Vertical information content of nadir measurements of tropospheric NO2 from satellite

Poster presented at the EGU General Assembly 2014 in Vienna/Austria

Economic integration in a cross border perspective - An emerging new system of production?

The economic development of regions is today closely determined by the linkages and networks to external partners as well as their own Hinterlands. Main focus in this paper is on issues related to changes in the system of production, in regional as well as international, and a cross border perspective. Empirically the analysis is based on results from a project analyzing regional development in the Baltic Sea Regions. Issues addressed are spatial impacts of alterations in the economic linkages in the BSR since the transition process started in the aftermath of the break down of the iron curtain. Theoretically the concepts applied are based on economic integration and location. An analytical framework is sketched in the first part of the paper. The second section provides a brief introduction to the economic development in the regions considered, including an assessment of cross border flows, i.e. trade and FDI. Part three is devoted to an analysis of changes in the regional production system with regard to manufacture, and the implication for regional economic performance and employment in the out-sourcing regions as well as in in-sourcing regions. In addition, the issue of ‘re-outsourcing’ is addressed. The latter deals with western companies considering moving production facilities out of the BSR region into areas with lower production costs. The final section summarizes the result with regard to relocation i.e. in border-areas, within the BSR or in a global perspective. Impacts on employment is evaluated as well the paper addresses witch branches in particular are at risk to loose economic weight in the BSR as a consequence of changes in the international division of labor.

AliEnFS - a Linux File System for the AliEn Grid Services

Among the services offered by the AliEn (ALICE Environment http://alien.cern.ch) Grid framework there is a virtual file catalogue to allow transparent access to distributed data-sets using various file transfer protocols. $alienfs$ (AliEn File System) integrates the AliEn file catalogue as a new file system type into the Linux kernel using LUFS, a hybrid user space file system framework (Open Source http://lufs.sourceforge.net). LUFS uses a special kernel interface level called VFS (Virtual File System Switch) to communicate via a generalised file system interface to the AliEn file system daemon. The AliEn framework is used for authentication, catalogue browsing, file registration and read/write transfer operations. A C++ API implements the generic file system operations. The goal of AliEnFS is to allow users easy interactive access to a worldwide distributed virtual file system using familiar shell commands (f.e. cp,ls,rm ...) The paper discusses general aspects of Grid File Systems, the AliEn implementation and present and future developments for the AliEn Grid File System.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figure

Co-operation between companies and the advisory system in innovations – a comparative analysis of Northern Germany and Western Denmark

Innovations and the capacity to innovate are crucial factors in the development of a firm and its ability to adapt to changes in the external environment. Growing attention has been paid to the mechanisms facilitating innovation in firms, both in large, small and medium-sized enterprises. As a consequence, attention has been on the role of innovation policy in economic policy in general and regional development in particular. The aim of this paper is to analyze the linkages between the business advisory system’s efforts to promote innovation and the innovative activity within the firm with special attention to small and medium sized enterprises. The main aspects addressed deal with entities and relations of the innovative environment. The focal point is the interaction between the analyzed business entity and the external environment as a part of a broader network of innovative relations covering intra-firm as well as extra-firm relations and processes. The paper will highlight three aspects of the topic: • In the first part of the paper concepts and policies of innovation are discussed with regard to their ability to influence economic development. • The second section is dedicated to an introduction to the role of the advisory system in the creation of a regional innovative business environment, and will in particular focus on the comparative analysis of regional systems of innovation in an organizational and structural perspective. • The next section analyzes the regional system of innovation based on a survey of manufacturing firms and advisory organizations in Western Denmark and Northern Germany. The essential objective of this survey is to identify the potential of, and the crucial obstacles to a proactive regional innovation policy, since previous studies have shown that in particular small firms have difficulties in using the advisory system and the services offered. Based on this analysis, the study aims at contributing to the ongoing discussion of the role of public support schemes in innovation and technology in a regional and organizational perspective, based on the comparative analysis of regions in two countries. Key words: Regional system of innovation - Advisory system - Business incubators and science parks - R & D programs

The regional system of innovation and regional development

Innovations and the capacity to innovate are crucial factors in the development of a firm and its ability to adapt to changes in the external environment. Growing attention has been paid to the mechanism facilitating innovation in firms, both in large, small and medium-sized enterprises. As a consequence, increasing attention has been on the role of innovation policy in regional development. The purpose of this project is to analyse the linkages between the business advisory systems efforts to promote innovation and the innovative firm with special attention to small and medium sized enterprises. The analysis of this paper deals with entities and relations of the innovative environment. The focal point is the interaction between the analysed business entity and the external environment as a part of a broader network of innovative relations covering intra-firm as well as extra-firm relations and processes. The first part of the paper addresses various concepts of innovation and the role of the advisory system in the creation of a regional innovative business environment. The second part of the paper reports first findings from a survey of manufacturing firms and advisory organisations in Southern Denmark and Northern Germany. The essential objective of this part is to identify the potential of and the crucial obstacles to a proactive regional innovation policy, since previous studies have shown that in particular small firms have difficulties to use the advisory system and the services offered. The final section of the paper summarizes the findings of the questionnaire, and provide a first assessment of how to create a proactive regional development based on literature and the results of the empirical survey. Key-words: Regional system of innovation - Advisory system - business incubators and science parks - R & D programs

Toward an Integrated European Economic System: An Assessment of regional integration and specialization

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide a tentative record of the process of integration between the EU and the East and Central European economies. Twelve years after the break up of the former state trade system in Eastern Europe, a new international system of production and trade is visible. The first transition countries are on the edge of becoming members of the EU. After a brief examination of the state of the ‘pre-accession’ with regard to trade, FDI and the adaptation to the economic regime of market economies the nature of economic links between the EU and the CEEC is analyzed. Point of departure is a survey of the political and institutional framework for economic transactions established during the decade. Based on this overview the main focus is on the issue of the participation of the former state trade economies in the regional production system in Europe. The first step is an overall assessment of economic links (i.e. trade and FDI) within the region and between the involved countries and the outside world. Secondly, an in-depth analysis of trade and specialization is added, mainly through an outline of intra-industry trade between the EU and the former transition economies. The third step of the investigation concentrates on a case study of a particular sector (textile and apparel) to illuminate impacts of integration not only in the transition economies, but also in the EU countries. The final section of the paper offers the findings and an assessment of the level of integration within the region. The latter is based on theoretical concepts of economic integration. Finally a number of scenarios for the future trends of development in the economic relations between the CEEC and the EU are sketched, in particular with regard to impacts on regional and international competitiveness. Key words: A new system of production - specialization - trade - FDI - regional integration- competitiveness.