Hopes and fears for the future of different local communities

Community psychology theorists underline the importance of fostering community empowerment (Rappaport, 1981). However, to become empowered, a community needs to envision a better future (Francescato, 2009; 2017). The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of the future of their Community of people resident in the city center of Rome, in peripheral areas of Rome and small towns of the metropolitan area of the Capital, analyzing what they fear most for their Community and what they desire mainly for the future of their Community, through Community Profiling. A collective reflection on hopes and possibilities provides opportunities to build a sustainable future community. A total of 147 communities were involved in the research, 49% from the City Centre of Rome, 27% from the Suburban areas of Roma, and 24% from small towns of the metropolitan area. Our research was based on the Community Profiling methodology (Francescato, Tomai & Ghirelli, 2002). The community profiling has a multidisciplinary approach since it integrates tools from different disciplines. In this study, we focused on the analysis of the future profile. Specifically, we analyzed how people feel about the future of their community, their main anxieties and hopes, comparing the different communities. Results were analyzed considering the seven profiles of the community profiling methodology (territorial, demographic, economic, service, institutional, anthropological, and psychological). The desires for the future most mentioned regarded territorial aspects for people living in the Centre of  Rome,  economic factors for people living in small towns, and services for people of peripheral areas. In all three communities, fears focused primarily territorial and psychological aspects

Hopes and fears for the future of different local communities

Community psychology theorists underline the importance of fostering community empowerment (Rappaport, 1981). However, to become empowered, a community needs to envision a better future (Francescato, 2009; 2017). The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of the future of their Community of people resident in the city center of Rome, in peripheral areas of Rome and small towns of the metropolitan area of the Capital, analyzing what they fear most for their Community and what they desire mainly for the future of their Community, through Community Profiling. A collective reflection on hopes and possibilities provides opportunities to build a sustainable future community. A total of 147 communities were involved in the research, 49% from the City Centre of Rome, 27% from the Suburban areas of Roma, and 24% from small towns of the metropolitan area. Our research was based on the Community Profiling methodology (Francescato, Tomai & Ghirelli, 2002). The community profiling has a multidisciplinary approach since it integrates tools from different disciplines. In this study, we focused on the analysis of the future profile. Specifically, we analyzed how people feel about the future of their community, their main anxieties and hopes, comparing the different communities. Results were analyzed considering the seven profiles of the community profiling methodology (territorial, demographic, economic, service, institutional, anthropological, and psychological). The desires for the future most mentioned regarded territorial aspects for people living in the Centre of  Rome,  economic factors for people living in small towns, and services for people of peripheral areas. In all three communities, fears focused primarily territorial and psychological aspects

Antioxidant Efficiency of Platynereis spp. (Annelida, Nereididae) under Different pH Conditions at a Vent's System

Marine organisms are exposed to a pH decrease and to alteration of carbonate chemistry due to ocean acidification (OA) that can represent a source of oxidative stress which can significantly affect their antioxidant defence systems efficiency. The polychaetes Platynereis dumerilii and P. massiliensis (Nereididae) are key species of the benthic community to investigate the effect of OA due to their physiological and ecological characteristics that enable them to persist even in naturally acidified CO2 vent systems. Previous studies have documented the ability of these species to adapt to OA after short- and long-term translocation experiments, but no one has ever evaluated the basal antioxidant system efficiency comparing populations permanently living in habitat characterized by different pH conditions (acidified vs. control). Here, individuals of both Platynereis species, sampled from a natural CO2 vent system and from a nonventing "control" site in three different periods (April 2016, October 2016, and February 2017), were compared highlighting signals which suggested the ability of both species to acclimatize to high pCO2–low pH with slight seasonal variations of their antioxidant efficiency and the absence of disturbances of the oxidative status of Platynereis spp. tissues

Empowering Students, Teachers, Non-teaching Staff and Parents in a ‘Troubled High School’ through Strategies of CP Multidimensional Interventions

In this paper, we outline some of the main principles underlying the intervention strategies that have been used in a project aimed at empowering students, staff, teachers and parents. This project reduced dropout, truancy, failure and bullying rates in a very disadvantaged Italian region. (Peer Reviewed

Empowering Students, Teachers, Non-teaching Staff and Parents in a ‘Troubled High School’ through Strategies of CP Multidimensional Interventions

In this paper, we outline some of the main principles underlying the intervention strategies that have been used in a project aimed at empowering students, staff, teachers and parents. This project reduced dropout, truancy, failure and bullying rates in a very disadvantaged Italian region. (Peer Reviewed

Oxidative responsiveness to multiple stressors in the key Antarctic species, Adamussium colbecki: interactions between temperature, acidification and cadmium exposure.

Abstract: High-latitude marine ecosystems are ranked to be among the most sensitive regions to climate change since highly stenothermal and specially adapted organisms might be seriously affected by global warming and ocean acidification. The present investigation was aimed to provide new insights on the sensitivity to such environmental stressors in the key Antarctic species, Adamussium colbecki, focussing also on their synergistic effects with cadmium exposure, naturally abundant in this area for upwelling phenomena. Scallops were exposed for 2 weeks to various combinations of Cd (0 and 40 μgL-1), pH (8.05 and 7.60) and temperature (-1 and +1°C). Beside Cd bioaccumulation, a wide panel of early warning biomarkers were analysed in digestive glands and gills including levels of metallothioneins, individual antioxidants and total oxyradical scavenging capacity, onset of oxidative cell damage like lipid peroxidation, lysosomal stability, DNA integrity and peroxisomal proliferation. Results indicated reciprocal interactions between multiple stressors and their elaboration by a quantitative hazard model based on the relevance and magnitude of effects, highlighted a different sensitivity of analysed tissues. Due to cellular adaptations to high basal Cd content, digestive gland appeared more tolerant toward other prooxidant stressors, but sensitive to variations of the metal. On the other hand, gills were more affected by various combinations of stressors occurring at higher temperatur

Acute and Sublethal Effects of Deltamethrin Discharges from the Aquaculture Industry on Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis Krøyer, 1838): Dispersal Modeling and Field Investigations

Pharmaceutical deltamethrin (Alpha Max), used as delousing treatments in aquaculture, has raised concerns due to possible negative impacts on the marine environment. A novel approach combining different scientific disciplines has addressed this topic. Acute (mortality) and sublethal effects (i.e., fitness, neurological, immunological, and oxidative responses) of exposure of northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) were studied in laboratory experiments. Passive water sampling combined with sediment analyses revealed environmental concentrations. Finally, dispersal modeling was performed to predict environmental concentrations. Ecotoxicological analyses showed mortality in shrimp after 1 h of exposure to 2 ng L–1 (1000-fold dilution of treatment dose), revealing a high sensitivity to deltamethrin. Sublethal effects included induction of acetylcholinesterase and acyl CoA oxidase activities and oxidative impairment, which may be linked to neurotoxic responses. Field concentrations of 10–200 ng L–1 in water (100 m from the pens) and <LOD-0.19 ng g–1 dw in sediment (0–400 m from pens) were measured. Ecotoxicological values were compared with measured and modeled concentrations. They showed that concentrations higher than those causing mortality could be expected up to 4–5 km from point of release, in an area of 6.4 km2, with lethal concentrations remaining up to 35 h in some areas. Hence, the study demonstrates that there is a considerable risk for negative effects on the ecologically and commercially important shrimp.publishedVersio

Before-During-After Biomonitoring Assessment for a Pipeline Construction in a Coastal Lagoon in the Northern Adriatic Sea (Italy)

During 2006–2008, a pipeline was buried in Vallona lagoon in the Northern Adriatic Sea (Italy). A Before-During-After environmental monitoring programme was scheduled to monitor possible alterations. Bioaccumulation of metal(loid)s, BTs (butyltins) and HMW-PAHs (High Molecular Weight Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons), and biological responses (Condition index, air Survival –LT50, Acetylcholinesterase, Micronuclei –MN, acyl-CoA oxidase, catalase, malondialdehyde –MDA, and the total oxyradical scavenging capacity-TOSCA) were investigated in Manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) from November 2005 to June 2015. In opera (IO) results showed higher levels of HMW-PAHs (73 ± 13 ng/g), BTs (90 ± 38 ng Sn/g) and increasing levels of Pb (6.7 ± 0.7 mg/kg) and Zn (73.6 ± 6.08 mg/kg) probably linked to works. Other contaminant alterations, especially metal(loid)s, before (AO) and after (PO) the burial, were attributed to a general condition of the area and mostly unrelated to works. In addition, LT50, MN and TOSCA showed alterations, probably due to hotspots occurring in IO. TOSCA and MDA increases, right after the burial, were considered delayed responses of IO, whilst other biological responses detected later were connected to the general condition of the area. Comparisons between results of Principal Component Analyses (PCAs) highlighted partial overlapping of AO and IO, whilst PO differed only for contaminants. Visual correlations between PCAs highlighted the biomarkers’ latter response

Application of a Weight of Evidence Approach for Monitoring Complex Environmental Scenarios: the Case-Study of Off-Shore Platforms

Multidisciplinary investigations based on integration of chemical and biological measurements, represent an added value to monitoring and management protocols, and their use is recommended by European Directives to evaluate the environmental status of aquatic ecosystems. However, assessing the overall significance of results obtained in different typologies of studies is often a difficult challenge. The aim of this work was to present a quantitative Weight Of Evidence (WOE) model (Sediqualsoft) to integrate huge amounts of heterogeneous data and to validate this approach in complex monitoring scenarios. Using the case-study of an off-shore platform field in the Adriatic Sea, procedures are presented to elaborate different typologies of data (lines of evidence, LOEs), including chemical characterization of sediments, bioavailability, biomarkers, ecotoxicological bioassays and benthic communities around three platforms. These data are initially evaluated by logical flowcharts and mathematical algorithms, which provide specific hazard indices for each considered LOE, before their different weighting and overall integration in an environmental risk index. The monitoring study selected for the WOE elaboration consisted on chemical analyses of trace metals, aliphatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons carried out on 60 sediment samples; the same samples were also characterized for the status of benthic communities; bioavailability of metals from sediments was assessed in laboratory conditions on the polychaete Hediste diversicolor, while bioaccumulation of inorganic and organic chemicals and biomarker responses were measured in native and transplanted mussels; ecotoxicological properties of sediments were evaluated through a battery of bioassays determining algal growth of the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, bioluminescence of the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri, survival of the copepod Acartia tonsa and embryotoxicity of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Overall, almost 7000 analytical results were elaborated and summarized in specific hazard indices. The WOE integration of multiple typologies of data allowed more robust and weighted conclusions compared to the use of individual LOEs, highlighting the feasibility of this procedure for multidisciplinary monitoring and risk assessment approaches. On a practical side, the WOE evidences also suggested a revision of actual monitoring procedures. Overall, the proposed WOE model appeared as a useful tool to summarize large datasets of complex data in integrative indices, and to simplify the interpretation for stakeholders and decision makers, thus supporting a more comprehensive process of "site-oriented" management decisions