Impact of Cultural Tourism upon Urban Economies: An Econometric Exercise

In recent years, interest in tourism has spread rapidly throughout many small and medium European cities, which previously have not necessarily considered themselves as tourist destinations. Tourism is increasingly seen as a potential lever towards high economic growth, measured both in terms of income and employment. In the present Working Paper we report the analysis on the economic impact undertaken in the framework of the PICTURE Project, showing the results of a novel econometric exercise to statistically assess the impacts of cultural tourism upon European municipalities. More precisely the analysis aims at estimating the effects of tourism specialisation on local income and prices. The Working Paper is built as follows. Section 1 presents and discusses secondary data about tourism facts and figures, including the economic impact of tourism upon European economies, with a focus on cultural tourism. An extensive review of literature, which identifies the main categories of impacts and the currently available methodologies to assess them, is undertaken. Section 2 focuses on the state of the art. Section 3 describes the database built for the analysis, sources and variables. In order to visually represent the spatial variability of the main parameters, a series of thematic maps at NUTS 3 level(“Maps of European tourism”), using GIS (Geographical Information System) are also included in the Working Paper. Section 4 shows the results of the econometric analysis of European panel data for the estimation of the effects of tourism specialisation on both local incomes and prices. Section 5 concludes.Cultural Tourism, Economic Growth

Effects of Tourism Upon the Economy of Small and Medium-Sized European Cities. Cultural Tourists and “The Others”

The paper presents the results of the application of an Input-Output-based approach for the estimation of direct, indirect and induced effects of tourist spending on local economies, in a static partial equilibrium setting. The methodology has been successfully applied in three case studies – Bergen (Norway), Elche (Spain), Syracuse (Italy) –, in the framework of the 6th FP project PICTURE (Pro-active management of the Impact of Cultural Tourism upon Urban Resources and Economies), in order to quantify the monetary impact of cultural tourism upon urban economies. The analysis was carried out in two major steps: firstly, interviews to tourists in each case study city, in order to estimate the scale and variability of the spending patterns of different profiles of visitors (e.g., culture-driven vs. leisure tourists); secondly, application of the Input-Output model of the economy of concern (eventually re-scaling the matrix at the Region or County level) to quantify the effects of tourist expenditure on sales, income and employment for the several impacted economic sectors. Tourists driven by cultural interest are often assumed, in literature, to have a higher than average income and to spend more on holiday. The paper reports the main findings of the analysis, discussing them against the “cultural tourist” stereotype. The analysis aims at assisting local decision makers in identifying the value of different tourist typologies to their region, in understanding how different sectors of local economy and society can benefit from tourism and in determining how to maximise, or more equally redistribute, the positive impact.Tourism, Cultural Tourism, Economic Impacts, Input-Output Analysis

Meccanismi di detossificazione messi in atto dalla diatomea marina Thalassiosira weissflogii in risposta all'esposizione al mercurio. Biosintesi di fitochelatine e volatilizzazione del mercurio.

Il mercurio esiste a livello di tracce in tutti gli ambienti acquatici, ma qualche volta è rilasciato nell’ambiente dall’attività umana. Secondo alcune stime, circa l’80% del mercurio immesso nell’ambiente deriva da fonti naturali e il rimanente 20% è di origine antropica. Il mercurio è un metallo pesante altamente tossico per tutti gli organismi viventi, in quanto non ha nessuna riconosciuta attività biologica e tende ad accumularsi lungo la catena alimentare. I microrganismi acquatici, che costituiscono il primo anello della catena alimentare, hanno sviluppato molteplici strategie di adattamento per neutralizzare gli effetti tossici dovuti ad una presenza eccessiva di questo elemento nelle acque. In particolare sono stati riportati: a) meccanismi chimici di membrana che permettono una riduzione dell’assimilazione del metallo, b) processi di volatilizzazione o eliminazione tramite conversione in specie chimiche volatili, c) rilascio di sostanze organiche con capacità complessante, d) chelazione intracellulare in complessi innocui per l’organismo. E’ nota dalla letteratura la presenza di specie volatili del mercurio disciolte nell’acqua di mare (DGM- Dissolved Gaseous Mercury), costituite per il 90% da Hg°, che passano dall’acqua all’atmosfera a causa della loro alta volatilità. L’origine di queste specie di mercurio nei sistemi acquatici non è stata ancora completamente chiarita. Numerosi studi hanno dimostrato l’esistenza di un processo enzimatico di riduzione del Hg(II) a Hg° in alcune specie di batteri, altri riportano l’esistenza di processi abiotici di riduzione del mercurio di natura fotochimica, infine, alcuni lavori ipotizzano l’esistenza di un processo di produzione di mercurio gassoso ad opera di alghe fitoplanctoniche, ma il meccanismo di riduzione è ancora sconosciuto. L’accumulo di metalli pesanti, incluso il mercurio, induce nelle microalghe la sintesi di peptidi intracellulari detossificanti, chiamati fitochelatine (PC). Le PC sono peptidi polimeri del glutatione, hanno la struttura primaria (-Glu-Cys)n-Gly, con n che varia da 2 a 11, e hanno la funzione di sequestrare in complessi stabili gli ioni metallici. Lo scopo della mia tesi è quello di studiare i principali meccanismi di difesa messi in atto da un’alga marina fitoplanctonica in risposta all’esposizione al mercurio, focalizzando lo studio sia sulla produzione di mercurio gassoso, sia sulla sintesi di glutatione e fitochelatine. A questo scopo sono state utilizzate colture di laboratorio della diatomea marina Thalassiosira weissflogii esposte, sotto condizioni controllate, a concentrazioni crescenti di mercurio. Il glutatione e le PC sono state quantificate attraverso una tecnica cromatografica basata sulla derivatizzazione pre-colonna con una sonda fluorescente, il monobromobimano (mBrB) e sulla separazione dei peptidi tramite HPLC con colonna a fase inversa. La produzione di DGM da parte di T. weissflogii è stata determinata tramite uno spettrofotometro a fluorescenza atomica dei vapori freddi del Hg, opportunamente modificato in modo da misurare quantità nell’ordine di picogrammi. I risultati ottenuti hanno mostrato che l’esposizione al mercurio induce la sintesi di PC nella diatomea T. weissflogii, in quantità crescente all’aumentare della concentrazione del mercurio in soluzione. Inoltre, risultati preliminari indicano una produzione di mercurio gassoso in colture della stessa alga, sia in condizione di esposizione alla luce che al buio. Gli stessi esperimenti hanno anche evidenziato il contributo del mezzo di coltura, arricchito di essudati cellulari, alla formazione di mercurio gassoso

HST absolute Proper Motions of NGC 6681 (M70) and the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

We have measured absolute proper motions for the three populations intercepted in the direction of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6681: the cluster itself, the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy and the field. For this we used Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC and WFC3/UVIS optical imaging data separated by a temporal baseline of 5.464 years. Five background galaxies were used to determine the zero point of the absolute-motion reference frame. The resulting absolute proper motion of NGC 6681 is ($\mu_{\alpha}\cos\delta, \mu_{\delta}$)=($1.58\pm0.18, -4.57\pm0.16$) \masyr. This is the first estimate ever made for this cluster. For the Sgr dSph we obtain ($\mu_{\alpha}\cos\delta, \mu_{\delta})=(-2.54\pm0.18, -1.19\pm0.16$) \masyr, consistent with previous measurements and with the values predicted by theoretical models. The absolute proper motion of the Galaxy population in our field of view is ($\mu_{\alpha}\cos\delta, \mu_{\delta})=(-1.21\pm0.27, -4.39\pm0.26$) \masyr. In this study we also use background Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal stars to determine the rotation of the globular cluster in the plane of the sky and find that NGC 6681 is not rotating significantly:\ $v_{\rm rot}=0.82\pm1.02$ km$\,$s$^{-1}$ at a distance of 1 arcmin from the cluster center.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication by Ap

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Bullying in Childhood

Current research shows that sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) encounter higher rates of bullying in childhood at a disproportionate rate, compared to cis-gender heterosexual peers. SGMs include, but are not limited to, individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, and queer. Bullying encompasses repeated behavior that is harmful to another person. The study’s purpose is to determine the association between SGM identity and experiences of bullying in childhood. 1316 participants were recruited via reddit and took part in a digital quantitative cross-sectional study, beginning in February and ending in March of 2022. The survey investigated the correlation of bullying in childhood and sex assigned at birth, gender, sexual orientation, income, race and ethnicity, education level, and income. SGMs face higher rates of bullying than individuals who do not identify as SGMs. The study contributes to research in the field as it highlights the prevalence of childhood bullying amongst SGMs

An Environmental Resource within the Job Demands-Resources Model: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy between Properties of the Learning Environment and Academic Engagement

The characteristics of learning environments are relevant for promoting academic engagement and learning achievement. Thus, this study seeks to identify whether perceived characteristics of the learning environment, and specifically, the sub-dimensions of Perceived Restorativeness (compatibility, being away, extent, fascination), can promote academic Engagement and self-efficacy using the Job Demands-Resources Model as the underlying conceptual framework. Further, we tested the mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between Perceived Restorativeness and academic engagement. Data were collected from a sample of 188 Italian university students. Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis indicated that a restorative quality of the learning environment (i.e., compatibility and fascination) was positively correlated with academic engagement, but that there was a non-significant relationship between being Away and academic engagement and between extent and academic engagement. Regression analyses showed significant indirect effects of compatibility and extent through students’ self-Efficacy. Further, self-efficacy was a complete mediator between extent and academic engagement. Furthermore, self-efficacy was found to play a partially mediating role between compatibility and academic engagement. The results of this study provide important information that students, teachers and designers should pay attention to levels of restorative quality in the environment for improving engagement and self-efficacy

“Bridging the Gap” Everything that Could Have Been Avoided If We Had Applied Gender Medicine, Pharmacogenetics and Personalized Medicine in the Gender-Omics and Sex-Omics Era

Gender medicine is the first step of personalized medicine and patient-centred care, an essential development to achieve the standard goal of a holistic approach to patients and diseases. By addressing the interrelation and integration of biological markers (i.e., sex) with indicators of psychological/cultural behaviour (i.e., gender), gender medicine represents the crucial assumption for achieving the personalized health-care required in the third millennium. However, ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are often misused as synonyms, leading to frequent misunderstandings in those who are not deeply involved in the field. Overall, we have to face the evidence that biological, genetic, epigenetic, psycho-social, cultural, and environmental factors mutually interact in defining sex/gender differences, and at the same time in establishing potential unwanted sex/gender disparities. Prioritizing the role of sex/gender in physiological and pathological processes is crucial in terms of efficient prevention, clinical signs’ identification, prognosis definition, and therapy optimization. In this regard, the omics-approach has become a powerful tool to identify sex/genderspecific disease markers, with potential benefits also in terms of socio-psychological wellbeing for each individual, and cost-effectiveness for National Healthcare systems. “Being a male or being a female” is indeed important from a health point of view and it is no longer possible to avoid “sex and gender lens” when approaching patients. Accordingly, personalized healthcare must be based on evidence from targeted research studies aimed at understanding how sex and gender influence health across the entire life span. The rapid development of genetic tools in the molecular medicine approaches and their impact in healthcare is an example of highly specialized applications that have moved from specialists to primary care providers (e.g., pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic applications in routine medical practice). Gender medicine needs to follow the same path and become an established medical approach. To face the genetic, molecular and pharmacological bases of the existing sex/gender gap by means of omics approaches will pave the way to the discovery and identification of novel drug-targets/therapeutic protocols, personalized laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures (sex/gender-omics). In this scenario, the aim of the present review is not to simply resume the state-of-the-art in the field, rather an opportunity to gain insights into gender medicine, spanning from molecular up to social and psychological stances. The description and critical discussion of some key selected multidisciplinary topics considered as paradigmatic of sex/gender differences and sex/gender inequalities will allow to draft and design strategies useful to fill the existing gap and move forward

The Role of a Restorative Resource in the Academic Context in Improving Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation and Flow within the Job Demands–Resources Model

The perceived quality of the learning environment may influence both motivation and concentration. Little is known about how perceived characteristics of the learning environment, and specifically sub-dimensions of Perceived Restorativeness (being away, fascination, compatibility, and extent), can promote these positive effects in an academic context. We addressed, through a correlational study, the possibility that the characteristics of learning environments may promote concentration and involvement in activity (i.e., flow) via intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for academic study within the job demands–resources model. A total of 165 Italian university psychology classes in a 3-year degree course from two different universities context completed an online questionnaire made up of the construct considered in this study. Results in the hierarchical multivariate regression analyses confirm that the restorative quality of learning environments (i.e., being away, compatibility, extent) is positively correlated with flow. However, there is a non-significant relationship between extent and flow. Regression analyses show a significant indirect effect of compatibility, both through intrinsic and extrinsic student motivation. Furthermore, the results confirm a significant indirect effect of extent through intrinsic motivation and being away, and fascination through Extrinsic motivation. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation is a full mediator between the extent and flow relationship. The results underline the importance of considering the restorative quality of the environment for improving place design, concentration, and student learning motivation

The role of techno-stress and psychological detachment in the relationship between workload and well-being in a sample of Italian smart workers: a moderated mediated model

Well-being conditions at work are determined by the balance between the demands from the organizational context and the perception of people to possess resources concerning the ability to cope with such requests. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has changed working conditions, and employees have had to adapt to smart working (SW) by bringing new resources into play to meet new demands. Many organizations are questioning how to implement SW after the pandemic. According to the JD-R model, the present study considered workload during smart working and Techno-stress (the perceived stress concerning the use of technologies) as new requests (i.e., demands) coming from the organization and Psychological Detachment (the ability to create psychological distancing from work) as a personal resource. We investigated the moderator role of Psychological Detachment in the relationship between workload in SW and Well-being, mediated by Techno-stress (in its three dimensions: Techno-Overload, Techno-Invasion, and Techno-Complexity). The sample is made up of 622 Italian public administration employees who completed a questionnaire containing the following scales: Quantitative Workload Inventory, Well-being Index, Psychological Detachment, Techno-stress Creator Scale. Mediation and moderate-mediation models have been tested with PROCESS Macro. Findings showed that Techno-Invasion and Techno-Complexity fully mediate the relationship between workload in SW and well-being. Psychological detachment moderates the effect of the workload on Well-being, which in turn is mediated by Techno-Invasion. Furthermore, findings suggest the importance of identifying protective factors that can mitigate the workload effects on the employees’ well-being in SW