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ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF NEXT-GENERATION SWIPT-ENABLED HETEROGENEOUS IOT NETWORKS
No full textANALISI E OTTIMIZZAZIONE DI RETI IOT ETEROGENEE ABILITATE A SWIPT DI NUOVA GENERAZION
Dissipation, consciousness and the unconscious
No full textIn this paper, we review the dissipative quantum model of brain and some of its recent developments. The
model emphasizes the fact that the brain is open to its environment, with outgoing and incoming flows of
energy, matter, and information. For a living brain, these flows are always active; they can be enhanced or
reduced, never fully eliminated. This characteristic is crucial for understanding brain activity, which is indeed
described by the dissipative dynamics, and is fundamental to generating the phenomenon of consciousness.
We briefly discuss several results derived from the dissipative model, including the hidden territory of the
unconscious, the process of constructing meanings out of information, the dynamic nature of memory, which
reveals to be memory of meanings rather than memory of information, the nature of mental activity, the
observed chaotic activity of the brain, its fractal self-similarity, its social dimension, the formation of linguistic
forms and concepts. Additionally, we address the concept of the brain’s entanglement with its environment,
and of free will, limited to the formal frame of the Bayes rule derivation
BRIDGING IMPACT: IL RUOLO DELLA VENTURE PHILANTHROPY NELLO SVILUPPO DI ECOSISTEMI SOSTENIBILI
No full textLA VENTURE PHILANTHROPY COSTITUISCE UN AMBITO DI RICERCA CONSOLIDATO ALL’INTERNO DEGLI STUDI SULLE
ORGANIZZAZIONI IBRIDE E SUGLI STRUMENTI DI SUPPORTO ALLE INIZIATIVE A FINALITÀ SOCIALE. TUTTAVIA, LA
LETTERATURA ESISTENTE RISULTA ETEROGENEA SIA DAL PUNTO DI VISTA CONCETTUALE SIA SUL PIANO EMPIRICO E
FA AMPIO RICORSO A STRUMENTI DI VALUTAZIONE DELL’IMPATTO E DELLA SOSTENIBILITÀ CHE, PUR OFFRENDO
INFORMAZIONI RILEVANTI, PRESENTANO LIMITI IN TERMINI DI COMPARABILITÀ DELLE PERFORMANCE
ECONOMICO-FINANZIARIE, SOPRATTUTTO IN CONTESTI CARATTERIZZATI DA ELEVATA ETEROGENEITÀ ORGANIZZATIVA
COME QUELLO EUROPEO E ITALIANO. LA PRESENTE TESI ANALIZZA LA VENTURE PHILANTHROPY IN EUROPA E IN
ITALIA ATTRAVERSO UN APPROCCIO EMPIRICO ARTICOLATO SU PIÙ LIVELLI.
IN UNA PRIMA FASE, VIENE CONDOTTA UNA MAPPATURA DEL CONTESTO EUROPEO, TRAMITE CONTENT ANALYSIS,
AL FINE DI DESCRIVERE LA DISTRIBUZIONE DEGLI ATTORI, DEI SETTORI DI INTERVENTO E IL LORO POSIZIONAMENTO
RISPETTO AGLI OBIETTIVI DI SVILUPPO SOSTENIBILE (SDGS), UTILIZZATI COME CORNICE ANALITICA PER
INTERPRETARE LE PRIORITÀ STRATEGICHE E L’INTENZIONALITÀ D’IMPATTO DEI DIVERSI PLAYER. SUCCESSIVAMENTE,
L’ANALISI SI FOCALIZZA SUL CONTESTO ITALIANO, RICOSTRUENDO TRAMITE CONTENT ANALYSIS UN CAMPIONE
ORIGINALE DI 182 PROGETTI DI VENTURE PHILANTHROPY, CHE VENGONO ESAMINATI PER APPROFONDIRNE LE
CARATTERISTICHE SETTORIALI E ORGANIZZATIVE, E SI COMPLETA CON UN CASO STUDIO LONGITUDINALE SUL
PROGRAMMA “WELFARE, CHE IMPRESA!”, FINALIZZATO AD ANALIZZARE IN PROFONDITÀ LE DINAMICHE DI
IMPLEMENTAZIONE DEL MODELLO DI VENTURE PHILANTHROPY. IL CONTRIBUTO METODOLOGICO DELLA RICERCA
CONSISTE NELLO SVILUPPO DI UN INDICE SINTETICO DI PERFORMANCE ECONOMICO-FINANZIARIA, COSTRUITO
MEDIANTE ANALISI DELLE COMPONENTI PRINCIPALI (PCA), FINALIZZATO A SUPERARE I LIMITI DELLE METRICHE
SINGOLE E A CONSENTIRE UNA VALUTAZIONE COMPARABILE DELLE INIZIATIVE ANALIZZATE. È OPPORTUNO
PRECISARE CHE L’INDICE PROPOSTO NON È CONCEPITO COME STRUMENTO DI MISURAZIONE DELL’IMPATTO
SOCIALE IN SENSO STRETTO, COME NEL CASO DI APPROCCI QUALI IL SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT (SROI) O
LE METRICHE ESG, AMPIAMENTE UTILIZZATI NELLA LETTERATURA SULL’IMPACT ASSESSMENT. TALI STRUMENTI
RISULTANO PARTICOLARMENTE ADATTI ALLA VALUTAZIONE DELL’IMPATTO E DELLA SOSTENIBILITÀ, MA PRESENTANO
LIMITI IN TERMINI DI COMPARABILITÀ E STANDARDIZZAZIONE, SOPRATTUTTO IN PRESENZA DI CAMPIONI RIDOTTI
E DI ELEVATA ETEROGENEITÀ ORGANIZZATIVA. IN COERENZA CON GLI OBIETTIVI DELLA RICERCA, L’INDICE
SVILUPPATO SI FOCALIZZA QUINDI SULLA VALUTAZIONE COMPARABILE DELLA PERFORMANCE ECONOMICO-
FINANZIARIA, POSIZIONANDOSI COME STRUMENTO COMPLEMENTARE RISPETTO ALLE MISURE DI IMPATTO SOCIALE
ESISTENTI. L’INDICE VIENE SUCCESSIVAMENTE IMPIEGATO IN MODELLI DI REGRESSIONE PER INDIVIDUARE I
PRINCIPALI DETERMINANTI DELLA PERFORMANCE, CON PARTICOLARE ATTENZIONE AL RUOLO DELL’EFFICIENZA
OPERATIVA E DELLE CARATTERISTICHE ORGANIZZATIVE. NEL COMPLESSO, LA RICERCA FORNISCE EVIDENZE
EMPIRICHE SISTEMATICHE SULLA VENTURE PHILANTHROPY IN EUROPA E IN ITALIA E CONTRIBUISCE AL DIBATTITO
ACCADEMICO PROPONENDO UN APPROCCIO QUANTITATIVO ALLA VALUTAZIONE DELLA PERFORMANCE, COERENTE
CON LA NATURA IBRIDA DELLE ORGANIZZAZIONI ANALIZZATE E CON I VINCOLI INFORMATIVI DEI DATI DISPONIBILI.VENTURE PHILANTHROPY REPRESENTS AN ESTABLISHED FIELD OF RESEARCH WITHIN THE BROADER STUDY OF HYBRID
ORGANIZATIONS AND SUPPORT INSTRUMENTS FOR SOCIALLY ORIENTED INITIATIVES. HOWEVER, THE EXISTING
LITERATURE IS CONCEPTUALLY AND EMPIRICALLY HETEROGENEOUS AND RELIES HEAVILY ON IMPACT AND
SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT TOOLS WHICH, ALTHOUGH PROVIDING RELEVANT INFORMATION, HAVE LIMITATIONS
IN TERMS OF COMPARABILITY OF ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE, PARTICULARLY IN CONTEXTS
CHARACTERIZED BY HIGH ORGANIZATIONAL HETEROGENEITY, SUCH AS EUROPE AND ITALY.
THIS THESIS EXAMINES VENTURE PHILANTHROPY IN EUROPE AND ITALY USING A MULTI-LEVEL EMPIRICAL
APPROACH. IN THE FIRST PHASE, THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT IS MAPPED THROUGH CONTENT ANALYSIS, AIMING TO
DESCRIBE THE DISTRIBUTION OF ACTORS, SECTORS OF INTERVENTION, AND THEIR ALIGNMENT WITH THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS), WHICH ARE EMPLOYED AS AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK TO INTERPRET THE
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND IMPACT INTENTIONS OF VARIOUS PLAYERS. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE FOCUS SHIFTS TO THE
ITALIAN CONTEXT, RECONSTRUCTING, THROUGH CONTENT ANALYSIS, AN ORIGINAL SAMPLE OF 182 VENTURE
PHILANTHROPY PROJECTS. THESE PROJECTS ARE ANALYZED TO EXPLORE THEIR SECTORAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS AND ARE COMPLEMENTED BY A LONGITUDINAL CASE STUDY ON THE “WELFARE, CHE IMPRESA!”
PROGRAM, DESIGNED TO EXAMINE IN DEPTH THE DYNAMICS OF IMPLEMENTING THE VENTURE PHILANTHROPY
MODEL. THE METHODOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTION OF THIS RESEARCH LIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SYNTHETIC
INDEX OF ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE, CONSTRUCTED USING PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS
(PCA). THIS INDEX IS DESIGNED TO OVERCOME THE LIMITATIONS OF SINGLE METRICS AND TO ENABLE A
COMPARABLE EVALUATION OF THE INITIATIVES ANALYZED. IT IS IMPORTANT TO CLARIFY THAT THE PROPOSED INDEX
IS NOT INTENDED TO MEASURE SOCIAL IMPACT IN A STRICT SENSE, AS APPROACHES SUCH AS SOCIAL RETURN ON
INVESTMENT (SROI) OR ESG METRICS DO. THESE TOOLS ARE WIDELY USED IN THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT
LITERATURE AND ARE PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR EVALUATING IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY BUT HAVE LIMITATIONS
IN TERMS OF COMPARABILITY AND STANDARDIZATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE PRESENCE OF SMALL SAMPLES AND
HIGH ORGANIZATIONAL HETEROGENEITY. IN LINE WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH, THE DEVELOPED INDEX
FOCUSES ON THE COMPARABLE ASSESSMENT OF ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE, POSITIONING ITSELF
AS A COMPLEMENTARY INSTRUMENT TO EXISTING SOCIAL IMPACT MEASURES. THE INDEX IS SUBSEQUENTLY
EMPLOYED IN REGRESSION MODELS TO IDENTIFY THE MAIN DETERMINANTS OF PERFORMANCE, WITH PARTICULAR
ATTENTION TO THE ROLES OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS. OVERALL, THIS
RESEARCH PROVIDES SYSTEMATIC EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON VENTURE PHILANTHROPY IN EUROPE AND ITALY AND
CONTRIBUTES TO THE ACADEMIC DEBATE BY PROPOSING A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH TO PERFORMANCE
EVALUATION THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE HYBRID NATURE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ANALYZED AND THE
INFORMATIONAL CONSTRAINTS OF THE AVAILABLE DATA
Pouzzoles, entre sacralité et ironie: de l’humanisme aux Lumières
No full textThis article compares the travel narratives of Joseph Catin (sixteenth century) and Charles de Brosses (eighteenth century) on Pozzuoli and the Phlegraean Fields, highlighting two distinct cultural paradigms: Renaissance humanism and the Age of Enlightenment. Catin conceives of the landscape as a sacred and symbolic “site of memory,” employing a solemn and philological style, whereas de Brosses adopts an ironic and familiar tone, grounded in an empirical and critical observation of the present. The analysis draws on comparative stylistics and the theories of Cesare Segre1, François Hartog2 and Pierre Nora3, distinguishing between “antiquity as a model” and “antiquity as a critical object.” This study illustrates the epistemological and cultural transformation of travel writing in Europe, from reverential respect to a disenchanted and pluralistic approach
Giovani in transizione: evidenze emerse nelle scuole campane
No full textIl volume presenta i principali risultati del Progetto PRIN 2022 PEERUP From high school to university: Assessing peers’ influence in educational inequalities and performances che ha coinvolto le Università di Cagliari, Firenze e Salerno. Esso analizza i percorsi educativi dalla scuola superiore all’università, con particolare attenzione all’ultimo anno della scuola e alla fase di transizione verso l’istruzione terziaria. Lo studio si concentra sul ruolo delle disuguaglianze educative e sull’influenza esercitata dal genere, dalle condizioni socioeconomiche della famiglia, dal contesto dei pari e dalla tipologia di istituto frequentato sulle scelte formative e sulle performance accademiche.
Gli obiettivi del progetto sono stati perseguiti mediante l’uso integrato di dati amministrativi e di indagini nazionali sulla valutazione del sistema educativo e attraverso la raccolta di dati primari con la realizzazione di due indagini. La prima, comune alle tre unità di ricerca e realizzata in Campania, Sardegna e Toscana, analizza i fattori che influenzano la decisione di proseguire gli studi universitari dopo il diploma, con riferimento all’ambito disciplinare, alle intenzioni di mobilità, al ruolo delle cerchie sociali e alle motivazioni individuali. La seconda indagine approfondisce l’influenza della struttura e della composizione delle reti personali, delle reti amicali e di supporto sociale tra compagni di classe sulle scelte educative di studenti e studentesse in un campione di scuole campane
Responsible welfare and gender inequalities in health: a model for a fair system
No full textThe issue of gender inequalities in health represents a critical challenge on both a global and national scale. These inequalities are not only attributable to biological factors, but also to socio-cultural, economic and systemic influences. In low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, India and Bangladesh, women consistently perform worse than men on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) index. This is due to structural barriers, including limited autonomy, restricted mobility and financial exclusion. In a similar vein, while Italian women enjoy a higher life expectancy than their male counterparts, they are subject to a greater number of years spent living with chronic illness or disability. Moreover, they encounter specific obstacles when attempting to access health and social services. The present article puts forward the Responsible Welfare model as a novel, transferable approach to addressing these disparities, involving an integrated, multi-actor, gender-sensitive welfare system. Following an exposition of the theoretical framework and methodology, the article undertakes a comparative analysis of gender health inequalities across Italian regions and internationally, with a particular focus on developing countries. The findings emphasise that gender health disparities are a social construct and context-dependent, yet modifiable through inclusive, localised, and collaborative policies. The study posits that Responsible Welfare, with its emphasis on personalisation, proximity, shared responsibility, and systemic integration, has the potential to serve as a response not only to national inequalities, but also as a reference model for countries seeking to advance SDG 3.8 and reduce gender-based health disparities. The article concludes with the presentation of concrete policy recommendations aimed at the promotion of equitable and sustainable health systems that leave no one behind
Marine macroalgae as active biomonitors: Evaluation of multi-element bioconcentration kinetics in Dictyota spiralis and Laurencia microcladia
No full textBrown and red macroalgae are promising biomonitors of inorganic pollutants in marine environments, due to quick growth, high biomass, ease of sampling and the production of a diverse array of chelating agents. The limited distribution and low population densities of most of the currently adopted species, however, prompt the need to search for suitable alternatives. To this end, the accumulation kinetics of ten metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) and one metalloid (As) under field-conditions were studied in Dictyota spiralis and Laurencia microcladia , brown and red macroalgae, respectively. Specifically, element concentrations were measured at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 24 d on algae (both alive and devitalized) exposed in the field (through purposely developed bags) in 4 sites differing in anthropogenic impacts along the Tyrrhenian coast (southern Italy). Robust Bayesian analyses were adopted for model fitting and selection, as well as to derive posterior distributions for parameters with straightforward practical implications for biomonitoring of coastal waters. Kinetics followed pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and two-phase intraparticle diffusion models, with saturation times varying among elements, between species and between devitalization treatments. The spatial discrimination capability of the species varies in relation to the element, with a distinct advantage of living L. microcladia for the biomonitoring of Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and V, and of devitalized D. spiralis for the biomonitoring of As, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. Overall, findings highlight the remarkable effectiveness of transplants of both the species for the active biomonitoring of marine coastal ecosystems, especially when leveraging over their complementary selectivity toward different elements. The specificity in accumulation behavior allows also diversifying the target use of the two species, suggesting shorter-term monitoring and even bioremediation applications in the case of D. spiralis