La ricerca si propone di indagare sulle forme di cambiamento che stanno interessando l’agricoltura contadina contemporanea in Italia. In particolare, il proposito è quello di individuare le forme attraverso cui i contadini stanno cambiando il proprio rapporto con il mercato e con la società, proponendo stili di vita, di produzione e di consumo sostenibili. Le Teorie sulle Pratiche e gli studi sulla cultura materiale saranno utilizzati per comprendere il rapporto tra pratiche e reti sociali. / The research aims to investigate the forms of change that are affecting contemporary farming in Italy. In particular, the purpose is to identify the forms through which farmers are changing their relationship with the market and with society. Practice Theories and studies on material culture will be used to understand the relationships between practices and social networks.

The thesis analyses dance as artistic profession and bodily work. The aim is to explore the social foundations of a performative, bodily and kin(aesth)etic doing, the purpose being to untie some of the knots that, in manifold ways, link together corporeal experience, (sense of) society, knowledge and identity. The considered dance, thus, is first of all a performative art, to be (re)presented on stage during particular social occasions. The work of dance professionals can be defined as artistic doing. In this sense, the thesis aims to contribute to arts sociology and creativity studies, through, first, the analysis of the process bringing from 'nothing' to the artwork, considering the choreographic creative process and the continuum improvisation-composition, the everyday collective work practices, and the collaboration and negotiation characterizing them. Secondly, I present an analysis of the relations between different entities – institutional, commercial, cultural, etc. – that inhabit Italian dance field. Finally, I propose an analysis of artistic, and particularly dancer's, identity. Focusing on a performative art also means to focus on the body, and the impermanence of its doing. Dance, indeed, is a profession based on corporeal practices and embodied knowledge; it's a bodily doing. From this point of view, the thesis represents a contribution to sociology of the body and embodiment, as well as to sociology of knowledge, as an analysis of a case of teaching/learning process of bodily and performative expertise. Such a case enlights some dimensions of teaching/learning-to-perform activity, and could be usefully compared with other practical (artistic or 'simply' human) activities. Finally, I focus on dance as a professional doing. In this sense, the thesis contributes to the sociology of prefessions and semiprofessions, because it analyses the processes of socialization to the culture, knowledge and knowhow of the considered occupational community; the training paths and trajectories undertaken in the field; the social organization of everyday work and the ways in which dance professionals coordinate with one each other as well as with other kind of professionals; the recruitment mechanisms; the master and alternative narratives that sustain and (re)produce the community, and that dancers exploit in their biographies and identies construction.

Establishment of the independent Republic of Armenia in 1991 has been a turning point in the Armenian history; except for the existence of an independent Armenian republic between 1918 and 1920, by the dissolution of the USSR, Armenians gained an independent state after more than six hundred years. The transition of the Soviet Armenia to an independent republic stimulated not only the radical dislocation of the established economic, political and socio-cultural structures in Armenia, but also transformed the routine in the Armenian diaspora communities. In this process, aiding the frail and infant independent Armenian republic became a paramount ethno-national cause among the diaspora communities and, by extension, one of the principal ethno-national binders, as well as a chief cause of controversies. Overall, the post-1991 era has witnessed the re-territorialization of the de-territorialized Armenian political imagination in the diaspora. This facilitated the post-1991 trans-state Armenian ethno-national re-construction along the Armenia-diaspora nexus. A parallel process to that has been the construction of the social reality of the post-1991 Armenia. This dissertation examines the construction of the Armenian ethno-national social reality of the post-1991 Armenia through the discursive social practices of the Armenian state, new generation diaspora organizations and the diasporic individuals within the communicative space formed along the Armenia-diaspora nexus. The examination demonstrates that concerns over the physical and cultural survival of the Armenian ethno-nation expressed in different ways are the main considerations that eventually result in the construction of the post-1991 Armenia as the guardian and the soil of the Armenianness. From an abstract point of view, the actual agent of discourses that speaks through the Armenian state, new generation diaspora organizations and the diasporic individuals is the “anxious Armenian” who searches stability and security, reclaims her ethno-national identity, and is concerned about the cultural survival of the Armenian ethno-nation. Besides all, she is the one who “remembers” the genocide. This “anxious Armenian”, instead, is the person that the social memory of the genocide speaks itself through. As such, genocide is not only the “defining and founding moment” of the contemporary Armenian identity, but also the “defining and founding moment” of the post-1991 Armenia.

This dissertation studies the relationship existing between youth political organizations, music and national identity in contemporary Russia. In particular, it focuses on some of the most representative youth political organizations present in the city of St. Petersburg and aims at describing their contribution to the conceptualization of post-Soviet Russian national identity(ies), as captured through an analysis of their music.

The research lies at the intersection of two large social research areas—highly skilled migration and return migration—and aims to provide a contribution to the studies of sending countries by focusing on post-return experiences of highly skilled professionals in the Belarusian context. Thus, I explore public attitudes toward migration issues in Belarus; investigate the dynamics of return migration among highly skilled migrants; analyse the complexities of highly skilled people’s lifestyles; and study in which ways they apply socio-cultural remittances to different spheres of their lives. Among the main results of this research are the following. This study has conceptualised return in relation to the transnational involvement of returnees, by introducing the concepts of ‘locally oriented’- and ‘transnationally oriented style of life’. These ideal types of post-return lifestyle differ in degree of mobility, attitudes toward home, consumption practices, and type of employment. International experience of living abroad seems to have had a substantial effect on individual styles of life in terms of transnational orientation. However, it appears to be quite heterogeneous and has evident gender differences in its manifestations. Moreover, I argue that formation and transmission of socio-cultural remittances are strongly heterogeneous and selective processes, which manifest themselves to varying degrees not only in different people, but also in different aspects of people’s lives. The analysis of several socio-cultural remittances in private and public spheres showed that under certain conditions, the formation of ‘reactive’ socio-cultural remittances occurred. What is more, in some cases the socio-cultural remittances appeared to have strong gender differences. The results draw on qualitative content analysis of three online discussions (almost 19 thousand posts) and 43 in-depth interviews with highly skilled Belarusian returnees.

The present dissertation examines whether the heterogeneity of co-residence experiences and the nest-leaving process have consequences for later parent-adult child relationships in Italy and Sweden. Three aspects of intergenerational linkages are analyzed: residential proximity, the frequency of parent-child contact, and the downward flow of economic resources from parents to their adult children. By devoting particular attention to these three dimensions of intergenerational solidarity, the first chapter presents an overview of the literature on parent-adult child relationships and describes long-standing cultural differences between Italy and Sweden. In the second chapter, I ask whether in Italy the time spent in the parental home promotes the frequency of contacts between generations, and whether violating social norms regarding the socially accepted time for leaving home is related to less frequent interactions with parents in later life. The findings show that the longer the time adult children spent in their parents’ home, the higher the propensity to reside near, and maintain frequent interaction with parents in later life is. In addition, spending longer time in the parental home appears to provide much less benefit for Italian daughters than for sons. Age norms appear to prescribe the socially accepted ‘age deadline’ for fulfilling expectations for normal adult development. Considering the reasons for leaving home, marriage continues to be the normative occasion to leave the parental family, particularly among adult daughters, who are subject to greater cultural expectations about family ties. The third chapter devotes particular attention to union dissolution and family conflict during childhood and adolescence as possible mechanisms behind the relationship between nest-leaving processes and later parent-child relationships. The findings reveal that the duration of co-residence is likely to foster family interactions also in Sweden, and this positive relationship is only marginally explained by childhood family experiences. However, late home leavers tend to maintain frequent contacts with parents in part owing to having moved shorter geographical distances, and this is more evident for adult daughters than for sons. In addition, adult daughters who stay at home for longer have more opportunities to form binding relationships with mothers than with fathers. The fourth study aims to extend the findings of the previous two chapters, by analyzing intergenerational financial transfers and using a within-family approach (or a sibling design). The findings show that in Italy and other southern European countries late home leavers are more likely to receive economic support from their parents, compared to their siblings who move out of the family nest at an earlier age. But this effect is completely mediated by the time since leaving the parental home, indicating that parents tend to facilitate the transition to independence of their young adult children. The last chapter discusses the findings in the light of previous research. The results of the present dissertation supports the idea that family members’ life courses are deeply interconnected, and that previous family history has important long-term consequences for later intergenerational relationships. I provide new insights into how co-residence experiences and events in early adulthood shape later family relations throughout the life course.

Si tratta di una ricerca sui fattori che intervengono nell'apprendimento della matematica, a livello scolastico secondario di II grado, condotta attraverso un'analisi delle convinzioni, intese come attitudini, attribuzioni, aspettative e stereotipi. La ricerca mette in luce i processi interazionali che intervengono nel concetto di sè matematico, negli stili attribuzionali di successo e insuccesso e nella socializzazione, primaria e secondaria, ai ruoli di genere.

La ricerca tratta il tema delle modificazioni del corpo (piercing, tatuaggio, scarificazione, chirurgia estetica) nelle sue implicazioni con la questione dell'identità di genere. Attraverso uno studio sul campo condotto con metodo etnografico e interviste in profondità, vengono indagate in chiave etnometodologica le procedure attraverso cui i soggetti elaborano ed esprimono il proprio self in relazione alle rappresentazioni sociali condivise relative alla mascolinità e alla femminilità. / This research is about body modification techniques (piercing, tattooing, scarification, aesthetic surgery) in relation to gender identity. By means of a fieldwork carried out with ethnographies and in depth interviews, procedures of elaboration and expression of individual self are investigated, via an etnomethodological approach, and in a relation to social representations of femininity and masculinity.

La presente ricerca ha analizzato il fenomeno dei blog giornalistici per rilevare se, nonostante sia impossibile riscontrare la perfetta corrispondenza tra testi di informazione ed eventi del mondo reale, l'intervento dei lettori può fare comunque in modo che si verifichi, attraverso la condivisione dei contenuti dell'informazione, un sostanziale accostamento alla verità dei fatti così come essi sono accaduti. Tutto ciò permette ai giornalisti di diffondere un'informazione più precisa, più completa e meno manipolata. Sono state discusse le ragioni del giornalismo oggettivista e quelle del giornalismo esplicativo ed è emerso come, nei blog analizzati, siano presenti due metodi diversi in grado di garantire una maggiore oggettività dell'informazione. Ciò accade perché i lettori possono interagire confrontando opinioni tra loro diverse. Dall'analisi dei post degli autori dei blog Marcello Foa e Beppe Grillo e dei relativi commenti dei loro lettori, è emerso come il valore aggiunto di questi interventi risieda nel fatto che i lettori non si rivolgono solo al giornalista, in questo caso variando di poco la dinamica, per esempio, dell'invio di lettere alla redazione, ma si rivolgono ad altri lettori per informarli o per chiedere loro spiegazioni e chiarimenti. / The research analyses the phenomenon of j-blogs to investigate if, in spite of the impossibility to achieve the perfect conformity between information about facts and facts in themselves, the participation of readers can operate, through the sharing of information contents, to assure an approach more accurate to reality and truth of events. This allows journalists to divulge an information more correct, and less manipulated. The reasons of journalism that explains facts and journalism that only describes them without any interpretation about, were equally examined. The research discovered that, in the two blogs analysed, it's possible bring out two different methods able to guarantee a major information objectivity. This occurs because readers can interact comparing different opinions. From the analysis of Marcello Foa and Beppe Grillo blogs and from their readers' comments, came out that the potential benefits of these interactions follow the possibility for readers to interact not only with journalist, in this case acting as traditional readers who, for example, send letters to the editorial staff, but also with other readers to inform them or to receive from them explanations or clarifications.

Oggetto di questo lavoro è lo studio dello scandalo politico come costruzione mediatica, dalla notizia alla comunicazione dell’evento. L’individuazione dei temi sensibili e la ricostruzione delle retoriche dello scandalo politico italiano, avverrà tramite una ricognizione del dato giornalistico delle principali testate del Paese. La trasformazione di un fatto in scandalo è spesso strumento della competizione politica, utile alla messa in crisi della reputazione, della stima e della fiducia, quali caratteristiche indispensabili di ogni leader politico. L’accentuata relatività del confine tra spazio pubblico e privato, unitamente all’invadenza dei media, contribuiscono poi alla vulnerabilità della sua immagine. L’obiettivo è quello di utilizzare lo scandalo come lente di ingrandimento della relazione fra politica e media, rispetto alla contesa del potere per la gestione della notizia, tramite cui si è in grado di influenzare la percezione pubblica dei fatti politici. Come la politica è la politica dei media, come la politica gestisce i media e come i media gestiscono la politica, è il risultato dell’analisi. I tre casi scelti sono collocati nel periodo successivo al governo Prodi (2006-2007): lo scandalo della “droga in Parlamento”, quello legato al nome di Scaramella e alla Commissione Mitrokhin, ed infine il caso “Sircana” all’interno dell’inchiesta Vallettopoli. / Object of this work is the study of political scandal as a media creation, from news to the communication of event. The rhetoric of political scandal in Italy and the sensitive topic are analyzes through journalistic information of the main national heading. The transformation of fact in scandal is often a tool for political competition, as useful for critically damage the reputation, esteem and trust as fundamental characteristics of a political leader. The increased relativity of the threshold between public and private spaces and the pervasive nature of media, contribute to the vulnerability of his image. The objective is utilize the scandal as a magnifying glass for the relation between politics and media, with respect to contention of the news management power, for the final influence of public perception of political facts. How politics are media politics, how politics manage the media, and how media manage politics, is the result of my analysis. Case studies include three scandals exploded during the last govern Prodi (2006-2007): “drug in Parliament”, the scandal regarding “Scaramella e la Commissione Mitrokhin” and the case of “Sircana”, inside the investigation of Vallettopoli.