scholarly journals Effects of mobility restrictions during COVID19 in Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Smolyak ◽  
Giovanni Bonaccorsi ◽  
Andrea Flori ◽  
Fabio Pammolli ◽  
Shlomo Havlin

AbstractTo reduce the spread and the effect of the COVID-19 global pandemic, non-pharmaceutical interventions have been adopted on multiple occasions by governments. In particular lockdown policies, i.e., generalized mobility restrictions, have been employed to fight the first wave of the pandemic. We analyze data reflecting mobility levels over time in Italy before, during and after the national lockdown, in order to assess some direct and indirect effects. By applying methodologies based on percolation and network science approaches, we find that the typical network characteristics, while very revealing, do not tell the whole story. In particular, the Italian mobility network during lockdown has been damaged much more than node- and edge-level metrics indicate. Additionally, many of the main Provinces of Italy are affected by the lockdown in a surprisingly similar fashion, despite their geographical and economic dissimilarity. Based on our findings we offer an approach to estimate unavailable high-resolution economic dimensions, such as real time Province-level GDP, based on easily measurable mobility information.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 433
Author(s):  
Nikita Strelkovskii ◽  
Elena Rovenskaya ◽  
Leena Ilmola-Sheppard ◽  
Robin Bartmann ◽  
Yonat Rein-Sapir ◽  
...  

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis and measures aimed at curbing the pandemic have a widespread impact on various aspects of well-being, such as housing, social connections, and others. Moreover, COVID-19 does not affect all population groups equally. This study analyzes the impact of major COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on a set of national well-being indicators from the most recent version of the OECD Well-Being Framework. Using causal loop diagrams (systems maps), we consider direct and indirect effects of these policies on various components of the national well-being system. Our results show that business closures directly and/or indirectly impact more national well-being components than any other policy. The most affected national well-being components by all policies are life satisfaction, perceived health, and prevalence of depressive symptoms. In addition, we specify how the impact of the anti-pandemic measures differs for various population strata, using the degree of income and employment loss as key stratifying variables. Our insights can be helpful to identify and promote measures that can alleviate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the national well-being.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerdien de Vries

Low-carbon technologies are necessary to combat global warming. However, they are often opposed by members of the general public, causing costly delays and cancellations. In this article, I argue that language may be a relevant cause of such opposition. I introduce a theoretical model describing a boomerang effect in which positively framed communication about low-carbon technologies may actually lead to opposition in the long run. An example of positive framing is emphasising the climate benefits of a technology while neglecting to mention associated safety risks. I predict that, over time, people begin to perceive positive framing as an attempt to manipulate them into supporting a technology. In turn, this perceived manipulation may make them feel that their freedom to make their own decision to support or oppose the technology is under threat. To counter this behavioural threat, people may begin to oppose low-carbon technologies. My boomerang model further describes how certain characteristics of the source of information as well as of the recipient may influence both the direct and indirect effects of positive framing. I then discuss the model’s implications for effective communication and indicate directions for future research.


2006 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalba Lanciotti ◽  
Lucia Vannini ◽  
Francesca Patrignani ◽  
Luciana Iucci ◽  
Melania Vallicelli ◽  
...  

The principal aim of this work was to compare Caciotta cheeses obtained from cow milk previously subjected to high pressure homogenisation (HPH) at 100 MPa with those produced from raw (R) or heat-treated (P) cow milk. HPH had both direct and indirect effects on cheese characteristics and their evolution during ripening. In particular, HPH treatment of milk induced a significant increase of the cheese yield; moreover, it affected the microbial ecology of both curd and cheese. Compared with the thermal treatment, the HPH treatment resulted in a decrease of about one log cfu/g of yeast and lactobacilli cell loads of the curd. The initial milk treatment also affected the evolution over time and the levels attained at the end of ripening of all the microbial groups studied. In fact, lactobacilli, microstaphylococci and yeast cell loads remained at lower levels in the cheeses obtained from HPH milk with respect to the other cheese types over the whole ripening period. Moreover, HPH of milk induced marked and extensive lipolysis. Cheeses from HPH milk showed the presence of high amounts of free fatty acids immediately after brining. The electrophoretic patterns of the different cheese types showed that Caciotta made from HPH-treated milk was characterized by a more extensive and faster proteolysis as well as a significant modification of its volatile molecule profile. The results obtained and the sensory analysis indicated that HPH treatment of milk was able to differentiate Caciotta cheese or to modify its ripening patterns.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 2021-2039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Grant ◽  
Sisi Lin ◽  
Guillermo Hernandez-Ramirez

Abstract. Reductions in N2O emissions from nitrification inhibitors (NI) are substantial but remain uncertain because measurements of N2O emissions are highly variable and discontinuous. Mathematical modelling may offer an opportunity to estimate these reductions if the processes causing variability in N2O emissions can be accurately simulated. In this study, the effect of NI was simulated with a simple, time-dependent algorithm to slow NH4+ oxidation in the ecosystem model ecosys. Slower nitrification modelled with NI caused increases in soil NH4+ concentrations and reductions in soil NO3- concentrations and in N2O fluxes that were consistent with those measured following fall and spring applications of slurry over 2 years from 2014 to 2016. The model was then used to estimate direct and indirect effects of NI on seasonal and annual emissions. After spring slurry applications, NI reduced N2O emissions modelled and measured during the drier spring of 2015 (35 % and 45 %) less than during the wetter spring of 2016 (53 % and 72 %). After fall slurry applications, NI reduced modelled N2O emissions by 58 % and 56 % during late fall in 2014 and 2015 and by 8 % and 33 % during subsequent spring thaw in 2015 and 2016. Modelled reductions were consistent with those from meta-analyses of other NI studies. Simulated NI activity declined over time so that reductions in N2O emissions modelled with NI at an annual timescale were relatively smaller than those during emission events. These reductions were accompanied by increases in NH3 emissions and reductions in NO3- losses with NI that caused changes in indirect N2O emissions. With further parameter evaluation, the addition of this algorithm for NI to ecosys may allow emission factors for different NI products to be derived from annual N2O emissions modelled under diverse site, soil, land use and weather.


2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 480-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Tafvelin ◽  
Kerstin Armelius ◽  
Kristina Westerberg

In this two-wave longitudinal panel study, the authors strived to advance understanding of how transformational leadership affects employee well-being over time. The authors proposed a model that included both direct and indirect effects, which was tested in a sample of social service employees. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that transformational leadership had no direct effect on well-being over time. Instead, both the short-term and long-term effects of transformational leadership on well-being were mediated by a positive climate for innovation. The study contributes to knowledge about the complicated processes by which leaders influence well-being of employees.


1991 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 382-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward McAuley

The relationships between efficacy cognitions and causal attributions for exercise progress, and their impact on affective responses, were examined in a sample of previously sedentary middle-aged individuals 10 weeks into an exercise program. Employing theoretical propositions put forth by Bandura (1986) and Weiner (1985), it was hypothesized that exercise efficacy would influence causal attributions and affective responses to exercise participation. Path analysis demonstrated that greater exercise frequency resulted in more internal, somewhat stable, and personally controllable attributions for perceived exercise progress. More efficacious subjects also attributed their progress to more personally controllable causes. All three causal dimensions were related to positive affect, and efficacy had significant direct and indirect effects on affect. The results are discussed with respect to the need to more closely examine the role affect might play in exercise over time, as opposed to single bouts of exercise. Furthermore, the necessity for studying complex interplays of cognitive determinants of exercise behavior is discussed.


2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana M. Binder ◽  
Martin J. Bourgeois ◽  
Christine M. Shea Adams

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