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The Covid-19 pandemic has wrought significant challenges on both national and regional economic systems, resulting in an exacerbation of poverty and a deceleration of economic growth. These repercussions have led to increased social tensions and discontent. Tuscany a key player in the Italian and European economies, warrants scrutiny concerning its economic structure post-pandemic, particularly in relation to the role played by industry districts and the ways for it to get out of the crisis and get back on track. This paper undertakes an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Tuscan economy, with a focus on EMAS-APO industry districts. It examines the region's standing in terms of national and European ERCI competitiveness, placing it at an average level. Additionally, the region ranks in the third decile of the DESI digitalization, indicating a commendable technological dynamism. An equally satisfying spending power in R&D, in percentage of GDP higher than the national one, and ranking 6th in the regions' rank, is flanked by a particularly vigorous innovation capacity of the production sector. Employing a symmetric branch-by-branch SAM 2019 analysis, derived from a sector-by-product 2014 SAM constructed by IRPET, serves as the foundational step in understanding the interventions and investments necessary for resuming growth. While affirming Tuscany's competitiveness, digitalization and technological dynamism, the analysis underscores the pivotal role of manufacturing. Notably, the textile, fashion and leather sectors hold significant weight, along with the slightly less impactful paper and pharmaceutical sectors, and the noteworthy role of tourism. The region emerges as innovative, competitive and export-oriented, albeit with certain sectors grappling with environmental challenges. The IMM based analysis reveals a satisfactory average integration degree of the production system, suggesting that, for an effective, robust and sustainable post-Covid recovery and economic resurgence, focused investments and demand stimulus policy should be directed towards the textile, fashion and leather industries. Additionally, there is a strong indication to channel investments into pharmaceuticals and health care, and on transportation (especially freight transportation), as well as wholesale and retail trade. While weaker, there is a notable suggestion to invest in metallurgy, computer hardware, tourism and paper industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on adolescent mental health, with a dramatic rise in psychiatric emergencies that has challenged healthcare systems worldwide. This paper aims at focusing on reporting the authors' experience and their data collected on adolescent emergencies in 2022 in Tuscan, within the context of the "Azienda USL Toscana Nord Ovest", a large department covering about a third of Tuscany's Regional Health Service, in central Italy. The collected findings will be shortly presented and commented on, while providing insights concerning the importance of adapting healthcare systems to adequately respond to this growing crisis and the need for broader strategies to support adolescent mental health in these challenging times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to provide a case study related to two small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Italian footwear supply chain, comparing sales and production data from pre-pandemic years with those affected by the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Specifically, two Tuscany companies in the world of fashion footwear sector have been assisted in the analysis of their supply chains. In particular, the case research method has been employed for theory building to evaluate how companies reacted to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on potential resilience strategies that could be adopted to deal with a disruption, such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, in order to understand the dynamics of the supply chains, the standard production processes were initially studied and mapped, analyzing in detail the planning, programming, and control phase. After conducting a descriptive analysis of the data, possible resilience factors of SMEs' fashion supply chains have been extracted, and strategies that SMEs could adopt to better cope with the disruption caused by the pandemic have been suggested. The outcomes of this study can be used by decision-makers to predict the operative and long-term impacts of epidemic outbreaks on the supply chains with some suggestions of potential resilience improvement strategies. The paper is concluded by summarizing the most important insights and outlining future research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Emergency Remote Teaching experience during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in schools reviewing teaching methods and strategies. The Italian Society for Educational Research (SIRD) conducted a survey in which more than 16,000 Italian teachers took part. The aim of this study is to be a first step in analysing the data from the Tuscany and Umbria regions by comparing them with national data in relation to the teaching and assessment methods and strategies used, and with the previous teacher training in distance learning. Secondly, the paper aims to deepen the link between the use of certain teaching and assessment methods, the previous training, and the quality of the distance learning experience perceived by teachers. For this purpose, some items and scales from the questionnaire used in the SIRD survey and some categories from the qualitative analysis of the responses to the open-ended questions were selected. The study, first and foremost, revealed some peculiarities of the two regions, including Tuscany's lower evaluation of the effectiveness of the experience. On the national level, a positive relationship was found between teachers using interactive teaching strategies and "alternative" assessment activities and the higher perception of both effectiveness for student learning and adequate performance assessment. Finally, the role of previous training is underlined as useful only if it is not generally technology-centred, but rather related to teaching and assessment methods in virtual learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is currently used to monitor not only the spread of the viral SARS-CoV-2 pandemic but also that of other viruses in endemic conditions, particularly in the absence of syndromic surveillance. The continuous monitoring of sewage requires high expenditure and significant time investments, highlighting the need for standardized methods and structured monitoring strategies. In this context, we conducted weekly wastewater monitoring in northwestern Tuscany (Italy) and targeted human adenovirus (HAdV), norovirus genogroup II (NoVggII), enterovirus (EV), and SARS-CoV-2. Samples were collected at the entrances of treatment plants and concentrated using PEG/NaCl precipitation, and viral nucleic acids were extracted and detected through real-time reverse transcription qPCR. NoVggII was the most identified target (84.4%), followed by HAdV, SARS-CoV-2, and EV. Only HAdV and EV exhibited seasonal peaks in spring and summer. Compared with data that were previously collected in the same study area (from February 2021 to September 2021), the results for SARS-CoV-2 revealed a shift from an epidemic to an endemic pattern, at least in the region under investigation, which was likely due to viral mutations that led to the spreading of new variants with increased resistance to summer environmental conditions. In conclusion, using standardized methods and an efficient monitoring strategy, WBE proves valuable for viral surveillance in pandemic and epidemic scenarios, enabling the identification of temporal–local distribution patterns that are useful for making informed public health decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low coverage of influenza vaccination in nursing home (NH) staff may be attributed to factors such as vaccine confidence (VC) and vaccine literacy (VL). Our study aimed to evaluate the role of VL and VC in predicting the intention to get the influenza vaccine in a sample of employees of NHs in Tuscany, Italy. Methods: Data from staff members in Tuscany were collected using an online questionnaire that examined influenza vaccination history, intentions, demographic information, health status, and VL. Statistical analyses explored the relationships between VC, VL, and vaccination intentions. Results: The study included 1794 respondents, (86.3%) and assistants/aides (58.1%), with a median age of 46 years. The intention to get vaccinated was significantly higher among those with health risk conditions, and there was a positive association between VC and VL, specifically its interactive/critical component. The mediation analysis showed that VC completely mediated the relationship between VL and the intention to get vaccinated, with significant effects observed in different subgroups. Conclusions: VC is a key factor that mediates the effect of VL on vaccine intention. These results suggest that interventions aimed at improving VL alone may not be sufficient to increase vaccine uptake unless VC is also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic radically changed learning approaches by introducing long-distance teaching methods that are being applied both partially or completely. However, this emergency solution has not allowed everyone access to primary and secondary education and has resulted in various forms of discomfort due to students' socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. This contribution aims to demonstrate how long-distance teaching has produced different effects in the diverse pathways of study within the Italian school system which is based on early tracking and is characterized by the persistence of social reproduction mechanisms that have long been called attention to. In order to highlight how long-distance learning has been experienced differently by technical, vocational, and liceo students, an exploratory qualitative study focused on different upper secondary pathways within some schools in Tuscany was carried out. From the data collected, it was revealed that the greatest difficulties were encountered by students from low-SES families mostly concentrated in vocational schools. The pandemic emergency, therefore, seems to have further underscored the relational and educational needs of the most disadvantaged students. Overcoming an educational system based on early tracking could be a first necessary response to dealing with these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How did women relate to space and time when working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic? We contextualized women's relationships with their home spaces as they became nomads in their own homes during the lockdown. In face-to-face focus-group interviews conducted with 50 women who had experience with smart work or telework in Tuscany, Italy, we observed a range of strategies among women who dealt with forced closures during COVID-19. Justification and acceptance of inequality became a part of the daily life of the women, who fought against unequal distribution of time and space via negotiation, evidence, adaptation, or requests to return to workplaces. During COVID-19, Italian working women were in search of space and time in their own homes, trying relentlessly to respond to the demands of their families and fulfil work-related requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]