Gender bias in job interviews: when stereotypes penalize women even before hiring.

openIl seguente elaborato rappresenta lo sviluppo di uno studio iniziato nel 2020, che fa riferimento ad un bias di genere nei colloqui di lavoro indagato da Moscatelli et al. (2020), chiamato perfection bias. Le dimensioni indagate sono sei (competenza, moralità, socievolezza, dominanza, stabilità emotiva e interessi) e rappresentano le aree di appartenenza di possibili domande poste durante un colloquio di lavoro. L’obiettivo dell’attuale studio è quello di indagare, rendendo consapevoli i partecipanti della presenza di questo bias di genere, se questa distorsione cognitiva sia stata soppressa oppure se ci si trovi di fronte ad un deficit bias. Per fare questo è stato somministrato un questionario nel quale si chiedeva ai partecipanti di valutare le domande più adeguate da porre durante un colloquio di lavoro per una posizione vacante nel Consiglio di Insegnamento universitario. Le condizioni sperimentali erano due. La prima era la consapevolezza o meno (consapevolezza vs. controllo) riguardo al perfection bias nei colloqui di lavoro, attraverso un articolo che riportava lo studio di Moscatelli et al. (2020). La seconda era il genere del candidato (uomo vs. donna) alla posizione vacante. I risultati hanno confermato quanto riportato nella prima parte dello studio e della ricerca originaria di Moscatelli et al. (2020): la principale dimensione indagata è la competenza, e si manifestano differenze nella scelta delle altre dimensioni in base alla condizione sperimentale o di controllo. Saranno necessari sviluppi successivi per andare ad indagare anche la dimensione implicita dell’atteggiamento, dal momento che è stato indagato unicamente l’atteggiamento esplicito dei partecipanti

Vulnerabilities of the 6P protocol for the Industrial Internet of Things: Impact analysis and mitigation

The 6TiSCH architecture defined by the IETF provides a standard solution for extending the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm to industrial applications with stringent reliability and timeliness requirements. In this context, communication security is another crucial requirement, which is currently less investigated in the literature. In this article, we present a deep assessment of the security vulnerabilities of 6P, the protocol used for resource negotiation at the core of the 6TiSCH architecture. Specifically, we highlight two possible attacks against 6P, namely the Traffic Dispersion and the Overloading attacks. These two attacks effectively and stealthy alter the communication schedule of victim nodes and severely thwart network basic functionalities and efficiency, by specifically impacting network availability and energy consumption of victim nodes. To assess the impact of the attacks two analytical models have been defined, while, to demonstrate their feasibility, they have been implemented in Contiki-NG. The implementation has been used to quantitatively evaluate the impact of the two attacks by both simulations and measurements in a real testbed. Our results show that the impact of both attacks may be very significant. The impact, however, strongly depends on the position of the victim node(s) in the network and it is highly influenced by the dynamics of the routing protocol. We have investigated mitigation strategies to alleviate this impact and proposed an extended version of the Minimal Scheduling Function (MSF), i.e., the reference scheduling algorithm for 6TiSCH. This allows network nodes to early detect anomalies in their schedules possibly due to an Overloading attack, and thus curb the attack impact by appropriately revising their schedule

Analysis of Distributed and Autonomous Scheduling Functions for 6tisch Networks

The 6TiSCH architecture is expected to play a significant role to enable the Internet of Things paradigm also in industrial environments, where reliability and timeliness are of paramount importance to support critical applications. Many research activities have focused on the Scheduling Function (SF) used for managing the allocation of communication resources in order to guarantee the application requirements. Two different approaches have mainly attracted the interest of researchers, namely distributed and autonomous scheduling. Although many different (both distributed and autonomous) SFs have been proposed and analyzed, a direct comparison of these two approaches is still missing. In this work, we compare some different SFs, using different behaviors in allocating resources, and investigate the pros and cons of using distributed or autonomous scheduling in four different scenarios, by means of both simulations and measurements in a real testbed. Based on our results, we also provide a number of guidelines to select the most appropriate SF, and its configuration parameters, depending on the specific use case

Development of a flow process for an easy and fast access to 2-pyrone derivatives

2-Pyrones are compounds widely present in nature and they represent interesting building blocks both in medicinal and synthetic chemistry. Due to their peculiar pharmacological activity and structure, they have attracted much attention during the last decades and several protocols for their synthesis have been developed. In this work we propose the synthesis of bio-sourced 2-pyrones, exploiting continuous-flow conditions for an easy, sustainable and fast access to these important molecules

LASA: Location-Aware Scheduling Algorithm In Industrial IoT Networks With Mobile Nodes

The Synchronized Single-hop Multiple Gateway (SHMG) is a framework recently proposed to support mobility into 6TiSCH, the standard network architecture defined for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) deployments. SHMG supports industrial applications with stringent requirements by adopting the Shared-Downstream Dedicated-Upstream (SD-DU) scheduling policy, which allocates to Mobile Nodes (MNs) a set of dedicated transmission opportunities for uplink data. Such allocation is performed on all the Border Routers (BRs) of the network without considering the location of MNs. Transmission opportunities are reserved also in BRs far from the current location of the MN, resulting in a waste of resources that limits the maximum number of nodes supported by the network. To overcome this problem, we propose a Location-Aware Scheduling Algorithm (LASA) that takes into account the position of MNs to build and maintain an efficient communication schedule. Specifically, LASA tries to prevent conflicts arising due to node mobility, in a preventive manner, so as to minimize packet dropping. We evaluate LASA via simulation experiments. Our results show that LASA allows to increase the number of MNs by more than four times, with respect to SD-DU, yet guaranteeing a Packet Delivery Ratio higher than 98%

Mobility Management in Industrial Iot Environments

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has defined the 6TiSCH architecture to enable the Industrial Inter-net of Things (IIoT). Unfortunately, 6TiSCH does not provide mechanisms to manage node mobility, while many industrial applications involve mobile devices (e.g., mobile robots or wearable devices carried by workers). In this paper, we consider the Synchronized Single-hop Multiple Gateway framework to manage mobility in 6TiSCH networks. For this framework, we address the problem of positioning Border Routers in a deployment area, which is similar to the Art Gallery problem, proposing an efficient deployment policy for Border Routers based on geometrical rules. Moreover, we define a flexible Scheduling Function that can be easily adapted to meet the requirements of various IIoT applications. We analyze the considered Scheduling Function in different scenarios with varying traffic patterns and define an algorithm for sizing the system in such a way to guarantee the application requirements. Finally, we investigate the impact of mobility on the performance of the system. Our results show that the proposed solutions allow to manage node mobility very effectively, and without significant impact on the performance

Sacrifices: costly prosocial behaviors in romantic relationships

Although previous research has found that prosocial behavior increases personal and relationship well-being, a particularly costly type of prosocial behavior — sacrifice — can sometimes have aversive effects and is the focus of the current review. We consider effects for both the individual who enacts the sacrifice and the recipient. Sacrifice, can take a toll on the giver's well-being, is a mixed blessing for the recipient (when they perceive the sacrifice), and may have some harmful consequences for relationships in the long-run. We discuss the importance of finding the right strategies (e.g. alternative solutions, comparison of costs and rewards between partners, reappraisals) to navigate these complex interpersonal situations in which partners' goals and preferences conflict

Self-regulation in close relationships

In the past 20 years, greater attention has been devoted to the study of self-regulation in an interpersonal context. This review summarize this work and presents findings on how self-regulation processes influence close relationship outcomes. The review is organized around the four ingredients of self-regulation (i.e., standards, monitoring, self-regulatory capacity, and motivation). For each ingredient, we discuss their influence on relationship processes and dynamics. In the standards section, we discuss the literature on approach/avoidance, promotion/prevention, goal conflicts between partners, and interpersonal goal support. In the monitoring section, we describe how partners' monitoring of each other's goal progress affects relationships. We also highlight that research on this topic is scant. In the self-regulatory capacity section, we discuss findings on how self-regulatory capacity is associated with relationship maintenance behaviors. In the motivation section, we review the literature on commitment and its impact on relationship dynamics. Finally, for each ingredient, we address an important avenue for future research

Performance Evaluation of Adaptive Autonomous Scheduling Functions for 6TiSCH Networks

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has recently defined the 6TiSCH architecture to enable the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), i.e., the adoption of the IoT paradigm for industrial applications with stringent requirements, in terms of reliability and timeliness. In 6TiSCH networks, the scheduling of communication resources is of paramount importance to meet the application requirements, and many different Scheduling Functions have been proposed to cope with the needs of various applications. Recently, autonomous scheduling has emerged as an efficient and robust approach, as it allows nodes to allocate communication resources autonomously, i.e., without any negotiation with their neighbors, thus avoiding the related overhead. Typically, this is obtained through static resource-allocation algorithms that are not able to adapt to variations in traffic conditions. In this paper, we consider adaptive autonomous scheduling, and compare the performance of three different algorithms in various IIoT scenarios. We investigate their ability to adapt to traffic changes, and evaluate them in terms of performance, resource consumption, and complexity. Based on the results obtained, we also provide a set of guidelines to select the most appropriate Scheduling Function, and its configuration parameters, depending on the specific use case

Door-to-needle time in acute ischemic stroke: analysing intra-hospital delays, predictive factors, improving strategies. The experience of Baggiovara hospital (MO, Italy)

Stroke is a syndrome characterized by a sudden and quick development of neurological deficits due to vascular cause. The loss of function could be global, with permanent symptoms, until death, or transient (TIA) if blood supply is rapidly restore. International Task Force defined this acute pathology “a preventable and treatable catastrophe”: it is the third cause of death in developing countries, accounting for 2-4% of the public health budget. Management strategies include: Primary prevention: public information in order to increaseawareness Acute phase management, from the activation of the emergency service tothe rehabilitation and early secondaryprevention Health care for survivors withdisability The starting point of this study is the concept that “time is brain”, enhancing the role of the interval between the onset of symptoms and the final treatment (the “door to needle time”, DNT). This led us to carry a retrospective critical analysis, evaluate the DNT before and after the introduction of an internal protocol, aiming at the standards suggested in literature