Competition in Banking Markets: Lessons from the Italian Case

The Conclusion contrasts the dominant structuralist and functionalist approaches to democracy and democratization, with the concept of the passage to democracy as an endogenous process of historical and symbolic articulation, and as the symbolization of lived experiences that engender transformations in consciousness, meanings, and beliefs. Rather than assuming a universal and externally determined model for the democratic process, it makes use of the Italian case to argue that democracy is a lengthy and ongoing narrative, and a process of meaning-formation in the context of political and existential uncertainty. Democratizing processes are determined not by socio-economic and cultural factors, not by the pursuit of strategies by the elites, but by a complex interweaving of individual and collective reaction to revolution, war, and dictatorship.

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Investigations on historical monuments’ deterioration through chemical and isotopic analyses: an Italian case study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-021-15103-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Ricciardi ◽

Concetta Pironti ◽

Oriana Motta ◽

Rosa Fiorillo ◽

Federica Camin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Potassium Nitrate ◽

Sewage Water ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Italian Case ◽

Historical Monuments ◽

Isotopic Analyses ◽

Historic Centre ◽

The Church

AbstractIn this paper, we analysed the efflorescences present in the frescos of a monumental complex named S. Pietro a Corte situated in the historic centre of Salerno (Campania, Italy). The groundwater of the historic centre is fed by two important streams (the Rafastia and the Fusandola) that can be the sources of water penetration. The aims of this work are to (i) identify the stream that reaches the ancient frigidarium of S. Pietro a Corte and (ii) characterize the efflorescences on damaged frescos in terms of chemical nature and sources. In order to accomplish the first aim, the water of the Rafastia river (7 samples) and the water of the Fusandola river (7 samples) were analysed and compared with the water of a well of the Church (7 samples). The ionic chromatography measurements on the water samples allowed us to identify the Rafastia as the river that feeds the ancient frigidarium of S. Pietro a Corte. To investigate the nature and the origin of the efflorescences (our second aim), anionic chromatography analyses, X-ray diffraction measurements, and the isotopic determination of nitrogen were performed on the efflorescences (9 samples) and the salts recovered from the well (6 samples). Results of these analyses show that efflorescences are mainly made of potassium nitrate with a δ15N value of + 9.3 ± 0.2‰. Consequently, a plausible explanation for their formation could be the permeation of sewage water on the walls of the monumental complex.

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The variability of urban safety performance functions for different road elements: an Italian case study

European Transport Research Review ◽

10.1186/s12544-021-00490-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Paolo Intini ◽

Nicola Berloco ◽

Gabriele Cavalluzzi ◽

Dominique Lord ◽

Vittorio Ranieri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Negative Binomial ◽

Prediction Models ◽

Safety Performance ◽

Common Trends ◽

Main Research ◽

Pavement Markings ◽

Italian Case ◽

Sight Distance ◽

Safety Performance Functions ◽

Urban Safety

Abstract Background Urban safety performance functions are used to predict crash frequencies, mostly based on Negative Binomial (NB) count models. They could be differentiated for considering homogeneous subsets of segments/intersections and different predictors. Materials and methods The main research questions concerned: a) finding the best possible subsets for segments and intersections for safety modelling, by discussing the related problems and inquiring into the variability of predictors within the subsets; b) comparing the modelling results with the existing literature to highlight common trends and/or main differences; c) assessing the importance of additional crash predictors, besides traditional variables. In the context of a National research project, traffic volumes, geometric, control and additional variables were collected for road segments and intersections in the City of Bari, Italy, with 1500 fatal+injury related crashes (2012–2016). Six NB models were developed for: one/two-way homogeneous segments, three/four-legged, signalized/unsignalized intersections. Results Crash predictors greatly vary within the different subsets considered. The effect of vertical signs on minor roads/driveways, critical sight distance, cycle crossings, pavement/markings maintenance was specifically discussed. Some common trends but also differences in both types and effect of crash predictors were found by comparing results with literature. Conclusion The disaggregation of urban crash prediction models by considering different subsets of segments and intersections helps in revealing the specific influence of some predictors. Local characteristics may influence the relationships between well-established crash predictors and crash frequencies. A significant part of the urban crash frequency variability remains unexplained, thus encouraging research on this topic.

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