Technology Adoption and Innovation in Public Services.The Case of E-Government in Italy

Using data on 1,176 Italian municipalities in 2005, this paper discusses a number of factors associated with the development of a particular type of innovative activities, namely e-government services supplied by local public administrations (PAs). We find that municipalities which got involved into e-government are larger, carry out more in-house ICT activities and are more likely to have intra-net infrastructures, relative to PAs that do not offer front office digitalised services. They are also generally located in regions with relatively large shares of firms using or producing ICT, where many other municipalities offer digitalised services, and where concentration of inhabitants in metropolitan areas is not very high. The range and quality of e-government services supplied by local PAs tend to increase with their stock of ICT competencies, with their efforts to train workers, and with their ability to organise efficient interfaces with end-users. Moreover, there is a correlation between the range and quality of e-government services offered and the broadband infrastructure development of the geographic area in which local PAs are located. In more general terms, we show that the combination of internal competencies and context specific factors is different when explaining the decision to start e-government activities vs. the intensity of such activities. Regional factors, relating to both demand and supply of services, appear to affect only the decision to enter e-government activities. Competencies needed to expand and improve the quality of services are much more numerous and complex than the ones associated with the mere decision to start e-government activities.Innovation system, Dynamic capabilities, Technology adoption, Electronic government, Innovation in services, Two-part model.

Negative ozone anomalies at a high mountain site in northern Italy during 2020: a possible role of COVID-19 lockdowns?

Several studies investigated the possible impacts of the restriction measures related to the containment of the spread of the COrona VIrus Disease (COVID-19) to atmospheric ozone (O3) at global, regional, and local scales during 2020. O3 is a secondary pollutant with adverse effects on population health and ecosystems and with negative impacts on climate, acting as greenhouse gas. Most of these studies focused on spring 2020 (i.e. March–May) and on observations in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), mostly in the vicinity of urban agglomerates. Here, we analyzed the variability of O3 above the PBL of northern Italy in 2020 by using continuous observations carried out at a high mountain WMO/GAW global station in Italy (Mt. Cimone–CMN; 44°12' N, 10°42' E, 2165 m a.s.l.). Low O3 monthly anomalies were observed during spring (MAM) and summer (JJA), when periods of low O3 intertwined with periods with higher O3, within climatological ranges. A similar variability was observed for O3 precursors like NO2 and 15 anthropogenic non-methane volatile organic carbons, but the systematic O3 anomalies were not reflected in these variables. The analysis of meteorological variables and diel O3 cycles did not suggest major changes in the vertical transport related to the thermal circulation system in the mountain area. The analysis of five days back-trajectories suggested that the observed O3 anomalies cannot be explained by differences in the synoptic-scale circulation with respect to the previous years alone. On the other hand, the characterization of two transport patterns (i.e. air masses from the regional PBL or from the free troposphere) and the analysis of back-trajectories suggested an important contribution of transport from the continental PBL during the periods with the lowest O3 at CMN. When proxies of air mass transport from the regional PBL are considered, a lower NOx content was pointed out with respect to the previous years, suggesting a lower O3 production in a NOx-limited atmosphere. Our study suggested for the first time that, during MAM and JJA 2020, the reduced anthropogenic emissions related to the COVID-19 restrictions lowered the amount of this short-lived climate forcer/pollutant at remote locations above the PBL over northern Italy. This work suggests the importance of limiting anthropogenic precursor emissions for decreasing the O3 amount at remote locations and in upper atmospheric layers

Narrative review of multiparametric ultrasound in parotid gland evaluation

Disorders affecting parotid gland represent a heterogeneous group comprising congenital, inflammatory and neoplastic diseases which show a focal or diffuse pattern of appearance. The differentiation of neoplastic from non-neoplastic conditions of parotid glands is pivotal for the diagnostic imaging. Frequently there is evidence of overlapping between the clinical and the imaging appearance of the various pathologies. The parotid gland is also often object of study with the combination of different techniques [ultrasound-computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (US-CT-MRI), ex.]. Compared to other dominant methods of medical imaging, US has several advantages providing images in real-time at lower cost, and without harmful use of ionizing radiation and of contrast enhancement. B-mode US, and the microvascular pattern color Doppler are usually used as first step evaluation of parotid lesions. Elastography and contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) has opened further possible perspectives to improve the differentiation between benign and malignant parotid lesions. The characterization of the parotid tumors plays a crucial role for their treatment planning and for the prediction of possible surgical complications. We present, here an updated review of the most recurrent pathologies of parotid gland focusing on the diagnostic power of multiparametric US including CEUS and ultrasound elastography (USE); limitations, advantages and the main key-points will be presented

Technology adoption and innovation in public services the case of e-government in Italy

Using data from 1176 Italian municipalities in 2005, we identify factors associated with the development of e-government services supplied by local public administrations (PAs). We show that the combination of internal competencies and context-specific factors is different when explaining decisions to start e-government activities vs. the intensity of such activities. Municipalities involved in e-government are larger, carry out more in-house ICT activities and are more likely to have intranet infrastructures than PAs that do not offer front-office digitized services. They are also generally located in regions having relatively large shares of firms using or producing ICTs, where many other municipalities offer digitized services, and where population density is relatively low. The range and quality of e-government services supplied by local PAs tend to increase with their stock of ICT competencies, their efforts to train workers, and with their ability to organise efficient interfaces with end-users. Moreover, there is a correlation between the range and quality of e-government services offered and the broadband infrastructure development in the area where local PAs are located.Innovation system Dynamic capabilities Technology adoption Electronic government Innovation in services Two-part model

Performance of the CERN SPS Fast Extraction for the CNGS Facility

The SPS LSS4 fast extraction system will serve both the anti-clockwise ring of the LHC and the long baseline neutrino (CNGS) facility. For the latter two extractions spaced by 50 ms, each affecting half of the SPS, are foreseen. During the shutdown 2003-2004 the performance of the fast extraction kickers has been improved in order to match more closely the specifications required for the CNGS and LHC extractions. The kick rise and fall times were significantly reduced, as well as the post-pulse kick ripple. However, the latter remained outside specifications and oscillations were induced in the leading bunches of the batch remaining in the machine at the moment of the first extraction. While further improving the kicker pulse shape, the possibility of damping the beam oscillations using the transverse feedback system has been explored. Recent pulse improvements and results of beam tests are reported

Effect of Lattice and Electron Distribution in Electron-Cloud Instability Simulations for the CERN SPS and LHC

Several simulation codes have been adapted so as to model the single-bunch electron-cloud instability including a realistic variation of the optical functions with longitudinal position. In addition, the electron cloud is typically not uniformly distributed around the ring, as frequently assumed, but it is mainly concentrated in certain regions with specific features, e.g., regions which give rise to strong multipacting or suffer from large synchrotron radiation flux. Particularly, electrons in a dipole magnet are forced to follow the vertical field lines and, depending on the bunch intensity, they may populate two vertical stripes, symmetrically located on either side of the beam. In this paper, we present simulation results for the CERN SPS and LHC, which can be compared with measurements or analytical predictions