Hybridity and conflicting logics—and what if not? A historical exploration of a XIV–XVI century social entity in Venice

AbstractThis paper sets out to explore how hybrid organizations managed their established institutional complexity in the past, and what place was there for accounting in this endeavor. The paper draws on a historical case study of how a social entity operated in 14th–16th‐century Venice. Ca' di Dio, a hospice providing hospitality and care to poor women, is what today we would call a "hybrid organization," in that it was born at the crossroads of ecclesiastic and public jurisdictions, it was autonomously administered, self‐financed through commercial activities, but operated within the public control of the State. It will be found that Ca' di Dio worked within a complex arrangement of multiple logics, that these logics coexisted without particular tension or conflict, and that accounting was a central practice to manage Ca' di Dio activities, despite its noncommercial nature. The paper thus, while contributing to documenting the presence of hybrid organizations in the past, also questions the presupposed tension and conflict in logics that these organizations are thought to come with. Finally, it also documents the trivial, but overlooked, role of accounting as primarily a calculative tool for everyday management in hybrid organizations

Hybridity and conflicting logics—and what if not? A historical exploration of a XIV–XVI century social entity in Venice

This paper sets out to explore how hybrid organizations managed their established institutional complexity in the past, and what place was there for accounting in this endeavor. The paper draws on a historical case study of how a social entity operated in 14th–16th-century Venice. Ca’ di Dio, a hospice providing hospitality and care to poor women, is what today we would call a “hybrid organization,” in that it was born at the crossroads of ecclesiastic and public jurisdictions, it was autonomously administered, self-financed through commercial activities, but operated within the public control of the State. It will be found that Ca’ di Dio worked within a complex arrangement of multiple logics, that these logics coexisted without particular tension or conflict, and that accounting was a central practice to manage Ca’ di Dio activities, despite its noncommercial nature. The paper thus, while contributing to documenting the presence of hybrid organizations in the past, also questions the presupposed tension and conflict in logics that these organizations are thought to come with. Finally, it also documents the trivial, but overlooked, role of accounting as primarily a calculative tool for everyday management in hybrid organizations

Strategy Visualization, Cognitive Frames, and Strategy Renewal in SMEs

This paper provides experimental evidence that visual representation of strategy and related concepts increases the probability of updating the cognitive frames of small entrepreneurs. An original strategy mapping technique and Osterwalder and Pigneur’s (2010) business model canvas were used to help 42 small entrepreneurs to critically review their current strategies and choices. A questionnaire about perceptions of the external environment and internal structure was submitted to the participants before and after the experiment. The same questionnaire was submitted twice to a matched control group of 50 SME entrepreneurs who were not involved in any activity. The results show that involvement in the visualization experiment significantly increased the probability of the participant changing perceptions on strategic issues, with a stronger impact for strategy mapping. The results are interpreted as indicative of a positive contribution of visual representation in strategy renewal

Interference at the Single Photon Level Along Satellite-Ground Channels

Quantum interference arising from superposition of states is a striking evidence of the validity of Quantum Mechanics, confirmed in many experiments and also exploited in applications. However, as for any scientific theory, Quantum Mechanics is valid within the limits in which it has been experimentally verified. In order to extend such limits, it is necessary to observe quantum interference in unexplored conditions such as moving terminals at large distance in Space. Here we experimentally demonstrate single photon interference at a ground station due to the coherent superposition of two temporal modes reflected by a rapidly moving satellite thousand kilometers away. The relative speed of the satellite induces a varying modulation in the interference pattern. The measurement of the satellite distance in real time by laser ranging allowed us to precisely predict the instantaneous value of the interference phase. We then observed the interference patterns with visibility up to $67\%$ with three different satellites and with path length up to 5000 km. Our results attest the viability of photon temporal modes for fundamental tests of Physics and Quantum Communications in Space.Comment: Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

The impact of external support on microbusinesses’ strategic renewal

Abstract. The study explores whether external support, provided to microbusinesses through business support services, effectively facilitates companies’ strategic renewal and improves firm performance. It uses data collected through questionnaires submitted to a group of firms participating in a project developed by a trade association and privately funded and a matched control group. The project aimed to increase microbusinesses’ competitive potential and contrast the consequences of the unfavourable external environment. A quasi-experimental research design compared the changes observed in firms involved in the project and a control group of firms with similar characteristics, to test the impact of the external support intervention on microbusinesses’ strategic renewal using a control group for both pre- and post-intervention periods. Findings show that participation in the project contributed positively to strategic renewal. This, in turn, had a significant positive effect on financial performance. This study contributes to the literature on the antecedents of strategic renewal, examining the impact of the exposure to external stimuli, such as the ones favoured by the project, on microbusinesses’ entrepreneurial orientation, organizational learning, and social capital. It also contributes to understanding external support mechanisms’ effectiveness in mitigating structural limitations hindering manufacturing SMEs’ success. Among the study’s limitations, the sample size is limited due to the feasibility of involving and following in the project a higher number of firms. Then, little is known about the impact’s persistence after the project’s end, which should be investigated

Comparative analysis of plant genomes allows the definition of the "Phytolongins": a novel non-SNARE longin domain protein family

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Subcellular trafficking is a hallmark of eukaryotic cells. Because of their pivotal role in the process, a great deal of attention has been paid to the SNARE proteins. Most R-SNAREs, or "longins", however, also possess a highly conserved, N-terminal fold. This "longin domain" is known to play multiple roles in regulating SNARE activity and targeting via interaction with other trafficking proteins. However, the diversity and complement of longins in eukaryotes is poorly understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our comparative genome survey identified a novel family of longin-related proteins, dubbed the "Phytolongins" because they are specific to land plants. Phytolongins share with longins the N-terminal longin domain and the C-terminal transmembrane domain; however, in the central region, the SNARE motif is replaced by a novel region. Phylogenetic analysis pinpoints the Phytolongins as a derivative of the plant specific VAMP72 longin sub-family and allows elucidation of Phytolongin evolution.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>"Longins" have been defined as R-SNAREs composed of both a longin domain and a SNARE motif. However, expressed gene isoforms and splice variants of longins are examples of non-SNARE motif containing longins. The discovery of Phytolongins, a family of non-SNARE longin domain proteins, together with recent evidence on the conservation of the longin-like fold in proteins involved in both vesicle fusion (e.g. the Trs20 tether) and vesicle formation (e.g. σ and μ adaptin) highlight the importance of the longin-like domain in protein trafficking and suggest that it was one of the primordial building blocks of the eukaryotic membrane-trafficking machinery.</p

PMI, asset intangibili e rapporti con le banche

La valorizzazione degli asset intangibili rappresenta un fattore critico per l’accesso ai finanziamenti da parte delle Pmi, poiché fornisce alla banca un set di informazioni in grado di migliorare l’efficacia del processo di valutazione del rischio. Queste informazioni non sono però immediatamente disponibili ma devono essere prodotte dalle imprese. A tale scopo è stato realizzato un progetto di ricerca europeo che ha elaborato un modello di analisi e valorizzazione degli asset intangibili, poi applicato a un campione di Pmi per verificarne l’impatto sulle relazioni con i soggetti finanziatori. I risultati della sperimentazione confermano la rilevanza degli asset intangibili per la competitività delle imprese e per la valutazione del rischio, ma evidenziano la necessità di ulteriori sforzi per pervenire a indicatori di comprovato valore informativo e caratterizzati da criteri di valutazione condivisi

Postselection-loophole-free Bell violation with genuine time-bin entanglement

Entanglement is an invaluable resource for fundamental tests of physics and the implementation of quantum information protocols such as device-independent secure communications. In particular, time-bin entanglement is widely exploited to reach these purposes both in free-space and optical fiber propagation, due to the robustness and simplicity of its implementation. However, all existing realizations of time-bin entanglement suffer from an intrinsic postselection loophole, which undermines their usefulness. Here, we report the first experimental violation of Bell's inequality with "genuine" time-bin entanglement, free of the postselection loophole. We introduced a novel function of the interferometers at the two measurement stations, that operate as fast synchronized optical switches. This scheme allowed to obtain a postselection-loophole-free Bell violation of more than nine standard deviations. Since our scheme is fully implementable using standard fiber-based components and is compatible with modern integrated photonics, our results pave the way for the distribution of genuine time-bin entanglement over long distances.Comment: RevTe

Regression of Environmental Noise in LIGO Data

We address the problem of noise regression in the output of gravitational-wave (GW) interferometers, using data from the physical environmental monitors (PEM). The objective of the regression analysis is to predict environmental noise in the gravitational-wave channel from the PEM measurements. One of the most promising regression method is based on the construction of Wiener-Kolmogorov filters. Using this method, the seismic noise cancellation from the LIGO GW channel has already been performed. In the presented approach the Wiener-Kolmogorov method has been extended, incorporating banks of Wiener filters in the time-frequency domain, multi-channel analysis and regulation schemes, which greatly enhance the versatility of the regression analysis. Also we presents the first results on regression of the bi-coherent noise in the LIGO data