Cooperation, Proximity, and Social Innovation: Three Ingredients for Industrial Medium-Sized Towns’ Renewal?

Over several decades, medium-sized industrial towns have suffered from a combination of economic and political processes: Deindustrialization, metropolization, and withdrawal of public services. After two decades in which they have been somewhat neglected (in favor of metropolises), there have recently been State and European public policies aimed at them. Medium-sized cities are not homogeneous and present several trajectories. Based on quantitative approach in France, we highlight the very diverse socio-economic dynamics of French medium-sized industrial towns. Thus, far from widespread decline or shrinking dynamics, some of these cities are experiencing an economic rebound. This is the case of Romans-sur-Isère, a medium-sized town located in the south-east of France. Focusing our qualitative analyze on this city, we try to understand this type of process. In this medium-sized town, former capital of the shoe industry, local stakeholders, private, and public try to support a productive renewal. The results of our case study highlight the role that cooperation, spatial and organizational proximity, and social innovation could play in the renewal of productive economy in medium-sized industrial towns. Even if the economic situation remains difficult for many medium-sized cities in France as in Europe, we argue that they could have a productive future making and ultimately take advantages of their “medium-sized” attributes. Over several decades, medium-sized industrial towns have suffered from a combination of economic and political processes: Deindustrialization, metropolization, and withdrawal of public services. After two decades in which they have been somewhat neglected (in favor of metropolises), there have recently been State and European public policies aimed at them. Medium-sized cities are not homogeneous and present several trajectories. Based on quantitative approach in France, we highlight the very diverse socio-economic dynamics of French medium-sized industrial towns. Thus, far from widespread decline or shrinking dynamics, some of these cities are experiencing an economic rebound. This is the case of Romans-sur-Isère, a medium-sized town located in the south-east of France. Focusing our qualitative analyze on this city, we try to understand this type of process. In this medium-sized town, former capital of the shoe industry, local stakeholders, private, and public try to support a productive renewal. The results of our case study highlight the role that cooperation, spatial and organizational proximity, and social innovation could play in the renewal of productive economy in medium-sized industrial towns. Even if the economic situation remains difficult for many medium-sized cities in France as in Europe, we argue that they could have a productive future making and ultimately take advantages of their “medium-sized” attributes. &nbsp

Photoelectric and CCD Photometry of E and S0 Galaxies

We present BR photoelectric photometry for 352 E and S0 galaxies that are part of a large survey of the properties and peculiar motions of galaxies in distant clusters. Repeat measurements show our internal errors to be 2 – 3 per cent in B and R and 1 – 2 per cent in B– R. Comparisons of BR and BVR reductions for 10 galaxies also observed in V show small systematic errors due to differences between the spectral energy distributions of stars and galaxies. External comparisons with B– V colours in the literature confirm that these colours are good to 1 per cent. We also describe R-band CCD observations for 95 of the galaxies and place these on a BR photometric system for photoelectric and CCD photometry, with a common zero-point good to better than 1 per cent. We find the rms precision of both our photoelectric and CCD R magnitudes to be 2 – 3 per cent for galaxies as faint as R ≈ 15. Errors in galaxy magnitudes of this order introduce errors of ≲ 2 per cent into Dn – σ distance estimates, corresponding to errors in peculiar velocities for single galaxies of ≲ 200 km s-1 at a distance of 10000 km s-1

Dynamics of Bulk vs. Nanoscale WS_2: Local Strain and Charging Effects

We measured the infrared vibrational properties of bulk and nanoparticle WS$_2$ in order to investigate the structure-property relations in these novel materials. In addition to the symmetry-breaking effects of local strain, nanoparticle curvature modifies the local charging environment of the bulk material. Performing a charge analysis on the \emph{xy}-polarized E$_{1u}$ vibrational mode, we find an approximate 1.5:1 intralayer charge difference between the layered 2H material and inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles. This effective charge difference may impact the solid-state lubrication properties of nanoscale metal dichalcogenides.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

The Regional Concentration of Industries and the Performance of Firms: A Multilevel Approach

This paper presents the results of a study whose objective was to understand how location within industrial concentrations, like clusters or industrial districts, affects the financial performance of firms. In its theoretical framework, this paper attempts to introduce the reasons behind the alleged superior performance of firms located in these concentrations, the base of the hypothesis formulated in this study. Analysis from a three-level hierarchical linear model applied to a sample of 509 companies located in the state of São Paulo found no evidence that industrial concentrations provide firms with superior performance, contradicting expectations generated by the theory. The decomposition of the variance of performance indicated that the location of the firms and the form with which a city interacts with an industry exerts significant influence on how they will perform. In short, location matters to the future of firms. This finding underlines the need to understand how characteristics of cities or regions can promote or retard the performance of firms

Galactic Extinction from Colors and Counts of Field Galaxies in WFPC2 Frames: An Application to GRB 970228

We develop the ``simulated extinction method'' to measure average foreground Galactic extinction from field galaxy number-counts and colors. The method comprises simulating extinction in suitable reference fields by changing the isophotal detection limit. This procedure takes into account selection effects, in particular, the change in isophotal detection limit (and hence in isophotal magnitude completeness limit) with extinction, and the galaxy color--magnitude relation. We present a first application of the method to the HST WFPC2 images of the gamma-ray burster GRB 970228. Four different WFPC2 high-latitude fields, including the HDF, are used as reference to measure the average extinction towards the GRB in the F606W passband. From the counts, we derive an average extinction of A_V = 0.5 mag, but the dispersion of 0.4 mag between the estimates from the different reference fields is significantly larger than can be accounted by Poisson plus clustering uncertainties. Although the counts differ, the average colors of the field galaxies agree well. The extinction implied by the average color difference between the GRB field and the reference galaxies is A_V = 0.6 mag, with a dispersion in the estimated extinction from the four reference fields of only 0.1 mag. All our estimates are in good agreement with the value of 0.81\pm0.27 mag obtained by Burstein & Heiles, and with the extinction of 0.78\pm0.12 measured by Schlegel et al. from maps of dust IR emission. However, the discrepancy between the widely varying counts and the very stable colors in these high-latitude fields is worth investigating.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures; submitted to the Astrophysical Journa

Stellar Populations and the Local Group Membership of the Dwarf Galaxy DDO 210

We present deep BVI CCD photometry of the stars in the dwarf galaxy DDO 210. The color-magnitude diagrams of DDO 210 show a well-defined red giant branch (RGB) and a blue plume. The tip of the RGB is found to be at I_TRGB = 20.95 +/- 0.10 mag. From this the distance to DDO 210 is estimated to be d = 950 +/- 50 kpc. The corresponding distance of DDO 210 to the center of the Local Group is 870 kpc, showing that it is a member of the Local Group. The mean metallicity of the red giant branch stars is estimated to be [Fe/H] = -1.9 +/- 0.1 dex. Integrated magnitudes of DDO 210 within the Holmberg radius (r_H=110 arcsec = 505 pc) are derived to be M_B=-10.6 +/- 0.1 mag and M_V=-10.9 +/- 0.1 mag. B and V surface brightness profiles of DDO 210 are approximately consistent with an exponential law with scale lengths r_s(B) = 161 pc and r_s(V) = 175 pc. The brightest blue and red stars in DDO 210 (BSG and RSG) are found to be among the faintest in the nearby galaxies with young stellar populations: _{BSG} = -3.41 +/- 0.11 mag and _{RSG} = -4.69 +/- 0.13 mag. An enhancement of the star formation rate in the recent past (several hundred Myrs) is observed in the central region of DDO 210. The opposite trend is observed in the outer region of the galaxy, suggesting a possible two-component structure of the kind disk/halo found in spiral galaxies. The real nature of this two-component structure must, however, be confirmed with more detailed observations.Comment: Latex file, 17 pages with 9 figures, uses emulateapj.sty To appear in the AJ (in August 1999

Observations of Lick Standard Stars Using the SCORPIO Multi-Slit Unit at the SAO 6-m Telescope

We present Lick line-index measurements of standard stars from the list of Worthey. The spectra were taken with the multi-slit unit of the SCORPIO spectrograph at the 6-m Special Astrophysical observatory telescope. We describe in detail our method of analysis and explain the importance of using the Lick index system for studying extragalactic globular clusters. Our results show that the calibration of our instrumental system to the standard Lick system can be performed with high confidence.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

The Mini AGN at the Center of the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4552 with HST

The complex phenomenology shown by the UV-bright, variable spike first detected with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at the center of the otherwise normal galaxy NGC 4552 is further investigated with both HST imaging (FOC) and spectroscopy (FOS). HST/FOC images taken in 1991, 1993, and 1996 in the near UV have been analyzed in a homogeneous fashion, showing that the central spike has brightened by a factor ~4.5 between 1991 and 1993, and has decreased its luminosity by a factor ~2.0 between 1993 and 1996. FOS spectroscopy extending from the near UV to the red side of the optical spectrum reveals a strong UV continuum over the spectrum of the underlying galaxy, along with several emission lines in both the UV and the optical ranges. In spite of the low luminosity of the UV continuum of the spike (~3*10^5 Lsolar), the spike is definitely placed among AGNs by current diagnostics based on the emission line intensity ratios, being just on the borderline between Seyferts and LINERs. Line profiles are very broad, and both permitted and forbidden lines are best modelled with a combination of broad and narrow components, with FWHM of ~3000 km s^-1 and ~700 km s^-1, respectively. This evidence argues for the variable central spike being produced by a modest accretion event onto a central massive black hole (BH), with the accreted material having possibly being stripped from a a star in a close fly by with the BH. The 1996 broad Halpha luminosity of this mini-AGN is ~5.6*10^37 erg s^-1, about a factor of two less than that of the nucleus of NGC 4395, heretofore considered to be the faintest known AGN.Comment: 40 pages, LaTeX, with 12 PostScript figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Follow-up for breast cancer - the patients' view

Background: International and national guidelines (S3 guideline) for the surveillance of post-treatment breast cancer patients recommend a clinical follow-up including routine history and physical examination and regular mammograms. The practice of a clinical follow-up has been often discussed, but has been proven not to be inferior when compared to an intensified follow-up in randomized trials. Patients and Methods: The present manuscript reports the patients' view on the basis of a survey including 2000 patients with a history of breast cancer. Results: A total of 452 patients (22.6%) answered the questionnaire. The median age was 62 years (range 23-85 years). More than 80% of the patients were disease-free at the time of the survey. The need for surveillance was affirmed by the majority of patients (>95%), and one third stated that there was a need for more technical efforts during follow-up. In contrast to the follow-up guidelines, the results of the present survey indicated that most of the regularly scheduled follow-up visits were expanded using extensive laboratory and imaging procedures. Conclusion: This survey shows that the majority of physicians obviously do not accept the present follow-up guidelines. A new surveillance study investigating the efficacy of an intensified surveillance based on the improved possibilities of modern diagnostics and endocrine, immunotherapeutic, chemotherapeutic and interventional treatment options is warranted