Employment, Technology and Institutions in the Process of Structural Change. A History of Economic Thought Perspective

The present issue of the Working Papers series of the Dipartimento di Economia Politica at Milano- Bicocca reproduces the contributions presented at the mid-year ESHET Conference which took place at the Universities of Pavia and Milano-Bicocca on 16 and 17 November 2001. The program was arranged jointly by Gianni Vaggi and Pier Luigi Porta and the Conference was jointly organised by ESHET with the Department of Political Economy and Quantitative Methods of the University of Pavia and the Department of Political Economy of the University of Milano-Bicocca. The idea around which the Conference was built referred basically to Luigi Pasinetti’s conception of structural change and structural dynamics in a history-of-thought perspective. Luigi Pasinetti, Eshet’s first President, opened the Conference at the University of Pavia. The program included two sessions taking half a day each: the opening session was in Pavia on 16 November 2001 and the final session in Milan the 17 November. Luigi Pasinetti chaired the session held at the University of Pavia and Andrew Skinner was the chairman in Milan.

An ecological survey of the Gulf of Naples area : conducted during September 15 to October 15, 1976, for the Region of Campania

Submitted to Assessore Dr. Silvio Pavia, Region of Campania, Naples, Italy 80100, June 20, 1977Marine Scienc

Field rules and bias in random surveys with quota samples. An assessment of CIS surveys

Surveys applying quota sampling in their final step are widely used in opinion and market research all over the world. This is also the case in Spain, where the surveys carried out by CIS (a public institution for sociological research supported by the government) have become a point of reference. The rules used by CIS to select individuals within quotas, however, could be improved as they lead to biases in age distributions. Analysing more than 545,000 responses collected in the 220 monthly barometers conducted between 1997 and 2016 by CIS, we compare the empirical distributions of the barometers with the expected distributions from the sample design and/or target populations. Among other results, we find, as a consequence of the rules used, significant overrepresentations in the observed proportions of respondents with ages equal to the minimum and maximum of each quota (age and gender group). Furthermore, in line with previous literature, we also note a significant overrepresentation of ages ending in zero. After offering simple solutions to avoid all these biases, we discuss some of their consequences for modelling and inference and about limitations and potentialities of CIS data.Peer Reviewe

Multiphase procedure for landscape reconstruction and their evolution analysis. GIS modelling for areas exposed to high volcanic risk

This paper – focussed on the province of Naples, where many municipalities with a huge demographic and building density are subject to high volcanic risk owing to the presence of the Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields) caldera and the Somma-Vesuvius complex – highlights the methodological-applicative steps leading to the setting up of a multiphase procedure for landscape reconstruction and their evolution analysis. From the operational point of view, the research led to the: (1) digitalisation, georeferencing and comparison of cartographies of different periods of time and recent satellite images; (2) elaboration and publication of a multilayer Story Map; (3) accurate vectorisation of the data of the buildings, for each period of time considered, and the use of kernel density in 2D and 3D; (4) application of the extrusion techniques to the physical aspects and anthropic structures; (5) production of 4D animations and film clips for each period of time considered. A procedure is thus tested made up of preparatory sequences, leading to a GIS modelling aimed at highlighting and quantifying significant problem areas and high exposure situations and at reconstructing the phases which in time have brought about an intense and widespread growth process of the artificial surfaces, considerably altering the features of the landscape and noticeably showing up the risk values. In a context characterised by land use conflicts and anomalous conditions of anthropic congestion, a diagnostic approach through images in 2D, 3D and 4D is used, with the aim to support the prevention and planning of emergencies, process damage scenarios and identify the main intervention orders, raise awareness and educate to risk, making an impact on the collective imagination through the enhancement of specific geotechnological functionalities of great didactic interest

Fundamental material properties of the 2LiBH4-MgH2 reactive hydride composite for hydrogen storage: (I) Thermodynamic and heat transfer properties

Thermodynamic and heat transfer properties of the 2LiBH4-MgH2 composite (Li-RHC) system are experimentally determined and studied as a basis for the design and development of hydrogen storage tanks. Besides the determination and discussion of the properties, different measurement methods are applied and compared to each other. Regarding thermodynamics, reaction enthalpy and entropy are determined by pressure-concentration-isotherms and coupled manometric-calorimetric measurements. For thermal diffusivity calculation, the specific heat capacity is measured by high-pressure differential scanning calorimetry and the effective thermal conductivity is determined by the transient plane source technique and in situ thermocell. Based on the results obtained from the thermodynamics and the assessment of the heat transfer properties, the reaction mechanism of the Li-RHC and the issues related to the scale-up for larger hydrogen storage systems are discussed in detail.Fil: Jepsen, Julian. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Milanese, Chiara. University of Pavia; ItaliaFil: Puszkiel, Julián Atilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Girella, Alessandro. University of Pavia; ItaliaFil: Schiavo, Benedetto. Universidad de Palermo; Argentina. Istituto per le Tecnologie Avanzate; ItaliaFil: Lozano, Gustavo A.. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; Alemania. BASF; AlemaniaFil: Capurso, Giovanni. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Von Colbe, José M. Bellosta. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Marini, Amedeo. University of Pavia; ItaliaFil: Kabelac, Stephan. Leibniz Universität Hannover; AlemaniaFil: Dornheim, Martin. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Klassen, Thomas. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; Alemani

Dynamical anomalies and the role of initial conditions in the HMF model

We discuss the role of the initial conditions for the dynamical anomalies observed in the quasi-stationary states of the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) model.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physica A for the proceedings of the conference Frontier Science 2003 Pavia, Italy, 8-12 September 200

Mathematics of complexity in experimental high energy physics

Mathematical ideas and approaches common in complexity-related fields have been fruitfully applied in experimental high energy physics also. We briefly review some of the cross-pollination that is occurring.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figs, latex; Second International Conference on Frontier Science: A Nonlinear World: The Real World, Pavia, Italy, 8-12 September 200