Emotions, moods and hyperreality: social media and the stock market during the first phase of COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: This paper aims to expand the emerging literature on COVID-19 and the financial markets by searching for a relationship between the uncertainty of the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced through social media and the extreme volatility of the Italian stock market. Design/methodology/approach: The authors analyze the relationship between social media and stock market trends during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of social theory and Baudrillard's simulacra and hyperreality theory. The authors conducted the data analysis in two phases: the emotional and Granger correlation analysis by using the KPI6 software to analyze 3,275,588 tweets for the predominant emotion on each day and observe its relationship with the stock market. Findings: The research results show a significant Granger causality relation between tweets on a particular day and the closing price of the FTSE MIB during the first phase of the COVID-19 epidemic. The results highlight a strong relationship between social media hyperreality and the real world. The study confirms the role of social media in predicting stock market volatility. Research limitations/implications: The findings have theoretical and practical implications as they reveal the relevance of social media in our society and its relationship with businesses and economies. In an emergency, social media, as an expression of users' feelings and emotions, can generate a state of hyperreality that is strong correlated with reality. Since social media allows users to publish and share messages without any filter and mediation, the hyperreality generated is affected by highly subjective elements. Originality/value: This research is different from the previous ones on the same topic because unlike previous studies, conducted under normal or simulated scenarios, this study is focused on the first phase of an unpredictable and unforeseen emergency event: the COVID-19 pandemic. This research adopts a multidisciplinary approach and integrates previous studies on the economic and financial effects generated by social media by applying well-known theories to a new and unexplored context. The study reveals the significant impact generated by social media on stock markets during a global pandemic

Environmental accounting and state power in the grand duchy of Tuscany (1537-1621)

Purpose. The study investigates the use of early forms of environmental accounting in the implementation of environmental strategies in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany between the 16th and 17th centuries. Design/methodology/approach. The study adopts the Foucauldian concept of raison d’État to shed light on the ways in which environmental accounting practices were used by Tuscan Grand Dukes to form a detailed knowledge of the territory to be governed and act accordingly. Findings. Financial and non-financial information relating to environmental issues enabled the Grand Dukes to ‘visualise’ the territory to be managed as an enclosed disciplinary space whereby the conduct of people living therein could be decisively influenced. Accounting practices as a tool for the implementation of environmental strategies did not merely aim to protect the environment but were a means to reinforce the power of the State. Research implications. The paper can inform future works that investigate the ways in which environmental policies and accounting are used to pursue far-reaching governmental goals. It encourages scholars to examine further the origins of environmental accounting and its early forms. Social implications. The study documents how environmental strategies and the related use of accounting can have a significant influence on how individuals are allowed to conduct themselves. It also shows that environmental accounting practices can be an important tool in a State’s machinery of power. Originality/value. The study offers a novel perspective on the use of environmental accounting information as a tool in the exercise of State power. It explores explicitly the interrelations between accounting, sustainability and power. It also adds new evidence to historical research that has engaged with early forms of environmental accounting

Institutional pluralism, accounting and the State. The Opera del Duomo in Pisa as a hybrid organisation (XI-XVI centuries)

This study considers the Opera del Duomo in Pisa, the organisation tasked with building the world-renowned complex located in the Square of Miracles, from its inception to the formation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the 16th century. It draws upon Besharov and Smith’s understanding of hybridity to document the factors driving the transition from a form of hybridity characterised by a high level of conflict between the logics of the State, the Church and the Commune of Pisa to a form in which the State logic dominated over the others and conflict was overcome. The paper unveils how the regulatory power of the State generates changes in the interactions among logics over time, with particular attention to the role of accounting and accountability practices. It shows how historical studies help to untangle situations in which logics coexist in extreme conflict and identify new ways to engage with them

Potential of a multiparametric optical sensor for determining in situ the maturity components of red and white vitis vinifera wine grapes

A non-destructive fluorescence-based technique for evaluating Vitis vinifera L. grape maturity using a portable sensor (Multiplex ®) is presented. It provides indices of anthocyanins and chlorophyll in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese red grapes and of flavonols and chlorophyll in Vermentino white grapes. The good exponential relationship between the anthocyanin index and the actual anthocyanin content determined by wet chemistry was used to estimate grape anthocyanins from in field sensor data during ripening. Marked differences were found in the kinetics and the amount of anthocyanins between cultivars and between seasons. A sensor-driven mapping of the anthocyanin content in the grapes, expressed as g/kg fresh weight, was performed on a 7-ha vineyard planted with Sangiovese. In the Vermentino, the flavonol index was favorably correlated to the actual content of berry skin flavonols determined by means of HPLC analysis of skin extracts. It was used to make a non-destructive estimate of the evolution in the flavonol concentration in grape berry samplings. The chlorophyll index was inversely correlated in linear manner to the total soluble solids (°Brix): it could, therefore, be used as a new index of technological maturity. The fluorescence sensor (Multiplex) possesses a high potential for representing an important innovative tool for controlling grape maturity in precision viticulture

Cardiovascular diseas: an economical perspective

Cardiovascular diseases represent a relevant problem worldwide. Data from World Health Organization (W.H.O.) demonstrate that they are one of the principle causes of death: 30% of all losses of human life throughout the world are due to heart diseases. Such data buries a substantial economic cost considering both the direct component, first of all the national health expense, and the indirect part, such as absenteeism rate, productivity loss, quality of life and, more generally, social costs. The future scenario pictured by the W.H.O. reveals a negative trend due to an increasing in the rate of morbidity and mortality especially in Emerging Countries. One of the solution to stem the costs – economic and not – connected to cardiovascular diseases is to empower the prevention activities overall the actions of primary prevention. This require a change in the traditional patient-physician relationship management model to get to an organizational model centred on patient and based on a proactive approach. In this perspective in the paper will be analysed the principal changes that occurred in the Italian national healthcare system and in particular the strategic plans and actions in theme of cardiovascular prevention

Assetti di governo e creazione di valore nelle aziende familiari vitivinicole toscane.

SOMMARIO: 1.1. Introduzione. –1.2. Capitale sociale e creazione di valore nelle aziende familiari. – 1.3. Storia della famiglia e radicamento territoriale. – 1.4. Metodologia. – 1.5. Discussione

Cardiovascular disease: an economical perspective

Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases represent a relevant problem worldwide. Data from World Health Organization(W.H.O.) demonstrate that they are one of the principle causes of death: the 30% of all the losses of human life in theworld are due to heart diseases. Such a data bury a substantial economic cost considering both the direct component, firstof all the national health expense, and the indirect part, such as absenteeism rate, productivity loss, quality of life and,more generally, social costs. The future scenario pictured by the W.H.O. reveals a negative trend due to an increasing inthe rate of morbidity and mortality especially in the Emerging Countries. One of the solution to stem the costs – economicand not – connected to cardiovascular diseases is to empower the prevention activities overall the actions of primary prevention.This require a change in the traditional patient-physician relationship management model to get to an organizationalmodel centred on patient and based on a proactive approach. In this perspective in the paper will be analysed theprincipal changes happened in the Italian national healthcare system and in particular the strategic plans and actions intheme of cardiovascular prevention

Social and moral accountability in action: the religious roots of corporate social responsibility in an Italian entrepreneurial family (1900–1950)

A company's most valuable asset is its employees. Since the 1970s, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a topic of increasing interest in terms of performance and disclosure. However, little attention has been paid to the history of CSR practices, which should be studied within historical and cultural contexts. Based on archival material and secondary sources, and using arguments from moral economics and Catholic Social Theory, this study uniquely investigates the role of religious and ethical beliefs in influencing CSR actions and accountability. We focus on the case of Vaccari, an entrepreneurial Italian Catholic family in the early-twentieth century, which was clearly inspired by upward accountability (to God) and not just economic returns. The family took CSR actions to improve the welfare and living conditions of its workers (downward accountability). Vaccari's religious value system was strongly based on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) contained in the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, addressed to 'all men of good will'. Our historical analysis informs modern CSR practices, revealing that management's commitment to ethics and sound values is the correct starting point for developing good and sustainable business practices