Reply to Notes on: “The Generalised Index Numbers”

Generalised Index Numbers, Basket Factor, Indicator Function

Chinese entrepreneurship in context: specialization, localization and their impact on Italian industrial districts

Chinese migration flows represent a relatively new phenomenon in Italy. Its entrepreneurial nature is reflected in massive flows Chinese businessman employed both in manufacturing and commercial activities, with a dense concentration in correspondence of some industrial districts. The aim of the paper is to shed some light on current Chinese specialization of economic activities and localization across Italian regions and industrial districts, to test interpretative research hypothesis on Chinese entrepreneurship models and identify agglomeration forces underlying the emergence of so-called Chinese ethnic businesses. Some reflections on the manufacturing and commercial attitude of Chinese entrepreneurship will also be considered. The utilization of native-Chinese entrepreneurs as unit of observation represents an innovative methodological contribution based on ASIA-ISTAT archives. The exercise of explorative analysis based on data processing and spatial analysis will finally highlight business migration patterns, which represent new socio-economic challenges for Italian industrial districts

Is the Time Right for a Paradigm Shift? Where we have been and where we Might be Going

Over the years there have been a number of paradigms and concomitant shifts in criminal justice. Each paradigm shift follows a general discontentment with the existing paradigm. This is crucial because with change comes a new operating system designed to, at the least, protect society. When the paradigm is not doing its job, crisis can ensue. Current attitudes towards the criminal justice system raise the question, are we in a moment of crisis? This article explores the history of shifts in the criminal justice system, where we are now, and were we might be going

Multifunctional Agriculture, Quality of Life and Policy Decisions: an Empirical Case

The TOP-MARD research project (Toward a Policy Model of Multifunctional Agriculture and Rural Development), that will be here described in its Italian version, links farmers’ behaviour with their economic, social and environmental effects, showing the difference between a behaviour guided by market profitability only and one guided by the interest of a broader social group. It was financed by EU in 11 European countries, and it took place in 2006-2008. The TOP-MARD research defined a 10-modules model (POMMARD), that links use of land and production techniques to several dimensions of a context (quantitative and qualitative, from economic to social and environmental) and to the quality of life of its population. STELLA, a Systems Thinking software, has been used in order to develop the POMMARD model. The POMMARD model is partially supply-driven with demand constraints: land use and its dynamics produce a mix of marketable and non-marketable goods, that impact other sectors and the territory through an I-O or a SAM, and through the consequences of their production on the quality of life. Labour requirements and demography can produce – therefore – immigration, and contribute to job creation and dynamics. Public intervention influences local resources and human behaviour. Farmers can choose their style of production and land use, that are the “key drivers” of change: when land is converted from a land use to another or from a conventional to a non-conventional style of production, there occurs a change in the vector of inputs (means of production and workers) and in the vector of outputs, that also comprehends public goods. Provision of public goods increases the quality of life. Rural areas become therefore more attractive to younger generations, encouraging them to stay rather than migrate, and attracting new-comers. Tourism can also be influenced by the attractiveness of the area, which can contribute further income, within the limits of tourism capacity and seasonality. Starting from the actual systematic links, the model considers the main variables (population, income, …) under different policy scenarios: providing suggestions to policy makers about the possible effects of exogenous shocks, such as policy measures, on rural development and quality of life.Multifunctional Agriculture, Quality of Life, Policy Decision., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Labor and Human Capital,

The Effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom in a 300 Level Terrorism Class

This study compares a 300 level terrorism class taught using a flipped classroom to the same class taught one year earlier in the traditional, face to face method. While one examination score was better for the face to face class, the flipped class did better than the traditional class on the final examination. Every other point of comparison showed no difference between the classes, except for the end of semester student evaluations, which were significantly higher for the face to face class than the flipped classroom

Essays on Disclosure

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, I attempt a taxonomy of the extant accounting literature on disclosure: that is, a categorization of the various models of disclosure in the literature into well-integrated topics. With regard to the taxonomy, I suggest three broad categories of disclosure research in accounting. The first category, which I dub “association-based disclosure”, is work that studies the effect of exogenous disclosure on the cumulative change or disruption in investors’ individual actions, primarily through the behavior of asset equilibrium prices and trading volume. The second category, which I dub “discretionary-based disclosure”, is work that examines how managers and/or firms exercise discretion with regard to the disclosure of information about which they may have knowledge. The third category, which I dub “efficiency-based disclosure”, is work that discusses which disclosure arrangements are preferred in the absence of prior knowledge of the information, that is, preferred unconditionally. Then, in the final section of the paper, I recommend information asymmetry reduction as one potential starting point for a comprehensive theory of disclosure. That is, I recommend information asymmetry reduction as a vehicle to integrate the efficiency of disclosure choice, the incentives to disclose, and the endogeneity of the capital market process as it involves the interactions among individual and diverse investors

The Generalised Index Numbers

[En] The aim of the paper is to redefine, the notational aspect of the traditional formulas of the, numbers index theory. After having defined the total value index, the “generalised Index Numbers” (g-IN) are introduced and the “indicator function of the copresent” and the Basket factor are defined. [It] L’obiettivo dell’articolo è ridefinire, dal punto di vista della notazione, le tradizionali formule della teoria dei numeri indice. Dopo aver definito l’indice di valore totale si introducono i “generalised Index Numbers” (g-IN) e si definiscono la “funzione indicatrice dei co-presenti” ed il fattore “Basket”. [Fr] Le principal objectif de l’article est redéfinir, du point de vue de la notation, les traditionnelles formules de la théorie des nombres indice. Après avoir défini l'indice de valeur totale on introduit les «generalised Index Numbers» (g-IN) et, en relation aux g-IN, on définit: la «fonction indicatrice des co-présents» et le facteur «Basket».Generalised Index Numbers, Basket Factor, Indicator Function

Does prism width from the shell prismatic layer have a random distribution?

A study of the distribution of the prism width inside the prismatic layer of Unio tumidus (Philipsson 1788, Diss Hist-Nat, Berling, Lundæ) from Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, has been conducted in order to determine whether or not this distribution is random. Measurements of 954 to 1,343 prism widths (depending on shell sample) have been made using a scanning electron microscope in backscattered electron mode. A white noise test has been applied to the distribution of prism sizes (i.e. width). It shows that there is no temporal cycle that could potentially influence their formation and growth. These results suggest that prism widths are randomly distributed, and related neither to external rings nor to environmental constraint

Transforming growth factor-beta and fibrosis.

International audienceTransforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), a prototype of multifunctional cytokine, is a key regulator of extracellular matrix (ECM) assembly and remodeling. Specifically, TGF-beta isoforms have the ability to induce the expression of ECM proteins in mesenchymal cells, and to stimulate the production of protease inhibitors that prevent enzymatic breakdown of the ECM. Elevated TGF-beta expression in affected organs, and subsequent deregulation of TGF-beta functions, correlates with the abnormal connective tissue deposition observed during the onset of fibrotic diseases. During the last few years, tremendous progress has been made in the understanding of the molecular aspects of intracellular signaling downstream of the TGF-beta receptors. In particular, Smad proteins, TGF-beta receptor kinase substrates that translocate into the cell nucleus to act as transcription factors, have been studied extensively. The role of Smad3 in the transcriptional regulation of type I collagen gene expression and in the development of fibrosis, demonstrated both in vitro and in animal models with a targeted deletion of Smad3, is of critical importance because it may lead to novel therapeutic strategies against these diseases. This review focuses on the mechanisms underlying Smad modulation of fibrillar collagen expression and how it relates to fibrotic processes