Статті в журналах з теми "Capitale della società"

La tesi di fondo è che le nuove tecnologie rappresentano un enorme sviluppo dell‟umanità sul piano della trasmissione e dell‟elaborazione delle informazioni. Ma questa gigantesca innovazione, per la cornice dell‟accumulazione capitalistica in cui viene svolta e sviluppata, dà luogo ad una antropologia e ad una formazione della soggettività umana in cui il “conoscere” prevale e domina sul “sentire”. La natura astratta della ricchezza del capitale, e la sua accumulazione, richiedono un individuo parimenti astratto, in cui la conoscenza diventa sempre più informazione. Questa fallace identificazione della conoscenza con l‟informazione è basata su una epocale distorsione del sentire, per la quale il senso del conoscere non proviene più dal corpo emozionale e interiore del soggetto umano ma dall‟esterno, secondo programmi e definizioni di senso in qualche modo già predefiniti e precompilati. In questo ambito di problemi il saggio utilizza una distinzione profonda di significato tra il lemma “tecnica” e il lemma “tecnologia”, a partire da sollecitazioni presenti nelle pagine del Marx maturo, per mettere in discussione una contestualizzazione “umana” e non “capitalistica” della tecnologia. Nello stesso tempo l‟autore svolge una critica profonda della concezione heideggeriana e della tecnica e del modo in cui le filosofie della postmodernità, soprattutto quelle della cosiddetta French Theory, sotto la guida di Nietzsche e di Heidegger, hanno registrato solo la superficializzazione del mondo messa in atto dalla nuova tipologia “flessibile” dell‟accumulazione capitalistica. La liquidazione di ogni forma di soggettività operata dai pensatori francesi, se ha avuto il merito di criticare giustamente forme troppo identitarie e dogmatiche di soggettività, ha nello stesso tempo del tutto liquidato l‟ipotesi marxiana del capitale come vero soggetto della società moderna e contemporanea, con la sua necessità intrinseca di creare un mondo sempre più omogeneo alla sua espansione e universalizzazione.

Partendo dal presupposto che il Design può contribuire al processo di sviluppo territoriale, i designer dovrebbero prendere in considerazione i fattori che definiscono sia il territorio che la pratica del design. L'ipotesi è che certe condizioni legate alla società in cui operiamo (società della conoscenza o società della rete) possono influenzare la qualità dei territori e quindi la natura della pratica del design. Dal punto di vista del design, queste condizioni possono influenzare la scelta della disciplina, così come gli approcci e gli strumenti che potrebbero essere applicati. L'autore delineerà un approccio progettuale per lo sviluppo locale che impiega concetti chiave (come reti, asset intangibili, condivisione della conoscenza) e che lavora a diverse scale di progetto: prodotto-servizio, comunicazione e visione strategica.

Massima Il trust nel quale il disponente, successivamente fallito, conferisce il 60% del capitale di una S.r.l. al fine di metterlo a garanzia della posizione creditoria di una terza società – titolare del 20% del capitale della predetta S.r.l. e la quale aveva concesso finanziamenti al disponente –, prevedendo che il trustee possa soddisfare la posizione di detta società attraverso la gestione del fondo in trust e attribuirle il fondo stesso in tutto o in parte qualora il disponente sia inadempiente, non viola il divieto di patto commissorio, in quanto il trustee non può attribuire alla società beneficiaria beni in trust di valore superiore all’importo dovutole. Siffatto trust è nullo per violazione dell’art. 15 lett. e) della Convenzione de L’Aja in quanto è stato istituito quando il disponente versava in stato di insolvenza, prefigura pagamenti preferenziali in danno dei creditori e sottrae i beni in trust alla gestione degli organi della procedura fallimentare.

Il presente lavoro si propone di indagare quale sia la rilevanza e l'affidabilità percepita dal mercato finanziario sul valore espresso nel bilancio d'esercizio sui beni immateriali e l'avviamento delle società quotate. Lo studio ha analizzato le aziende quotate al FTSE Italia All-share, nel periodo fra il 2002 ed il 2008. Attraverso un modello di regressione a più variabili si è verificato che: a) il valore contabile dei beni immateriali e dell'avviamento sono correlati positivamente al valore di mercato del capitale, b) la transizione agli IAS/IFRS non ha comportato un incremento della rilevanza ed affidabilità percepita dal mercato dei beni immateriali e avviamento.

Il contributo intende esaminare i caratteri del notariato milanese nel delicato momento di passaggio dall’antico regime alla successiva età napoleonica, quando l’ideologia della Rivoluzione, esportata dalle armate napoleoniche, comportò, nello specifico settore notarile, l’abbandono delle eterogenee funzioni che avevano caratterizzato i notai settecenteschi, in continuo bilanciamento tra ‘privato’ e ‘pubblico’, e l’affermarsi di una serie di nuovi, fondamentali principi. Si studierà, in particolare, il caso di Milano che, dopo aver conosciuto alcuni cambiamenti di rilievo sul finire dell’ancien régime, come la nascita dell’Archivio pubblico (1775), la riforma giuseppina del reclutamento dei notai e il Regolamento generale per i notari della Lombardia austriaca (1794), visse, prima da capitale del Regno d’Italia napoleonico e poi nella realtà politica del Regno Lombardo-Veneto, un’intensa stagione di vivaci dibattiti in merito all’opportunità e alle modalità di innovare una professione, da tempo esercitata in maniera proteiforme da un ceto, tutt’altro che compatto, in cui si distinguevano operatori molto diversi tra loro per cultura e provenienza sociale. Senza apparentemente soffrire i frenetici rivolgimenti politici della prima metà dell’Ottocento, i notai lombardi si dimostrarono una categoria operosa, capace di adattarsi ai tempi nuovi, non più frenati, nella loro ascesa sociale e professionale, dai vincoli imposti dalla società di antico regime.

Alla liberazione di Vienna, la Società austro-sovietica rapidamente restaurata fu altrettanto veloce nello scoprire che la domanda di musica russa superava di gran lunga qualsiasi interesse per il comunismo sovietico. In una Vienna distrutta, gli spartiti erano un bene prezioso e le generose importazioni sovietiche furono influenti nel plasmare i primi repertori del dopoguerra. La ricezione austriaca differiva spesso dalle aspettative sovietiche, mostrando da un lato l'anticomunismo austriaco ma, allo stesso tempo, non ostacolando un riavvicinamento culturale a lungo termine tra austriaci e sovietici ("russi"). Contrariamente alle ipotesi sulla natura non verbale della musica, la narrativa non era meno importante del suono, poiché riguardava non solo la sfera emotiva, ma anche le implicazioni della musica sulle questioni della (inter / trans) nazionalità, dell'identità e alterità, i suoi canoni estetici socialmente accettati, le condizioni di produzione e consumo (percezione) e la posizione relativa del potere (savoir-pouvoir) di vari attori culturali. Imprimere il discorso/i culturale/i e l'habitus di un paese, il cui progetto di costruzione della nazione era incentrato sulla musica, ha permesso un improbabile, ma armonioso matrimonio tra due contesti politico-musicali che erano ideologicamente opposti, ma convergenti su idee comuni di capitale culturale e prestigio.

Abstract Le conseguenze economiche di un deficit di bilancio finanziato con debito pubblico sono equivalenti, nei loro termini più semplici, alle conseguenze del finanziamento con debiti per ogni unità economico-finanziaria, sia essa una persona, una famiglia, una società, un club, una chiesa o un sindacato.Il finanziamento della spesa pubblica mediante debito è equivalente a «mangiare” il capitale della Nazione. Ciò è vero sia se il debito è sottoscritto all’interno, sia se lo è all’estero.Questo aspetto fondamentale viene spesso trascurato, dato che si preferisce soffermarsi sull’effetto di «crowding out», che è pure importante, ma molto meno del primo.Non è dubbio che il governo federale si sia immesso in un meccanismo di spesa e debito che non può essere sostenuto in permanenza. Perchè il sistema sia modificato è, tuttavia, necessario che le regole siano cambiate. Vi sono alcuni sintomi che fanno sperare che ciò possa avvenire prima che sia troppo tardi.

Gli eventi che "travolsero" Roma dal 1870 sono stati oggetto d'indagine a vari livelli e il fenomeno č stato studiato, sotto diversi aspetti, da architetti, urbanisti, archeologi, economisti, sociologi, tanto da rendere disponibile una vastissima bibliografia su "Roma Capitale". Meno noto e indagato č invece il dibattito che interessň, in quegli anni, il destino della grande cinta muraria della cittŕ. Nello stesso anno in cui Roma divenne capitale d'Italia, la fortificazione aveva svolto il proprio ruolo per l'ultima volta. La perdita della funzione originaria segnň l'avvio, per le mura urbane, di un lento declino, che ne provocň il degrado materialmente ma, soprattutto, la perdita di significato. Esse divennero, per la societŕ romana nel suo complesso, con poche ma rilevanti eccezioni, un mero intralcio allo sviluppo e al progresso. La distruzione di alcune importanti porzioni di cinta muraria fu conseguente alla lottizzazione della Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi e delle aree, esterne al circuito, immediatamente adiacenti. A causa della forte pressione demografica che ne derivň, si iniziň a dibattere sulla necessitŕ di demolire alcuni tratti della cinta per migliorare la mobilitŕ nella zona. Il dibattito circa la sorte delle mura, si inserisce a pieno titolo nel piů ampio contesto della disputa apertasi sulla salvaguardia di Roma dalla speculazione edilizia all'indomani del 1870 e che ebbe valenza nazionale ed internazionale.

L'adozione di politiche di sviluppo urbano focalizzate sulla cultura, sia dal lato dell'offerta (realizzazione di infrastrutture e sostegno alle industrie culturali e creative) sia da quello della domanda (campagne di promozione turistica, programmazione di eventi) e prassi corrente nel capitalismo cognitivo. Intorno al nesso tra cultura e sviluppo economico si e coagulato un vasto dibattito scientifico che fa da sfondo e giustificazione per l'adozione di politiche pubbliche conseguenti, in particolare, ma non solo, alla scala urbana. In realta, la produzione e il consumo di cultura sono pero spesso associati a fenomeni tra loro molto diversi e non di rado conflittuali. Secondo alcuni autori (Bridge, 2006; Kaasa e Vadi, 2010; Scott, 2000), lo sviluppo del settore culturale contribuisce soprattutto alla crescita economica e al vantaggio competitivo urbano, attraverso la generazione di nuova conoscenza per l'innovazione e la creativita ma, anche, effetti positivi su altre attivita economiche correlate. Altri ne enfatizzano le potenzialita inclusive, adatte alla costruzione dei diritti di cittadinanza e alla promozione di una societa piu giusta e coesa (Stern e Seifert, 2007), altri ancora assumono una posizione intermedia, attribuendo alla cultura sia un vantaggio competitivo che un beneficio per l'inclusione sociale, senza pero riuscire a chiarire appieno il rapporto tra queste due dimensioni dello sviluppo (Sacco e Segre, 2009). In questo articolo si inquadra e analizza il caso di Matera 2019 all'interno del progetto di Capitale Europea della Cultura ed alla luce delle teorie legate allo sviluppo urbano trainato dalla cultura. L'analisi del caso di Matera 2019 si pone l'obiettivo di misurare gli impatti attualmente osservabili nella citta sotto il profilo socio-spaziale e di indagare le modalita con cui i cittadini materani hanno interagito con l'evento, attraverso un'analisi della loro opinione circa il percorso svolto e le possibilita future della citta.

Il prelievo tributario sui redditi delle imprese agricole italiane I redditi delle imprese agricole italiane sono prevalentemente tassati sulla base del sistema catastale. Il ricorso a forme forfettarie di tassazione č diffuso in molti paesi sviluppati (con aggiornamenti dei valori piů frequenti che in Italia). I dati qui presi in esame (ricavati dalle statistiche dell'anagrafe tributaria) dimostrano l'esiguitŕ degli imponibili dichiarati dalle imprese agricole (sia personali sia societŕ di capitali, queste ultime tassate su redditi effettivi). Questa peculiaritŕ deriva prin- cipalmente dalla mancanza di aggiornamenti frequenti degli estimi catastali, ma non č molto differente dalla situazione di altri settori produttivi del nostro paese. Infatti da circa un decennio anche molte piccole imprese non agricole utilizzano forme forfettarie di tassazione, con imponibili raramente aggiornati. Oltre alle conseguenze sul gettito , queste caratteristiche rendono anche inefficace l'utilizzo della politica tributaria per orientare la struttura della produzione agraria.

Massima Le Corti inglesi sono competenti a giudicare della domanda proposta da un’autorità fiscale straniera per il recupero di rimborsi di ritenute disposti a favore di soggetti residenti in Inghilterra i quali, al fine di ottenere i rimborsi ai sensi dei trattati contro le doppie imposizioni, hanno falsamente rappresentato di essere soci delle società straniere che hanno distribuito i dividendi soggetti a ritenuta, in quanto tale domanda è diretta non a recuperare le imposte, così implicando un’inammissibile esercizio extra-territoriale della sovranità, bensì a ottenere un rimedio contro la fraud ordita dai convenuti, rimedio a disposizione di qualunque persona fisica o giuridica e non solo di un ente sovrano.

Nel quadro del recente dibattito che ha animato gli studi sull'evoluzione degli spazi urbani in Africa nel XXI secolo, questo studio intende analizzare le specificitŕ proprie alle dinamiche socio-spaziali della cittŕ di Lomé. In particolare ci si concentrerŕ sulle inedite relazioni tra Stato, cittadinanza e territorio createsi all'indomani della turbolenta transizione democratica dei primi anni Novanta. La Conferenza Nazionale del 1991 ha visto da una parte l'affermazione di una societŕ civile determinata ad occupare spazi e funzioni sempre piů importanti all'interno delle dinamiche cittadine. Allo stesso tempo, i disordini politici e le violenze che ne seguirono hanno scosso profondamente la cittŕ di Lomé. Il processo di frammentazione socio-spaziale prodottosi in questo ultimo periodo ha portato alla ribalta nuovi attori sociali, che hanno saputo instaurare un peculiare rapporto col territorio della capitale togolese, assumendo un ruolo importante nella governance territoriale. Frutto di una ricerca sul campo effettuata tra il 2007 e il 2008, questo contributo intende mostrare come i mutamenti politici degli anni Novanta abbiano permesso, seppur parzialmente, di delegare il governo della cittŕ ad attori sociali prima emarginati, quali i giovani, le donne e le associazioni. Si vuole porre inoltre in evidenza come la rappresentazione stessa della cittŕ sia cambiata, grazie al lavoro di una stampa vivace e sempre piů indipendente.

Il V congresso della Societŕ italiana delle storiche (Sis) ha avuto come tema le "Nuove frontiere per la storia di genere". In apertura, Pauline Schmitt Pantel e Françoise Thébaud hanno ripercorso i vent'anni di pratica della storiografia di genere, individuandone assi portanti, elementi problematici e possibili linee di sviluppo. Un secondo momento di confronto collettivo ha riguardato il passaggio del testimone (e i mutamenti di prospettiva che esso implica), da una prima generazione di studiose impegnate ad aprire la strada alla prospettiva di ricerca femminile e direttamente coinvolte nell'impegno femminista degli anni settanta a una giovane generazione meno politicamente impegnata. Marta Petrusewicz, infine, ha analizzato i dibattiti ottocenteschi sul conflitto tra Terra e Capitale, sottolineandone il radicamento negli stereotipi di genere. Le numerose sessioni tematiche hanno posto in rilievo, spesso in ottica di confronto con altre realtŕ nazionali, alcuni snodi forti dei gender studies: il corpo e la sua cura; la partecipazione femminile alla sfera pubblica; la relazione tra donne e lavoro e tra donne e devianza; la rappresentazione del femminile; l'apertura all'approccio queer. Il congresso ha bene evidenziato la ricchezza e le difficoltŕ che nascono dal tentativo di far colloquiare discipline portatrici di metodologie e semantiche differenti.

La letteratura internazionale ha ampiamente indagato la significatività dell'informativa contabile di bilancio attraverso lo studio delle relazioni tra grandezze di derivazione contabile e valori dei mercati di borsa. A livello internazionale, infatti, si è rilevata una tendenza alla progressiva perdita di significatività delle grandezze di derivazione contabile dovuta, in linea principale, alla mancata e/o insufficiente rilevazione delle risorse immateriali. Nel contesto italiano, però, non si rinvengono studi specifici sull'argomento. Con questo lavoro ci si propone, pertanto, di percorrere questa via procedendo, innanzitutto, ad effettuare un'analisi descrittiva dell'incidenza dei beni e delle attività immateriali nei bilanci delle società italiane quotate. Successivamente, si procederà a fornire elementi empirici al fine di evidenziare la significatività dell'informativa contabile di bilancio. Infine, si procederà a verificare come le differenti modalità di rilevazione degli investimenti in R&S influiscano sulla significatività dell'utile e del capitale netto.

Le concezioni e le prassi di responsabilitŕ sociale d'impresa (CSR, corporate social responsibility) che si sono affermate sino a tempi molto recenti riflettono prevalentemente una logica reattiva, incentrata sulla necessitŕ delle aziende di rilegittimarsi nei confronti dei loro stakeholder corrispondendo alla richiesta di riduzione e prevenzione dei costi sociali legati all'attivitŕ d'impresa (degrado ecologico, disoccupazione conseguente a ristrutturazioni, ecc.). Tuttavia l'attuale periodo, anche per le incertezze e questioni poste dalla crisi economica, rappresenta una fase singolarmente feconda per andare oltre questo approccio adattivo e raccogliere la sfida di una visione piů avanzata della dimensione sociale dell'agire d'impresa come innovazione sostenibile. Tale modello si basa sulla valorizzazione di beni, risorse ed esigenze di significato sociale ed č indirizzato alla creazione di valore integrato - economico, umano-sociale e ambientale - nel lungo termine. La caratteristica centrale di questo profilo d'impresa č la tendenza a operare in maniera socialmente proattiva, sviluppando un'attitudine a cogliere o persino anticipare le direzioni del cambiamento sociale con i suoi bisogni e problemi emergenti e facendo sě che l'integrazione di obiettivi economici e socio-ambientali nei processi strategico-produttivi si traduca in fattore di differenziazione dell'offerta di mercato e in una reale fonte di vantaggio competitivo. Nel presente lavoro si indica la praticabilitŕ di un simile modello riferendosi ai risultati di una recente indagine condotta su un campione di dieci imprese italiane, eterogenee per dimensioni, collocazione geografica, fase del ciclo di vita e settori di attivitŕ, che si estendono da comparti tradizionali (come quelli alimentare, edilizio, sanitario, dell'arredamento e della finanza) a campi di piů recente definizione e a piů elevato tasso di cambiamento tecnologico (quali l'ingegneria informatica, la comunicazione multimediale, il controllo dei processi industriali e il risanamento ambientale). La logica di azione di queste organizzazioni sembra ruotare intorno a una duplice dinamica di "valorizzazione del contesto": da un lato, l'internalizzazione nella strategia d'impresa di richieste e al contempo di risorse sociali orientate a una maggiore attenzione per l'ambiente naturale, per la qualitŕ della vita collettiva nei territori, per i diritti e lo sviluppo delle persone dentro e fuori gli ambienti di lavoro; dall'altro lato, la capacitŕ, a valle dell'attivitŕ di mercato, di produrre valore economico e profitti generando anche valore per la societŕ. Nei casi analizzati č presente la valorizzazione delle risorse ambientali, che si esprime mediante la riprogettazione di prodotti e processi e politiche di efficienza energetica di rifornimento da fonti di energia rinnovabile, raccordandosi con nuove aspettative sociali rispetto alla questione ecologica. Č coltivato il valore umano nel rapporto spesso personalizzato con i clienti e i partner di business ma anche nella vita interna d'impresa, attraverso dinamiche di ascolto e coinvolgimento che creano spazi per la soddisfazione di svariati bisogni e aspirazioni che gli individui riversano nella sfera lavorativa, aldilŕ di quelli retributivi. C'č empowerment del "capitale sociale" dentro e intorno all'organizzazione, ravvisabile specialmente quando le condotte d'impresa fanno leva su risorse relazionali e culturali del territorio e si legano a meccanismi di valorizzazione dello sviluppo locale. Troviamo inoltre il riconoscimento e la produzione di "valore etico" per il modo in cui una serie di principi morali (quali la trasparenza, il mantenimento degli impegni, il rispetto di diritti delle persone) costituiscono criteri ispiratori dell'attivitŕ di business e ne escono rafforzati come ingredienti primari del fare impresa. E c'č, naturalmente, produzione di valore competitivo, una capacitŕ di stare e avere successo nel mercato che si sostiene sull'intreccio di vari elementi. Uno di essi coincide con l'uso della leva economico-finanziaria come risorsa irrinunciabile per l'investimento in innovazione, piuttosto che in un'ottica di contenimento dei costi relativi a fattori di gestione - come la formazione - che possono anche rivelarsi non immediatamente produttivi. Altrettanto cruciali risultano una serie di componenti intangibili che, oltre alla gestione delle risorse umane, sono essenzialmente riconducibili a due aspetti. Il primo č lo sviluppo di know-how, in cui la conoscenza che confluisce nelle soluzioni di business č insieme tecnica e socio-culturale perché derivante dalla combinazione di cognizioni specializzate di settore, acquisite in virtů di una costante apertura alla sperimentazione, e insieme di mappe di riferimento e criteri di valutazione collegati alla cultura aziendale. L'altro fattore immateriale alla base del valore competitivo consiste nell'accentuato posizionamento di marchio, con la capacitŕ di fornire un'offerta di mercato caratterizzata da: a) forte specificitŕ rispetto ai concorrenti (distintivi contenuti tecnici di qualitŕ e professionalitŕ e soprattutto la corrispondenza alle esigenze dei clienti/consumatori e al loro cambiamento); b) bassa replicabilitŕ da parte di altri operatori, dovuta al fatto che le peculiaritŕ dell'offerta sono strettamente legate alla particolare "miscela" degli altri valori appena considerati (valore umano, risorse relazionali, know-how, ecc.). Ed č significativo notare come nelle imprese osservate questi tratti di marcata differenziazione siano stati prevalentemente costruiti attraverso pratiche di attenzione sociale non modellate su forme di CSR convenzionali o facilmente accessibili ad altri (p.es. quelle che si esauriscono nell'adozione di strumenti pur importanti quali il bilancio sociale e il codice etico); ciň che si tratti - per fare qualche esempio tratto dal campione - di offrire servizi sanitari di qualitŕ a tariffe accessibili, di supportare gli ex-dipendenti che avviano un'attivitŕ autonoma inserendoli nel proprio circuito di business o di promuovere politiche di sostenibilitŕ nel territorio offrendo alle aziende affiliate servizi tecnologici ad alta prestazione ambientale per l'edilizia. Le esperienze indagate confermano il ruolo di alcune condizioni dell'innovazione sostenibile d'impresa in vario modo giŕ indicate dalla ricerca piů recente: la precocitŕ e l'orientamento di lungo periodo degli investimenti in strategie di sostenibilitŕ, entrambi favoriti dal ruolo centrale ricoperto da istanze socio-ambientali nelle fasi iniziali dell'attivitŕ d'impresa; l'anticipazione, ovvero la possibilitŕ di collocarsi in una posizione di avanguardia e spesso di "conformitŕ preventiva" nei confronti di successive regolamentazioni pubbliche in grado di incidere seriamente sulle pratiche di settore; la disseminazione di consapevolezza interna, a partire dai livelli decisionali dell'organizzazione, intorno al significato per le strategie d'impresa di obiettivi e condotte operative riconducibili alla sostenibilitŕ; l'incorporamento strutturale degli strumenti e delle soluzioni di azione sostenibile nei core-processes organizzativi, dalla ricerca e sviluppo di prodotti/ servizi all'approvvigionamento, dall'infrastruttura produttiva al marketing. Inoltre, l'articolo individua e discute tre meccanismi che sembrano determinanti nei percorsi di innovazione sostenibile osservati e che presentano, per certi versi, alcuni aspetti di paradosso. Il primo č dato dalla coesistenza di una forte tradizione d'impresa, spesso orientata sin dall'inizio verso opzioni di significato sociale dai valori e dall'esperienza dell'imprenditore-fondatore, e di apertura alla novitŕ. Tale equilibrio č favorito da processi culturali di condivisione e di sviluppo interni della visione di business, da meccanismi di leadership dispersa, nonché da uno stile di apprendimento "incrementale" mediante cui le nuove esigenze e opportunitŕ proposte dalla concreta gestione d'impresa conducono all'adozione di valori e competenze integrabili con quelli tradizionali o addirittura in grado di potenziarli. In secondo luogo, si riscontra la tendenza a espandersi nel contesto, tipicamente tramite strategie di attraversamento di confini tra settori (p.es., alimentando sinergie pubblico-private) e forme di collaborazione "laterale" con gli interlocutori dell'ambiente di business e sociale; e al contempo la tendenza a includere il contesto, ricavandone stimoli e sollecitazioni, ma anche risorse e contributi, per la propria attivitŕ (p.es., nella co-progettazione dei servizi/prodotti). La terza dinamica, infine, tocca piů direttamente la gestione delle risorse umane. Le "persone dell'organizzazione" rappresentano non soltanto uno dei target destinatari delle azioni di sostenibilitŕ (nelle pratiche di selezione, formazione e sviluppo, welfare aziendale, ecc.) ma anche, piů profondamente, il veicolo fondamentale della realizzazione e del successo di tali azioni. Si tratta, cioč, di realtŕ organizzative in cui la valorizzazione delle persone muove dagli impatti sulle risorse umane, in sé cruciali in una prospettiva di sostenibilitŕ, agli impatti delle risorse umane attraverso il loro ruolo diretto e attivo nella gestione dei processi di business, nella costruzione di partnership con gli stakeholder e nei meccanismi di disseminazione interna di una cultura socialmente orientata. In tal senso, si distingue un rapporto circolare di rinforzo reciproco tra la "cittadinanza nell'impresa" e la "cittadinanza dell'impresa"; vale a dire, tra i processi interni di partecipazione/identificazione del personale nei riguardi delle prioritŕ dell'organizzazione e la capacitŕ di quest'ultima di generare valore molteplice e "condiviso" nel contesto (con i clienti, il tessuto imprenditoriale, le comunitŕ, gli interlocutori pubblici, ecc.). In conclusione, le imprese osservate appaiono innovative primariamente perché in grado di praticare la sostenibilitŕ in termini non solo di responsabilitŕ ma anche di opportunitŕ per la competitivitŕ organizzativa. Questa analisi suggerisce quindi uno sguardo piů ampio sulle implicazioni strategiche della CSR e invita a riflettere su come le questioni e i bisogni di rilievo sociale, a partire da quelli emergenti o acuiti dalla crisi economica (nel campo della salute, dei servizi alle famiglie, della salvaguardia ambientale, ecc.), possano e forse debbano oggi sempre piů situarsi al centro - e non alla periferia - del business e della prestazione di mercato delle imprese.

- The criminal occupation of areas has not yet been studied by those responsible for urban planning and development. However, this is not just a question of an ethical and political challenge, criminal power and its territorial rationale pose theoretical problems and an interpretative question. If we consider forms of mafia control, the opposing positions of state and civil society seem sterile and the presumption that the latter should be called upon make up for the failings of the former appears especially excessive. Criminal presence can be interpreted as one of the forms of ‘rulelessness', regulatory redundancy, which regards institutions and society. Therefore, the entire experience of local policies centred on enhancing the value of social capital is called into question. On the one hand it becomes possible to discuss the ‘dark side' of social capital and on the other a return to legality and regulation (including urban planning regulation) appears necessary. However, an examination of the policies and urban planning policies in particular, indicates that it is far from obvious to expect that respect for rules and good citizenship practices go hand in hand.

Sono passati poco piů di venti anni dalla caduta del Muro di Berlino. La transizione dall'economia pianificata all'economia di mercato avrebbe dovuto portare sia democrazia che sviluppo economico nei Paesi ex comunisti. Tuttavia, molte economie in transizione non hanno ancora raggiunto ne un piů alto livello di ricchezza economica ne un maggiore sviluppo democratico, mentre si osservano fondamentali differenze nei sentieri di transizione di quei Paesi. La relativa migliore posizione nella transizione della maggior parte dei Paesi dell'Europa Centro Orientale rispetto alle Repubbliche ex Sovietiche, sia in termini economici che politici, puň essere spiegata sulla base dei diversi livelli di capitale sociale, fiducia, coinvolgimento della societŕ civile, performance del mercato del lavoro, e dall'emergenza di una classe media che ha portato migliori livelli di democrazia e poi di sviluppo.

A partire dagli anni settanta del secolo scorso nelle teorie dello sviluppo economico inizia a legittimarsi un nuovo framework concettuale. In precedenza, lo sviluppo era visto come accumulazione di fattori legati al lavoro e al capitale. A seguito tuttavia dei mutamenti nei modelli produttivi indotti dalla crescente competizione internazionale, accumulazione di conoscenza (capitale umano) e innovazione si impongono come elementi fondamentali per lo sviluppo delle economie piů avanzate. Nelle scienze sociali e nelle agende politiche nazionali e sovra nazionali trova crescente legittimazione quindi il concetto di knowledge economy, in cui alle universitŕ spetta un ruolo fondamentale, sia per l'attivitŕ di formazione di capitale umano, sia per l'attivitŕ di ricerca. Le universitŕ dovrebbero pertanto integrarsi sempre piů nella societŕ, per rispondere alle esigenze dei principali stakeholders (studenti e attori economici) e produrre innovazione in collaborazione con (e per) l'ambiente esterno. In Europa il sistema di formazione terziaria del Regno Unito č considerato tra i piů aperti alle esigenze del mondo economico, anche a seguito degli interventi di policy iniziati dai governi conservatori degli anni ottanta. La ricerca presentata in questo articolo mette in evidenza la non linearitŕ di tale visione e soprattutto le contraddizioni e le retoriche intrinseche alle teorie e alle policies legate alla knowledge economy. Lo studio, che discute il rapporto tra universitŕ e attori socio-economici esterni nel Regno Unito, si basa sull'analisi di dati aggregati e interviste qualitative a testimoni privilegiati sia a livello nazionale sia in quattro studi di caso svolti a Manchester e Liverpool.

I policy maker sono costantemente alla ricerca delle forme e degli strumenti per contribuire ad aumentare la prosperitŕ economica e sociale del proprio territorio. Gli studi a livello internazionale ci dicono che la prosperitŕ di un territorio č direttamente riconducibile alla sua competitivitŕ, e quindi in primis al livello di produttivitŕ e innovazione del sistema delle imprese. Come verrŕ ampiamente illustrato in questo articolo, le reti inter-organizzative - nella varietŕ di forme che l'evidenza empirica ci suggerisce - attraverso una flessibilitŕ senza precedenti, una piů veloce circolazione delle informazioni, la condivisione di visioni, saperi e conoscenza, l'efficiente e rapido scambio di risorse e competenze per competere, assicurano al tempo stesso specializzazione, efficienza e alti livelli di produttivitŕ. La configurazione e la natura di tali reti č in via di continua ridefinizione ed espansione e l'uso del termine rete č spesso generico o inappropriato. Anche i confini delle reti vanno continuamente ridefiniti, in un continuum che va dalle imprese tradizionali che esternalizzano e delocalizzano parte della loro produzione fino al puro networking di varia natura. Noi ci concentreremo solo su quelle reti interorganizzative che rappresentano forme nuove di impresa, di quasi impresa, di sistemi di imprese che consentono una gestione competitiva e innovativa della catena del valore e dei processi fondamentali, conseguendo risultati economici e sociali, in una parola prosperitŕ. Ci occuperemo in particolare del fenomeno piů nuovo che caratterizza l'Italian way of doing industry, ossia lo sviluppo e i successi delle medie imprese, nodi di reti inter-organizzative che coinvolgono non solo imprese piccole, ma anche imprese grandi, in una proiezione spesso globale. Su queste nuove forme di reti inter-organizzative, si apre uno spazio di intervento straordinario per i policy maker in azioni di attivazione, incentivazione e supporto, capaci di condurre a superiori livelli di competitivitŕ le imprese componenti le reti, le reti stesse e i territori da cui esse muovono, ovvero capaci di favorire una maggiore prosperitŕ. Tali spazi di governo delle reti inter-organizzative possono avere natura infrastrutturale (trasporti, edilizia, tecnologie, credito, servizi, ecc.), relazionale (governo della catena del valore, dei processi, dei flussi, delle architetture d'impresa, dei sistemi informativi e di comunicazione, dei sistemi professionali ecc.) e cognitiva (capitale umano, capitale intellettuale, sistema di valori e norme, ecc.). Tutte e tre queste dimensioni sono importantissime e vanno gestite congiuntamente in nuove forme di management assicurate dalle imprese "pivotali" e nell'ambito di quello che nell'articolo č definito come meta-management, ovvero quelle posizioni di attori pubblici e privati - spesso in raccordo fra loro - che assicurano supporto e guida strategica alle reti. Nuovi modelli di management e di meta-management implicano una conoscenza profonda della rete e, di conseguenza, una visione d'insieme attuale e futura sicura e convincente e una capacitŕ di execution che sappia consolidare o riorientare la rete; valorizzare le risorse, materiali e personali, lě racchiuse e soprattutto perseguire obiettivi e misurare risultati. Meta-management non significa favorire il mero networking tra imprese, ma attivarsi come agenzie strategiche e provvedimenti concreti capaci di disegnare politiche di accompagnamento e sostegno alla creazione e alla valorizzazione di robusti network tra imprese e tra imprese e istituzioni, che trascendano le consuete filiere e agglomerazioni locali. Una economia e una societŕ fatta di reti inter-organizzative non č uguale a quella fatta prevalentemente di singole imprese "castello". Sulle reti di impresa e sull'impresa rete incombono alcune rilevanti questioni a cui il nostro lavoro tenta di dare alcune risposte Vediamole qui di seguito. 1. Diagnosi. L'organizzazione a rete č oggi scarsamente riconoscibile. Come diagnosticarla, come identificarne le caratteristiche strutturali e comprenderne i problemi critici? 2. Sviluppo e progettazione. L'organizzazione a rete si puň supportare con adeguati servizi, sviluppare intenzionalmente o addirittura progettare, come qui si sostiene? E se sě, in che modo? I metodi da adoperare per gestire questo sviluppo sono certo diversi da quelli adottati da strutture accentrate, sono meno top-down e meno razionalistici: ma quali possono essere? 3. Stabilitŕ e mutamento. Ogni nodo o soggetto della rete fa parte di reti diverse, in alcuni casi abbandona in rapida successione le une per legarsi ad altre. Come combinare l'estrema mutevolezza di queste multiple appartenenze con l'esigenza di stabilitŕ e crescita di ogni singolo nodo, come far sě che l'intera rete si comporti come un "attore collettivo" capace di un governo? 4. Risultati. Se e come definire obiettivi o ri-articolarli velocemente nel tempo? Come valutare i risultati delle diverse dimensioni economiche e sociali? 5. Decisioni e misura. L'organizzazione a rete - come e piů dell'impresa tradizionale - cambia per repentine innovazioni, per adattamento, per micro-decisioni, per miglioramento continuo, č il risultato di scelte su cosa fare dentro e cosa comprare, su quali funzioni accentrare e quali decentrare, su quando acquisire o vendere unitŕ aziendali e su quando fare accordi, dove allocare geograficamente le attivitŕ. Vi sono criteri e metodi da adottare, per operare in questi contesti di agilitŕ, velocitŕ e rapiditŕ di processi decisionali? 6. Sistemi. Quali tecniche o sistemi operativi adatti all'impresa rete dovranno essere sviluppati? Quali sistemi di pianificazione e controllo di gestione dell'impresa rete, if any? Č possibile stabilire standard di qualitŕ per la rete? Come sviluppare dimensioni quali linguaggi, culture, politiche di marchio e di visibilitŕ, come potenziare le comunitŕ, come promuovere formazione e apprendimenti? 7. Strutture. Le reti di impresa includono una grande varietŕ di forme, come vedremo. La rete di imprese puň includere una parte di gerarchia: quali modelli di organigrammi sono compatibili? Quali sistemi informativi, di telecomunicazioni, di social network sono adatti per la rete di imprese? Quali sistemi logistici? Quali regole e contratti formali? Quali flussi finanziari? Le risorse umane si possono gestire e sviluppare lungo la rete? E in che modo? E che dire dei sistemi di controllo della qualitŕ? 8. Nascita e morte. La rete di imprese e soprattutto i suoi "nodi" hanno un tasso di natalitŕ/ mortalitŕ piů elevato dell'impresa tradizionale. Gestire la nascita e la morte delle imprese diventerŕ ancora piů importante che gestire le imprese. Chi lo farŕ e come? 9. Vincoli e opportunitŕ. La legislazione, le relazioni industriali, la cultura manageriale sono oggi vincoli e opportunitŕ allo sviluppo di forme di rete di imprese. La globalizzazione dell'economia, lo sviluppo dei servizi, le nuove tecnologie, la cultura dei giovani, invece, sembrano operare piů come fattori facilitanti quando addirittura non cogenti. Come gestire (e non subire) vincoli e opportunitŕ? Cosa puň fare l'impresa, e cosa possono fare le istituzioni pubbliche? Vi sono nuovi programmi e regole nazionali e regionali per la costituzione delle reti di impresa: quale č la loro efficacia e impatto? In tale quadro, un'Agenzia Strategica (una grande impresa, una media impresa, un ente governativo, una Camera di commercio, un'associazione imprenditoriale, un istituto di credito) puň esercitare un ruolo centrale nella promozione e governo delle reti inter-organizzative per la competitivitŕ dei territori, mettendo a fuoco i propri interventi di policy avendo come oggetto prioritario queste nuove forme di impresa, quasi-impresa, sistemi di impresa usando diverse leve: - innanzitutto, fornendo o favorendo l'accesso a risorse chiave, come credito, finanziamenti, sgravi fiscali, servizi per l'internazionalizzazione, conoscenze, marketing ecc.; - agendo da fluidificatore delle reti tra imprese, che sappia rimuovere ostacoli nelle strutture relazionali e irrobustire nodi, processi, strutture di governance laddove necessario; inserendosi direttamente nelle strutture relazionali come ponte per connettere nodi disconnessi; - esercitando a pieno il ruolo di meta-manager di reti inter-organizzative ossia imprimendo al sistema un indirizzo strategico di fondo, governando i processi "politici" interni alla rete ossia la distribuzione di potere e risorse e creando le condizioni culturali, strategiche organizzative e tecnologiche; - facendo leva sull'essere un policy maker cross-settoriale e multi-territoriale. Le reti di impresa hanno successo se si integrano entro "piattaforme industriali" (ad es. IT, Green economy, portualitŕ e logistica), entro cluster territoriali (es. distretti, economie regionali, etc.), sistemi eterogenei interistituzionali (che includono imprese pubbliche, amministrazioni, istituzioni e associazioni). La nostra tesi č che azioni di governo della rete attraverso nuove forme di management e di meta-management sono tanto piů efficaci quanto piů contribuiscono a supportare e strutturare reti organizzative robuste o che tendono a diventare tali, ossia imprese reti e reti di impresa governate; sono tanto meno efficaci o quanto meno misurabili quanto piů supportano solo processi di networking poco definiti destinati a rimanere tali. Nei termini di Axelsson, policy e management hanno effetto su reti che esprimono a) modelli di relazione fra diverse organizzazioni per raggiungere fini comuni. Hanno un effetto minore o nullo quando le reti di cui si parla sono solo b) "connessioni lasche fra organizzazioni legate da relazioni sociali" o c) un insieme di due o piů relazioni di scambio.

Il processo di trasformazione che ha investito la capitale norvegese e il ruolo del fiordo nei processi di urbanizzazione sono stati oggetto di un seminario internazionale che si č svolto presso la facoltŕ di Architettura e Societŕ del Politecnico di Milano il 26 maggio 2010, le cui tematiche sono qui riassunte negli interventi di Dag Tvilde e di Marius Grřnning. Musei, infrastrutture, housing e terziario avanzato irrompono nello scenario post-industriale del waterfront: č il nuovo mix funzionale disegnato e scelto dai norvegesi per il rilancio della loro capitale che si vuole candidare a nuova tappa del grand tour europeo. Le ambiziose promesse programmatiche saranno mantenute? Č ancora possibile conciliare sviluppo, qualitŕ urbana, conquiste sociali, attraverso procedure di progettazione e programmazione democratica che mantengono una centralitŕ dell'attore pubblico come protagonista?

- The plan for the Ring in Vienna is one of the most significant examples of urban transformation of a European capital in the nineteenth century. The plan was chosen from entries in a competition published in the Wiener Zeitung in 1858. It raised a number of issues that completely upset the existing balances between various opposing power centers: military authority vs. civilian society, municipal vs. state power, public vs. private property, and financial management tools vs. building codes. As opposed to the model plan in Paris, Vienna's plan was successful because the land involved was public and thus the government was not forced to use the politically dangerous means of expropriation by eminent domain. The financial crisis of 1873 that followed the collapse of the stock exchange did not leave any immediate effect on the city. The Christian Social Party won the 1885 elections and pushed for the creation of Greater Vien- na (GroB Wien) and for the public management of urban transportation, including the construction of a subway system. This was a turning point for urban development.

The article presents considerations regarding the usefulness of social capital in studying integration paths, and it examines research data on the integration of the new generations in Italy, analysing a sample of 17,225 preadolescents (aged 11 to 14), of whom 13,301 were Italians, 2,921 foreigners and 1,003 children of mixed parentage. Data has been collected by a questionnaire translated and adapted from the one used by Portes and Rumbaut in the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) of 1992 in the United States. They are used to present the Italian situation in light of segmented assimilation theory. One first result is the underachievement of Latinos. Given this finding, an effort is made to consider various factors which contribute to shaping the socio-existential circumstances of this specific group. The second main result is that children of mixed couples were those most disposed to form intercultural relations. When distinguishing between those with an Italian father and a foreign mother and those, vice versa, with an Italian mother and a foreign father, forcefully evident is the central role played by the mother in the transmission of cultural elements and in the construction of a sense of belonging and identity. Third, focusing on social capital at family level and within the peer group, it has been revealed a greater cross-cultural propensity among the new generations than among previous ones: Italian preadolescents growing up in a multi-ethnic society are more open to, and willing to accept, the challenge of cultural diversity than are their parents. More in general, the new generations contribute to creating a more inclusive social space in which membership of social circles becomes more transversal with respect to cultural and ethnic origins.

Entrepreneur is believed as the backbone of the economy. Very few studies in NTT, and none in Rote, have explored this area in the context of tourism. Based on ethnographic research, this study focuses on local tourism entrepreneurship in the context of socio-cultural complexities of Delha’s community, Rote. This qualitative research aimed to discusses how local entrepreneurs respond to every opportunity and challenge, due to cultural remoteness of host communities to tourism-related business. Data were collected with observations and in depth interview with life history approach. The findings show that social capital has been utilized by the local entrepreneur in responding to every opportunity and challenge. Bonding social capital has a large role at start up, while bridging social capital provides wider outside networks to maintain and develop bigger business. In this study, linking social capital has found very limited. Even though linking social capital plays an important role in supporting capital supports, business licenses, and other facilities that help a lot in business development. Given the literature, this is not a mainstream result, kinship and solidarity as a form of social capital does not always support the entrepreneurial process, particularly in the context of communal society. As a recommendation, the culture of collectivity that developed strongly in Delha community can be utilized as social capital in developing socio-enterprise.

This paper presents the results of a three-year research project aimed at addressing the issue of water shortage and retention/collection in drought-affected rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The project consisted in the design, construction, and the upgrade of existing barrages near Kita, the regional capital of Kayes in Mali. The effort was led by the Department of Architecture of Roma Tre University in partnership with the Onlus Gente d’Africa (who handled the on-the-ground logistics), the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence and the École Supérieure d’Ingénierie, d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme of Bamako, Mali. The practical realization of the project was made possible by Romagna Acque Società delle Fonti Ltd., a water utility supplying drinking water in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) that provided the financing as well as the operational contribution of AES Architettura Emergenza Sviluppo, a nonprofit association operating in the depressed areas of the world. The completion of the research project resulted in the replenishment of reservoirs and renewed presence of water in the subsoil of the surrounding areas. Several economic activities such as fishing and rice cultivation have spawned from the availability of water. The monitoring of these results is still ongoing; however, it is already possible to assess some critical issues highlighted, especially with the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic in the research areas.

The objective of this research is to present a proposal of the production function of the circular economy to contribute to the conceptual development of local productive systems. A systematic review of the literature and a critical discourse analysis were used, allowing to adjust the production functions within the LPS. The results describe how LPSs can be within into a circular productive dynamic allowing a change in the focus of the production function, which in the dominanteconomic discourse ignores possible resources and only assumes linear management models, within these systems. In conclusion, by adjusting the production function for SPLs in a dynamic circular economy, it allows the incorporation of waste as a type of secondary capital in production processes. Keywords: local productive systems, linear economy, circular economy. References [1]M. Scalone, "Introducción al enfoque de sistemas en agricultura y su aplicación para el desarrollo de sistemas de producción sostenibles". 2007. [2]M. Astudillo, "Fundamentos de Economia 1", Primera edición. México: UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas. 2012. [3]R. Tansini, "Economía para no economistas" Uruguay: Universidad de la República, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, 2000, 198. [4]M. A. Sánchez, "La clasificación de los factores de producción fue retomada de: Parkin, Michael. Economía. Octava edición. México: Pearson Educación, 2009, 3.[5]P. Triunfo, M. Torello, N. Berretta, L. Vicente, U. Della-Mea, M. Bergara, … and M. González, "Economía para no economistas". Montevideo: Departamento deSociología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, 2003. [6]C. Massad, "Economía para todos". Chile: Banco Central de Chile, 2010, 59. [7]R. Pindyck, D. Rubinfeld, "Microeconomía" Prentice Hall. 1995. [8]C.L Garcia, "Economía circular y su papel en el diseño e innovación sustentable", Libros Editorial UNIMAR, 2017. [9]V. Prieto-Sandoval, C. Jaca and M. Ormazabal. "Economía circular: Relación con la evolución del concepto de sostenibilidad y estrategias para su implementación", Memoria de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Universidad de Montevideo: Facultad de Ingeniería, 2017. [10]P. Samuelson, W. Nordhaus, "Microeconomia", 19a edición. México: Mc Graw Hill, 2017. [11]T. Winpenny, "El valor del medio ambiente. Métodos de valoración económica", Varsovia, 1995. [12]E. Neumayer, "Preserving Natural Capital in a World of Uncertainty and Scarce Financial Resources", International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 5 (1), 1998, 27-42. [13]D. Kiełczewski, "Sustainable development - the essence, interpretations, relationship with the knowledge society", Economics of sustainable development. Study materials: Szkoła Ekonomiczna, Białystok, 2010, 10-29. [14]F. Aguilera, V. Alcántara, "De la economía ambiental a la economía ecológica". Barcelona: ICARIA: FUHEM, 1994. [15]Ellen MacArthur Foundation, "Towards The Circular Economy, Economic and Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition", Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013. [16]D. Pieńkowski, Kapitał naturalny w teoretycznych analizach czynników produkcji. Ekonomia i Środowisko, No. 1(21), 2002. [17]D. Pieńkowski, "Czasopismo Polskiego Stowarzyszenia Ekonomistów Środowiska i Zasobów Naturalnych", Fundacja Ekonomistów Środowiska i ZasobówNaturalnych Białystok. No. 2 (57), 2016. [18]D. Audretsch, "Knowledge Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production" American Economic Review 86, 1996, 630–640. [19]F. Morales, "Desarrollo: los retos de los municipios mexicanos", Centro de Estudios Municipales Heriberto Jara, 2000. [Online]. Available: www.cedemun.org.mx. [20]Ramírez, N., Mungaray, A., Ramírez, M., and Texis, M. "Economías de escala y rendimientos crecientes: Una aplicación en microempresas mexicanas. Economía mexicana". Nueva época, 19(2), 2010, 213-230. [Online]. Available: http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S166520452010000200001&lng=es&tlng=es. 2010. [21]P. Krugman, "Urban Concentration: The Role of Increasing Returns, and Transport Costs", International Regional Science Review, 19, 1996, 5-30. [22]G. Perry, W.F. Maloney, O.S. Arias, P. Fajnzylber, A.D. Mason and J. Saavedra-Chanduvi. Informalidad: Escape y exclusión. Washington, Banco Mundial, 2007. [23]G. Garófoli, "The Italian Model of Spatial Development in the 1970s and 1980s", Industrial Change & Regional Development. Belhaven Press, London, 1991. [24]G. Garofoli, "Las experiencias de desarrollo económico local en Europa: las enseñanzas para América Latina". San José, Costa Rica: URB-AL III, 2009.

Las excavaciones arqueológicas realizadas en Monte Molião permitieron la recogida de un importante conjunto de artefactos de hueso pulido, de la Edad del Hierro y de época Romana, que supone un total de 80 piezas. Están distribuidas por distintas categorías funcionales, relacionadas con el adorno personal, con la actividad textil, con el juego y con la escritura. Otros integran la categoría de complementos de muebles. El conjunto es revelador de la presencia, en el sur de Portugal, de individuos con costumbres y usanzas que siguen patrones estéticos y sociales del Mediterráneo romanizado.Palabras clave: Algarve romano, mundus muliebris, textiles, ludi, stiliTopónimo: PortugalPeriodo: Edad del Hierro, época romana ABSTRACTThe archaeological digs undertaken in in Monte Molião led to the discovery of 80 bone artefacts, dating from Iron Age and Roman times. They are divided into several functional categories, connected with personal adornment, textile activity, games, and writing. Others correspond to furniture complements. They reveal the presence in the south of Portugal of individuals with customs and practices that follow specific aesthetic patterns of the Romanized Mediterranean. Keywords: Roman Algarve, mundus muliebris, textiles activities, ludi, stiliPlace names: PortugalPeriod: Iron Age, Roman times REFERENCIASAlarcão, J. de, Étienne, R., Alarcão, A. y Ponte, S. da (1979), “Les accessoires de la toilette et de l’habitallaments”, en J. de Alarcão y R. Étienne (dir.), Fouilles de Conimbriga, VII, Trouvailles diverses 80, Paris, E. De Boccard.Almagro Basch, M. (1955), Las Necrópolis de Ampurias: Necrópolis romanas y necrópolis indígenas, Barcelona, Seix y Barral.Alonso López, J. y Sabio González, R. (2012), “Instrumentos de escritura en Augusta Emerita. Los stili o estiletes”, Revista de Estudios Extremeños, LXVIII, III, pp. 1001-1024.Andreu Pintado, J. 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All’adunanza generale ordinaria della Società Geologica Italiana, tenutasi a Roma il 17 dicembre 1939, il geologo e ingegnere Roberto Signorini presentò, dinanzi a molti insigni studiosi dell’epoca, una comunicazione scientifica sui risultati geologici del sondaggio effettuato dall’AGIP al centro della Capitale (in Cerulli Irelli 1940). Il foro, realizzato al Circo Massimo tra novembre 1938 e maggio 1939 in occasione della Mostra Autarchica del Minerale Italiano, raggiunse la profondità di 1330 m dal piano campagna. [...]

La sabbia naturale viene estratta con metodi minerari, anche per la produzione di sabbie artificiali. La sabbia è ampiamente utilizzata in diverse aree. Come aggregati di costruzione; industrie di trasformazione dei materiali; trattamento delle acque e delle acque reflue. L’Areal della società Morro Branco, dove sono stati raccolti i campioni di sabbia, si trova intorno alla sede del comune di Porto Grande. Il comune di Porto Grande ad Amapá si trova al centro dello stato a 108 chilometri dalla capitale Macapá. L’obiettivo di questa ricerca era quello di effettuare l’analisi tecnologica del materiale di Areal Morro Branco, Porto Grande, Amapá, per frazionamento. La sabbia è stata rimossa da una zona sabbiosa nel comune di Porto Grande – AP con l’uso di utensili a mano per la raccolta. Sono stati raccolti 03 (tre) campioni provenienti da punti diversi con composizione diversa, a causa dell’esistenza di materia organica nella sua composizione. Il silicato di sodio con una concentrazione del 10% e il bromoforme sono stati utilizzati per la degradazione della materia organica del campione. Queste procedure sono state determinate nel campione secco in forno per 24 ore a circa 110° C e la percentuale di umidità (%U), questo, è stata determinata anche nel campione originale. E’ stato verificato attraverso i test e le procedure eseguite che l’umidità della sabbia dell’Areal Morro Branco è influenzata dalla materia organica derivante dalle aree forestali e dalle risorse idriche dei dintorni dell’Areal. La granulometria dei punti da cui la sabbia è stata raccolta nella sabbia ha caratteristiche di grano angolato e sottoangolo. Con l’aiuto della densità bromoforme, è stato possibile rendersi conto che la sabbia da cui è stato raccolto il campione presenta aggregati di quarzo, feldspato con una densità inferiore a 2,89 g/cm3. È stato suggerito che la sabbia possa anche avere derivati minerali della sabbia con densità maggiore di 2,89 g/cm3, che sono olivina e pirosseno.

Nell’ambito delle trasformazioni urbane di Roma ai primi del Novecento, si evidenzia la presenza di associazioni tra privati nate all’interno dei nuovi quartieri in via di formazione, che hanno nella vita dei quartieri stessi, e nella loro collocazione nella crescita della capitale, la loro ragione di essere. Dove la matrice prima, chiaramente rivolta a motivazioni economi-cocommerciali, si coniuga ulteriormente a più ampie sollecitazioni nei confronti dell’Amministrazione locale, relativa-mente all’assetto complessivo del territorio e alla sua progettazione. Il saggio propone una serie di interrogativi a riguardo, avvalendosi del confronto con il contemporaneo caso di Milano, città a sua volta in espansione urbana, caratterizzata insieme dal moltiplicarsi delle attività commerciali e da un tessuto associativo particolarmente ricco su molti livelli. During Rome’s urban development at the start of the 20th century, associations of private individuals were founded in the new, emerging quarters. They flourished precisely thanks to their relationship with the life of the quarters and the growing capital. They were the result of concerns of economic and commercial nature, but also of a broader range of pressures on the local administration regarding the general organisation and planning of the territory. The present essay addresses some questions in this regard by means of a comparison with Milan, which is currently also undergoing urban expansion due to the increasing number of commercial activities and its complex network of associations.

Questo saggio esplora il rapporto fra turismo e shopping portando l’attenzione su Riccione, una delle capitali del turismo balneare italiano. Come ricorda Dallen Timothy, la pratica del consumo non si incentra solo sui prodotti ma anche sui luoghi, contribuendo a dare forma alla città (Timothy 2005, p. 11). Nelle destinazioni turistiche, poi, gli spazi per gli acquisti si intrecciano con quelli delle altre attività ricreative, creando dinamiche spesso originali. Nel caso di Riccione la dialettica fra turismo balneare e shopping, fra spiaggia e centro commerciale trova la sua sintesi in viale Ceccarini, il lungo viale che portava dal vecchio borgo al mare e che diventa nel Novecento il fulcro dello shopping e della vita sociale. Parafrasando A. Corbin (1990) possiamo dire che la conquête du rivage a Riccione passò attraverso l’invenzione fisica e simbolica di questo viale e dello stile di vita che esso incarnava, specchio dell’abbondanza e della felicità della società dei consumi. This essay explores the relationship between tourism and shopping focusing on Riccione, one of the most popular destinations of Italian seaside tourism. As Dallen Timothy points out, consumption is not only about products: it is also about consuming places, and it thus contributes to shaping the city (Timothy 2005, p. 11). In tourist destinations, spaces for retail are intertwined with those for other recreational activities, often creating unique dynamics. In Riccione, the dialectic between seaside tourism and shopping and between the beach and the shopping streets in the city centre is especially epitomized by Viale Ceccarini, the long avenue that once connected the old village with the sea. In the 20th century, the street became the heart of shopping and social life. Paraphrasing A. Corbin (1990), we can say that the conquête du rivage in Riccione stems from the physical and symbolic invention of this avenue and the lifestyle it embodied, mirroring the abundance and happiness of the consumer society.

In una società dove, da più parti, la famiglia è sotto attacco, occorre creare una cultura della famiglia che sia anche per la famiglia. La tendenza a identificare con la famiglia qualsiasi aggregazione di individui, a prescindere dal sesso o dal vincolo che li tiene uniti, produce uno scossone semantico destinato a danneggiare non soltanto la famiglia ma l’intera società. Nonostante i cambiamenti che abbiamo registrato in questi ultimi anni, la famiglia tradizionale continua a essere l’istituzione sociale che più di altre incide sulla formazione delle persone e che più di altre è capace di generare quei capitali individuali e sociali —la fiducia reciproca, il senso del bene comune, la speranza nel futuro, il senso di appartenenza a una catena generazionale, quindi a una tradizione, lo sviluppo di una vera democrazia—, senza i quali è assai difficile immaginare una società degna del nome.In a society where the family suffers attacks from many different sides, a culture of the family is needed that will be also for the family. The tendency of identifying as a family any aggregate of individuals regardless of their sex or of the link that joins them, gives rise to a semantic chaos, which not only hurts the family but society also. In spite of the changes of the last few years, traditional family is still the social institution with more influence on the formation of persons, and the most able to generate individual and social capitals –mutual trust, a shared understanding of common good, hope for the future, the sense of belonging to a generational line or tradition, the development of a true democracy– the lack of which makes it very hard to conceive (the idea of) a society worthy of that name.

La formazione del capitale umano è ancora linguaggio e forma funzionale al modello di economia della convergenza tecnologica che ha riscritto il lavoro. Alle grammatiche di I4.0, si può contrapporre una Society 5.0, co-creatrice di milieu territoriali ecosistemici, basati su economie del quotidiano, civili e di solidarietà e su modelli cooperativi. La pedagogia può assumersi la responsabilità di ri-mappare teorie e prassi in dimensione agentivante e di sviluppo umano per la sostenibilità.

Considered within the long process through which Milan has become a “city of exhibitions”, the “Mostra nazionale delle Arti e dell’Industria” 1881 is of crucial relevance. On that occasion, twenty years after the country’s unification, the roaring Excelsior Ball in the background, Milan displayed its self-portrait in the pavilions under the motto “Labor vincit omnia”, standing as “moral capital of Italy”. Such an ambitious project relied on a series of volumes – Mediolanum (Vallardi), Milano 1881 (Ottino), Milano e i suoi dintorni (Civelli), – offering the radiant image of a close and hard-working community. In this perspective, such a close collaboration between the ruling class and Milan-based intellectuals during the exhibition represented a model: promoted by a state-of-the-art publishing industry, the initiative fostered a synergy between the educated members of society, be them Milan-born or adoptive, who gathered in institutional venues as well as within the “repubblica della carta sporca”. Writers and journalists, engineers and economists, technicians and scientists, engravers and artists were all committed to sketch the portrait of the “città più città d’Italia” (Verga). They all stood on the common ground provided by a sound value system, never giving way to bombastic statements, and by the shared interests of a modern civil society: a common ground made firmer by the Enlightenment and Romantic tradition and a Smilesian confidence in positivist culture. Milan’s hard-working ethics is well summarized in the slogans of Milanese pride: initiative, inter-class solidarity, lay tolerance and charitable philanthropy; a strong tie to “cose serie, cose sode”; an idea of progress meant as cautious evolution; the promotion of a wide-ranging knowledge able to combine the humanities with “utili cognizioni”, strongly suspicious of any kind of abstraction. Common sense, intended as the combination of balance and integrity, was considered as the rule of daily life, while the public sphere was governed by an efficient local government priding itself on being miles away from the idle talk of the political capital. Recovering Cattaneo’s motto - “convertire il mondo moderno in mondo nostro” - the “moral capital” rose to the challenge of industrial progress within the European context, against any form of short-sighted and regressive entrenchment.

La nota si sofferma su una sentenza del Tribunale di Roma inerente all'azione di responsabilità nei confronti di un amministratore di s.r.l. esercitata ai sensi dell'art. 2476, sesto comma (attuale settimo comma a seguito del d.lgs 12 gennaio 2019, n. 14). In particolare, si intende approfondire il termine di decorrenza della prescrizione dell'azione stessa per la quale il Tribunale predica una disciplina diversa sul punto rispetto all'analogo rimedio attribuito ai singoli soci o terzi direttamente danneggiati previsto nella s.p.a. all'art. 2395 c.c.. Tuttavia, le previsioni generali dettate in materia di prescrizione (artt. 2934 e ss.) e i principi costituzionali sembrano suggerire una differente interpretazione dell'art. 2395 c.c. che renderebbe, così, uniforme la disciplina tra i due tipi societari anche rispetto al termine di decorrenza dell'esercizio dell'azione stessa.

Luxury of ostentation and luxury of comfort. Between economics and politics: a Milanese language of reform in the age of Il Caffè. This essay considers the eighteenth-century European debate on luxury and focuses in particular on the distinction between positive luxury – which was considered economically useful and capable of enhancing economic and social development – and negative luxury – which was seen as an essentially unproductive form of overspending. In the Italian setting that distinction, which had been at the centre of European debate since the 1750s, was especially discussed in Milan during the 1760s and 1770s within the circle of reformers gathered around the periodical Il Caffè. One purpose of this essay is to analyse the way in which the contrast between negative and positive luxury took shape in the specific context of the Milanese circle of Accademia dei Pugni. In particular, the essay sets out to prove that the contrast between negative and positive luxury became key to the political language of reform and criticism of hereditary aristocracy and of the conservative institutions regulating landed property and its transmission. The reformers’ goal was in fact to give impetus to a new legitimization of the ruling classes on the basis of economic effectiveness and to promote the abolition of legal institutions such as the majorat and the fideicommissum, which were designed to protect the property of traditional nobility. In this perspective the Milanese, or rather the Italian, context emerged as a distinctive case characterised by a language of transformation of the ancien régime social structures and by strong demands for the redistribution of wealth. Another purpose of the essay is to explore the circulation of ideas between France and the Milanese intellectual environment, and in particular to examine how the circle around Il Caffè was stimulated by the French debate on luxury through the opposing perspectives developed, respectively, by writers around the superintendent of commerce Vincent de Gournay and the Physiocrats. Among the writers who took a positive view of luxury, Forbonnais’s and Plumard de Dangeul’s criticism of luxury whenever it was not associated with productive activities such as trade and agriculture, followed a precise political strategy by attacking the financiers and their accumulation of huge fortunes concentrated in the French capital. The Physiocrats took a different view and identified two different types of luxury. In particular, Quesnay distinguished between luxe de décoration and luxe de subsistence. He justified the former as a manifestation of landowners’ free disposal of wealth, but was also aware that, differently from the luxe de subsistence, it could seriously reduce the net product available for reproduction and accumulation. The essay, by focusing on the semantic dimension, shows that Milanese writers such as Beccaria and Verri developed an original framework combining the consideration of the contrast between useful and harmful luxury in view of a specific political objective (a theme characteristic of Vincent de Gournay’s circle) with the emphasis on agriculture and landowners’ expenses (a typical feature of the Physiocratic approach).

One of the first challenges faced by new Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, was what to do with the former government’s controversial citizenship test. While a quick evaluation of the test shows that 93 percent of those who have sat it ‘passed’ (Hoare), most media controversy has focussed less on the validity of such a test than whether questions relating to Australian cricketing legend, Don Bradman, are appropriate (Hawley). While the citizenship test seems nothing more that a crude and populist measure imposed by the former Howard government in its ongoing nationalistic agenda, which included paying schools to raise the Australian flag (“PM Unfurls Flag”), its imposition seems a timely reminder of the challenge of understanding citizenship today. For as the demographic structures around us continue to change, so must our understandings of ‘citizenship’. More importantly, this fluid understanding of citizenship is not limited to academics, and policy-makers, but new technologies, the processes of globalisation including a globalised media, changing demographic patterns including migration, as well as environmental challenges that place pressure on limited resources is altering the citizens understanding of their own role as well as those around them. This paper aims to sketch out a proposed new research agenda that seeks to investigate this fluid and heterogenous nature of citizenship. The focus of the research has so far been Sydney and is enveloped by a broader aim of promoting an increased level of citizen engagement both within formal and informal political structures. I begin by sketching the complex nature of Sydney before presenting some initial research findings. Sydney – A Complex City The so-called ‘emerald city’ of Sydney has been described in many ways: from a ‘global’ city (Fagan, Dowling and Longdale 1) to an ‘angry’ city (Price 16). Sarah Price’s investigative article included research from the University of Western Sydney’s Centre of Culture Research, the Bureau of Crime Statistics and interviews with Tony Grabs, the director of trauma at St Vincent’s Hospital in inner city Darlinghurst. Price found that both injuries from alcohol and drug-related violence had risen dramatically over the last few years and seemed to be driven by increasing frustrations of a city that is perceived to be lacking appropriate infrastructure and rising levels of personal and household debt. Sydney’s famous harbour and postcard landmarks are surrounded by places of controversy and poverty, with residents of very backgrounds living in close proximity: often harmoniously and sometimes less so. According to recent research by Griffith University’s Urban Research Program, the city is becoming increasingly polarised, with the wealthiest enjoying high levels of access to amenities while other sections of the population experiencing increasing deprivation (Frew 7). Sydney is often segmented into different regions: the growth corridors of the western suburbs which include the ‘Aspirational class’; the affluent eastern suburb; the southern beachside suburbs surrounding Cronulla affectionately known by local residents as ‘the Shire’, and so on. This, however, hides that fact that these areas are themselves complex and heterogenous in character (Frew 7). As a result, the many clichés associated with such segments lead to an over simplification of regional characteristics. The ‘growth corridors’ of Western Sydney, for example, have, in recent times, become a focal point of political and social commentary. From the rise of the ‘Aspirational’ voter (Anderson), seen to be a key ‘powerbroker’ in federal and state politics, to growing levels of disenfranchised young people, this region is multifaceted and should not be simplified. These areas often see large-scale, private housing estates; what Brendan Gleeson describes as ‘privatopias’, situated next to rising levels of homelessness (“What’s Driving”): a powerful and concerning image that should not escape our attention. (Chamberlain and Mackenzie pay due attention to the issue in Homeless Careers.) It is also home to a growing immigrant population who often arrive as business migrants and as well as a rising refugee population traumatised by war and displacement (Collins 1). These growth corridors then, seem to simultaneously capture both the ambitions and the fears of Sydney. That is, they are seen as both areas of potential economic boom as well as social stress and potential conflict (Gleeson 89). One way to comprehend the complexity associated with such diversity and change is to reflect on the proximity of the twin suburbs of Macquarie Links and Macquarie Fields situated in Sydney’s south-western suburbs. Separated by the clichéd ‘railway tracks’, one is home to the growing Aspirational class while the other continues to be plagued by the stigma of being, what David Burchell describes as, a ‘dysfunctional dumping ground’ whose plight became national headlines during the riots in 2005. The riots were sparked after a police chase involving a stolen car led to a crash and the death of a 17 year-old and 19 year-old passengers. Residents blamed police for the deaths and the subsequent riots lasted for four nights – involving 150 teenagers clashing with New South Wales Police. The dysfunction, Burchell notes is seen in crime statistics that include 114 stolen cars, 227 burglaries, 457 cases of property damage and 279 assaults – all in 2005 alone. Interestingly, both these populations are surrounded by exclusionary boundaries: one because of the financial demands to enter the ‘Links’ estate, and the other because of the self-imposed exclusion. Such disparities not only provide challenges for policy makers generally, but also have important implications on the attitudes that citizens’ experience towards their relationship with each other as well as the civic institutions that are meant to represent them. This is particular the case if civic institutions are seen to either neglect or favour certain groups. This, in part, has given rise to what I describe here as a ‘citizenship surplus’ as well as a ‘citizenship deficit’. Research Agenda: Investigating Citizenship Surpluses and Deficits This changing city has meant that there has also been a change in the way that different groups interact with, and perceive, civic bodies. As noted, my initial research shows that this has led to the emergence of both citizenship surpluses and deficits. Though the concept of a ‘citizen deficits and surpluses’ have not emerged within the broader literature, there is a wide range of literature that discusses how some sections of the population lack of access to democratic processes. There are three broad areas of research that have emerged relevant here: citizenship and young people (see Arvanitakis; Dee); citizenship and globalisation (see Della Porta; Pusey); and citizenship and immigration (see Baldassar et al.; Gow). While a discussion of each of these research areas is beyond the scope of this paper, a regular theme is the emergence of a ‘democratic deficit’ (Chari et al. 422). Dee, for example, looks at how there exist unequal relationships between local and central governments, young people, communities and property developers in relation to space. Dee argues that this shapes social policy in a range of settings and contexts including their relationship with broader civic institutions and understandings of citizenship. Dee finds that claims for land use that involve young people rarely succeed and there is limited, if any, recourse to civic institutions. As such, we see a democratic deficit emerge because the various civic institutions involved fail in meeting their obligations to citizens. In addition, a great deal of work has emerged that investigates attempts to re-engage citizens through mechanisms to promote citizenship education and a more active citizenship which has also been accompanied by government programs with the same goals (See for example the Western Australian government’s ‘Citizenscape’ program ). For example Hahn (231) undertakes a comparative study of civic education in six countries (including Australia) and the policies and practices with respect to citizenship education and how to promote citizen activism. The results are positive, though the research was undertaken before the tumultuous events of the terrorist attacks in New York, the emergence of the ‘war on terror’ and the rise of ‘Muslim-phobia’. A gap rises, however, within the Australian literature when we consider both the fluid and heterogenous nature of citizenship. That is, how do we understand the relationship between these diverse groups living within such proximity to each other overlayed by changing migration patterns, ongoing globalised processes and changing political environments as well as their relations to civic institutions? Further, how does this influence the way individuals perceive their rights, expectations and responsibilities to the state? Given this, I believe that there is a need to understand citizenship as a fluid and heterogenous phenomenon that can be in surplus, deficit, progressive and reactionary. When discussing citizenship I am interested in how people perceive both their rights and responsibilities to civic institutions as well as to the residents around them. A second, obviously related, area of interest is ‘civic engagement’: that is, “the activities of people in the various organisations and associations that make up what scholars call ‘civil society’” (Portney and Leary 4). Before describing these categories in more detail, I would like to briefly outline the methodological processes employed thus far. Much of the research to this point is based on a combination of established literature, my informal discussions with citizen groups and my observations as ‘an activist.’ That is, over the last few years I have worked with a broad cross section of community-based organisations as well as specific individuals that have attempted to confront perceived injustices. I have undertaken this work as both an activist – with organisations such as Aid/Watch and Oxfam Australia – as well as an academic invited to share my research. This work has involved designing and implementing policy and advocacy strategies including media and public education programs. All interactions begin with a detailed discussion of the aims, resources, abilities and knowledge of the groups involved, followed by workshopping campaigning strategies. This has led to the publication of an ‘activist handbook’ titled ‘From Sitting on the Couch to Changing the World’, which is used to both draft the campaign aims as well as design a systematic strategy. (The booklet, which is currently being re-drafted, is published by Oxfam Australia and registered under a creative commons licence. For those interested, copies are available by emailing j.arvanitakis (at) uws.edu.au.) Much research is also sourced from direct feedback given by participants in reviewing the workshops and strategies The aim of tis paper then, is to sketch out the initial findings as well as an agenda for more formalised research. The initial findings have identified the heterogenous nature of citizenship that I have separated into four ‘citizenship spaces.’ The term space is used because these are not stable groupings as many quickly move between the areas identified as both the structures and personal situations change. 1. Marginalisation and Citizenship Deficit The first category is a citizenship deficit brought on by a sense of marginalisation. This is determined by a belief that it is pointless to interact with civic institutions, as the result is always the same: people’s opinions and needs will be ignored. Or in the case of residents from areas such as Macquarie Fields, the relationship with civic institutions, including police, is antagonistic and best avoided (White par. 21). This means that there is no connection between the population and the civic institutions around them – there is no loyalty or belief that efforts to be involved in political and civic processes will be rewarded. Here groups sense that they do not have access to political avenues to be heard, represented or demand change. This is leading to an experience of disconnection from political processes. The result is both a sense of disengagement and disempowerment. One example here emerged in discussions with protesters around the proposed development of the former Australian Defence Industry (ADI) site in St Marys, an outer-western suburb of Sydney. The development, which was largely approved, was for a large-scale housing estate proposed on sensitive bushlands in a locality that resident’s note is under-serviced in terms of public space. (For details of these discussions, see http://www.adisite.org/.) Residents often took the attitude that whatever the desire of the local community, the development would go ahead regardless. Those who worked at information booths during the resident protests informed me that the attitude was one best summarised by: “Why bother, we always get stuffed around any way.” This was confirmed by my own discussions with local residents – even those who joined the resident action group. 2. Privatisation and Citizenship Deficit This citizenship deficit not only applies to the marginalised, however, for there are also much wealthier populations who also appear to experience a deficit that results from a lack of access to civic institutions. This tends to leads to a privatisation of decision-making and withdrawal from the public arena as well as democratic processes. Consequently, the residents in the pockets of wealth may not be acting as citizens but more like consumers – asserting themselves in terms of Castells’s ‘collective consumption’ (par. 25). This citizenship deficit is brought on by ongoing privatisation. That is, there is a belief that civic institutions (including government bodies) are unable or at least unwilling to service the local community. As a result there is a tendency to turn to private suppliers and believe that individualisation is the best way to manage the community. The result is that citizens feel no connection to the civic institutions around them, not because there is no desire, but there are no services. This group of citizens has often been described as the ‘Aspirationals’ and are most often found in the growth corridors of Sydney. There is no reason to believe that this group is this way because of choice – but rather a failure by government authorities to service their needs. This is confirmed by research undertaken as early as 1990 which found that the residents now labelled Aspirational, were demanding access to public infrastructure services including public schools, but have been neglected by different levels of government. (This was clearly stated by NSW Labor MP for Liverpool, Paul Lynch, who argued for such services as a way to ensure a functioning community particularly for Western Sydney; NSWPD 2001.) As a result there is a reliance on private schools, neighbourhoods, transport and so on. Any ‘why bother’ attitude is thus driven by a lack of evidence that civic institutions can or are not willing to meet their needs. There is a strong sense of local community – but this localisation limited to others in the same geographical location and similar lifestyle. 3. Citizenship Surplus – Empowered Not Engaged The third space of citizenship is based on a ‘surplus’ even if there is limited or no political engagement. This group has quite a lot in common with the ‘Aspirationals’ but may come from areas that are higher serviced by civic institutions: the choice not to engage is therefore voluntary. There is a strong push for self-sufficiency – believing that their social capital, wealth and status mean that they do not require the services of civic institutions. While not antagonistic towards such institutions, there is often a belief is that the services provided by the private sector are ultimately superior to public ones. Consequently, they feel empowered through their social background but are not engaged with civic institutions or the political process. Despite this, my initial research findings show that this group has a strong connection to decision-makers – both politicians and bureaucrats. This lack of engagement changes if there is a perceived injustice to their quality of life or their values system – and hence should not be dismissed as NIMBYs (not in my backyard). They believe they have the resources to mobilise and demand change. I believe that we see this group materialise in mobilisations around proposed developments that threaten the perceived quality of life of the local environment. One example brought to my attention was the rapid response of local residents to the proposed White City development near Sydney’s eastern suburbs that was to see tennis courts and public space replaced by residential and commercial buildings (Nicholls). As one resident informed me, she had never seen any political engagement by local residents previously – an engagement that was accompanied by a belief that the development would be stopped as well as a mobilisation of some impressive resources. Such mobilisations also occur when there is a perceived injustice. Examples of this group can be found in what Hugh Mackay (13) describes as ‘doctor’s wives’ (a term that I am not wholly comfortable with). Here we see the emergence of ‘Chilout’: Children out of Detention. This was an organisation whose membership was described to me as ‘north shore professionals’, drew heavily on those who believed the forced incarceration of young refugee children was an affront to their values system. 4. Insurgent Citizenship – Empowered and Engaged The final space is the insurgent citizen: that is, the citizen who is both engaged and empowered. This is a term borrowed from South Africa and the USA (Holston 1) – and it should be seen as having two, almost diametrically opposed, sides: progressive and reactionary. This group may not have access to a great deal of financial resources, but has high social capital and both a willingness and ability to engage in political processes. Consequently, there is a sense of empowerment and engagement with civic institutions. There is also a strong push for self-sufficiency – but this is encased in a belief that civic institutions have a responsibility to provide services to the public, and that some services are naturally better provided by the public sector. Despite this, there is often an antagonistic relationship with such institutions. From the progressive perspective, we see ‘activists’ promoting social justice issues (including students, academics, unionists and so on). Organisations such as A Just Australia are strongly supported by various student organisations, unions and other social justice and activist groups. From a reactionary perspective, we see the emergence of groups that take an anti-immigration stance (such as ‘anti-immigration’ groups including Australia First that draw both activists and have an established political party). (Information regarding ‘anti-refugee activists’ can be found at http://ausfirst.alphalink.com.au/ while the official website for the Australia First political part is at http://www.australiafirstparty.com.au/cms/.) One way to understand the relationship between these groups is through the engagement/empowered typology below. While a detailed discussion of the limitations of typologies is beyond the scope of this paper, it is important to acknowledge that any typology is a simplification and generalisation of the arguments presented. Likewise, it is unlikely that any typology has the ability to cover all cases and situations. This typology can, however, be used to underscore the relational nature of citizenship. The purpose here is to highlight that there are relationships between the different citizenship spaces and individuals can move between groups and each cluster has significant internal variation. Key here is that this can frame future studies. Conclusion and Next Steps There is little doubt there is a relationship between attitudes to citizenship and the health of a democracy. In Australia, democracy is robust in some ways, but many feel disempowered, disengaged and some feel both – often believing they are remote from the workings of civic institutions. It would appear that for many, interest in the process of (formal) government is at an all-time low as reflected in declining membership of political parties (Jaensch et al. 58). Democracy is not a ‘once for ever’ achievement – it needs to be protected and promoted. To do this, we must ensure that there are avenues for representation for all. This point also highlights one of the fundamental flaws of the aforementioned citizenship test. According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the test is designed to: help migrants integrate and maximise the opportunities available to them in Australia, and enable their full participation in the Australian community as citizens. (par. 4) Those designing the test have assumed that citizenship is both stable and, once achieved, automatically ensures representation. This paper directly challenges these assumptions and offers an alternative research agenda with the ultimate aim of promoting high levels of engagement and empowerment. References Anderson, A. “The Liberals Have Not Betrayed the Menzies Legacy.” Online Opinion 25 Oct. 2004. < http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=2679 >. Arvanitakis, J. “Highly Affected, Rarely Considered: The International Youth Parliament Commission’s Report on the Impacts of Globalisation on Young People.” Sydney: Oxfam Australia, 2003. Baldassar, L., Z. Kamalkhani, and C. Lange. “Afghan Hazara Refugees in Australia: Constructing Australian Citizens.” Social Identities 13.1 (2007): 31-50. Burchell, D. “Dysfunctional Dumping Grounds.” The Australian 10 Feb. 2007. < http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21199266-28737,00.html >. Burnley, I.H. The Impact of Immigration in Australia: A Demographic Approach. Melbourne: Oxford UP, 2001. Castells, M. “European Cities, the Informational Society, and the Global Economy.” New Left Review I/204 (March-April 1994): 46-57. Chamberlain, C., and D. Mackenzie. Homeless Careers: Pathways in and out of Homelessness. Melbourne: RMIT University, 2002. Chari, R., J. Hogan, and G. Murphy. “Regulating Lobbyists: A Comparative Analysis of the United States, Canada, Germany and the European Union.” The Political Quarterly 78.3 (2007): 423-438. Collins, J. “Chinese Entrepreneurs: The Chinese Diaspora in Australia.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research 8.1/2 (2002): 113-133. Dee, M. “Young People, Citizenship and Public Space.” International Sociological Association Conference Paper, Brisbane, 2002. Della Porta, D. “Globalisations and Democracy.” Democratizations 12.5 (2005): 668-685. Fagan, B., R. Dowling, and J. Longdale. “Suburbs in the ‘Global City’: Sydney since the Mid 1990s.” State of Australian cities conference. Parramatta, 2003. Frew, W. “And the Most Polarised City Is…” Sydney Morning Herald 16-17 Feb. 2008: 7. Gleeson, B. Australian Heartlands: Making Space for Hope in the Suburbs. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, 2006. Gleeson, B. “What’s Driving Suburban Australia?” Australian Policy Online 15 Jan. 2004. < http://www.apo.org.au/webboard/results.chtml?filename_num=00558 >. Gow, G. “Rubbing Shoulders in the Global City: Refugees, Citizenship and Multicultural Alliances in Fairfield, Sydney.” Ethnicities 5.3 (2005): 386-405. Hahn, C. L. “Citizenship Education: An Empirical Study of Policy, Practices and Outcomes.” Oxford Review of Education 25.1/2 (1999): 231-250. Hawley, S. “Sir Donald Bradman Likely to Be Dumped from Citizenship Test.” ABC Local Radio Online. 29 Jan. 2008. < http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2148383.htm >. Hoare, D. “Bradman’s Spot in Citizenship Test under Scrutiny.” ABC Local Radio online. 29 Jan. 2008. < http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2149325.htm >. Holston, J. Insurgent Citizenship: Disjunctions of Democracy and Modernity in Brazil. California: Cloth, 2007. Jaensch, D., P. Brent, and B. Bowden. “Australian Political Parties in the Spotlight.” Democratic Audit of Australia Report 4. Australian National University, 2004. Mackay, H. “Sleepers Awoke from Slumber of Indifference.” Sydney Morning Herald 27 Nov. 2007: 13. NSWPD – New South Wales Parliamentary Debates. “South Western Sydney Banking Services.” Legislative Assembly Hansard, 52nd NSW Parliament, 19 Sep. 2001. Portney, K.E., and L. O’Leary. Civic and Political Engagement of America’s Youth: National Survey of Civic and Political Engagement of Young People. Medford, MA: Tisch College, Tufts University, 2007. Price, S. “Stress and Debt Make Sydney a Violent City.” Sydney Morning Herald 13 Jan. 2008: 16. Pusey, M. The Experience of Middle Australia: The Dark Side of Economic Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. White, R. “Swarming and the Social Dynamics of Group Violence.” Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice 326 (Oct. 2006). < http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi326t.html >. Wolfe, P. “Race and Citizenship.” Magazine of History 18.5 (2004): 66-72.

Introduction One of the first challenges faced by new Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, was what to do with the former government’s controversial citizenship test. While a quick evaluation of the test shows that 93 percent of those who have sat it ‘passed’ (Hoare), most media controversy has focussed less on the validity of such a test than whether questions relating to Australian cricketing legend, Don Bradman, are appropriate (Hawley). While the citizenship test seems nothing more that a crude and populist measure imposed by the former Howard government in its ongoing nationalistic agenda, which included paying schools to raise the Australian flag (“PM Unfurls Flag”), its imposition seems a timely reminder of the challenge of understanding citizenship today. For as the demographic structures around us continue to change, so must our understandings of ‘citizenship’. More importantly, this fluid understanding of citizenship is not limited to academics, and policy-makers, but new technologies, the processes of globalisation including a globalised media, changing demographic patterns including migration, as well as environmental challenges that place pressure on limited resources is altering the citizens understanding of their own role as well as those around them. This paper aims to sketch out a proposed new research agenda that seeks to investigate this fluid and heterogenous nature of citizenship. The focus of the research has so far been Sydney and is enveloped by a broader aim of promoting an increased level of citizen engagement both within formal and informal political structures. I begin by sketching the complex nature of Sydney before presenting some initial research findings. Sydney – A Complex City The so-called ‘emerald city’ of Sydney has been described in many ways: from a ‘global’ city (Fagan, Dowling and Longdale 1) to an ‘angry’ city (Price 16). Sarah Price’s investigative article included research from the University of Western Sydney’s Centre of Culture Research, the Bureau of Crime Statistics and interviews with Tony Grabs, the director of trauma at St Vincent’s Hospital in inner city Darlinghurst. Price found that both injuries from alcohol and drug-related violence had risen dramatically over the last few years and seemed to be driven by increasing frustrations of a city that is perceived to be lacking appropriate infrastructure and rising levels of personal and household debt. Sydney’s famous harbour and postcard landmarks are surrounded by places of controversy and poverty, with residents of very backgrounds living in close proximity: often harmoniously and sometimes less so. According to recent research by Griffith University’s Urban Research Program, the city is becoming increasingly polarised, with the wealthiest enjoying high levels of access to amenities while other sections of the population experiencing increasing deprivation (Frew 7). Sydney, is often segmented into different regions: the growth corridors of the western suburbs which include the ‘Aspirational class’; the affluent eastern suburb; the southern beachside suburbs surrounding Cronulla affectionately known by local residents as ‘the Shire’, and so on. This, however, hides that fact that these areas are themselves complex and heterogenous in character (Frew 7). As a result, the many clichés associated with such segments lead to an over simplification of regional characteristics. The ‘growth corridors’ of Western Sydney, for example, have, in recent times, become a focal point of political and social commentary. From the rise of the ‘Aspirational’ voter (Anderson), seen to be a key ‘powerbroker’ in federal and state politics, to growing levels of disenfranchised young people, this region is multifaceted and should not be simplified. These areas often see large-scale, private housing estates; what Brendan Gleeson describes as ‘privatopias’, situated next to rising levels of homelessness (“What’s Driving”): a powerful and concerning image that should not escape our attention. (Chamberlain and Mackenzie pay due attention to the issue in Homeless Careers.) It is also home to a growing immigrant population who often arrive as business migrants and as well as a rising refugee population traumatised by war and displacement (Collins 1). These growth corridors then, seem to simultaneously capture both the ambitions and the fears of Sydney. That is, they are seen as both areas of potential economic boom as well as social stress and potential conflict (Gleeson 89). One way to comprehend the complexity associated with such diversity and change is to reflect on the proximity of the twin suburbs of Macquarie Links and Macquarie Fields situated in Sydney’s south-western suburbs. Separated by the clichéd ‘railway tracks’, one is home to the growing Aspirational class while the other continues to be plagued by the stigma of being, what David Burchell describes as, a ‘dysfunctional dumping ground’ whose plight became national headlines during the riots in 2005. The riots were sparked after a police chase involving a stolen car led to a crash and the death of a 17 year-old and 19 year-old passengers. Residents blamed police for the deaths and the subsequent riots lasted for four nights – involving 150 teenagers clashing with New South Wales Police. The dysfunction, Burchell notes is seen in crime statistics that include 114 stolen cars, 227 burglaries, 457 cases of property damage and 279 assaults – all in 2005 alone. Interestingly, both these populations are surrounded by exclusionary boundaries: one because of the financial demands to enter the ‘Links’ estate, and the other because of the self-imposed exclusion. Such disparities not only provide challenges for policy makers generally, but also have important implications on the attitudes that citizens’ experience towards their relationship with each other as well as the civic institutions that are meant to represent them. This is particular the case if civic institutions are seen to either neglect or favour certain groups. This, in part, has given rise to what I describe here as a ‘citizenship surplus’ as well as a ‘citizenship deficit’. Research Agenda: Investigating Citizenship Surpluses and Deficits This changing city has meant that there has also been a change in the way that different groups interact with, and perceive, civic bodies. As noted, my initial research shows that this has led to the emergence of both citizenship surpluses and deficits. Though the concept of a ‘citizen deficits and surpluses’ have not emerged within the broader literature, there is a wide range of literature that discusses how some sections of the population lack of access to democratic processes. There are three broad areas of research that have emerged relevant here: citizenship and young people (see Arvanitakis; Dee); citizenship and globalisation (see Della Porta; Pusey); and citizenship and immigration (see Baldassar et al.; Gow). While a discussion of each of these research areas is beyond the scope of this paper, a regular theme is the emergence of a ‘democratic deficit’ (Chari et al. 422). Dee, for example, looks at how there exist unequal relationships between local and central governments, young people, communities and property developers in relation to space. Dee argues that this shapes social policy in a range of settings and contexts including their relationship with broader civic institutions and understandings of citizenship. Dee finds that claims for land use that involve young people rarely succeed and there is limited, if any, recourse to civic institutions. As such, we see a democratic deficit emerge because the various civic institutions involved fail in meeting their obligations to citizens. In addition, a great deal of work has emerged that investigates attempts to re-engage citizens through mechanisms to promote citizenship education and a more active citizenship which has also been accompanied by government programs with the same goals (See for example the Western Australian government’s ‘Citizenscape’ program ). For example Hahn (231) undertakes a comparative study of civic education in six countries (including Australia) and the policies and practices with respect to citizenship education and how to promote citizen activism. The results are positive, though the research was undertaken before the tumultuous events of the terrorist attacks in New York, the emergence of the ‘war on terror’ and the rise of ‘Muslim-phobia’. A gap rises, however, within the Australian literature when we consider both the fluid and heterogenous nature of citizenship. That is, how do we understand the relationship between these diverse groups living within such proximity to each other overlayed by changing migration patterns, ongoing globalised processes and changing political environments as well as their relations to civic institutions? Further, how does this influence the way individuals perceive their rights, expectations and responsibilities to the state? Given this, I believe that there is a need to understand citizenship as a fluid and heterogenous phenomenon that can be in surplus, deficit, progressive and reactionary. When discussing citizenship I am interested in how people perceive both their rights and responsibilities to civic institutions as well as to the residents around them. A second, obviously related, area of interest is ‘civic engagement’: that is, “the activities of people in the various organisations and associations that make up what scholars call ‘civil society’” (Portney and Leary 4). Before describing these categories in more detail, I would like to briefly outline the methodological processes employed thus far. Much of the research to this point is based on a combination of established literature, my informal discussions with citizen groups and my observations as ‘an activist.’ That is, over the last few years I have worked with a broad cross section of community-based organisations as well as specific individuals that have attempted to confront perceived injustices. I have undertaken this work as both an activist – with organisations such as Aid/Watch and Oxfam Australia – as well as an academic invited to share my research. This work has involved designing and implementing policy and advocacy strategies including media and public education programs. All interactions begin with a detailed discussion of the aims, resources, abilities and knowledge of the groups involved, followed by workshopping campaigning strategies. This has led to the publication of an ‘activist handbook’ titled ‘From Sitting on the Couch to Changing the World’, which is used to both draft the campaign aims as well as design a systematic strategy. (The booklet, which is currently being re-drafted, is published by Oxfam Australia and registered under a creative commons licence. For those interested, copies are available by emailing j.arvanitakis (at) uws.edu.au.) Much research is also sourced from direct feedback given by participants in reviewing the workshops and strategies The aim of tis paper then, is to sketch out the initial findings as well as an agenda for more formalised research. The initial findings have identified the heterogenous nature of citizenship that I have separated into four ‘citizenship spaces.’ The term space is used because these are not stable groupings as many quickly move between the areas identified as both the structures and personal situations change. 1. Marginalisation and Citizenship Deficit The first category is a citizenship deficit brought on by a sense of marginalisation. This is determined by a belief that it is pointless to interact with civic institutions, as the result is always the same: people’s opinions and needs will be ignored. Or in the case of residents from areas such as Macquarie Fields, the relationship with civic institutions, including police, is antagonistic and best avoided (White par. 21). This means that there is no connection between the population and the civic institutions around them – there is no loyalty or belief that efforts to be involved in political and civic processes will be rewarded. Here groups sense that they do not have access to political avenues to be heard, represented or demand change. This is leading to an experience of disconnection from political processes. The result is both a sense of disengagement and disempowerment. One example here emerged in discussions with protesters around the proposed development of the former Australian Defence Industry (ADI) site in St Marys, an outer-western suburb of Sydney. The development, which was largely approved, was for a large-scale housing estate proposed on sensitive bushlands in a locality that resident’s note is under-serviced in terms of public space. (For details of these discussions, see http://www.adisite.org/.) Residents often took the attitude that whatever the desire of the local community, the development would go ahead regardless. Those who worked at information booths during the resident protests informed me that the attitude was one best summarised by: “Why bother, we always get stuffed around any way.” This was confirmed by my own discussions with local residents – even those who joined the resident action group. 2. Privatisation and Citizenship Deficit This citizenship deficit not only applies to the marginalised, however, for there are also much wealthier populations who also appear to experience a deficit that results from a lack of access to civic institutions. This tends to leads to a privatisation of decision-making and withdrawal from the public arena as well as democratic processes. Consequently, the residents in the pockets of wealth may not be acting as citizens but more like consumers – asserting themselves in terms of Castells’s ‘collective consumption’ (par. 25). This citizenship deficit is brought on by ongoing privatisation. That is, there is a belief that civic institutions (including government bodies) are unable or at least unwilling to service the local community. As a result there is a tendency to turn to private suppliers and believe that individualisation is the best way to manage the community. The result is that citizens feel no connection to the civic institutions around them, not because there is no desire, but there are no services. This group of citizens has often been described as the ‘Aspirationals’ and are most often found in the growth corridors of Sydney. There is no reason to believe that this group is this way because of choice – but rather a failure by government authorities to service their needs. This is confirmed by research undertaken as early as 1990 which found that the residents now labelled Aspirational, were demanding access to public infrastructure services including public schools, but have been neglected by different levels of government. (This was clearly stated by NSW Labor MP for Liverpool, Paul Lynch, who argued for such services as a way to ensure a functioning community particularly for Western Sydney; NSWPD 2001.) As a result there is a reliance on private schools, neighbourhoods, transport and so on. Any ‘why bother’ attitude is thus driven by a lack of evidence that civic institutions can or are not willing to meet their needs. There is a strong sense of local community – but this localisation limited to others in the same geographical location and similar lifestyle. 3. Citizenship Surplus – Empowered Not Engaged The third space of citizenship is based on a ‘surplus’ even if there is limited or no political engagement. This group has quite a lot in common with the ‘Aspirationals’ but may come from areas that are higher serviced by civic institutions: the choice not to engage is therefore voluntary. There is a strong push for self-sufficiency – believing that their social capital, wealth and status mean that they do not require the services of civic institutions. While not antagonistic towards such institutions, there is often a belief is that the services provided by the private sector are ultimately superior to public ones. Consequently, they feel empowered through their social background but are not engaged with civic institutions or the political process. Despite this, my initial research findings show that this group has a strong connection to decision-makers – both politicians and bureaucrats. This lack of engagement changes if there is a perceived injustice to their quality of life or their values system – and hence should not be dismissed as NIMBYs (not in my backyard). They believe they have the resources to mobilise and demand change. I believe that we see this group materialise in mobilisations around proposed developments that threaten the perceived quality of life of the local environment. One example brought to my attention was the rapid response of local residents to the proposed White City development near Sydney’s eastern suburbs that was to see tennis courts and public space replaced by residential and commercial buildings (Nicholls). As one resident informed me, she had never seen any political engagement by local residents previously – an engagement that was accompanied by a belief that the development would be stopped as well as a mobilisation of some impressive resources. Such mobilisations also occur when there is a perceived injustice. Examples of this group can be found in what Hugh Mackay (13) describes as ‘doctor’s wives’ (a term that I am not wholly comfortable with). Here we see the emergence of ‘Chilout’: Children out of Detention. This was an organisation whose membership was described to me as ‘north shore professionals’, drew heavily on those who believed the forced incarceration of young refugee children was an affront to their values system. 4. Insurgent Citizenship – Empowered and Engaged The final space is the insurgent citizen: that is, the citizen who is both engaged and empowered. This is a term borrowed from South Africa and the USA (Holston 1) – and it should be seen as having two, almost diametrically opposed, sides: progressive and reactionary. This group may not have access to a great deal of financial resources, but has high social capital and both a willingness and ability to engage in political processes. Consequently, there is a sense of empowerment and engagement with civic institutions. There is also a strong push for self-sufficiency – but this is encased in a belief that civic institutions have a responsibility to provide services to the public, and that some services are naturally better provided by the public sector. Despite this, there is often an antagonistic relationship with such institutions. From the progressive perspective, we see ‘activists’ promoting social justice issues (including students, academics, unionists and so on). Organisations such as A Just Australia are strongly supported by various student organisations, unions and other social justice and activist groups. From a reactionary perspective, we see the emergence of groups that take an anti-immigration stance (such as ‘anti-immigration’ groups including Australia First that draw both activists and have an established political party). (Information regarding ‘anti-refugee activists’ can be found at http://ausfirst.alphalink.com.au/ while the official website for the Australia First political part is at http://www.australiafirstparty.com.au/cms/.) One way to understand the relationship between these groups is through the engagement/empowered typology below. While a detailed discussion of the limitations of typologies is beyond the scope of this paper, it is important to acknowledge that any typology is a simplification and generalisation of the arguments presented. Likewise, it is unlikely that any typology has the ability to cover all cases and situations. This typology can, however, be used to underscore the relational nature of citizenship. The purpose here is to highlight that there are relationships between the different citizenship spaces and individuals can move between groups and each cluster has significant internal variation. Key here is that this can frame future studies. Conclusion and Next Steps There is little doubt there is a relationship between attitudes to citizenship and the health of a democracy. In Australia, democracy is robust in some ways, but many feel disempowered, disengaged and some feel both – often believing they are remote from the workings of civic institutions. It would appear that for many, interest in the process of (formal) government is at an all-time low as reflected in declining membership of political parties (Jaensch et al. 58). Democracy is not a ‘once for ever’ achievement – it needs to be protected and promoted. To do this, we must ensure that there are avenues for representation for all. This point also highlights one of the fundamental flaws of the aforementioned citizenship test. According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the test is designed to: help migrants integrate and maximise the opportunities available to them in Australia, and enable their full participation in the Australian community as citizens. (par. 4) Those designing the test have assumed that citizenship is both stable and, once achieved, automatically ensures representation. This paper directly challenges these assumptions and offers an alternative research agenda with the ultimate aim of promoting high levels of engagement and empowerment. References Anderson, A. “The Liberals Have Not Betrayed the Menzies Legacy.” Online Opinion 25 Oct. 2004. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=2679>. Arvanitakis, J. “Highly Affected, Rarely Considered: The International Youth Parliament Commission’s Report on the Impacts of Globalisation on Young People.” Sydney: Oxfam Australia, 2003. Baldassar, L., Z. Kamalkhani, and C. Lange. “Afghan Hazara Refugees in Australia: Constructing Australian Citizens.” Social Identities 13.1 (2007): 31-50. Burchell, D. “Dysfunctional Dumping Grounds.” The Australian 10 Feb. 2007. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21199266-28737,00.html>. Burnley, I.H. The Impact of Immigration in Australia: A Demographic Approach. Melbourne: Oxford UP, 2001. Castells, M. “European Cities, the Informational Society, and the Global Economy.” New Left Review I/204 (March-April 1994): 46-57. Chamberlain, C., and D. Mackenzie. Homeless Careers: Pathways in and out of Homelessness. Melbourne: RMIT University, 2002. Chari, R., J. Hogan, and G. Murphy. “Regulating Lobbyists: A Comparative Analysis of the United States, Canada, Germany and the European Union.” The Political Quarterly 78.3 (2007): 423-438. Collins, J. “Chinese Entrepreneurs: The Chinese Diaspora in Australia.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research 8.1/2 (2002): 113-133. Dee, M. “Young People, Citizenship and Public Space.” International Sociological Association Conference Paper, Brisbane, 2002. Della Porta, D. “Globalisations and Democracy.” Democratizations 12.5 (2005): 668-685. Fagan, B., R. Dowling, and J. Longdale. “Suburbs in the ‘Global City’: Sydney since the Mid 1990s.” State of Australian cities conference. Parramatta, 2003. Frew, W. “And the Most Polarised City Is…” Sydney Morning Herald 16-17 Feb. 2008: 7. Gleeson, B. Australian Heartlands: Making Space for Hope in the Suburbs. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, 2006. Gleeson, B. “What’s Driving Suburban Australia?” Australian Policy Online 15 Jan. 2004. http://www.apo.org.au/webboard/results.chtml?filename_num=00558>. Gow, G. “Rubbing Shoulders in the Global City: Refugees, Citizenship and Multicultural Alliances in Fairfield, Sydney.” Ethnicities 5.3 (2005): 386-405. Hahn, C. L. “Citizenship Education: An Empirical Study of Policy, Practices and Outcomes.” Oxford Review of Education 25.1/2 (1999): 231-250. Hawley, S. “Sir Donald Bradman Likely to Be Dumped from Citizenship Test.” ABC Local Radio Online. 29 Jan. 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2148383.htm>. Hoare, D. “Bradman’s Spot in Citizenship Test under Scrutiny.” ABC Local Radio online. 29 Jan. 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2149325.htm>. Holston, J. Insurgent Citizenship: Disjunctions of Democracy and Modernity in Brazil. California: Cloth, 2007. Jaensch, D., P. Brent, and B. Bowden. “Australian Political Parties in the Spotlight.” Democratic Audit of Australia Report 4. Australian National University, 2004. Mackay, H. “Sleepers Awoke from Slumber of Indifference.” Sydney Morning Herald 27 Nov. 2007: 13. NSWPD – New South Wales Parliamentary Debates. “South Western Sydney Banking Services.” Legislative Assembly Hansard, 52nd NSW Parliament, 19 Sep. 2001. Portney, K.E., and L. O’Leary. Civic and Political Engagement of America’s Youth: National Survey of Civic and Political Engagement of Young People. Medford, MA: Tisch College, Tufts University, 2007. Price, S. “Stress and Debt Make Sydney a Violent City.” Sydney Morning Herald 13 Jan. 2008: 16. Pusey, M. The Experience of Middle Australia: The Dark Side of Economic Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. White, R. “Swarming and the Social Dynamics of Group Violence.” Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice 326 (Oct. 2006). http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi326t.html>. Wolfe, P. “Race and Citizenship.” Magazine of History 18.5 (2004): 66-72. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Arvanitakis, James. "The Heterogenous Citizen: How Many of Us Care about Don Bradman’s Average?." M/C Journal 10.6/11.1 (2008). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0804/07-arvanitakis.php>. APA Style Arvanitakis, J. (Apr. 2008) "The Heterogenous Citizen: How Many of Us Care about Don Bradman’s Average?," M/C Journal, 10(6)/11(1). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0804/07-arvanitakis.php>.

Introduction «I have never worked in the technocratic exaltation, solving a constructive problem and that’s it. I’ve always tried to interpret the space of human life» (Vittorio Garatti). Vittorio Garatti (Milan, April 6, 1927) is certainly one of the last witnesses of one “heroic” season of Italian architecture. In 1957 he graduated in architecture from the Polytechnic of Milan with a thesis proposing the redesign of a portion of the historic centre of Milan: the area between “piazza della Scala”, “via Broletto”, “via Filodrammatici” and the gardens of the former Olivetti building in via Clerici. These are the years in which Ernesto Nathan Rogers established himself as one of the main personalities of Milanese culture. Garatti endorses the criticism expressed by Rogers to the approval of the Rationalist “language” in favour of an architecture that recovers the implications of the place and of material culture. The social responsibility of architecture and connections between architecture and other forms of artistic expression are the invariants of all the activity of the architect, artist and graphic designer of Garatti. It will be Ernesto Nathan Rogers who will offer him the possibility of experiencing these “contaminations” early: in 1954, together with Giuliano Cesari, Raffaella Crespi, Giampiero Pallavicini and Ferruccio Rezzonico, he designs the preparation of the exhibition on musical instruments at the 10th Milan Triennale. The temporary installations will be a privileged area in which Garatti will continue to experiment and integrate the qualities of artist, graphic designer and architect with each other. Significant examples of this approach are the Art Schools in Cuba 1961-63, the residential complex of Cusano Milanino in 1973, the Attico Cosimo del Fante in 1980, the fittings for the Bubasty shops in 1984, the Camogli residence in 1986, his house atelier in Brera in 1988 and the interiors of the Hotel Gallia in 1989. True architecture generates itself1: an approach that was consolidated over the years of collaboration with Raúl Villanueva in Venezuela and is fulfilled in Cuba in the project of the Art Schools, where Garatti makes use of a plurality of tools that cannot be rigidly confined to the world of architecture. In 1957, in Caracas, he came into contact with Ricardo Porro and Roberto Gottardi. Ricardo Porro, who returned to Cuba in 1960, will be the one to involve Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi in the Escuelas Nacional de Arte project. The three young architects will be the protagonists of a happy season of the architecture of the Revolution, they will be crossed by that “revolutionary” energy that Ricardo Porro has defined as “magical realism”. As Garatti recalls: it was a special moment. We designed the Schools using a method developed in Venezuela. We started from an analysis of the context, understood not only as physical reality. We studied Cuban poets and painters. Wifredo Lam was a great reference. For example, Lezama Lima’s work is clearly recalled in the plan of the School of Ballet. We were pervaded by the spirit of the revolution. The contamination between knowledge and disciplines, the belief that architecture is a “parasitic” discipline are some of the themes at the centre of the conversation that follows, from which a working method that recognizes architecture as a “social transformation” task emerges, more precisely an art with a social purpose. Garatti often cites Porro’s definition of architecture: architecture is the poetic frame within which human life takes place. To Garatti architecture is a self-generating process, and as such it cannot find fulfilment within its disciplinary specificity: the disciplinary autonomy is a contradiction in terms. Architecture cannot be self-referencing, it generates itself precisely because it finds the sense of its social responsibility outside of itself. No concession to trends, to self-referencing, to the “objectification of architecture”, to its spectacularization. Garatti as Eupalino Valery shuns “mute architectures” and instead prefers singing architectures. A Dialogue of Luigi Alini with Vittorio Garatti Luigi Alini. Let’s start with some personal data. Vittorio Garatti. I was born in Milan on April 6, 1927. My friend Emilio Vedova told me that life could be considered as a sequence of encounters with people, places and facts. My sculptor grandfather played an important role in my life. I inherited the ability to perceive the dimensional quality of space, its plasticity, spatial vision from him. L.A. Your youth training took place in a dramatic phase of history of our country. Living in Milan during the war years must not have been easy. V.G. In October 1942 in Milan there was one of the most tragic bombings that the city has suffered. A bomb exploded in front of the Brera Academy, where the Dalmine offices were located. With a group of boys we went to the rooftops. We saw the city from above, with the roofs partially destroyed. I still carry this image inside me, it is part of that museum of memory that Luciano Semerani often talks about. This image probably resurfaced when I designed the ballet school. The idea of a promenade on the roofs to observe the landscape came from this. L.A. You joined the Faculty of Architecture at the Milan Polytechnic in May 1946-47. V.G. Milan and Italy were like in those years. The impact with the University was not positive, I was disappointed with the quality of the studies. L.A. You have had an intense relationship with the artists who gravitate around Brera, which you have always considered very important for your training. V.G. In 1948 I met Ilio Negri, a graphic designer. Also at Brera there was a group of artists (Morlotti, Chighine, Dova, Crippa) who frequented the Caffè Brera, known as “Bar della Titta”. Thanks to these visits I had the opportunity to broaden my knowledge. As you know, I maintain that there are life’s appointments and lightning strikes. The release of Dada magazine provided real enlightenment for me: I discovered the work of Kurt Schwitters, Theo Van Doesburg, the value of the image and three-dimensionality. L.A. You collaborated on several projects with Ilio Negri. V.G. In 1955 we created the graphics of the Lagostina brand, which was then also used for the preparation of the exhibition at the “Fiera Campionaria” in Milan. We also worked together for the Lerici steel industry. There was an extraordinary interaction with Ilio. L.A. The cultural influence of Ernesto Nathan Rogers was strong in the years you studied at the Milan Polytechnic. He influenced the cultural debate by establishing himself as one of the main personalities of the Milanese architectural scene through the activity of the BBPR studio but even more so through the direction of Domus (from ‘46 to ‘47) and Casabella Continuità (from ‘53 to ‘65). V.G. When I enrolled at the university he was not yet a full professor and he was very opposed. As you know, he coined the phrase: God created the architect, the devil created the colleague. In some ways it is a phrase that makes me rethink the words of Ernesto Che Guevara: beware of bureaucrats, because they can delay a revolution for 50 years. Rogers was the man of culture and the old “bureaucratic” apparatus feared that his entry into the University would sanction the end of their “domain”. L.A. In 1954, together with Giuliano Cesari, Raffella Crespi, Giampiero Pallavicini and Ferruccio Rezzonico, all graduating students of the Milan Polytechnic, you designed the staging of the exhibition on musical instruments at the 10th Milan Triennale. V.G. The project for the Exhibition of Musical Instruments at the Milan Triennale was commissioned by Rogers, with whom I subsequently collaborated for the preparation of the graphic part of the Castello Sforzesco Museum, together with Ilio Negri. We were given a very small budget for this project. We decided to prepare a sequence of horizontal planes hanging in a void. These tops also acted as spacers, preventing people from touching the tools. Among those exhibited there were some very valuable ones. We designed slender structures to be covered with rice paper. The solution pleased Rogers very much, who underlined the dialogue that was generated between the exhibited object and the display system. L.A. You graduated on March 14, 1957. V.G. The project theme that I developed for the thesis was the reconstruction of Piazza della Scala. While all the other classmates were doing “lecorbusierani” projects without paying much attention to the context, for my part I worked trying to have a vision of the city. I tried to bring out the specificities of that place with a vision that Ernesto Nathan Rogers had brought me to. I then found this vision of the city in the work of Giuseppe De Finetti. I tried to re-propose a vision of space and its “atmospheres”, a theme that Alberto Savinio also refers to in Listen to your heart city, from 1944. L.A. How was your work received by the thesis commission? V.G. It was judged too “formal” by Emiliano Gandolfi, but Piero Portaluppi did not express himself positively either. The project did not please. Also consider the cultural climate of the University of those years, everyone followed the international style of the CIAM. I was not very satisfied with the evaluation expressed by the commissioners, they said that the project was “Piranesian”, too baroque. The critique of culture rationalist was not appreciated. Only at IUAV was there any great cultural ferment thanks to Bruno Zevi. L.A. After graduation, you left for Venezuela. V.G. With my wife Wanda, in 1957 I joined my parents in Caracas. In Venezuela I got in touch with Paolo Gasparini, an extraordinary Italian photographer, Ricardo Porro and Roberto Gottardi, who came from Venice and had worked in Ernesto Nathan Rogers’ studio in Milan. Ricardo Porro worked in the office of Carlos Raúl Villanueva. The Cuban writer and literary critic Alejo Carpentier also lived in Caracas at that time. L.A. Carlos Raul Villanueva was one of the protagonists of Venezuelan architecture. His critical position in relation to the Modern Movement and the belief that it was necessary to find an “adaptation” to the specificities of local traditions, the characteristics of the places and the Venezuelan environment, I believe, marked your subsequent Cuban experience with the creative recovery of some elements of traditional architecture such as the portico, the patio, but also the use of traditional materials and technologies that you have masterfully reinterpreted. I think we can also add to these “themes” the connections between architecture and plastic arts. You also become a professor of Architectural Design at the Escuela de Arquitectura of the Central University of Caracas. V.G. On this academic experience I will tell you a statement by Porro that struck me very much: The important thing was not what I knew, I did not have sufficient knowledge and experience. What I could pass on to the students was above all a passion. In two years of teaching I was able to deepen, understand things better and understand how to pass them on to students. The Faculty of Architecture had recently been established and this I believe contributed to fuel the great enthusiasm that emerges from the words by Porro. Porro favoured mine and Gottardi’s entry as teachers. Keep in mind that in those years Villanueva was one of the most influential Venezuelan intellectuals and had played a leading role in the transformation of the University. Villanueva was very attentive to the involvement of art in architecture, just think of the magnificent project for the Universidad Central in Caracas, where he worked together with artists such as the sculptor Calder. I had recently graduated and found myself catapulted into academic activity. It was a strange feeling for a young architect who graduated with a minimum grade. At the University I was entrusted with the Architectural Design course. The relationships with the context, the recovery of some elements of tradition were at the centre of the interests developed with the students. Among these students I got to know the one who in the future became my chosen “brother”: Sergio Baroni. Together we designed all the services for the 23rd district that Carlos Raúl Villanueva had planned to solve the favelas problem. In these years of Venezuelan frequentation, Porro also opened the doors of Cuba to me. Through Porro I got to know the work of Josè Martì, who claimed: cult para eser libre. I also approached the work of Josè Lezama Lima, in my opinion one of the most interesting Cuban intellectuals, and the painting of Wilfredo Lam. L.A. In December 1959 the Revolution triumphed in Cuba. Ricardo Porro returned to Cuba in August 1960. You and Gottardi would join him in December and begin teaching at the Facultad de Arcuitectura. Your contribution to the training of young students took place in a moment of radical cultural change within which the task of designing the Schools was also inserted: the “new” architecture had to give concrete answers but also give “shape” to a new model of society. V.G. After the triumph of the Revolution, acts of terrorism began. At that time in the morning, I checked that they hadn’t placed a bomb under my car. Eisenhower was preparing the invasion. Life published an article on preparing for the invasion of the counterrevolutionary brigades. With Eisenhower dead, Kennedy activated the programme by imposing one condition: in conjunction with the invasion, the Cuban people would have to rise up. Shortly before the attempted invasion, the emigration, deemed temporary, of doctors, architects, university teachers etc. began. They were all convinced they would return to “liberated Cuba” a few weeks later. Their motto was: it is impossible for Americans to accept the triumph of the rebel army. As is well known, the Cuban people did not rise up. The revolutionary process continued and had no more obstacles. The fact that the bourgeois class and almost all the professionals had left Cuba put the country in a state of extreme weakness. The sensation was of great transformation taking place, it was evident. In that “revolutionary” push there was nothing celebratory. All available energies were invested in the culture. There were extraordinary initiatives, from the literacy campaign to the founding of international schools of medicine and of cinema. In Cuba it was decided to close schools for a year and to entrust elementary school children with the task of travelling around the country and teaching illiterate adults. In the morning they worked in the fields and in the evening they taught the peasants to read and write. In order to try to block this project, the counter-revolutionaries killed two children in an attempt to scare the population and the families of the literate children. There was a wave of popular indignation and the programme continued. L.A. Ricardo Porro was commissioned to design the Art Schools. Roberto Gottardi recalls that: «the wife of the Minister of Public Works, Selma Diaz, asked Porro to build the national art schools. The architecture had to be completely new and the schools, in Fidel’s words, the most beautiful in the world. All accomplished in six months. Take it or leave it! [...] it was days of rage and enthusiasm in which all areas of public life was run by an agile and imaginative spirit of warfare»2. You too remembered several times that: that architecture was born from a life experience, it incorporated enthusiasm for life and optimism for the future. V.G. The idea that generated them was to foster the cultural encounter between Africa, Asia and Latin America. A “place” for meeting and exchanging. A place where artists from all over the third world could interact freely. The realisation of the Schools was like receiving a “war assignment”. Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara selected the Country Club as the place to build a large training centre for all of Latin America. They understood that it was important to foster the Latin American union, a theme that Simón Bolivar had previously wanted to pursue. Il Ché and Fidel, returning from the Country Club, along the road leading to the centre of Havana, met Selma Diaz, architect and wife of Osmany Cienfuegos, the Cuban Construction Minister. Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara entrusted Selma Diaz with the task of designing this centre. She replied: I had just graduated, how could I deal with it? Then she adds: Riccardo Porro returned to Cuba with two Italian architects. Just think, three young architects without much experience catapulted into an assignment of this size. The choice of the place where to build the schools was a happy intuition of Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara. L.A. How did the confrontation develop? V.G. We had total freedom, but we had to respond to a functional programme defined with the heads of the schools. Five directors were appointed, one for each school. We initially thought of a citadel. A proposal that did not find acceptance among the Directors, who suggest thinking of five autonomous schools. We therefore decide to place the schools on the edge of the large park and to reuse all the pre-existing buildings. We imagined schools as “stations” to cross. The aim was to promote integration with the environment in which they were “immersed”. Schools are not closed spaces. We established, for example, that there would be no doors: when “everything was ours” there could not be a public and a private space, only the living space existed. L.A. Ricardo Porro recalled: I organised our study in the chapel of the former residence of the Serrà family in Vadado. It was a wonderful place [...]. A series of young people from the school of architecture came to help us […]. Working in that atmosphere, all night and all day was a poetic experience (Loomis , 1999). V.G. We felt like Renaissance architects. We walked around the park and discussed where to locate the schools. Imagine three young people discussing with total, unthinkable freedom. We decided that each of us would deal with one or more schools, within a global vision that was born from the comparison. I chose the Ballet School. Ivan Espin had to design the music school but in the end I did it because Ivan had health problems. Porro decided to take care of the School of Plastic Arts to support his nature as a sculptor. Gottardi had problems with the actors and directors, who could not produce a shared functional programme, which with the dancers was quite simple to produce. The reasons that led us to choose the different project themes were very simple and uncomplicated, as were those for identifying the areas. I liked hidden lands, I was interested in developing a building “embedded” in the ground. Ricardo, on the other hand, chose a hill on which arrange the school of Modern Art. Each of us chose the site almost instinctively. For the Classical Dance School, the functional programme that was provided to me was very meagre: a library, a deanery, an infirmary, three ballet classrooms, theoretical classrooms and one of choreography. We went to see the dancers while they were training and dancing with Porro. The perception was immediate that we had to think of concave and convex spaces that would welcome their movements in space. For a more organic integration with the landscape and to accommodate the orography of the area, we also decided to place the buildings in a “peripheral” position with respect to the park, a choice that allowed us not to alter the nature of the park too much but also to limit the distances to be covered from schools to homes. Selma Diaz added others to the first indications: remember that we have no iron, we have little of everything, but we have many bricks. These were the indications that came to us from the Ministry of Construction. We were also asked to design some large spaces, such as gyms. Consequently, we found ourselves faced with the need to cover large spans without being able to resort to an extensive use of reinforced concrete or wood. L.A. How was the comparison between you designers? V.G. The exchange of ideas was constant, the experiences flowed naturally from one work group to another, but each operated in total autonomy. Each design group had 5-6 students in it. In my case I was lucky enough to have Josè Mosquera among my collaborators, a brilliant modest student, a true revolutionary. The offices where we worked on the project were organised in the Club, which became our “headquarters”. We worked all night and in the morning we went to the construction site. For the solution of logistical problems and the management of the building site of the Ballet School, I was entrusted with an extraordinary bricklayer, a Maestro de Obra named Bacallao. During one of the meetings that took place daily at the construction site, Bacallao told me that in Batista’s time the architects arrived in the morning at the workplace all dressed in white and, keeping away from the construction site to avoid getting dusty, they transferred orders on what to do. In this description by we marvelled at the fact that we were in the construction site together with him to face and discuss how to solve the different problems. In this construction site the carpenters did an extraordinary job, they had considerable experience. Bacallao was fantastic, he could read the drawings and he managed the construction site in an impeccable way. We faced and solved problems and needs that the yard inevitably posed on a daily basis. One morning, for example, arriving at the construction site, I realised the impact that the building would have as a result of its total mono-materiality. I was “scared” by this effect. My eye fell on an old bathtub, inside which there were pieces of 10x10 tiles, then I said to Bacallao: we will cover the wedges between the ribs of the bovedas covering the Ballet and Choreography Theatre classrooms with the tiles. The yard also lived on decisions made directly on site. Also keep in mind that the mason teams assigned to each construction site were independent. However the experience between the groups of masons engaged in the different activities circulated, flowed. There was a constant confrontation. For the workers the involvement was total, they were building for their children. A worker who told me: I’m building the school where my son will come to study. Ricardo Porro was responsible for the whole project, he was a very cultured man. In the start-up phase of the project he took us to Trinidad, the old Spanish capital. He wanted to show us the roots of Cuban architectural culture. On this journey I was struck by the solution of fan windows, by the use of verandas, all passive devices which were entrusted with the control and optimisation of the comfort of the rooms. Porro accompanied us to those places precisely because he wanted to put the value of tradition at the centre of the discussion, he immersed us in colonial culture. L.A. It is to that “mechanism” of self-generation of the project that you have referred to on several occasions? V.G. Yes, just that. When I design, I certainly draw from that stratified “grammar of memory”, to quote Luciano Semerani, which lives within me. The project generates itself, is born and then begins to live a life of its own. A writer traces the profile and character of his characters, who gradually come to life with a life of their own. In the same way the creative process in architecture is self-generated. L.A. Some problems were solved directly on site, dialoguing with the workers. V.G. He went just like that. Many decisions were made on site as construction progressed. Design and construction proceeded contextually. The dialogue with the workers was fundamental. The creative act was self-generated and lived a life of its own, we did nothing but “accompany” a process. The construction site had a speed of execution that required the same planning speed. In the evening we worked to solve problems that the construction site posed. The drawings “aged” rapidly with respect to the speed of decisions and the progress of the work. The incredible thing about this experience is that three architects with different backgrounds come to a “unitary” project. All this was possible because we used the same materials, the same construction technique, but even more so because there was a similar interpretation of the place and its possibilities. L.A. The project of the Music School also included the construction of 96 cubicles, individual study rooms, a theatre for symphonic music and one for chamber music and Italian opera. You “articulated” the 96 cubicles along a 360-metre-long path that unfolds in the landscape providing a “dynamic” view to those who cross it. A choice consistent with the vision of the School as an open place integrated with the environment. V.G. The “Gusano” is a volume that follows the orography of the terrain. It was a common sense choice. By following the level lines I avoided digging and of course I quickly realized what was needed by distributing the volumes horizontally. Disarticulation allows the changing vision of the landscape, which changes continuously according to the movement of the user. The movements do not take place along an axis, they follow a sinuous route, a connecting path between trees and nature. The cubicles lined up along the Gusano are individual study rooms above which there are the collective test rooms. On the back of the Gusano, in the highest part of the land, I placed the theatre for symphonic music, the one for chamber music, the library, the conference rooms, the choir and administration. L.A. In 1962 the construction site stopped. V.G. In 1962 Cuba fell into a serious political and economic crisis, which is what caused the slowdown and then the abandonment of the school site. Cuba was at “war” and the country’s resources were directed towards other needs. In this affair, the architect Quintana, one of the most powerful officials in Cuba, who had always expressed his opposition to the project, contributed to the decision to suspend the construction of the schools. Here is an extract from a writing by Sergio Baroni, which I consider clarifying: «The denial of the Art Schools represented the consolidation of the new Cuban technocratic regime. The designers were accused of aristocracy and individualism and the rest of the technicians who collaborated on the project were transferred to other positions by the Ministry of Construction [...]. It was a serious mistake which one realises now, when it became evident that, with the Schools, a process of renewal of Cuban architecture was interrupted, which, with difficulty, had advanced from the years preceding the revolution and which they had extraordinarily accelerated and anchored to the new social project. On the other hand, and understandably, the adoption of easy pseudo-rationalist procedures prevailed to deal with the enormous demand for projects and constructions with the minimum of resources» (Baroni 1992). L.A. You also experienced dramatic moments in Cuba. I’m referring in particular to the insane accusation of being a CIA spy and your arrest. V.G. I wasn’t the only one arrested. The first was Jean Pierre Garnier, who remained in prison for seven days on charges of espionage. This was not a crazy accusation but one of the CIA’s plans to scare foreign technicians into leaving Cuba. Six months after Garnier, it was Heberto Padilla’s turn, an intellectual, who remained in prison for 15 days. After 6 months, it was my turn. I was arrested while leaving the Ministry of Construction, inside the bag I had the plans of the port. I told Corrieri, Baroni and Wanda not to notify the Italian Embassy, everything would be cleared up. L.A. Dear Vittorio, I thank you for the willingness and generosity with which you shared your human and professional experience. I am sure that many young students will find your “story” of great interest. V.G. At the end of our dialogue, I would like to remember my teacher: Ernesto Nathan Rogers. I’ll tell you an anecdote: in 1956 I was working on the graphics for the Castello Sforzesco Museum set up by the BBPR. Leaving the museum with Rogers, in the Rocchetta courtyard the master stopped and gives me a questioning look. Looking at the Filarete tower, he told me: we have the task of designing a skyscraper in the centre. Usually skyscrapers going up they shrink. Instead this tower has a protruding crown, maybe we too could finish our skyscraper so what do you think? I replied: beautiful! Later I thought that what Rogers evoked was a distinctive feature of our city. The characters of the cities and the masters who have consolidated them are to be respected. If there is no awareness of dialectical continuity, the city loses and gets lost. It is necessary to reconstruct the figure of the architect artist who has full awareness of his role in society. The work of architecture cannot be the result of a pure stylistic and functional choice, it must be the result of a method that takes various and multiple factors into analysis. In Cuba, for example, the musical tradition, the painting of Wilfredo Lam, whose pictorial lines are recognisable in the floor plan of the Ballet School, the literature of Lezama Lima and Alejo Carpentier and above all the Cuban Revolution were fundamental. We theorised this “total” method together with Ricardo Porro, remembering the lecture by Ernesto Nathan Rogers.

Conventional definitions of design rarely capture its reach into our everyday lives. The Design Council, for example, estimates that more than 2.5 million people use design-related skills, principles, and practices on a daily basis in UK workplaces (Design Council 5, 8). Further, they calculate that these workers contribute £209 billion to the economy annually (8). The terrain of design professions extends from the graphic design of online environments, the business models that make them economically viable, and the algorithms that enable them to function, through to the devices we use, the clothes we wear, the furniture we sit on and the spaces where we live and work. Yet paradoxically a search of online dictionaries reiterates the connection of design primarily to drawing and making plans for buildings. As we witness the adoption of practices of “design thinking” in non-traditional design disciplines, it is interesting to note that the Italian renaissance term disegno, referred to both drawing and aspects of thinking. Giorgio Vasari claimed that design was “the animating principle of all creative processes” (Sorabello). Buckminster Fuller was just as florid and even more expansive when he argued that “the opposite of design is chaos” (Papanek 2). The Oxford English Dictionary captures a broad sense of design as “a plan or scheme conceived in the mind and intended for subsequent execution” (OED Online). This issue of M/C Journal offered contributors the opportunity to consider “design” in its broadest sense. The articles in this issue cast a wide net over design in both practice and theory, and emerge from varied disciplinary bases including material culture, graphic design, media studies, and architecture. The authors critique diverse design practices and pedagogy as well as the social reach of design and its political potential. Design Canons and the Economy While design histories begin with the earliest accounts of toolmaking (Margolin), the Industrial Revolution reinforced the more abstract intellectual dimensions of the discipline. Changing methods of production distinguished making from thinking and led to the emergence of the design profession (Spark). During the twentieth century, New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) was instrumental in not only raising awareness of design, but its exhibitions and acquisitions endorsed and canonised the styles and figures associated with “good design”. From its promotion of modern architecture in 1932, to the Good Design exhibition in 1950, MoMA’s advocacy reinforced a selective (and exclusive) canon for modernist design, educating the design-conscious consumer and reaching out to public taste, even advising of local stockists. Design became a means to mediate the art of the past with contemporary furnishings, that they accurately predicted would become the art of the future (MoMA 1). Drawing from this context, in this issue, Curt Lund’s essay interrogates a porcelain toy tea set from 1968 through the lens of material culture analysis to confirm its role in mediating relationships, transmitting values, and embodying social practices, tastes, and beliefs. MoMA was not unique in recognising both the artistic merit and commercial potential of design. Few design activities are inseparable from the market economy and the language of design has infiltrated business more broadly. Design processes are used in seemingly novel ways across businesses and governments seeking to improve their digital and real-world services. A 2018 report by the UK’s Design Council recognised the expanding reach of design and the competitive advantage of design-based economies: the skills, principles and practices of design are now widely used from banking to retail. Designers, too, have always drawn on a range of different skills, tools and technologies to deliver new ideas, goods and services. This is what makes design unique, and is how it makes products, services and systems more useful, usable and desirable in advanced economies around the world. (Design Council 5) Underpinned by design, the global gaming market, for example, is an expanding multi-billion-dollar industry. In this issue, Heather Blakey explores connections made in the digital world. Her article asks, how the design of interactions between characters in the game world can align the player experience with the designer's objectives? The reality of working within the design economy is also addressed by Yaron Meron, whose article in this issue examines the frequent absence of the brief in the graphic design context. Meron highlights problems that arise due to a recurring failure to define the scope of the brief and its significance to a formal collaborative framework between designers and their clientele. Recognition of the design economy’s value has translated to the educational sector. With the expansion of design practice beyond its traditional twentieth century silos, higher education managers are seeking to harness design as a source of innovation, driven by the perceptions of value in disparate industries. This desire for interdisciplinarity raises significant questions about pedagogy and the future of the design studio, which has anchored design tuition since the late nineteenth century. Mark Sawyer’s and Philip Goldswain’s article proposes the employment of concepts from open design literature, “meta-design”, and design “frames” to inform a toolkit to enable shared meaning in an architectural studio setting. Design for a Better World The American industrial designer George Nelson described design as “an attempt to make a contribution through change” (Packard 69), echoing the perception that progress represents improvement in a teleological sense. Many designers have long pursued social agendas and explored solutions to inequities. What loosely unites the disparate design disciplines is a shared sense that design improves the world we live in. But even with the best intentions, design does not inevitably lead to a better world. Accounts of design frequently recognise its shortcomings. These might include narratives that document or delight in famous design failures, such as the complex circumstances that led to the famed demolition of the Pruitt Igoe housing complex in the 1970s (Bristol). We also regularly encounter design flaws in the digital environment—whether an encryption algorithm open to compromise or online forms that do not recognise apostrophes or umlauts. Although on one level this leads to frustration, it also leads to other types of exclusion. Lisa Hackett’s article on 1950s-style fashion shows how the failure of the fashion industry to accommodate varying body shapes has led some women to seek solutions with vintage-style fashion choices. Hackett’s article brings to mind the serious concerns that occur when the standards that define the normative fail to account for large parts of the population. Overlooking gender and race can have a cumulative and significant impact on the everyday lives of women and minorities (Criado-Perez). The global pandemic has emphasised the dangers arising from PPE ill-designed for racial and gender diversity (Porterfield). The idea that design was a means of progressive improvement began to be prominently debunked in the 1960s with the discussion of the design life of machines, objects, and buildings. Planned obsolescence—or designed obsolescence as it was also known—came to attention in the early 1960s when Vance Packard’s The Waste Makers called into question the ethics of post-war consumerism. Packard’s work drew attention to the ethical responsibilities of designers, by revealing their complicity in the phenomenon of planned obsolescence. Packard’s critique linked the problem of “growthmanship” with issues of saturation and disposal (Packard 5). Large digital libraries replace physical objects but introduce new types of clutter. The anxieties produced by alerts that one’s device is “out of memory” may be easily dismissed as “first world problems”, but the carbon footprint of digital communication and storage is a global concern (Tsukayama; Chan). Digital clutter is explored in Ananya’s article “Minimalist Design in the Age of Archive Fever” in this issue. Ananya contrasts minimalist aesthetics, and Marie Kondo-style decluttering, with our burgeoning prosthetic memory, and its attendant digital footprint. In the late 1960s, Victor Papanek considered the ethics of design choices, and in particular, the nexus between design and consumerism, acknowledging Thorstein Veblen’s coruscating critique of conspicuous consumption. But Papanek also drew attention to contemporary environmental crises. He railed against industrial designers, architects, and planners, attributing blame for the profligate consumerism and environmental degradation arguing that “in all pollution, designers are implicated, at least partially" (14). Inclusive Design Papanek’s influential advocacy acknowledged the political dimensions of design and the inherent biases of the time. In response to his teaching, Danish student Susanne Koefoed designed the now ubiquitous International Symbol of Access (ISA), which Guffey suggests is the most widely exported work of Scandinavian design (358). In this issue’s feature article, Sam Holleran explores the connection between visual literacy and civic life, and the design of an international symbol language, which aimed to ameliorate social disadvantage and cultural barriers. Discussions of inclusive design acknowledge that design history is most often Eurocentric, and frequently exclusionary of diversity. Articles in this issue examine more inclusive approaches to design. These efforts to make design more inclusive extend beyond the object or product, to examining techniques and processes that might improve society. Poiner and Drake, for example, explore the potential and challenges of participatory approaches in the design of buildings for a remote Indigenous community. Fredericks and Bradfield, in this issue, argue that Indigenous memes can provoke audiences and demand recognition of First Nations peoples. The meme offers a more inclusive critique of a national government’s intransigence to constitutional change that recognises Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. Further, they advocate for co-design of policy that will enshrine an Indigenous Voice to the Australian Parliament. There are many reasons to be grateful for design and optimistic about its future: the swift design and production of efficacious vaccines come to mind. But as Papanek recognised 50 years ago, designers, most often handmaidens of capital, are still implicated in the problems of the Anthropocene. How can design be used to repair the legacies of a century of profligacy, pollution, and climate change? Design needs its advocates, but the preaching and practice of design are best tempered with continuous forms of critique, analysis, and evaluation. Acknowledgements The editors thank the scholars who submitted work for this issue and the blind referees for their thoughtful and generous responses to the articles. References Bristol, Katharine G. “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth.” Journal of Architectural Education 44.3 (1991): 163–171. Chan, Delle. “Your Website Is Killing the Planet.” Wired, 22 Mar. 21. <https://www.wired.co.uk/article/internet-carbon-footprint>. Criado-Perez, Caroline. Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. Chatto & Windus, 2019. "design, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2021. <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/50840. Accessed 8 August 2021>. Design Council UK. Designing a Future Economy: Developing Design Skills for Productivity and Innovation. Feb. 2018. <https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/Designing_a_future_economy18.pdf>. Guffey, Elizabeth. “The Scandinavian Roots of the International Symbol of Access.” Design and Culture 7.3 (2015): 357–76. DOI: 10.1080/17547075.2015.1105527. Margolin, Victor. World History of Design. Vol. 1. Bloomsbury, 2017. Museum of Modern Art. “First Showing of Good Design Exhibition in New York.” Press Release. 16 Nov. 1950. <https://assets.moma.org/documents/moma_press-release_325754.pdf?_ga=2.206889043.1160124053.1628409746-2001272077.1623303269>. Packard, Vance. The Waste Makers. David McKay, 1960. Papanek, Victor J. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. Bantam Books, 1973. 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