1,721,054 research outputs found
Photovoice as a visual-verbal strategy for studying contents and processes of social representations: a participatory project on sustainable energy
No full textPhotovoice is a participatory action-research strategy that has been mainly adopted to give voice to “unheard” groups. In this article, we adapted this strategy in a study on the social representations (SRs) of sustainable energy shared by young citizens (ages 11–12) in Narni, Italy, a small urban center with a history intertwined with sustainable energy issues. In particular, the study suggests that photovoice could be useful to jointly examine verbal and visual components of social representations and to highlight communicative formats that contribute to shape SRs. Images of sustainable energy produced by participants show technocentric and ecocentric contents, confirming previous studies conducted with adults. Anthropocentric components also emerge, potentially identifying a challenging figurative nucleus. Photo-elicitation and small-group discussions show a twofold communicative activity: reification formats and homogamic communication are used to reaffirm shared representations, and the consensualization format is used when potentially disruptive elements for the community are at stake. Overall, results show the potentialities of photovoice experience for SR research and suggest that photovoice could actually benefit from further in-depth analyses of images and of communication within groups. Implications of the results for civic engagement are discussed
The Construction of the Concept of Peace in the Discourse of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.
No full textEpistemic authorities play a key role in co-construction processes that foster the consolidation or contestation of shared meanings, especially when facing controversial and multifaceted issues. This is the case of peace, a seemingly clear issue which is yet instrumentally evoked and used in function of even opposing meanings and practices. Even within peace studies, the debate about what peace is -and consequently about the scope of this scientific domain- has led to more restrictive views (i.e. peace as the opposite of war) and more proactive perspectives (such as those stressing the need for positive approaches, which should foster structural, cultural and direct peace).
In this contribution we present a preliminary study which aimed to investigate whether it is possible to identify with semi-automatic approaches, diverse types of peace within institutional discourses issued by epistemic authorities.
We draw on 1) Bobbio’s classification of pacifism, proposed in 1975, which is situated within a narrow view of peace studies. According to this model, it is possible to distinguish between Instrumental; Institutional and Finalistic approaches to pacifism; and 2) Anderson’s model of peace, proposed in 2004, which suggest to classify peace according to the macro and micro contexts to which it is directed.
The speeches of Nobel Peace Prize laureates from 1960 to 2022 were manually analyzed according to the six categories corresponding to peace types (Bobbio, 1975) and the three levels of context (Anderson, 2004). Moreover, at an exploratory level, this study used topic detection models to observe which types of peace and contexts emerged, their relationship with thematic contents of the speech, their variation over time, and their relationship with individual characteristics of the Nobel laureate (e.g., gender). Finally, the study tested whether the classification system applied allowed for the automatic identification of the categories found. This last step was tested through different machine learning algorithms for classification (e.g., Support-Vector Machines, Random Forest).
By shedding light on these issues, this study aims to enrich our understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of peace as a social construct and provide insights on the diverse approaches to peace and peacebuilding
Risk Co-De Linguistic Model. A new machine learning-based model for detecting risk-related socio-psychological processes in social media
No full textLa costruzione della base dati e le scelte metodologiche
No full textIl contributo presenta una metodologia mista di analisi di dati testuali che collega tra loro metodi diversi, in parallelo o in sequenza gli uni con gli altri, seguendo i principi di complementarità e sviluppo. Vengono utilizzati in modo sequenziale metodi e software differenti di lettura e di analisi del testo al fine di illustrare, elaborare e chiarire i risultati di un metodo, attraverso il metodo successivo. Obiettivo ultimo è raggiungere una più profonda comprensione del fenomeno in esame. Il corpus è costituito da un campione di 3.240 articoli e titoli, suddivisi per testate, per un periodo di circa un anno e mezzo e con una base dati di circa un milione di parole. I testi, sono stati raccolti a partire dagli archivi delle testate usando come keyword Fiscal compact
Energy transitions in Europe: emerging challenges, innovative approaches, and possible solutions
No full textConceptualization of sustainability among students, administrative and teaching staff of a university community: An exploratory study in Italy
No full textUniversities have been widely recognised as unparalleled potential catalysers for sustainability, being both formal learning institutions and places where informal, mutual influences and lay/expert knowledge meet. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are often invoked to orient the future of Universities, however, the complexity related to their implementation often depends on the different viewpoints and the diverse representations that circulate in these communities. Therefore, one starting step towards a real sustainable university community is to underpin the various meanings and relevance that students, administrative and teaching staff give to sustainability and SDGs. This study presents the result of a survey answered by 1408 members of a polytechnic Italian university (specialised in engineering, architecture and industrial design) during December 2018–January 2019. The data include free associations to sustainability, self-reported measures of knowledge and relevance of SDGs. Despite being a rather homogeneous community, results show diversities in the social representations of sustainability and SDGs. The results of factorial and cluster analysis show an eco-centric representation of sustainability and a rather low consciousness linked to societal challenges. Relevant differences between academics, technical staff and students emerge. Interestingly, results show a discrepancy between the SDGs that are considered relevant for the self and the university. Results suggest that the University is not yet perceived as a community where sustainability can be enacted and not just taught. The diversity in social representations, if not openly debated, could affect the way the new generation of engineers will face the challenges posed by sustainability
Crossing borders, building new ones, or shifting boundaries? Shared narratives and individual paths towards inter/transdisciplinarity in research centres for urban sustainability
No full textInter/transdisciplinarity (ITD) is a pillar of sustainability studies, often presented as the way to conduct research and practice especially in conflictual and politicised real-world stakeholder constellations. Several studies emphasise the need to consider the communicative processes through which it is put into practice. However, there is still a dearth of research that explores the meanings key actors associate with ITD and how they account for the material, practical and communicative facets of their everyday experience. This work seeks to collect the voice of leaders of inter/transdisciplinary research centres, identify shared repertoires used to interpret their experience in the field, and reflect on how shared narratives could inspire or impede researchers engaged in ITD. A discursive analysis was applied to 23 semi-structured interviews conducted with leaders of research centres on urban sustainability. Results identified diverse interpretative repertoires used to define ITD and to interpret the barriers that, in the eyes of these key actors, have to be crossed to become ITD researchers. These elements are combined into three main narratives used by participants to position themselves and the researchers involved in ITD. Despite being functional to self-representation, these shared narratives contribute towards depicting ITD as an individual escape, and interdisciplinary research centres as sanctuaries of a sort, thus paradoxically preserving the status quo. A third narrative advocates structural shifts and is coherent with the need for deeper changes and persistent recognition of ITD in sustainability studies
Conceptualization of sustainability among students, administrative and teaching staff of a university community: An exploratory study in Italy
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