Introduction. Digital labor and crisis of the wage labor system

In this introduction the editors of the Special Issue of Sociologia del lavoro devoted to digital labor and the crisis of the wage-labor system, analyse recent trends in the scholarship of platform capitalism in the aftermath of the pandemic outbreak. Platforms are not only a type of business model - they have become a crucial infrastructure around which society reorganizes itself. They extract value not only from traditional labor activities, but also from the social cooperation. Their operations permeate even private spaces and turn social ties such as kinship, friendship, and sexuality into complex monetization schemes. This process represents a departure from the salary institution, where identity was mostly linked to the position occupied by each individual with respect to work and wages. Ultimately, the hidden dimension of digital capitalism is represented by automation which, contrary to the prevailing opinion, does not mark the decline of human labor. A huge amount of data, and data work, is required to deploy platforms' algorithms. Such work is performed by under- and micro-paid remote providers, often residing in lowincome countries. Even if platform capitalism appears stronger since the Covid-19 outbreak, it is far from mastering the global challenges it triggers. As its contradic- tions become apparent, new struggles of digital workers become more visible and better organized. © 2022 Franco Angeli Edizioni. All rights reserved.

Trends in FinTech Research and Practice: Examining the Intersection with the Information Systems Field

This paper offers a systematic review of academic and practitioner-oriented literature on FinTech to determine the literature's existing scope and examine the intersection with work in the Information Systems (IS) field. Findings from our review show that the practitioner-oriented literature foreshadowed the rise of FinTech by extensively reporting on algorithm-based and electronic trading (2009 onwards), followed by reporting on FinTech start-ups and funding successes (2014 onwards). The practitioner literature subsequently reported on alternative finance models, the introduction of cryptocurrencies, and risks and regulatory issues. Academic literature on FinTech began to rise from 2014 onwards, focusing initially on the development of FinTech in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. Research attention subsequently shifted to FinTech innovations (alternative finance, cryptocurrency and blockchain, machine-based methods for financial analysis and forecasting, including artificial intelligence), as well as risk and regulatory issues. IS work on FinTech started to emerge from 2015 onwards, initially focusing on mobile payment systems and peer-to-peer lending. However, the body of work at the intersection of FinTech and IS is still small. Our review sheds light on several opportunities for future research, including financial inclusion, the impacts arising from COVID-19, and the emergence of new business models, such as Banking as a Service (BaaS). © 2022 by the Association for Information Systems.

NEW MEDICAL-LEGAL PROBLEMS IN THE SCHOOL FIELD: DISTANCE LEARNING DURING COVID-19 EMERGENCY

The Coronavirus emergency has led, also in schools, to significant management and organizational problems related to guaranteeing health safety for both school staff and students. The use of dad (distance learning) and DID (integrated digital teaching) methods, while on the one hand it has offered the possibility of reducing the spread of the infectious risk, on the other hand gives rise to new responsibilities both for teachers and parents of minors, not easy to resolve, even in the face of an obvious legislative deficiency as a result of too rapid emergency investment. Who should take care of the students during the lessons not in presence? Who is responsible for their learning and safety? Who and how should intervene if students or the teacher run into problems during a distance lesson? What protection are there for minors but also for schools? What is the role of parents in this context? The current legislation does not adapt to the telematic social context and does not make it possible to clarify any responsibilities in schools. The same authors, at the end of the examination, propose solutions to some of the numerous problems emerged, as an exclusive further point of reflection. The Authors, motivated by the national chaos generated by the non-organizational uniformity, propose numerous ideas for reflection, with references both to the jurisprudential field and to the more specifically scientific-medicolegal one, not only limited to current events, but also with a view to a presumed future increasingly massive use of tools for the digitization of educational processes and education, pending a clarifying intervention by the Legislator, in concert with the institutions. © 2021 Giuffre Editore SpA. All rights reserved.

Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab administered in an outpatient setting for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The early administration of anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) could decrease the risk of severe disease and the need of inpatients care. Herein, our clinical experience with Bamlanivimab/Etesevimab for the treatment of early SARS-CoV-2 infection through an outpatient service was described. Patients with confirmed COVID-19 were selected by General Practitioners (GPs) if eligible to mAb administration, according to manufacturer and AIFA (Agenzia-Italiana-del-Farmaco) criteria. If suitability was confirmed by the Multidisciplinary Team, the patient was evaluated within the next 48-72 hours. Then, all patients underwent a medical evaluation, followed by mAb infusion or hospitalization if the medical condition had worsened. Overall, from March 29th to June 4th, 2021, 106 patients with confirmed COVID-19 were identified by GPs; 26 were considered not eligible and then excluded, while 9 refused treatment. Among the 71 remaining, 6 were not treated because of worsening of symptoms soon after selection. Finally, 65 received mAb therapy. All treated patients survived. However, 2/65 developed adverse events (allergic reaction and atrial fibrillation, respectively) and 6/65 needed hospitalization. By performing univariate logistic regression analysis, diabetes was the only risk factor for hospitalization after mAb administration [aOR = 9.34, 95%CI = 1.31-66.49, p= .026]. Importantly, subjects who worsened awaiting mAb were more frequently obese (OR = 16.66, 95%CI = 1.80-153.9, p= .013) and received home corticosteroid therapy for COVID-19 (OR = 14.11, 95%CI = 1.53-129.6, p= .019). Establishing a network among GPs and COVID units could be an effective strategy to provide mAb treatment to patients with early SARS-CoV-2 infection to reduce hospitalizations and pressure on healthcare systems.

The Phon Effect In The Abandoned Mummified

Social isolation, confinement in the domestic context up to abandonment, phenomena as serious as they are frequent in modern society, has been emphasized by the advent of the Sars-Covid19 pandemic. The authors report the case of a 39-year-old woman found lifeless and in a partial state of mummification ("hair dryer effect"), lying on her back on the bed and covered, in part, by a quilt. At the foot of the bed a hairdryer was found connected to the electrical outlet. The environmental conditions favored the initiation of special transformative putrefactive processes, such as that of mummification. Investigating a mummified body found, to determine the cause and manner of death, can be difficult for the forensic pathologist. For the definition of the time of death we generally use the degree of evolution of postmortal transformative phenomena which, as we move away from the moment of death, offer less and less possibilities to delimit this period within narrow time limits, especially when these phenomena are strongly affected by the environmental factors in the context of which the corpse has stayed, as occurred in the present case. A careful analysis of the places where the death occurred and the circumstantial data possibly available to the coroner can provide useful data for the proper assessment of the case. The reporting of this event must be considered an important isolated case study for the analysis of the mummification process, as well as a warning light on an increasingly widespread social problem. © 2021, Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues. All Rights Reserved.

Medical Legal Aspects of Telemedicine in Italy: Application Fields, Professional Liability and Focus on Care Services During the COVID-19 Health Emergency.

Telemedicine services can be classified into the macro-categories of specialist Telemedicine, Tele-health and Tele-assistance. From a regulatory perspective, in Italy, the first provision dedicated to the implementation of Telemedicine services is represented by the Agreement between the Government and the Regions on the document bearing "Telemedicine-National guidelines," approved by the General Assembly of the Superior Health Council in the session of 10th July 2012 and by the State Regions Conference in the session of 20th February 2014. Scientifically, several studies in the literature state that information and communication technologies have great potential to reduce the costs of health care services in terms of planning and making appropriate decisions that provide timely tools to patients. Another clear benefit is the equity of access to health care. The evolution of telemedicine poses a series of legal problems ranging from the profiles on the subject of authorization and accreditation to those concerning the protection of patient confidentiality, the definition and solution of which, in the absence of specific regulatory provisions, is mainly left to the assessment of compatibility of the practices adopted so far, with the general regulatory framework. In terms of professional liability, it is necessary to first clarify that the telemedicine service is comparable to any diagnostic-therapeutic health service considering that the telemedicine service does not replace the traditional health service, but integrates the latter to improve its effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness.