Home injuries in Italy: patterns of injury and the most exposed people

Home injuries are a significant public health problem in developed and developing countries. To support future policies for reducing their occurrence and controlling their consequences, this study investigated the home injuries situation in Italy in 1999, using a nation-representative sample. The weighted correspondence analysis showed four different patterns of injury and seven profiles of the people most exposed to them. As results of this study falls were followed by bumps and cuts requiring specialist assistance then burns. Women were the most exposed to burn and fall risks and men to the risk of cuts and bumps. Among the elderly and children, falls and bumps leading to fractures, wounds or other consequences were frequent. The risks were highest for people with a lower level of education. Bumps and cuts were prevalent among unmarried and with the highest education level subjects. These injury risks were higher for young males. Cuts in adults doing do-it-yourself jobs had the worst consequences, while domestic work cuts generally did not need medical treatment. Burns occurred almost exclusively in the kitchen (90%) and did not need specialist assistance. Because home injuries are largely preventable, an efficient public health policy could promote and disseminate home safety culture.     

Injuries in preschool children: the hypothetical protector effect of minor injuries and risk factors for minor and medically attended injuries

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between minor and medically attended injuries and to analyse the influence of child-related factors and family-related factors in injuries of preschool children. Individual interviews were conducted with 335 parents of 1- to 5-year-old children. Parents informed about the child and the family variables and reported the child's history of injuries in the last year. The frequencies of minor injuries and medically attended injuries were not correlated. The risk factors for both kinds of injuries include the number of siblings and the size of the family. Minor injuries were more frequent in older than in younger children. Medically attended injuries were more frequent in boys than in girls. The risk factors that influence minor and medically attended injuries are different, suggesting that the strategies to prevent and reduce injuries need to take that difference into consideration.     

The firm's location in the home country and internationalisation: Some evidence from Greek smaller firms

The literature on the firm's international behaviour and growth is extensive. However, certain parameters which exert influence on the international growth of the firm and bear important practical and theoretical interest are comparatively underinvestigated. Such a parameter is the geographic location of the internationalised firm within its home country. Few studies have examined the impact of this variable on the firm's international behaviour and performance. The following article deals with this issue by investigating internationalisation ventures by small and medium-sized enterprises based in a small EU country, namely Greece.     

The relationship between CSR and corporate strategy in medium‐sized companies: evidence from Italy

The paper responds to the recent calls for further evidence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on the extant literature, the authors identify four characteristics contended by academicians as peculiarities of SMEs’ approach to CSR: the intrinsic relationship between CSR and corporate strategy motivated by the need to continuously dialogue with stakeholders; the centrality of the entrepreneur's ethos in CSR decisions; the coexistence and the cross‐effect of economically instrumental and ethically motivated CSR policies; and the finalization of CSR initiatives to specific firm growth objectives. These four peculiarities are explored in the case of an Italian medium‐sized company operating in the furniture industry. The outcomes show how the four peculiarities are salient in analyzing the CSR approach by the company and suggest areas for further research aimed at developing a thorough theory of CSR in SMEs. In particular, we deepen the analysis of the nature of the uniqueness of medium‐sized companies’ approach to CSR, providing possible interpretations of the reasons making medium‐sized companies’ approach to CSR different from both small and large companies.     

University spillovers and new business location in high-technology sectors: Spanish evidence

This paper examines the relationship between knowledge spillovers from universities and new business location in high-technology sectors. We focus on the contribution to new business formation through spillovers stemming from three main university outputs: knowledge-based graduates, research activities, and technological knowledge. We construct a new dataset with information on 604 companies and 63 universities in Spain and group the data across 36 geographical areas from 2001 to 2004 (144 observations). After controlling for several traditional cost factors and agglomeration characteristics, we find that university spillovers are relevant in explaining the location of new businesses in high-technology sectors in Spain. Further, our analysis draws attention to the relevance of graduates as the main source of spillovers, while research activities and university technology do not have significant effects.     

Uncovering evidence on community-based injury prevention: A review of programme effectiveness and factors influencing effectiveness

This study examines systematic reviews of community-based injury prevention programmes to obtain an overview of the evidence base on the effectiveness of these programmes and to analyse how effectiveness is measured and the extent to which factors contributing to achieving programme effectiveness are examined in these reviews. Thirteen systematic reviews were found, encompassing a total of 121 programmes. The results reinforced the well-documented point that the evidence regarding the effectiveness of community-based injury prevention programmes is inconsistent. Some of the programmes targeting specific injury categories, e.g. specific injury types and/or age groups, were successful, whilst more broadly targeted programmes demonstrated less convincing results. Effectiveness was predominantly measured as injury rate reductions. Only one of the reviews identified contextual factors that could have impacted on programme effectiveness. To advance the field, researchers and systematic reviews need to include evidence on factors that may explain how the effects were achieved.     

Expectations,network effects and timing of technology adoption: some empirical evidence from a sample of SMEs in Italy

We provide evidence on the influence of expectations and network effects on the timing of technological adoption. By considering a sample of SMEs operating in Italy, we focus on the determinants of their decision to adopt Fast Ethernet, a communication standard for Local Area Networks (LANs). We find that both expectations and network effects significantly affect the timing of adoption. In particular, price expectations generally tend to delay adoption and (indirect) network effects in the form of backward compatibility as well as informational spillovers tend to foster adoption. Firm size also matters.

Risk factors at the travel destination: their impact on air travel satisfaction and repurchase intention

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of four travel risk factors (natural disaster risk, physical risk, political risk, and performance risk) on traveler groups with different characteristics and the relationship among these risk factors, travel satisfaction, and travelers’ repurchase intention. For the research purpose, this study analyzed the data from passengers of a major international airline. The results suggest that traveler groups with different characteristics (gender, airline seat class, travel purpose, travel destination, travel duration, travel companion, and income level) respond differently to some risk factors, while they show the same response to other risk factors. The results also show that each risk factor affects travel satisfaction and repurchase intention differently. These findings imply that airlines should develop different strategies based on risk factors and travelers’ characteristics.     

Emotional intelligence and service quality: a meta-analysis with initial evidence on cross-cultural factors and future research directions

Marketing Letters - In an increasingly competitive market economy, retailers are seeking ways to manage customer perceptions of their service quality. Selecting employees who are high on emotional...     

The rate of seat belt use and its related factors among car drivers in Tehran,Iran after imposing new regulations

The incidence of road crash deaths is high in Iran. Seat belts can reduce the risk of death or serious injury. This study aimed to estimate the rate of seat belt use and its related factors for car drivers in Tehran, Iran after proclamation of the 2011 legislation. A roadside observational study was conducted in 2012 and 10,752 cars and taxis commuting in different streets of Tehran were screened in regard to drivers' seat belt wearing. Other variables including gender, age range, type of street, district, time of day and day of week were also collected. The rate of seat belt use was 70.9%, and was significantly higher in females, elders and on freeways and significantly less in afternoon hours, side streets and in taxi drivers. The rate of seat belt use in Tehran (a representative of Iran) is still low despite the implementation of new legislations. More initiatives are needed to increase this rate especially in certain groups and areas.     

基于资产负债分析的地方政府债务风险测算研究

地方政府控制的可用于偿还债务的资产及其收益是地方政府债务得以顺利清偿的保证,地方政府债务风险呈现了资不抵债和无力支付情况而发生债务违约的可能性。本文对2010-2017年我国地方政府债务风险测算和评估的结果表明,地方政府资产负债杠杆率在上升、可偿债资产的收益率在下滑;在计入养老金缺口情况下,借款融资结构变化对地方政府债务风险存在显著影响。因此,只有地方政府实际承担的养老金缺口现值少于24万亿元,地方政府债务风险才能处于可控的范围之内。     

基于美德经验的极端风险溢出效应检验

本文运用GARCH模型和主成分分析方法,从分析极端风险溢出机理出发,实证研究国际金融危机前后美国股票市场、债券市场及金银市场对德国股票市场的风险溢出效应,发现标准普尔500指数对德国法兰克福DAX指数日收率不仅存在极端风险溢出效应,且在金融危机前后的三个时期都存在风险溢出效应;而美国13周国债指数日收益率对德国法兰克福DAX指数日收益率在金融危机前后的三个时期都不存在风险溢出效应;费城金银指数的日收益率只在金融危机时期对德国法兰克福DAX指数日收益率产生风险溢出效应,即仅存在极端风险溢出效应。     

The rate of compliance to seat belt usage among automobile drivers on three categories of roads in Nigeria: an observational survey

Injuries to head, chest and abdomen are a major cause of death for unrestrained vehicle occupants, particularly the drivers. The use of seat belts therefore plays a significant role in reducing the severity of injuries. The study examined the compliance rate of seat belt use on different road hierarchies in Abeokuta (Nigeria) using an observatory method. Findings indicated that there was 54%, 37.3% and 13.6% compliance rate on three categories of roads studied. Also, females complied more with the use of seat belts on each of the roads with compliance rates at 43.3%, 47.2% and 50% compared with males who had 32.6%, 38.6% and 39.6% seat belt compliance rates. Chi-square analysis showed significant variations in the use of seat belt on the roads (p < 0.05). The paper suggests increased awareness and enforcement of traffic laws among others in order to ensure sustainable use of seat belts among motorists in Nigeria.     

A new view of shareholder voting in the nineteenth century: evidence from Brazil,England and France

Business corporations in the nineteenth century often imposed limits on the voting rights of large shareholders. Economic historians have generally interpreted these voting restrictions as a contractual mechanism designed to protect small shareholders in a legal environment that afforded insufficient investor protection. This dominant account, however, fails to explain the variation in the incidence of voting restrictions across different industries and firm ownership structures, as well as their eventual disappearance from corporate charters over time. In this Article, we advance an alternative interpretation for these early voting schemes as efforts at consumer protection employed primarily by firms that were local service monopolies and collectively owned by their principal customers, none of whom wished the firm to come under the exclusive control of their competitors or of profit-maximising investors. We explore and test this proposition by analysing data on shareholder voting rights in the nineteenth century in Brazil, England, and France.     

The impact of foreign direct investment on new firm survival in the UK: evidence for static versus dynamic industries

The paper examines the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the survival of business start-ups. FDI has potential for both negative displacement/competition effects as well as positive knowledge spillover and linkage effects on new ventures. We find a net positive effect for the whole dataset. However, a major contribution of the paper is to outline and test an argument that this effect is likely to be comprised of a net negative effect in dynamic industries (high churn: firm entry plus exit relative to the stock of firms) alongside a net positive effect in static (low churn) industries. We find evidence to support this view. The results identify new effects of globalisation on enterprise development with associated challenges for industrial policy.

Foreign vs domestic ownership on debt reduction: An investigation of acquisition targets in Italy and Spain

This paper examines the role of foreign versus domestic ownership in reducing the debt levels of acquired firms in Italy and Spain over the period 2002–2010. Acknowledging that lower debt levels can mitigate the risk of failure and thus enhance the chances for a positive post-acquisition performance and survival, we particularly examine the causal effect of foreign and domestic acquisitions on two firm-level debt measures: gearing and short-term leverage. To estimate causal relationships, we control for selection bias by applying propensity score matching techniques. Our results indicate that foreign acquisition leads to a significant and steady reduction in the debt ratios of the target companies. In contrast, the relationship between domestic acquisition and debt reduction appears to be smaller and statistically less robust.     

流动男性商业性行为的HIV/AIDS累积风险及政策启示

婚姻挤压下的未婚流动男性参与商业性行为的现象可能增多,而商业性行为是普通人群直接感染HIV/AIDS的途径之一.有必要在婚姻挤压背景下分析流动男性由于商业性行为而具有的HIV/AIDS风险及其应对策略.通过生存分析方法估计流动男性各个年龄段的商业性行为比例,探讨HIV/AIDS累积风险及其影响因素.研究结果验证了婚姻挤压、人口流动以及文化变迁是分析流动男性商业性行为的重要情境;发现流动男性存在明显的HIV/AIDS累积风险,28-35岁未婚男性是HIV/AIDS累积风险的主要承担者,婚姻挤压对28-35岁未婚男性的HIV/AIDS累积风险产生了显著影响;社会宏观结构因素和微观规范因素是流动男性HIV/AIDS累积风险的显著影响因素.在结论基础上提出了针对性的政策启示,建议公共卫生部门明确HIV/AIDS的累积风险趋势,完善风险阻断策略.     

The epidemiology of non-fatal injuries among 11-, 13- and 15-year old youth in 11 countries: findings from the 1998 WHO-HBSC cross national survey

The primary objective was to present a cross-country comparison of injury rates, contexts and consequences. The research design was the analysis of data from the 1998 cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey and 52955 schoolchildren from 11 countries, aged 11, 13 and 15 years, completed a self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 41.3% of all children were injured and needed medical treatment in the past 12 months. Injury rates among boys were higher than among girls, 13.3% reported activity loss due to injury and 6.9% reported severe injury consequences. Most injuries occurred at home and at a sport facility, mainly during sport activity. Fighting accounted for 4.1% of injuries. This paper presents the first cross-national comparison of injury rates and patterns by external cause and context. Findings present cross-country similarities in injury distribution by setting and activity. These findings emphasize the importance of the development of global prevention programmes designed to address injuries among youth.     

Familiarity and competence diversity in new product development teams: Effects on new product performance

When developing new products, most firms use cross-functional teams, but research on the effect of functional diversity on new product performance returns heterogeneous results. We propose a measure of competence diversity that is more comprehensive than the common functional diversity proxy. Empirical findings, based on a survey of 142 product and sales managers, support the improved predictive validity of our scale. We further observe a mediating effect of the instrumental use of information in the competence diversity–new product performance relationship. Finally, we discuss the moderating effect of familiarity among team members on the relationship between competence diversity and the instrumental use of information. All authors contributed equally to this article and are listed in random order.