Why "should we"? A well-grounded argument for refugee acceptance and integration

L'attuale e inedito arrivo nell'UE di migranti e richiedenti asilo in fuga da paesi devastati dalla guerra ha creato un intenso dibattito sull'obbligo e l'opportunità di accettarli e integrarli nelle nostre società. Tra preoccupazioni umanitarie e convenienza politica, e al di là della retorica dei media, è possibile argomentare a favore dell'accettazione e dell'integrazione sulla base di un solido processo di analisi e valutazione dei dati. Questo articolo si propone di presentare e discutere le evidenze provenienti da ricerche che suggeriscono che dovremmo sostenere l'accettazione e l'integrazione dei rifugiati nell'Unione europea, nel suo complesso, e in Italia in particolare. Dopo aver descritto i principali eventi recenti riguardanti la crisi migratoria dell'UE, vengono esaminate una serie di questioni chiave: le dimensioni reali dei flussi, la minaccia alla sicurezza, gli obblighi derivanti dal diritto internazionale, il rapporto costi-benefici e, infine, l'importanza educativa della diversità culturaleThe current unprecedented influx of migrants and asylum seekers fleeing from war-torn countries into the EU has created an intense debate on the obligation and opportunity to accept and integrate them in our societies. Between humanitarian concerns and political convenience, and beyond the rhetoric of the media, it is possible to argue in favour of acceptance and integration based on a sound process of data analysis and assessment. This article aims to present and discuss evidence from research that suggests we should support acceptance and integration of refugees in the EU, as a whole, and in Italy specifically. After describing the main recent events concerning the EU migration crisis, a number of key issues are investigated: the real dimensions of the influx, the security threat, the obligations deriving from international law, the cost-benefit ratio and, finally, the educational importance of cultural diversity

Inclusive education in Italy. A case study

Historically speaking, the origin of the inclusive education model in Italy could be traced back to the promulgation of the Italian Constitution in 1948. Many years later, in 1977, the Parliament approved an important piece of legislation known as integrazione scolastica: according to this policy, all students can be enrolled in public schools regardless of any physical or mental impairment. As a result, the Italian policy context seems to create an ideal situation for the development of inclusive education and of a human rights approach to education. Does such perception correspond to reality? Our paper will briefly outline the historical evolution of the Italian model of inclusive education and present its current state of development. Clearly, inclusion works in reality not only as a result of legislation and procedures, but also depending on the will, dedication and investment of each school institution, on the context in which it operates, on the competence and motivation of its teachers and staff. In our paper we chose to present the case study of a vocational high school in Rome, considered a best practice at the local and national level for the success of its inclusion projects. After describing the environment and the challenges faced from the viewpoint of integrazione scolastica, we will try to emphasize its peculiarities and to highlight the factors and managerial choices that, in our view, contribute to the excellent results of this institution in the area of inclusion

Autopoiesis y autoobservación en la ciencia de la sociedad. Notas sobre la socioepistemología de Niklas Luhmann

Nuestra tesis es que una teoría sociológica (empírica) del conocimiento, o para decirlo más específicamente, la socioepistemología, contrariamente a como se viene haciendo, tiene que partir del hecho de que toda socioobservación de la ciencia constituye paralelamente una operación de autodescripción del mismo sistema de la ciencia. En otras palabras, a nuestro criterio, en las condiciones contemporáneas de emergencia de epistemologías radicalizadas, la sociología, para conservar su cientificidad, debe transformar los resultados de la investigación en condiciones de la misma; una maniobra que, siguiendo a Luhmann, llamamos antología. Pero si toda socioobservación de la ciencia provoca efectos que transforman aquello que describe; esto significa que para la comprensión de esta circularidad se necesita contar con una teoría de los procesos sistémicos autorreferenciales, En este sentido, en este trabajo nos propones analizar los conceptos de autopoiesis y autoobservacíón de la sociopistemologia de Niklas Luhmann que, al menos en nuestra interpretación, constituye una respuesta a estos problemas

The Ability of Significant Tidal Stress to Initiate Plate Tectonics

Plate tectonics is a geophysical process currently unique to Earth, has an important role in regulating the Earth's climate, and may be better understood by identifying rocky planets outside our solar system with tectonic activity. The key criterion for whether or not plate tectonics may occur on a terrestrial planet is if the stress on a planet's lithosphere from mantle convection may overcome the lithosphere's yield stress. Although many rocky exoplanets closely orbiting their host stars have been detected, all studies to date of plate tectonics on exoplanets have neglected tidal stresses in the planet's lithosphere. Modeling a rocky exoplanet as a constant density, homogeneous, incompressible sphere, we show the tidal stress from the host star acting on close-in planets may become comparable to the stress on the lithosphere from mantle convection. We also show that tidal stresses from planet-planet interactions are unlikely to be significant for plate tectonics, but may be strong enough to trigger Earthquakes. Our work may imply planets orbiting close to their host stars are more likely to experience plate tectonics, with implications for exoplanetary geophysics and habitability. We produce a list of detected rocky exoplanets under the most intense stresses. Atmospheric and topographic observations may confirm our predictions in the near future. Investigations of planets with significant tidal stress can not only lead to observable parameters linked to the presence of active plate tectonics, but may also be used as a tool to test theories on the main driving force behind tectonic activity.Comment: 34 pages, 3 figures, 3 Tables, accepted to Icaru