Interculturalism, multiculturalism and Italianness: The case of Italy

Until the 1970s, Italy’s population trajectory had demonstrated a clear propensity to be an emigrating nation. Over its almost 150-year history, it had witnessed four major phases of outward migration which had defined this country and created large diasporas across the globe. However, major changes began occurring to this demographic trajectory. It saw the unexpected arrival of large numbers of migrants from mostly poorer nations which it only reluctantly acknowledged. But, Italy was both unprepared and unconvinced to respond to this new phenomenon of incoming migration. Even though many of its European neighbours began to engage with this new and wider multicultural paradigm emerging in the 1980s, this multicultural approach never took hold in Italy. At the same time segments of the Italian education system were obliged to tackle recently arrived large numbers of migrants and their children requiring integrated models of education. While the political elites sought to remain immobile with large numbers of incoming immigrants, schools and educational institutions had little choice. Unfortunately, as this paper will demonstrate, this approach was mostly limited to the area of education. Although Interculturalism received a boost from its European Union promotion in 2008, it remained largely an activity exercised within the domain of public education. Fundamentally multiculturalism, like interculturalism were never officially embraced in Italy. While some sectors of society constructively engaged with interculturalism arguably as a different and more developed idea than multiculturalism, Italy and its policymakers continue to avoid engagement with migrant integration models whatever they be

Le disfunzioni dell’organizzazione del lavoro: mobbing e dintorni

Il contributo propone una riflessione sul mobbing, quale fenomeno disfunzionale dell’organizzazione del lavoro, con precipuo riferimento al tipo di tutela che l’ordinamento può apprestare in chiave di sua prevenzione. In particolare, esso si sofferma sul ruolo che, in tale prospettiva, può svolgere l’obbligo datoriale di valutazione dei rischi e sulle connessioni fra benessere organizzativo, salute dei lavoratori e produttività, plasticamente esemplificate dall’istituzione, in ambito pubblico, del “Comitato unico di garanzia per le pari opportunità, la valorizzazione del benessere di chi lavora e contro le discriminazioni” (CUG). This essay offers a reflection about mobbing, a dysfunctional phenomenon in the organization of labour, with a focus on what legal protections are provided to prevent it. In this perspective, this work examines the role of the employer’s obligation of risk assessment and the interplay between organizational wellbeing, the workers’ health, safety and productivity. The latter are clearly embodied by the “Guarantee Committee for equal opportunities, for the enhancement of workers’ wellbeing, and against discriminations”

Analisi della valutazione delle performance visive nei portatori di lenti a contatto multifocali e loro grado di soddisfazione

Studio su 19 soggetti presbiti per valutare le loro performance visive con lenti a contatto multifocali. Sono stati effettuati i test di: acuità visiva, lontano e vicino; sensibilità al contrasto; stereopsi; PPA. Inoltre, è stato somministrato un questionario soggettivo di gradimento delle performance visive con lenti a contatto multifocali. Occhiali e lenti risultano equivalenti per i test AV, lontano e vicino, e PPA. Per stereopsi e sensibilità al contrasto gli occhiali hanno performance migliori.ope

Per un (più) moderno diritto della salute e della sicurezza sul lavoro: primi spunti di riflessione a partire dall’emergenza da Covid-19

A partire dalla considerazione dell’emergenza da Covid-19, il saggio, avvalendosi come chiave interpretativa del concetto, di origine scientifica, di “salute circolare”, propone una lettura del rapporto fra organizzazione e ambiente inteso in senso lato, che si traduce anche in una riflessione sulla relazione fra art. 2087 c.c. e obbligo di valutazione dei rischi e in alcune proposte emendative del d.lgs. n. 81/2008, in tema, in particolare, di medico competente e rischio biologico. In the light of the emergency from Covid-19, through an interpretative key of the concept, of scientific origin, of the so-called “circular health”, the essay addresses the relationship between the organization and the environment lato sensu. The analysis focuses also on the relationship between the art. 2087 of the Civil Code and the risk assessment obligation and on some amended proposals concerning the Legislative Decree 81/2008, in particular, the occupational physician and the biological risk

Invasive meningococcal disease in the Veneto region of Italy: A capture-recapture analysis for assessing the effectiveness of an integrated surveillance system

open8noBACKGROUND: Epidemiology of Neisseria meningitidis has been changing since the introduction of universal vaccination programmes against meningococcal serogroup C (MenC) and meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) has now become dominant. This study aimed to analyse the cases reported in institutional data recording systems to estimate the burden of invasive meningococcal diseases (IMDs) and assess the effectiveness of surveillance in Veneto region (Italy). METHODS: Analysis was performed from 2007 to 2014 on data recorded in different systems: Mandatory Notification System, National Surveillance of Invasive Bacterial Diseases System and Laboratories Surveillance System (LSS), which were pooled into a combined surveillance system (CSS) and hospital discharge records (HDRs). A capture-recapture method was used and completeness of each source estimated. Number of cases with IMD by source of information and year, incidence of IMD by age group, case fatality rate (CFR) and distribution of meningococcal serogroups by year were also analysed. RESULTS: Combining the four data systems enabled the identification of 179 confirmed cases with IMD, achieving an overall sensitivity of 94.7% (95% CI: 90.8% to 98.8%), while it was 76.7% (95% CI: 73.6% to 80.1%) for CSS and 77.2% (95% CI: 74.1% to 80.6%) for HDRs. Typing of isolates was done in 80% of cases, and 95.2% of the typed cases were provided by LSS. Serogroup B was confirmed in 50.3% of cases. The estimated IMD notification rate (cases with IMD diagnosed and reported to the surveillance systems) was 0.48/100 000 population, and incidence peaked at 6.2/100 000 in children aged <1 year old (60.9% due to MenB), and increased slightly in the age group between 15 and 19 years (1.1/100 000). A CFR of 14% was recorded (8.7% in paediatric age). CONCLUSIONS: Quality of surveillance systems relies on case ascertainment based on serological characterisation of the circulating strains by microbiology laboratories. All available sources should be routinely combined to improve the epidemiology of IMD and the information used by public health departments to conduct timely preventive measures.openBaldovin, Tatjana; Lazzari, Roberta; Cocchio, Silvia; Furlan, Patrizia; Bertoncello, Chiara; Saia, Mario; Russo, Francesca; Baldo, VincenzoBaldovin, Tatjana; Lazzari, Roberta; Cocchio, Silvia; Furlan, Patrizia; Bertoncello, Chiara; Saia, Mario; Russo, Francesca; Baldo, Vincenz

La sicurezza sul lavoro nelle attività svolte all’estero

Il contributo affronta le problematiche connesse alla tutela della salute e sicurezza sul lavoro in caso di attività svolte all’estero. In particolare, la prima sezione procede a un inquadramento della materia alla luce delle fonti internazional-privatistiche che intervengono in presenza di rapporti di lavoro con elementi di internazionalità, giungendo ad includere le norme italiane in tema di salute e sicurezza fra quelle di applicazione necessaria. La seconda sezione approfondisce gli obblighi disciplinati dal d.lgs. n. 81/2008, concentrando l’attenzione sull’attività di valutazione e documentazione dei principali rischi geo-politici connessi allo svolgimento delle missioni all’estero. Nonostante la diversità di situazioni di natura prevenzionale con le quali i datori di lavoro potrebbero doversi confrontare, appare sempre molto apprezzabile la predisposizione di specifici protocolli nei quali definire le procedure da seguire, le tempistiche da rispettare e la documentazione da produrre. The contribution addresses the issues related to the protection of health and safety in the workplace in case of activities carried out abroad. In particular, the first section provides a better framework for the subject in the light of the international-private sources that deal with employment relationships characterised by some elements of internationality. As a result, also the Italian occupational health and safety standards appear to be implementing rules. The second section examines the obligations provided by the legislative decree n. 81/2008, by focusing on the assessment and on the report of the main geo-political risks connected with work activities performed abroad. Despite the diversity of the preventive situations that employers might face, it seems crucial to prepare specific protocols in which to define the procedures to be followed, the timing to be respected and the documentation to be produced

La sicurezza sul lavoro nelle attività svolte all’estero

Il contributo affronta le problematiche connesse alla tutela della salute e sicurezza sul lavoro in caso di attività svolte all’estero. In particolare, la prima sezione procede a un inquadramento della materia alla luce delle fonti internazional-privatistiche che intervengono in presenza di rapporti di lavoro con elementi di internazionalità, giungendo ad includere le norme italiane in tema di salute e sicurezza fra quelle di applicazione necessaria. La seconda sezione approfondisce gli obblighi disciplinati dal d.lgs. n. 81/2008, concentrando l’attenzione sull’attività di valutazione e documentazione dei principali rischi geo-politici connessi allo svolgimento delle missioni all’estero. Nonostante la diversità di situazioni di natura prevenzionale con le quali i datori di lavoro potrebbero doversi confrontare, appare sempre molto apprezzabile la predisposizione di specifici protocolli nei quali definire le procedure da seguire, le tempistiche da rispettare e la documentazione da produrre

Pyrosequencing analysis of fungal assemblages from geographically distant, disparate soils reveals spatial patterning and a core mycobiome

Identifying a soil core microbiome is crucial to appreciate the established microbial consortium, which is not usually subjected to change and, hence, possibly resistant/resilient to disturbances and a varying soil context. Fungi are a major part of soil biodiversity, yet the mechanisms driving their large-scale ecological ranges and distribution are poorly understood. The degree of fungal community overlap among 16 soil samples from distinct ecosystems and distant geographic localities (truffle grounds, a Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral system, serpentine substrates and a contaminated industrial area) was assessed by examining the distribution of fungal ITS1 and ITS2 sequences in a dataset of 454 libraries. ITS1 and ITS2 sequences were assigned to 1,660 and 1,393 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs; as defined by 97% sequence similarity), respectively. Fungal beta-diversity was found to be spatially autocorrelated. At the level of individual OTUs, eight ITS1 and seven ITS2 OTUs were found in all soil sample groups. These ubiquitous taxa comprised generalist fungi with oligotrophic and chitinolytic abilities, suggesting that a stable core of fungi across the complex soil fungal assemblages is either endowed with the capacity of sustained development in the nutrient-poor soil conditions or with the ability to exploit organic resources (such as chitin) universally distributed in soils

A surveillance system of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in North-Eastern Italy

Background From 2007, in the Veneto Region (Italy), a surveillance system for invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) was implemented to estimate the regional epidemiology of IPD and to evaluate the impact of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) vaccination. Methods Data were collected from 2007 to 2014 and the total, annual and age-specific IPD notification rates were calculated. A Poisson regression model was used to identify the possible risk factors for developing IPD. Results A total of 713 IPD cases were notified and the overall IPD notification rate was equal to 2.0 cases per 100,000 population (95% CI: 1.7-2.1), with an increasing trend between 2007 and 2014. The pneumococcal serotypes were identified in 608 (85.3%) isolates from biological specimens, and the most distributed serotypes were those contained in PCV13. Children < 5 year-old and the adults over 65 year-old showed the highest PCV13 vaccine-type IPD notification rate, equal to 2.7/100,000 and 2.8/100,000, respectively. The risk to develop IPD was greater in children aged 65 years (RR = 4.3, 95% CI: 2.7-6.9; p 65 years of age (RR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.0-2.8; p = 0.042). The invasive pneumococcal disease was mainly caused by the PCV13 serotypes (RR = 2.9, 95%CI: 2.3-3.9; p<0.0001), principally after the PCV13 introduction (RR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.4-3.8; p<0.001). In spite of that, a significant reduction of the overall IPD incidence is evident in the period following the PCV13 vaccine introduction (RR = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.3-0.5; p<0.0001), particularly in children aged <5 years (RR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.2-0.7; p = 0.002), demonstrating the real efficacy of PCV13 immunization for children. Conclusions In the Veneto Region, the surveillance system has allowed to describe the detailed epidemiological profile of invasive pneumococcal disease, pointing out that the most circulating pneumococcal serotypes were those contained in the PCV13 vaccine

A data-driven method for unsupervised electricity consumption characterisation at the district level and beyond

A bottom-up electricity characterisation methodology of the building stock at the local level is presented. It is based on the statistical learning analysis of aggregated energy consumption data, weather data, cadastre, and socioeconomic information. To demonstrate the validity of this methodology, the characterisation of the electricity consumption of the whole province of Lleida, located in northeast Spain, is implemented and tested. The geographical aggregation level considered is the postal code since it is the highest data resolution available through the open data sources used in the research work. The development and the experimental tests are supported by a web application environment formed by interactive user interfaces specifically developed for this purpose. The paper’s novelty relies on the application of statistical data methods able to infer the main energy performance characteristics of a large number of urban districts without prior knowledge of their building characteristics and with the use of solely measured data coming from smart meters, cadastre databases and weather forecasting services. A data-driven technique disaggregates electricity consumption in multiple uses (space heating, cooling, holidays and baseload). In addition, multiple Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are derived from this disaggregated energy uses to obtain the energy characterisation of the buildings within a specific area. The potential reuse of this methodology allows for a better understanding of the drivers of electricity use, with multiple applications for the public and private sector.This work emanated from research conducted with the fi-nancial support of the European Commission through the H2020project BIGG , grant agreement 957047, and the JRC Expert Con-tractCT-EX2017D306558-102.D.ChemisanathanksICREAfortheICREA Acadèmia. Dr J. Cipriano also thanks the Ministerio deCiencia e Innovación of the Spanish Government for the Juan dela Cierva Incorporación gran