Global Value Chains during the Great Trade Collapse: A Bullwhip Effect?

This paper analyzes the performance of global value chains during the trade collapse. To do so, it exploits a unique transaction-level dataset on French firms containing information on cross-border monthly transactions matched with data on worldwide intra-firm linkages as defined by property rights (multinational business groups, hierarchies of firms). This newly assembled dataset allows us to distinguish firm-level transactions among two alternative organizational modes of global value chains: internalization of activities (intra-group trade/trade among related parties) or establishment of supply contracts (arm’s length trade/trade among unrelated parties). After an overall assessment of the role of global value chains during the trade collapse, we document that intra-group trade in intermediates was characterized by a faster drop followed by a faster recovery than arm’s length trade. Amplified fluctuations in terms of trade elasticities by value chains have been referred to as the "bullwhip effect" and have been attributed to the adjustment of inventories within supply chains. In this paper we first confirm the existence of such an effect due to trade in intermediates, and we underline the role that different organizational modes can play in driving this adjustment.trade collapse, multinational firms, global value chains, hierarchies of firms, vertical integration.

Satisfaction with indoor environmental quality in BREEAM and non-BREEAM certified office buildings

This paper presents preliminary analysis of occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality in Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and non-BREEAM certified offices in the UK. Results from cross-sectional questionnaires (N = 121) showed that BREEAM certification per se did not seem to substantively influence building and workspace satisfaction. Conversely, occupants of BREEAM offices tended to be less satisfied with air quality and visual privacy than users of non-BREEAM buildings. Lower satisfaction was also detected in BREEAM offices for occupants having spent over 24 months in their building, and for users working in open-plan spaces. To interpret these findings, a methodology for data analysis was adopted whereas responses to point-in-time surveys (N = 82) were paired with environmental measurements. Broadening the perspective for appraising occupants’ perceptions, these combined techniques led to conclude that certification schemes should balance criteria addressing energy performance with design solutions considerate of issues of privacy, proxemics and perceived control over the qualities of the indoor environment

Order effects when using Hopkinson’s multiple criterion scale of discomfort due to glare

Hopkinson’s multiple criterion scale is widely used to investigate the subjective degree of discomfort due to glare. Using an adjustment procedure, glare source luminance is adjusted to reveal four levels of discomfort, typically: just imperceptible, just acceptable, just uncomfortable, and just intolerable. In many studies, observers are instructed to attend to each level of discomfort in ascending order, from the lowest to the highest criterion. It is likely, however, that any settings made using this approach are influenced by an order bias, and this would affect the reported thresholds of discomfort. To investigate order effects, a Hopkinson-like multiple criterion adjustment experiment was performed, but under three different order sequences: ascending, descending, and randomised. The results revealed substantial bias due to order effects, particularly for lower glare criteria. This demonstrates the need for caution when interpreting subjective evaluations of discomfort due to glare and estimating the robustness of glare indices derived from studies that used Hopkinson’s scale and procedure

Order effects when using Hopkinson’s multiple criterion scale of discomfort due to glare

Hopkinson’s multiple criterion scale is widely used to investigate the subjective degree of discomfort due to glare. Using an adjustment procedure, glare source luminance is adjusted to reveal four levels of discomfort, typically: just imperceptible, just acceptable, just uncomfortable, and just intolerable. In many studies, observers are instructed to attend to each level of discomfort in ascending order, from the lowest to the highest criterion. It is likely, however, that any settings made using this approach are influenced by an order bias, and this would affect the reported thresholds of discomfort. To investigate order effects, a Hopkinson-like multiple criterion adjustment experiment was performed, but under three different order sequences: ascending, descending, and randomised. The results revealed substantial bias due to order effects, particularly for lower glare criteria. This demonstrates the need for caution when interpreting subjective evaluations of discomfort due to glare and estimating the robustness of glare indices derived from studies that used Hopkinson’s scale and procedure

An experimental study on the effect of visual tasks on discomfort due to peripheral glare

This article concerns discomfort due to sources of glare in the peripheral visual field. A visual task is needed to maintain foveal fixation at a known location and in past studies the tasks have ranged from a simple fixation mark to a task requiring greater cognitive attention such as reading. It was hypothesized that these different approaches to control visual attention would influence the evaluation of discomfort. This article reports an experiment which compared evaluations of discomfort when using the two visual tasks, a simple circle and a pseudo-text reading task, and two procedures, category rating and luminance adjustment. The results from both procedures confirmed the hypothesis: a lower degree of discomfort was expressed in the pseudo-text trials than in trials with the circular fixation mark

Tumour-derived interleukin 1alpha (IL-1alpha) up-regulates the release of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) by endothelial cells.

Levels of circulating soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) are elevated in patients affected by solid malignancies; however, the cellular sources generating high levels of sICAM-1 remain to be characterized. Using conditioned media (CM) from seven ICAM-1-positive or -negative neoplastic cells, we demonstrate that tumour-derived interleukin 1alpha (IL-1alpha) significantly (P < 0.05) up-regulates the release of sICAM-1 by human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The intensity of the effect correlated with the amounts of IL-1alpha detectable in CM. Levels of ICAM-1 mRNA were also up-regulated by tumour-secreted IL-1alpha. The up-regulation of the shedding of sICAM-1 and of its expression at protein and mRNA level were completely reversed by the addition of anti-IL-1alpha neutralizing antibodies. Consistent with the in vitro data, tumour endothelia were strongly stained for ICAM-1 compared with autologous normal tissue endothelia. Taken altogether, our observations reveal an IL-1alpha-mediated tumour-endothelium relationship sustaining the shedding of sICAM-1 by endothelial cells. This is a general phenomenon in solid malignancies that correlates with the ability of neoplastic cells to secrete IL-1alpha rather than with their expression of ICAM-1 and/or histological origin. sICAM-1 has been previously shown to inhibit LFA-1/ICAM-1-mediated cell-cell interactions; therefore, the ability of neoplastic cells to secrete IL-1alpha is likely to represent a mechanism for their escape from immune interaction

Human factors in the design of sustainable built environments

Scientific research provides convincing evidence that climate change is having significant impacts on many aspects of life. In the built-environment domain, regulatory requirements are pushing the challenges of environmental, economic, and social sustainability at the core of the professional agenda, although the aims of carbon reduction and energy conservation are frequently given a priority over occupants' comfort, well-being, and satisfaction. While most practitioners declare to embrace sustainability as a driver of their professional approach, a general lack of integrated creative and technical skills hinders the design of buildings centred on articulate and comprehensive sustainability goals, encompassing, other than energy criteria, also human-centred and ethical values founded on competent and informed consideration of the requirements of the site, the programme, and the occupants. Built environments are designed by humans to host a range of human activities. In response, this article aims to endorse a sustainable approach to design founded on the knowledge arising from scholarly and evidence-based research, exploring principles and criteria for the creation and operation of human habitats that can respond to energy and legislative demands, mitigate their environmental impacts, and adapt to new climate scenarios, while elevating the quality of experience and delight to those occupying them

Emergency department syndromic surveillance system for early detection of 5 syndromes: a pilot project in a reference teaching hospital in Genoa, Italy

Early detection is fundamental for achieving effective control of infectious disease outbreaks. We described the development of a local chief complaint emergency department (ED)-based syn- dromic surveillance system to improve public health response in Genoa, Italy. The five syndromes under investigation by the syn- dromic surveillance system were influenza-like illness (ILI), low- respiratory tract illness (LRTI), not-haemorrhagic gastroenteritis, acute hepatitis, fever-with-rash (maculo-papular or vescicular) syndrome. Syndrome coding, data capture, transmission and processing, statistical analysis to assess indicators of disease activity and alert thresholds, and signal response were operatively described. Preliminary results on ILI syndromic surveillance showed that new system allowed the activation of the alert state with a specificity of 90.3% and a sensitivity of 72.9% in predicting epidemiological relevant events, such as ? 10 accesses to ED for ILI in 3 days. The new syndromic surveillance system allowed to alert the public health institutions 2.5 days before than the local surveillance system based on sentinel physicians and paediatri- cians, permitting the early activation of the necessary measures for the containment and for burden reduction of the epidemic event. It is noteworthy that the syndromic surveillance epidemic cut-off was overcome once before and 4 times after influenza outbreak detected by sentinel-based surveillance system: all episodes were contemporary with Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Parainfluenza Virus circulation, as detected by regional reference laboratory