The Transimperial Identities Oscillating Between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1923)

The present study examines the transimperial character of Italian identity in the Ottoman Empire, its ethnocultural origins, and the transformation process it underwent after the 1911 Italo-Ottoman War. To this end, the study will firstly theorize the formation and evolution of Italo-Levantine identity, explore its demographic background and composition, and elaborate on its extraterritoriality, which is of a pragmatic nature. In addressing this subject, the study will also explore the role o...

Advanced optical methods in tissue engineering

Tissue engineering increasingly depends on live-cell fluorescence imaging to connect cellular behavior with engineered microenvironments and to measure how state, structure, and function change over time. However, scaling phenotyping toward high-throughput and high-content (HT/HC) experiments remains limited by three ongoing challenges: phototoxicity and accumulated photodamage during information-rich acquisition; weak compatibility between microenvironment fabrication and microscopy workflow...

Deep Learning and Evolutionary Optimization for Financial Forecasting with Echo State Networks

Financial time series are inherently noisy, nonlinear, and non-stationary, shaped by a wide range of economic and societal factors, which makes accurate forecasting exceptionally challenging. Traditional statistical approaches, relying on econometric assumptions, often struggle to capture these complex dynamics. In contrast, Deep Learning (DL) methods, particularly recurrent architectures, have demonstrated superior predictive power. However, these models face challenges such as high training...

Chemical Strategies for Targeting Binding Pockets within Nucleic Acid Secondary Structures

The Effects of Economic Conditions on Behavior and Health

This doctoral dissertation, entitled "The Effects of Economic Conditions on Behavior and Health", falls within the field of health economics and human capital, examining how policies, economic conditions, and targeted interventions shape health-related behaviors across the life cycle. The work frames sleep and lifestyle choices as intertemporal investments influenced by informational, institutional, and economic constraints, employing empirical methods including randomized experiments, policy...

Understanding Business Scaling, Its Process, and the Role of Context and Internationalization

Firms scaling, meaning rapid growth with efficient resource utilization, has become a critical priority in academic literature as well as in management practice. Scaling is not only central to firm performance but also vital for broader economic development, contributing to job creation, productivity gains, and the diffusion of innovation. Distinct from general firm growth, scaling refers to a firm’s ability to expand its outputs without proportional increases in inputs. Building on Penrose’s...

Transparency in Sustainability Reporting and the enabling role of digital technologies

This work provides a comprehensive and practice-oriented exploration of transparency in sustainability reporting, with a particular focus on how digital technologies can play a supporting role. The research is mainly looking at the European context, where an evolving legislative framework is radically reshaping corporate reporting. At the same time, the world is witnessing the disruption carried out by technologies such as Internet of Things, data automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI). ...

An “ADAPTIVE CHANGE” framework for Scaled Agile transformation in large enterprises

The Agile methodology, originally developed for software development, has seen a significant trend of being scaled up to enterprise-level transformations. This shift aims to harness the benefits of Agile across entire organizations, promoting greater flexibility, faster delivery, and improved customer satisfaction. However, one of the foundational principles of Agile is the maintenance of small, cross-functional teams. This principle presents substantial difficulties when attempting to scale ...

Industry 4.0 Technologies and Global Value Chains: Rethinking Geography, Efficiency, and Sustainability

During the last five decades, the world has experienced a rapid increase in international business and deep interconnectedness among firms and economies. MNEs have purchased, invested, outsourced, and offshored their manufacturing and services worldwide. Scholars and managers agree that the location of a firm’s activities is a critical factor, directly affecting production costs, diversification, and overall competitiveness. In this context, offshoring emerged as a fundamental strategy to har...