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1
Anders, Ylén. "Införande SPS Arvika Smide AB : SPS och ISO/TS 16949." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Fakulteten för hälsa, natur- och teknikvetenskap (from 2013), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-31763.
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Rapporten är ett examensarbete som utförts i den avslutande delen av Högskoleingenjörsprogrammet i Maskinteknik. Examensarbetet är utfört av Anders Dedorsson Ylén, student vid fakulteten för hälsa, teknik- och naturvetenskap på Karlstads Universitet. Examensarbetet har utförts på Arvika Smide AB vars uppdrag gick ut på att införa SPS vid pressgrupp 5, samt undersöka hur väl företaget jobbar med ISO/TS 16949. I rapporten finns en teoretisk del om SPS och ISO standarden ISO/TS 16949. Vidare beskrivs hur SPS använts som metod för att mäta maskinens duglighet och behov av underhåll, samt hur mätningarna utförts. Här beskrivs också av vad som skett vid renovering av smidespressen och vilka resultateten blev av mätningar gjorda efter arbetet. Lämplig metod för att se vart företaget befinner sig i sitt arbete med ISO/TS 16949 och förslag på förbättrat arbete med ISO/TS redovisas. Rapporten redovisar att SPS kan vara ett styrande medel vid tillståndsbaserat underhåll på en smidespress och hur företaget kan utveckla sitt arbete med ISO/TS 16949.The report is a master thesis carried out in the final part of the Bachelor of Science education in Mechanical Engineering. The work is carried out by Anders Dedorsson Ylén, a student at the Faculty of Health, technology and natural science at the University of Karlstad. The work has been performed at Arvika Smide AB, whose mission was to introduce SPS at the pressgroup 5, and examine how well the company is working with ISO/TS 16949. The report contains a theoretical part about SPS and ISO standard ISO/TS 16949. It also describes how SPS can be used as a method for measuring machine condition and maintenance needs, and how the test's are carried out. It describes what has happened in the renovation of the forging press, and the results of measurements made after the renovation work was done. An appropriate method is presented to be able to see where the company is in its work with ISO/TS 16949 and suggestions for improved work with ISO/TS is suggested. The report shows that the SPS can be used as a guideline in condition-based maintenance of a forging press and how the company can improve its work with ISO/TS 16949.
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Sharkins, Anthony August. "Instrumentation for SPS-2." Ohio : Ohio University, 1996. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1178043493.
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Larsson, Kerstin, and Josefina Lundmarck. "Målinriktad SPS - en utredning i processtabilitet." Thesis, Linköping University, Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-17390.
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Det statistiska kvalitetsverktyget Statistisk Processtyrning, SPS, introducerades på BT Products AB i Mjölby utifrån en specifik implementeringsprocess. Introduktionen utfördes i en målningsprocess och genom detta arbete kunde aktuell process utvärderas och orsaker bakom eventuell urskiljbar variation eftersökas. I gällande process målas gods till eldrivna truckar svarta genom elektrostatisk pulvermålning, där eftersträvad färgskikttjocklek är 70 µm. Målningen utförs automatiserat av fyra robotar och för att erhålla kunskap om processens uppförande studerades och analyserades utfallet statistiskt utifrån en bestämd kvalitetsindikator, färgskikttjockleken. Data samlades in utifrån denna indikator genom kontinuerlig mätning på utvalt objekt och med hjälp av en mätmall för att erhålla jämförbara observationer. Tillförlitligheten hos insamlad data analyserades och observationerna uppvisade en normalfördelning och slumpmässighet. En hög grad av autokorrelation sågs dock, varför transformation av data krävdes innan fortsatta studier kunde utföras. I och med denna transformation erhölls oberoende och därmed tillförlitliga residualer, vilka studerades i styrdiagram för att information om processens uppförande över tiden skulle erhållas. Observationerna är individuella och anges som variabeldata, varför stora skiftningar i processen studerades i x‑ och MR-diagram och små skiftningar i EWMA-diagram. Vid studie av dessa diagram kunde såväl alarm som trender identifieras och processen ansågs därmed vara instabil. Dessa företeelser antogs vara resultatet av urskiljbar variation, orsakad av kontrollerbara faktorer. I den efterföljande processutvärderingen kom därför arbetet att fokusera på identifikation av dessa faktorer. För denna identifikation sattes en fokusgrupp samman, vilka listade möjliga faktorer i ett Ishikawadiagram utifrån de sju M:en.
Uppkomna faktorer testades utifrån främst tre olika metoder; tvåfaktorförsök, enfaktorförsök och loggning. Faktorförsöken genomfördes genom målning av testplåtar, där skillnad i färgskikttjocklek beroende på vald faktornivå studerades. Loggning av faktorer utfördes parallellt med produktion, varpå dessa värden ställdes mot registrerade värden på färgskikttjockleken i en ANOVA- eller korrelationsanalys. Utifrån resultatet av dessa tester delades undersökta faktorer in i Signifikanta, Delvis signifikanta, Eventuellt signifikanta och Ej signifikanta. De faktorer som ansågs vara signifikanta är Fluidisering och Pulverbatch, vilka kan vara bidragande orsaker bakom den urskiljbara variationen som identifierats. Fluidiseringen har periodvis varit undermålig i ett av de pulverkök som förser robotarna med pulver, något som kan förklara uppvisad låg korrelation mellan robotarna och den höga nivå av autokorrelation som skådats. Vid ett test med fyra olika säckar från två olika batcher sågs även en varierad batchhärkomst påverka resultatet, med en skillnad i färgskikttjocklek på mellan 10 och 20 µm på testplåten. De Delvis signifikanta faktorerna, så som injektorplugg, elektrod och munstycken, kan påverka utfallet vid en hög grad av förslitning och troligen fås störst inverkan i de fall då dessa samverkar. Genom att utföra rekommenderade åtgärder beträffande de signifikanta faktorerna, med avseende på att minska variationen, kan processen åter studeras och utredas. Beroende på utfall kan en stabil process förbättras och i annat fall söks nya källor till variation.
The statistical quality tool Statistical Process Control (SPC) was introduced at BT Products AB in Mjölby following the process of SPC implementation. The current process is a powder coating process where parts for powered trucks are painted black. The electrostatic powder coating is performed by four automatized robots and the desired layer thickness is 70 µm. The process has been evaluated from a quality characteristic, specified as the layer thickness, and special causes behind variation were identified. Data has been collected continuously from the process by measuring objects in the production, using a self-developed measurement template to receive comparable data. Statistical tools have been used to evaluate whether the data were reliable or not. A normal probability plot confirmed that the observations were normally distributed and a scatter plot established randomness. Autocorrelation was detected and the data had to be transformed, why the independent and reliable residuals were used in the subsequent analysis. Control charts were used to study the process over time, where individual x- and MR-charts detected large shifts in the process, while EWMA-charts detected small shifts. Alarms, trends and abnormal patterns were identified in these control charts, which led to the conclusion that the process could be considered out of control. The special causes behind this variation were assumed to stem from controllable factors and the work was therefore focused on identifying these special causes.
Factors were listed in an Ishikawadiagram by a focus group and tested using mainly three different methods. Design of experiments was used to test a two factorial design, and single factors were tested by one-factor-tests. A sheet metal was painted in both test methods and the difference in layer thickness, dependent on chosen level of the factor, was studied. Other factors were logged parallel to the production. Additional observations were compared to the registered layer thickness on parts and the relation analysed using ANOVA- or correlation analyses. Examined factors from these tests were divided and categorized into Significant, Partially significant, Possibly significant and Not significant. Fluidisation and powder batch were identified as significant factors and thereby possible causes behind the identified variation. The fluidisation in one of the powder containers has at times been misbegotten, something that can explain the high level of autocorrelation and the low level of correlation between the robots. When testing the batches, four sacks from two different batches were used and a large difference in layer thickness was observed depending on powder origin. A high degree of wear of the partially significant factors, as injector nozzle, electrode and gun nozzle, could affect the result, but they likely have the largest impact when collaborating. By performing recommended actions, in an attempt to reduce the variation on the basis of the significant factors, the process once again can be studied and evaluated. Depending on the result, a stable process can be improved, alternatively, new sources behind variation identified.
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Bathelt, Jens. "Entwicklungsmethodik für SPS-gesteuerte mechatronische Systeme /." Düsseldorf : VDI-Verl, 2007. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=015605073&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
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Liu, Jiayan. "Database design of Ohio SPS test." Ohio : Ohio University, 1997. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1177094710.
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Byl, Céline. "Synthèse et caractérisation de nanocomposites à base de ZnO pour des applications thermoélectriques." Thesis, Paris 11, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015PA112045/document.
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Ce travail de thèse a pour objectif l’obtention de nanocomposites denses ZnO/SiO2 afin d’améliorer les propriétés thermoélectriques de l’oxyde de zinc. Ce manuscrit décrit différents aspects de l’élaboration tant en terme de synthèse que de densification de nanocomposites ZnO/SiO2 ainsi que leur caractérisation. Afin d’obtenir des nanoparticules en grande quantité, de bonne cristallinité et de taille inférieure à 10 nm, l’optimisation d’une synthèse par voie polyol en jouant sur différents paramètres (pH, température, taux d’hydrolyse, solvant, surfactant) a été réalisée. Nous avons pu mettre en évidence l’intérêt d’utiliser l’acide benzoïque comme surfactant pour éviter l’agglomération de ces nanoparticules. La modification de surface des nanoparticules par de la silice a ensuite été explorée. Cette modification a été réalisée par une méthode classique, le procédé Stöber, ainsi que par une technique moins conventionnelle, l’ALD. Une étude approfondie de la densification par SPS à la fois de l’oxyde de zinc et des nanoparticules recouvertes a été décrite. L’influence de la couche amorphe déposée sur la croissance cristalline des nanoparticules a été démontrée. Nous avons par ailleurs pu mettre en exergue une pollution importante par du carbone lors de la densification des composés entrainant des modifications importantes des propriétés de transport. Le résultat majeur de cette thèse est la mise en évidence de clusters d’oxyde de zinc fortement dopés dans ces composés qui remet en question les mécanismes de transport dans le ZnOThis study is focusing on the synthesis of nanocomposites of Al doped ZnO/SiO2 with high density in order to increase the thermoelectric properties of ZnO. This work describes the optimization of the synthesis by investigating the effect of different experimental parameters (temperature, type of surfactant, degree of hydrolysis, nature of the solvent, pH) to obtain large amount of nanoparticles with size below 10 nm and good crystallinity. We have identified that using benzoic acid as surfactant could avoid the formation of particle aggregates. The modification of nanoparticles surfaces with SiO2 was investigated by using two methods the Stöber process and ALD. The possibility of ZnO and nanocomposite powder densification by spark plasma sintering was also tackled as well as the role played by the main parameters of the method (applied pressure and the best moment of its application, heating rate). The influence of the amorphous shell on the limiting grain growth during the sintering was demonstrated. Furthermore, a carbon accumulation which modifies the thermoelectric properties in the densified pellet was demonstrated. The source of it was assigned in part to the densification process. The most significant result of this study was the finding of the presence of ZnO clusters strongly doped wich could have fundamental implications as it may reopen the discussion on the transport mechanism in ZnO
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Raimondi, Erica. "More Qualifications and Less Dropout? From Compulsory Schooling to Vocational Education in Italy." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2016. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368112.
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Education continues to define social positions and reproduce social inequalities. Deficiencies in education may lead to disadvantages at both the individual and societal levels, and lower qualifications are usually obtained by already disadvantaged youths. One of the biggest problems in this regard is dropping out (also named early school-leaving)—i.e. young people who leave the education system before completing upper secondary school.
Many interventions have attempted to prevent or discourage students from dropping out of school. Among them there are two straightforward systemic policies: raising the age of compulsory schooling and creating alternative tracks for completing education. They aimed to achieve the same goal—reducing dropping out—but using different strategies. Despite the diffusion of these reforms, it is not clear to what extent one or both may succeed in their goal.
Both of these policies were actively pursued in Italy in a less than five-year period—from 1999 to 2003. In 1999, the so-called Berlinguer reform extended compulsory schooling from age 14 to 15, and in 2003 the State-Regions Congress introduced experimental vocational and training programmes (IFP). These intensive changes allow for the comparison of these two interventions in a single context one after the other, but no extensive studies have been made so far. The dissertation seeks to address this lacuna by making the best use of the available data.
The broad question of the thesis is whether the extension of compulsory schooling and/or the creation of new vocational and training programmes have modified students’ (and families’) dropping-out decisions. To answer, propensity score matching, counterfactual time series, segmented regression, region fixed effect and individual multilevel cross-classified logistic analyses are used. The results are framed in the theoretical debates about education: its roles, its expansion, its contribute to (in)equality and its policies.
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Guzzo, Falci Paula. "Illiberal Secularism: A Critical Approach to the Study of Social and Religious Governance in Liberal Democracies." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368572.
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Taking note of the emergence of illiberal forms of governance across Western Europe, a liberal and democratic region, this thesis endeavors to unravel one particular manifestation of this tendency, illiberal secularism. Specifically, it asks how secularism has been discursively (trans)formed in political contexts so as to allow for the emergence of illiberal forms of social and religious governance. To address this question, this thesis analyzes the discursive enactment of ideological secularism by Italian state actors in three cases—the Crucifix, the Burqa, and the Charter cases. Building on critical and discursive perspectives, this thesis argues that secularism is an ideology that shapes thinking and action and provides a conceptualization of, and an answer to, the problem of diversity. Thus, it proposes to study secularism as a political category that works as a stake in, and as a means through which contemporary contests over religion and diversity are conducted. In methodological terms, these considerations lead to a combined analytical endeavor, which focuses on both the conceptual grammar of secularism and the discursive practices through which state actors (re)construct this ideological formation. Conducting conceptual and critical discourse analyses, this thesis reveals the argumentative structures and the main ideational and relational assumptions of Italian state actors’ discourses. It demonstrates that, in all three cases, these actors revise secular–religious demarcations in ways that expand the secular power of the state over the religious realm and, moreover, allow for the revision of liberal entitlements and for the resetting of the boundaries that define the political community. Notably, this thesis finds that it is through the secularization of Christianity, the culturalization of liberalism, and the othering of Muslims that some state actors reconcile secularism and illiberalism, thereby promoting practices that restrict and violate important liberal values and achievements, such as religious freedom and political unity.
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Winkels, Adam. "Lepton pair production at the CERN SPS." Thesis, McGill University, 2009. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=32496.
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We interpret theoretically electron pair data observed in Pb(158 AGeV)-Au collisions at the CERN SPS by considering the system as an evolving fireball with parameters fit to experimental observables. Dilepton production in the QGP phase is found via standard finite temperature field theory techniques where annihilating quarks have thermally generated effective masses. After the phase transition, contributions from rho and omega meson decays are found via from experimentally determined forward scattering amplitudes which account for the effects of emission from a medium with finite temperature and density. All results are folded with a model which considers bias created by the CERES detector's acceptance. Our calculations agree well with existing data dilepton production at low and intermediate invariant masses.Nous interprétons les données expérimentales sur les paires de leptons mesurées dans les collisions Pb-Au à 158 AGeV, au SPS du CERN. Nous traitons l'évolution du système hadronique en considérant une modélisation thermodynamique ajustée aux observables asymptotiques. La production de leptons dans la phase du plasma quark-gluon est obtenue avec les techniques reconnues de la théorie des champs à température finie, où les quarks ont des masses thermiques non-nulles. Après la transition de phase, les contributions des désintégrations des mésons rho et omega sont évaluées en partant des amplitudes de diffusion vers l'avant, ce qui tient compte des effets de milieu. Tous nos résultats sont filtrés par l'acceptance du détecteur CERES. Nos calculs sont en accord avec les données mesurées sur la production de dileptons de petite et moyenne masses invariantes.
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Raimondi, Erica. "More Qualifications and Less Dropout? From Compulsory Schooling to Vocational Education in Italy." Doctoral thesis, University of Trento, 2016. http://eprints-phd.biblio.unitn.it/1781/2/Doctoral_Thesis_Erica_Raimondi.pdf.
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Education continues to define social positions and reproduce social inequalities. Deficiencies in education may lead to disadvantages at both the individual and societal levels, and lower qualifications are usually obtained by already disadvantaged youths. One of the biggest problems in this regard is dropping out (also named early school-leaving)—i.e. young people who leave the education system before completing upper secondary school.
Many interventions have attempted to prevent or discourage students from dropping out of school. Among them there are two straightforward systemic policies: raising the age of compulsory schooling and creating alternative tracks for completing education. They aimed to achieve the same goal—reducing dropping out—but using different strategies. Despite the diffusion of these reforms, it is not clear to what extent one or both may succeed in their goal.
Both of these policies were actively pursued in Italy in a less than five-year period—from 1999 to 2003. In 1999, the so-called Berlinguer reform extended compulsory schooling from age 14 to 15, and in 2003 the State-Regions Congress introduced experimental vocational and training programmes (IFP). These intensive changes allow for the comparison of these two interventions in a single context one after the other, but no extensive studies have been made so far. The dissertation seeks to address this lacuna by making the best use of the available data.
The broad question of the thesis is whether the extension of compulsory schooling and/or the creation of new vocational and training programmes have modified students’ (and families’) dropping-out decisions. To answer, propensity score matching, counterfactual time series, segmented regression, region fixed effect and individual multilevel cross-classified logistic analyses are used. The results are framed in the theoretical debates about education: its roles, its expansion, its contribute to (in)equality and its policies.
11
Guzzo, Falci Paula. "Illiberal Secularism: A Critical Approach to the Study of Social and Religious Governance in Liberal Democracies." Doctoral thesis, University of Trento, 2018. http://eprints-phd.biblio.unitn.it/3454/1/Complete_PhD_Thesis_Upload_Version.pdf.
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Taking note of the emergence of illiberal forms of governance across Western Europe, a liberal and democratic region, this thesis endeavors to unravel one particular manifestation of this tendency, illiberal secularism. Specifically, it asks how secularism has been discursively (trans)formed in political contexts so as to allow for the emergence of illiberal forms of social and religious governance. To address this question, this thesis analyzes the discursive enactment of ideological secularism by Italian state actors in three cases—the Crucifix, the Burqa, and the Charter cases. Building on critical and discursive perspectives, this thesis argues that secularism is an ideology that shapes thinking and action and provides a conceptualization of, and an answer to, the problem of diversity. Thus, it proposes to study secularism as a political category that works as a stake in, and as a means through which contemporary contests over religion and diversity are conducted. In methodological terms, these considerations lead to a combined analytical endeavor, which focuses on both the conceptual grammar of secularism and the discursive practices through which state actors (re)construct this ideological formation. Conducting conceptual and critical discourse analyses, this thesis reveals the argumentative structures and the main ideational and relational assumptions of Italian state actors’ discourses. It demonstrates that, in all three cases, these actors revise secular–religious demarcations in ways that expand the secular power of the state over the religious realm and, moreover, allow for the revision of liberal entitlements and for the resetting of the boundaries that define the political community. Notably, this thesis finds that it is through the secularization of Christianity, the culturalization of liberalism, and the othering of Muslims that some state actors reconcile secularism and illiberalism, thereby promoting practices that restrict and violate important liberal values and achievements, such as religious freedom and political unity.
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Dan, Cristian. "Autofocalisation infrarouge dans InP:Fe et SPS pour télécommunications." Phd thesis, Université de Metz, 2008. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00346797.
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L'objectif de cette thèse a été l'évaluation de deux semi-conducteurs (l'InP :Fe et le SPS :Te) comme matériaux pour les télécommunications optiques aux longueurs d'ondes infrarouges. D'abord, en ce qui concerne l'InP :Fe: nous avons fait une caractérisation systématique du phénomène d'autofocalisation photoréfractive, prenant en compte les paramètres les plus importants qui intervient dans ce phénomène (température, dopage, intensité du faisceau et de l'éclairage de fond, polarisation du faisceau). Ainsi, nous sommes maintenant capables de contrôler le phénomène d'autofocalisation. En tenant compte également des temps de réponse mesurés et des simulations réalisées, nous croyons que l'interaction de deux faisceaux autofocalisés est possible et maîtrisable sur une échelle de temps de l'ordre de microsecondes. Néanmoins, alors que nous connaissons l'influence des paramètres mis en jeu sur l'autofocalisation, le développement d'un modèle théorique reste indispensable pour une compréhension des mécanismes physiques qui déterminent la dynamique de l'autofocalisation photoréfractive. Nos mesures expérimentales et simulations théoriques ont montré que les modèles existants ne décrivent pas d'une manière satisfaisante les phénomènes observés dans InP :Fe.
En revanche, l'autofocalisation observée dans le SPS :Te est décrite par les modèles "classiques" existants. On peut dire que ce deux matériaux sont complémentaires: alors que dans le SPS :Te l'autofocalisation est plus lente que dans l'InPFe, elle est plus forte et plus facile à maîtriser. Tenant compte de cette remarque, nous croyons que ces deux matériaux trouveront leur place dans de futures applications.
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Ovens, J. E. V. "Strange pariticle production at the CERN SPS Collider." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.383836.
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Hérisson, de Beauvoir Thomas. "Cristallochimie prospective : relaxeurs, ferroïques et SPS basse température." Thesis, Bordeaux, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017BORD0678.
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Les travaux présents ici portent sur l’étude et la prospection de matériaux ferroiques. Cette étude consiste en une approche revêtant plusieurs aspects que sont la chimie du solide, la physique du solide et la science des matériaux. Deux parties sont développées, avec deux approches différentes. La première se concentre sur les liens entre composition/structure/propriétés dans des matériaux de la famille des TTB dérives de Ba2NdFeNb4O15 à travers l’étude de solutions solides à base de Li et l’étude de l’impact des différents paramètres de synthèse sur la nature de l’anomalie diélectrique mesurées sur pastilles densifiées. La mise en évidence de modulation structurale dans cette famille de matériaux semble être en lien direct avec l’observation des variations de propriétés diélectriques. L’utilisation de diffraction électronique notamment permet la mise en évidence de ces modulations structurales et leur évolution en température. Dans une seconde partie, l’approche consiste à utiliser le Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) comme technique de densification pour des matériaux dits “fragiles” mais aussi d’explorer des propriétés diélectriques jusqu’alors inaccessibles, sur matériaux massifs. Le développement de la technique SPS à basse température permet ainsi non seulement de densifier à basse température des matériaux fragiles, mais aussi d’obtenir des phases inaccessibles dans des conditions de températures similaires par traitement thermique conventionnel. De même, l’obtention de céramique moléculaire de très haute densité a pu être réalisée, malgré des températures de décomposition extrêmement faible (100 ˚C)The present work focuses on the prospection and understanding study of ferroic materials. It consists in a multiple aspect approach, including materials chemistry, materials physics and materials processing. Two parts compose this work, with two different approaches. The first one focuses on the links between composition, structure and properties in materials belonging to the TTB family, more specifically derived from Ba2NdFeNb4O15, through the exploration of Li containing solid solutions, and the impact of synthesis parameters on measured dielectric anomalies on dense samples. The observation of structural modulation in these materials seems to be closely related to the observation of dielectric anomalies variations. Using electron diffraction techniques allowed the evidence of such anomalies and the following of their thermal evolution. In a second part, the approach consists in using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) as a densification technique for so called “fragile” materials but also explore dielectric properties impossible to experimentally measure thus far. Developing low temperature SPS technique not only allows to densify ceramics at low temperatures fragile materials, but also to obtain inaccessible phases in similar temperature conditions using conventional thermal treatments. Moreover, sintering of molecular ceramic at very high density was possible, even if its decomposition temperature is extremely low (100 ˚C)
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Moleková, Kristína. "Zpracování práškových materiálů na bázi Mg metodou SPS." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta chemická, 2019. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-401923.
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Diploma thesis occupy with preparation of porous material from magnesium powder with a HAp admixture by cold pressing followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS). This thesis contain both preparation of bulk material, diffusion plot and charakterization of materials based on the compaction process conditions. On the basis of physical mechanical characteristics, the impact of the pressing process on the subsequent sintering and the resulting material properties are evaluated. Bulk material is characterized considering to structure and physical–mechanical properties. Properties of final metarial will serve to optimize conditions for process of bulk material preparation.
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Poczklán, Ladislav. "Modifikace kvazikrystalických kompaktů SPS pomocí technologie elektronového paprsku." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta strojního inženýrství, 2018. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-377885.
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The quasicrystals are characterized by unusual rotational symmetries that are not observed in the crystalline materials, which is the cause of their interesting material properties. Because of that a particular attention was paid to quasicrystalline structures in the literature research. The research also contains a description of electron beam technology, spark plasma sintering method and introduction to the problematics of wear. As the default materials for the experimental part were selected Titanium Grade 2 powder and Cristome A5 powder which was partially composed of quasicrystalline phase. The first series of samples was sintered only from powder Cristome A5. The second series was sintered from the mixture of 80 % Titanium Grade 2 powder and 20 % Cristome A5 powder. For the compaction of samples spark plasma sintering technology was selected. Samples were then systematically modified by electron beam and subjected to pin on disc tests. Samples modified at 750 °C had the best wear resistance. Samples modified at 1150 °C contained increased amount of quasicrystalline phase.
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Duca, Federica. "Left outside or trapped in the visible and invisible gate. Insights into the continuities and discontinuities in the creation of good and just living in open and gated suburbs of Johannesburg." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2015. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368147.
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Starting from the consideration that gated estates and complexes are increasingly becoming part of the urban, peri-urban and rural landscape of many societies undergoing transformation, the aim of this dissertation is to explore what difference it makes to live in an enclosed space in order to understand not only the choice of living in such environments, but also their spatial, social and political implications and manifestations. This work does so by adopting a relational perspective and by comparing two different neighbourhoods of Johannesburg, South Africa: a newly built gated golf estate (Eagle Canyon) and an old open suburb (Northcliff). In order to develop insights into the ways in which life in a gated community is related to the life outside, an ethnographic study of three years has been carried on in the gated golf estate and in the open suburb. This work argues that gated enclaves, internally organized and managed by specific institutions, not only provide the space in which the "good life" is lead, but most importantly set the standard and the terms of this good life and provide a system of justification for it. Putting in dialogue the two suburbs, this dissertation points out that gated estates provide the sace in which an escalation of belonging takes place. The novelty of the study lies in the discovery that the relationship between Northcliff and Eagle Canyon and then between Eagle Canyon and other gated estates is not simply of one between different urban phenomena but, in addition, is one of political scale. Northcliff is to the City what Eagle Canyon is to the nation. In other words, these respective communities instantiate, symbolically, different scales of political community.
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Eggert, Nina. "The Impact of Political Opportunity Structures on Networks of Immigrant Associations: A Comparison of Two European Cities." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2011. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/369172.
Full textAbstract:
Political inclusion of migrants is at the heart of contested scholarly and political debate. The increasing diversity of European democracies and the exclusion of a large part of the resident population from the political process raise questions about social cohesion and the quality of democracy. In the absence of voting rights for migrant residents, associations are often considered as an alternative for voice, representing migrants and defending their interest in the political process. Yet, little is known about the conditions favoring the political inclusion of migrant associations.
Studies on migrants associations tend to consider migrant organizations as discrete units acting independently from each other. Yet, migrant associations do not act in a vacuum and are embedded in webs of relations as well as in a wider political context. Social movement scholars implicitly acknowledge an interaction between institutional and relational context in affecting collective action, but studies analyzing this interaction are scarce. Considering only one of the two structures in which associations are embedded might lead to wrong conclusions as to what fosters political inclusion. Thus, the objective of this study is twofold. First it attempts to link two traditions in the social movement literature: the political opportunity theory and the relational approach. Second, it aims at furthering our knowledge on the mechanisms linking the embeddedness of migrants associations in an institutional and a relational context and their political inclusion.
Empirically, this study analyzes network structures in the field of immigration and the political inclusion of migrant organizations in Lyon and in Zurich. To analyze network structures the study draws on a relational approach to social movements that provides useful tools for comparing networks across contexts by defining a typology of modes of coordination of collective action. Modes of coordination are the mechanisms through which resources are allocated within collectivities but also how collective representation are elaborated as well as collective identities. The specific opportunities in the field of immigration draw on the citizenship approaches of nation-states to define the opportunities in the field. Two dimensions of political opportunty structures are defined. An institutional dimension, which refers to the rights and duties offered to immigrants as well as the institutional channels available to them, but also resources to actors acting in the field. The cultural dimension refers to the notions of citizenship and national identity that act as discursive opportunities and provide public recognition of different identities in the field. The main argument of this study is that the specific institutional and discursive opportunities in the field of immigration affect the network structure of migrant organizations and that the political inclusion of migrant organizations is affected by the interaction of both structures.
Drawing on the social movement literature, this study analyzes the effect of the specific opportunity structure in the field of immigration on network structure and the political inclusion of migrant organizations. The results show that migrant organizations adapt to the specific opportunities when creating alliances, and the networks that emerge vary between the cities under study. Indeed, associations tend to create alliances on the basis of their access to institutional channels, and the publicly recognized identities in the field. Moreover, it shows that the interaction of the opportunity structure and the network structure affects political inclusion of migrant associations. Indeed, the embeddedness of associations in similar relational structures has different outcomes for political inclusion according to the context.
The study concludes by stating that analyzing the interaction of specific political opportunity structures and network structures is necessary to get a better understanding of the conditions favoring or hindering the political inclusion of migrant organizations.
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Bobic, Marinko. "Minor Powers Confronting Major Powers: A Comparative Examination of the Conditions Facilitating Decisions to go to War." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2016. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368944.
Full textAbstract:
The political landscape of the world is constituted by states of varying degrees of influence and capability. Major powers have immense resources at their disposal, while minor powers are often constrained in terms of structure and material. Thus, for minor powers, engaging in conventional wars against much larger and more powerful states is potentially ruinous to their economies and endangers their political survival. While researchers have explored interstate asymmetric conflicts involving major and middle powers, this project specifically analyzes asymmetric conflicts between minor and major powers, focusing on the former, and the post Cold-war period. This research aims to analyze conditions, highlighted by theories on war, under which minor powers go to war challenging major powers. This research employs multiple theories, thereby establishing an innovative, pluri-theoretical framework. This theoretical framework works well with a mixed-methods approach, a medium-N research design (crisp set methodology in Qualitative Comparative Analysis), and three comparative case studies: Iraq (1990), Moldova (1992) and Serbia (1999).
This dissertation finds that by looking through the lenses of multiple theories, one can observe a more nuanced relationship between conditions faced by minor powers in militarized disputes and their decisions to go to war against a major power. First, different combinations of conditions can result in conflict. Second, domestic crisis, not external threat, tends to be of primary concern to minor powers. Third, minor powers enter a war to win based on very modest expectations. Fourth, minor powers of autocratic regime type can also misperceive the situation through anomalous beliefs. The importance of the study stems from the observation that minor powers still fight conventional asymmetric wars, despite growing military capabilities of major powers. Understanding the risks, minor powers gamble, hoping to keep their political benefits. This study enhances our understanding of conditions shaping the occurrence of asymmetric conflict.
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Pejovic, Milica. "Contesting the European Union in times of crisis: an analysis of Facebook interactions." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368735.
Full textAbstract:
The Eurozone crisis and the migration crisis generated a set of decisions at the EU level that aims to jointly
mitigate the adverse consequences of economic and political turmoil. However, electoral successes by
Eurosceptics at both EU and national levels and shrinking public support for the EU, as evidenced by
Eurobarometer surveys, have shown that Euroscepticism has been surging in parallel with tighter cooperation
of member states in crisis-ridden policy areas. Consequently, EU institutions have embraced the connecting
potential of social media by implementing a series of online communication strategies aimed at selflegitimation and strengthening of public support for European integration.
This study addresses the nature of Euroscepticism as reflected in online discussions via conducting a qualitative
content analysis of Facebook debates unfolding on the pages of the European Parliament and the European
Commission during the peak moments of the Eurozone crisis and the migration crisis. Moreover, the study
identifies the public interpretations of different aspects of the two crises framed as existential for the process
of European integration. The rhetorical analysis of the Facebook posts reveals how EU institutions utilize social
media in order to respond to and normalise public discontent, whereas elite interviews triangulate the findings.
The analysis of EU-focused transnational discussions complements the existing studies drawing on public
opinion polls regarding public attitudes towards European integration, and re-conceptualises the common
explanations for public Euroscepticism, mainly based on utilitarian or cultural hypotheses. The findings
stemming from the rhetorical analysis and interviews demonstrate that EU crisis communication perpetuates
the ingrained neo-functionalist and elitist modes of interaction despite the novel online communication
setting.
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Vergolini, Loris. "Coesione sociale in Europa." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2009. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368657.
Full textAbstract:
This article examines the relationship between social cohesion and economic vulnerability in Europe. The analyses are build around two main research hypotheses. The first one argues the existence of a direct and negative association between economic inequality and social cohesion. The second supposition states that this connection is mediated by some factors which include the individuals’ position in the stratification system (i.e. social class). Finally, we believe that welfare state could be relevant because it influences both the relationship between social class and economic vulnerability and the link between social cohesion and economic vulnerability. The empirical analysis –based on the European Social Survey (ESS) carried out in 2003– shows the central role played by the welfare state and the existence of a direct and negative connection between social cohesion and economic vulnerability, only partially mediated by the effect of social class.
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Yossef, Amr. "The Fallacy of Democratic Victory: Decision-Making and Arab-Israeli Wars: 1967-2006." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2009. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368033.
Full textAbstract:
This study explains the causes of war outcomes from the perspective of the decision-making process. It challenges the “democratic victory theory,†which contends that democracies are more likely to win wars because they make better decisions about initiating wars and have wider public support. Existing criticisms of this theory contest its assertion that voluntary public support and caution about initiating wars are unique to democracies and its reliance on statistical correlations. This study shows that these criticisms have not been adequate, and identifies significant flaws in the democratic victory theory in scope, application, and method and offers an alternative explanation of the quality of the decision-making process and war outcomes.
I use the groupthink and organizational theories to establish criteria for assessing the quality of the decision-making process independently from regime type. I propose an alternative explanation of the quality of the decision-making process drawing on the balance-of-power theory and group dynamics. The main argument is that when external environment poses a serious threat to a state’s security and a state’s leadership is cohesive, its leaders are more likely to engage in a high-quality decision-making process, which offers a greater chance of victory. This argument not only offers a more persuasive account of why democracies win wars, but also explains why non-democracies can win wars or achieve standoffs.
These propositions are tested in a case study analysis of four Arab-Israeli wars – June 1967, Attrition 1969-70, October 1973, and July 2006 – using process-tracing and counterfactual methods. The analysis reveals that democratic and non-democratic regimes do not operate in the way hypothesized by the democratic victory theory. Instead, the quality of the decision-making process is influenced by the extent to which a state is facing a serious security threat and its leadership is cohesive. The case studies also show that war outcomes vary – victory, draw, or defeat – according to the leadership’s performance of the decision-making criteria, which plays an important role as relative to other factors affecting war outcomes, such as material power, weapons technology, military strategy, civil-military relations, and national culture.
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Toscano, Giuseppe. "Performance Art: Campo di produzione e aspetti relazionali." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2010. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368349.
Full textAbstract:
The study focuses on artists who adopt performance art as a form of creative expression within the world of contemporary visual art. Some performances are extreme exhibitions which often assume violent and aggressive forms; others are quasi-visible events like communication misunderstandings or reiterated behaviors which make the flow of ordinary interaction unusual and sometimes create a feeling of anxiety in the audience. There are of course basic differences between these kinds of performance; nevertheless, in the case of both the most spectacular events and «minimal performances», the artist acts at the borderline of what is explainable, and his/her artistic practices highlight the need to traverse the frontiers between traditional genres, mixing them up or forsaking them. A performance essentially consists in the creation of an interactive event, and artists manage the central elements of the interactive order: the dimension which, according to Erving Goffman, represents a reality in itself, possesses its own logic, and cannot be reduced either to macro-structural dimensions or to individual psychology. The topic of the research reported here can be summarized in the following question: how is it possible to turn a «social interaction» into an «artistic object»? The answer can be articulated on different dimensions: how a performance is projected, arranged and carried out; what happens during performance events; how such events can be recorded and conserved. A performance results from cooperation among a group of people which cannot be defined as a «system»: there are no formal roles, there are no fixed positions, there are no decisional centers. Nevertheless, the basic elements are in place for it to be possible to talk of the existence of an interactional unit: different social actors act together in an intentional, reiterated and settled manner. It is possible to find a great number of events which take place on specific sites and during which artists, venue managers, critics, collectors and performance audiences meet, work together, and share their interests. It is thus possible to use the term «sphere» to refer to a place to which admittance is granted only after an initiation process and rite of passage. In such «spheres» people follow careers based on internal, formal and informal hierarchical ladders. Moreover, there are subjects who act as gatekeepers, and myths and symbols are shared. The research was conducted in Northern Italy, where several towns were selected as central nodes in the Italian contemporary art field. I conducted in-depth interviews with subjects occupying the three main roles in the artistic field: artists, venue managers and curators, and art critics. The selection of the interviewees was based on their strategic position in the field. My purpose was to investigate the node that they occupied in the art world by combining two criteria: first, the spatial position of the environment in which they lived and worked (marginal, peripheral, central); second, the stage of their professional career (beginning, emerging, established).
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Caporusso, Letizia. "Il voto elettronico come processo sociale." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2010. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368041.
Full textAbstract:
The research assesses the social impact of introducing automated electoral procedures.
Starting with an overview of the current debate in the Italian and in the international arena, it considers the viewpoint of different stakeholders: bureaucrats, politicians, civil society, pressure groups and the market within four case studies (Estonia, Ireland, Great Britain and the Netherlands) to highlight the direct and unexpected consequences of changing a long established habit in such a delicate matter as voting.
It also draws data from the largest Italian experimentation of electronic voting in a supervised environment – held in the Autonomous Province of Trento between 2004 and 2009 – to report on the attitudes and on the actual behaviour of electors facing the electronic option.
The deployment of multivariate regression models on survey data supports the hypothesis of existing divides between those who are favourable to automation in elections and those who are not, the main cleavages being age and education. Furthermore, a greater degree of trust in the generalised other is needed in e-voting but not perceived in i-voting, while both voting procedures appeal those who are already politically mobilized but less attached to traditions. A greater level of techno-determinism is also related to the propensity of accepting automated procedures.
Evidence about the practice of e-voting during the experimentation – gathered by means of an innovative method labelled as parallel ethnography – shows that during the field trial unforeseeable threats occurred to the constitutional requirements of personality, equality and secrecy. This hiatus between instructions and instructed actions calls not only for a more thorough training of electronic scrutinizers but also for a better design of the machine’s interface and for an adequate legal framework, should e-voting become legally binding.
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Betti, Andrea. "Legitimate and Contested: How States Respond to International Norms." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368721.
Full textAbstract:
States often invoke international norms to justify their foreign policy-making. In the last twenty years, a large body of literature has shown that norms matter in international politics since they provide frameworks for legitimate international action. Nevertheless, it is often overlooked that the absence of a centralized authority capable of enforcing and providing unambiguous interpretations of norms leaves states, particularly great powers, free to decide whether to recognize or reject the legitimacy of norms. In specific instances of foreign policy-making, states take actions that cohere with norms, while at other times they contest them. Operating in a decentralized system, international norms crucially depend on state support for their legitimacy, prominence, and effectiveness. Variations in the way states respond to norms call for an investigation into the domestic conditions that lead states to recognize or reject their legitimacy. These conditions will be investigated by comparing the attitudes of the United States and the United Kingdom towards the norms of humanitarian intervention and international criminal responsibility and by studying how these norms influence their policy-making. During the 1999 NATO intervention against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, both countries invoked the norm of humanitarian intervention. In contrast, during the 1998 Rome Conference for the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, their behavior diverged with the UK endorsing the Court and the US rejecting it. The analysis aims to discover the domestic actors that are responsible for how international norms are interpreted at the state level and the mechanisms and transmitters through which norms come to be viewed by states as legitimate or illegitimate frameworks of behavior.
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Orabona, Giusi. "La sicurezza come pratica e network eterogeneo: la sala operatoria e l'allineamento della sociomaterialitÃ." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/367850.
Full textAbstract:
La mia tesi di dottorato si presenta come un lavoro di ricerca empirica che ha messo a fuoco la questione della sicurezza organizzativa quale pratica situata, vale a dire non come mera “assenza di errori†, ma piuttosto come capacità emergente di un contesto organizzativo di funzionare in maniera affidabile, ri-configurando le attività degli attori organizzativi quando si verifica un breakdown. Riferimento empirico della tesi è la sala operatoria, dove la sicurezza di pazienti ed operatori costituisce un elemento inscindibile dalle pratiche lavorative e dalle dinamiche organizzative, dove socialità e materialità risultano intrecciate grazie all’elevata densità tecnologica dell’ambiente operatorio e dove l’interprofessionalità contraddistingue il lavoro d’équipe.
Attraverso l’etnografia organizzativa e lo shadowing all’interno dei blocchi operatori di due ospedali italiani, ho indagato quali sono le dinamiche organizzative e lavorative che permettono agli attori organizzativi di performare pratiche mediche sicure, nonché la maniera in cui le diverse dinamiche che entrano in gioco nel corso delle attività quotidiane in sala operatoria favoriscono/ostacolano la creazione e la stabilizzazione della sicurezza. Nella prima parte della tesi ho illustrato il framework teorico e metodologico, mentre nella seconda viene illustrata l’analisi della ricerca condotta. Ciò che è emerso dall’analisi del materiale empirico è che la sicurezza operatoria si costruisce a partire dall’allineamento di tre dinamiche organizzative, quali: processi tecnologici, competenze esperte e conoscenze sensibili, dinamiche comunicative Ciascuna di queste dinamiche fornisce stabilità alle pratiche mediche che hanno luogo in sala ed alla sicurezza operatoria grazie alla maniera in cui si allinea alle altre. Rispetto dunque agli studi sino ad oggi realizzati sul tema, il mio lavoro vuole fornire spunti di riflessione per guardare alla sicurezza come pratica che prende forma a partire non più dal modo in cui una singola dinamica organizzativa consente o ostacola la realizzazione delle attività in sala (in maniera esente da rischi o pericoli potenziali), ma dal modo in cui ciascuna dinamica si aggancia e si allinea alle altre. In tal senso, la sicurezza organizzativa può essere letta ed analizzata quale pratica e network sociomateriale. Nello studio della sicurezza organizzativa, la comprensione e l’analisi della “natura†dei legami tra gli elementi del network permette anche di andare oltre la separazione (spesso forzata) tra gli studi di stampo clinico e manageriale e la letteratura di matrice sociologica: poiché entrambe le letterature sono oggi giunte all’individuazione di alcune dinamiche chiave (in buona parte coincidenti) nella creazione e stabilizzazione della sicurezza organizzativa, potrebbe risultare interessante integrare i risultati prodotti da ricerche condotte da prospettive differenti.
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Babayan, Nelli. "Wandering in Twilight? Democracy Promotion by the EU and the USA and Democratization in Armenia." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368301.
Full textAbstract:
Although democracy promotion initiatives have spread around the world and supported transition, many countries have fallen back into autocracy or stalled on their way to democracy. However, the events in the Middle East and Northern Africa have revitalised the issue of democratization. On the other hand, this cry for democracy seems to be homegrown, casting doubts about the efficacy of external democracy promotion. Nevertheless, stalled and setback democracies cannot be blamed solely on the flawed strategies of democracy promoters or autocratic stubbornness of democracy targets. Similarly, labelling democracy promotion as “the grand failure†of the West is an argumentative overstretch, which lacks any practical application.
This dissertation argues that democracy can be achieved from outside, but the obstacles associated with it are more serious than anticipated by promoters. More specifically, the chances of liberal democracy being exported from outside will increase provided the utility of domestic adaptation to democracy is at least moderate, promoters are actively involved in resolution of pressing national issues, and there is no regional actor that blocks democracy and receives support for its policies from the target country.
By structurally and conceptually expanding Schimmelfennig’s international socialization framework, this study develops an analytical framework to decipher mechanisms, strategies, and subsequent outcomes of democracy promotion and democratization. While applied to Armenia, the proposed framework is a useful reference for both academics and practitioners as it provides tools for researching the outcome of democracy and democratization and provides policy recommendations. This dissertation introduces the concept of democracy blocker—a powerful authoritarian regional actor capable and willing to influence domestic policy choices of a democracy promotion target in order to block democratization. This study also makes an empirical contribution by comparing democracy promotion policies in a country that has long been neglected by the academic literature. Using process-tracing, within-case, and before-after analyses, this study compares democracy promotion policies of the EU and the USA within three different target-sectors in Armenia. The analysis of three different target-sectors of democracy promotion—elections, parties, and the media—shows democratic transformation on the macro level of a country and micro level of specific sectors.
This study argues that increased political and economic interdependence and interconnectedness of different realms within a democratizing country has led to merging of international democracy promotion and domestic democratization. In addition, the mere adoption of a law or a code of conduct does not guarantee the establishment of democracy and democratic behaviour by domestic stakeholders. Consequently, a likely upgrade of a formal democratic transformation into a behavioural one, would require democracy promoters to guarantee consistency in their efforts and follow-up on their activities, without assuming that a formally adopted rule or a completed project will necessarily assure rule-based behaviour. Thus, democracy promotion needs to be simultaneously cross-sectoral, offering material incentives for democratic transformation. Democracy promotion has the potential to not only produce numerous academic and policy analyses but also to result in a genuine democratic transformation, if promoters rationally choose their strategies and base them on existing domestic conditions.
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Zanon, Flavia. "The High Representative for the CFSP and EU security culture: mediator or policy entrepreneur?" Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368073.
Full textAbstract:
The High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy was first established by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 to enhance the effectiveness and credibility of EU foreign policy. Since its creation, this body has played different roles vis-a-vis varies policy dossiers. In some cases, the High Representative has successfully coordinated the positions of Member States and enhanced the worldwide visibility of EU foreign policy. On other occasions, the High Representative played a more proactive role by identifying and operationalizing common European interests.
The varying role of the High Representative in different policy dossiers reflects the ambiguity of the EU political system. Unlike in most European states \where the executive and legislative powers are linked through the same parliamentary majority\ within the EU supranational and intergovernmental sources legitimacy coexist. It is the
ambiguity deriving from it that permitted the High Representative to adopt different roles in response to different external challenges.
This research investigates the reasons that led the High Representative to play sometimes the role of mediator and at other times that of policy entrepreneur by examining the influence of security culture on EU foreign policy processes. Security culture is defined as the convergence of socially transmitted norms shared by the majority of political actors belonging to the EU security community. The norms constituting security culture concern the identification of security threats, the definition
of the appropriate instruments to deal with them, and the interaction with the international community.
The comparison of the cases of the 2001 Macedonia crisis and the negotiations over Iran fs nuclear programme reveals that shared norms.and thus the emergence of a shared culture.with regard to a given threat had an impact on policy processes
involving the High Representative. In particular, the emergence of a shared security culture created a positive context which enabled the High Representative to adopt the
role of policy entrepreneur, rather than simply mediating among Member States.
In order to address the capability-expectations gap emerged among citizens ' expectations, and EU fs ability to deliver in the field of foreign policy, scholars have long stressed the need to build stronger institutions able to constrain the powers of Member States. However, this research identifies the development of a shared vision about common security as a factual pre-condition for the empowerment of central institutions and, thus, for further integration in this field. In addition, even though the existing literature has mostly identified diverging norms on the use of force in the international arena and on the alliance with the US as the major obstacles to an effective EU foreign policy, this study suggests that another major obstacle in this regard lies in diverging norms concerning the role of international cooperation and the relation between national and international security vis-a-vis external threats.
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Capra, Ruggero. "Le rappresentazioni di significato nel servizio sociale nella giustizia penale in contesti orientati dal neoliberismo." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2013. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/367809.
Full textAbstract:
La ricerca analizza una vicenda in cui si ipotizza in atto un fenomeno di erosione delle politiche del welfare state nel settore penale al fine di comprendere come reagiscono gli assistenti sociali e come definiscono la propria posizione professionale.
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Minello, Alessandra. "Contextual effects on the educational ambition of immigrants' children and natives in Italy and Belgium." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2013. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368838.
Full textAbstract:
The new wave of global immigration to Europe has increased the urgency to discern which aspects of school context and of social interactions within the educational system need to be strengthened in order to create an environment where both immigrant and native students can perform at their best. Looking at educational ambitions allows studying educational performance, in order to estimate the gap between students of migrant backgrounds and natives, and to measure the social integration of immigrants’ children.
My presentation aims to identify which resources and interactions within the school environment need to be strengthened with the purpose of improving educational expectations and aspirations of immigrants’ children and natives.
First, I explore to what extent school resources, parental involvement in school and family environment shape educational expectations of migrants and natives in two European countries: Belgium and Italy. After delineating this international perspective, I deepen the analysis of the Italian case. I investigate to what extent the expectations and aspirations of the children of immigrants are influenced by the educational expectations of their native schoolmates using data on children of immigrants living in Italy and attending their final year of middle school (8th grade). In the final part of my presentation, I tackle the challenging issue of the impact of the presence of immigrants’ children on the educational aspirations of natives.
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Ciambra, Andrea. "The policisation of EU Energy Policy: Instances of Instrumental Re-framing by the European Commission." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2013. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368841.
Full textAbstract:
Over the last fifteen years, the energy policy of the European Union (EU) has changed significantly. It has become more cooperative and integrated across the borders of EU Member States and less preoccupied with the state-centred discourse of energy-supply security. The European Commission, in particular, has policised EU energy policy by re-framing it as a complex patchwork of many energy-related policy interventions. This shift took place in the aftermath of several critical events that affected Europe’s energy supply and jeopardised its energy security. Energy policisation occurred, in other words, when it was reasonable for EU Member States to securitise rather than integrate their energy policies. The core research question of this thesis addresses this apparent paradox: to what extent has EU energy policy become more integrated, and why has this change occurred when it was least expected?
This study argues that the shift towards energy policisation has been discursive. The European Commission has been able to harness unprecedented windows of opportunity created by recent crises to re-frame energy policy according to its overarching understanding of EU integration and public policy-making. The Commission has promoted—for over forty years—a vision of energy policy that spans energy security, market competitiveness, environmental sustainability, and energy efficiency. Based on a bibliometric test, this thesis identifies the type of discursive ‘vehicles’ used by the Commission to diffuse its policy ideas and create consensus about its policy agenda.
This thesis also argues that the Commission has been able to use diverse discursive tactics to challenge the prevailing energy policy narrative of the Member States and drive the policy-making process towards more integration. The two case studies analyse two instances of instrumental energy policisation. The case of the wind-power offshore grid projects developed in the North Sea during the last decade shows how the Commission managed to socialise other energy policy stakeholders into its own policy agenda and urge national governments to adopt a more integrated perspective on the issue at stake. The case of the Energy Efficiency Directive negotiations, ended successfully in late 2012, shows that the Commission has also been able to challenge the governments’ state-centred discourse more ‘frontally’. The Commission re-told the story of EU-wide energy cooperation as being so necessary as to force Member States to back away from their resolve, approve the Directive, and accept the binding constraints it contains.
Ultimately, this thesis tells a story of continuity and change in EU energy policy. There has been continuity in the decades-long Commission’s advocacy for a more complex and integrated EU energy policy and in its guiding belief that public policy in Europe is, under all circumstances, best made at the EU rather than at the national level. There has been change in the sudden and unpredictable effect that crisis and shocks have had on the preferences of policy actors. By telling a story of variation in EU energy policy and successful discursive re-framing by the Commission, this thesis contributes to the on-going debate on the impact of non-material factors such as ideas, meaning, goals, and visions on the outcomes of policy-making. By combining bibliometric, process-tracing, and discourse analysis techniques, this thesis has sought to provide a more reliable and replicable operationalisation of ideational elements and has expanded the prospective agenda for more cross-policy research in EU studies and public policy analysis.
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Shisheva, Mariya. "The Impact of European Union Asylum Policy on Domestic Asylum Policy in Germany and Britain: 1990-2007." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2013. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368470.
Full textAbstract:
Over the past two decades, the European Union has taken important steps towards the establishment of a common European asylum policy. The question of the impact of this cooperation on domestic asylum policy has so far received surprisingly little attention. Most explanations have focused on how an agreement on restrictive policies was achieved at EU level, and assumed a relatively unproblematic implementation of these measures domestically. More recently, some scholars have contested these explanations by emphasizing the rights-enhancing effects of recent EU asylum policy legislation.
This thesis argues that rather than focusing on the question of whether EU cooperation increases or decreases domestic asylum policy standards, we should focus on explaining how EU asylum policy affects domestic asylum policy. The question can only be addressed satisfactorily if the inter-related processes of arriving at these policies at EU level and implementing them domestically are taken into account.
The theoretical account proposed here conceives of preferences as the crucial variable connecting the processes of uploading and downloading. The main argument of this thesis is that governments try to project their policy preferences which reflect their desire to change or retain domestic status quo and to download policies in accordance with these preferences. At the EU level, governments seek to upload or support policies in line with their domestically-shaped preferences and oppose those which contradict them or at least seek flexibility allowing them to maintain existing policies. At the national level, states download EU policy selectively, in line with their domestically-shaped preferences, leading to over-implementing, under-implementing or not implementing certain provisions.
In addition, the thesis locates the sources of these preferences on asylum policy in public opinion, party ideology, and the number of asylum seekers. The dissertation shows that issue salience in the media and among the general public affects the relationship between these variables.
Depending on the political-institutional context, the factors identify above interact with each other, resulting in differential impact of EU asylum policy on domestic policy. The thesis distinguishes between simple and compound polities, and shows how they differ in their responsiveness to the variables identified above, in the frequency and stability of reforms, and in the way they use the EU to facilitate domestic change. It also demonstrates that in compound polities preferences are mostly influenced by party ideology while in simple ones they are more likely to reflect public opinion.
In order to trace the impact of EU cooperation in asylum policy on domestic policy, this dissertation employs process tracing and a three-step analytical framework which encompasses preference formation, EU-level negotiations and implementation. Such framework allows us to answer the question of the impact of EU asylum policy on national ones without under- or overstating the role of the EU. The dissertation applies this framework to study all major EU asylum policy agreements adopted between 1990 and the completion of the first phase of the Common European Asylum System in 2007, and their impact in Germany and Britain.
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Alagna, Mirko Domenico. "Immagini del mondo e forme della politica in Max Weber." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2014. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368980.
Full textAbstract:
L’idea della redenzione era di per sé antichissima, se in essa si include la liberazione dal bisogno, dalla fame, dalla siccità , dalla malattia e – infine – dalla sofferenza e dalla morte. Tuttavia la redenzione acquistò un significato specifico soltanto dove fu espressione di un’''immagine del mondo'' razionalizzata sistematicamente e di una presa di posizione in base a questa. Infatti ciò che la redenzione, secondo il suo senso e la sua qualità psicologica, voleva e poteva significare, dipendeva appunto da quell’immagine del mondo e da questa presa di posizione. […] L’immagine del mondo stabiliva infatti “da che cosa†e “per che cosa†si volesse e – non si dimentichi – si potesse essere “redenti†: da una servitù politica e sociale, in vista di un futuro regno messianico nell’aldiqua […] oppure dai limiti della finitezza che si manifestano nella sofferenza, nella necessità e nella morte, e dalla minaccia delle pene infernali, in vista di un'eterna beatitudine in un'esistenza futura, terrena o paradisiaca (Weber 2002).
Questo appena citato è sostanzialmente l'unico passaggio esplicitamente programmatico e vagamente definitorio che Weber dedica al concetto di “immagine del mondo†[Weltbild]; eppure la scommessa su cui si basa questo lavoro è che sia possibile rintracciare in Weber un uso costante, sotterraneo e implicito del dispositivo “immagine del mondo†nel concreto dell'analisi sociale e storica, nonostante la ritrosia definitoria e il “basso profilo†teorico. Di fatto, è possibile e almeno in parte addirittura inevitabile leggere l'intera Sociologia della religione come una grandiosa galleria di immagini del mondo: una panoramica delle diverse interpretazioni del mondo elaborate dalle religioni universali e delle differenti soggettività che tali Weltbilder hanno plasmato.
Sinteticamente, l'immagine del mondo è una spiegazione e un'interpretazione dell'esistente, una rete di assunti cognitivi sul mondo stesso in grado di definire priorità e gerarchie; pur essendo teoricamente indimostrabili, le immagini del mondo sono praticamente ineludibili, in quanto costituiscono un necessario sistema di orientamento: esse definiscono gli obiettivi da perseguire e i mali da fuggire e in questo modo plasmano il nostro atteggiamento nei confronti di ciò che ci circonda, incentivano determinati comportamenti ed escludono altri dall'orizzonte di ciò che è “sensato†.
Due sono i principali obiettivi della tesi: in primo luogo estrarre e astrarre dal lavoro weberiano uno schema, una “teoria delle immagini del mondo†in grado di essere strumento concettuale utile per l'analisi sociale anche nella contemporaneità ; in secondo luogo testare le potenzialità esplicative del concetto di “immagine del mondo†in ambito politico: interpretare cioè le diverse forme politiche come precipitato di differenti immagini del mondo.
1) Non bisogna farsi ingannare dal contesto: le religioni sono solamente un sottoinsieme – per quanto archetipico e particolarmente chiaro – della più ampia categoria delle “immagini del mondo†. Anzi, punto di partenza della riflessione sociale weberiana è che il rapporto tra uomo e mondo è sempre mediato da immagini, non necessariamente religiose; ogni società elabora una propria idea teoreticamente indimostrabile di “bene†e di “male†, e definisce un orizzonte del possibile. Insomma, che si tema la dannazione eterna o la miseria terrena, che si aspiri alla pace dei santi nell'aldilà o alla ricchezza su questa terra, che si pensi il mondo come un cosmo immutabile o come un terreno di scontro tra classi in marcia verso il progresso: si tratta di variabili decisive per lo studio e la comprensione dei comportamenti degli attori sociali, e si tratta di variabili definite esattamente dall'immagine del mondo. Per afferrare il senso degli atteggiamenti e delle dinamiche di una società è quindi necessario rappresentarsi preliminarmente la sua immagine del mondo.
2) Definendo incubi e obiettivi, paure e speranze, l'immagine del mondo plasma l'agire degli individui e di conseguenza impatta necessariamente con la politica. I santi puritani sconfiggono il Leviatano ridicolizzando le sue minacce e le sue promesse: chi temeva solo la dannazione e aspirava solo alla salvezza dell'anima era completamente indifferente alle persecuzioni e alle lusinghe del potere mondano, poiché chi teme Dio non può avere paura di piccoli re. Il socialismo è riuscito ad arruolare nell'esercito proletario masse che per secoli avevano accettato con santa rassegnazione la propria condizione materiale: ciò è stato possibile nel momento in cui il Weltbild socialista è riuscito a tradurre la miseria in sfruttamento; gli “ultimi†cominciano a provare ira nel momento in cui percepiscono la propria subordinazione come ingiusta ed evitabile, eleggendo a nemici non le macchine o il destino, ma specifici rapporti di produzione. Nella tesi si compiono tre carotaggi nella storia politica della modernità europea dimostrando la loro relazione con tre differenti immagini del mondo: Puritanesimo e genesi dei diritti di libertà ; armonia degli interessi e liberalismo; socialismo e movimento operaio.
Ultima precisazione: la “teoria delle immagini del mondo†non si configura come un idealismo mascherato. Piuttosto essa costituisce la terza via tra i riduzionismi opposti di tipo materialista (e al giorno d'oggi economicista) e latamente idealista. Essa concepisce dimensione materiale e dimensione immaginativa come ambiti tra loro in reciproca osmosi, ma pure dotati di una loro autonomia. Nell'analisi della contemporaneità , ad esempio, il riferimento al concetto di immagine del mondo consente di tematizzare le mutazioni della soggettività evitando tanto di ridurle a mero riflesso delle trasformazioni del capitalismo contemporaneo, quanto di enfatizzare il lato unicamente culturale senza focalizzare la dimensione materiale.
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Costantini, Irene. "Statebuilding versus state formation: the political economy of transition in Iraq and Libya." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2015. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368648.
Full textAbstract:
The international interventions in Iraq and Libya are exemplary of a decline in the expectations that statebuilding fervour can contribute to the full-fledged transformation of societies intervened upon. From the intervention in Iraq under the banner of “armed liberalism†to the “post-interventionist†approach that guided the intervention in Libya, international actors have renounced the grand transformative narrative traditionally sustaining post-conflict initiatives. This study investigates the impact of this changing statebuilding paradigm on state formation in Iraq and Libya. Bridging scholarship on post-conflict transitions as well as on the Middle East and North Africa region, this study addresses the question of the interplay between statebuilding and state formation from a political economy perspective: the emerging forms of economic governance of Iraq and Libya are illustrative of the broader problems affecting these countries. Through a process-oriented approach, this study moves beyond a narrowly-conceived institutional analysis and brings into focus actors in transition. Based on the theoretical discussion and the empirical findings, the study shows that an actor-oriented analysis has far more explanatory power than an institutionalist analysis. From a political economy perspective, the study focuses on the role of the private sector as an agent for change in transition: the emergence and consolidation of the policy prescription of developing the private sector has heralded a re-definition of the statebuilding agenda. Relying on a broad range of sources and data including interviews, policy papers, programmes’ reports, and evaluations, the analysis contends that this novel approach adds to the contradictory character of statebuilding: private sector development remains trapped between internationally held normative models and domestic power dynamics. Most importantly, private sector development entails a more interventionist approach that contradicts the principles of the self-regulating capacity of the market. The thesis’ main argument is that by building parallel agencies and mechanisms, statebuilding deviates from the process of building states. In other words, statebuilding creates a mode of governance that undermines Weberian notions of statehood in post-conflict countries: while it penetrates deeply into society, statebuilding fails to generate state authority. Rather, it favours a dispersion of authority across levels of governance and different types of actors. The dispersion of authority in post-conflict transitions generates hybrid forms of political economy: adaptation and resistance to neoliberal norms, institutions, and models are continuously negotiated by competing actors. At the same time, the dispersion of authority contributes to undermining the distinction between the public and the private spheres: alternative forms of authority consolidate informal institutions and repertoires, and increasingly come to exercise state authority and functions. The disjuncture between state and stateness––the exercise of state authority and functions––shows the limits of analysing post-conflict transitions through the narrow lens of Weberian interpretation of the state and points to a re-evaluation of institutional analyses in light of notions of authority and legitimacy.
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Katzarova, Elitza. "The World Is Broken: The Social Construction of a Global Corruption Problem." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2015. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/367983.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines the social construction of a global corruption problem by introducing a methodological framework from the field of sociology and adapting it to International Relations (IR). It provides an alternative explanation for the adoption of anti-corruption instruments in the period 1994-1997 and the international institutionalization of anti-corruption reforms. It challenges conventional views that point to the rise of non-state actors, such as Transparency International, and the end of the Cold War. By tracing the trajectory of the corruption problem, it shows that the dynamics of the 1990s can only be fully understood within the legacy of the 1970s and, in particular, the failed talks at the United Nations. The institutionalization of the global corruption problem in the 1990s was a product largely of historical contingency and state intentionality. While it appeared that a new issue has taken international organizations by storm, it was largely key state agents that were creating this change by building coalitions and maneuvering between venues. The thesis employs methods of discourse and practice analysis from sociological research for the empirical study of claims. The analysis makes use of archival data to open up the pre-negotiation talks on illicit/corrupt payments at the OECD and the UN and study the process of claims-making, as well as document discursive strategies such as controversy management and feasibility. By taking a step back from the study of norms to look at the social construction of problems, the thesis introduces new methodological tools into constructivist IR. It also provides for the integration of state agency in constructivist approaches by showing how state actors engage in ontological warfare over the definition and institutionalization of new problems. Studying the social construction of problems through the process of claims-making elucidates the power relations that inform the established definitions and the spectrum of legitimate solutions; it helps us better understand the makings of international reality.
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Kustova, Irina. "The Conflict-Cooperation Nexus. Politicisation, Security and Domestic Institutions in EU-Russia Energy Relations." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2015. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/367649.
Full textAbstract:
Over the last decade, EU–Russia gas relations have witnessed significant deterioration—the bilateral agenda has been narrowed down to ad hoc consultations, disputes over investment and long-term contract provisions have multiplied, and disagreements between the EU and Russia have significantly hindered the multilateral process of the Energy Charter Treaty (the ECT). This deterioration seems to be rather paradoxical in light of high gas interdependence between the EU and Russia and a rich history of well-established cooperation during the Cold War under profound ideological and strategic constraints. In addition, conflictual patterns in EU–Russia gas relations occurred in the beginning of the 2000s, during the period of high oil prices and growing global natural gas demand—the period when enhancement of cooperation would be a more expected outcome. Therefore, the core research question of the thesis addresses the puzzle: why, despite decades of cooperation during the Cold War between Western European countries and the USSR, have EU–Russia gas relations become conflictual since the 2000s? By answering this research question, the study seeks to contribute to the analysis of institutionalisation of energy relations and to reveal factors that lead to cooperative or conflictual outcomes. So far, IR research inquiries in the field have prioritised resource and normative determinisms in addressing the success or failure of energy cooperation, which assume a geopolitical-realist struggle for energy resources and a priori benevolence of free markets in line with the neoliberal economic agenda respectively. The broader geopolitical approach has explained energy conflicts by structural factors of unequal resource allocation across the world and attributed a direct impact of a state resource base (an energy-rich or energy-poor state) on states’ behaviour in the international arena. Another strand of the literature, ‘the market approach’, has also viewed problematic cooperation as a result of different interests of energy producers and consumers—but from a slightly different perspective. Limited institutionalisation of interactions has been explained by different models of gas markets producers and consumers choose. Thus, consumers favour a model of the competitive liberalised gas market (a market actor model), while producers would opt for a model of vertically-integrated monopoly and resource nationalism (a geopolitical actor model) in order to preserve control over resources. Pointing to a number of opposite cases, this study disregards the straightforward assumption that there is a direct link between a resource base and states’ strategies in the international arena. Bringing domestic conditions back to these debates, the study argues that increasing differences between the EU and Russia’s domestic institutional models of the gas market have been the main factor that has triggered conflictual patterns in EU–Russia gas relations since the 2000s. These domestic institutional changes have replaced attempts to build a strategic partnership with ad hoc consultations at the level of practical implementation, and have triggered broader deinstitutionalisation of multilateral gas governance in Europe. The three case studies analyse three instances of EU–Russia gas relations, tracing the crucial differences to determine the outcome—cooperation (a creation of a new or enhancement of an existing international institution), institutionalised conflict (disagreements regarding institutional settings of interactions, which are discussed and settled within the procedures of pre-existing or negotiated international institutions), or institutional conflict (expansion of disagreements beyond the pre-existing or negotiated framework of international institutions, which are no more accepted by the parties for conflict resolution) between the parties. The thesis contributes to ongoing debates about the impact of domestic institutions on actors’ policy strategies in the international arena, bringing insights from energy economics, energy law, and regulatory studies to IR. It argues that differences in domestic models under conditions of high interdependence might lead to politicisation of gas market issues and broader aspects of energy governance. The study also enriches debates about energy security, arguing that energy security depends also on a stable and predictable institutional framework for interactions, which inter alia requires compatibility of actors’ domestic models.
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Erforth, Benedikt. "Thinking Security: A Reflectivist Approach to France's Security Policy-Making in sub-Saharan Africa." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2015. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/369101.
Full textAbstract:
Recent years have witnessed increased French military activism in Africa. Despite efforts to normalise its post-colonial relationship and considerable downsizing of its permanent military presence, France remains a sought-after actor in solving African security problems. Notwithstanding French decision-makers’ repeated promises that the gendarme of Africa belongs to the past, French troops have participated in nine military operations since the turn of the millennium. Against all expectations, the Hollande administration has stood out for being particularly interventionist, concerting a military intervention in Mali and deploying a peacekeeping force to the Central African Republic within two years of assuming office. The ambiguity between an interventionist policy and a disengaged discourse suggests that French military interventionism in sub-Saharan Africa no longer follows the same automaticity as in the past. The two interventions in Mali and the CAR testify to the intense ideational struggles between different belief systems that had shaped French actors’ minds and thus influenced decision-making processes and policy outcomes.
Economic interests and neo-colonial continuity have been traditionally identified as the root causes of French interventionism in francophone Africa. For the past two decades the literature on French-African relations has been dominated by the so-called continuity vs. change debate, which scrutinises the presence of colonial / neo-colonial practices in the post-1990 French foreign policy. While ideational approaches to France’s African policy are not rare, few studies have engaged with the decision-making processes that produce French military interventions. Most studies focus on policy outcomes, which are rooted in static conceptualisations of ideas that are aggregated at the level of the state. Starting from these observations, the present study argues that the mere analysis of policy outcomes tells us little about the actual motivations that drive French foreign and security policy in Africa.
Instead of analysing French interventionism by relying on a predefined set of explanatory variables that are juxtaposed with a series of observable outcomes in order to falsify predefined hypotheses, this thesis explains French interventionism by drawing on actors’ subjective perceptions and motivations. The study uses the actors’ own utterances to explain why French decision-makers are ready to accept the considerable risks and costs involved in guaranteeing or re-establishing the security of African countries. Adopting an actor-centred constructivist ontology, this study not only identifies ideas as core explanatory variables but also traces their emergence and subsequent development throughout decision-making processes. This approach goes beyond the dichotomous view that reduces French motivations to material interests or post-colonial ambitions.
Relying on discursive material such as official statements, verbatim reports of press conferences and parliamentary hearings, policy reports, and thirty-two high-level interviews with French decision-makers, the present study narrates military intervention in Mali and the CAR from the perspective of French foreign policy elites under the Hollande Presidency. This recent and largely unexplored empirical material provides new insights into France’s foreign and defence policy. The study also demonstrates why and how the “Africa factor†still matters in France’s foreign policy considerations. The importance of Africa in France’s security policy has less to do with neo-colonial ambitions per se, than with the understanding French policy-makers have of themselves and their country. More generally, the findings show how comprehensive explanations of foreign policy can be produced by considering actors’ subjective perceptions. In so doing, the study not only explains France’s current policies in sub-Saharan Africa, but also offers insights into foreign policy decision-making processes in general, and thereby provides further evidence about how ideational factors influence the making of world politics.
Keywords: France, Africa, Mali, CAR, foreign policy analysis, international security, decision-making, political psychology, constructivism
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Assirelli, Giulia. "Studying «too much»? A comparative and diachronic analysis of overeducation among tertiary graduates." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2016. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/367799.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of this dissertation is to assess if and how institutional features are likely to shape fields of study differentials in the overeducation risk.
This issue is addressed with two different perspectives. First it is comparatively analysed how the differential incidence of overeducation among graduates from different fields of study is affected by labour market institutions.
Then the effect of the university reform dictated by the guidelines of the Bologna Process on tertiary graduates’ risk of overeducation is evaluated. Italy is selected as a relevant case study for these analyses since, in comparison with other developed countries, it displays both low graduation rates and modest returns to tertiary education.
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Akchurina, Viktoria. "The State as Social Practice: Sources, Resources, and Forces in Central Asia." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2016. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368030.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is about state and society relations in Central Asia. It examines statehood comparatively in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Despite having made different political, economic, and institutional choices at independence in 1991, these countries arrived at the same outcome today: an incomplete state. In framing the problem as the incomplete state, this thesis shifts the conventional emphasis away from symptoms of state weakness toward those processes that contribute to it. It highlights the fact that the state can simultaneously be both strong and weak, omnipresent and absent. It is the blurring of the line between state and non-state, public and private, legal and illegal, formal and informal which matters for a better understanding of the state. Drawing from Charles Tilly and Michael Mann, this thesis suggests that these shadow areas generate processes of interstitial emergence that may either undermine or strengthen the state. The outcome generated by such processes is dependent on the balance between state autonomy and state embeddedness. The thesis argues that the incomplete state is a result of three sets of factors—historical, external, and local—that directly or indirectly produce processes that are counter-productive to the current state-building process. Specifically, it focuses on the societal legacy of the Soviet statehood, the strategies of state-building provided by external actors, and the balance of power between rival local elites. It demonstrates how each of these sets of factors contribute to the creation or development of sites of social resistance and the chasm between the state and society in each of the three given cases. Further, it identifies three important processes. Firstly, structural changes taken for granted following the dissolution of the Soviet Union have not necessarily altered cross-border societal interdependence at the grassroots. Secondly, the strategies pursued by external actors have indirectly created isolated pockets of land, empowered community-based civil activism and facilitated informal trade. Finally, while state elites strengthened the institution of the state, they turned it into a tool for legitimizing illicit revenues rather than a means to increase its infrastructural power. States and societies in the region have become isolated from one another. These states, empowered only in the institutional sense, have become empty shells. The societies, empowered without the state, have become captives within a game of survival. It seems that the state cannot be complete without becoming social.
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Dhaher, Safa. "Al- 'Eizariyah and the Wall: from the quasi-capital of Palestine to an Arab Ghetto. The Impact of the Separation Wall on the Social Capital of the Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2016. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368395.
Full textAbstract:
This doctoral thesis is about the study of the social capital, its effects on the local development and on the socio-economic resilience of the Palestinians trapped in the East Jerusalem's al-'Eizariyah area. The transformation of al-'Eizariyah since 2002 through the Israeli encroachment on Palestinian land by instrumental use of the Separation Wall policies was analysed and re-state through the lenses of the sociological theory and concepts. Based on the accounts of life stories and interviews with various members of the al-'Eizariyah's former and present community and through the visual data of the changes in al-'Eizariyah and the areas adjacent to the Separation Wall a study of the Palestinian coping and survival strategies was undertaken. The thesis demonstrates how the reality of al-'Eizariyah was changed dramatically in the last two decades despite and in the opposite direction of the Oslo Accords of 1993. To be sure, al-‘Eizariyah, which is located two miles east of Jerusalem, had expanded to adjust to the economic boom of the early post-Oslo years coupled with the political expectations of it being part of the future Palestinian capital. This was disrupted by the failure of the Oslo Accords, and the construction of the Israeli Separation Wall in 2002, which served as an instrument of intimidation and harassment to make Palestinians leave Jerusalem, as this thesis demonstrates. The Wall did not only cut off al-'Eizariyah from the main road that used to connect East Jerusalem to Jericho. The Wall's more sinister and long-term damage has been in the physical and psychological isolation of al-‘Eizariyah and in preventing its residents from being fully integrated in the economic, social, cultural, and political life of the East Jerusalem and of the West Bank. This two-sided effect of the Separation Wall started when most of the people who used to work in East Jerusalem and Israel lost their Jobs, students could no longer study in Jerusalem and had to change schools; the sick no longer could use the healthcare facilities, etc. Former residents of al-'Eizariyah could no longer do any of these basic necessities neither their shopping and entertainment in Jerusalem freely without being humiliated with denial of access to Jerusalem based on the persons' ability to present a Blue ID at the checkpoint, the only ID that is recognized by the Israeli regime. While some social capital forms helped in coping with the difficulties caused by this new reality it was the difference in the pre- and post-Wall situations that were examined in order to understand the impact of the adversity represented by the Wall on the social capital of the Palestinians. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the implications of the construction of the Wall on the socio-economic life of al-‘Eizariyah residents and to study the Israel-Palestine conflict from sociological lens using a case study setting and qualitative analysis approach. This thesis demonstrates positive impact of the Wall on social capital types by where the bonding social capital became stronger yet the trend got reversed. At the community level, the challenges were too large to be handled only by bonding social capital. Therefore, there is a combined effort between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the local civil society associations and the private sector to overcome problems related to education, health care services, trade and labour in addition to social security caused by the Wall. It was found that bridging social capital and linking social capital were strongly present after the Wall was completed. Although civil society associations are strongly present in al-‘Eizariyah but because the Palestinian society is structured along patrimonial, familial, clannish, tribal and contradictory geographical cleavages, most of these associations work in a way that transformed the intended outcome of bridging social capital to some kind of bonding social capital as the beneficiaries and the participants are mostly from their family, clan members, or those who belong to the same political party, and not the community as a whole. However, observations and the empirical evidence show that bonding is stronger than bridging social capital. The social fragmentation caused by several social forces such as the local-stranger relationship, between the locals of al-‘Eizariyah and the displaced residents, prevented efficient cooperation in solving community problems. Lack of the sense of belonging is not only because the locals always express superiority over the displaced, but also because the displaced themselves do not want to lose their rooted original identity, especially the refugees who settled in the town after the 1948 war. This had a great overall impact on the unity of the Palestinian society especially that ‘the refugees’ communities constitute approximately 42 percent of the total population of the West Bank.
The future challenge of the Palestinians in areas such as al-‘Eizariyah is to find ways of detecting de-fragmentation and manipulation policies and develop strategies that would prevent de-fragmentation of the Palestinians being orchestrated by the Israeli Wall policies and that only become apparent with a time lapse when it can be too late.
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Sargsyan, Gayane. "Democracy and Development in the Making: Civic Participation in Armenia; Challenges, Opportunities." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2016. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368480.
Full textAbstract:
This research focuses on civic participation and its role in an emerging democracy context, and examines the forms, patterns, trends, obstacles to and opportunities for civic participation, as well as the impact of civic participation on democratization and development processes in Armenia, a post-soviet country in the South Caucasus, that has embarked on simultaneous transition toward democracy and free market economy since its independence in 1991.
The dissertation suggests that civic participation is a key ingredient for successful transformations and effective reforms in both political and economic sectors in the post-soviet context of Armenia, and, therefore, more attention, as well as more vigorous efforts and resources should be directed to building civic capacity of the people and organizations in this setting. It is argued, that while, obviously, not a panacea for all development and democratization related challenges, civic engagement has a strong potential to foster those processes and contribute to the achievement of more effective, inclusive and sustainable solutions in the areas of democracy promotion and development in the transition countries. The original contribution of the thesis is an empirical study of civic participation in Armenia and assessment of its determinants and the impact on democracy and development related outcomes in the country. The primary research includes a study of civic participation in 10 rural and small urban communities across the country, and provides comprehensive information and insights into civic participation forms, pattern, determinants, obstacles and opportunities at the community level. Civic participation is further studied by examining the major civic initiatives and campaigns that took place in the country over the recent five years (2010-2015) and assessment of their outcomes and impact. The study looks closely at the determinants of civic participation, both the individual level factors and the obstacles and opportunities provided by the institutional context, and, in particular, examines the relationship of civic participation with social capital, civic education, and use of internet and communication technology (ICT). Civic participation habits and trends among the youth are explored by means of surveys conducted in 2013 and 2014. An innovative measure – a Civic Participation Score (CP Score) is introduced and computed, based on a pre-defined and operationalized set of indicators, and a Civic Participation Index (CP Index) is calculated for monitoring the changes, in separate indicator categories and overall, and analysing civic participation trends over time. The research sheds light on civic participation practice and trends in Armenia and builds a framework for analysis of civic engagement in an emerging democracy context, by identifying the participants, their motives, forms of civic engagement, its impact, as well as challenges and opportunities for participation. The study highlights the specific needs and opportunities for further civic capacity building and lays down a roadmap for further research and action in this direction.
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Vlach, Eleonora. "Diseguali su quale base? Lo svantaggio scolastico dei figli di immigrati in Europa." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/369116.
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The aim of this research is to analyse the educational gap between native and foreign students in Europe. In last decades, because of the increasing number of immigrants, the sociological literature on the ethnic stratification in education has considerably grown. However, several aspects of the relationship between ethnicity and educational inequality are still under debate. This research is based on the assumption that the gross educational disadvantage of foreign students is due to differences in both achievements and educational choices. I analyse the several dimensions that scholars have identified as being able to influence one of them, or both. The roles played by individual characteristics –micro-level– (such as: social class, cultural background, gender, ethnicity and migration background), by the school context –meso-level– (i.e. peers group, teachers, and the school) and by the institutional context –macro-level– (the educational system and the country’s migration history) will be analytically divided. As different European nations have historically attracted migrants from specific countries in specific periods, individual’s ethnicity has long coincided with his immigration generation. Nowadays, because of the growing number of nationalities present in each country, it is finally possible to separate these two dimensions. Thus, I add to the debate in that I analyse whether ethnicity and migration background influence the individual educational success independently one another and independently of social origins. Moreover, I address whether the relationship between ethnicity and educational inequality is due to primary or secondary effects. In other words, I investigate if ethnicity and migration background influence only academic competences – which than translate in better choices – or if they are also able to directly affect the latter, net of individuals academic skills.
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Shahid, Zubair. "Decentralization, Democracy and Development : Examining the potential and limits of subnational empowerment." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/367891.
Full textAbstract:
As the discourse on economic development has expanded its focus to a broader set of interrelated economic, social, and political variables, an important conclusion has been that sustainable and inclusive development requires not only economic and social policies, but also political empowerment to foster a deliberative and participatory development process. The state versus market led development debate has been increasingly conducive to the role of state since 1990s mainly due to the developmental state experiences in East Asia in particular, and the high social costs of pursuing market oriented reforms or Structural Adjustment Programs in many developing countries. The growth spurts and the successive downturns delivered little on account of sustainable and inclusive growth.
The nature of an ideal state, in contemporary times, can be argued to be developmental and democratic; characterized by redistributive growth, broad-based participation, pro-poor policies, and responsiveness of public policy to local needs. Given the intricacies of the contemporary world where Keynesian and neo-liberal values contest for space simultaneously, the (re)configuration of the role of the state while fostering democratization is an important dimension to consider. In this context, it is increasingly argued that subnational democracy is important in revitalizing and reinvigorating democratic systems, as well as promoting better public governance. This thesis attempts to examine the concepts of Decentralization and the Democratic Developmental State, the political incentives that determine the substantiveness of decentralization reforms, and whether subnational empowerment through decentralization is conducive to democratic developmentalism.
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D'Alimonte, Giulia. "Il passato nel presente. Identità e orientamenti politici nei ragionamenti degli elettori di un comune italiano alla vigilia delle Elezioni Europee del 2014." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/369270.
Full textAbstract:
La ricerca mira a ricostruire la definizione della situazione politica che alcuni elettori italiani hanno prodotto per maturare la propria scelta di voto in occasione delle Elezioni Europee del 2014. Per poter agire infatti, gli individui hanno prima bisogno di comprendere la situazione nella quale agiscono. I risultati mostrano che, a seguito dei cambiamenti avvenuti nel panorama politico italiano l'anno precedente, elettori, partiti e leader si sono mossi a velocità diverse, faticando nel condividere una medesima definizione. Rilevare questa situazione di disallineamento aiuta a comprendere, in generale, gli effetti della valence politics sul voto e, nello specifico, il percorso politico dei partiti italiani.
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Giannetto, Leila. "More than consultation: Civil society organisations mainstreaming fundamental rights in EU border management policies. The case of Frontex and its Consultative Forum." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368194.
Full textAbstract:
With the growing importance of agencies in the EU executive space (i.e., agencification), civil society organisations (CSOs) have increasingly direct their advocacy efforts towards EU agencies. Currently, CSOs are represented in several consultative bodies of EU agencies (e.g., FRA, EASO, and Frontex). In general, the role of these bodies and platforms is to “merely†assist EU agencies on fundamental rights matters. However, access to EU agencies gives CSOs a privileged position to push their claims forward.
Frontex (or European Coast and Border Guard) is peculiar among EU agencies for its operative competences, and growing resources. Moreover, Frontex has repeatedly raised concerns on its accountability on fundamental rights matters at the EU borders. Therefore, in 2011, Frontex revised Regulation introduced a Fundamental Rights Strategy, and two new bodies: the Fundamental Rights Officer and the Consultative Forum on fundamental rights (CF).
Aim of this research is to establish whether and to what extent CSOs influence Frontex “from within†and what are the outcomes of this interaction in terms of both fundamental rights mainstreaming and agency accountability. These issues are addressed using the literature on CSOs’ participation to EU governance, CSOs’ mainstreaming of fundamental rights, and CSOs’ potential for the accountability/legitimacy of EU agencies. Empirically, this study analyses CSOs’ strategy choice to lobby Frontex from within and questions it in light of the outcomes of this lobbying activity. Even though findings are mixed, due to the absence of CSOs’ clear advocacy goals within the CF, the relationship between CSOs, members of the CF, and Frontex remains unique in terms of mutual learning and potential for the establishment of an effective accountability relationship on fundamental rights matters. Collection of data and analysis have been carried out through expert interviews and by applying an interpretive approach to the study of Frontex official and unofficial documents.
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Romaniuk, Scott. "Under Siege: Counter-Terrorism Policy and Civil Society in Hungary." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368206.
Full textAbstract:
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks the US launched a macro-securitization program to combat terrorism and included government counter-terrorism measures (CTMs) that impeded on human rights and civil liberties globally. Scholarship has recently turned to the study of CTMs and their effects on civil society organizations (CSOs). This study analyzes the relationship between CTMs and CSOs in Hungary from 2010-2018. First, it examines Hungary’s security milieu, including the formation and implementation of Hungary’s CT laws, polices, and institutions, and the terrorism landscape. Second, it analyzes the effects of CTMs on CSOs and state-civil society relations.
The study uses an exploratory and explanatory research design, and mixed methods of data collection and analysis. Using purposive sampling, 240 questionnaires were analyzed across four CSO categories: peacebuilding, development, human rights advocacy, and humanitarianism. Coded data is used from 70 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with CSO officers, security agents, military personnel, legal experts, politicians, and security, civil society, and development scholars. Secondary sources include: books, articles, and grey literature. Using Chi Square and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation at p≤0.05, the former determines if CSOs were pressured to join government CTMs whereas the latter establishes whether CTMs negatively impacted CSOs’ operational capacities. Descriptive statistics is used to analyze demographic data and ascertain CSOs’ level of support or rejection of government CTMs.
The findings reveal that CTMs grant the state exceptional powers that restrict CSO operations. The quantitative findings show that CSOs were pressured into joining government CTMs (X2 = 220.919). Government CTMs have negatively affected CSOs’ operational costs (59.1%). The government denies CSOs access to information regarding CTMs (35.9%), thus preventing their involvement in CTM formulation processes and implementation. 72.1% of program officers indicated they do not support government CTMs. The interviews revealed growing mutual suspicion between the government and CSOs in the context of counter-terrorism.
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Denti, Davide. "The European Union and Member State Building in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368563.
Full textAbstract:
The EU enlargement policy aims to transform applicant countries into fully-fledged member states, committed to abiding by the EU acquis and able to take part in the EU decisionmaking and policy implementation processes. However, the contestation of the state, or contested statehood, has been identified as the key variable hindering Europeanisation in the Western Balkans. This has led the European Union (EU) to fall into cycles of mismanaged conditionality, such as in the police reform process and the constitutional reform process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yet, the EU has learned to adapt, enacting practices of state building to cope with contested statehood.
By bridging the literature on European integration, state building, and Europeanisation, this study traces the transformations of sovereignty and of the state throughout European integration, and identifies the polity ideas that underpin EU practices of ‘member state building’ in the notion of sovereignty as participation. Member state building is interested in reinforcing administrative capacities with the aim of participation in EU processes, while also enhancing the legitimacy of institutions via the export of consensus-generating mechanisms.
Two case studies, exemplifying the two statehood dimensions of legitimacy and capacity, allow examining how the EU interacts with Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the framework of the Structured Dialogue on Justice and of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, the EU introduced in Bosnia and Herzegovina consensus-generating mechanisms, aimed at restoring both administrative capacities and domestic legitimacy of institutions.
The role of the EU as an interested mediator and the emancipatory potential of the accession perspective set member state building apart from ‘liberal peace’ international state building. Member state building thus emerges as an enlargement-specific form of EU-led state building, allowing the EU to cope with contested statehood in its candidate countries and potential candidates and to build member states while integrating them.
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Liu, Lei. "Motion in China:Social Inclusion of Migrant Workers from Rural to Urban Areas." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368630.
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This study investigates what’s known as the world’s largest human migration from rural to urban areas. It examines both the destinations and the origins of the mobility trajectories of Chinese internal migrant workers which is somewhat neglected by current literature. Based on a multi-sited ethnography of the daily life of migrant workers in arrays of social setting (sheds in construction sites, urban villages, factories, restaurants) in their urban stay as well as the well-known left behind population in a rural village, the thesis explores the social and economic changes that this mass regional mobility brought to both rural and urban China. The implication of this work lies in a comprehensive and thorough examination on the regional rural-urban migration. It contributes to a dynamic assess, which deserves to study further, by providing an analysis on all the agents involved in the context of Chinese rural-urban migration: the left behind population in villages, the migrant workers and the urban citizens in cities.
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Gobbi, Elisa. "Uso del tempo e performance accademiche. Nuove tecniche e prospettive con l'utilizzo dei Big Data." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368571.
Full textAbstract:
Questa tesi di dottorato affronta e approfondisce tre temi diversi ma legati tra loro: le performance accademiche degli studenti nell'istruzione terziaria, l'uso del tempo e l'utilizzo dei Big Data nelle scienze sociali. Gli obiettivi che hanno fatto nascere questo lavoro, attraverso un approccio a tratti interdisciplinare, sono stati, in primo luogo, cercare di colmare empiricamente alcune lacune legate a interrogativi di ricerca rimasti parzialmente senza risposta in letteratura e, in secondo luogo, proporre soluzioni metodologiche connesse soprattutto alla raccolta dei dati e alla loro affidabilità  nel rispondere a questi interrogativi in un modo quanto più possibile coerente con la realtà  .
La tesi non ha una struttura monografica in quanto i quattro capitoli empirici hanno una struttura propria. Il primo capitolo empirico vuole essere un inquadramento generale dell'intera tesi che mira a indagare l'effetto del capitale culturale familiare sia sulle performance accademiche degli studenti, sia su alcuni aspetti legati alla gestione che essi fanno del proprio tempo che, tradizionalmente, sono associati a una buona riuscita accademica, ipotizzando che l'origine sociale non esaurisca il suo effetto nei livelli d'istruzione precedenti. I modelli di equazione strutturali, attraverso l'analisi multi-gruppo, hanno consentito di costruire l'analisi in un'ottica comparativa rispetto al settore disciplinare di appartenenza. Il secondo capitolo approfondisce la dimensione temporale, ovvero come gli studenti organizzano le attività  durante le loro giornate, al fine di comprendere come essa possa influire sui risultati universitari. L'obiettivo principale è stato colmare alcune lacune empiriche presenti in letteratura che mostrano risultati contrastanti su questo tema, dettati soprattutto da problemi di raccolta dati, non sempre adatti a indagare l'uso che gli studenti fanno del proprio tempo. Anche questo capitolo propone uno sguardo comparativo, confrontando degli studenti del primo anno, cioè gli studenti più a rischio€ rispetto al gestire il proprio tempo in modo poco efficace, con gli studenti degli anni successivi. Il terzo capitolo descrive il progetto SmartUnitn, fulcro di questo lavoro di tesi al fine di evidenziare come l'utilizzo di ICTs è €“in questo caso gli smartphone€“ nella fase di raccolta dati possa contribuire a migliorare la qualità del dato ottenuto andando a risolvere alcune questioni problematiche derivanti dagli strumenti tradizionali utilizzati dagli scienziati sociali. Il quarto e ultimo capitolo, propone un caso concreto di utilizzo dei dati ottenuti dall'esperimento SmartUnitn, proponendo un metodo che, grazie all'unione dei dati dei sensori e i dati delle risposte degli studenti, possa colmare alcune lacune presenti in letteratura sul tema dell'influenza dell'utilizzo dei social media sui risultati universitari.
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Mengali, Fabio. "Sweep all like a Deluge". Lavoro e cittadinanza nella filosofia di John Locke"." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Trento, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/11572/368020.
Full textAbstract:
La tesi indaga la risignificazione storico-concettuale del lavoro in rapporto alla cittadinanza nell'opera di Locke, evidenziando come l'attività lavorativa abbia operato come un dispositivo di inclusione differenziale degli abitanti del Commonwealth. Sulla linea della tipologia di lavoro, del rapporto di dipendenza/indipendenza e dello status Locke marca la distanza tra coloro che possono godere dei pieni diritti di cittadinanza, estesi anche ai ceti produttivi ma non nobili, e coloro che ne sono esclusi (i poveri e i salariati). Lo studio del pensiero lockiano, raffrontato con le considerazioni sul tema di altri autori della tradizione filosofica occidentale e del contesto inglese coevo, ci consente di vedere sotto un'altra luce il legame tra cittadinanza e lavoro, che storicamente ha contribuito non solo a comprendere nei termini della cittadinanza le classi subalterne, ma anche a consolidare le gerarchie sociali. Tale punto di vista risulta utile alla comprensione delle aporie del presente che interessano il nesso tra cittadinanza e lavoro, messo in crisi della trasformazioni sociali e produttive della contemporaneità .