Innovazioni made in Italy nel management alberghiero. La realt\ue0 degli "alberghi diffusi"

Le evoluzioni in atto nel mondo del turismo sembrano aprire nuovi orizzonti alla qualificazione dei servizi recettivi, sia alberghieri sia extraalberghieri. Particolarmente, la tendenza, almeno tra le popolazioni economicamente pi\uf9 evolute, a dare maggiore enfasi alla qualit\ue0 della vita e, conseguentemente, alla dimensioni pi\uf9 qualitativa del tempo libero che si intende dedicare ad attivit\ue0 turistiche, sembra sollecitare ripensamenti nei modelli in uso in questo particolare ambito. Si assiste, da un lato, ad una richiesta di servizi ricettivi personalizzati e di pi\uf9 elevata qualit\ue0, dall'altro lato ad un turista sempre pi\uf9 sensibile agli aspetti culturali ed esperenziali della propria vita, aperto alla riscoperta del territorio e delle sue autenticit\ue0. Se l'albergo deve offrire esperienze nuove e differenziate di ospitalit\ue0, allora deve partire non gi\ue0 dalla gestione dello "spazio", bens\uec dalla gestione del tempo "co-vissuto" dall'ospite nel processo di produzione-erogazione del servizio offerto. Lo \u201cspazio\u201d (edificio) resta importante ma in via strumentale. Obiettivo di questo lavoro \ue8 evidenziare la centralit\ue0 del fattore tempo e l'opportunit\ue0 di considerarlo legato alla conoscenza e alla leadership nell'impresa alberghiera, specie allorch\ue9 si ponga il problema dell\u2019innovazione. Siffatto legame, finora poco approfondito negli studi sull\u2019argomento, pu\uf2 rivelarsi prezioso sotto un duplice profilo. Esso infatti, se ben gestito, pu\uf2 favorire non solo la qualit\ue0 delle relazioni all\u2019interno dell\u2019albergo, preservandone l\u2019unit\ue0 e l\u2019integrit\ue0 sistemica, ma anche e soprattutto un orientamento culturale alla coevoluzione impresa-ambiente. La leadership, intesa come forza integratrice di valori ed esigenze anche cognitive e temporali, esistenti dentro e fuori l\u2019impresa, pu\uf2 svolgere un ruolo rilevante nel favorire coerenze dinamiche tra l\u2019impresa e l\u2019ambiente, anche nell\u2019ottica della sostenibilit\ue0. Oggetto privilegiato dell\u2019analisi sono le imprese alberghiere di piccole e medie dimensioni, realt\ue0 prevalente nel comparto ricettivo in Italia, a fronte di una pressione competitiva che si rivela sempre pi\uf9 forte dal punto di vista sia quantitativo sia qualitativo e di fatto globale. Si presenta quindi il caso dell\u2019 \u201calbergo diffuso\u201d Sextantio, apprezzato nel mondo per l\u2019innovativit\ue0 della sua formula imprenditoriale, analizzandone le ricadute in termini di competitivit\ue0 dell\u2019impresa e della destinazione turistica

Adsorption of rare-gas atoms on Cu(111) and Pb(111) surfaces by van der Waals-corrected Density Functional Theory

The DFT/vdW-WF method, recently developed to include the Van der Waals interactions in Density Functional Theory (DFT) using the Maximally Localized Wannier functions, is applied to the study of the adsorption of rare-gas atoms (Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) on the Cu(111) and Pb(111) surfaces, at three high-symmetry sites. We evaluate the equilibrium binding energies and distances, and the induced work-function changes and dipole moments. We find that, for Ne, Ar, and Kr on the Cu(111) surface the different adsorption configurations are characterized by very similar binding energies, while the favored adsorption site for Xe on Cu(111) is on top of a Cu atom, in agreement with previous theoretical calculations and experimental findings, and in common with other close-packed metal surfaces. Instead, the favored site is always the hollow one on the Pb(111) surface, which therefore represents an interesting system where the investigation of high-coordination sites is possible. Moreover, the Pb(111) substrate is subject, upon rare-gas adsorption, to a significantly smaller change in the work function (and to a correspondingly smaller induced dipole moment) than Cu(111). The role of the chosen reference DFT functional and of different Van der Waals corrections, and their dependence on different rare-gas adatoms, are also discussed

Robertsonian translocation in a Chianine cow and in its offspring

International audienc

Assessment of limits for racing speed in the Italian trotter population

The current world record for trotter is 68.0 s/km, that is better than the estimates of record limit reported in literature (68.2 s/km for males and 69.1 s/km for females in Swedish Trotters): this is way the record limit was investigated in Italian Trotter using the same methodology applied to Swedish Trotter. The best racing times of 30'587 3-5 year old Italian Trotters, recorded between January 1st, 1992, and October 31th, 2009, have been log transformed to check for trends and asymptotic limit: a positive trend is present, and limits of 61.8 s/km and 62.8 s/km have been respectively estimated for males and females. The Generalized Extreme Value theory, applied to the 3-year old winners of the Italian Trot Derby, estimates a limit of 64.7 s/km. These results indicate that the limit for racing speed is still far from actual values

Imprese agricole, territorio e turismo in sinergia per lo sviluppo sostenibile

The aim of this paper is to understand the role played by Italian farms in the local sustainable development processes, through the analysis of the agritourism phenomenon. In order to do so, the study proposes an integrated and dynamic vision of the three sustainability dimensions, focusing on the relationship between farms, territories and tourists in a co-evolutionary perspective. The proposed framework is tested through the analysis of ten case studies localized in the Lazio region. Findings show that farms, through the strategic choice of agritourism, activate sustainability-oriented synergies based on effective co-evolutionary adaptations between multiple actors, improving the territories competitiveness with positive effects on the social wellbeing. Common vision and both ethical and moral values are the fundamental pre-requisites to realize these synergies. Overall, the study adds new elements on the sustainability literature. Thus, both theoretical and managerial implications emerge, together with suggestions for future research

On the use of elo rating on harness racing results in the genetic evaluation of trotter

The official results of trotters in Italian harness racings have been used to get AM-BLUP estimates of genetic parameters, EBVs and rTI of three groups of traits: speed (racing time, annual best time, best time in career between 2- and 5-year old), earnings (earnings/start, annual earnings, total earnings between 2- and 5- year old) and Elo system traits (underlying performance and final rating). The Elo system has been used for half a century in chess players rating, and it has been modified and fitted to several games and sports: it has already been used for genetic evaluation of sport horses in France. The highest heritability estimates in each group of traits have been found for best time (.430±.014), total earnings (.271±.013) and Elo final rating (.270±.008). The choice of "k", the Elo ratings updating factor, did not show a key role in affecting the results. The underlying performance heritability and repeatability have been estimated .159±.004 and .420±.007 respectively. The Elo-based systems proved to be very promising in objectively evaluating trotters

Adsorption of benzene on Si(100) from first principles

Adsorption of benzene on the Si(100) surface is studied from first principles. We find that the most stable configuration is a tetra-$\sigma$-bonded structure characterized by one C-C double bond and four C-Si bonds. A similar structure, obtained by rotating the benzene molecule by 90 degrees, lies slightly higher in energy. However, rather narrow wells on the potential energy surface characterize these adsorption configurations. A benzene molecule impinging on the Si surface is most likely to be adsorbed in one of three different di-$\sigma$-bonded, metastable structures, characterized by two C-Si bonds, and eventually converts into the lowest-energy configurations. These results are consistent with recent experiments.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 2 PostScript gzipped figure

An anomalous alloy: Y_x Si_{1-x}

We study via density functional-based molecular dynamics the structural and dynamical properties of the rare earth silicon amorphous alloy Y_xSi_{1-x} for x=0.093 and x=0.156. The Si network forms cavities in which a Y^{3+} cation is entrapped. Its electrons are transferred to the Si network and are located in the dangling bonds of the Si atoms that line the Y cavities. This leads to the presence of low coordinated Si atoms that can be described as monovalent or divalent anions. For x=0.156, the cavities touch each other and share Si atoms that have two dangling bonds. The vibrational spectrum is similar to that of amorphous Si. However, doping induces a shoulder at 70 cm^{-1} and a pronounced peak at 180 cm^{-1} due to low coordinated Si.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Letteratura e prospettive emergenti sul rapporto fra innovazione e competizione fra imprese

L'obiettivo del lavoro è di identificare e argomentare i contributi più significativi pubblicati nelle riviste Research Policy e European Journal of Innovation Management, rilevanti ai fini di una interpretazione del rapporto tra innovazione e competitività. Alcuni principali temi emersi dallo studio sono: 1) l'evoluzione da innovazione di prodotto a innovazione di mercato; 2) i requisiti per l'implementazione dell'innovazione; 3) i fenomeni di "conservazione" nell'impresa; 4) l'innovazione come "solution provider"; 5) "solution innovation" come nuovo paradigma per la competitività; 6) gli orientamenti all'innovazione. L'analisi dei contributi permette di individuare alcune interessanti ambiti per future ricerche