RISULTATI RICERCA
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This contribution focuses on the reception in Italy, with respect to the international debate, of Mihail Manoilescu’s work, particularly his The Theory of Protection and International Trade. Despite some appreciation, his work was sharply criticized by both mainstream-trained economists and those closer to the regime. The episode offers an interesting example of the biases present in the debate on economic issues in the fascist era.
In the last issue of Culture della sostenibilità an article appeared L’educazione ambientale nelle università italiane: attori, modelli, contenuti, ricerche (Bertolino, Messina, Perazzone, Salomone, 2007), that offered an overview of educational offerings within Environmental Education in Italian Universities. This article re-addresses and deepens the analysis of the results of research conducted between University lectures in Environmental Education that involved them directly through telephone interviews. The analysis of the closed response questions within the questionnaire and the spoken interviews paints a clearer picture of the different approaches to teaching, the net of relations within the territory and the scientific community, research interests followed and expectations for the future. In this field the academic panorama is in continuous evolution and the continuous comparison between teachers both within the discipline and with those in others is fundamental.
This research on Italian universities and environmental education started in the 2004. The first phase led to characterize a group of teachers belonging to many fields (biologists, geologists, ecologists, educationalists, geographers) not existing in Italy a specific field of reference for those who care of EE convinced that the EE could represent an opportunity of confrontation for the universities. In a new phase, we interviewed many university teachers of EE about their vision of the EE, their values, their trans-disciplinary collaborations, their pedagogical approach, their researches in the field of the EE, their biography etc. An analysis and a commentary of the interviews are appearing in a forthcoming paper.
Following recent corporate scandals increased attention has been paid to Relat-ed Party Transactions (RPTs), since they have often played a central role in abuses and frauds. Regulators have consequently been obliged to strengthen current regu-lations, introducing new bans and requirements aimed at guaranteeing the substantial and economic fairness of RPTs and a proper level of transparency. This reaction is due to the high inherent risk of these transactions and because companies in crisis tend to resort to this type of operation. In Italy, the regulations on RPTs were completely revamped in 2010. The material RPTs that have to be disclosed through an ad hoc communication were defined by former regulations through qualitative criteria, whereas now a quantitative approach is used in order to reduce subjectivity. The initial results of the new regulations show that a higher number of RPTs has been disclosed to the market, thus improving transparency, but the effects of RPTs remain unreported in Income Statements. Through an online questionnaire this paper, starting from previous research, in-vestigates potential improvements supported by independent directors involved in the RPT evaluation process. These independent Directors are uniquely placed to shed light on the experience of the initial years of application of the new Regula-tion, which may help lawmakers, after the lengthy initial consultation process, in-evitably influenced by divergent (and non-independent) interests without the bene-fit of the hindsight that is now available. It is to be hoped that lawmakers will take note of these results and fine-tune the regulations accordingly, without necessarily abandoning the quantitative approach, in order to increase the transparency of the information made available on RPTs.
In compliance with European regulations, the new Italian "Insolvency Code" introduced new tools to prevent future financial crises in businesses ("early warn-ings"). Their aim is to highlight future insolvency issues, to enable timely action in order to avert the potential crisis for as long as possible.V This mechanism will come into force on 15 August 2020. Based on a previous investigation that identified the most sensitive financial ratios for evaluating a go-ing concern, this study proposes and tests a possible approach which combines generic quantitative indicators with a case-by-case solution. A discriminant analysis was made on a pairwise sample of Italian non-listed small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). The proposed model overcomes the problem that arose from a combined interpretation of the indicators, and also it acts as a tool that can deter-mine the level of risk within each situation. This approach aims to limit the rigidity produced by common quantitative thresholds, thereby reducing false positives and negatives, ensuring an automatic reporting process that can preserve the efficiency of the early warning mechanism. Furthermore, our proposal is better suited to SMEs, since it is based on financial statements rather than forecasts.
Security and Insecurity in Contemporary Society Safety is a basic human need and a right both in the «social» and «civil» meanings (R. Castel). After taking care of the former through welfare and the latter through the rule of law, today the modern state is challenged by a growing feeling of insecurity among its citizens. They appear to be frightened by varying phenomena, such as crime, terrorism, market and labour flexibility, staggering social protection, etc. In order to understand those phenomena, a distinction can be made among: 1) dangers, that have no intentionality (like natural disasters); 2) threats, that have a great deal of intentionality (like crime and terrorism); and 3) risks that, like globalization, are unintended consequences of rational decisions. Currently, both the market and the public powers give inadequate responses (privatization; alarmism vs. elusion) to the citizens’ feelings of insecurity.
The article examines migration in the light of the distinction between the concepts of risk and threat. Through an analysis of representations in the Italian press, the authors argue that by framing immigration as a threat, media discourse ignores negative consequences for migrants as well as positive effects for reception’s society. A case study in a sensitive urban area in Rome, using a survey and a citizens’ jury, shows how residents’ negative if not violent reactions to migrants’ are often nurtured by a sense of relative deprivation and political neglect. More information and citizens’ involvement in local policies may facilitate dialogue and lead to more creative and shared solutions.
L’invasione russa e il conflitto in Ucraina confermano la debolezza del discorso pubblico in tema di guerra, in particolare da parte degli "esperti" - i mass media e i politici - che avrebbero la responsabilità di informare e di decidere. Di fronte al rischio di perdere la vita, bene supremo nelle società occidentali, governi e media mainstream occultano i costi della guerra, forti del tabù che scoraggia gli approfondimenti circa l’uso della forza. La posizione alternativa è rappresentata dall’ostilità (apparentemente irriflessa e in realtà storicamente motivata) dell’opinione pubblica e dalla preoccupazione (professionalmente basata) degli scienziati di fronte a una escalation che potrebbe condurre alla guerra nucleare.
