(Non) c'era una volta la guerra

Il libro raccoglie tre saggi pubblicati parzialmente su Libération, prima, durante e dopo la Tempesta nel Deserto scatenata il 16 gennaio 1991 dalla coalizione guidata dagli Usa contro l’Iraq di Saddam Hussein, dopo che questi aveva invaso il vicino Kuwait nell’agosto dell’anno precedente. Baudrillard prova temerariamente a dimostrare che, sebbene dispiegata, la guerra è strutturalmente impraticabile nelle condizioni date

A machine learning framework for seismic risk assessment of industrial equipment

The paper aims to propose a novel machine learning framework for seismic risk assessment of industrial facilities. In this respect, a compound artificial neural network model is employed, which is based on two different artificial neural network models in series. The first artificial neural network is a regression model employed to generate samples of a vector-valued intensity measure. The second one is a classification model that is used to predict structural damage, starting from the outcomes of the first artificial neural network model. The datasets used for training and validation of the two artificial neural networks are based on hazard-consistent accelerograms and numerical analyses that are performed with an efficient finite element model of the structure. The methodology entails a preliminary feature selection phase for the identification of the aforementioned vector-valued of intensity measures that better classifies the damage/no-damage condition of the structure. This phase is implemented through the principal component analysis method. Subsequently, the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm is used to generate samples of a selected intensity measure, feeding the first ANN model. In turn, the chosen features are used as input parameters of the second ANN model to generate samples of damage/no-damage events. Using the two ANN in series, the mean annual frequency of exceeding a specific limit state is derived. The proposed framework is validated using a typical multi-storey steel frame, focusing on the seismic risk assessment of a vertical storage tank located at the first floor of the primary structure. The proposed method exhibits some clear advantages of combining numerical models with ANN techniques, mainly related to: a reduced computational time; the avoidance of any prior information on the probabilistic model of fragility curves; and the use of model-driven data

The determinants of life quality in African countries: Moderating role of CO2 emissions and health expenditures

The aim of the study is to examine the determinants of quality of life in some African countries using carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and health expenditures. For this purpose, annual data for the period 2000–2019 were considered for 20 African countries, and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator was used in the analysis. In the study, second-generation panel tests were applied, considering the cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity of the variables. The Durbin–Hausman cointegration test revealed that there was a long-term relationship between the variables; the size and direction of this relationship were analyzed with the GMM method. The findings obtained from the study reveal three important results. First, carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) and urbanization (URB) negatively affect the quality of life by reducing life expectancy at birth in the long-run. Second, increases in health expenditures (HEALTH) and per capita income (GDP) significantly improve quality of life. Third, a strong causal relationship from health expenditures to quality of life emphasizes the importance of health investments. To improve the quality of life, reducing carbon emissions Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 – “Climate Action” and improving access to health services SDG 3 – “Good Health and Well-being” are priorities. Expanding the use of renewable energy, adopting policies to reduce environmental pollution, and integrating green technologies into industry are necessary

A hidden thread: Ideas and proposals on children's mathematics education in the Late Modern Age

Access to numeracy in childhood for some dates back to Antiquity. In modern Europe, the training tradition from the abaco schools transmitted by means of printed arithmetics regarded both the younger and the older, including self-teaching adults. Yet an attention to the specificity of children, including eventually girls, as to forms of learning and teaching methods, developed at a slow pace, as part of the growing “sentiment de l'enfant”. An influx of the market can be possibly traced since the late 18th century, and an intensification is clearly observed around 1900, in the age of progressive education or modern school. Several contributions and proposals, including some from women scholars, shared the ambition to introduce mathematics as a sphere of knowledge, far beyond numeration and operation written skills; and most authors had in mind the extension of mathematics “to the many”

L’antropologia femminista nella tormenta. Perché il genere rimane una categoria analitica necessaria

L’articolo ricostruisce la recente controversia nata in occasione della conferenza annuale dell’American Anthropological Association (AAA) e della Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) tenutosi a Toronto nel novembre del 2023. Nell’imminenza dell’evento le due associazioni avevano annullato un panel, accettato in precedenza, proposto da cinque studiose, tre statunitensi, una canadese e una spagnola, autodefinitesi femministe gender critical nel quale affermavano che solo un uso della categoria sesso e non quella di genere è da ritenersi adeguato a definire le «vere donne» nella ricerca sul campo. L’articolo ricostruisce anche la polarizzazione delle reazioni a questa cancellazione: da una parte quelle a favore delle paneliste che denunciavano una censura in relazione alla libertà di espressione; dall’altra quelle delle due associazioni che motivavano la soppressione, in realtà, per tutelare, fra le altre, le persone transgender che si erano sentite minacciate anche in considerazione delle vicende che avevano già investito le suddette ritenute razziste, sessiste e portatrici di tesi antiscientifiche. L’articolo riflette, infine, su più punti. Il primo sull’uso del termine femminismo in antropologia, che andrebbe, stante queste vicende, sempre aggettivato, in considerazione dei rischi di una sua strumentalizzazione politica in questo particolare momento storico. Il secondo sui pericoli di visioni fondate sul rigido binarismo sessuale già storicamente confutato sia dalle scienze biologiche che dalle scienze sociali, in primis l’antropologia di genere. Infine, respingendo tutti gli essenzialismi l’articolo evidenzia come un’antropologia, e un’etnografia, critica e politica di genere (critical and political anthropology of gender) che incorpori il posizionamento femminista e queer sulle sessualità, studiando le asimmetrie di potere, costituisca una netta presa di distanza da un’antropologia che critica e nega il genere (critical anthropology on gender).This paper reconstructs the controversial debate that took place at an annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association and the Canadian Anthropological Association in Toronto on 20-23 November. In the run-up to the event, the two associations cancelled a previously accepted panel proposed by five scholars, three American, one Canadian and one Spanish, who are self-described gender-critical feminists. They argued that only the category of sex, not gender, was adequate to define 'real women' to be studied in the field. The article also reconstructs the polarisation of reactions to this cancellation: on the one hand, those in favour of the panelists who denounced the censorship in terms of freedom of expression; on the other, those from the two associations who justified the suppression in order to protect, among others, transgender people who felt threatened by the events that had already involved these panelists, who were considered racist, sexist and anti-scientific. The article concludes with some observations. The first concerns the use of the term feminism in anthropology, which, given what has happened, should always be adjectival, given the risks of its political instrumentalisation at this historical moment. The second concerns the dangers of visions based on a rigid sexual binarism. These visions have been historically refuted by both biological and social sciences, especially by gender anthropology. Finally, rejecting all essentialisms, the article highlights how a critical and political anthropology and ethnography of gender that incorporates feminist and queer positions on sexualities and studies power asymmetries constitutes a clear departure from an anthropology that critiques and denies gender ( gender-critical anthropology )

Zoo Animal Welfare vs. Wellbeing: Integrating the most recent approaches towards an evidence-based management

This research project explores the multifaceted concept of animal wellbeing in the context of zoo environments, emphasizing the evolving perspectives and definitions within the field. The thesis traces the historical development of animal welfare science, from the formulation of the Five Freedoms and the subsequent emergence of the Five Domains model. Then, focuses on the challenges faced by zoos in balancing the conservation imperatives with the ethical responsibility of ensuring high standards of animal welfare. During this study, conducted at “Zoosafari di Fasano” in Italy, I monitored European brown bears (Ursus arctos) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) over a year, seeking to model the impact of captivity induced rapid environmental change at the individual level. The objectives included applying the “24/7 approach”, which considers the animals wellbeing throughout both the 24 hours and all the seasons of the year. To assess animal welfare and wellbeing in zoo animals, I employed a comprehensive approach, combining resource based and animal based indicators, i.e. behavioral, physiological (hormones and microbiota), and morphological indicators, finally contributing valuable insights to the broader discussion on animal wellbeing in captivity. The findings aimed to inform management decisions, advocating for a shift towards animal based management and promoting optimal levels of wellbeing. The thesis is structured into three chapters. In Chapter 1, the seasonal behavioral, physiological, and morphological patterns of captive brown bears are explored, emphasizing the need for targeted management aligned with their natural predisposition to hibernate. Chapter 2 investigates the circadian rhythms of brown bears in captivity, highlighting the influence of zoo management and visitor interactions on captive bears' activity patterns when compared to those in the wild. Chapter 3 investigates the potential use of gut microbiota as a welfare indicator in captive chimpanzees, considering social behaviors, stress conditions, and management practices. Findings highlight the complexity of animal wellbeing emphasizing the necessity of a holistic approach, and advocates for collaborative efforts among researchers, zookeepers, curators, and policymakers to ensure evidence based practices in zoos, ultimately contributing to the goals of ex situ conservation

Symbols of Authority: Obelisks, Hieroglyphs, and Catholic Universalism in Baroque Rome

Through an interdisciplinary study of the work of Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), the authors investigate the relationship between cultural policies of the roman Curia, the Jesuit order, religious diversity, and aesthetic-spatial configuration of Rome during the Early Modern age. The paper shares in-depth observations of the recovery of ancient culture and its reworking in a post-reformist Christian key through architectural and spatial elements adopted to endorse the continuity of the ancient past and the Catholic reformistic Universalistic aspirations.In such frame, Kircher worked to decipher hieroglyphics on obelisks of the Imperial age but from Egyptian times. These defined a specific topography of space as a visual convergence of points: an urban geography of sacral and historical-political value