Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo

Bio: Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo is an academic researcher from Sapienza University of Rome. The author has contributed to research in topics: Geography & Sustainable development. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 17 publications receiving 177 citations. Previous affiliations of Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo include National Institute of Statistics.

How the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Changing Online Food Shopping Human Behaviour in Italy

Abstract: The advent of the Internet has significantly changed consumption patterns and habits. Online grocery shopping is a way of purchasing food products using a web-based shopping service. The current COVID-19 pandemic is determining a rethinking of purchase choice elements and of consumers’ behavior. This work aims to investigate which characteristics can affect the decision of online food shopping during the pandemic emergency in Italy. In particular, the work aims to analyze the effects of a set of explanatory variables on the level of satisfaction for the food online shopping experience. For achieving this aim, the proportional odds version of the cumulative logit model is carried out. Data derive from an anonymous on-line questionnaire administrated during the first months of the pandemic and filled by 248 respondents. The results of this work highlight that people having familiarity with buying food online, that have a higher educational level and consider food online channels easy to use, appear more satisfied for the food online shopping experience. These findings can be crucial for the future green global challenges as online shopping may help to reach competitive advantages for company sustainability.

Sustainable Development Goals Indicators at Territorial Level: Conceptual and Methodological Issues—The Italian Perspective

Abstract: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015) can be considered the synthesis of a debate, which sets the sustainable development as a priority for the International Community. The achievement of the sustainable development goals has made necessary to develop a system of indicators. Indicators and data should be collected and reported sub-nationally, giving attention to the territory. This is a necessity even more for Italy, a country historically characterized by strong regional specificities and differences, which find their radicalization in the so-called North–South gap. In this paper, we want to examine and monitor the Italian situation as to the achievement of the SDGs, based on the analysis of the Regions, to highlight potential differences or territorial homogeneity. In particular, we want to emphasize not only how there is actually a gap between the North and the South of the country, but also how the synthesis tends often to be representative of situations profoundly different from each other, as a result of different values in the basic indicators, or similar situations between them. Due to the difficulty of reporting on a paper a detailed analysis of all 17 sustainable development goals, we focus only on the first three goals one. In particular, for each goal we select indicators all useful for the analysis of regional realities and appropriate some for monitoring the present condition, others for providing information on the future one (risk). The research methodology is to use the Adjusted Mazziotta–Pareto Index for creating a composite index for each goal considered. This analysis is preceded by an exploratory analysis of the basic indicators over time through the use of within and between correlations and the average PCA.

Measuring consumers’ level of satisfaction for online food shopping during COVID-19 in Italy using POSETs

Abstract: The pandemic COVID 19 has upset the economic, social, financial, and general behavioral systems. Global crisis has a large impact overall and related fallouts significantly affect existent structural paradigms in every country and region across the world. In particular, the spread of COVID-19 pandemic has led to having to rethink the way we produce and consume food. Within this global change, a rise in the number of consumers who purchase food products online in order to comply with the rules aimed at limiting the circulation of the virus should be emphasized. Consequently, probably causing a long-term positive effect on m-commerce. The purpose is to elaborate on the index of the satisfaction level of consumers of purchasing food online via food shopping channels, by using key factors that characterize the online spending behavior. The analysis was carried out by collection of data deriving from an anonymous online questionnaire administrated via social networks and emails, during the ‘hot’ months of the pandemic progression in Italy, which is March–May 2020. We analyse both dimensions of customer satisfaction (process and outcome), by means of two systems of indicators. We reduce their complexity using synthesis obtained with the Partially ordered set. Results highlight the differences between the two dimensions of customer satisfaction. Online shopping can surely contribute to reduction of food waste thanks to elimination of frenzied shopping routines at supermarkets and can open space to new fields of study. On the other hand, defining an index of the consumer's satisfaction can alter sales strategies of m-commerce managers and entrepreneurs.

Measuring Sustainable Development by Non-aggregative Approach

Abstract: The paper deals with the issue of sustainable development, considering the three dimension that traditionally define the phenomenon: economy, environment and society. By using data from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), which provide information on the perception of the sustainable development in the European countries. We want to analyse the situation of European countries by providing synthetic measures for each dimension of sustainable development. In doing this, we adopted two different methods of synthesis a non-aggregative approach, based on the theory of the partially ordered set. To test the validity and consistency of the measurement obtained, the results will be compared with those obtained by applying some of the most common aggregative methods.

Synthesis of Multi-indicator System Over Time: A Poset-based Approach

Abstract: In recent years, sustainable development has become one of the main issues of scientific and institutional debate. The literature on this concept is wide and often presents conflicting positions. This leads to considering sustainable development as a contested concept. The growing interest and importance of this topic has also led to an increasing focus on the aspect of its measurement. Dealing with the measurement of complex phenomena, like sustainable development, means dealing with synthesis. The traditional and dominant approach to the synthesis of multi-indicator systems of cardinal variables is the use of the aggregative-compensative approach. Despite its success, this approach presents a series of critical issues. In this paper, we propose a method of synthesizing multi-indicator systems over time based on the Partial Order Theory. Applying and comparing the method we proposed and an aggregative method, the Adjusted Mazziotta–Pareto Index, to one of the 15 sustainable development goals, we highlight the strengths of the new methodological proposal.

Conditions for Happiness

Abstract: 1 Introduction.- 2 The Concept of Happiness.- 2/1 The various meanings of the word happiness.- 2/2 Happiness defined.- 2/3 Components of happiness.- 2/4 Adjacent concepts.- 2/5 Synonyms of happiness.- 2/6 Summary.- 3 Can Happiness be Measured?.- 3/1 Validity problems.- 3/2 Reliability problems.- 3/3 Problems of comparison.- 3/4 Summary.- 4 Indicators of Happiness.- 4/1 Indicators of overall happiness.- 4/1.1 Direct questions.- 4/1.2 Indirect questions.- 4/1.3 Ratings by others.- 4/2 Indicators of hedonic level of affect.- 4/2.1 Direct questions.- 4/2.2 Indirect questions.- 4/2.3 Ratings by others.- 4/3 Indicators of contentment.- 4/4 Composites.- 4/5 Do the three kinds of indicators tap different phenomena?.- 4/6 Summary.- 5 Gathering the Available Data.- 5/1 Searching empirical happiness studies.- 5/2 The studies found.- 5/3 Presenting the findings.- 5/4 Limitations of the data.- 5/5 Summary.- 6 Happiness and Living Conditions.- 6/1 Happiness and society.- 6/1.1 Economic conditions.- 6/1.2 Political conditions.- 6/1.3 Peace and war.- 6/1.4 Some regional differences in happiness.- 6/2 Happiness and one's place in society.- 6/2.1 Gender.- 6/2.2 Age-differences.- 6/2.3 Minority status.- 6/2.4 Income.- 6/2.5 Education.- 6/2.6 Occupational prestige.- 6/2.7 Global social rank.- 6/3 Happiness and work.- 6/3.1 Having a job or not.- 6/3.2 Occupation.- 6/3.3 Voluntary work.- 6/4 Happiness and intimate ties.- 6/4.1 Marriage.- 6/4.2 Children.- 6/4.3 Friends and relatives.- 6/5 Summary.- 7 Happiness and Individual Characteristics.- 7/1 Happiness and personal resources.- 7/1.1 Physical health.- 7/1.2 General mental effectiveness.- 7/1.3 Specific abilities.- 7/1.4 Activity level.- 7/1.5 Richness of mental life.- 7/2 Happiness and some personality traits.- 7/2.1 Perceived fate control.- 7/2.2 Defensive strategies.- 7/2.3 Tendencies to like things.- 7/2.4 Time orientation.- 7/3 Happiness and lifestyle.- 7/4 Happiness and longings.- 7/5 Happiness and convictions.- 7/5.1 Happiness and ethical values.- 7/5.2 Religion.- 7/5.3 (Un)-conventionality of outlook.- 7/5.4 Views on happiness.- 7/6 Happiness and appreciations.- 7/6.1 Appreciation of oneself.- 7/6.2 Appreciation of other people.- 7/6.3 Appreciation of society.- 7/6.4 Appreciation of one's social position.- 7/6.5 Appreciation of one's work.- 7/6.6 Appreciation of leisure.- 7/6.7 Appreciation of one's living environment.- 7/6.8 Appreciation of one's health.- 7/6.9 Which global life-aspect-satisfactions are most closely related to happiness?.- 7/7 Summary.- 8 Antecedents of Happiness.- 8/1 Happiness and earlier living conditions.- 8/1.1 Conditions in youth.- 8/1.2 Earlier conditions in adulthood.- 8/2 Happiness and earlier personal characteristics.- 8/3 Summary.- 9 Conclusions.- 9/1 Conditions of happiness.- 9/1.1 Which correlates represent causes?.- 9/1.2 Variations in correlations.- 9/1.3 The correlates in context.- 9/1.4 Some lines for further research.- 9/2 Myths about happiness.- 9/2.1 The myth that modern western society is a sink of unhappiness.- 9/2.2 Myths about things that make for happiness in western societies.- 9/2.3 The myth that living conditions do not matter.- 9/2.4 The myth that happiness is not a significant matter.- References.- Author index.

Social research 2.0: virtual snowball sampling method using Facebook

Abstract: Purpose - The aim of this paper is to present a sampling method using virtual networks to study "hard-to-reach" populations. In the ambit of social research, the use of new technologies is still questioned because the selection bias is an obstacle to carry on scientific research on the Internet. In this regard, the authors' hypothesis is that the use of social networking sites (Web 2.0) can be effective for the study of "hard-to-reach" populations. The main advantages of this technique are that it can expand the geographical scope and facilitates the identification of individuals with barriers to access. Therefore, the use of virtual networks in non-probabilistic samples can increase the sample size and its representativeness. Design/methodology/approach - To test this hypothesis, a virtual method was designed using Facebook to identify Argentinean immigrant entrepreneurs in Spain (214 cases). A characteristic of this population is that some individuals are administratively invisible in national statistics because they have double nationality (non-EU and EU). The use of virtual sampling was combined with an online questionnaire as a complementary tool for Web 2.0 research in behavioural sciences. Findings - The number of cases detected by Facebook and the virtual response rate is higher than traditional snowball technique. The explanation is that people increase their level of confidence because the researcher shows his personal information (Facebook's profile) and also participates in their groups of interest (Facebook's groups). Moreover, the online questionnaires administration allows the quality of the information to be controlled and avoids duplication of cases. Originality/value - The present article is the first that uses Facebook as an instrument to study immigrants. Therefore its adoption represents a great challenge in the social research field because there are many barriers of access and search. It also proposes a novel mix of traditional methodologies updated with the use of new virtual possibilities of studying hard to reach populations, especially in areas of social research where the contributions of these methods are less developed.

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health in 22 European Countries

Abstract: Comparisons among countries can help to identify opportunities for the reduction of inequalities in health. We compared the magnitude of inequalities in mortality and self-assessed health among 22 countries in all parts of Europe.

How the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Changing Online Food Shopping Human Behaviour in Italy

Abstract: The advent of the Internet has significantly changed consumption patterns and habits. Online grocery shopping is a way of purchasing food products using a web-based shopping service. The current COVID-19 pandemic is determining a rethinking of purchase choice elements and of consumers’ behavior. This work aims to investigate which characteristics can affect the decision of online food shopping during the pandemic emergency in Italy. In particular, the work aims to analyze the effects of a set of explanatory variables on the level of satisfaction for the food online shopping experience. For achieving this aim, the proportional odds version of the cumulative logit model is carried out. Data derive from an anonymous on-line questionnaire administrated during the first months of the pandemic and filled by 248 respondents. The results of this work highlight that people having familiarity with buying food online, that have a higher educational level and consider food online channels easy to use, appear more satisfied for the food online shopping experience. These findings can be crucial for the future green global challenges as online shopping may help to reach competitive advantages for company sustainability.

Advancing knowledge through literature reviews: ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how to contribute’

Abstract: ABSTRACT Literature review is part and parcel of scholarly research. Though many literature review guides are available, they remain limited because they do not adequately account for the different types of literature review. Noteworthily, literature reviews can manifest as part of conceptual or empirical studies, or as independent studies, in which the latter may be curated in various ways. Moreover, despite its importance and popularity, literature reviews, particularly as independent studies, continue to attract unfair criticism and remain scarce in service research. To address the aforementioned gaps, this article endeavors to provide an overview and guidelines for writing literature reviews. Specifically, this article explains (1) what a literature review is and is not, (2) why literature reviews are valuable, and (3) how to conduct a literature review, as well as (4) the areas of service research and (5) the innovative ways in which literature reviews can be curated in the future.