Choosing Aggregation Rules for Composite Indicators

From a formal point of view, a composite indicator is an aggregate of all dimensions, objectives, individual indicators and variables used for its construction. This implies that what defines a composite indicator is the set of properties underlying its mathematical aggregation convention. In this article, I try to revise the theoretical debate on aggregation rules by looking at contributions from both voting theory and multi-criteria decision analysis. This cross-fertilization helps in clarifying many ambiguous issues still present in the literature and allows discussing the key assumptions that may change the evaluation of an aggregation rule easily, when a composite indicator has to be constructed.     

Bootstrap Testing of Hypotheses on Co‐Integration Relations in Vector Autoregressive Models

It is well known that the finite‐sample properties of tests of hypotheses on the co‐integrating vectors in vector autoregressive models can be quite poor, and that current solutions based on Bartlett‐type corrections or bootstrap based on unrestricted parameter estimators are unsatisfactory, in particular in those cases where also asymptotic χ² tests fail most severely. In this paper, we solve this inference problem by showing the novel result that a bootstrap test where the null hypothesis is imposed on the bootstrap sample is asymptotically valid. That is, not only does it have asymptotically correct size, but, in contrast to what is claimed in existing literature, it is consistent under the alternative. Compared to the theory for bootstrap tests on the co‐integration rank (Cavaliere, Rahbek, and Taylor, 2012), establishing the validity of the bootstrap in the framework of hypotheses on the co‐integrating vectors requires new theoretical developments, including the introduction of multivariate Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes with random (reduced rank) drift parameters. Finally, as documented by Monte Carlo simulations, the bootstrap test outperforms existing methods.     

Coming in like a wrecking-ball: are native Eurasian red squirrels displacing invasive Siberian chipmunks? A study from an urban park

Alien squirrels may seriously threaten native species by means of interspecific competition. In our work, we analysed whether the distribution of alien Siberian chipmunks within the Sigurtà Garden urban park (north-eastern Italy) changed after the natural spread of native Eurasian red squirrels in a 20-year period. Distribution of both squirrels was estimated through a citizen-science approach, in the first 10-year after red squirrel arrival 1 (i.e. Decade 1: 1997–2006) and in the second 10-year interval (i.e. Decade 2: 2007–2017). We compared habitat use of both species and we assessed whether a vertical segregation occurred through a dissimilarity index. Woodlands were selected by both species in both decades. Red squirrels also selected tree lines in Decade 1. A vertical segregation was apparent in Decade 1, whereas in Decade 2 both squirrel species were observed on the lowest branches or on the ground, where they are fed by humans. This was also confirmed by the habitat niche-overlap index, which increased in Decade 2. The extent of occurrence of Sciurus vulgaris increased throughout the park, whereas those of Eutamias sibiricus decreased. Differently from what is usually observed with alien squirrels, the spread of the native species appears to be halting and reversing the expansion of the non-native one.     

Association between long-term erectile dysfunction and biochemical recurrence after permanent seed I125 implant brachytherapy for prostate cancer. A longitudinal study of a single-institution

We aimed to investigate the predictive factor of erectile dysfunction (ED) in prostate cancer (PCa) patients who underwent low-dose permanent I¹²⁵ seed implant brachytherapy and to investigate if ED could represent a patient’s reported outcome measures (PROMs) of efficacy of BT and indirectly associated with biochemical recurrence free survival (BRFS). From 2000 to 2012, 176 consecutive patients with low-risk PCa underwent BT. ED was evaluated with the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). Cox regression analysis was performed to assess significant predictors of mild-to-severe ED and BRFS after BT, including covariates. The 10-year actuarial rate of ED was 66%. Subjects with severe ED had higher values of D90 (183.0 versus 177.0; p?p?p?p?=?0.20), while D90?≤?180?Gy independently predicted BCR (HR: 4.65; [95%CI: 1.25–17.34]; p?125 implant, but it is not associated with better BRFS.     

Interface of drug use

Packaging and labeling play a crucial role awhile protecting medicaments and transmitting a range of crucial information to the users. Taking into account the scarcity of specific studies in this area, it was considered great the need for a comprehensive survey about customers' satisfaction when handling these containers.     

Designing from activities. The "ability /difficulty table", a useful tool to detect the "limit users" in the Design for All Approach

In the Design for All Approach (DfA), an important phase of the design process consists in the individuation of the so-called "limit users", that are that particular group of people with the most "critical" features for the autonomous fruition of a system or a product. Generally, however, it is not easy to identify them in a complete and objective way. A clear and complete outline of design requirements with respect to the "normal" use of a service, product or environment, moreover, is of fundamental importance in inclusive design. In fact, we know how bad design, that doesn't take in account the true "strategies of use", may lead to situations of handicap, also serious, temporary or permanent, regardless if the user is a "disabled" person or not. In relation to this scenario, the paper shows the results of a research which has developed the "Ability/Difficulty Table" ("A/D Table"), a new tool useful to identify the so-called "limit users" and their needs with respect to different activities, linking the main "difficulties", expressed by people, with the "abilities" required to carry out in autonomy the investigated activity.     

Blood ties and strong ties: a two-way linkage? Some non-trivial implications of the care workers market in a Mediterranean region

Taking their cue from a seeming dissonance between the theory of commodification and exploitation of migrant care workers and the case study of the outsourced self proposed by Hochschild, the author speculates whether or not the family–caregiver relationship may be equal and inclusive. The argument is unraveled by posing another question en route: what specific ‘catalysts’ can trigger ‘high-intensity affective relationships’? Elster defines 'essentially byproduct' the result of a process lacking any direct and conscious link between outcome and intention, and requiring the relaxation of the control of reason in order to be fulfilled. The author mixes significant theoretical results coming both from the relational Palo Alto School and from history of families studies, concluding that an equal and inclusive relationship may be like an Elster’s ‘essentially byproduct’ of a market relationship , when a high-intensity affective relation acts as a ‘catalyst’. The frame suggested in this article seems consistent with recent constructionist reinterpretations of the idea of kinship, which take shape and evolve through ‘everyday experiences’. Kinship thus shifts towards a more complex undefined category, that of Karsten’s relatedness. Speaking of which, the author argues some logical reasons suggesting a generalized adoption of the term only with great care and caution.     

Measures of Industrial Protectionism: Relevance for Trade and Labour Policies

ABSTRACT: Protectionist policies are often supported by an ‘unholy‘ alliance of industrial lobbies and labour unions, under the assumption that trade barriers will favour higher profits, wage rates and employment. Even when one takes the narrow view of self-interest in a single producing sector, however, things are not necessarily what they seem and protectionism may have more profound consequences than those expected by lobbyists and negotiators. The paper reviews the methodologies developed to measure the extent and the consequences of industrial protectionism in order to derive operational guidelines to evaluate alternative trade policies.     

Lag Length Selection for Unit Root Tests in the Presence of Nonstationary Volatility

A number of recent papers have focused on the problem of testing for a unit root in the case where the driving shocks may be unconditionally heteroskedastic. These papers have, however, taken the lag length in the unit root test regression to be a deterministic function of the sample size, rather than data-determined, the latter being standard empirical practice. We investigate the finite sample impact of unconditional heteroskedasticity on conventional data-dependent lag selection methods in augmented Dickey–Fuller type regressions and propose new lag selection criteria which allow for unconditional heteroskedasticity. Standard lag selection methods are shown to have a tendency to over-fit the lag order under heteroskedasticity, resulting in significant power losses in the (wild bootstrap implementation of the) augmented Dickey–Fuller tests under the alternative. The proposed new lag selection criteria are shown to avoid this problem yet deliver unit root tests with almost identical finite sample properties as the corresponding tests based on conventional lag selection when the shocks are homoskedastic.     

Strategies of Italian Firms in Romania: Evidence from Selected Case Studies

The aim of this paper is to analyze the internationalization of Italian firms in Romania, operating in the sectors of footwear, furniture and industrial refrigeration. After describing and quantifying the internationalization process between Veneto and Romania, we discuss for each of the sectors, the changes that occurred in the organisation of the production processes within the firms, and particularly how such processes have been fragmented. This article draws on numerous case studies, posits different models of value chain governance, and discusses their implications for regional development and sustainability.