Short and long term evaluations of Public Employment Services in Italy

In the last decade the European Employment Strategy strongly recommended reforms of active labour market policies, reforms that have generated a spread of evaluation exercises for most of European countries. This paper fills the gap in the literature concerning the Italian case, assessing the efficacy of Public Employment Services (PESs) -after the reforms of 1997, 2000, 2003- in increasing the unemployment to employment transition probabilities, through matching techniques. Exploiting the longitudinal dimension of the Labour Force Survey data we design an evaluation structure that allows observing outcomes in both the short (at most 3 months) and the long run (at most 12 and 15 months). In this framework, PES users show a lower probability of finding a job in the short term, because of a lock-in effect, while in the long term this probability turns out to be positive. We also show that PES effects in the long term are much less pronounced when considering as outcome variable the probability of finding a permanent job, a proxy for the quality of the job, suggesting that PES impacts are to a large extent driven by the use of temporary contracts. Furthermore, to deal with issues related to selection on unobservables we carry out two different sensitivity analysis, which confirm our baseline findings.Public Employment Services, Active Labour Market Policies, European Employment Strategy, Matching, Policy Evaluation

Short and long term evaluations of Public Employment Services in Italy

In this paper we evaluate the efficacy of Public Employment Services in Italy (PESs) in increasing the unemployment to employment transition probabilities, through matching techniques. Exploiting the longitudinal dimension of the LFS data we design an evaluation structure that allows observing outcomes in both the short (at most 3 months) and the long run (at most 12 and 15 months). In this framework, PES users show a lower probability of finding a job in the short term, because of a lock-in effect, while in the long term this probability turns out to be positive. Similar results are derived when considering as outcome a proxy for the quality of the job, i.e. having found a permanent job. Robustness checks and sensitivity analysis confirm this evidence, suggesting also that our estimates are to be considered as lower bound in the eventuality of unobserved negative selection into treatment.Public Employment Services, Active Labour Market Policies, Propensity Score Matching, European Employment Startegy, Policy Evaluation, Italy

An approach to the teaching grammar in the EFL classroom: history, textbooks and tasks proposals

[Abstract] It is a fact that grammar is constantly present in our daily lives and in the academic field. This is the reason why, from a historical point of view, it has undergone an important evolution since Antiquity, with the Grammar-Translation Method, until it reaches the Communicative Approach of today. This paper examines the teaching of grammar in an EFL contextand proposes a series of communicative activities in order to improve the acquisition process of grammar by increasing students’ motivation. To carry out this general aim,four specific objectives are proposed:first, to review the historical evolution of the different approaches and methods of foreign languages teaching; secondly, to analyse what type of exercises are included in current textbooks and how grammar, particularly the topic of reported speech, is reflected; thirdly, to know the opinion of EFL students about the teaching of English grammar and, fourthly, to make a didactic proposal following the Task-Based Learning Approach based on the opinion of the students with the aim of increasing their motivation. To achieve these objectives, the methodology includes in the first place, a search of the main methods and approaches with their respective characteristics; in the second place, an analysis of four B2-C1 level textbooks currently used in EFL classes and, finally, an online questionnaire on 262 people disseminated through the following social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.On the one hand, it was found that most of the grammar exercises in textbooks are mechanical;even in communicative books there are some exercises of this type in each unit. On the other hand, the majority of the respondents show more interest in grammar taught from a communicative rather than a mechanical perspective. Besides, it can be stated that the use of the Task-Based Approach with communicative and interactive activities has a more meaningful impact on the participation, motivation and desire to learn of students than textbooks.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.FIL). Inglés: estudios lingüísticos y literarios. Curso 2020/202

Quinoxaline chemistry. Part 8. 2-[anilino]-3- [carboxy]-6(7)-substituted quinoxalines as non classical antifolate agents. Synthesis and evaluation of in vitro anticancer, anti-HIV and antifungal activity

Thirty quinoxalines bearing a substituted anilino group on position 2, a carboethoxy or carboxy group on position 3 and a trifluoromethyl group on position 6 or 7 of the heterocycle were prepared in order to evaluate in vitro anticancer activity. Preliminary screening performed at NCI showed that most derivatives exhibited a moderate to strong growth inhibition activity on various tumor panel cell lines between 10-5 and 10-4 molar concentrations. Interesting selectivities were also recorded between 10-8 and 10-6 M for a few compounds. One single compound exhibited good activity against Candida Albicans

Prodotti di modificazione strutturale di analoghi chinossalinici del metotressato come potenziali antifolici antitumorali

Nell’ambito di un’estesa indagine sulle potenzialità antitumorali di derivati chinossalinici come analoghi degli antifolici classici e non classici sono state sintetizzate numerosissime molecole di chinossaline che hanno mostrato possedere un’attività antitumorale in vitro nei protocolli di screening del National Cancer Institute di Bethesda e un’attività citotossica rilevata dal gruppo del prof. La Colla dell’Università di Cagliari a concentrazioni micromolari