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Monitoring and modelling surface deformation are crucial components of understanding the freeze‒thaw process and preventing disasters in permafrost regions. However, previous methods had limitations that inhibited the interpretation of freeze‒thaw deformation, such as a lack of physical meaning, an inability to reflect the physical freeze–thaw process and consideration of only a single external factor’s impact on permafrost deformation. This study proposes an improved degree-day model (IDM) for quantitatively isolating surface deformation using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technology over permafrost. We considered the effect of soil moisture variation on permafrost deformation and incorporated interannual variation in the freeze‒thaw process due to climate change. By applying small baseline subset (SBAS) technology to Sentinel-1 InSAR measurements over the Wudaoliang permafrost region on the Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau from 2018 to 2019, we estimated long-term and seasonal permafrost deformation. The reliability of InSAR results was validated using in situ measurements, with root mean square errors (RMSEs) less than 10 mm. The results showed that the average linear deformation rates in 2018 and 2019 were −3.8 mm a−1 and −11.0 mm a−1, respectively, and the maximum seasonal deformations were 15.7 mm and 13.2 mm, respectively. Compared with the original degree-day model (ODM), the method used in this study produced smaller residual deformations of 6.9 mm and 6.4 mm, highlighting its ability to improve a quantitative description of permafrost deformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many existing economic indicators focus on economic growth and overlook environmental and social impacts. This article presents the Sustainable Economy Index, an index created to assess the sustainability of economic systems by considering economic, environmental, and social aspects. The SEI incorporates indicators that highlight how these three pillars of sustainability interact to address this problem. By linking theory with application, the SEI aims to help plan and promote specific actions for sustainability at different levels. The process consists of five stages, starting with interviews to identify indicators, followed by data collection, standardization, and the development of a composite index. This index is then used to assess Qatar's progress towards a Sustainable Economy and compare it with a set of comparator countries. Using Qatar as a benchmark, this research uses the Sustainable Economy Index to assess and contrast its sustainability performance with a set of comparative countries. The findings highlight Qatar's strengths and weaknesses. The application of the Sustainable Economy Index underlines its ability to effectively inform, and guide formulated sustainable development strategies. The results emphasize the need for persistent improvement of environmental and mental sustainability indicators to encompass evolving international circumstances and facilitate policy modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research paper aims to build a composite index of the financial performance of companies, to find if the impact of the COVID-19 crisis was significantly positive for most manufacturing companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange, and to look if the manufacturing companies were resilient being prepared with savings that could have mitigate the effects of this pandemic crisis. The results of the FE model selected show that 31.67% of the company's equity variation is justified by the two independent variables, the stronger correlation of equity being with reserves. Based on the composite index of financial performance built, the manufacturing companies were grouped in three clusters: a cluster with low financial performance companies (z < 4), a cluster with good financial performance companies (4 = z = 8) and a cluster with high financial performance companies (z > 8). The third cluster groups the most analysed companies, on which the pandemic crisis had a positive impact, which achieved the highest financial performance; they are those companies that take advantage from the COVID-19 crisis, adapting their business strategy to the market conditions imposed. The article adds value to the specialty literature by building the financial performance's composite indicator, clustering the manufacturing companies by financial performance' Z-score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing walkable urban environments is crucial for enhancing urban liveability and sustainability. To evaluate the chrono‐urbanism status, this study combines conventional census and mapping data with social media check‐in big data. A composite index is proposed, which assesses the accessibility of essential urban functions under the 5/10/15‐minute chrono‐thresholds. This index incorporates five categories of urban functions (public transit, living, education, health care and entertainment) in Macau. Utilising check‐in information from Sina Weibo, the level of attraction for different urban functions is integrated into the calculation. The findings highlight significant disparities in chrono‐urbanism status, with regions inhabited by lower socio‐economic status residents being more vulnerable than the affluent institutional and commercial centre of Macau. Leveraging social media big data, this study provides valuable insights to urban planners and policy‐makers, enabling them to understand the overall chrono‐urbanism status and target interventions for developing a more sustainable and liveable urban environment in Macau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the GDL Vulnerability Index (GVI), a new composite index to monitor and analyse the human components of vulnerability to climate change, natural disasters, and other kinds of shocks, for societies and geographic areas across the globe. The GVI is a simple and flexible index designed for use by experts as well as non-experts in the climate field, including researchers, (local) politicians, NGO's, journalists, advocacy groups and grassroot movements. The GVI is based on an additive formula that summarizes the essence of seven socioeconomic dimensions of vulnerability into a single number. This formula approach sets this index apart from other existing indices. Any person who knows the values of the underlying indicators can compute the vulnerability score of an area by filling in these values in the GVI formula. Validity tests show that the data-driven GVI measures the vulnerability dimensions coping capacity, adaptive capacity and susceptibility as well as major expert-based indices. This offers great prospects for use in situations where no other vulnerability information is available. Here we explain the construction of the GVI, test its validity and present GVI values for (almost) all countries of the world and for major global regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a composite index to measure and benchmark community participation in cross-border tourism development processes. The index synthesizes information regarding three dimensions of this construct, deemed as very important by the extant literature: residents' engagement in the planning process and willingness to proactively welcome tourists and provide tourist services directly through sharing-economy platforms. The latter aspect is crucial to develop a local tourist supply able to combine environmental sustainability and financial feasibility in marginal areas, where public funding is scarce and private investments are unprofitable. This study offers a methodological innovation using response rates to open-ended questions to measure residents' engagement in tourism planning. By applying the ELECTRE III algorithm, which is non-compensatory and ensures reliability in the presence of a high degree of uncertainty, survey information is aggregated in a single figure, which can be easily interpreted by destination managers and policymakers. After COVID-19, in readying for the next pandemic, decision makers should find our index as a very relevant and useful tool for tourism recovery and innovation planning, including compliance with measures to prevent the spread of future infections. We apply the proposed index to ten Croatian and Italian lands involved in a European development project. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with residents, according to an availability sampling design. We obtained 879 valid questionnaires. The robustness of the resulting index is tested through an uncertainty and a sensitivity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan is urbanising at an extremely high pace and if this urbanisation is left unplanned, it can not only increase the vulnerability of its residents, but it can be the source of high GHG emissions, thereby increasing vulnerability to climate change. Moreover, not all city inhabitants are equally vulnerable to climate change and Pandemics like Covid-19. This study estimated the vulnerability ranking of urban union councils of Rawalpindi through a composite index without assigning weights, considering 20 physical, economic, social and institutional indicators as drivers of vulnerability, with an emphasis on climate change and the outbreak of chronic diseases. A survey is conducted from the urban residents of Rawalpindi, to measure the vulnerability towards climate change and the outbreak of Covid-19. The sample size was 440 households. The results showed that union councils of New Katarian-II, Dhaman and MC Stadium B Block were less vulnerable as compared to other areas of Rawalpindi with the lowest vulnerability ranking of MC Stadium B Block as 404 and the most vulnerable ranking of Dhok Ratta, UC-2 as 895. Densely populated areas of Dhok Ratta were more vulnerable to high chronic disease exposure and death rates. This study concluded that high population density and composition, low healthcare facilities in slums coupled with low income were the main reasons for chronic disease outbreaks in urban areas. Urban planning or master plans can be a solution for such densely populated areas and high-rise buildings with green infrastructure can reduce the impact of the heat island effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Science & Technology of Food Industry is the property of Science & Technology of Food Industry Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rice starch-fatty acid complexes were prepared by compounding rice starch with different chain lengths of lauric acid (C12), myristic acid (C14), and palmitic acid (C16). By measuring the composite index, gelatinization properties, rheological properties, and in vitro digestion properties of the complex, the influence of fatty acid chain length on the properties of rice starch-fatty acid complex was explored. The results showed that compared with rice starch, the solubility, swelling, viscosity value, attenuation value, retrogradation value, viscoelasticity, and digestion properties of rice starch-fatty acid complex were all reduced. Fatty acids with different chain lengths had a significant impact on the properties of the complex (P

This study assesses 24 European Union countries in terms of food security in 2021. In this paper, we develop a composite food security index considering various weights of indicators. The data were obtained from the FAOSTAT and Eurostat databases. The weights of 10 input indicators were estimated using a principal component analysis-based factor analysis model. The results showed that the harmonised index of consumer prices - food had the greatest impact on the food security index, while the impact of median equivalised net income and moderate or severe food insecurity had the lowest impact. Ireland achieved the highest ranking according to the Food Security Index. Bulgaria experienced the most unfavourable situation among EU countries. Slovakia ranked 22nd out of 24 countries due to its lowest protein supply, including animal-derived proteins. As part of the analysis, our research compared the food security index with the official Global Food Security Index. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of 0.84 indicated a robust correlation between the two indexes. Consequently, this newly developed Food Security Index is appropriate for assessing the food security status of European Union countries. Furthermore, it broadens the assessment of food security by including countries that are not in the commonly used Global Food Security Index (GFSI).

Composite index is always derived with the weighted aggregation of hierarchical components, which is widely utilized to distill intricate and multidimensional matters in economic and business statistics. However, the composite indices always present inevitable anomalies at different levels oriented from the calculation and expression processes of hierarchical components, thereby impairing the precise depiction of specific economic issues. In this paper, we propose VisCI, a visualization framework for anomaly detection and interactive optimization of composite index. First, LSTM-AE model is performed to detect anomalies from the lower level to the higher level of the composite index. Then, a comprehensive array of visual cues is designed to visualize anomalies, such as hierarchy and anomaly visualization. In addition, an interactive operation is provided to ensure accurate and efficient index optimization, mitigating the adverse impact of anomalies on index calculation and representation. Finally, we implement a visualization framework with interactive interfaces, facilitating both anomaly detection and intuitive composite index optimization. Case studies based on real-world datasets and expert interviews are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our VisCI in commodity index anomaly exploration and anomaly optimization.

The COVID-19 pandemic had profound effects on several industries. In this background paper, we attempted to justify how much this anomaly conducted to the increase of socio-economic inequality at the European level. The research takes into account 27 European countries simultaneously with 9 indicators that were the basis for the creation of the unequaled indicator. The composite index was calculated adopting the approach of the researcher A.A. Davidescu (Davidescu, 2017, pp. 227-240). Regarding the statistical methods and techniques used, we can mention: descriptive statistics, principal components analysis, cluster analysis, self-organizing maps and forecasts. The results determined a moderately increase in socio-economic disparities throughout Europe.

Background: To enhance a region's economy, it is essential to implement a development strategy focused on key sectors. This includes identifying and leveraging the potential of the plantation crop subsector to create competitive, high-value agricultural activities that can increase regional income. Purpose: This study aims to identify the key commodities and areas within each plantation crop subsector in Meranti Islands Regency, Riau Province. Design/methodology/approach: It utilizes five years of production data (2017-2021) from the Central Bureau of Statistics of Meranti Islands Regency. Analytical methods used to identify the superior products of plantation crops include the Sectoral Contribution Index (IKS), Growth Ratio Model (MRP), Location Quotient (LQ), Dynamic Location Quotient (DLQ), Composite Index (IK) and Hot Spot (Getis-Ord Gi*). Findings/Result: The results indicate that the leading plantation crop commodities in Meranti Islands Regency are sago, coconut, coffee, and areca nut. These commodities are identified as the most promising based on their contribution, growth rate, production capacity to meet regional needs, export potential, and future prospects. The flagship areas are Tebing Tinggi Timur District for sago, Rangsang District for coconut, Rangsang Pesisir District for coffee, and Rangsang Barat District for areca nut. Thus, the government must make a plan for the development of plantations with the potential of each region that can improve the economy of the region. Conclusion: The government must make a plan for the development of plantations with the potential of each region that can improve the economy of the region. Originality/value (State of the art): This study uses GIS for spatial analysis and mapping of land potential based on factors such as soil fertility, rainfall, and topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bays are extensively impacted by human activities, and an accurate assessment of ecological quality is crucial for the environmental management and protection of bays. Most studies indicate that evaluating the ecological quality of bays using a single index presents challenges. In our study, we used five benthic biotic indices and a composite index to assess the ecological quality of three bays in South Korea. Our results revealed disparities in the ecological quality status assessment using five benthic biotic indices. The composite index performed better than the other benthic biotic indices in a principal coordinate analysis. Significant differences were observed between the values classifying stations as having an acceptable or unacceptable final ecological quality in terms of species indices (except for the Pielou's evenness index) and the abundance of opportunist species (p < 0.05). Consequently, we advocate for using a composite index to assess the ecological quality of the bays of the West Sea of South Korea. Furthermore, our study provides valuable information for marine ecological management and policy formulation in Korea and offers recommendations for using the composite index in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses 24 European Union countries in terms of food security in 2021. In this paper, we develop a composite food security index considering various weights of indicators. The data were obtained from the FAOSTAT and Eurostat databases. The weights of 10 input indicators were estimated using a principal component analysis-based factor analysis model. The results showed that the harmonised index of consumer prices -- food had the greatest impact on the food security index, while the impact of median equivalised net income and moderate or severe food insecurity had the lowest impact. Ireland achieved the highest ranking according to the Food Security Index. Bulgaria experienced the most unfavourable situation among EU countries. Slovakia ranked 22nd out of 24 countries due to its lowest protein supply, including animal-derived proteins. As part of the analysis, our research compared the food security index with the official Global Food Security Index. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of 0.84 indicated a robust correlation between the two indexes. Consequently, this newly developed Food Security Index is appropriate for assessing the food security status of European Union countries. Furthermore, it broadens the assessment of food security by including countries that are not in the commonly used Global Food Security Index (GFSI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This was a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, observational study involving eight Spanish tertiary hospitals to determine the interobserver reliability of an uveitis disease activity index, (UVEDAI) and assess its sensitivity to change in patients with receiving pharmacologic treatment. Methods: Patients aged ≥ 18 years diagnosed with active noninfectious uveitis were included. A complete baseline assessment was performed by two ophthalmologists who determined ocular inflammatory activity using the UVEDAI index independently of each other. The principal ophthalmologist made a new visit at 4 weeks to determine the change in inflammatory activity. The interobserver reliability analysis was performed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), with the values of the variables and the UVEDAI obtained by both ophthalmologists in the more active eye at the baseline visit. Sensitivity to change in the UVEDAI index was assessed at 4 weeks from the start of pharmacologic treatment by determining the clinically relevant change, defined as a change in UVEDAI of ≥ 0.8 points over baseline. The mean change between both measures was compared using the repeated-measures t-test. Results: A total of 111 patients were included. In the interobserver reliability analysis, the ICC for the UVEDAI value was 0.9, and, when compared with the mean UVEDAI values obtained by the ophthalmologists, no statistically significant differences were found (p value > 0.05). As for the sensitivity to change in UVEDAI, statistically significant differences (p value = 0.00) were found for the mean values of the index compared with baseline. In all cases, the index value decreased by > 1 point at the 4-week visit. Conclusions: The interobserver reliability of the UVEDAI was high in the total sample. Furthermore, the index was sensitive in determining the change in inflammatory activity after treatment. We believe that UVEDAI is a disease activity index that enables objective comparison of results in clinical practice and trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the formation of composite index constructs, some constraints are encountered with respect to considerations such as the availability or accessibility of indicators, weights of such indicators, sub-indicators or variables to be used for reaching the indicators, data pertaining to such variables, and the determination of the most convenient method to be used for arranging the data set. In addition, it is required for the methods to be used to comply with the aim of the index to be formed. Researchers who want to develop a composite environmental index are required to consider all these considerations. This study aims to indicate and discuss the composite environmental index formation process through the examination of the EPI, which is a global composite index. One might argue that it contributes to the explanation of the composite index construction process, which has been examined, albeit limitedly, in the literature. Eventually, the methods that may be used in the index formation process by the researchers who want to form a composite index were discussed, and suggestions that may improve the methodological strength of the indices to be developed by them were presented. Our findings indicate the absence of an established theoretical methodology for composite sustainability indices. The creation of these indices has depended entirely on the expertise of the involved researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to propose a method for synthetically evaluating and analyzing the tourism performance in Morocco with regard to a benchmark and in line with the data to be processed. To achieve the above objective, the Adjusted Slack-Based Data Envelopment Analysis Method is used to elaborate a composite index for synthetically evaluating the tourism performance and to analyze this performance. The findings show that composite indexes from 2015 to 2019 in Morocco are mediocre or average compared to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) mean in terms of tourism performance. Furthermore, the analysis of the results reveals that the performance gap between Morocco and the mean of the OECD countries comes mainly from tourist receipts and the number of overnight stays. The originality of this work resides in the method elaborated for assessing and analyzing adequately the tourism performance, which is necessary for an appropriate tourism change. It also lies in using optimal weightings of the elementary indicators to elaborate an appropriate composite index, which is not widely employed in the area of assessing tourism performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This was a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, observational study involving eight Spanish tertiary hospitals to determine the interobserver reliability of an uveitis disease activity index, (UVEDAI) and assess its sensitivity to change in patients with receiving pharmacologic treatment. Methods: Patients aged ≥ 18 years diagnosed with active noninfectious uveitis were included. A complete baseline assessment was performed by two ophthalmologists who determined ocular inflammatory activity using the UVEDAI index independently of each other. The principal ophthalmologist made a new visit at 4 weeks to determine the change in inflammatory activity. The interobserver reliability analysis was performed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), with the values of the variables and the UVEDAI obtained by both ophthalmologists in the more active eye at the baseline visit. Sensitivity to change in the UVEDAI index was assessed at 4 weeks from the start of pharmacologic treatment by determining the clinically relevant change, defined as a change in UVEDAI of ≥ 0.8 points over baseline. The mean change between both measures was compared using the repeated-measures t-test. Results: A total of 111 patients were included. In the interobserver reliability analysis, the ICC for the UVEDAI value was 0.9, and, when compared with the mean UVEDAI values obtained by the ophthalmologists, no statistically significant differences were found (p value > 0.05). As for the sensitivity to change in UVEDAI, statistically significant differences (p value = 0.00) were found for the mean values of the index compared with baseline. In all cases, the index value decreased by > 1 point at the 4-week visit. Conclusions: The interobserver reliability of the UVEDAI was high in the total sample. Furthermore, the index was sensitive in determining the change in inflammatory activity after treatment. We believe that UVEDAI is a disease activity index that enables objective comparison of results in clinical practice and trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, the economics of corruption has been widely used from political perspective. Scholars identified many variables and determinants of corruption; yet, one could hardly find a comprehensive index of financial corruption that provides a more precise picture of its impacts on the political and economic system. Financial corruption is a hidden variable that cannot be properly observed and measured. Corruption studies face with the conceptual and measurement issues. Most researchers, applied either limited items or some aspects of corruption to represent the entire of concept. Some indicators such as Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Corruption Control Index (CCI), etc. are based on expert's and business executive's understanding of corruption, instead of actual objective measurement of the phenomenon. Additionally, none of these indicators especially CPI, are adequate for the empirical research of the impact's corruption on economic variables. To address these shortcomings, it is necessary to create a proper indicator designed to measure corruption. In this paper, we established a new comprehensive Financial Corruption Index (FCI) that has been framed based on "Deprivation Theory", which measures the shortfall of the nation in each of economic dimensions including government expenditures, investment, income and economic freedom. Applying these four dimensions, in conjunction with a composite index approach to corruption, makes it feasible to create a novel framework for understanding of financial corruption. The results show during 2007 and 2017, Iran saw its FCI rating increased from 0.475 to 0.535 from 2007 to 2017, which means an improvement in Iran's rank from 87 in 2007 to 82 in 2017 among 126 countries. The CPI scores for Iran confirms that our results in FCI are valid and accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

【Objective】The study aims to comprehensively evaluate the ecological adaptability of different cigar varieties and screen cigar varieties suitable for planting in Zhanjiang tobacco areas of Guangdong Province.【Method】Field experiments were carried out on 8 newly introduced cigar varieties to analyze and compare their differences in field growth periods, agronomic traits, natural disease rates, conventional chemical components and sensory quality evaluation. Finally, comprehensive index method was used to evaluate their comprehensive traits.【Result】All the eight cigar varieties had a long field growth period, with an average of 141.36 days. The field growth periods of different cigar varieties varied greatly, with a maximum difference of 22 days (133 days for 'Haiyan 108' and 'Haiyan 201', 155 days for 'Yunxue 8'). 'Yunxue 8' and 'Haiyan 200' performed best at agronomic traits, their plant height, maximum leaf width, internodal length and effective leaf number were better than the average of the tested varieties, indicating that these two varieties had strong field growth potential. The incidence of tobacco mosaic virus of 'Haiyan 200', 'Haiyan 101' and 'Yunxue 2' was low, ranging from 5.09% to 6.85%, and no weather fleck occurred, indicating that the disease resistance of the three varieties was strong. 'Haiyan 200' and 'Haiyan 101' had better coordination of conventional chemical components, and their comprehensive scores were higher than the average level, however, the potassium chloride ratio of the two varieties was lower than the suitable range of high-quality tobacco leaves (4-10). In sensory quality evaluation, 'Haiyan 101' scored the highest (46.07), which was characterized by slightly sufficient aroma, clean aftertaste, strong sweetness and good burning ability. The results of comprehensive index calculation showed that the scores of eight cigar varieties ranked as follows: 'Haiyan 200' > 'Haiyan 101' > 'Yunxue 8' > 'Yunxue 2' > 'Haiyan 108' > 'Haiyan 201' > 'Yunxue 3' > 'Havana'.【Conclusion】'Haiyan 200' and 'Haiyan 101' have good comprehensive properties and were suitable for planting in Zhanjiang tobacco areas. It is suggested to further improve the quality of tobacco leaves by optimizing the fertilization scheme as well as drying and fermentation technology.

Abstract Introduction This was a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, observational study involving eight Spanish tertiary hospitals to determine the interobserver reliability of an uveitis disease activity index, (UVEDAI) and assess its sensitivity to change in patients with receiving pharmacologic treatment. Methods Patients aged ≥ 18 years diagnosed with active noninfectious uveitis were included. A complete baseline assessment was performed by two ophthalmologists who determined ocular inflammatory activity using the UVEDAI index independently of each other. The principal ophthalmologist made a new visit at 4 weeks to determine the change in inflammatory activity. The interobserver reliability analysis was performed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), with the values of the variables and the UVEDAI obtained by both ophthalmologists in the more active eye at the baseline visit. Sensitivity to change in the UVEDAI index was assessed at 4 weeks from the start of pharmacologic treatment by determining the clinically relevant change, defined as a change in UVEDAI of ≥ 0.8 points over baseline. The mean change between both measures was compared using the repeated-measures t-test. Results A total of 111 patients were included. In the interobserver reliability analysis, the ICC for the UVEDAI value was 0.9, and, when compared with the mean UVEDAI values obtained by the ophthalmologists, no statistically significant differences were found (p value > 0.05). As for the sensitivity to change in UVEDAI, statistically significant differences (p value = 0.00) were found for the mean values of the index compared with baseline. In all cases, the index value decreased by > 1 point at the 4-week visit. Conclusions The interobserver reliability of the UVEDAI was high in the total sample. Furthermore, the index was sensitive in determining the change in inflammatory activity after treatment. We believe that UVEDAI is a disease activity index that enables objective comparison of results in clinical practice and trials.

Introduction. The article analyzes the psychological state of the modern Yakut society as a part of the Russian society using a composite index. The possibilities of composite indices developed within the framework of macropsychology have not been fully disclosed to date. Theoretical analysis. The paper proposes to consider the composite index of the psychological state of society from the point of view of a systematic approach. The basis for this is the understanding of individual subjects as a part of the Russian macro-community. The analysis is based on data from 93 subjects of the Russian Federation according to official statistical data. Empirical analysis. The results show that the dynamics of indicators of Russian society as a whole is more stable in comparison with the dynamics of indicators of Yakut society. The primary indexes of modern Yakut society have their own unique explanation, which does not coincide with generally accepted interpretations. Conclusion. When interpreting the value of the composite index, it is necessary to take into account both the actual external factors affecting it and its conditionality with traditional culture and living conditions. It is revealed that the composite index of the macro-community as an index of a higher level has a great generalizing potential.

【Objective】The study aims to comprehensively evaluate the ecological adaptability of different cigar varieties and screen cigar varieties suitable for planting in Zhanjiang tobacco areas of Guangdong Province.【Method】Field experiments were carried out on 8 newly introduced cigar varieties to analyze and compare their differences in field growth periods, agronomic traits, natural disease rates, conventional chemical components and sensory quality evaluation. Finally, comprehensive index method was used to evaluate their comprehensive traits. 【Result】 All the eight cigar varieties had a long field growth period, with an average of 141.36 days. The field growth periods of different cigar varieties varied greatly, with a maximum difference of 22 days (133 days for ‘Haiyan 108’ and ‘Haiyan 201’, 155 days for ‘Yunxue 8’). ‘Yunxue 8’ and ‘Haiyan 200’ performed best at agronomic traits, their plant height, maximum leaf width, internodal length and effective leaf number were better than the average of the tested varieties, indicating that these two varieties had strong field growth potential. The incidence of tobacco mosaic virus of ‘Haiyan 200’, ‘Haiyan 101’ and ‘Yunxue 2’ was low, ranging from 5.09% to 6.85%, and no weather fleck occurred, indicating that the disease resistance of the three varieties was strong. ‘Haiyan 200’ and ‘Haiyan 101’ had better coordination of conventional chemical components, and their comprehensive scores were higher than the average level, however, the potassium chloride ratio of the two varieties was lower than the suitable range of high-quality tobacco leaves (4-10). In sensory quality evaluation, ‘Haiyan 101’ scored the highest (46.07), which was characterized by slightly sufficient aroma, clean aftertaste, strong sweetness and good burning ability. The results of comprehensive index calculation showed that the scores of eight cigar varieties ranked as follows: ‘Haiyan 200’ ＞ ‘Haiyan 101’ > ‘Yunxue 8’ > ‘Yunxue 2’ > ‘Haiyan 108’ > ‘Haiyan 201’ > ‘Yunxue 3’ > ‘Havana’.【Conclusion】‘Haiyan 200’ and ‘Haiyan 101’ have good comprehensive properties and were suitable for planting in Zhanjiang tobacco areas. It is suggested to further improve the quality of tobacco leaves by optimizing the fertilization scheme as well as drying and fermentation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Ciencias Sociales (13159518) is the property of Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Zulia Venezuela and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study proposes an optimisation-based "benefit-of-the-doubt" (BoD) methodological framework for developing a new multidimensional index of bank stability. The proposed index has the ability to serve as a potent policy tool that overcomes the downsides of accounting- and market-based measures of bank stability. This data-driven approach generates endogenous weights for aggregating bank stability indicators and dimensions. Further, we integrate the BoD framework with a metafrontier approach, which we call a "meta-BoD framework". The final outcomes of the suggested framework go beyond a scalar measure of bank stability and provide the unique weighting matrix that offers valuable policy-relevant insights about the most precarious areas of stability that require the attention of management and regulators for both micro- and macro-level policy interventions. In addition, it draws insightful information about the instability gaps across heterogenous bank groups. The study presents an illustrative example of the proposed framework to obtain a bank stability index using the dataset of 76 Indian banks operating between 2014 and 2018. The bank stability index is made up of 14 financial ratio indicators covering five dimensions of stability: asset quality, management efficiency, capital adequacy, profitability and liquidity. The findings offer the detailed information required for comprehending the evolution of bank stability and assessing instability gaps across bank groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of the literature show that there are great uncertainties regarding costs and gains for peatland restoration strategies and that the monetary estimation of peatland restoration and possible alternatives can be complicated. The research aims to compare the economic costs and benefits of existing peatland restoration strategies and alternative use of peat and peatlands. A core method for the evaluation of the economic aspects of each strategy used is the composite index method. Information for constructing the composite index is based on data from the scientific literature, reports, and local project studies. In the study, peatland strategies, peat extraction, and alternative use in products were mutually compared with existing strategies. The highest composite index among strategies was for the production of insulation boards and cultivation of paludicultures using cattail or sphagnum farming. Cultivation of paludicultures can be an economically viable strategy if costs and gains are evaluated. Cultivation of cattail or sphagnum can make economic gains for landowners and farmers, and solutions for the reduction in necessary initial investments should be sought. Harvested biomass can be used for high-added-value products, in this case, insulation boards from cattail (Typha). Therefore, peat biomass can be used as an economically valuable resource, and raw material for insulation board production is obtained without the extraction of peat. Also, ecosystem services and potential income are not reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific efforts are aimed at evaluating and improving quality rather than increasing quantity. Economic growth can be characterized as high quality, when it is inclusive, environmentally friendly, sustainable and effective, ensures technological progress, improves the well-being of society and boosts the competitiveness of country. We propose to distinguish two main dimensions in measuring the quality of economic output, which refer to its generation and effects. Based on this principle, an index of quality of economic output has been calculated for 78 countries spanning from 2005 to 2022. It turns out that underperforming countries struggle to effectively translate the formed economic output quality into high-quality manifestations. On the other hand, they had better prioritize expansion of the production frontier rather than optimize production process itself. In addition, an online platform has been developed for monitoring quality of economic output, performing simulations and processing policies aimed at enhancing the qualitative aspects of economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to assess timely the main indicators of the country's socio-economic development determines the improvement in methods for short-term analysis and forecasting of low-frequency parameters reflecting economic and, among other things, investment development. The article proposes an approach to devising a structural dynamic model for the operational assessment of fixed capital investment. It is based on calculating the integral monthly supply index of investment products, including the composite supply index of investment machinery and equipment and the composite supply index of building products. This indicator definitively reflects the current dynamics of investment activity in the economy and it can be recommended as a proxy index of fixed capital investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities play a pivotal role in achieving worldwide carbon neutrality due to their significant contribution to global energy consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, planning effective strategies and guiding evidence-based policymaking at the city scale becomes even more crucial. Composite indices serve as a valuable tool for monitoring urban energy transition trends. This paper aims to present a novel approach, robust and flexible even under conditions of data scarcity, for tracking the energy transition trend of a city by means of a composite index (UETI). The Turin case study is introduced to test the applicability of the proposed approach. Additionally, to demonstrate the robustness of the composite index framework, the paper includes the findings of correlation and sensitivity analyses. This study reveals a significant improvement in Turin's environmental and energy domains, while the socio-economic domain shows more modest improvement. Furthermore, the study highlights the need to address the shortage of urban data to enhance the accuracy and reliability of metric-based frameworks and to extend the assessment to a larger sample of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized structured component analysis (GSCA) is a multivariate method for specifying and examining interrelationships between observed variables and components. Despite its data-analytic flexibility honed over the decade, GSCA always defines every component as a linear function of observed variables, which can be less optimal when observed variables for a component are nonlinearly related, often reducing the component's predictive power. To address this issue, we combine deep learning and GSCA into a single framework to allow a component to be a nonlinear function of observed variables without specifying the exact functional form in advance. This new method, termed deep learning generalized structured component analysis (DL-GSCA), aims to maximize the predictive power of components while their directed or undirected network remains interpretable. Our real and simulated data analyses show that DL-GSCA produces components with greater predictive power than those from GSCA in the presence of nonlinear associations between observed variables per component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To validate the predictive value of the DAS28 γ-glutamyl transferase (DAS28-γGT) for the occurrence of major cardiovascular (CV) events (MACE) in the 'Etude et Suivi des Polyarthrites Indifférenciées Récentes' ESPOIR cohort. Methods Analysis of 13-year outcome from the ESPOIR cohort. RA patients with missing data for baseline γGT activity and those not followed-up to 1 year were excluded. Baseline DAS28-γGT was calculated using the following formula: 0.56*√TJ-28 + 0.28 * √SJ-28 + 2*ln(γGT) + 0.014 * GH. Our primary outcome was the merit of the DAS28-γGT in predicting the occurrence of MACE. Results Among the 696 patients [536 women, mean (s. d.) age of 49 (12) years], 34 MACE were recorded, with a mean time to event of 71 (44) months. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that a DAS28-γGT >9.4 had the best sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of MACE during the observation period. DAS28-γGT >9.4 was predictive of the occurrence of MACE, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.11 (95% CI 1.41, 5.43). Multivariate Cox analyses confirmed higher DAS28-γGT (HR 2.44, 95% CI 1.05, 5.64) together with age (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01, 1.07) and diabetes mellitus (HR 4.12, 95% CI 1.55, 10.95) as independent predictors of MACE. There was a dose effect of the DAS28-γGT for MACE-risk prediction, which was in line with the application of the Framingham risk score. Conclusion The DAS28-γGT was identified in this large prospective cohort as an independent predictor of MACE in patients with RA. The DAS28-γGT is a simple and useful tool to evaluate CV risk in routine and warn the clinician about the CV risk burden in patients with RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a methodology for identifying urban neighborhoods with severe housing deprivation (SHD) in Iran. The study, in addition to the housing physical determinants and overcrowding, considers household's socioeconomic characteristics as an integral dimension of SHD. It proposes a methodology that adopts census-based data and data-pooling strategy to map the spatial distribution and clustering of housing deprivation (HD) within five selected cities in Iran. First, a hybrid Factor Analysis and Analytic Network Process (F'ANP) model is used to construct a composite housing deprivation index (HDI) composed of eight HD indicators. The composite HDI is then validated using the leave-one-out cross validation method in discriminant analysis, correlation and regression analyses. Second, the composite HDI scores are classified into five categories using standard deviations. Then, spatial data analyses are performed to investigate the presence of spatial autocorrelation. The results confirm that HD in the selected cities is spatially autocorrelated and have a statistically significant pattern of spatial clustering that includes five distinct categories. The neighborhoods that belong to the HD hot spots are considered as the neighborhoods with SHD. The identification and spatial distribution of the neighborhoods characterized by different levels of HD, not only provide a deep knowledge about the existing housing situation, but also can effectively support the revision of the housing planning strategies and actions both the national and local levels. The developed methodology could be replicated for the identification of areas with SHD in the cities of Iran and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The current era has been termed the "Anthropocene," because of the irreversible impact of human activities. Land use change and urban growth are examples of these disturbances leading to the reduction in many ecosystem services (ESs). The subject of this study, Gorgan, has undergone significant changes that significantly affected the area. Studying these changes and understanding their effects on the ecosystem is essential. An integrated method was used to investigate the process of changing the urban ESs over 35 years, considering the physical and ecological characteristics of the area. This marks the first time such a study has been conducted using the hexagonal unit. Then, the composite total ecosystem services (TESs) index was calculated from the modeled and quantified combination of six ESs, including water yield, flood volume, net primary production, soil retention, carbon sequestration, and air pollution removal. Thereafter, the ESs were mapped and evaluated across time and space. The TES is proposed as an appropriate measure for quantifying ES supply and can indicate the overall function of ESs. According to the findings, the TES value declined from 0.427 in 1985 to 0.247 in 2005 and declined to 0.192 in 2020. Moreover, the Hyrcanian forests were the main source of the highest TES in Gorgan city, whereas urban areas had the lowest levels. The shortage of ESs in the study area has resulted in various crises. These include reduced air quality, heightened flood risk, soil erosion, and ecological imbalances in urban regions. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:465–480. © 2023 Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). Key Points: We calculated the composite index of total ecosystem services (TESs) index.We introduce the most important ecosystem services (ESs) in forest cities.This study quantified the gradient of spatial–temporal changes to ESs using the hexagonal unit for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized structured component analysis (GSCA) is a multivariate method for examining theory-driven relationships between variables including components. GSCA can provide the deterministic component score for each individual once model parameters are estimated. As the traditional GSCA always standardizes all indicators and components, however, it could not utilize information on the indicators' scale in parameter estimation. Consequently, its component scores could just show the relative standing of each individual for a component, rather than the individual's absolute standing in terms of the original indicators' measurement scales. In the paper, we propose a new version of GSCA, named convex GSCA, which can produce a new type of unstandardized components, termed convex components, which can be intuitively interpreted in terms of the original indicators' scales. We investigate the empirical performance of the proposed method through the analyses of simulated and real data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lock navigation scheduling problem involves multiple stakeholder groups. The game relationship between stakeholders directly affects the sustainable development of regional society and economy. Considering the objectivity and accuracy of social network analysis (SNA) for relationship identification, indicator screening, and system construction, it completes the stakeholder extraction and evaluation index system construction. Considering that the conditional probability of nodes in Bayesian networks (BN) can flexibly and intuitively characterize the direction and strength of the factors' roles in a complex scenario, this study proposes an index model for the evaluation of the performance of lock navigation scheduling rules. Firstly, build the BN topology under the efficiency, safety, and fairness criteria. Subsequently, an improved composite index method is combined with the BN to determine the evaluation index from the stakeholder perspective. This study takes the Three Gorges locks maintenance scenario as an example. The index evaluation model can accurately identify the direction, trend, and magnitude of the performance of the scheduling rules on the efficiency, safety, and fairness criteria under navigational constraints, realizing the dynamic and quantitative evaluation of the performance of lock navigation scheduling rules during the observation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Dimensional variable weighting is required to calculate the composite index of policing activities in mining and quarrying activities. The purpose of weighting is to determine the Ranking and priority of each indicator and dimension, considering that each indicator does not necessarily have the same value in the actual situation. The weighting method used in this study uses a subjective method using expert opinion. Method: The Ranking carried out by experts is then calculated using rank order centroids. The results of this weighting show that expert opinion can be used to aggregate weights with specific values that can be used as weights for each dimension. Conclusion: The results of this study show that weighting by Ranking by experts through subjective methods can be used to compile rankings or weights of variables for index preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sanitation indicates a healthy, dignified, and developed lifestyle, which is also considered a fundamental human need. Sanitation problems are more profound in developing and underdeveloped countries. In the developing country India, the situation of WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) condition is poor in West Bengal ranked, 27th among the 36 States and Union Territories (UTs). The present study is concerned with the district-wise analysis of WASH conditions and their inequalities in West Bengal, based on the secondary data obtained from the NFHS-5. The composite index method has been used for exploring the WASH condition, and Atkinson’s index, Lorenz Curve, and Gini coefficient have been applied to understanding the district-wise heterogeneity of WASH conditions. Moreover, binary logistic regression has been applied to reveal the relationship between WASH conditions with various socioeconomic and demographic factors. The study recognized Kolkata records the best and Puruliya the worst WASH conditions among all the districts of West Bengal. Though most of the variables are unequal, the drainage facility reflects the highest heterogeneity across the state. Apart from this, the study found significant information regarding the association between WASH and socioeconomic factors. The households with a good wealth index accessed more improved sanitation, drainage, and handwashing facilities. Moreover, higher education exhibits more accessibility to improved toilets, drainage facilities, and handwashing facilities. Thus, the awareness of the people is necessary for receiving government grants properly and to improve their lifestyle. However, this study recommends the implementation of government initiatives at the local or micro level and the positive and honest participation of the local government bodies is also imperative for improving the WASH conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research paper aims to build a composite index of the financial performance of companies, to find if the impact of the COVID-19 crisis was significantly positive for most manufacturing companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange, and to look if the manufacturing companies were resilient being prepared with savings that could have mitigate the effects of this pandemic crisis. The results of the FE model selected show that 31.67% of the company’s equity variation is justified by the two independent variables, the stronger correlation of equity being with reserves. Based on the composite index of financial performance built, the manufacturing companies were grouped in three clusters: a cluster with low financial performance companies (z < 4), a cluster with good financial performance companies (4 ≤ z ≤ 8) and a cluster with high financial performance companies (z > 8). The third cluster groups the most analysed companies, on which the pandemic crisis had a positive impact, which achieved the highest financial performance; they are those companies that “take advantage” from the COVID-19 crisis, adapting their business strategy to the market conditions imposed. The article adds value to the specialty literature by building the financial performance’s composite indicator, clustering the manufacturing companies by financial performance’ Z-score.

Scientific efforts are aimed at evaluating and improving quality rather than increasing quantity. Economic growth can be characterized as high quality, when it is inclusive, environmentally friendly, sustainable and effective, ensures technological progress, improves the well-being of society and boosts the competitiveness of country. We propose to distinguish two main dimensions in measuring the quality of economic output, which refer to its generation and effects. Based on this principle, an index of quality of economic output has been calculated for 78 countries spanning from 2005 to 2022. It turns out that underperforming countries struggle to effectively translate the formed economic output quality into high-quality manifestations. On the other hand, they had better prioritize expansion of the production frontier rather than optimize production process itself. In addition, an online platform has been developed for monitoring quality of economic output, performing simulations and processing policies aimed at enhancing the qualitative aspects of economies.

In order to meet regional and national climate neutrality goals, decentralisation has placed the energy sector under local government governance, pushing municipalities to take a more active role in energy planning and sector decarbonisation. This study attempted to assess the extent to which municipal efforts have been successful in the adaptation of low-carbon energy systems, and what is the current state of municipal initiatives concerning regional energy transitions. A composite index was constructed, incorporating nine indicators grouped into three main dimensions of sustainable municipal energy transition: energy efficiency, energy decarbonization, and smart energy system deployment. Five municipalities of the Baltic Sea Region were analyzed, and their energy transitions were assessed: the Gulbene municipality (Latvia), Tukums municipality (Latvia), Taurage municipality (Lithuania), Tomelilla municipality (Sweden), and Wejherowo municipality (Poland). Using a benchmarking approach, the main challenges and opportunities of energy transition in the selected municipalities were identified, which could be used as signals in developing concrete municipal sustainability action plans.

Composite Index (CI) combines measures of indicators on economic, social, environmental variables, government initiatives, wellbeing of health, psychological, satisfaction of basic needs, social/cultural, etc. However, existing measures of CIs suffer from limitations. The paper proposes CI measure as geometric mean (GM), which avoids scaling and choosing of weights. It helps in better comparison of countries across time and space and satisfies desired properties like monotonically increasing continuous function, constant elasticity, identification of key areas, reduction of level of substitutability, formation of chain indices to show growth of CI of a country, and is less affected by outliers. The index with wide applicability can be used for ranking, classification of countries and facilitates computation of mean and variance of a sample of countries. In addition, the index satisfies time-reversal test, helps to identify the critical areas and find contribution of the component indicators, estimation of population parameters and testing statistical hypothesis. Separate indices for domains can be constructed by considering indicators relevant to a domain. Thus, it is an improvement over the existing methods. Future studies suggested.

The paper introduces a novel approach to university rankings that considers a university's contribution to sustainable development. It addresses the usual controversies surrounding the construction of rankings using composite indicators. The conventional approach typically involves normalizing sub-indicators and applying subjective weights for aggregation, which raises concerns about the reliability of the rankings. In response to this issue, we propose an alternative method based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that utilizes flexible weights. Our approach is applied to the data from the UI-GreenMetric World University Ranking. We initially employ a general Benefit of the Doubt DEA model and subsequently enhance its discrimination power by computing super-efficiency. In the third model, we impose weight restrictions on sub-indicators. The results of our analysis offer valuable insights for all stakeholders, as illustrated by the implications derived for Czech universities included in the sample. Furthermore, we compare the results of universities in various European countries, establishing a connection between rankings and the fulfillment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) within individual countries. This research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between university performance, sustainability, and the associated implications for policy and benchmarking.

ABSTRACTThis paper assesses the relationship between economic resilience in English regions and the allocation of the UK government’s Community Renewal Fund (CRF). The CRF is part of the government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda to address place-based inequalities. Economic resilience is measured using a composite index comprising productivity, skills, unemployment, population density and household income. Data were obtained for the five indicators at local authority (LA) level in England. Regional resilience scores were produced by calculating the weighted mean score of the constituent LAs. Regional resilience values were used to generate an ‘expected share’ funding allocation, which was compared with the actual allocation using differences and correlation. Regional resilience scores ranged from 28.5 (North East) to 66.6 (London). A total of £125.56 million was allocated in the first round of the CRF. All regions in the North received less than their expected share allocation of the CRF, with the least resilient region in England (North East) receiving £13.4 million less. The South West received £9.9 million more than their expected share. All regions in the North of England received less than their expected share allocation of the CRF. There was no significant correlation between resilience values and CRF allocations (r = −0.16, p = 0.68). The current method for CRF allocation may therefore widen existing inequalities rather than ‘level up’.

ABSTRACTChina has recorded impressive economic achievements driving the structural transformation of its society. However, this transformation is marked by rising inequality, environmental pollution and stark provincial disparities. In 2015, the launching of the Agenda 2030 provided a common ground at the international level conceptualizing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper analyses the provincial performances towards the Agenda 2030 in the period 2015–19 by introducing the integrated sustainable development index cluster; convergence and econometric analyses are then used to explore synergies and trade-offs among SDGs. The empirical results capture the dynamics of sustainable development of China’s provinces and provide a clearer understanding of how policies may influence different the SDGs’ achievements, exploring the relationship between environmental versus different aspects of development. These results are used to draw policy recommendations that highlight the importance of identifying the appropriate mix of strategies to promote integrated sustainable development.