dr. gianluca grimalda
@ggrimalda.bsky.social
Researcher in social psychology; Dot-connector; Slow-Traveller; Environmentalist; Runner; Pianist. Born at 325.7ppm.My book:https://www.feltrinellieditore.it/opera/a-fuoco/
Day 28:Cross the Chinese border with no hassle this time.It takes the whole night to reach Urumqi-Xinjiang,crossing the Tian Shen (Celestial) Mountains. Stopover in Urumqi. Don't want to stay here after learning my Uighur couchsurfer friend Semetjan has been arrested.Book train ticket to Lanzhou.41/
November 22, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Day 28:Cross the Chinese border with no hassle this time.It takes the whole night to reach Urumqi-Xinjiang,crossing the Tian Shen (Celestial) Mountains. Stopover in Urumqi. Don't want to stay here after learning my Uighur couchsurfer friend Semetjan has been arrested.Book train ticket to Lanzhou.41/
Pleased to have been shortlisted for the 2025 Travel Award by #NomadMania in the category "Most Purposeful Traveller"-whose journeys are driven by meaning, intention, and a mission greater than themselves. Voting is OPEN until Thu 👉 nomadmania.com/award...
November 16, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Pleased to have been shortlisted for the 2025 Travel Award by #NomadMania in the category "Most Purposeful Traveller"-whose journeys are driven by meaning, intention, and a mission greater than themselves. Voting is OPEN until Thu 👉 nomadmania.com/award...
Day 25-7:Frustrating day @ Chinese border.Official denies entry b/c I'm carrying 13 tablets.I explain it's for research but he doesn't care. Return to Almaty at night.Try to ship them for an entire day but costs are astronomical. So I leave them with my uni colleague. Enter China the next day.40/
November 14, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Day 25-7:Frustrating day @ Chinese border.Official denies entry b/c I'm carrying 13 tablets.I explain it's for research but he doesn't care. Return to Almaty at night.Try to ship them for an entire day but costs are astronomical. So I leave them with my uni colleague. Enter China the next day.40/
This donation is part of a severance pay I received from my former employer @kiel.institute when I left the employment relationship. I couldn't donate the entire amount I committed to b/c I need to advance funding for my fieldwork,which I am reaching lower-carbon. I'll complete my donation next year
November 11, 2025 at 5:57 AM
This donation is part of a severance pay I received from my former employer @kiel.institute when I left the employment relationship. I couldn't donate the entire amount I committed to b/c I need to advance funding for my fieldwork,which I am reaching lower-carbon. I'll complete my donation next year
One scene of apocalyptic event,as all animals predators+prey escape together. Flooding? Strong signs of patriarchalism: women portrayed (rarely) in copulation/birth-giving. Andronova burials denote strong egalitarianism & clear gender separation,as women buried with jewelry,men with weapons. 38/
November 8, 2025 at 5:17 PM
One scene of apocalyptic event,as all animals predators+prey escape together. Flooding? Strong signs of patriarchalism: women portrayed (rarely) in copulation/birth-giving. Andronova burials denote strong egalitarianism & clear gender separation,as women buried with jewelry,men with weapons. 38/
Day 24: Can't resist a visit to the Tambalay petroglyphs ~200km away from Almaty,even if expensive+travelling alone (with guide). Site includes tombs from Andronova culture ~1500BC & much earlier rock carvings. Mind-blowingly interesting.Sun-headed gods likely venerated in rituals led by shaman. 37/
November 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Day 24: Can't resist a visit to the Tambalay petroglyphs ~200km away from Almaty,even if expensive+travelling alone (with guide). Site includes tombs from Andronova culture ~1500BC & much earlier rock carvings. Mind-blowingly interesting.Sun-headed gods likely venerated in rituals led by shaman. 37/
Day 23: Overnight train to Almaty. Train assistant demands bribe to store my bulky luggage. Revolting stink of gasoline in lower part of the city. Great visit to National Museum, with reconstruction of "Golden Man" - neolithic warrior found buried with immense wealth. Cook pasta for friends. 36/
November 7, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Day 23: Overnight train to Almaty. Train assistant demands bribe to store my bulky luggage. Revolting stink of gasoline in lower part of the city. Great visit to National Museum, with reconstruction of "Golden Man" - neolithic warrior found buried with immense wealth. Cook pasta for friends. 36/
Day 22: View of the imperial palace of Otrar. 35/
November 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Day 22: View of the imperial palace of Otrar. 35/
Day 22: Visit Otrar, another ancient Silk Road city at about 1 hour drive from Shymkent. Impressive excavations detailing a quarantine area outside the walls, a mosque containing 1,000 worshippers, Tamerlan death bed, Mongols winning the siege to the city via bribery. 34/
November 3, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Day 22: Visit Otrar, another ancient Silk Road city at about 1 hour drive from Shymkent. Impressive excavations detailing a quarantine area outside the walls, a mosque containing 1,000 worshippers, Tamerlan death bed, Mongols winning the siege to the city via bribery. 34/
Day 21: Arrive in Shymkent, south-central Kazakhstan, ancient outpost on the Silk Road. Find place in another capsule hotel. Visit the citadel, the only remnant of the past. An enchanting sunset over the ancient city walls must have been similar to what the merchants of the Silk Road saw. 33/
November 2, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Day 21: Arrive in Shymkent, south-central Kazakhstan, ancient outpost on the Silk Road. Find place in another capsule hotel. Visit the citadel, the only remnant of the past. An enchanting sunset over the ancient city walls must have been similar to what the merchants of the Silk Road saw. 33/
Loving Kazakh wedding music, found by luck on the train. Many are farewell songs, as daughters would never see their families again.
A song talks about "Dariga", a ritual whereby a person circles around another person to get sickness out of him (typically father to son).32/
A song talks about "Dariga", a ritual whereby a person circles around another person to get sickness out of him (typically father to son).32/
November 1, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Loving Kazakh wedding music, found by luck on the train. Many are farewell songs, as daughters would never see their families again.
A song talks about "Dariga", a ritual whereby a person circles around another person to get sickness out of him (typically father to son).32/
A song talks about "Dariga", a ritual whereby a person circles around another person to get sickness out of him (typically father to son).32/
The landscape of the Ustyurt Plateau from the window is hypnotic. Old Kazakh elderly women coming to sell their traditional clothes seem to come from centuries ago. Befriend army conscript on final day of service. Truly loving the experience of my 50-hour ride. 31/
November 1, 2025 at 3:31 PM
The landscape of the Ustyurt Plateau from the window is hypnotic. Old Kazakh elderly women coming to sell their traditional clothes seem to come from centuries ago. Befriend army conscript on final day of service. Truly loving the experience of my 50-hour ride. 31/
Day 20-1: Great sense of community on 50-hour train ride Atyrau-Shimkent. A singer sings the songs prepared for her daughter's wedding at the dombra, the Kazakh national instrument. Neighbours share their food with me and I befriends young soldiers finishing their service. 30/
October 29, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Day 20-1: Great sense of community on 50-hour train ride Atyrau-Shimkent. A singer sings the songs prepared for her daughter's wedding at the dombra, the Kazakh national instrument. Neighbours share their food with me and I befriends young soldiers finishing their service. 30/
My travelogue of crossing the border between Georgia and Russia, and a day in Vladikavkaz. On my substack: gianlu777.substack.com/p/crossing-t...
La mia cronaca di viaggio del passaggio di frontiera tra Georgia e Russia, e una giornata a Vladikavkaz:
open.substack.com/pub/gianlu77...
La mia cronaca di viaggio del passaggio di frontiera tra Georgia e Russia, e una giornata a Vladikavkaz:
open.substack.com/pub/gianlu77...
October 28, 2025 at 12:15 PM
My travelogue of crossing the border between Georgia and Russia, and a day in Vladikavkaz. On my substack: gianlu777.substack.com/p/crossing-t...
La mia cronaca di viaggio del passaggio di frontiera tra Georgia e Russia, e una giornata a Vladikavkaz:
open.substack.com/pub/gianlu77...
La mia cronaca di viaggio del passaggio di frontiera tra Georgia e Russia, e una giornata a Vladikavkaz:
open.substack.com/pub/gianlu77...
I was wrong! This big building in Atyrau 🇰🇿 is the headquarter of Chevron, which has got license to extract oil in the region. The museum guide told me people here feel that oil is part of their identity. When we'll sever this toxic dependence?? 28/
October 26, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I was wrong! This big building in Atyrau 🇰🇿 is the headquarter of Chevron, which has got license to extract oil in the region. The museum guide told me people here feel that oil is part of their identity. When we'll sever this toxic dependence?? 28/
Day 19: Little tense at Russian border. Soldier wants to see my phone and inquires about my Ukrainian contacts. Then questionnaire asking my opinion on "special operation". Got stamp. Off to Atyrau,KZ,on Ural river,at border btw Europe & Asia (again). Share room with cyclist V. Off to downtown 27/
October 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Day 19: Little tense at Russian border. Soldier wants to see my phone and inquires about my Ukrainian contacts. Then questionnaire asking my opinion on "special operation". Got stamp. Off to Atyrau,KZ,on Ural river,at border btw Europe & Asia (again). Share room with cyclist V. Off to downtown 27/
Here is the postprint of the article: osf.io/preprints/osf....
Here's the link to the publication:
doi.org/10.31219/osf...
And the abstract 👇9/9
Here's the link to the publication:
doi.org/10.31219/osf...
And the abstract 👇9/9
October 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Here is the postprint of the article: osf.io/preprints/osf....
Here's the link to the publication:
doi.org/10.31219/osf...
And the abstract 👇9/9
Here's the link to the publication:
doi.org/10.31219/osf...
And the abstract 👇9/9
In 2014, I had already started slow-travelling to faraway places to reduce my carbon emissions, so I reached Colombia by cargo ship. I thank Dennis Snower, former President at the @kielinstitute for approving the trip.
7/9
7/9
October 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
In 2014, I had already started slow-travelling to faraway places to reduce my carbon emissions, so I reached Colombia by cargo ship. I thank Dennis Snower, former President at the @kielinstitute for approving the trip.
7/9
7/9
Workers who got the bonus did not change their output. In the second wave, funded by @kielinstitute, we found evidence for a "contentment effect": workers interpret the bonus as a signal that the employer is content with their effort, thus reducing their fear to be fired.
6/9
6/9
October 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Workers who got the bonus did not change their output. In the second wave, funded by @kielinstitute, we found evidence for a "contentment effect": workers interpret the bonus as a signal that the employer is content with their effort, thus reducing their fear to be fired.
6/9
6/9
In two experiments carried out in a “natural” work environment in Bogotá, Colombia, our findings clearly go against the gift exchange hypothesis. Workers who received the bonus decreased their productivity on average by 12%, most clearly when both received the bonus.
4/9
4/9
October 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
In two experiments carried out in a “natural” work environment in Bogotá, Colombia, our findings clearly go against the gift exchange hypothesis. Workers who received the bonus decreased their productivity on average by 12%, most clearly when both received the bonus.
4/9
4/9
Day 18: Walk around Astrakhan, Russia. No sign war in Ukraine is 1,000km close. However,friend tells me of disappeared/mutilated men. Classic Russian architecture with statues of Bolshevik hero Kirov, heavy weapons in playground,etc. Great view of Volga.Off to Kazakhstan border with night train.26/
October 19, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Day 18: Walk around Astrakhan, Russia. No sign war in Ukraine is 1,000km close. However,friend tells me of disappeared/mutilated men. Classic Russian architecture with statues of Bolshevik hero Kirov, heavy weapons in playground,etc. Great view of Volga.Off to Kazakhstan border with night train.26/
Day 17: Get another glimpse of Vladikavkaz,then 8-hour bus to Astrakhan.Pass through Chechenya and Daghestan. Fantastic desertic landscape.In Grozny, I hear gunshots for first time in my life,reportedly for a wedding. Get to Astrakhan in the night with cyclist Valerio & train-hopper Len. 25/
October 19, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Day 17: Get another glimpse of Vladikavkaz,then 8-hour bus to Astrakhan.Pass through Chechenya and Daghestan. Fantastic desertic landscape.In Grozny, I hear gunshots for first time in my life,reportedly for a wedding. Get to Astrakhan in the night with cyclist Valerio & train-hopper Len. 25/
Day 16:7-hour bus transfer from Tbilisi to Vladikavkaz,North Ossetia,Russia. Bus driver afraid I'll be bounced off at border,instead easy passage. Hit most interesting local history museum, with copies of petroglyphs from Neolithic+account of "Alans" migrations, with kind translation by Katya. 24/
October 17, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Day 16:7-hour bus transfer from Tbilisi to Vladikavkaz,North Ossetia,Russia. Bus driver afraid I'll be bounced off at border,instead easy passage. Hit most interesting local history museum, with copies of petroglyphs from Neolithic+account of "Alans" migrations, with kind translation by Katya. 24/
Day 15: After visiting the Georgian History museum, a section of which is devoted to the repression of anti-Soviet political dissidents, I visit the demonstrators protesting against the illegitimacy of the current "Georgian Dream" government. Report: gianlu777.substack.com/p/the-oligar... 23/
October 15, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Day 15: After visiting the Georgian History museum, a section of which is devoted to the repression of anti-Soviet political dissidents, I visit the demonstrators protesting against the illegitimacy of the current "Georgian Dream" government. Report: gianlu777.substack.com/p/the-oligar... 23/
Day 15: After visiting the Georgian History museum, a section of which is devoted to the repression of anti-Soviet political dissidents, I visit the demonstrators protesting against the illegitimacy of the current "Georgian Dream" government. Report: gianlu777.substack.com/p/the-oligar... 22/
October 15, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Day 15: After visiting the Georgian History museum, a section of which is devoted to the repression of anti-Soviet political dissidents, I visit the demonstrators protesting against the illegitimacy of the current "Georgian Dream" government. Report: gianlu777.substack.com/p/the-oligar... 22/