The choice of type of input-output table revisited: moving towards the use of supply-use tables in impact analysis

The construction of symmetric input-output tables (SIOTs) is a controversial issue as regards the choice of model to construct both product-by-product and industry-by-industry SIOTs, especially the former ones. However, there has been little attention paid so far by the UN and the Eurostat Systems of National Accounts on the choice of type of SIOT to carry out impact analyses let alone other input-output applications. Concerning the price and quantity models in input-output analysis, this paper identifies severe problems in the correct interpretation of the meaning of their results and proposes the use of supply and use tables instead of SIOTs to solve these problems.JRC.J.6-Sustainable production and consumptio

Social and Economic Impact Assessment of Relevant Sporting Events in Local Communities: the Case of the ITF Female Tennis Championship held in Seville in 2006

Nowadays, sports go beyond their merely practice reaching social, economic and even policy aspects of everyday life. Hosting great sporting events has become into a rather prolific source of direct and induced benefits for the cities where they take place. Hence, public and economic institutions struggle to host these kinds of events along their geographical influence areas. However, most impact assessments often exaggerate local benefits since they are conducted by vested interest agents. Then, this paper provides a simpleto- use methodology to assess the social and economic impacts of hosting great sporting events at local level. Transparency and impartiality are two main advantages of the followed procedure in the sense that it has been carried out by a research group linked to the University and with no vested interest at all. The empirical part has been developed for the ITF Female Tennis Championship of the WTA Circuit held in Seville in October, 2006.JRC.J.2-Competitiveness and Sustainabilit

IT Impact on Management Education Using the Case Method

Information technology (IT) has become rapidly accepted as a complement or substitute of the traditional learning setting, hence challenging Management education. This research examines the impact of IT platforms on Management education using the case method. We theorize that traditional learning platforms may enable instructors to engage students to increase learning performance, which in turn leads to a greater student satisfaction. Social media applications (i.e., social media for teaching activities) may amplify the relationships between traditional learning platforms, student engagement, learning performance, and student satisfaction. Using the variance-structural equation modeling technique, and the partial least squares method of estimation on a combination of survey and secondary data from 94 Spanish students from a Management course, the empirical analysis gives support to our theory

Application of swarm mean-variance mapping optimization on location and tuning damping controllers

This paper introduces the use of the Swarm Variant of the Mean-Variance Mapping Optimization (MVMO-S) to solving the multi-scenario problem of the optimal placement and coordinated tuning of power system damping controllers (POCDCs). The proposed solution is tested using the classical IEEE 39-bus test system, New England test system. This papers includes performance comparisons with other emerging metaheuristic optimization: comprehensive learning particle swarm optimization (CLPSO), genetic algorithm with multi-parent crossover (GA-MPC), differential evolution DE algorithm with adaptive crossover operator, linearized biogeography-based optimization with re-initialization (LBBO), and covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES). Numerical results illustrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach

EFFECTS OF LOUVERS SHADING DEVICES ON VISUAL COMFORT AND ENERGY DEMAND OF AN OFFICE BUILDING. A CASE OF STUDY

This paper evaluates the building energy demand and visual comfort of a real case with a glazed façade office building placed in Málaga (Mediterranean city in the south of Spain). South oriented facades receive such a high solar gain that cooling demand cannot be handled by the current HVAC system. As an environmental friendly solution, a shading control strategy based on vertical and horizontal louvers is proposed. The study consists of a comparison between the actual and the refurbished building with shading devices. Daylighting simulation is done with Daysim (Daysim, 2016). A group of offices with south, east and north oriented facades is chosen for the study. Horizontal louvers in the south façade and vertical louvers in the east facade are modelled and simulated. The simulation changes the angle of the louver: 0º (perpendicular to the glazing), -30º, 30º, -60º, 60º. Visual comfort parameters analyzed are: illuminance, daylight autonomy (DA) and useful daylight index (UDI). With respect to the thermal comfort, not only louvers orientation try to provide solar protection for glazed areas in cooling period but also maximize solar gains in heating period. However, an excessive daylight could affect discomfort glare. Shading control strategy must provide the equilibrium between both aspects. Thermal demand is calculated with Trnsys (TRNSYS, 2016).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Exploring Operational Flexibility of Active Distribution Networks with Low Observability

Power electronic interfaced devices progressively enable the increasing provision of flexible operational actions in distribution networks. The feasible flexibility these devices can effectively provide requires estimation and quantification so the network operators can plan operations close to real-time. Existing approaches estimating the distribution network flexibility require the full observability of the system, meaning topological and state knowledge. However, the assumption of full observability is unrealistic and represents a barrier to system operators' adaptation. This paper proposes a definition of the distribution network flexibility problem that considers the limited observability in real-time operation. A critical review and assessment of the most prominent approaches are done based on the proposed definition. This assessment showcases the limitations and benefits of existing approaches for estimating flexibility with low observability. A case study on the CIGRE MV distribution system highlights the drawbacks brought by low observability.Comment: This paper has been accepted to the IEEE Belgrade Powertech 2023. It has 6 pages, 4 figures, and 2 table

Export of bathyal benthos to the Atlantic through the Mediterranean outflow: Sponges from the mud volcanoes of the Gulf of Cadiz as a case study

Este artículo contiene 20 páginas, 14 figuras, 5 tablas.The Mediterranean is a semi-enclosed sea, with a narrow natural connection —the Strait of Gibraltar— through its western basin to the North Atlantic. Many studies have investigated how the inflow of North Atlantic Surface water into the Mediterranean shapes the faunal composition and abundance of the shallow-water benthic communities of the Western Mediterranean. However, the reverse effect remains little explored, that is, at what level the relatively deep (>200 m deep) outflow of Mediterranean water (MOW) exports bathyal Mediterranean benthos into the North Atlantic and what is the fate of the exported fauna. In this study, we have investigated that process, using the bathyal sponge fauna known from a total of 9 biogeographical areas in the Northeastern Atlantic and 9 in the Western and Central Mediterranean, which accounted for a total of 456 spp. Prior to this general analysis, an exhaustive description of the bathyal sponge fauna (82 spp.) associated to 8 mud volcanoes located in the Gulf of Cadiz (Eastern North Atlantic) was conducted. This was necessary because the bathyal sponge fauna in the North Atlantic zone adjacent to the Strait of Gibraltar remained relatively poorly studied and that situation hindered relevant comparisons with the much better known bathyal fauna of the Western Mediterranean. The results of the clustering, ordination and regression analyses first revealed that the bathyal sponge fauna described from the mud volcanoes field in the Gulf of Cadiz was not essentially different from that previously described in pre-existing studies of other bathyal environments in the Gulf of Cadiz. The large scale subsequent assessment across the Atlantic-Mediterranean biogeographical gradient revealed that the sponge faunas of all Western Mediterranean areas form a relative cohesive group, except for the idiosyncratic nature of the Tyrrhenian Sea. More importantly, the deep-sea sponge fauna of the Gulf of Cadiz (in the easternmost Atlantic side of the Atlantic-Mediterranean gradient) showed more affinity with the fauna of the Western Mediterranean than with the fauna of the remaining Northeastern Atlantic areas considered in the study (i.e., Cape Verde, Canary Islands, Madeira, the Moroccan slope, Lusitanian Banks, Southern Azores Banks and Azores). The Mediterranean area with the highest faunal similarity to the Gulf of Cadiz was the Alboran Sea, followed by the Gulf of Lion, the Strait of Sicily and, the Gulf of Taranto, sharing collectively about 17% of their species. These patterns of faunal affinities clearly illustrate the importance of the MOW in transporting components of the Mediterranean deep-sea sponge communities towards the bathyal communities of the Gulf of Cadiz. The contrasting low faunal affinity between the deep-water sponge fauna of the Gulf of Cadiz and the remaining North Atlantic areas considered in the analyses also revealed that the Mediterranean faunal export is largely circumscribed to the Gulf of Cadiz. It is likely that the North-Atlantic trajectory of the MOW, turning north after the Strait of Gibraltar and staying attached to the slope of the Iberian margin, hinders subsequent colonization of the slopes of the Macaronesia region by the deep-water Mediterranean sponges exported to the Gulf of Cadiz. The results of this study, combined with previous literature on biogeographical sponge transport by marine currents, suggest that the sponge fauna provides a useful tool to reveal the future shifts in the biogeographic patterns predicted in our man-impacted and changing ocean.This research has benefited from funds of two grants of the European Community (LIFE + INDEMARES 07/NAT/E/000732 and INTEMARES LIFE15 IPE/ES/ 000012) awarded to co-authors at the IEO. Likewise, this research has benefited from funds of a Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness grant (MINECO– CTM2015-6722-1R) and a European Union Horizon 2020 SponGES (no. 679849) grant awarded to the CEAB-CSIC.Peer reviewe