Archivio istituzionale della ricerca - Università degli Studi di Venezia Ca' Foscari
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«Eravamo contadine noi, ma tanto! Però davamo da mangiare a “loro”» Donne, lavoro e immagini di Venezia vista dalla Laguna
Full text linkIn the Venetian Lagoon, everyday life unfolds in close interdependence with a water-based ecology that shapes and permeates local ways of inhabiting the world. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in the Northern Lagoon with women born mostly in the late 1930s—who self-identify as peasant farmers—this article reflects on the perception of the environment and on the interrelationship between the islands and the city of Venice.
Within the framework of memory, biographical narratives express the experience of hardship and a multifaceted, often oppressive, burden of women's labour in everyday life. Central to these narratives is the affective register of noialtri—“us people”—articulated as a collective sensibility grounded in a shared identity as workers and farmers, in experiences of physical and occupational mobility, and in the act of crossing the lagoon to sell fruit and vegetables at the Rialto market.
The analysis explores counter-narratives of Venice, the emblematic role of Rialto as a site of economic and symbolic centrality, and the widely shared representation of the city as dominant over the lagoon, which is often constructed as a peripheral space. It also examines the social inequalities these women have experienced over time.
Within this context of economic disparity, an autonomous lagoonal world emerges—one not subordinated to the domain of the sióri and paróni of Venice. Beyond the register of hardship, the women I met recount creative strategies for navigating daily life, practices of resistance to economic oppression, trajectories of social mobility, and personal forms of emancipation
Social Research Between Participation and Action. Theoretical Reflections and Practical Suggestions
Full text linkParticipatory research (PR) has gained particular interest in recent times and has been used in a variety of contexts. As often occurs with terms that become commonly used (i.e. “mainstream”), they often lose their original meaning and their ability to indicate an unambiguous significance.To clarify how the concept of PR is interpreted in the author’s objectives, the paper first discusses the term participation in social research, highlighting a taxonomy that allows us to identify different levels of participation in the research activity. Thesecond step –based on Paulo Freire’s reflection –is to discuss how and why PR shares with ‘action research’the fact that it is performative, due to its characteristic of involving different stakeholders (practitioners and non-professionals), as the co-production of knowledge is not without consequences for people’s everyday practices (Bergold &Thomas, 2012). Likewise, the paper emphasizes why PR can enable the contribution of different actors, i.e. the multiple types of stakeholders that could be involved and, particularly, marginalized groups, by allowing them to have a voice. Given the limited scope of the paper, the objective is to underscore the relevance of PR as a pertinent methodology to address the multifaceted challenges posed by a complex society, mainly when different reasons of contention emerge. For this reason, in the last section, it presents an internationally well-known case study, emphasizing the role of participation in the research process: the aim is to propose solutions for promoting social participation as a research methodology even in a conflictual situation
Sustainability reporting regulation
No full textThis chapter outlines the main sustainability reporting regulations adopted globally, with a particular focus on the European Union framework. It begins by examining the costs and benefits associated with mandatory sustainability reporting, followed by an overview of key international regulations in this area. Special attention is given to the EU’s regulatory system, which is shaped by the Sustainable Finance Action Plan and the European Green Deal, and culminates in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
The chapter also explores the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), enacted in 2014 as the first EU mandate requiring non-financial disclosures, highlighting its key features and the main challenges faced during its implementation. The NFRD was subsequently replaced by the CSRD, adopted in 2022. A detailed analysis is provided of the companies subject to the CSRD, the timeline for its implementation, and the type and format of sustainability information required for disclosure. In addition, the chapter discusses the EU Taxonomy Regulation, introduced in 2020, which establishes a classification system for environmentally sustainable economic activities and applies to companies within the scope of the CSRD.
The chapter concludes with a look at anticipated future developments in the EU sustainability reporting framework
Enabling biological nitrogen fixation in agriculture: An eco-industrial perspective
Full text linkFood production, including cereal crops such as maize, rice, and wheat, and other products like oilseed, tubers, dairy, meat, fish and sugar, accounts for up to 50 % of global crop output and is projected to rise along with population and income growth. As industrial agriculture heavily relies on mineral fertilizers, for sustaining crop growth, the global fertilizer consumption is also projected to rise in the upcoming years. Nitrogen is the most critical nutrient for crops, so that N-based fertilizers are the most widely used worldwide. However, excessive N fertilization leads to remarkable environmental damage and economic losses annually. Enhancing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by aligning nitrogen supply with plant demand is crucial for more sustainable agriculture. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) presents a promising strategy to reduce synthetic N use. However, integrating BNF into industrial agriculture requires strategies that address both biological and technical challenges. This review discusses the limitations and feasibility of existing strategies to enable BNF in non-leguminous crops. Currently, issues such as consistency and scalability of microbial products, along with regulations, are amongst the main limitations to the adoption of BNF in agriculture. In addition, as the production of bioformulations has not been standardized yet, many products still lack reproducibility, stability and applicability. In this review, relevant factors contributing to the design of effective microbial formulations are discussed, and product design is proposed as alternative valuable strategy which – coupled with appropriate proof of agronomic efficacy – can enable BNF-based solutions as more sustainable fertilization practices. Therefore, the development of effective microbial formulations aiming at reducing N input, losses, and dependence on synthetic fertilizers, is described in the light of both industrial and ecological perspectives. The review remarks the potential of biofertilizers as tools to enable BNF in agriculture and how an eco-design can help developing more effective, stable and hence scalable products. On the other hand, beside the increasing market demand, the regulatory framework is still a major barrier, playing an important role in the identification and formulation of reliable protocols aimed at standardizing the production of microbial products for fertilizing purposes
RE-IMMAGINARE LA GUERRA Rimediazioni audiovisive dei conflitti contemporanei
No full textAccording to Rita Raley, tactical media should be regarded as a “disturbance” or a “virtuosic performance” rather than as an “extrinsic product.” Differentiating tactical media from other forms of political maneuver, Raley explains that “for tactical media there is a certain power in spontaneous eruption, in the momentary evasion of protocol-based control structures, in the creation of temporary autonomous zones, which certainly play a role in making political transformation possible.” Within this framework falls the continuous and incessant proliferation of images produced by surveillance systems, which constitute a valuable resource for security and investigation within the temporality of what William John Thomas Mitchell defines as the “War of Images,” embedded in the countless practices and procedures adopted by governance structures in the War on Terror
Evidence for Persistent Drought Over Mesoamerica Between 1400 and 1600 CE
Full text linkThe Little Ice Age (LIA) (c. 1350 to 1850 CE) was a major period of anomalously cold conditions over much of the Earth. However, strong heterogeneity of reconstructed climatic anomalies renders the spatial and temporal characterization of the LIA in the tropics an enduring gap to be filled. Here, we describe hydroclimatic variations reconstructed using a speleothem (GU-Xi-1) from the southern Yucat & aacute;n peninsula that precipitated aragonite since 1000 CE. Stable oxygen isotope ratios from GU-Xi-1 are interpreted as a proxy for past rainfall amounts, for which they allow to resolve variability on interannual time scales. The reconstructed precipitation record demonstrates drier than normal conditions between around 1400 and 1600 CE, which we term the Mesoamerican Dry Event (MDE) with an abrupt - within two decades - onset and termination. The beginning of the MDE occurred at the same time as estimates of the start of the LIA, indicating that there may be a link between the two events. The MDE is associated with surface cooling of the Intra-Americas Sea: between 1400 and 1600 CE, Caribbean sea-surface temperatures fell below the threshold required to sustain deep atmospheric convection, leading to prolonged drying in Mesoamerica
Dissecting the ESG ratings: Does one size fit all?
No full textIn this study, we unpack the ESG ratings of three prominent agencies in Europe and find that (i) each E, S, and G pillar contributes differently to the overall ESG score, (ii) there is a low co-movement between the three E, S, G pillars and (iii) there are specific ESG Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are driving these ratings more than others
Validità e limiti della Goldwater Rule. Etica, psichiatria e politica
No full textValidity and limits of the Goldwater Rule. Ethics, psychiatry and politics.
The “Goldwater Rule,” introduced in 1973 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), prohibits psychiatrists
from publicly expressing diagnostic opinions about public figures whom they have not personally examined and
without their consent. Originating in the aftermath of the 1964 presidential campaign and the Fact Magazine case,
this rule stands as a central point of ethical debate between freedom of expression, professional responsibility, and
the protection of individual dignity. This article traces the origins and evolution of the rule, analyzing its major
violations and reinterpretations—from Jerrold Post’s psychological profile of Saddam Hussein to Bandy X. Lee’s
The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump—and examining their connection to the legal principle of Duty to Warn
derived from the Tarasoff ruling. The discussion also includes the perspective of psychology, which proposes a more
flexible approach based on observable and documentary data, and reviews contributions that downplay psychiatric
diagnosis as the sole criterion of leadership fitness, drawing on psychohistorical studies and the notion of “depressive
realism” in historical leaders. A section is devoted to the European context, where there is no uniform consensus on
the Goldwater Rule. Finally, the article examines contemporary defenses of the rule by scholars and ethics
committees, reaffirming its importance in safeguarding the credibility of psychiatry and preventing political or media
misuse. The concluding reflections emphasize the rule’s inherent ambiguity and contextual nature, its limited
enforceability, and the need for its revision to align with the ethical and communicative challenges of modern society
Lifelong learning e invecchiamento attivo in Italia. Punti di forza e criticità
Full text linkThe chapter examines lifelong learning as a key factor in personal development and social cohesion, focusing on the strengths and challenges of educational processes. It highlights lifelong learning’s importance for active ageing by promoting inclusion, soft skills development, and psycho-physical well-being. Recent data on lifelong learning participation across Europe are presented, showing that Italy lags behind other countries. The chapter also explores the motivations driving adults to engage in learning, such as personal growth, improved job opportunities, and social interaction. In its conclusion, the text suggests strategies to enhance the effectiveness of lifelong learning processes, including stronger coordination among public and private stakeholders and greater recognition of non-formal learning
A Centrally Peripheral Publisher: The Fostering of the Hui Literary Field in Post-Mao China
Full text linkIn recent decades, Chinese literary studies has shifted away from center–periphery models, favoring frameworks that emphasize multiplicity and decentralization. While this turn has opened space for new perspectives, it risks overlooking persistent hierarchies that continue to shape literary careers, where certain publishers remain more central to an author’s advancement than others. This essay reconsiders the center–periphery framework through an analysis of Huizu wenxue, a literary journal published in Changji, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Despite its geographic distance from China’s dominant literary hubs, Huizu wenxue has long served as a key platform for Hui literature. Drawing on interviews, as well as textual and paratextual analysis, I demonstrate how the journal functions both as a launchpad for emerging Hui authors and as an institutional anchor for a nationwide Hui literary community. Through dedicated columns that showcase new Hui talent and events that foster professional networks, Huizu wenxue has, since its inception, continually played a central role in shaping Hui literary production and supporting authors’ careers. Because it operates from the margins of the People’s Republic of China’s yet wields significant influence within Hui literary circles, I argue that Huizu wenxue is best understood as a “peripheral center.