A new solution for mirror coating in γ\gamma-ray Cherenkov Astronomy

In the $\gamma$-ray Cherenkov Astronomy framework mirror coating plays a crucial role in defining the light response of the telescope. We carried out a study for new mirror coating solutions with both a numerical simulation software and a vacuum chamber for small sample production. In this article, we present a new mirror coating solution consisting of a 28-layer interferometric SiO$_{2}$-TiO$_{2}$-HfO$_{2}$ design deposited on a glass substrate, whose average reflectance is above $90\%$ for normally incident light in the wavelength range between 300 and 550 nm.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Article submitted to Experimental Astronomy, the final publication is available at link.springer.co

Analysing the Creative Process through a Modelling of Tools and Methods for Composition in Hans Tutschku’s Entwurzelt

The analysis of the creative processes involved in electroacoustic music may to a large extent rely on the thorough study of the technological tools used for the realisation of a musical work, both on the composition and on the performance sides. Understanding the behaviour and potential range of aesthetic results of such tools enables the musicologist to approach the studied work much beyond its final form, as presented on tape or as performed on a particular occasion: gaining knowledge on a wider technological context leads to considering the actual artistic decisions in the perspective of the potential outcomes that the composer and performer could face but not necessarily adopt. Hence, analysing an electroacoustic work on the basis of the study of its creative context, technological tools and compositional methods may constitute a useful approach to a better understanding of its related creative processes. However, the implementation of such an approach, mainly based on the hardware or software elements used during the creation of a given work, is not straightforward. First, it implies that the considered technologies are still in use and have not be come irreversibly obsolete. In this matter, new performances of a work are good opportunities for such investigations, as they often provide a technical update and require a deep understanding of the composer’s intentions. The musicologist also needs to have access to the resources, which may not be available without a direct contact with the composer. Assuming these conditions are reached,the musicological and organological studies can encounter another issue, particularly in the digital domain: the sources are not always presented under forms that are directly readable by the analyst, for instance with a specific programming language. Despite all these possible difficulties, many cases of technological tools lean themselves to an in-depth investigation, leading to relevant conclusions on some of the creative processes appearing in the field of electroacoustic music. In the context of a common session of several analytical approaches to a same electroacoustic piece, Hans Tutschku’s Entwurzelt for six singers and electronics (2012), this article focuses on the investigation and modelling of tools and methods of the compositional stage of the realisation of the work. During a performance of Entwurzelt, the electronic materials are simply triggered as events by one of the singers, without further interactivity–thus, the essential part of the research on the electroacoustic realisation aims at exploring the processes used during the compositional stage itself. As the electronics are used as an extension of the live vocal expression by the means of harmonic amplification and complex texturing, the tools for generation and processing of both symbolic representations and audio explored. Since the software tools that constitute the primary sources for our research were not directly designed to be used beyond their creative purposes, this talk presents software modelling implemented by the two authors to demonstrate the technological context in which Tutschku could compose Entwurzelt, emphasizing his creative methods and the decisions he could make upon a wider range of possible materials and processing techniques

From Rent-Seeking Activities to Economic Activities: The Strategic Transformation of the Deregulated Firm

The political theory of regulation holds that deregulation of utilities obliges the former monopoly to abandon its rent-seeking activities to concentrate upon economic activities. However, the arguments presented by scholars to explain this strategic transformation are not entirely convincing. We argue in this paper that the role and the nature of the firm during the deregulation process have been underestimated in previous works. After describing the main steps of this process, we thus propose a dynamic explanation of the strategic transformation of the deregulated firm based on the concepts of firm capabilities, access to rents and transaction costs.rent-seeking; strategic renewal; capabilities

Da cavallo di Troia a leva di Archimede. Previdenza complementare e diritto antidiscriminatorio in Europa. = From the Trojan Horse to Archimedes’ Lever: Supplementary Pension and Anti-discrimination Law in Europe. WP C.S.D.L.E. "Massimo D'Antona" .INT - 83/2010

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Nonmarket performance: Evidence from U.S. electric utilities

Building on a framework that assesses the attractiveness of ‘political markets’ – where firms transact over public policies with government policy-makers – we develop hypotheses regarding the success or performance of firms’ nonmarket strategies. We propose that the ability of firms to gain more favorable policy outcomes is increasing in the degree of rivalry among elected politicians; the firm’s recent experience with policy-makers; and the opportunity to learn from other firms’ recent experiences; and is decreasing in the degree of rivalry from competing interest groups and the resource base of regulatory agencies. Using data on regulatory filings for rate increases made by the population of U.S. privately-owned electric utilities over a 13 year period, we find empirical support for our arguments.Nonmarket strategy, lobbying, Electric utilities

The internal limits to firms' nonmarket activities

It is well documented that firms develop nonmarket strategies to try to shape public policy changes to their advantage. But are there no limits to this? This paper argues that there is in fact an important limitation, internal to the firm, which comes from the necessity for firms to integrate market and nonmarket activities. Because the two types of activities are not always complements but sometimes substitutes, firms end up giving up part of their nonmarket activities to avoid restricting the development of their market strategies. This argument is tested in the context of the European telecommunications industry. Results suggest that there is reasonable ground for optimism regarding the potentially negative influence that firms' nonmarket activities might play in a democracy

Studio dei sedimenti tardo-quaternari del litorale veneziano: contributo alle indagini paleoclimatiche ed ambientali

ABSTRACT The imprints of paleoevolutionary processes that affected the Venice lagoon and its littoral during the Late-Quaternary can be found in the sand and c/ay layers underlying the Venetian basin. Sedimentological characteristics of the Late-Pleistocene and Holocene sand and clay sedimentation during the past 25-30.000 years, before the human impact, in the lagoon of Venice, are reported. The multidisciplinary investigation of clay and sand sediments and the development and application of new analytical techniques and methodologies, allowed the detailed mineralogical, geochemical and textural characterization of the recent sediments. The new data obtained not only may contribute to better understand the paleoevolutionary events that took place in the Venetian basin and the impact of the paleoclimatic variations on the depositional environments, but also they may be used as a sediment natural reference base for a more accurate quantification of the pollution level in the bottom sediments of the lagoon of Venice. RIASSUNTO Gli strati di sabbia e di argilla sottostanti il bacino veneziano conservano le tracce dei processi paleoevolutivi che hanno influenzato la laguna di Venezia ed il suo litorale. Lo studio multidisciplinare dei sedimenti sabbiosi ed argillosi depositatisi durante gli ultimi 25-30.000 anni, prima dell'impatto antropico, e lo sviluppo ed utilizzo di nuove metodologie analitiche, hanno permesso una caratterizzazione mineralogica, geochimica e tessiturale dettagliata dei sedimenti recenti. I nuovi dati ottenuti possono non solo contribuire a meglio comprendere gli eventi paleoevolutivi succedutisi nel bacino veneziano e l'impatto delle variazioni paleoclimatiche sugli ambienti deposizionali, ma possono anche servire come base naturale di riferimento per una più accurata quantificazione dei livelli di inquinamento dei sedimenti di fondo soggetti ad antropizzazione della laguna di Venezia