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Container liner shipping companies started expanding their business by investing in container port terminals in the late 1990s. This market entry results in an extensive presence of vertically integrated liners and terminals. This study aims to explore the competition effects of this vertical integration trend based on a regional (European) analysis. In particular, it extracts lessons from the European Commission (EC) cases on the competition effects of vertical integration. The critical analysis of the cases examined at the institutional level intends to reach conclusions on whether liner–terminal vertical integration harmed or advanced competition in the relevant markets and/or the extent that there is a need to revise the current policy practices.

This study critically assesses the EC’s decisional practices in port container terminal vertical mergers in the last 25 years (1997–2021). Based on a literature review comparing maritime and competition economists' perspectives, it reviews the types of mergers examined, the methodology followed for relevant market definition and calculation of market shares and the estimated competition effects. The Hamburg–Le Havre area is the port range used as a case study for comparing the decisional practice with actual market developments. These container ports serve the greatest consuming market of final and intermediate goods in Europe and are gateways to Central and Eastern Europe.

The assessment identifies a need for expanding the investigation as a precondition for reaching conclusions on both the anti- and pro-competitive effects. First, only a limited number of transactions have been notified to the EC. Second, the empirical research identified a gap in this process, as there were no decisions (phase I) on vertical mergers between 2008 and 2016. Third, the exante assessment has not applied a phase II in-depth analysis to any case due to the absence of competition concerns. Finally, due to the absence of complaints, there is a lack of any ex post assessment of the effects of vertical integration.

This assessment is important for understanding the current and emerging features of intra-port and inter-port competition and the potential effects that the continuation and expansion of liner companies' vertical integration strategies will have along maritime supply chains. It also contributes to the broader discussion on liner companies' strategies, such as the research and policy-making efforts around the globe to understand the impact of both vertical and horizontal integration.

These discussions are critical for a diversity of businesses that use liner shipping services or provide facilities and services to container shipping lines or ports. They are important for the interests of customers and consumers as they could inform any needed re-visiting of competition policy to protect from the dominance of any market developments that would lead to conditions limiting competition. Expanding analysis on the competition effects of non-notified mergers would help a better understanding of market changes.

Enhancing competition and limiting monopolies is valuable from a consumer's perspective. This is more so in the case of maritime trade that serves the needs of societies. The study contributes by generating a better understanding of how decision-makers have worked towards that direction and what realignments are worthy.

There are no previous comprehensive reviews and analyses of the ways that policy-makers at the regional level have addressed the competition effects of vertical integration strategies of liner shipping companies when enhancing competition is valuable from a consumer perspective. Comparing maritime economists and competition, the study, via its literature review, also offers a comparison of maritime and competition perspectives on these competition effects, allowing positioning of how effective decisional-making practices have been.

Because of social interaction difficulties, cognitive characteristics and sensory sensitivity, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may struggle with independence and active participation in urban contexts. Through understanding how people with ASDs experience and perceive urban spaces, the Personalized Interactive Urban Maps for Autism (PIUMA) project’s purpose is to create a useful platform to support persons with ASD in their movements in the city, helping them in managing their daily lives, promoting their autonomy and active participation in urban contexts, taking in to account their direct point of view. This paper aim to present a user-centered approach involving autistic people.

The authors involved researchers with different backgrounds applying mixed research techniques such as semi-structured qualitative interviews, participatory design, exploiting user-adapted systems techniques, human–computer interaction techniques and interviews. The authors involved people with autism (PWA) from the beginning of the project to gain user requirements, as well as to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of our solution in the final stage. In specific phases of the project, the authors involved a group of parents of PWA and a group of neurotypical individuals as a control group.

The authors collected various data and created an App taking into account PWA needs, suggestions and points of view.

Choosing different methodologies to allow participants to express their point of view, their needs and suggestions, the authors limited the quantitative data collected. The male-to-female ratio in the study, along with the sample size and participants’ age, can also be considered limitations.

The authors collected information about how autistic people move in urban contexts, represent the space of their cities, move independently and use technological devices. The data the author collected also provides suggestions about how to improve computer systems designed for them.

The results suggest how to improve computer systems designed for autistic people and how to encourage their full participation in community life according to their cognitive and sensory characteristics.

The PIUMA project takes into account the direct input of PWA in all the different stages from conception and design to deployment of the device in a human-centered design approach.