Search results for " Behaviour"
showing 10 items of 1096 documents
KIC 8462852: Will the Trojans return in 2021?
2017
KIC 8462852 stood out among more than 100,000 stars in the Kepler catalogue because of the strange features of its light curve: a wide, asymmetric dimming taking up to 15 per cent of the light at D793 and a period of multiple, narrow dimmings happening approximately 700 days later. Several models have been proposed to account for this abnormal behaviour, most of which require either unlikely causes or a finely-tuned timing. We aim at offering a relatively natural solution, invoking only phenomena that have been previously observed, although perhaps in larger or more massive versions. We model the system using a large, ringed body whose transit produces the first dimming and a swarm of Troja…
Consumers' perceptions of sustainably produced food: a focus group study
2009
The purpose of this study is to provide information on consumers' perceptions of sustainably produced food products and the main product attributes that influence consumers' buying behaviour in the case of organic, Fair Trade and locally produced food. The paper draws on data from four focus groups. The results provide empirical insight into the motivating as well as the restricting factors that influence consumers' purchasing behaviour in the case of sustainably produced food and introduce the emerging key themes associated with the attributes of sustainably produced food products.
Economic conditions and populist radical right voting: The role of issue salience
2021
Contains fulltext : 245174.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) In this article, we show with the European Election Study from nine Western European countries that issue salience of the economy and immigration contributes to our understanding of the puzzling relation between economic conditions and populist radical right support. In countries with relatively weak or worsening economic conditions, the economy is considered more salient, whereas immigration loses salience – also compared to other issues. Voters who perceive the economy as most important problem are less likely to opt for the populist radical right than people who perceive immigration or even other issues as most important…
How can the management of fitness centres be improved through corporate image and brand image?
2022
The aim of this research is to test the role of corporate image in predicting credibility, trust, and brand recognition. In addition, it is intended to verify whether these variables can explain the atti- tudes and future intentions of fitness centre users to better understand their behaviour. Through an online survey, the opin- ions of 325 fitness centre users were collected regarding the pre- viously mentioned variables. A structural equation model was made by means of EQS 6.4 to confirm, first, the reliability of the scales used and subsequently test the different relationships between variables. The results show the importance of corporate image as a starting point to explain future int…
The determinants of social sustainability in work integration social enterprises: the effect of entrepreneurship
2021
Work integration social enterprises (WISEs) exist to fight poverty and social exclusion. They offer support and guidance to those at risk of exclusion to help these individuals join the labour market. This study examines the relationship between social enterprises (specifically, work integration social enterprises) and their social impact, considered here in the form of social sustainability. This article presents the results of empirical analysis of 62 Spanish work integration social enterprises using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The article focuses on the entrepreneurial characteristics of the companies’ founders and managers as drivers of social value creation. Specificall…
Exploring the determinants of anti-mafia entrepreneurial behaviour: an empirical study on southern Italian SMEs
2017
This study analyses organized crime from an economic perspective and highlights the crucial role of extortion in mafia activities. From an economic viewpoint, we debate the conditions that lead companies to resist mafia extortion. To study the reactions of firms to extortion, we adopt an institutional perspective and consider the contribution of different theories in the socially responsible behaviour and organized crime literature, in an attempt to understand this complex entrepreneurial behaviour better. A sample of 116 southern Italian SMEs, whose entrepreneurs have publicly opposed mafia extortion, was selected. By adopting a matched-pair design, anti-mafia firms were subsequently match…
Electric mobility in the Sicilian short food supply chain
2019
This paper is the first study to explore the intention of entrepreneurs operating in the Short Food Supply Chain to adopt electric mobility inside their business. For this purpose, a case study approach was chosen, employing a questionnaire based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the New Ecological Paradigm to investigate the determinants affecting this intentional behaviour. The empirical analysis has been carried out in the city of Palermo (Italy), involving 42 entrepreneurs who participate in farmer's markets. Results show that entrepreneurs with higher levels of intention to introduce sustainable means of transport, such as electric vehicles, are the most concerned about the enviro…
MULTICRITERIA OPTIMAL DESIGN OF CONTINUOUS CIRCULAR PLATES
2010
The paper is devoted to a quite general version of the multicriteria optimal (minimum volume) design of axisymmetric circular plates. The constitutive material is considered as elastic perfectly plastic without any ductility limit and the actions are assumed as quasi-statically variable within a given load domain. In the design problem formulation different resistance criteria are considered, in order to investigate all the possible structural limit responses, and for each one a suitably chosen safety factor is chosen. The optimal design problem is formulated as the search for the minimum structure volume according with a statical approach. The features of the optimal structures will be stu…
Influence of protecting devices on the optimal design of elastic plastic structures
2008
The paper concerns the minimum volume design of structures constituted by elastic perfectly plastic material. The relevant optimal design problem is formulated on the grounds of a statical approach and two different resistance limits are considered: in particular, it is required that the optimal structure satisfies the elastic shakedown limit and the instantaneous collapse limit, imposing for each different condition a suitably chosen safety factor. For sake of generality, the structure is thought as discretized into compatible finite elements and subjected to loads quasi-statically acting as well as to dynamic (seismic) loads. The effects of the dynamic actions are studied on the grounds o…
THE ENTREPRENEURS’ PROPENSITY TO ADOPT ELECTRIC MOBILITY IN THE SHORT FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
2019
In the last years, Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) has gained relevant attention among the consumers, for its characteristics of environmental, economic and social sustainability. At the same time, recently some doubts has been raised about the environmental negative impacts that also SFSC is causing, despite the intrinsic “local” label. In particular, the reference is on the transport system and related CO2 emissions of SFSC that undermines the full achievement of environmental concerns. To deal with this challenge, electric vehicles (EVs) are seen as a viable and very promising alternative. Starting from these considerations, this study investigates the propensity of entrepreneurs operatin…