Ridefinire lo spazio urbano: luoghi, ritmi e pratiche sociali

La pandemia ha rimesso in discussione le classiche dicotomie tra privato/pubblico, statico/dinamico, reale/virtuale utilizzate per definire lo spazio di vita e di conseguenza ha ridefinito le categorie utilizzate per tracciare i confini di queste dimensioni. Durante il lockdown i tempi della vita quotidiana non sono più diversificati in modo netto e di conseguenza anche il modo di “abitare” lo spazio urbano è alterato. I cambiamenti avvenuti nei ritmi di vita quotidiana nell’era post-Covid hanno richiesto una riprogettazione dello spazio e lanciato ai pianificatori una nuova sfida che richiede non solo competenze specifiche su un piano esecutivo, ma anche una nuova prospettiva con il quale …

Inferential tools in penalized logistic regression for small and sparse data: A comparative study.

This paper focuses on inferential tools in the logistic regression model fitted by the Firth penalized likelihood. In this context, the Likelihood Ratio statistic is often reported to be the preferred choice as compared to the ‘traditional’ Wald statistic. In this work, we consider and discuss a wider range of test statistics, including the robust Wald, the Score, and the recently proposed Gradient statistic. We compare all these asymptotically equivalent statistics in terms of interval estimation and hypothesis testing via simulation experiments and analyses of two real datasets. We find out that the Likelihood Ratio statistic does not appear the best inferential device in the Firth penal…

Joint second-order parameter estimation for spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox processes

We propose a new fitting method to estimate the set of second-order parameters for the class of homogeneous spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox point processes. With simulations, we show that the proposed minimum contrast procedure, based on the spatio-temporal pair correlation function, provides reliable estimates and we compare the results with the current available methods. Moreover, the proposed method can be used in the case of both separable and non-separable parametric specifications of the correlation function of the underlying Gaussian Random Field. We describe earthquake sequences comparing several Cox model specifications.

Testing for local structure in spatiotemporal point pattern data

The detection of clustering structure in a point pattern is one of the main focuses of attention in spatiotemporal data mining. Indeed, statistical tools for clustering detection and identification of individual events belonging to clusters are welcome in epidemiology and seismology. Local second-order characteristics provide information on how an event relates to nearby events. In this work, we extend local indicators of spatial association (known as LISA functions) to the spatiotemporal context (which will be then called LISTA functions). These functions are then used to build local tests of clustering to analyse differences in local spatiotemporal structures. We present a simulation stud…

Models and methods for space and space-time interactions in complex point processes with applications on earthquakes

Media education and educational commons for youth civic engagement. A case study from the Horizon 2020 project SMOOTH

This study presents the preliminary findings of the first round of implementation of a case study included in the Horizon 2020 project SMOOTH. The project's main objective is to introduce and study the emergent paradigm of the educational commons as an alternative system of values and actions for promoting intercultural and intergenerational dialogue and establishing spaces of democratic citizenship that support the development of local communities. Our case study adopts this paradigm with insights derived from the field of media education. Hence, our research questions were as follows: (a) How do young people collectively experience and build the educational commons? (b) How do participant…

La scuola palermitana: un percorso di ricerca tra tendenze e prospettive

Vita quotidiana, violenza domestica e contaminazioni culturali in una città del Mediterraneo

Qui di seguito si riportano i risultati di una ricerca effettuata nel 2014 a Palermo, nell’ambito del progetto europeo (coordinato a livello locale dal Cesie e co-finanziato al programma Daphne III - DG Giustizia) denominato Sunia Geel 2, avente come obiettivo quello di contribuire alla riduzione della violenza domestica contro donne e bambini appartenenti a minoranze etniche emarginate presenti sul territorio palermitano. L’obiettivo del presente contributo è duplice: da un punto di vista metodologico si evidenzieranno le potenzialità dell’espressione del sé attraverso l’uso e la creazione di immagini, in particolar modo quando si affrontano tematiche “sensibili” e quando il target di rife…

Creativity, Comparison and Sharing in the Co-Creation of the Communication Campaign

In the fourth chapter the evolution of Oltre's online campaign will be transversally analysed, focusing on the path of awareness acquisition by the second-generation youth involved in the co-creation process of the campaign. Afterwards, we will be analysing in detail the backstage of the creation of content. Through the participatory method, we will be highlighting how the content creators of our campaign selected the themes and the perspective from which to deal with them. We will be underlying how the content creators dismantled the circulating representation and built a counter-narrative or an alternative narrative and converted the idea, through a process of creative co-construction, in…

La presenza degli immigrati irregolari

Penalized logistic regression for small or sparse data: interval estimators revisited

This paper focuses on interval estimation in logistic regression models fitted through the Firth penalized log-likelihood. In this context, many authors have claimed superiority of the Likelihood ratio statistic with respect to the (wrong) Wald statistic via simulation evidence. We re-assess such findings by detailing the inferential tools also including in the comparisons the (right) Wald statistic and other statistics neglected in previous literature. In particular, we assess performances of the CIs estimators by simulation and compare them in a real data set. Differently from previous findings, the Likelihood ratio statistic does not appear to be the best inferential device in Firth pena…

Weighted local second-order statistics for complex spatio-temporal point processes

Spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal point processes, and in particular Poisson processes, are stochastic processes that are largely used to describe and model the distribution of a wealth of real phenomena. When a model is fitted to a set of random points, observed in a given multidimensional space, diagnostic measures are necessary to assess the goodness-of-fit and to evaluate the ability of that model to describe the random point pattern behaviour. The main problem when dealing with residual analysis for point processes is to find a correct definition of residuals. Diagnostics of goodness-of-fit in the theory of point processes are often considered through the transformation of data in…

Integreating geological and seismological data in point process models for seismical analysis

Nowadays in the seismic and geological fields, large and complex data sets are available. This information is a valuable source that can be used for improving the seismic hazard assessment of a given region. In particular, the integration of geologic variables into point process models to study seismic pattern is an open research field that has not been fully explored. In this work, we present several open-access datasets (the catalogue of the earthquakes, geological information such as faults, plate boundary and the presence of volcanoes) that are properly treated to describe the seismicity of events occurred in Greece between 2005 and 2014. We use these datasets to fit an advanced spatial…

Il progetto “Oltre l’orizzonte: contro-narrazioni dai margini al centro”

Il contributo descrive il progetto europeo OLTRE, acronimo di “Oltre l’orizzonte: Contro-narrazioni dai margini al centro”, è un progetto cofinanziato dalla Commissione europea, in particolare dal DG Affari Interni (Fondo per la Sicurezza Interna - Programma per l’Empowerment della Società Civile). OLTRE nasce con la finalità precipua di contribuire alla prevenzione dei fenomeni di radicalizzazione islamica sul territorio italiano, principalmente attraverso una campagna di comunicazione online. Per prevenire la radicalizzazione è necessario ridurre la vulnerabilità dei soggetti ritenuti “a rischio”, nel nostro caso specifico i giovani italiani con background migratorio di fede musulmana.

Detection of spatio-temporal local structure on seismic data

For the description of the seismicity of an area, the comparison between local features of background and induced events could be a new perspective of research. In spatio-temporal point process, local second-order statistics provide information on the relationships of each event and its nearby events. In this paper, we use a test based on local indicators of spatio-temporal association (LISTA functions) for identifying different local structures comparing the two previous sets of events. We present a simulation study on the test and show the main results of the application on Greece earthquake data.

Studiare il bullismo nelle scuole. Metodi e strumenti per rilevare gli atteggiamenti degli insegnanti

Lo studio degli atteggiamenti pone due problemi di fondo dai quali non si può prescindere. Il primo è di natura epistemologica e riguarda la definizione stessa dell'oggetto di studio e la sua osservabilità. L'atteggiamento, proprio per la sua natura di "costrutto ipotetico", di variabile "interveniente" o "di mediazione", di variabile "latente", non è direttamente osservabile ed è, in potenza, inferibile esclusivamente da un'espressione o da un comportamento manifesto, ossia si osserva a un livello più specifico per cogliere empiricamente un oggetto collocato a un livello di maggiore generalità. Il secondo è di natura metodologica ed è relativo ai nodi critici che caratterizzano la rilevazi…

Counter-Narratives Against Prejudice. How Second-Generation Youth Reverse Media Representations

This paper deals with the OLTRE project (ISF - DG Migration and Home Affairs, EU), funded to counter the radicalization of second-generation migrants in Italy and created by a network made up of universities and private companies. This article shows the results of a study regarding the involvement of second-generation youth in the co-production of the social campaign for online communication, representing the outcome of the OLTRE project. The guidelines for the campaign came from our in-depth sociological field research (42 qualitative interviews of 2G youths, 18-30 years, in 7 Italian towns (Palermo, Cagliari, Rome, Bologna, Milan, Padua, Turin) and from theatre laboratories created by sec…

Spatial pattern analysis using hybrid models: an application to the Hellenic seismicity

Earthquakes are one of the most destructive natural disasters and the spatial distribution of their epi- centres generally shows diverse interaction structures at different spatial scales. In this paper, we use a multi-scale point pattern model to describe the main seismicity in the Hellenic area over the last 10 years. We analyze the interaction between events and the relationship with geo- logical information of the study area, using hybrid models as proposed by Baddeley et al. ( 2013 ). In our analysis, we find two competing suitable hybrid models, one with a full parametric structure and the other one based on nonpara- metric kernel estimators for the spatial inhomogeneity.

Some properties of local weighted second-order statistics for spatio-temporal point processes

Diagnostics of goodness-of-fit in the theory of point processes are often considered through the transformation of data into residuals as a result of a thinning or a rescaling procedure. We alternatively consider here second-order statistics coming from weighted measures. Motivated by Adelfio and Schoenberg (Ann Inst Stat Math 61(4):929–948, 2009) for the temporal and spatial cases, we consider an extension to the spatio-temporal context in addition to focussing on local characteristics. In particular, our proposed method assesses goodness-of-fit of spatio-temporal models by using local weighted second-order statistics, computed after weighting the contribution of each observed point by the…

Nota metodologica

Study of the interaction structure of the East Sicily Seismicity: global and local scale.

Co-Design of an Online Campaign for an Inclusive Community: Languages, Images and Participation

This volume shows how communication matters in building our perception and imaginary about groups of people that are different form “us”. The difference between “us” and “others” is totally cultural and represents an obstacle to integration. To avoid the extreme effects of radicalisation, we can promote social campaigns based on two important features: participation and awareness about (counter-)narratives. This book discusses the good practices built in the European project Oltre, devoted to preventing the radicalisation in second generation Muslim youth. It will serve to push the reader beyond common sense and prejudice, towards the future citizenship of Italy, Europe and the whole world.

Il lavoro sommerso in Sicilia: specificità e prospettive future

Testing for local structure in spatiotemporal point pattern data

The detection of clustering structure in a point pattern is one of the main focuses of attention in spatiotemporal data mining. Indeed, statistical tools for clustering detection and identification of individual events belonging to clusters are welcome in epidemiology and seismology. Local second-order characteristics provide information on how an event relates to nearby events. In this work, we extend local indicators of spatial association (known as LISA functions) to the spatiotemporal context (which will be then called LISTA functions). These functions are then used to build local tests of clustering to analyse differences in local spatiotemporal structures. We present a simulation stud…

Spatio-temporal classification in point patterns under the presence of clutter

Local Spatial Log-Gaussian Cox Processes for seismic data

AbstractIn this paper, we propose the use of advanced and flexible statistical models to describe the spatial displacement of earthquake data. The paper aims to account for the external geological information in the description of complex seismic point processes, through the estimation of models with space varying parameters. A local version of the Log-Gaussian Cox processes (LGCP) is introduced and applied for the first time, exploiting the inferential tools in Baddeley (Spat Stat 22:261–295, 2017), estimating the model by the local Palm likelihood. We provide methods and approaches accounting for the interaction among points, typically described by LGCP models through the estimation of th…

Profili istituzionali e pratiche in rete: il caso studio dei profili social della Regione Siciliana

La diffusione dei social media, e l’impiego sempre più consistente da parte delle amministrazioni pubbliche (PA), ha messo in risalto alcune questioni relative alle dinamiche comunicative tra PA, cittadini e sistema dei media, imperniate su pochi ed essenziali concetti cardine, ossia la responsabilità, l’efficienza, la partecipazione, l’ascolto e la qualità. Negli ultimi anni tra le esigenze delle PA si è fatta avanti la necessità di essere presenti sui social e quindi di creare e alimentare dei profili social dedicati. La maggior parte delle regioni italiane è dotata di strutture di comunicazione (dipartimenti appositi, agenzie, società controllate o esterne) ed è presente sui principali s…

Spatio‐temporal classification in point patterns under the presence of clutter

We consider the problem of detection of features in the presence of clutter for spatio-temporal point patterns. In previous studies, related to the spatial context, Kth nearest-neighbor distances to classify points between clutter and features. In particular, a mixture of distributions whose parameters were estimated using an expectation-maximization algorithm. This paper extends this methodology to the spatio-temporal context by considering the properties of the spatio-temporal Kth nearest-neighbor distances. For this purpose, we make use of a couple of spatio-temporal distances, which are based on the Euclidean and the maximum norms. We show close forms for the probability distributions o…

Pratiche associative e qualità della vita

Il contrasto all’odio e alla disinformazione in rete. Prime evidenze dalle campagne del progetto COMMIT

Negli ultimi anni l’Europa ha dovuto affrontare le conseguenze di una crescente propaganda estremista, radicale e terroristica, che sempre più spesso trova spazio nei social media. Il contributo descrive il progetto COMMIT (COMMunIcation campaign against exTremism and radicalisation) che ha sviluppato, tra il 2020 e il 2022, una serie di attività di ricerca e di intervento con l’obiettivo, da un lato, di mappare il fenomeno della radicalizzazione online nei quattro Paesi partner (Italia, Grecia, Austria e Paesi Bassi) e individuare le caratteristiche dei gruppi più vulnerabili, dall’altro, di sviluppare le competenze di media literacy e di advocacy dei giovani destinatari del progetto.

Nuove declinazioni dei concetti di spazio, confine e mobilità

La crisi pandemica ha esasperato l’insicurezza dell’individuo ponendolo nella necessità di una celere riorganizzazione del proprio spazio vitale, in modo tale da poter sentire il controllo su di esso e da sentirsi protetto. Il pianificatore urbanistico, così come tutte le figure professionali coinvolte in questa riprogettazione, non possono dunque non tener conto di come la definizione dei concetti di spazio, confine e mobilità è mutata durante la pandemia. Le classiche dicotomie (privato/pubblico; statico/dinamico; reale/virtuale), utilizzate per la definizione dello spazio, sono state sovvertite creando un accavallamento di piani che pone il pianificatore nella necessità di trovare soluzi…

Le forme e le pratiche della distanza sociale a Palermo

Sulla distanza sociale a Palermo. ll volume esplora le declinazioni della distanza sociale - oggettiva, soggettiva e, all'interno di quest'ultima, percepita, agita e subita - nel Mezzogiorno d'Italia. In particolare, vengono presentati e analizzati i risultati dell'indagine nazionale sul tema della distanza sociale, condotta nelle città di Bari, Reggio Calabria, Messina e Palermo. I contributi di analisi raccolti in questo volume mettono in evidenza le specificità del contesto territoriale, socio-economico e politico delle aree urbane meridionali e la loro influenza sulle diverse componenti della distanza sociale.

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…

An approach to hypothesis testing based on local indicators of spatio-temporal association

The detection of clustering structure in a point pattern is one of the major focus of attention in spatio-temporal data mining. For instance, statistical tools for clustering detection and identification of events belonging to clusters are welcome in epidemiology and seismology. Local second-order statistics can provide information on how an event relates to nearby events. We extend local indicators of spatial association (known as LISA functions) into the spatio-temporal context (which then will be called LISTA functions). These functions can be used for local tests in the context of case-control spatio-temporal point patterns, and are able to assess in the neighbourhood of each event if t…

Spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox processes on earthquake events

This work presents an application of spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox processes for the description of earthquake events. To explain the overall spatial trend, spatial geological information in the study area such as faults and volcanoes are introduced in the model. Moreover, an anisotropic specification of the covariance matrix of the Gaussian process is used to improve the explanation of the phenomenon. We apply and compare different models to explain the seismic events occurred in Alaska over the last decades.

Local LGCP estimation for spatial seismic processes

Using recent results for local composite likelihood for spatial point processes, we show the performance of advanced and flexible statistical models to describe the spatial displacement of earthquake data. Local models described by Baddeley (2017) allow for the possibility of describing both seismic catalogs and sequences. When analysing seismic sequences, the analysis of the small scale variation is the main issue. The interaction among points is taken into account by Log-Gaussian Cox Processes models through the estimation of the parameters of the covariance of the Gaussian Random Field. In their local version these parameters are allowed to vary spatially, and this is a crucial aspect fo…

Family Well-Being Under Pressure: Rhythmanalysis Applied to Post Pandemic Family Dynamics

This contribution deals with the centrality of family relationships for the production of individual well-being, both on a cognitive level, i.e. as an influence on satisfaction with one’s own life and, therefore, as the outcome of a cognitive evaluation, and on an experiential and emotional level, i.e. as an influence on moment-to-moment experience. It starts from an analysis of subjective well-being, arriving at a concept of relational well-being, whilst proposing an approach of rhythmanalysis as a tool for understanding the changes occurring in family dynamics in the post-Covid era.