Innovating innovation policy: the emergence of ‘Responsible Research and Innovation’

Within the policy structures of the European Union (EU), the concept of ‘Responsible Research and Innovation’ (RRI) appears to have a very specific emergence point, via a workshop for invited experts hosted by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation in May 2011. Through a textual analysis of EU documents, this paper will explore the processes through which RRI has been incorporated into Horizon 2020 as a policy framework for the European Research Area which promises that technological innovation will be shaped towards social goods. It concludes by discussing some of the tensions between RRI and policies emanating from other EU institutions, highlighting areas which may impede RRI's progress towards its goals

Lady Gaga as (dis)simulacrum of monstrosity

Lady Gaga’s celebrity DNA revolves around the notion of monstrosity, an extensively researched concept in postmodern cultural studies. The analysis that is offered in this paper is largely informed by Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of monstrosity, as well as by their approach to the study of sign-systems that was deployed in A Thousand Plateaus. By drawing on biographical and archival visual data, with a focus on the relatively underexplored live show, an elucidation is afforded of what is really monstrous about Lady Gaga. The main argument put forward is that monstrosity as sign seeks to appropriate the horizon of unlimited semiosis as radical alterity and openness to signifying possibilities. In this context it is held that Gaga effectively delimits her unique semioscape; however, any claims to monstrosity are undercut by the inherent limits of a representationalist approach in sufficiently engulfing this concept. Gaga is monstrous for her community insofar as she demands of her fans to project their semiosic horizon onto her as a simulacrum of infinite semiosis. However, this simulacrum may only be evinced in a feigned manner as a (dis)simulacrum. The analysis of imagery from seminal live shows during 2011–2012 shows that Gaga’s presumed monstrosity is more akin to hyperdifferentiation as simultaneous employment of heterogeneous and potentially dissonant inter pares cultural representations. The article concludes with a problematisation of audience effects in the light of Gaga’s adoption of a schematic and post-representationalist strategy in the event of her strategy’s emulation by competitive artists

Cutting the Electric Bill for Internet-Scale Systems

Energy expenses are becoming an increasingly important fraction of data center operating costs. At the same time, the energy expense per unit of computation can vary significantly between two different locations. In this paper, we characterize the variation due to fluctuating electricity prices and argue that existing distributed systems should be able to exploit this variation for significant economic gains. Electricity prices exhibit both temporal and geographic variation, due to regional demand differences, transmission inefficiencies, and generation diversity. Starting with historical electricity prices, for twenty nine locations in the US, and network traffic data collected on Akamai's CDN, we use simulation to quantify the possible economic gains for a realistic workload. Our results imply that existing systems may be able to save millions of dollars a year in electricity costs, by being cognizant of locational computation cost differences.NokiaNational Science Foundatio

Numerical and experimental investigation of a lightweight bonnet for pedestrian safety

A topic of great consideration in current vehicle development in Europe is pedestrian protection. The enforcement of a new regulation trying to decrease the injuries to head, pelvis, and leg of pedestrian impacted by cars, is imposing great changes in vehicles' front design. In the present work a design solution for the bonnet, which is the main body part interacting with the human head during a car to pedestrian collision, is proposed. This solution meets the stiffness and safety targets, takes into account the manufacturing and recyclability requirements and gives a relevant contribution to vehicle lightweight. Thus this proposed solution puts in evidence that safety and lightweight are not incompatible targets. The amount of potential injury to the pedestrian head is evaluated, as prescribed by the standard test procedures, by means of a headform launched on the bonnet. However, the standard approach based on the head injury criterion (HIC) value only is reported to be largely unsatisfactory: therefore, a new experimental methodology for the measurement of the translational and the rotational accelerations has been developed, and the experimental results are reported. This would be a starting point for the evolution of currently adopted injury criteria to increase the safety of the vulnerable road user

La supervisión educativa en nuestro país: El trabajo del supervisor en cinco jurisdicciones

En las últimas décadas, en la mayoría de los países se han implementado políticas que resignifican el trabajo del supervisor poniendo un mayor énfasis en las tareas relacionadas con el apoyo, el asesoramiento, y el acompañamiento a las escuelas y los equipos de conducción, por sobre las tareas más tradicionales de control y evaluación. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de una investigación orientada a indagar distintos aspectos de la función de la supervisión educativa en cinco jurisdicciones de nuestro país. El estudio se apoya en el análisis de entrevistas y encuestas realizadas a supervisores y funcionarios de todos los niveles y modalidades de gestión pública de las provincias seleccionadas, en las que se indagó sobre distintos aspectos relacionados con las estructuras de supervisión, perfiles del supervisor, la organización del trabajo del supervisor, sus tareas y percepciones sobre su trabajo

ANALISIS PENGARUH PENGETAHUAN, RELIGIUSITAS, DAN PROMOSI TERHADAP MINAT PETANI MENGGUNAKAN PEMBIAYAAN SYARIAH ( Study Kasus Pada Petani Desa Campang Kecamatan Gisting Kabupaten Tanggamus)

ABSTRAK Penelitian ini merupakan studi empiris untuk mengetahui minat petani Desa Campang Kecamatan Gisting Kabupaten Tanggamus untuk memilih pembiayaan dalam perspektif ekonomi islam. Rumusan masalah pada penelitian ini yaitu: (1) Bagaimana pengaruh pengetahuan, religiusitas, promosi terhadap minat petani desa campang dalam memilih pembiayaan secara parsial?; (2) Bagaimana pengaruh pengetahuan, religiusitas, promosi terhadap minat petani desa campang dalam memilih pembiayaan secara simultan?; (3) Bagaimana pengaruh pengetahuan, religiusitas, promosi terhadap minat petani desa campang dalam memilih pembiayaan dalam pandangan perspektif islam?. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian kuantitatif dengan metode analisis yang digunakan yaitu Analisis Regresi Linear Berganda untuk memverifikasi pengaruh pengetahuan, religiusitas, dan promosi yang terhadap minat petani Desa Campang Kecamatan Gisting Kabupaten Tanggamus untuk memilih pembiayaan dalam perspektif ekonomi islam. Data yang digunakan merupakan data primer yang berasal dari penyebaran kuesioner kepada petani yang menggunakan pembiayaan dengan jumlah 83 responden. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa variabel pengetahuan, religiusitas, dan promosi secara parsial dan simultan berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap minat petani untuk memilih pembiayaan dalam perspektif ekonomi islam. Pandangan ekonomi islam memperbolehkan pembiayaan namun harus berpedoman pada syariat islam dalam praktiknya dan wajib menjauhi seperti riba, maysir, dan gharar yang dilarang oleh agama. Kata Kunci: pengetahuan, religiusitas, promosi, minat memilih pembiayaan

THE ROLE OF PROFITABILITY AS A CHANNEL ON INFLUENCING THE EFFECT OF MACROECONOMICS ON STOCK RETURNS IN THE INDONESIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influenced stock returns during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, with profitability functioning as an intervening variable. It acts as a mediating variable, influencing how macroeconomic factors impact a company's stock returns. Companies with higher profitability can withstand macroeconomic impacts, leading to higher returns. It is crucial for a company to avoid rising stock returns and ensure stability. The population in this study is the consumer goods industry listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The research sample consists of the consumer goods industry from 2020 to 2022.Sampling uses purposive sampling with data from 26 companies and 312 quarterly financial report data. Test the hypothesis using SmartPLS. The study reveals that exchange rates, interest rates, and inflation all negatively impact stock returns, with profitability acting as an intervening variable. Additionally, inflation also negatively impacts stock returns. This research implies that exchange rate stability is essential for companies carrying out export-import activities as a means of transaction in trade. The increase in interest rates encourages investors to continue investing in stocks because they are temporary and will return to their original level. Understanding the role of profitability in the relationship between macroeconomic factors and stock performance can help investors make more informed decisions