LIBRI DI LUCA MARTIGNANI

Il presente volume, partendo da oggetti e prodotti mediatici quali serie tv, romanzi, film e fumetti, vuole rendere familiari alcuni concetti sociologici di base e allo stesso tempo interpretare sociologicamente i prodotti culturali volta per volta presi in considerazione. Le analisi dei prodotti della cultura pop, che qui sono presentati, possono offrire quindi uno specchio attraverso cui mostrare l'ordinario nello straordinario, le regolarità nelle eccezioni, fornendo opportunità per riflettere e confrontare prospettive di genere, etnia, classe sociale e altro ancora.

L’oggetto di questo saggio è il personaggio concettuale del giustiziere. Tale figura dovrebbe essere compresa nella relazione tra etica dei principi ed eti-ca delle responsabilità. L’azione del giustiziere, spesso rappresentata in cinema e letteratura, può suggerire una connessione conflittuale ma teoreti-camente stimolante tra potere costituente e potere costituito. Più nello spe-cifico, il giustiziere rappresenta la relazione ontologica tra legge (che prevede il crimine) e crimine (che talvolta sfida la legge in nome del principio di giustizia). In quanto personaggio concettuale, il giustiziere rappresenta la capacità critica di trascendere il diritto mediante una logica di legittimazione delle azioni individuali radicalmente differente da quelle previste della legge ordinaria.

A redefinition of welfare policies characterizes the current phase in all European countries. To prevent that this crisis could increase the already strong disparities between countries (and within individual countries) it is important to better understand what is happening, and to find a common platform for analysis and comparison. This book tries to start the discussion on these themes involving colleagues who are working to investigate this process of transformation within Europe.

The aim of this paper is the critical exposure of Mustafa Emirbayer’s sociological proposal, with particular attention to its position within a specific relational approach, which the author explicitly defines as "transactional". The article first discusses part of the author's work. In dealing with Social Network Analysis, Emirbayer begins to outline his idea of social relationship as a connection between individuals. We then proceed to analyse the thesis underpinning the Manifesto, published in 1997 with the explicit intent of providing the epistemological connotation of social relations as a transaction. In the following sections, we deal with the theoretical and empirical implications of this proposal, with particular reference to the development of the theory of agency and the overcoming of the dichotomies that still characterize the contemporary sociological thought. Finally, we compare Mustafa Emirbayer’s transactional sociology and Pierpaolo Donati's relational sociology, trying to identify their main differences.

The aim of this paper is to describe a complex social policy implemented in Italy by Regione Lombardia: the so called "Sistema Dote", "Sistema dotale" or "Dote Regione Lombardia". The specific focus is on the elements that allow identifying whether this system is an example of personalized welfare or not. The analysis was carried out on specific sectors and fields of application such as school, work, long life learning, work-family balance and social care. Services are realized by a pluralistic governance, based on a form of partnership between public and private, with the contribution of third sector organizations. The essay is the result of a case study oriented to underline the features of this system as a set of relations focusing on the personalization of the local welfare and capability of final users. The article offers a critical analysis of strengths and weaknesses of this policy, with particular reference to the challenge of personalization.

This paper evaluates a specific form of open adoption implemented by the Juvenile Court of Bari in order to preserve the affective bond between children and biological families, even after the enactment of adoption measures. A multi-stakeholder evaluation study (study I) using 7 focus group discussions allowed to identify both the distinctive features and potentialities vs. limits of this particular form of adoption and outcome variables to develop an assessment procedure to be employed with adoptive parents and children. Through an ad hoc questionnaire and several psychological tests, the second study investigates 70 families in order to see (a) if contact between children and biological families is maintained after adoption, and to assess (b) the degree of psychological well-being vs illness observed in adopted adolescents and young adults. The results of the evaluation studies demonstrate that while this new form of adoption represents a complex and highly specialised method, it is valuable in cases of semi-abandonment, when biological families are unable to fulfil their parental role yet show an affective bond with their children. In the light of these results, the paper outlines proposals and suggestions to improve foster care and adoption practices.

La conciliazione tra lavoro professionale e cura della famiglia: il volume presenta il caso italiano, collocandolo nel contesto internazionale. Vengono affrontati i temi dei servizi per l’infanzia, voucher e titoli di accesso per la conciliazione, i sostegni alla maternità e alla paternità, il tema della famiglia come stakeholder dell’azienda, le esperienze innovative di conciliazione nei paesi di lingua. Infine, viene fornito uno schema di possibile Piano nazionale di politiche per la famiglia.