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Unstable metaphors, uncertain minds: how metaphors shape judgments and opinions
No full textIntroduction: Previous research has shown that experimentally manipulated physical states of instability negatively affect judgments and opinions. Based on this result, in the current study we want to investigate whether the processing of metaphorical expressions related to physical instability (e.g., “Our economy is shaky”) and underpinned by the conceptual metaphor EMOTIONAL STABILITY IS BALANCE negatively affects participants’ judgments.
Methods: Three hundred participants were assigned to three experimental groups. Each group was presented with sentences containing, respectively, stable metaphors, unstable metaphors or unstable literal sentences. After reading the sentences, participants were asked to respond to six topical questions regarding current and future economic and life perspectives.
Results: Data shows that across all six topical questions, reading stable metaphors led to more positive judgments compared to unstable sentences (both metaphors and literal ones). Moreover, in four questions out of six, reading unstable metaphorical sentences led to lower ratings compared to unstable literal sentences.
Discussion: These findings support the main claim of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, i.e., the idea that abstract and complex concepts are structured via metaphorical mappings from more concrete and simple ones and align with the Embodied Cognition Hypothesis. Furthermore, these findings suggest that metaphors can have a powerful influence on our perception of the world and contribute to our understanding of how metaphorical language can shape bodily experiences and attitudes
Green Generation and the Global South: TikTokers, Creators and Climate Change
No full textThe volume offers a multidisciplinary inquiry into the manifold representations of the South(s), approached through an ecocritical and decolonial lens. Edited by Carmen Concilio and Alberto Baracco, the volume gathers contributions from scholars across literature, philosophy, media and visual studies to interrogate the South(s) not simply as a geographic entity, but as a dynamic cultural and epistemological construct. Divided into two sections—respectively devoted to “Literary, Ecocritical, Decolonial, and Comparative Readings” and “Images, Representations, and Visual Cultures”—the volume explores how Souths are imagined, narrated, and visualized across temporal, spatial, and media boundaries. Essays address oceanic and blue humanities, multispecies entanglements, ecological ethics, postcolonial narratives, environmental activism, and visual ecocriticism. Through its wide-ranging and timely perspectives, the volume offers a nuanced exploration of ecocritical concerns, capturing the shifting, dynamic quality of Souths and their role today in postcolonial literature, audiovisual production, and the humanities
Mundos novelescos en el teatro del Siglo de Oro
No full textNovela y teatro entrelazan sus voces en el Siglo de Oro, dando vida a un fascinante juego de apropiaciones y transformaciones. Este volumen reúne quince estudios que analizan cómo la comedia áurea reelabora motivos narrativos, desvelando, a partir de enfoques comparativos, filológicos y semióticos, un dinámico proceso de intertextualidad y reescritura que enriquece la escena barroca
In Situ Winter Performance and Annual Energy Assessment of an Ultra-Lightweight, Soil-Free Green Roof in Mediterranean Climate: Comparison with Traditional Roof Insulation
No full textAlessandro di Afrodisia sulla differenza specifica. Un argomento “dialettico”
No full textIn his commentary on Aristotle, Metaph. B, Alexander of Aphrodisias distinguishes two aspects of specific differentiae: 1. when considered in themselves (e.g., rationality), differentiae are qualities and fall outside substance; 2. when considered as part of the species (e.g., rational insofar it is mentioned in the definition ‘rational animal’), differentiae are ranked under the
divided substantial genera (e.g. animal) (Alex. Aphr. In Metaph. 205, 29-206, 1). This article elucidates this passage within the broader framework of Alexander’s doctrine of specific differentiae. Furthermore, it suggests that Alexander’s distinction between rationality and rational underlies an argument concerning
differentiae in Plotinus’ treatises On the Genera of Being (VI 3 [44], 5, 23-29)
Comprehensive in situ and ex situ analysis of the phase evolution during the synthesis of CoO nanostructures in tetra-ethylene glycol
No full textThe polyol synthesis is a well-established wet chemistry one-pot method employed for the synthesis of CoO nanostructures, yielding aggregates of tens to hundreds of nanometres in diameter, depending on the synthesis parameters. These aggregates are composed of smaller primary particles showing evidence of oriented attachment. Traditionally, the synthesis is carried out in di-ethylene glycol; however, recent investigations have demonstrated the advantages of employing tetra-ethylene glycol as an alternative solvent medium, which substantially raises the temperature at which the synthesis can be performed without significant formation of impurities, and offers notable operating benefits by acting on easily controllable synthesis parameters (e.g., water/cation ratio and temperature). These advantages, coupled with the importance of CoO in materials science research, have prompted a more comprehensive examination of the reaction mechanism. To this end, we have combined in situ and ex situ synchrotron radiation studies to monitor the reaction progression and elucidate the CoO formation processes
Pourquoi Bologne? L'Italie d'Alain Farah
No full textCet article analyse les nombreuses références à l’Italie (à sa culture, sa langue, sa géographie...) qui traversent les romans d’Alain Farah (Matamore n° 29, Pourquoi Bologne et Mille secrets, mille dangers). Ces œuvres, marquées par une approche autofictionnelle, une forte dimension métanarrative et un sens aigu de l’ironie, font toutes de l’Italie un motif récurrent mais difficile à saisir. L’étude examine ainsi la manière dont ces renvois contribuent à façonner l’univers littéraire de Farah, notamment au regard d’une poétique du mélange. Bologne, en particulier, occupe un rôle à la fois central et énigmatique, trouvant son point d’aboutissement dans Pourquoi Bologne, où la ville devient le foyer instable d’une narration fragmentée. S’inspirant du cinéma (de Ridley Scott à Fellini), Farah construit ainsi une poétique stratifiée de la mixture, où identités, fiction, biographie et mémoire culturelle se trouvent intimement entremêlées
FRAM-Based Safety Culture Model for the Analysis of Socio-Technical and Environmental Variability in Mechanised Agricultural Activities
No full textMechanised agricultural operations are often performed individually, under minimal supervision
and across a wide range of unfavourable working conditions, resulting in a
complex mixture of hazards and external stressors that severely affect safety conditions.
Socio-technical and environmental constraints significantly affect safety culture and require
continuous performance adjustments to overcome timing pressures, resource limitations,
and unstable weather conditions. This study introduces a FRAM-based safety culture
model that embeds the thoroughness-efficiency trade-off (ETTO) in four distinct operational
modes that adhere to specific safety cultures, namely, thoroughness, risk awareness,
compliance, and efficiency. This model has been instantiated for mechanised ploughing:
foreground task functions were coupled with background functions that represent sociotechnical
constraints and environmental variability, while severity classes for potential
incidents were derived from the US OSHA accident database. The framework was also
supported by a semi-quantitative Resonance Index based on severity and coupling strength,
the Total Resonance Index (TRI), to assess how variability propagates in foreground functions
and to identify hot-spot functions where small adjustments can escalate into high
resonance and hazardous conditions. Results showed that the negative effects on functional
resonance generated by safety detriment on TRI observed between compliance and effective
working modes were three times larger than the drift between risk awareness and compliance,
demonstrating that efficiency comes with a much higher cost than keeping safety
at compliance levels. Extending the proposed approach with quantitative assessments
could further support the management of socio-technical and environmental drivers in
mechanised farming, strengthening the role of safety as a competitive asset for enhancing
resilience and service quality
Valutazione e sviluppo di buone pratiche di mobilità sostenibile per una società sportiva - Caso studio: A.S. Roma
No full textIl cambiamento climatico rappresenta una delle principali sfide globali e il settore dei trasporti contribuisce in modo significativo alle emissioni di gas serra. Anche il comparto sportivo, consapevole del proprio impatto, ha iniziato a intraprendere azioni volte a ridurre la propria impronta ambientale, con particolare attenzione alla mobilità, che costituisce una parte rilevante delle emissioni complessive. Questo lavoro propone una metodologia operativa per la valutazione dell’impronta di carbonio generata dalla mobilità legata alle società sportive, un ambito ancora poco esplorato nella letteratura scientifica. L’approccio è stato sviluppato e validato in collaborazione con una delle principali società calcistiche italiane, attraverso un’applicazione pluriennale che ne ha rafforzato robustezza e adattabilità. La metodologia si articola in quattro fasi: identificazione e mappatura delle attività di trasporto; raccolta dei dati tramite documentazione interna e indagini rivolte a dipendenti e tifosi; stima delle emissioni con un set di indicatori specifici per il settore sportivo; definizione e valutazione di pratiche di mobilità sostenibile. L’elemento innovativo risiede nell’aver configurato il modello non solo come strumento di rendicontazione, ma anche come supporto decisionale, in grado di stimare le emissioni in prospettiva e integrare strategie gestionali nella pianificazione delle attività. I risultati ottenuti rappresentano uno dei primi tentativi di quantificazione della carbon footprint della mobilità sportiva e offrono evidenze concrete su come interventi mirati possano contribuire alla riduzione delle emissioni. Lo studio fornisce un contributo originale al dibattito scientifico e costituisce un riferimento pratico per le società sportive interessate a intraprendere percorsi di sostenibilità, con benefici sia in termini ambientali che reputazionali