Safety by design: production of engineering surface modified nanomaterials

This PhD thesis focused on nanomaterial (NM) engineering for occupational health and safety, in the frame of the EU project “Safe Nano Worker Exposure Scenarios (SANOWORK)”. Following a safety by design approach, surface engineering (surface coating, purification process, colloidal force control, wet milling, film coating deposition and granulation) were proposed as risk remediation strategies (RRS) to decrease toxicity and emission potential of NMs within real processing lines. In the first case investigated, the PlasmaChem ZrO2 manufacturing, the colloidal force control applied to the washing of synthesis rector, allowed to reduce ZrO2 contamination in wastewater, performing an efficient recycling procedure of ZrO2 recovered. Furthermore, ZrO2 NM was investigated in the ceramic process owned by CNR-ISTEC and GEA-Niro; the spray drying and freeze drying techniques were employed decreasing NM emissivity, but maintaining a reactive surface in dried NM. Considering the handling operation of nanofibers (NFs) obtained through Elmarco electrospinning procedure, the film coating deposition was applied on polyamide non-woven to avoid free fiber release. For TiO2 NF the wet milling was applied to reduce and homogenize the aspect ratio, leading to a significant mitigation of fiber toxicity. In the Colorobbia spray coating line, Ag and TiO2 nanosols, employed to transfer respectively antibacterial or depolluting properties to different substrates, were investigated. Ag was subjected to surface coating and purification, decreasing NM toxicity. TiO2 was modified by surface coating, spray drying and blending with colloidal SiO2, improving its technological performance. In the extrusion of polymeric matrix charged with carbon nanotube (CNTs) owned by Leitat, the CNTs used as filler were granulated by spray drying and freeze spray drying techniques, allowing to reduce their exposure potential. Engineered NMs tested by biologists were further investigated in relevant biological conditions, to improve the knowledge of structure/toxicity mechanisms and obtain new insights for the design of safest NMs.

Le rappresentazioni sociali della musica degli insegnanti di scuola dell'infanzia. Documenti orientativi e indagini empiriche a confronto tra Italia e Venezuela

Questo lavoro si occupa di studiare l’effetto delle rappresentazioni sociali della musica degli studenti universitari che diventeranno insegnanti di scuola dell’infanzia e in particolare i cambiamenti che intervengono durante il periodo di formazione universitaria sia italiana sia venezuelana. Obiettivo fondamentale è quindi realizzare un’analisi comparativa sulle seguenti tematiche: bambino musicale, competenze dell’insegnante e finalità dell’educazione musicale. Questo lavoro si è inserito all’interno del progetto “Il sapere musicale come rappresentazione sociale” (Addessi-Carugati 2010). L’ipotesi guida è che le concezioni implicite della musica funzionino come rappresentazioni sociali che influenzano le pratiche dell’insegnamento e dell’educazione musicale. Il primo capitolo, affronta i temi dei bambini, degli insegnanti e dell’educazione musicale nella scuola dell’infanzia in Italia e Venezuela. Nel secondo vengono presentati gli studi sui saperi musicali; la teoria delle rappresentazioni sociali (Moscovici 1981) e il progetto pilota realizzato presso l’Università di Bologna “Il sapere musicale come Rappresentazione Sociale”. Il capitolo successivo presenta l'analisi e l'interpretazione dell’indagine empirica effettuata su un gruppo di studenti dei corsi di formazione per insegnanti dell’Università di Mérida (Venezuela). Nel quarto capitolo si sviluppano riflessioni e discussioni riguardo i risultati dello studio comparativo; i piani e programmi di studio universitari e il profilo professionale musicale dell’insegnante. Le conclusioni finali illustrano come l’ipotesi iniziale sia effettivamente confermata: dall’analisi e interpretazione dei dati sembra che le concezioni implicite sui saperi musicali possedute dagli studenti influiscano sulla loro pratica professionale in qualità di futuri insegnanti. Si è anche osservato che le differenze incontrate sembrano essere dovute ai diversi tipi di variabili del contesto dove si trova l’insegnante di educazione musicale; e soprattutto ai significati espressi dai programmi di studi, dai contenuti didattici diversi, dai contesti sociali e culturali e dal curriculum universitario.

Opportunistic Data Gathering and Dissemination in Urban Scenarios

In the era of the Internet of Everything, a user with a handheld or wearable device equipped with sensing capability has become a producer as well as a consumer of information and services. The more powerful these devices get, the more likely it is that they will generate and share content locally, leading to the presence of distributed information sources and the diminishing role of centralized servers. As of current practice, we rely on infrastructure acting as an intermediary, providing access to the data. However, infrastructure-based connectivity might not always be available or the best alternative. Moreover, it is often the case where the data and the processes acting upon them are of local scopus. Answers to a query about a nearby object, an information source, a process, an experience, an ability, etc. could be answered locally without reliance on infrastructure-based platforms. The data might have temporal validity limited to or bounded to a geographical area and/or the social context where the user is immersed in. In this envisioned scenario users could interact locally without the need for a central authority, hence, the claim of an infrastructure-less, provider-less platform. The data is owned by the users and consulted locally as opposed to the current approach of making them available globally and stay on forever. From a technical viewpoint, this network resembles a Delay/Disruption Tolerant Network where consumers and producers might be spatially and temporally decoupled exchanging information with each other in an adhoc fashion. To this end, we propose some novel data gathering and dissemination strategies for use in urban-wide environments which do not rely on strict infrastructure mediation. While preserving the general aspects of our study and without loss of generality, we focus our attention toward practical applicative scenarios which help us capture the characteristics of opportunistic communication networks.

Enti locali e società di capitali nella gestione di servizi pubblici locali e strumentali

La gestione di servizi pubblici locali e di servizi strumentali tramite società di capitali partecipate da enti locali viene esplorata in vista di una riconsiderazione generale del sistema all'interno del contesto socio-economico sviluppatosi negli anni successivi alla crisi economica mondiale dell'anno 2008.