Citizens and Institutions as Information Prosumers. The Case Study of Italian Municipalities on Twitter

The aim of this paper is to address changes in public communication following the advent of Internet social networking tools and the emerging web 2.0 technologies which are providing new ways of sharing information and knowledge. In particular public administrations are called upon to reinvent the governance of public affairs and to update the means for interacting with their communities. The paper develops an analysis of the distribution, diffusion and performance of the official profiles on Twitter adopted by the Italian municipalities (comuni) up to November 2013. It aims to identify the patterns of spatial distribution and the drivers of the diffusion of Twitter profiles; the performance of the profiles through an aggregated index, called the Twitter performance index (Twiperindex), which evaluates the profiles' activity with reference to the gravitational areas of the municipalities in order to enable comparisons of the activity of municipalities with different demographic sizes and functional roles. The results show that only a small portion of innovative municipalities have adopted Twitter to enhance e-participation and e-governance and that the drivers of the diffusion seem to be related either to past experiences and existing conditions (i.e. civic networks, digital infrastructures) developed over time or to strong local community awareness. The better performances are achieved mainly by small and medium-sized municipalities. Of course, the phenomenon is very new and fluid, therefore this analysis should be considered as a first step in ongoing research which aims to grasp the dynamics of these new means of public communication

Measurement of the (90,91,92,93,94,96)Zr(n,gamma) and (139)La(n,gamma) cross sections at n_TOF

Open AccessNeutron capture cross sections of Zr and La isotopes have important implications in the field of nuclear astrophysics as well as in the nuclear technology. In particular the Zr isotopes play a key role for the determination of the neutron density in the He burning zone of the Red Giant star, while the (139)La is important to monitor the s-process abundances from Ba up to Ph. Zr is also largely used as structural materials of traditional and advanced nuclear reactors. The nuclear resonance parameters and the cross section of (90,91,92,93,94,96)Zr and (139)La have been measured at the n_TOF facility at CERN. Based on these data the capture resonance strength and the Maxwellian-averaged cross section were calculated

Invisible Belfast:Flat ontologies and remediation of the post-conflict city

[in]visible Belfast was a research-driven indie alternate reality game (ARG) that ran for 6 weeks during the spring of 2011 in Belfast and was subsequently adapted, 5 years later into a fictional documentary for BBC Radio 4. The ARG is a participatory and dispersed narrative, which the audience play through. The text expands outward across both physical and digital platforms to create a mystery for the players using everyday platforms. The ARG is a product of media convergence and at its heart transmedial, defined by its complexity and modes of participation. The fictional radio documentary which remediated the ARG into a more simple linear structure, but possibly a more complex narrative form, retells parts of the story for new audiences. The premise of [in]visible belfast – the game and later the documentary – is itself an adaptation of writer Ciaran Carson’s novel The Star Factory (1997): a postmodern adventure through the complex psychogeography of Belfast. A trail through the labyrinthine text, which paints the history of Belfast in poetic prose. This article will map the concept’s journey from novel to game to radio, contextualising its development within its political and urban landscape and charting the remediation of the narratives as they fold out across multiple media and complex story arches. The article will draw together ideas from previous publications on ARG, transmediality and complex textualities from the authors and reflect on the textual trajectories that the remediation of the narrative has taken from the original book, through the ARG, into the radio documentary. Building upon recent approaches from environmental philosopher Tim Morton and games theorist Ian Bogost, the authors argue that Belfast’s history propels medial adaptations of a particular kind, characterised by a ‘flat’ ontology of space and time and a sort of diffuse and dark urban experience for designers/producers and players/listeners

Present Status and Future Programs of the n_TOF Experiment

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License 3.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any noncommercial medium, provided the original work is properly citedThe neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN, Switzerland, operational since 2001, delivers neutrons using the Proton Synchrotron (PS) 20 GeV/c proton beam impinging on a lead spallation target. The facility combines a very high instantaneous neutron flux, an excellent time of flight resolution due to the distance between the experimental area and the production target (185 meters), a low intrinsic background and a wide range of neutron energies, from thermal to GeV neutrons. These characteristics provide a unique possibility to perform neutron-induced capture and fission cross-section measurements for applications in nuclear astrophysics and in nuclear reactor technology.The most relevant measurements performed up to now and foreseen for the future will be presented in this contribution. The overall efficiency of the experimental program and the range of possible measurements achievable with the construction of a second experimental area (EAR-2), vertically located 20 m on top of the n_TOF spallation target, might offer a substantial improvement in measurement sensitivities. A feasibility study of the possible realisation of the installation extension will be also presented

Confined Pt11+ Water Clusters in a MOF Catalyze the Low‐Temperature Water–Gas Shift Reaction with both CO2 Oxygen Atoms Coming from Water

The synthesis and reactivity of single metal atoms in a low‐valence state bound to just water, rather than to organic ligands or surfaces, is a major experimental challenge. Herein, we show a gram‐scale wet synthesis of Pt11+ stabilized in a confined space by a crystallographically well‐defined first water sphere, and with a second coordination sphere linked to a metal–organic framework (MOF) through electrostatic and H‐bonding interactions. The role of the water cluster is not only isolating and stabilizing the Pt atoms, but also regulating the charge of the metal and the adsorption of reactants. This is shown for the low‐temperature water–gas shift reaction (WGSR: CO + H2O → CO2 + H2), where both metal coordinated and H‐bonded water molecules trigger a double water attack mechanism to CO and give CO2 with both oxygen atoms coming from water. The stabilized Pt1+ single sites allow performing the WGSR at temperatures as low as 50 °C.This work was supported by the MINECO (Spain) (Projects CTQ2016–75671–P, MAT2013 40823–R, MAT2016–81732–ERC, CTQ2017–86735–P, MAT2017–86992–R, MAT2017–82288–C2–1–P and Excellence Units “Severo Ochoa” and “Maria de Maeztu” SEV–2016–0683 and MDM–2015–0538) the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEOII/2014/004) and the Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (Italy) and the Junta de Andalucía (FQM–195). M. M. and M.–A. R. C. thanks the MINECO for a predoctoral contract. Thanks are also extended to the Ramón y Cajal Program (E. V. R.–F., E. P. and J.–C. H.–G.) and the “Subprograma atracció de talent–contractes postdoctorals de la Universitat de Valencia” (J. F.–S.). M. L.–H. acknowledges the financial support from the Juan de la Cierva Fellowships Program of MINECO (IJCI–2014–19367)

Towards the high-accuracy determination of the 238U fission cross section at the threshold region at CERN - N-TOF

The 238U fission cross section is an international standard beyond 2 MeV where the fission plateau starts. However, due to its importance in fission reactors, this cross-section should be very accurately known also in the threshold region below 2 MeV. The 238U fission cross section has been measured relative to the 235U fission cross section at CERN - n-TOF with different detection systems. These datasets have been collected and suitably combined to increase the counting statistics in the threshold region from about 300 keV up to 3 MeV. The results are compared with other experimental data, evaluated libraries, and the IAEA standards

Helen Chadwick’s ‘Composite Images’

This article traces the considerations of British artist Helen Chadwick (1953–1996) regarding ‘composite images’ and the potential liberation they opened up in the gap between image and form, surface and spectator. These will be discussed as the author follows two apparently contrasting trajectories of her thought; while her considerations of the image, and her own image-making, tend increasingly towards ‘pure surface’, her ambitions for spectatorial positioning and agency increase. In parallel, while the epistemological underpinnings of her thinking become increasingly complex and dynamic, the role of (self)portraiture in her work moves away from the portrayal of her own, and later the recognisably human, body. These trajectories can be mapped (roughly) onto particular projects, beginning with Ego Geometria Sum (1982–1984), developing through Of Mutability (1984–1986) where she first used the photocopier to produce ‘automatic images’ and into her light-based installations, such as Blood Hyphen (1988)

Stability and Reversible Oxidation of Sub-Nanometric Cu5 Metal Clusters: Integrated Experimental Study and Theoretical Modeling**

Sub-nanometer metal clusters have special physical and chemical properties, significantly different from those of nanoparticles. However, there is a major concern about their thermal stability and susceptibility to oxidation. In situ X-ray Absorption spectroscopy and Near Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy results reveal that supported Cu5 clusters are resistant to irreversible oxidation at least up to 773 K, even in the presence of 0.15 mbar of oxygen. These experimental findings can be formally described by a theoretical model which combines dispersion-corrected DFT and first principles thermochemistry revealing that most of the adsorbed O2 molecules are transformed into superoxo and peroxo species by an interplay of collective charge transfer within the network of Cu atoms and large amplitude “breathing” motions. A chemical phase diagram for Cu oxidation states of the Cu5-oxygen system is presented, clearly different from the already known bulk and nano-structured chemistry of Cu

Synthesis of Densely Packaged, Ultrasmall Pt02Clusters within a Thioether-Functionalized MOF: Catalytic Activity in Industrial Reactions at Low Temperature

The gram\u2010scale synthesis, stabilization, and characterization of well\u2010defined ultrasmall subnanometric catalytic clusters on solids is a challenge. The chemical synthesis and X\u2010ray snapshots of Pt02 clusters, homogenously distributed and densely packaged within the channels of a metal\u2013organic framework, is presented. This hybrid material catalyzes efficiently, and even more importantly from an economic and environmental viewpoint, at low temperature (25 to 140\u2009\ub0C), energetically costly industrial reactions in the gas phase such as HCN production, CO2 methanation, and alkene hydrogenations. These results open the way for the design of precisely defined catalytically active ultrasmall metal clusters in solids for technically easier, cheaper, and dramatically less\u2010dangerous industrial reactions