Place-renewing leadership:trajectories of change for mature manufacturing regions in Europe

The forces of globalisation now impacting on local economies pose threats to the existing paradigm of competences and routines, yet simultaneously offer opportunities to integrate new knowledge and learning. This is particularly pertinent with respect to Europe’s ‘mature regions’, which are undergoing a major economic restructuring by trying to shift from traditional manufacturing activities to hybrid activities that comprise a combination of manufacturing and a higher component of intangible inputs and related knowledge service activities. The objective of the article is to discuss the concept of ‘place leadership’ by looking at how the embedded skills, knowledge and cumulated learning of a place can be used by its institutional infrastructure to identify sustainable growth trajectories. In other words, its aim is to explore how the economic, social, institutional and cultural aspects of places shape the opportunities for upgrading and renovation drawing upon their historical specialisation. The conceptual contribution of the article draws on two case studies, in the West Midlands, UK and in Prato, Tuscany, where we study the processes of decision-making, forms of leadership and ultimately the nature of local leadership

Creative clusters and innovation (C.Chapain, P.Cooke, L.De Propris, S.MacNeill, J.Mateos-Garcia, NESTA)

Copyright @ 2012 Intellec

Feeding the Brain : Effect of Nutrients on Cognition, Synaptic Function, and AMPA Receptors

In recent decades, traditional eating habits have been replaced by a more globalized diet, rich in saturated fatty acids and simple sugars. Extensive evidence shows that these dietary factors contribute to cognitive health impairment as well as increase the incidence of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. However, how these nutrients modulate synaptic function and neuroplasticity is poorly understood. We review the Western, ketogenic, and paleolithic diets for their effects on cognition and correlations with synaptic changes, focusing mainly (but not exclusively) on animal model studies aimed at tracing molecular alterations that may contribute to impaired human cognition. We observe that memory and learning deficits mediated by high-fat/high-sugar diets, even over short exposure times, are associated with reduced arborization, widened synaptic cleft, narrowed post-synaptic zone, and decreased activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, and also observe that these alterations correlate with deregulation of the AMPA-type glutamate ionotropic receptors (AMPARs) that are crucial to neuroplasticity. Furthermore, we explored which diet-mediated mechanisms modulate synaptic AMPARs and whether certain supplements or nutritional interventions could reverse deleterious effects, contributing to improved learning and memory in older people and patients with Alzheimer's disease

GAMA: towards a physical understanding of galaxy formation

The Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) project is the latest in a tradition of large galaxy redshift surveys, and is now underway on the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory. GAMA is designed to map extragalactic structures on scales of 1kpc - 1Mpc in complete detail to a redshift of z~0.2, and to trace the distribution of luminous galaxies out to z~0.5. The principal science aim is to test the standard hierarchical structure formation paradigm of Cold Dark Matter (CDM) on scales of galaxy groups, pairs, discs, bulges and bars. We will measure (1) the Dark Matter Halo Mass Function (as inferred from galaxy group velocity dispersions); (2) baryonic processes, such as star formation and galaxy formation efficiency (as derived from Galaxy Stellar Mass Functions); and (3) the evolution of galaxy merger rates (via galaxy close pairs and galaxy asymmetries). Additionally, GAMA will form the central part of a new galaxy database, which aims to contain 275,000 galaxies with multi-wavelength coverage from coordinated observations with the latest international ground- and space-based facilities: GALEX, VST, VISTA, WISE, HERSCHEL, GMRT and ASKAP. Together, these data will provide increased depth (over 2 magnitudes), doubled spatial resolution (0.7"), and significantly extended wavelength coverage (UV through Far-IR to radio) over the main SDSS spectroscopic survey for five regions, each of around 50 deg^2. This database will permit detailed investigations of the structural, chemical, and dynamical properties of all galaxy types, across all environments, and over a 5 billion year timeline.Comment: GAMA overview which appeared in the October 2009 issue of Astronomy & Geophysics, ref: Astron.Geophys. 50 (2009) 5.1

Photometric Scaling Relations for Bulges of Galaxies

We study the photometric parameters of the bulges of galaxies of different Hubble types including ellipticals, lenticulars, early and late type spirals and early type dwarf galaxies. Analyzing the distributions of various photometric parameters, and two- and three-dimensional correlations between them, we find that there is a difference in the correlations exhibited by bright (M_K < -22) and faint bulges, irrespective of their Hubble type. Importantly, the bright bulges, which include typically E/S0 galaxies and bulges of early type spirals, are tightly distributed around a common photometric plane (PP), while their fainter counter parts, mainly bulges of late type spirals and dwarf galaxies show significant deviation from the planar distribution. We show that the specific entropy, determined from the bulge structural parameters, systematically increases as we move from late to early Hubble types. We interpret this as evidence for hierarchical merging and passive evolution scenarios for bright and faint bulges respectively.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figures, accepted in A&

Global environmental effects versus galaxy interactions

We explore properties of close galaxy pairs and merging systems selected from the SDSS-DR4 in different environments with the aim to assess the relative importance of the role of interactions over global environmental processes. For this purpose, we perform a comparative study of galaxies with and without close companions as a function of local density and host-halo mass, carefully removing sources of possible biases. We find that at low and high local density environments, colours and morphologies of close galaxy pairs are very similar to those of isolated galaxies. At intermediate densities, we detect significant differences, indicating that close pairs could have experienced a more rapid transition onto the red sequence than isolated galaxies. The presence of a correlation between colours and morphologies indicates that the physical mechanism responsible for the colour transformation also operates changing galaxy morphologies. Regardless of dark matter halo mass, we show that the percentage of red galaxies in close pairs and in the control sample are comparable at low and high local density environments. However, at intermediate local densities, the gap in the red fraction between close pairs and the control galaxies increases from ~10% in low mass haloes up to ~50% in the most massive ones. Our findings suggest that in intermediate density environments galaxies are efficiently pre-processed by close encounters and mergers before entering higher local density regions. (Abridge)Comment: submitted to MNRAS, 12 pages, 9 figures (For people who have tried to download this paper, I've already changed the wrong version

The Double Galaxy Cluster Abell 2465 I. Basic Properties: Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy

Optical imaging and spectroscopic observations of the z = 0.245 double galaxy cluster Abell 2465 are described. This object appears to be undergoing a major merger. It is a double X-ray source and is detected in the radio at 1.4 GHz. This paper investigates signatures of the interaction of the two components. Redshifts were measured to determine velocity dispersions and virial radii of each component. The technique of fuzzy clustering was used to assign membership weights to the galaxies in each clump. Using redshifts of 93 cluster members within 1.4 Mpc of the subcluster centres, the virial masses and anisotropy parameters are derived. 37% of the spectroscopically observed galaxies show emission lines and are predominantly star forming in the diagnostic diagram. No strong AGN sources were found. The emission line galaxies tend to lie between the two cluster centres with more near the SW clump. The luminosity functions of the two subclusters differ. The NE component is similar to many rich clusters, while the SW component has more faint galaxies. The NE clump's light profile follows a single NFW profile with c = 10 while the SW is better fit with an extended outer region and a compact inner core, consistent with available X-ray data indicating that the SW clump has a cooling core. The observed differences and properties of the two components of Abell 2465 are interpreted to have been caused by a collision 2-4 Gyr ago, after which they have moved apart and are now near their apocentres, although the start of a merger remains a possibility. The number of emission line galaxies gives weight to the idea that galaxy cluster collisions trigger star formation.Comment: 21 pages, 18 Figures Replaced typos, mostly in references To appear in MNRAS, Accepted 2010 December 16. Received 2010 December 15; in original form 2010 November 0

They are industrial districts, but not as we know them

Beyond the lively debate on the weaknesses and decline of some Italian industrial districts, there is a documented reality of other dynamic localized industries that have not only embraced the opportunities of fast- changing markets and open production networks, but are also weathering the current economic crisis showing an enviable resilience. This chapter explores how close and how far such phenomena are from the classic Marshallian industrial districts of the Third Italy. Our analysis will draw on the literature that has looked at industrial districts as evolving, changing and adapting forms, but it goes beyond the common claim that the modern industrial districts are transforming themselves by mainly basing their competitive advantage on proximity (localized learning) and firm cooperation (trust- based organizations). Indeed, the sustained growth and related resilience of some historical Italian industrial districts is due to a combination of factors: (a) distance \u2018learning\u2019 and open models of innovation; (b) the emergence of brands and larger firms to create and control the final market; (c) the anchoring of the value creation stages to locally embedded creativity; and finally (d) the adoption of specific strategies to maintain and to regenerate the skills of the local workforce, in order to translate local firms\u2019 research into new applications and innovations. The chapter will present a review of the current trends across \u2018weak\u2019 and \u2018resilient\u2019 industrial districts complemented by detailed case studies. New parameters to define \u2018evolved and open industrial districts\u2019 will be suggested