Dark humour as a culture specific phenomenon: a study in screen translation

The present study aims at analyzing how dark humour as a cinematic genre travels cross-culturally through a specific mode of audiovisual translation, i.e. dubbing. In particular, it takes into consideration the processes involved in dubbing humour from English into Italian as observed in the English- and Italian-language versions of ten British and American dark comedies from the 1940s to the 2000s. In an attempt to identify some of the main mechanisms of the dark humour genre, the humorous content of the films was analyzed in terms of the elements on which specific scenes are based, mainly the non-verbal and verbal components. In the cases in which verbal elements were involved, i.e. the examples of verbally expressed humour, the analysis was concerned with whether they were adapted into Italian and to what effect. Quantification of the different kinds of dark humour revealed that in the sample of dark comedies verbal dark humour had a higher frequency (85.3%) than non-verbal dark humour (14.7%), which partially disconfirmed the first part of the research hypothesis. However, the significance of contextual elements in the conveying of dark humour, both in the form of Nsp VEH (54.31%) and V-V (V+VE) (21.68%), provided support for the hypothesis that, even when expressed verbally, dark humour is more closely linked to context-based rather than purely linguistic humour (4.9%). The second part of the analysis was concerned with an investigation of the strategies adopted for the translation of verbal dark humour elements from the SL (English) into the TL (Italian) through the filter of dubbing. Four translational strategies were identified as far as the rendering of verbal dark humour is concerned: i) complete omission; ii) weakening; iii) close rendering; and iv) increased effect. Complete omission was found to be the most common among these strategies, with 80.9% of dark humour examples being transposed in a way that kept the ST’s function substantially intact. Weakening of darkly humorous lines was applied in 12% of cases, whereas increased effect accounted for 4.6% and complete omission for 2.5%. The fact that for most examples of Nsp VEH (84.9%) and V-AC (V+VE) (91.4%) a close rendering effect was observed and that 12 out of 21 examples of V-AC (PL) (a combined 57%) were either omitted or weakened seemed to confirm, on the one hand, the complexity of the translation process required by cases of V-AC (PL) and V-AC (CS). On the other hand, as suggested in the second part of the research hypothesis, the data might be interpreted as indicating that lesser effort on the translator/adaptor’s part is involved in the adaptation of V-AC (Nsp VEH) and V-V (V+VE). The issue of the possible censorial intervention undergone by examples of verbal dark humour in the sample still remains unclear.

Sense of Community in contexts of multi culture

The theme “Belongingness” has a central role in the current debate on Community Psychology and in daily life. To try to understand the consequences of these changes, the research focuses on the concept of Sense of Community. In fact, Sense of Community has always been a central tool (Sarason, 1974; MacMillan & Chavis, 1986) to study communities (McMillan, 2011; Nowell & Boyd, 2011) and for a long time has represented positive values and something to aspire to. However, current debates indicate that Sense of Community is an outmoded concept and underline the problematic issue of “promotion of Sense of Community” in contexts of multi culture. The aim of the present research is to analyze Sense of Community in context of multi culture, as we consider that it can still be a fundamental tool to study and understand communities. In particular we are interested in understanding the role of Multiple Sense of Community (Brodsky, 2009) on Identity and Wellbeing (and its dimensions). We focused on a specific context, the Station Zone in Reggio Emilia, that is characterized by high levels of cultural diversity and different social problems (Giovannini & Vezzali, 2011). The research is developed and divided into two parts. The first part consists of an exploratory qualitative study that analyzes meanings of community among leaders of different ethnic groups living in the Station Zone. The second part consists of a “General Model” study and four parallel studies to analyze Multiple Sense of Community in different ethnic groups (Albanians, Moroccans, Chinese and Italians. The results indicate the different role of Multiple SOC in the relation between Identity and Wellbeing, in particular the relevance of Relational SOC and its different implications. Moreover, the factor “culture” represents an significant element in order to consider differences among ethnic groups.

"Ancestry, gender and language - The role of culture in economic development"

This thesis is a combination of research questions in development economics and economics of culture, with an emphasis on the role of ancestry, gender and language policies in shaping inequality of opportunities and socio-economic outcomes across different segments of a society. The first chapter shows both theoretically and empirically that heterogeneity in risk attitudes can be traced to the ethnic origins and ancestral way of living. In particular, I construct a measure of historical nomadism at the ethnicity level and link it to contemporary individual-level data on various proxies of risk attitudes. I exploit exogenous variation in biodiversity to build a novel instrument for nomadism: distance to domestication points. I find that descendants of ethnic groups that historically practiced nomadism (i) are more willing to take risks, (ii) value security less, and (iii) have riskier health behavior. The second chapter evaluates the nature of a trade-off between the advantages of female labor participation and the positive effects of female education. This work exploits a triple difference identification strategy relying on exogenous spike in cotton price and spatial variation in suitability for cotton, and split sample analyses based on the exogenous allocation of land contracts. Results show that gender differences in parental investments in patriarchal societies can be reinforced by the type of agricultural activity, while positive economic shocks may further exacerbate this bias, additionally crowding out higher possibilities to invest in female education. The third chapter brings novel evidence of the role of the language policy in building national sentiments, affecting educational and occupational choices. Here I focus on the case of Uzbekistan and estimate the effects of exposure to the Latin alphabet on informational literacy, education and career choices. I show that alphabet change affects people's informational literacy and the formation of certain educational and labour market trends.

Advanced cell culture platforms: methods for drug testing with microfluidics and microstructured devices

Advanced cell cultures are developing rapidly in biomedical research. Nowadays, various approaches and technologies are being used, however, these culturing systems present limitations from increasing complexity, requiring high costs, and not easily customization. We present two versatile and cost-effective methods for developing culturing systems that integrate 3D cell culture and microfluidic platforms. Firstly, for drug screening applications, many high-quality cell spheres of homogeneous size and shape are required. Conventional approaches usually have a dearth of control over the size and geometry of cell spheres and require sample collection and manipulation. To overcome this difficulty, in this study, hundreds of spheroids of several cell lines were generated using multi-well plates that housed our microdevices. Tumor spheroids grow at a uniform rate (in scaffolded or scaffold-free environments) and can be harvested at will. Microscopy imaging are done in real time during or after the culture. After in situ immunostaining, fluorescence imaging can be conducted while keeping the spatial distribution of spheroids in the microwells. Drug effects were successfully observed through viability, growth, and morphologic investigations. Also, we fabricated a microfluidic device suitable for directed and selective cell culture treatments. The microfluidic device was used to reproduce and confirm in vitro investigations carried out using normal culture methods, using a microglia cell line. The device layout and the syringe pump system, entirely designed in our lab, successfully allowed culture growth and medium flow regulation. Solution flows can be finely controlled, allowing treatments and immunofluorescence in one single chamber selectively. To conclude, we propose the development of two culturing platforms (microstructured well devices and in-flow microfluidic chip), which are the result of separate scientific investigations but have the primary goal of performing treatments in a reproducible manner. Our devices shall improve future studies on drug exposure testing, representing adjustable and versatile cell culture systems.

Digital 3D reconstruction as a research environment in art and architecture history: uncertainty classification and visualisation

The dissertation addresses the still not solved challenges concerned with the source-based digital 3D reconstruction, visualisation and documentation in the domain of archaeology, art and architecture history. The emerging BIM methodology and the exchange data format IFC are changing the way of collaboration, visualisation and documentation in the planning, construction and facility management process. The introduction and development of the Semantic Web (Web 3.0), spreading the idea of structured, formalised and linked data, offers semantically enriched human- and machine-readable data. In contrast to civil engineering and cultural heritage, academic object-oriented disciplines, like archaeology, art and architecture history, are acting as outside spectators. Since the 1990s, it has been argued that a 3D model is not likely to be considered a scientific reconstruction unless it is grounded on accurate documentation and visualisation. However, these standards are still missing and the validation of the outcomes is not fulfilled. Meanwhile, the digital research data remain ephemeral and continue to fill the growing digital cemeteries. This study focuses, therefore, on the evaluation of the source-based digital 3D reconstructions and, especially, on uncertainty assessment in the case of hypothetical reconstructions of destroyed or never built artefacts according to scientific principles, making the models shareable and reusable by a potentially wide audience. The work initially focuses on terminology and on the definition of a workflow especially related to the classification and visualisation of uncertainty. The workflow is then applied to specific cases of 3D models uploaded to the DFG repository of the AI Mainz. In this way, the available methods of documenting, visualising and communicating uncertainty are analysed. In the end, this process will lead to a validation or a correction of the workflow and the initial assumptions, but also (dealing with different hypotheses) to a better definition of the levels of uncertainty.

Pedagogy of healthcare interactions. A study on pediatric well-child visits as culture-oriented and culture-making sites

This study investigates interactions between parents and pediatricians during pediatric well-child visits. Despite constituting a pivotal moment for monitoring and evaluating children’s development during the critical ‘first thousand days of life’ and for family support, no study has so far empirically investigated the in vivo realization of pediatrician-parent interactions in the Italian context, especially not from a pedagogical perspective. Filling this gap, the present study draws on a corpus of 23 videorecorded well-child visits involving two pediatricians and twenty-two families with children aged between 0 and 18 months. Combining an ethnographic perspective and conversation analysis theoretical-analytical constructs, the micro-analysis of interactions reveals how well-child visits unfold as culture-oriented and culture-making sites. By zooming into what actually happens during these visits, the analysis shows that there is much more than the “mere” accomplishment of institutionally relevant activities like assessing children’s health or giving parents advice on baby care. Rather, through the interactional ways these institutional tasks are carried out, parents and pediatricians presuppose, ratify, and transmit culturally-informed models of “normal” growth, “healthy” development, “good” caring practices, and “competent” parenting, thereby enacting a pervasive yet unnoticed educational and moral work. Inaugurating a new promising line of inquiry within Italian pedagogical research, this study illuminates how a) pediatricians work as a “social antenna”, bridging families’ private “small cultures” and broader socio-cultural models of children’s well-being and caregiving practices, and b) parents act as agentive, knowledgeable, (communicatively) competent, and caring parents, while also sensitive to the pediatrician’s ultimate epistemic and deontic authority. I argue that a video-based, micro-analysis of interactions represents a heuristically powerful instrument for raising pediatricians’ and parents’ awareness of the educational and moral density of well-child visits. Insights from this study can constitute a valuable empirical resource for underpinning medical and parental training programs aimed at fostering pediatricians’ and parents’ reflexivity.

Towards Europe 2050: the role of institutions, EU research, and citizens for climate justice. The urban challenge in Amsterdam, Bilbao, Freiburg, and Lisbon.

The climate crisis is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, and in 2023 the average global temperature reached new records, prompting the UN Secretary General to declare that 'the era of global warming is over, and the era of global boiling has arrived'. In this context, urban areas play a key role, and can be considered a bottleneck of the climate crisis. The European Commission is investing billions of euros in research and innovation projects in urban areas, while the European Green Deal strategy has the ambition of making Europe the first carbon-neutral continent on the planet by 2050. However, studies and research show that the causes of the climate crisis are rooted in an economic system that produces profound inequalities, and the very solutions to address the consequences of global warming risk deepening them. In this context, the role of cities is not only to decarbonise their urban fabric, but to build solutions to the social challenge posed by the climate crisis, promoting paradigm shifts capable of producing trajectories towards so-called 'climate justice'. This research analyses, through a holistic view, European policies in these fields, and delves into the actions and projects of four European cities - Amsterdam, Bilbao, Freiburg, and Lisbon - through a qualitative approach aimed at identifying strengths and contradictions of strategies to tackle the climate crisis. Delving into the collective dynamics and social impacts of the actions promoted, the research proposes a comprehensive view of the role that urban areas can play not only in decarbonising society, but in promoting a paradigm shift capable of addressing the economic causes and social consequences of the climate crisis.