Graphical models for estimating network determinants of multi-destination trips in Sicily

Abstract This paper proposes a two-step approach for analysing the main determinants of multi-destination trip behaviour. It is based on a combination of graphical models and of a multinomial logistic regression model; the aim is to analyse direct and indirect effects of a wide set of tourist- and trip-related characteristics on multi-destination trip behaviour. Empirical data have been derived from a frontier survey of approximately 4000 incoming tourists in Sicily (Italy) at the end of their trip. Results suggest that multi-destination trips depend directly on the length of stay, the number of previous visits and motivation for the trip, and only indirectly on the interview month, travel …

The probabilities of selection of first and second stage units in the Time Location Sampling (TLS) design on incoming tourism in Sicily and Sardinia

The present work aims to illustrate the criteria used for the determination of probabilities of selection of first and second stage units, given the available information, within the TLS design implemented for the survey of the Relevant National Interest Project (PRIN) on mobility of regional incoming tourism in Sicily and Sardinia. First and second stage units selection probabilities are necessary for the implementation of Hansen-Hurwitz class estimators for the estimation of the average number of stops made by tourists in Sicily, for the estimation of the share of un-observed tourism, and for the sampling errors associated.

Walking tourism in Malaga: a pilot survey to explore tourism behaviours with a GPS approach

Walking tourism in urban destinations can be defined as a sequence of day visits and/or a sequence of walking tours. In this work, GPS tracking data on spatio-temporal behaviour of walking tourists in Malaga are reported as case study. Malaga is a booming tourist destination characterized by a city centre, particularly suitable for a pedestrian visit. From 22nd January to 19th March 2018 for a total period of 41 days, a survey was carried out with a specific protocol: 103 interviews were conducted and 101 GPS valid tracks were collected. Walking tourists were systematically sampled, starting from the population of all tourists staying in the surveying day at some selected hotels in the city…

Analysing tourist mobility: current issues and future challenges

Tourism statistics are generally based on data collected only at one point of the travel, which, depending on the perspective of interest, can be the originating region or the destination one. Indeed, many tourism trips imply the visit to more than a single destination, since tourists move to visit several attraction to several destination or within the same destination. The analysis of tourist mobility presents several issues which are related both to the collection of information on multidestination trip behaviour and to the analysis of complex information such as the ones related with tourist itineraries. The present work aims at reviewing the main issues related with the analysis of tou…

The risk of Second Primary Cancers (SPCS) in patients with Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma (SMZL)

Seasonal pattern and amplitude: a logical framework to analyse seasonality in tourism. An application to bed occupancy in Sicilian hotels

Many studies have investigated seasonality in tourism in terms of its causes and impacts, from both theoretical and applied perspectives. However, the definition of seasonality and, most of all, its application and measurement have not received the same degree of attention. In recognizing that seasonality has two main facets – pattern and amplitude – this paper critically examines the main seasonality measures proposed in the tourism literature, classifying them according to their properties and their most appropriate use. The framework then proposed is used to analyse a standard and comparable efficiency measure, such as the bed occupancy rate of Sicilian accommodation establishments, pla…

Tourism statistics and unobserved tourism: empirical evidences in Sicily

Despite its strategic importance, accurately measuring visitor attendance has been a challenging and problematic exercise for tourism managers for decades. Consequently, the primary aim of tourism statistics of accurately quantify tourism flows has been only partially achieved; indeed at a lower territorial scale tourism statistics appear less precise and accurate. The aim of this paper is: to introduce the concept of unobserved tourism, by highlighting the main limits of official statistical systems (with a special focus on the European statistical system on tourism statistics; to formalize a theoretical model in which tourism nights and trips in a given destination are decomposed into obs…

L'attività di ricerca nella circoscrizione di Cefalù (Presentazione dell'attivtà di ricerca svolta dall'unità locale di PAlermo)

L'attività di ricerca dell'unità locale di Palermo per la valutazione statistica del turismo sommerso è stata condotta, oltre che alle Isole Eolie, nella circoscrizione turistica di Cefalù. Agli obiettivi di ricerca fissati per le Isole Eolie ne sono stati aggiunti di nuovi, utilizzando dati tratti da fonti differenti, in alcuni casi derivanti da indagini organizzate ad hoc. I risultati dell'attività di ricerca su Cefalù sono presentati con dettaglio in un apposito volume di questa stessa collana. In questo contributo sarà presentata sinteticamente l'effettiva attività svolta, e data particolare attenzione alla logica che ha ispirato le opzioni di ricerca fondamentali.

The impact of climate change on Mediterranean intertidal communities: losses in coastal ecosystem integrity and services

As has been shown for other ecosystems, the ecological and socio-economic impacts of climate change on Mediterranean intertidal habitats are highly variable in space and time. We conducted field and laboratory measurements of cellular, ecophysiological and behavioural responses of selected intertidal invertebrates (mussels, gastropods and sponges) and completed a literature review to determine what is known of socioeconomic consequences of these biological changes. Results suggest significant gaps in our knowledge that may impede a complete understanding of likely impacts (physical, biological, and socioeconomic) and that sufficient data for such an analysis is available only for mussels. A…

Flussi turistici ufficiali. Il ciclo di vita e la stagionalità

THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC CRISIS ON TOURISM. A QUALITATIVE SURVEY ON THE OPINIONS OF TOUR OPERATORS IN SICILY

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has had direct effects on social relationships. Tourism activities are by definition linked to the interaction among human beings, beginning with a physical movement of a person from a habitually-frequented environment to one or more destinations. Any denial of mobility, therefore, negates the tourist experience. After briefly discussing the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the tourism system and hospitality, this work presents a qualitative survey by means of a thematic analysis approach. The study investigates tourism professionals operating in Sicily, across different tourism sectors and in various segments of the market (cultural, luxury, nautical, rural, a…

Presenting features and outcome of Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma with or without villous lymphocytes. A retrospective analysis in a Series of 145 Patients

Data Quality and Errors Correction in Italian Official Statistics on guests of accomodation establishments

Assessment of the frequency of additional cancers in patients with splenic marginal zone lymphoma

Abstract: Objectives: Solid second primary cancers (SPC) have become an issue of extensive research. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the standardised incidence ratio (SIR) and the absolute excess risk (AER) of SPC in patients with splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL). Methods: We investigated the incidence of additional cancers in 129 patients consecutively diagnosed with SMZL in three Italian haematological centres, asking the cooperating doctors for additional information on initial and subsequent therapies and on the onset and type of second cancers. Results: Twelve SPC were recorded (9.3%); the 3- and 5-yr cumulative incidence rates were 5.5% and 18.3% respectively, wi…

Walking tourism in urban destinations: some preliminary results from a survey in Malaga with gps-based technologies

Walking tourism in urban destinations can be defined as a sequence of day visits and/or a sequence of walking tours. In this work, GPS tracking data on spatio-temporal behaviour of walking tourists in Malaga are reported as case study. Malaga is a booming tourist destination characterized by a city centre, particularly suitable for a pedestrian visit. From 22nd January to 19th March 2018 for a total period of 41 days, a survey was carried out with a specific protocol: 103 interviews were conducted and 101 GPS valid tracks were collected. Walking tourists were systematically sampled, starting from the population of all tourists staying in the surveying day at some selected hotels in the city…

Measuring spatial concentration: A transportation problem approach

This paper will propose an index for measuring spatial concentration, which is based on the solution of a particular transportation problem. This approach extends a new index proposed for the measurement of seasonality to the spatial case, and it takes into account the level of the concentration of the phenomenon of interest according to its spatial distribution. Various properties of the proposed index, which make it a desirable measure for spatial concentration, will also be described. An empirical application, using data from selected European countries, will be provided, and the results derived from the proposed index will be compared with those derived from currently used indices. Este…

Una nota sul campionamento in Sicilia e Sardegna per l'analisi della mobilità: le probabilità di selezione e il processo di calibrazione

Un-observed tourism: approaches and case studies in Sicily

Multi-destination pleasure trip behaviors in Sicily

Many pleasure trips are often characterized by the visit of more than a single destination. The topic is well documented in literature (Cooper 1981; Mings & McHugh, 1992), but the main determinants and consequences of multi-destination trips have not been adequately analyzed (McKercher & Lew, 2004). Moreover, the empirical studies on this topic are limited to a few pioneering studies (Lau & McKercher, 2007; Mings & McHugh, 1992; Wu & Carson, 2008). This lack may be attributable to the failure of tourism organizations to collect data on multi-destination trip behaviors, as it results, for example, from European statistics on tourism (according to the Council Directive 59/95 EC), where no inf…

Conclusioni

Indirect Measurement of Unobserved Tourism. The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as an Indicator of Human Pressure

An overwiew of collapsibility

Unobserved tourism

Having more reliable statistics is essential for policy-makers to be able to make effective decisions. Nevertheless, measuring the number of tourists in a given destination is not an easy task. After reviewing the main problems affecting official statistics on tourism, this paper proposes a general framework by formalizing a theoretical model in which tourism nights and trips in a given destination are broken down into observed and unobserved components, according to the European system of tourism statistics. The main approaches related to the measurement of unobserved tourism are discussed, and some empirical findings in Sicily (Italy) are presented in order to highlight the actual magnitu…

Assessment of the Frequency of Additional Malignancies in Patients with Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma (SMZL)

Measuring tourism seasonality across European countries

Abstract This paper will propose a general approach for the analysis and measurement of seasonality in tourism, based on an analysis of the pattern of seasonal swing, as a preliminary step for the assessment of seasonal amplitude. The seasonality of tourism demand across European countries will be analyzed and clusters of countries identified, which are based on a similarity of their seasonal pattern. After discussing the limitations of the most frequently used indices employed in the tourism literature, a new index for measuring seasonality in tourism will be suggested in order to measure seasonal amplitude. The latter takes into account the ordinal and cyclical structures of seasonal vari…

Le fonti statistiche per l'analisi dei mercati turistici sub-regionali

A general framework for collecting and analysing the tracking data of cruise passengers at the destination

Cruise passengers’ behaviour at the destination is a rather poorly investigated phenomenon. The single exit/entry point and the relatively brief visiting time, which characterize cruise passengers’ experience at their destinations, make the use of GPS technology particularly suitable for the analysis of such a relevant phenomenon. The aim of this research is to propose a general framework for collecting and analysing GPS tracking data relating to cruise passengers’ behaviour at their destination. The main prerequisites and research stages for the implementation of surveys on cruise passengers will be described and a set of tools and measures for the analysis of GPS tracking data will be pro…

The Sampling Design of the Survey on Incoming Tourism in Sicily: a TLS Approach

Density-based Algorithm and Network Analysis for GPS Data

La diffusione dei sistemi di localizzazione GPS offre numerose opportunita per la raccolta di dati di movimento. I dati GPS presentano diversi elementi di complessita derivanti anche dall’elevato dettaglio temporale e territoriale. Numerosi sono gli aspetti che possono essere presi in esame per tale tipologia di dati. Il presente studio propone un approccio statistico basato sull’identificazione dei punti di attrazione e sullo studio dei network. In particolare, viene proposto un algoritmo di identificazione di cluster, sulla base della densita di punti, che vengono sintetizzati in un network che riassume il comportamento individuale. In un secondo step, i movimenti complessivi sono aggrega…

Recursive causal models: Risk factors for the complications in Crohn’s disease

The Assessment of Second Primary Cancers (SPCs) in a Series of Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma (SMZL) Patients

The purpose of this study is to estimate the risk of second primary cancer (SPC) in 129 consecutive patients with splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) diagnosed in three Italian haematological centres. The person-years method deriving as a sum of products of age- and sex- specific rates and of the corresponding time at risk was used. The SPC Standardized Incidence Ratio (SIR) was 2.03 with a 95% confidence interval: [1.05, 3.56] (p < 0.05) and the corresponding Absolute Excess Risk (AER) was 145.8 (per 10000 SMZL patients per year). Our findings evidence a high frequency of additional cancers in patients with SMZL and suggest that the incidence rate of SPCs is significantly different from …

Il ruolo dello statistico sociale nel turismo: dalle statistiche sul turismo alle statistiche per il turismo

Il presente contributo ha l’obiettivo di analizzare il ruolo dello statistico sociale nell’ambito dell’analisi dei fenomeni turistici. In particolare, lo statistico (applicato) usa e crea statistiche in funzione di obiettivi conoscitivi e operativi e, a parte l’estensione evidente delle conoscenze e degli ambiti operativi di un fenomeno come quello turistico, allo stato attuale, il contributo più urgente sul piano operativo sembra essere quello di evidenziare, ai gestori del settore, l’assenza di un adeguato livello statistico dell’informazione, nonché le distorsioni interpretative più evidenti nell’utilizzo delle statistiche esistenti. Viene inoltre illustrato come il piano conoscitivo off…

A survival approach for the analysis of cruise passengers’ behavior at the destination

The present work aims at proposing an analysis of cruise passengers’ behavior at the destination through a survival analysis approach. Data collected through GPS devices on cruise passengers’ behavior in the port of Palermo and Dubrovnik are analyzed in order to show similarities and differences among behaviors at the destination, according to socio-demographic characteristics. Results are of interest from both a methodological perspective, related with the processing and the analysis of GPS data, and from the destination management perspective.

Seasonality in tourism: measures and applications to overnight stays in Sicily

Unexpected high frequency of genital involvement in women with clinical and hostological features of oral lichen planus

The main aims of this cross-sectional study were: (i) to assess the frequency of genital (vulval) lichen planus (VLP) and vulval lichen sclerosus (VLS) in women affected with oral lichen planus (OLP), regardless of the genital symptoms reported; and (ii) to verify whether any demographic, clinical, or histological features of OLP are associated with a higher risk of vulvo-vaginal involvement. Fifty-five women, presenting OLP, consecutively underwent gynaecological examination and, if they demonstrated positive clinical signs of VLP, underwent biopsy. After a drop-out of 14 subjects, 31/41 (75.6%) were found to have signs of genital involvement, of which 13/31 (44.0%) were asymptomatic. Foll…

Il disegno campionario e il piano di rilevazione nell’indagine sui turisti incoming in partenza dalla Sicilia e dalla Sardegna: il campionamento spazio-temporale per popolazioni hard to reach

This paper aims to describe the sample design and the survey plan used in the survey on incoming tourism in Sicily and Sardinia. The specific goals of the survey are related: a) to the measurement and the analysis of un-observed tourism; b) to the evaluation of tourist mobility within the two Islands; c) to the analysis of some key-factors related to the holyday experience of tourists. It is well known that regional tourists are very difficult-to-reach populations and the problems in sampling human mobile populations derive from the absence of a list of units component units (frame). Despite these issues are well-known in literature under the broader categories of hard to reach, or hidden, …

Quantifying Local Tourism at the Aeolian Islands and Cefalù: the Research Design.

Linee di ricerca e risultati del gruppo di ricerca del PRIN 2007

L’offerta turistica eoliana: tassi di utilizzo e fatturato delle strutture ricettive

Traffic proximity and lung function. A case-control study in asthmatic children

Introduction: Respiratory conditions are strongly dependent on air pollution. Urban areas are typically characterized by risky environmental conditions. Objectives: To analyze the effect of traffic proximity on asthma and to explore the relationship between level of traffic proximity and lung function in asthmatic and non- asthmatic children. Methods: A case-control study on children visited for suspected respiratory diseases at IBIM from 2011 to 2014 was performed. All the children have been geocoded according to their residence address. Exposure to traffic air pollution was assessed through determination of number and types of streets in proximity of the place of residence. The relationsh…

Multi-Destination Trips and Tourism Statistics: Empirical Evidences in Sicily

Abstract The knowledge of the actual magnitude and main features of tourism flows in a given destination is an essential prerequisite for the evaluation of tourism impacts and externalities. Indeed, many pleasure trips are often characterized by the visit to more than a single destination. Although the topic is well-documented in literature, the empirical results are limited to a few pioneering studies. The lack may be attributable to the failure of tourism organizations to collect data on multi-destination trip behaviour. This can be seen, for example, in the system of European statistics on tourism (according to the Council Directive 95/57 EC), where information on the average number of v…

L’efficacia nel trattamento dell’Infarto Miocardico Acuto (IMA) nelle strutture ospedaliere siciliane

Dichotomizing Continuous Prognostic Variables According to Minimum p-Value Approach: the Prognostic Role of Age in Hodgkin's Disease

Tourism statistics for local planning: challenges and proposals

The increasing importance of tourism in many urban and rural areas has called into question the adequacy of official statistical sources for specific local needs. However, several problems affect actual official statistics in tourism which make them inappropriate for destination management purposes. The present work starts from a simple question about the actual number of tourists in a given destination by formalizing the answer through a conceptual model which links official statistics available at local level with the tourism trips undertaken in the destination considered. The relevance of several parameters and quantities is highlighted and some proposals for their estimate are made. The…

Identification of points of attraction and network analysis for GPS tracking data

Global positional system data provide accurate information on units’ movements from both the temporal and the spatial perspective. Several aspects of these movements can be analyzed according to the aim of interest. In this study, we focus on statistical methods for the identification of points of interest and for the analysis of the network of movements for GPS data. A density-based cluster algorithm is applied to summarize the vast amount of information and to find the most relevant points of attraction. A directed network synthesizes the individual unit’s path by using the latter information. Finally, we aggregate the units’ paths in a weighted directed network which is studied through n…

Tourism Statistics for Destination Management: The Trips/Arrivals Model

Simply counting the number of tourists in a destination is not as simple as one might initially think. The present work intends to formalize a conceptual model by decomposing tourism nights, trips, and average duration of visit in a given destination, in terms of quantities and parameters that only for a small part could be derived from official tourism statistics. On the other hand, most of the quantities and parameters required for determining the number of tourists in a given destination are in general unknown, and need to be (directly or indirectly) estimated. Empirical evidences resulting from a survey on incoming tourism in Sicily are provided, showing the biases affecting supply-side…

Unexpected high prevalence of vulvar involvement in Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) females

An Overview of Collapsibility

Collapsing over variables is a necessary procedure in much empirical research. Consequences are yet not always properly evaluated. In this paper, different definitions of collapsibility (simple, strict, strong, etc.) and corresponding necessary and sufficient conditions are reviewed and evaluated. We point out the relevance and limitations of the main contributions within a unifying interpretative framework. We deem such work to be useful since the debate on the topic has often developed in terms that are neither focused nor clear.

Tavola rotonda: mercati turistici e politiche del turismo (cura del testo)

Methodological Issues in the Baffling Relationship Between Hepatitis C Virus and Non Hodgkin’s Lymphomas

The association between Hepatitis C Virus infection and B-cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has been the matter of several studies: they showed disagreeing results with a marked regional variability. In this paper we present a review of the literature, highlighting methodological issues and main statistically critical aspects. Review suggests that studies were often not methodologically well approached. Moreover, we present main results from an original case-control study conducted in Italy, in an area of high endemicity of Hepatitis C Virus infection. In particular, we put attention in selection of a properly matching control group and in the role of age as a confounding variable.

La soddisfazione degli utenti interni delle aziende ospedaliere: considerazioni su uno strumento di misura

The paper proposes the application of two different methodologies, based on the Traditional Test Theory (TTT) and on the Modern Test Theory (IRT), to select the items of a questionnaire administered in the year 2000 to the personnel of the Hospital Firm “Careggi” in Florence, in order to analyse the satisfaction of “internal consumers”. Such methodologies provide very different results, depending on the assumptions of the different models used.

Effectiveness and persistence of a topical treatment for cervical ectropion with Deoxyribonucleic acid

Tourism Destination Image, Tourism Discourse and UNESCO sites: a contrastive analysis

The purpose of this paper is to analyse tourism discourse - i.e. English as specialised and promotional discourse in the tourism field (Dann 1996, Gotti 2006, Maci, 2013) – as it is applied on websites promoting UNESCO sites in Sicily and in Malta. The consequent Tourism Destination Image (Crompton 1979; Echtner & Ritchie 1991) conveyed by the websites will also be investigated. A mixed methodological approach, both qualitative and quantitative, has been adopted. More specifically, the Corpus Linguistics approach has been privileged (Teubert 2005; Nigro 2006). The websites considered concern five UNESCO sites in Sicily and five UNESCO sites in Malta in a comparative study; both corpora of w…

Border surveys and Time Location Sampling (TLS): an application on incoming tourism in Sicily

The increasing need of reliable and detailed information at a regional and subregional level poses some challenges related with the measurement of tourists flows, for tourism destination management, planning and promotion purposes,. The aim of this work is twofold; first, it intends to analyse and discuss the main features and limits of the official border surveys conducted in the majority of world’s countries, within the framework of Time Location Sampling (TLS) design; second, it suggests the implementation of TLS design at a subnational level, by presenting the sampling design of the survey on incoming tourists in Sicily, carried out between 2009-2010, aimed at estimating the unobserved …

Individual and Contextual Determinants of Cruise Passengers’ Behavior at Their Destination: A Survival Approach

The proposed study will present an analysis of cruise passengers’ behavior at their destination. Mobility behavior will be analyzed in relation to socio-demographic characteristics through a survival modeling approach. Data collected through GPS devices on cruise passengers’ behavior in the ports of Palermo and Dubrovnik will be analyzed in order to determine similarities and differences among cruise passengers’ behaviors at their destination, according to socio-demographic characteristics. The authors of this chapter contend that the results of this research, involving the processing and the analysis of GPS data, will be of interest from methodological and destination management perspectiv…

Monitoring event attendance using a combination of traditional and advanced surveying tools

This paper will describe the research stages and tools used for monitoring participants’ attendance at the European Researchers’ Night, held in Palermo in September 2017. A combination of traditional survey instruments and new technologies was effected in order to analyse participants’ behaviour during the event. The results derived from these different data sources were also integrated and analysed in order to evaluate the success of the event from social and economic points of view. Data relating to participants’ mobility during the event will be described and clusters of participants proposed, based on their mobility behaviour.

A note on the calibration of the tourists mobility in Sicily and Sardinia

Measuring tourism from demand side

This Paper proposes an analysis of tourism from the demand side, taking into account for both the total level of tourism demand produced by some European countries (domestic and outgoing) and its general tendency, and for the seasonal fluctuations which characterize many tourism-related aggregates. Tourist flows from the demand side at the European level are analyzed in the last decade, and a special focus on Italian tourism demand is provided, jointly with an analysis of its seasonal fluctuations. The analysis of general tendency of tourism demand and of the impacts of seasonality is a fundamental pre-requisite for the implementation of tourism policies.

A general framework to measure seasonal variations in tourism

Survey, tourism

A survey is any organized and methodical activity that directly collects information on motivations, opinions, and behaviors about the characteristics of a given population, including tourists and residents of a destination. This article provides a description of the stages required when implementing a survey, for the Encyclopedia of Tourism, placing peculiar attention to the context of tourism.

Impact of incentives on tourist activity in space-time

Abstract No tourism study to date, has examined the ability of incentives to shape the spatio-temporal behaviour of tourists. Data collected from the port of Palermo in Sicily (Italy), using traditional survey instruments as well as GPS technology, was employed to investigate the effect of incentives on cruise passengers' space-time activities. The results show the incentives' clear and significant impact in influencing the space-time activities of cruise passengers' while visiting the city. Understanding the movement patterns of visitors at destinations can give destination managers information that can assist in dealing with the negative effects of overtourism that are caused due to high …

A pre-processing and network analysis of GPS tracking data

Global Positioning System (GPS) devices afford the opportunity to collect accurate data on unit movements from temporal and spatial perspectives. With a special focus on GPS technology in travel surveys, this paper proposes: (1) two algorithms for the pre-processing of GPS data in order to deal with outlier identification and missing data imputation; (2) a clustering approach to recover the main points of interest from GPS trajectories; and (3) a weighted-directed network, which incorporates the most relevant characteristics of the GPS trajectories at an aggregate level. A simulation study shows the goodness-of-fit of the imputation data algorithm and the robustness of the clustering algori…

Analysing Local Tourism. A Statistical Perspective. An Introduction.

Dichotomizing Continuous Prognostic Variables According to Minimum p-Value Approach: the Prognostic Role of Age in Hodgkin's Disease

The analysis of poverty in Italy. A fuzzy dynamic approach

The commonly used criterion to sharply separate the poor from the non poor on the basis of a poverty threshold appears to be too severe in comparison with the nature of poverty. The latter is multidimensional in its components (domain) and continue in its states (codomain). Moreover an income-based poverty line allows for a remarkable number of spurious transitions below and over that line, which do not correspond to true variations in household’s standard of living. This study starts from the analysis of common (with crisp states) transition matrices; then a fuzzy multidimensional poverty indicator is built. In conclusion, fuzzy states transition matrices synthesize interpretative content …

A new index for measuring seasonality: A transportation cost approach

Abstract Seasonal fluctuations characterize many natural and social phenomena. Although the causes and impacts of seasonality are generally well documented in different study contexts, and many methods for isolating the seasonal component have been developed, considerably less attention has been paid to the measurement of the degree of seasonality. After reviewing the main indices used for measuring seasonality in different study contexts, we will propose a new approach in which seasonality is evaluated on the basis of the solution of a transportation problem. By considering the interdisciplinary nature of seasonal phenomena, the topic of measuring seasonality merits attention from a wide v…

Tourism Statistics

How a nation collects and shares data on tourism in the country is influenced by that country’s historical, cultural, and political background, as well as its geographical characteristics. This means there are a wide variety of ways tourism data are collected, evaluated, and disseminated. Although standard statistical mechanisms for tracking tourism have been improved, to be of greatest use, statistical sources should be further enhanced and be comparable across locations and time. For this reason, several international organizations have the responsibility of harmonizing definitions of, and methodologies for, collecting data. These organizations are also a relevant supplier of data sources…

Gli arrivi turistici nell’arcipelago eoliano attraverso diverse fonti statistiche: un confronto

L'esclusione sociale in Sicilia: proposte, idee e prospettive di ricerca

Dopo aver esaminato il modo in cui la letteratura scientifica ha definito e affrontato il tema dell’esclusione sociale, si avanzano idee e proposte per la realizzazione di un rapporto sull’esclusione sociale in Sicilia.

The Implementation and Main Results of the TLS Design in a Survey on Incoming Tourism in Sicily

Measuring Seasonality: Performance of Accommodation Establishments in Sicily through the analysis of Occupancy Rates

Tourism, more than other fields, needs to be managed. As such, the provision of reliable information and adequate tools is one of the major challenges to monitor and to manage tourism destinations. Sicily (Italy) seems to have a great potential coming from its tourism resources, and most of the recent development programs have been focused on tourism. In line with the world’s trend, tourism in Sicily faced a growth in terms of overnight stays, from about 9 millions in 1994, to more than 14 millions in 2007. The regional expenditure in tourism from 1996 to 2006 was of euro 785 millions (Federalberghi, 2007), which ranks Sicily as the second region in Italy for tourism expenditure, in the yea…

Viaggi multi destinazione e turismo sommerso: l'indagine sul turismo incoming in Sicilia

An elevated body mass index increases lung volume but reduces airflow in italian schoolchildren

Background Asthma and obesity are important and growing health issues worldwide. Obesity is considered a risk factor for asthma, due to the induction of changes in airway mechanics and altered airway inflammation. Methods We cross-sectionally investigated the effect of increased weight on pulmonary function in a large population sample of healthy children, aged 10–17 yrs living in Palermo, Italy. Explanatory effect of weight on lung function variables were evaluated by multiple linear regression models, taking into account height, gender, and age-class. Results Among the 2,393 subjects, FVC and FEV1 were positively correlated to weight. Multiple regression models showed that the weight beta…

Presenting features and prognostic factors in Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma. A study on 145 patients.

The measurement of seasonality for tourism evaluation

Seasonal variations in tourism demand represent one of the most challenging topics in tourism research. After highlighting the main pitfalls which characterize the majority of currently used indices for seasonal amplitude, the present work propose the implementation of a recently discusses a recently proposed index for the measurement of seasonality in tourism, based on the transportation problem approach. An adequate measurement of seasonality is a pre-requisite for the evaluation of the effectiveness of tourism policies aimed at reducing tourism demand imbalance.

Prevalence of Vulval Lichen Planus in a cohort of Oral Lichen Planus affected women: an interdisciplinary study

A comparison between seasonality indices deployed in evaluating unimodal and bimodal patterns

This paper will discuss a recently proposed index for measuring seasonality, which is based on the solution of the well-known transportation problem . A specific characterization of the cost matrix will permit the taking into account of the cyclical structure of time periods, which characterizes the phenomenon under observation. Various features of the proposed index will be evaluated by comparing it with other indices which are commonly used in the measurement of seasonality, such as the Gini concentration index. Given the wide range of disciplines with an interest in the analysis of seasonal phenom ena, the approach proposed m ay be of wide interest.

Seasonality in tourism: a critical review of its main measures

The purpose of this study is to estimate the risk of second primary cancer (SPC) in 129 consecutive patients with splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) diagnosed in three Italian haematological centres. The person-years method deriving as a sum ofproducts ofage- and sex- specific rates and ofthe corresponding time at risk was used. The SPC Standardized Incidence Ratio ISIR) was 2.03 with a 95% confidence interval: [1.05,3.56] (p < 0.05) and the corresponding Absolute Excess Risk (AER) was 145.8 (per 10000 SMZL patients per year). Our findings evidence a high frequency of additional cancers in patients with SMZL and suggest that the incidence rate of SPCs is significantly different from that…

Pluralità, localizzazione e durata dei soggiorni nei viaggi effettuati dai turisti incoming in Sicilia: il processo di calibrazione delle stime

Cruise passengers' behavior at the destination: Investigation using GPS technology

This paper aims at segmenting cruise passengers in order to identify passengers' profiles according to their behavior at destination. Through an integrated use of traditional survey instruments and of GPS technologies, a set of indicators for the analysis of passengers' mobility at destination is proposed. Data collected in the port of Palermo are used in order to investigate space-time activities of cruise passengers at the destination. Monothetic Analysis is used in order to segment passengers according to their behavior at destination, and groups are then compared in terms of socio-demographic characteristics and other variables collected through questionnaire-based survey. Results ident…

Collapsibility and collapsing multidimensional contingency tables.

Collapsibility and Collapsing Multidimensional Contingency Tables—Perspectives and Implications

Collapsing multidimensional contingency tables is a necessary procedure in all kinds of research. Since collapsibility is subject to severe conditions, collapsing is often not admissible without incurring severe interpretative errors. After having discussed the main contributions to the statistical specification of the concept, we shall point out the logical conditions for collapsing multidimensional contingency tables.

REPORT SICILIA ANALISI PREVISIONALE SULL’’ECONOMIA SICILIANA XXXVI Rapporto (II 2011)

The risk of Second Primary Cancer (SPC) in patients with Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma (SMZL)

Multi-destination trips: A survey on incoming zourism in Sicily

Many pleasure trips are often characterized by the visit of more than a single destination. Despite the topic is well documented in literature, the empirical studies are limited to a few pioneering studies. This lack may be attributable to the failure of tourism organizations to collect data on multi-destination trip behaviors, as it results, for example, from the system of European statistics on tourism (according to the Council Directive 95/57 EC), where no information on the average number of destinations visited within a single trip are provided. This paper aims to analyze the main implications of multi-destination trips both on tourism statistics and in tourism planning, and to describ…

Response-based chemotherapy and involved field radiation for intermediate stage Hodgkin disease. A GISL/NHLSG trial.

Abstract Background. Most of the patients with advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma can be cured with a standard course of six cycle of ABVD chemotherapy plus involved field (IF)radiotherapy. Patients with less advanced stage or with a more responsive disease could possibly achieve a cure with a shorter course of chemotherapy. In 1992, in the pre-PET era, the GISL addressed the issue of the proper number of chemotherapy cycles planning a response-oriented, ABVD-based study for intermediate-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients. Patients and Methods. From January 1992 to December 2002, 218 patients younger than 70 were enrolled. Eligible patients had histologically confirmed and clinically staged Hod…

La stima del sommerso turistico a livello circoscrizionale attraverso misure indirette: i rifiuti solidi urbani (RSU)