Smartness. The face of the integration in the new “performing” society

Economia, potere, così come case, persone e lavoro, ma prima di ogni altra cosa città: tutto negli ultimi anni è chiamato a diventare “smart”. È questa l’era della smart economy, della smart governance, della smart home, delle smart people, dello smart work e della sempre più imperante smart city. Con il sostegno della scienza, o meglio delle diverse scienze (ingegneria, politologia, urbanistica, architettura, sociologia, etc.) che ne spieghino i fondamenti a monte e della politica che, ai vari livelli (nazionali e internazionali), ne orienti i processi a valle, la smartness diventa il nuovo orizzonte della società contemporanea a cui conformare senso e prassi su scala planetaria. Ma cosa significa, per un luogo come per una attività, per una persona come per una collettività, essere “smart”? Qual è il denominatore comune che lega tra loro le diverse declinazioni del termine, come gli ambiti di applicazione? Quanto questa ricerca di intelligenza è ricerca di efficienza? E quanto l’efficienza è di per sé garanzia di intelligenza? Dopo un breve excursus sul concetto in oggetto e suoi ambiti esplicativi, l’analisi si concentra sul postulato dell’integrazione quale principale condizione di realizzazione della smartness, anche per fini efficientisti. È l’integrazione la vera sfida contenuta nella smartness e la vera promessa, al momento non mantenuta, della società performante

Mathematic & mathematics education: searching for common ground, edited by M. Fried and T. Dreyfus, New York, Springer, 2014, 402 pp., £90, ISBN 978-94-007-7472-8

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Research in Mathematics Education on 22nd Aug 2014, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14794802.2014.93735

The smart home in the mind and in the practice of digital natives. The case of “Sapienza” University

Smart home e giovani: quale la percezione? La presente indagine pilota, effettuata da un gruppo di studiosi dell’Università Sapienza di Roma mira ad analizzarne i risultati, rappresentando una ricognizione essenziale di quello che è l’universo dei giovani in relazione al mondo smart e alla domotica. L’Ateneo Sapienza sposa appieno la sfida lanciata da Horizon 2020 con il progetto ReStart4Smart, un laboratorio pratico in cui poter conoscere e sperimentare, fare ricerca e innovare, condividere e divulgare, tanto problemi quanto, e più possibile, soluzioni ambientali ed abitative. Chi sono realmente i nativi digitali? E qual è il loro livello di conoscenza della smart home? Quali i valori e quali i comportamenti concreti in relazione all’utilizzo intelligente delle nuove tecnologie

Mediterranean Models of Welfare Towards Families and Women

After an historical Excursus on Malta's history, society, culture and institutions with their effects on female condition and on family structure and concept, the paper gives a survey of most recent Malta's economic and demographic trends with special attention to families and women, based on statistical data of the National Institute of Statistics and on the results of a sample research. After drawing this scenario, the paper makes a short History of Malta's Welfare State specially concerning family and women. In this treatment a deeper investigation is devoted to the latest "Action Plan", the national social plan in its general lines of intervention towards family and women. The strategic lines (public, private, non profit) of welfare mix are examined in relation to their amounts, results and to the coherence with the moving social context. Finally the paper develops a comparison between different european models of welfare towards family, more specifically between Malta and Italy.

Preparation of heterocyclic block copolymer from perfluoroalkylene oxide alpha, omega-diamidoximes

Diamidoxime monomers are intermolecularly and thermally condensed to form a heat and chemical resistant polymer containing 1,2,4-oxadiazole linkages with identical bivalent organic radicals or any combination of bivalent organic radicals selected from the group consisting of -(CX(sub 2))p-, wherein P ranges from 2 to 8 when X is fluorine and 2 to 18 when X is hydrogen, chlorine, nitro or aryl; arylene; and an oligometric or polymeric radical prepared by reacting a dicarboxylic acid halide with a fluorinated epoxide and having the formula: (CFY(OCF(sub 2)CFY)sub m)O(CX(sub 2))(sub p)O(CFYCF(sub 2)O)(sub n)CFY wherein Y is flourine or tryifluoromethyl, X is nitro, aryl, hydrogen, chlorine or fluorine, preferably the latter, p ranges from 1 to 18 and m+n ranges from 2 to 7

Mediterranean models of Welfare towards families and women

After tracing a Malta’s short historical excursus with its effects on female condition, family’s structure and concept, organizational model of non profit sector, the paper gives a survey of the most recent economic and demographic trends with special attention to families’ well-being and women’s working and social conditions, based not only on statistical data of Malta’s National Institute of Statistics and of Eurostat, but also on the results of some empirical studies based on some surveys carried out into the archipelago. The main islands’ social problems are outlined with the indication of the principal sources of aid to face peoples’ different needs (first of all family, followed by the State, while the Third Sector, with its strong component of foundations, heritage of English culture, is not pre-eminent yet). The paper also shows that the same citizens’ expectations of satisfaction of social needs are still mainly placed in the State, according to the collective image. After drawing this scenario, the paper makes a short history of Malta’s Welfare State specially considering legislation concerning families and women. In addition to the description of the legislative measures, a deeper investigation is also devoted to other programs realized at european and national level: Equal Program (2004-2006) and Malta’s latest “Action Plan”, alias the National Social Plan in its general lines of policy towards families and women. Besides the illustration of the services provided to families by the Ministry of Family and Social Solidarity in the context of the National Action Plan, three other articulations of the Plan are briefly examined: Gender Equity National Action Plan (2003-2004), National Action Plan on Poverty and Social Exclusion (2004-2006), National Action Plan for Employment (2004). The correlative institutional framework is also reviewed: the National Family Commission established in 2001 and the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women considered by the “Equality for Men and Women Act” of 2003. Finally the paper classifies Malta’s Welfare State among the Mediterranean models of social assistance for its specific characteristics though, differently from the evolutive tendencies of these last ones, the passage from Welfare State to Welfare Mix is still problematic and slow in Malta. In spite of the increasing forms of collaboration between public and non profit organizations, Malta’s Third Sector has still a too weak role, in comparison with family and State, in supporting people’s life on both factual and symbolic dimension. In this missing transition, specially as regards elderly care, Malta can not see yet the growth, inside Welfare Mix, of the more informal components formed by immigrated women to detriment of the services offered by private or non profit organizations (“care drain” phenomenon), which is very strongly in course in other Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Greece).Family and Social Policy, Social Segregation, Poverty

Le caratteristiche di novità del capitale emergente. L'intangibilità del capitale sociale

L’intangibilità delle risorse contrassegna in maniera crescente il capitale emergente e trova nella aggettivazione sociale, che a questo si accompagna, una delle sue più importanti specificazioni. Queste riflessioni sono dedicate al tentativo di fare chiarezza sull’intangibilità del capitale sociale e di coglierne le implicazioni soprattutto rispetto al modo tradizionale di concepire le risorse utili in vista del perseguimento di un obiettivo, il capitale appunto. Vedremo come esse chiamano in causa uno spostamento del focus dell’attenzione che va dal risultato dell’azione (il bene) all’azione stessa (la produzione sociale) nonché da un tipo di azione/razionalità (strumentale, formale e tecnico) ad un altro (espressivo, sostanziale e informale) per riguardare, infine, un mutamento, altrettanto nuovo e peculiare, della concezione del valor

Anima: un rompicapo per le scienze sociali? Il contributo di Pareto

Il saggio si interroga sulla possibilità di spiegare e comprendere il concetto di anima in Sociologia attraverso il pensiero di Vilfredo Pareto.The essay questions the possibility of explaining and understanding the concept of soul in Sociology through the thought of Vilfredo Pareto