Forecasting fluid-injection induced seismicity to choose the best injection strategy for safety and efficiency.

Induced seismicity poses a challenge to the development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Improving monitoring and forecasting techniques is essential to mitigate induced seismicity and thereby fostering a positive perception of EGS projects among local authorities and population. Induced seismicity is the result of complex and coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical mechanisms. Injection flux and pressure are crucial controlling parameters for both hydraulic stimulation and circulation protocols. We develop a methodology combining a hydro-mechanical model with a seismicity rate model to estimate the magnitude and frequency of mainshocks and aftershocks induced by fluid injection. We apply the methodology to the case of the Basel EGS (2006, Switzerland) to compare the effects of progressive, cyclic and constant injections on the mechanical response of discrete faults. Results from the coupled hydro-mechanical models show that the pore pressure diffusion and consequent enhancement of fault permeability are limited to the vicinity of the injection well during cyclic injection. Additionally, constant injection induces seismicity from the start of the injection but enhances the permeability of most of the faults within a shorter duration, inducing less post-injection seismicity. The methodology can be adapted to any numerical model and allows new projects to be developed by anticipating the safest injection protocol.This article is part of the theme issue 'Induced seismicity in coupled subsurface systems'.

Parenting, dyadic coping, and child emotion regulation in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent families through assisted reproduction.

AIMS: The present study examined the associations between family structure, parenting, and dyadic coping and children's emotion regulation in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent families through assisted reproduction. It also explored differences in parenting dimensions and dyadic coping, based on parents' sexual orientation. METHODS: Participants were 60 lesbian mothers through donor insemination, 50 gay fathers through surrogacy, and 42 heterosexual parents through gamete donation, all with a child aged 6-12 years (M = 8.67; SD = 2.16; 48.68% females) and residing in Italy. In each family, both parents reported parenting stress, parent - child relational self-efficacy, parental control, dyadic coping, and their perception of the child's emotion regulation. RESULTS: Mixed models indicated no significant differences between family types in parenting stress and use of a controlling parenting style. However, lesbian mothers reported higher parent - child relational self-efficacy than heterosexual parents, and higher dyadic coping strategies than gay fathers. Also, children of gay fathers showed greater emotion regulation than children of heterosexual parents. Across family types, higher levels of parenting stress and dyadic coping, and lower levels of parent - child relational self-efficacy were associated with lower child emotion regulation. CONCLUSION: Given that in middle childhood, across family types, better emotional regulation was associated with lower parenting stress and dyadic coping, and greater effectiveness in the parent - child relationship clinical work should focus on the parent's and couple's ability to cooperatively manage stressors while maintaining a balanced focus on their children's resources and autonomy.

The Role of Family Support and Dyadic Adjustment on the Psychological Well-being of Transgender Individuals: An Exploratory Study.

Introduction: This study aimed to measure dyadic adjustment, social support, and psychological well-being. Methods: A research protocol composed of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Outcome Questionnaire 45.2, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was administered to a sample of 109 Italian transgender individuals. Results: Higher levels of global psychological distress, symptom severity, and interpersonal relationship distress were associated with lower levels of family support and dyadic adjustment. In addition, transgender women and younger transgender individuals reported higher levels of interpersonal relationship distress. Conclusions: The results indicate that the support and acceptance of one's partner and family of origin play a crucial role in promoting well-being. It represents an important protective factor with respect to negative psychological health outcomes. Policy Implications: The findings emphasize the need to develop specific clinical and social practices for transgender individuals and their families. Building family and partner-centered policies and programs is particularly important to enable transgender individuals to avoid paying the emotional and psychological costs associated with rejection and non-acceptance.

Mea Culpa! The Role of Guilt in the Work-Life Interface and Satisfaction of Women Entrepreneur.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of mediator of Guilt (in both directions: Family Interference with Work (FIW) and Work Interference with Family (WIF)) in the relationship between Conflict, Job and Life Satisfaction, also investigating the role of Enrichment as moderator. Using PROCESS Macro, the hypothesized models are tested on a sample of 161 women entrepreneurs. Both the mediating role of guilt and the moderating role of enrichment were analyzed through models of mediation and moderate mediation. Results from the analysis support the hypothesized models. Guilt FIW and Guilt WIF mediate the relationship between work Conflict and Job satisfaction, as well the relationship between Conflict and Life satisfaction, and at the same time, Enrichment moderated the mediating processes by which the Conflict affects Job and Life satisfaction via Guilt FIW and Guilt WIF. This study is one of the few that takes into consideration both Conflict and Enrichment in a sample of women entrepreneurs and examines Guilt, which many times presents itself as an "invisible" factor in studies on the work-family interface.

Employees' Perception of HRM Practices and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour: The Mediating Role of the Work-Family Interface.

The aim of the study was to explore if and to what extent a positive perception of Human Resource Management Practices could be related to Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and if the Work-Family Interface could act as a mediator of such relationship. A group of 406 employees of an Italian sector of the Public Administration filled in a self-report questionnaire encompassing socio-professional information and the following psycho-social measures: Perception of Human Resource Management Scale, Work-Family Interface, and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Scale. The results confirmed the importance of Human Resource Management Practices perceptions for positive Organizational Behaviors underlining the crucial role played by positive work-to-family and family-to-work spillover as mediators. The study reflected on the work-family relationships demonstrating the mediating role of positive work-family spillover in the relationships between perceived HR practices and organizational citizenship behaviors. The main limitations were related to the cross-sectional nature of the study and to the self-report measures used that raised concerns about possible common method bias. The findings showed implications for HR practices to plan actions and interventions aimed at supporting employees' work-family balance and at encouraging organizational citizenship behaviors.

Don't Call It Smart: Working From Home During the Pandemic Crisis.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic and related social distancing measures have significantly changed worldwide employment conditions. In developed economies, institutions and organizations, both public and private, are called upon to reflect on new organizational models of work and human resource management, which - in fact - should offer workers sufficient flexibility in adapting their work schedules remotely to their personal (and family) needs. This study aims to explore, within a Job Demands-Resources framework, whether and to what extent job demands (workload and social isolation), organizational job resources (perceived organizational support), and personal resources (self-efficacy, vision about the future and commitment to organizational change) have affected workers' quality of life during the pandemic, taking into account the potential mediating role of job satisfaction and perceived stress. Using data from a sample of 293 workers, we estimate measurement and structural models, according to the Item Response Theory and the Path analysis frameworks, which allow us to operationalize the latent traits and study the complex structure of relationships between the latent dimensions. We inserted in the model as control variables, the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the respondents, with particular emphasis on gender differences and the presence and age of children. The study offers insights into the relationship between remote work and quality of life, and the need to rethink human resource management policies considering the opportunities and critical issues highlighted by working full-time remotely.

Gender and Entrepreneurship in Pandemic Time: What Demands and What Resources? An Exploratory Study.

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, global economies have suffered an exogenous shock never seen before with a strong economic and psychosocial impact on organizations. Italy, in the context of the research, has been severely affected. The economic crisis has mainly affected women. In this scenario, entrepreneurial perceived success (objective and subjective) is influenced by increasingly burdensome job demands that entrepreneurs have to face up. Using the job demand-resources model, the study aims to broaden the knowledge of the determinants of entrepreneurial perceived success in the current emergency moment. In particular, as regards of the demands, alongside the specific entrepreneurial demands (time demands, uncertainty and risk, and responsibility), we also decided to include the negative interface family-work in both directions from-family-to-work (NEGWIF) and from-work-to-family (NEGFIW). Regarding the resources, we considered entrepreneurial self-efficacy (researching, planning, marshaling, implementing people, and implementing financial), proactive and elaborate social strategies (SS), and both directions of the positive interface: from-family-to-work (POSWIF) and from-work-to-family (POSFIW). All participants are women entrepreneurs (N = 137) who have completed a self-report questionnaire. We explored the associations between demands, resources, and the dimensions of success through hierarchical regressions. As for the demands, time demands, uncertainty and risk, NEGWIF, and NEGFIW negatively influenced the perceived entrepreneurial success. Regarding resources, planning, implementing financial, proactive and elaborate SS positively influenced the perceived entrepreneurial success.

Analytical Solution to Assess the Induced Seismicity Potential of Faults in Pressurized and Depleted Reservoirs.

Displaced faults crossing the reservoir could significantly increase the induced earthquake frequency in geo-energy projects. Understanding and predicting the stress variation in such cases is essential to minimize the risk of induced seismicity. Here, we adopt the inclusion theory to develop an analytical solution for the stress response to pore pressure variations within the reservoir for both permeable and impermeable faults with offset ranging from zero to the reservoir thickness. By analyzing fault stability changes due to reservoir pressurization/depletion under different scenarios, we find that (1) the induced seismicity potential of impermeable faults is always larger than that of permeable faults under any initial and injection conditions-the maximum size of the fault undergoing failure is 3-5 times larger for impermeable than for permeable faults; (2) stress concentration at the corners results in the occurrence of reversed slip in normal faults with a normal faulting stress regime; (3) while fault offset has no impact on the slip potential for impermeable faults, the slip potential increases with the offset for permeable faults, which indicates that non-displaced permeable faults constitute a safer choice for site selection; (4) an impermeable fault would rupture at a lower deviatoric stress, and at a smaller pressure buildup than a permeable one; and (5) the induced seismicity potential is overestimated and the injectivity underestimated if the stress arching (i.e., the poromechanical coupling) is neglected. This analytical solution is a useful tool for site selection and for supporting decision making during the lifetime of geo-energy projects.

[The role of agentic capacities in turnover intentions among nurses]. / Il ruolo delle capacità agentiche nelle intenzioni di turnover del personale infermieristico.

OBJECTIVES: Voluntary turnover in the nursing profession is one of the main concerns in hospitals and it requests comprehensive research. This study contributes to explain the reasons related to turnover intention of nurses and provides causes for reflection to improve the working practice. METHODS: 161 nurses and 13 nursing coordinators, working in the wards of two Italian hospitals, participated in the study. A self-report questionnaire was administered to them in order to analyze the relationship between agentic capacities (self-regulation, anticipation, vicarious learning, self-reflection) and the intentions to leave the ward and the hospital. RESULTS: The data show a negative association between self-regulation and the desire to leave the ward and the hospital, and a positive association between self-reflection and the intention to leave the ward. The results also show that organizational seniority has a negative effect on intentions to leave the ward and the hospital, while professional seniority has a positive effect only on the intention to leave the hospital. Finally, the nursing coordinators perceive to have a greater ability to manage their own emotional states and behavior, to prefigure future events and to learn from their own experience than nurses. CONCLUSIONS: The study's results suggest actions and interventions to develop self-regulation of the nursing staff to reduce turnover intentions and improve the quality of the service offered taking into account seniority and professional organization.

The role of Perceptions of Context (PoC) on Job Burnout in health services organizations.

BACKGROUND: Several empirical studies have investigated Job Burnout and its predictors, underlining the role of situational and organizational factors. The Perceptions of Context construct (PoC) has yet to be studied in healthcare contexts. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study is to broaden the knowledge of the Job Burnout determinants focusing on the dimensions of the context and to integrate research in this field with a construct that emphasizes the relational dimension, the Interpersonal Strain. METHODS: 105 health-care workers of an Italian organization have completed a self-report questionnaire including the following scales: Perceptions of Context - Perceptions of the social component (colleagues, teamwork, supervisor, management, collaboration of patients and family members, collaboration between wards) and Perceptions of the task (workload and time pressure); MBI-GS (Exhaustion and Cynicism); ISW Scale (Interpersonal Strain). RESULTS: The results confirm the association between the PoC and Job Burnout and show the cross-sectional role played by Perception of Time Pressure on all three dimensions of Job Burnout. An interesting result is the role played by the perceptions of the social component, in particular the role of Supervisor Perceptions in predicting Exhaustion and Cynicism, and the role of Teamwork Perceptions in predicting Interpersonal Strain. Significant differences between the PoCs and the membership ward emerged. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, it is possible to plan focused prevention and intervention actions.

The role of job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy and agentic capacities on nurses' turnover intention and patient satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Nurses' voluntary turnover is a worrying global phenomenon which affects service quality. Retaining nursing staff within a hospital is important to eliminate the negative influence of voluntary turnover on the quality of care and organisation costs. OBJECTIVES: This research helps explain nurses' voluntary turnover by analysing the role of self-efficacy, agentic capacities, job satisfaction, and work engagement on hospital turnover intention, and to study the relationships between these variables and patient satisfaction. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This study gathered data from 194 nurses and 181 patients from 22 inpatient wards at two hospitals in southern Italy. RESULTS: Correlation analysis revealed that job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy and agentic capacities were positively interrelated and negatively correlated with turnover intention. Path analysis showed that self-efficacy, some agentic capacities (anticipation and self-regulation), job satisfaction, and work engagement had direct or indirect effects on nurses' turnover intention, and that job satisfaction exerted a stronger effect on turnover intention. Also, patient satisfaction was positively correlated with nurses' job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy, self-regulation and anticipation and negatively correlated with nurses' turnover intention. CONCLUSION: Results highlighted the importance of implementing actions (for example through feedforward methodology and the goal setting technique) to improve self-efficacy, self-regulation skill, work engagement and job satisfaction in order to reduce nurses' turnover intention and increase patient satisfaction with nursing care.

The intention to leave among nurses: the role of job satisfaction, self-efficacy and work engagement. / L'intenzione di lasciare il lavoro nel personale infermieristico: il ruolo della soddisfazione lavorative, dell'autoefficacia e del work engagement.

INTRODUCTION: Retaining nursing staff within hospitals is essential to limit the negative impact of excessive voluntary turnover on the quality of care and organization costs. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to explain voluntary turnover in the nursing profession by analyzing the influence of job satisfaction and, in particular, self-efficacy and work engagement on turnover intention. METHODS: 210 nurses working in three hospitals in Southern Italy have completed a self-report questionnaire. A correlation analysis was applied in order to test the relationship between variables, while the role of age, professional and organizational seniority was estimated through partial correlations. A multiple linear regression was performed to verify the role of self-efficacy and work engagement in predicting turnover intention. RESULTS: Job satisfaction, self-efficacy and work engagement are positively correlated. These dimensions are negatively correlated with the intention to change the hospital; furthermore, age, professional and organizational seniority have an effect on this relationship. Work engagement fully mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and turnover intention. CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the importance of considering not only job satisfaction, but also self-efficacy and work engagement, in studies on turnover intentions. These findings suggest to implement actions to increase self-efficacy, and especially work engagement, to reduce the voluntary turnover of nursing staff.

[The gender gap in Italian medicine]. / Il gender gap nella medicina italiana.

BACKGROUND: This study is collocated in the debate about the gender gap in Medicine giving voice to female physicians who have damaged the "glass ceiling". OBJECTIVES: Our research offers a contribute to the exploration about the motivations of persistence of gender gap in Medicine despite current changes. METHODS: This study is based on 21 biographical interviews to female physicians who are managers in Italian hospitals. The themes emerged by data analysis concerned the participants 'discrimination experiences in their hierarchical advancement, the evidences of a persistence of horizontal segregation in some medical specializations, the difficult to find a work-life balance and the effects of this difficult on the female physicians' health. RESULTS: Our research confirmed a persistence of gender gap in the medical world, which disadvantages women in their career choices and in their hierarchical advancement and which appears in the form of invisible barriers impregnated of stereotypes and prejudices that are taken for granted by many men and women, especially those who have the power; these barriers make the female doctors 'health more vulnerable to the event of work-related stress. CONCLUSIONS: By the dates emerged the necessity of cultural and institutional interventions, actions for deconstruction of gender stereotypes, and the necessity of intervention for a more flexible and functioning work organization that satisfies the female physicians' needs.

Chromosomal loci important for cotyledon opening under UV-B in Arabidopsis thaliana.

BACKGROUND: Understanding of the genetic architecture of plant UV-B responses allows extensive targeted testing of candidate genes or regions, along with combinations of those genes, for placement in metabolic or signal transduction pathways. RESULTS: Composite interval mapping and single-marker analysis methods were used to identify significant loci for cotyledon opening under UV-B in four sets of recombinant inbred lines. In addition, loci important for canalization (stability) of cotyledon opening were detected in two mapping populations. One candidate locus contained the gene HY5. Mutant analysis demonstrated that HY5 was required for UV-B-specific cotyledon opening. CONCLUSIONS: Structured mapping populations provide key information on the degree of complexity in the genetic control of UV-B-induced cotyledon opening in Arabidopsis. The loci identified using quantitative trait analysis methods are useful for follow-up testing of candidate genes.

PHYTOCHROME KINASE SUBSTRATE1 regulates root phototropism and gravitropism.

Light promotes the expression of PHYTOCHROME KINASE SUBSTRATE1 (PKS1) in the root of Arabidopsis thaliana, but the function of PKS1 in this organ is unknown. Unilateral blue light induced a negative root phototropic response mediated by phototropin 1 in wild-type seedlings. This response was absent in pks1 mutants. In the wild type, unilateral blue light enhanced PKS1 expression in the subapical region of the root several hours before bending was detectable. The negative phototropism and the enhanced PKS1 expression in response to blue light required phytochrome A (phyA). In addition, the pks1 mutation enhanced the root gravitropic response when vertically oriented seedlings were placed horizontally. The negative regulation of gravitropism by PKS1 occurred even in dark-grown seedlings and did not require phyA. Blue light also failed to induce negative phototropism in pks1 under reduced gravitational stimulation, indicating that the effect of pks1 on phototropism is not simply the consequence of the counteracting effect of enhanced gravitropism. We propose a model where the background level of PKS1 reduces gravitropism. After a phyA-dependent increase in its expression, PKS1 positively affects root phototropism and both effects contribute to negative curvature in response to unilateral blue light.