Role In Italy Research Articles

Italian Industrial Districts: A Triple Helix Pattern of Problem Solving

Industrial districts are local hyper-networks of self-organizing and innovating small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), which, in terms of competitiveness and employment, play an important role in Italy's society and economy. Italy's industrial structure is deeply embedded in social relations, which are stratified and vary from territory to territory. The university, partially replaced by innovation centres, plays a weak role. For industrial districts to survive the current crisis, an industrial policy based on new theoretical approaches is needed, capable of analysing and dealing with emergent forms of industrial organization.

LE MÉTIER DE MAÎTRE D'ÉCOLE. PROBLÈMES ET TRANSFORMATION DANS LES ÉTATS ITALIENS

The author describes the transformation of the teacher's role in Italy between 1750 and 1820 and analyses the reasons why the progressive introduction of selection criteria contributed substantially to the formation of a professional teaching group. She examines the complex results of the structural reform of the teaching body: the accentuation of contradictions and contrasts, which the tolerance and indifference of the Old Regime had camouflaged. The selection widened the gap between teachers who came from the towns and those who came from the country, and between qualified and non qualified teachers. The latter, feeling intimidated by new exams and more severe rules, were rejected and obliged to practice their profession in an unorthodox way. Gradually the image of a model teacher, which was to become a reference point, was being created.

Civil Justice and the Judicial Role in Italy

While the Italian Parliament is considering legislative reform, the nation’s civil justice system is in crisis, due to the way trials are conducted and to the scarcity of resources. Beginning in the 1970s, fueled in part by concerns over the state of Italian justice, the old bureaucratic framework of civil justice has been challenged by changes in substantive law as well as in judicial career patterns. New rights claiming judicial attention have produced several different judicial roles. Proposals to improve the civil justice system will require a choice between the goals of due process and efficiency. The problem of choosing between these frequently incompatible goals becomes even more evident in the context of new forms of private dispute resolution.

Crete and Italy in the Late Bronze Age III Period

The connections between Crete and Italy in the Late Bronze Age III period have long been disregarded. This article attempts to correct the situation. Given the finds we have at present, Minoan metals appear to have played no major role in Italy, while Italian metal objects were desired by Cretans. Two major areas with pottery-Scoglio del Tonno and Sardinia-are given closer study, because they were probably once important emporia and they have rich ceramic material. In both areas the presence of Minoan pottery can be demonstrated, and the products of the local Kydonian workshop of West Crete are identified on Sardinia. Taken with the Italian pottery found on Crete, it is clear that interconnections existed between the two areas. Crete offered luxury goods in exchange for needed raw materials, mainly European and Sardinian metals and some finished products. The problem of connections between the Aegean and Italy in the Late Bronze Age has been part of the debate about European-Aegean interaction since its beginning, because Mycenaean sherds were found in southern Italy early in this century. This ceramic material was thought useful in establishing early Italian chronology and that of Europe in general, where Mycenaean pottery is not represented. The Aegean presence in Italy has been assessed by Taylour, and more recently by Biancofiore and Vagnetti.' Bronzes have also figured in the discussion, although they occur in smaller numbers and the types are limited in variety.

The Legitimation of Excluded Parties in Dominant Party Systems: A Comparison of Israel and Italy

In a departure from the tradition of numerical taxonomy prevailing in the comparative study of political parties, Alan Arian and Samuel Barnes in 1974 provided a fascinating comparison of Israel and Italy-two party systems.' Using a combination of historical materials, survey evidence, and common political sense, they showed that despite their lack of absolute majorities in the electorate, dominant parties in such systems possess unusual political resources, permitting long-term governmental control and a neartotal exclusion of the opposition.2 Arian and Barnes's effort was unique in the annals of comparative politics, for they boldly compared what was generally considered a center-left dominant party, Mapai, with a center-right one, the Democrazia Cristiana, arguing persuasively that-even in the face of their differences-the two parties had developed similar mechanisms of control. Based on its domination of the pre-Independence Yishuv and its identification with the founding of the new state and with the dominant ideological tradition in Zionism, Mapai maintained itself in power long after its ideological elan had been weakened;3 although not solely responsible for founding the postwar Italian republic, the Christian Democracy (DC) held a similarly hegemonic role in Italy in no small part through its connections with the Catholic church, even though the level of consensus accorded it by the mass public was far weaker than that enjoyed by Mapai.4 Despite their differences-and those of their respective political systems-these dominant parties had enough in common for Arian and Barnes to compare them convincingly. Each represented a broad spectrum of the population. Although ideological in origin, both had become pragmatic in the instrumental use of power. Both were internally factionalized and had developed ties with a broad assortment of interest groups.5 Finally, each succeeded for a time in delegitimating an initially threatening contender for power: the left-wing communists in Italy and the right-wing nationalist Herut-then Gahal and today's Likud-in Israel.6