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This paper is aimed at investigating the clinical properties of the Italian Battery for ADHD (BIA) in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) markers and evaluating the cognitive processes involved in these developmental disorders. The participants were: 133 with typical development (TD), 41 children with ADHD-traits, 14 with ODD-traits and 15 with SLD-traits. All participants were assessed using the BIA tests and other non-executive tests in order to control for executive and non-executive components. Results showed that BIA is effective to discriminate between the ADHD and TD group, in particular as regarding four specific tests assessing inhibitory control and sustained attention: Ranette, Auditory Attention, Numeric Stroop (errors) and CP (omissions). On the other hand, children with ODD performed more poorly than TD on MF and CP supporting the presence of impulsivity and visual search deficit in this group of children, while the SLD did not show any significant impairment. Results have been discussed in terms of the capacity of the BIA to distinguish children with ADHD, ODD or SLD.

After the economic crisis started in 2008 and the following wave of public expenditure retrenchment in many European countries (especially in the Southern area), the capacity of cities to enable their local systems to attract economic and social resources has become crucial. Among the cities that showed this capacity, Milan is a relevant case. The Milan center-left administration has inaugurated a new approach to foster local economic development and to tackle unemployment based on sharing and collaborative policies. In this paper we present the results of a research program started in 2015. We have analyzed all the ‘strategy’ documents presenting a vision of the future city, and interviewed the main stakeholders, in public and private organizations. A neo-institutional theoretical framework helped us to focus on the tension of coordination, especially between the city and the region, and between the city and the national government. The force of collaborative and cooperative ties at the micro and meso levels has been a source of innovation and deliberate change, but limited and challenged by tensions coming from the macro level. The experience reconstructed in this paper highlights the strengths but also the limitations of the city approach, which has proved effective in including new actors but that, in the presence of not coordinated actors and with a low institutionalization of their capacity for collective action, shows some difficulties in the implementation phase.

Individual freedom, social justice and the struggle against oppression: Carlo Rosselli’s liberal socialism The paper is aimed at stressing the political, moral and intellectual legacy of Carlo Rosselli, eighty years after his assassination together with his brother Nello, occurred in France in 1937. While a vast historical literature is devoted to the movement of Justice and Freedom and many political circles are dedicated to the Rosselli brothers in several Italian cities, despite some exceptions, the significance of Rosselli's liberal socialism has not been yet adequately reconsidered from the viewpoint of political philosophy. Therefore, the following paper is aimed at reconstructing the main theoretical significance of both Liberal socialism and the movement Justice and Freedom in the light of present debates on social justice and liberal democracies. In the end I will try to support the idea that liberal socialism is a persistent tradition because of the relentless claims for social justice, the defense of individual freedoms and the respect of human dignity

White collars and mafias. The dangerous relations in the economy of Northern Italy Relations with external individuals define organizations as much as their internal structures and members. Individuals formally external to the organizational structure can play a major role, especially within criminal organizations. In the mafias, members’ low human capital is balanced with their ability to cooperate with individuals who have specific professional skills, such as accountants, police officers, and politicians. Drawing information on almost 40 recent investigations on mafia networks in Northern Italy, this paper analyses the profile and activities of the professionals involved in mafias’ illicit business. All 60 identified professionals acted as either knowledge brokers (i.e. connecting mafiosi with the individuals needed to pursue their illicit goals), knowledge providers (i.e. providing mafiosi with the technical skills necessary for certain criminal activities), or both. These white collars are particularly crucial in the settlement of mafias outside of their territories of origin. Knowledge brokers and providers indeed reduce the cost of information for the mafias, which in turn allows them to proliferate in new territories. The paper concludes by underlying how mafias’ relations with external actors should be incorporated in the study of mafia organizations

This paper proposes a juridical comparison between Italian and Ireland constitutional systems about the crucial issue of referendum. Particularly, it focalizes this comparison to the constitutional referendum in both countries: a very interesting comparison field to understand some fundamental elements of these two constitutional Charters. In this context, the comparative perspective about direct democracy is very useful to show the different ideas of popular sovereignty inside Italian and Irish constitutionalism, and to argue about the historical and theoretical reasons of this difference.

The Control of Movida: Giving Voice to the Nightgoers of Turin Nightlife in the city center (or the so-called movida in Italian) has become in our country a new arena of urban conflict regarding the use of public space, despite the numerous strategies implemented by local governments to limit its negative impacts. Thirty semi-structured interviews have been conducted among young and adult nightgoers of Turin to investigate their point of view on the main initiatives aimed to control the movida of their city. Namely, the focus is on different forms of law enforcement and the municipal ordinances that forbid glass and take-away alcohol consumption in public areas. The paper shows that nightgoers do not evaluate these kinds of strategies aprioristically, by refusing any governance of the movida. Instead, building on their direct experiences, they diversify their opinions according to the positive and negative consequences produced by each measure. In general, the different generational impact of these initiatives is evident since they are primarily directed towards controlling young people’s practices and spaces.

L’articolo illustra brevemente uno tra gli approcci emergenti nella ricerca in educazione chiamato Actor-network theory. Rifacendosi alla “svolta sociomateriale”, l’analisi in chiave Ant porta al centro delle proprie riflessioni la materialità e cerca di tracciare le connessioni tra elementi eterogenei (umani e non-umani) che creano le pratiche educative quotidiane. In quest’ottica le riforme scolastiche, le scuole, le classi, ecc. divengono una miriade di assemblaggi sociomateriali, un groviglio complesso e interconnesso di attori, pratiche e oggetti. Questo sguardo mette in discussione la centralità del soggetto umano nella pratica educativa, portando in primo piano gli elementi di materialità del processo educativo. Sottolineando gli aspetti di fluidità e di instabilità insiti nell’esperienza educativa, la prospettiva Ant “costringe” il ricercatore a porsi nuove domande e a misurarsi con la molteplicità di reti e attori che rendono imprevedibile l’evento educativo. L’articolo si conclude indagando alcune implicazioni metodologiche dell’Ant per la ricerca educativa e le possibili ricadute di una pratica educativa letta come un insieme di elementi instabili e mutevoli., The paper briefly illustrates one of the emerging approach in educational research named Actor-network theory. Drawing on sociomaterial turn, Ant’s analysis focuses on the materiality of education and tries to account for the heterogeneous elements (human and non–human) which entanglements effect the everyday educational practices. Educational reforms, schools, classrooms, ecc. become, from this point of view, a myriad of sociomaterial assemblages, a complex and interwoven entanglement involving human actors, practices and things. This stance challenges the centring of human subject in the educational practices and foregrounds the materiality of educational processes. By emphasizing the aspects of fluidity and instability embedded in educational practices, Ant perspective “constrains” the researcher to rise new questions and to struggle with the many webs and actors enacting the nonchoerences of mundane education. The paper concludes by exploring some Ant methodological implications for education research and some effects of considering educative practices as uncertain and changeable.

Recent decades have seen growing recognition of the role of artistic languages in educational and research settings. What was once an exclusive focus on the expressive production of children has now expanded to include far greater use of artistic languages in the domain of education, including with younger and older adults. Artistic production itself has become a key tool for interpreting society, and has thus been accepted into mainstream research as a language that it is no longer possible to do without. Proponents of arts-based research (ABR) and art-informed research are currently calling for a focus on "systematic use of the artistic process…as a primary way of understanding and examining experience…" (McNiff, 2008, p.29). These methods are alternative means of exploring aspects of reality that are inaccessible to traditional forms of knowledge and more conventional methods of inquiry. In a contemporary era that is different to the past and characterized by greater uncertainty, ABR offers a strategy based on a form of observation that is complex and wide-ranging, and thus more appropriate than exclusively linear and causal approaches. This paper presents a post-graduate course in ABR that takes the form of a virtual international classroom entitled Global Classroom in Arts-Based Research. This programme involves – in addition to the Human Sciences and Education Department at Milano-Bicocca University – Florida State University, Drexel University, University of Leuven, FLAMES, and Northern Illinois University. It is offered to PhD students in education, with a view to familiarizing them with the potential of artistic languages, getting them to constantly compare notes concerning their practices and documentation, and helping them to design research actions that include the use of these languages.

This paper tells the story of an initiative, underway for some years now, that is based on collaboration between architects, education specialists, teachers, and students. It originated in 2015 from a basic research project funded by DAStU, the architecture department at the Politecnico di Milano, on the theme of existing school buildings, liveability, and the wellbeing of students and teachers. The research aim was to build up a knowledge base on the condition of school buildings, and the relative problems and expectations, to be shared with all those with a role in the sector: architects, teachers, policymakers, etc. The first steps in the research process included a comprehensive review of the salient literature, encounters between architects and education specialists, and interviews with the head teachers of lower secondary schools, a segment that is often overlooked in innovation projects. Field work was then conducted involving: careful observation of school spaces by a mixed group of architects and education specialists, with the help of floor plans; an on-site visit during which the research team first engaged in free exploration before being given a guided tour by school staff; further in-depth observation of the use of the spaces; focus group discussions with students and teachers to elicit their opinions and suggestions for change; administration of a questionnaire that was adapted from a European project to fit the present research aims and context. The results of the different research phases were analysed, compared, and integrated, and ultimately disseminated, mainly via open access outlets. The study gave rise to further developments. On the one hand, it led to the setting up of the transdisciplinary work group Ambiente Scuola [School Environment], which continues to promote cooperation across a growing network of schools, local authorities, associations, etc. On the other hand, the field work fostered enhanced awareness, on the part of the participat

This paper tells the story of an initiative, underway for some years now, that is based on collaboration between architects, education specialists, teachers, and students. It originated in 2015 from a basic research project funded by DAStU, the architecture department at the Politecnico di Milano, on the theme of existing school buildings, liveability, and the wellbeing of students and teachers. The research aim was to build up a knowledge base on the condition of school buildings, and the relative problems and expectations, to be shared with all those with a role in the sector: architects, teachers, policymakers, etc. The first steps in the research process included a comprehensive review of the salient literature, encounters between architects and education specialists, and interviews with the head teachers of lower secondary schools, a segment that is often overlooked in innovation projects. Field work was then conducted involving: careful observation of school spaces by a mixed group of architects and education specialists, with the help of floor plans; an on-site visit during which the research team first engaged in free exploration before being given a guided tour by school staff; further in-depth observation of the use of the spaces; focus group discussions with students and teachers to elicit their opinions and suggestions for change; administration of a questionnaire that was adapted from a European project to fit the present research aims and context. The results of the different research phases were analysed, compared, and integrated, and ultimately disseminated, mainly via open access outlets. The study gave rise to further developments. On the one hand, it led to the setting up of the transdisciplinary work group Ambiente Scuola [School Environment], which continues to promote cooperation across a growing network of schools, local authorities, associations, etc. On the other hand, the field work fostered enhanced awareness, on the part of the participat

Recent decades have seen growing recognition of the role of artistic languages in educational and research settings. What was once an exclusive focus on the expressive production of children has now expanded to include far greater use of artistic languages in the domain of education, including with younger and older adults. Artistic production itself has become a key tool for interpreting society, and has thus been accepted into mainstream research as a language that it is no longer possible to do without. Proponents of arts-based research (ABR) and art-informed research are currently calling for a focus on "systematic use of the artistic process…as a primary way of understanding and examining experience…" (McNiff, 2008, p.29). These methods are alternative means of exploring aspects of reality that are inaccessible to traditional forms of knowledge and more conventional methods of inquiry. In a contemporary era that is different to the past and characterized by greater uncertainty, ABR offers a strategy based on a form of observation that is complex and wide-ranging, and thus more appropriate than exclusively linear and causal approaches. This paper presents a post-graduate course in ABR that takes the form of a virtual international classroom entitled Global Classroom in Arts-Based Research. This programme involves – in addition to the Human Sciences and Education Department at Milano-Bicocca University – Florida State University, Drexel University, University of Leuven, FLAMES, and Northern Illinois University. It is offered to PhD students in education, with a view to familiarizing them with the potential of artistic languages, getting them to constantly compare notes concerning their practices and documentation, and helping them to design research actions that include the use of these languages.

The paper investigates the phenomenon of young caregivers. That is children and teenagers providing care for some of their family members who require support and supervision. In Italy, there is a lack of information and studies on this phenomenon. We conducted a survey research to understand its characteristics in a specific Italian context (three middle schools in Milan) and compared it with the evidence emerging from international literature. The survey reached 424 students and investigated the causes that led to their assumption of care responsibilities, the activities carried out, and the consequences of being young care providers.

The paper provides an analysis of the different waves identified by Lustig and Weiler through the lens of the concept of dédoublement fonctionnel elaborated by George Scelles.

The State coercion on Comunidades autónomas: some reflections drawn from the “Catalan question”. This paper aims to analyse the legal basis that led the Spanish Government to give effect for the first time to Article 155 of the Constitution, thus dissolving the Parliament and Govern of Catalonia. Drawing inspiration from its theorical construction and the judicial doctrine which was written about, some reflections are made regarding the constitutionality of all those measures concretely adopted by the Spanish institutions to work out the challenge to legality derived from the Catalan proclamation of independence on 27th October 2017.

This paper aims at shedding light on the relationship between the Lutheran Reformation and the modern concept of sovereignty. In particular, it suggests a threefold articulation (political, normative and geographical) of such a religious fracture and it highlights how it contributed to the process of birth of the Nation State.

Short Text Messages (SMS) are being increasingly used in different research contexts, including survey methodology. Although a number of studies investigated the effects of different strategies (e.g., the use of incentives or different contact modes) on response, there is not much research on the use of SMS reminders in Web surveys. Using experimental data from a national Web survey of Italian graduates in Social Work, this paper aims to evaluate the impact of SMS reminders on non response error at different stages of the data collection process. Drawing on the social exchange theory, we posit that SMS reminders may be more effective in boostering survey participation and data quality than E-mail reminders. Key findings are that: i) SMS have a positive impact on response rates, ii) although less marked, the differences in response rates between SMS and E-mail respondents persist at the end of the data collection process. We also discuss the specific challenges in evaluating the impact of different contact modes on measurement error e.g., the power of the analysis is limited by the low occurrence of inaccurate response behaviors that, together with the low response rates, reduce the sample size available for analysis.