Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Saggio competitivo »

Partendo dal presupposto che l'ideale di libertas perpetua, che anima la storia della piů antica Repubblica, implichi per San Marino la responsabilitŕ di ricreare il proprio futuro ad ogni svolta della storia, il saggio ne affronta le implicazioni in una logica conseguente: dalla necessitŕ di reinterpretare la propria identitŕ millenaria nel mondo globalizzato, alla definizione di una nuovaper il Paese; dall'elaborazione di un piano strategico, allo sviluppo delle necessarie capacitŕ esecutive; fino all'attivazione delle leve fondamentali per l'avvio del cambiamento. Č un percorso di strategia quello proposto dall'Autore nella ricerca di una via di uscita dalla crisi, verso un nuovo modello di sviluppo economico competitivo e sostenibile. Facendo uso degli strumenti essenziali di strategia in ambito economico, emerge la proposta di una direzione organica di marcia nel medio-lungo periodo, che diviene riferimento essenziale anche nell'affrontare l'emergenza della crisi nell'immediato.

Il saggio si propone di mostrare la compresenza di aspetti collaborativi e competitivi all'interno della pratica del dialogo. Risalendo al di qua dell'esempio di Socrate, cui si riconosce in qualche modo l'invenzione di una ‘tecnica' del confronto tra interlocutori interessati alla ricerca della veritÀ, l'autrice intende mostrare le radici conflittuali della forma-dialogo e le implicazioni meno rassicuranti della dialettica discorsiva. Il tema del dialogo indica certo l'emergere di una possibilitÀ evolutiva nel cammino politico della civiltÀ: dalle passioni distruttive degli eroi omerici all'impegno a perfezionare se stessi esponendosi a un pacifico confronto. Senza dimenticare, perň, che la natura dell'uomo si rispecchia in molti animali diversi e che il dialogo con lupi e sparvieri resta difficile.

Il saggio sintetizza i risultati della ricerca pubblicata nel volume "Un tesoro emergente. Le medie imprese italiane dell'era globale", curato da Riccardo Varaldo, Daniele Dalli, Riccardo Resciniti e Annalisa Tunisini e pubblicato da FrancoAngeli. La ricerca si č focalizzata sull'analisi qualitativa di medie imprese italiane dinamiche con lo scopo di identificare le basi su cui esse hanno fondato il loro successo di mercato. Tre sono le dimensioni che vengono analizzate: la dimensione imprenditoriale, la dimensione competitiva e la dimensione organizzativo/relazionale. Il lavoro analizza i principali connotati dei modelli di business originali che tali imprese hanno saputo sviluppare e discute le opportunitÀ e le difficoltÀ legate alla sostenibilitÀ della competitivitÀ di tali imprese nel prossimo futuro.

Abstract The dislocation mechanisms behind sagging behavior of autosuspension spring steels are far from being understood due to their complicated microstructures. In this study, systematic cyclic loading tests were carried out on two model materials - industrial pure iron and spheroidized 1045 steel – to understand the mechanisms behind sagging. It is found that it is the different dislocation microstructures that control the cyclic creep behavior of different materials. With iron samples with low mean stress values, higher mean stresses do not trigger cell structure formation mainly due to the little requirement for high plastic strain amplitude and hence the lack of necessity for high dislocation density, and a large number of dislocation interactions through large mobile dislocations. In the case of the 1045 steel samples, the collapse of pre-existent substructures and the movement of newly generated mobile dislocations are the main reasons for the cyclic softening observed. The massive reorganization process of dislocation configurations and the competition between softening and hardening both carry on throughout the entire cycling process, but the softening process is found to be the predominant factor.

Turnover is the rotation of workers around the labor market; between firms, jobs, and occupations; and between the states of employment and unemployment.1 “In-house engineering,” “revolving door policy,” and “management by turnover,” are a few of the many colorful and euphemistic terms used to describe this organizational phenomenon. By whatever name or form, labor turnover is one of the most significant causes of declining productivity and sagging morale in both the public and private sectors. Management theorists say it lies behind the failure of U. S. employee productivity to keep pace with foreign competition.2

Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (FRC) is a competitive solution for the durability of reinforced structures. This paper aims to observe moment redistribution behavior occurring due to flexural and shear loading in GFRP reinforced continuous concrete beams. A rectangular cross-section was adopted in this study with dimensions of 200 mm in width and 300 mm in depth with a constant shear span-to-depth ratio of 3. The reinforcement ratio for the top and bottom were equal at sagging and hogging moment regions. A finite element model was created using ANSYS and validated with the existing experimental results in the literature review. Based on the literature review, the parametric study was conducted on twelve beam specimens to evaluate the influence of concrete compressive strength, transversal GFRP stirrups ratio, and longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the redistribution of the moment in beams. Several codes and guidelines adopted different analytical models. The CSA S806 adopted the modified compression field theory in predicting the shear capacity of the simply supported beams. Recently, various researchers encountered several factors and modifications to account for concrete contribution, longitudinal and transverse reinforcement. A comparison between the predicting shear capacity of the generated finite element model and the analytical model and the existing data from literature was held. The generated finite element model showed a good agreement with experimental results while the beam specimens failed in shear after undergoing significant moment redistribution from hogging to sagging moment region. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-SP2021-07-02 Full Text: PDF

Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is a competitive solution for the durability of reinforced structures. This paper aims to observe the moment redistribution behavior occurring due to flexural and shear loading in Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer- (GFRP) reinforced continuous concrete beams. A rectangular cross-section was adopted in this study with dimensions of 200 mm in width and 300 mm in depth with a constant shear span-to-depth ratio of 3. The reinforcement ratio for the top and bottom were equal at sagging and hogging moment regions. A finite element model was created using Analysis System (ANSYS) and validated with the existing experimental results in the literature review. Based on the literature review, the parametric study was conducted on twelve beam specimens to evaluate the influence of concrete compressive strength, transversal GFRP stirrups ratio, and longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the redistribution of the moment in beams. Several codes and guidelines adopted different analytical models. The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) S806 adopted the modified compression field theory in predicting the shear capacity of the simply supported beams. Recently, various researchers encountered several factors and modifications to account for concrete contribution, longitudinal, and transverse reinforcement. A comparison between the predicting shear capacity of the generated finite element model, the analytical model, and the existing data from the literature was performed. The generated finite element model showed a good agreement with the experimental results, while the beam specimens failed in shear after undergoing significant moment redistribution from hogging to sagging moment region. The moment distribution observed about 21.5% from FEM of beam specimen GN-1.2-0.48-d, while the experimental results achieved 24% at failure load. For high strength concrete presented in beam specimen GH-1.2-0.63-d, the result showed about 20.2% moment distribution, compared to that achieved experimentally of 23% at failure load.

Abstract The diaphragm wall and the open caisson represent two main competitive technologies used in the construction of underground objects. In modern times, diaphragm walls are primarily applied for large-size objects, with open caissons being preferred in the case of small-sized ones. Currently, objects of this type are designed mainly for sewage treatment plants and detention reservoirs. Their construction involves highly labour-intensive processes. During the execution of works unforeseen negative effects are observed to occur. During the underground objects construction the most common phenomena are: deviations from the vertical (tilt), sagging, sinking below the designed level, cracking, scratches or leakage through the wall. The purpose of the paper is to classify undesired risk factors emerging in the process of underground objects construction and selection of the optimal technological and material solution for municipal facilities. The implementation of this task involved the selection of Multi-Criteria Decision Making methods, taking into account the cause-effect rating, as the mathematical apparatus. The Ratio Estimation in Magnitudes or deciBells to Rate Alternatives which are Non-DominaTed (REMBRANDT) method was applied. The research proved that it is possible to analytically assess unforeseen risk factors conducive to emergency situations during the implementation of underground objects, using the REMBRANDT method.

This study investigated the domestic vessel onboard trainees perceived seamanship competencies vis-à-vis the minimum requirements of STCW 1978 as amended in the Maritime Education College of the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue. Categorically, this study determined the respondents' profile in terms of age, gender, type of domestic vessel boarded, and year completed academic requirements. Furthermore, it defined the perceived deck function 2 technical competencies, the relationship between the profile and the perceived competencies of the cadets, the significant difference in their technical competencies when grouped according to profiles, and the conclusion, recommendations, and the proposed action plan. The study used the descriptive-correlational method, and one hundred BSMT offshore domestic cadets were chosen as respondents. The study was conducted at the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue. The researchers utilized an STCW-based checklist to gather the data needed. Frequency count, percent, Chi-square, and Kruskal-Wallis were used to treat the data collated. The study revealed a notable gap between the perceived competencies in ensuring satisfactory trim, stability, hogging, and sagging. It also determined a significant relationship between profile and gender and the perceived competencies. Moreover, the study showed no significant difference between the technical competencies when grouped according to profile. The results concluded that the success of producing quality seafarers is the primary responsibility of the maritime institute to ensure a globally competitive STCW '95 (Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping) compliant maritime education graduates.

The results of three studies at different stages of branch development demonstrated the importance of apical control of diameter growth in both stem formation and branch angle. Diameter growth is controlled by competition between branches and the stem for branch-produced photosynthate. Apical control of branch angle occurs only in species that can produce differential growth stresses. In those species, upward bending is largely regulated by the amount of branch diameter growth. The first study followed stem formation from current shoots in Kalmia latifolia L., a shrub without terminal buds or apical control of branch angle. When several current or older shoots were competing, the longest, most distal lateral shoot usually became the stem. Shoot angle was poorly correlated with eventual dominance. A more proximal lateral shoot on the underside of a leaning parent became the longest, dominant lateral in 24% of the parent shoots. The second study used stem girdles to test the hypothesis that the subjacent stem competes with the branch for branch-produced photosynthate. Results from Pinus strobus L. supported the hypothesis, but results from Betula lenta L. and Acer rubrum L. did not. The third study removed apical control from branches of six forest-shrub species by cutting off the stem above the branch. Branches of all species increased diameter growth after cutting the stem, but only branches of Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray, Hamamelis virginiana L., and Cornus amomum Mill. developed differential growth stress and bent upward. Treated branches of Gaylusaccia baccata (Wang.) K. Koch, Viburnum cassinoides L., and K. latifolia sagged as much as controls.Key words: apical control, diameter growth, branch angle, growth stress, reaction wood.

La tesi si compone di due saggi indipendenti sulle acquisizioni aziendali. Il capitolo 1 studia l'effetto dell'eterogeneità degli acquirenti sui rivali dei target acquisiti. Nel complesso, l'evidenza empirica conferma l'esistenza di effetti di spillover: le imprese modificano le proprie politiche aziendali in risposta all'acquisizione dei loro rivali. Le acquisizioni strategiche generano maggiori acquisizioni, mentre i leveraged buyouts dei fondi di private equity portano a minori capital expenditures. Inoltre, le aziende aumentano il debito e il payout quando i loro rivali vengono acquisiti da fondi di private equity. Questi adeguamenti testimoniano il tentativo delle imprese di evitare di essere acquisite. Inoltre le aziende diminuiscono le acquisizioni e aumentano i pagamenti agli azionisti quando la quota di mercato dei rivali acquisiti dal PE è maggiore, il che indica un rilassamento della pressione competitiva nel mercato dopo gli LBOs. Infine, studiando il debito e il cash sia dei peer acquisiti che delle società campione, troviamo scarso supporto alla teoria della predazione. Analisi complementari mostrano che il PE riduce la volatilità del rendimento dei rivali, soprattutto se non si qualificano come leader di mercato. Infine, vi è una maggiore probabilità di fallimento per le società con almeno un rivale acquisito da un fondo di PE. Il capitolo 2 studia un segmento sempre più importante di fusioni e acquisizioni, il mercato dei leveraged buyouts, in cui le acquisizioni vengono eseguite da fondi di private equity e club deals. Confrontando la fase di negoziazione privata di sole-PE e club deals, fase che avviene prima dell'annuncio pubblico al mercato, risulta che i club vengono creati al fine di raccogliere più risorse e acquisire società che non potrebbero essere altrimenti acquisite da un unico acquirente. Infatti, i membri del club investono meno equity in percentuale del valore del deal rispetto a quanto investono nei sole-PE deals. Inoltre, i club sono associati a un livello di competizione più elevato rispetto ai sole-PE LBOs, con più potenziali acquirenti, più offerte fatte al target e più tempo impiegato per chiudere l'accordo. Viene inoltre dimostrato che non vi è alcuna differenza significativa nella reazione di mercato ai sole-PE e ai club deals e il premio ricevuto dagli azionisti nei clubs è in linea con il premio ricevuto nei sole-PE deals.
The dissertation consists of two independent essays on corporate takeovers. Chapter 1 studies the effect of acquirers heterogeneity on rivals of acquired targets. Overall, the empirical evidence confirms the existence of spillover effects: firms modify their corporate policies in response to the acquisition of their rivals. Strategic takeovers generate higher acquisitions, whereas private equity leveraged buyouts lead to lower capital expenditures. Also, firms increase leverage and payout when their peers are bought out by private equity funds. These adjustments are consistent with firms trying to avoid being acquired themselves. We also find that firms decrease acquisitions and increase payout as the market share of PE-acquired peers is higher, which points towards a relaxation of the competitive pressure in the product market after LBOs. Finally, studying the debt-heaviness and the cash-richness of both acquired peers and the sample firms, we find little support to the predation theory. Complementary analyses show that leveraged buyouts reduce the return volatility of target’s rivals, especially if they are not market leaders. Finally, firms are more likely to go bankrupt if at least one of their rivals is acquired by private equity. Chapter 2 focuses on one increasingly important segment of mergers and acquisitions market, e.g. the market for leveraged buyouts, where takeovers are performed by private equity funds and club deals. Comparing sole-PE’s and club deals’ private negotiation phase, the one happening before the public announcement to the market, I find that clubs are created in order to collect more resources and buy targets that could not be otherwise bought out by a single acquirer. Indeed, club members commit less equity as percentage of deal value as they do in sole PE deals. Moreover, clubs are associated with higher level of competition with respect to sole PE LBOs, with more potential acquirers, more offers made to the target and more time taken to close the deal. I also show that there is no significant difference in the market reaction to sole PE and club deals and premium received is in line with premium received by shareholders selling their company to a single PE fund.

La tesi si compone di tre saggi su disoccupazione e mobilità del lavoro in Italia, presentando anche un focus sulla regione Lombardia, oltre che da una parte iniziale che inquadra tali tematiche. Il primo capitolo offre infatti una disamina degli sviluppi ed empirici connessi a disoccupazione e mobilità del lavoro. L’obiettivo di questa parte introduttiva è duplice. Da un lato si cerca di fornire un quadro pressochè esaustivo sulle evoluzioni teoriche ed empiriche connesse alle tematiche citate. D’altro lato si introducono le analisi oggetto dei successivi saggi come evoluzione degli sviluppi proposti dalla letteratura, enfatizzandone logiche sottostanti ed originalità. Il primo saggio analizza le determinanti della durata della disoccupazione ed i relativi “competing risks” per la regione Lombardia. La scelta di tale contesto non è casuale. La Lombardia, infatti, rappresenta una delle regioni economicamente più sviluppate ed i risultati ottenuti con tali metodologie di stima possono fornire spunti utili e rappresentativi sia delle regioni europee maggiormente sviluppate, sia di altre rilevanti regioni italiane (Emilia Romagna e Toscana). Il secondo saggio estende l’applicazione di modelli di durata e modelli a rischi competitivi all’intero territorio nazionale. In questo modo è possibile enfatizzare la rilevanza di tali tematiche per il contesto italiano, ed ottenere un quadro esaustivo circa l’evoluzione del fenomeno della durata della disoccupazione. Le tecniche utilizzate per tali analisi, ovviamente, differiscono ripetto a quelle impegate per la regione Lombardia, ed anche questo aspetto consente interessanti considerazioni. Il terzo saggio sposta l’attenzione alla rilevante tematica della mobilità del mercato del lavoro. Tale aspetto è ovviamente connesso al fenomeno della disoccupazione, e consente di approfondirne nonché di delinearne le possibili cause. In tale capitolo vengono proposte due metodologie di analisi. In primo luogo, ed a livello macro, sono fornite le stime aggregate dei flussi fra i principali stati o condizioni (occupazione, disoccupazione, inattività) del mercato del lavoro. Questo primo step consente appunto una prima quantificazione del fenomeno della mobilità. La seconda parte del capitolo si focalizza invece su una stima - a livello micro - delle determinanti delle transizioni fra gli stati del mercato del lavoro. Tale aspetto consente appunto di investigare ed esaminare le cause sottese alla mobilità riscontrata a livello macro.
Structured in three essays, this thesis focus on unemployment and labour mobility in Italy and Lombardy (the biggest Italian’s region). The first essay offers a picture of the main theoretical and the empirical issues related to these complex phenomena. The purpose of this section is twofold. On one hand we aim to offer an exhaustive picture of the theoretical and empirical developments of such phenomena. On the other hand, we introduce the empirical investigations of the subsequent essays as evolutions of the ones proposed by literature. We also emphases the original contribution and the logic behind. The second essay investigates the determinants of the unemployment duration and of the related competing risks (CRM hereafter) for Lombardy. The choice to concentrate the initial part of this dissertation on Lombardy is primarily driven by two factors. First, there is interest in applying relevant techniques to a regional context characterized by a certain degree of homogeneity of economic indicators. Further, Lombardy is one of the most important Italian regions (confirmed by many economics indicators), and is quite homogeneous in terms of labour market indicators (only little differences between provinces, with the north-east with the fewest unemployment problems), This allows verifying the effectiveness of these investigations of the determinants of unemployment duration and the related CRM without dealing with the typical dualism between north and south which is a structural feature of the Italian labour market. This is a way to investigate in depth the characteristics of the relevant phenomenon of unemployment for a significant partition of Italy, which is representative of both richest regions in Europe and Italian regions as well (such as Tuscany or Emilia Romagna). The third essay enlarges the attention to Italy by employing techniques of unemployment duration and competing risks to analyse the overall Italian unemployment and its main exit routes. Those are tools to get an exhaustive picture and relevant insights on the evolution of the Italian unemployment duration. The techniques employed for the overall country obviously differ from the ones used for the region of Lombardy, and these differences also offer the scope for interesting considerations. The fourth essay deals with the relevant issue of labour market mobility. This is a theme quite linked to unemployment, since it allows understanding and exploring its causes. We focus on two different kind of analysis. At macro level, we estimate the gross flows between the relevant labour market states of employment, unemployment, and inactivity (three-state representation of the labour market) to quantify the overall labour market mobility. The second part of this section, instead, offers micro econometrics estimates of the determinants of such labour market transitions, to investigate the causes of such mobility.

La tesi si compone di tre saggi su disoccupazione e mobilità del lavoro in Italia, presentando anche un focus sulla regione Lombardia, oltre che da una parte iniziale che inquadra tali tematiche. Il primo capitolo offre infatti una disamina degli sviluppi ed empirici connessi a disoccupazione e mobilità del lavoro. L’obiettivo di questa parte introduttiva è duplice. Da un lato si cerca di fornire un quadro pressochè esaustivo sulle evoluzioni teoriche ed empiriche connesse alle tematiche citate. D’altro lato si introducono le analisi oggetto dei successivi saggi come evoluzione degli sviluppi proposti dalla letteratura, enfatizzandone logiche sottostanti ed originalità. Il primo saggio analizza le determinanti della durata della disoccupazione ed i relativi “competing risks” per la regione Lombardia. La scelta di tale contesto non è casuale. La Lombardia, infatti, rappresenta una delle regioni economicamente più sviluppate ed i risultati ottenuti con tali metodologie di stima possono fornire spunti utili e rappresentativi sia delle regioni europee maggiormente sviluppate, sia di altre rilevanti regioni italiane (Emilia Romagna e Toscana). Il secondo saggio estende l’applicazione di modelli di durata e modelli a rischi competitivi all’intero territorio nazionale. In questo modo è possibile enfatizzare la rilevanza di tali tematiche per il contesto italiano, ed ottenere un quadro esaustivo circa l’evoluzione del fenomeno della durata della disoccupazione. Le tecniche utilizzate per tali analisi, ovviamente, differiscono ripetto a quelle impegate per la regione Lombardia, ed anche questo aspetto consente interessanti considerazioni. Il terzo saggio sposta l’attenzione alla rilevante tematica della mobilità del mercato del lavoro. Tale aspetto è ovviamente connesso al fenomeno della disoccupazione, e consente di approfondirne nonché di delinearne le possibili cause. In tale capitolo vengono proposte due metodologie di analisi. In primo luogo, ed a livello macro, sono fornite le stime aggregate dei flussi fra i principali stati o condizioni (occupazione, disoccupazione, inattività) del mercato del lavoro. Questo primo step consente appunto una prima quantificazione del fenomeno della mobilità. La seconda parte del capitolo si focalizza invece su una stima - a livello micro - delle determinanti delle transizioni fra gli stati del mercato del lavoro. Tale aspetto consente appunto di investigare ed esaminare le cause sottese alla mobilità riscontrata a livello macro.
Structured in three essays, this thesis focus on unemployment and labour mobility in Italy and Lombardy (the biggest Italian’s region). The first essay offers a picture of the main theoretical and the empirical issues related to these complex phenomena. The purpose of this section is twofold. On one hand we aim to offer an exhaustive picture of the theoretical and empirical developments of such phenomena. On the other hand, we introduce the empirical investigations of the subsequent essays as evolutions of the ones proposed by literature. We also emphases the original contribution and the logic behind. The second essay investigates the determinants of the unemployment duration and of the related competing risks (CRM hereafter) for Lombardy. The choice to concentrate the initial part of this dissertation on Lombardy is primarily driven by two factors. First, there is interest in applying relevant techniques to a regional context characterized by a certain degree of homogeneity of economic indicators. Further, Lombardy is one of the most important Italian regions (confirmed by many economics indicators), and is quite homogeneous in terms of labour market indicators (only little differences between provinces, with the north-east with the fewest unemployment problems), This allows verifying the effectiveness of these investigations of the determinants of unemployment duration and the related CRM without dealing with the typical dualism between north and south which is a structural feature of the Italian labour market. This is a way to investigate in depth the characteristics of the relevant phenomenon of unemployment for a significant partition of Italy, which is representative of both richest regions in Europe and Italian regions as well (such as Tuscany or Emilia Romagna). The third essay enlarges the attention to Italy by employing techniques of unemployment duration and competing risks to analyse the overall Italian unemployment and its main exit routes. Those are tools to get an exhaustive picture and relevant insights on the evolution of the Italian unemployment duration. The techniques employed for the overall country obviously differ from the ones used for the region of Lombardy, and these differences also offer the scope for interesting considerations. The fourth essay deals with the relevant issue of labour market mobility. This is a theme quite linked to unemployment, since it allows understanding and exploring its causes. We focus on two different kind of analysis. At macro level, we estimate the gross flows between the relevant labour market states of employment, unemployment, and inactivity (three-state representation of the labour market) to quantify the overall labour market mobility. The second part of this section, instead, offers micro econometrics estimates of the determinants of such labour market transitions, to investigate the causes of such mobility.

L'ultima crisi nanziaria ha evidenziato il ruolo decisivo delle connessioni nel mercato interban- cario come canale e strumento ampli catore dei shock nanziari, e di conseguenza del rischio sistemico. In questa tesi presentiamo delle metodologie teoriche ed empiriche per analizzare il potenziale rischio sistemico in una rete bancaria interconnessa. La tesi comprende due saggi sulle reti nanziarie e il rischio sistemico ed e organizzata in due capitoli. Nel capitolo I analizziamo e modelliamo alcune delle complesse interazioni all'interno di una rete nanziaria, con l'obiettivo di approfondire nella interrelazione fra la fragilit a dell'eco- nomia reale e quella del sistema bancario. A questo scopo, forniamo una descrizione qualitativa e quantitativa delle dinamiche della leva nanziaria. Nel capitolo II, sfruttiamo un set originale di dati su 15 banche europee classi cate come G-SIB per valutare se l'espansione nei mercati esteri aumenta la loro rischiosit a, e attraverso quali canali si materializa.
The last global nancial crisis clearly illustrated the crucial role of interbank linkages in channel- ing and amplifying shocks hitting the system and, therefore, in the emergence of systemic risk. In this thesis, we present theoretical and empirical methodologies for analysing the potential for systemic risk in a interconnected banking network. The dissertation comprehends two essays on nancial networks and systemic risk and is organ- ised in two chapters. In chapter I, we analyse and model some complex interactions and feedback relationships within a nancial network, with the objective of delving into the linkages between fragility in the real economy and in the banking system. For this purpose, we provide a qualita- tive and quantitative description of leverage dynamics. In chapter II, we exploit an original dataset on 15 European banks classi ed as G-SIBs by the BIS to assess whether expansion in foreign markets increases their riskiness, and through which channels that eventually happens.

L'ultima crisi nanziaria ha evidenziato il ruolo decisivo delle connessioni nel mercato interban- cario come canale e strumento ampli catore dei shock nanziari, e di conseguenza del rischio sistemico. In questa tesi presentiamo delle metodologie teoriche ed empiriche per analizzare il potenziale rischio sistemico in una rete bancaria interconnessa. La tesi comprende due saggi sulle reti nanziarie e il rischio sistemico ed e organizzata in due capitoli. Nel capitolo I analizziamo e modelliamo alcune delle complesse interazioni all'interno di una rete nanziaria, con l'obiettivo di approfondire nella interrelazione fra la fragilit a dell'eco- nomia reale e quella del sistema bancario. A questo scopo, forniamo una descrizione qualitativa e quantitativa delle dinamiche della leva nanziaria. Nel capitolo II, sfruttiamo un set originale di dati su 15 banche europee classi cate come G-SIB per valutare se l'espansione nei mercati esteri aumenta la loro rischiosit a, e attraverso quali canali si materializa.
The last global nancial crisis clearly illustrated the crucial role of interbank linkages in channel- ing and amplifying shocks hitting the system and, therefore, in the emergence of systemic risk. In this thesis, we present theoretical and empirical methodologies for analysing the potential for systemic risk in a interconnected banking network. The dissertation comprehends two essays on nancial networks and systemic risk and is organ- ised in two chapters. In chapter I, we analyse and model some complex interactions and feedback relationships within a nancial network, with the objective of delving into the linkages between fragility in the real economy and in the banking system. For this purpose, we provide a qualita- tive and quantitative description of leverage dynamics. In chapter II, we exploit an original dataset on 15 European banks classi ed as G-SIBs by the BIS to assess whether expansion in foreign markets increases their riskiness, and through which channels that eventually happens.

The presence of harmful chemicals and microorganisms in food is often addressed ad food contamination, which can cause consumer illness at different levels of severity. Potential hazardous residues in food include several different substances: natural and environmental contaminants (e.g. toxins, heavy metal ions), agrochemicals pollutants like pesticides, drugs, growth promoters, packaging components, etc. The detection of contaminants is then of utterly importance in food safety and environmental analysis; thus, it requires highly sensitive and easy-to-use analytical procedures to be developed. Conventional analytical methods used for this kind of analysis include separation techniques (e.g. high-performance liquid chromatography, tandem mass spectrometry), which often provide sensitive and selective results. Despite the advantages of these techniques, the high costs, the expensive instrumentation, the technical skills needed for users and the complex pretreatment processes are pushing scientists to find out rapid, low cost, highly sensitive and simple alternative analytical methods. For this purpose, biosensors can act as an option for solving the problems mentioned before or become a helpful tool at least. Biosensors development can be classified as an interdisciplinary field and one of the most active research areas in analytical chemistry. As well as other analytical methods, biosensors performance is evaluated by considering their detection limit, their sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility in terms of linear and dynamic range and response to interfering substances. The most used receptors in biosensing applications are probably the antibodies, which are able to bind target molecules with high selectivity and sensitivity, but their use is characterized by some limitations. As one of the drawbacks in developing contaminants biosensors is the synthesis of antibodies for these highly toxic targets, the use of biomimetic receptors has recently become an interesting alternative. This kind of probes includes biological “bricks” assembled in vitro or synthetic molecules assembled to mimic the recognition capabilities of antibodies. The advances in nanotechnology have led to the discovery and the employment of a great number of new materials in nanoscale dimensions (comprised between 1 and 100 nm, even if for biological application dimensions can raise up to 500 nm and rarely up to 700 nm). Because the common biological systems (such as proteins, viruses, membranes, etc.) are nanostructured and their interactions take place at nanometric scale, nanomaterials become ideal candidates for the development of advanced biosensing devices. Nanostructures present several advantages in analytical applications and can be mainly used as transducers (due to their unique optical, chemical, electrical, and catalytic properties) or as a component of the recognition element of a biosensing device (due to the high surface-to-volume ratio that increases the number of bioreceptors attached to the sensing surface). This thesis presents different strategies for the development of electrochemical biosensors based on nanostructured sensing platforms and biomimetic probe molecules for the determination of a pattern of contaminants (e.g. pesticides, toxins, allergens) related to food and environmental analysis. The dissertation is subdivided in ten chapters.  Chapter 1. The definition of biosensors is provided, highlighting the classification and advantages of electrochemical ones. Moreover, a short description of aptamers, Affibodies® and molecularly imprinted polymers as bioreceptors is presented. A particular attention has been posed in the description of different aptamer assay formats and the aptasensing approaches based on screen-printed electrochemical transducers.  Chapter 2. The role of biosensors in contaminants detection for food analysis is described. A classification of the contaminants analyzed in this work is also given, divided by their chemical classes, underlining their hazardous potential.  Chapter 3. The electrochemical techniques (cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) used in this work are introduced, describing their basic principles. The experimental set-up, including the graphite screen-printed cells used as transducers in this thesis, is described.  Chapter 4. An overview of the conductive nanostructured materials for sensing platforms development is presented. In particular, a short description of the conductive polymers (i.e. polyaniline, poly(aniline-co-anthranilic acid), poly-L-lysine) and the gold nanoparticles used in this work is given, also providing their electrodeposition protocols and electrochemical characterization.  Chapter 5. The application of a sensing platform based on gold nanoparticles and polyaniline-modified graphite screen-printed electrodes for dopamine detection is reported. Dopamine was chosen as a model analyte due to its easiness of determination by being oxidized at an electrodic surface. The analytical usefulness of the sensor was also demonstrated by analyzing spiked commercial serum samples.  Chapter 6. Profenofos pesticide is detected by means of an aptasensor based on a competitive format, which employs a gold/polyaniline-modified transducer as sensor platform and an enzyme-linked label for a dual amplification of the signal. The nanostructured electrodes were modified with a mixed monolayer of a thiol-tethered DNA probe and 6-mercapto-1-hexanol. A biotinylated DNA aptamer was incubated with the pesticide and then dropped onto the sensing surface: the aptamer sequences which did not bind the analyte were free to hybridize with the immobilized DNA probe. The binding was traced with the addition of streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase enzyme conjugate: the enzymatic substrate 1-naphthyl phosphate was converted into the electroactive product 1-naphthol, which was finally oxidized and detected by differential pulse voltammetry. The bindings of the aptamer with the analyte and the DNA probe were also preliminary assessed by melting temperatures study.  Chapter 7. Aflatoxin B1 mycotoxin is detected by means of an enzyme-linked oligonucleotide array based on a competitive format. The developed assay makes use of a sensing platform composed of poly(aniline-co-anthranilic acid)-modified electrodes; a conjugate between aflatoxin B1 and bovine serum albumin was immobilized by amide coupling between the carboxylic groups of the copolymer and the amine groups of the protein. Each phase involved in the assembly of the aptasensor was characterized and evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The competition was achieved between free and immobilized AFB1 molecules for the binding with a biotinylated DNA aptamer and the affinity reaction was traced by streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase in the same way as previously described. Preliminary experiments in maize flour samples spiked with AFB1 were also conducted.  Chapter 8. Deoxynivalenol mycotoxin is detected by means of an aptasensor based on a competitive format. The sensing strategy is somehow similar to that employed for the pesticide detection, as it shares with the aforementioned assay both the nanostructured platform and the enzymatic labeling. However, in this case, a thiol-tethered DNA aptamer was immobilized on the electrodic surface, while the competition occurs in solution between deoxynivalenol molecules and a biotinylated complementary DNA sequence. The enzyme and its substrate were then used for the electrochemical detection by differential pulse voltammetry. Apart from being one of the first electrochemical aptasensors reported for deoxynivalenol detection, the novelty of the work consists in the investigation of the molecular interaction between the aptamer and the mycotoxin by a docking study, which allows to verify if the aptamer region binding with the complementary oligonucleotide sequence chosen for the competitive assay includes the interaction sites between the mycotoxin and the DNA aptamer, while also determining the preferred orientation assumed by DON in the binding event.7  Chapter 9. β-Lactoglobulin milk allergen is detected by means of a switch-on assay employing a gold/poly-L-lysine-modified transducer as the sensing platform. The nanostructured electrodes were modified with a mixed monolayer of a thiol-tethered DNA aptamer, bearing the electroactive methylene blue moiety to the free 3’-end, and 6-mercapto-1-hexanol. Upon the binding with the analyte, the aptamer changed its conformation, making the labeled end to be closer to the electrodic surface and to be more easily oxidized. The electrochemical folding-based aptasensor allowed unambiguous identification of the protein, while no significant non-specific signals were detected in case of negative controls.  Chapter 10. Concluding remarks are reported.

Recent studies indicate that British appeasement towards Hitler followed a buying-time logic, i.e., it tried to postpone confrontation until Great Britain improved its military position through rearmament. However, this chapter shows that Germany actually extended its military edge over the appeasement years. Drawing on the literature on judgment and decision-making, the chapter theorizes that competition neglect – the tendency to focus myopically on one’s own capabilities and pay insufficient attention to those of the competition – may explain the puzzling gap between British policymakers’ plans and actual trends in the balance of power. The competition neglect thesis and an alternative explanation, positing the occurrence of miscalculation, are tested with a case study of British foreign policy towards Germany in 1937-38.

The study of complexity in world politics began painstakingly in the 1980s on the initiative of authors such as James Rosenau, and looks at different types of complexity such as non-linear interactions, the interaction between actors at different levels (turbulence), the emergence of structures. The chapter intends to analyze the contribution the study of competition processes can provide by means of the theory of dynamical systems. For this purpose, nonlinear equations derived from Richardson's and equations formulated in the framework of population theories concerning crime or terrorism are considered. Finally, the need to move on to the theory of self-organization and emergent structures is indicated.

Chapter seven analyzes some of the most relevant future scenarios, regarding population, energy resources, public health, inequality, democracy on a national scale and forms of social power. On the population, evidences are advanced which cast doubt on the comforting idea that its trend will first become stationary and then decrease. On public health, the connotations of the Covid-19 pandemic are compared with those of the major ecological problems. On inequality, the emphasis is placed on that resulting from competition for the goods of status and power. On democracy, the tension between the national context, in which this political regime has expressed itself in our era, and global processes is discussed. Finally, the coexistence of various forms of social power and the ways in which they combine with each other is examined.