0000000000014226
AUTHOR
Marco Ciziceno
Peoples wellbeing, civic capital and sustainable practices: Evidence from the European Values Study survey
The climate change issue is showing an unprecedented level of awareness in the political realm. Changing occasional sustainable practices into stable behaviors is the challenge that policymakers face. However, what makes people environmentally aware is an unsolved question, and research on this direction is in evolution. This paper examines factors that promote environmentally responsible behaviors. The study tests the hypothesis that people's wellbeing (SWB) predisposes individuals toward environmentalism. The mechanism of social and civic capital may underlie this association since people reporting higher wellbeing levels show empathy, solidarity, and greater civic engagement. This hypoth…
Media landscape e media education: quale ruolo per i serious games?
I serious games hanno dimostrato di essere un valido strumento nel campo dell’istruzione per coinvolgere, motivare e aiutare gli studenti ad apprendere. Tuttavia, gli studiosi non escludono i limiti e i rischi di un modello incentrato sul game-based learning. Questo articolo si propone di riflettere sui pro e i contro dei serious games nella media education e, in particolare, su come i serious games possono essere uno strumento utile per insegnanti ed educatori. Serious games are a powerful tool in media education to engage, motivate, and help students learn. However, scholars do not exclude the limits and risks of such a model focused on game-based learning. This paper aims to reflect on t…
The influence of ecolabels and environmental information on fishery and aquaculture consumption
This paper investigates whether the exhibition of sustainable information (i.e., eco-labeling) influence the consumption of fishery and aquaculture products. Using data from the Eurobarometer survey (ebs-95.1) we explore the consumers’ environmental attitudes by tracking the trend in consumption of seafood products before/after the pandemic situation, with a focus on the products showing ecolabels.
Cultura del Benessere e Soggettività. Una introduzione
La ricerca su benessere, soddisfazione e felicità è cresciuta notevolmente nel corso degli ultimi vent'anni. Tale rinnovato interesse ha spinto anche i più scettici a riconsiderare l'importanza di questi concetti all'interno del dibattito delle scienze sociali perché l'attenzione verso la qualità della vita, il desiderio di una società più sostenibile ed inclusiva, possono essere considerati proprio figli dell'attuale cultura del benessere. Così un argomento ritenuto "poco serio" fino a poco tempo fa, si è sviluppato grazie ai contributi di sociologi, psicologi ed economisti, che studiano i determinanti per una "buona vita". Il volume, si concentra sul problema, tipicamente moderno, del rap…
Perceived Corruption and Individuals’ Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Institutional Trust
Corruption degrades the quality of institutions, increases economic inequality and limits growth. Recent studies indicate that corruption is also associated with lower satisfaction with life. This research examines a potential explanation for this association and investigates the role of institutional trust in mediating the linkage between perceived corruption and satisfaction with life. Specifically, in two studies, we tested the novel hypothesises that perceived corruption affects life satisfaction indirectly by undermining individuals’ confidence in institutions. Study 1 (N = 251) involved an opportunity sample from the US. Study 2 (N = 9508) analysed data from the World Value Survey and…
The Well-Being Gap during the Great Recession: The Role of Growth and Institutions
The purpose of this paper is to examine the well-being dynamics across European countries during the Great Recession and to investigate the potential role of the quality of formal institutions in mitigating the negative effect of the economic downturn. This study uses the club convergence methodology by Phillips and Sul (2007; 2009) to group EU-28 countries that present similar features in terms of well-being during the period 2005-2017. The study also applies probit models to investigate the potential role of several social and institutional characteristics that are supposed to affect subjective well-being levels. The results show the existence of a “well-being gap” among European countrie…
Qualità della vita, benessere e salute: significati e metafore conoscitive della vita
Over the last few years, terms such as health, subjective well-being, happiness, and quality of life have gained increasing attention both within and outside the scientific debate, sometimes even entering general speaking. It is probably due to the figure of Achille Ardigò (1988, 1997), the founder of the sociology of health in Italy, that we observe such interest in these topics. Recently, the relationship between health and society has developed under the sign of heterogeneity, drawing reflections on the quality of life (Maturo, 2009), the role of medicine (Giarelli and Vignera, 2004; Cipolla, 2004), the healthcare systems (Corposanto, 2007; Giarelli, 2005) and also on the perceived happi…
Some Sociological remarks on the Fitness Industry and the Fitness Culture
During the last few years, the fitness culture is becoming gradually more globalized, and such a trend involves sport, physical activity, and wellness areas. The globalization of fitness culture also reflects the prosperity of the fitness industry, today a global business of multibillion dollars. This article discusses the reasons that have led to the transformation of fitness culture in a global movement. The relationship between the processes of globalization and the fitness culture is addressed under the sociological perspective. The metaphor of “McDonaldization” of society partly explains the homogenization and standardization of cultural ideals, bodies representation, and conceptions o…
The Conceptions of Quality of Life, Wellness and Well-Being: A Literature Review
In the last few years, a growing body of research has been interested in wellness, quality of life, and well-being issues. Furthermore, institutions, governments, and policymakers start to introduce numerous physical and mental well-being programs, whereas scholars interested in well-being research use different indicators to evaluate them. Although these terms are popular in the scientific debate, they are variously interpreted and at the conceptual level do not have a standard definition. This disagreement is particularly relevant when considering the questions related to their measurement and application in empirical research. This review explores the main theoretical conceptions of qual…
Household Expenditures and the Status of Children: An Analysis of the Italian Case
Several factors influence consumption choices, which are not all related to the economic dimension. In this paper, we analyze Italian household consumption depending on family characteristics, such as the parents’ working status, their level of education, and the status of children (aged 21 through 30) as students, workers, or NEETs. We rely upon household consumption microdata and apply the «budgetary unit» concept to investigate preferential patterns of family consumption depending on the aforementioned characteristics. In particular, we are interested in understanding whether and how the status of children shapes the consumption patterns of the family unit. We analyze secondary data coll…
Religione, benessere e job satisfaction: quale nesso possibile?
Il presente contributo nasce dall'esigenza di approfondire il possibile nesso tra la dimensione del "sentire" religioso e quella dell'"agire" lavorativo, nel tentativo di (ri)portare la spiritualità all'interno del dibattito sociologico sul lavoro. Infatti, sebbene nel corso degli ultimi anni la letteratura sociologica ha mostrato come la qualità del lavoro sia un concetto multidimensionale e dinamico, la dimensione religiosa e/o spirituale del lavoratore non ha trovato adeguato spazio nella definizione di qualità del lavoro o negli interventi a suo favore. Attraverso la differenziazione dei concetti quali religiosità, spiritualità e soddisfazione sul lavoro, si giunge alla conclusione che …
Religious Service Attendance and Subjective Well-Being in European Countries
Research findings show that endorsing a religion is to some extent related to positive health outcomes and other additional benefits linked to individuals’ psychological sphere. Although an association between religion and Subjective Well-Being (SWB) has been established by previous studies, comparative investigations in the European context are limited. To fill this gap, the current research explores the possible effects of religious involvement – in the form of religious service attendance – on individuals’ life satisfaction across the EU-28 countries.
Soddisfazione lavorativa e differenze di genere: una proposta di analisi
The recent transformations in the labor market and the current political and economic scenarios have profoundly changed the concept of job quality compared to the past. As a result, men and women live differently their work experience and it is difficult to distinguish a job “of high quality” from one that is not. Although, according to official statistics, there are still strong disparities between men and women in the workplace in Italy, Italian female workers declare themselves to be quite satisfied with their jobs. So, how can be explained what has been called a “gender paradox”? This paper examines the relationship between job satisfaction and gender in Italy. The reading of the phenom…
Così reale da poter essere immaginato: il ruolo dell’immaginazione sociologica e i “fatti sociali” globali
The understanding of contemporary economic geographies and global “social facts” represent the best challenge for Burawoy’s public sociology. Scholars wonder whether sociology can successfully address our time’s problems, keeping its spirit of service to the community alive. Indeed, recent political and economic events require formulating a new sociological imagination that is more creative, open, and accessible to the general public. In this paper, we use some of the most significant intersections of Mills’ work, between history and personal biography, to highlight the sociological imagination’s significant role in understanding the present. We use practical cases of applying the concept o…
Life satisfaction and tax morale: The role of trust in government and cultural orientation
Taxes are essential for a government to function correctly, because they fund public services and promote long-term growth in a country. Tax morale is a positive attitude toward taxation shaped by extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, including numerous psychological factors. However, these factors are far from completely clear and a better understanding of what drives tax morale can greatly help governments in the design of tax policies and their administration. In this paper we test the novel hypothesis that life satisfaction is one of the psychological aspects affecting tax morale. Using longitudinal data from the World Value Survey, we show that people more satisfied with their own life …
The Influence of Religion on Life Satisfaction in Italy
Italy is the cradle of Catholicism and, despite the secularization process, religion continues to be part of its national culture. Although Italian sociologists have investigated the religious paradigm in Italy, there are aspects of such phenomenon still little explored. This paper examines the potential influence religion has on individuals’ life satisfaction. Data from the European Value Study survey provides evidence of a two-way interaction between religion and life satisfaction, with a substantial effect only in the case of public religious forms. This association seems to be moved by the mechanism of social support, and it differs across Italian regions. Results confirm the hypothesis…