Intersectional Politics on Domestic Workers' Rights. The Cases of Ecuador and Colombia

The chapter looks at domestic workers’ movements as a telling case of collective action developed by multiply-marginalised social groups, in particular migrant, low-class, racialised, and rural women employed in the sector. The present study focuses on Ecuador and Colombia, exploring the ways in which organisations in both contexts used intersectionality differently, in various aspects of their mobilisation process, in the period between 2010 and 2018. Interestingly, activists in Ecuador appear to develop a complex discourse that articulates the role that gender and class, in addition to race, play in the inequalities that weigh on domestic workers, and yet when they lobby their government to ratify the ILO ‘Convention No. 189 on decent work for domestic workers,’ they privilege alliances based on class and the promotion of labour rights. On the contrary, in Colombia, activists are able to use their intersectional identities, as Afro-Colombian women domestic workers, to bring into the public sphere a discourse in which gender, race, and class are always present, and they do so by originally articulating a new frame rooted in a feminist analysis of the ‘care economy.

Global domestic workers: intersectional inequalities and struggles for rights

Drawing from the EU-funded DomEQUAL research project across 9 countries in Europe, South America and Asia, this comparative study explores the conditions of domestic workers around the world and the campaigns they are conducting to improve their labour rights. The book showcases how domestic workers’ movements put ‘intersectionality in action’ in representing the interest of various marginalized social groups from migrants and low-income groups to racialized and rural girls and women. Casting light on issues such as subjectification, and collective organizing on the part of a category of workers conventionally regarded as unorganizable, this ambitious volume will be invaluable for scholars, policy makers and activists alike

The feminist and domestic workers’ movements: disconnected practices, discursive convergences

The article explores the relationship between women’s rights and feminist and domestic workers’ movements by drawing on qualitative data gathered in a comparative study on domestic workers’rights in Italy, Germany, Spain, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador (2016–21). Despite the frequent disconnection between the two movements at the practical level, a possible convergence may be identified in the discursive frames that domestic workers’ rights activists make use of. The analysis focuses on two feminist anti-capitalist frames recurring in mobilisations for domestic workers’ rights, addressing the valorisation of reproductive labour and the transnational commodification of care. Domestic workers’ activism tends to build on these frames beyond their mainstream forms and to expand them in intersectional ways, enlarging their capacity to include racialised, low-class, migrant and other minority groups. This becomes a creative force at the level of discourse, where different alliances may take place in a less visible way.The article explores the relationship between women’s rights and feminist and domestic workers’ movements by drawing on qualitative data gathered in a comparative study on domestic workers’ rights in Italy, Germany, Spain, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador (2016–21). Despite the frequent disconnection between the two movements at the practical level, a possible convergence may be identified in the discursive frames that domestic workers’ rights activists make use of. The analysis focuses on two feminist anti-capitalist frames recurring in mobilisations for domestic workers’ rights, addressing the valorisation of reproductive labour and the transnational commodification of care. Domestic workers’ activism tends to build on these frames beyond their mainstream forms and to expand them in intersectional ways, enlarging their capacity to include racialised, low-class, migrant and other minority groups. This becomes a creative force at the level of discourse, where different alliances may take place in a less visible way

Chapter 12 Intersectional politics on domestic workers’ rights

Examining the ways in which feminist and queer activists confront privilege through the use of intersectionality, this edited collection presents empirical case studies from around the world to consider how intersectionality has been taken up (or indeed contested) by activists in order to expose and resist privilege.The volume sets out three key ways in which intersectionality operates within feminist and queer movements: it is used as a collective identity, as a strategy for forming coalitions, and as a repertoire for inclusivity. The case studies presented in this book then evaluate the extent to which some, or all, of these types of intersectional activism are used to confront manifestations of privilege. Drawing upon a wide range of cases from across time and space, this volume explores the difficulties with which activists often grapple when it comes to translating the desire for intersectionality into a praxis which confronts privilege. Addressing inter-related and politically relevant questions concerning how we apply and theorise intersectionality in our studies of feminist and queer movements, this timely edited collection will be of interest to students and scholars from across the social sciences and humanities with an interest in gender and feminism, LGBT+ and queer studies, and social movement studies

L’intersezionalità come pratica politica nei movimenti di lavoratrici domestiche

The article looks at domestic workers’ rights organisations as an interesting case of social movements including intersectionality into their political practice, in other words doing what we call ‘intersectionality in action’. The article draws on in-depth interviews gathered in a comparative study on domestic workers’ rights in Italy, Germany, Spain, India, Philippines, Taiwan, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador (2016–21). Across these diverse contexts, domestic workers’ groups face the com- mon challenge of organising a multiply marginalised workforce typically consti- tuted by women belonging to low-class, low-caste, racialised, and migrant groups. The intersectionality of the labour force composition is reflected in different ways at the level of collective identity making, of claims and actions, as well as at the level of the discursive frames mobilised to promote their rights. The activist do- mestic workers included in our study show similarly creative ways to deal with these challenges and take into account intersectional inequalities in their political practice, and they do so primarily in creating independent organisations, autono- mous collective identities, and processes of re-appropriation of feminist frames

Pavlovian threat learning shapes the kinematics of action

Prompt response to environmental threats is critical to survival. Previous research has revealed mechanisms underlying threat-conditioned physiological responses, but little is known about how threats shape action. Here we tested if threat learning shapes the kinematics of reaching in human adults. In two different experiments conducted on independent samples of participants, after Pavlovian threat learning, in which a stimulus anticipated the delivery of an aversive shock, whereas another did not, the peak velocity and acceleration of reaching increased for the shocked-paired stimulus, relative to the unpaired one. These kinematic changes appeared as a direct consequence of learning, emerging even in absence of an actual threat to body integrity, as no shock occurred during reaching. Additionally, they correlated with the strength of sympathetic response during threat learning, establishing a direct relationship between previous learning and subsequent changes in action. The increase in velocity and acceleration of action following threat learning may be adaptive to facilitate the implementation of defensive responses. Enhanced action invigoration may be maladaptive, however, when defensive responses are inappropriately enacted in safe contexts, as exemplified in a number of anxiety-related disorders

Levels of Mercury, Methylmercury and Selenium in Fish: Insights into Children Food Safety

Total mercury (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), and selenium (Se) concentrations were measured in various commercially important fish species. The benefit–risk binomial associated with these chemicals was assessed in children through the probability of exceeding the provisional tolerable weekly intakes (PTWIs) of the contaminants and the Se recommended dietary allowance (RDA). The Se:Hg molar ratios, selenium health benefit values (HBVSe), and monthly consumption rate limits (CRmm) for each species were also calculated. THg and Se were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, Milan, Italy), while MeHg was determined by Trace Ultra gas chromatograph connected with a PolarisQ MS (Thermo Fisher Scientific,Waltham, MA, USA). None of the analyzed fish had Hg levels above the European Community regulatory limits, while most large predators had MeHg levels over the threshold concentration set by US EPA. The estimated weekly intakes of THg and MeHg exceeded in many cases the PTWIs and the Se estimated daily intakes were provided from 0.71% to 2.75% of the RDA. Se:Hg molar ratios above 1 and positive HBVSe index suggested that Se in fish could be enough to alleviate the potential toxic effect of Hg. However, high-risk groups as children should consume fish in moderation because a large consumption pattern, especially of swordfish and tunas, might be of concern for health

Heterologous and cross-species tropism of cancer-derived extracellular vesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are naturally occurring cargo delivery vesicles that have recently received considerable attention for their roles in intercellular communication in many physiological and pathological processes, including tumourigenesis. EVs generated by different tissues demonstrated specific homing: in particular, cancer-derived EVs showed a selective tropism for the tumor tissue from which the vesicles originated. For this property, EVs have been proposed as drug delivery tools for anti-cancer therapies, although the limited knowledge about their in vivo tropism hinders their therapeutic applications. The current study aimed to characterize the targeting properties of cancer- derived EVs in vitro and their biodistribution in vivo, by using an imaging approach. Methods. EVs were generated from: i) murine lung (LL/2) and colon (MC-38) cancer lines, ii) human lung cancer cell line (A549) and iii) human liver biopsy samples from healthy individuals. EVs were loaded with fluorescent dyes alone or in combination with a biopharmaceutical agent, the oncolytic adenovirus (OV), characterized for charge and size and tested for their activity in cancer cell lines. Finally, optical imaging was extensively applied to study in vivo and ex vivo the biodistribution of EVs originated from different sources in different mouse models of cancer, including xenograft, syngeneic graft and the MMTV-NeuT genetically modified animal. Results. We initially demonstrated that even loading EVs even with a large biopharmaceutical oncolytic viruses (OVs) did not significantly change their charge and dimension properties, while increasing their anti-neoplastic activity compared to the virus or EVs alone. Interestingly, this activity was observed even if the EVs derived from lung cancer were applied to colon carcinoma cell lines and vice versa, suggesting that the EV uptake occurred in vitro without any specificity for the cancer cells from which the vesicles originated. When administered i.v (intravenously) to the mouse models of cancer, the tumour-derived EVs, but not the EVs derived from a healthy tissue, demonstrated a selective accumulation of the fluorescence at the tumour site 24 h after injection; adding OVs to the formulation also did not change the tumour-specific tropism of the EVs also in vivo. Most interestingly, the in vivo experiments confirmed the in vitro observation of the generalized tropism of tumour-derived EVs for any neoplastic tissue, independent of the tumour type or even the species originating the vesicles. Conclusions. Taken together, our in vitro and in vivo data demonstrate for the first time a heterologous, cross-species tumour-tropism for cancer-derived EVs. This finding challenges our current view on the homing properties of EVs and opens new avenues for the selective delivery of diagnostic/therapeutic agents to solid tumours

Spatial analysis of demersal food webs through integration of eDNA metabarcoding with fishing activities

The evaluation of the status of marine communities, and especially the monitoring of those heavily exploited by fisheries, is a key, challenging task in marine sciences. Fishing activities are a major source of disruption to marine food webs, both directly, by selectively removing components at specific trophic levels (TL), and indirectly, by altering habitats and production cycles. Food web analysis can be very useful in the context of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries, but food web reconstructions demand large and expensive data sets, which are typically available only for a small fraction of marine ecosystems. Recently, new technologies have been developed to easily, quickly and cost-effectively collect environmental DNA (eDNA) during fishing activities. By generating large, multi-marker metabarcoding data from eDNA samples obtained from commercial trawlers, it is possible to produce exhaustive taxonomic inventories for the exploited ecosystems, which are suitable for food-web reconstructions. Here, we integrate and re-analyse the data of a recent study in which the α diversity was investigated using the eDNA opportunistically collected during fishing operations. Indeed, we collect highly resolved information on species feeding relationships to reconstruct the food webs at different sites in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) from eDNA and catch data. After observing that the trophic networks obtained from eDNA metabarcoding data are more consistent with the available knowledge, a set of food web indicators (species richness, number of links, direct connectance and generality) is computed and analysed to unravel differences in food webs structure through different areas (spatial variations). Species richness, number of links and generality (positively) and direct connectance (negatively) are correlated with increasing distance from the coast and fishing effort intensity. The combined effects of environmental gradients and fishing effort on food web structure at different study sites are then examined and modelled. Taken together, these findings indicate the suitability of eDNA metabarcoding to assist and food web analysis, obtain several food web-related ecological indicators, and tease out the effect of fishing intensity from the environmental gradients of marine ecosystems

Applications of Robotics for Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Scoping Review

Robotic therapies are receiving growing interest in the autism field, especially for the improvement of social skills of children, enhancing traditional human interventions. In this work, we conduct a scoping review of the literature in robotics for autism, providing the largest review on this field from the last five years. Our work underlines the need to better characterize participants and to increase the sample size. It is also important to develop homogeneous training protocols to analyse and compare the results. Nevertheless, 7 out of the 10 Randomized control trials reported a significant impact of robotic therapy. Overall, robot autonomy, adaptability and personalization as well as more standardized outcome measures were pointed as the most critical issues to address in future research