GIUNTI O.S. ORGANIZZAZIONI SPECIALI
BACKGROUND
Founded in Florence in 1950 by Edoardo Abbele, Giunti O.S. Organizzazioni Speciali (OS) is, in terms of catalogue, history and market, the leading Italian publisher of psychodiagnostic tests and tools.
Over the years, the company has set up a dense network of collaboration with universities and research centres both in Italy and in the rest of the world. This has enabled us to offer Italian professionals the most important American and European tests, adapted to the Italian social and cultural context, and also to stimulate the development of original psychological tools (today, half the OS catalogue is made up of Italian tests).
THE GROUP
OS is today part of Giunti Editore (www.giunti.it), one of the main and most dynamic Italian publishing houses. Since 2003, OS has been enlarging its market abroad and new subsidiaries have been founded in Budapest (OS Hungary Tesztfejleszto www.oshungary.hu, 2003), in Sofia (OS Bulgaria www.osbulgaria.com, 2006) and Paris (Eurotests Editions www.eurotests.fr, 2007), to develop and distribute tests for local markets needs.
Journals
OS publishes the Bollettino di Psicologia Applicata (one of the historic Italian psychology journals, which has been issued regularly since 1950 and is listed in PsycInfo), GIPO Giornale Italiano di Psicologia dell’Orientamento (the Italian journal for guidance psychology: in collaboration with the LaRIOS of the University of Padua, again listed in PsycInfo): see www.giuntiosnet.it/riviste.jsp.
ASSESSMENT TECHNOLOGIES
The company has always been attentive to the stimulus and input that computer technology can offer psychological assessment. Since the 80s the paper and pencil versions have been augmented by computerized tests, which not only can be performed on the computer but also enable rapid and error-free scoring, exploiting the use of optical character readers. PSY4 now represents the fourth generation of a computerised library of tests that are used by hundreds of professionals.
The major novelty of recent years, however, is online testing: the Internet-Test www.internet-test.it offers Italian professionals a system for setting and elaborating tests on internet, without limitations of space or time. OS now boasts its own department for the development of data processing.
MAIN BUSINESS FOCUS
Publishing
OS operates in the sector of psychological assessment, developing tools and methods for intervention in all spheres of application,
- from the clinical (clinical and health psychology, psychiatry and child neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, logopedics, etc)
- to that of human resources management (industrial and organisational psychology),
- through to the sectors of education and guidance (tests for level assessment; diagnosis of learning difficulties; educational, professional and university guidance).
The commitment of OS is to offer its Clients (professionals, public bodies and organizations, companies) tools and services of top quality in terms of innovation, scientific content and relevance to the Italian social and cultural context, designed to meet all assessment requirements of a clinical, administrative or educational nature. Particular attention is devoted to the ethics of the testing, in terms both of the development of the tools and their utilization (in harmony with the international codes of ethics and with Italian legislation, OS conditions the sale of its tools to the possession of certain professional qualifications, in order to guarantee a correct use in the interests of the people for whom the tests are used).
In this way, OS represents a point of encounter between the demands of the market, scientific research and the requirements of the users, setting itself up within Italy as a centre of excellence for psychological assessment testing and services.
Training
OS is also active in the field of professional and post-university training. Since 1989 it has been organizing courses for psychologists (seminars on the use of psychological tests, postgraduate degrees in the management of human resources). Now OS can offer a catalogue of CEM courses for the acquisition of training credits for psychologists, doctors and other health professionals.
Finally, within the framework of continuing vocational training, the OS Campus www.oscampus.it e-learning portal has been set up for psychologists and human resources professionals.
Consultancy
Together with specialist publishing, the activity of consultancy, in the sphere of psychology applied to the management of human resources, represents one of the cornerstones of the OS operation. This is implemented through Consulting Division and comprises the development of assessment tools customized for specific professional profiles, the creation of training and assessment programmes for employees, managers and directors, and operations of organizational development and analysis.
OS is also a valid partner for local and central government bodies in the design and creation of management procedures for large-scale recruitment.
KEY TESTS
OS catalogue includes around 200 tests. Here is a selection of the most recent and successful Italian tests:
Personality
- BFA – Big Five Adjectives
- BFQ-2 – Big Five Questionnaire – 2
- BFQ-C – Big Five Questionnaire – Children
- SAFA – Self-administered Psychiatric Scales for Young People and Adolescents
Neuropsychology
- BLED SantaLucia – Right Hemisphere Language SantaLucia Battery (adults)
- TNP – Preschool Neuropsychological Test
- VAUMeLF – Auditory Attention and Work Memory Assessment Batteries for Children
Older People
- MODA – Milan Overall Dementia Assessment
- Cornaro Project. Assessment and empowerment of cognitive and affective skills in adults and aged people
Special needs
- CAPIRE – Checklist for Analysis and Computerized Programming in Developmental Retardation
- ASTRID portfolios. Assessment, treatment and integration for disabled people
Career and organization development
- M_DOQ10 – Mayer_D’Amato Organizational Questionnaire
- TOM – Test of Motivational Orientation
- WIS/SVP – Scale of Professional Values
Educational and career guidance
- Clipper/Optimst. Educational guidance portfolios: 11-19 years
- Magellano. High school, university and vocational guidance batteries
School
- MnemoTest. School memory strategy assessment
- PCB – Basic Cogntive Processes
- Q1 VATA – Batteries for the Assessment of Transversal Learning Abilities
- QPA – Questionnaire on Learning Processes
- KIWI. Assessment and treatment of hyperactivity behaviours at school
Below is a selection of the principal Italian versions of foreign tests available in the OS catalogue:
Personality
- 16PF-5
- MCMI-III – Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III
- MMPI-2 – Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory – 2
- MMPI-A – Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory – Adolescent
- Rorschach
- SCID – Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM-IV
- STAI – State-Trait Anxiety Inventory – Form Y
- STAXI-2 – State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory – 2
Clinical behaviour
- ADI-R – Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised
- ADOS – Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule
- CRS-R – Conners Rating Scales – Revised
- Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
Cognitive skills
- Leiter-R – Leiter International Performance Scale – Revised
- Raven Matrices
- WAIS – Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
- WISC– Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
- WPPSI – Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence
Neuropsychology
- AAT – Aachener Aphasie Test
- ADAS – Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale
- VMI – Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration
- WCST – Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
CONTACT DETAILS
Giunti O.S.Organizzazzioni Speciali Via Fra Paolo Sarpi 7/A 50136 Firenze Italy
Phone: + 39 055 6236501
Fax: +39 055 669446 Web: http://www.osnet.it
For further information or to discuss our services, please contact :
Jacopo Tarantino: Direttore Editoriale j.tarantino@giuntios.it
Jose Grade j.grade@giunti.it
Massimo Matteuzzi: Sales Manager m.matteuzzi@giuntios.it
