Business as usual? The behavioural consistency of short-term rental platform hosts despite the challenges of the pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic that started in March 2020 had a significant impact on the freedom of movement of the global population, impacting the activity of short-term rental platforms (STRs). According to several studies (Romano 2021, Dagkouli-Kyriakoglou et al 2022), during the peak of the pandemic the number of listings dropped in many major markets. In Europe, Spain lost 59% of booking days in 2020, Italy 58%, France 33%, and Germany 39% (Dagkouli-Kyriakoglou et al 2022, p. 5). Even more pronounced was the decrease in the occupancy rate of urban listings (measured in terms of reviews) recorded at the main tourist destinations in Italy compared to 2019: Rome was down 70.07%, Milan 77.71%, Florence 77.55%, and Naples 63.92% (Romano 2021, p. 5). Nevertheless, while the impact of the pandemic on the geography of STR listings is evident, empirical evidence on the business strategies adopted by hosts to survive the crisis is scarce. The aim of this contribution is to present and discuss a detailed empirical analysis based on STR host data for the period November 2021¬April 2022. To reveal any changes induced by the pandemic in five Italian cities – Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, and Turin – information from 411 respondents who participated in a direct online survey is presented. The author investigates in particular (i) actions taken during the pandemic (e.g., cancelation of listings, changes in business/organizational model, etc.); (ii) future “post pandemic” strategies (e.g., rent accommodation differently, sell the property, etc.) and (iii) the impact on hosts’ income

Mapping the impact: assessment methodologies and policy implications of the Collaborative and Sharing Economy

In this chapter the authors examine different methodologies for assessing the diverse impact of the Collaborative and Sharing Economies (henceforth, CSE) on many aspects of society, then make policy recommendations based on the outcomes of these assessments. The chapter briefly describes the multifarious CSE landscape, then goes on to enumerate the major frameworks currently used to evaluate and assess CSE impacts. It notes that there is no single methodology that can fully capture the wide variety of impacts, but identifies two methods as the most useful: multidimensional assessment, and Theory of Change (ToC) framework analysis. The chapter then elaborates on the benefits and drawbacks of each methodology, before suggesting the use of both methodologies in a mixed format. The authors undertake a brief literature review to examine recent approaches to impact assessment, and focus in on what those approaches have revealed from the points of view of social value, environmental impact, economy, and political impact, concluding with findings about 'rebound effects' in terms of indirect behavioural and other changes caused by CSE initiatives. The chapter maps out a suggested comprehensive inventory for multidimensional assessment, then describes a methodology for assessing the CSE and its impacts via the ToC Framework. It concludes with determining the implications on policy of the impact assessments. This section views policy through the lens of implications derived from the general impact of the CSE, and then via the impact assessment methods and tools derived from the ToC framework. In the first part it assesses considerations that need to be taken by policymakers due to CSE impacts on the market, government, the workforce, consumers, and the environment, and makes recommendations on each. In terms of impact assessment, it recommends more long-term and strategic actions to cope with the ongoing disruption caused by the CSE. In conclusion it recommends a robust and adaptive approach to assessing the impacts caused by flourishing and inevitable growth of the CSE

Encrypting video and image streams using OpenCL code on- demand

La cantidad de información multimedia que se transmite a través de la web es muy alta y continua incrementándose. Generalmente, este tipo de datos no se los protege correctamente, dado que los usuarios no aprecian la cantidad de información que las imágenes y videos pueden contener. En este trabajo, presentamos una arquitectura para manejar de manera segura, canales de transmisión multimedia. La idea es encriptar o codificar imágenes y videos de una forma eficiente y dinámica. Al mismo tiempo, estos datos pueden ser mejorados aplicando un procesamiento en tiempo real. Lo novedoso de esta propuesta es la utilización en tiempo real de código bajo-demanda en paralelo escrito en OpenCL. Los algoritmos y estructura de datos son conocidos por los participantes de la comunicación, solo cuando esta comienza, lo que supone incrementa la robustez frente a posibles ataques. En el trabajo desarrollamos una descripción completa de la propuesta y varias pruebas de rendimiento con diferentes algoritmos.The amount of multimedia information transmitted through the web is very high and increasing. Generally, this kind of data is not correctly protected, since users do not appreciate the amount of information that images and videos may contain. In this work, we present architecture for managing safely multimedia transmission channels. The idea is to encrypt or encode images and videos in an efficient and dynamic way. At the same time, these media could be enhanced applying a real-time image process. The main novelty of the proposal is the application of on-demand parallel code written in OpenCL. The algorithms and data structure are known by the parties only at communication time, what we suppose increases the robustness against possible attacks. We conducted a complete description of the proposal and several performance tests with different known algorithms.Fil: D'amato, Juan Pablo. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Venere, Marcelo Javier. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentin

La cooperación transfronteriza en la región del Trifinio y la difusión de modelos europeos de gobernanza de las fronteras en América Latina

En la región del Trifinio se concentran algunas de las experiencias más avanzadas de cooperación transfronteriza de América Latina. Dichas experiencias son promovidas por las instituciones europeas y se han inspirado fuertemente en el modelo europeo de gobernanza de las regiones transfronterizas. Al mismo tiempo, este modelo no ha sido simplemente trasladado de la Unión Europea a la América Latina, sino que también se ha adaptado a las condiciones del contexto y a las características específicas de los procesos de reterritorialización e integración macrorregional que tienen lugar en la región y, más en general, en América Latina. A la luz del debate relativo a la europeización, el artículo pretende mostrar cómo el potencial y los límites de este tipo de iniciativas pueden ser adecuadamente comprendidos solo a través del balance que se crea, caso por caso, entre contaminación transnacional y adaptación local, y entre la transferencia de modelos y narrativas (que son típicos de la Unión Europea), y la apropiación de estos por parte de los actores locales. Some of the most advanced cross-border cooperation initiatives in Latin American are to be found in the Trifinio region. These have been promoted by European institutions and have been inspired by the European model of cross-border governance. The model, however, has not simply been transplanted from Europe, but has been adapted to local circumstances and to the specifics of rescaling and macro-regional integration processes in the region, and in Latin America more in general. In the light of academic debates about Europeanization, this article aims to show how both the potential and the limits of such initiatives may only be properly understood in light of a balance between transnational contamination and local adaptation, and between the transfer of models and narratives that are typical of the EU, and their appropriation by local actors

Wearable Technology as a Tool to Motivate Health Behaviour: A Case Study

According to the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits, work-related exposures are estimated to account for about 15% of all adult respiratory diseases. Today, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is the only way for workers to prevent disease. Nevertheless, its use is highly sparse. Currently, products and systems embedded with wearable technologies are able to protect, motivate and educate users. The authors then suggested the development of a novel wearable system following the beliefs that wearable technology can be persuasive and elicit a conscious behaviour towards the use of the PPEs by consequently improving their health condition. The authors here describe the result of a Transnational Research Project named “P_O_D Plurisensorial Device to prevent Occupational Disease.” The chapter describes the findings achieved so far, the research phase and the new wearable system conceived as a possible example of how to use wearable technology as a useful tool to influence behavioural change

Study of the magnetic properties of glioblastoma cancer stem-like cells and non-stem tumor cells using magnetophoresis for label-less separation

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