Through the glass labyrinth of science: Mapping gendering processes in academia

ince the Nineties, national and international scientific institutions have started to develop initiatives aimed to address the under-representation of women recorded in Science and Technology fields. According to the latest She Figures Report, the main source of European statistics on the representation of women and men amongst PhD graduates, researchers and academics published every three years by European Commission, across Europe, the proportion of women heads of Higher Education Institutions has risen from 15.5% to 20.1% during the period 2010 to 2013, in 2013 the 45% of researchers were women, having increased their presence by 1 percentage point since 2007. However, only 21% of Full professor were women; a 58 percentage point difference with men. The under-representation of women continues to characterise participation in science and technology occupations (She Figures 2015). To make visible the processes responsible for the different scientific trajectories of women and men in science and to unveil the underlying mechanisms that sustain these processes are the main aims of this research study. To this purpose, this study develops a theoretical framework working through different perspectives on issues related to women’s participation in science, while linking specific institutional and dynamics to broader societal ones

La dimensione di genere nelle carriere accademiche: Riflessività e cambiamento nel progetto pilota GENOVATE@UNINA

[English]: The volume is an original contribution to the debate on interventions in favour of gender equality in universities and in research. The book presents the results of the research-action carried out together with the experimentation of the pilot mentoring program, within the European project GENOVATE@UNINA. By establishing a dialogue with the latest European researches - developed in the cultural context and in the framework for structural change interventions, promoted through the Seventh Framework Program and Horizon 2020 – this work assumes, as an interpretative framework, the processes of global change that involve the settings of the scientific-academic system. The discussion develops along a linear pathway, moving from the debate on gender equality policies, it leads to the design of the mentoring pilot scheme (the first one to be exclusively women addressed, in the Italian universities) and, therefore, the research that has accompanied the project on its path is also described. The interpretation of results, supported by biographical-narrative interviews on career paths and focus groups with mentors and mentees, reveals through which practices and processes are produced and reproduced gender inequalities in academia and research. Using the tools of the survey, these results have been analysed in order to reconstruct the mentoring functioning as a gender practice capable of de-construct processes that produce inequality and produce transformational effects of the scientific-academic context.[Italiano] Il volume è un contributo originale al dibattito sugli interventi a favore della parità di genere nell'Università e nella ricerca. Presenta i risultati della ricerca-azione condotta, insieme alla sperimentazione del programma pilota di mentoring, nell'ambito del progetto europeo GENOVATE@UNINA. Ponendosi in interlocuzione con le ricerche europee più recenti - sviluppate entro la cornice culturale e il quadro di riferimento degli interventi per il cambiamento strutturale, promossi attraverso il Settimo Programma Quadro e Horizon assume, come quadro di riferimento interpretativo, i processi di cambiamento globale che investono la regolazione del sistema scientifico-accademico. La trattazione si sviluppa seguendo un percorso lineare, che dal dibattito sulle politiche per la parità di genere conduce al disegno dello schema pilota di mentoring (il primo esclusivamente al femminile, nell'università italiana) e, quindi, alla ricerca che ha accompagnato il progetto nel suo percorso. L'interpretazione dei risultati, sorretta da interviste biografico-narrative sui percorsi di carriera e da focus group con mentori e mentee, rivela attraverso quali pratiche e quali processi si producono e riproducono le diseguaglianze di genere nell'accademia e nella ricerca. Con gli strumenti dell'indagine valutativa, questi risultati sono quindi messi a fuoco per ricostruire il funzionamento del mentoring come pratica di genere capace di decostruire i processi che producono diseguaglianza e produrre effetti trasformativi del contesto scientifico-accademico

Gendered academia. Inequality and inclusiveness in changing Italian academic governance

In recent decades, deep transformations have been reshaping academia and the research environment. Reforms in funding structures, research assessment, and accountability procedures are still redesigning the practices in academic work, redefining research schedules, and determining relevant effects on scientific career paths. Despite European policies efforts towards the development of more responsible and inclusive research, the processes emerging from these transformations of academic contexts are producing new inequalities and strengthening old ones. New rules in the recruitment and career progression of researchers reduce, in some instances, and intensify, in others the pre-existing gender gaps, with varying impact on researchers, according to their belonging to different cohorts, gender or minority groups, and on universities, according to size and regional contexts. Adopting an intersectional perspective, contributions in this volume focus on gendering processes in Italian academia. Altogether, they succeed in accomplishing a double result: to unveil the gendered character of academic and research practices and to trace emergent paths towards their reshaping into more equitable and inclusive ones

Evolution and nucleosynthesis of primordial low mass stars

We discuss in detail the evolutionary properties of low mass stars M< 1 M(Solar) having metallicity lower than Z=10^(-6) from the pre- main sequence up to (almost) the end of the Asymptotic Giant Branch phase. We also discuss the possibility that the large [C,N/Fe] observed on the surface of the most Iron poor star presently known, HE0107-5240, may be attributed to the autopollution induced by the penetration of the He convective shell into the H rich mantle during the He core flash of a low mass, very low metallicity star. On the basis of a quite detailed analysis, we conclude that the autopollution scenario cannot be responsible for the observed chemical composition of HE0107-5240

Primo Bilancio di Genere dell’Ateneo Fridericiano

[English]:A Gender Budget is a strategic tool that provides an assessment of the political-economic and financial decisions of public administration from a gender-sensitive perspective. Its main goal is to support a more efficient, transparent, and equitable, management of resources. The first Gender Budget of the Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II” (UNINA) was realized within the framework of the European-Union funded GENOVATE research project: Transforming Organizational Culture for Gender Equality in Research and Innovation. It consists in a thorough context analysis of the University enrolment and career policy outcomes, encompassing students, academic, technical and administrative staff, which results in a detailed map of the still relevant gender gap dimension in the institution. Raw data and their focused analysis show how cultural and structural barriers contribute to women dropping out of university at the very beginning of scientific careers (i.e. the so-called ‘leaky pipeline’ phenomenon). Due to horizontal and vertical segregation mechanisms, some disciplinary fields and academic positions still remain dominated by one gender. It is the authors’ hope that Gender Budgeting may become a well-established practice at UNINA, and may support transformative actions and inspire gender-mainstreaming institutional policies. GENOVATE is a project funded by the European Commission within the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), under the Science in Society grant programme (SiS 2012 2.1.1-1). This volume was co-funded by the European Union./ [Italiano]: Il Bilancio di Genere è un documento che analizza e valuta le scelte politiche e gli impegni economico-finanziari di una amministrazione in un’ottica di genere, con l’obiettivo di perseguire una gestione delle risorse efficiente, trasparente, equa e consapevole. La produzione del primo documento di Bilancio di Genere dell’Ateneo Federico II è stata realizzata nell’ambito del progetto europeo GENOVATE: Transforming Organizational Culture for Gender Equality in Research and Innovation. Il documento contiene un’ampia analisi di contesto che attraversa la tripla anima dell’Ateneo: studenti, personale docente e personale tecnico amministrativo, restituendo una fotografia della composizione degli organici in cui il divario di genere non appare ancora superato. I dati raccolti ed elaborati evidenziano e confermano l’esistenza di ostacoli culturali e strutturali che determinano, da un lato, l’abbandono della carriera scientifica da parte delle donne, dall’altro il persistere di meccanismi di segregazione orizzontale e verticale, con alcune aree e posizioni riservate esclusivamente a un genere. L’auspicio è che il Bilancio di Genere possa diventare prassi consolidata dell’Ateneo e assolvere alla propria funzione di strumento trasformativo nell’ottica del gender mainstreaming. GENOVATE è un progetto finanziato dalla Commissione Europea nell'ambito del Settimo Programma Quadro (FP7), bando Science in Society (SiS 2012 2.1.1-1). Il volume è stato realizzato con il cofinanziamento dell'Unione Europea

The show must go on: a snapshot of Italian academic working life during mandatory work from home

During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities worldwide have provided continuity to research and teaching through mandatory work from home. Taking into account the specificities of the Italian academic environment and using the Job Demand-Resource-Recovery model, the present study provides, through an online survey, for the first time a description of the experiences of a large sample of academics (N = 2365) and technical and administrative staff (N = 4086) working in Italian universities. The study analyzes the main differences between genders, roles or work areas, in terms of some job demands, recovery experiences, and outcomes, all important dimensions to achieve goals 3, 4, and 5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The results support the reflections on gender equality measures in universities and provide a general framework useful for further in-depth analysis and development of measures in order to improve well-being (SDG 3), quality of education (SDG 4), and gender equality (SDG 5)

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P &lt; .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p &lt; 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription