On clusters of entrepreneurs - an austrian approach to innovative milieu

For the last 10 years, connections between economic geography, theory of innovation and the new theory of growth have produced substantial progress in the analysis of regional agglomeration. In this context, the theory on "innovative milieus" developed by the GREMI group has adressed a wide range of theoretical issues dealing with the dynamics of local production systems. The economic of innovative milieu has enables the study of links between technological innovation and geographical proximity proving that coordination problem of local economic agents is a central theoretical question in the major perspective of an economic analysis of territory as space of coordination. Innovative milieus are discovery procedures and refer to collective actions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of innovative milieu from an entrepreneurial process. We consider that entrepreneurs are a critical element in the emergence and validity of innovative milieus. Four main concepts from Austrian Economics - Entrepreneurship, dicovery process, coordination and imagination - guide our reflection on innovative milieu. Keywords : Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneur, Discovery Process, Austrian Economics, Innovative Milieu, Coordination.

Ecology and management of the Senegalese grasshopper Oedaleus senegalensis (Krauss 1877) (Orthoptera : Acrididae) in West Africa : Review and prospects

Depuis les années 1970, le criquet sénégalais - Oedaleus senegalensis (Krauss 1877) - est devenu l'un des principaux criquets ravageurs des cultures vivrières du Sahel africain. Il cause régulièrement des dégâts considérables, en particulier sur le mil. Le cycle biologique de ce criquet reflète la précarité de l'environnement sahélien. Cette espèce a développé un cycle biologique et une stratégie de survie incluant à la fois des migrations saisonnières suivant le déplacement du Front Intertropical (FIT) et une diapause embryonnaire pendant la saison sèche. Cela lui permet de faire face à un environnement souvent hostile et, pendant la saison des pluies, de se maintenir dans les conditions écologiques les plus favorables possibles. La succession de périodes de pullulations et d'accalmie est liée à la forte variabilité spatiale et temporelle de la pluviométrie et à l'abondance du stock d'¿ufs en diapause dans le sol en fi n de saison sèche. Les nombreux travaux conduits au Sahel depuis les années 1970 ont permis une meilleure compréhension de l'écologie de cette espèce. Divers modèles ont été proposés pour suivre la dynamique de ses populations. Cependant, certains facteurs clés pouvant permettre d'expliquer les pullulations demeurent peu ou pas étudiés. La présente revue bibliographique fait le point sur les connaissances actuelles et propose des voies de recherche pour une gestion durable de ce ravageur. (Résumé d'auteur

Spatial uncertainty and structuration effects on preventive management of locust plagues: a multi-agent perspective

The spatial structure of locust outbreaks is a major item of planning and success of locust preventive management strategies. Indeed, preventive management relies on where and when survey teams have to be sent to explore and report the biotope situation and the potential locust population development in order to react in time to any upsurge. The spatial concentration of areas favourable to outbreak has been documented in many species. Other spatial limits are the areas where the preventive management fails to collect information, either because of insecurity or remoteness. We explored these spatial specificities with the help of ALMMAS, a spatially explicit multi-agent system representing a typical preventive management system with 4 levels of agents: locusts moving randomly and causing intermittently outbreaks spatially localized, field teams conducting surveys and controlling locusts, a management centre hiring and funding the field teams, and a budget holder funding the management centre depending on its own perception of the risk. We simulated 1) some areas where field teams have a low access (only through a corridor), 2) some areas where field teams have no access at all and 3) some areas where the probability to observe initial outbreaks is concentrated in hotspots. We explored the effects of number and size of these areas on the proportion of plague times through series of 100-year simulations. We observed that a strong effort of the budget holder to keep its funding through time might be annihilated with only 5% of a spatial territory with a restricted access. Logically, we obtained also that the largest the areas without access are, the worse the proportion of plague years is. But interestingly, if these inaccessible areas are divided in several small spots, the plagues are more numerous than with only one equivalent inaccessible area. This is explainable through a border-effect, i.e. more kilometres of frontiers to control when there are several inaccessible areas instead of one. The concentration of outbreaks in hotspots also increased the probability to observe plagues. Here too, the spatial distribution of only one hotspot was easier to control for the field teams than of several hotspots of identical size. But particularly, an interesting finding was that with only one hotspot, the period of cyclic behaviour of the budget holder between awareness and the reduction of funding was longer than with several smaller hotspots. These results highlight the need to consider the spatial specificity and accessibility of each locust species when planning the sustainability of anti-locust management systems. The cyclic outbreaks of some locust species, despite the significant budgets in order to establish a preventive management system, may be related to these spatial specificities. Further studies should also focus on the effects of concentrating the attention of surveys in outbreak hotspots

Field trial with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum agains bands of the grasshopper Rhammatocerus schistocercoides in Brazil.

The efficacy of a mycoinsecticide formulated in vegetable oil was tested in Brazil against the grasshopper Rhammatocerus schistocercoides. A set of experiments was conducted in the Chapada dos Parecis region (Mato Grosso state), a permanent zone of outbreaks for this pest. Experiments were performed in zones of natural vegetation, against grasshopper bands in the third nymphal instar. Three nymphal bands were treated with a mycoinsecticide formulation based on conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum (=M. flavoviride), strain CG 423. Three non-treated bands were used as control. The application was made with the aid of a hand-held ULV sprayer adjusted to deliver 2 1 of the formulation ha', each containing 1 x 10¹³ conidia. Treatments were limited to the surface of the grasshopper hands and their immediate borders (5-10 m). The efficacy of the mycoinsecticide was evaluated through band survival after treatment (grasshopper numbers surface, density, behaviour and daily movement of the band), allowing the insects to move freely in their natural environment. Insects were regularly surveyed and maintained in the laboratory, allowing estimates of the infection rate. Field and laboratory studies showed a clear effect of the product 10 days after treatment. At 14 days post-spraying, mortality caused by the mycoinsecticide in the field was approximately 88%. (Résumé d'auteur

A Computer Program for Simplifying Incompletely Specified Sequential Machines Using the Paull and Unger Technique

This report presents a description of a computer program mechanized to perform the Paull and Unger process of simplifying incompletely specified sequential machines. An understanding of the process, as given in Ref. 3, is a prerequisite to the use of the techniques presented in this report. This process has specific application in the design of asynchronous digital machines and was used in the design of operational support equipment for the Mariner 1966 central computer and sequencer. A typical sequential machine design problem is presented to show where the Paull and Unger process has application. A description of the Paull and Unger process together with a description of the computer algorithms used to develop the program mechanization are presented. Several examples are used to clarify the Paull and Unger process and the computer algorithms. Program flow diagrams, program listings, and a program user operating procedures are included as appendixes

Skuteczność, ewaluacja, rozmieszczenie terytorialne - odczytywanie francuskiego pejzażu uniwersyteckiego

This paper shows how the ‘the French university landscape’ can be read from a few perspectives. Those perspectives are associated with the author’s experience as a researcher, the chief inspector at the French Ministry of National Education, the prime minister^ advisor on national education, higher education and research, and, last but not least, the director of the International Centre for Pedagogical Studies (CIEP) in Sćvres near Paris. At first, the author presents the reform of higher education which has been running in France for a few years (parliamentary documents), assessment of the student environment and the links between universities and secondary schools. Then those issues are confronted against real-life practices. The author reviews the current reforms by asking about the correlation between the size of a university and its efficiency, its size and research work, as well as the correlation between education and research. He also reiterates the need for ongoing reflection on the mission of higher education and research.Artykuł jest próbą spojrzenia na zagadnienie „odczytywania francuskiego pejzażu uniwersyteckiego” z kilku punktów widzenia wynikających z doświadczeń autora - jako pracownika naukowego, głównego inspektora we francuskim Ministerstwie Edukacji Narodowej, doradcy premiera do spraw edukacji narodowej, szkolnictwa wyższego i badań, a wreszcie dyrektora Międzynarodowego Centrum Studiów Pedagogicznych (CIEP) z siedzibą w Sevres pod Paryżem. Na wstępie autor przedstawia przeprowadzaną od kilku lat reformę szkolnictwa wyższego we Francji (ustawy), ocenę środowiska studenckiego oraz powiązania między uniwersytetem a szkolnictwem średnim. Następnie kwestie te konfrontuje ze stosowaną praktyką. Dokonuje przeglądu realizowanych reform poprzez pytania o zależność między wielkością uczelni a jej efektywnością oraz prowadzonymi badaniami, a także między kształceniem a badaniami. Przypomina również o konieczności nieustannej refleksji nad misją, jaka wiąże się ze szkolnictwem wyższym i badaniami

On clusters of entrepreneurs - an austrian approach to innovative milieu

For the last 10 years, connections between economic geography, theory of innovation and the new theory of growth have produced substantial progress in the analysis of regional agglomeration. In this context, the theory on "innovative milieus" developed by the GREMI group has adressed a wide range of theoretical issues dealing with the dynamics of local production systems. The economic of innovative milieu has enables the study of links between technological innovation and geographical proximity proving that coordination problem of local economic agents is a central theoretical question in the major perspective of an economic analysis of territory as space of coordination. Innovative milieus are discovery procedures and refer to collective actions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of innovative milieu from an entrepreneurial process. We consider that entrepreneurs are a critical element in the emergence and validity of innovative milieus. Four main concepts from Austrian Economics - Entrepreneurship, dicovery process, coordination and imagination - guide our reflection on innovative milieu. Keywords : Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneur, Discovery Process, Austrian Economics, Innovative Milieu, Coordination