Health of Non-binary and Genderqueer People: A Systematic Review

Background: Non-binary and genderqueer (NBGQ) people are those who do not identify within the gender binary system (male vs. female), not falling exclusively in man/male or woman/female normative categories. A higher proportion of NBGQ people is usually found within young persons. This population is marginalized and, as such, is at risk of stigmatization and of developing negative health outcomes. As literature on the health of NBGQ people is sparse, this study aims at systematically review the limited studies on this field. Methods: The research questions which guided the systematic review were: (1) What are the differences in the health levels between NBGQ and binary transgender (BT) individuals? (2) What are the differences in the health levels between NBGQ and cisgender individuals? (3) Which medical and psychological interventions are most suitable for improving NBGQ health? According to PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Results: Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria for the current systematic review. Among them, 9 were focused on the health differences between NBGQ and BT individuals, 4 of the latter and 1 individually were focused on the health differences between NBGQ and cisgender individuals, and 1 was focused on the evaluation of health outcomes related to medical procedures. No studies assessed psychological interventions aimed at improving health in NBGQ individuals. All studies were cross-sectional, did not generally recruit a large sample of NBGQ individuals, and used non-probability sample design. Results related to the difference in health between NBGQ and BT were mixed; indeed, some found a better health status while others a worse one. Results related to the differences in health between NBGQ and cisgender highlighted higher health needs in NBGQ than in BT individuals. The only study analyzing the effects of medical interventions on health found that NBGQ female-assigned at birth individuals improved their quality of life after chest surgery. Conclusions: Although scholars are starting to pay attention to the NBGQ health, research needs to be expanded both in terms of methodology and research contents. Clinical, health-related social policies, and research recommendations in this field are reported

La salute degli anziani LGBT dalla prospettiva del minority stress. Rassegna della letteratura e raccomandazioni di ricerca

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults have not received proper attention by the scientific literature and gerontology research, especially in Italy. This lack represents only an aspect of a more general condition of social invisibility that weighs on this population. The present contribution aims to provide researchers and clinicians with a review of scientific works which, especially in the USA, have casted light on experiences of stigmatization, discrimination, and victimization experienced and perceived by this population. The theoretical framework is represented by the minority stress perspective which provides an overview of risk and protective factors related to physical and mental health of minority groups. In the current review, authors considered studies conducted through quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, starting from 2000. Following the above described perspective, results are presented in two sections: the first one is focused on the different forms of stigma which weigh on LGBT older adults and the second one on the mental and physical health outcomes and on protective factors. The application of the minority stress perspective on LGBT older adults provides researchers and social and health care system providers with a psychosocial and clinical framework through which reading the phenomenon. Finally, main research recommendations are discussed

Innovative electrolyzers for carbon capture and valorization

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Self-Organized Sociopolitical Interactions as the Best Way to Achieve Organized Patterns in Human Social Systems: Going Beyond the Top-Down Control of Classical Political Regimes

The dissertation extrapolates the theory of self-organization in biological organisms to sociopolitical self-organization, in human social systems. It is stated that the latter is the best way to organize human social systems, given their complex nature and the impossibility of the computational dynamics that classical political regimes must perform in order to, unsuccesfully, try to organize human social systems by means of top-down control. Sociopolitical self-organization is presented as the optimal producer of order in human social systems, and it is claimed that anarchic complex networks are the resulting structures.Comment: Originally published in: Repository, Universidad del Rosario Link: http://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/4387 (2013

A Trillion-Dollar Question: What Predicts Student Loan Delinquencies?

The recent significant increase in student loan delinquencies has generated interest in understanding the key factors predicting the non-performance of these loans. However, despite the large size of the student loan market, existing analyses have been limited by lack of data. This paper studies predictors of student loan delinquencies using a nationally representative panel data set that anonymously combines individual credit bureau records with Federal Pell Grant and federal student loan recipient information, records on college enrollment, graduation and major, and school characteristics. We show that borrower-level credit characteristics are important predictors of student loan delinquencies. In particular, credit scores of young borrowers are highly predictive of future student loan delinquencies, even when measured well before borrowers enter repayment. In marked contrast, our results point to only a limited power of student debt levels in predicting future student loan credit events. Our findings have potentially useful practical implications. For example, access to credit file information when borrowers exit school could help to more effectively target student loan borrowers who might benefit from enrolling in income-driven repayment or loan modification plans

Indicadores de actividad, inversión y de impacto financiero en tiempo real en la Argentina

El objetivo del proyecto es elaborar modelos que produzcan una medición precisa de la evolución de variables claves de la economía real no disponibles en Argentina.Por un lado, en el caso de los indicadores de actividad, se utilizaron técnicas que la literatura ha dado en llamar “aprendizaje de máquina” (Machine Learning). Su uso se encuentra justificado en el trabajo de Eurostat Big Data and Macroeconomic Nowcasting: from data access to modelling. Los resultados no fueron los esperados, ya que se debe sortear la problemática del constante truncamiento y reelaboración de series estadísticas, proceso que ocurre con mucha frecuencia desde 2016.Actualmente, el algoritmo de IA se encuentra desarrollado en lenguaje R y se está trabajando en una base de datos. No obstante, el algoritmo no ha sido testeado para datos heterogéneos en la dimensión temporal.Por otro lado, se destaca que se arribó al estimador mensual buscado, denominado Índice Mensual de Inversión Real (IMIR-USAL), que respeta la metodología de cálculo de la serie trimestral de Formación Bruta de Capital Físico del INDEC. El IMIR-USAL se descompone en sus componentes no observados: el patrón estacional, el cíclico y la tendencia de largo plazo. Desde el primer trimestre del corriente año, el IMIR-USAL es publicado con regularidad como un producto del Instituto de Investigación de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales