828 research outputs found
Health promotion, psychological distress, and disease prevention in the workplace: a cross-sectional study of Italian adults
No full textTiziana Ramaci,1 Monica Pellerone,1 Caterina Ledda,2 Venerando Rapisarda2 1Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy; 2Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy Background: Job insecurity resulting from new types of employment contracts, together with organizational dynamics such as restructuring and internationalization, is emerging as an important source of organizational and individual stress, often transforming the workplace into a hostile and, above all, extremely demanding context from a psychological point of view.Materials and methods: The aim of this study was to identify the possible relationships between individual and organizational dimensions of work (such as engagement, autonomy, personal and collective efficacy at work, and satisfaction) and their impact on stress levels. The survey involved 120 Italian workers: 72 females (60%) and 48 males (40%), with a mean age of 41.8 years ±7.31 years. The groups of participants were selected on the basis of employment contract type (traditional or atypical) to emphasize potential differences. The study was conducted using a set of self-administered questionnaires, including the Psychological Stress Measure and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale.Results: The data show that personal and collective efficacy at work correlates negatively with stress, which in turn correlates negatively with engagement and satisfaction. The results support the hypothesis that job insecurity could be considered a strong predictor of poor health.Conclusion: The study should be considered as a preliminary assessment prior to studies of broader interventions to increase quality of life. Keywords: well-being, workers, stress, efficacy, satisfaction, autonomy, organizational proces
Caterina Colombini, o della cugina sedotta. Una ‘ricostruzione’ della figura di Caterina attraverso i testi
No full textIn this essay the author demonstrates that it is possible to “reconstruct” the figure of Caterina Colombini (1340?-1387) – Giovanni Colombini’s cousin – through a group of texts: the hagiography of Caterina, the letters sent to her by Giovanni Colombini and, finally, Giovanni’s biography written by Feo Belcari. The author divides his text into four parts: the first part analyzes the content of Caterina’s hagiography; the second examines the linguistic form of the hagiographic text; in the third, the author analyzes the latent meaning of the window, a symbolic place where Giovanni and Caterina converse on divine topics; in the last part, to conclude, the teachings that Giovanni gives to Catherine and her spiritual daughters – the Gesuate – are analyzed
Gender stereotypes in occupational choice: a cross-sectional study on a group of Italian adolescents
No full textTiziana Ramaci,1 Monica Pellerone,1 Caterina Ledda,2 Giovambattista Presti,1 Valeria Squatrito,1 Venerando Rapisarda2 1Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, “Kore” University of Enna, Enna, 2Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy Background: Gender beliefs represent cultural schemas for interpreting or making sense of the social and employment world, as they can influence attitudes, career aspirations, and the vocational decision process of young people, especially the adolescence.Materials and methods: This study examined the influence of gender stereotypes on the choice of career in adolescents. A group of 120 students were recruited to complete an ad hoc questionnaire, Scale of Perceived Occupational Self-Efficacy, and Semantic Differentials. The objectives of the study were to analyze the relationship between occupational self-efficacy and professional preference; to measure the influence of independent variables, such as age and gender, on the representation that students have of themselves and of the profession; and to identify the predictor variables of self-efficacy in the vocational decision.Results: Data showed that the distance between professional identity and social identity increases with age. Results underline that males seem to perceive themselves more self-efficient in military, scientific–technological, and agrarian professions than females. Furthermore, the type of job performed by parents appears to be a self-efficacy predictor variable in the choice of professions in the services area.Conclusion: Individuals’ perceived occupational self-efficacy, gender, age, and parents’ profession have implications for exploratory behavior. The conditions that make gender differences salient are more likely to favor self-representations of the career and consistent assessments with these representations. Keywords: adolescent, gender stereotypes, occupational choic
Perfluorinated compounds: biomonitoring and study of health effects
No full textPerfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are a large group of man-made chemicals characterized by a completely fluorinated hydrophobic linear carbon chain attached to a hydrophilic head. The presence of PFCs has been related with various adverse effects on several organs and systems. 100 aldult and 61 children (6-11 years of age) living in Sicily underwent medical examination and blood and urine routinary tests, as well as the serum concentration of 16 PFCs. These compounds in adult were found: ∑ 6.743 ng/mL (min-max:4.120-10.078 ng/mL). PFOS and PFOA were detected and quantified in 100% (n=100) of samples. PFOS showed a median of 6.975 ng/mL (min-max: 2.975-5.280 ng/mL); whereas PFOA had a median of 2.941 ng/mL (range 0.423- 1.946 ng/mL).
PFCs (∑PFCs = 5.888 ng/mL, range 1.035-12.94 ng/mL) were widely detected in the samples of all children, showing that they had been extensively exposed to PFCs, especially perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxs) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). In addition, long-chained PFCs were found in children's blood correlated with short-chained ones. Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) (beta=-0.114) and PFHxS (beta = 0.003) levels were correlated with maternal parity; while the "months of breastfeeding" variable is correlated with perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) concentrations (beta = 0.008). Female gender is negatively associated with PFOS (beta = 0.008).
The 16 PFCs were detected in the serum samples of adult and children from Catania (South Italy), showing that they had been exposed to PFCs, especially for PFOS, PFOA, PFHxs and PFDA. Moreover, the exposure to PFOS and PFOA in particular, was similar or lower than that reported in investigation from other Countries of Northern Europe, USA, China, Australia. The low levels of PFCs observed in children reflect the reduction of production and use of PFOS and PFOA in recent years. In addition, long-chained PFCs were found in serum was correlated with short-chained ones.
Therefore, further studies are needed to monitor and address adverse health outcomes of PFCs, especially those living in industrial regions
Biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma: The quest goes on
No full textMalignant pleural mesothelioma (MM) is a highly aggressive tumor characterized by a poor prognosis. Although its carcinogenesis mechanism has not been strictly understood, about 80% of MM can be attributed to occupational and/or environmental exposure to asbestos fibers. The identification of non-invasive molecular markers for an early diagnosis of MM has been the subject of several studies aimed at diagnosing the disease at an early stage. The most studied biomarker is mesothelin, characterized by a good specificity, but it has low sensitivity, especially for non-epithelioid MM. Other protein markers are Fibulin-3 and osteopontin which have not, however, showed a superior diagnostic performance. Recently, interesting results have been reported for the HMGB1 protein in a small but limited series. An increase in channel proteins involved in water transport, aquaporins, have been identified as positive prognostic factors in MM, high levels of expression of aquaporins in tumor cells predict an increase in survival. MicroRNAs and protein panels are among the new indicators of interest. None of the markers available today are sufficiently reliable to be used in the surveillance of subjects exposed to asbestos or in the early detection of MM. Our aim is to give a detailed account of biomarkers available for MM
Social Stigma during COVID-19 and its Impact on HCWs Outcomes
No full textThe COVID-19 emergency has significantly transformed the working environment and job
demands. Providing care was emotionally dicult for healthcare workers. Uncertainty, stigmatisation,
and potentially exposing their families to infection were prominent themes for healthcare workers
(HCWs) during the crisis, which first broke out in China at the end of 2019, and then in Italy
in early 2020. This study examined the eects of stigma, job demands, and self-esteem, and the
consequences of working as a “frontline care provider” with patients infected with the coronavirus
(COVID-19). A correlational design study involved 260 healthcare workers (HCWs) working in
a large hospital in southern Italy. The following questionnaires were administered: (1) the Job
Content Questionnaire (JCQ), for assessing psychological and physical demands; (2) the Professional
Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) to measure the quality individuals feel in relation to their work
as “frontline care providers”, through three dimensions: compassion fatigue (CF), burnout (BO),
and compassion satisfaction (CS); (3) the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, for evaluating individual
self-esteem; (4) a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire developed by See et al. about
attitudes of discrimination, acceptance, and fear towards HCWs exposed to COVID-19. The findings
suggest that stigma has a high impact on workers’ outcomes. Stigma may influence worker compliance
and can guide management communication strategies relating to pandemic risk for HCWs
Gender stereotypes in occupational choice: a cross-sectional study on a group of Italian adolescents [Erratum]
No full textRamaci T, Pellerone M, Ledda C, Presti G, Squatrito V, Rapisarda V. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2017;10:109–117. On page 116, Reference section, an error was introduced in the numbering regarding reference 44. The correct reference details are:44. Wraga M, Duncan L, Jacobs EC, Helt M, Church J. Stereotype susceptibility narrows the gender gap in imagined self-rotation performance. Psychon Bull Rev. 2006;13(5):813–819.The reference citation in the main text is correct.Read the original articl
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