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Designing Care Robots for Sustainable Healthcare Work
Get PDFCompassionate care is widely acknowledged as a fundamental component of high-quality healthcare, closely linked to positive outcomes for both patients and their families. The increasing incidence of burnout and compassion fatigue among healthcare professionals represents a critical obstacle to maintaining this standard of care. Elevated stress levels, emotional exhaustion, and compassion fatigue can significantly impair professionals’ capacity to offer empathetic and patient-focused support. This paper explores whether integrating care and assistive robots into healthcare environment can mitigate these challenges. By automating routine tasks and providing support, robots may contribute to creating a more sustainable work environment, thereby reducing stress, and burnout. To achieve this, we propose adopting a Value-Sensitive Design (VSD) approach which ensures that robots are not only technologically advanced but also ethically designed. VSD incorporates moral and social values throughout the design process, emphasizing that care robots must align with persons’ needs and values. This approach highlights the importance of a value-based framework in shaping innovative robotic solutions
Il nuovo metodo di governo nella gestione della politica economica ed il rispetto del principio democratico
No full textIt is generally believed that, with the Next Generation EU programme, the European institutions have introduced a new method of governance. This method is articulated on different levels: the first phase implies the setting of general objectives by the European institutions; the second phase presupposes the subsequent preparation of plans by the Member States to pursue these objectives; the further phases consist of the approval of the programmes and the subsequent monitoring of their implementation.The method in question has indeed been used in other regulatory contexts and, in particular, as far as economic matters are concerned, in the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact. The point is that this method presupposes the conduct of a dialogue at an eminently intergovernmental level, with very little involvement of parliamentary assemblies, which are generally only involved ex post and, as a rule, only to discuss, without any deliberative power, or to approve decisions taken elsewhere. In this context, one wonders whether this method of governance is actually replicable in other contexts, which are not characterised by the specific logic and purpose of the Next Generation EU programme
Idealizations, Scientific Models and Fictions
No full textLorenzo Magnani has pointed out the danger of considering scientific models not only as useful tools for explaining facts or discovering new entities, laws and theories, but also as fictions, surrogates, parables, etc. It is true that underlying many current positions is the inability to clearly distinguish between the epistemic and non-epistemic use of idealizations and/or fictions in the scientific enterprise. However, an account that primarily interprets idealization not at the level of theoretical modelling and thought experiment, but at the level of real experimentation and, more generally, human agency, can acknowledge the fictional character of empirical-scientific models and thought experiments while maintaining a firm distinction between empirical-scientific and fictional work
The EurLocalTurnout Dataset. (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. GESIS, Cologne. https://doi.org/10.7802/2894
No full textThe EurLocalTurnout Dataset contains electoral data at the municipal level for both national and local elections in 18 European countries - Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden. In addition, a number of relevant institutional, economic, cultural, and demographic measures are included. All variables were recorded in the period 2013-2020
Lavorare sull’oralità. Competenze degli studenti e professionalità dei docenti. Il modello LDB come strategia didattica.
Get PDFIl presente lavoro di tesi è incentrato sul Laboratorio Debate Base (LDB), un modello non competitivo di classroom debate progettato per la scuola primaria. Il quadro teorico si fonda sulla riflessione contemporanea sulle competenze di ascolto e parlato, in dialogo con la tradizione retorica classica. La ricerca prende avvio nel 2021, in un contesto in cui il debate nella scuola primaria italiana rappresenta un’esperienza episodica, non ancora sistematizzata e quasi assente nella letteratura scientifica. Le poche sperimentazioni disponibili tendono a riproporre format competitivi pensati per la scuola secondaria, senza adeguati adattamenti ai bisogni degli alunni più piccoli. Inoltre, la riflessione teorico-didattica si concentra spesso sulla fase finale di confronto pubblico, trascurando il processo preparatorio – fatto di ricerca, costruzione e negoziazione degli argomenti – che costituisce il cuore formativo dell’esperienza. A partire da queste criticità, il lavoro mira a esplorare una proposta alternativa: un modello curricolare pensato per promuovere il classroom debate nella scuola primaria in modo sostenibile e inclusivo. Il LDB si distingue rispetto ai modelli tradizionali di debate per l’assenza di dinamiche vincente-perdente, pur mantenendo due elementi fondanti della metodologia: lo scambio comunicativo regolamentato e la presenza di un conflitto tra posizioni diverse. Tali elementi sono reinterpretati in chiave cooperativa e inclusiva, che pone al centro la costruzione progressiva del discorso e il confronto come spazio generativo di esplorazione e co-costruzione di significati condivisi. La ricerca si articola intorno a due domande principali. La prima indaga in che modo il LDB incida sulle competenze argomentative, comunicative ed emotive degli studenti, e come incida sulla professionalità docente. La seconda domanda, che si articola in due interrogativi complementari, esplora come le pratiche attivate nel LDB corrispondano alle dimensioni dell’oralità delineate dall’Oracy Skills Framework, e su quali prospettive tale esperienza possa offrire per una riflessione curricolare orientata a restituire centralità all’oralità, intesa come dimensione educativa spesso trascurata. Nel corso della sperimentazione è emersa, infatti, una scarsa integrazione delle competenze orali nel curricolo scolastico: pur essendo considerate importanti, non vengono affrontate come oggetto di insegnamento sistematico e mancano strumenti, riferimenti e spazi didattici che ne supportino uno sviluppo coerente e continuativo. La metodologia adottata è quella della Design-Based Research, con cicli iterativi di progettazione, osservazione e revisione in contesto reale. La sperimentazione ha interessato sette istituti comprensivi delle Marche, coinvolgendo 324 alunni e 22 docenti, e si è avvalsa di strumenti qualitativi quali osservazioni in aula, interviste semi-strutturate, focus group e videoanalisi. Il percorso ha preso avvio nel febbraio 2022 con una fase esplorativa, dedicata alla definizione del disegno di ricerca e alla composizione del gruppo di lavoro. La prima fase di attuazione del LDB si è svolta da settembre a dicembre 2022, seguita da una seconda fase da gennaio a giugno 2023. In questo modo, le classi coinvolte hanno potuto svolgere l’attività per l’intero anno scolastico, con regolarità mensile. I risultati evidenziano un’evoluzione significativa nelle competenze degli studenti, in ambito argomentativo, comunicativo ed emotivo, con un rafforzamento della percezione di autoefficacia nello scambio verbale. Per i docenti emergono nuove competenze metodologiche e un diverso approccio al lavoro sull’ascolto, sul parlato e sulla gestione delle dinamiche di gruppo. Per entrambi, studenti e docenti, si delinea una diversa concezione dell’oralità, non più subordinata alla scrittura ma riconosciuta come componente autonoma del percorso di apprendimento. Anche a fronte di questi riscontri positivi, l’analisi dei dati mette in evidenza un nodo educativo essenziale: lo sviluppo dell’oralità non può essere affidato al solo dispositivo, ma necessita di un impianto didattico intenzionale che ne garantisca continuità e riconoscimento. Quando il debate viene proposto senza un lavoro strutturato sulle competenze orali, può diventare gravoso sul piano organizzativo per i docenti e fonte di pressione emotiva per i bambini, rischiando di rimanere una pratica isolata e di amplificare le disuguaglianze comunicative tra gli studenti. In particolare, il ruolo dell’oratore – centrale nella metodologia e rivelatosi leva fondamentale per la crescita degli studenti – richiede attenzione specifica e un contesto intenzionalmente cooperativo. Parlare in pubblico diventa esperienza formativa solo se la classe – intesa come gruppo di studenti e docente – agisce come spazio di sostegno attivo. Non si può dare per scontato che tale condizione esista: va costruita, curata e resa visibile. L’esperienza maturata attraverso il debate mette in evidenza una condizione essenziale per lo sviluppo delle competenze orali: attività fondate sull’esposizione pubblica, sull’interazione in presenza e sulla dimensione relazionale non generano appieno il loro potenziale trasformativo se proposte in assenza di un contesto che favorisca corresponsabilità e riconoscimento reciproco. Anche in presenza di un impianto didattico intenzionale, è la qualità delle relazioni a determinare l’efficacia del percorso. In questo passaggio si delinea il nucleo del problema educativo: l’interdipendenza positiva non è un semplice sfondo, ma un principio strutturale capace di dare senso e profondità alle esperienze di ascolto e parlato. In questa prospettiva, il LDB e, più in generale, il classroom debate si configurano come metodologie in grado di integrare ascolto, parola, collaborazione e legittimazione della partecipazione, offrendo un’occasione concreta per restituire all’oralità un ruolo stabile nel curricolo della scuola primaria.This doctoral research focuses on the Laboratorio Debate Base (LDB), a non-competitive model of classroom debate designed specifically for primary school. The theoretical framework draws on contemporary reflections on listening and speaking skills, in dialogue with the classical rhetorical tradition. The research began in 2021, in a context where debate in Italian primary schools is still an occasional and unsystematized experience, virtually absent from academic literature. The few existing experiments tend to replicate competitive formats designed for secondary school, without adequate adaptation to the needs of younger pupils. Moreover, theoretical and pedagogical reflection often concentrates on the final public confrontation, overlooking the preparatory process - made of research, construction, and negotiation of arguments - which constitutes the formative core of the experience. Starting from these critical issues, the research aims to explore an alternative proposal: a curricular model designed to promote classroom debate in primary education in a sustainable and inclusive way. The LDB stands apart from traditional debate models due to the absence of win/lose dynamics, while maintaining two foundational elements of the methodology: structured communicative exchange and the presence of a conflict between opposing positions. These elements are reinterpreted through a cooperative and inclusive lens that centres the progressive construction of discourse and the exchange of views as a generative space for exploration and the co-construction of shared meaning. The research is structured around two main questions. The first investigates how the LDB impacts students’ argumentative, communicative, and emotional competencies, as well as how it influences teacher professionalism. The second question, articulated into two complementary inquiries, explores how the practices activated within the LDB align with the dimensions of oracy outlined in the Oracy Skills Framework, and what perspectives this experience may offer for a curricular reflection aimed at restoring centrality to oracy, understood as an often-neglected educational dimension. The experimentation revealed a weak integration of oral skills into the school curriculum: although widely considered important, these skills are not addressed as a systematic object of teaching. There is a lack of tools, references, and learning spaces to support their coherent and continuous development. The research adopts a Design-Based Research methodology, with iterative cycles of design, observation, and revision in real contexts. The fieldwork involved seven primary school institutions in the Marche region, engaging 324 students and 22 teachers. Qualitative tools were used, including classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and video analysis. The process began in February 2022 with an exploratory phase dedicated to defining the research design and establishing the working group. The first implementation phase took place from September to December 2022, followed by a second phase from January to June 2023. This allowed participating classes to carry out the activity throughout the entire school year, with regular monthly sessions. The results show a significant development in students’ argumentative, communicative, and emotional competencies, along with a strengthened sense of self-efficacy in verbal exchanges. For teachers, the data reveal the acquisition of new methodological skills and a renewed approach to listening, speaking, and managing group dynamics. For both students and teachers, a new conception of orality emerges — no longer subordinate to writing, but recognised as an autonomous component of the learning process. Despite these positive outcomes, data analysis highlights a key educational issue: the development of oracy cannot rely solely on the use of the debate format, but requires an intentional instructional framework that ensures continuity and recognition. When debate is introduced without a structured focus on oral competencies, it may become burdensome for teachers and emotionally stressful for children, risking becoming an isolated practice that exacerbates communicative inequalities among students. In particular, the role of the speaker — central to the methodology and a key driver of student growth — requires specific attention and an intentionally cooperative context. Public speaking becomes an educational experience only when the classroom — as a collective of students and teacher — acts as a space of active support. This condition cannot be taken for granted: it must be built, nurtured, and made visible. The experience gained through the debate highlights an essential condition for the development of oracy: activities based on public speaking, face-to-face interaction, and the relational dimension of discourse cannot fully realise their transformative potential unless supported by a context that fosters mutual recognition and shared responsibility. Even with a well-designed pedagogical framework, it is the quality of relationships that determines the effectiveness of the learning experience. This reveals the core of the educational challenge: positive interdependence is not a mere background element, but a structural principle that gives meaning and depth to experiences of speaking and listening. In this perspective, the LDB — and more broadly, classroom debate — emerges as a methodology capable of integrating listening, speaking, collaboration, and the legitimisation of participation, offering a concrete opportunity to restore a stable role to oracy within the primary school curriculum
Abitare il genio. Per un «Atlante delle Case d’Autore», a c. di LAURA MELOSI, Firenze, leo S. olschki, 2024, pp. 95.
No full textBeyond the numbers: critical analysis of the role of postmortem tryptase in the forensic diagnosis of anaphylaxis
Get PDFThe postmortem diagnosis of anaphylaxis remains a forensic challenge due to the lack of specific external signs. Tryptase, a mast cell-derived protease, has emerged as a potential biomarker for fatal anaphylaxis. This systematic review critically examined 40 studies published between 2014 and 2024, including both biochemical and immunohistochemical analyses. Literature was identified through comprehensive searches of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, following PRISMA guidelines. Biochemical studies consistently reported elevated postmortem β-tryptase levels in anaphylaxis-related deaths, with proposed diagnostic thresholds ranging from 30.4 to 64 μg/L. A diagnostic threshold of 53.8 μg/L demonstrated particularly strong discriminative capacity (AUC = 0.98; p < 0.001). Immunohistochemical analyses revealed an i ncreased number of tryptase-positive mast cells in lung, pharynx, and skin tissues, but standardizedprotocols or quantification criteria were lacking. Notably, mast cell localization around
bronchioles or vascular structures was more frequent in anaphylaxis cases. Despite promising findings, substantial heterogeneity in postmortem interval, sampling site, and analytical methodology limits the generalizability of current evidence. Elevated tryptase levels were also documented in non-anaphylactic deaths, underscoring its limited specificity. Overall, tryptase can support the postmortem diagnosis of anaphylaxis when interpreted in the context of autopsy findings, scene investigation, and clinical history. However, it should not be used as a standalone marker. Standardized protocols and combined biomarker panels are urgently needed to enhance diagnostic reliability in forensic settings
