In quest for a sustainable motorization: the CNG opportunity

This article aims at describing the opportunity deriving from the substitution of conventional fuels, as gasoline and diesel, with the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), frequently indicated as methane. The use of CNG systems in vehicles cannot be considered the ultimate solution to the problem of pollution generated by road transport, but the advantages of this fuel are: a) relevant, as it concerns consumer’s expenses and ecological aspect; b) rapidly achievable, waiting for availability of new technologies capable of more relevant advantages; c) close to hand for several countries: Europe and U.S. and those where the motorization is at the take-off stage, like the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), and others like: Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia and so on. In fact, such countries in take-off stage on the one hand have extensive reserves of methane, and on the other hand need to cut emission urgently, specifically in areas with a high density of population. From the economic point of view CNG results a viable solution with few contraindication. The most important bottleneck is represented by a possible shortage in the distribution network. If a country is crossed by a gas pipeline this shortage could be overcome rapidly and without relevant costs. In the others the solution could be achieved either through gas carriers ships or through local production of biomethane by the exploitation of biomasses.Sustainable motorization, CNG, car industry, low emission cars

Old and new approaches to marketing. The quest of their epistemological roots

In recent years the marketing discipline faced a considerable increase in the number of approaches. Some of the new "labels" are probably just new names advertised to sell old products. But some may contain significant new issues that need to be identified and discussed. Do these new marketing denominations (viral, retro, vintage, postmodern, judo, tribal, buzz, and many more) identify distinctions on subjects being studied, without particular methodological implications, or rather, do new labels and new subjects imply orientations that start from different epistemological premises and involve different research methodologies? This paper try to investigate if the proliferation of labels related to alleged new methods of marketing analysis actually implies a distinctions of subjects being studied and different epistemological premises.marketing trends, marketing epistemology

Product-line variety and innovation along product life-cycle in car market: are carmakers’ policies really effective?

This paper presents some preliminary results of a research concerning the evolution of product variety and product innovation policies of carmakers in the European market. Three market segments are taken into consideration for the period 1984-2004; data concerning model sales and product characteristics of some of the main carmakers are examined and the aspects taken into consideration refers to Product Life-Cycle (PLC), price positioning, rough measures of Product Line Width (PLW) and Product Line Innovation (PLI). The aim of the research is to describe product replacement policies and timing pursued by carmakers within each segment to evaluate the effectiveness of carmakers PLC policies through inter-brand comparison mainly based upon: a) PLC extent for each model, b) PLW variation along the life-cycle, c) PLI effectiveness. Differences in brands policies, as well as evolutionary trends of persistence or of discontinuity within the same brand are investigated, as well as the relation between PLC trend and timing in new model introduction.Car Industry, Product Policy, Car Marketing

Supply chain management in industrial production. A retrospective view

The article presents a retrospective review on key-issues about how the management discipline evolved up to the current view about supply-chain management (SCM) in industrial production. Specifically, the article resumes: a) the reasons that led to the transition from the traditional procurement policies to the SCM approach, b) the variables involved in the process of defining SCM relations and c) the key managerial principles underlying SCM policies and strategies. In the manufacturing industry the problem of organizing and managing firm’s relationships with supplier has recently become of an unprecedented complexity. The evolution of production systems started around the ‘80s, with the shift from the “flexible” paradigm to the “lean” one, has increased dramatically the intricacy of product and process architecture.. At the same time, the opportunities brought by the technological hybridization of products (that is: opportunities deriving from incorporating complementary technologies within products so to enhance its features and performance) gained a critical role as a competitive advantage. In our view supply chain management, as well as others managerial areas, has undergone a profound change; indeed, in the last 30 years the evolution of the industrial competitive environment has deeply modified the reference framework of supply-chain relationships even in common procurement and/or routine contracts. In the attempt to give an adequate response to changes in the competitive environment, supply policies evolve to become articulate relational strategies based on the strategic assessments of the role and the relevance of the various suppliers. The traditional approach to procurement management is combined with a perspective of value creation, a perspective that goes beyond the traditional “make-or-buy” criteria, since it introduces principles for the assessment of the strategic capability of the suppliers to create value for customer rather than to be able to fulfill its task for the firm. In such a view, firms operating in the same value-chain coordinate their strategies with a view to increase the overall value rather than compete for the allocation of the existing one. Firms’ network of suppliers and the relational capabilities assume a critical role in order to coordinate the value creation processes within the chain.Supply chain management, industrial management

Managing Information Flows in Supplier-Customer Relationships: Issues, Methods and Emerging Problems

IMVP, Working Pape

Switched sliding mode control strategy for networked systems

In this paper, a networked switched control strategy based on Sliding Mode Control is presented. The idea pursued in this work is to reduce to a minimum the packet rate over the network, in order to limit the problems induced by the transmission of the state measurement between the sensor and the controller, while providing performance comparable with that of a non networked Sliding Mode Control scheme. The proposed scheme includes a model based controller which contains the nominal model of the plant, and relies on a suitably defined triggering condition. The latter considers the amplitude of a sliding variable determined relying on nominal model, and enables the actual state transmission only when the sliding variable is within a predefined boundary layer. When the plant state is not transmitted, the model state is used to determine the control action. In this way, it is possible to guarantee the same robustness with respect to matched uncertainties as in conventional sliding mode control schemes, as well as the exponential stability of the origin of the controlled system state space, even if the actual system state is not always used to close the feedback. Moreover, in steady-state, when the boundary layer is reached, in order to avoid a continuous transmission of the actual state measurement, a mechanism based on a moving average of the current sliding variable is adopted, which allows to suitably deactivate the state transmission even within the boundary layer, yet maintaining some robustness. Simulation results demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed strategy

Wet lungs, broken hearts and difficult therapies after subarachnoid hemorrhage

Pulmonary edema (PE) can occur after subarachnoid hemorrhage and can jeopardize arterial oxygenation, which is essential for a suffering brain. In some cases PE is evident in the emergency room, being the direct consequence of intracranial bleeding, which causes an immediate and overwhelming catecholamine discharge. In the following days, PE can occur because of cardiac failure, often related to initial cardiac damage, concurrent therapies with fluid overload and vasopressors, infections, or pre-existing co-morbidities. The causes of PE need to be identified for appropriate treatment

Digital Visuality and Social Representation : Research Notes on the Visual Construction of meaning

Images are tools in the social construction of reality. The meaning of images, however, is not a feature of the image itself but the outcome of a communicative process that involves a negotiation between social actors with a stake, interests and resources to participate in the process. The theory of social representation provides a useful conceptual framework to capture this process and to look at the ideological influences that affects the visual construction of meaning in the digital age. From this perspective, I challenge the belief that digital visuality is a form of communication with emancipative power for the mere fact that it facilitates non-institutional and amateur production and circulation of images. I claim instead that the emancipative potential of this as other forms of visuality depends on their effects on the process through which images are given meaning - supporting or undermining openness, diversity, etc. - and on the nature of the meanings that can - or cannot - find expression in this process. Applying the theory of social representation to the analysis of the social construction of meaning for the images of 9/11, Abu-Ghraib and the Arab Spring, I argue that the influence of hegemonic ideology has been decisive in the repression of interpretations of these images with subversive or emancipative potential.Peer reviewe

Invisibilidade, Desigualdade e Dialética do Real na Era Digital

Na era digital, a possibilidade prática de engajar desigualdades como problemas políticos, ou seja, como problemas relacionados com a competição pelo controle da distribuição de valores na sociedade, é prejudicada pela invisibilidade digital da realidade. No atual estado de coisas, a digitalização da sociedade reflete a influência da interpelação capitalista e provoca a invisibilidade do real. A invisibilidade do real através da digitalização capitalista, por sua vez, confunde digitação e digitalização, subordinando esta última à primeira. Construída como um processo inspirado na racionalidade tecnológica, a digitalização capitalista compromete a possibilidade de mobilizar conhecimentos e legitimar práticas de apoio à interpretação das invisibilidades em relação a desigualdades e injustiças. De acordo com a perspectiva crítica de Andrew Feenberg e outros, a minha abordagem é que a influência do capitalismo na era digital resulta de uma apropriação epistémica de um desenvolvimento tecnológico. Esta apropriação é a fonte de invisibilidades que apoiam desigualdades e, por fim, injustiças que podem e devem ser combatidas. Partindo disso, o meu ponto é que a oposição a essa influência depende da possibilidade de estabelecer fundamentos epistémicos alternativos e da formulação de interpelações alternativas para a produção da subjetividade digital. Para promover a agenda normativa da teoria crítica, discuto essa possibilidade em termos da ‘dialética do real’, da repolitização da construção social da realidade na era digital e do papel da literacia mediática crítica