COVID-19 and tourism: What can we learn from the past?

The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on tourism flows is without precedent in terms of speed and severity. In this paper, we try to infer a possible future scenario for the tourism sector, evaluating the medium-term effects of past pandemics on tourist arrivals. We find that pandemics lead to a persistent decline in tourist arrivals, with the effects being larger in developing and emerging countries. Interestingly, the effects are heterogeneous across countries and episodes, and depend on several economic conditions such as the overall health system performance, the severity of the shock, and the uncertainty induced by the pandemic event

Social media adoption in Italian firms. Opportunities and challenges for lagging regions

Social media are an important growth opportunity for firms, especially small-sized ones operating in peripheral and lagging regions. In this paper, we investigate not only whether firms are able to take this opportunity, but also if they are able to face the challenge of adopting social media at a professional level to obtain a significant economic impact, measured in terms of exporting activities. Exploring the Italian case, our empirical study indicates that smaller firms in lagging areas are more likely to adopt social media but at the same time less likely to use them at a professional level. This reflects poor strategic targets of social media adoption and lower probabilities of entering international markets

Thematic Report Three - Asylum, Security and Extremism

This is the final of three Thematic Reports published as part of a CREST-funded project carried out by a team of researchers at City, University of London, and Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. With the objective of better understanding Tamil diaspora communities’ attitudes and engagement in the Sri Lankan civil conflict (1983-2009) and its aftermath, the project explores diaspora and refugee communities’ relationship with the changing socio-political environment in the homeland, exploring what shapes and influences processes of radicalisation or moderation among these communities. It recognises that the socio-political circumstances in which these processes develop are often crucial to understanding why a community or individuals within that community abroad act in a certain way; this includes analysis of different scales and levels of engagement, both in home and host countries, as well as different ‘areas’ of engagement, which can include social, economic and political interactions. The three thematic reports produced as part of this project cumulatively build a comprehensive picture of the state of knowledge on political action among diaspora, refugee and asylum populations. The theoretically-informed, literature- and evidence-grounded conclusions arising from these three thematic reports are therefore of relevance beyond the case of Sri Lanka. Thematic Report One discussed how four analytical concepts, diaspora, transnationalism, cosmopolitanism, and translocalism, have come to frame the academic discussion of overseas politics and the potential of these concepts to shed light on the relationship between mobility and political action. Thematic Report Two complements the previous report’s broad conceptual discussion by specifically focusing on an analysis of the context and drivers of political action among diaspora and refugee populations, and engaging with the term ‘refugee politics’. The current paper – the final Thematic Report – analyses the growing ‘securitisation’ of refugees and other forcibly displaced populations and calls for greater consideration of structural vulnerabilities in the forced migration and displacement cycle that increase the risk of radicalisation, extremism and related political behaviours

Thematic Report Two - The Engagement of Refugees in Transnational Politics: Lessons from the Migration, Diaspora and Refugee Studies Literature

This is the second of three CREST-funded Thematic Reports published by a team of researchers at City, University of London, and Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, that cumulatively build a comprehensive picture of the state of knowledge on political action among diaspora and refugee populations. The research team is specifically interested in applying the theoretically-informed, literature and evidence grounded conclusions arising from these reports to understand the attitudes towards and involvement in the Sri Lankan civil conflict (1983-2009) and its aftermath by Tamil diaspora communities, but with a broader application. The CREST project is exploring diaspora and refugee communities’ relationship with the changing socio-political environment in the homeland and how this influences processes of radicalisation or moderation. It recognises that the socio-political circumstances in which these processes develop are often crucial to understanding why a community or individuals within that community abroad act in a certain way; this includes analysis of different scales and levels of engagement, both in home countries and in host countries, as well as different ‘areas’ of engagement, which can include social, economic and political interactions. Thematic Report One discussed how four analytical concepts, diaspora, transnationalism, cosmopolitanism, and translocalism, have come to frame the academic discussion of overseas politics and the potential of the concepts to shed light on the relationship between mobility and political action. The current paper – Thematic Report Two – complements the previous report’s broad conceptual discussion by specifically focusing on an analysis of the context and drivers of political action among diaspora and refugee populations, and engaging with the term ‘refugee politics’. It considers if the available diaspora and migration literature sheds light on whether the processes and dynamics of forced migration are likely to generate identifiable forms of political engagement

Thematic Report One - Understanding Transnational Diaspora Politics: A Conceptual Discussion

This is the first of three CREST-funded Thematic Reports published by a team of researchers at City, University of London, and Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom examining political action among diaspora populations. The purpose of the report is to explore the theoretical and conceptual basis underpinning academic debates on engagement in the politics of conflict and post-conflict by communities living overseas. The research team is interested specifically in the Sri Lankan civil conflict between 1983 and 2009 and its aftermath, and understanding the attitudes towards and involvement in that conflict on the part of Tamil diaspora communities. The CREST project is exploring diaspora communities’ relationship with the changing socio-political environment in the homeland and how this influences processes of radicalisation or moderation. It recognises that the socio-political circumstances in which these processes develop are often crucial towards understanding why a community or individuals within that community abroad act in a certain way; this includes analysis of different scales and levels of engagement, both in home countries and in host countries, as well as different ‘areas’ of engagement, which can range from social to economic to political interactions. The following review is not specific to the Sri Lankan situation; it is rather concerned with how four concepts, diaspora, transnationalism, cosmopolitanism, and translocalism, have come to frame the academic discussion of diaspora or more broadly overseas politics and the potential of the concepts to shed light on the relationship between mobility and political action. It considers the extent to which these concepts are helpful in identifying the rationale behind specific methods of political participation offering critical reflections on the analytical and normative usefulness of these terms

Evaluation of Three New Strategies to Fight Obesity in Families

Aims. To evaluate 3 strategies to reduce weight in obese families. Research design and methods. 142 obese parents and 119 obese children kept a fat-calorie restriction diet. On top of this diet, the families were randomized in a three-factorial design to one or more of three weight-loss strategies: (1) an additional diet preferring carbohydrates having a low glycemic index (dual diet), (2) financial incentive, and (3) telemonitoring of weight and physical activity. Results. All children improved their BMI-SDS by 0.18 ± 0.25 (P < .001) independently of the weight-loss strategy. In parents, relative losses of weight (kg) were −6.4% versus −4.0% for dual diet versus calorie restriction (P = .029), −6.9% versus −3.4% for with or without financial incentive (P = .002), and −8.0% versus −4.8% for with or without telemonitoring (P = .033). The weight loss after financial incentive plus dual diet plus telemonitoring was −14.4%. Conclusions. All strategies were effective in adults, in particular when combined. Children improved their BMI-SDS regardless of the strategy

K-Band Observations of Boxy Bulges. I. Morphology and Surface Brightness Profiles

Kn-band images, unsharp-masked images, as well as major-axis and vertically- summed surface brightness profiles are presented for 30 edge-on spiral galaxies, most with a boxy or peanut-shaped (B/PS) bulge. Such galaxies have more complex morphologies than galaxies of other bulge types, more often showing (off-)centered X structures, secondary major-axis maxima and spiral-like structures. Those features are also observed in N-body simulations of barred discs and may trace the main bar orbit families. The surface brightness profiles of galaxies with a B/PS bulge are also more complex, with typically 3 or more clearly separated regions, including a flat intermediate region (Freeman Type II profiles). Those radial breaks offer evidence for bar-driven transfer of angular momentum and radial redistribution of material. The profiles also suggest a rapid variation of the scaleheight of the disc material, contrary to conventional wisdom but again as expected from vertical resonances and instabilities in barred discs. The steep inner region of the surface brightness profiles is often shorter than the isophotally thick part of the galaxies, itself always shorter than the flat region of the profiles. Contrary to the standard `bulge + disc' model, we thus propose that galaxies with a B/PS bulge are composed of a thin concentrated disc (a disc-like bulge) contained within a partially thick bar (the B/PS bulge) and a thin outer disc. The inner disc likely formed secularly through bar-driven processes and is responsible for the steep inner region of the surface brightness profiles, while the bar is responsible for the flat region and the thick complex morphological structures observed. Those components are strongly coupled dynamically and are formed mostly of the same (disc) material. [Abridged]Comment: 23 pages, 34 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. A version with full resolution figures is available at http://www-astro.physics.ox.ac.uk/~bureau/pub_list.htm

COVID-19 e turismo: cosa possiamo imparare dal passato?

L'impatto della crisi pandemica causata dal COVID-19 sui flussi turistici è senza precedenti in termini di rapidità e severità. In questo articolo, cerchiamo di ipotizzare un possibile scenario futuro nel settore turistico, valutando gli effetti di medio termine delle pandemie passate sugli arrivi turistici. I risultati mostrano che le pandemie portano a un declino persistente degli arrivi turistici internazionali, con effetti più intensi nei paesi emergenti e in via di sviluppo. Inoltre, le conseguenze negative legate agli eventi pandemici sono eterogenee sia tra paesi sia tra episodi e dipendono da diverse condizioni economiche come la performance del sistema sanitario, la severità dello shock e l'incertezza indotta dall'evento pandemico