906 research outputs found
"Put your own house in order first": local perceptions of EU influence on Romani integration policies in the Czech Republic
No full textThis article examines the influence of the European Union (EU) on the development and implementation of Romani integration policy in the Czech Republic from the perspective of those responsible for policy delivery. Based on analysis of key policy documents and research conducted in the Czech Republic, this article first examines how Romani integration became a more important issue during membership negotiations and then discusses how the criticism of the European Commission's Regular Reports was received by those responsible for implementing pro-Romani policies. Finally, the paper assesses how the status of full EU membership has impacted on integration policy. The article concludes that while funding for Romani integration projects has benefitted some groups, the overall impression of the EU is of a remote institution, quick to criticise and unwilling to practise what it preaches
Electrophysiological correlates of stimulus-driven reorienting deficits after interference with right parietal cortex during a spatial attention task: a TMS-EEG study
No full textTMS interference over right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) causally disrupts behaviorally and EEG rhythmic correlates of endogenous spatial orienting before visual target presentation [Capotosto, P., Babiloni, C., Romani, G. L., & Corbetta, M. Differential contribution of right and left parietal cortex to the control of spatial attention: A simultaneous EEG-rTMS study. Cerebral Cortex, 22, 446-454, 2012; Capotosto, P., Babiloni, C., Romani, G. L., & Corbetta, M. Fronto-parietal cortex controls spatial attention through modulation of anticipatory alpha rhythms. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 5863-5872, 2009]. Here we combine data from our previous studies to examine whether right parietal TMS during spatial orienting also impairs stimulus-driven reorienting or the ability to efficiently process unattended stimuli, that is, stimuli outside the current focus of attention. Healthy volunteers (n = 24) performed a Posner spatial cueing task while their EEG activity was being monitored. Repetitive TMS (rTMS) was applied for 150 msec simultaneously to the presentation of a central arrow directing spatial attention to the location of an upcoming visual target. Right IPS-rTMS impaired target detection, especially for stimuli presented at unattended locations; it also caused a modulation of the amplitude of parieto-occipital positive ERPs peaking at about 480 msec (P3) post-target. The P3 significantly decreased for unattended targets and significantly increased for attended targets after right IPS-rTMS as compared with sham stimulation. Similar effects were obtained for left IPS stimulation albeit in a smaller group of volunteers. We conclude that disruption of anticipatory processes in right IPS has prolonged effects that persist during target processing. The P3 decrement may reflect interference with postdecision processes that are part of stimulus-driven reorienting. Right IPS is a node of functional interaction between endogenous spatial orienting and stimulusdriven reorienting processes in human vision
Electrophysiological Correlates of Stimulus-driven Reorienting Deficits after Interference with Right Parietal Cortex during a Spatial Attention Task: A TMS-EEG Study
No full textTMS interference over right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) causally disrupts behaviorally and EEG rhythmic correlates of endogenous spatial orienting before visual target presentation [Capotosto, P., Babiloni, C., Romani, G. L., & Corbetta, M. Differential contribution of right and left parietal cortex to the control of spatial attention: A simultaneous EEG-rTMS study. Cerebral Cortex, 22, 446-454, 2012; Capotosto, P., Babiloni, C., Romani, G. L., & Corbetta, M. Fronto-parietal cortex controls spatial attention through modulation of anticipatory alpha rhythms. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 5863-5872, 2009]. Here we combine data from our previous studies to examine whether right parietal TMS during spatial orienting also impairs stimulus-driven reorienting or the ability to efficiently process unattended stimuli, that is, stimuli outside the current focus of attention. Healthy volunteers (n = 24) performed a Posner spatial cueing task while their EEG activity was being monitored. Repetitive TMS (rTMS) was applied for 150 msec simultaneously to the presentation of a central arrow directing spatial attention to the location of an upcoming visual target. Right IPS-rTMS impaired target detection, especially for stimuli presented at unattended locations; it also caused a modulation of the amplitude of parieto-occipital positive ERPs peaking at about 480 msec (P3) post-target. The P3 significantly decreased for unattended targets and significantly increased for attended targets after right IPS-rTMS as compared with sham stimulation. Similar effects were obtained for left IPS stimulation albeit in a smaller group of volunteers. We conclude that disruption of anticipatory processes in right IPS has prolonged effects that persist during target processing. The P3 decrement may reflect interference with postdecision processes that are part of stimulus-driven reorienting. Right IPS is a node of functional interaction between endogenous spatial orienting and stimulus-driven reorienting processes in human vision
Romani Minorities and Uneven Citizenship Access in the Post-Yugoslav Space
No full textThis paper discusses the position of Romani minorities in the light of the state dissolution and further citizenship regime transformations after the disintegration of the former Socialist Yugoslavia. While observing closely the repositioning of the Romani minorities in the post-Yugoslav space, it explicates that in the case of state dissolution, the unevenness of citizenship does not only manifest in the rights dimension, but also in uneven access to citizenship with regard to new polities
Tonotopic organization of the human auditory cortex revealed by steady state neuromagnetic measurements
No full textIndependent component analysis and fetal magnetocardiography: a tool for the automatic classification of independent components
No full textFetal Magnetocardiography (fMCG) allows the
non-invasive recording of the weak magnetic field variations associated with the electrical activity of the fetal heart. We used Independent Component Analysis (ICA) for the separation of maternal and fetal signals from fMCG recordings. The identification of fetal components is essential to reconstruct fetal signals. In this work we present a tool for the automatic classification of independent components (ACCT). Its performances were assessed using 66 fMCG data sets of normal fetuses ranging between 22 and 37 weeks. ACCT, whose outcomes were compared with those manually obtained
by an expert investigator, showed to be an effective tool.
Moreover, ACCT implementation permitted the reconstruction of stable and reliable fetal traces in a completely automatic manner. The SNR of the obtained fetal signals was high, showing that this was a further step forward the use of fMCG in hospital settings
Fetal cardiac time intervals: validation of an automatic tool for beat-to-beat detection on fetal magnetocardiograms
No full textFetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) allows the
non-invasive registration of fetal cardiac activity. This
technique, combined with the use of independent component
analysis (ICA) for signal processing, allows reconstructing of
reliable fetal cardiac traces. Low noise fetal signals can be used
to evaluate fetal cardiac time intervals (fCTI), useful to
monitor fetal heart function. In this work we present a method
for the automatic detection of cardiac waves (ACWD); it was
validated on 45 fMCG data sets of normal fetuses with
gestational age from 22 to 37 weeks. The outcomes of the
automatic procedure were compared with those of a manual
procedure performed by three independent operators on
rhythm strips of 100 consecutive cardiac cycles for each data
set. Distances between the wave boundaries detected with the
two methods were statistically estimated using confidence
intervals: differences were always comparable to those that
could be obtained from different investigators’ estimates.
Statistical correlation between fCTI quantified with ACWD
and with a manual procedure was assessed using the
parametric two-tailed Pearson’s correlation test, significance
level at a = 0.01. The automatic procedure showed a
computation time decrease in the ratio of approximately 1:600 with respect to the manual procedure performed on the same number of beats
Narrative threads: ethnographic tourism, Romani tourist tales, and fiber art
No full textThis thesis examines the need for the ethnographer to process their own emotions and experiences as part of the ethnographic experience. Specifically, it argues for the credibility of artistic expression resulting from fieldwork.
Drawing on the author’s experience during the 2012 inaugural "Romani Music, Culture, and Human Rights" study abroad program at the University of Pittsburgh, this thesis offers an analysis of five works of fiber art. Originally perceived by the author as separate from the thesis writing process, they became an integral part of thesis once they were recognized as the non-verbal processing of the my emotional response to events abroad and, therefore, essential components of the research process.
I argue that emotional processing is an integral part of writing an ethnography, for as the ethnographer works through their experiences, their understanding of the events changes, and this in turn impacts the ways in which the ethnographic is perceived and analyzed
Capitali dei privati, notai e modernizzazione economica a Milano tra Sette e Ottocento
No full textA Milano, il mondo del credito informale, non istituzionalizzato, popolato da nobili, borghesi, mercanti, enti assistenziali e corpi ecclesiastici (e caratteristico dell'età moderna) conobbe una grande accelerazione a cominciare dai decenni finali del XVIII secolo; il fiume di denaro proveniente dalla redenzione del debito pubblico mette nelle mani di migliaia di sottoscrittori capitali freschi che sono investiti per vivificare un’economia in trasformazione; i notai emersero come l’ossatura di questo mercato peer-to-peer, ma non solo in quanto certificatori della legalità dei contratti di prestito; grazie al ricco capitale informativo accumulato sui loro clienti e al rendimento crescente costituito dal buon fine delle transazioni, si profilarono sempre più come gli affidabili ed efficienti centri di circolazione e di facilitazione dello scambio di informazioni tra offerta e domanda di credito.
Con l’età francese e con la conseguente liquidazione delle poche istituzioni finanziarie attive (Monte di Santa Teresa, Monte di Pietà), il tessuto di questo segmento informale del credito si rafforzò e si radicò ancora di più nel nuovo equilibrio sociale; accanto ai notai, le reti parentali, di vicinanza e professionali costituirono i pilastri su cui poggiava il meccanismo fiduciario e reputazionale alle fondamenta di questo mercato.
Su queste basi i notai furono in grado di servire una larga parte dei Milanesi (e non solo); è possibile stimare che, nel 1840, quasi un quinto delle famiglie della città era passata attraverso un prestito notarile; attraverso e grazie a loro, che si affidavano a informazioni consolidate più che a garanzie ipotecarie generiche, furono mobilizzati capitali a medio e lungo termine finanziando le iniziative imprenditoriali più moderne che proprio allora movimentavano l'ambiente economico locale e che non trovavano supporto presso la Cassa di Risparmio. Questa istituzione che non disponeva della stessa ampia rete di scrutinio sociale, si affidava allo scrupoloso accertamento del valore dei beni ipotecati, e quindi finiva per concedere prestiti solo ai proprietari aristocratici o ai comuni.
Come per la Francia esaminata da Hoffmann, Postel-Vinay e Rosenthal, anche a Milano in questi anni la banca non sembra sostituire il ruolo dei notai e delle reti interpersonali, «if anything they were complements» . Tra queste due componenti del mercato creditizio non ci fu un rapporto di esclusione, ma di coesistenza, complementarietà e in seguito di contaminazione; anche se altre ricerche in questa direzione meritano di essere avviate, si può già affermare che molte delle competenze informative dei notai e della capacità di monitoraggio delle reti informali costituiranno, dopo l’Unità, un patrimonio fondamentale richiesto anche dalle nuove banche. Con ciò non si vuole negare che rispetto all’evoluzione ottocentesca delle nuove istituzioni bancarie in grado di unire liquidity e risk pooling su grande scala i notai «made the best of an old job» ; intendiamo solo sottolineare che il processo di trasformazione della funzione creditizia soprattutto tra antico regime ed età industriale mal si presta a una lettura di tipo scalare e progressiva, che spesso (come per il caso milanese) ha finito per liquidare come poco efficaci e lacunosi i sistemi locali che non rispondevano a determinate caratteristiche . In molti contesti la nuova banca non riesce e non vuole rimpiazzare in toto i meccanismi più tradizionali e personali di credito, ma si accompagna ad essi e ne trae importanti insegnamenti (e forse avere dimenticato questa lezione è tanta parte dello smarrimento della finanza contemporanea). Similmente anche prima della comparsa delle banche, le attività e le innovazioni finanziarie, spesso conchiuse nel mondo delle transazioni private, informali e non specializzate, hanno giocato un ruolo cruciale per il progresso e la modernizzazione economica di aree e territori (come la Lombardia) caratterizzati da percorsi di sviluppo di lunga e lenta accumulazione
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