Concorrenza e collusione nei mercati italiani: aspetti teorici ed evidenze empiriche

Il coordinamento delle strategie tra player rivali può avere per oggetto e/o per effetto quello di falsare il gioco della concorrenza, con conseguenze negative per il mercato e per i consumatori. Come estensivamente evidenziato in letteratura, gli aspetti strutturali impattano sulla capacità delle imprese di abusare collettivamente del proprio potere di mercato. In particolare, la realizzazione di cartelli e la stabilità di tali accordi nel tempo sono tanto più probabili quanto minore è il numero dei giocatori attivi nell’industria e, quindi, quanto maggiore è il grado di concentrazione della stessa. Tuttavia, diversi altri elementi possono favorire (o ostacolare) fenomeni collusivi. Il presente contributo approfondisce un tema poco esplorato in letteratura, analizzando la presenza di alterazioni del processo competitivo anche all’interno di settori strutturalmente polverizzati - tipicamente, in diversi rami dell’industria manifatturiera e agroalimentare italiana, nonché all’interno di alcuni settori fortemente regolamentati. In secondo luogo, lo studio rivela che in tali settori vi è un limitato ricircolo di iniziative imprenditoriali. Lo scarso turnover all’interno dei mercati rallenta il processo concorrenziale e contribuisce a spiegare l’esistenza di cartelli. I risultati offrono utili spunti di riflessione per gli studiosi e i policy-makers che si interessano di concorrenza e regolamentazione dei mercati. Tra le implicazioni pratiche, il contributo evidenzia la necessità di interventi di politica economica nei settori "dispersi". Tali interventi dovrebbero avere l’obiettivo di promuovere l’efficienza delle PMI anche attraverso processi di aggregazione. Inoltre, uno snellimento della regolamentazione che caratterizza alcuni ordini professionali potrebbe stimolare la concorrenza, statica e dinamica

La Figlia di Iorio di Gabriele D'Annunzio e Francesco Paolo Michetti: la rappresentazione letteraria e visiva come "pre-testo" per una lettura musicale

EnIn the first half of the XX century the knowledge and the recovery of faraway cultures or those normally foreign to the western cultivated milieus brought about the development of a musical style characterized by the taste of exoticism and archaism. This aspect was not only perceived in the musical field but also in the arts in general. At Francavilla al Mare (Chieti) in the former Franciscan convent of Santa Maria del Gesù, the painter Francesco Paolo Michetti together with other artists shared the project to reach a form of art which would synthesize their different experiences and focus on the theme of nature and the Abruzzo people. These common interests brought about the meeting between Gabriele D'Annunzio and Michetti, opening the way to the rustic tragedy The daughter of Iorio. This play, full of visual and musical expressions, was characterized by an exotic dimension, overflowing with colour, rhythm, light and folk songs.This paper focuses on the link between visual, literary and musical representations of La figlia di Iorio, with particular emphasis on the music and on the several recreations stimulated by this subject playing the role of 'pre-text' during the twentieth century.ItNella prima metà del XX secolo la conoscenza, il recupero e la considerazione di culture distanti o normalmente estranee all’ambito occidentale colto, costituirono la spinta verso un’espressione musicale caratterizzata dall’arcaismo, dal gusto del primordiale e dell’esotico. Tale urgenza fu avvertita non solo nell’ambito musicale ma anche in quello più generale delle arti tutte.A Francavilla al Mare, (Chieti) nell’ex convento francescano di S. Maria del Gesù, il pittore Francesco Paolo Michetti condivise con altri artisti il progetto di giungere a una forma d’arte che sintetizzasse le loro diverse esperienze e che avesse come temi la natura e la gente d’Abruzzo. Da questi interessi comuni si generò l’incontro tra Gabriele D’Annunzio e Michetti, aprendo la strada alla tragedia rustica La figlia di Iorio, densa di espressioni visive e musicali caratterizzate da una dimensione esotica e multiforme, traboccante di colori, ritmo, luce e canti popolari. Il contributo intende indagare su La figlia di Iorio, con particolare riguardo al rapporto che intercorre tra le rappresentazioni visive, letterarie e musicali ad essa relative e con uno sguardo privilegiato alla musica e alle numerose ricreazioni che tale soggetto ha sollecitato nel corso del Novecento, giocando il ruolo di ‘pre-testo’

A generic method to develop simulation models for ambulance systems

In this paper, we address the question of generic simulation models and their role in improving emergency care around the world. After reviewing the development of ambulance models and the contexts in which they have been applied, we report the construction of a reusable model for ambulance systems. Further, we describe the associated parameters, data sources, and performance measures, and report on the collection of information, as well as the use of optimisation to configure the service to best effect. Having developed the model, we have validated it using real data from the emergency medical system in a Brazilian city, Belo Horizonte. To illustrate the benefits of standardisation and reusability we apply the model to a UK context by exploring how different rules of engagement would change the performance of the system. Finally, we consider the impact that one might observe if such rules were adopted by the Brazilian system

School refusal behavior. role of personality styles, social functioning, and psychiatric symptoms in a sample of adolescent help-seekers

Objective: School refusal (SR) in adolescence represents an important risk factor associated with adverse consequences. Although many clinical features of adolescents presenting with SR have been studied, the relationship between SR and personality styles-specifically in the help-seeking population-remains unclear. The present study aimed at investigating differences in personality style, adaptive functioning, and symptomology between Italian help-seeking adolescents who refused (SRa) and did not refuse (non-SRa) to attend school, to provide preliminary evidence of personality patterns in adolescent help-seekers presenting with SR.Method: The study sample was comprised of 103 help-seeking adolescents (54 female, 49 male) aged 14-18 years. Participants were recruited during their first clinical visit and evaluated using the Shedler and Westen Assessment Procedure - Adolescent version (SWAP-A), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A), the Maniac Rating Scale (MRS), the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), the Global Functioning Social Scale (GFSS), and the Global Functioning Role Scale (GFRS). Differences in the studied variables between SRa and non-SRa were measured and a multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify possible predictive factors of SR.Results: SRa presented with more anxious and depressive symptomatology and worse social functioning compared to non-SRa. With respect to personality, SRa displayed more schizoid and schizotypal characteristics and fewer adaptive and healthy personality features. Irrespective of any differences between groups, SRa were largely characterized by inhibited-self-constricted and emotionally dysregulated personality styles.Conclusions: The results suggest that personality styles arc clinical features that may contribute to broadening our knowledge of SR behavior and aid in the detection of SRa, also in the help-seeking population. The findings have clinical, social, and political implications for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, in both clinical and non-clinical settings. However, more data are needed on personality features to clarify their contribution to the more complex phenomenon of school absenteeism

Exploring pig trade patterns to inform the design of risk-based disease surveillance and control strategies

An understanding of the patterns of animal contact networks provides essential information for the design of risk-based animal disease surveillance and control strategies. This study characterises pig movements throughout England and Wales between 2009 and 2013 with a view to characterising spatial and temporal patterns, network topology and trade communities. Data were extracted from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)’s RADAR (Rapid Analysis and Detection of Animal-related Risks) database, and analysed using descriptive and network approaches. A total of 61,937,855 pigs were moved through 872,493 movements of batches in England and Wales during the 5-year study period. Results show that the network exhibited scale-free and small-world topologies, indicating the potential for diseases to quickly spread within the pig industry. The findings also provide suggestions for how risk-based surveillance strategies could be optimised in the country by taking account of highly connected holdings, geographical regions and time periods with the greatest number of movements and pigs moved, as these are likely to be at higher risk for disease introduction. This study is also the first attempt to identify trade communities in the country, information which could be used to facilitate the pig trade and maintain disease-free status across the country in the event of an outbreak

Location analysis of emergency vehicles using an approximate queueing model

In this study, location analysis of emergency system vehicles is discussed using an approximate queueing model (AQM) on fully connected networks. We relax single vehicle restriction in each vehicle location which is commonly employed in the literature. Order of districting structure is used to transition rates in AQM. Service rates are computed regarding the location of the demand call and the vehicle, which provides higher resolution than inter-intra district service rates. Generic rate formulations are delivered for service rate calculations. A coverage threshold is used and all location solutions for a problem instance having a higher coverage than the threshold are analyzed. Mean response time for these solutions are found using AQM and an exact simulation model. Mean absolute percent error for mean response time is reported against different order of districting levels and network specific variables such as distribution of demand over the area, traffic intensity or the number of vehicles. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

Otimização da configuração e operação de sistemas médicos emergenciais em rodovias utilizando o modelo hipercubo.

The purpose of this study is to develop effective methods to analyze the configuration and operation of the emergency medical systems (EMS) on highways. Due to the stochastic nature of these systems, especially in the arrival and assistance processes of the emergency calls, we apply the Hypercube Queuing Model to evaluate the performance measures of the system. This is a well-known model in the location literature, which is based on spatially distributed queuing theory. The EMS on highways operate within a particular dispatching policy which considers that only some ambulances in the system can travel to certain regions (partial backup) and multiple dispatch of ambulances to respond to certain calls. In this study we extend the Hypercube model to deal with these situations. Since the Hypercube model is a descriptive model, we also develop a Hypercube embedded genetic algorithm to create a prescriptive approach to optimize the configuration and operation of EMS on highways. This approach can support decisions at the strategic level, for example, the location of ambulances along the highway and the primary response area to each ambulance, as well as, decisions on the operational level, for example, the optimal dispatch policy of ambulances to respond to the emergency calls and the coverage area to each ambulance (if the system configuration can be modified according to the operational conditions of the week or the day). In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, we conducted experiments using the data of two realsystems: the EMS Anjos do Asfalto (Presidente Dutra highway) and EMS Centrovias (portions of the highways Washington Luis, Eng. Paulo Nilo Romano e Comandante João Ribeiro de Barros) in São Paulo State. The results show that the approach is effective to support planning and operation decisions in such systems.Financiadora de Estudos e ProjetosO objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver métodos efetivos para analisar a configuração e operação de sistemas de atendimento emergencial (SAEs) em rodovias. Devido às características estocásticas de tais sistemas, principalmente nos processos de chegada e atendimento dos chamados de emergência, aplicamos o modelo Hipercubo para analisar as medidas de desempenho do sistema. Este modelo, conhecido na literatura de localização de sistemas de emergência, é baseado em teoria de filas espacialmente distribuídas. Os SAEs em rodovia operam com uma política de despacho particular, a qual admite que apenas algumas ambulâncias do sistema possam viajar a determinadas regiões (backup parcial) e utiliza múltiplo despacho de ambulâncias para atender a certas chamadas. Neste trabalho estendemos o modelo Hipercubo para analisar tais situações. Como o modelo Hipercubo é descritivo, combinamos estas extensões do modelo Hipercubo com um algoritmo genético para obter uma abordagem prescritiva capaz de otimizar a configuração e operação de SAEs em rodovias. Tal abordagem pode ser útil para apoiar decisões no plano estratégico, por exemplo, a localização das bases das ambulâncias ao longo da rodovia e o dimensionamento das regiões de cobertura de cada base. Assim como apoiar decisões no plano operacional, por exemplo, a escolha da política de despacho das ambulâncias para atender chamados de urgência e a determinação das áreas de cobertura de cada servidor (quando a configuração do sistema puder ser alterada de acordo com as condições operacionais de uma semana ou de um dia). Para analisar o desempenho desta abordagem, realizamos estudos de casos com dados reais do sistema Anjos do Asfalto (rodovia Presidente Dutra) e da concessionária Centrovias (trechos das rodovias Washington Luis, Eng. Paulo Nilo Romano e Comandante João Ribeiro de Barros), no interior de São Paulo. Os resultados mostram que a abordagem é efetiva para apoiar decisões relacionadas ao planejamento e operação destes sistemas