The efficiency view of corporate boards: theory and evidence

We build a simple model in which corporate governance may allow for institutions acting as commitment devices (e.g., the introduction of independent and minority members in the board). The model predicts that the incentive to adopt an institution — letting the general interest of shareholders prevail over private benefits of control by dominant shareholders — is decreasing in ownership concentration and increasing in free cash flow. We take the predictions of our theoretical model to the data, by providing empirical evidence on the board structure of Italian listed companies over the period 2004-2007. We find that board composition favors independent members in firms where the free cash flow is large, and executive members in firms with high ownership concentration and in family firms, supporting the view of corporate governance as a mechanism to control agency costs. More ambiguous conclusions are reached as for the link between governance and firm value, as the presence of minority lists in the board appears to improve value while that of independent members reduces performance.corporate boards, agency problems, private benefits, firms’ performance.

«Le langage d’un homme qui aurait désiré plus de liberté pour son pays»: Foscolo, Mustoxidi e gli esuli pargioti

Del letterato corfiota Andrea Mustoxidi e dei suoi rapporti con Foscolo si è scritto finora in misura limitata, a causa di un ostacolo che non ha smesso di intralciare una ricognizione organica sull’argomento: lo stato di assoluta precarietà in cui versano le carte Mustoxidi nell’archivio diocesano della sua isola natale. Dinanzi al grave evento internazionale della crisi ionica, tuttavia, Mustoxidi non solo assunse il ruolo di spettatore e interprete privilegiato, grazie alla sua funzione di diplomatico e di agente del Ministero degli affari esteri russo, ma intese anche esprimere la propria valutazione storico-politica in uno scritto che godette di una buona risonanza e del quale fu attento lettore anche il suo vecchio maestro Vincenzo Monti. La crisi di Parga suscitò, com’è noto, anche le emozioni del Foscolo ‘inglese’, che a propria volta decise di misurarcisi stendendo un ampio scritto destinato alle stampe e in seguito abbandonato. L’articolo propone una sinossi delle idee che espressero i due testimoni della crisi ionica.Les spécialistes n’ont pas approfondi, jusqu’à présent, l’étude d’Andrea Mustoxidi, homme de lettres de Corfou, et de ses rapports avec Foscolo, à cause d’un obstacle qui ne cesse de s’opposer à une exploration de ces questions : la conservation tout à fait précaire des papiers de Mustoxidi dans les archives diocésaines de son île natale. Face à un événement international considérable tel que la crise ionienne, néanmoins, Mustoxidi ne joua pas seulement le rôle de spectateur et commentateur privilégié de par sa fonction diplomatique d’agent du ministère russe des Affaires étrangères, mais il se réjouit aussi d’exprimer son avis historico-politique à travers un ouvrage qui bénéficia d’une bonne résonance, ouvrage, d’ailleurs, dont l’ancien maître de Mustoxidi, Vincenzo Monti, se montra, lui aussi, lecteur intéressé. On sait très bien que la crise de Pargue provoqua également les réactions de Foscolo, réfugié en Grande-Bretagne, lequel décida à son tour de se mesurer avec la rédaction d’un ouvrage destiné à la publication mais abandonné par la suite à l’état d’inédit. Cet article propose un synopsis des opinions émises par ces deux témoins de la crise ionienne.Research on Andrea Mustoxidi, man of letters of Corfu, and on his relationships with Foscolo, has been hampered by the precarious conservation of his manuscripts in the diocesan archives of his native island. We know, however, that during such a major event as the Ionian crisis, Mustoxidi, who, as a diplomat of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affair, was a privileged witness and commentator, also expressed his historical and political point of view in a book that was read by Mustoxidi’s former master, Vincenzo Monti. Pargue’s crisis also elicited a strong reaction in Foscolo, then a refugee in Great Britain, who decided to write on it a book which remained unpublished. This paper provides an outline of the opinions expressed by these two witnesses of the Ionian crisis

Note al testo di due epistole esegetiche di Isidoro di Pelusio

L’articolo offre delle possibili migliorie al testo di due lettere esegetiche di Isidoro di Pelusio, la I 6 e la I 331, basate primariamente sul testo trasmesso dal codice Cryptoferratensis B.α.1. Nel primo caso (epist. I 6) viene proposto di stampare un sostantivo al posto di un verbo; nel secondo (epist. I 331), viene discussa la possibilità che un nome proprio presente nel testo stampato nella Patrologia Graeca derivi da una corruzione testuale che avrebbe lasciato traccia nel Cryptoferratensis

Il ruolo della SPECT in associazione a iofupane nella diagnosi della Malattia di Parkinson: i risultati di un’esperienza

According to the latest data, in Italy 200.000 patients are affected by the Parkinson’s Disease, and the trend is bound to go up. Generally the diagnosis, crucial in this pathology, is based on the clinic observation. But the absence of typical signs or symptoms increases the possibility of diagnostic mistakes. Ioflupane (DATSCAN ®) is a new diagnostic agent indicated for detecting loss of functional dopaminergic neuron terminals in the striatum of patients with clinically uncertain Parkinsonian Syndromes. The use of Ioflupane (DATSCAN ®) in association with the single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) allows to improve the diagnosis. Applying systematically this diagnostic model could cause a significant reduction in hospedalization cost, with less trouble for patients and a better quality of life. Aim of this study is to show the clinical and economic consequences of the use of Ioflupane (DATSCAN â) in association with SPECT as a new standard for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, considering the perspective of the National Heath System (NHS) and a single hospital structure

CO2 Adsorption in a Robust Iron(III) Pyrazolate-Based MOF: Molecular-Level Details and Frameworks Dynamics From Powder X-ray Diffraction Adsorption Isotherms

Understanding adsorption processes at the molecular level, with multi-technique approaches, is nowadays at the frontier of porous materials research. In this work it is shown that with a proper data treatment, in situ high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HR-PXRD) at variable temperature and gas pressure can reveal atomic details of the accommodation sites, the framework dynamics as well as thermodynamic information (isosteric heat of adsorption) of the CO2 adsorption process in the robust iron(III) pyrazolate-based MOF Fe2(BDP)3 [H2BDP = 1,4-bis(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)benzene]. Highly reliable "HR-PXRD adsorption isotherms" can be constructed from occupancy values of CO2 molecules. The "HR-PXRD adsorption isotherms" accurately match the results of conventional static and dynamic gas sorption experiments and Monte Carlo simulations. These results are indicative of the impact of the molecular-level behavior on the bulk properties of the system under study and of the potential of the presented multi-technique approach to understand adsorption processes in metal-organic frameworks

Intracranial pressure monitoring in intensive care: clinical advantages of a computerized system over manual recording

INTRODUCTION: The presence of intracranial hypertension (HICP) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects patient outcome. Intracranial pressure (ICP) data from electronic monitoring equipment are usually calculated and recorded hourly in the clinical chart by trained nurses. Little is known, however, about how precisely this method reflects the real patterns of ICP after severe TBI. In this study, we compared hourly manual recording with a validated and continuous computerized reference standard. METHODS: Thirty randomly selected patients with severe TBI and HICP admitted to the neuroscience intensive care unit (Policlinico University Hospital, Milan, Italy) were retrospectively studied. A 24-hour interval with ICP monitoring was randomly selected for each patient. The manually recorded data available for analysis covered 672 hours corresponding to 36,492 digital data points. The two methods were evaluated using the correlation coefficient and the Bland and Altman method. We used the proportion test to analyze differences in the number of episodes of HICP (ICP > 20 mm Hg) detected with the two methods and the paired t test to analyze differences in the percentage of time of HICP. RESULTS: There was good agreement between the digitally collected ICP and the manual recordings of the end-hour values. Bland and Altman analysis confirmed a mean difference between the two methods of 0.05 mm Hg (standard deviation 3.66); 96% of data were within the limits of agreement (+7.37 and -7.28). The average percentages of time of ICP greater than 20 mm Hg were 39% calculated from the digital measurements and 34% from the manual observations. From the continuous digital recording, we identified 351 episodes of ICP greater than 20 mm Hg lasting at least five minutes and 287 similar episodes lasting at least ten minutes. Conversely, end-hour ICP of greater than 20 mm Hg was observed in only 204 cases using manual recording methods. CONCLUSION: Although manually recorded end-hour ICP accurately reflected the computerized end-hour and mean hour values, the important omission of a number of episodes of high ICP, some of long duration, results in a clinical picture that is not accurate or informative of the true pattern of unstable ICP in patients with TBI