1,721,002 research outputs found
Condition assessment by visual inspection for a bridge management system
No full textThe development of a reliable bridge management
system (BMS) constitutes a formidable engineering
challenge due to both the multiobjective nature
of the task and the large information to be considered
in formulating the required automated judgments. This
article deals with a procedure for bridge condition assessment
by visual inspection developed during the planning
and preliminary design of the BMS for the public
railway networks in Italy. The main modules adopted in
the procedure are: bridge inventory, computer-aided visual
inspection, automated defect catalog, and priorityranking
procedure. The probabilistic models used to calibrate
the condition evaluation algorithm are discussed.
Different levels of deficiency have been individuated for
each class of bridge structure belonging to the managed
stock. The procedure allows comparison and relative
ranking of deficiency conditions across different types of
bridge structures. The results of a visual inspection campaign
conducted for a set of bridges with different structural
characteristics are reported and evaluated within the
framework of the developed BMS
Un successo a 5 stelle
No full textQuesto capitolo analizza l’elemento di maggiore e più sorprendente discontinuità che, rispetto al passato, caratterizza le elezioni politiche del 2013, ossia l’affermazione elettorale del Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S). Un successo straordinario, dalle forti ripercussioni sistemiche, tale da poter essere considerato una sorta di spartiacque fra la Seconda Repubblica e ciò che la seguirà. Un successo per certi versi atteso, almeno da qualche tempo, ma assolutamente non nella misura in cui è avvenuto. Il capitolo prima tratteggia la breve storia politico-elettorale del M5S per poi passare all'analisi del risultato elettorale del M5S alle politiche del 2013. In particolare, si analizza la geografia elettorale, i flussi elettorali e il profilo degli elettori del M5S
Mergers and acquisitions in the financial industry: A bibliometric review and future research directions
No full textThe growing application of bibliometric reviews in Finance, as well as the ongoing consolidation processes across firms and countries, motivated this study on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the Financial Industry. From a starting count of around 4500 papers, we refine our database accordingly to keywords and journal quality, reviewing a final sample of 174 papers. By combining bibliometric and content analysis, we identify leading journals, countries, institutions, authors, articles, and related research questions that mostly contributed to this field. Moreover, we provide a keyword/cartographic analysis identifying five leading research streams and their evolution over time, that we extensively discuss. Finally, we summarize the main questions proposed by the literature as a suggestion for future research
Do ESG strategies enhance bank stability during financial turmoil? Evidence from Europe
Full text linkThis paper investigates the joint and separate effects of Environmental (E), Social (S), and Governance (G) scores on bank stability. Using a sample of European banks operating in 21 countries over 2005–2017, we find that the total ESG score, as well as its sub-pillars, reduces bank fragility during periods of financial distress. This stabilizing effect holds strongly for banks with higher ESG ratings. These results are confirmed by a differences-in-differences (DID) analysis built around the introduction of the EU 2014 Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). Our evidence also reveals that, in times of financial turmoil, the longer the duration of ESG disclosures, the greater the benefits on stability. Finally, we show that the ESG–bank stability linkages vary significantly across banks’ characteristics and operating environments. Our findings are robust to selection bias and endogeneity concerns. Overall, they support the regulatory effort in requiring an enhanced disclosure of non–financial information
Geopolitical Risk and Energy Markets: Past, Present, and Future
Full text linkDue to the most recent geopolitical events, such as the Russia–Ukraine conflict and the war between Israel and Hamas, geopolitical risk (GPR) and energy markets have been at the forefront of the academic debate. To identify the evolution of the literature inherent to GPR and energy markets, we conduct a meta-literature review—that is, including both qualitative analysis (the content analysis) and quantitative analysis (the bibliometric analysis)—with regard to a selected sample of 72 papers from the period 2018 to March 2023 (March included). We perform the co-citation and co-authorship analysis and we also identify five main research streams as follows: (1) “Oil and uncertainty in different scenarios,” (2) “Uncertainty, resources and energy,” (3) “Geopolitical risk and oil from a broader perspective,” (4) “Oil, metal markets and uncertainty,” and (5) “Uncertainty and the oil market: a geographic perspective.” Finally, we also identify the future research perspectives. Given the increasing interest in the topic in question, our work proves to be of great interest to researchers and scholars, since it identifies the past, the present, and the future research perspectives of the topic considered
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Are Islamic investments still safe assets during the COVID-19 pandemic?
No full textWhile looking for safe-haven assets, the literature obtained mixed and varying results, changing from one period to the next, or one geographical area to another. Recently, this field of research grew even more, motivated by the changing environment resulting from the global financial crisis and the current COVID-19 pandemic. We compare five Islamic and five conventional leading financial indexes for the period 2004–2020, covering both global and regional data (Asia-Pacific, Europe, GCC, and the United States). By employing DCC GARCH and extended GARCH (1,1) models, we find a lower volatility and higher persistence in Islamic indexes when compared to their conventional alternatives, holding also when traditional safe-haven assets are included in comparative terms and across geographical areas. We therefore provide robust evidence on the consistent behavior of Islamic assets: Their defensive properties remain and are even stronger in the current unprecedented and ongoing crisis
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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