Establishing, or Failing? That Is the (Puzzling) Question. An Attempt to Introduce a Complementary Currency

In 2015–16 in Valle d'Aosta – a small autonomous region in northwestern Italy – some local politicians entered into dialogue with each other and the population on the suitability of a complementary currency in the regional territory. Despite the willingness of the promoters, the complementary currency was not launched in the end, partly for contingent reasons (regarding, inter alia, the definition of new political priorities and alliances), partly because of issues that were structural in nature: i.e. lack of structural embeddedness hindering collective action, inter-group ties and personal trust; and a low degree of institutional trust and of institutional transparency. Taking this case into account, this article aims to deepen understanding of the socio-institutional conditions that may favor or, on the contrary, hinder monetary innovation in a local context. Specifically, we highlight the lack of compactness of the proposal – concerning objectives, timing and territorial scale of implementation – and the emergence of a logic of competition with other political and entrepreneurial actors of the territory as the main weaknesses of the project. Furthermore, we show that a balance between the public and private spheres, leading to a heterophile and polycentric network, is needed in order to facilitate the implementation of a complementary currency

A novel mechanical analogy based battery model for SoC estimation using a multi-cell EKF

The future evolution of technological systems dedicated to improve energy efficiency will strongly depend on effective and reliable Energy Storage Systems, as key components for Smart Grids, microgrids and electric mobility. Besides possible improvements in chemical materials and cells design, the Battery Management System is the most important electronic device that improves the reliability of a battery pack. In fact, a precise State of Charge (SoC) estimation allows the energy flows controller to exploit better the full capacity of each cell. In this paper, we propose an alternative definition for the SoC, explaining the rationales by a mechanical analogy. We introduce a novel cell model, conceived as a series of three electric dipoles, together with a procedure for parameters estimation relying only on voltage measures and a given current profile. The three dipoles represent the quasi-stationary, the dynamics and the istantaneous components of voltage measures. An Extended Kalman Filer (EKF) is adopted as a nonlinear state estimator. Moreover, we propose a multi-cell EKF system based on a round-robin approach to allow the same processing block to keep track of many cells at the same time. Performance tests with a prototype battery pack composed by 18 A123 cells connected in series show encouraging results.Comment: 8 page, 12 figures, 1 tabl

Governance, Innovation, Profitability, and Credit Risk: Evidence from Italian manufacturing firms

The research focuses attention on companies in the chemical-plastic sector, investigating corporate governance, investment and financing decisions, innovation, profitability, and credit risk. The investigation method used is mixed. The data and information were extracted from official databases and from a structured questionnaire. The stratified random method was used for sampling. 178 firms are included in the sample. The results show a prevalence of companies owned by a single person or a limited number of shareholders (in some cases of the same family), where the owners centralize decision-making power. Companies have a strong propensity to invest in innovation. Investments are mainly financed by self-financing or equity capital. The analysis of the causal relationships highlights further significant aspects relating to credit risk, profitability and innovation

Corporate Governance, Investment, Profitability and Insolvency Risk: Evidence from Italy

The research aims to study the structural and functional characteristics of food and beverage companies, focusing on corporate governance, investment and financing decisions, innovation, profitability, and risk of insolvency. The analysis is based on a mixed type investigation method carried out on a random stratified sample of 274 firms. The empirical findings reveal that a large prevalence of companies is owned by a single person or by a limited number of partners (often of the same family). Owners and their families centralize decision-making power. The prevalence of companies made investment in innovation. The investments are mainly financed (78%) by the self-financing or by shareholders' capital. The investigation of the causal relationships that link corporate risk, profitability, and the propensity to invest and innovate with the other explanatory variables of business management highlighted further significant aspects

Shaping space. A conceptual framework on the connections between organised crime groups and territories

This paper, which is the introduction to this special issue on ‘Spaces of Organised Crime’, aims to analyse the nexus between organised crime groups and territories. Such groups are able to exploit resources that circulate within territorial contexts in which they are embedded. They also operate concretely as entities that can take part to the transformation of spaces into places. Accordingly, we will lay out an analytical model about the processes through which organised crime groups contribute to create and shape territories. We show how these processes link with the main types of organised crime groups on a differentiated basis. In the last section of this introduction, we present the papers included in the special issue and the logic connecting them to one another