Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale

Abstract The architectural design of spaces and enabling technologies should be planned and implemented to facilitate the meeting between people and the development of quality relationships, since these are the real experiences that could change daily life, direct autonomy and facilitate healthy aging. Sociological research and specific policy studies (such as the Italian case study of Trieste) confirm the role of social capital for healthy aging and the possibility of generating it through social mechanisms, such as trust, collaboration, learning, recognition, etc. In this respect, the new territorial welfare structures in Italy—the Community Houses that are currently under construction—could become the hub of this type of social technologies, still largely absent in traditional services dedicated only to technical-health services. Instead, public and third sector social-health workers, together with volunteers and association staff, should promote listening, meeting and collaboration in places open to the community, where they can provide social-health services and live experiences of sociality, altruism, expressiveness, recognition of meanings, search for common solutions to every need. The real challenge is to provide these facilities with spaces and opportunities for physical encounters, inside and around the facilities, available to professionals and citizens. Their vitality will not be long in coming if given the opportunity.

PurposeThe paper examines the different trajectories of externalisation and the development of different kinds of welfare mix in three different sub-sectors of socio-educational services: long-term care for the elderly, early childhood services and kindergartens. By integrating the industrial relations and comparative public administration literatures, it analyses the different rationales underpinning contracting-out decisions of Italian local governments.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a multi-method, multi-level approach: quantitative data on the provision of socio-educational services and the nature of the providers are combined with the analysis of 12 case studies of municipalities through 80 semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis.FindingsThe paper argues that differentials in labour regulation across the public/private divide and the consequent possibility to access labour markets characterised by cheaper labour and higher organisational flexibility are a key explanation in local governments' decisions to outsource. Despite labour market factors playing a prominent role, their relevance is significantly tempered by political and social factors and particularly by the strong opposition of citizens, personnel and trade unions to pure market solutions in the provision of such services. However, the centrality of these factors depends on the nature of the services: political sensibility against privatisation proved to be stronger in kindergartens, while services for the elderly were more frequently and less contentiously privatised.Originality/valueThe main contribution is the integration of the two research traditions to analyse patterns of outsourcing in the socio-educational services in Italy, showing that neither of them is able, alone, to explain the different private/public mix characterising different social and educational services.

Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017) has been one of the 20th Century's most influential thinkers whose analysis have fed the sociological debate on postmodernity society. The purpose of this notes is to analyze the Bauman’s thought about urban safety in the liquid modernity. In an unpublished interview to the author (in appendix) Bauman introduces unprecedented considerations at both the meso and micro level: about crime prevention policies in Great Britain and relational aspects such as interaction between police and community, ethnic groups and natives.

The present paper provides an analysis of quality competition and entry in the context of two-sided media platforms. We provide a full characterization of a duopoly equilibrium in terms of advertising levels, subscription fees, and endogenous quality provision. Furthermore, we investigate the role of competition by considering potential entry. We show how the threat of entry shakes the equilibrium configuration by inducing lower quality differentiation. Finally, we describe the conditions under which a deterrence strategy in the form of a “limit quality” is feasible and profitable for the incumbent platform.

The purpose of this study is to analyse difficulties and special needs of Language Specific Needs students (BiLS, Bisogni Linguistici Specifici) in the field of comprehension of a narrative text and, specifically, in the study of fiction. This paper summarises the theories on which this study is built and, in a second stage, describes the particular case that brought at the compilation and practice of specific teaching method on the narrative category of the character. Our goal is to verify the efficacy and strength of this teaching method built specifically for BiLS students to facilitates the reading approach of a narrative text book, allowing the student to get closer with reading and consulting a narrative text book. The results of the case study are particularly satisfying, specifically regarding the positive approach of the student with the text analysis and fiction learning.

According to the report published by the Italian Ministry Health on sentinel events collected between 2005-2010, 873 events were reported, of which 4% (about 35) led to mortality, coma or serious functional disorders due to drug administration errors made by nurses. The link between interruptions and patient safety has been emphasized in the USA by the Institute of Medicine as a pivotal variable to improve the quality of nursing care. Airline companies have studied this problem since the 1960s, with a significant reduction of accidents. This study emphasized that nurses who are never interrupted or distracted, by using 'Do not disturb' tabards and signs, reduce errors during the administration of drugs. Quasi-experimental study on a convenience sample to explore the cause-effect relationship that reduces errors during drug administration by wearing a 'Do not disturb' tabard and signs. This study was conducted in 8 similar medicine and surgery units within 4 teaching hospitals in Rome. Of these 8 units, 4 were identified for the experimental group and 4 for the control group. Data were collected using the Medication Administration Distraction Observation Sheet tool. Data were analysed using SPSS 10.00 software. In the four hospitals that participated to the research were filled out 688 observational sheets, 356 (51,7%) for the control group and 332 (48,3%) for the experimental group. 132 were completed in the hospital 1, 143 in the hospital 2, 144 in the hospital 3 e 269 in the hospital 4. Analyzing the four hospitals, it emerged that in the experimental cohort some of the distractions calculated by the mean were lower compared with the control group (distractions by nurses and conversation). Yet, some distractions resulted greater in the experimental group respect to the control group (phone calls, other patients, external noise). At last, it did not emerge a significant difference in the distractions connected to variables such as: physicians, other personnel, visitors, and emergency situations. Distractions can lead to many errors throughout the drug administration phase. Wearing a high visibility vest while administering drugs proved to be very useful. However, this needs to be supported by effective teamwork, 'do not disturb' signs in all the workplace rooms, and by an education program that should not be limited only to those who administer drugs.

The article investigates and compares the occupational status of Bachelor’s degree graduates in Sociology and Communication Sciences from the La Sapienza University (Rome). It looks at four degree courses with curricula which aim to provide different educational and professional credentials, though based on a common sociological matrix. The study focuses mainly on the graduates who found work after their Bachelor’s degree, in order to highlight similarities and differences in terms of employability and professional profiles

La tendance a parler du vieillissement des individus comme d’une longue maladie et du vieux comme d’un malade est frequente. Pour remedier a ce « probleme du vieillissement », on imagine des solutions adaptees, le plus souvent depuis le haut dans une approche sectorielle ou economie, social, sante, culture ne se croisent pas toujours. On multiplie les dispositifs, les textes et les interlocuteurs. Face aux difficultes d’organisation et de suivi, des acteurs locaux se mobilisent a l’echelle de bassins de vie a partir de diagnostics partages et imaginent ensemble des solutions innovantes en matiere de services aux personnes âgees et de lutte contre l’isolement. A partir de travaux menes aupres de personnes âgees isolees dans une logique d'analyse spatio-temporelle des modes de vie, il est possible de repondre a des questions complexes qui font encore l’objet d’une approche sectorielle et institutionnelle (sante, handicap, transport, accessibilite, services...) par une demarche transversale a partir d’une cle d’entree territoriale et humaine permettant de rester citoyen jusqu’au bout.