La Medusa by Caravaggio: characterisation of the painting technique and evaluation of the state of conservation

The oil painting “La Medusa” executed by Caravaggio at the end of the XVI century on a wooden shield, was investigated by integrated physical–chemical and analytical methodologies in order to obtain scientific data capable of elucidating the state of conservation and the painting technique. Optical (OM) and electronic (SEM-EDS) microscopy, micro-FT-IR spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and pyrolysis GC–MS were applied on two microfragments and some organic samples obtained by solvent extraction using the swab cleaning technique. The obtained results indicated that Caravaggio probably reused an old shield as a previous gypsum preparation layer has been detected under the original painting layers. He used white lead, natural earths, verdigris and lead–tin yellow type I mixed with drying oils to paint. The considerable amount of amorphous particles of copper chlorides found in the green pigment verdigris suggests that it could have been produced according to the ancient recipe of verde salsum described by Theophilus. Mordant gilding has been identified on the upper part of the shield that can be related to an abandoned experiment to give the painting a mirror-like reflecting effect. Three different varnishes layers have been detected above the painted surface. The original and restoration varnishes have been identified and they contain a mixture of drying oil, mastic and turpentine and some beeswax. Cleaning tests, performed with different organic solvents, suggest the use of isopropyl alcohol as cleaning agent because it is less efficient in comparison to others solvents; thus it ensures a careful and controlled removal of the varnishes.     

A general model of performance and quality for one-stop e-Government service offerings

This paper introduces a framework and methodology for establishing indicators and metrics in order to assess the quality and performance of one-stop e-Government service offerings. The set of quality and performance indicators and metrics proposed has been derived in an outcomes assessment approach, based on the perspectives of e-Government service providers and end-users and following a goal-question-metric line of work that departs from some key quality and performance benefits. A methodology that employs the proposed framework to set improvement targets according to alternative scenarios is presented, and a strategy is elaborated for analyzing root causes of potential quality and performance shortcomings and undertaking appropriate countermeasures. Some results of application in a real case study, in the context of an EU-funded R&D project, are also provided. Finally, recommendations are given about usefulness of the proposed approach for e-Government service providers, as well as policy and decision-makers, and directions of future work are discussed in order to enhance the conceptual coverage of this approach, while at the same time not compromising its simplicity of application and generality of purpose.     

道德规范与国书馆事业

美国图书馆协会的<职业道德规范声明>提出了以图书馆事业为中心的具体原则,其<图书馆权利法案>则明确了图书馆的责任和义务.目前,美国社会和政治环境的变化为图书馆职业带来了越来越多的忧虑和压力."9·11"后出台的<爱国者法案>明显与图书馆职业道德规范中所阐述的重要原则相冲突.因此,美国图书馆协会决心抵制<爱国者法案>对知识、信息自由开放以及行使个人隐私权的限制.     

Rationalizing Sociality: An Unfinished Script for Socialbots

This article takes the concept and some of the existing applications of socialbots—software robots that operate on social networking sites and present themselves as human users—as an occasion to trace the evolution of online sociality. The argument mobilizes theories of social rationalization from Max Weber to contemporary critical theory to demonstrate that the appearance of automated profiles (socialbots) on social networking platforms can be seen as a logical step in the progressive enclosure of online social interaction in standardized, simplified, and trivialized forms, frames, and gestures. Critical questions concerning what the growth of robo-sociality may mean for individual users and the online public sphere are posed with a view to charting the directions for a needed public debate.