Interculturalism in Italian primary schools with a high concentration of immigrant students

The present article focuses on quantitative research carried out on a statistically representative sample of Italian primary schools with a high concentration of immigrant students. Research data show that schools with a higher number of immigrant students offer a greater number and a wider variety of intercultural initiatives. The presence of immigrant students serves as an effective stimulus in enhancing intercultural approaches. Furthermore, the opinions of head teachers about the proposal of ‘separate classes’ for immigrant students and the proposed ‘limit of 30% on the presence’ of immigrant students are negative. These judgements do not change in a statistically significant manner in relation to concentration of immigrant students: in particular, higher rates of immigrant students are not related to more positive opinions. Continuing education on intercultural issues is widely adopted, mainly on behalf of teachers and less often on behalf of head teachers and other school personnel. Finally, activities by ‘linguistic facilitators’ and ‘linguistic and cultural mediators’ are not significantly related to a decrease in perceived concern regarding problematic situations.     

Approximate Bayesian inference in semi-mechanistic models

Inference of interaction networks represented by systems of differential equations is a challenging problem in many scientific disciplines. In the present article, we follow a semi-mechanistic modelling approach based on gradient matching. We investigate the extent to which key factors, including the kinetic model, statistical formulation and numerical methods, impact upon performance at network reconstruction. We emphasize general lessons for computational statisticians when faced with the challenge of model selection, and we assess the accuracy of various alternative paradigms, including recent widely applicable information criteria and different numerical procedures for approximating Bayes factors. We conduct the comparative evaluation with a novel inferential pipeline that systematically disambiguates confounding factors via an ANOVA scheme.     

Designing from activities. The "ability /difficulty table", a useful tool to detect the "limit users" in the Design for All Approach

In the Design for All Approach (DfA), an important phase of the design process consists in the individuation of the so-called "limit users", that are that particular group of people with the most "critical" features for the autonomous fruition of a system or a product. Generally, however, it is not easy to identify them in a complete and objective way. A clear and complete outline of design requirements with respect to the "normal" use of a service, product or environment, moreover, is of fundamental importance in inclusive design. In fact, we know how bad design, that doesn't take in account the true "strategies of use", may lead to situations of handicap, also serious, temporary or permanent, regardless if the user is a "disabled" person or not. In relation to this scenario, the paper shows the results of a research which has developed the "Ability/Difficulty Table" ("A/D Table"), a new tool useful to identify the so-called "limit users" and their needs with respect to different activities, linking the main "difficulties", expressed by people, with the "abilities" required to carry out in autonomy the investigated activity.     

Do conditional cash transfers influence migration? A study using experimental data from the Mexican progresa program

Prior research on Mexican migration has shown that social networks and economic incentives play an important role in determining migration outcomes. We use experimental data from PROGRESA, Mexico's primary poverty-reduction program, to evaluate the effects of conditional cash transfers on migration both domestically and to the United States. Our study complements a growing body of literature aimed at overcoming longstanding hurdles to the establishment of causal validity in empirical studies of migration. Analysis based on the data collected before and after the program's onset shows that conditional transfers reduce U.S. migration but not domestic migration. The data also enable us to explore the role of existing family and community migration networks. The results show that migration networks strongly influence migration, but that the effect of conditional transfers on migration is apparently not mediated by existing migration network structures. Our results suggest that conditional transfers may be helpful in managing rural out-migration, particularly to the United States.     

Governance, management and performance in public networks: How to be successful in shared-governance networks

This paper compares four cases and explores the effects on network performance of network governance, coordination mechanisms, and the abilities of the network manager. The focus is on shared-governance networks, which are in general considered to have difficulties achieving high-level performances. The cross-case comparison suggests a relationship between coordination mechanisms and the way shared-governance networks are managed: in order to be successful, they must be able to rely on formalized mechanisms and make a pool of “network administrators” responsible for their governance.     

The State, the Market and Cultural Diversity

This essay compares the logic of states and the logic of markets in the management of cultural diversity. On the one hand, the economic logic of markets leads to an encouragement of a 'soft' cultural diversity associated with the marketing of exoticism in music, the arts and cuisine, for example. On the other hand, the liberal states are trapped between their willingness to recognize some form of diversity and their fear of seeing social cohesion harmed by this recognition. In other words, the essay applies Hollified's hypothesis about the liberal paradox in immigration policy to the sphere of cultural diversity in post-immigration situations.     

Multidimensional Analysis of Deprivation and Fragility Patterns of Migrants in Lombardy,Using Partially Ordered Sets and Self-Organizing Maps

Social Indicators Research - In this paper, we present a multidimensional fuzzy analysis of the levels and the patterns of poverty and social fragility of migrants’ families, in the Italian...     

The contribution of general features of body movement to the attribution of emotions

The present study was designed to assess the contribution of general features of gross body movements to the attribution of emotions. Eighty-five adult subjects were shown ninety-six videotaped body movements, performed by three actors. Each movement was determined by seven general dimensions: trunk movement, arm movement, vertical direction, sagittal direction, force, velocity and directness. Using rating scales, the subjects judged the compatibility of each movement with each of twelve emotion categories. The results showed which movement features predicted particular ratings. Emotion categories differed as to the amount, type, and weights of predicting movement features. Three factors were extracted from the original ratings and interpreted as Rejection-Acceptance, Withdrawal-Approach, and Preparation-Defeatedness.I wish to thank Jacques van Meel for his stimulating contribution to this study, and the reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of the final report.