1,354,589 research outputs found
Survey data to assess consumers’ attitudes towards circular economy and bioeconomy practices: A focus on the fashion industry
No full textThis data article presents data collected through a survey with the aim of understanding consumers’ behavior in the fashion industry. The analyses of these data are elaborated in the article “The circular economy and bioeconomy in the fashion sector: Emergence of a “sustainability bias”” (Colasante and Adamo 2021). As highlighted in the literature, the fashion industry contributes significantly to environmental pollution in all steps, from the production to the delivery. Often, consumers are not aware of the impact of their fashion habits on the environment and this led to the emergence of the well-known fast fashion phenomenon. Even though there is a lack of evidence on this topic, shifting consumers to embrace bioeconomy as well as circular economy principles constitutes a possible solution to reduce the impact of the fashion sector on the environment. We collected these data on consumers’ habits and preferences regarding both bioeconomy and circular economy by means of a questionnaire in which a total of 402 Italian people took part by using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform. This paper aims at presenting the data split in the three main blocks: (i) consumer perception; (ii) purchasing habits; and (iii) consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). The results obtained are of interest to citizens, business, academics and policy makers to understand consumers’ perception of sustainability in the fashion industry. The proposed dataset can be replicated on a global scale, on specific market segments of the fashion industry and can be used to compare the perception of the circular bioeconomy in other sectors
Financial and non-financial risk attitudes: What does it matter?
No full textIn this paper we try to: (i) study the personal features of the subjects that can influence the risk attitude in financial and non-financial contexts, (ii) understand the correspondences among some behaviors in financial and non-financial choices. We start from the questionnaire used by Colasante and Riccetti (2020), that investigates how subjects take into account the first four moments of the return distribution in making risky decisions, and that collects data from a very large and heterogeneous population. We find that age and geographical location are important determinants of risk propensity in all domains. Moreover, we find that risk attitudes in financial and non-financial contexts are correlated, but correlation is far from 1, with a larger risk aversion in non-financial contexts. Therefore, there is a common underlying risk trait, but the context is also relevant. Interestingly, the financial risk propensity is positively correlated to the propensity to perform illegal activities
Iridaceae presenti in Italia
No full textLa famiglia Iridaceae, ricca di generi, specie e taxa sottospecifici, in Italia consta di circa 10 generi, 60 specie e numerosi ibridi. L’alta diversità che la caratterizza, incrementata dalla doppia riproduzione, si esprime anche con polimorfismo popolazionale e taxa critici che invitano a nuove indagini dettagliate per la delucidazione dei problemi tassonomici e nomenclaturali connessi. Da più di un decennio è stato iniziato lo studio approfondito di molte popolazioni delle specie presenti sul territorio italiano. Ciò, in alcuni casi, ha mostrato quanto fuorvianti siano state molte informazioni di letteratura, particolarmente se contenute in Compendi e Flore regionali o nazionali, rafforzando, invece, la validità di lavori specialistici (Colasante & al. 2008) e di monografie (Mathew 1981, Innes 1985, Colasante & al. 2006). Queste ultime, infatti, vagliando profondamente più dati a disposizione dai vari campi di ricerca e mettondoli a confronto con la realtà naturale, dimostrano che solo questo tipo di approccio comparato permette di ottenere risultati di rilievo, di ostacolare la proliferazione di specie, di sinonimizzare molti taxa, di separarne di nuovi, d’individuare polimorfismo di popolazioni e auto- ed allopoliploidi. Tuttavia, molto c’è ancora da analizzare nelle varie regioni. A tal proposito, per inciso, è importante menzionare che in Botanica Sistematica, i poliploidi non vanno distinti come nuova unità dalla specie cui appartengono, se non in casi molto particolari, come nel caso della presenza di allopoliploidi, e in ogni caso ciò va dimostrato prima di operare tale separazione al livello tassonomico e nomenclaturale. Di conseguenza, la distribuzione delle specie e l’evoluzione di specie affini in altre d’origine naturalmente ibrida rappresentano il problema principale che investe la maggior parte delle specie dei generi esaminati (Crocus L., Romulea Maratti, Freesia Eckl. ex Klatt, Moraea Mill., Chasmanthe N.E.Br., Gladiolus Tourn. ex L., Sisyrinchium L., Iris Tourn. ex L., ecc.). Infatti, la più frequente difficoltà che si incontra è spesso relativa alla distinzione in campo e in laboratorio dei discendenti ibridi dai progenitori. Perciò, se il polimorfismo intrapopolazionale spinge i botanici a istituire erroneamente nuove specie, la presenza di poliploidi è d’impedimento alla corretta identificazione di taxa perché o non distinti facilmente dalla specie (alcuni allopoliploidi) o separati erroneamente da questa (autopoliploidi). Come primo gradino delle successive indagini, l’identificazione sbagliata (più comune di quanto si creda), a causa dell’originale errore di attribuzione, non solo influenza l’aspetto tassonomico e nomenclaturale, ma inficia molti risultati ottenuti da analisi anche correttamente condotte tramite tecnologie avanzate. Per chiarire tali problemi specie per specie, è stata intrapresa una Monografia delle Iridaceae presenti in Italia (Colasante 2013), il cui testo (italiano e inglese), comprende anche chiavi analitiche, un’appendice sul genere Iris e un glossario, in aggiunta a nuovi dati e circa 70 illustrazioni botaniche di cui 61 di Anne Eldredge Maury, effettuate da campioni raccolti in popolazioni italiane di ogni singola specie e dipinti dal vero. Questo tipo di approccio qualitativo e quantitativo fornisce una quadro generale della famiglia per l’Italia e appare una soluzione conforme alla Strategia Nazionale per la Biodiversità per l’attuazione della Convenzione sulla diversità biologica di Rio de Janeiro e la strategia comunitaria per il 2020
Sustainable education and youth confidence as pillars of future civil society
No full textWhile sustainability is at the centre of many government agendas, there is a great risk of entrusting strategic decisions to those lacking in sustainability expertise. It is therefore necessary to ensure that universities are the green engines of sustainable communities. The present study administered a questionnaire to students enrolled in a Management Engineering programme at an Italian university, to collect their perceptions of and opinions on sustainability and energy issues. Students completed the questionnaire twice: once prior to beginning and once at the end of term. The results showed that students held more sustainable attitudes at the end of term, and perceived sustainable education and youth confidence as the building blocks of future society. They also observed that decarbonisation of the Italian energy system and national energy independence would require the significant development of renewable systems and interventions to promote energy efficiency. In addition, they recognised subsidies for green production, energy communities, differentiated waste collection and professional skills training as crucial. The sustainable university should support younger generations by encouraging student engagement in real-world projects and the development of long-term, structured teacher–student relationships
What drives the solar energy transition? The effect of policies, incentives and behavior in a cross-country comparison
No full textThe development of photovoltaic (PV) systems in Southern Europe has been boosted by favourable sunshine levels but also by the policies implemented. Europe's ambitious plans for a green transition require new power to be installed but also new consumption habits that tend to be more responsible. The transformation of cities goes through the emergence of prosumers and the percentage of self-consumption is the variable that determines the profitability of PV systems. This work is based on an online energy survey conducted in two southern European countries (i.e. Italy and Spain), in which both expectations and behaviour of consumers with regards to solar energy are compared between countries. Among other things, interviewees were asked to quantify the introduction of a subsidy for self-consumption. Interestingly, results show an average of 4 cent€/kWh and 3 cent€/kWh for Italy and Spain, respectively. Additionally, the survey allowed eliciting the price subjects believe one ought to pay for both fossil fuel-based and renewable energy, resulting in a green premium of 10 cent€/kWh and 8 cent€/kWh for Italy and Spain, respectively. Finally, the crucial role played by policies in shaping consumers’ perceptions emerged as decisive in fostering the development of PV systems in European countries
Assessing the circularity performance in a European cross-country comparison
No full textReuse and recycling are two of the most important strategies involved in the practical implementation of the circular economy (CE). Even if several indices have been defined to quantify the performance of waste management, none of them has integrated a mix of waste streams such as waste from electrical and electronic equipment, end-of-life vehicles, and municipal solid waste. The present paper proposes a new Waste Circularity Index (WCI) generated by a weighted average, with weights established through pairwise comparison using the analytic hierarchy process methodology. Nine indices (three for each waste stream) are combined, and three measurement logics are adopted. Results show that the 28 European Member States (MSs) can be clustered into six groups, with a reference to the European average. Denmark emerges as the best performer within the 2014–2018 timeframe. In addition, there are also contradicting results about certain waste streams in western MSs
Awarded the support of "Sapienza" University of Rome for Visitor researchers, Dr. C.A. Williams, University of Reading.U.K.(a month)
No full textChemotassonomia di specie di Iris a 2n=16 e 2n=2
Species of natural hybrid origin and misinformation in the Irises: A reappraisal of the presence of I. aphylla L. in Italy
No full textThe identity and status of the records of Iris aphylla L. for Italy are reconsidered. The authors are of the opinion that I. perrieri Simonet ex N. Service, present in Savoy, France, is genetically and morphologically distinct from I. aphylla, and that the Italian populations from Piemonte are in fact conspecific with I. perrieri. In addition, we consider that another iris, I. benacensis A. Kern. ex Stapf , which occurs near Lago di Garda (Mt. Brione) and is often also regarded as a synonym of I. aphylla, is not conspecific with either I. aphylla or I. perrieri. Macro-, micro-morphological and biosystematic data obtained during this investigation suggest a possible natural hybrid origin of these species and confirm the opinion of the authors, which is justified also by the different chromosome numbers and distribution of the taxa examined. © 2008 Società Botanica Italiana
Analytical and numerical analysis on the collapse mode of circular masonry arches
No full textIn this paper, an analytical and numerical analysis on the collapse mode of circular masonry arches is presented. Specific reference is made to the so-called Couplet-Heyman problem of finding the minimum thickness necessary for equilibrium of a masonry arch subjected to its own weight (Heyman 1977). The note reports the results of an on-going research project at the University of Bergamo. First, analytical solutions are derived in the spirit of limit analysis, according to the classical three Heyman hypotheses and explicitly obtained in terms of the unknown angular position of the intrados hinge at the haunch, the minimum thickness to radius ratio and the non-dimensional horizontal thrust (Colasante 2007, Cocchetti et al. 2010). Results are then compared to
Heyman solution. Though only the first of these three characteristics is perceptibly influenced in engineering terms, especially at increasing opening angle of the arch, the treatment settles an important conceptual
difference on the use of the true line of thrust, along the line of Milankovitch work. Second, numerical simulations by the Discrete Element Method (DEM) in a Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (DDA) computational
environment are provided, to further support the validity of the obtained solutions, with good overall matching of the obtained results (Rusconi 2008, Rizzi et al. 2010)
Nonlinear banking duopoly model with capital regulation: The case of Italy
No full textWe analyse a nonlinear banking duopoly model with capital regulation and asymmetric costs. We follow the literature on banking and capital regulation focusing on Italian banks. We extend the banking duopoly model with nonlinear costs of Brianzoni and Campisi (2021), by introducing the hyperbolic inverse demand function, following Puu (1991). In this way, we include a further nonlinear component in the model consisting of nonlinear demand of loans. We proceed in two parts. First, we concentrate on the analysis of the local stability of the model.
Given the high number of parameters, we support the analytical study with several numerical simulations. In the second part, we focus on the conditions under which small banks are more efficient than large banks. For this purpose, we study the dynamics of loans when different parameters vary simultaneously. Our results confirm the empirical evidence that small banks play a central role in supporting local firms and families more than
large banks
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