Sulla pratica clinica affermativa con le persone transgender e gender nonconforming: Nuove linee-guida dell’American Psychological Association

This short essay aims to present the translation and adaptation to the Italian context of the recent guidelines for psychological-clinical practice with transgender and gender nonconforming people (TGNC) published in 2015 by the American Psychological Association (APA). As a result of the confirmation of the psychiatric diagnosis in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), APA has highlighted the need to use an affirmative practice, that is a respectful, informed, and supportive approach to TGNC identities and life experiences. These guidelines, therefore, represent a fundamental text for a competent and scientifically based psychological cure

Taming Model Uncertainty in Self-adaptive Systems Using Bayesian Model Averaging

Research on uncertainty quantification and mitigation of software-intensive systems and (self-)adaptive systems, is increasingly gaining momentum, especially with the availability of statistical inference techniques (such as Bayesian reasoning) that make it possible to mitigate uncertain (quality) attributes of the system under scrutiny often encoded in the system model in terms of model parameters. However, to the best of our knowledge, the uncertainty about the choice of a specific system model did not receive the deserved attention.This paper focuses on self-adaptive systems and investigates how to mitigate the uncertainty related to the model selection process, that is, whenever one model is chosen over plausible alternative and competing models to represent the understanding of a system and make predictions about future observations. In particular, we propose to enhance the classical feedback loop of a self-adaptive system with the ability to tame the model uncertainty using Bayesian Model Averaging. This method improves the predictions made by the analyze component as well as the plan that adopts metaheuristic optimizing search to guide the adaptation decisions. Our empirical evaluation demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of our approach using an exemplar case study in the robotics domain

Online Model-Based Testing under Uncertainty

Modern software systems are required to operate in a highly uncertain and changing environment. They have to control the satisfaction of their requirements at run-time, and possibly adapt and cope with situations that have not been completely addressed at design-time. Software engineering methods and techniques are, more than ever, forced to deal with change and uncertainty (lack of knowledge) explicitly. For tackling the challenge posed by uncertainty in delivering more reliable systems, this paper proposes a novel online Model-based Testing technique that complements classic test case generation based on pseudo-random sampling strategies with an uncertainty-aware sampling strategy. To deal with system uncertainty during testing, the proposed strategy builds on an Inverse Uncertainty Quantification approach that is related to the discrepancy between the measured data at run-time (while the system executes) and a Markov Decision Process model describing the behavior of the system under test. To this purpose, a conformance game approach is adopted in which tests feed a Bayesian inference calibrator that continuously learns from test data to tune the system model and the system itself. A comparative evaluation between the proposed uncertainty-aware sampling policy and classical pseudo-random sampling policies is also presented using the Tele Assistance System running example, showing the differences in achieved accuracy and efficiency

Sexism, homophobia and transphobia in a sample of Italian pre-service teachers: the role of socio-demographic features

Although recent research has highlighted that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youths represent a resilient population, they still suffer from social stigma and oppression, being potentially at additional risk of developing negative mental health outcomes. One of the main environments where violence and harassment against this population are present is the school. Within school contexts, the impact that teachers can have on the educational experiences of LGBT youths seems to be a crucial point. This paper explored sexist, homophobic and transphobic attitudes among 438 pre-service teachers in relation to specific socio-demographic features. Results indicated that being male, heterosexual, conservative and currently religious were positively associated with sexist, homophobic, and transphobic attitudes and feelings, and having a LGBT friend was negatively associated with homophobic and transphobic attitudes and feelings. These results suggest the need to introduce specific training on the deconstruction of gender and sexual stereotypes and prejudices, to provide teachers with efficient tools to address diversity in the classrooms and to implement inclusive school policies. Suggestions for the implementation of good practices are provided

Heat Kernel Expansion for Semitransparent Boundaries

We study the heat kernel for an operator of Laplace type with a $\delta$-function potential concentrated on a closed surface. We derive the general form of the small $t$ asymptotics and calculate explicitly several first heat kernel coefficients.Comment: 16 page

Group psychodynamic counselling with final-year undergraduates in clinical psychology: A clinical methodology to reinforce academic identity and psychological well-being

Educational institutions should ensure that students develop a professional identity, as well as safeguarding their well-being and activating awareness and change processes. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of group psychodynamic counselling as a means of reinforcing academic identity–considered the forerunner of professional identity–and psychological well-being in a group of final-year undergraduates studying clinical psychology. Thirty-three final-year-students of clinical psychology who participated in six group psychodynamic counselling sessions were compared with sixteen final-year students of clinical psychology who had never participated in an intervention of this kind. The results suggested that group psychodynamic counselling made students feel more capable of managing their lives and more open to new experiences as well as encouraging them to perceive their relationships as more positive and satisfying, to believe that their life is meaningful, and to achieve greater self-acceptance. The in-depth exploration also prompted students to consider their commitment to their choice of career. Group psychodynamic counselling also reinforced students’ educational choice, as the likelihood of students becoming less committed to this choice was reduced after the intervention. Thus, the study confirmed the efficacy of group psychodynamic counselling as a means of reinforcing both academic identity and promoting well-being and demonstrated that it is a tool clinical psychologists and university teachers could use to activate self-reflection and change within educational settings

Massive 3+1 Aharonov-Bohm fermions in an MIT cylinder

We study the effect of a background flux string on the vacuum energy of massive Dirac fermions in 3+1 dimensions confined to a finite spatial region through MIT boundary conditions. We treat two admissible self-adjoint extensions of the Hamiltonian. The external sector is also studied and unambiguous results for the Casimir energy of massive fermions in the whole space are obtained.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, LaTe

“Soccer is a matter of real men?” Sexist and homophobic attitudes in three Italian soccer teams differentiated by sexual orientation and gender identity

During the 1980s and early 1990s, homophobia and sexism were pervasive in sport contexts due to their sex-segregation, male-domination, and heteronormative culture. In the last two decades, a change in attitudes toward gender and sexuality, in particular within typically masculine sports, has been observed. Notwithstanding that, no research assessing if this change also occurred in Italy was conducted. Using semi-structured focus groups and adopting the framework of Inclusive Masculinity Theory, the current study explored sexist and homophobic attitudes in three Italian soccer teams differentiated by gender and sexual orientation. Team 1 comprised openly gay male athletes, Team 2 comprised both lesbian and heterosexual women, and Team 3 comprised heterosexual men. Narratives were analysed through constant comparison analysis. Specific macro-categories were identified in each team, as follows: Team 1: need for affiliation, in/visibility, perceived homophobia, and perceived institutionalised homophobia; Team 2: need for affiliation, masculine dominance, equal opportunities, and crossing gender boundaries; and Team 3: presumption of heterosexuality, female inferiority, and tendency toward a homosocial law. The results suggest that soccer, in Italy, still represents a context organised around men’s dominance over women and the stigmatisation of gay men. Notwithstanding, they suggest also that we are witnessing an interlocutory phase where some heterosexual soccer players are starting to challenge homophobia but, at the same time, women and openly gay players still perceive a homohysteric culture. The discussion is contextualised in the social context where discourses arose

La salute degli anziani LGBT dalla prospettiva del minority stress. Rassegna della letteratura e raccomandazioni di ricerca

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults have not received proper attention by the scientific literature and gerontology research, especially in Italy. This lack represents only an aspect of a more general condition of social invisibility that weighs on this population. The present contribution aims to provide researchers and clinicians with a review of scientific works which, especially in the USA, have casted light on experiences of stigmatization, discrimination, and victimization experienced and perceived by this population. The theoretical framework is represented by the minority stress perspective which provides an overview of risk and protective factors related to physical and mental health of minority groups. In the current review, authors considered studies conducted through quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, starting from 2000. Following the above described perspective, results are presented in two sections: the first one is focused on the different forms of stigma which weigh on LGBT older adults and the second one on the mental and physical health outcomes and on protective factors. The application of the minority stress perspective on LGBT older adults provides researchers and social and health care system providers with a psychosocial and clinical framework through which reading the phenomenon. Finally, main research recommendations are discussed