Back to Stir It Up: Erectile Dysfunction in an Evolutionary,Developmental, and Clinical Perspective

In this review, we analyze erectile dysfunction (ED) in the context of sexual selection. We highlight that ED is a specific human male characteristic linked to the loss of the baculum or penile bone and results from a range of physical and psychological factors. We discuss evolutionary interpretations that consider dysfunctional penile erection as an honest signal of a low-quality male. We further emphasize the importance of considering psychosocial context and early attachment dynamics for understanding the etiology of some types of ED. Finally, we suggest that the integration of developmental factors for understanding the emergence of this sexual disorder is instrumental for the calibration of more effective therapies.     

Screening for elder abuse in hospitalized older adults with dementia

When older adults with dementia are hospitalized for psychiatric treatment, which elder abuse screen to use is questionable. This article reviews screens to identify desirable characteristics. For clinician completion, the Elder Assessment Instrument and the Brief Abuse Screens for the Elderly are recommended. For the older adult, the brief Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test is suitable. The Modified Conflict Tactics Scale, which can be used by both the older adult and the nonprofessional caregiver, has many of the recommended characteristics. Research is necessary in the application of these screens within hospitals to detect elder abuse within this specialized population.     

Employment status and education/employment relationship of PhD graduates from the University of Ferrara

Two sample surveys of Post-Docs were planned and carried out at the University of Ferrara in 2004 and 2007 aimed at determining the professional status of Post-Docs, the relationship between their PhD education and employment, and their satisfaction with certain aspects of the education and research program. As part of these surveys, two methodological contributions were developed. The first concerns an extension of the non-parametric combination of dependent rankings to construct a synthesis of composite indicators measuring satisfaction with particular aspects of PhD programs [R. Arboretti Giancristofaro and L. Salmaso, Global ranking indicators with application to the evaluation of PhD programs, Atti del Convegno “Valutazione e Customer Satisfaction per la Qualità dei Servizi”, Roma, 8–9 Settembre 2005, pp. 19–22; R. Arboretti Giancristofaro, S. Bonnini, and L. Salmaso, A performance indicator for multivariate data, Quad. Stat. 9 (2007), pp. 1–29; R. Arboretti Giancristofaro, F. Pesarin, and L. Salmaso, Nonparametric approaches for multivariate testing with mixed variables and for ranking on ordered categorical variables with an application to the evaluation of PhD programs, in Real Data Analysis, S. Sawilowsky, ed., a volume in Quantitative Methods in Education and the Behavioral Sciences: Issues, Research and Teaching, Ronald C. Serlin, series ed., Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2007, pp. 355–385]. The procedure was applied to highlight differences in the interviewed Post-Docs’ multivariate satisfaction profiles in relation to two aspects: education/employment relationship; employment expectations; and opportunities. The second consists of an inferential procedure providing a solution to the problem of hypothesis testing, where the objective is to compare the heterogeneity of two populations on the basis of sampling data [G.R. Arboretti, S. Bonnini, and F. Pesarin, A permutation approach for testing heterogeneity in two-sample categorical variables, Stat. Comput. (2009) doi: 10.1007/S11222-008-9085-8.]. The procedure was applied to compare the degrees of heterogeneity of Post-Doc judgments in the two surveys with regard to the adequacy of the PhD education for the work carried out.     

Economy “versus” Environment: The Influence of Economic Ideology and Political Identity on Perceived Threat of Eco‐Catastrophe

Using data from a national survey of American adults, we examine the relationships between economic, political, sociodemographic, and religious characteristics with perception of the potential for eco‐catastrophe. We employ the treadmill of production theory to frame our understanding of views about ecological concerns, arguing that the treadmill discourse associated with economic development is hegemonic and fundamentally shapes public views of eco‐catastrophe. In line with this approach, economic ideology is the strongest predictor of attitudes about eco‐catastrophe, and its influence is conditioned by political identity. There is also significant patterning in these perceptions based on gender, race, education, and religion, but the influence of social characteristics is primarily indirect—mediated by economic ideology and political identity. These results provide useful information for addressing environmental problems in public discourse and bridging policy divides.     

Civilian Tradition and the Chinese Company Law

What is the role of company’s legislation in the Chinese transition? In the first paragraphs of the paper it will show the emergence, in a historical perspective, of some enterprise-related legal structures. These structures will be described by emphasizing model-function relations, and connecting them to the features of ‘different societies’ in which they developed. We will consider then, the role of status. The law, a legal structure as well, is used by China to manage its gradual and controlled, yet rapid, transition. By these means, it has been possible, for instance, to move status based distinctions among enterprises inside, at least formally, ‘equality’ based legal structures.     

Why communities of practice succeed and why they fail

A specific form of intra-organizational networks – a community of practice (COP) – is increasingly regarded as an important structure within organizations. This network structure is well suited for the development and sharing of knowledge and practices across divisions. Our research explores the most salient reasons for the success and failure of such networks. An investigation of 57 COPs from major European and US companies led to the discovery of 10 “commandments” that lead to the successful development and sharing of best practices. It also identified five main reasons for failure.     

Neurocognitive Effects in Welders Exposed to Aluminium: An Application of the NPC Test and NPC Ranking Methods

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of exposure to aluminium on the cognitive sphere in a group of welders. Given the intrinsic complexity of the neurocognitive sphere, three different psychomotor variables were used for its investigation allowing the resulting problem to be naturally modelized into a multivariate framework and solved by a nonparametric combination of permutation tests (NPC test). In order to make the treated and control groups comparable, we also stratified the samples on the basis of a risk index that estimates the combined action of biological age and exposure time. Despite the fact that studies in the literature have reached conflicting results, our study highlights a significant drop in attention and memory performances in individuals exposed to aluminium. Finally, we identify a global criterion that summarises the information on the neurocognitive state by applying the nonparametric combination of dependent rankings method (NPC ranking).     

Intervention Research as Management Research in Practice: Learning from a Case in the Fashion Design Industry

Research in the field of management and organizational sciences has yielded a deeper understanding of many emerging business issues. However, the relevance of the contributions has been increasingly criticized, in both the academic and public spheres. We propose the intervention research approach – originally developed by the research group at Ecole des Mines de Paris – as a design science approach able to address both the relevance gap issue and the growing complexity of management practice. It is argued that increasing our understanding of management requires research that is more insightful, influential and immediately applicable. This in turn requires closer collaboration between management and researchers during the inquiry process, which is not always easy to achieve. An illustrative case study of an intervention research project focusing on creativity, conducted in Italy in collaboration with a fashion company, demonstrates how intervention research can be rigorous and relevant to practitioners, and how it can advance theoretical knowledge in management science.