the sex-typing of jobs in the context of migrant men’s work experiences. It also contributes to ongoing debates on the geography of reproductive labour, by exploring how gendered practices of migrant reproductive labour construct private and public places. The construction of masculinities and place is shaped by the gendered racialisation of migrant men at the wider societal level, which materialises in the construction of ‘dangerous’ and ‘respectable’ urban areas. The article suggests that widespread concerns over religious difference and public security play a key role in defining migrant men’s access to the workplace and in shaping work relations

Identification of anaerobic threshold using heart rate response during dynamic exercise

The objective of the present study was to characterize the heart rate (HR) patterns of healthy males using the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model over a power range assumed to correspond to the anaerobic threshold (AT) during discontinuous dynamic exercise tests (DDET). Nine young (22.3 ± 1.57 years) and 9 middle-aged (MA) volunteers (43.2 ± 3.53 years) performed three DDET on a cycle ergometer. Protocol I: DDET in steps with progressive power increases of 10 W; protocol II: DDET using the same power values as protocol 1, but applied randomly; protocol III: continuous dynamic exercise protocol with ventilatory and metabolic measurements (10 W/min ramp power), for the measurement of ventilatory AT. HR was recorded and stored beat-to-beat during DDET, and analyzed using the ARIMA (protocols I and II). The DDET experiments showed that the median physical exercise workloads at which AT occurred were similar for protocols I and II, i.e., AT occurred between 75 W (116 bpm) and 85 W (116 bpm) for the young group and between 60 W (96 bpm) and 75 W (107 bpm) for group MA in protocols I and II, respectively; in two MA volunteers the ventilatory AT occurred at 90 W (108 bpm) and 95 W (111 bpm). This corresponded to the same power values of the positive trend in HR responses. The change in HR response using ARIMA models at submaximal dynamic exercise powers proved to be a promising approach for detecting AT in normal volunteers

Predictors of mortality among elderly dependent home care patients

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to identify which variables –among those commonly available and used in the primary care setting– best predict mortality in a cohort of elderly dependent patients living at home (EDPLH) that were included in a home care program provided by Primary Care Teams (PCT). Additionally, we explored the risk of death among a sub-group of these patients that were admitted to hospital the year before they entered the home care program. METHODS: A one-year longitudinal cohort study of a sample of EDPLH patients included in a home care programme provided by 72 PCTs. Variables collected from each individual patient included health and social status, carer’s characteristics, carer’s burden of care, health and social services received. RESULTS: 1,001 patients completed the study (91.5%), 226 were admitted to hospital the year before inclusion. 290 (28.9%) died during the one-year follow-up period. In the logistic regression analysis women show a lower risk of death [OR= 0.67 (0.50-0.91)]. The risk of death increases with comorbidity [Charlson index OR= 1.14 (1,06-1.23)], the number of previous hospital admissions [OR= 1,16 (1.03-1.33)], and with the degree of pressure ulcers [ulcers degree 1–2 OR = 2.94 (1.92-4.52); ulcers degree 3–4 OR = 4.45 (1.90-10.92)]. The logistic predictive model of mortality for patients previously admitted to hospital identified male sex, comorbidity, degree of pressure ulcers, and having received home care rehabilitation as independent variables that predict death. CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidity, hospital admissions and pressure ulcers predict mortality in the following year in EDPLH patients. The subgroup of patients that entered home care programs with a previous record of hospital admission and a high score in our predictive model might be considered as candidates for palliative care

Heart rate variability under resting conditions in postmenopausal and young women

The aim of the present study was to compare the modulation of heart rate in a group of postmenopausal women to that of a group of young women under resting conditions on the basis of R-R interval variability. Ten healthy postmenopausal women (mean ± SD, 58.3 ± 6.8 years) and 10 healthy young women (mean ± SD, 21.6 ± 0.82 years) were submitted to a control resting electrocardiogram (ECG) in the supine and sitting positions over a period of 6 min. The ECG was obtained from a one-channel heart monitor at the CM5 lead and processed and stored using an analog to digital converter connected to a microcomputer. R-R intervals were calculated on a beat-to-beat basis from the ECG recording in real time using a signal-processing software. Heart rate variability (HRV) was expressed as standard deviation (RMSM) and mean square root (RMSSD). In the supine position, the postmenopausal group showed significantly lower (P<0.05) median values of RMSM (34.9) and RMSSD (22.32) than the young group (RMSM: 62.11 and RMSSD: 49.1). The same occurred in the sitting position (RMSM: 33.0 and RMSSD: 18.9 compared to RMSM: 57.6 and RMSSD: 42.8 for the young group). These results indicate a decrease in parasympathetic modulation in postmenopausal women compared to young women which was possibly due both to the influence of age and hormonal factors. Thus, time domain HRV proved to be a noninvasive and sensitive method for the identification of changes in autonomic modulation of the sinus node in postmenopausal women

Update on the treatment of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in renal transplantation

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) represents one of the most severe glomerular diseases, with frequent progression to end-stage renal disease and a high rate of recurrence in renal allografts (30%-50%). Recurrent FSGS portends a negative outcome, with the hazard ratio of graft failure being two-fold higher then that of other glomerulonephritis. Two patterns of clinical presentations are observed: Early recurrence, which is characterized by massive proteinuria within hours to days after implantation of the renal graft, and late recurrence, which occurs several months or years after the transplantation. Many clinical conditions have been recognized as risk factors for recurrence, including younger age, rapid progression of the disease to end-stage renal disease on native kidneys, and loss of previous renal allografts due to recurrence. However, much less is known about the incidence and risk factors of the so-called “de novo” type of FSGS, for which sufferers are transplanted patients without disease on native kidneys; but, rapid development of allograft failure is frequently observed. Management of both forms is challenging, and none of the approaches proposed to date have been demonstrated as consistently beneficial or effective. In the present review we report an update on the available therapeutic strategies for FSGS in renal transplantation within the context of a critical overview of the current literature

The developmental and genetic basis of 'clubfoot' in the peroneal muscular atrophy mutant mouse

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Professors Cheryll Tickle and Françoise Helmbacher for discussion and reagents. We thank staff at the Aberdeen Medical Research Facility for specialist technical assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD