Territorial Level Research Articles

Reducing Emergency Room’s overcrowding

Abstract Introduction The ageing of the population and the consequent increase in the epidemiology of chronic diseases pose numerous challenges at both hospital and territorial levels. In this context, one phenomenon that deserves particular attention is the frequent use of emergency services by ‘frail’ people. The aim of our study was to identify the most frequent users of the University Hospital’s Emergency Room (ER) of Siena, based on their care at territorial level. Materials and methods A retrospective study was carried out on the data of accesses to the ER of the University Hospital’s of Siena from June to September 2023. Patients were stratified according to the number of admissions, excluding those with only one admission during the study period. After identifying those with four or more accesses, the USL-TSE management system ‘Astercloud’ was used to check whether they were in integrated home care (ADI) or planned home care (ADP). Descriptive analysis was performed using STATA software. Results During the study period, 2347 patients were admitted to the ER, 78.95% had two admissions, 14.96% had three, 4.26% had four, 1.24% had five, 0.34% had six, 0.13% had seven, 0.09% had eight and, finally, 0.04% had eleven admissions. 93.1% of the sample had fewer than four admissions (2,204 patients), while 6.1% had four or more admissions (143 patients). Of the 143 patients studied, 16.1% were in home care, 13.3% in ADI and 2.8% in ADP. 36.8% of patients in ADI died within 4 months of the last admission during the period studied. Conclusions Our results suggest that the identification of people at risk of frequent use of the ER seems essential. Equally important is the existence of effective coordination and cooperation between hospitals and the community, with special attention to certain categories of patients. All of this is aimed to achieve overall appropriateness and therapeutic effectiveness, thus avoiding inappropriate admissions to the ER. Key messages • Significance of identifying individuals prone to frequent use of emergency services to underscore the need for proactive management strategies to address their healthcare needs. • Coordination and cooperation between hospital facilities and community-based services to enhance appropriateness of care and reduce inappropriate Emergency Room admissions.

APPROACHES TO DEFINING THE SOCIOECONOMIC PARADIGM AS A CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The relevance of the topic is linked to the fact that socialization remains a global trend in economic development. However, in the context of the VUCA and BANI world, the task is not only to recognize changes and adapt to shifting circumstances, but also to make rational decisions, set new goals, and apply new algorithms. In such conditions, the socio-economic paradigm acts as a conceptual model of economic development. It represents a paradigmatic framework for studying socio-economic processes through the application of methodological approaches from disciplines such as economic sociology, economic theory, economic psychology, institutional economics, behavioral economics, and others. Therefore, the task of clarifying its content becomes relevant. The aim of the article is to identify and characterize the conceptual foundations of the socio-economic paradigm and the methodological approaches to its substantiation. The article outlines the content of the socio-economic paradigm as a conceptual model of economic development. It describes its substantive premises, reveals the cause-and-effect relationships between economic and social processes, defines the methodological approaches for studying and comparing socio-economics with other paradigms of economic development, and highlights the need to study the degree of influence of social sciences on the economy and the economy on social processes. It is proven that the economic version of socio-economics assumes that the social sphere, as well as various social processes, not only affect the economy but are also dependent on it, and this dependence requires economic evaluation. Socio-economics represents a scientific field that studies the patterns of modern economic life in the context of moral imperatives and criteria of social justice. The object of socio-economics is defined as economic activity carried out at different territorial and organizational levels, while its subject is economic relations regulated by moral and ethical requirements, attitudes, and prescriptions.

National identification weakens, and territorial identification strengthens, the relationship between masculine honor values and the justification of practices of connivance with the mafia

AbstractOrganized crime's governance raises questions about mechanisms facilitating the exercise of illegal authority in society. The present research tested the association between masculine honor ideology and the justification of connivance practices facilitating criminal groups' activities. We examined the novel idea that national identification would attenuate and territorial identification would strengthen such a relationship, reflecting different sources of authority at the national and territorial levels. In Studies 1a and b (N = 398 and N = 399), we measured individuals' endorsement of masculine honor, justification of connivance practices, and national and territorial identifications. In Study 2 (N = 390), we experimentally manipulated the salience of these identities. Results supported the hypotheses that the link between masculine honor and justification of connivance was weaker at higher levels of national identification and stronger at higher levels of territorial identification. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Extent and drivers of land productivity degradation at the territorial level in Eastern DR Congo

Land degradation is a global environmental problem that affects the livelihoods of communities. Understanding the extent and causative factors of this phenomenon is important to design the cause-targeted strategies to cope with this problem. This study aimed to assess the effects of biophysical and socio-economic factors on the occurrence of land productivity degradation at the territorial level in Eastern DR Congo, using the Kalehe territory as a case study. The land productivity dynamics were determined based on the trend analysis of Landsat-based NDVI annual composites over the 1987-2020 period. Additionally, a binary logistic regression model was developed to identify the determinant factors and to map the susceptibility of this degradation at the territorial level. The results revealed that 31.25% (1303.175 km2) of the territory had experienced a decrease in land productivity, with 10.8% (453.83 km2) characterized by a significant decrease at the confidence level of 90%, representing the hotspots area of land productivity degradation where conservation actions should be prioritized. This decrease in land productivity is location-specific as it depends on the land cover types and health zones. It is likely to occur at high altitudes, in areas close to artisanal mining sites, rivers, and administrative centers. These results imply that policy interventions to cope with the problem of land productivity degradation should be developed following the heterogeneity of the landscape, and sustainable land management practices that take into account both the biophysical and socio-economic drivers of land degradation should be implemented in this region to achieve the land degradation neutrality by 2030.

Ecological-economic assessment of environmental quality as a natural basis for territorial sustainable development: conceptual-categorical analysis

In the context of growing global problems of resource using and environmental protection the development of a sustainable environmental-economic development strategy, including at the territorial level is becoming increasingly actual. The purpose of the research is conceptual-categorical analysis of ecological-economic assessment of environmental quality as a natural basis for territorial systems of different levels sustainable development, elaboration and justification of the conceptual assessment model and methods of its implementation. Methodological issues focus on how to comprehensively assess the environmental quality of the territory and how this assessment can be taken into account in the formation of a strategy for environmentally sustainable development of spatial-economic systems. The scientific novelty of the research results lies in the consolidation of the theories of territorial development sustainability and environmental quality environmental-economic assessment in the conceptual model, as well as in the substantiation of tools for quantitative measurement of environmental quality, increasing the accuracy and reliability of the obtained environmental-economic assessments. The significance of the research results lies in providing decision-makers with comprehensive information on the long-term consequences of environmental-economic decisions and facilitating the transition to environmentally sustainable economic development of territories. This information can be obtained as a result of systematic application of multi-dimensional environmental-economic assessment tools that take into account not only the full socio-economic value of natural environmental resources, but also the spatial characteristics of territories.

Adaptation of French general practitioners for the management of nursing home patients during COVID-19 in 2020: a multilevel analysis.

To describe French general practioners' (GPs) adaptation strategies to ensure follow-up care of nursing home patients during the first wave of COVID-19 (May 2020) and to identify factors associated with each strategy. A national cross-sectional study was conducted with online questionnaires in May 2020 among GPs practicing in France (metropolitan and overseas) and usually providing nursing home visits before pandemic. The outcome was defined as the GPs' adaptation strategies for managing nursing home patients and was categorized into four groups: Maintenance of Nursing Home Visits NHV (reference), Stopping NHV, Numeric adaptation (teleconsultations only), Mixed adaptation (NHV and teleconsultations). The probability of adaptation strategies was analyzed by multilevel logistic models in which the GPs represented level 1 and the counties level 2. We applied three random-intercept multilevel logistic models with the county of GP's practice as random effect. This analysis included 2,146 responses by GPs coming from 98 French counties. Overall, 40.4% of GPs maintained NHV, while other strategies were: Stopping visits (24.1%), Numeric adaptation (15.4%), Mixed adaptation (20.1%). Several individual (age, training GP, perceived status of being at high risk of severe COVID, compliance with temporary delegation of the patient's management) and territorial factors (excess mortality rate due to COVID-19, GPs' density, proportion of over-75s, presence of reinforcement measures for nursing home patients) were identified as associated with each strategy. This study highlights a rapid adaptation of general practice to keep supporting nursing home patients. Heterogeneity of adaptation strategies could reflect both the lack of national guidelines and the heterogeneity among GPs' usual practices. Policymakers should take actions at a territorial level (subnational) to strengthen support to nursing home patients considering adaptations to the local context of the pandemic outbreak and perspective of local actors.

The impact of internal labor migration on morbidity rates with temporary disability in the Russian Federation

Introduction. One of the most important indicators of the health of the working population is the incidence of temporary disability. The statistical data do not take into account the temporary labor migration of the population, which distorts the idea of the morbidity of the permanent population at the level of the subjects of the Russian Federation and municipalities. The study aims to carry out a comparative assessment of the temporary disability (ТD) level and rating places of the subjects of the Russian Federation on the basis of statistical indicators "Number of cases of TD" and "Number of days of TD" per 100 employees and calculated indicators per 100 employed in the economy. Materials and methods. The article tells about the use of federal statistical observation data. Specialists have made their own calculations of indicators of the level of temporary disability by the number of cases and days per 100 employed in the economy. A direct ranking was carried out in descending order of all the studied indicators. The authors also conducted a direct ranking in descending order of all the studied indicators and performed a comparative analysis of the rating places of the subjects of the Russian Federation according to the level of temporary disability, according to official statistical data per 100 employees and calculated data per 100 employed. Results. In almost 30% of the subjects of the Russian Federation, significant changes were detected in 20 or more rating places, both with the shift of regions into groups with higher levels and with lower levels of morbidity. Limitations. The materials used in this study did not take into account the gender and age characteristics of morbidity. Conclusion. At the present stage, it is necessary to develop new methodological approaches for the analysis of the temporary disability at the regional and municipal levels, their introduction into the system of social and hygienic monitoring and the system of risk management for public health. The use of the indicator "number of people employed in the economy" to analyze temporary disability at the territorial (regional, municipal) level more accurately reflects the level of morbidity of the permanent population living in the study area. Ethics. The conclusion of the local Ethics Committee is not required for conducting the study.

Study of integration processes in the pharmaceutical market in the context of the development of territorial pharmaceutical ecosystems

Introduction. The ecosystem approach to the organization of business processes in the pharmaceutical market meets the prevailing trends, so the growth index of e-commerce in the retail sector of medicines for 5 years amounted to 1.87. The market distribution sector of medicines in the Russian Federation is characterized by a shift in corporate governance towards marketing cooperation based on aggregation electronic trading platforms (AETPS). Development of territorial pharmaceutical ecosystems (TFE) As a new integrative tool for managing the pharmaceutical development – production – distribution cycle, in order to achieve the target model of PHARMA 2030 at the territorial level, it requires the development of regulatory mechanisms for managing the supply of medicines. Objective: characteristics of integration processes in the industrial, wholesale and retail sectors of the pharmaceutical market to assess the potential competitiveness of territorial pharmaceutical ecosystems. Material and methods. The primary data for the analysis were: volumes of wholesale commodity residues of medicines produced in the Ural Federal District (461 registration certificates; proprietary Price and Distribution Test data for 230 trade names of LP EMIS data 2021–2022; Alpharm data 2021–2022; Datainsight 2022. In the course of the study, a structural analysis of the pharmaceutical market, a functional analysis of participants in the pharmaceutical product chain, and a marketing analysis were carried out. Results. It was found that the dynamics of the AETP segment development corresponds to the outstripping growth of highly integrated platforms: the short-term growth index of 5-pl AETP (Uteca) is 164%, 4-pl (Eapteca) is 55%, 3pl-AETP (averaged) is 36.5%. The absence of formal mechanisms of regional protectionism for the sale of finished dosage forms of local manufacturers in the Ural Federal District has been revealed. We have obtained the results of evaluating the effect of ecosystem integration of certain types of pharmaceutical market participants. For manufacturers of medicinal products, it was determined that the median coefficient of penetration of the local assortment of medicinal products into the pharmaceutical market in the context of ATX groups of level 2 is 0.67, which indicates a significant diversification of the assortment portfolio and the possibility of its aggregation without a barrier of internal competition. In the wholesale drugs sector, the potential for saving margins on medicines has been identified when implementing the scenario of localization of supplies in production regions in low and medium-low price ranges (30 – 550 rubles/unit), varying between 53–67%. It was found that the median share of regional distribution in the Ural Federal District (in packages) is 20.72%. It has been established that the Ural Federal District is one of the leaders in terms of the share of omnichannel consumers in the pharmaceutical market (63%), which is a significant incentive for the integration of organizations in the retail sector of the pharmaceutical market into the ecosystem 5pl platform. Conclusion. Situational analysis of the morphology of cooperative interactions in the pharmaceutical market allowed us to identify the prerequisites for the formation of ecosystem-organized management structures in the pharmaceutical market system – territorial pharmaceutical ecosystems. We have systematized incentives for ecosystem determination of medicines supplies, and found that: an additional channel for the market distribution of the industrial range of medicicnes in the Urals is not associated with a barrier to internal competition of pharmaceutical plants; the inclusion of regional suppliers in TFE will allow to form additional competitiveness in the “buyer's market” in conditions of market dominance of federal suppliers; the omnichannel approach to the distribution of the retail range of TFE in pharmacy organizations has a high projected conversion rate. A detailed assessment of integration processes in certain sectors of the pharmaceutical market did not reveal critical barriers to the introduction of TFE.

Bulgaria’s regional policy: Analysing paradigm shifts and dynamics of territorial inequalities

Abstract Domestic regional policies are increasingly expected to tackle significant spatial disparities, promote territorial justice, and ensure equal opportunities, thereby supporting various aspects of sustainability. This article focuses on the case of Bulgaria, serving a dual purpose: it outlines the emergence and evolution of contemporary regional policy in the country and measures the extent and dynamics of socio-economic inequalities at different territorial levels. The conceptualization of a comprehensive regional policy framework following the socialist era was largely driven by top-down Europeanization impulses, which catalysed political debates on the transformed roles of the regions and the necessity for effective decentralisation. However, despite years of domestic regional policy implementation, socio-economic inequalities in Bulgaria remain substantial, with certain peripheral regions notably trailing behind. The comprehensive assessments conducted in this study include primarily descriptive statistics, regression and correlation analyses, time series analyses, and classification/categorization of territorial units. They indicate significant spatial heterogeneity and the prevalence of pronounced ‘centre-periphery’ patterns, which pose a serious threat to the long-term sustainable development of the country.

The role of the European Union and international legislation in the government of the migration crisis

This paper focuses on the over researched migrant and refugee emergency of 2015-2016, adopting a broader temporal and spatial lens. The 2015 refugee crisis shook Europe and its security and brought immigration and asylum policy to new political dynamics that are developing at a pace and with difficulty in coordination. This particular 'crisis' of 2015 gave a stronger political impetus to the migration and asylum agenda of the EU's destination and transit states. concerns about the limitations of the liberal state, including external border policy, the framing of migrants, European identity and the phenomenon of return migration security, which mainly affected Central and Eastern Europe. Through the analysis of a broad set of materials emerging from the research project, we identified several interacting features of governance in times of crisis, including a multilevel but complex actor landscape, complicated and fragmented legal systems and policy provisions that can change at the temporal level as well as at the territorial level and the current characteristics of a 'crisis governance mode'. Can we identify the specific features that form this state of crisis?

Un’urbanistica relazionale

The failure of contemporary Urbanism to cope with Climate Collapse has to do with its own approach to reality, which moves between imagination and the materialisation of human landscapes. As an answer to this weakness, two major Urbanism trends are, on the one hand, the exasperation of a hyper-technological and geo-engineering attitude and, on the other, the reframing of the nature and city relation. A paradigm shift that confronts climate emergency on a both planetary and territorial level. The traces of nature-city paradigm shift are at least three, recounted in the essay through some cases and research: the end of production and the emergence of a pluriversal “industrial nature”; the ecological turn and the urgency of “greening” strategies for cities; the failure of the traditional idea of “nature” and the need to reformulate the territorial project. What emerges is the possibility of a Relational Urbanism, in which the focus is mainly on the ways in which human and non-human actors interact, and not only on the ancestral debate on human rights and social control. Far from being a green utopia, the relational dimension of the project imposes itself as a collective intellectual risk and a necessary ethical commitment.

Modeling spatial correlation between earthquake insured losses in New Zealand: A mixed-effects analysis.

Earthquake insurance is a critical risk management strategy that contributes to improving recovery and thus greater resilience of individuals. Insurance companies construct premiums without taking into account spatial correlations between insured assets. This leads to potentially underestimating the risk, and therefore the exceedance probability curve. We here propose a mixed-effects model to estimate losses per ward that is able to account for heteroskedasticity and spatial correlation between insured losses. Given the significant impact of earthquakes in New Zealand due to its particular geographical and demographic characteristics, the government has established a public insurance company that collects information about the insured buildings and any claims lodged. We thus develop a two-level variance component model that is based on earthquake losses observed in New Zealand between 2000 and 2021. The proposed model aims at capturing the variability at both the ward and territorial authority levels and includes independent variables, such as seismic hazard indicators, the number of usual residents, and the average dwelling value in the ward. Our model is able to detect spatial correlation in the losses at the ward level thus increasing its predictive power and making it possible to assess the effect of spatially correlated claims that may be considerable on the tail of lossdistribution.

SPATIAL JUSTICE: GEOGRAPHICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION IN THE CONTEXT OF WAR IN UKRAINE

As a scientific category, spatial justice requires to be detailed and in-depth theoretical and methodological study, as well as empirical evaluation. Since representatives of different fields of knowledge offer their own definitions of spatial justice, it is impossible to have a systematic view of it, nor to place accents that are important for geo­graphers. The purpose of the study is to analyze and summarize approaches to the definition of “spatial justice”, to outline its main dimensions, and to clarify, through an online expert survey of geographers, the essence of the category and the focus of its study in the context of the military situation in Ukraine. The analysis of the literature and the results of an online survey of geographers on the nature of spatial justice in Ukraine revealed that justice is based on the principle of equal opportunities, which is worth striving for, given the objective geographical inequalities in living conditions, access to services, levels of mobility, etc. Even though the category of “spatial justice” has been defined by geographers in the past, it is not yet clear what the main dimensions of spatial justice are, and what the focus of its study should be. Although the category of spatial justice is most developed in Western countries, its implementation in war and post-war conditions in Ukraine is extremely necessary, especially since the injustice of war is exacerbated by its consequences. According to the majority of respondents, spatial justice can be interpreted as the achievement of a state in which the economic life of a given territory is subordinated to, or at least does not contradict, the interests of the local community, creating benefits and opportunities to meet production, cultural and other needs. In times of war, it is also a fair democratic process of sharing benefits and risks between territories. The definitions chosen by the majority of respondents can be the basis for the further development of theoretical, methodological, and practical tools for the formation of a platform for the implementation of the principles of spatial justice at different territorial levels.

Characteristics, diagnosis and analysis of some indicators in the agricultural sector of the Trinidad Municipality, Cuba

<p>In the new policy established by the Cuban state for the agricultural sector, the achievement of food sovereignty and sustainability of said sector is established as a basic principle, which was endorsed in the current Law of Food Sovereignty and Food and Nutritional Security. For this reason, each municipality in the country, and under certain levels of autonomy, must guarantee compliance with the aforementioned law. For this, strict control of the structures of the territorial agricultural system and the behavior of its structures is necessary. With the completion of this work, the characterization, diagnosis and evaluation of some sustainability indicators for the agricultural sector in the Trinidad Municipality were established as objectives, in the period between 2015 and 2020, for this a work team was created that was able to collect, organize, analyze, compare and evaluate the information that appeared in the National Office of Statistics and Information of the Republic of Cuba, between the years 2015 and 2020, finding as one of the results that the workforce indicator used in this sector has suffered a drastic decrease, not guaranteeing the man-area relationship necessary to achieve food sovereignty and the sustainability of the sector at a territorial level.<strong></strong></p>

Selected Socio-Economic Aspects of the Last Two Economic Crises in Slovenia Assessed through a Three-Stage Territorial Model

The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic insight into the socio-economic aspects of the last two economic crises in Slovenia: the Economic crisis between 2009 and 2013, and the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. A three-stage territorial model was developed as a theoretical tool for this study. The data for the analyses came from various statistical sources and from the available literature. The socio-economic aspects of both economic crises were analysed in 11 categories and at three territorial levels: macro (national), meso (regional) and micro (locational). Both economic crises differ fundamentally in many aspects. Compared to the Economic crisis, the COVID-19 crisis was much shorter and less severe, and had relatively little impact on the socio-economic structure of Slovenia and its regions. Both economic crises had some common features: reduction of interregional disparities and different development paths of regions during the crisis, as well as strong economic growth in the first year of recovery. The proposed model can be extended by additional territorial levels and by adding additional social and political-geographical aspects.

A Systematic Approach to Map and Evaluate the Wildfire Behavior at a Territorial Scale in the Northwestern Iberian Peninsula

In the current context of extreme wildfires, understanding fire behavior at a territorial level has proven crucial for territory planning. This type of analysis is usually conducted by analyzing past wildfire statistics. In this study, we forego the past information related to wildfires and analyze, instead, the behavior of the entire territory in the face of wildfires. This allows for the distribution of ignition points to be systematized and for typical and atypical weather scenarios to be considered. This analysis relies on the use of wildfire simulation software. Ignition points used for the simulations were distributed using a systematic 1 × 1 km grid throughout the whole study area. Wildfires were simulated for each ignition point using eight different weather scenarios representing both typical and atypical weather conditions. The fire behavior on the territory was analyzed using rate of spread and intensity parameters for each simulated wildfire. It was observed that this territory is extremely prone to large wildfires both in typical and atypical weather conditions and that there is a tendency for extreme behaviors to develop. Some features were identified as prevention issues that ought to be addressed. This study develops a strategy to evaluate, in a systematic manner, the response of the territory to the threat of wildfires.

Land use/land cover (LULC) changes modeling and susceptibility mapping using the binary logistic regression at the territorial level in eastern DR Congo

The Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes are commonly used to determine the landscape conditions and have significant impacts on the earth's surface processes. During the last three decades, there has been an acceleration of LULC changes in Eastern DR Congo. However, there is no comprehensive overview of the drivers of these changes at the territorial level in this region, even though the knowledge of these drivers is important for land use planning and spatial modeling of environmental changes. Using the Kalehe Territory as a case study, this work sought to fill this gap by analyzing the drivers of LULC changes during the 1987-2020 period. A mixed approach combining remote sensing, Geographic Information System, and logistic regression modeling was used. The results indicated that the prominent LULC changes in the study area are deforestation, built-up area expansion, cropland expansion, and shrubland expansion. These changes are significantly influenced by biophysical factors (slope, altitude, and soil type), conservation zoning, population dynamics, and accessibility factors at different levels. The occurrence of conservation zones decreases the susceptibility to deforestation, built-up land, and cropland expansions. In contrast, the proximity factors (distance to road, artisanal mining, and locality) increase the susceptibility to LULC changes. These factors can be integrated into spatial models to forecast LULC changes susceptibility in this region. Furthermore, the establishment of future land use management policy at the territorial level in eastern DR Congo should be space-specific as the susceptibility of LULC changes shows a spatial trend.

Internationalisation of science and technology parks and the stage of their life: The Central European perspective

Research background: A science and technology park (STP) is an important tool of innovation policy. In order to carry out new tasks in the field of internationalisation of innovative processes, parks have to incorporate completely new ones into their classic roles and activities. There is still a low level of knowledge about the factors that limit this process. The identified research gap provided the rationale for addressing the issue of the internationalisation of parks in Poland, which is an original treatment of the issue and probably one of the first such studies in Central Europe. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is to diagnose the stages through which the internationalisation of science and technology parks takes place in the context of the phases of the life cycle of these organisations, as well as to identify and assess the importance of obstacles limiting the internationalisation process. Methods: A critical analysis of the literature and direct research was carried out using the survey method, according to the author's questionnaire. The research was carried out in 2022 among 18 STPs in Poland (55% of all Polish parks). The diagnosis of internationalisation was made on an institutional level. Three phases of the park life cycle were defined and operationalised based on the criteria identified by J. Allen (2007): creation, consolidation and maturity phase. Ward’s agglomeration method (Ward, 1963) was utilised to group the parks based on the level of actions realised in their life cycle and their degree of internationalisation. In the identification of the number of groups, the Duda-Hart (Duda et al., 2000) Je(2)/Je(1) index-stopping rule was used. Thirteen of the most important obstacles to the internationalisation process were identified. In order to examine the internal consistency of variables describing the internationalisation of parks, Cronbach’s Alpha reliability index was calculated. In order to find out the strength and direction of the existing relationship between obstacles and the internationalisation index of the studied parks, Kendall’s τ test was used. Findings & value added: The sequential development of parks at the national level is in line with the assumptions indicated in the literature. The problem, however, is the internationalisation of parks. Not only is it characterised by a low level, but its course also does not indicate that it is the result of the successive implementation of previously assumed activities. The processes of development and internationalisation are interrelated, but this is not a significant interdependence. The problem is also indicated by the results of studies relating to obstacles to the internationalisation process. This is because the most significant ones are diagnosed only at an advanced level of internationalisation. Such an important activity of parks is undertaken without a prior in-depth diagnosis of the international situation. This can result in limited effectiveness of the activities undertaken in the direction of internationalisation and generate related problems. The results of the study provide a basis for indicating the type of activities aimed at activating parks in the international arena. Such activities should be undertaken at a higher level than the parks themselves since they do not have sufficient procedures and resources to guarantee increased internationalisation. One desirable course of action could also be the creation of cooperation networks at different territorial and entity levels.

Socio-Economic Impact of Natural Population Dynamics in Bistrița-Năsăud County Between 2000 and 2020

Socio-Economic Impact of Natural Population Dynamics in Bistrița-Năsăud County between 2000 and 2020. Natural population dynamics is a topic that is largely dealt with at national level, but little analysed on a smaller scale (at county or basic administrative-territorial unit level), which could provide an opportunity for a more in-depth analysis and highlight possible areas where the situation is different from that existing at national level. Over time, the changes that have occurred in the natural dynamics of the population in Romania have highlighted numerous changes and shifts at the societal level, influencing either positively or negatively its subsequent trajectory. The aim of this paper is to capture the demographic evolution of Bistrița-Năsăud County and to outline the current situation. The focus will also be on capturing the impact of the current demographic evolution, an impact noted at territorial, demographic, social and economic level. Furthermore, possible solutions will be proposed to solve the emerging problems. Keywords: population, birth rate, mortality, marriage rate, divorce rate, Bistrița-Năsăud County, impact, solutions

Adopting the fuzzy approach to analyze food poverty in Italy: A study on vulnerable households using household budget survey data

Besides international efforts to address poverty and hunger, there are still many disparities among households, therefore innovative approaches and techniques are required to address the multiple facets of poverty, especially food poverty.Given the complexity in defining this phenomenon, the fuzzy approach based on an expenditure-related metric is adopted as it provides valuable insights into the Italian food poverty situation thus improving the results generally provided using by the classical binary (or crisp) set theory.By considering the equivalised household food expenditure obtained from the 2021 Italian Household Budget Survey data, the fuzzy set approach is used to measure food poverty paying particular attention to vulnerable households at a detailed territorial level. The results show that food poverty is lower in the Northern-Central regions than in Southern Italy and highlight the vulnerability of families with children and single-parent households.