1,721,237 research outputs found
Globalization and electoral outcomes: Evidence from Italy
No full textWe study whether and to what extent the electoral dynamics in Italy over the 1994–2008 period can be explained by the development of economic factors associated with globalization. To measure the level of exposure to globalization for local labor markets, our main unit of analysis, we use the intensity of import competition from China and the presence of immigrants. Looking at parties’ political positions and employing an estimation strategy that accounts for endogeneity and time-invariant unobserved effects across local labor markets, we find that both immigration intensity and exposure to import competition from China have contributed positively to the electoral outcomes of far-right parties, whereas only immigration intensity has increased the vote shares of right-wing and traditionalist/authoritarian/nationalist parties. Some evidence, albeit not robust, shows that immigration may have also had a positive impact on far-left parties, thus possibly further contributing toward political polarization. Moreover, electoral turnout has responded negatively to an increased presence of migrants. While the above effects seem to work through the mediation of labor markets, our results, especially those related to immigration, suggest that other mechanisms at the level of local communities are also at play
Spatial Agglomeration and Productivity in Italy. A Panel Smooth Transition Regression Approach
No full textTopographic organization of eye-position dependent gain fields in human visual cortex
Full text linkThe ability to move has introduced animals with the problem of sensory ambiguity: the position of an external stimulus could change over time because the stimulus moved, or because the animal moved its receptors. This ambiguity can be resolved with a change in neural response gain as a function of receptor orientation. Here, we developed an encoding model to capture gain modulation of visual responses in high field (7 T) fMRI data. We characterized population eye-position dependent gain fields (pEGF). The information contained in the pEGFs allowed us to reconstruct eye positions over time across the visual hierarchy. We discovered a systematic distribution of pEGF centers: pEGF centers shift from contra- to ipsilateral following pRF eccentricity. Such a topographical organization suggests that signals beyond pure retinotopy are accessible early in the visual hierarchy, providing the potential to solve sensory ambiguity and optimize sensory processing information for functionally relevant behavior
Point-spread function of the BOLD response across columns and cortical depth in human extra-striate cortex
Full text linkColumns and layers are fundamental organizational units of the brain. Well known examples of cortical columns are the ocular dominance columns (ODCs) in primary visual cortex and the column-like stripe-based arrangement in the second visual area V2. The spatial scale of columns and layers is beyond the reach of conventional neuroimaging, but the advent of high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners (UHF, 7 Tesla and above) has opened the possibility to acquire data at this spatial scale, in-vivo and non-invasively in humans. The most prominent non-invasive technique to measure brain function is blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI, measuring brain activity indirectly, via changes in hemodynamics. A key determinant of the ability of high-resolution BOLD fMRI to accurately resolve columns and layers is the point-spread function (PSF) of the BOLD response in relation to the spatial extent of neuronal activity. In this study we take advantage of the stripe-based arrangement present in visual area V2, coupled with sub-millimetre anatomical and gradient-echo BOLD (GE BOLD) acquisition at 7 T to obtain PSF estimates and along cortical depth in human participants. Results show that the BOLD PSF is maximal in the superficial part of the cortex (1.78 mm), and it decreases with increasing cortical depth (0.83 mm close to white matter)
Service Design Thinking : A Case Study on Academic Lectures Addressed to Higher Education Students
Full text linkThis chapter provides suggestions for developing and implementing academic lectures on Service
Design Thinking addressed to students of Higher Education Institutions (HEI), based on a case study
carried out at the Department of Education Studies of University of Bologna.
It reports some advice and tips for teaching this new concept. Also, it points the attention on some
aspects raised during the delivery of lectures in classroom that deserve to be shared with the growing
community of professionals interested in this concept.
This contribution focuses mainly on practical aspects that should be considered when organizing
lectures on this theme. Therefore, the chapter consists of three sections:
- Presentation of innovative pedagogic approaches adopted to define a theoretic framework of
reference.
- Provision of literature’s sample analyzed and used for developing lectures.
- Reflection about lessons learnt.
This work is a collection of practical implication and feedback emerged during the experience carried
out and it is aimed at stimulating a wide confrontation in order to find practices that can help to
understand “how and what” to teach about Service Design Thinking in HEI context
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
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
Use of glycosaminoglycans to increase efficiency of long-term continuous peritoneal dialysis.
No full textLong-term continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) frequently induces progressive structural changes in the peritoneal membrane, leading to dialysis failure. Because heparin and glycosaminoglycans favourably remodel anatomical barriers exposed to injury, we studied the effect of intraperitoneal administration of glycosaminoglycans on peritoneal dialysis efficiency. 16 CAPD patients received glycosaminoglycans for 30 days followed by a 30-day wash-out. Glycosaminoglycans in urea and creatinine dialysate-to-plasma ratios significantly increased (means 0.86 and 0.78 at baseline, 0.92 and 0.82 at 30 days, respectively). Peritoneal protein loss was reduced, and serum albumin concentration increased. We now need to assess whether glycosaminoglycans can postpone dialysis failure in the long term
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