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L’intervento si propone come una riflessione sull’insegnamento della linguistica nell’ambito dei corsi in Comunicazione interculturale. Come spesso viene sottolineato, anche recentemente in occasione degli “Stati Generali della lingua e della creatività italiane nel mondo” (2021), nell’anno delle celebrazioni per i 700 anni della nascita di Dante, l’italiano è una delle lingue più studiate al mondo. Una delle cause di questo grande interesse sembra essere la curiosità, da parte dei più giovani studenti stranieri, nei confronti delle caratteristiche del Made in Italy. Tuttavia, le imprese italiane non riescono a valorizzare adeguatamente la complessità culturale alla base del prodotto italiano, proprio a causa della incapacità di comunicare in modo efficace gli aspetti che lo caratterizzano. Molto spesso viene dato per scontato che il consumatore conosca il contesto culturale alla base del prodotto, errore che si amplifica quando il consumatore proviene da Paesi geograficamente e culturalmente lontani dal nostro. Le imprese hanno bisogno di narratori che siano in grado di raccontare in un linguaggio comprensibile al consumatore le molte caratteristiche del prodotto italiano. Un’opera di traduzione delicata e complessa che richiede un’approfondita conoscenza sia del nostro sistema di valori che di quello del destinatario della comunicazione. All’aumentare della distanza culturale dei consumatori maggiore dovrà essere l’attenzione alle modalità di comunicazione. Per comunicare nei mercati dei Paesi emergenti, in particolare orientali, è necessario non solo conoscere l’evoluzione dei media digitali, ma anche dominare gli aspetti linguistici e culturali. I testi nelle lingue straniere non possono essere la semplice traduzione dei testi italiani; al contrario, sono delle riformulazioni che tengono conto sia della diversità delle categorie culturali di riferimento delle diverse società, sia delle difficoltà di resa traduttiva degli usi linguistici della lingua more...

Cancer patients are at an increased risk of developing severe consequences due to the COVID-19 infection. However, psychological outcomes in this population have been overlooked in the literature. The present study aims to identify significant psychological differences between gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy before and during the pandemic. Additionally, we explore the correlations between COVID-19-related concerns and anxiety, depression, distress, and quality of life levels. Forty-two patients completed the STAI-Y, the EORTC QLQ-C30, the BDI II, the DT, and an ad-hoc questionnaire that investigated COVID-19-related concerns. The analyses did not show significant differences in the psychometric scales between the two groups, highlighting a considerable resilience against mental health and quality of life deterioration during the COVID-19 pandemic in gynecologic cancer patients. However, COVID-19-related concerns were positively associated with anxiety and inversely related to emotional functioning levels. These results emphasize the importance of a comprehensive patient care and the need to implement a multidisciplinary approach that includes psychological support in the treatment plan. Moreover, it is essential to encourage clear communication to convey comprehensive information about the impact of the pandemic on physical and psychological levels, as well as to offer psychoeducational tools to face the pandemic. more...

The “Healthcare workers’ wellbeing [Benessere Operatori]” project is an exploratory longitudinal study assessing healthcare workers’ mental health at three different time points over a 14-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected socio-demographic and work-related information and assessed the perceived social support, coping strategies, and levels of depression, anxiety, insomnia, anger, burnout, and PTSD symptoms. In total, 325 Italian healthcare workers (i.e. physicians, nurses, other healthcare workers, and clerks) participated in the first initial survey and either the second or third subsequent survey. Participants reported subclinical levels of psychiatric symptoms that remained mostly unchanged across time, except for an increase in stress, depression, state anger, and emotional exhaustion symptoms. Despite subclinical levels, healthcare workers’ distress can adversely affect the quality of care, patient satisfaction, and medical error rates. Therefore, implementing interventions to improve healthcare workers’ wellbeing is required. more...

Purpose: This research aimed to investigate the socio-demographic, clinical, and psychological variables predictive of a greater functioning and quality of life in patients with gynecological cancer after their first cycle of carboplatin and taxol-based chemotherapy. Methods: The sample of the present research consisted of 104 patients. The European Organization on Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were administered to each participant. Results: The analyses showed that higher state anxiety levels predicted a lower role, emotional, and social functioning and a lower general quality of life. Higher trait anxiety levels and social support perceived from one's friends predicted a greater role functioning. Similarly, having a relationship predicted a greater physical, cognitive, and social functioning. On the contrary, the presence of relapsed cancer was negatively associated with these patients' quality of life. Conclusions: The present study highlighted the importance of identifying patients at higher risk of experiencing lower levels of functioning and worse general quality of life to implement tailored interventions from the beginning of treatment, thus improving the quality of life of these patients throughout the chemotherapy treatment. more...

Background: COVID-19 forced healthcare workers to work in unprecedented and critical circumstances, exacerbating already-problematic and stressful working conditions. The “Healthcare workers’ wellbeing (Benessere Operatori)” project aimed at identifying psychological and personal factors, influencing individuals’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: 291 healthcare workers took part in the project by answering an online questionnaire twice (after the first wave of COVID-19 and during the second wave) and completing questions on socio-demographic and work-related information, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Brief Cope. Results: Higher levels of worry, worse working conditions, a previous history of psychiatric illness, being a nurse, older age, and avoidant and emotion-focused coping strategies seem to be risk factors for healthcare workers’ mental health. High levels of perceived social support, the attendance of emergency training, and problem-focused coping strategies play a protective role. Conclusions: An innovative, and more flexible, data mining statistical approach (i.e., a regression trees approach for repeated measures data) allowed us to identify risk factors and derive classification rules that could be helpful to implement targeted interventions for healthcare workers. more...

Subterranean ecosystems are among the most widespread environments on Earth, yet we still have poor knowledge of their biodiversity. To raise awareness of subterranean ecosystems, the essential services they provide, and their unique conservation challenges, 2021 and 2022 were designated International Years of Caves and Karst. As these ecosystems have traditionally been overlooked in global conservation agendas and multilateral agreements, a quantitative assessment of solution-based approaches to safeguard subterranean biota and associated habitats is timely. This assessment allows researchers and practitioners to understand the progress made and research needs in subterranean ecology and management. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature focused on subterranean ecosystems globally (terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater systems), to quantify the available evidence-base for the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We selected 708 publications from the years 1964 to 2021 that discussed, recommended, or implemented 1,954 conservation interventions in subterranean ecosystems. We noted a steep increase in the number of studies from the 2000s while, surprisingly, the proportion of studies quantifying the impact of conservation interventions has steadily and significantly decreased in recent years. The effectiveness of 31% of conservation interventions has been tested statistically. We further highlight that 64% of the reported research occurred in the Palearctic and Nearctic biogeographic regions. Assessments of the effectiveness of conservation interventions were heavily biased towards indirect measures (monitoring and risk assessment), a limited sample of organisms (mostly arthropods and bats), and more accessible systems (terrestrial caves). Our results indicate that most conservation science in the field of subterranean biology does not apply a rigorous quantitative approach, resulting in sparse evidence for the effectiveness of more...

Subterranean ecosystems are among the most widespread environments on Earth, yet we still have poor knowledge of their biodiversity. To raise awareness of subterranean ecosystems, the essential services they provide, and their unique conservation challenges, 2021 and 2022 were designated International Years of Caves and Karst. As these ecosystems have traditionally been overlooked in global conservation agendas and multilateral agreements, a quantitative assessment of solution-based approaches to safeguard subterranean biota and associated habitats is timely. This assessment allows researchers and practitioners to understand the progress made and research needs in subterranean ecology and management. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature focused on subterranean ecosystems globally (terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater systems), to quantify the available evidence-base for the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We selected 708 publications from the years 1964 to 2021 that discussed, recommended, or implemented 1,954 conservation interventions in subterranean ecosystems. We noted a steep increase in the number of studies from the 2000s while, surprisingly, the proportion of studies quantifying the impact of conservation interventions has steadily and significantly decreased in recent years. The effectiveness of 31% of conservation interventions has been tested statistically. We further highlight that 64% of the reported research occurred in the Palearctic and Nearctic biogeographic regions. Assessments of the effectiveness of conservation interventions were heavily biased towards indirect measures (monitoring and risk assessment), a limited sample of organisms (mostly arthropods and bats), and more accessible systems (terrestrial caves). Our results indicate that most conservation science in the field of subterranean biology does not apply a rigorous quantitative approach, resulting in sparse evidence for the effectiveness of more...