The subject of this research, the medicalization of the gendered body, is a shifting object. It has changed its medical name from Intersex to DSD (Disorders -or Divergence- of Sex Development), since the beginning of this research project. Loosely speaking it addresses the gendered components of the body, and their subsequent consideration. Drawing closer, it addresses how modern medicine treats people who manifest variations of one of the gendered components of the body, inserting their bodies into pathological categories now called DSD. This shifting terrain of different modes of viewing the gendered body has grown to include many variations, no longer solely interested in the mythical hermaphrodite. The locus of this investigation is in the interaction between these patient groups and doctors in Italy. / Tratta dell’intreccio fra genere e medicalizzazione del corpo a partire da uno studio sull’intersessualità, ovvero sui “disturbi della differenziazione sessuale” (DSD). Si tratta di un insieme di sindromi legate allo sviluppo divergente di una delle componenti del sesso biologico. Per la prima volta in Italia, si fa il punto sulla natura, la storia, le rappresentazioni di questa condizione, si esamina il corpo di genere (gendered body), la sua medicalizzazione, s’indaga l’autopercezione dei soggetti in questione.

The present study aims at assessing the innovation strategies adopted within a regional economic system, the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, as it faced the challenges of a changing international scenario. As the strengthening of the regional innovative capabilities is regarded as a keystone to foster a new phase of economic growth, it is important also to understand how the local industrial, institutional, and academic actors have tackled the problem of innovation in the recent past. In this study we explore the approaches to innovation and the strategies adopted by the main regional actors through three different case studies. Chapter 1 provides a general survey of the innovative performance of the regional industries over the past two decades, as it emerges from statistical data and systematic comparisons at the national and European levels. The chapter also discusses the innovation policies that the regional government set up since 2001 in order to strengthen the collaboration among local economic actors, including universities and research centres. As mechanics is the most important regional industry, chapter 2 analyses the combination of knowledge and practices utilized in the period 1960s-1990s in the design of a particular kind of machinery produced by G.D S.p.A., a world-leader in the market of tobacco packaging machines. G.D is based in Bologna, the region’s capital, and is at the centre of the most important Italian packaging district. In chapter 3 the attention turns to the institutional level, focusing on how the local public administrations, and the local, publicly-owned utility companies have dealt with the creation of new telematic networks on the regional territory during the 1990s and 2000s. Finally, chapter 4 assesses the technology transfer carried out by the main university of the region – the University of Bologna – by focusing on the patenting activities involving its research personnel in the period 1960-2010.

This thesis is about plant breeding in Early 20th-Century Italy. The stories of the two most prominent Italian plant-breeders of the time, Nazareno Strampelli and Francesco Todaro, are used to explore a fragment of the often-neglected history of Italian agricultural research. While Italy was not at the forefront of agricultural innovation, research programs aimed at varietal innovation did emerge in the country, along with an early diffusion of Mendelism. Using philosophical as well as historical analysis, plant breeding is analysed throughout this thesis as a process: a sequence of steps that lays on practical skills and theoretical assumptions, acting on various elements of production. Systematic plant-breeding programs in Italy started from small individual efforts, attracting more and more resources until they became a crucial part of the fascist regime's infamous agricultural policy. Hybrid varieties developed in the early 20th century survived World War II and are now ancestors of the varieties that are still cultivated today. Despite this relevance, the history of Italian wheat hybrids is today largely forgotten: this thesis is an effort to re-evaluate a part of it. The research did allow previously unknown or neglected facts to emerge, giving a new perspective on the infamous alliance between plant-breeding programs and the fascist regime. This thesis undertakes an analysis of Italian plant-breeding programs as processes. Those processes had a practical as well as a theoretical side, and involved various elements of production. Although a complete history of Italian plant breeding still remains to be written, the Italian case can now be considered along with the other case-studies that other scholars have developed in the history of plant breeding. The hope is that this historical and philosophical analysis will contribute to the on-going effort to understand the history of plants.

La tesi riflette sulla necessità di un ripensamento delle scienze antropologiche nel senso di un loro uso pubblico e del loro riconoscimento al di fuori dell’accademia. Viene introdotto il dibattito sulla dimensione applicata dell’antropologia a partire dalle posizioni in campo nel panorama internazionale. Negli Stati Uniti la riflessione si sviluppa dalla proposta della public anthropology, l’antropologo pubblico si discosta dalla tradizionale figura europea di intellettuale pubblico. Alla luce delle varie posizioni in merito, la questione dell’applicazione è esaminata dal punto di vista etico, metodologico ed epistemologico. Inizialmente vengono prese in considerazione le diverse metodologie elaborate dalla tradizione dell’applied anthropology a partire dalle prime proposte risalenti al secondo dopoguerra. Successivamente viene trattata la questione del rapporto tra antropologia, potere coloniale e forze armate, fino al recente caso degli antropologi embedded nello Human Terrain System. Come contraltare vengono presentate le diverse forme di engagement antropologico che vedono ricercatori assumere diversi ruoli fino a casi estremi che li vedono divenire attivisti delle cause degli interlocutori. La questione del ruolo giocato dal ricercatore, e di quello che gli viene attribuito sul campo, viene approfondita attraverso la categoria di implication elaborata in contesto francese. Attraverso alcune esperienze di campo vengono presentate forme di intervento concreto nel panorama italiano che vogliono mettere in luce l’azione dell’antropologo nella società. Infine viene affrontato il dibattito, in corso in Italia, alla luce della crisi che sta vivendo la disciplina e del lavoro per la costituzione dell’associazione nazionale di antropologia professionale. / The thesis reflects on the need to rethinking the anthropological sciences in the direction of a public use and of a public recognition for this disciplines by the world outside academy. The debate is introduced from the different positions shared in the international context about the use of applied anthropology. In the United States the reflection is developed by the proposal of public anthropology, that has some differences respect the traditional figure of the European public intellectual. The dissertation highlight the various positions about ethical, methodological and epistemological standpoint application of anthropology. First of all, different methodologies developed from the tradition of Applied Anthropology are taken into account, from the first proposals dating back to the second postwar period. Secondly the analysis focus on the relationship between anthropology, colonial power and the armed forces until the recent case of anthropologists embedded in the Human Terrain System. Different forms of anthropological engagement shows researchers involved in different roles up to the extreme case in which they becoming activists in the same causes of their partners. The issue about the role played by the researcher, and the role that the fieldwork attribute to him, is deepened through the category of implication drawn up in the French context. Through some fieldwork experiences, concrete forms of intervention in the Italian overviews are presented to shift the focus on the anthropologists’ action possibility in the society. Finally, the dissertation present the Italian ongoing debate about the crisis that the discipline is passing through, and the resulting work in progress for the constitution of a national association for professional anthropology.

It is probably needless to mention that organic coatings are of paramount importance nowadays. Although the huge number of applications and their wide spread can suggest that organic coatings have now reached a level of maturity, they are still mysterious from a certain point of view. The behaviour of these systems is not completely understood yet, especially as regarding the relationships between the chemical formulation and the manufacturing/applications technologies on one side, and the final properties on the other side. In this scenario, durability is regarded the most crucial point and finding satisfying design solutions is not straightforward. Automotive and architecture are perhaps two of the most challenging areas where the durability is claimed at overcoming hurdles and satisfying increasing expectations. The first part of this research handled durability issues in these two fields. Novel strategies for attaining high performance organic coatings were explored. In order to validate the proposed strategies, the research has been carried out in collaboration with industrial partners operating in these areas, thus making it possible to produce and test real organic coatings. The second part of the investigation was aimed at exploring the corrosion protection capabilities of self-repairing organic coatings. The attention was specifically focused onto the preemptive healing polyurethane coatings and their barrier properties.

The primary objectives of this thesis were to investigate and compare the fracture and creep behaviour of micro- and nanocomposites based on polyethylene (PE) produced by melt mixing. To achieve these objectives, different fillers were considered: micrometric copper particles, nanometric carbon blacks (CBs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). In the first part of this dissertation, the fracture behaviour of PE-CB composites was investigated via the Essential Work of Fracture (EWF) approach by producing composites with different CBs in order to investigate the effect of the filler particle size. Moreover, several processing (i.e., extrusion) parameters were varied to obtain different degrees of filler dispersion. Experimental results reveal that fracture toughness increases significantly when CB particle size is smaller and as the extent of dispersion of the filler in the polymer matrix is better. Fracture toughness depends on the thermo-mechanical degradation of the polymer matrix that occurs during extrusion. In the second part of this project, creep behaviour of PE-based composites was investigated at several temperatures with assistance from the principle of time-temperature superposition. In particular, the effect of filler dimensions was analyzed by comparing viscoelastic results for composites that contain micrometric copper particles (with an average diameter of 15 and 45 Î1⁄4m) and nanometric carbon blacks (with an average diameter of 15 and 30 nm). In general, these fillers substantially increase the creep resistance of PE, and this phenomenon was more prominent at smaller particle size. This effect was detectable in the linear viscoelastic region (i.e. at low stresses or temperatures), and it became more evident in the non-linear viscoelastic region (i.e. at high stresses or temperatures). In particular, creep compliance and creep rate decrease at smaller particle size. It is postulated that filler particles function as physical crosslink junctions which hinder polymer chain motion and reduce creep deformation. When particle size is reduced at constant filler volume fraction, the physical crosslink density increases such that chain mobility decreases significantly under stress. Finally, the creep behaviour of PE-MWCNT composites were investigated via direct dispersion of MWCNT in the polymer matrix and by using a commercial masterbatch of MWCNT. In all cases, the increase in creep resistance is statistically significant in the linear viscoelastic region (i.e. at low stresses or temperatures) when sufficient dispersion of the nanotubes is achieved. Interestingly enough, creep resistance increases in the non-linear viscoelastic region (i.e. at high stresses or temperatures) regardless of the degree of nanotube dispersion in the matrix. This phenomenon is attributed to nanotube orientation induced by high levels of stress.

Wear is an ubiquitous phenomenon affecting an extremely wide number of technological system, often determining their premature failure. In this regard, wear and friction behavior of friction materials and the characterization of wear debris from brake disc system is an important step to understand the dominant wear mechanisms active in a given tribological system, in order to improve its performances and to increase the expected lifetime. In the thesis, four tribological task has been performed, under the code name Case I, II, III & IV. This thesis present the work on the development of a characterization methodology of a wear debris from brake pad-disc system, M1 and M2 friction materials at elevated temperatures and study of the wear and frictional behavior of a heat treated cast iron disc. In Case I, the dry sliding behavior of two friction materials (M1 & M2) have been investigated. The sliding tests were carried out on a pin-on-disc test rig, using a cast iron disc as a counterface, under mild conditions (the applied nominal pressure was 2 MPa and the sliding speed was 3.14 m/s). The results shows that friction material M2 is characterized by a lower friction coefficient than friction material M1, and the friction coefficient is stable during the test. In addition, friction material M2 shows a lower wear rate than M1. The results were explained by considering the characteristics of the friction layer that is established during the test. On the bases of the experimental observations, the lower friction and wear of friction material M2 was attributed to the formation a quite uniform and well compacted friction layer, due to the presence of ingredients, such as Zr oxides, able to form small particles during sliding that are compacted and held together by the presence of metallic ingredients, such as copper. The absence of Zr-oxides in the formulation of M1friction material and the presence, in their place, of hard and abrasives Mg, Zn and Al-oxides, impeded the formation of wide covering friction layer, increasing friction and wear. The different frictional properties of the brake pads determine their driving performances, and the different wear behavior determine their in-service deterioration and also their attitude to emit particulate matter in the environment, which is nowadays a concern of increasing importance. Under the Case II, a streamline characterization protocol for wear debris emitted under wear testing conditions (Case I - M1 friction material) used for disc brake assemblies is presented. An important aspect of the experimental test methodology concerns the powder collection methodology on different substrates: aluminum foil, for a gravitational integral collection, and polycarbonate filters of an ELPI+ impactor equipment, on which particles are selectively trapped, according to their average size. The protocol is based on the application of different materials characterization tools, like scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The deliberate aim of the study was to identify suitable selection parameters, like specimen availability and average particle size, for an effective and smart application of the mentioned experimental techniques so to optimize testing times and obtain statistical reliable results. The proposed characterization approach could be profitably employed also in other contexts, like environmental and health monitoring, as far as particulate matter, even from other sources than brake systems, is concerned. We extended the work in Case I by investigating further wear mechanisms of M1 & M2 pins at elevated temperatures i.e., 170°C, 200°C, 250°C, 300°C and 350°C, under Case III. The results showed a clear evolution of frictional parameters with temperature. For M1, the working temperature were 155°C, 200°C, 250°C and 300°C, the absence of frictional parameters with temperature and wear behavior of M1 is higher than M2 with one degree higher order of magnitude. Wear tracks on the discs form from the piling up of wear fragments produced both by the tribo-oxidation of the disc itself and from the wearing out of the pin materials. This accumulation of wear debris on the disc surface nearly compensate for the weight loss associated with disc wear. The observed tribological behaviour is very much influenced by the thermal degradation of the phenolic binder of the friction material. The thermal decomposition kinetics was confirmed by thermogravimetric analyses, conducted on purpose on the pin material, and by Raman spectroscopy results, that confirmed the presence of carbonaceous products on the worn out pin surface. For M2, the working temperature were 170°C, 200°C, 250°C, 300°C and 350°C, above 170°C a transition from mild to severe wear was observed. Correspondingly, the friction layers, in particular, the secondary plateaus, which develop on the pins and disc surface during sliding displayed quite different features, as proved by electron microscopy observations and X-ray spectroscopy analyses. As concerns the pins, at 25°C and 170°C, the friction layer consists of primary and well compacted secondary plateaus. At 200°C and above, a progressive reduction of the pin surface coverage by the secondary component of the friction layer and a corresponding thinning of this component are observed. Secondary plateaus are barely present on the samples tested at 350°C. Although referring to rather extreme conditions and simplified sliding conditions, the results obtained in this study provide useful indications on the role that the thermal stability of the organic component may have in determining wear rate in brake systems in which the temperature rise may be induced by actual operational conditions. The Case IV work aims at illustrating the role of conventional heat-treatments on the friction and wear behavior of the above system. Wear rates of both disc and M2 friction material were reduced by almost one order of magnitude when the disc is preliminarily heat-treated and then grinded to remove the surface decarburized layer that forms during the adopted treatment cycle. Heat-treatment and heat-treatment plus ground results in the reduction of the friction coefficient, which was comparatively low for the grounded samples (grinded to remove the surface decarburized layer). The friction and wear behavior along with the contact temperature evolutions were rationalized according to the materials characteristics and the observed wear mechanisms.

This work reviews, expands upon, tests, and utilizes reciprocal space models of diffraction. In Chapter 2, reciprocal space models are reviewed, moving from strict assumptions of spatial unboundedness and three-dimensional periodicity to more relaxed assumptions of partial periodicity and finite crystals. Throughout the chapter, concepts are illustrated practically through examples of metallic nickel. New expressions are presented and a new approach is shown for approximating the diffraction effect of finite crystal size for a powder ensemble of one-dimensionally disordered crystals. A generalized shape function approach is demonstrated for the first time for the case of a spatially finite one-dimensionally disordered average crystal, without introducing any new definition to the layer electron density. It is explicitly pointed out that care must be taken in choosing models: there is a trade-off between computational expense, accuracy, and physicality. It is essential that the limitations (assumptions) of the models are kept in mind when adopting any specific approach. In Chapter 3, reciprocal space models are tested on synthetic powder diffraction data computed by applying the Debye scattering equation to several atomistic powder specimens. A process for creating atomistic powder ensembles is outlined, and a novel method is proposed for accurately approximating the ensemble-averaged powder diffraction pattern. The minimum library size is determined and compared for each ensemble considered, and it is found that libraries of less than 620 domains are generally sufficient to approximate the ensemble average. The ensemble-averaged powder diffraction data is fit where possible using several different models, and it is found that only the new model for finite, linearly disordered-crystals is successful both at reproducing the powder diffraction data and accurately retrieving the physical characteristics of the samples. It is seen that while a failure to satisfy model assumptions does not necessarily imply that the data fitting fails, it can necessitate that the fitted parameters do not reflect the true characteristics of the sample. In Chapter 4, different RS models are utilizing to fit powder diffraction data from nanostructured boron nitride samples to establish the most likely nanostructure. It is found that models incorporating the powder diffraction effects of stacking disorder and finite crystal size, while not significantly improving the agreement with the observed diffraction data, yielded more accurate and precise refined parameters, and are in better agreement with electron microscopy studies when compared to models assuming a sintered mixture of two nanocrystalline phases. With this result, it is possible to conclude that the most likely nanostructural model is that of sintered bodies composed of a single one-dimensionally disordered nanocrsytalline phase, rather than a two-phase or nanocomposite sintered body. Beyond this, by constructing simulated nanostructures through stochastically sampling refined sample characteristics, it is possible to further conclude that in the samples investigated, the primary manifestation of one-dimensional disorder is the presence of twin boundaries, leading to nanometer scale twin bands or “nanotwins†as proposed by those who synthesized the samples, and ruling out the presence of significantly large bands showing a wurtzite boron nitride structure.

The sol-gel route is a versatile wet chemistry method suitable for the preparation of multi-layer thin films with defined thickness and surface roughness. In this thesis work, sol-gel derived undoped and doped ZnO multi-layers were prepared by spin coating technique on different substrates for a memristive application. The curing and annealing conditions for the ZnO films were adjusted based on the study performed on the ZnO xerogel powders, and taking into account the thermal stability of the engineered substrate used as a bottom electrode for the fabrication of the memristive building block. Chemical, structural and morphological features of the samples were investigated by complementary techniques including electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, micro-Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The combined characterization techniques assessed that uniform, dense and flawless films were obtained on the platinum substrate, i.e. the bottom electrode of the memristive cell. In particular, Al-doping was found to significantly affect the surface morphology, grain sizes and overall porosity of the films. According to the electrical measurements performed on undoped and Al-doped ZnO thin films sandwiched between Pt/Ti/SiO2 bottom electrode and different top electrodes including Ag and Pt-dishes, the selected fabrication conditions were suitable for fulfilling the requirements of active layers for the memristive development. The modification approach exploited toward the improvement of the memristive switching performances resulted in memristive responses with low compliance current in absence of electroforming steps. Furthermore, the resistance values at high resistance and low resistance states were reduced in the case of Al-doped films compared to the results obtained from undoped ZnO thin films.

The demand for portable and wireless electronic devices, coupled with the need to decrease reliance on non-renewable energy sources, has led to an increased need for energy harvesting and piezoelectric materials. Energy harvesting materials can transform ambient energy into usable electrical energy, but their performance is often limited by their intrinsic properties. To overcome these limitations, nanocomposites have emerged as a promising solution. These composites consist of a polymeric matrix coupled with a high-performance dielectric/piezoelectric phase, which enhances their mechanical and electrical properties. The interface between the polymer matrix and the ceramic filler plays a crucial role in achieving the desired properties and performance of the composite material. Several methods, including surface modification of the ceramic filler and functionalization of the polymer matrix, have been developed to control the interface. This thesis focuses on producing a composite material with high dielectric and piezoelectric properties through a simple and fast production route. Barium titanate (BaTiO3) ceramic nanoparticles are synthesized via wet chemical methods and then embedded into different polymeric matrices to produce nanocomposites. The synthesis parameters for the ceramic nanofillers are optimized to obtain a highly homogeneous final product with a narrow size distribution. The fillers are characterized both structurally and microstructurally through several spectroscopic techniques such as FTIR (Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), XRD (X- Ray Diffraction), and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). Then, to enhance their compatibility with the matrix, they are subjected to hydroxylation treatment and functionalized with different organosilanes and characterized. The effectiveness of the functionalization is evaluated through various techniques, proving a successful reaction with high grafting degree for all samples. The particles are then dispersed in epoxy resin and PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane), and nanocomposites are produced with a process that involves the simultaneous application of both heat and electric field and the impact of the presence of surface coupling agents on the particle dispersibility is evaluated through SEM and EDXS (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy). Then, being PDMS the most suitable candidate for the intended applications, an extensive electric and dielectric characterization is carried out on PDMS-based composites through dielectric spectroscopy in a wide range of frequencies and temperatures and measuring the dielectric breakdown strength to evaluate the energy density of the samples and their suitability for energy harvesting applications. To summarize, the incorporation of organosilanes leads to the creation of stronger interfaces, which result in the production of composites with high dielectric constant, good dielectric breakdown, and improved energy density values, even with lower filler content compared to similar studies. These organosilanes are responsible for activating different polarization mechanisms. Despite the challenges that still need to be addressed, the development of energy harvesting, and piezoelectric materials based on nanocomposites has the potential to revolutionize the way we power electronic devices that can be successfully used in applications such as wearables, soft robotics, sensors, and actuators. Overall, this work unveils the significant potential of dielectric nanocomposites in various applications and highlights the need for continued research and development in this field.