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As the investment expectations for EdTech businesses have been growing during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, there is a need to reflect critically about the pedagogical implications of trends like datafication, platformisation and technological solutionism. Recently, social science fiction has been used to stimulate critical, sociological imagination about the future uses of educational technology (Macgilchrist et al., 2020; Selwyn et al., 2020). This paper expands the use of social science fiction for the current Italian context as a method for critical analysis in research and in teacher education. Two vignettes are developed to illustrate two scenarios of possible configurations of educational technology within primary schools in the year 2026. It is shown how opposite technological configurations manifest different under- lying pedagogical assumptions regarding children and teacher agency, literacy and the politics of knowledge. By relating the use of educational media to issues of pedagogy and didactics, writing and discussing social science fiction provides a significant opportunity to promote reflexive uses of technology in education. ; Con l'apparizione del COVID-19 e la DaD a livello globale il settore EdTech (educational technology) celebra nuove opportunità di investimento e di crescità. Questo rende necessario riflettere criticamente sulle implicazioni pedagogiche di tendenze come la datafication, la platformisation e il soluzionismo tecnologico. Recentemente, la social science fiction è stata utilizzata per stimolare l'immaginazione critica sugli usi futuri della tecnologia educativa (Macgilchrist et al., 2020; Selwyn et al., 2020). Il presente lavoro pro- pone la social science fiction nel contesto attuale italiano come un metodo di analisi critica da usare nella ricerca e nella formazione degli insegnanti. Attraverso la scrittura di due vignette vengono illustrati due possibili scenari sull'uso di tecnologie educative nelle scuole primarie nell'anno 2026: due configurazioni tecnologiche opposte ...

Science is facing a fundamental turning point of its history. Never as in this historical moment it appears giant and powerful, but at the same time it shows high fragility: the concentration of information control power in the hands of few commercial groups, the iniquity of a system that benefits developed countries, the restriction of academic autonomy by political and economic power, the precariousness of working conditions of young researchers, the increase in the number of cases of scientific fraud and misconduct, the questioning of its authority by a portion of the public. Can openness be understood as a system capable of strengthening science and treating the diseases that afflict it?

In this focus article the book Making Social Sciences More Scientific by Rein Taagepera is discussed. The book proposes an innovative approach to quantitative modelling, the "quantitatively predictive logical modeling". In the first contribution, the originality of this approach is discussed, through a comparison with three traditional methodological perspectives: qualitative research; rational- choice modeling; empirically-oriented quantitative research. Then, the potential of Taagepera's approach is evaluated with respect to the problem of the relationship between concepts and signs. In this regard, the non-linear, theoretically-driven construction of mathematical models advocated by Taagepera could provide a far more accurate operationalization of the conceptual models developed in the social sciences, which often feature non-linear relationships. Finally, the possibility of integrating Taagepera's suggestion with the traditional quantitative approach -- based on the generalized linear model -- is discussed, by pointing out potential problems and possible solutions. In the second contribution, Taagepera's critique of the prevalent approach to quantitative analysis of social phenomena is illustrated and commented, along with his proposal to adopt quantitatively predictive logical models as the basic analytical tool of the social sciences. Then, it is argued that, though based on sound arguments, Taagepera's critique of generalized linear regression models is somewhat too severe, since it overlooks some of regression's analytical best strengths. Adapted from the source document.

During the '90s, we witnessed in Europe the spread of types of relationships between public administration and private organizations derived from the two main categories of contracting out and accreditation. These models, linked to the process of developing new modes of governance, also focus on forms of contracting between providers and users of services. This contractual configuration of local welfare systems seems to encourage "civil society" and recipients to play a more active role in designing interventions and putting them into practice. Nonetheless, many questions still remain, especially about the different position assumed by the beneficiaries in the case of intervention theoretically aimed to ensure or increase their "freedom of choice". This paper sets out to analyse these questions with specific reference to the implementation of the Italian legal reform of social assistance. only subscribers can see the full article. ; Sono ormai diversi anni che si discute, e si sperimenta, l'introduzione di contratti nelle politiche sociali in tutti i paesi europei1. La contrattualizzazione non è, probabilmente, la principale idea-guida che direziona gli assi dei cambiamenti degli strumenti di policy2, ma è senza dubbio una nozione dotata di una notevole forza attrattiva. L'idea di incorporare contratti e dimensioni contrattuali nelle politiche sociali, infatti, è in rapporto stretto col repertorio di idee, obiettivi e strumenti di policy sul quale fanno perno le riconfigurazioni approntate a livello europeo (Bifulco, Vitale, in corso di pubblicazione). Una delle parole chiave che più frequentemente viene associata alla contrattualizzazione è quella di "attivazione", non a caso, un'altra idea centrale per le rielaborazioni attuali della cittadinanza sociale (Borghi, 2005; Borghi, van Berkel, in corso di pubblicazione) (.).

During the '90s, we witnessed in Europe the spread of types of relationships between public administration and private organizations derived from the two main categories of contracting out and accreditation. These models, linked to the process of developing new modes of governance, also focus on forms of contracting between providers and users of services. This contractual configuration of local welfare systems seems to encourage "civil society" and recipients to play a more active role in designing interventions and putting them into practice. Nonetheless, many questions still remain, especially about the different position assumed by the beneficiaries in the case of intervention theoretically aimed to ensure or increase their "freedom of choice". This paper sets out to analyse these questions with specific reference to the implementation of the Italian legal reform of social assistance. only subscribers can see the full article. ; Sono ormai diversi anni che si discute, e si sperimenta, l'introduzione di contratti nelle politiche sociali in tutti i paesi europei1. La contrattualizzazione non è, probabilmente, la principale idea-guida che direziona gli assi dei cambiamenti degli strumenti di policy2, ma è senza dubbio una nozione dotata di una notevole forza attrattiva. L'idea di incorporare contratti e dimensioni contrattuali nelle politiche sociali, infatti, è in rapporto stretto col repertorio di idee, obiettivi e strumenti di policy sul quale fanno perno le riconfigurazioni approntate a livello europeo (Bifulco, Vitale, in corso di pubblicazione). Una delle parole chiave che più frequentemente viene associata alla contrattualizzazione è quella di "attivazione", non a caso, un'altra idea centrale per le rielaborazioni attuali della cittadinanza sociale (Borghi, 2005; Borghi, van Berkel, in corso di pubblicazione) (.).