Book reviews

The Political Sociology of Florian Znaniecki and Contemporary Politics (in Polish), Olgierd Sochacki (Ed.) Wydawnictwo Gdanskie, The Scientific Society of Gdansk, 1996

Why Read. Internal Space and the Social Function of Literature: An Investigation with. Psychoanalysts and Psychology Students, Graziella Pagliano (Ed.) Bonanno Editore, 1994

Voix Littéraires de Femmes

Cuadernos sobre Vico, Nos 5–6, José M. Sevilla et al. 1995–96

Studi in memoria di Ernesto Grassi Proceedings of the International Conference in Memory of Ernesto Grassi (Ischia, 4–6 October 1993), Emilio Hidalgo‐Serna and Massimo Marassi (Eds), Napoli, La Città del Sole, 1996

Naples Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Fiosofici, La Gittà del Sole, Napoli, 1996

Family, Women and Employment in Central‐Eastern Europe, Barbara Lobodzinska (Ed.) Greenwood Press, 1995     

The key phases of the European health transition

"This paper will attempt to analyse the health transition [in Europe] from 1910.... The different steps in mortality trends, both in quantitative terms and with regard to structural changes by age and cause, will also be analysed and compared where possible to the far reaching changes which marked the history of mortality in Europe. An attempt at synthesis will be performed, using the data on life expectancy at birth in 1910 onwards until recent times. Particular focus will be placed on the more significant stages of the decline in mortality by age and the cause of death...."     

Governance and strategy within the financial system: tradition and innovation

Italian banks have undergone an evolutionary process and development of corporate, retail and private banking within the Italian banking system as a response to market pressures exerted by business and private customers for a broadening and qualitative expansion of offerings and organization of available competencies. This not only refers to large enterprises, whose relations with the financial system are autonomous, on equal terms and for some time now have opened up internationally, but above all the large number of SMEs found in Italy’s economic system. Interpreting governance and strategy takes place in a broad perspective in which banks and the financial system have to deal with five significant factors today: regulations, customers, knowledge, capital and synergies. Interaction with these five factors is undoubtedly not only guided by a choice made by shareholders and managers but represents the set of decisions that mitigate ideological factors, choices concerning sustainability and social acceptance of these choices. This paper intends to explore this interaction, drawing on and utilizing the most significant studies in the Italian Banking & Finance sector, with a specific focus on relations between the financial system and businesses, that is to say, the corporate banking area.     

Age-specific mortality trends in France and Italy since 1900: Period and cohort effects

Although France and Italy currently exhibit very similar expectations of life, their mortality patterns by age and sex are not the same. The differences were much greater at the beginning of the century than they are now. Graphical presentation of the data since 1900 by age, period and birth cohort is used to explore in detail the differences in trends and to bring out, in particular, differences between the two countries in period and cohort effects. In addition to providing more details on well-known period effects — the secular decline in mortality in both countries (with Italy largely ‘catching up’ with France), and the immediate effects of the world wars — similarities and differences in cohort effects are also apparent. The two countries exhibit clear differences not only in terms of immediate casualties of the wars, but also in terms of the long-term impact of unfavourable wartime living conditions on the cohorts most affected.     

Measuring… What? Notes on Some Globalization Indices

The article examines some of the instruments devised to measure globalization, in particular the CSGR Globalisation Index and the A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Globalization Index. The article begins by comparing the features and results of these instruments, and then highlights their strengths and weaknesses. The two most significant weaknesses are as follows. The first consists in what Beck has called ‘methodological nationalism’: the fact that attempts are made to study an essentially transnational phenomenon on a national basis. The second weakness resides in the problems—in terms of the completeness, adequacy, and timeliness of information—of the database used to calculated these indices. Also to be emphasized is that analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of these indices cannot be separated from the purpose for which they have been devised. In other words, there is no one ‘best’ instrument in absolute terms; rather there is an array of instruments with which to pursue particular knowledge goals. Finally, discussion of the techniques used to measure the phenomenon provides an occasion to raise considerations concerning the nature of globalization.     

Mortality and population ageing

We are here trying to measure the impact of each element of the total fertility, mortality and migration history of the cohorts concerned on population structure change. Computations are done for both France and Italy on population ageing during the last 30 years as well as until the end of the official population projections around 2040. Though the ageing effect of fertility decrease is usually emphasized, we can see here that the consequences of mortality change are at least equally (and sometimes more) important. The case of the Italian projections is particularly fascinating. Even if the very low fertility level of 1.4 children per woman is maintained until the year 2040, more than half the increase in the proportion of the population aged 60 and over (from 21% to 43% for females) would be due to mortality change and slightly less to fertility change.     

Differentials in the femininity ratio among centenarians: variations between northern and southern Italy from 1870

Significant differentials have been observed between Italian regions in the distribution of centenarians by sex, from two women per man in the south to over eight in certain regions in the north. In order to explain these differentials we studied the evolution of the femininity ratio (FR), using a longitudinal approach to follow the ageing process in two cohorts, and making use of nearly all the statistical data available since the time of the Unification of Italy in 1870. Significant differentials in the FR observed at the age of 100 are mainly due to mortality differentials among men over the age of 60. The high mortality of men in the north and their low mortality in the south are the main explanations of why the FRs are higher in the north and lower in the south. Mortality differentials among women have only a marginal impact.     

Pathways to reintegration in Senegal and Nigeria promoted by Italian Assisted Voluntary Return programmes

This article presents the main findings of a research study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of pathways to reintegration for citizens repatriated from Italy to Senegal and Nigeria through Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programmes. Based on the scientific debate on the subject, the article begins by offering an in-depth exploration of the issue of whether or not AVRR is truly voluntary, as well as the meaning of the term ‘reintegration’. It then illustrates the Italian AVRR system before presenting the methodology and results of the research carried out. In particular, the aim is to identify and analyse the main factors upon which the result of the reintegration of citizens who have used AVRR programmes depends, perhaps most notably the type of reception given to the returnee by friends and relatives who remained in their home country.