3,456 research outputs found

    La strada maestra del Master

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    Il volume raccoglie una serie di contributi sui temi e sui problemi dell’alta formazione nel settore nel campo della comunicazione, da parte di studiosi, docenti, professionisti, collaboratori e allievi, italiani e stranieri, del Master in Comunicazione e Media della Facoltà di Scienze Politiche “Cesare Alfieri” dell’Università degli Studi di Firenze. L’intervento di Gaia Peruzzi riflette sulle modalità formative e sul valore del suddetto master a partire dall’esperienza che l’autrice vi ha fatto, nella duplice veste prima di allieva, poi di collaboratrice alla progettazione e all’organizzazione didattica.The essay is a report on the educational value of the Masters in Communication and Media at the Faculty of Political Science "Cesare Alfieri" of the University of Florence, starting from the experience of the author, in the double role first as student, then as a collaborator to the planning and didactic organisation

    Family firms' access to bank lending. Evidence from Italy

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    In this study I empirically investigate whether family businesses are more likely to face financing constraints in the access to bank lending. By employing detailed qualitative and quantitative information about companies' ownership structure, rationing condition and bank-firm relationship characteristics, I find that family ownership adversely and significantly affect the probability of experiencing credit restrictions in the bank lending market. When accounting for ownership concentration, however, estimation results show that this finding remains statistically significant only for highly concentrated family firms. By looking at family business groups, moreover, I find that internal capital markets contribute to alleviate the existence of financing constraints. Overall, these results confirm the idea that the agency conflicts associated with highly concentrated family companies simultaneously increase risk shifting problems and wealth-expropriation phenomena with adverse consequences on the access to credit

    Does family ownership structure affect investment-cash flow sensitivity? Evidence from Italian SMEs

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    The aim of this article is to investigate whether family control, family management and family ownership concentration affect the investment-cash flow sensitivity of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By analysing a sample of Italian SMEs for the period 2004–2013, I find that family-owned businesses are significantly associated with higher investment-cash flow dependence. This relation, however, is found to be driven by two distinct factors: (i) the presence of a highly concentrated family ownership (ownership concentration channel) and (ii) the active involvement of the family in the business (family management channel)

    Don’t be scared to touch! Effectiveness of a new disinfection technology based on Ag ions & Zeolite: Valerio Peruzzi

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    BACKGROUND: Disinfection of contact surfaces has become common practice since the two-year Covid-19 pandemic. The transmission of microbial agents has long been the focus of public health and hygiene awareness campaigns. Indeed, the development of new disinfection technologies and approaches is attracting considerable interest in the scientific community. Mixed plastic powders with antimicrobial properties and silver ions that compromise the metabolism of microorganisms could reduce the contamination of the contact surfaces. We aimed to evaluate an inorganic antimicrobial agent (IAA) based on Ag ions and zeolite mixed in a resin. METHODS: This experimental study was carried out at the University of Siena, Italy. Different objects were produced in two versions: i) with an IAA mixed in plastic resin; ii) with a standard plastic mixture. To the eye, the two versions were indistinguishable and were randomly contaminated with the hands of several operators. After the hand contamination, T0, we sampled the objects using RODAC plates at T1 (1h) and T2 (6h), incubating at 36 °C for 48 hours. Comparisons of the biocidal effect were made at T1 and T2. Statistical analysis was carried out with Stata. RESULTS: The mean level of contamination of the objects made with standard plastic were, respectively 50 CFU (SD 36.5) at T1 and 20 CFU (SD 13.6) at T2. In comparison, the objects made with IAA resin showed a mean level of contamination of 10 CFU (SD 5.9) at T1 and 6 CFU (SD3.6) at T2. The objects made with IAA resin have shown a mean percentage reduction of contamination of 79.5% at T1 and 78.3% at T2. CONCLUSIONS: IAA resin reduced contamination on objects that came into contact with hands. Antimicrobial plastic blends, are a valuable aid in counteracting the spread of infection related to contact with surfaces and fomites. The public health system could support and raise awareness for using these innovative materials for everyday applications and in healthcare facilities. KEY MESSAGES: • Inorganic antimicrobial agent based on Ag ions and Zeolite mixed in a resin are efficient in reducing the contamination on different items in a real-life context. • Public health system have to support and sensitize to production with inorganic materials with proven antimicrobial properties

    Family firms and access to credit. Is family ownership beneficial?

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    This paper investigates the impact of family ownership on credit rationing using a rich sample of Italian firms. Estimation results indicate that family owned firms are more likely to experience credit restrictions. The adverse impact of family ownership on credit rationing is particularly relevant for small-sized firms, whereas it is mitigated in firms with closer lending relationships. Finally, we find some evidence that family firms with high ownership concentration are more likely to be rationed by banks

    Helmholtz and the geometry of color space: gestation and development of Helmholtz’s line element

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    Modern color science finds its birth in the middle of the nineteenth century. Among the chief architects of the new color theory, the name of the polymath Hermann von Helmholtz stands out. A keen experimenter and profound expert of the latest developments of the fields of physiological optics, psychophysics, and geometry, he exploited his transdisciplinary knowledge to define the first non-Euclidean line element in color space, i.e., a three-dimensional mathematical model used to describe color differences in terms of color distances. Considered as the first step toward a metrically significant model of color space, his work inaugurated researches on higher color metrics, which describes how distance in the color space translates into perceptual difference. This paper focuses on the development of Helmholtz’s mathematical derivation of the line element. Starting from the first experimental evidence which opened the door to his reflections about the geometry of color space, it will be highlighted the pivotal role played by the studies conducted by his assistants in Berlin, which provided precious material for the elaboration of the final model proposed by Helmholtz in three papers published between 1891 and 1892. Although fallen into oblivion for about three decades, Helmholtz’s masterful work was rediscovered by Schrödinger and, since the 1920s, it has provided the basis for all subsequent studies on the geometry of color spaces up to the present time
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