My thesis deals with some cloud-computing issues, developing a new paradigm for designing distributed systems: the DIME (Distributed Intelligent Managed Element) model. My work has the goal to demonstrate scalability, performance, fault management, self-management and self-repair of a distributed entity through the implementation of DIME model in cloud environment on a LAMP architecture. The model wants also demonstrate that it is possible to remove any hypervisors from a cloud computing infrastructure.

We consider Integer Linear Programming problems with symmetries. We describe some solving techniques which expoit the knowledge of symmetries and an algorithm used to compute the symmetry group used by Saucy. The algotithm is improved and a software based on the algorithm is developed. Some tests are carried out on pure binaries ILP instances, which show that the performances are comparable with the state of the art.

This degree thesis is intended to analyse the space of the historic marketplaces of Palermo using a semiotic point of view. In particular, it is concentrated on the analysis of the marketplaces of Ballarò, Capo and Vuccirìa. The chosen spaces constitute some of the stops included in the classical tourist tours of the city and they are seen as historic places. That’s because of their ancient origin (these marketplaces came up in the medieval age) but also because of the particular ways of exposition, selling and consume which take place there and which distinguish them from others shop places. Palermo’s historic marketplaces’ structure is similar to the “suq” which we can find in the centre of the Arabic cities: narrow and crowded lanes, invaded by goods, covered with curtains and mats; a buzz made of shouted negotiations and the continual calls of the shopkeepers. The field-phase of the study included a series of visits in the places of interest. After that we analysed the pieces of information and the pictures token during the visits and as from some considerations we reached the conclusions that we will see. The main aim was to verify what the marketplaces’ space represents and how do people behave in it (and deal with it) and to describe how the identity of Palermo’s historic marketplace in general is composed. The study of the corpus concentrates at the beginning on the “space system”, in particular on the categories of the space’s expression which are connected with the current work (continuous/discontinuous; opened/closed; inside/outside; up/down; centre/periphery). Considering the marketplaces from the city point of view, they appear as places with a lack of clear boundaries or other elements which could close the space so that the inside (the marketplace) distinguishes itself from the outside (the rest of the city) mainly because in the inside there is a low roof made of coloured curtains which protects people and goods and filters the sun rays. If we add that the street-web of these places is made of a number of little lanes which intersect each other and that there are no cars here, there is a clear difference between these places and elegant streets such as via Maqueda and via Roma which are also full of cars. The elements that characterize this particular kind of merchandise display are a number of different expositive supports which are set on the street, piles of goods, a great number of different colours, a mix of flavours composed of many fragrances of products and hot street-food, a mix of voices, of sounds and noises and, at last, the flooring made of stone which is in a constant wet state. In a second moment, the space is studied as a process and, in particular, we’ll analyze the single parts in the three dimensions of the sense (pragmatic, cognitive and thymic). Since the shopkeepers tend to show everything (even the garbage), every object can be watched from a number of points of view and this causes the presence of “regimes of sight” in which a kind of “exhibitionism” or “ostentation” is prevalent. Moreover, the lack of boundaries or the presence of indefinite boundaries often result in an expansion of the market: many umbrellas or boxes for example, are progressively set in new streets near the main streets of the market. The customers use the extremely complex structure of the Ballarò, of the Capo or of the Vucciria producing many different routes. Using the graphic representation made by Floch, we have singled out four ways of visiting this places that are also four ways of seeing them and four kinds of visitors: “Explorers”, “Professionals”, “Sonnies”, “Idlers”. Studying the history of these marketplaces we’ve understood that above all, the Ballarò, the Capo are like autonomous organizations, most of the time with a sort of unconcerned attitude to the interventions, the orders made by the authorities; an organization which can manage itself, can renew and keep alive some of its characteristics. Every strong change such as the bombings in 1943 or the great urban interventions in the late XX century resulted in a re-signification of the forsaken places and the conquest of new territories but also a kind of resistance against every changes and a persistence of traditions. The extremely open structure of this places determine a “democratic utilization” and a continuous exchange between the inside and the outside. This exchange can be even cultural or social. Taking a look over the people’s composition in the neighbourhoods of the centre, it is clear that the capability of accepting (and welcoming) people coming from different parts of the world is a still alive tradition. For example, in the Ballarò during the Middle age, Jewish, Muslim and Christian men lived together and today citizens of Palermo sell their goods beside African, Chinese or Indian shops. Moreover the number of immigrants raised in the last years so that we can say that their contribute to the social and economic re-vitalization of the market and the whole community become fundamental. Since the end of the Second World War the historic marketplaces in Palermo are in an abandon state which is due to the fact that many inhabitants, in the last decades, preferred to move to new neighbourhoods instead of rebuild their ancient houses. In fact the bombings completely destroyed some buildings and changed the aspect of the streets. Ballarò and Capo, when the war was over re-begin and work spontaneously, priming a process of re-population an simultaneously of re-building the communities of the neighbourhoods. The Vucciria found many more difficulties along this way and now it seems like a ghost place, once inhabited by a dead community , today empty or full of garbage, which accepts everything that has lost its meaning and value. Here there is only a process of de-meaning over the content and the entire ambient. But an artist, Uwe Jantsch in the summer 2006, bough piazza Garraffello, one of the squares of this marketplace, to the past liveliness managing in gathering the community of the Vucciria in occasion of an event like an artistic exhibition made of garbage sculptures. The three marketplaces today are seen by most of the people as decadent and folk manifestations, that can only be preserved as every historic object, like a tourist attraction, spaces that can only be restored in the same way of many other great European cities. In the conclusion we can affirm that the historic marketplace today is a place in which a particular way of show products and goods is done, but also a manifestation of a community identity, which lies under the daily expression of the commercial event and constantly propose itself and in different ways, integrating symbols which remind to its past history with new elements.

Analysis of the pricing of micro-credit in Italy and in Puglia and a comparison with the traditional credit.

This essay tries to analyse the ongoing debate about the effects on globalization on the transformation of the "western" capitalist models which wer born after the fall of the soviet bloc. At first, the essay presents the two capitalist models which rose in the 80's: the coordinated market economies (Rhenish model), where institutions have a piercing role, and the Anglo-Saxon liberal economy, where market has the mail role. Differences about companies funding, ownership and management system, effects on the labour market, relationship between employers and workers, welfare system, will be showed. Since there are countries whose capitalist system is more interesting than others to analyse because of a certain originality, the second part of the essay focus on Japanese macroeconomic system, which falls into the Rhenish family. Japan succeeded in reaching levels of prosperity and quality-of-life which are equal, or even better, than those of the other industrial countries, by means of an indipendent development path which started from a minimum industry level and which never reject cultural distinctive features which represented a real advantage in the fast economic growth of the country. The essay analyses the most important elements of the Japanese model, focusing in fact on these distinctive features. Then, the essay deals with the effects of globalization on macroeconomic models. In the last years markets globalization brought a great boost to new markets creation. The reality of the economic power moves from country-level to planet-level, from the amall enterprise to the transnational company, from public sphere to private interests. New capitalism asks for deregulation and total freedom which are distinctive of the Anglo-Saxon economic model and for a system where all the players in the game are subject to the same rules. Will the two models be able to resist to the flattening pressures of global capitalism and save their own features? Or is the models convergence towards Anglo-Saxon system inevitable?

Analysis of advertising language.

This study has his primary focus in analyzing the socio-economic and cultural changes caused by the digital revolution towards which the whole World is passing by, with a special focus on the birth and the evolution of the new devices that allow customers to use digital published products. Then it is studied how the publishing industry, and publishers too, are coping with the mentioned digital revolution , analizing the changes in production, placing, communication and selling strategies. It is also analized how the process of consumption of books is changing. Lastly, the study focuses on the italian publishing industry, with the primary goal of undestand how it is reacting to the digital revolution and the secondary goal of suggest to Italian publishers some strategies to succeed in the market of digital publishing.

Arab Theatre.

The main result of this thesis is a stochastic model of visual search, which allows to derive from the Eye Tracking data analysis a numeric parameter able to distinguish the behavior of subjects with autism spectrum disorders from that of normal subjects. In fact, this model has a parameter T, called Temperature (although this is not a temperature in the physical sense of the word), which is able to describe the transition from the visual behavior of normal subjects to that of subjects with autism spectrum disorders. This basic hypothesis is a starting point for further study in this field of research, which is going through a phase of rapid development.

The majority of guys (and not only) has experienced at least once in a lifetime the rite of seance, though only to try some harmless thrill. Many modern writers and directors have used the gimmick of the seance to create commercial works, usually horror or thriller, rich in mystery and suspense. Finally, even those who have never taken part in the evocation of spirits knows what it is, I know roughly the mechanisms. The seance is part of our collective imagination, in short, although generally emptied of its religious content, or otherwise listed as game somehow dangerous, without knowing from where it derives its harmfulness. But when was the practice of the seance? What it meant at the time? What implications hid? And as was upheld by the imagination and thought of writers? These are broadly the questions to which this argument you want to answer, of course, paying particular attention to its artistic and cultural aspects. If today, in a largely secularized society, dominated by science and technology, where spirits and saints exist only in television, not much interest the evocation of the souls of the deceased; We think instead that impact must have had the newly-born spiritualism at the beginning of the century, when the much celebrated science couldn't give rational answers and outright many of Paranormal phenomena. The new religion that demonstrated the existence of the afterlife became a refuge for various categories of people, as disgruntled believers of rigid dogmas and ecclesiastical policies of the Church, the Agnostics from repressed spirituality and scientists defeated by evidence. When the table tripod made his entrance in most living rooms, it was inevitable that the writers will take place and we do lend their attention. And that's in the history of Western literature appear for the first time the séances. After decades their depictions can be considered as a real literary theme, although there are no essays devoted to the topic, if not in reference to individual authors. For this reason we decided to deepen the research collection in this thesis.

During my university studies I was always impressed how everything was connected in the human body and how everything interferes with even distant districts. The musculoskeletal system is part of this holistic concept and is probably one of the best shows, this very field of rehabilitation has been that since the early days of training, I was passionate and has captured my mind, creating a particular interest: balance what is not. The Mezieres method falls into this philosophy of rehabilitation intervention, identifying imbalances and trying to harmonize the system, with global operations and trying to correct muscular and postural alterations. This approach has become part of my modus operandi, intervening with patients who have had the opportunity to follow, in a manner different from that academic. Maybe my thoughts will lead me to want to intervene in those situations where the rehabilitative intervention could be judged as "useless", but what drives me to try and try again is that the human body is not a static element of nature, but a continuous change in its smaller parts as in the larger ones, and even the slightest intervention can lead to an improvement more or less general. During the time that I have followed the patients for the thesis, I have experienced these concepts of globality, and how through adequate control in the execution of the exercises, combined with cooperation from the patient, may cause actual results to overtime, sometimes unexpected . I also wanted to understand, through the international scales, degree of satisfaction by patients after having been subjected to such treatment "unconventional": these indices have shown me the validity of this therapeutic approach in any type of orthopedic injury, noting a high degree of functional recovery after treatment.

Media affect every our choise, in every single moment and everyday. But who control media? who earn from media emergency?

Theses relates to the structural characterization of a novel protein recently discovered protein belonging to the family of inteins. The inteins are proteins capable of mediating splicing reaction, a process which consists in the post-translational recombination of two protein fragments called esteine ​​and the exclusion of the protein under examination precisely the intein; divide the three classes based on differences in the mechanism of splicing. In biotechnology the inteins are used for the purification of recombinant proteins using the inteins as tags and for the reactions of IPL (Intein-Mediated Protein Ligation) ie the reaction between synthetic peptides and not with proteins by exploiting the ability to mediate splicing of the same inteins, as well as in the previous case. The 'intein that I studied was named MsmDnaB1 and was assigned to Class 3, a class of which the type of mechanism spilcing has not yet been defined. In my thesis work we have tried to define the secondary structure of MsmDnaB1 by introducing mutations in the gene sequence and by using spectroscopic techniques, we evaluated whether the impairment of the same structure after the splicing reaction, inteins also performing comparative studies with different class already characterized, and both the modifications (deceleration) in the kinetics of splicing, finally, we have identified an important step which characterizes the splicing reaction of the third class of inteins by methods of enzymatic digestion and LC-MS analysis.

This research analyzes the size of work-related stress in the teaching profession. The construct in question is analyzed in relation to students' challenging behaviors in a sample of teachers of Nursery, Primary and Secondary School. Secondly, have been linked to individual differences found in the dimension of stress, with purely psychological variables: locus of control behavior and generalized self-efficacy. The analysis shows that the teaching profession can be characterized in terms of a business with potentially high level of strain. The individual differences are explained in relation to individual psychological factors specified above.

The selective mutism: causes, origins and theories about the origin of this kind of mutism. Human case of mutism. Adverts for teachers and parents about how to approach to it.

INDEX INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1. Formation and evolution of nursing theory 1.1 Path of legislation and training of the profession: the DR 1310/1940 to D.L. 43/2006 1.2 The development of nursing science: focus on clinical criteria based on quality CHAPTER 2. Evidence-based Nursing 2.1 The Evidence-Based Nursing and its history 2.2 Methodology of scientific research on the net CHAPTER 3. The guidelines 3.1 Definition and importance of the guidelines 3.2 Search Network guidelines 3.3 Difference between guidelines, protocols and procedures 3.4 Evidence-based approach as the basis of clinical governance CHAPTER 4. The change: asset or threat? 4.1 The resistance to change and their etiologic mechanisms 4.2 The resistance to change and the tools to overcome 4.3 The Change Management CHAPTER 5. Research 5.1 The research design 5.2 The questionnaire 5.3 Analysis of data obtained from the questionnaire with accompanying discussions CONCLUSIONS THANKS Bibliography and site links INDEX OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS

This thesis is the esplicable union between human resource management and its practical application in the generation of meaning in the government of people within organizations. We want to affirm the principle that creating a sense - a process designed by the discipline semiotics - can be applied to management support.

An analytic work on "8 1/2" by Federico Fellini, about the transformation from the script to the shooting moment.

Main objective of this paper is to analyze how, in recent decades, due to various reasons (such as the decline of public funding, greater autonomy of Universities and external political pressure) Public Institutions have changed the methods to carry out research and have increased the collaboration with industries.

Inflammation is a complexe defence mechanism that can be sparked off by a tissue damage, an infection, an immune response or by other phenomena causing the penetration of inflammatory cells (macrophages, neutrophils, blood disks). According Arthritis Foundation we include about 100 different kinds of pathologies with wording "rheumatic diseases”, which can affect articulations and connective tissue. Among these pathologies I kept attention to rheumatoid arthritis, a progressive inflammatory polyarthritis of synovial joints at autoimmune pathogenesis. Among antiinflammatory plants there is Devil's Claw which is useful to relieve inflammation symptoms.

The subject of the present work is the famous skyscraper Taipei 101 located in Taiwan. The main objective is the study of the free-vibration response of the structure, and in particular a great effort is done in order to provide an estimate of the beneficial effect of the tuned mass damper (located at the top of the skyscraper) on the structural response. In order to carry on such study, the typical engineering approach towards structure is followed. That is, after a preliminary study phase on the resisting structure of the skyscraper, a simplified model is set up; this is possible thanks to several hypotheses on the materials, on the geometry of structural elements and on the geometry and intensity of the loads. The next step involves the discretization of the structure, that allows to obtain a discrete solution. Then, dynamic analyses are carried out on the discrete model. A first analysis is done using the modal superposition technique and a second analysis is done using the Newmark method for solving the equation of motion through direct numerical integration. In the first case the damping effect of the tuned mass damper is "smeared" on the whole structure, using a Rayleigh damping model. In the second case the tuned mass damper is modeled as an additional degree of freedom for the structure. Pros and cons of the two methods of TMD modeling are discussed by comparing the results obtained in the two cases.

The aim of the dissertation is to demonstrate and explain why the bottled water industry is a misinterpreted market. Primary and secondary researches have been conducted in order to develop a situational analysis. All the books, website and articles that has been used to support this paper are describe and analyzed in the literature review. Also the methodology illustrates the research process and critically evaluates the validity of the primary and secondary data gathered throughout the research. Three interviews were conducted in order to collect the information needed for the market evaluation. The interviewees are all high skilled managers that operate in the bottled water industry. The secondary researches are the result of the collection of information from a large number of sources. During the research process several key-factors of the industry have been defined and analyzed. Sustainability, Carbon Footprint and Water Footprint are the most important topics that have been discussed, in order to be able to evaluate this industry. These three key-factors are deeply described and analyzed in the dissertation. The information background delivers to the reader the minimum knowledge required to being able to correctly evaluate the bottled market industry. The research highlights that the misinterpretation of the industry is given by a wrong approach to the topic. The information gathered in the paper show that there are two main approaches to the topic: sustainability and ethics. It has been concluded that neither of both approaches is incorrect, but it is wrong to consider the two approaches in the same time. It has also been recommended to use the information and data present in this dissertation to be able to autonomously analyze the situation, without external influences. In fact, the purpose of this paper is not to suggest to the reader a specific approach to the topic, but only to impartially outline the situation, supporting all the thesis discussed with reliable data and referenced sources.

Innovative cement-based materials are characterized today by rather complex formulations. In particular, when cement pastes are considered, their formulation generally includes two different types of polymers: a rheology modifier (RM) (typically a cellulose derivative), which is used to control the viscosity of the system, and a superplasticizer (SP), which is used as an anti-flocculant for the solid phase suspension. Owing to the polar nature of both polymer and solvent (water), chemico-physical interactions between the two polymers are expected. In this paper, the rheology of aqueous solutions containing a RM and different types of SPs is studied. Solutions of the two components are prepared by respecting their relative proportions in the final cement formulations. Their behavior is studied by using rotational rheometry and performing viscosity and viscoelasticity measurements. The results show that, when the SP is added to the RM solution at room temperature, the system undergoes a dramatic, sharp transition from a high viscosity plateau to a low viscosity one. Such a viscosity drop, which can be of even four orders of magnitude, takes place at a well-defined shear stress threshold, and is not present in the pure RM solution. Additionally, when the viscoelastic moduli of the solution are measured as a function of temperature, a similar sharp transition in the rheological properties takes place when a threshold temperature (typically, in the 40-60°C range) is reached. The observed behavior, which is a clear proof of the thermodynamic interactions between the two polymers, is discussed and possible explanations are given.

This thesis analyses the development of ethics in both business and finance, considering issues such as Corporate Governance Responsibility (CSR), Environmental Social Governance (ESG) and Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). In particular, it will examine the drivers and challenges that ethical principles are incurring to grow as a mainstream field. At the end some incentives and possible initiatives will be enlighten in order to fasten this process.

This project was born with the partnership between Politecnico di Torino and the Dutch company NXP, and it is been developed directly in the company. The following report documents the design, implementation, testing and tuning of an RF power amplifier in Class AB designed for an operating spectrum between 1.8 – 2.0 GHz, using a LDMOS by NXP called BLF7G20LS-110, and for Base Station applications. The main focus of the project was the design and improvement of the Networks Matching. At the beginning this work summarizes the most important concepts regarding the RF environment (Chapter 1), followed by the main features for a PA (Chapter 2). The whole project reflects a design approach relying on computer simulations using ADS software, firstly following a broadband approach (Chapter 3), and secondly, for unsatisfactory results, a narrowband approach (Chapter 4). The results of these simulations are been used toward the development of a physical circuit, starting from the Layouts to the assembly of the entire networks; therefore the circuits are then refined for greater performance by testing and tuning (Chapter 5).

The geopolitical point of view of Abyei is that this region, even if it depends on South Kordofan, controlled by the Khartoum government, is located between the North and the newly independent South Sudan state, which have been in conflict for years, and is locally oil abundant, which makes it a strategic and burning point. Following the CPA in 2005 (end of second Sudanese war) and the independence of South Sudan (2011), and the relative peace between the North and the South, the status and the ethnical problems occurring in this region are re-triggering a conflict between Northern and Southern forces. The main drivers of this ongoing conflict are both a scarcity (grazing lands) and an abundance (oil) of natural resources. The conflict has reached a peak when in May 2011, Northern forces seized Abyei, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing thousands. However, even if to date troops did not withdraw from Abyei, a hope is perceived as in October 2011 the government of South Sudan and Khartoum are negotiating towards a deal including cheap Southern oil against freedom of Abyei.

Sex and the City is an Emmy award-winning cable television program, created by Darren Star. The show originally aired on the pay-TV cable channel Home Box Office (HBO) for six seasons from 1998 to 2004. In 2001 it won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy series, the first time a cable television show has ever taken top honors for best series in any category. Sex and the City is an adaptation of Candice Bushnell’s collection of essays, also entitled ‘Sex and the City,’ which are based on her mid-nineties columns for the New York Observer about «negotiating the urban jungle in the cruel planet that is Manhattan». Her column, that established itself as a ‘must-read’ for every urban New Yorker, «chronicles the cultural elite, a perversely poignant universe of Manhattan night spots and Hampton beach houses inhabited by glamorous but cynical women and rich soulless men». The column mixed the investigative with personal, tracing the parties, preoccupations, and sexual peccadilloes of the wealthy Manhattan social scene. Some of these autobiographical vignettes were later collected in her book. The premise of the show depicts a ‘thirty-something’ New York column writer (based on Bushnell herself) named Carrie Bradshaw, who considers herself to be on a pseudo anthropological quest to understand contemporary urban dating rituals of her various ‘Manhattanite’ friends. The social scene evoked by Bushnell was unfailingly cruel, superficial, and harsh, and often unforgiving of women. Even for a cable channel like HBO, known to be more willing to take risks in its programming than the networks, the prospect of a television show retaining all the «the big black truth» of Bushnell’s «horrific» writing (Bret Easton Ellis, cited on back cover of Bushnell, 1996) seemed too risky a venture, too potentially alienating to audiences. Michael Patrick King, executive producer of the show, described how the writing team recognized that «to make the premise work on television they would have to adapt some of Bushnell’s tone and add more humor». Much of the book’s cold cynicism had been replaced with comedy, and while the competitive world and sharply observed New York glamorous elite were still there, the television series focused on a complex but warm central female protagonist and her best friends. It is an urban story about four female characters in their thirties-forties: Carrie Bradshaw, a newspaper columnist; Miranda Hobbes, a corporate lawyer; Samantha Jones, a public relations executive; and Charlotte York, an art gallery owner. The show revolves around the main protagonist, Carrie Bradshaw, who narrates each episode as she seeks insight and answers to relationship dilemmas. Each episode is organized around her column topics, in such a way as to provide background commentary to the unfolding plots of the show’s episodes.

The idea of self – preservation in turbulent flows began during the beginning of the 20th century. Self – preservation is said to occur when the profiles of velocity (or any other quantity) can be brought into congruence by simple scale factors that depend on only one of the variables. A recent work “Identification of Any Aircraft by its Unique Turbulent Wake Signature” from Mark Garnet and Aaron Altman (University of Dayton) tried to challenge the aspect of the self – preservation theory making a turbulent model able to reconstruct the Reynolds Stress distribution only starting with the knowledge of certain parameter: Momentum thickness (via drag coefficient), velocity, and geometrical characteristics such as span and characteristic horizontal length of the investigated models. All the experiments were conducted at University of Dayton “Kettering Labs” through an exchange program between the University of Dayton and the “Fondazione Comunità Domenico Tardini – Villa Nazareth” First, a brief review of this theoretical foundation will be discussed wherein the drag coefficient can be used to estimate either a Reynolds Stress distribution or (indirectly) a model of the velocity profile of the turbulent wake. Experimentally, initially the Reynolds stress distribution downstream of a circular cylinder is determined using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) in the University of Dayton Low Speed Wind Tunnel (UD – LSWT) and those results compared to the predicted Reynolds Stress distribution calculated from the drag coefficient obtained through direct force measurement. Subsequently, the Reynolds stress distribution downstream of a moderate aspect ratio wing obtained through PIV is similarly compared to a predicted Reynolds Stress distribution derived through the drag coefficient obtained from direct force measurement. Finally, a small remote controlled twin engine aircraft is tested with wind-milling propellers and its drag measured from a force balance is used to generate the expected Reynolds stress distribution. This distribution is then compared to the Reynolds stress distribution obtained from PIV downstream of the model where the wake had not yet achieved a self-preserved state. This prevented a complete demonstration of practical feasibility of the technique; however, several key underlying assumptions of the method are validated.

ABSTRACT In this study the interpersonal relationships and especially problematic communication within the family context is of paramount concern. The focus on communication, specifically in the family system, with a view to Biblically restoring communication in problematic interpersonal relationships gives the present study validity and value; this is especially true in the context of family systems in South Africa. The family system in South Africa is under pressure and the pastoral care giver is, subsequently, also under pressure to provide accurate counselling and intercession when needed to the family as a whole. This study aims to satisfy that need in focusing on restoring communication in problematic interpersonal relationships in the family system from a Bible-centred (Christian) perspective. The areas that the researcher investigated centred on communication in problematic interpersonal family relationships and the way in which communication problems in a particular family system may contribute to the potential problems that the family as a unit may have to cope with. The researcher worked with the hypothesis that problematic communication in interfamilial relationships may severely impede the family system in functioning as an allied unit against the pressures of life (for instance financial challenges, work stress). If family communication patterns were healthy or at least functional, the hypothesis is that all other problems that a family might face could be handled more easily by a family as an allied unit. The research question of this study is: How can families, with problematic interpersonal familial relationships, be counselled from a Biblical perspective with the primary objective of restoring communication in the family system? Can effective Bible-centred counselling guidelines be set down and developed from a study of family systems as depicted in Scripture, the human sciences and an empirical study in order to restore communication in problematic interpersonal relationships in the family system? This study shows that problematic communication in interfamilial relationships does impede the family system from functioning effectively. Interpersonal relationships in the family system is often complex and communication is only one element present in those relationships which can have a detrimental effect on good family relationships if communication is strained. The overarching research aim of the study was to obtain, develop and put forth Bible-centered praxis-theoretical guidelines on restoring communication in family systems caught up in problematic interpersonal relationships. The conclusion of this study is that families with problematic interpersonal familial relationships can be effectively counselled from a Biblical perspective with the aid of material from the human sciences with the primary objective of restoring communication in the family system.

The context of this thesis is part of the project “Augmented Reality in Astrid Lindgren's Landscape” (Swedish title: “Datorförstärkta landskap i Astrid Lindgrens bygd”), a research project financed by NCU - National Center for Outdoor Education in Sweden, running in the years 2010 – 2011, aimed to develop a demonstrator of a computer augmented landscape that makes Astrid Lindgren's life and authorship accessible in the landscape that she wrote about and grew up in. Astrid Lindgren is one of Sweden’s most well known, read and beloved authors, and her home in Vimmerby (Småland) is a popular destination for both adults and children. Visitors come to explore the real life settings of her famous stories and characters, but also to see her home, and the surroundings that inspired both her life and her creations. All over the world Astrid Lindgren is mainly known for her fictional character “Pippi Långstrump” (in Italian: “Pippi Calzelunghe”), the unconventional, assertive, eight-year-old baby-girl with a superhuman strength, able to lift her horse one-handed without any difficulty. My contribution in the project went in the prototyping stages. There are some references in literature about how to prototype mobile applications, the techniques which better suite this area and the best strategies to adopt, as there are also several references about the augmented reality topics and the correlated prototyping techniques. Instead, research has not yet deeply explored the overlap of these two areas: the prototyping strategies to develop augmented reality mobile applications. This is a pretty new field, and all the main contributions come from the last few years. In this project I built prototypes according to the already existing prototyping guidelines and the established techniques well-known in literature, so as I tried to invent ways to represent the new dimension given by augmented reality. Moreover, I tried to design a general pattern to adopt in order to prototype augmented reality services and I performed usability tests on the prototypes. My contribution in this project goes into usability and user research fields.

In my dissertation my intention was to show how culture can be transmitted by several different means; not only through literature and art, but also through culinary traditions, religion and popular music. Therefore it is important that these means are authentic in order to carry truthful information; on the contrary they tend to be changed and adapted according to the needs and tastes of the market, and this may lead non-Cubans to build up an idea of Cubanhood that does not correspond to reality. García’s novels are a good starting point for those who want to know more; they are able to give the right amount of information, enough to make the reader able to place the fiction into a historical frame with no needs of explanatory notes that may make reading too heavy. The insertion of characters with countries of origins other than Cuba and United States, such as China, El Salvador, Iran, Japan etc., make the stories more interesting and above all give them a character of universality. The novels are worthy to be read as reading “is the most effective barricade against hopelessness” (The Lady Matador’s Hotel: 63), and García is able to make the reader feel a part not only of the fictional story, but also of real history.

This thesis investigates how data mining algorithms can be used to predict Bodily Injury Liability Insurance claim payments based on the characteristics of the insured customer’s vehicle. The algorithms are tested on real data provided by the organizer of the competition. The data present a number of challenges such as high dimensionality, heterogeneity and missing variables. The problem is addressed using a combination of regression, dimensionality reduction, and classification techniques.

Bilingualism is a situation that involves not only the linguistic field, but also the economic and social ones. The thesis focuses on the history of bilingualism in Wales and how Welsh people dealt with it in the different decades. Special attention is paid to the education field, bringing the experience of Aberystwyth University as an example of bilingual policy. Lastly, the Welsh situation is compared with the EU policy and other examples of bilingualism in Europe, in particular Valle d' Aosta.

This thesis describes the design process and the construction of a fixture, a circuit that improves RF characterization process performances. The PCB (Printed Circuit Board) obtained was used for the small signal characterization of the NXP BLF7G20LS 110 LLC24 transistor using a load pull bench and the results of these measurements are presented. The innovation of this fixture stands in the capabilities of working in a wide band and of characterizing high power devices. In fact, the fixture performs a typical 50 – 10 Ohm matching in a 0.7 – 4 GHz bandwidth and the internal bias tee is able to handle a current of 2 A and a voltage of 28 V. The project was developed in the PL RF Power & BaseStations department of NXP Semiconductors in Nijmegen.

This paper was born from my own passion concerning sport in general, and football in particular. Today, sport is ever shifting in the direction of business, and for this reason, sponsoring in the sport world has become one of the most important aspects. Sport sponsorships provide great support for the sporting movement, because they permit athletes, teams and event organizations to move forward, and continue their activities and businesses. The presence of business in the sport world creates some concerns connected with the loss of sport values, which are something that should not be changed for business requirements. Otherwise, the risk of disaffection in the public is really great. However, this paper will attempt to understand the role of sport in companies‟ strategies. In particular, the main objective is to try to understand how companies use sport in their communication strategies, in order to put them in contact with their customers. Sport is an incredible means of communication, because it allows for the targeting of specific groups, which would otherwise be unachievable. Moreover, sport is connected with a magical atmosphere, full of strong emotions and able to make people forget social and economic barriers. Sport is something for everybody. Companies have understood this aspect, and they are creating always more connections with sport in order to communicate their values and try to transfer a positive image of their brands on public. Big world-events represent the best way for firms to increase their awareness on public. Due to the increasing public interest, in particular on football World Cup and Olympic Games, sponsorship fees have risen incredibly in the last decades, impeding many firms from become official sponsors. In this context firms have developed new forms of communication connected with sporting events, which have the same objectives of sport sponsorships, but they try to achieve it in other ways. We are speaking about ambush marketing, which is the second main theme of this paper. It represents a new way of communication, and it is characterized by the willing of firms to increase their awareness on public, creating a strong association with an event, without paying costly sponsorship fees. Ambush marketing has created many problems in recent years for official sponsors and event organizations, because it represents a big risk in terms of loss of visibility for official sponsors, and in terms of difficulty to attract and maintain sponsors for event organizations.

The analysis, based on the event study methodology, allows to point out the impact of Sponsorship in the European automotive market. The choice of selecting Citroen and FIAT as samples for the study is due to the similar background they have. First of all, they are European companies and are competitors in the same market. Secondly, both have adopted a new marketing approach in the recent years of crisis, as, for instance, the new concept of the brand logo. Moreover, as illustrated above, they tried to enhance their images in a similar manner through contracts of new sponsorship deals with different sport teams. All these similarities are important for the analysis, in order to render the event study more reliable, allowing to set an accurate comparison and to get the most objective results. The result will plainly show if the markets react in the same way to similar events and which event will be judged as the more effective. The analysis proposed will take into account the stock market index CAC 40 concerning Citroen stock prices and the FTSE.MIB concerning FIAT stock prices. The paper will be divided into four sections: firstly a wide-range theoretical framework will be proposed focusing on the event study and sponsorship literature. In the second part the essay will deal with the methodology used in the analysis, while the third part will provide a brief overview of each companies. Finding will be shown in the conclusive part, with commentaries and possible recommendation for further researches.

Can we build a winogradsky column which can simulate any miniature microbial environment?-costly Do we alter the environmental factors one by one in different columns?-cheap can we study the nature of biofilms, analyse the biofilm interaction pattern, keep track and predict? Will this new winogradsky column help us to identify new microbes? Can we use a winogradsky column to isolate purpose based microbes? Can we harvest biofilm electricity?

The aim of this work is to analyze how Italian language has spread in the United Kingdom, from the phenomenon of immigration to the introduction of Italian in the English educational system, which is now considered an elite interest. My work is composed of three chapters in which I analyze the issue of the teaching and learning of Italian in the United Kingdom from different points of view. The first chapter locates the whole phenomenon in a historical perspective. The diffusion of Italian all over the world, including the United Kingdom, starts from the migration of huge masses of Italians towards other countries. Starting from this social factor, in this chapter the consequent interest in Italian also by autochthonous people is analyzed. The second chapter highlights the initiatives of the Italian government in order to preserve and stimulate the diffusion of our language, including non-institutional associations working together for the same purpose. The third and final chapter has a more interactive nature. It is, in fact, a comparative analysis based on the results of a questionnaire which I sent to two prestigious English universities, Oxford and Bath. The students, in fact, were asked to judge their Italian language and culture lessons, in order to give us a real idea of how Italian is taught in English universities. The questionnaire of the survey carried out and all the documents used are available in the appendix.

The subject of this thesis is renewable sources in Italy in particular natural gas sector. After an analysis of Italian energy balance, renewable sources are taken into consideration, marking their advantages, potentialities and disadvantages. The analysis goes on with Kyoto Protocol and international situation, it examines the potentialities of nuclear energy and finally arrives to natural gas. In this thesis the author wants to affirm that natural gas could be a strategical source for future, so, after a special analysis of vertically integrated chain, the author deepens the passage to horizontal integration that led to market opening. So we have an analysis of liberalization started in UE and incorporated by Italy with "Letta Decree", and then the author considers theorical foundations leading to competition opening. After the author analizes actual situation where the position of Eni and anticompetition limits by-pass determining important consequences regarding competition stand out. Finally, after having discussed the possible problem of a gas bubble, the author analizes some possible propositions for future like strengthening through regasification plants and the fascinating idea that Italy could become an hub for gas for Europe.

Nowadays football betting is becoming more and more popular around the world. In the last few years several works have been done and improved in order to develop models able to predict the outcome of football matches. In our analysis we study the Dixon-Coles model for the full-time scores and then we focus our attention on the difference of goals, since it seems to be more advantageous than modelling the scores themselves. We develop two basic models for the difference of goals based on the discrete Normal distribution that gives us interesting results as compared to the Skellam distribution. Furthermore we study the Dixon-Robinson model for the goal times and we investigate the possible clustering of goal times data. Using self-exciting point processes, we found that the scoring rate in a football match tends to be higher during the minutes straight after a goal has been scored. Our general results want to be a solid starting point for more sophisticated analyses.