The shifting boundaries of (un)documentedness: a gendered understanding of migrants’ employment-based legalization pathways in Italy

The paper provides a qualitative exploration of the experiences of migrants who have engaged in the last employment-based amnesties in Italy. To cross the illegal/legal divide migrants have to successfully perform societal expectations in terms of more or less deserving kinds of work embedded in legalization measures. The moral economy of domestic work favours the creation of employer–employee relationships, which – while sometimes highly exploitative – are more frequently capitalized for legalization purposes. Male workers have been instead disadvantaged by the frequent lack of long-term, dependent work positions and by policies’ favourable stance towards domestic work. However, migrants actively challenge marginalization manoeuvring their work identities through a varied network of intermediaries to exploit the greater legitimization of domestic work in a context marked by compliance and weak gatekeeping. The paper contributes to the literature on irregularity showing how work-related legalization processes are achieved and the role gender plays in this process.     

Weaving carpets, weaving lives: Childhood and ethnicity in downtown Kathmandu

In the developing metropolis public perceptions about caste and ethnicity are influenced by historical trends in decisions about occupations; but what does this mean for children whose families decide they work? In Kathmandu's carpet industry, a large percentage of workers are Tamang, an ethnic group who represent a small percentage of the country's population. Organisations working with Tamang child labourers have predominantly used quantitative research data to construct their intervention strategies. This has left many factors unexamined. This paper discusses qualitative and quantitative research data generated by a team of Nepali practitioners striving to address child labour issues. The purpose of their study was to examine the social and cultural factors influencing child migration and the quality of life for children in the carpet industry. The methodology included participatory indicators of children's social, economic, physical and psychological well-being. The paper will draw on children's perspectives to highlight the role of ethnicity in opportunity and exploitation.     

An encyclopaedia of sexuality

Primate Sexuality. Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes and Human Beings by Alan F. Dixson, Oxford University Press, 1998. £75.00 hbk, £32.50 pbk (656 pages) ISBN 0 19 850183 8/0 19 850182 X     

The end of late-generation European ethnicity in America?

Exploring late-generation ethnicity automatically raises a long-ignored question: whether it will end and how: through what terminal stages and processes? In America, this question currently makes sense only for late-generation descendants of the European immigration wave that lasted roughly from the 1870s to 1924. However, answering it prepares the ground for eventually asking it also about late-generation ethnics in newer waves of immigration.     

Sex Differentiation in Meloidogyne incognita and Anatomical Evidence of Sex Reversal

Sex differentiation was studied by examining the cellular structure of gonad primordia extracted from second-stage juveniles developing under different environmental conditions. In female jnveniles, divisions of the two somatic cells of the primordium occurred in mid-sccond stage and resulted in 12 cells. Two of them were differentiated as cap cells, two occupied the anterior central and eight the posterior central part of the V-shaped primordium. The two germinal cells divided at the 6-8 somatic-cell stage of the primordium; i.e., earlier than in any other plant-parasitic nematode. In male juveniles of similar developmental stage, divisions of somatic cells resulted in 10 cells: one cap cell at the posterior tip and nine cells at the anterior part of the rod-shaped primordium. Germinal cells divided at the 6-8 sontatic-cell stage. On the basis of gonad anatomy it was concluded that some female juveniles undergo sex reversal and proceed with further development as males. The degree of expression of intersexual features depends on the period at which sex reversal occurs. Sex reversal at an early period gives rise to males with one testis, almost indistinguishable front true males. Sex reversal at mid-second stage involves degeneration of the nucleus of one of the cap cells resulting in males with an atrophied testis and a well-developed testis. More delayed sex reversal results in males with two testes of approximately equal size. To explain these patterns of development, it is assumed that sex differentiation is hormonally controlled and that the environment influences hormonal balance by affecting gene expression.     

The Genetics of Development and Behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans

The current genetic research on Caenorhabditis elegans and the application of genetic techniques to the analysis of development and behavior in this animal are reviewed. Some aspects of the work are emphasized more than others and this inevitably reflects the author''s own interests and prejudices. An effort was made to point out the advantages that C. elegans offers for certain types of investigations and to point out, in general terms, the relevance of this work to other areas of biological research.     

First detection of anti-Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in horses and donkeys in Italy

Among Apicomplexa protozoa infecting equids, Besnoitia spp., Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora spp. represent important issues from a sanitary and zootechnical viewpoint. However, only scarce epidemiological data are available on the spread of the infections in horses and donkeys in Europe. Therefore, a serosurvey was planned to estimate the prevalence of these Sarcocystidae species in Italian equids. Serum samples from 268 horses and 18 donkeys raised in Italy were collected and serologically analyzed to detect anti-Besnoitia spp., anti-T. gondii and anti-Neospora spp. antibodies: an approach based on an initial screening by in-house ELISA followed by a confirmatory WB was used. Two horses (0.7%) and four donkeys (22.2%), showed antibodies anti-Besnoitia spp. Ten horses (3.7%) resulted positive to T. gondii and one of these (0.4%) was seropositive also to Neospora spp. This is the first detection of anti-Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in Italian horses and donkeys. The study confirmed the circulation of Besnoitia spp. among equids in Europe. Low prevalence of T. gondii and Neospora spp. in horses raised in Italy was reported. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy to consider that consumption of horse meat could represent a source for human toxoplasmosis.     

Hermaphroditism in two populations of Chiton articulatus (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) from the eastern tropical coast of México

Through histological analyses, this study reveals an unusually high incidence of hermaphroditism in Chiton articulatus. Specimens were sampled every 30?days between September 2010 and September 2011 at two locations (Las Brisas and Jaramillo beaches, Acapulco) on the tropical eastern Pacific coast of Mexico. At both sites, hermaphroditism was found throughout the year, although in varying proportions. Higher percentages of hermaphroditism were found during the pre-spawning summer months (Las Brisas Beach 63%, Jaramillo Beach 68%). Two different kinds of hermaphroditic gonads were found, showing a preponderance of either male or female tissues but, commonly, female tissues occupied the greatest part of the gonad cross sections. Similar to other species of polyplacophorans, there was a predominance of males, although M:F sex ratios ranged from 0.7 to 4.5: 1 at Las Brisas Beach and 0.3–8: 1 at Jaramillo Beach.     

Survey of keratinophilic fungi isolated from city park soils of Pisa,Italy

A survey of geophilic dermatophytes and related keratinophilic fungi isolated from city park soils of Pisa is reported. Twenty-three (48%) soil samples out of 48 were positive by hair baiting. The following species were isolated: Microsporum gypseum (39%), Trichophyton ajelloi (31%), Chrysosporium keratinophilum (14%), T. terrestre (8%), M. fulvum, Ch. luteum, Ch. indicum (5% each) and M. cookei (2%). The presence of the different species is discussed in relation to the risk of fungal skin infections. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.