Don't just look at the surface: When mucosa tells more than the skin

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A model of social responsibility for start-ups: developing a cross-fertilisation of responsible innovation, the lean start-up approach, and the quadruple helix approach

In this paper, we cross-fertilise responsible innovation (RI), the Lean Start-up approach (LSA) and the Quadruple Helix approach (QH) within one model: the social responsibility for start-ups model (SRSM). SRSM aims to instil responsibility into the start-up innovation process by ensuring that the voices of stakeholders from all four helices are taken into account, whilst providing an assessment of current impacts in these areas compared with the ambition of start-ups. This helps to identify room for improvement in order to provide an iterative, lean approach for start-ups to inform the strategy of the start-up cycle, which incorporates the four helices of the QH, and the four process requirements found in RI theory (anticipation, reflexivity, inclusiveness, and responsiveness). This model works as a way to operationalize responsibility in start-ups. This paper fills a gap where there is a lack of suitable approaches for start-ups to follow and implement

A global call for action to include gender in research impact assessment

Global investment in biomedical research has grown significantly over the last decades, reaching approximately a quarter of a trillion US dollars in 2010. However, not all of this investment is distributed evenly by gender. It follows, arguably, that scarce research resources may not be optimally invested (by either not supporting the best science or by failing to investigate topics that benefit women and men equitably). Women across the world tend to be significantly underrepresented in research both as researchers and research participants, receive less research funding, and appear less frequently than men as authors on research publications. There is also some evidence that women are relatively disadvantaged as the beneficiaries of research, in terms of its health, societal, and economic impacts. Historical gender biases may have created a path dependency that means that the research system and the impacts of research are biased towards male researchers and male beneficiaries, making it inherently difficult (though not impossible) to eliminate gender bias. In this commentary, we – a group of scholars and practitioners from Africa, America, Asia, and Europe– argue that gender-sensitive research impact assessment could become a force for good in moving science policy and practice towards gender equity. Research impact assessment is the multidisciplinary field of scientific inquiry that examines the research process to maximise scientific, societal, and economic returns on investment in research. It encompasses many theoretical and methodological approaches that can be used to investigate gender bias and recommend actions for change to maximise research impact. We offer a set of recommendations to research funders, research institutions, and research evaluators who conduct impact assessment on how to include and strengthen analysis of gender equity in research impact assessment and issue a global call for action

Enhancing Preparedness for Arbovirus Infections with a One Health Approach: The Development and Implementation of Multisectoral Risk Assessment Exercises

10 Pág.One Health is receiving attention for arbovirus infection prevention and control and for defining national "intersectoral" priorities. Increasing awareness of intersectoral priorities through multisectorial risk assessments (MRA) is promising, where data are not systematically shared between sectors. Towards this aim, the MediLabSecure project organized three MRA exercises (hereby called exercises): one on West Nile virus, one on Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, and one on Rift Valley fever, assessing the added value of this approach.The authors acknowledge the active participation of the members of MediLabSecure network to the MRA exercises. The MediLabSecure project was supported by the European Commission (DEVCO: IFS/21010/23/_194 & IFS/2018/402-247). The funding body was not involved in the design of the study, in collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, and in writing the manuscript.Peer reviewe

Absolute poverty and the cost of living: an experimental analysis for Italian households. MPRA Paper n. 33339-2003

Our paper contains an investigation on poverty based on the absolute approach. Actually, absolute poverty has not been totally eliminated, also in developed countries and particularly in Italy. Moreover, this method has poverty levels not depending on income distribution: on the contrary, specific situations of real need are identified. In doing so, different price levels are taken into account, emphasising the possible effects of different costs of living in various geographical areas; for Italy, this issue seems crucial, owing to dramatic economic gaps between Northern and Southern areas. Yet, there are few data available on this, so that only a pioneering study may be carried out. Therefore, we estimate absolute poverty thresholds both for regions and macro areas. General results show a partial narrowing in the geographical gap in favour of the South, with respect to traditional approaches. The analysis is performed using several indicators (i.e. head-count, poverty gap and Sen index). Moreover, income inequalities between regions could turn out to be less obvious by considering different cost of living indices than it is the case if the same level of prices is used. The analysis is based on static micro simulation models that make use of both consumption and income data from ISTAT and Bank of Italy surveys. Thus, several data sources are used: in fact, it is known that income, even though it seems more appropriate in evaluating resources to purchase goods and services, can be sensitive to unexpected and temporary shocks, whereas consumption represents a proxy of the so-called \u201cpermanent income\u201d. Finally, some light is also shed on the measurement of the efforts of public policies aimed at poverty alleviation. To this end, it is possible to examine the impact of public taxes and transfers on wellbeing, with particular attention to the effects of a \u201cminimum income\u201d scheme allowing for the different price levels

Individuo e famiglia: quale fisco?

As a consequence of the personal income taxation reform enacted through the 2003-5 Budget Laws, the topic of family tax-treatment has been in Italy focus of major debates in both the academic and the political arenas. This paper aims to examine the effects of joint taxation on horizontal equity in the Italian tax system. First, we analyze theoretical assumptions by taking into consideration the choice of tax unit, the cost of dependents children and spouse (when feasible), and the fiscal tools aimed at adjusting tax burden (according to the household size and/or the number of primary income earners). Second, we estimate the distribution and revenue implications of adopting various joint taxation systems; this would provide us with an opportunity to discuss issues related to the overall cost-benefit analysis and the evaluation of horizontal equity and efficiency. By using data from the Bank of Italy\u2019s Survey of Income and Wealth for Italian Households for 2000, we provide estimates based on the ISAE micro-simulation model (ITAXMOD). Our findings show that a joint taxation system may contribute to reduce (and in some cases even eliminate) the heavier tax burden that households with only one earner suffer in comparison with those of same income level but with two-earners instead \u2013 though, the consequences for households with dependent children can be more ambiguous. However, one can argue that a more favourable treatment for two-earners households can be related to the higher domestic and/or income production costs. Moreover, the cost of such a reform for public budget would be very high

Povert\ue0 assoluta e costo della vita: un\u2019analisi empirica sulle famiglie italiane

Our paper contains an investigation on poverty based on the absolute ap- proach. In doing so, different price levels are taken into account, emphasising the possible ef- fects of different costs of living in various geographical areas. For Italy, this issue seems cru- cial, considering dramatic economic gaps between Northern and Southern areas. Yet, there is few data available, so that only a pioneering study can carried out. Therefore, we estimate ab- solute poverty thresholds both for regions and macro areas.The analysis is based on consumption data from ISTAT expenditures survey. Our reason- ing why we use consumption data, even though in some cases income seems more appropri- ate, is to present poverty estimates comparable with official statistics for Italy.General results show a partial narrowing in the geographical gap in favour of the South, with respect to traditional approaches; indeed, inequalities between regions could turn out to be less obvious by considering different cost of living indices than it is the case if the same level of prices is used. The analysis is performed using several indicators (i.e. head-count, pov- erty gap and Sen index). Moreover, a logit regression is conducted to show that, if regional thresholds are used, geographical dummies become not significantly different from 0 in ex- plaining poverty rates, whereas the relevance of other socio-economic aspects increases. Final- ly, we show how results can change if we remove the specific hypotheses here considered in the estimation of poverty thresholds