Explaining offline and online civic engagement intentions between Italian and migrant youth / Análisis de las intenciones de participación cívica virtual y presencial entre jóvenes italianos y emigrantes

The aim of the study was to assess the role of some psychosocial factors in explaining offline and online civic engagement intentions in a sample of Italian and second generation migrant (Albanian and Moroccan) adolescents and young adults living in Italy. The theoretical model was an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour including past experience. The sample included 598 adolescents and young adults (M = 19.32, SD = 3.17). Two hundred were Italian (88 males, 44.0%), 197 migrants of Albanian origin (130 males, 66%) and 201 migrants of Moroccan origin (116 males, 57.7%). Moroccan youth reported higher levels of both past civic engagement and future intentions than Albanian and Italian peers. Perceived effectiveness of civic engagement and past experience are consistently associated with stronger intentions to engage in the future (offline and online) in all groups. Internal efficacy plays a limited role, whereas the role of subjective norms differs according to the group and the source of normative influence (parents, peers).     

Harmonized Italian version of the aging males' symptoms scale

Introduction.?The interest in clinical investigations in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of aging men has increased over recent years, particularly in the context of partial androgen deficiency. The aim of this paper is to inform the scientific community about a harmonized Italian Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) scale.

Methods.?There were two slightly different Italian AMS scales, which both underwent an up-to-date linguistic & cultural translation process, i.e., were both valid to be applied in clinical research. However, there are potential long-term problems associated with having two Italian language versions of the scale in the same country. Therefore, an ad hoc committee of key persons related to both versions met with the scale's developer, to create a harmonized single Italian AMS.

Results.?The harmonization meeting came up with a consensus item-by-item and the new Italian reference scale was agreed upon. It was decided that this scale should be published to avoid any confusion among future users.

Conclusion.?The Italian AMS scale published in this paper should be used for future clinical and other research.     

The Attitude of High School Pupils Toward History

Music has been a source of inspiration, of protest, of wisdom, and of emotion for millennia. In the United States, music became woven into the fabric of the culture well before it became a nation and it remains so today. Songs have expressed a range of emotions and informed listeners of historical, social, and political issues at every level of sophistication. Yet our passion for music, coupled with its significance as an artifact of history, has not found its way into classrooms in any prominent way. This article explores four models of using music in the history classroom, each of which ventures to encourage history teachers to consider music, its analysis, and even its creation as integral to history curricula. Each model uses various instructional strategies grounded in tenets of historical thinking and range from a teacher-centered Close Reading Model to inquiry and discovery-based approaches, concluding with a student-centered model of Creative Development.     

Democratizing States and the Use of History*

Abstract A pervasive anti‐statism often blinds us to the democratic victories in the past and thus to possibilities in our future. This article argues that big government can democratize society and uses historical investigation to make the point. The study of history emancipates us from the tyranny of the present. Progressive social change has come about in the United States and elsewhere as combined bottom‐up, top‐down initiatives. I present two such cases of democratization during the New Deal era. The first is about rural sociologists' participatory‐action research with local citizens for policy planning. This program, while short‐lived, fed into the creation of the field of community development. The other is a land‐reform experiment among poor African Americans. In the 1960s these “resettlement communities” became local strongholds of the civil‐rights movement, and their descendants carry on the struggle today. I use these two historical instances to show that big states as well as social scientists have been effective agents of democracy, and suggest that they can be again. History then enable us to re‐imagine, re‐new, and re‐form our democratic tradition of rural sociology.     

Durkheim's contribution to the sociological analysis of history

Emile Durkheim has long been viewed as one of the founders of the so-called variables-oriented approach to sociological investigation. This view ignores his considerable achievements using the methodology of “case-based” historical analysis, most prominent among them, his lectures on the history of French education (The Evolution of Educational Thought).In this paper I first outline the intimate relationship that Durkheim envisioned between historical and sociological investigation. I then turn to his work on French education for substantive illustrations of his approach. Finally, I explore certain points of intersection between Durkheim's approach to history and present-day concerns, especially in regard to the role of culture in history and the opposition between prospective and retrospective (“teleological”) strategies of historical analysis.     

Why the hyphen? Individual and collective memories of Italianness in the United States at the intersection of class and generation

This three-generation oral history study offers insight into why descendants of Italian migrants to the United States still choose hyphenated identities today. The research project shows how the meaning of Italianness shifts among the interviewees depending on class affiliation: among the middle-class offspring the use of the hyphen can be understood mainly as a reaction to the experienced pressure to give in to Anglo conformity. Among the blue-collar, urban progeny, Italianness expresses itself as a combination of an experienced ethnic environment on the one hand and a symbolic ethnicity on the other.     

Généalogie et évolution de la catégorie de « cadre » en Italie

Conceptions of the social world in industrialized countries use categories worked out in the course of a nation's history. In this respect, the notion of cadre for referring to both a concrete social group and a statistical, cognitive category turns out to be a French invention. From a societal perspective, why are there no cadres in Italy? Why is this sort of catchall category for referring to persons in the middle range of employees missing there? Although the notion crystallized through the French experience does not fit the Italian situation, we can inquire into it by examining the history of two close but distinct socioeconomic categories: quadri and dirigenti. A constructivist approach is taken to examining several aspects of the emergence of these categories in Italian society: the place of the institutions that defend and objectify them as a socioeconomic category; the expectations and aspirations that motivate them; the impact of historical and symbolical events in making these categories; and the role of sociologists who persist in analyzing Italian cadres by using quite different theoretical and ideological presuppositions.     

Quantified trends in the history of verbal behavior research

The history of scientific research about verbal behavior research, especially that based on Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957), can be assessed on the basis of a frequency and celeration analysis of the published and presented literature. In order to discover these quantified trends, a comprehensive bibliographical database was developed. Based on several literature searches, the bibliographic database included papers pertaining to verbal behavior that were published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behaviorism, The Behavior Analyst, and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. A nonbehavioral journal, the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior was assessed as a nonexample comparison. The bibliographic database also included a listing of verbal behavior papers presented at the meetings of the Association for Behavior Analysis. Papers were added to the database if they (a) were about verbal behavior, (b) referenced B.F. Skinner’s (1957) book Verbal Behavior, or (c) did both. Because the references indicated the year of publication or presentation, a count per year of them was measured. These yearly frequencies were plotted on Standard Celeration Charts. Once plotted, various celeration trends in the literature became visible, not the least of which was the greater quantity of verbal behavior research than is generally acknowledged. The data clearly show an acceleration of research across the past decade. The data also question the notion that a “paucity” of research based on Verbal Behavior currently exists. Explanations of the acceleration of verbal behavior research are suggested, and plausible reasons are offered as to why a relative lack of verbal behavior research extended through the mid 1960s to the latter 1970s.

     

Actual Versus Perceived Risk of Cervical Cancer Among College Women Smokers

Cervical cancer is a well-established smoking-related illness, but many at-risk women are unaware of this link. Objective: The authors designed this study to (1) investigate the relationship of smoking behavior with the history of abnormal Pap test results, sexual history, and perceived risk of cervical cancer and (2) determine whether self-classified smoking status (and hence perceived risk) corresponds with actual smoking behavior in a college student population. Participants and Method Summary: College women students (N = 135) completed a survey assessing smoking history, health history, sexual risk behavior, and risk awareness. Results: Relative to those who had not smoked in the past month, current smokers (n = 36, or 27% of the total sample) perceived themselves to be at higher risk for developing cervical cancer, but did not demonstrate increased awareness of specific cervical cancer risk factors, including smoking. Twenty-eight percent (10 of 36) of past-month smokers did not define themselves as current smokers. Conclusion: The authors conclude that antismoking and health-related messages targeting smokers may misfire for individuals who do not define themselves as smokers but are nonetheless at risk for smoking-related consequences and escalating use.     

Chapter 22: Perspectives on the Future of Integration

Abstract

Thomas Friedman's political analysis of The Lexus and the Olive Tree(2000) is used to frame the discussion of the future of integration in the EAP, Work-life and Wellness field. Many claim that for progress to occur, one needs to understand history. Friedman, however, pushes the reader further to focus on understanding the constant interplay and tension between present day advances and past traditions. This article briefly reviews one of the early attempts at comprehensive benefit services in the United States-Welfare Capitalism as a means to understand the beginnings of some of these endeavors. In addition early research conducted by Lawrence and Lorsch on organizational integration and differentiation are briefly reviewed as a conceptual framework to ground the discussion of future trends in the field of integration. Finally, some closing thoughts are offered that raise both questions on areas requiring further investigation on the topic of integration, as well as a challenge to professionals regarding what role they would like to take regarding the future of these services.     

Age of Consent

SUMMARY

Age of Consent throughout history has usually coincided with the age of puberty although at sometimes it has been as early as seven. Early on age of consent was a familial or tribal matter and only became a legal one in the Greco-Roman period. The Roman tradition served as the base for Christian Europe as well as the Christian Church itself which generally, essentially based upon biological development, set it at 12 or 14 but continued to set the absolute minimum at seven. In the past century there has been a tendency to raise the age of consent but the reasons for the change have not always been clear and the issue has been further complicated by the reluctance of many contemporary historians to recognize what the actual age of consent in the past has been. This failure has distorted the importance of biology on age of consent in the past.     

Transcending Borders,Bridging Gaps: Opening a Dialogue Between the U. S. A. and Italy’s Migration Turn

ABSTRACT

This essay discusses recent theoretical engagements in the fields of migration and postcolonial studies in Italy by examining their contribution to American and transatlantic studies. It focuses on cultural critiques and manifestations which seek an interrogation or revitalization of Italy’s cultural identity. The analysis draws on the many links between past and present, a confrontation of the histories of migration from and to the country. For instance, the Italian/American influence is remarkable on transforming views of Italian identity, particularly regarding (im)migration. The objective of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it examines how artistic productions compel the Italian society to come to terms with the past. This phenomenon attests to a unique social and cultural transition in Italy, and represents a breeding research ground within Italian studies and the Anglo-dominated area of postcolonial and diaspora studies. On the other hand, the essay investigates how these changes enhance to the role of transatlantic migrations. In doing so, the significance of such cultural productions is framed within ongoing epistemological and scholarly endeavours. This is exemplified by the abundant number of publications, seminars, conferences and new curricula challenging, as well as advancing, contemporary debates on migration, multiculturalism, identity (Italian-ness) and memory.     

From inclusion to exclusion: Refugees and immigrants in Italy between 1861 and 1943

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the young Italian state was concerned with various groups of refugees. These refugees experienced little interference for the heroes of the Italian unification had themselves lived in exile. The tide turned at the time of Mussolini. Immigration and refugee policy became increasingly restrictive under the Fascist regime. Nevertheless, numerous Jewish refugees were able to survive under this dictator. In the present article, a side of Italian history that has received only fragmented and sporadic attention will be examined‐namely, the development of immigration and refugee policy between 1861 and 1943.     

Città Aperta o Cultura Chiusa?: The Homosexualization of Fascism in the Perverted Cultural Memory of the Italian Left

The essay analyzes the equation of Fascism and homosexuality offered by two founding works of the Italian left-wing Neorealist movement: Roberto Rossellini's film Roma, città aperta (1945) and Vasco Pratolini's novel Cronache di poveri amanti (1947). By identifying Fascism and homosexuality, both works limited their commemoration of the victims of Fascism to heterosexuals and contributed to the erasure of a gay and lesbian Holocaust from historical memory. As shown by Carlo Lizzani's film Celluloide (1996) and the coverage of the World Pride 2000 by the Communist daily Liberazione, briefly analyzed at the end of the essay, the Italian Left has still not found a satisfactory way of dealing with the homophobic legacy of Neo-realism.     

Social work online: a recognition of experiences and practices in Italy

ABSTRACT

‘The Internet is the fabric or our lives’ [Castells, M. (2001). The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 1] – but which are the weaves that nowadays connect Italian social workers into such a fabric? Herein we aim at answering this question through a survey of on-line resources, nodes and practices of e-Social Work in Italy. We shall be discussing ICT impact on the Italian context, and the utilization of ICT by Italian social workers, in order to build up the internal and external factors that determine the current utilization levels of these emerging tools within the professional community. A review of the major on-line social work portals will identify their key features and peculiarities and aim to provide an overview of the substance and current on-line functions of Italian social work, with a summing-up of criticalities and opportunities that might prompt reflection on possible future developments.     

Forward vs. Reverse Gear: Politics of Proliferation and Resistance in the Italian Fascist State

Abstract Gender is a useful category for historical analysis of the project of Italian fascist nation-building, how it proceeded and how it became trapped in its own paradox. Fascist policies played upon normative and limited gender stereotypes of women as mothers and prolific bearers of children, yet in the process the dictatorship constructed women as political subjects for the first time in the history of the Italian nation. This paper focuses on the fascists' demographics campaign - Il Duce's politics of proliferation—and investigates the possibility of subjectivity as a site for political struggle and resistance. Practices such as coitus interruptus and abortion, it is suggested, conformed to one hegemonic process while they defied another.     

Filming a Stalinist War Epic in Ukraine: Ihor Savchenko’s The Third Strike

Abstract

The article examines the production history of Ihor Savchenko’s film Tretii udar [The Third Strike, 1948], a World War II epic and the most significant project of the Kyiv Film Studio in the first post-war years. Using the example of The Third Strike, the author demonstrates how Stalinist cinema as an institution influenced Soviet film directors’ thematic and ideological choices as well as their style. Specifically, the supervision of such projects by the USSR’s political centre served to integrate Ukrainian film makers into Soviet cinema by fostering Soviet versions of the country’s political and social history and by preventing Ukrainian film makers from pursuing stylistic practices that might have become foundational to Ukrainian cinema. Filming a Stalinist war epic in postwar Ukraine was especially difficult in view of the Soviet struggle against Ukrainian nationalism. By featuring soldiers of different nationalities, The Third Strike underscored the idea of the “fraternal friendship of the Soviet peoples” during the war, which became a canonical element in Soviet depictions of the war. In this way, Ukrainian artists ingratiated themselves with the Soviet authorities and proved their loyalty to Russia.     

Fundamental references from the Western culture

This article presents theoretical elements concerning the ‘nature versus culture’ confrontation as a particular aspect of the worldwide expansion of Western civilization. Several speculations are made concerning the philosophical foundations which have provided the base for the current political and economic mega-scenarios in the contemporary world. We turn our attention to the articulations of the concept of nature with the processes of mondialization of Western culture and with the history of universal culture. Finally, several considerations are made on the dynamics of economic processes on a world scale and projections on the impact of science and technology in the social and political frames that are taking place in the contemporary world.     

A multilingual approach to analysing standardized test results: immigrant primary school children and the role of languages spoken in a bi-/multilingual community

The present study adopts a multilingual approach to analysing the standardized test results of primary school immigrant children living in the bi-/multilingual context of South Tyrol, Italy. The standardized test results are from the Invalsi test administered across Italy in 2009/2010. In South Tyrol, several languages are spoken on a daily basis and the long-established ethnic groups are speakers of German (69%), Italian (26%) and Ladin (4%). While the language of instruction for immigrant children attending Italian language schools is Italian, these children live in Italian- or German-speaking environments. I argue that standardized testing data should be analysed in conjunction with local language information to better serve the educational needs of bi-/multilingual children. The Italian test results of I and II Generation immigrant children (n?=?225) are re-examined in light of the languages spoken in their living environment. Results show that the approach used is useful in identifying information that would have otherwise remained undetected. The additional data provide valuable input for school administrators, educators and policy-makers and can be used to devise suitable remedial measures for immigrant children attending school in bi-/multilingual environments.