Search results for "economic sustainability"
showing 10 items of 15 documents
Tropical Fruits as an Opportunity for Sustainable Development in Rural Areas: The Case of Mango in Small-Sized Sicilian Farms
2018
Over the last decades, in many rural areas in Southern Europe, farmers have abandoned agricultural activity, especially on small-sized farms, leading to an exodus from rural areas towards urbanized ones. In this context, in the early 1980s, some Sicilian farmers introduced mango on their small-sized farms, as certain areas of Sicily are well suited to tropical and subtropical crops, but also to meet increasing consumer interest for these fruits, as they are perceived as functional foods. This paper aimed to evaluate the economic sustainability of mango and to determine whether its introduction could be considered as an alternative to traditional crops. In particular, an economic-financial a…
Are alternative food networks winning strategies to increase organic SMEs profitability? Evidence from a case study
2020
The aim of this study was to understand how and how much alternative food networks (AFNs) contribute to increasing the profitability of the organic SMEs, compared to traditional organic sales channels. For this purpose, an economic analysis and an in-depth interview were carried out in a case study located in the Sicilian northern coast. Findings showed a clear convenience of the participation to alternative food networks compared to the case in which all farm production was conferred to traditional sales channels, highlighting an increase both of farm profit (+76.9%) and net income (+72.1%). However, the in-depth interview revealed that AFNs are a mean, not only to have economic benefits, …
A novel flash glucose monitoring system in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2: which are the pieces of evidence for payer decision-makers?
2018
A rigorous health technology assessment is necessary to evaluate a new technology. However, healthcare regulatory agencies have less restrictive rules about medical devices, despite some recent warnings about this relevant matter. The evaluation should have at least two key issues, which require attention. The first one is its effectiveness, and the second one is its economic sustainability. In this paper, we deal with a novel glucose-sensing technology as a case study to examine the matter in depth. An evidence-based point of view is used to highlight this important issue.
State of the Art on Sustainability Assessment of Positive Energy Districts: Methodologies, Indicators and Future Perspectives
2021
The concept of Positive Energy District is one of the main areas of research and extensive applications of the principles of the clean energy transition within the building sector. In the past years, the most widely accepted definitions have focused specifically on carbon neutrality, while several other aspects regarding all sustainability approaches (including environmental, social and economic perspective) were included qualitatively or to a lesser degree. This paper proposes a discussion on the state of the art of the sustainability assessment of Positive Energy Districts, by investigating environmental, social and economic sustainability applications. The three sustainability dimensions…
Profitability of artichoke growing in the mediterranean area
2015
Cultivation of artichokes for production is significant in the Mediterranean Basin. Italy represents an important productive hub and in this context, Sicily has been one of the foremost production areas. Artichoke production is a stable element of either specialized or mixed production systems in the region. However, due to the economic recession and increasing imports of artichokes from North African countries, many companies are undergoing crisis, with concerns for the negative impact on the socioeconomic fabric, in terms of the rising unemployment an eventual collapse of this specific activity would determine. According to the theory of economic development, a prerequisite of a territory…
Growth and sustainability of agricultural systems: the case of Sicilian wine-growing farms
2016
International audience; The Sicilian wine-growing sector is characterised by the presence on the one hand of many small enterprises that limit their activity to the first stage of the supply chain (field production) and on the other of few enterprises that adopt a strategy of total vertical integration, from the production to the sale of wine. The first group of enterprises operates in a competitive market and in many cases with marginal revenues that are lower than marginal costs, leading entrepreneurs to abandon the activity of grape production. The second group operates in an oligopolistic market and it is able to compete in an international market. Findings reveal that competitive advan…
Economic sustainability of early potato production in the Mediterranean area
2014
The interactions between a given commercial enterpr ise, its territory and development, have become a key issue in recent years. Theories of economic dev elopment tell us that a territory may undergo development provided viable, economically sustainab le commercial activities exist. Based on the latter postulate, the present paper analyzes the economic sustainability of farming enterprises growing early potatoes in a Mediterranean setting. In particular, the study was conducted in south-eastern Sicily, island in the centre of the Mediterranean. The resu lts underscore their modest profitability, mainly d ue to a lack of entrepreneurial strategies aimed at en hancing production. This situati…
La multifunzionalità in agricoltura: dai valori delle aree agricole al concetto di multifunzionalità e relazione con la pianificazione territoriale.
2014
La convivenza di più attività in aree agricole è sempre esistita ma la formalizzazione del principio di multifunzionalità applicata all’agricoltura è un passaggio importante che promuove la compresenza di più attività e offerte che si configurano con diversi livelli complessità, divenendo servizi al territorio e alla persona e riuscendo a riattivare territori a rischio. L’introduzione della multifunzionalità in agricoltura ha avuto un grande slancio a partire dalla crisi economica dell’agricoltura tradizionale e, quindi, i temi economici ricorrono spesso nell’analisi effettuata per farli incontrare e interagire con questioni culturali, sociali, ambientali. L’ottica da cui si indaga è quella…
Next generation diagnostic algorithm in non-small cell lung cancer predictive molecular pathology: The KWAY Italian multicenter cost evaluation study
2022
Abstract Aims The KWAY project aims to investigate the economic sustainability of the up-front NGS technologies adoption in the analysis of clinically relevant molecular alterations in NSCLC patients. Methods The diagnostic workflow and the related sustained costs of five Italian referral centers were assessed in four different evolving scenarios were analyzed. For each scenario, two alternative testing strategies were evaluated: the Maximized Standard strategy and the Maximized NGS strategy. Results For each center, the robustness of obtained results was verified through a deterministic sensitivity analysis, observing the variation of total costs based on a variation of ±20 % of the input …
Prediction of ionic liquid's heat capacity by means of their in silico principal properties
2016
The in silico principal properties (PPs) of ionic liquids (ILs), derived by means of the VolSurf+ approach, were used to develop a Partial Least Squares (PLS) model able to find a quantitative correlation among IL descriptors (accounting for both cationic and anionic structural features) and heat capacity values, providing affordable predictions validated by experimental Cp measurements for an external set of ILs. In silico predictions allowed the selection of a limited number of structurally different ILs with similar Cp values, providing the possibility to select an optimal IL according to efficiency, as well as to environmental and economic sustainability. The present general procedure, …