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1 – 7 of 7Elvio Bonisoli, Francesco Di Monaco, Stefano Tornincasa, Fabio Freschi, Luca Giaccone and Maurizio Repetto
Supplying remote wireless sensors is not an easy task if the site where the device is located is not easily accessible. In order to obtain direct measurements of the road-vehicle…
Abstract
Purpose
Supplying remote wireless sensors is not an easy task if the site where the device is located is not easily accessible. In order to obtain direct measurements of the road-vehicle interactions, sensors must be placed inside the tyre environment thus a power supply must be available for their working there without any wire connection with the car main power. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
An electro-mechanical energy harvester has thus been developed for supplying an automotive wireless sensor of pressure, temperature and acceleration to be placed on the inner line of a tyre. The primary energy source is the vibrations or variable accelerations imposed to the device and induced in the tyre by the wheeling.
Findings
The harvester has been designed by means of a multi-physics optimisation based on an integrated electromagnetic-mechanical circuit simulator. Thus an automated optimisation of the device with respect to volume constraints, magnets dimensions, induction coils placement and size have been performed to increase the average power extracted from the device at different wheeling speeds.
Originality/value
The use of the multi-physics environment together with automated optimisation technique has been tested for the first time on the electromagnetic harvester structure.
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Salvatore Amoroso, Francesco Castelluccio and Luigi Maritano
The purpose of the study is the evaluation of the efficiencies of a group of small Italian airports and the comparison with a set of transport heliports to show the difference in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is the evaluation of the efficiencies of a group of small Italian airports and the comparison with a set of transport heliports to show the difference in the productivity of the two types of infrastructures.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used for the evaluation is the data envelopment analysis (DEA).
Findings
The better performance of the heliports compared to the small inefficient airports.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited by the field of application and the weaknesses of the DEA methodology. However, it could be the first step for further works that will include more accurate models.
Practical implications
The study suggests the conversion of the small inefficient airports into heliports feeding traffic towards the major hubs. The use of helicopters to reach poor accessible areas represents an alternative mode of transport.
Originality/value
This is the first case of application of the DEA methodology to a group of heliports.
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German legal historians of nineteenth and twentieth centuries defined the main characteristics of the corporations and believed that one renaissance institution, the Casa di San…
Abstract
German legal historians of nineteenth and twentieth centuries defined the main characteristics of the corporations and believed that one renaissance institution, the Casa di San Giorgio at Genoa (1407–1805), was similar to the corporations of later centuries. This paper proposes to reverse this perspective: did the founders of early modern corporations know the financial model of the fifteenth century Casa di San Giorgio? The research shows the connection between the model of the Casa di San Giorgio and the Mississippi Company of John Law (1720), the famous financial scheme and bubble. The history of the Casa di San Giorgio was mainly transmitted through a passage of Machiavelli’s History of Florence (VIII, 29). The paper offers new biographical evidence that Law had been to Genoa and introduces sources connecting the genesis of Law’s scheme for the Mississippi Company in France with the model of the Casa di San Giorgio.
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Mauro Sciarelli, Mario Tani, Anna Prisco and Francesco Caputo
The paper aims at investigating antecedents and predictors of consumers' buying and consumption processes within the Italian Solidarity Purchasing Groups (SPGs) to enrich current…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims at investigating antecedents and predictors of consumers' buying and consumption processes within the Italian Solidarity Purchasing Groups (SPGs) to enrich current debate about drivers and levers on which act for fostering ethical consumption in food sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Building upon the theory of planned behavior (TPB) a theoretical model is proposed for depicting possible antecedents and predictors of consumers' buying and consumption processes in food sector. The validity of the model has been tested via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS for analyzing primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from 354 consumers engaged in SPGs.
Findings
Within the domain of food buying and consumptions through SPGS, results show that consumers' behavior intention (BI) is influenced by consumers' attitude (ATT) and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Moreover, the research also demonstrates that consumers' ATT is influenced by consumers' ethical self-identity (ETH), consumers' willingness to support local economy (SLE), and food safety concern (FSC).
Originality/value
The study contributes to the ongoing debate on sustainable consumerism focusing the attention on SPGs as emerging social organizations inspired by ethical food consumption. Both theoretical development and empirical evidences enrich current knowledge about drivers and levers on which act for fostering ethical consumption in food sector.
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Pierluigi Morano, Francesco Tajani and Marco Locurcio
This paper aims to test and compare two innovative methodologies (utility additive and evolutionary polynomial regression) for mass appraisal of residential properties. The aim is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to test and compare two innovative methodologies (utility additive and evolutionary polynomial regression) for mass appraisal of residential properties. The aim is to deepen their characteristics, by exploring the potentialities and the operating limits.
Design/methodology/approach
With reference to the same case studies, concerning samples of residential properties recently sold in three Italian cities, the two procedures are tested and the results are compared. The first method is the utility additive, which interprets the process of the property price formation as a multi-criteria selection of multi-objective typology, where the selection criteria are the property characteristics that are decisive in the real estate market; the second method is a hybrid data-driven technique, called evolutionary polynomial regression, that uses multi-objective genetic algorithms to search those models expressions that simultaneously maximize accuracy of data and parsimony of mathematical functions.
Findings
The outputs obtained from the experimentation highlight the potentialities and the limits of the two methodologies, as well as the possibility of jointly applying them to interpret and predict the real estate phenomena in a more realistic representation.
Originality value
In all countries, mass appraisal techniques have become strategic for the definition of management and enhancement policies of public and private property assets, in the case of investments of technical and economic refunctionalization (energy, environment, etc.), and for the alienation of buildings no longer suitable for public needs (military barracks, hospitals, areas in disuse, etc.). In this context, the use of mass appraisal techniques for residential properties assumes a leading role for sector operators (buyers, sellers, institutions, insurance companies, banks, real estate funds, etc.). Therefore, the results of the applications outline the potentialities of the two methodologies implemented and the opportunity of further insights of the topics that have been dealt with in this research.
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Jashim Uddin Ahmed, Md. Kamrul Hasan, Quazi Tafsirul Islam, Mohammad Jasim Uddin, Anisur R. Faroque and Md. Humayun Kabir Chowdhury
COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the lives of people and businesses around the world in different ways. France, Spain, Italy and the UK are among the worst affected…
Abstract
Purpose
COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the lives of people and businesses around the world in different ways. France, Spain, Italy and the UK are among the worst affected countries by this pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare different corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities taken by the clubs and player of the major football leagues of these four countries to develop a more comprehensive model of intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper has analyzed the initiatives taken by these football clubs and players to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health problems and domestic violence among the stakeholders and compared them with the existing CSR and humanitarian models. A case study approach has been used to collect and analyze data related to the CSR activities taken by the players and club management. Official websites of the clubs, newspaper and journal articles were among the major sources used to collect data for the paper.
Findings
Football clubs and players of the four major leagues have raised funds through different campaigns and delivered foods and essential medical supplies to the communities and hospitals to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health issues and domestic violence within their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have provided guidance to their followers using social and television media to improve their physical and mental health during the pandemic. Online competitions, quizzes or virtual hangouts have also been used by the players to engage the stakeholders on a frequent basis. Football clubs have also initiated campaigns to raise awareness within the community on available medical services for the victims of domestic violence and also provided them with shelter, food, medical, legal and online counseling services.
Originality/value
Football clubs and players of the major leagues were always at the forefront to help the communities and hospitals to address issues related to mental health problems, financial vulnerabilities and domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this paper could help and guide other entities in designing a more comprehensive model of CSR interventions during pandemics or crisis situations to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health problems and domestic violence within their communities.
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Pedro Garcia-del-Barrio and Francesc Pujol
The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the players' contribution and economic value in the soccer industry. Media visibility records provide us with comparable metrics to…
Abstract
Purpose
The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the players' contribution and economic value in the soccer industry. Media visibility records provide us with comparable metrics to identify talent and make hiring decisions – these records can jointly capture sport (on-field) skills and other attractive (off-field) abilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a valuation method that applies media visibility appraisals to estimate “theoretical values” of the transfer fees paid for hiring soccer players. The estimations are performed by analysing the evolution over time of the media exposure of about 5,000 individuals of more than 200 clubs.
Findings
The study’s empirical results reveal that, along with sport performance, the players' media status also affects their economic valuation, which explains why the clubs – in search of greater economic returns – fiercely compete for the most popular players. The paper also identifies the main factors determining the players' economic value. In predicting the players' transfer fees, some variables are statistically significant: individual media visibility, media visibility share of the player within his team, contract duration, status of the hiring team, years of experience, player's age at the end of the contract and the domestic league of the hiring team.
Originality/value
Professional sports provide reliable measures on individuals' performance that may help in the hiring process of workers. This paper identifies gifted soccer players while taking into account their skills as media leaders and the economic implications. Insofar as players' talents determine their teams' sport and economic achievements, the transfer fees paid for players must then be seen as a crucial factor. Measuring individual talent and being able to translate this talent into productivity levels entail serious methodological and empirical challenges.
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