10081 research outputs found
Sort by
Poetics of water and submerged voices. An interdisciplinary path between socio-environmental crisis and subalternity in contemporary Italian literature (1971-2023)
No full textInserendo la crisi socio-ambientale nel quadro più ampio della subalternità e delle sue rappresentazioni, la tesi analizza testi, in prosa e in poesia, dai quali emerge una particolare attenzione al rapporto tra linguaggio e realtà extra-testuale. Se il Tiresia di Mesa si dimostra particolarmente efficace nel rappresentare la violenza intersezionale e “lenta” di Nixon, la poesia di Menicocci disvela i meccanismi di cancellazione riprodotti dal linguaggio. La letteratura, tuttavia, può far riemergere ciò che la narrazione egemone scarta o neutralizza, come nel caso del Vajont, raccontato da Merlin e da Paolini. Si stabilisce, quindi, un nesso tra recupero della memoria collettiva e ripensamento del rapporto con l’alterità, trovando nella voce e nell’acqua i referenti più efficaci per esprimersi in tutte le sue sfaccettature. Per aggiunte e stratificazioni, alla metafora della sommersione, intesa come dinamica di marginalizzazione e oppressione, in cui cogliere la radice coloniale alla base, anche, della gestione e della narrazione della crisi socio-ambientale, si sovrappone quella dell’insularità. Tra sfruttamento minerario, turistificazione e inquinamento, gli scritti di Atzeni ridanno consistenza linguistica alla storia inabissata della Sardegna e dei suoi abitanti, mentre nei versi di Anedda il suono si impasta al ricordo, la lingua alla materia circostante. Lungo un percorso transdisciplinare, si giunge alla figura della sirena, attraverso la quale Cavarero ricostruisce il processo di delegittimazione compiuto dalla cultura occidentale per rimuovere e naturalizzare l’alterità, alla quale, al contrario, Ramondino si espone: prima, nel corpo a corpo con l’isola di Ventotene e il suo patrimonio, materiale e immateriale, poi, lasciandosi attraversare dalle storie delle donne che incontra a Trieste – culla del movimento di deistituzionalizzazione basagliana – e che la scrittura, in cui l’autrice incarna il suo sguardo sul mondo, avvolge, come in un abbraccio.This thesis examines the socio-environmental crisis within the broader context of subalternity and its representations, analyzing prose and poetry texts that highlight the relationship between language and extra-textual reality. Mesa’s Tiresia effectively portrays Nixon’s concept of “slow” intersectional violence, while Menicocci’s poetry reveals the mechanisms of erasure perpetuated by language through naming. Literature, however, has the capacity to resurface what hegemonic narratives discard or neutralize, as exemplified by the Vajont disaster, recounted by Merlin and Paolini. A connection is established between the recovery of collective memory and the rethinking of the relationship with alterity, finding in voice and water the most effective referents to express itself in all its facets. The metaphor of submersion, understood as a dynamic of marginalization and oppression with colonial roots, is complemented by that of insularity. Atzeni’s writings linguistically reconstitute the submerged history of Sardinia and its inhabitants, while Anedda’s verses intertwine sound with memory, language with the surrounding matter. Along a path enriched by interdisciplinary dialogue, the thesis arrives at the figure of the siren, through which Cavarero reconstructs the delegitimization process carried out by Western culture to remove and naturalize alterity. In contrast, Ramondino exposes herself to it: first, in direct engagement with the island of Ventotene and its tangible and intangible heritage, and later, allowing herself to be permeated by the stories of women she encounters in Trieste—the cradle of the Basaglian deinstitutionalization movement—and whom her writing, embodying her gaze upon the world, envelops as if in an embrace
Detection and computational analysis of internet hate speech
No full textHate speech has long been a prevalent issue offline, but with the rise of the internet and social media, its spread has accelerated. The anonymity afforded by these platforms enables individuals to engage in hate speech often without facing substantial consequences. As technology continues to evolve, new opportunities arise to tackle this problem, particularly through the use of natural language processing (NLP). NLP technology can help automate processes that have traditionally been done manually, such as flagging hate speech in online content. Yet, many issues remain unresolved before we can achieve efficient hate speech detection systems. These include foundational challenges, such as defining hate speech, as well as issues that arise at the end of an NLP pipeline, such as evaluating whether a model can generalize. Additionally, the issue of bias in models poses a significant challenge, as biased training data can lead to inaccurate or unfair results. In this thesis, I will focus on addressing these issues. First, I examine the definitions of hate speech and related concepts like toxicity and abusive language, and their impact on re-annotated datasets. I then compare the original and re-annotated labels in terms of robustness and generalization using a BERT-based classifier. Next, I explore the use of hate speech legislation from three countries for annotation, expanding the task of hate speech detection to prosecutable hate speech detection. The results show even law interpretation can be subjective, which has a consequent effect on model training and evaluation. To address this issue, I introduce a semantic componential analysis of hate speech definitions, leading to the creation of the HateDefCon corpus. Moreover, I present a pipeline for generating parallel multilingual hate speech corpora and discuss the associated challenges. The thesis concludes with an examination of textual biases based on the psycholinguistic aspects of harmful language
Effectiveness of nature-based solutions for coastal inundation: towards a digital twin for coastal management
No full textCoastal inundation poses a significant threat to economic assets and human lives. A growing trend in coastal hazard protection management is the transition from traditional "gray" infrastructure to Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), which offer sustainable and adaptive alternatives. Accurate modeling of coastal flooding and interactions with NBS is vital but remains challenging due to limited data and modeling uncertainties. In this study, we evaluated the LISFLOOD-FP model ability to simulate coastal flooding, comparing its performance with observed flood maps and a fully hydrodynamic model in the Gulf of Manfredonia. Furthermore, we enhanced the model’s functionality by incorporating wave contributions to inundation, considering wave setup and swash, and their interactions with protective features such as temporary dunes, including potential erosion and structural failures. These advancements were applied to the Emilia-Romagna coastline in Italy, focusing on Cesenatico and Rimini towns, where seasonal dunes are constructed each winter as temporary coastal defenses. Two storm events were analyzed: The Saint Agatha storm in 2015, which led to dune failure and flooding, and Denise storm in 2022, where intact dunes effectively mitigated flooding. Results showed that the improved model could realistically simulate flood dynamics and capture the protective role of dunes, particularly in 2022. However, the study highlights the importance of correctly sizing these protections and emphasizes the critical impact of data uncertainty. The lack of high-resolution topographic data, especially for temporary dunes, introduces significant variability into model outputs. Small discrepancies in dune height can determine whether dunes fail or withstand storm events, thus affecting the reliability of flood predictions. This issue is compounded by a scarcity of observational flood maps, which limits validation efforts. The advancements represent an important step towards creating a digital twin of coastal NBS protection, providing a robust framework to support coastal management activities
From the kitchen to the algorithm. Feminist critique and the history of technology (1898-2020).
No full textQuesta ricerca si propone di contribuire alla ricostruzione della storia, della critica e della politica femminista della tecnologia. Attraverso il pensiero politico di Charlotte Perkins Gilman e Lily Braun – che tra il 1898 e il 1905 si confrontano con l’applicazione della tecnologia alla casa –, di Shulamith Firestone e Gena Corea – che tra il 1969 e il 1985 si interrogano sulle possibilità di liberazione delle donne offerte della tecnologia contraccettiva e procreativa e dalla cibernetica – e di Sadie Plant e del Data Feminism di Catherine D’Ignazio e Lauren Klein – che scrivono rispettivamente nel contesto dell’affermazione dell’era digitale e della svolta algoritmica – questa ricerca si propone di indagare come, dalla fine dell’Ottocento alla contemporaneità, le donne si siano confrontate con la tecnologia, abbiano sfidato la sua significazione patriarcale e l’abbiano identificata come un terreno cruciale di lotta per la loro liberazione. Da diverse prospettive e in contesti storico-teorici eterogenei, le autrici qui trattate esaminano i rapporti tecno-sociali, ripensano la teoria politica e le discipline scientifiche con cui si confrontano e si servono della tecnologia per mettere in tensione le dicotomie concettuali di domestico e politico, natura e cultura, sesso e genere. L’obiettivo di questa ricerca è dimostrare come la teoria politica femminista, sfidando le categorie politiche che hanno storicamente sostenuto la subordinazione delle donne, permetta di determinare e criticare le coordinate entro cui la tecnologia viene concepita, progettata e applicata.This research aims to contribute to the reconstruction of the history, critique and feminist politics of technology. Through the political thought of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Lily Braun - who, between 1898 and 1905, confronted the application of technology to the home -, by Shulamith Firestone and Gena Corea - who between 1969 and 1985 questioned the possibilities for women's liberation offered by contraceptive and procreative technology and cybernetics - and by Sadie Plant and Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren Klein's Data Feminism - who write in the context of the rise of the digital age and the algorithmic turn - this research aims to investigate how, from the late nineteenth century to contemporary times, women have confronted technology, challenged its patriarchal signification, and identified it as a crucial terrain of struggle for their liberation. From different perspectives and in heterogeneous historical-theoretical contexts, the authors discussed here examine techno-social relations, rethink political theory and the scientific disciplines with which they confront and use technology to tension the conceptual dichotomies of domestic and political, nature and culture, sex and gender. The goal of this research is to demonstrate how feminist political theory, by challenging the political categories that have historically supported the subordination of women, allows for the determination and critique of the coordinates within which technology is conceived, designed and applied
The role of bio-districts in shaping rural development: a social sustainability perspective
No full textBio-districts represent place-based social innovation initiatives that integrate organic agriculture, participatory governance, and local value chains to foster sustainable rural development. While their environmental and economic contributions have been widely acknowledged, the social dimension remains insufficiently examined. This doctoral research addresses this gap by developing a comprehensive, qualitative framework to assess the social sustainability of bio-districts, with a focus on individual and community well-being. Structured across three core chapters, the study begins with a literature review that critically examines existing sustainability evaluation tools—such as SAFA and S-LCA—highlighting their limited capacity to capture relational, processual, and subjective aspects of social sustainability. The second chapter presents empirical insights from case studies in Italy and Sweden, exploring how governance structures, stakeholder collaboration, and territorial identity influence social outcomes. Findings reveal both enabling factors, including strong local networks and policy engagement, and challenges such as power asymmetries, generational divides, and institutional fragmentation. The final chapter introduces a stakeholder-driven assessment framework grounded in an adapted Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) approach. The framework organizes social sustainability into two core dimensions: individual-level (e.g., decent livelihood, human capital) and community-level (e.g., shared vision, social capital), further operationalized through eight themes and 18 sub-themes. These were informed by thematic analysis of interviews and validated through literature review
Search for same-charge top-quark pair production in proton–proton collisions with the ATLAS detector
No full textIn this thesis, the search for same-charge top-quark pair production within the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) is presented. The analysis is performed within the ATLAS Collaboration using the proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 at the Large Hadron Collider. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 140 inverse fb at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Same-charge top-quark pair production, which is strongly suppressed in the Standard Model, provides a rare and sensitive probe for potential physics beyond the Standard Model. Three SMEFT operators that can lead to the production of same-charge top-quark pairs are considered in this search, namely Otu1, Oqu1, and Oqu8. The search is performed in the dilepton final state. Deep neural networks are employed to create regions sensitive to the different SMEFT operators and to separate signal from background. A profile likelihood is performed across all analysis regions to extract the signal strength. The fit results show good agreement with Standard Model predictions, with no significant deviations observed. Observed upper limits are set on the Wilson coefficients of the SMEFT operators at the 95 percent confidence level (CL) of ctu1 < 0.0068, cQu1 < 0.020 and cQu8 < 0.041. This corresponds to an observed limit on the cross-section for the same-charge top-quark pair production of 1.6 fb at 95 percent CL. This analysis provides the most stringent constraints to date on these SMEFT operators, improving upon previous limits by a factor of approximately 10.In dieser Arbeit wird die Suche nach der Produktion von Top-Quark-Paaren gleicher Ladung im Rahmen der Standardmodell-Effektiven-Feldtheorie (SMEFT) vorgestellt. Die Analyse wurde innerhalb der ATLAS-Kollaboration durchgeführt, wobei Proton-Proton-Kollisionsdaten verwendet werden, die während des Run 2 des Large Hadron Colliders mit dem ATLAS-Detektor aufgezeichnet wurden. Die Daten entsprechen einer integrierten Luminosität von 140 inversen fb bei einer Schwerpunktsenergie von 13 TeV. Die Produktion gleich geladener Top-Quark-Paare ist im Standardmodell stark unterdrückt. Daher bietet diese Suche eine seltene und zugleich sensitive Methode, nach Physik jenseits des Standardmodells zu suchen. In dieser Analyse werden drei SMEFT-Operatoren berücksichtigt, die zur Produktion gleich geladener Top-Quark-Paare beitragen können, namentlich Otu1, Oqu1, und Oqu8. Die Suche erfolgt im Dilepton-Endzustand. Tiefe neuronale Netze werden eingesetzt, um Regionen zu definieren, die empfindlich auf die verschiedenen SMEFT-Operatoren reagieren, und um eine Signal-Untergrund-Trennung durchzuführen. Eine Profil-Likelihood-Analyse wird über alle Analyseregionen durchgeführt, um die Stärke des Signals zu extrahieren. Die Ergebnisse der Analyse stimmen gut mit den Vorhersagen des Standardmodells überein, ohne dass signifikante Abweichungen beobachtet wurden.
Beobachtete obere Grenzen werden für die Wilson-Koeffizienten der SMEFT-Operatoren auf einem Konfidenzniveau von 95 Prozent gesetzt: ctu1 < 0.0068, cQu1 < 0.020 und cQu8 < 0.041. Dies entspricht einer beobachteten oberen Grenze für den Wirkungsquerschnitt der Produktion gleich geladenen Top-Quark-Paaren von 1.6 fb bei einem Konfidenzniveau von 95 Prozent. Diese Analyse liefert die bisher strengsten Grenzen für diese SMEFT-Operatoren und verbessert frühere Grenzen um einen Faktor von etwa 10
Essays in gender economics
No full textThis dissertation, titled Essays in Gender Economics, brings together four studies, each shedding light on how gender shapes economic behaviour, decision-making and outcomes. The first essay investigates the effectiveness of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statements in Spain and Germany, using an online experiment. It shows that targeting women with explicit equal opportunity statements encourages them to apply for high-paying managerial roles, without discouraging men. The second essay uses a pre-registered lab experiment to examine gender differences in explore-exploit tasks, focusing on exploration and competition under both gain-only and gain-loss environments. Surprisingly, women exhibit more exploration in gain-only settings, and once individual risk attitudes are considered, the initially lower tendency to compete that they show in gain-only environments aligns with that of men. The third essay examines employee responses to pay and job discrimination through a large-scale online labour market experiment conducted in Germany and Romania. It finds that discrimination increases complaints, particularly job discrimination, but does not reduce effort. Women under discrimination exert more effort and report stronger emotional distress than men. Finally, the fourth essay analyses more than five million university syllabi and, using a Monte Carlo benchmark that represents gender-neutral matching, shows that mixed-gender co-teaching teams occur at roughly half the rate expected; teaching team gender composition is also correlated with the novelty, interdisciplinarity, and gender diversity of the readings assigned in courses
The Saint Paul by Pasolini: a discourse on the Eternal Return, the Charity and the Unfinished
No full textIl San Paolo di Pasolini è il testo che riassume la riflessione di Pasolini sull’operato dell’apostolo delle Genti. In tale sceneggiatura sono presenti infatti tutti i temi che caratterizzano la ricezione pasoliniana di san Paolo, quali, il tema dell’Eterno Ritorno, cioè della dimensione ciclica del tempo sacro che si oppone a quella lineare del progresso, il tema della Carità come legge universale e fondamento del vivere civile, in una prospettiva di vicinanza tra cristianesimo e marxismo, e il tema del non compiuto, ravvisabile nel genere proprio dell’opera, ovvero quello della sceneggiatura che allude continuamente ad un’opera cinematografica da farsi e che utilizza le tecniche del montaggio e dell’analogia per rendere in maniera “iconografica” la rappresentazione dell’Eterno Ritorno. L’individuazione e l’analisi di questi temi fondanti del San Paolo di Pasolini rappresenta dunque lo scopo e il fine di tale elaborato.The San Paolo by Pasolini is the text that summarizes Pasolini's reflection on the work of the apostle of the Gentiles. In fact, this screenplay contains all the themes that characterize Pasolini's reception of San Paolo, namely: the theme of the Eternal Return, that is, the cyclical dimension of sacred time in contrast to the linear dimension of progress; the theme of Charity as the universal law of the foundation of civil life, in a perspective of closeness between Christianity and Marxism, and the theme of the unfinished, recognizable in the genre of the Saint Paul a screenplay that continually alludes to a cinematographic work to be made and that uses the techniques of film editing and analogy to render the representation of the Eternal Return in an "iconographic" way. The identification and analysis of these founding themes of Pasolini's San Paolo represents therefore the purpose and aim
of this work
Bamboo and Arundo donax for the future of european construction: unlocking their structural potential through a multiscale investigation
No full textTo address the growing demand for sustainable and high-performance construction materials, this thesis explores the structural potential of two natural resources: bamboo and Arundo donax. Though widely available and environmentally low-impact, bamboo and Arundo donax also exhibit promising mechanical properties. However, they remain underused, especially in Europe, due to insufficient scientific validation and persistent outdated perceptions. Through a rigorous multiscale approach, this research aims to build a scientific basis for their integration into contemporary European construction. The study is structured across three interrelated scales. At the microscale, six bamboo species cultivated in Italy, Phyllostachys edulis, bambusoides, viridiglaucescens, vivax, iridescens, and violacescens, were compared with Arundo donax through detailed anatomical analysis. Microscopy and image-based quantification revealed their differences, highlighting their influence on mechanical performance. Moreover, the results significantly contribute to the growing body of knowledge on European bamboo species. At the mesoscale, the link between internal structure and mechanical behaviour was explored, leading to the development of predictive tools for estimating both longitudinal and transverse properties. Analytical and numerical FEM simulations were carried out. A fast and accessible flexural test was also developed and validated for small European bamboo. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated both as a material grading method, similar to those used for timber, and for assessing degradation, as shown by a UV ageing campaign on P. viridiglaucescens. At the macroscale, the research translates material knowledge into practical structural systems. A multi-culm bamboo bundle beam and a full-span arch structure, based on the existing CanyaViva technique, were studied through experimental testing and numerical simulation. Bamboo offers greater load capacity, while Arundo donax exhibits higher ductility. By bridging gaps in scientific knowledge and perception, this thesis encourages the incorporation of bamboo and Arundo donax into sustainable construction paradigms rooted in local and renewable resources, in Europe and beyond
The taxation of financial instruments between capital income and other income
No full textLa presente tesi si propone di approfondire la materia della tassazione delle attività finanziarie, che risulta essere stata poco attenzionata negli ultimi dieci/quindici anni da parte della dottrina, ma che si presenta di indubbio interesse non solo sotto il profilo accademico ma anche sotto il profilo economico/finanziarioThe aim of this Phd thesis is to study the Italian tax legislation about the taxation of the financial instruments which had not been analyzing in deep in the last ten/fifteen years. The field presents its own interest not just under an academic point of view, but also under an economic/financial point too