(Tutor Prof. Barbara Barbieri)
Email: federica.batzella@unica.it

Keywords: intellectual capital; public administration; internal communication; human resources management; public policies

Short bio:

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Administration and Organization and a Master's degree in Public Administration from the Faculty of Economic, Legal and Political Sciences at the University of Cagliari. She has over ten years of experience in human resource management, initially in the private sector and later in roles within the Sardinian regional administration, where she served as Sector Coordinator.

Thesis abstract:

The research focuses on knowledge management in public administration, public policies for human resource development, and the analysis of internal communication behaviours in the public sector. Specifically, it explores how knowledge production and sharing can contribute to improving organizational efficiency in light of ongoing reform processes and the introduction of innovative technologies, such as automation and artificial intelligence, along with the new work modalities they entail. Finally, the study examines the impact of public sector stereotypes, with particular attention to employee motivation and engagement.

(Tutor Prof. Valentina Cuzzocrea)
Email: stefania.ferrua@unica.it

Keywords: social innovation; depopulation; future; young people

Short bio:

Her academic journey began at the University of Turin, where she took her Bachelor’s degree in Crosscultural Communication in 2018. Then, she attended a Master’s degree in International Cooperation at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. Finally, in 2023, she completed her Master’s in Social Innovation at the University Federico II of Naples. She worked for four years at a third-sector organization as a trainer and facilitator of sustainable innovation processes. Her current research focuses on future studies, social innovation, youth, and the depopulation of internal areas.

Thesis abstract:

The study aims to investigate the plurality of future imaginaries among young people living in depopulated areas. These territories are often described as “futureless” a representation largely shaped by external cultural narratives. The future is analyzed both as a “social fact” and as an object of social forecasting. The approach, primarily qualitative, draws inspiration from both time studies and territorial sociology, and is structured in two phases: individual interviews to explore everyday futures, and a workshop to develop collective visions of futures, with the hope that these can help local policy-making. Two case studies were selected: Sardinia and Aragón.

(Tutor Prof. Giovanni Sistu)
Email: robertag.floris@unica.it

Keywords: territory; administrative boundaries; local development; participatory governance; political and administrative geography

Short bio:

I am a PhD student in Research and Social Innovation, with a thesis in Economic and Political Geography, at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Cagliari (Italy). I hold a master’s degree in Modern Languages for International Communication and Cooperation, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Languages and Communication. I contribute to organizing academic conferences and workshops, collaborating with faculty members and peers to promote intellectual exchange across disciplines. I also belong to the Association of Italian Geographers and regularly participate in networking events and seminars within the field.

Thesis abstract:

My research focuses on territorialization public policies, with particular attention to intermunicipal cooperation and participatory governance. My doctoral work aims to examine the most effective administrative structures from a territorial perspective, while also exploring the historical and prospective evolution of the relationship between territory and administrative boundaries in the Italian and Chilean contexts. I am particularly interested in how place-based policies, grounded in a bottom-up approach, can influence the development of regions characterized by uneven economic growth, and in understanding how administrative decentralization can generate and shape territories or at least foster new territorial configurations that lead to a redefined geography of development policies. Employing a mixed-methods approach, my research combines quantitative techniques (including statistical and computational analyses, as well as GIS mapping) with qualitative methods (such as fieldwork and in-depth interviews).

(Tutor Dr. Ester Cois)
Email: federica.guida@unica.it

Keywords: ecofeminism; motherhood; human/non-human; animal care; sociology of imaginary and literature

Short bio:

After my Master's Degree in Modern Literature, during my PhD in “Research and Social Innovation” I am promoting an intersectional and interdisciplinary perspective. I’m using heterogeneous sources, including the contribution of women's journalism during the Italian economic miracle, aimed at redefining the image of women in Italian culture.

Thesis abstract:

My research investigates the constructs of care, motherhood, and ecological discourse within the context of Italian female cultural production in the 1970s, adopting a gender perspective and drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory. Building on ecofeminist and posthuman debates, the aim is to analyse the conditions that enabled their emergence and cultural legitimization within women’s magazine advice columns. They are considered key to connecting women writers, readers, and magazine publishers. Specifically, they are examined as narrative products and discursive devices, serving as tools for journalists’ affirmation and legitimization within the field.

(Tutor Prof. Francesca Pubusa)

Email: verdiana.mauriello@unica.it

Keywords: administrative law; environmental law; public procurement; policy monitoring; urban planning; sociology of organisation

Short bio:

Verdiana Mauriello graduated in International and Diplomatic Sciences at the University of Bologna in 2019 and later graduated in Politics, Society and Territory at the University of Cagliari in 2022 with a thesis entitled "The community garden as a tool for active citizenship and environmental protection", supervised by Prof. Paola Piras. In 2023 she became a Ph.D student in Research and Social Innovation at the University of Cagliari with a project based on the role of Public Administration in green transition

Thesis abstract:

The research project aims to study the potential of public administration procurement to promote environmental sustainability practices, define ecological transition policies, and promote innovation. In particular, it examines the Environment Sector of the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the process of ecological transition by analysing the procedures for the selection of the contractor, which may represent potential decision-making spaces for the identification of the economic operator. The research adopts a multidisciplinary approach, mainly legal regulatory and sociological, for a deeper and more critical reflection on the complexity of the role of Public Administration.

(Tutor Prof. Marco Pitzalis)
Email: vanessa.regazzi@unica.it

Keywords: housing rights; collaborative housing; social innovation; social movements

Short bio:

In 2020, she graduated in Philosophy at the University of Bologna, under the supervision of prof. G. Giorgini with a thesis entitled “Which Form of Government to Address the Global Environmental Crisis?”. In 2022, she obtained a master’s degree in Philosophical Sciences, with a thesis entitled “Outlines of a Theory and Practice of Complexity. From the Irreducibility of Reality to an Ecological Ethics, for an Integrated Worldview”, supervised by prof.ssa M. Lalatta Costerbosa and prof. A. Porciello. Her research has evolved from considering philosophical reflections on current crises and conceptual methods to address them, to examining social actors’ concrete responses to them at an empirical level in specific territories. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Research and Social Innovation at the University of Cagliari.

Thesis abstract:

Her research focuses on the evolution of the concept of dwelling over the past century, with a particular emphasis on the realm of collaborative housing. She aims to understand if and how grassroots collaborative housing practices can contribute to sustainable and inclusive innovations within urban communities. Furthermore, her research encompasses the exploration of the permeable boundaries between the informal and formal dimensions of housing. The selection of a regularised housing occupation as a case study facilitates this reflection also at an empirical level. Her main areas of research are urban and housing studies, social and spatial justice, social innovation and social movements.

(Tutor Prof. Emiliano Ilardi)
Email: giulia.serri@unica.it

Keywords: construction of identity and subjectivity; dynamics of interpersonal communication; training and prevention of social behaviors; sociology of cultural and communicative processes; social psychology.

Short bio:

Graduated in Philosophy (LM-78) from the University of Cagliari, with a thesis on Martha Nussbaum’s neo-Stoic theory of emotions, specifically focusing on the role of compassion. She later earned a second Master’s degree in Communication Theory (LM-92) and completed two postgraduate diplomas, one in historical-philosophical disciplines and another in socio-literary and geographical studies. She is currently a second-year PhD student in Social Research and Innovation.

Thesis abstract:

Nonviolent Communication (NVC), developed by Marshall B. Rosenberg, is a model grounded in empathy, authenticity, and respect for individual needs. Despite its widespread application, academic analysis of NVC in Italy remains limited, particularly in terms of in-depth qualitative studies on how individuals learn and integrate its communicative components.
This project deepens the NVC’s theoretical framework, explores how its principles are learned and internalized, and examines the resulting relational and personal transformation processes. The study employs qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and the analysis of primarily international case studies. It aims to address the lack of research on the experiential and socio-cultural dimensions of NVC within the Italian context.

(Tutor Prof. Filippo Massimo Zerilli)
Email: riccardo.uras2@unica.it

Keywords: tuna traps; ethnography; political ecology; global supply chains

Short bio:

Riccardo Uras graduated in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology at the Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna with a thesis on emigration from Sulcis-Iglesiente from the 1960s to the present day. He is currently a PhD student in Research and Social Innovation at the University of Cagliari with a research project entitled ‘Territories in transition. Ecological crisis, cultural heritage and cultures of sustainability in Sardinia and Portugal’;. His PhD project consists of an ethnographic research on tuna trap fishing in Sulcis-Iglesiente and Algarve in relation to changes in the global bluefin tuna production and distribution chain.

Thesis abstract:

The project involves ethnographic research on tuna traps in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic, with the aim of understanding how changes in the global geographies of fishing are reflected in specific local contexts. Through a multi-sited ethnography between Sulcis (Sardegna) and Algarve (Portugal), the research aims to analyse local fishing practices and the production, distribution and consumption circuits of bluefin tuna as part of a broader network of relationships, linked to the restructuring processes of the global fisheries, driven by technological innovations, new sustainability regulations and transnational market logics.ù