Immigrant prisoners in Italy. Cultural mediation to reduce social isolation and increase migrant prisoner well-being?

PURPOSE

This study aims to highlight how easy it is for immigrants to break Italian law because of the country's inadequate cultural and linguistic mediation service. Insufficiencies in this service also have a negative impact on both the psychological and physical health of migrant prisoners. Furthermore, Italian is used in legal disputes and prison, and reference is made to Italian culture, preventing migrants from understanding their position regarding the law.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

This report concerns the psychological discomfort of migrant incarcerated individuals within Italian prisons due to national laws in force. Consideration is also given to the negative impact on the physical health of incarcerated migrants.

FINDINGS

Best practice should include adequate space for linguistic and cultural mediation in reception centres and prisons. It is considered suitable to combat social exclusion, even in prison.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS

The report is not research on prisoners, but it focuses on making visible the condition of migrant individuals incarcerated in Italy.

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Enforced isolation does not allow immigrants to become a community resource but has negative repercussions in terms of financial, social and well-being costs.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This paper is one of few in limited, national or otherwise scientific output, to contribute to migrant inmate visibility in Italy. Taking action for the well-being of migrant prisoners will not only have a positive impact on a social level but should also help reintegrate these individuals after serving their sentence.

Identity, Couple and Intergroup Dynamics in Intercultural Families: Implications on Life Satisfaction of Partners

The current study analyzed how identity, couple, and intergroup dynamics are related to life satisfaction among 210 intercultural partners living in Italy. Three levels of analysis were considered: a micro level, taking into account the identity aspect of each partner in terms of self- or hetero-ethnic identification; a meso level, examining the passion, commitment, and intimacy of the couple sphere of the partners; a macro level investigating the discrimination that partners can perceive by the community as an effect of the relationship between dominant and minority groups. The results show that for both partners, foreign and Italian, the variables that have a predictive value on life satisfaction bring into play the couple and the intergroup dynamics, leaving out the identitary one. Specifically, increased perceived discrimination as a member of a mixed couple leads to decreased life satisfaction by partners. In turn, we can see that a strong intimacy between partners enhances their life satisfaction. These results introduce a reflection on the role of the differences about the ethnic identity, considered erroneously the main cause of dissatisfaction in the mixed couple. The implications of the study are described and suggestions for future research discussed.

A high-throughput alphavirus-based expression cloning system for mammalian cells

We have developed a widely applicable functional genomics strategy based on alphavirus expression vectors. The technology allows for rapid identification of genes encoding a functional activity such as binding of a defined ligand. Complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries were expressed in mammalian cells following infection with recombinant Sindbis virus (SIN replicon particles), a member of the Alphavirus genus. Virus-infected cells that specifically bound a ligand of choice were isolated using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Replication-competent, infective SIN replicon particles harboring the corresponding cDNA were amplified in a next step. Within one round of selection, viral clones encoding proteins recognized by monoclonal antibodies or Fc-fusion molecules could be isolated and sequenced. Moreover, using the same viral libraries, a plaque-lift assay was established that allowed the identification of secreted, intracellular, and membrane proteins.