Is there really ‘another’ counterexample to the Secularization Thesis? Religious dynamics in Italy between 1910 and 2013

Abstract Background Among the modern Western countries where the issue of religiosity has been studied, the United States and Italy offer the only examples of empirically verified periods when religious practice was consolidated or even revived to some extent. A recent study, however, shows that the nature of religious exceptionalism in the United States does not constitute a real counterexample. This leaves Italy as the only country that might provide evidence of the falseness of the assumption that the secularization process is inescapable. Purpose This study seeks to enhance our knowledge about the case of Italy, where the many surveys conducted over the years have produced a wide variety of often divergent results, prompting a fervent debate among scholars. Several authors argue that the level of participation remained almost constant from 1980 to 1990. Others, on the contrary, claim that the level of participation increased between 1980 and 2000. This paper contributes to this path of study, aiming to shed light on the devel- opment of religiosity in Italy between 1910 and 2013. Methods Different data sets—time use surveys, ‘stylized surveys’, direct surveys and other kind of data—and an innovative method will be used to develop the rea- soning and trace the trend of secularization. Results As will be shown, there are discontinuities in the pattern of religious prac- tice over time. These fractures were due to attrition caused in turn by factors related to economic phenomena like migration and political/ideological subcultures, which temporarily changed the level of religious practice and, at least for a time, counter- balanced the long-term trend away from religious practice. Conclusions and Implications The trends presented suggest that secularization in Italy developed without any discontinuity, leading to confirmation that moderni- zation and religious action ‘counteracted’ each other in an extremely regular man- ner. Therefore, according to the current state of knowledge, no documented mod- ern Western country constitutes a counterexample to the secularization thesis. It can thus be claimed that modernization and secularization are inextricably linked processes

Il workflow per il reengineering e l’automazione dei processi aziendali: il modello teorico e la sua applicazione per la realizzazione del processo di gestione delle trasferte del personale in Piaggio

La presente tesi tratta una classe di applicazioni software la cui importanza per l'automazione dei processi aziendali sta crescendo sempre di più. I sistemi per la gestione del workflow stanno infatti diffondendosi nelle organizzazioni per gestire in modo efficiente ed automatico processi produttivi o amministrativi basati sul passaggio di informazioni o documenti tra vari attori. Il presente documento descrive dunque sia il workflow nella sua componente teorica, sia le caratteristiche comuni agli strumenti informatici che si occupano della sua gestione (con particolare attenzione a quelli di ultima generazione, basati sulle tecnologie Web per la realizzazione dell'integrazione interaziendale), sia un'applicazione pratica dei concetti esposti nella realizzazione concreta del processo di gestione delle trasferte del personale sviluppato, grazie ad uno strumento di workflow, per la ditta Piaggio S.p.A

On the processing of sentential negation in dyslexic adults. An ERP study.

ll presente lavoro nasce allo scopo di rispondere a due principali obiettivi: (a) contribuire al dibattito generale sulle dinamiche temporali dell\u2019interpretazione della negazione linguistica; (b) approfondire l\u2019analisi delle difficolt\ue0 di interpretazione delle frasi negative presentate oralmente da parte di soggetti dislessici . A questo scopo, il lavoro presenta i risultati di due studi comportamentali preliminari e due studi EGG (Studio 1 e Studio 2). Lo Studio 1 \ue8 stato elaborato con l\u2019obiettivo di fornire ulteriori conferme all\u2019approccio \u2018non-incrementale\u2019 alla negazione. Recentemente, due studi ERP sono stati svolti allo scopo di approfondire le dinamiche temporali che sottostanno all\u2019interpretazione della negazione linguistica. L\ufcdtke, et al. (2008) hanno analizzato i potenziali evocati associati all\u2019interpretazione di frasi negative e affermative vere e false durante l\u2019esecuzione di un sentence-picture verification task. I risultati hanno mostrato che durante le prime fasi di interpretazione i potenziali evento-correlati delle frasi negative non sono influenzati n\ue9 dal significato effettivo n\ue9 dalla polarit\ue0 della frase presentata ma soltanto dalla corrispondenza/non corrispondenza tra le entit\ue0 raffigurate nell\u2019immagine e quelle menzionate nelle frase precedentemente ascoltata. Lo studio di Nieuwland & Kuperberg (2008) si \ue8 servito di frasi licenziate pragmaticamente, ovvero, frasi affermative e negative introdotte da una semplice proposizione che, restringendo le condizioni di verit\ue0 dell\u2019enunciato successivo, ne rendeva l\u2019uso pi\uf9 adeguato dal punto di vista pragmatico. I risultati hanno mostrato che, in queste condizioni, l\u2019effetto N400 rifletteva il valore di verit\ue0 della frase, come dimostrato dalla maggiore ampiezza dell\u2019effetto nelle condizioni false in confronto con le condizioni vere, indipendentemente dalla polarit\ue0 della frase. Lo Studio 1 riportato nel presente lavoro si \ue8 riproposto di replicare i risultati ottenuti da L\ufcdtke et al. (2008) tramite l\u2019utilizzo di un sentence-picture verification task pragmaticamente pi\uf9 adeguato. Lo studio ha coinvolto un gruppo di 27 adulti italiani (et\ue0 media 27;6). I risultati comportamentali e elettrofisiologici ottenuti sono in linea con i modelli non-incrementali d\u2019interpretazione della negazione. Lo Studio 2 ha esteso l\u2019analisi a un gruppo di adulti dislessici italiani (15 soggetti, et\ue0 media 22;4). I partecipanti dello Studio 1 sono stati inclusi come gruppo di controllo. La motivazione dell\u2019inclusione dei soggetti dislessici \ue8 costituita da studi comportamentali precedenti che hanno osservato una maggiore difficolt\ue0 nell\u2019interpretazione delle frasi negative da parte di soggetti dislessici italiani rispetto a soggetti non dislessici della stessa et\ue0 (Vender & Delfitto, 2010; Rizzato, Scappini, Cardinaletti, 2014). Una serie di test volti alla valutazione della memoria di lavoro dei partecipanti sono stati inclusi in questa seconda parte dello studio. I risultati di questi test hanno messo in luce l\u2019esistenza di significative differenze nella memoria di lavoro dei soggetti dislessici e non dislessici coinvolti. L\u2019analisi del sentence-picture verification task ha evidenziato un generale rallentamento nell\u2019esecuzione del test da parte dei soggetti dislessici in confronto ai soggetti non-dislessici in tutte le condizioni sperimentali, probabilmente derivante dalla difficolt\ue0 di esecuzione del compito sperimentale stesso. L\u2019analisi dei potenziali evocati, infine, ha suggerito che i dislessici adulti utilizzino strategie cognitive diverse da quelle utilizzate da adulti non-dislessici nell\u2019interpretazione delle frasi negative.The present work aimed at dealing with two main issues: (a) to contribute to the broad debate on the processing of negation trough an ERP investigation of negative sentences processing in Italian adults, still lacking in the literature on the topic; and (b) to provide further evidence and deepen analysis of dyslexics\u2019 difficulty in the comprehension of orally presented negative sentences. To these purposes, the results of two behavioral preliminary studies and two main EEG-ERP studies (Study 1 and Study 2) are presented. The two preliminary studies involved a group of 10 adults (mean age 27;9) and a group of 33 Italian children (mean age 9;4). These two studies were principally intended to assess the experimental settings of the protocol and to evaluate its suitability for the performance of an EEG study with the two different populations. Besides having led to important adjustments in the experimental design, the results of the preliminary studies showed the difficulty of involving children in an EEG study of the type planned. As a consequence, the two EEG studies subsequently performed exclusively involved adult participants. Study 1 was intended to provide further confirmation to the non-incremental account of negation processing, according to which the interpretation of negative sentences inherently differs from the interpretation of other linguistic structures, in that it requires the comprehender to construct two different, subsequent mental simulations: a first representation corresponding to the negated state affairs, and a second referring to the actual, negative meaning of the sentence. This latter proposal is in contrast with alternative incremental approaches, according to which the processing of negative sentences does not intrinsically differ from that of affirmative sentences, except than for higher pragmatic sensitivity, which would determine longer processing times in all cases in which the negative sentence to be interpreted is not presented in adequately supportive linguistic contexts \u2013 as it mostly happens in experimental paradigms. Recently, two main EEG studies have been performed with the purpose of providing a more precise insight into the temporal dynamics of negation processing. L\ufcdtke, Friedrich, Filippis, & Kaup (2008) analyzed ERP effects associated with the execution of a sentence-picture verification task including both true and false affirmative and negative sentences. The results showed that the early stages of negative sentences verification are not influenced by the actual meaning of the sentence, but rather by the matching/mismatching between the picture content and the entity mentioned in the preceding sentence, resulting in larger N400 amplitudes for non-priming conditions (i.e., false affirmative and true negative sentences) than for priming conditions (i.e., true affirmative and false negative sentences). The fact that the entity mentioned in the sentence was not always depicted in the picture, however, determined a sense of pragmatic infelicity, possibly affecting event-related potentials in all cases in which the sentences involved predication about an entity not relevant to the following picture. To avoid this kind of influence, Nieuwland & Kuperberg (2008)\u2019s ERP study focused on the interpretation of pragmatically licensed sentences, that is, affirmative and negative sentences introduced by a simple proposition restricting the conditions of validity of the target statement. In this latter study, N400 amplitudes reflected the actual sentences\u2019 truth-value, reporting larger N400 amplitudes for false conditions than for true conditions, regardless of sentence polarity. Far from constituting a neutral discourse context, however, the short propositions inserted with the aim of ensuring pragmatic licensing determined a strong expectation for true sentences and, consequently, a sense of unnaturalness for false sentences that might represent the main cause of N400 amplitudes. In addition, the use of sentences related to general world-knowledge did not allow the experimenters to temporally and functionally distinguish the cognitive activity connected with the processing of the strictly linguistic material from that determined by truth-value evaluation, both crucially associated to N400 component. On the basis of these considerations, Study 1 aimed at replicating L\ufcdtke et al. (2008)\u2019s findings through a sentence-picture verification task arguably free from the pragmatic infelicity characterizing that previous study. A group of 27 Italian adults (mean age 27;6) took part in Study 1. The behavioral and EEG results are mainly consistent with the non-incremental models of negation processing. In particular, the first stages of sentence verification were characterized by a N400 modulations very similar to that observed by L\ufcdtke and colleagues, revealing no initial sensitivity to negation. Importantly, the adoption of a pragmatically controlled design prevented the effect from being influenced by the simple priming between the picture and the sentence. In the following time windows, in addition, the emergence of electrophysiological components reflecting the truth-value and polarity effects provided important evidence of the successful integration of the negative meaning into the interpretative process. The Study 2 extended the investigation to a group of Italian dyslexic adults (15 subjects, mean age 22;4). The non-dyslexic participants of the Study 1 were included as control group. The rationale for the involvement of dyslexic subjects was provided by previous behavioral studies reporting increased difficulty in the interpretation of negative sentences by Italian dyslexic children (Vender & Delfitto, 2010) and adults (Rizzato, Scappini, Cardinaletti, 2014) in comparison with non-dyslexic peers. In order to verify Vender (2011) hypothesis, according to which the dyslexics\u2019 difficulties in the spoken language comprehension may depend on their poor working memory capacity, a series of working memory tests were also included in the experimental protocol for this second study. The results of these latter tests highlighted significantly weaker phonological working memory in the dyslexic subjects in comparison with non-dyslexic controls. The analysis of the sentence-picture task performance showed an overall slowdown and poorer accuracy for dyslexic subjects in comparison with controls, suggesting that the dyslexics experienced more troubles in all conditions, most likely deriving from the working memory load associated with the execution of the experimental task. Although the negative sentences were characterized by slower response times and higher error rates than affirmative sentences, the performance resembled that observed in the control group. Therefore, no confirmation of specific difficulty in the interpretation of negative sentences by dyslexic subjects was reported. Contrary to Vender (2011), in addition, no clear evidence of working memory involvement in negative sentences interpretation was found. The analysis of the ERPs and, in particular, the observation in the dyslexic group of (a) a crucial lack of the N400 effect characterizing the first stage of sentence verification in the control group, and (b) the emergence of an early polarity effect, unreported in the control group, suggests that dyslexic adults may rely on different cognitive strategies for the interpretation of affirmative and negative sentences in comparison with non-dyslexic subjects. Worth noting, however, this latter hypothesis is at variance with the predictions of the two-step simulation hypothesis by Kaup and colleagues, according to which the interpretation of the negative sentences necessarily requires the initial simulation of the negated state of affairs

Leonor Fini, maga del trasformismo

Riassunto Leonor Fini (Trieste, 1987 - Parigi, 1996) è una pittrice e scrittrice singolare che lavora nel tempo delle avanguardie storiche avvicinandosi all’entourage del surrealismo a Parigi. Il senso del meraviglioso e l’onnipotenza del desiderio che emergono dalle sue storie e dalle sue opere pittoriche sono aspetti comuni all’avanguardia, anche se non ha mai aderito al movimento. Le figure femminili, gli animali totemici e gli ibridi dipinti o descritti sono simbolici e riflettono il suo gusto per il metamorfismo proprio di una personalità e di un alter ego prossimi all’universo fantastico.Abstract Leonor Fini (Trieste, 1987 - Paris, 1996) is a singular woman painter and writer who works in the period of historical avant-gardes approaching the entourage of surrealism in Paris. The sense of the marvelous and the omnipotence of desire that emerge from her stories and her pictorial works are common aspects in the vanguard, even if she has never joined the movement. The female figures, totemic animals and hybrids painted or described are symbolic and reflect her taste for the metamorphism of a personality and an alter ego close to the fantastic universe.Keywords  Leonor Fini, surrealism, desire, marvelous, fantastic

Pisa, Genova, Venezia e gli Ayyubidi: relazioni diplomatiche e scambi commerciali (1174-1250)

Entre XIIe et XIIIe siècle les villes de l’Italie septentrionale, et particulièrement Pise, Gênes et Venise, furent protagonistes d’une expansion économique qui les porta à créer un véritable empire commerciale fondé sur un grand nombre de colonies et comptoirs répandus dans toute la Méditerranée. Dans ce travail de mémoire on prend en examen le cas des relations noyées avec les princes de la dynastie ayyubide, qui fut fondée par Saladin en 1174 et domina sur la plupart des territoires du Moyen Orient arabe jusqu’à la moitié du siècle suivant. L’Égypte et l’arrière-pays syrien, débouchés méditerranéens des denrées provenant de l’Océan Indien, occupaient une place centrale dans le commerce des Italiens, et c’est au cours de l’époque ayyubide que, grâce à l’engagement des institutions communales dans le renforcement des relations diplomatiques avec les souverains de cette dynastie, furent jetées les bases de la diaspore commerciale italienne dans ces régions de la Méditerranée orientale. Dans la première partie du mémoire on prend en considération l’évolution des rapports diplomatiques, en analysant les négociations conduites par les ambassadeurs italiens dans le cours des sultans ayyoubides et la conclusion de traités de paix et de commerce auxquelles elles aboutirent. Dans la deuxième partie on aborde la question des activités des marchands italiens dans les territoires ayyubides et de leur condition durant la permanence dans le royaume. À travers la confrontation des données provenant des sources avec les études les plus récents, on essaye de brosser le tableau des relations entretenues par les Communes de Pise, Gênes et Venise avec les Ayyoubide, en établissant l’état de la question et en identifiant les principales problématiques liées à ce sujet

Imaging of the CCS 22.3 GHz emission in the Taurus Molecular Cloud complex

Thioxoethenylidene (CCS) is an abundant interstellar molecule, and a good tracer of high density and evolutionary stage of dense molecular clouds. It is also a suitable candidate for Zeeman splitting observations for its high splitting factor and narrow thermal linewidths. We report here EVLA 22.3 GHz observations of three dense molecular cores TMC-1, TMC-1C and L1521B in the Taurus Molecular Cloud complex to image the CCS 2_1-1_0 transition. For all three sources, the clumpy CCS emission is most likely tracing the starless cores. However, these compact structures account for only ~ 1-13% of the integrated emission detected in single-dish observations, indicating the presence of significant large scale diffuse emission in favorable conditions for producing CCS.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters EVLA special issue. The definitive version will be available at http://iopscience.iop.org

As variantes do capital mínimo requerido em meio aos fatores envolvidos na preservação da solvência no mercado segurador a partir do ano de 2014

Frente à ocorrência de desastres financeiros na década de 90, surgiu o Novo Acordo da Basiléia, também denominado Basiléia II. Este introduziu o conceito conhecido como risk-based capital, isto é, a necessidade de um capital mais sensível a risco. Paralelamente, no setor de seguros, discutiu-se a substituição da Solvência I pela Solvência II, projeto este calcado nos mesmo pilares e conceitos que a Basiléia II. Seguindo a tendência mundial, o órgão regulador do mercado segurador brasileiro também introduziu mudanças significativas nas regras de solvência. A alteração principal foi a incorporação da indispensabilidade dos capitais adicionais de risco de subscrição, de crédito, operacional e de mercado, sendo este último ainda não regularizado. Também foram alteradas as Resoluções referentes aos limites de retenção, às provisões técnicas e seus ativos garantidores. Atenta-se, portanto, a preocupação adquirida pelo mercado segurador em garantir o nível de solvência das sociedades supervisionadas, a fim de assegurar uma imagem de confiança perante os segurados e, consequentemente, o mercado global. O objetivo do presente projeto é, então, apresentar os fatores envolvidos na preservação da solvência do mercado segurador, dando foco às novas regras de capital mínimo requerido

Molecular Lines in Bok Globules and Around Herbig Ae/be Stars

This paper is intended as part of a more extensive molecular line survey in star forming regions along the evolutionary track of a collapsing cloud toward a young stellar object. We have studied a sample of seven small dark clouds (Bok globules) and eight Herbig Ae/Be stars in the J=1->0 transition of HCO$^{+}$, H$^{13}$CO$^{+}$, HCN and H$^{13}$CN. The choice of these molecules is determined by the simple chemistry and the predicted high abundance of the reactants leading to their formation. The isotopically substituted species (isotopomers), H$^{13}$CO$^{+}$ and H$^{13}$CN, were observed in order to determine, whenever possible, the optical thickness of the main species. The most abundant isotopomers were found in almost all the sources (detection rate 70-90\%). Those sources which exhibited the strongest signals were also searched for the $^{13}$C isotopomers. H$^{13}$CO$^{+}$ was found in one dark cloud and around three Herbig Ae/Be stars, while H$^{13}$CN around only one star. The column densities for each species and the physical conditions of the objects were derived whenever the observational data allowed it.Comment: 16 pages plus 6 figures available in hardcopy from [email protected] LaTEX ver. 2.09, BAP 11-1993-036-DD

Tracing the evolutionary stage of Bok globules: CCS and NH3

We pursue the investigation of a previously proposed correlation between chemical properties and physical evolutionary stage of isolated low-mass star-forming regions. In the past, the NH3/CCS abundance ratio was suggested to be a potentially useful indicator for the evolutionary stage of cloud cores. We aim to study its applicability for isolated Bok globules. A sample of 42 Bok globules with and without signs of current star formation was searched for CCS(2-1) emission, the observations were complemented with NH3 measurements available in the literature and own observations. The abundance ratio of both molecules is discussed with respect to the evolutionary stage of the objects and in the context of chemical models. The NH3/CCS ratio could be assessed for 18 Bok globules and is found to be moderately high and roughly similar across all evolutionary stages from starless and prestellar cores towards internally heated cores harbouring protostars of Class 0, Class I or later. Bok globules with extremely high CCS abundance analogous to carbon-chain producing regions in dark cloud cores are not found. The observed range of NH3/CCS hints towards a relatively evolved chemical state of all observed Bok globules.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic