Un'agenda per l'università: Saperi e istituzioni in gioco

The goal of the essay is to understand the dynamics of the processes that have affected philosophy as a complex institutional field, especially in relation to the rapid processes of change that have taken place in universities in Western countries over the last few decades. After introducing the concept of institution, the contribution investigates the backdrop against which the ongoing process of redefining the relationships between knowledge in the academic context and the way in which knowledge practices that characterizeour societies today influence and inform, while being simultaneously influenced by, university institutions. In conclusion, the essay explores the institutional conditions for transdisciplinary pathways that can inhabit the ongoing processes through a new «ethics of knowledge», by proposing a political agenda that can also contribute to rethinking philosophy as an institution.L’obiettivo del saggio è comprendere alcune dinamiche dei processi che hanno investito la filosofia come complesso campo istituzionale, in particolare in relazione ai processi impetuosi di cambiamento che nel corso degli ultimi decenni hanno investito l’università in Occidente. Dopo aver presentato la nozione di istituzione, il contributo indaga lo sfondo entro cui si colloca il processo in atto di ridefinizione delle relazioni tra i saperi nel contesto accademico e il modo in cui le pratiche del sapere che caratterizzano oggi le nostre società attraversano e informano, venendone al tempo stesso influenzate, le istituzioni universitarie. In conclusione, il saggio indaga le condizioni di possibilità istituzionali di percorsi transdisciplinari che siano in grado di provare ad abitare i processi in atto a partire da una nuova «etica dei saperi», attraverso la proposta di un’agenda politica che sia in grado di contribuire anche al ripensamento della filosofia come istituzione

Perceptions of Present and Future Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability for Agricultural Systems in the Western Mediterranean Region

Many Mediterranean countries have experienced water shortages during the last 20 years and future climate change projections foresee further pressure on water resources. This will have significant implications for irrigation water management in agricultural systems in the future. Through qualitative and quantitative empirical research methods carried out on a case study on four Mediterranean farming systems located in Oristano, Italy, we sought to understand the relationship between farmers' perceptions of climate change (i.e., increased temperature and decreased precipitation) and of present and future water availability for agriculture as forecasted by climatic and crop models. We also explored asymmetries between farmers' perceptions and present and future climate change and water scenarios as well as factors influencing perceptions. Our hypotheses were that farmers' perceptions are the main drivers of actual water management practices and that sustainable practices can emerge from learning spaces designed from the understanding of the gaps between perceptions and scientific evidences. Results showed that most farmers perceived that climate change is occurring or will occur in their area. They also perceived that there has been an increased temperature trend, but also increased precipitation. Therefore, they are convinced that they have and will have enough irrigation water for agriculture in the near future, while climate change projections foresee an increasing pressure on water resources in the Mediterranean region. Such results suggest the need for (i) irrigation management policies that take into account farmers' perceptions in order to promote virtuous behaviors and improve irrigation water use efficiency; (ii) new, well-designed learning spaces to improve the understanding on climate change expectations in the near future in order to support effective adaptive responses at the farm and catchment scales

Combining modeling and stakeholder involvement to build community adaptive responses to climate change in a Mediterranean agricultural district

The case study area (54,000 ha) is located at Oristano, Italy. The main cropping systems are based on forages (silage maize, Italian ryegrass and alfalfa under irrigation, winter cereals and grasslands under rainfed conditions), rainfed cereals (durum wheat, barley), vegetables (e.g. artichokes), rice, citrus, olives and vineyards. Some 36,000 ha are served by irrigation. The area includes the dairy cows cooperative system of Arborea (30,000 cows, 5500 ha, nitrate vulnerable zone). The rainfed dairy sheep includes 372,000 sheep and a number of small milk processing plants. The research aims to support adaptive responses to climate change through the combination of modeling approaches and stakeholder engagement. Present (2000-2010) and future (2020-2030) climatic scenarios were developed by combining global climate models with Regional Atmospheric Modelling Systems to produce calibrated time series of daily temperature and precipitation for the case study. The EPIC model was calibrated to simulate the impact of climate scenarios on the main cropping systems. The impact of THIndex on milk yield, milk quality and mortality was also simulated for dairy cows. A territorial farm-type Discrete Stochastic Programming model was implemented to simulate choices for thirteen farming typologies as influenced by crop yields and water consumptions. Participatory activities, including field experiments, interviews, focus groups and interactive workshops, involved farmers and other stakeholders in the most critical phases of the research. The assessment of uncertainties and opportunities were proposed as a basis for discussion with policy makers to identify priorities for agro-climatic measures in 2014-2020

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

Per un'Agenda urbana "dalla parte delle cità"

L’Agenda urbana nazionale deve prendere le mosse dalle agende delle città: questa è la prospettiva e la proposta di fondo del secondo Rapporto di Urban@it. Solo così si potranno attuare le sollecitazioni dell’Agenda urbana per l’Unione europea (Pact of Amsterdam) e della New urban Agenda dell’Onu (Habitat III di Quito). Molte nostre città versano in una situazione di crisi strutturale, con il rischio di un’ulteriore divisione tra aree e regioni del paese. Ciò nonostante si stanno sperimentando politiche innovative sulla gestione dei fenomeni migratori, la rigenerazione urbana, la resilienza nei confronti dei cambiamenti climatici, l’innovazione sociale come motore possibile di coesione. Ma, soprattutto nel Mezzogiorno, le sperimentazioni più interessanti non sono ancora in grado di incidere sulle agende urbane per ridefinire il modello di sviluppo, in una fase di drastica riduzione delle risorse per i governi locali e di crescita della fragilità dei territori. Nel giugno 2016 sono andate al voto alcune tra le maggiori città italiane, con un avvicendamento di maggioranze e l’affermazione di rilevanti novità politiche. In un contesto di forte movimento, il Rapporto propone una lettura delle agende urbane articolata su due piani. Nei «ritratti» dedicati a Torino, Milano, Venezia, Parma, Prato, Roma, Napoli e Matera – non solo città metropolitane, ma anche città medie e medio-grandi – vengono narrate e interpretate evoluzioni e prospettive, con la possibilità di trarne considerazioni di carattere generale. Inoltre, i capitoli dedicati a temi trasversali – le Agende trans­nazionali, il riassetto istituzionale dei governi locali, il welfare, le periferie e la rigenerazione urbana, le politiche per la resilienza e i fenomeni migratori – propongono una lettura dei processi di trasformazione che ridefiniscono la cornice stessa dell’azione di governo, sfidando la capacità innovativa delle città