Financing knowledge-intensive enterprises: evidence from CVCs in the US

Since the 1990s, the importance of corporate venture capital (CVC) programs has grown around the world. CVCs are investments that established firms make in entrepreneurial companies. At the most basic level, CVC describes an equity investment made by a corporation or its investment entity in a high growth, high potential, privately held business. There is no systematic evidence that corporate venture capital investments create value for the investing firms. Firm value, however, can be created as a result of other benefits from investing (e.g., accessing a new technology). These considerations can explain why many firms currently choose to operate venture units: They have recognized the importance of CVC for strategic innovation in addition to its potential to generate financial returns. Some evidence from the US context described in this paper supports this intuition.     

Manners of Killing and Rituals in Apulian Mafia Murders*

Abstract: The Apulian (South of Italy) territory saw the birth of a criminal organization called Sacra Corona Unita (SCU, United Holy Crown) which transformed the rules of traditional mafia organizations. This work examined 83 victims of the SCU between 1980 and 2000. The bodies were mainly of SCU members and in some cases, of police and law enforcement officers and other citizens caught in the crossfire. Some of these were discovered; thanks to the collaboration of “repented” SCU members who became police informers. The condition of the bodies varied in relation to the date and manner of killing. In some cases anthropometric research methods were necessary. In 73% of the cases, lesions of the head were the only marks left on the body. In conclusion, the existence of some social aspects connected with the symbolisms and membership rites that characterized the origin, evolution, and decline of the SCU is stressed.     

Beta-tryptase and quantitative mast-cell increase in a sudden infant death following hexavalent immunization

The association between sudden infant death syndrome and immunization is frequently discussed. Serious adverse events following vaccination have generally been defined as those adverse events that result in permanent disability, hospitalization or prolongation of hospitalization, life threatening illness, congenital anomaly or death. They are generally referred to the inherent properties of the vaccine (vaccine reaction) or some error in the immunization process (programme error). The event could also be totally unrelated but only temporally linked to immunization (coincidental event). A fatal case of a 3-month-old female infant, who died within 24 h of vaccination with hexavalent vaccine is presented. Clinical data, post-mortem findings (acute pulmonary oedema, acute pulmonary emphysema), quali-quantitative data collected from immunohistochemical staining (degranulating mast cells) and laboratory analysis with a high level of beta-tryptase in serum, 43.3 microg/l, allows us to conclude that acute respiratory failure likely due to post hexavalent immunization-related shock was the cause of death.     

Analysis of 11 tetrameric STRs in wild boars for forensic purposes

STR profiling of animal species has a wide range of applications, including forensic identification, wildlife preservation, veterinary public health protection and food safety. We tested the efficacy of a multiplex PCR-based assay including 11 porcine-specific tetrameric STRs in a population sample of wild boars (n = 142) originating from Piedmont (North West Italy). Multiple deviations from Hardy–Weinberg expectations were observed, mostly due to a reduction in observed heterozygosity indicative of a high degree of inbreeding. A value of θ of 0.046 and an inbreeding coefficient of 0.089 were estimated. Combined power of discrimination and probability of exclusion values for the STR panel were 0.9999999999996 and 0.99989. In order to test the suitability of the method for meat traceability purposes, a domestic pig reference sample (n = 412), consisting of commercial lines commonly used in the meat production process, was also typed. A Bayesian cluster analysis carried out using the observed genotypes, showed a percentage of correct subspecies assignment of individual samples of 0.974 for wild boars and 0.991 for pigs, thus demonstrating the usefulness of the multiplex STR-typing system for discrimination purposes.     

Was Pius XII “Hitler’s Pope”? The Concordat of 1933

An unfortunate admixture of history-blinding “presentist” bias, exacerbated by today’s sound bite culture, academic overspecialization by scholars and professional historians, and polarizing polemics have led to a consensus regarding the topics of Pius XII’s conduct toward European Jewry during the fascist era. In the wake of the eightieth anniversary of the July 1933 Reichskonkordat between the Vatican and the Third Reich, the moment is timely to revisit the main issues. This essay re-examines the key arguments, introduces overlooked historical evidence, and considers the reports on Pius XII by prewar and wartime contemporaries.     

Suicidal poisoning with barium chloride

A 49-year-old male pharmacist suffering from depression phoned the emergency services telling of how he had ingested barium chloride. He was found semicomatose in bed and resuscitation attempts were to no avail and he died at the scene. A white plastic container labelled "Barium chloride... Poison", and a book with a writing on a blank page... "give sulphate... SO(4)" were found.At autopsy, 1l of whitish-yellow fluid was found in the stomach.Autopsy barium levels were: blood 9.9mg/l; bile 8.8mg/l; urine 6.3mg/l; gastric 10.0g/l.Cause of death was given as cardiorespiratory arrest due to barium chloride poisoning.The issue of barium toxicity in a variety of itatrogenic and non itatrogenic situation is discussed together with the two only other cases of suicidal barium ingestion, and the feasibility of early intervention at the scene by an emergency team.     

Consensus,compromise, justice and legitimacy

Could the notion of compromise help us overcoming – or at least negotiating – the frequent tension, in normative political theory, between the realistic desideratum of peaceful coexistence and the idealistic desideratum of justice? That is to say, an analysis of compromise may help us move beyond the contrast between two widespread contrasting attitudes in contemporary political philosophy: ‘fiat iustitia, pereat mundus’, on the one side, and ‘salus populi suprema lex’, on the other side. More specifically, compromise may provide the backbone of a conception of legitimacy that mediates between idealistic (or moralistic) and realistic (or pragmatic) desiderata of political theory, i.e. between the aspiration to peace and the aspiration to justice. In other words, this paper considers whether an account of compromise could feature in a viable realistic conception of political legitimacy, in much the same way in which consensus features in more idealistic conceptions of legitimacy (a move that may be attributed to some realist theorists, especially Bernard Williams). My conclusions, however, are largely sceptical: I argue that grounding legitimacy in any kind of normatively salient agreement does require the trappings of idealistic political philosophy, for better or – in my view – worse.     

Are healthier people happier? Evidence from Chile and Uruguay

Based on data from the Latinobarómetro, this study analyses data on happiness to establish the probability that an individual is happy. The focus is put on self-reported health status as a key aspect in increasing levels of happiness. The probability of being happy is econometrically estimated by probit models for each country. Results show that the main relationship is between happiness and health status. Whether this is a causal effect or only a correlation, is not clear. This issue is explored by using propensity score matching methods. These show that good health status increases the probability of being satisfied with life by between 13 and 17 percentage points. In line with the literature, we find that the relationship between age and happiness is U-shaped, with happiness at its lowest point at the age of 48.2.

Les personnes en bonne santé sont-elles plus heureuses ? Données concrètes en provenance du Chili et de l'Uruguay

Sur la base de données tirées du Latinobarómetro, cette étude analyse des données sur le bonheur afin d'établir la probabilité du bonheur de personnes données. L'accent est mis sur l'état de santé présenté par la personne elle-même comme aspect clé du niveau croissant de bonheur. La probabilité de bonheur est estimée économétriquement au moyen de modèles probit pour chaque pays. Les résultats indiquent que le principal rapport est celui qui relie le bonheur et l'état de santé. Quant à savoir si c'est là une relation de cause à effet ou seulement une corrélation, ce n'est pas évident. Cette question est traitée au moyen de méthodes d'appariement par score de propension, qui montrent qu'un bon état de santé accroît la probabilité de se sentir satisfait de sa vie de 13 à 17 pour cent. Conformément aux documents écrits sur ce thème, nous constatons que le rapport entre l'âge et le bonheur est en forme de U, le bonheur atteignant son niveau le plus bas à l'âge de 48,2 ans.

¿Son más felices las personas sanas? Hallazgos en Chile y Uruguay

A través del Latinobarómetro para Chile y Uruguay 2007, se estima a través de modelos probit la probabilidad de que un individuo sea feliz. La principal correlación positiva se da entre la felicidad y el buen estado de salud. A efectos de controlar la potencial heterogeneidad observable de esta variable, se utilizan técnicas de correspondencia encontrando que tener buena salud aumenta entre 13 y 17 puntos porcentuales la probabilidad de ser feliz para los datos agrupados regionales. Consecuentemente con la literatura, se encuentra una forma convexa con respecto a la edad, siendo los 48.2 años la edad de mínima felicidad.

As pessoas mais saudáveis são mais felizes? Evidências do Chile e Uruguai

Baseado em dados do Latinobarómetro, este estudo analisa dados sobre felicidade para estabelecer a probabilidade de um indivíduo ser feliz. O enfoque é dado na condição de saúde auto-relatada como aspecto-chave para aumentar os níveis de felicidade. A probabilidade de ser feliz é econometricamente estimada por modelos probit para cada país. Resultados mostram que a principal relação é entre felicidade e condição de saúde. Se isto é um efeito causal ou apenas uma correlação, não está claro. Esta questão é explorada utilizando-se métodos PSM (Propensity Score Matching). Estes métodos mostram que boas condições de saúde aumentam a probabilidade de satisfação com a vida em cerca de 13 a 17 pontos percentuais. Em sintonia com a literatura, constatamos que a relação entre idade e alegria tem a forma de U, com a alegria em seu ponto mais baixo na idade de 48.2.     

A New Predictor of Local Financial Distress

The development of predictive models for financial distress is a recurring topic in both private and public contexts, although currently its repercussions are greater in the public sphere, where efforts are being made to define new warning systems for fiscal crises. The present study thus aims first to show the similarities and differences between the absolute and relative models based on a 10-point scale, in order to subsequently combine the positive aspects of both proposals to find a system that can determine local fiscal distress in a more robust way.

The results obtained show that the optimum predictive system is a slight variant of the model proposed by Kloha et al. (2005) Kloha, P., Weissert, C. S. and Kleine, R. 2005. Developing and testing a composite model to predict local fiscal distress. Public Administration Review, 65(3): 313–323. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. This variant consists of the inclusion of two indicators of financial independence proposed by Zafra-Gómez et al. (2009a) Zafra-Gomez, J. S., López-Hernández, A. M. and Hernández-Bastida, A. 2009a. Developing an alert system for local governments in financial crisis. Public Money &; Management, 29(3): 175–82. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] for which an alert threshold has been empirically determined.     

Mandatory or Not Mandatory Reporting? Insights From Italian Bank Foundations

In the Italian nonprofit field, bank foundations face an increasing demand to account for their grant activity in forms that go beyond traditional financial statements. Consequently, bank foundations have developed specific reports in accordance with a 2001 Italian law that requires a mission report to be included within financial statements. This study investigates the peculiarities of social reporting documents in terms of standards used and formal characteristics, revealing different adoption levels. Contributing to an ongoing debate, the analysis of the reporting practices underlines how the due by law on social accounting could hamper the disclosure in nonprofit organizations.