Do comic book and television portrayals of crime and violence cause juvenile delinquency?: a survey of pro and con arguments and studies of the last ten years, 1949-1959

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University, 196

Analysis of peripheral industrial areas via multidimensional scaling: the EU case

Nel presente lavoro si propone la tecnica del multidimensional scaling non metrico come strumento per evidenziare aree industriali dell'Europa dell'est che, per ragioni logistiche ed infrastrutturali, risultano essere particolarmente decentrate rispetto a quelle dell'Europa occidental

Customer Loyalty Analysis in an heterogeneus market: a comparison between a priori segmentation and model based segmentation

Aim of Customer Loyalty Analysis is detecting suitable strategies to make loyal a customer. Like in Customer Satisfaction Analysis PLS-Path Modeling (PLSPM) is a suitable technique. As PLS-PM assumes homogeneity over population and customers\u2019 behaviors are different about loyalty, a PLS-Path model should be run in each homogeneous subgroup. Nevertheless these groups are not known. Then two way are possible: to use an a priori marketing segmentation or to adopt a model-based segmentation. The paper presents a short reflection on these different approaches

Why genes overlap in viruses

The genomes of most virus species have overlapping genes\u2014two or more proteins coded for by the same nucleotide sequence. Several explanations have been proposed for the evolution of this phenomenon, and we test these by comparing the amount of gene overlap in all known virus species. We conclude that gene overlap is unlikely to have evolved as a way of compressing the genome in response to the harmful effect of mutation because RNA viruses, despite having generally higher mutation rates, have less gene overlap on average than DNA viruses of comparable genome length. However, we do find a negative relationship between overlap proportion and genome length among viruses with icosahedral capsids, but not among those with other capsid types that we consider easier to enlarge in size. Our interpretation is that a physical constraint on genome length by the capsid has led to gene overlap evolving as a mechanism for producing more proteins from the same genome length. We consider that these patterns cannot be explained by other factors, namely the possible roles of overlap in transcription regulation, generating more divergent proteins and the relationship between gene length and genome length

A client loyalty model for services supplied for middle-long periods

The paper describes a standard model for customer loyalty evaluation of services based on a continuing relationship with the provider. The relationship terminates when the customer shows a clear unloyalty behavior (switching to another provider or not using the service). Two different dimensions of loyaltyare considered: Behavioral Loyalty and Attitudinal Loyalty, that are analyzed in relation to Trust, Convenience, Overall Satisfaction and Inertia. The methodology is based on the Structural Equation Models

A customer loyalty model for services based on a continuing relationship with the provider

In the present paper we propose a standard model for customer loyalty evaluation of services based on a continuing relationship with the provider. The relationship terminates when the customer shows a clear unloyalty behavior (switching to another provider or not using the service). We consider two different dimensions of loyalty: Behavioral Loyalty and Attitudinal Loyalty, that we suggest to analyze in relation to Trust, Convenience, Overall Satisfaction and Inertia. The methodology is based on the Structural Equation Models

Breakthroughs in the management accounting science: imaging a balanced scorecard thought by lean philosophy rationales

This work aims at providing a proposal for a new way of conducting the balanced scorecard (BSC), assuming a model that fulfils the leading features of lean philosophy and designing a research strategy that could explain how to act for arguing a "Lean-Balanced Scorecard". Management solutions inclined towards lean thinking try to solve contemporary worldwide market challenges by focusing on a virtuous corporate functioning, thanks to a shared philosophy that relies entirely on the minimization of any kind of waste: their main target is to achieve business goals in a way that is absolutely flexible and can be shared at any strategy level within the firm. In the transition towards new management accounting paradigms, might the use of the BSC enhance information processing, useful for spreading lean thinking all over the firm, and for testing its effects? Moreover, thanks to lean thinking, might we suppose improvements related to the BSC functioning, by streamlining that information processing? According to the literature, little is known about how to answer these questions. By answering them, however, we may find innovative solutions towards a better measuring process of firm success-especially from the perspectives of integrated management reporting activities in turbulent times

Vulnerabilità del territorio vesuviano a fenomeni meteorologici attraverso l’analisi quantitativa di fattori geologici ed antropici.

In questo lavoro viene descritta l’applicazione al territorio vesuviano di una metodologia di analisi geomorfologico-quantitativa multiparametrica da DTM (Digital Terrain Model) di dettaglio (5x5m) in ambiente GIS, utilizzando procedure di analisi e tecniche di valutazione della vulnerabilità a fenomeni meteorologici che tengano conto della complessità dell’assetto geologico, geomorfologico, urbanistico ed economico dell’area. Il risultato del lavoro è stato la realizzazione di mappe di vulnerabilità idrogeologica prodotte tenendo conto delle mutue relazioni tra fattori territoriali ed antropici. L’obiettivo di questo studio è stato sviluppare un sistema di analisi utile alla valutazione del rischio idrogeologico ed al suo controllo e prevenzione, considerato che negli ultimi anni si e’ assistito ad incrementi rilevanti e disordinati dell’urbanizzazione nell’area vesuviana, per la maggior parte abusiva e con forti carenze strutturali, che, unitamente ad eventi piovosi particolarmente intensi nonché alle caratteristiche geologico-geomorfologiche del territorio, hanno causato eventi franosi parossistici come quelli dei comuni di Sarno, Episcopia e Bracigliano. L’area di indagine, rappresentata dal complesso vulcanico del Somma–Vesuvio in Campania, è densamente abitata (2500 abitanti per km2) ed oltre ad essere ad alto rischio vulcanico è anche esposta ad alto rischio idrogeologico come dimostrato dalle ripetute esondazioni disastrose fin dall’epoca storica (Accardo et al., 1981; Catenacci et al., 1992). La conoscenza dell’assetto geologico e geomorfologico del complesso Somma-Vesuvio è necessaria per una corretta individuazione dei parametri utili per questo studio. Un esempio è quello della caratterizzazione dei versanti del vulcano, fattore di notevole importanza per la valutazione del rischio idrogeologico, sia per la pendenza che per le loro caratteristiche morfologiche superficiali. Il primo parametro geomorfologico adottato per l’applicazione della metodologia (Tagil and Jenness, 2008) è stato l’indice di posizione topografica (TPI, Topographic Position Index) che ha consentito una classificazione del paesaggio sia in base alla distribuzione areale delle pendenze (slope position) che in classi uniformi di paesaggio (landform classes). La classificazione finale è stata adeguata al particolare paesaggio oggetto di studio, che è di tipo vulcanico. L’analisi della vulnerabilità è stata condotta tenendo conto della permeabilità del suolo e dei dati pluviometrici in quanto possibili fattori predisponenti al dissesto idrogeologico. Il GIS ha rappresentato lo strumento necessario per gestire dati di tipo diverso ed effettuarne l’analisi e la rappresentazione congiunta. Il software utilizzato è stato ArcGis (9.3) e attraverso l’applicazione Spatial Analyst è stato possibile estrarre dati ed informazioni nuove che non sarebbe stato possibile ottenere con l’analisi geomorfologica classica da cartografia su supporto cartaceo. La realizzazione di mappe di vulnerabilità idrogeologica dell’area del Somma-Vesuvio, ottenute stabilendo le relazioni tra i vari fattori incidenti con l’ausilio di metodologie note (Cherubini et al., 2006), ha rappresentato uno dei risultati del lavoro. Le interrelazioni tra i vari fattori (geologico, geomorfologico, idrogeologico, urbanistico) mostrate dalle mappe prodotte costituiscono uno strumento indispensabile per monitorare il rischio territoriale e per poter intervenire laddove venga superata una soglia di rischio ritenuta accettabile

The role of the environmental dimension in the performance management system: A systematic review and conceptual framework

The issues of sustainable development and green practices have received increased attention in recent decades. More and more companies are moving towards a strategic approach designed to integrate environmental considerations into their strategies. Nevertheless, a difficulty still remains in the strategic alignment between the environmental dimension of sustainability and performance management system (PMS). In this context, a 'state-of-the-art' analysis of related literature was used to support future research to develop integration of effective approaches and solutions. To achieve this objective, the authors sought to develop a clear picture about the key drivers of the integration process between the environmental dimension and PMS, and to identify the missing concepts, research challenges and opportunities. The authors systematically reviewed 71 English-language scientific papers published between 2002 and 2020, and identified the missing concepts by means of content analysis. The authors found a growing trend in the 18-year period of increasing theoretical research on environmental issues, but a gap was found in developing practical solutions. The findings were used to develop a conceptual model for integrating environmental drivers that emerged from the analysis in an early stage of strategy formulation, through a scorecard-based tool aimed at supporting strategic alignment. This study provides a novel and original framework for exploring environment aspect and PMS approach. We also propose a future research agenda and useful recommendations for scholars and practitioners. It lays a firm foundation for future studies and research debates. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Permeabilization of \u3ci\u3eCochliomyia hominivorax\u3c/i\u3e (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Embryos

Embryos of the primary screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), were successfully permeabilized for use in subsequent cryopreservation studies. Mortality was greater for eggs incubated for\u3c5 h before treatment. The mean survival of embryos to first instars was 55.7, 61.1, and 62.6% when the embryos were incubated for 5, 5.5, and 6 h before treatment, respectively. The survival to the pupal and adult stages was low. An improved media for culturing the embryos during and immediately after treatment needs to be devised and the procedure for rearing the larval stages also needs to be altered to improve survival for emerging adults