Bachelor degree owners’ employment in Italy and in other European Countries

Traditionally, Italy had just one long-cycle university degree; the two-tier system has been introduced as implementation of the Bologna Process (1999). We are interested in examining how the new first level degree, Bachelor in Europe and "Laurea L” in Italy, has worked in our country, mainly as far as employability is concerned. Our analysis has been framed in the European context, particularly looking at Bachelors in countries where traditionally there was only one level. The basic question is: has the new first-cycle degree been accepted by the labour market, or is it considered merely as an intermediate step in a route leading to a Master degree? As expected, there are differences in the countries under scrutiny, but there are also common indications. Answers for Italy are found analysing in detail existing surveys, which give precise indications about working and study conditions of 2007 and 2008 graduates, interviewed one year after graduation. Employment rate is not negligible, even if it is of course lower for L than from second level graduates; sometimes, work is combined with prosecution of studies. Effects of the crisis are present for both types of graduates. Some preliminary conclusions are drawn, and possible developments of the research are indicated.

Academic Systems and Professional Conditions in Five European Countries

Despite the tendency to create a European Higher Education and Research area, academic systems are still quite different across Europe. We selected five countries (Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway and the UK) to investigate how the differences have an impact on a number of aspects of the working conditions of academic staff. One crucial aspect is the growing diversification of professional activity: reduction of tenured and tenure tracked position, the growing number of fixed-term contracts for both teaching and research, including the growing recruitment of academic staff from external professional fields. These changes are connected with the changing functions of higher education systems and signal the growing openness of higher education institutions to their outside social and economic environment. To understand these trends one has to take into consideration the different degree in which systems distinguish between teaching and research functions. A second aspect has to do with career paths, their regulation, their length and speed. Here, the history of recruitment and career mechanisms in different countries are of particular importance because the different systems went through different periods of change and stability. Also connected to career is the willingness and the opportunity to move from one position to another, both within and outside the academic world. A third aspect deserving attention that is connected to mobility is the professional satisfaction among academic staff in the five systems considered

Benefits of dietary supplements on the physical fitness of German Shepherd dogs during a drug detection training course

A high standard of physical fitness is an essential characteristic of drug detection dogs because it affects not only their ability to sustain high activity levels but also their attention and olfaction efficiency. Nutritional supplements could improve physical fitness by modulating energy metabolism, oxidative processes, and perceived fatigue. The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological and biochemical changes induced by submaximal exercise on drug detection dogs (German Shepherd breed) and to assess whether a dietary supplement improves their physical fitness. During a drug detection dog training course, seven dogs were fed with a basal diet (Control Group) for three-month period, while a further seven dogs were fed with a basal diet as well as a daily nutritional supplement containing branched-chain and limiting amino acids, carnitine, vitamins, and octacosanol (Treatment Group). At the end of this period, individual physical fitness was assessed by making each subject take a graded treadmill exercise test. A human heart rate monitor system was used to record the dog's heart rate (HR) during the treadmill exercise and the subsequent recovery period. The parameters related to HR were analysed using nonparametric statistics. Blood samples were collected before starting the nutritional supplement treatment, before and after the treadmill exercise and following recovery. Linear mixed models were used. The dietary supplements accelerated HR recovery, as demonstrated by the lower HR after recovery (P<0.05) and Time constants of HR decay (P<0.05), and by the higher Absolute HR Recovered (P<0.05) recorded in the Treatment group compared with the Control dogs. The supplemented dogs showed the lowest concentrations of creatine kinase (CK; P<0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (AST, P<0.05) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA; P<0.01) suggesting a reduction in muscle damage and improvement of energy metabolism. These data suggest that this combined supplement can significantly enhance the physical fitness of drug detection dogs

RIFLESSIONI SULL’ESECUZIONE DELLA MISURA DI SICUREZZA IN REMS

Laws 81/2014 and 9/2012 regulate the progressive overcoming of the Judicial Psychiatric Hospitals (O.P.G.) and the consequent openingof the Residences for the Execution of Security Measures (R.E.M.S), thus advancing an inevitable reform to limit the duration of the securitymeasure within the maximum legal limit, and to put before the requirement and the claim of treatment before to the custodialconcept. However, these two fundamental conditions have concealed what should have been a thorough psychiatric-forensic analysis forthe identification of an organizational model based on clinical evidence. An accurate critical analysis of the current normative frameworkmust face the problem of the structural model of the REMS for the management of the different degrees of violence that an infirmsubject can carry out, the problem of the insufficiency of beds and the variability in the application of measure safety.Therefore, the purpose of this work is to discuss some problems that we consider should be examined by the scientific community, underliningalso the necessity of a new dialectical institutional phase to propose a different clinic-forensic model based on the scientific evidenceobtained in this first period of evaluation.Con le Leggi 81/2014 e 9/2012 si è assistito al progressivo superamento degli Ospedali Psichiatrici Giudiziari (O.P.G.) e alla conseguenteapertura delle Residenze per l’Esecuzione delle Misure di Sicurezza (R.E.M.S), dando così inizio ad un’inevitabile riforma per limitarela durata della misura di sicurezza entro il limite massimo di legge e per anteporre al concetto custodialista la necessità e il diritto alle cure.Queste due condizioni fondamentali, hanno però offuscato quella che sarebbe dovuta essere una più approfondita analisi psichiatricoforenseper l’individuazione di un modello organizzativo basato su evidenze cliniche. Un’accurata analisi critica sull’attuale impianto normativodeve affrontare il problema del modello strutturale delle REMS per la gestione dei diversi gradi di violenza che un soggettoinfermo può esprimere, il problema della scarsità di posti letto, e la variabilità nell’applicazione della misura di sicurezza.Lo scopo di questo lavoro è pertanto quello di affrontare alcune problematiche che riteniamo debbano essere prese in esame dalla comunitàscientifica, sottolineando anche l’esigenza di una nuova fase dialettica-istituzionale per proporre un nuovo modello clinico-forense chetenga conto delle evidenze scientifiche raccolte in questi primi anni di osservazione

I giovani tra scuola e lavoro: scarse opportunità e difficili scelte

In almost all developed and developing countries already for a consistent period of time young generations have been invited (in a way compelled) to attend long educational tracks. The reasons being related to the growing needs of higher skill in the economy as well as to the aspiration/promises to improve the individual social condition via educational credentials. The participation to the system of education has been encouraged also to make acceptable the social stratification through the recognition of different intellectual qualities among students. The mass drive toward higher education has created a growing mismatch between the number of higher education degree owners and the professional positions available in the labour market. The so called “over-education” consequently is growing and will become unbearable if no measures of transformation will be introduced in all nation states. Under these circumstances, the purposes of education should be revised and new meanings, more related to the civic culture, should be given particularly to the participation at higher education courses. To make this change meaningful content and structure of courses should be revised and the new social competences acquired through higher education should be recognised and made use of by society

Revista de educación

Resumen tomado de la revista. Este artículo pertenece al monográfico: La sociología de la educación: balance y perspectivasLa Sociología de la Educación ha compartido en Italia las dificultades de desarrollo de la Sociología general, y únicamente a partir de finales de la segunda Guerra Mundial ha comenzado a extenderse lentamente en el mundo académico. Su desarrollo no ha sido muy sistemático si se exceptúan los estudios realizados sobre las relaciones entre Educación Escolar y Mercado de Trabajo. Asimismo existen investigaciones relevantes sobre educación y movilidad social, y sobre los profesores y los estudiantes en los distintos niveles del sistema educativo, consolidándose en los últimos años una tendencia de estudios longitudinales a nivel nacional, y de estudios comparativos con otros sistemas educativos europeos. Desde el punto de vista metodológico gana terreno la aproximación cualitativa hasta ahora muy descuidada debido al predominio de análisis cuantitativos y de modelos estructural-funcionalistas.MadridBiblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín, 5 - 3 Planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; [email protected]

I giovani tra scuola e lavoro: scarse opportunità e difficili scelte

In almost all developed and developing countries already for a consistent period of time young generations have been invited (in a way compelled) to attend long educational tracks. The reasons being related to the growing needs of higher skill in the economy as well as to the aspiration/promises to improve the individual social condition via educational credentials. The participation to the system of education has been encouraged also to make acceptable the social stratification through the recognition of different intellectual qualities among students. The mass drive toward higher education has created a growing mismatch between the number of higher education degree owners and the professional positions available in the labour market. The so called “over-education” consequently is growing and will become unbearable if no measures of transformation will be introduced in all nation states. Under these circumstances, the purposes of education should be revised and new meanings, more related to the civic culture, should be given particularly to the participation at higher education courses. To make this change meaningful content and structure of courses should be revised and the new social competences acquired through higher education should be recognised and made use of by society

Introduzione: le università europee in trasformazione

Il capitolo illustra le tematiche prese in considerazione (i rapporti fra università e sistema economico, le trasformazioni delle forme di organizzazione e di governo degli atenei, la ricerca dell’eccellenza e i suoi effetti sulla stratificazione dei sistemi di istruzione superiore), l'approccio comparativo adottato, e i principali risultati di una ricerca dedicata alla trasformazione delle università in Europ