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Investing for impact. An exploration of impact investments in rural Ghana
No full textThis thesis offers an exploration of impact and social investments for agricultural development projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. It does so through the case of SustAgric-Africa (SAA), a social enterprise that aims to lift smallholder farmers out of poverty through the promotion of sustainable farming and operates with capital provided by a variety of investors who are committed to pairing financial returns with social and environmental outcomes.
The thesis sets off to answer the following research questions: What is the moral dimension that emerges in finance with the establishment of environmental and social criteria? What kind of arrangements do social and impact investments give origin to? Is it possible to talk about a ‘spirit of the gift’ in such arrangements? What happens when abstract and globalizing ideas around ‘impact’ hit the ground? Drawing from the STS and Actor-Network Theory, I look at the formation engendered by social and impact investments in terms of a socio-technical arrangement, and look at the movements of “objects” between the main actors in terms of circuits. In these processes ideas about ‘value’ and ‘values’ articulate in complex ways in the interplay of gift, debt and credit in the relationships among the three main categories of involved actors: investors, SAA, and the farmers. In the case of SAA, I contend that the ways abstract and globalising ideas about ‘impact’ hit the ground produce uncertain results and contribute to the reproduction of inequalities and unequal wealth distribution and accumulation, deepening ongoing processes of financialization. However, my ethnography also reveals how actors depicted as beneficiaries of impact and social policies and resources, far from being passive recipients of policies and resources, actually question and appropriate them, potentially unsettling the whole arrangement and the moral and ethical claims underpinning it
New knowledge, diagnostic and control tools to limit the impact of viral nervous necrosis (VNN) in the Mediterranean aquaculture sector
No full textThe role of aquaculture in satisfying the global seafood demand is essential. The expansion of the aquaculture sector and the intensification of its activities have enhanced the circulation of infectious agents.
Among these, the nervous necrosis virus (NNV) represents the most widespread in the Mediterranean basin. The NNV is responsible for a severe neuropathological condition named viral nervous necrosis (VNN), impacting hugely on fish farms due to the serious disease-associated losses. Therefore, it is fundamental to develop new strategies to limit the impact of VNN in this area, interconnecting several aspects of disease management, diagnosis and prevention.
This PhD thesis project, focusing on aquatic animals’ health, deals with these topics.
The first two chapters expand the knowledge on VNN epidemiology and distribution, showing the possibility of interspecies transmission, persistent infections and a potential carrier role for invertebrates.
The third study expands the horizon of VNN diagnosis, by developing a quick and affordable multiplex RT-PCR able to detect and simultaneously discriminate between NNV variants, reducing considerably the time and costs of genotyping.
The fourth study, with the development of a fluorescent in situ hybridization technique and its application to aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates’ tissues, contributes to expand the knowledge on NNV distribution at cellular level, localizing also the replication site of the virus.
Finally, the last study dealing with an in vitro evaluation of the NNV susceptibility to a commercial biocide, stress the importance to implement proper disinfectant procedures in fish farms to prevent virus spread and disease outbreaks
Development of a Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS) approach for the characterization of Legionella environmental isolates in water systems
No full textLegionella is a Gram-negative bacterium that represent a public health issue, with heavy social and economic impact. Therefore, it is mandatory to provide a proper environmental surveillance and risk assessment plan to perform Legionella control in water distribution systems in hospital and community buildings.
The thesis joins several methodologies in a unique workflow applied for the identification of non-pneumophila Legionella species (n-pL), starting from standard methods as culture and gene sequencing (mip and rpoB), and passing through innovative approaches as MALDI-TOF MS technique and whole genome sequencing (WGS). The results obtained, were compared to identify the Legionella isolates, and lead to four presumptive novel Legionella species identification. One of these four new isolates was characterized and recognized at taxonomy level with the name of Legionella bononiensis (the 64th Legionella species).
The workflow applied in this thesis, help to increase the knowledge of Legionella environmental species, improving the description of the environment itself and the events that promote the growth of Legionella in their ecological niche. The correct identification and characterization of the isolates permit to prevent their spread in man-made environment and contain the occurrence of cases, clusters, or outbreaks. Therefore, the experimental work undertaken, could support the preventive measures during environmental and clinical surveillance, improving the study of species often underestimated or still unknown
Toxic cyanobacteria in water intended for drinking purpose: improvement of cells and toxins’ analyses and of treatments for their removal
No full textMassive proliferations of cyanobacteria in freshwaters have recently increased, causing ecological and economic losses. Their ever-increasing presence in water sources destined to potabilization has become a major threat for public health, since several species can produce harmful toxins (cyanotoxin). Therefore, additional specific measures to improve management and treatment of drinking water(s) are required. The PhD thesis investigates toxic cyanobacteria in drinking waters with a special focus on Emilia-Romagna (Italy), throughout three separated chapters, each with different specific objectives. The first chapter aims at improving the fast monitoring of cyanobacteria in drinking water, which was investigated by testing different models of multi-wavelength spectrofluorometers. Inter-laboratories calibrations were conducted using mono-specific cultures and field samples, and both the feasibility and the technical limitations of such tools were illustrated. The second chapter evaluates the effectiveness of drinking water treatments in removing cyanobacterial cells and toxins. Two chlorinated oxidants (sodium hypochlorite and chlorine dioxide) already in use for pre-oxidation during water potabilization, were tested on cultures of the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa posing a specific focus on toxin removal and revealing that pre-oxidation can cause the release of toxins and unknown metabolites. Innovative treatments based on non-thermal plasma were also tested, observing an effective and rapid inactivation of cyanobacterial cells. The third chapter presents a study on a cyanobacterium isolated from a drinking water reservoir of Emilia-Romagna and investigated by combining biological, chemical, and genomic methods. Although the strain did not produce any known cyanotoxin, high toxicity of water-extract was observed in bioassays and potential implications for drinking water were discussed. Overall, the PhD thesis offers new insights into toxic cyanobacteria management in drinking water, highlighting best practices for drinking water managers regarding their detection and removal. Additionally, the thesis provides new contributions to the understanding of the freshwater cyanobacteria community in the Emilia-Romagna region
Chicken intestinal in vitro models to study anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of natural bioactive compounds
No full textThe gastrointestinal tract constitutes the primary point of contact between the body and the external environment. A healthy intestine is responsible for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients, maintaining a stable microbiota, promoting the development of a mucus layer, ensuring proper barrier function, and supporting mucosal immune responses. However, a variety of factors such as bacteria, parasites, mycotoxins, and diet can negatively impact intestinal health and lead to inflammation and oxidative stress, which can affect production yields and animal growth. To study the effects of these factors and find targeted solutions, in vitro models are necessary.
This thesis describes the development and/or optimization of three different in vitro models to study the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of natural bioactive compounds to fight the problems caused by common chicken host-pathogen interactions. Firstly, this thesis describes a novel method to culture and maintain primary chicken enterocytes. They were then used to study a thymol-based blend of botanicals able to fight C. perfringens and that can potentially replace bacitracin in the future. Subsequently, a 3D enteroid model made of epithelial cells and immune cells was used to screen different botanicals and essential oils for their ability to act as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds on chicken intestine and to study the effects of in-ovo delivery of glutamine and sodium butyrate on intestinal health. Lastly, the use of dendritic cells to study the effects of phytonutrients on intestinal immune sentinels’ maturation was also investigated.
In conclusion, the project behind this thesis led to the optimization of different chicken intestinal in vitro models, which will serve as reliable platforms to study novel strategies against intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress in chickens
Embodiment en la educación universitaria: un estudio de caso transcultural sobre el teatro del oprimido en el mundo académico
No full textThis study explores the impact of the long-standing divide between mind and body in higher education. Given a traditional dearth of body-centered curricula in universities, the thesis analyzes how Theatre of the Oppressed (TO)—a collection of techniques first developed by Brazilian artist Augusto Boal—can be a useful methodology for implementing embodied education in universities and colleges. Such embodiment is crucial if we want to adequately address diverse ways of learning while favoring a holistic pedagogical experience for university students, thereby stimulating genuinely transformative education. The research, which arises from a PhD co-tutorship at the University of Bologna and
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, involved analyzing the implementation of TO in seven different contexts, as part of workshops from various disciplines and across three universities in Italy and Spain. Through analysis of the fieldwork, this cross-cultural case study finds that TO can be used as an embodied critical-pedagogical strategy to support anti-oppressive, socially just, and emotionally attentive higher education practices. Informed by Freire’s critical pedagogy, this research concludes that it is necessary to reevaluate the role of the body in university education and that universities should operate as spaces for students to practice active engagement in a democratic society. The findings suggest how—when incorporated into broader university curricula—TO could be a valuable approach for reestablishing a perception of the body and mind as mutually constitutive entities, fostering teaching practices that cultivate what writer Eduardo Galeano refers to with the term “sentipensante,” the ability to act without separating mind and body or reason and emotion.La ricerca esplora gli effetti della storica divisione tra mente e corpo sull'istruzione universitaria. Alla luce della tradizionale carenza di programmi di studio incentrati sul corpo nelle università, la tesi analizza come il Teatro dell'Oppresso (TO) - un insieme di tecniche sviluppate per la prima volta dall'artista brasiliano Augusto Boal - possa essere una metodologia utile per implementare l'"embodied education" nelle università. L'embodiment risulta essere fondamentale per rispondere adeguatamente alle diverse modalità di apprendimento e favorire un'esperienza pedagogica olistica per gli studenti universitari, promuovendo così un'educazione realmente trasformativa. La ricerca, che nasce da un dottorato di ricerca in cotutela presso l'Università di Bologna e l'Universidad Complutense de Madrid, ha previsto l'analisi dell'applicazione del TO in sette contesti diversi, nell'ambito di laboratori di differenti discipline e presso tre università in Italia e in Spagna. Attraverso l'analisi del lavoro sul campo, questo studio di caso cross-culturale rileva che il TO può essere utilizzato come una strategia embodied critico-pedagogica per sostenere pratiche di istruzione superiore anti-oppressive, socialmente giuste ed emotivamente attente. Informata dalla pedagogia critica di Freire, questa ricerca conclude che è necessario rivalutare il ruolo del corpo nell'istruzione universitaria e che le università dovrebbero operare come spazi all'interno dei quali gli studenti possono sperimentare una partecipazione attiva in una società democratica. I risultati suggeriscono come - incorporato in curriculum universitari più ampi - il TO possa essere un approccio efficace per ristabilire una comprensione del corpo inteso come inscindibile dalla mente, promuovendo pratiche didattiche che coltivino ciò che lo scrittore Eduardo Galeano indica con il termine sentipensante", la capacità di agire senza separare mente e corpo, ragione ed emozione
Biodiversity for food and agriculture: multi-actor conservation strategies in italian supply chains
No full textCurrent agri-food systems depend on biodiversity for resilience and productivity but simultaneously contribute to its decline through intensification, land conversion, and soil degradation. This threatens essential ecosystem services, including soil fertility, crop yields, climate mitigation, and food security. While biodiversity’s importance spans the entire agri-food system, research has largely focused on farm-level practices, overlooking the role of downstream actors like processors and retailers. A sustainable transition requires a multi-level approach integrating biodiversity-based practices across all supply chain stages.
This research assesses biodiversity management across the agri-food supply chain, identifying key conservation factors at each stage. Using a mixed-methods approach, it combines quantitative and qualitative analysis with mathematical modeling.
The first study examines biodiversity management in Italian agri-food supply chains, analyzing key actors’ strategies, barriers, and drivers. The second study explores the adoption of buckwheat among Italian farmers using agent-based modeling to assess the influence of contract pricing, adoption willingness, and diffusion scenarios. The third study evaluates how sustainability attributes impact lentil market prices in Italy through a Hedonic Price Model, focusing on biodiversity, organic certification, geographic origin, and packaging.
By highlighting biodiversity practices across the value chain, this thesis underscores the role of all actors in fostering biodiversity-based systems. Despite case study and methodological limitations, the findings provide insights for future research and offer actionable managerial and policy recommendations to support sustainable agri-food systems
Re-discovering urban slabs. Towards a new understanding of multi-level public facilities.
No full textThis thesis discusses Urban Slabs, understood as built grounds that generate an ensemble of accessible new public places for recreation in the city. Research identifies two parts in an Urban Slab: 1) an above-slab well-delimited public space; and 2) an ensemble of below-slab spaces that are turned into public interiors. The above-slab space is a direct descendant of the long lineage of well-delimited central public voids representing the political and gathering spaces of the city, the Heart
of the city, like public and market squares. The below-slab spaces, originally created for functional needs like the construction of storage spaces, the evacuation of used waters or the insertion of other flows and technologies deriving from the urban densification and congestion, have become new public spaces from the last hundred and fifty years onwards.
The research hypothesis is that these multilevel and three-dimensional public facilities constitute contemporary opportunities acting as spaces for meeting and reassembling the collectivity in the city. Through case studies, research highlights different categories related to the above-slab space first and to below-slab spaces after. The goal is to inspire not only the conception but as well the reinvention of public grounds in the city and the transformation and re-use of existing urban vacancies. In this way, the notion of Urban Slab emerges as a convenient tool for contemporary and future reinventions of public spaces, where the collectivity can gather in a nonproductive context around recreational activities. Urban Slabs appear then as functional and symbolic hearts, centrally located in the city in which the urban collectivity can exercise its right to recreation, making use of public spaces for walking, playing, doing some sports, performing, or just gather as political acts. The topics of recreation and diversion, to which these Urban Slabs are functionally dedicated, become relevant in this research
Consumer protection in contracts for the supply of digital content and services
No full textEl objetivo de esta tesis es analizar algunos aspectos del contrato de suministro de contenidos y servicios digitales.
El contrato de suministro de contenidos y servicios digitales es un nuevo tipo de contrato que tiene su origen en la Directiva 2019/770, cuyo objetivo es establecer un marco jurídico claro y uniforme a nivel de la UE para aumentar la protección de los consumidores y acabar con la inseguridad jurídica de las empresas, en particular de las PYMES. Los aspectos contractuales más importantes que afectan a las transacciones relacionadas con los contenidos y servicios digitales y regulados por la Directiva 2019/770 son la falta de conformidad, los remedios en caso de falta de conformidad y la modificación de los contenidos o servicios digitales. Así, la armonización de estos aspectos relacionados con los contratos de contenidos y servicios digitales pretendía poner fin a la fragmentación jurídica que existía en cada uno de los 28 Estados miembros de la UE y, en consecuencia, solucionar los problemas derivados de esta dispersión normativa.
Posteriormente, en abril de 2021, la Directiva 2019/770, junto con la Directiva 2019/771, fue transpuesta al ordenamiento jurídico español a través del RD-Ley 7/2021, introduciendo o modificando determinados preceptos del TRLGDCU. El TRLGDCU no contenía, hasta ahora, normas específicas que regularan este tipo de contratos, por lo que también es la primera vez que, a nivel nacional, existe una legislación ad hoc para este tipo de contratos.
En esta tesis se han analizado cada uno de los aspectos regulados por la Directiva 2019/770 incorporados al TRLGDCU.The objective of this thesis is to analyse certain aspects of the contract for the provision of digital content and services.
The contract for the provision of digital content and services is a new type of contract which originates from Directive 2019/770, which aims to establish a clear legal framework and uniform at EU level in order to increase consumer protection and end legal uncertainty for businesses, in particular SMEs. The most important contractual aspects affecting transactions related to digital content and services and that have been regulated by Directive 2019/770 are the lack of conformity, remedies in case of lack of conformity and the modification of digital content or digital services. Thus, the harmonisation of these contract-related aspects for digital content and digital services was intended to put an end to the legal fragmentation existing in each of the 28 Member States of the European Union and, consequently, remedy the problems resulting from this regulatory dispersion.
Subsequently, in April 2021, Directive 2019/770, together with the Directive 2019/771, was transposed into Spanish law through RD-Law 7/2021, introducing or modifying some precepts of the TRLGDCU. The TRLGDCU did not contained, until now, specific rules regulating this type of contract, so it is also the first time that, at a national level, there is ad hoc legislation for this type of contract.
This thesis has analysed each of the aspects regulated by Directive 2019/770 incorporated in the TRLGDCU.L'obiettivo di questa tesi è analizzare alcuni aspetti del contratto di fornitura di contenuti e servizi digitali.
Il contratto di fornitura di contenuti e servizi digitali è un nuovo tipo di contratto che trae origine dalla Direttiva 2019/770, che mira a stabilire un quadro giuridico chiaro e uniforme a livello dell'UE al fine di aumentare la protezione dei consumatori e porre fine all'incertezza giuridica per le aziende, in particolare per le PMI. Gli aspetti contrattuali più importanti che riguardano le transazioni relative a contenuti e servizi digitali e che sono stati regolamentati dalla Direttiva 2019/770 sono il difetto di conformità, i mezzi di ricorso in caso di difetto di conformità e la modifica dei contenuti o servizi digitali. In questo modo, l'armonizzazione di questi aspetti relativi al contratto per i contenuti e i servizi digitali intendeva porre fine alla frammentazione giuridica esistente in ciascuno dei 28 Stati membri dell'Unione europea e, di conseguenza, porre rimedio ai problemi derivanti da questa dispersione normativa.
Successivamente, nell'aprile del 2021, la Direttiva 2019/770, insieme alla Direttiva 2019/771, è stata recepita nell'ordinamento spagnolo attraverso il RD-Legge 7/2021, introducendo o modificando alcuni precetti del TRLGDCU. Il TRLGDCU non conteneva, fino ad ora, norme specifiche che regolassero questo tipo di contratto, per cui è anche la prima volta che, a livello nazionale, si dispone di una normativa ad hoc per questo tipo di contratto.
Questa tesi ha analizzato ciascuno degli aspetti disciplinati dalla Direttiva 2019/770 incorporata nel TRLGDCU
La traduction de la littérature de la Shoah entre pratique linguistique et éthique culturelle
No full textIl presente lavoro intende analizzare, in chiave comparativa, un corpus di testi di area francofona europea riconducibili al genere della testimonianza di sopravvissuti e sopravvissute alla Shoah, e le relative traduzioni pubblicate in lingua italiana. L’obiettivo è quello di studiare i movimenti psicologici che portano alle scelte linguistiche in cui consiste il processo traduttivo di opere dal contenuto così sensibile. Il lavoro prende le mosse dall’idea che, in ragione della tematica trattata, di carattere traumatico oltre che autobiografico, la traduzione delle testimonianze di sopravvissuti e sopravvissute alla Shoah sia un’attività, in un certo senso, indebita. Si partirà da una riflessione sulla testimonianza in quanto genere testuale e da un excursus sulla storia della letteratura della Shoah in Francia e in Italia, oltre che sulla storia della traduzione di testimonianze sull’Olocausto. In seguito, si procederà a un confronto delle pratiche della scrittura di testimonianza e di traduzione di un testo testimoniale, che condividono l’aspetto di rielaborazione di un contenuto mnemonico altamente sensibile. Attraverso una riflessione che prenderà in prestito il suo impianto metodologico dalla disciplina della psicoanalisi, si procederà a una contestualizzazione dell’attività della traduzione di testimonianza nella sua rilevanza pratica, etica e filosofica. Quanto ottenuto verrà ricercato a livello linguistico nei testi francesi e nelle relative traduzioni, attraverso un’analisi comparativa di aspetti del testo considerati forieri, all’interno del perimetro testuale di una testimonianza, del maggior carico emotivo: la tessitura testuale, la deissi temporale e personale, i realia della cultura ebraica e della macchina della persecuzione nazista, i tópoi relativi all’immaginario della deportazione e gli elementi paratestuali.The present work aims at comparatively analysing a corpus of French texts that can be categorized as testimonies written by survivors of the Shoah; and of their respective translations published into Italian. The aim is to investigate the psychological movements that lead to the choices involved in the process of translating texts with such a sensitive content. The work stems from the idea that, due to the traumatic autobiographical subject matter, the translation of testimonies written by Holocaust survivors is, to a certain extent, an undue activity. In the first chapter, the work will start from a reflection on testimony as a genre, leading to an excursus on the history of literature of the Shoah in France and in Italy. In the same chapter, a brief overlook of the history of translation of testimonies will be presented. In the following chapter, a comparison will be made between the practices of writing a testimony and that of translating a testimonial text, two activities that share the aspect of reworking an extremely sensitive mnemonic content. More precisely, the activity of translating a testimony will be contextualised in its practical, ethical, and philosophical relevance. This will be possible thanks to a reflection that will borrow its methodological framework from the discipline of psychoanalysis. In the last chapter, the connection between the two practices will be analysed at a practical level, taking into account the French texts and their Italian translations through a comparative analysis. The latter will focus on linguistic aspects that are generally considered to carry the greatest emotional burden within the textual perimeter of a testimony: that is to say, rhythm and textual texture, temporal and personal deixis, realia pertaining to the Jewish culture and to the Nazi persecution of Jews, tópoi relating to the imagery of deportation, and paratextual elements