Cultural tourism and temporary art exhibitions in Italy: a panel data analysis

The main aim of this work is to study the relationship between cultural tourism and temporary art exhibitions by means of a panel data analysis. In literature, the capability of cultural attractions, e.g. art exhibitions, of increasing the tourist flow has not been investigated yet and we start to fill this gap. Our data set consists of monthly observed variables on 52 Italian provinces over the period 2003–2007. Our response variable is the amount of hotel arrivals and the set of covariates includes the amount of visitors of temporary exhibitions of ancient, modern and contemporary art plus a set of variables that contribute to tourist arrivals, like the kind of destination, the attraction capability of each province and so on. Of particular interest is to discover the art sector that has the strongest influence on the tourist flow towards Italy by keeping into account both the temporal dynamic and the heterogeneity of the Italian provinces. To this aim, we discuss the static and dynamic error component regression models from both the theoretical and practical point of view. The estimated two-way fixed effects regression models suggest that all the three sectors contribute to the tourist flow but in a quite different fashion. On the basis of our analysis we derive some indications for the policy maker in the field of cultural tourism.     

Build–operate–transfer (BOT): an emerging entry mode for service offshoring

Build–operate–transfer (BOT) is a well-established solution used in the engineering and construction industries for building different types of infrastructure (e.g. railways, highways, power plants). In recent years, BOT has increasingly been adopted by companies in the service industry as a mode for entering foreign markets. BOT in service offshoring (SO) is characterised by a number of significant peculiarities (e.g. different numbers of involved parties, fee methods, lengths of the concession period), which may call into question the possibility of extending existing findings that relate to infrastructure projects. The aims of this work are as follows: to collect and systematise existing knowledge on engineering and construction BOT projects; to highlight – through an exploratory case study – how these results could be applied to BOT in SO; and to shed light on the factors affecting the choice between different entry modes (including BOT).     

An Indicator for the Measurement of Political Participation: The Case of Italy

In the modern globalized world, political participation is of paramount importance for balanced socio-economic growth and for human development. The Indagine Multiscopo sulle famiglie, a survey by Italian public institutions (ISTAT and CNEL), provides a wide range of data to evaluate specific aspects of Italian life. This work uses a set of data from the Indagine to analyse political participation in Italy at a regional level, by means of a composite indicator using parametric (Pena’s distance) and non-parametric (Mazziotta–Pareto Index) techniques. We have obtained a ranking that shows the level of political participation in different territorial contexts. The aim is to analyse the relation between Italian regions and the political behaviour of their communities: political discussions, participation in political meetings and marches, voluntary activity or donations to political parties and so on. The ranking is not correlated to voter turnout. We can assume that the politically engaged minority are unable to convince and involve the rest. At the same time, these small groups do not alter the general mistrust in parties and, generally speaking, in politics, which is spreading across Italy and also Europe.     

Planning a Bayesian early-phase phase I/II study for human vaccines in HER2 carcinomas

Recent innovative statistical approaches for phase I/II clinical trials allow one to jointly model the toxicity and efficacy of a new treatment, taking into account the information gathered during the trial. Prior probabilities are then updated with interim data and thus predictive probabilities become more accurate as the trial progresses. In this study, prior distribution elicited from a physician's opinion on the available dose levels planned for a vaccination dose-finding trial, with human DNA in patients with HER2-positive tumours in terms of toxicity and therapeutic response is presented and discussed. A simulation study was conducted in order to quantify the impact of the choice of prior on study results, i.e. the recommended dose level at the end of the trial.     

Employment Spells and Previous Labour Market History

ABSTRACT: In this paper the author analyses the influence of the past labour market history of an individual on the length of employment spells he will experience. Most empirical works emphasize the so called Markov model, which implies that the probability of an individual changing state depends only on the state currently occupied. Using data on the labour market histories of a sample of unemployed persons, we specify and estimate a reduced form model where job separation rates arc a function of the entire labour market history and of variables related to personal characteristics and labour market conditions. The empirical analysis supports the claim that transition probabilities are related to past labour market history.     

On estimands and the analysis of adverse events in the presence of varying follow‐up times within the benefit assessment of therapies

The analysis of adverse events (AEs) is a key component in the assessment of a drug's safety profile. Inappropriate analysis methods may result in misleading conclusions about a therapy's safety and consequently its benefit‐risk ratio. The statistical analysis of AEs is complicated by the fact that the follow‐up times can vary between the patients included in a clinical trial. This paper takes as its focus the analysis of AE data in the presence of varying follow‐up times within the benefit assessment of therapeutic interventions. Instead of approaching this issue directly and solely from an analysis point of view, we first discuss what should be estimated in the context of safety data, leading to the concept of estimands. Although the current discussion on estimands is mainly related to efficacy evaluation, the concept is applicable to safety endpoints as well. Within the framework of estimands, we present statistical methods for analysing AEs with the focus being on the time to the occurrence of the first AE of a specific type. We give recommendations which estimators should be used for the estimands described. Furthermore, we state practical implications of the analysis of AEs in clinical trials and give an overview of examples across different indications. We also provide a review of current practices of health technology assessment (HTA) agencies with respect to the evaluation of safety data. Finally, we describe problems with meta‐analyses of AE data and sketch possible solutions.     

Does self-efficacy matter for burnout and sickness absenteeism? The mediating role of demands and resources at the individual and team levels

In team-based organizations, team members may share similar experiences, feelings and, consequently, susceptibility to burnout. This study explores the burnout process beyond the individual level of analysis and integrates Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) with the Job Demands-Resources Model (JD-R), emphasizing the role of self-efficacy in shaping the meaning that people ascribe to situations. A multilevel structural equation model was tested in which it was predicted that work self-efficacy beliefs would be associated with burnout both directly and indirectly via job demands and job resources, and at both the individual and the team level. Moreover, it was posited that, at the team level, registered sickness absences are predicted by burnout. A sample of 5406 call centre operators, clustered in 186 teams working in the same large Italian company, filled out a questionnaire, whereas team absence rates were provided by the company's HR department. The findings largely supported the hypothesized model: at both levels, job demands and job resources partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and burnout. Moreover, at the team level, burnout predicted subsequent sickness absenteeism. In addition, individual-level burnout was primarily associated with job demands, whereas team-level burnout was primarily associated with a lack of team-level resources.     

Foreign direct investments in manufacturing by district firms: evidence from the Italian chair district

Manufacturing internationalisation is a phenomenon that currently involves several industrial districts. While the literature on industrial districts is wide, few works analyse the (manufacturing) internationalisation dynamics. This study tries to fill this lack by analysing forms, motivation, obstacles and results of the foreign direct investments carried out in one of the most important Italian districts. The research shows how some of the district leading firms have recently combined local presence with a strategy of internationalisation that also involves manufacturing activities through foreign direct investments. The readers can comprehend the main features of the international manufacturing path that is involving one of the most important Italian industrial districts, i.e. the chair district. The research offers a contribution to an area rather neglected in literature – the district (manufacturing) internationalisation dynamics.     

Economic Swings and Demographic Changes in the History of Latin America

In this paper we study the effects of short-term fluctuations in indicators of economic well-being on selected demographic response such as births, marriages and deaths at age intervals in eleven Latin American countries between 1910 and 1990. We use conventional distributed lag models to assess the magnitude and direction of effects and test a variety of hypotheses some of which have been posed to hold in Western Europe and others that are more specific and tailored to the Latin American context. We also compare the magnitude and direction of effects obtained among these countries with those obtained for pre-industrial Europe and uncover the existence of broadly similar patterns.