Radicalization in Correctional Systems: A Scoping Review of the Literature Evaluating the Effectiveness of Preventing and Countering Interventions

Although several prevention and countering radicalization programs in correctional institutions have been carried out in Europe and worldwide, little is known about their effectiveness. Thus, the current scoping review aimed at reporting on the state of the art of the literature assessing and evaluating such actions, identifying knowledge gaps, and examining methods used to assess their successfulness and impact. A total of eight studies that met eligibility criteria were reviewed after performing a search on Scopus, Web of Science, and PsychInfo (Ebsco) databases: Two studies evaluated a reintegration initiative based in the Netherlands; four focused on an Australian disengagement program; and two offered insights on a rehabilitation program carried out in Sri Lanka. Findings were discussed according to their evaluation methods (qualitative, mixed-methods, and quantitative) and instruments. Results highlighted that the evaluation process is still confronted with several methodological difficulties, such as a lack of agreement on how to univocally define and measure success and the identification of uniform indicators of deradicalization and disengagement. Additionally, results revealed that the effectiveness of these interventions is predominantly based on anecdotal evidence rather than on rigorous, empirical proofs. As such, it was not possible to compare these programs and determine which worked best. Suggestions for future research and practical implications for policymakers, prison governors, and practitioners are offered in the concluding section of this work.   Acknowledgements The present study was made possible by funding from SERENY (“Strengthening approaches for the prevention of youth radicalisation in prison and probation settings”), a project co-funded by the Justice Program of the European Union, GA no. 101007425. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission

Using Focus Group in the Development of UNIPA Emotional Autonomy Inventory

Focus groups were used in order to develop a new measure of adolescents\u27 emotional autonomy from parents. The procedure started from an in depth analysis of the literature concerning the construct and a definition of the dimensions which characterize it. Following our idea of the construct, we developed a list of 60 items, getting some of them from existing instruments. Twenty-four adolescents participated in the focus group discussions about the adequacy of the items to measure emotional autonomy. Following their feedbacks a second version of the list with 59 items was presented in a focus group with experts in the field of developmental and clinical psychology, who were called to judge the ability of each item to evaluate the construct. Resulting from the indications emerged in this discussion, a final version of the scale with 66 items was developed and called UNIPA Adolescent Emotional Autonomy Inventory

Promoting Democratic and Intercultural Competences in the Primary School Context: The experience of “Children’s Voices for a new Human Space”

The promotion of citizen’s democratic and intercultural competence is one of the main actions that European societies may take against some of the most significant challenges they are facing nowadays. The paper is aimed at briefly describing the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, some actions that can be taken to promote democratic and intercultural competences and a case of implementation of this framework in the context of primary school, that is the Erasmus+ Project “Children’s Voices for a new Human Space” (CVS). The paper also aims at illustrating the intellectual outputs produced by CVS project consisting in a training course for teachers, a curriculum for children, an app assisting trainers and teachers during the implementation of the training and the curriculum, and a scientific study aimed at investigating the efficacy of the educational processes in which teachers and children have been involved. Keywords: Democratic Competence; Intercultural Competence; Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture; Teacher Training; Curriculu

Can we increase children’s rights endorsement and knowledge?: A pilot study based on the reference framework of competences for democratic culture

This pilot study is the first to examine whether a novel curriculum based on the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) could increase children’s endorsement and knowledge of children’s rights. We conducted a pre-test-post-test design with an intervention and a comparison school. Pupils (n = 172) from Bulgaria, Italy, Norway, Romania, and Spain attended schools in which the curriculum was taught, whereas pupils in the comparison group (n = 120) attended schools in the same city where the curriculum was not taught. Both groups were tested on their endorsement and knowledge of rights before and at the end of the intervention. Children in the intervention group increased in endorsing children’s rights at post-test more than did children in the intervention group. Most children believed that children had rights. Children in the intervention group showed modest increases in their knowledge of rights. Future ways of implementing the RFCDC are suggested.publishedVersio

The role of valuing cultural diversity in children's endorsements of rights

Support for children’s rights is greater among children raised in democratic environments. The present two studies examined children’s endorsements and predictors of children’s rights. Five democratic competences taken from the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture served as predictors. We tested the models in a sample of children raised in five European countries and a sample raised in an African country, seeking to extend our model beyond the Global North. In Study 1, we found four of these five competences, namely, higher valuing of cultural diversity, civic-mindedness, cultural openness and empathy significantly predicted higher endorsements of rights in children from Bulgaria, Italy,Norway, Romania and Spain (7–11-year-olds; N = 292). In Study 2, we found higher valuing of cultural diversity significantly predicted higher endorsements of rights inNigerian children (7– 14-year-olds; N = 84). Supporting Social Cognitive Domain Theory, children in both studies endorsed nurturance rights more than self-determination rights. Inclusion of children from the Global North and South enabled us to determine whether patterns of rights endorsementswere similar for children from both samples. Overall, this research presents novel findings on the salience of valuing cultural diversity in support for children’s rights

EBF1, MYO6 and CALR expression levels predict therapeutic response in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas

BackgroundDiffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a hematological malignancy representing one-third of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases. Notwithstanding immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy (R-CHOP) is an effective therapeutic approach for DLBCL, a subset of patients encounters treatment resistance, leading to low survival rates. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify predictive biomarkers for DLBCL including the elderly population, which represents the fastest-growing segment of the population in Western countries.MethodsGene expression profiles of n=414 DLBCL biopsies were retrieved from the public dataset GSE10846. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (fold change >1.4, p-value <0.05, n=387) have been clustered in responder and non-responder patient cohorts. An enrichment analysis has been performed on the top 30 up-regulated genes of responder and non-responder patients to identify the signatures involved in gene ontology (MSigDB). The more significantly up-regulated DEGs have been validated in our independent collection of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) biopsy samples of elderly DLBCL patients, treated with R-CHOP as first-line therapy.ResultsFrom the analysis of two independent cohorts of DLBCL patients emerged a gene signature able to predict the response to R-CHOP therapy. In detail, expression levels of EBF1, MYO6, CALR are associated with a significant worse overall survival.ConclusionsThese results pave the way for a novel characterization of DLBCL biomarkers, aiding the stratification of responder versus non-responder patients