Performing cultural identities and transnational ‘imaginaries’: fashion and beauty practices as diasporic spaces among young London Congolese

This thesis critically examines a range of transnational fashion and beauty practices as narrative spaces employed by young London Congolese to embody their individual and collective racial, ethnic and gender identities. It investigates how they re-think and narrate their cultural heritage through forms of body performances and how these are shaped by the multicultural context of London. The ways in which these cultural practices are received by the Congolese group as well as by members of different communities are also assessed. The study documents the production and consumption of body performances as a new archive of primary source material, scrutinizing the cultural and economic contribution that young Congolese make to the “super-diverse” (2007) matrix of the city, and considers in particular their status as a “minority within minority” (Pachi et al., 2010). In so doing, the research adds a new perspective to the existing knowledge on the Congolese diasporic presence in London as well as providing a framework for a comparative study of other diasporic groups. “Multi-sited ethnography” (Marcus, 1995) is applied as the principal qualitative analytical approach to collect and examine data which emerged organically from the field. The notion of the performance of cultural identities in everyday life and of ritual experiences is combined with this approach as the secondary theoretical underpinning. In addition, a multidisciplinary framework is used specifically to inform the body performances selected as exemplary case studies. Conceptions of race, ethnicity, gender and transnationalism formulated by these multi-sited but localised “diaspora spaces” (Brah, 1996) are therefore analysed through a grounded and theoretical approach. The findings show that everyday experiences, cultural memories, storytelling and symbolism can be powerfully inscribed upon rituals of the body. Through fashion and beauty practices, young London Congolese actively fabricate their own narratives of migration and “traditional” forms of belonging to the homeland, while voicing alternative messages which move beyond conservative values, beliefs and costumes of older generations of Congolese and Black Africans in the diaspora. The performance of cultural identities figures as multiple, shifting and contradictory in the ways it both encapsulates the notion of “authenticity” and the display of global ways of being developed in multicultural London settings. This study, therefore, argues that fashion and beauty expressions of young London Congolese generate multi-layered meanings, not only resulting in the aesthetic, socio-cultural and symbolic representation of diasporic identity expressions and life histories, but also as valuable political and economic sites of agency, transformation, commodification and subversion

First dated human occupation of Italy at ~0.85 Ma during the late Early Pleistocene climate transition

A candidate for the oldest human occupation site in Italy is Monte Poggiolo where the lithic tool-bearing levels are currently dated to ~ 1 Ma based on electron spin resonance (ESR). The low analytical precision of ± 30% at 2σ makes it unclear whether the date actually conflicts with a recent reassessment of age constraints on key hominin sites from Italy, France, and Spain pointing to a uniformly young timing for the earliest habitation of southern Europe during the late Early Pleistocene climate transition within reverse magnetic polarity subchron C1r.1r (0.988–0.781 Ma). Our new magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic results show a sequence of stable normal and reverse polarities in a regional lithostratigraphic context that indicate the Monte Poggiolo tool-bearing site post-dates the Jaramillo normal polarity subchron, most probably occurring at ~ 0.85 Ma immediately after the pronounced cooling that culminated with marine isotope stage 22 when the associated regression may have opened new migration routes through the Po Valley for large mammals and hominins

Equity valuation : Ferrari N.V.

The aim of this dissertation is to determine the target price of Ferrari, a leading player in the luxury performance car industry and the most successful race team in the Formula 1 history, in order to issue an investment recommendation relative to its market price. First, analyzing the state-of-art of the equity valuation techniques, it was concluded that the WACC-based DCF valuation represented the most suitable approach for the valuation of Ferrari. In addition, it was than complemented by a relative valuation, using forward-multiples. The valuation itself is based on a detailed analysis of the industry in which the company is positioned, the forces that it faces in this environment, and its historical performance and future prospects. It results in a median target price of EUR 157.33 within the range of EUR 153.44-161.30. Compared to the trading price as of 30th April 2020, at EUR 143.40, this represents an upside potential of 9.71%, which is then translated in a BUY recommendation. Finally, the main assumptions and the stock rating obtained are confronted with an equity report issued by a leading investment bank, namely UBI Banca, and the general consensus in the market. Despite minor differences in some basic assumptions, the recommendations share numerous commonalities and appear in line with the mean consensus.O objetivo desta dissertação é determinar o preço-alvo da Ferrari, empresa líder na indústria de carros de luxo e a equipa de corrida mais bem-sucedida na história da Fórmula 1, a fim de emitir uma recomendação de investimento relativamente ao seu preço de mercado. Primeiramente, tendo em conta as técnicas de avaliação de capital uma empresa, concluiu-se que o modelo de avaliação DCF, baseado na taxa de desconto WACC, representa a abordagem mais adequada para a Ferrari. Em segundo plano, esta foi complementada por uma avaliação relativa, baseada no modelo de avaliação forward-multiples. A avaliação em si demonstra uma análise detalhada da indústria onde esta empresa se posiciona, os desafios que enfrenta no seu meio, a sua performance histórica e as suas perspetivas futuras. A avaliação resulta num preço-alvo médio de EUR 157.33, incluindo-se numa variação de valores entre EUR 153.44-161.30. Comparativamente ao preço de EUR 143.40, negociado a 30 de Abril de 2020, este representa uma valorização positiva de 9.71%, traduzindo-se, assim, numa recomendação de compra. Finalmente, o conjunto das premissas mais relevantes e classificação das ações obtidas são confrontadas com os relatórios de capital emitidos por um banco de investimento líder, o UBI Banca, e o consenso generalizado de mercado. Embora existam diferenças mínimas em pressupostos básicos, as recomendações prestadas nesta dissertação partilham diversos pontos comum e situam-se em linha com o consenso médio

Menopause and adipose tissue : miR-19a-3p is sensitive to hormonal replacement

Tissue-specific effects of 17 beta-estradiol are delivered via both estrogen receptors and microRNAs (miRs). Menopause is known to affect the whole-body fat distribution in women. This investigation aimed at identifying menopause-and hormone replacement therapy (HRT)-associated miR profiles and miR targets in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue and serum from the same women. A discovery phase using array technology was performed in 13 women, including monozygotic twin pairs discordant for HRT and premenopausal young controls. Seven miRs, expressed in both adipose tissue and serum, were selected for validation phase in 34 women from a different cohort. An age/menopause-related increase of miRs-16-5p, -451a, -223-3p, -18a-5p, -19a-3p,-486-5p and -363-3p was found in the adipose tissue, but not in serum. MiR-19a-3p, involved in adipocyte development and estrogen signaling, resulted to be higher in HRT users in comparison with non-users. Among the identified targets, AKT1, BCL-2 and BRAF proteins showed lower expression in both HRT and No HRT users in comparison with premenopausal women. Unexpectedly, ESR1 protein expression was not modified although its mRNA was lower in No HRT users compared to premenopausal women and HRT users. Thus, both HRT and menopause appear to affect adipose tissue homeostasis via miR-mediated mechanism.Peer reviewe

Questioning the practice of<i>la sape</i>: will the London movement survive?

This article explores the transformation of la sape, a well-established fashion and lifestyle subculture in Congolese diasporic culture, among the London Congolese group. The focal point of investigation is the distinctive role that the city of London has played in shaping the practice. Following an overview on the body performance of la sape, the paper traces the quite recent establishment and evolution of the trend in the city. Some ambivalent points of view among older generation of London sapeurs are also introduced. Significantly, the article documents several voices of younger London Congolese who are not members of the group and stand firmly against it. Their experiences highlight controversial ways of looking at the lifestyle choices and values promoted by the movement. The paper, therefore, demonstrates how the city of London has forged deep discrepancies within the group and has influenced a generational polarity regarding the subculture among British Congolese

Tecniche di analisi statistica sull'attività di lobbying negli Stati Uniti usando il software R

La tesi fornisce una panoramica delle principali metodologie di analisi dei dati utilizzando il software open source R e l’ambiente di sviluppo integrato (IDE) RStudio. Viene effettuata un’analisi descrittiva e quantitativa dei dati GICS, tassonomia industriale che cataloga le principali aziende per il processo di gestione e ricerca degli asset di investimento. Sono stati studiati i principali settori del mercato USA considerando il fatturato, le spese per il lobbying e tre indici che misurano il grado di collegamento fra industrie. Su questi dati si sono svolte delle analisi quantitative e si sono tentati alcuni modelli nell’ambito della regressione lineare semplice e multipla. Tale studio ha il compito di verificare eventuali interazioni fra le variabili o pattern di comportamento strategico societario durante il periodo 2007 - 2012, anni di rinnovo e miglioramento delle regolamentazioni in materia di lobbying negli Stati Uniti. Più nello specifico vengono presi in esame tre settori: IT, Health Care e Industrial dove viene studiato l’andamento del reddito medio e la spesa media in attività di lobbying dei settori. I risultati ottenuti mostrano l’utilità dei pacchetti di R per l’analisi dei dati: vengono individuati alcuni andamenti che, se confermati da ulteriori e necessarie analisi, potrebbero essere interessanti per capire non solo i meccanismi impliciti nell’attività di lobbying ma anche comportamenti anomali legati a questa attività

Performing Black beauty: the Congolese Community in London

Drawing on an ethnographic study of the Miss Congo Beauty Pageant UK 2017, this chapter addresses the ways in which a diasporic form of individual and collective representation of Congolese values and norms are actively re–produced and mediated, and how the young London Congolese use the cultural practice to debate everyday concerns affecting their community and the Black African diasporas at large. The paper demonstrates the significance of performance as a cultural vehicle that facilitates young Congolese to negotiate with their own cultural traditions and the imagination of homeland in the context of postcolonial displacement, and disturbs conservative beliefs perpetuated by African elders, tackling, and advancing controversial disputes regarding Black African women’s rights, gender equality and socio–cultural stigmas. Additionally, the pageant disseminates notions of Black beauty and the ‘natural’ body, offering an Afro–diasporic alternative to the cultural representation of beauty dominated by Euro–Western aesthetic discourse. In conclusion, the Miss Congo UK becomes a meaningful site where ‘new’ racial, ethnic and gender identities are bodily articulated and the configuration of a forward–thinking mentality characterising the younger Congolese community in London is displayed

Circulating microRNAs during human aging and longevity

Strategies to promote active aging and counteract the development of age-related diseases are among the most challenging researches in the framework of Horizon 2020, accordingly with the World Health Organization's declaration that "increased longevity without quality of life is an empty prize”. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the role of blood circulating microRNAs (miRs) and their expression profile characterizing aging and longevity trajectories, and particularly to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy longevity. To this purpose two experimental designs were defined, the former applied the advanced technology of smallRNA-sequencing (Illumina platform) to screen circulating miRs in a small cohort of different aged people, the latter was based on selected miRs analyzed on a larger cohort. The protocol for sequencing analysis, including library preparation, was optimized and applied on 12 donors, i.e. 3 young healthy donors, 3 old healthy donors, 3 healthy centenarians and 3 unhealthy centenarians. Significant miRs identified by sequencing, i.e. miR-30a-5p, -766-3p, -598-3p, were measured on a larger cohort of 48 subjects. Aging-related miRs previously described, i.e. miR-133a-3p, -206, -16, were analyzed in the same cohort of 48 donors. Circulating miR-206 and miR-16 levels described significant trajectories of aging, while miR-598-3p and miR-133a-3p levels characterized longevity trajectories. All these miRs are involved in the PI3K-Akt signaling, a central pathway for aging process. Finally, blood circulating molecules able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy were obtained by joining the identified miRs and hemato-biochemical parameters, opening the possibility for further studies on therapeutic approaches

Romanization in the Middle Adriatic region: cultural and socio-economic transformations between IV and III centuries B.C. through the study of material culture

Il presente progetto di dottorato analizza il tema della romanizzazione in area medio-adriatica attraverso lo studio della cultura materiale. L’obiettivo principale della ricerca era la comprensione delle dinamiche storiche di assimilazione e di resistenza culturale, da parte dei popoli preromani nei confronti del mondo romano, mediante lo studio analitico e sistematico dei rinvenimenti ceramici di età repubblicana. Rispetto all’ampio ambito geografico di partenza, l’interesse si è focalizzato sulla città di Ascoli Piceno che, com’è noto, rappresenta una delle principali realtà urbane preromane del settore medio-adriatico. Uno dei maggiori meriti di questa ricerca è stato proprio quello di occuparsi di un tema che a tutt’oggi ha trovato poco spazio nella ricerca scientifica, ovvero la cultura materiale ascolana, specialmente per quel che riguarda l’età del Ferro e l’epoca romana repubblicana. L’orizzonte cronologico che è stato preso in considerazione, infatti, è ben più ampio rispetto al titolo, coprendo i secoli dal VI al I a.C.; tale scelta è dipesa dalla volontà di comprendere meglio il substrato piceno e le sue caratteristiche materiali e di seguire fino alla sua conclusione il processo di romanizzazione di Asculum. L’approccio scelto per lo studio dei materiali è stato innovativo e in linea con le recenti ricerche in ambito storico e archeologico: uno studio globale e combinato di tutte le classi di materiali, senza alcun tipo di gerarchia, in stretta connessione con l’analisi stratigrafica e con la sintesi interpretativa dei contesti di scavo dai quali essi provengono. L’interpretazione, poi, di due dei contesti analizzati in chiave sacra e la riflessione che ne è scaturita hanno posto la presente ricerca in sintonia con le più recenti tendenze di ricostruzione storica, che assegnano ai santuari un ruolo primario nel processo di romanizzazione.This Ph.D. project analyzes the theme of Romanization in the Middle Adriatic area through the study of material culture. The main objective of the research was to understand the historical dynamics of assimilation and cultural resistance, from the pre-Roman peoples to the Roman world. The focus is on the city of Ascoli Piceno, which, as is well-known, is one of the most important pre-Roman urban realities in the middle Adriatic region. One of the greatest merits of this research was precisely to deal with a theme that has so far found little room in scientific research, that is, the material culture of Ascoli, especially as far as the age of Iron and the Roman Republican age. The chronological horizon that has been taken into account is much wider than the title, covering the centuries from VI to I B.C. This choice depends on the will to better understand the Piceno substrate and its material characteristics and to follow up the process of Romanization of Asculum to its conclusion. The approach chosen to study materials has been innovative and in line with recent research in the historical and archaeological field: a global and combined study of all classes of materials without any kind of hierarchy, in close connection with the stratigraphic analysis and with the interpretative synthesis of the excavation contexts from which they originate. The interpretation of two of the contexts analyzed in a sacred way and the reflection that has emerged have placed this research in tune with the most recent historical reconstruction tendencies, which give the shrines a primary role in the process of Romanization

Recenti linee evolutive della conflittualità tra autonomie regionali e Stato nella Giurisprudenza della Corte Costituzionale.

Le osservazioni proposte tendono ad evidenziare una ricostruzione paradigmatica del percorso della giurisprudenza costituzionale in materia di contenzioso tra Stato e Regioni, sia nella più ampia prospettiva della definizione delle reciproche competenze dei due referenti istituzionali, sia nella specifica qualificazione della ripartizione dell’esercizio della funzione legislativa. Il percorso tracciato tiene conto delle diverse specializzazioni del giudizio innanzi alla Corte costituzionale, distinguendo l’ambito dei giudizi di legittimità, sia attivati in via d’azione sia sollevati in via incidentale, da quello dei conflitti di attribuzione. L’analisi vuole caratterizzarsi per il tentativo di operare una ricostruzione, il più possibile sistematica, delle peculiarità tecniche e degli obiettivi funzionali di ciascun modello di giudizio, tenuto conto della particolare angolazione di esame che deriva dal mantenere la costante del quadro dialettico tra Stato e Regioni, facendo quindi riferimento ad uno scenario triangolare – Stato, autonomie regionali e Corte costituzionale quale arbitro istituzionale della interazione tra le prime – che viene fortemente a caratterizzare l’impostazione strutturale dell’ordinamento italiano. Le modalità di analisi tengono conto di una selezione puntuale di significative pronunce intervenute nel quadro di ciascun percorso evolutivo, così da porre un sicuro riscontro giurisprudenziale come presupposto per il richiamo dei profili più significativi delle modifiche recentemente intervenute nel quadro istituzionale di riferimento, ed in particolare in relazione al Titolo V, Parte Seconda, della Costituzione. In questo modo, il percorso tracciato diviene uno spunto per valutare il contributo offerto dalla giurisprudenza della Corte alla costruzione del ‘sistema regionale italiano, così da poter tentare di prevedere, con maggiore consapevolezza, quali canali dialettici e quali scenari di contrapposizione potranno più fortemente radicarsi, nel rinnovato quadro costituzionale, nel futuro sviluppo indirizzato alla valorizzazione delle autonomie