1,720,983 research outputs found
An assessment of agritourism in Salento (Apulia) in the era of the internet
No full textApulia is the region with the highest overall growth rate of agritourism units in Italy in the period 2008-2012. This
article aims at analysing and assessing the prospective demand, dynamics, evolution and number of these specific rural facilities in Salento – a sub-region of Apulia formed by the provinces of Lecce, Brindisi and Taranto – in the so-called “era of the internet”. By using quantitative and qualitative techniques it has been able to determine that Lecce is the leading province in Salento and in Apulia in terms of number and diffusion of agritourism facilities. Furthermore, the findings
of this study suggest that the possibilities offered by the internet and the new media are not sufficiently used by agritourism operators in Salento and in other areas – like in Tuscany and Trentino-Alto Adige, where agritourism activities boast a long tradition – to promote their services and products they offer
The Geography of Nanotechnology in Italy
No full textThe geography of nanotechnology in Italy assesses Italy’s role in the international ‘nanotechnology
race’ and analyse the Italian regions’ economic development based on their engagement in nanotechnology activities. Thanks to spatial analysis and a relational approach to economic geography studies, this book sheds light on the nanotechnology activities carried out in Italy, through secondary data (e.g. official statistics and databases) and in-depth reviews of previously published case studies. Special attention is devoted to the impact of nanotechnology in the various Italian regions in light of
the long-lasting disparities that characterise the socio-economic development of the
country
Nanotechnology as a proxy to capture regional economic development? New findings from the European Union Framework Programmes
No full textThe European Union has included nanotechnology in the Key Enabling Technologies helping countries to tackle current and future societal challenges thanks to their applications in multiple industries. Furthermore, one theme named “Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and New Production Technologies” was included in the Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes with the purpose of financing organizations specifically involved in nanotechnology activities. The empirical analysis presented in this paper aims to reconstruct the participation of the Italian private, public and public-private organizations at the regional level in the European Union nanotechnology network. The hypothesis is that a high share of private organizations and a well-balanced proportion of private and public entities are beneficial for knowledge circulation potentially leading to innovation. This paper confirms the findings of other recent studies by revealing that the participation of private, public and public-private organizations at the European Union level overlaps the distribution of the nanotechnology activities in Italy and the regional disparities in the country. More in general, this paper strengthens the concept that the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology and the collaborations fostered by the Framework Programmes enable researchers to capture regional economic development from a global viewpoint
Long-distance connections, long-term ties, and novel knowledge networks in technology districts
No full textClusters typically benefit from long-term ties based on mutual trust, even though novel knowledge, provided via networks by new links, is also advantageous. Moreover, long-distance connections are crucial in knowledge exchange dynamics involving organizations located in peripheral or marginally innovative areas. Five different knowledge exchange channels and a dynamic approach were adopted in the research reported in this study to analyze knowledge sources (i.e. national or international) and explore relational and geographical dynamics characterizing a southern Italian aerospace
district. The findings of the paper demonstrate a clear association between some
channels (i.e. contracts without research content and informal contacts) and knowledge sources at the international level. Moreover, statistical analysis shows the pertinence of absorptive capacity to firms’ abilities to establish extra-cluster connections. Finally, this study reveals various dynamics related to the length and strength of ties established by the organizations that comprise the district analyzed
Italian organisations within the European nanotechnology network: presence, dynamics and effects
Full text linkNanotechnology is an emerging interdisciplinary field that, according to the European Commission, represents one of the world’s new technological frontiers. Nanoscience and nanotechnology play a key role in European Union research policies; they have been included among the “seven priority thematic areas” of the Sixth Framework Programme and the “nine themes” of the Cooperation Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme. The purpose of this study is to assess the role of Italian organisations in the existing European nanotechnology innovation network and to illuminate several aspects of relational and geographical dynamics as well as the scientific and economic effects of these partnerships in Italy. Using an official document issued by the European Commission entitled “Mapping Portal for Nanotechnology Research” and adopting social network analysis techniques, statistics and qualitative interviews, it is determined that Italy plays a central role in the European nanotechnology network, that Italian organisations have tended to replicate satisfactory prior collaborations, that other factors have been more significant than geographical proximity in creating research groups and developing projects, and, finally, that scientific effects have been substantially more significant than economic effects at the national level
The Persistence of Regional Disparities in Italy Through the Lens of the EU Nanotechnology Network
No full textThe knowledge-based economy has created new opportunities for marginal regions, even though some areas in advanced economies still show unbalanced development patterns. This article uses the Italian partnerships created within the nanotechnology projects funded under the European Union’s Sixth (FP6) and Seventh (FP7) Framework
Programmes to assess the spatial relationships and verify the impact of innovation dynamics on regional re-industrialization processes in the country. It shows the presence of centralized networks that have reinforced the polarization in innovation activities in the traditionally most advanced areas of the country and reveals how new high-technology industries – such as nanotechnology – are hardly a means for marginal regions to break away from their development paths
Lack of African competitiveness: Who to blame?
No full textFirms located in developing countries generally encounter difficulties in meeting the challenging standards of the oil and gas supply chain. Starting from this consideration, the present study aims to reveal whom the Tanzanian firms blame for their lack of competitiveness (government, foreign companies, local firms). Quite surprisingly, this study reveals that more motivated and well-connected firms blame the government and – to a lesser extent – foreign companies, whereas less motivated firms tend to blame themselves. These results contradict the premises of theories about motivation and, therefore, lead to interesting implications for each of the actors involved in local content dynamics
University of Salento's transactional relations: Assessing the knowledge transfer of a public university in Italy
No full textSalento is an interprovincial area in Apulia (South Italy) formed by the three provinces of Lecce, Brindisi and Taranto.
Salento is an economically heterogeneous area that is characterised by large businesses and hi-tech companies as well
as a myriad of medium, small and very small traditional manufacturing firms. In this socio-economic framework, the role of
the only public university in the area is critical to local development: in the post-industrial era, knowledge transfer is crucial
for the diffusion of innovation and competitiveness of regional systems. This work uses a new empirical approach to track
the relations between the University and the marketplace to precisely describe the extent to which research performed at the
university meets the needs of near and far commissioners. Our analysis demonstrates that the majority of the knowledge
produced by a public University remains within the region/local area and that the distribution of clients follows different
patterns depending on whether they are public or private entities. Furthermore, through our analysis it has been possible to
assess both the intensity (quantity of research) and frequency (number of relations) of transferred knowledge.Salento ist ein Teilgebiet der Region Apulien (Süditalien), bestehend aus den drei Provinzen Lecce,
Brindisi und Taranto. Aus ökonomischer Sicht ist das Salento ein sehr heterogenes Gebiet, das sowohl über Großindustrien
und High-Tech Firmen, als auch über eine Vielzahl von mittleren, kleinen und sehr kleinen, traditionellen Handwerksbetrieben
verfügt. In diesem sozio-ökonomischen Umfeld ist die Rolle der einzigen öffentlichen Universität entscheidend für die
örtliche Entwicklung im postindustriellen Zeitalter. Der Wissenstransfer ist von hoher Bedeutung für die Verbreitung von
Innovationen und für die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des regionalen Systems. Die vorliegende Arbeit nutzt einen neuen empirischen
Ansatz, um die Beziehungen zwischen der Universität und dem Marktgeschehen einzuschätzen, mit der Absicht, so
präzise wie möglich den Grad abschätzen zu können, mit dem die universitäre Forschung die Bedürfnisse der nahen und fernen
Auftraggeber trifft. Unsere Analyse zeigt, dass der Großteil des an einer öffentlichen Universität produzierten Wissens
innerhalb der Region bleibt, und dass die Verteilung der Klienten verschiedenen Mustern folgt, je nachdem ob es sich bei
diesen um öffentliche oder private Einrichtungen handelt. Zudem ist es durch unsere Analysen noch möglich, sowohl die Intensität
(die Menge an Forschung), als auch die Häufigkeit (die Anzahl der Beziehungen) des Wissenstransfers festzustellen
Attentional shift within and between faces: Evidence from children with and without a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
Full text linkEvidence of attentional atypicalities for faces in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are far from being confirmed. Using eye-tracking technology we compared space-based and object-based attention in children with, and without, a diagnosis of ASD. By capitalizing on Egly’s paradigm, we presented two objects (2 faces and their phase-scrambled equivalent) and cued a location in one of the two objects. Then, a target appeared at the same location as the cue (Valid condition), or at a different location within the same object (Same Object condition), or at a different location in another object (Different Object condition). The attentional benefit/cost in terms of time for target detection in each of the three conditions was computed. The findings revealed that target detection was always faster in the valid condition than in the invalid condition, regardless of the type of stimulus and the group of children. Thus, no difference emerged between the two groups in terms of space-based attention. Conversely the two groups differed in object-based attention. Children without a diagnosis of ASD showed attentional shift cost with phase-scrambled stimuli, but not with faces. Instead, children with a diagnosis of ASD deployed similar attentional strategies to focus on faces and their phase-scrambled version
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