Durable goods, price indexes and quality change: an application to automobile prices in Italy, 1988-1998.

The paper analyzes the problems of measurement of durable consumer prices posed by quality change. Theoretical price indexes are defined and used to analyze several empirical methods of estimation of quality adjusted price indexes. The paper shows that hedonic regressions and other quality adjustment methods commonly used by statistical agencies do not always provide reliable price estimators. The analysis suggests that the application of methods of measurement based on chain indexes may remove the measurement problems associated with quality change. The paper includes an application of the theory to the analysis of automobile prices in Italy during the period 1988-1998.durable goods, quality change, hedonic regressions, elementary index numbers

PRICES, PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION AND QUALITY MEASUREMENT: A COMPARISON BETWEEN HEDONIC AND MATCHED MODEL METHODS

The paper provides an analysis of the problems of construction of quality-adjusted price indexes within the framework of the theory of product differentiation. In the general case of price-making behaviour on the part of firms, hedonic regressions are defined on the basis of reduced forms of the equation relating equilibrium prices to product characteristics. The paper considers the reduced form given by the marginal cost function and shows that the Laspeyres hedonic price index provides a lower bound to the quality-adjusted rate of price change while the Paasche hedonic price index provides an upper bound to the quality-adjusted rate of price change. The properties of hedonic price indexes are compared with those of matched model indexes. The theory is applied to the study of personal computer prices in Italy during the 1995-2000 period.discrete choice, price indexes, product quality, personal computer

Revisiting poverty and welfare dominance

The paper reviews the theory of the measurement of poverty. The axiomatic theory is described and the axiomatic properties of poverty indexes are related to assumptions on the functional form of the poverty index function. The notion of poverty ordering is then introduced and followed by a review of the relations between the poverty orderings than can be defined from classes of poverty index functions with well-defined functional form properties and the notions of first order and second order stochastic dominance. The analysis applies the results used in the theory of economic inequality to study the relationship between welfare orderings and Lorenz dominance. The theory is used to analyze poverty patterns in Italy in 1997-2005.economic inequality, poverty, poverty ordering, stochastic dominance

El "focus group": nuevo potencial de aplicación en el estudio de la acústica urbana

La técnica del focus group se utiliza principalmente en el campo de las ciencias sociales para recoger información cualitativa y analizarla con técnicas de análisis de tipo cualitativo. El objetivo de este articulo es examinar la utilidad del focus group en el campo de la acústica urbana y mostrar su utilización como técnica para recoger datos de tipo cuantitativo. Después de una breve introducción teórica sobre definiciones y características del focus group y su relación en la investigación con la temática que nos interesa, a continuación describo al detalle los pasos seguidos en la aplicación realizada, los resultados obtenidos y la forma de analizarlos, marcando a la vez diferencias y potencialidades con respecto al focus group como es tradicionalmente conocido y utilizado.The focus group technique is used primarily in the social sciences to collect qualitative data and analyze it trough qualitative analysis techniques. The aim of this paper is to examine the usefulness of focus groups in the field of urban acoustic research and to show their use as a technique for collecting quantitative data. After a brief theoretical introduction on definitions and characteristics of the focus group and its relationship in the research with the topic that interests us, then I describe in detail the steps followed in the practical application, the results obtained and how to analyze it, showing, at the same time, the potentialities and the differences compared to the focus group as traditionally known and used

Focus group : its application potential in the study of urban acoustic

La técnica del focus group se utiliza principalmente en el campo de las ciencias sociales para recoger información cualitativa y analizarla con técnicas de análisis de tipo cualitativo. El objetivo de este articulo es examinar la utilidad del focus group en el campo de la acústica urbana y mostrar su utilización como técnica para recoger datos de tipo cuantitativo. Después de una breve introducción teórica sobre definiciones y características del focus group y su relación en la investigación con la temática que nos interesa, a continuación describo al detalle los pasos seguidos en la aplicación realizada, los resultados obtenidos y la forma de analizarlos, marcando a la vez diferencias y potencialidades con respecto al focus group como es tradicionalmente conocido y utilizado.The focus group technique is used primarily in the social sciences to collect qualitative data and analyze it trough qualitative analysis techniques. The aim of this paper is to examine the usefulness of focus groups in the field of urban acoustic research and to show their use as a technique for collecting quantitative data. After a brief theoretical introduction on definitions and characteristics of the focus group and its relationship in the research with the topic that interests us, then I describe in detail the steps followed in the practical application, the results obtained and how to analyze it, showing, at the same time, the potentialities and the differences compared to the focus group as traditionally known and used

Transition metal complexes of expanded porphyrins

textOver the last three decades, the rapid development of efficient synthetic routes for the preparation of expanded porphyrin macrocycles has allowed the exploration of a new frontier involving “porphyrin-like” coordination chemistry. This doctoral dissertation describes the author’s exploratory journey into the area of transition metal cation complexation using oligopyrrolic macrocycles. The reported synthetic findings were used to gain new insights into the factors affecting the observed coordination modes and to probe the emerging roles of counter-anion effects, tautomeric equilibria and hydrogenbonding interactions in regulating the metalation chemistry of expanded porphyrins. The first chapter provides an updated overview of this relatively young coordination chemistry subfield and introduces the idea of expanded porphyrins as a diverse family of ligands for metalation studies. Chapter 2 details the synthesis of a series of binuclear complexes and illustrates the importance of metal oxidation state, macrocycle protonation and counter-anion effects in terms of defining the final structure of the observed metal complexes. The binding study reported in Chapter 3 demonstrates a strong positive allosteric effect for the coordination of silver(I) cations in a Schiff base expanded porphyrin. Chapter 4 introduces the use of oligopyrrolic macrocycles for the stabilization of early transition metal cations. Specifically, the preparation of a series of vanadium complexes illustrates the bimodal (i.e., covalent and noncovalent) recognition of the non-spherical dioxovanadium(V) species within the macrocyclic cavities. Experimental procedures and characterization data are reported in Chapter 5.Chemistr

Imaging mobile zinc in biology

Trafficking and regulation of mobile zinc pools influence cellular functions and pathological conditions in multiple organs, including brain, pancreas, and prostate. The quest for a dynamic description of zinc distribution and mobilization in live cells fuels the development of increasingly sophisticated probes. Detection systems that respond to zinc binding with changes of their fluorescence emission properties have provided sensitive tools for mobile zinc imaging, and fluorescence microscopy experiments have afforded depictions of zinc distribution within live cells and tissues. Both small-molecule and protein-based fluorescent probes can address complex imaging challenges, such as analyte quantification, site-specific sensor localization, and real-time detection.National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (grant GM065519

One-Dimensional Cutting Stock Optimisation by Suborders

This paper introduces a method for solving a one-dimensional cutting stock problem by suborders. The method is used for large orders that for technological and logistical reasons cannot be filled in a single order, but only in several successive suborders. The method has two stages. In the first stage, the suborders are generated and in the second the trim-loss is minimised. All leftovers longer than D are returned to stock and reused. Shorter leftovers are treated as trim-loss and discarded. A detailed description of the method is provided by using a practical case. The method is tested by solving 108 randomly generated problem instances

Acoustic quality analysis of 22@ following subjective criteria

The study of urban noise requires a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates not only the acoustics, but also the psychology and the sociology, and takes into account both objective and subjective factors related to the perception of the sounds. The purpose of this study is to analyze what is the perception and evaluation of the acoustic quality in the 22 @ Barcelona by its residents, being it a neighbourhood that would have to have objectively a good sound quality due to the measures that have been there implemented. The study results indicate a positive response from the population on the acoustical quality of the neighborhood, suggesting at the same time that subjective elements can be influenced on the findings on physical reality, on which we consider necessary to deepen with further studies in this area

GLI ACCORDI DI TRASFERIMENTO DI TECNOLOGIA NEL DIRITTO COMUNITARIO ANTITRUST

2005/2006XIX Ciclo1976Versione digitalizzata della tesi di dottorato cartacea