I Would if I Could: Precarious Employment and Childbearing Intentions in Italy

This paper carries out an investigation into the socio-economic determinants of childbearing decisions made by couples in Italy. The analysis accounts for the characteristics of both possible parents. Our results do not support established theoretical predictions according to which the increase in the opportunity cost of motherhood connected to higher female labour participation is responsible for the fall in fertility. On the contrary, the instability of women’s work status (i.e. having occasional, precarious, and low-paid positions) is revealed as a significant dissuasive factor in the decision to have children. Couples in which there is an unemployed woman are less likely to plan childbearing as well. Other relevant explanatory variables are women’s age, men’s work status and education, women’s citizenship, marital status and perceived economic wellbeing.Fertility, family planning, parenthood, childbearing, participation, job instability, precarious employment, Italy.

I Would if I Could: Precarious Employment and Childbearing Intentions in Italy

This paper carries out an investigation into the socio-economic determinants of childbearing decisions made by couples in Italy. The analysis accounts for the characteristics of both possible parents. Our results do not support established theoretical predictions according to which the increase in the opportunity cost of motherhood connected to higher female labour participation is responsible for the fall in fertility. On the contrary, the instability of women’s work status (i.e. having occasional, precarious, and low-paid positions) is revealed as a significant dissuasive factor in the decision to have children. Couples in which there is an unemployed woman are less likely to plan childbearing as well. Other relevant explanatory variables are women’s age, men’s work status and education, women’s citizenship, marital status and perceived economic well-being.Fertility, family planning, parenthood, childbearing, participation, job instability, precarious employment, Italy

Economic insecurity and fertility intentions: the case of Italy

We aim to provide an explanation for the combination of the relatively low female participation rates and lowest-low fertility levels in Italy. Starting from the assumption that childbearing decisions also depend on uncertainty about future employment, income, and wealth, we empirically assess how fertility intentions are affected by: 1) the deprivation of a quality job, which may severely compromise the employability of workers and is likely to provoke feelings of insecurity about future employment; 2) conditions of economic disadvantage in terms of household income and wealth, which may imply insufficient means to deal with potential adverse future events, thereby generating in the household feelings of anxiety and economic insecurity. We show that the instability of women’s work status (i.e. the holding of occasional and precarious employment positions) significantly discourages the decision to have a first child. Low levels of household wealth significantly and positively influence the decision to postpone, or even decide against, having a first child. The chances of further childbirth are significantly and negatively influenced by household income insecurity.economic insecurity, income, wealth, fertility, childbearing, , employment instability, precarious employment, Italy

How did Adriano Olivetti influence John Ruskin?

The aim of this paper is to interpret Ruskin’s thought through the lens of contemporary political economy and cultural policymaking. The first section focuses upon Ruskin’s critical thoughts on industrial economy and technical reproducibility, which mirror new sustainable paradigms of production and consumption: economies of scale and competition are exchanged with unique crafting and personal interactions. The second section focuses on labour and education: Ruskin identified expressive freedom as a criterion of artistic quality opposed to mechanic perfection, anticipating the relationship between skills, knowledge management and the working environment in the experiences of contemporary creative industries. The third section focuses on arts and society: Ruskin championed a crucial role for art and beauty in society, which not only contemporary philosophers but also advanced companies trust as a powerful driver of growth. Today, Ruskin’s theories on heritage, creativity and cultural activities reveal challenging implications for cultural management and policymaking. In conclusion Ruskin’s theories effectively suit the challenges of our century, while his value system proves a pioneering weltanschauung for our world

Finite groups with large abelian quotients

A finite group is weakly-top if the order of every abelian section is bounded by the order of the abelianization. In particular, it is top if equality is not achieved by any proper abelian section. In this article, we prove that every weakly-top group is the direct product of weakly-top $p$-groups, but there exist weakly-top groups of arbitrarily large nilpotency class. Furthermore, we show that the properties of being weakly-top and top are invariant under isoclinism. Some generalizations concerning solvable and nilpotent quotients are also considered.Comment: 6 page

The joint contribution of grassroots artistic practices to the alternative and vital city. The case of Bologna and Venice (Italy)

The article explores grassroots artistic practices as stances of vital urbanism, intended as the urban dynamics activated from below and from outside established institutions that make a city lively thanks to the heterogenous, adaptive, and ultimately transformative initiatives of its citizens, especially when aggregated in the form of organised associations. Specifically, it focuses on how and why grassroots cultural organisation contribute to the vitality of their city. The research analyses the grassroots cultural milieux of two Italian cities, Bologna and Venice. Despite the local specificities, a thematic analysis has developed themes coherent across the two cases. They are: (1) political conflict; (2) imagining the alternative city; (3) making the alternative city; and finally (4) a discourse about the cultural economy. Ultimately, the findings illustrate how their visions and motivations shape a collective imagery of an alternative city and that their ideals and actions aim not just to keeping the city alive, but to let it evolve and develop

Posizionamenti transfemministi. Saperi situati e pratiche spaziali nel movimento Non Una di Meno

The aim of this paper is to analyse, through the toolbox of gender geography, the methodology of positionality and situated knowledge. The article examines some spatial practices of the transfeminist movement Non Una di Meno that involve us both as researchers and activists. The different forms of territorialisation and ways of “doing with” the space of the movement, are here presented through the specific cases of the demonstrations organised during the Covid-19 pandemic on the 25th of November 2020 and 8th March 2021. This enables us to present the methodology of positionality, and to analyse how feminist spatial practices can be the object of research and vice versa

A Model Iron Gall Ink: An In-Depth Study of Ageing Processes Involving Gallic Acid

Iron gall inks have been among the most used writing materials after carbon black, thus representing an important element of the historical and artistic heritage of our society. Crucially, the preservation of manuscripts and drawings is influenced by the presence of these inks, leading to conservation issues related to paper degradation and text fading. Besides all the advances obtained in paper conservation, the study of iron gall ink's behaviour and ageing is still an important topic, which requires investigation through an accurate molecular characterisation to produce reliable models. In the present work a micro-destructive method based on liquid chromatography techniques (HPLC-DAD and HPLC-ESI-Q-ToF) has been optimised starting from a model gallic acid-based ink. An in-depth study of the behaviour of the ink in time was performed by natural and artificial ageing tests, monitored by colorimetry, showing the autoxidation of gallic acid to ellagic acid in the prepared mock-ups. The effect of relative humidity on ageing processes was also evaluated, allowing us to determine different intermediates depending on the environmental conditions. Finally, the analytical method developed was then successfully applied for investigating 19th-20th century historical ink samples, where one of the identified ageing markers was detected, besides the expected gallic and ellagic acids

Lo spazio pubblico nel post-sisma 2016-2017: mercificazione turistica e tentativi di riappropriazione dei luoghi nel caso di Amatrice

La sequenza sismica che ha colpito l\u2019Italia centrale tra 2016 e 2017 ha generato intensi processi di de- e riterritorializzazione che hanno reso il cratere un contesto privilegiato per l\u2019analisi di fenomeni socio-territoriali. Attraverso l\u2019analisi delle trasformazioni del territorio amatriciano nel post-sisma, si prende in esame l\u2019impatto delle principali misure di gestione dell\u2019emergenza e della ricostruzione, per comprendere il processo di riterritorializzazione in corso e le politiche di sviluppo sottintese. La riflessione si svolge nella prospettiva della geografia sociale, applicando alcune categorie della sociologia dei disastri. Delineato il quadro specifico della gestione emergenziale, la riflessione intende far emergere le tendenze dominanti nell\u2019uso dello spazio pubblico da parte dei diversi attori territoriali, sottolineando le frizioni tra diverse pratiche spaziali che sottintendono diverse visioni dello sviluppo territoriale.The seismic sequence that struck central Italy between 2016 and 2017 triggered intense de- and reterritorialization processes that made the crater a favorable context for the analysis of socio-territorial phenomena. Through the analysis of the transformations of the Amatrician territory post-earthquake, this paper examines the impact of the main emergency and reconstruction measures taken, in order to understand the reterritorialization process that is underway and the implied policies of development. The reflection in this paper is based on the perspective of social geography, drawing on categories derived from the disaster sociology. In addition to providing an outline of the specific framework of emergency management, this paper aims to identify the dominant trends relating to the use of public space by various territorial stakeholders, with particular emphasis on the frictions that have arisen between different spatial practices representing the different perspectives surrounding local development

Massimo Quaini e il Centro Italiano per gli Studi Storico-Geografici (Roma, 23-24 ottobre 2019)

seminario dedicato a Massimo Quain