1,720,980 research outputs found
Introduction: Regional analysis of complex socioeconomic processes. the role of local districts
No full textLocal labour system
Local-scale economics: Statistical indicators and latent patterns of labour market areas in Italy
No full textThis book proposes an articulated and multidisciplinary research path that introduces to the potential of adopting territorial statistics, namely those elaborated at the level of Local Labour Systems, for carrying out spatial analysis of apparent and latent interactions between socioeconomic phenomena and environmental dynamics at a sufficiently broad and efficient geographical unit of analysis. This allows to examine in a more exhaustive manner the complexity and non-linearity of several socio-economic and territorial processes and to address the multidimensional concept of sustainability from below. Studies included in this book contribute to an integrated, multidisciplinary reading that covers the three pillars of sustainability. Italy is a relevant case study in this sense and can be assumed as a paradigmatic country also for other advanced European nations that undertook territorial analysis at a very disaggregated spatial level (i.e., UK, Spain, Germany and France among others)
Suburban fertility and the role of local contexts in a Mediterranean country: A spatial exercise
No full textAssuming spatial fertility as contextual to the development stage of a given region, this study formulates an interpretative framework integrating small-scale fertility variations with metropolitan cycles and economic downturns. Using spatial econometrics, spatial trends in a gross fertility rate were investigated along a sequence of economic expansions and recessions, distinguishing urban, suburban, and rural settlements in 51 Greek prefectures. Suburban fertility overpassed urban fertility, being in turn higher than rural fertility in several prefectures. Urban fertility was higher with economic expansion and declined with recession. The reverse pattern was observed for suburban fertility – increasing with crisis and assuming a greater spatial heterogeneity. By documenting a differential response of fertility to economic downturns and metropolitan cycles, our work suggests that spatial fertility divides are temporary outcomes of a specific ensemble of socioeconomic forces underlying regional growth
Toward a ‘reverse density dividend’? Population growth and socioeconomic evolution of Greek districts before and after crisis
No full textSocial dynamics and economic cycles have driven population growth in Europe toward
heterogeneous and hardly predictable spatial patterns. To assess the role of economic
expansion and recession, our study identifies contextual factors of population growth
and decline at the prefectural scale in Greece, a peripheral economy in Europe, estimating the differential impact of economic scale, agglomeration, accessibility, and amenities since the early 2000s. With economic expansion (2002–2009), population growth was largely dependent on agglomeration forces in both high and medium-density prefectures.
The spatial model observed during recession (2010–2017) has instead reflected the inherent decline of agglomeration economies—with population increasing in accessible, rural districts with (natural and cultural) amenities. In more recent years, population growth in low-density coastal areas definitely suggests how demographic trends have been decoupled from the geography of income and wealth, reducing the divide in central and peripheral locations. The dominance of Athens and Thessaloniki in the Greek urban hierarchy progressively lowered, leading to a settlement model based on population growth in ‘intermediate towns’ and attractive/accessible rural locations. Such dynamics delineate a development path grounded on the spatial distribution of amenities, suggesting the existence of a ‘reverse density dividend’ that requires a specific investigation in advanced economies
Income disparities, metropolitan hierarchy and the socioeconomic background of italian local districts
No full textThis chapter evaluates short-term socioeconomic dynamics of local districts with the aim at identifying multifaceted dimensions of regional competitiveness in Italy. The spatial distribution of per worker, per head and per land value added was correlated with several predictors of the socioeconomic background of local districts. The intrinsic geography of economic development was investigated adopting a data mining approach that assesses the multiple relationship between value added and contextual variables. The spatial distribution of value added diverged along urban-rural, North-South and elevation gradients. Average district (per land) value added was highly correlated with indicators of population density and urban centrality. The joint use of value added and social indicators allows a comprehensive analysis of changes in urban spatial structures of highly divided countries
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
'Sub-optimal' by chance: Insights from a long-term analysis of municipal area and population size
No full textIn the search of a better administrative efficiency, change in municipal boundaries and creation (or suppression) of local administrative units reflect a progressive adjustment to an increasingly variable spatial distribution of population. With intense population growth, municipal size is regarded as a proxy for amount (and spatial concentration) of services and infrastructures, being functionally related with agglomeration factors, land availability to building, and specific socioeconomic contexts. Based on these premises, the intrinsic relationship between settlement expansion, population growth, and municipal size in a metropolitan region of Southern Europe was investigated extensively in this study. A quantitative analysis of the relationship between population density and municipal area provides a pivotal knowledge to policy and planning adjustments toward a more balanced spatial distribution of population and administered land among local government units. Descriptive statistics, mapping, correlation analysis and linear regressions were used to assess the evolution of this relationship over a long time spam. Average municipal size in Athens decreased moderately over time with increasing spatial heterogeneity. Conversely, average population density per municipality increased even more rapidly with a considerable reduction in spatial heterogeneity. The observed goodness-of-fit of the linear relationship between population density and municipal area increased significantly over time. Empirical results of our study indicate that municipal size has progressively adjusted to population density across metropolitan areas, determining a more balanced spatial distribution of resident population, which was consolidated by the recent administrative reform of local authorities in Greece (the so called 'Kallikratis' law). Such conditions represent a base for informed analysis of the spatial structure of local administrative units and contribute to the debate on optimal size of municipalities and other administrative districts with relevant impact on both urban and metropolitan scales of governance
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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