209 research outputs found
Research ethics in an unethical world: the politics and morality of engaged research
This article explores ethical dilemmas in researching the world of work. Recent contributions to WES have highlighted challenges for engaged research. Based on the emancipatory epistemologies of Bourdieu, Gramsci and Burawoy, the authors examine moral challenges in workplace fieldwork, question the assumptions of mainstream ethics discourses and seek to identify an alternative approach. Instead of an ethics premised on a priori, universal precepts that treasures academic neutrality, this article recognises a morality that responds to the social context of research with participation and commitment. The reflection in this study is based on fieldwork conducted in the former Soviet Union. Transformation societies present challenges to participatory ethnography but simultaneously provide considerable opportunities for developing an ethics of truth. An approach that can guide engaged researchers through social conflictâs âmessyâ reality should hinge on loyalty to the emancipation struggles of those engaged in it
Labour mobility in construction: migrant workersâ strategies between integration and turnover
The construction industry historically is characterised by high levels of labour mobility favouring the recruitment of migrant labour. In the EU migrant workers make up around 25% of overall employment in the sector and similar if not higher figures exist for the sector in Russia. The geo-political changes of the 1990s have had a substantial impact on migration flows, expanding the pool of labour recruitment within and from the post-socialist East but also changing the nature of migration. The rise of temporary employment has raised concerns about the weakness and isolation of migrant workers and the concomitant risk of abuse. Migrant workers though cannot be reduced to helpless victims of state policies and employersâ recruitment strategies. Findings of the research presented here unveil how they meet the challenges of the international labour market, the harshness of debilitating working conditions and the difficult implications for their family life choices
Migration, ethnicity and solidarity: 'multinational workers' in the former Soviet Union
We investigate migrant construction workersâ experiences in the Former Soviet Union, examining their attitudes to other ethno-national groups, unions and collective action. Industrial relations and migration studies view migrant workersâ hypermobility and diversity, under conditions of low union coverage and rising nationalism, as potentially obstructing consciousness-raising and mobilizing. Workers in our study faced union indifference, ethno-national segregation and discrimination. However, managerial abuses, informality and contestation from below led to spontaneous mobilisation. Lack of institutional channels to solve these disputes drove workersâ further mobility. Complex mobility trajectories and collective action translated into increased awareness of collective interests and rejection of nationalist ideologies. The outcome is âmultinational workersâ potentially resistant to nation-state politics and capitalâs logics but also aware of the value and usefulness of collective solidarities. Thus, previous arguments solely associating exit with individualistic attitudes, and post-socialist legacies with workersâ quiescence present only partial pictures
International migration and labour turnover: workersâ agency in the construction sector of Russia and Italy
This article focuses on migrant workersâ agency through exploring the relationship between working and employment conditions, on one side, and labour mobility, on the other. The study is based on qualitative research involving workers from Moldova and Ukraine working in the Russian and Italian construction sector. Fieldwork has been carried out in Russia, Italy and Moldova to investigate informal networks, recruitment mechanisms and employment conditions to establish their impact on migration processes. Overcoming methodological nationalism, this study recognises transnational spaces as the new terrain where antagonistic industrial relations are rearticulated. Labour turnover is posited as a key explanatory factor and understood not simply as the outcome of capital recruitment strategies but also as workersâ agency
Endoscopic-assisted Cochlear Implantation in Children with malformed ears
Objective: Complex middle and inner ear malformations are considered an important limitation for cochlear implant (CI) with traditional microscopic techniques. The aim of the present study is to describe the results of the endoscopic-assisted CI procedure in children with malformed ears. Study design: Case series with chart review of consecutive patients. Setting: Two tertiary referral centers: University Hospital of Verona and University Hospital of Modena, Italy. Subjects and methods: In total, 25 children underwent endoscopic-assisted cochlear implantation between January 2013 and January 2018. The audiologic and neuroradiologic assessment showed profound hearing loss and malformation of the middle and inner ear in all children. A complete review of anatomic features, surgical results, and audiologic outcomes was performed. The surgical technique is described step-by-step, and the outcomes are detailed. Results: All patients (mean age, 3.6 years; range, 2.8-9 years) underwent a transattical/endoscopic-assisted CI procedure. All children showed varying degrees of auditory benefit, as measured by routine audiometry, speech perception tests, and Categories of Auditory Performance scores (mean, 6). No immediate or late postoperative complications were noted. Conclusion: The endoscopic-assisted approach proved to be successful in cochlear implantation. The direct visualization and magnification allow (1) exploration of the tympanic cavity; (2) confirmation of all anatomic features, with strict control of the course of the facial nerve, round window area, and inner ear; and (3) performance of the cochleostomy with adequate insertion of the array
Catene del lavoro e delle migrazioni tra Veneto e Romania
Il paradigma della catena globale del valore o delle merci (Global Value Chain o GVC e Global Commodity Chain o GCC) sviluppata da Gary Gereffi et al. (1994) mira a spiegare le trasformazioni nella gestione delle nuove strutture produttive che si sono sviluppate nel corso degli ultimi trentâanni incorporando molti elementi dei processi economici. In particolare questa letteratura si Ăš concentrata sui rapporti di potere tra le imprese e sul dispiegamento dei processi di ascesa lungo la catena del valore (Humphrey, Schmitz 2002). Alcuni autori hanno criticato questo approccio poichĂ© tralascia il ruolo svolto da soggetti diversi dalle imprese, quali le istituzioni statali e internazionali (ad esempio lâOrganizzazione mondiale del commercio), cosĂŹ come le influenze delle dinamiche sociali e lavorative nei processi economici (Smith et al., 2014).
In questo articolo manteniamo un approccio che si basa sul concetto di produzione a rete globale, poichĂ© riteniamo essenziale lâanalisi sociale, politica e storica delle localitĂ in cui i nodi della rete si articolano (Bair, Werner 2011). Ci soffermiamo in particolare su due elementi cruciali nella produzione a rete globale: il contesto socio-istituzionale e le mutevoli caratteristiche della forza lavoro.Il focus sui soggetti che sono gli artefici delle istituzioni permette di comprendere in maniera dinamica lâuso e lâevoluzione degli apparati normativi e istituzionali
Frequency reallocation based on cochlear place frequencies in cochlear implants: a pilot study
Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate speech perception outcomes after a frequency reallocation performed through the creation of an anatomically based map obtained with OtoplanŸ, a tablet-based software that allows the cochlear duct length to be calculated starting from CT images. Methods: Ten postlingually deafened patients who underwent cochlear implantation with MED-EL company devices from 2015 to 2019 in the Tertiary referral center University Hospital of Verona have been included in a retrospective study. The postoperative CT scans were evaluated with OtoplanŸ; the position of the intracochlear electrodes was obtained, an anatomical mapping was carried out and then it was submitted to the patients. All patients underwent pure tonal and speech audiometry before and after the reallocation and the audiological results were processed considering the Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT), the Speech Awareness Threshold (SAT) and the Pure Tone Average (PTA). The differences in the PTA, SAT and SRT values before and after the reallocation were determined. The results were statistically processed using the software Stata with a significance value of α < 0.05. Results: The mean values of SRT (61.25 dB versus 51.25 dB) and SAT (49 dB versus 41 dB) were significantly lower (p: 0.02 and p: 0.04, respectively) after the reallocation. No significant difference was found between PTA values (41.5 dB versus 39.25 dB; p: 0.18). Conclusions: Our preliminary results demonstrate better speech discrimination and rapid adaptation in implanted postlingually deaf patients after anatomic mapping and subsequent frequency reallocation
Expanded Endoscopic Approach for Anterior Skull Base Tumors: Experience of a Multidisciplinary Skull Base Team
Abstract: The aim of this study is to describe the experience of a multidisciplinary skull base team with transnasal endoscopic surgery for anterior cranial base tumors. A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients who underwent an exclusive expanded transnasal approach to the anterior skull base in the period from December 2014 to November 2015. Data on patient demographics, tumor characteristics, surgical information, imaging, and postoperative complications were collected and analyzed. From a total of 120 patients with skull base diseases managed by the skull base team, 36 were admitted to this study. The overall complication rate in this series was 16.7%, gross total resection was achieved in 32 cases (88.9%) and postoperative CSF leakage occurred in 5 cases (13.9%). Our preliminary results confirm that an exclusive endoscopic transnasal approach to the anterior cranial base
Personal experience with the remote check telehealth in cochlear implant users: from COVID-19 emergency to routine service
Purpose: To critically illustrate the personal experience with using the âRemote Checkâ application which remotely monitors the hearing rehabilitation level of cochlear implant users at home and further allows clinicians to schedule in-clinic sessions according to the patientsâ needs. Methods: 12-month prospective study. Eighty adult cochlear implant users (females n = 37, males n = 43; age range 20â77 years) with â„ 36 months of cochlear implant experience and â„ 12 months of stable auditory and speech recognition level volunteered for this 12-month long prospective study. For each patient, at the beginning of the study during the in-clinic session to assess the stable aided hearing thresholds and the cochlear implant integrity and patientâs usage, the âRemote Checkâ assessment baseline values were obtained. âRemote Checkâ outcomes were collected at different times in the subsequent at-home sessions, to identify the patients that had to reach the Center. Chi-square test has been used for statistical analysis of the comparison of the âRemote Checkâ outcomes and in-clinic session results. Results: âRemote Checkâ application outcomes demonstrated minimal or no differences between all sessions. The at-home Remote Check application reached the same clinical outcomes as the in-clinic sessions in 79 out 80 of participants (99%) with high statistical significance (p < 0.05). Conclusions: âRemote Checkâ application supported hearing monitoring in cochlear implant users that were not able to attend the in-clinic review during COVID-19 pandemic time. This study demonstrates that the application can be a useful routine tool also for clinical follow-up of cochlear implant users with stable aided hearing
Directive Ultra-Wideband Planar Antennas
Two different techniques for Directive Ultra-Wideband Planar Antennas were presented throughout chapter 1: the operation of a novel bow-tie antenna with high front-to-back ratio and directivity and a differential planar UWB antenna characterized by higher gain (more than 11 dB around 7 GHz) with respect to conventional printed radiators has been demonstrated
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