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Essays in monetary policy, expectations formation, and heterogeneous agent models
No full textIn Chapter 1, coauthored with Jan Zemlicka, we analyze the optimal window length in the average inflation targeting rule within a Behavioral Heterogeneous Agent NK model. The central bank faces an occasionally binding effective lower bound (ELB) or persistent supply shocks, and can also use quantitative easing. We show that the optimal averaging period is infinity for a moderate myopia. Finite yet long-lasting windows dominate for stronger cognitive discounting; i.e., the makeup property is shown to be qualitatively resistant to deviation from rational expectations. We point out that the optimal window depends on the speed of return to the target path when myopia plays a bigger role.
In Chapter 2, I disentangle assumptions behind the consumption response to changes in inflation expectations in the New Keynesian framework. While the standard New Keynesian model implies that higher households' inflation expectations strongly raise nominal wage expectations and generate a positive consumption response, empirical evidence shows low passthrough to nominal wage expectations and a mixed sign of the consumption response. I study representative agent and heterogeneous agent New Keynesian models that allow for this low passthrough, arising from myopic nominal wage expectations. In the representative agent model, consumption still increases because households receive profits that offset the expected decline in real wages. In contrast, in the heterogeneous agent model, the consumption response becomes negative when the profit channel is weakened and the disconnect between inflation and nominal wage expectations is sufficiently strong.
In Chapter 3, I discuss how the aggregate uncertainty substantially affects the behavior of rational expectations equilibrium (REE) macroeconomic models. Utilizing the standard New Keynesian model with occasionally binding constraint, I show that the role of the uncertainty is extensively sidelined even with a slight deviation from the REE. It almost disappears when using empirically relevant expectations formation. When macroeconomists use empirically disciplined expectations formation, solution techniques that abstract from the uncertainty may not lose much compared to true rational expectation solutions that take the uncertainty into account
Eight Boat Names: A Corpus-based Study of Arabic Nautical Terminology in the Mediterranean Migration Context
No full textThis paper examines how Arabic-speaking migrants name the boats
used to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Based on a 50,000-word corpus of
vernacular and mixed Arabic texts collected from social media and
video testimonies, it analyses eight nautical terms (balam, šqaf, sumbuk,
ṭarrād, ǧarrāfa, gomma, fāybir, zūdyāk), associated with distinct migra-
tory routes from Türkiye, Libya, and Tunisia to Italy, and from
Morocco to Spain. Integrating historical-lexical analysis with corpus-
based evidence, the study reconstructs the etymology of these terms
and traces their resemanticization within the migration context. The
findings highlight how traditional nautical terminology has been
reshaped by migrant communities and smuggling networks, reflecting
migratory dynamics, technical aspects, and social practices inherent to
the crossings of the Mediterranean Sea
Human mitochondrial persulfide dioxygenase is potently and reversibly inhibited by nitric oxide
No full textHydrogen sulfide (H2S) regulates multiple human physiological processes, its reactivity and range of action being tightly controlled through regulation of H2S-synthesizing and -detoxifying enzymes. H2S detoxification is mainly achieved by a mitochondrial sulfide detoxifying pathway including persulfide dioxygenase (PDO). Human PDO (known as ethylmalonic encephalopathy protein 1, ETHE1), a homodimeric enzyme with a mononuclear iron centre active site, catalyzes the conversion of glutathione persulfide (GSSH) and O2 to reduced glutathione (GSH) and sulfite. Here we report that ETHE1 is potently inhibited by authentic nitric oxide (NO) gas at physiological concentrations, as observed by high resolution respirometry. Inhibition is reversible, occurs via NO binding to the reduced mononuclear iron center and becomes more potent and persistent at lower O2 levels. Incubation with s -nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) also appears to partially and transiently inhibit ETHE1, this effect likely resulting from s -nitrosation of cysteine residues. While ETHE1 is devoid of NO reductase activity, in aerobic conditions it displays low NO degrading activity. These findings unravel a novel layer of cross-regulation between the H2S and NO gasotransmitters with possible implications on the regulation of numerous physiological and pathophysiological processes
Energy management of hybrid electrochemical and hydrogen-based systems for decentralized and sustainable energy Systems
No full textHybrid Energy storage systems (HESSs) are essential to enabling high renewable energy penetration and achieving carbon neutrality. Their function is to absorb surplus energy during periods of excess generation and release it when demand exceeds supply, thus ensuring grid stability and reducing curtailment. As energy networks become increasingly complex, characterized by decentralized resources, prosumers, and multi-energy interactions, the need for advanced supervisory systems capable of optimizing energy flows in real-time has grown. The challenge lies in developing Energy Management Systems (EMSs) that can operate efficiently under stochastic, nonlinear, and dynamic conditions. This thesis aims to contribute to the modeling, analysis, and optimization of hybrid electrochemical–hydrogen energy systems. Specifically, it focuses on developing advanced EMS methodologies that ensure the efficient, reliable, and sustainable operation of future renewable-based energy networks. When addressing energy management, it is crucial to clearly define the application context in which the storage system operates. Each application is characterized by unique requirements, objectives, and operational constraints, which determine the optimal EMS strategies. This work considers three main categories of storage applications: civil applications, light-duty mobility, and heavy-duty mobility. For each category, HESS case studies are analyzed, and the effects of different EMS methodologies are evaluated in terms of energy efficiency, applicability, system degradation, and economic savings over both the short and long term. The three primary EMS categories explored are Rule-Based (RB-EMS), Optimization-Based (OB-EMS), and Learning-Based (LB-EMS) systems. The selection of the most suitable EMS requires careful consideration of several key parameters, including performance, adaptability, computational effort, and ease of implementation
L'età d'oro del Rinascimento: Bembo Raffaello e Castiglione (Lettera di messere Pietro Bembo...primo volume)
No full textPlasticity and Discontinuity. Morphogenesis Beyond Structure
No full textThe essay offers a radical critique of the recapitulation theory, showing that human ontogeny is not a miniature of phylogeny but an autonomous and transfor-mative process. Infancy is conceived as a structural condition of the human species, marked by neoteny: a premature birth and delayed maturation that expose the subject to prolonged evolutionary, cognitive, and historical plasticity. This dual nature—early fragility and extended potential—makes ontogeny a driver of history, rather than its outcome. The temporality of infancy breaks with evolutionary linearity and opens up to discontinuous time, capable of invention and rupture. The infant, without speech and yet bearer of ambivalent potentialities, becomes a figure of exposed, historical, and unfinished subjectivity, continuously rewritten through relations with others and with language
Integrating Mean Radiant Temperature into Urban Heat Vulnerability Assessment: A Case Study in the City of Rome, Italy
No full textThis paper addresses urban heat vulnerability in Mediterranean cities, by proposing and testing an approach that integrates the spatial distribution of mean radiant temperature (MRT) into the heat vulnerability index (HVI). Six typical neigh-bourhoods of the city of Rome are taken as a model of compact urban fabric. Socio-economic and environmental data were collected at the census-tract level, and MRT spatial analyses were conducted. The data were then aggregated to develop the three main components of the HVI: the Exposure map, the sensitivity map, and the adap-tive capacity map. To assess the impact of MRT on the HVI, one scenario including and another one not including MRT were compared. The results highlight the impor-tance of incorporating MRT in evaluating heat vulnerability, as this factor considers people’s perception of thermal comfort. It is evident that in dense urban forms, the integration of MRT in the HVI assessment leads to a reduced value of vulnera-bility, since shadows from the building help increasing outdoor thermal comfort. Conversely, in districts with large open areas, vulnerability values increase due to direct solar radiation and decreased thermal comfort. Additionally, the study demon-strates how the HVI can serve as a valuable tool for defining neighbourhood-oriented urban microclimate adaptation strategies
L'inserimento lavorativo dei detenuti. Profili problematici e prospettive pratiche del reinserimento sociale
No full textUno dei temi più rilevanti per il mondo carcerario riguarda il reinserimento sociale dei detenuti al termine della pena, che è strettamente collegato, e a volte impropriamente sovrapposto, con quanto prescritto dall’art.27 della Costituzione, in base a cui la pena, accanto alla funzione afflittiva, deve avere anche un ruolo rieducativo. In questa prospettiva, è stata reinterpretata la funzione del lavoro dei detenuti durante la permanenza in carcere, in origine destinata a uno scopo unicamente punitivo. A partire dagli anni ‘70 del Novecento, il lavoro in detenzione assume dunque un ruolo non più afflittivo ma volto a valorizzare la prospettiva rieducativa, acquisendo caratteristiche, come la remunerazione, simili a quelle del lavoro libero. In tal senso, sono state istituite misure alternative alla detenzione o benefici che consentono agli internati di svolgere attività alle dipendenze di datori di lavoro pubblici e privati: così, accanto alla semilibertà, è stata consentita l’ammissione al lavoro esterno in base all’art.21 dell’Ordinamento penitenziario.
L’indagine intende approfondire questo aspetto, considerando l’inserimento lavorativo come una solida base per un processo di reinserimento in società al termine della detenzione. Pertanto, gli obiettivi cognitivi e gli interrogativi della ricerca riguardano l’effettiva utilità delle attività svolte dai detenuti ai fini di un proficuo inserimento nel mercato del lavoro una volta scontata la pena, l’importanza delle reti di supporto nei processi di reinserimento, nonché l’analisi delle aspettative e dei desideri dei detenuti alla luce dei percorsi svolti.
È stata, dunque, svolta una ricerca qualitativa con uno studio di caso nell’istituto carcerario di Rebibbia Nuovo Complesso, che ha previsto la raccolta, attraverso lo strumento dell’intervista semistrutturata focalizzata, delle testimonianze di detenuti ed ex detenuti che hanno potuto accedere ad attività lavorative all’interno e all’esterno dell’istituto, nonché a testimoni qualificati che, in virtù del loro ruolo, hanno una visione d’insieme del fenomeno in esame. I principali risultati emersi dall’indagine rispondono adeguatamente agli interrogativi di ricerca. Si evidenzia una mancanza di supporto istituzionale per i detenuti in uscita, talvolta sostenuti unicamente da associazioni del Terzo settore; una generalizzata inadeguatezza delle mansioni svolte e delle conseguenti competenze apprese all’interno del carcere ai fini di un successivo inserimento (laddove, peraltro, i dipendenti di datori di lavoro esterni acquisiscono competenze più spendibili); il ruolo cruciale svolto dalle reti di supporto esterne, familiari o di conoscenze. Risulta altresì che le aspettative e i desideri individuali dei soggetti intervistati spesso non si riflettono su aspirazioni relative all’ambito lavorativo. L’indagine descritta ha pertanto consentito di acquisire una migliore conoscenza delle dinamiche di reinserimento sociale dei detenuti a fine pena, anche nella prospettiva del conseguimento di risultati relativi al processo di rieducazione di tali soggetti
Smart multimodal corridor control: integrated AI and model-based strategies for urban and extra-urban traffic management
No full textThis thesis develops an integrated framework for smart multimodal corridor control, combining model-based and AI-driven strategies to enhance the efficiency, equity, and sustainability of urban and extra-urban traffic management systems. The research contributes to the activities of the MOST – National Center for Sustainable Mobility (Spoke 9), addressing coordinated control of public and private transport under both deterministic and stochastic conditions. In the urban context, two complementary approaches are investigated at the intersection level. The first introduces a facility-based bus priority design through pre- signaling, where a dedicated bus lane terminates upstream of the intersection and is managed via an auxiliary pre-signal. Through microsimulation in SUMO, different configurations of pre-signal placement and control logic are analyzed along a real corridor in Rome. Results demonstrate that appropriately positioned pre-signals significantly reduce delay for buses, especially for left-turn movements, while maintaining acceptable levels of general traffic performance. The second urban approach applies Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) to adaptive signal control and Transit Signal Priority (TSP) in a large-scale real network, the Via Prenestina corridor, including 21 signalized intersections. The DRL agent integrates a convolutional neural network for traffic state representation and a reward structure that balances private and public transport performance. Simulation outcomes confirm that the proposed DRL-based system reduces total delay, queue lengths, and emissions while improving the regularity of public transport service compared to both fixed-time and traditional adaptive controls. In the urban freeway context, the thesis introduces a dynamic rule-based Variable Speed Limit (VSL) control model, operationally validated on the Padua–Mestre motorway. The model accounts for driver behavior and stochastic compliance, using field data 2 from nearly one year of real observations. Statistical testing and clustering analysis show that the dynamic VSL reduces travel time by up to 19% and decreases speed variance by more than 50% under congested conditions. To test the applicability of our dynamic rule-based model, we extended our analysis using SUMO microsimulation to a new study area on the Napoli ring road, using a stochastic user-compliance simulation model in which drivers are categorized as compliant or non-compliant based on a long-normal distribution of the speed factor. Finally, we compared the rule-based strategy with a DRL-based jam-shrinking control, highlighting the practicality of the rule-based solution for deployment. Overall, the thesis delivers a coherent methodological and experimental contribution that not only bridges model-based, rule-based, and AI-based adaptive control paradigms but also tests various strategies in a real-world simulated environment. We conclude that fair and practical comparisons between these approaches are essential for guiding future implementations of intelligent and cooperative traffic management within sustainable mobility systems
The Burden of the Perfect Frame: A Scoping Review on Personality and Muscle Dysmorphia
No full textResearch on muscle dysmorphia (MD), currently conceptualized as a clinical specifier for
body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), is rapidly expanding. Although personality traits and
disorders have been proposed as relevant risk factors for the development of BDD, their
role in MD remains insufficiently understood. This scoping review aims to synthesize the
existing empirical literature on the associations between MD and personality, while identifying key research gaps and clinical challenges. Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines,
a systematic search was conducted across PsycArticles, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science,
and Google Scholar between 1 October and 1 December 2024. A total of 15 studies met
the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Findings highlight the significant contribution of
narcissism, neuroticism, and perfectionism to the development and severity of MD. In particular, traits associated with vulnerable narcissism consistently emerged as predictors of
MD symptomatology. Sociocultural factors—such as the competitive environment of elite
sports and early relational experiences—were also found to interact with personality-based
vulnerabilities in shaping the onset and clinical expression of MD. However, most available
studies relied on self-report measures, cross-sectional designs, and convenience samples
predominantly composed of men, limiting the generalizability of the results. Despite
these methodological limitations, this review emphasizes the importance of identifying
personality-based vulnerabilities to enhance the understanding of MD and inform the
development of person-centered prevention and intervention strategies