RISULTATI RICERCA

Accountability and Mandatory Testing in Germany: How do Teachers use Performance Feedback Data? - The German federal states implemented bureaucratic accountability systems and mandatory testing which aim at self-evaluation and school improvement. This paper investigates how teachers respond to mandatory testing and how they use performance feedback data for instructional improvements. In a qualitative study, 18 teachers in 9 secondary schools were interviewed. The site of the study was Thuringia, one of the German states where schools get elaborated feedback information based on competency modeling and school performance data which are controlled for socio-economic factors. Teacher statements on feedback data usage were classified as either instrumental, conceptual, convincing, strategic or non-use. Qualitative content analysis revealed that strategic or unintended consequences of mandatory testing are less grave than in countries with high-stakes testing. On the other hand, instrumental and conceptual use of feedback data occurs in German schools, but the examples show that it is questionable if mandatory testing can deeply influence teaching strategies.

Whereas the interpretation of Feuerbach’s philosophy during the Cold War was dominated by ideological struggles between idealism (Hegelianism) and materialism (Marxism), the new Feuerbach research emphasizes the independence of Feuerbach’s philosophy of religion and anthropology as an ethical concept for post-secular societies. Internationalizing the discourse on Feuerbach has greatly helped to emancipate his philosophy from Engels’ dictum that the anthropology of Feuerbach did not reach the same level as that of Hegel’s epistemology or Marx’ sociology and was nothing more than old metaphysics outside of any historical and societal intermediation.

A cancer diagnosis during child and adolescent years fundamentally disrupts normal development, and can result in several adverse mental health sequelae. Cognitive-behavioural therapy has proven efficacy in addressing a range of psychological issues relevant to paediatric and adolescent oncology, including depression and different forms of anxiety. However, numerous barriers hinder many patients and families from being able to access specialised clinical psychology services, tailored to the unique psychosocial considerations of paediatric oncology. To address this gap in evidence-based clinical service-provision, our paediatric psycho-oncology research unit has developed several CBT-based interventions tailored to theneeds of children and adolescents with cancer and their families. In this commentary, we provide an overview of our clinical-research program, examining how on-line CBT-based programs are feasible, acceptable, safe, and promising models of support for this patient population. We also examine some of the limitations or pitfalls involved in delivering on-line, CBT-based programs, including how we have navigated the ethical management of challenging, clinically-concerning events within our trials. Finally, we examine several future potential applications to extend the impact of on-line, CBT-based interventions to several other currently unmet needs in paediatric oncology. Drawing from several of our CBT-aligned, health-behaviour-focused intervention programs, we propose that on-line CBT holds significant potential in supporting the health behaviours and quality of life of young people and their families, both during and after cancer treatment. The future impact of on-line CBTbased interventions will rely upon clinicians and researchers effectively collaborating to effectively evaluate - and implement - these programs in real-world settings.

Questo articolo esamina la rottura del modello occupazionale che sosteneva il sistema di Welfare della seconda metà del XX secolo. Il focus del capitolo è il lento ma al contempo progressivo smantellamento delle tutele del lavoro avvenuto negli ultimi decenni, smantellamento che nell’ipotesi qui proposta ha svolto anche un ruolo cruciale nel facilitare la nascita delle piattaforme digitali. Così, se da un lato la perdita delle tutele può essere correlata ai limiti che avevano le tradizionali regolazioni del lavoro, soprattutto nell’inclusione di donne, migranti e altri lavoratori generalmente considerati più "marginali"; dall’altro essa è un prodotto diretto della nuova divisione globale del lavoro e del modo in cui le tecnologie sono oggi utilizzate per esternalizzare il lavoro. Questi sviluppi vengono successivamente ampliati dalla crescente "piattaformizzazione" dell’economia che si sta diffondendo in tutti i settori di produzione basati su attività direttamente controllate dagli algoritmi. Nonostante la nascita di nuove forme sindacali, capaci di intercettare le istanze e difendere gli interessi dei gig worker, il paper si conclude evidenziando come quest’ultime non possano rappresentare da sole una soluzione definitiva e come occorra puntare a un nuovo set di diritti universali dei lavoratori.

L’articolo sottolinea la necessità che il servizio sociale in Italia si occupi in modo più sistematico e più deciso dei temi attuali di politica sociale. La comprensione dei profondi cambiamenti in atto diventa una dimensione conoscitiva centrale per lo sviluppo di una professionalità che sia consapevole della sua responsabilità politica e che possa dare un suo contributo specifico informando lo sviluppo delle politiche dal basso. Viene messo a fuoco in modo critico il rapporto tra politiche e pratiche professionali, individuando proprio in questa dimensione la specificità del servizio sociale come professione del welfare.

Il XXIII volume degli Annali della Facoltà di Economia dell’Università di Cagliari raccoglie, tra i vari titoli: “Is Management of Mutual Funds in Italy really active? An Empirical Investigation”; “Some Note about the Existence and Stability of Periodic solutions in non linear three-dimensional Economic Financial Models”; “Egemonia e soluzione del problema distributivo nei sistemi economici capitalistici a decisioni decentrate”; “Testing for asymmetric degrees of price stickiness within the Italian industrial sector”...