Cittadini e amministrazioni: burocrazie disfunzionali e diffusione dei rimedi

La relazione affronta il tema del rapporto tra cittadini e pubbliche amministrazioni alla luce dei problemi di comunicazione e di efficacia dell\u2019azione evidenziati negli apparati burocratici pubblici. Nella prima parte si passeranno criticamente in rassegna le teorie che, superando la costruzione weberiana di burocrazia razionale e legale, hanno portato allo scoperto gli elementi disfunzionali presenti nelle amministrazioni pubbliche. Nella seconda parte si metteranno in luce i rimedi escogitati alla disfunzionalit\ue0 burocratica, e si evidenzier\ue0 come le recenti tendenze nella riorganizzazione delle funzioni pubbliche vivano un periodo di convergenza internazionale, con la diffusione sempre pi\uf9 rapida degli istituti di partecipazione e di trasparenza rivelatisi pi\uf9 efficaci, tra cui in primo luogo l\u2019ombudsman (difensore civico). Si accenner\ue0 infine alle specifiche problematiche poste dal rapporto tra cittadini e pubbliche amministrazioni nei contesti di plurilinguismo amministrativo, a partire dalle elaborazioni sul tema della \u201crepresentative bureaucracy\u201d sviluppate nel mondo anglosassone

Indagine sperimentale su diaframmi di piano antisismici realizzati con doppio assito

Il presente lavoro di ricerca ha lo scopo di analizzare la tecnica del doppio assito ligneo mediante uno studio sperimentale finalizzato a fare chiarezza sui meccanismi caratteristici di questa tecnica di rinforzo sismico. Si sviluppa in tre diverse fasi: la ricerca bibliografica, il dimensionamento iniziale e le prove sperimentali, sia locali che su scala reale

Readout Architectures for High Efficiency in Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting Experiments—Analysis and Review

In recent years, time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) has become the technique of choice in many life science analyses, where fast and faint luminous signals are recorded with picosecond accuracy. Nevertheless, the maximum operating frequency of a single TCSPC acquisition channel limits the measurement speed, especially when scanning point systems are exploited. In order to increase the speed of TCSPC experiments, many multichannel systems based on single photon avalanche diode arrays have been proposed in the literature, which integrate thousands of pixels on the same chip. Unfortunately, the huge number of data generated by this kind of system can easily bring to the saturation of the transfer bandwidth to the external processing unit. For this reason, several different readout architectures have been proposed in the literature, attempting to exploit at best the limited bandwidth under TCSPC operating conditions. In this paper, some typical readout approaches, namely clock-driven and event-driven readouts, are discussed and compared, along with a recently-introduced router-based algorithm that is specifically designed to obtain maximum bandwidth exploitation under any condition. Quantitative comparisons are performed starting from imager response of the systems, which is the rate of recorded events in the case of uniform illumination of the detector array

Equalization in redundant channels

A miscomparison between a channel's configuration data base and a voted system configuration data base in a redundant channel system having identically operating, frame synchronous channels triggers autoequalization of the channel's historical signal data bases in a hierarchical, chronological manner with that of a correctly operating channel. After equalization, symmetrization of the channel's configuration data base with that of the system permits upgrading of the previously degraded channel to full redundancy. An externally provided equalization command, e.g., manually actuated, can also trigger equalization

Interleukin 1 is a key driver of inflammatory bowel disease-demonstration in a murine IL-1Ra knockout model

Interleukin 1 (IL-1) is an important mediator of inflammation and tissue damage in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The balance between IL-1 and IL-1Ra as a natural inhibitor plays a vital role in a variety of diseases. Here, we investigated whether changes seen during IBD are induced spontaneously in mice lacking a functional IL-1rn gene. Histological staining was performed on the jejunum and ileum of BALB/c IL-1rn+/+ and IL-1rn-/- mice to characterize crypt-villus height, villus width, and number of goblet cells per villus. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, immune cell infiltration and matrix-degrading enzymes, together with the production of intestinal enzymes and the integrity of tight and adherent junction proteins were determined using immunohistochemistry. In the small intestine of BALB/c IL-1rn-/- mice the villus heights were significantly reduced; and in the ileum this was accompanied by a decrease in villi width. There was also an increase in goblet cell number and mucin production compared to wild-type mice. IL-1α and IL-1β immunopositivity were increased, whilst IL-1R1 expression was decreased in IL-1rn-/- mice. IL-15 and TNFα were also increased in older IL-1rn-/- mice. Increased polymorphonuclear and macrophage infiltration were seen in IL-1rn-/- mice, whilst expression of matrix-degrading enzymes and digestive enzymes were unchanged, except for dipeptidyl peptidase IV which was increased in younger IL-1rn-/- mice compared to wild type mice. The expression of tight and adhesion junctions were also dramatically decreased in IL-1rn-/- mice. In conclusion, IL-1rn-/- mice developed spontaneous abnormalities which displayed features associated with IBD, demonstrating a clear role for IL-1 in IBD

The Secret Sailor

In The Secret Sailor, a musician, and close friend of George Harrison, grapples with artistic mediocrity, a strained friendship, and the suicide of an old friend

Road rules : analyzing traffic signs through a socio-cognitive approach

Around 1.3 million people die every year because of road traffic crashes. Although safety rules, vehicle standards and post-accident health care, have all seen significant improvement, rising population and quick motorization rates have added to the casualty numbers. Road safety has been included among the Sustainable Development Goals, but the target set of halving the number of road deaths by 2020 will be missed. With the emergent attention to road safety, several approaches may be adopted. One is tightening penalties to induce more prudent behavior. The second is to improve protection devices and vehicles. The third is to adapt road designs, including roadside signs, to modern roads and vehicles and to human behavior. This last approach in particular is the one where I think that substantial improvements may still be achieved. One of the most interesting aspects in terms of impact and effectiveness of rules, may be understood by focusing on the cognition process of the rule that is incorporated into a road sign, and by how this cognition can be framed so that voluntary compliance is enhanced. Road signs have always made extensive use of explanatory images. But it is also the unconscious social pressure that one\u2019s driving behavior is being watched that produces compliance. A normative-semiotic perspective should be integrated by a cognitive perspective, so thatinsights from both the natural and the social sciences may achieve higher degrees of precision and predictability