Institutional Quality and its Impact on FDI Inflow: Evidence from the EU Member States

The aim of the article is to assess institutional quality in 28 EU Member States and to examine the relationship between the quality of institutions and FDI inward stock as % of GDP. This study is structured as follows. Firstly, we reviewed studies dedicated to the relationship between institutional quality and investment attractiveness. Then, we discussed FDI inflow into the EU countries and selected diagnostic variables that later served as the basis for our research in which we used categories of the Global Competitiveness Index. Based on rankings and using statistical methods, in the next stage, we divided the EU Member States into groups representing similar institutional quality. Then we investigated the relationships between groups of countries similar to one another when it comes to institutional quality and groups of countries ranked in ascending order by the value of foreign direct investment inflow measured as FDI inward stock as % of GDP. The study demonstrated that the EU Member States differ with respect to institutional quality. The results of the statistical analysis have provided grounds to positively verify the hypothesis about a positive relationship between the level of institutional quality and investment attractiveness.

Quantitative Analysis of Sustainable Transport Development as a Support Tool for Transport System Management: Spatial Approach

The main aim of this paper is to assess sustainable transport development, particularly in Polish voivodeships, as well as to identify underdeveloped geographical areas. In order to deal with this research topic, both classical and multivariate order statistical measures were implemented into the research process. The source of information for the research was the data drawn from BDL (Bank of Local Data) Statistics Poland. The rankings of Polish voivodeships were obtained for sustainable transport development and its individual components in the form of three orders: environmental, social and economic. This allowed us to identify underdeveloped regions in the area of transport sustainability and its particular aspects. It should be noted that we applied both the original set of diagnostic variables and their classification into particular orders. However, the choice of variables was mostly conditioned by the availability of data. Furthermore, this was the first time that the taxonomic methods applied here, featuring the implementation of the multidimensional Weber median, have been used to assess aspects of transport sustainability. This kind of synthetic method design allowed us to consider the interactions between different areas of a sophisticated transportation system and made our analysis immune to skewing by diagnostic variables.

Skill, Predictability, and Cluster Analysis of Atlantic Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in the ECMWF Monthly Forecasts

In this paper we analyze Atlantic hurricane activity in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Monthly hindcasts for the period 1998–2017. The main climatological characteristics of Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) activity are considered at different lead times and across the entire ECMWF ensemble using three diagnostic variables: the number of tropical cyclones, the number of hurricanes, and the accumulated cyclone energy. The impacts of changing horizontal resolution and stochastic parametrization are clear in these diagnostic variables. The model skill scores for the number of tropical cyclones and Accumulated Cyclone Energy by lead time are also computed. Using cluster analysis, we compare the characteristics of the forecast TC tracks with observations. While four of the ECMWF clusters have similar characteristics to observed ones, one of the ECMWF clusters does not have a corresponding one in observations. We consider the predictability of each of these clusters, as well the modulation of their frequency by climate modes, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the Madden Julian Oscillation, taking advantage of the very large sample size TC datasets in these hindcasts.

Professional and educational activity of youth in the digital economy

The paper is aimed to rank countries similar in terms of selected diagnostic variables: in terms of digital competencies held and variables related to the youth professional activity. The method of descriptive and statistical analysis, including comparative analysis, is used in the study. The paper also uses cluster analysis. The conducted analysis included the empirical material referring to the youth at the age of 15-29 taken from the Eurostat database. The research period is 2011–2019. The analysis by type of educational and professional activity of young people conducted in the EU member countries allowed the identification of four groups of countries, differing in the levels of both the NEET rate (Neither in employment nor in education or training) and the digital skills. The digital skills have been additionally grouped into competences in the field of information, communication, problem-solving and programming skills. The group of countries with the lowest NEET rate proved to include those where young people presented high levels of digital skills in all the dimensions analyzed. The study shows that acquiring digital competencies enables young people to participate in communities and gives them a better chance for professional activity.

The Use of Hierarchical Agglomeration Methods in Assessing the Polish Energy Market

Energy markets play an important role in achieving sustainable development goals. The sector of energy has a huge impact on the environment, hence changes in it are the highest priority in the European Union. The process of shaping and developing the internal energy market plays an important role in improving the security of supply of energy resources for the entire union. It requires a number of political negotiations, strategic decisions regarding energy liberalization, in particular, the electricity and gas sectors, as well as the adoption of sectoral legislation. The aim of the conducted research is to estimate the level of development of energy markets in the EU countries and to indicate the position of Poland in comparison to other countries. The research was performed in several stages. The first phase consisted of selecting appropriate diagnostic variables that comprehensively describe energy markets in countries belonging to the European Union. The next stage was collecting data, subjecting them to standardization, and then, based on the agglomeration algorithm, the process of dividing into groups of similar countries was carried out. The research results can be used as guidelines for legal regulations being prepared in the energy sectors of all member states, which can be used for selected clusters comprising similar countries in terms of the development of energy markets.

Assessment of the Cultural Heritage Potential in Poland

Cultural heritage is a complex and multi-faceted concept, thus eluding a definition. Consequently, it is a daunting task to assess the cultural heritage potential of a country, region, or community unambiguously. The paper defines “cultural heritage potential” and presents an example of a synthetic assessment of the potential with Poland as an example. The assessment involved several normalised diagnostic variables grouped into four thematic fields. This way, cultural heritage potential could be represented by a “synthetic quality index”. The analysis yielded a ranked list of voivodeships (third-tier subdivision units) and their classification (typology) regarding cultural heritage potential. An in-depth analysis demonstrated that the cultural heritage potential rank of a voivodeship could be determined by values of selected diagnostic valuables, such as the number of heritage objects, number of food products of documented quality and particular cultural significance, and extensive cultural infrastructure. The typology can be a background for decision-making with the consequences of voivodeship classification depending on the context of a specific analysis. The proposed method for assessing cultural heritage potential is not related to the territorial extent of the area. Any quantifiable attribute of cultural heritage can be used in the assessment regardless of the unit of measure. Such an assessment can be useful for the identification of trouble areas, areas of concern, and model areas.

POS0974 IMPROVEMENT IN THE DIAGNOSTIC DELAY OF AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS, RESULTS FROM REAL WORLD DATA

Background:Diagnostic delay is a major challenge in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) with an extended interval of 8-10 years in Europe and 14 years in the United States between symptom onset and disease diagnosis (1, 2).Objectives:To assess the delay in the diagnosis of axSpA over time in a real world axSpA cohort diagnosed in the last 3 decades and to evaluate factors associated with this delay.Methods:A cohort of axSpA patients was recruited from a national multicenter registry of inflammatory arthritis. This cohorts’ demographic, clinical and diagnostic variables were studied. The diagnostic delay was defined as the time interval between the year of first symptom and year of diagnosis. The mean and median diagnostic delay were calculated. A survival analysis was performed evaluating the association between the demographic, clinical and diagnostic variables on the diagnostic delay.Results:Of the 373 axSpA patients in the registry, 198 (47%) are men. Ankylosing spondylitis fulfilling New York criteria was diagnosed in 73% of the patients. HLA-B*27 positivity was found in 64% of patients. The majority of the patients (63%) reported symptom onset between the age of 21-45, 21% before the age of 21 and 16% after the age of 45. Nine percent were diagnosed before the age of 21, 28% between 21-30, 23% between 31-40, 21% between 41-50 and 18% after the age of 50. One hundred and ten patients were diagnosed before 2000, 133 between 2001-2009 and 130 between 2010-2020. The mean and median delay in diagnosis was 9.1, 6 (±8.4) years when diagnosed before 2000, 5, 4 (±4.1) years when diagnosed 2001-2009, and 2, 1 (±1.5) years when diagnosed 2010-2020, respectively (graph 1). The only variable which was found to be associated with a shorter delay was the interval between symptom onset and first rheumatology consult: HR of 5.86 (4.3-8, p<0.001) if the rheumatology visit was within the first year of symptoms, HR 3.5 (2.4-5, p<0.001) if assessed 2-3 years after symptom onset. Additionally, age <21 at symptom onset was associated with a shorter delay (p=0.005). Sex, type of axSpA (radiographic vs. non radiographic axSpA), level of education, and HLA-B*27 positivity were not associated with a delay in diagnosis.Conclusion:Delay in axSpA diagnosis has significantly improved in this real-world cohort during the last decade. The most significant factor associated with a faster diagnosis was the time of the first rheumatology consult relative to symptom onset. Increasing the awareness of disease manifestations and early referral to a rheumatology service can improve the diagnosis delay of axSpA.References:[1]Sorensen J, Hetland ML, all departments of rheumatology in D. Diagnostic delay in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis: results from the Danish nationwide DANBIO registry. Ann Rheum Dis. 2015;74(3):e12.[2]Deodhar A, Mittal M, Reilly P, Bao Y, Manthena S, Anderson J, et al. Ankylosing spondylitis diagnosis in US patients with back pain: identifying providers involved and factors associated with rheumatology referral delay. Clin Rheumatol. 2016;35(7):1769-76.Graph 1.The improvement in the delay in diagnosis of axial spondyloarthropathy over the last 3 decadesDisclosure of Interests:None declared.

Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the Portuguese banking system. Linear ordering method

The goal of this paper is to assess the resilience of Portuguese banks to the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, diagnostic variables of 19 banks were selected and prioritized using linear ordering methods. This methodology allowed us to perform rankings of banks using six linear ordering methods and taking into account two weighting procedures and two variants of the diagnostic feature. The study was also supplemented by a sensitivity analysis and an optimization procedure aimed at identifying the optimal linear ordering method. The main results obtained show that the resilience of Portuguese banks is not evenly distributed among individual banks. These findings could be used by regulators to plan support measures for the most fragile banks.

Normalizacja zmiennych a porządkowanie krajów Unii Europejskiej pod względem stopnia wykorzystania technologii ICT w przedsiębiorstwach

The main issue of multivariate comparative analysis is the normalization of variables. The literature offers various procedures for data normalization, and therefore the researcher has to choose between them. The article presents and discusses the most commonly used normalizing formulas. The article assesses the impact of data normalization procedures on the results of the linear ordering of European Union countries in terms of the level of ICT usage in enterprises. A hypothesis was formulated that the method of data normalization influenced the position of the objects in the ranking. The study is based on statistical data from Eurostat for the year 2018. Based on the selected diagnostic variables, values for a synthetic measure have been determined for individual countries. The synthetic measure was calculated according to the model-less method of linear ordering using four types of normalization. The method used in the research allowed the creation of rankings for the countries. The compliance of the orders thus obtained was compared using the Spearman’s coefficient of range correlation and the measure of similarity of rankings. As the study shows, the choice of normalization formula influences the result of linear ordering, which is not due to any change in the data structure. It was proven that the quotient transformation with the normalization base equal to the maximum value allowed the most similar ranking to be obtained of the examined objects in relation to the Rother rankings. The results of the study show that Denmark, Sweden and Finland had the highest positions in each ranking while Bulgaria, Romania and Latvia had the lowest positions.

Root anatomy of Venezuelan species of Geonoma (Arecaceae: Arecoideae: Geonomateae)

In this research we studied root anatomy of eight species and two morphotypes from the genus Geonoma in Venezuela, in order to explore their structural and taxonomic implications. Fresh material sampled wild population was fixed in FAA and hand-sectioned or with a rotary microtome, following standardized protocols. Histochemical tests were carried out in some components. Obtained preparations were studied under a calibrated optical microscope; some variables were quantified by means of an eyepiece micrometer. The obtained results allowed the anatomical differentiation of the studied species and the two morphotypes. Most informative diagnostic variables identified include the thickening shape of the cells in the exodermis walls (transverse section), parenchyma cells with circular contours in the cortex, length of air spaces, the differentiation of passage cells in the endodermis, shared “V” and “Y” shaped xylem arches, the shape of phloem strands and scattered metaxylem vessels in the pith. Our results are also discussed in the context of other structural studies published on roots of different members of Arecaceae.