Italian poi as a trigger of expressive presupposition

This paper proposes an analysis of the discourseparticle (DiP) poi in the Italian as spoken in Vallecamonica, in the north of the country. The data discussed here show that the informal characterizations provided in the literature (e.g., Cognola & Cruschina 2021) are superfluous to capture the meanings of poi described in the paper. The import of the particle is, in fact, one of uncontroversiality and factuality, two concepts related to the notion of common ground management (Krifka 2008). Following Grosz (2020), I propose an analysis in terms of expressive presupposition to capture (i) the presuppositional content activated by poi and (ii) the doxastic dimension of the particle, which only relates to the speaker’s beliefs, rather than to the actual common ground

Services and sustainable development : a conceptual approach

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.For the vast majority of countries, regardless of developmental status, services make a critical contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are an important source of employment, and serve as vital inputs into production processes. Services are crucial for the development of economies and provide a significant contribution towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified in the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda (UN 2015). The nature of the relationship between services and the attainment of sustainable and inclusive economic growth is complex and multifaceted. Services can drive sustainable development outcomes through both growth and non-growth channels. The growth channel includes impacts from domestic production and services trade performance as both affect the productivity and efficiency of the domestic economy. In contrast to the relationship between economic growth and services, which has been well documented in numerous studies, less research has been devoted to the non-growth dimensions of services

An MG Parsing View into the Processing of Subject and Object Relative Clauses in Basque

Stabler (2013)\u27s top-down parser for Minimalist grammars has been used to account for a variety of off-line processing preferences, with measures of memory load sensitive to subtle structural details. This paper expands the model\u27s empirical coverage to ergative languages by looking at the processing asymmetries reported for Basque relative clauses. Our results show that the model predicts a subject over object preference as identified in the relevant psycholinguistic literature

Retrofit Proposals for Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Historic Public Buildings: The Case of the Engineering Faculty’s Seat of Sapienza University

The building sector greatly contributes to energy consumption and Greenhouse Gas emissions, relating to the whole building life cycle. Boasting a huge building heritage of historical and architectural value, Europe faces challenging retrofit perspectives, as the potential for high energy efficiency has to be exploited while preserving the buildings' original characteristics. The present work aims to feature the influence of a passive strategy on a heritage building in a mild climate. As historical its facade cannot be modified, its large glazing areas involve multiple issues, such as an increase in the heating (QH) and cooling (QC) energy demands and the risk of thermal discomfort. Thus, window replacement was proposed for retrofitting. A dynamic simulation model in TRNSYS was validated with experimental data collected by the continuous monitoring of walls of different thicknesses and orientations. Solutions from replacement with Double Glazing Units (DGUs) with improved thermal insulation, to internal shading activation were applied. All configurations were compared in terms of QH, QC, thermal performance of the building and user comfort (Fanger). Low-e DGU enabled the saving of up to 14% of the annual energy demand, and shading also offered good results in summer, reducing QC by 19%. In summer, DGU involved a maximum PPD reduction of 10 units

Stakeholder Preferences and Priorities for the Next WTO Director General

The WTO is looking for a new Director-General (DG). What does the trade community think is needed? This paper reports on the results of an expert survey undertaken as part of a research project on global trade governance at the European University Institute to solicit views on what WTO members and the international trade community consider the most important attributes of candidates for the position, as well as views on the substantive policy and institutional reform priorities confronting the WTO – and thus the new DG. The results suggest strong support for someone with managerial and political experience, and a professional network that spans international organizations, major capitals, and international business. African respondents assign the highest priority to regional diversity. Resolving the dispute settlement crisis is the highest priority for most respondents; launching discussions on new issues obtains the least support. There is broad agreement on the importance of addressing a range of negotiating topics and institutional reforms, but substantial variation in the rankings assigned by different groups of respondents to specific issues

WTO Dispute Settlement and the Appellate Body Crisis: Insider Perceptions and Members’ Revealed Preferences

The WTO dispute settlement system is in crisis, endangering the future of the organization. The proximate reason for alarm is the dwindling number of Appellate Body (AB) members, the result of the United States blocking new appointments as the terms of sitting members expire. The AB crisis usually is presented as the U.S. against the world. In this paper, we report on the results of a survey of WTO Members’ perceptions of the AB and the role it plays (should play) and contrast this with Members’ revealed preferences in their use of the dispute settlement system and their intervention in WTO debates about the crisis. The data reveal strong support for the basic de-sign of the dispute settlement system but also that the United States is not alone in perceiving that the AB has gone beyond its mandate

Comparison of different heating generator systems to reduce energy consumption in social housing in a Mediterranean climate

This study analyses the energy consumption of a social housing built in the 80's. This building typology is deteriorating over time with increased energy consumption for air conditioning and indoor comfort that is well below the standard. This typology is also widely diffused in the city's building stock, especially in its suburbs. Thus, the energy efficiency of public social housing represents a major concern for the Italian national scene, and its improvement represents an effort of critical importance. However, public funding is significantly reduced compared to the past and. In addition, it is often difficult to act on passive systems, such as installing thermal insulation, or replacing terminal units inside apartments. In these cases, as an energy retrofit, it may be appropriate to evaluate the possibility of preserving as much of the existing distribution and supply system as possible, while modifying the thermal energy generation system. In general, where the boiler is not obsolescent, the idea is to propose a hybrid generation system with the inclusion of a heat pump (HHP), which could be implemented with renewable energy equipment, properly installed in the building. The main goal of the present work was to evaluate through dynamic analysis different HVAC scenarios, to assess the optimal configuration of the system for residential use. The results show that a hybrid system can lower the primary energy consumption up to 28%, thus allowing the employment of renewable energies within the social housing building stock