Search

Based on ethnographic research conducted between October 2021 and December 2022 on Chinese construction projects in Ghana, this paper explores workplaces and employment dynamics within Chinese state-owned construction companies in Africa. Through the ethnographic description of daily life at Chinese construction sites in Ghana, the article analyses the power relations, conflicts, and strategies of resistance existing in these working and living spaces. In particular, the paper illustrates the global and local processes and dynamics which involve Chinese stateowned construction companies operating in Ghana and explores the hierarchical power and intercultural relations that occur in these contexts. The article argues that while the global and local dynamics within which (also) Chinese construction companies operate constitute one of the reasons why Chinese companies are often represented in negative terms – by the media, the local communities, and the workers employed by them – in order to understand why they are often defined in Ghana as elsewhere as ‘the worst’ it is necessary to reflect on the peculiar intercultural hierarchical relationships that take place within them. In this regard, the long-term ethnographic research conducted at Chinese construction sites in Ghana provides a privileged point of view and angle of observation to conduct in-depth studies on these contexts and relationships.

This paper focuses on the strike among the workers of the TK-AST steelworks in Terni during the 2014 industrial dispute, and on their collective action. The paper aims at demonstrating how such collective action is characterised by an internal fragmentation born out of a growing alienation in the workplace mirrored in the public sphere during the strike action, and which can be traced back to the personal history of the individuals, to the length of service and position in the production process and struggle experience. It also attempts to demonstrate how this can be interpreted with a growing alienation in the production sphere of industrial work which can be linked to a general differentiation of life into social aspects and economic aspects, and a distinction between central and peripheral aspects of the self.

The social emporium: a model for empowerment and social inclusion ---------- This paper investigates the social and cultural impact and effectiveness of the solidarity emporium service as a strategy for fighting urban marginalization, malnutrition and poverty. Through the ethnographic analysis of the case-study of the Social Emporium of Bra (Italy), the paper highlights the positivity of this approach that is capable of offering an tailored response to the individuals' need and empowering the customers of the service. The specificities of the case-study offer an example of solidarity emporium focused on the strong relationality between operators and customers that proved particularly effective in empowering the customers.

Interpersonal communication in the lane for the promotion of the Person ----- Abstract --- The work reflects on the actions of taking care of the other. This is a process that does not respond to pre-established schemes because it means, first of all, respecting, stimulating and enhancing the other’s existence by supporting her life project. The paper underlies that the treatment is not limited to planning and carrying out interventions only on the basis of theoretical knowledge. The paper suggests to pay attention to the uniqueness of the subject, to accept and listen at the other with an unconditional opening. Finally, the paper points out that care is effective when fosters experiences that can allow the other to 'save herself' only when the other accepts to participate consciously to the risk that comes with the offer. At the same time, care educates promoting and promoting self-training.

The use of narrations and products for the promotion of local food heritage: a methodological note ----- Abstract --- The paper presents a methodological tool for the study of local gastronomy, its promotion and conservation. The method systematizes and expands the methodology developed for the project Ark of Taste, promoted by Slow Food and University of Gastronomic Sciences. The paper present the results of the experimentation of the method conducted in the Nakuru County in Kenya during the research Sustainable Agri-Food System Strategies (SASS)

Il COVID-19 e in modo particolare le misure restrittive adottate per il suo contenimento hanno rappresentato un’esperienza antropologica sparti acque tra un “prima” e un “dopo”, per molti ambiti della nostra vita quotidiana. Come tutti i vissuti che richiedono un adattamento, soprattutto quando repentini e condizionati da azioni esterne, anche l’esperienza della quarantena ha avuto un costo, tanto maggiore quanto la relazione con lo spazio abitativo era compromessa: dalle dimensioni, dal numero di abitanti, dall’acquisizione di nuove consapevolezze sulle proprie esigenze in rapporto alla propria casa. Potremmo individuare nello schiacciamento delle sfere sociali in un unico contesto (Ellison, boyd 2007; boyd 2008) – per l’appunto quello abitativo – uno dei primi e più importanti effetti del lockdown. Il cosiddetto collapse context ha interferito sulle dinamiche relazionali all’interno dello spazio abitativo e al tempo stesso con quelle costruite al di fuori di esso. La dad, la didattica a distanza, si è dovuta inserire necessariamente in questo processo con una serie di conseguenze per l’esperienza di apprendimento, per gli studenti coinvolti e per il loro intorno sociale. Il presente paper intende riflettere sul ruolo del contesto abitativo, come risorsa e come limite, all’interno delle pratiche adattive di convivenza e di relazione nel caso specifico della DAD. Si affronterà una riflessione su come lo spazio, per certi versi esposto, celato, involontariamente mostrato, abbia avuto una sua rilevanza per una relazione che nello schermo del computer la sua principale frontiera.

What is then this teacher’s magic? The rhetoric of the presence in Italian schools in times of pandemic ----- Abstract --- Starting from ethnographic research and anthropological reflexivity, this paper proposes a critical reading of the rhetoric of presence in the classroom as constitutively good - rhetoric that is nostalgically spreading to challenge remote teaching, so-called ‘didattica a distanza’. Remote teaching is discussed as an important opportunity to rethink the role of bodies, the setting and responsibility in the educational relationship.

Alcoholics anonymous and Al-Anon: which link? ----- Abstract --- After showing the history and the operation of Anonymous Alcoholics (A.A.) groups, and pointing out the objects of the work, the present paper illustrates the mechanisms of behaviour change in A.A. A.A. works through mobilizing adaptive social networks and reducing the exposition to other alcoholics. This describes the effects on alcoholics of living in a context with people that are sober and prepared to support them, thanks to the positive presence of a self-help group for relatives (Al-Anon). The involvement in these specific groups could be associated with better drinking outcomes for alcoholics and better results during their cure’s pathway. In this way, we can think over the possible synergy between A.A. and Al-Anon, showing the interdependence of the people in the alcohol dependence’s situation and illustrating the potentiality of being active about their disease, to take the control of their own life.

Design and Narrative. The storytelling of public space ----- Abstract --- This paper investigates the most recent transformations of urban space in which new technologies and storytelling are the starting points of a new interaction between the city and its inhabitants. Digital technologies play a primary role in shaping the identity of spaces and in broadening the perceptive dimension. There is more and more talk of 'hybrid spaces' within which the contamination between smart furniture (internet of things) and technologies can encourage new forms of interaction that allow everyone to customize their own approach to the city. The multiple interpretations generated by storytelling promote a personal adherence to the places and at the same time a greater ease of use of the spaces.

Paths of socio-educational care about distrust of immigrants ----- Abstract --- The work reflects on the relationships of educational care during the childhood and adolescence of immigrant subjects. It riassunti per editorialedraws attention to communication processes. It highlights how a new success story may depend on the integration of the weakest sections of the population thanks to the protection of human rights and the design and implementation of compensatory routes. The paper analyses the processes that involve subjects who did not develop their cognitive and intellectual abilities, and experienced scholastic failure, marginalization and a significant fall in their self-esteem. The article relates the educational discomfort with the family socio-cultural condition, individual’s school failures, lack of infrastructure, ethnic background, and, complete or partial, lack of language skill concerning the language of the host country.

The role of improvisation and storytelling in the social sciences, art and creativity ----- Abstract --- The concept of improvisation has become increasingly popular in organizational theory. This paper explores several aspects of improvisation, in the context of musical, organizational, and everyday activities, in order to address some of the philosophical and practical issues relevant to this emerging interest. Connections are made between the modernist concept of organization and scholarly inquiry, and postmodern or complexity-based approaches that stress creativity as an emergent property of the relationship between order and disorder. It concludes by suggesting that the study of improvisation demands a profound immersion in (inter-) subjectivity, emotions, time, aesthetics, performance, and social creativity, none of which have traditionally been the focus of organization and management studies, or the social sciences in general. It also suggests that the practice of social sciences itself should reflect upon and attempt to incorporate these elements.

Here and Then. Anthropology of Corrado Alvaro's writing ----- Abstract --- The paper explores the potential documentary and communicative dimension of the literary text. Starting from the analysis of some of Corrado Alvaro's works concerning Calabria, his homeland, the author tries to deal with the main points of the, especially postmodern, debate that contraposed anthropologists and literary criticists. Some characteristic oppositions of Corrado Alvaro's writing - magic realism/realism, particular/universal -, as well as his peculiar way of declining the place/memory relationship, make the author’s writing also interesting for the anthropologist.

Mentalizing in Organizations. A Model to Understand Well-Being and Sufferance in Work Contexts Abstract Moving from the constructs of ‘mentalization’ and ‘reflective function’ (Fonagy and colleagues), this paper develops the concept of ‘mentalizing in organizations’, understood as a process of construction of shared meaning in the work contexts, whose the absence or deterioration produces suffering in organizational experience, exposing individuals to significant psychosocial risks. This model converges in outlining a framework in which the absence of a reflective competence and the lack of symbolization of the experience of work fall on the perception of own role, and on the relationship with colleagues and management, producing unsustainability of the work experience. The availability of reflective spaces that are inscribed in the ordinary dimension of work, thus appears as a solution capable of promoting organizational well-being. Keywords: mentalization, mentalizing in organizations, reflective competence, organizational well-being. Riassunto Basandosi sui costrutti della ‘mentalizzazione’ e della ‘funzione riflessiva’ di Fonagy e colleghi come quadro teorico di riferimento, il presente articolo si propone di sviluppare il concetto di ‘mentalizzazione nelle organizzazioni’, inteso come processo di costruzione condivisa di significati all’interno dei contesti lavorativi, processo la cui assenza o compromissione può produrre significative esperienze di malessere. Si ipotizza che l’assenza o la compromissione di una competenza riflessiva, insieme ad una mancata simbolizzazione dell’esperienza di lavoro, determinino specifiche conseguenze sia sulla percezione della propria professione, sia sulle relazioni tra colleghi, sia sui processi di management, determinando insostenibilità nella vita professionale e organizzativa. Parole chiave: mentalizzazione, mentalizzare nelle organizzazioni, competenza riflessiva, benessere organizzativo.

The Psychological and Organizational Challenge of Recovered Factories Abstract This paper aims at contextualizing the phenomenon of recovered factories both from a historical and a psychological perspective. The need for a managerial role in the organization is discussed by an introductory analysis of the Soviet workers’ control of the production experience and, above all, a wide discussion of the Argentinian phenomenon of recovered factories. Comparing primary data from field work carried out in an Italian recovered factory with a metanalysis on the Argentinian phenomenon, three levels show which we can analyze the recovery process with: personal identity, organizational structure (hierarchy, decisional processes, economic management) and gender dynamics. Nowadays, the ‘boss-less’ model represents a possible and reproducible option. However, some problems remain which could be represented by the following dichotomies: inefficiency/self-exploitation, informality/ bureaucratization, isolation/subjection to the market. Keywords: recovered factories, self-management, organizational change

In this paper I report a Bulgarian female migrant caregiver’s “life-story”, especially focusing on her relation with an old Italian woman, and the care practices performed in her favor in Italy, and on her daughter and parents still living in Bulgaria. I chose to do it by means of an anthropological approach based on experience as field of mediation between personal dimensions and historical and social processes and therefore centered on the body conceived as historical product, the influence of political and social forces on shaping human lives, and finally interested in the specific link between bodies and work. From this analysis, based on language and narratives, I think useful cultural aspects may emerge about “gender” and care practices, regarding the two women linked by an assistance relationship, and the activities/strategies used by the Bulgarian caregiver to fulfill her family obligations.

Starting from the teaching and research experience of the author in the School of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, and considering what is actually happening in Italian universities, the paper highlights the dangerous trend of a reduction of medical anthropology courses as important symptom of the widest and creeping impoverishment of whole anthropology, discipline so valuable and strategic for humanity. The aim is to draw the attention of the national and international academic and scientific communities on the need to develop adequate strategies of resistance to preserve, however, the epistemological wealth of anthropology, even surpassing, at this stage of criticality, some conflicts related to its various forms such as social, cultural, medical, applied and clinical ones, and to its different schools, in order to get public legitimacy in terms of a clear socio-political and institutional mandate, considering also the so-called “ontological turn” in human sciences.

Functions of Drama Representation in Psychiatry Theatre activities have historically played a significant role in psychiatry. How-ever, it is only during the 19th century that they acquire a certain relevance as treatment tool for “moral madness” and yet, with the development of mental hospitals and the organicistic view of mental disease, theatre also becomes functional to the control of sick people’s unwanted behaviors. We will have to wait until the second half of the 20th century and the explosion of socio-cultural winds of change before we can give theatre a pedagogical role of tool for freedom. It is starting from this last period that theatre becomes a real tool with which we can express emotions, dreams and visions and by means of which build communities struggling against social injustice with marginalized people’s direct support. And finally today, even though mental health theatre keeps the role of litmus paper of freedom and attention-seeking behavior typical of people in trouble, it is also recognized for its important artistic and cultural function and innovating ability.

Riassunto Il seguente lavoro cerca di comprendere le ragioni e le implicazioni relazionali, sociali e culturali del rapporto che i giovani intrattengono con gli adulti, in particolar modo nella forma del domandare (aiuto o spiegazioni) e del ricercare il senso delle cose attraverso il pensare le cose stesse. Il lavoro si sviluppa a partire da una riflessione sulle relazioni che si possono osservare, a livello fenomenologico, nell’ambito scolastico in relazione a possibili prospettive di cambiamento.Parole chiave: adolescenza, scuola, limite Teens and contemporary contextAbstract The following paper seeks to understand the relational, social and cultural reasons and implications of the relationship young people have with adults, especially in the form of asking (for help or explanations) and looking for the meaning of things through thinking about things themselves. The work develops from a reflection on the relationships that can be observed at the phenomenological level, in schools in relation to possible perspectives of change. Key word: adolescence, school, limit.

RiassuntoQuest’articolo sottolinea i fondamenti filosofici e pedagogici di un master in Leadership Trasformativa focalizzandosi in maniera specifica sul ruolo della creatività e dell’auto-creazione. Utilizza il progetto di laurea per esaminare alcune delle considerevoli complessità che la leadership presenta, ma anche le sfide planetarie e personali più ampie affrontate da individui impegnati nel contribuire ad un cambiamento sociale positivo. Parole Chiave: leadership, creatività, complessità, sfide planetarieTransformative leadership for the 21st century. Reflections on the design of a graduate leadership curriculumAbstract This paper outlines the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of a masters degree in Transformative Leadership with a specific focus on the role of creativity and self-creation. It uses the design of the degree as a way of address some of the considerable complexities of the field of leadership, but also the larger planetary and personal challenges facing individuals who are committed to contributing to positive social change. Key word: Leadership, creativity, complexity, global challenges

Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and Eating Disorders (ED) share some characteristics such as teen or late adolescence onset and greater prevalence respectively between males and females. According to a psychodynamic approach, SUD and ED, together with psychosomatic disorders, can be defined second level disorders, where symptoms cover an underlying psychic suffering. They can also be considered useful but dysfunctional strategies of self-care and emotional self-regulation. Group analytic therapy represents an effective therapeutic tool for these disorders acting on psychological and relational functioning as well as on symptoms. This paper aims at proposing some reflections based on clinical experiences conducted by the Authors during the last few years.