Female entrepreneurship in perspective: a methodological issue

A methodological approach to the concept of female entrepreneurship concept has not yet been treated: is female entrepreneurship an individual or collective concept? Is it considered a social or natural variable? The purpose of this research is to clear up these alternatives, which are preparatory questions for any research into female entrepreneurship that wishes to measure its features and effects. The article starts with the proposal of an identification procedure, necessary to identifying the variables of female entrepreneurship. It proceeds by classifying the concept of female entrepreneurship into four different modes and discussing their characteristics. The originality of this research consists in its fourfold classification of the concept of female entrepreneurship, intended as a preparatory step prior to the analysis of its characteristics and measures

Psychoanalytic vs neoclassical economics model of the mind

Neoclassical Economics assumes that economic agents are independent and optimizing. The achievements of Psychoanalysis concerning the development of mind and human interactions, on the contrary, indicate that considering an individual as independent and optimizing is incorrect, as everyone, since birth, is mentally interconnected with other agents. In this research we firstly deal with and criticize the Neoclassical economics concepts of Independence and Optimization; then, on the basis of the psychoanalytic model of the mind, we draw a new definition of Competition

Creation and counting of defects in a temperature quenched Bose-Einstein Condensate

We study the spontaneous formation of defects in the order parameter of a trapped ultracold bosonic gas while crossing the critical temperature for Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) at different rates. The system has the shape of an elongated ellipsoid, whose transverse width can be varied to explore dimensionality effects. For slow enough temperature quenches we find a power-law scaling of the average defect number with the quench rate, as predicted by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. A breakdown of such a scaling is found for fast quenches, leading to a saturation of the average defect number. We suggest an explanation for this saturation in terms of the mutual interactions among defects.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Observation of Solitonic Vortices in Bose-Einstein Condensates

We observe solitonic vortices in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate after free expansion. Clear signatures of the nature of such defects are the twisted planar density depletion around the vortex line, observed in absorption images, and the double dislocation in the interference pattern obtained through homodyne techniques. Both methods allow us to determine the sign of the quantized circulation. Experimental observations agree with numerical simulations. These solitonic vortices are the decay product of phase defects of the BEC order parameter spontaneously created after a rapid quench across the BEC transition in a cigar-shaped harmonic trap and are shown to have a very long lifetime.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Solitonic Vortices in Bose-Einstein Condensates

We analyse, theoretically and experimentally, the nature of solitonic vortices (SV) in an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate. In the experiment, such defects are created via the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, when the temperature of a gas of sodium atoms is quenched across the BEC transition, and are imaged after a free expansion of the condensate. By using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, we calculate the in-trap density and phase distributions characterizing a SV in the crossover from an elongate quasi-1D to a bulk 3D regime. The simulations show that the free expansion strongly amplifies the key features of a SV and produces a remarkable twist of the solitonic plane due to the quantized vorticity associated with the defect. Good agreement is found between simulations and experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Dynamics and interaction of vortex lines in an elongated Bose-Einstein condensate

We study the real-time dynamics of vortex lines in a large elongated Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of sodium atoms using a stroboscopic technique. Vortices are spontaneously produced via the Kibble-Zurek mechanism in a quench across the BEC transition and then they slowly precess keeping their orientation perpendicular to the long axis of the trap as expected for solitonic vortices in a highly anisotropic condensate. Good agreement with theoretical predictions is found for the precession period as a function of the orbit amplitude and the number of condensed atoms. In configurations with two or more vortex lines, we see signatures of vortex-vortex interaction in the shape and visibility of the orbits. In addition, when more than two vortices are present, their decay is faster than the thermal decay observed for one or two vortices. The possible role of vortex reconnection processes is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Control and monitoring of the Znosko Glacier in Antarctica

The study and analysis of climate change is a global challenge against which environmental, but also economic and social changes, will be measured. This memorandum illustrates the recent activities carried out by the IGN Peru in collaboration with European institutions

Food related risks during pregnancy: how much do women know about it?

Aim Infection with Toxoplasma gondii and Listeria monocytogenes during pregnancy can lead to severe illness in the foetus but it can be prevented by simple hygienic measures. This study evaluated the knowledge that women have about food related risk and the information sources used. Methods We surveyed pregnant women and new mothers in[Removed for blind peer review], using a questionnaire approved by health direction, processed by an optical reader and analyzed using χ² test and Odds Ratio. Results 149 women responded to the survey, 78.5% of them received information from the gynaecologist, 45% from internet and then books/pamphlets. 67.8% felt well informed about food-related risks connected. 94% of them knows Toxoplasma; 39.5% ignore Listeria instead. From our results it’s evident  that graduated women tend to identify all foods as less secure and had better attitudes on cleaning refrigerator, on respecting temperatures, on avoiding consumption of undercooked foods, on protecting food before consumption. Conclusions Pregnant women have good awareness of food-related risks. However there’s a high confusion, due to the use of internet and other not reliable sources. This study demonstrates that it’s necessary to improve the organization of nutritional education by adequately trained health personnel