The effects of perceived scarcity on debt behaviour.

openCi sono persone che hanno difficoltà a coprire le spese necessarie per arrivare a fine mese, tanto da vivere in una condizione di povertà, ma ci sono anche persone che, pur riuscendo a soddisfare le spese necessarie per vivere adeguatamente, si sentono svantaggiati, sentono di possedere meno di quanto vorrebbero. Esiste una netta differenza tra povertà oggettiva e povertà soggettiva: la prima condizione consiste in un approccio che individua una soglia, solitamente definita utilizzando indicatori monetari (come ad esempio il reddito), al di sotto dei quali le famiglie sono considerate povere (Filandri & Parisi, 2012); la seconda condizione invece, come riportato da Mullainathan e Shafir (2014), è uno stato soggettivo in cui l’individuo percepisce di possedere meno rispetto a quello che vorrebbe. Questa è una condizione che può essere provata da chiunque, e che, come analizzeremo nell’elaborato, non colpisce l’individuo solo a livello finanziario. È inoltre un tema che sta suscitando sempre più interesse presso la popolazione scientifica e che riguarda più discipline (Cannon, Goldsmith, & Roux, 2019). Lo si può rappresentare come un concetto multidimensionale in cui si possono rintracciare elementi economici, politici, sociali, componenti psicologiche e cognitive. Coloro che sperimentano una condizione di scarsità di risorse (reale o percepita) non affrontano solo difficoltà sul versante economico ma in diversi domini della loro vita. Percepirsi o essere poveri, infatti, porta con sé una concomitanza di carenze, tra cui anche decadimento delle capacità cognitive. La scarsità si impone sui processi della mente e grava sui processi cognitivi, attentivi e decisionali (Mullainathan & Shafir, 2013). Vedremo che, in alcuni casi, vivere la scarsità economica porta ad essere meno capaci e capiremo che questa incapacità non è dovuta a caratteristiche intrinseche ma è data dalla povertà che, attraverso alcuni meccanismi (Tunnelling e Carico cognitivo) impedisce alle persone di sviluppare e far emergere le capacità. Proprio perché non è legata ad un fattore intrinseco chiunque può sperimentare tale condizione, anche coloro che sperimentano la povertà per un breve periodo oppure la sperimentano non necessariamente dal punto di vista economico, ma in altre forme, come ad esempio una scarsità temporale. È importante quindi affrontare il tema della povertà e la condizione di scarsità percepita per comprendere al meglio il ciclo di scarsità (Zhao & Tomm, 2018) che si innesca e che, come conseguenza, crea delle reazioni sui vari domini della vita di chi la vive trasformandosi in una trappola dalla quale è difficile uscire. Nel seguente elaborato, nel primo capitolo, darò una definizione di scarsità facendo riferimento alla letteratura scientifica, successivamente passerò in rassegna la Teoria della scarsità (Mallainathan & Shafir, 2013) passando poi ad analizzare i risvolti sulla presa di decisioni, le conseguenze cognitive, attentive ed emotive che essa provoca in relazione alle scelte economiche e non economiche; vedremo, poi, cos’è il debito e il processo di indebitamento. Nel secondo e nel terzo capitolo descriverò una ricerca che ha l’obiettivo di indagare l’effetto della scarsità percepita sulla tendenza a contrarre un debito e individuare i potenziali mediatori coinvolti. Nello specifico, nel secondo capitolo vedremo il metodo e gli strumenti di ricerca mentre nel terzo capitolo discuterò i risultati ottenuti. Nel quarto ed ultimo capitolo riporterò le conclusioni, i limiti e i possibili risvolti applicativi forniti dalla ricerca

A qualitative exploration of the social dynamics of religious shunning in the Jehovah’s Witness community

Background: Research indicates that shunning and ostracism may have long-lasting and severe effects on the individual’s well-being. However, there is scarcity of research into shunning enacted in a religious context. Therefore, using Jehovah’s Witnesses as an example, the present research explores the experiences of being shunned from a religious community, with particular reference to the impact on the lives of individuals, and the strategies employed to cope with such an event. Methodology: Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner,1986) and Identity Process Theory (Breakwell, 1986, 2001), integrated with the constructs of power (French and Raven, 1959) and the Social Dominance Theory (Pratto et al., 1994), provide the theoretical framework which underpins the current thesis. The narratives of two groups of participants, those of members who have been shunned (Group A; n = 21) as well as PIMO and former Elders (Group B; n = 12), form the research data. The data are analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun et al., 2019). Results: The thesis has generated three main findings. First, the participants’ journey is a complex experience, where intrinsic and extrinsic forces combine in influencing the individual’s behaviour and decisions. Second, shunning may produce constructive outcomes, but by-and-large, shunning is an experience of loss which has serious impacts on the individual’s physical and emotional well-being. Third, the individual after being shunned embarks on a journey towards personal emancipation which culminates with a cognitive revolution. However, the process towards regaining ownership and autonomy is not defined by fixed stages of coping. Rather, it appears to be a continuum with the individual advancing from personal stagnation to personal progression over time. Implications: By developing an awareness of the underlying factors which may facilitate or hinder personal progression, this research may assist healthcare professionals in providing a more effective support that aims at helping the shunned client to progress towards autonomy and self-reliance. Also, the contribution of this research leads to new lines of inquiry. Future work would focus on the need of informing and engaging the police force, legislators, educational stakeholders, and policy makers. This is firstly, to properly address reports of discrimination because of religious shunning, secondly, to enhance child safety in ensuring their best interests are met, and lastly, to guarantee the individual’s basic rights during the judicial process

Reaching ‘hard-to-reach’ participants

The recruitment of participants is an important step which contributes to the success of any study involving human participants, but accessing and recruiting prospective participants can be a challenging task. Drawing on direct experience, this article describes the challenges faced and the strategies adopted in order to gain access and recruit members of a gated religious community as research participants. In all, it suggests that transparency in reporting recruitment methods could benefit the research community

‘You're going to go into some really dark, dark places in your mind.’ Loss and disillusionment of being shunned from the Jehovah’s Witness community and its impact

Being shunned from a tight-knit religious community, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, may be a traumatic event. The accounts of twenty-one participants, qualitatively analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, elucidate the extent to which religious shunning impacts an individual’s life. Two dominant themes stemmed from the data: ‘Losses due to Shunning’ and ‘The Rebuilding of Self post-shunning.’ This article will explore the impact that being shunned has on the lives of the participants, considering its psychological consequences and daily challenges. The article will then discuss the positive aspects which may characterise the experiences of those shunned from the Jehovah’s Witnesses community

Breast Melanoma Metastases: Do We Know Enough? A very Rare Case with a Poor Prognosis: Case Report

The incidence of malignant melanoma (MM) is increasing especially in the western population; in Europe, the incidence is less than 10-20 new cases of melanoma per 100,000 inhabitants..

Is routine axillary lymph node dissection needed to tailor systemic treatments for breast cancer patients in the era of molecular oncology? A position paper of the Italian National Association of Breast Surgeons (ANISC)

Background: De-escalation of axillary surgery in breast cancer (BC) management began when sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) replaced axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) as standard of care in patients with node-negative BC. The second step consolidated ALND omission in selected subgroups of BC patients with up to two macrometastases and recognized BC molecular and genomic implication in predicting prognosis and planning adjuvant treatment. Outcomes from the recent RxPONDER and monarchE trials have come to challenge the previous cut-off of two SLN in order to inform decisions on systemic therapies for hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor type-2 (HER2) negative BC, as the criteria included a cut-off of respectively three and four SLNs. In view of the controversy that this may lift in surgical practice, the Italian National Association of Breast Surgeons (Associazione Nazionale Italiana Senologi Chirurghi, ANISC) reviewed data regarding the latest trials on this topic and proposes an implementation in clinical practice. Material and methods: We reviewed the available literature offering data on the pathological nodal status of cN0 breast cancer patients. Results: The rates of pN2 status in cN0 patients ranges from 3.5 % to 16 %; pre-surgical diagnostic definition of axillary lymph node status in cN0 patients by ultrasound could be useful to inform about a possible involvement of ≥4 lymph nodes in this specific sub-groups of women. Conclusions: The Italian National Association of Breast Surgeons (ANISC) considers that for HR + HER2-/cN0-pN1(sn) BC patients undergoing breast conserving treatment the preoperative workup should be optimized for a more detailed assessment of the axilla and the technique of SLNB should be optimized, if considered appropriate by the surgeon, not considering routine ALND always indicated to determine treatment recommendations according to criteria of eligibility to RxPONDER and monarch-E trials

The role of a target's characteristics and dispositional compassion in influencing help processes

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