Local and divergent patterns of technological learning within (partly) globalized markets : is there anything new? and what can policies do about it? : a concise guide

In this work, we present an assessment of the nature and impact of current ``globalizing'' tendencies at various levels of observation. The evidence in this respect suggests that it has mostly concerned financial flows (especially short-term ones); to some extent trade flows; and only to very limited degrees, if any, the modes of access to new (and even 'old') technologies. A widely held prejudice is that 'globalization' goes hand in hand with international convergence in technological capabilities and incomes: in quite a few cases the opposite indeed holds. Conversely, such evidence powerfully hints at the continuing role of public policies in fostering the accumulation of technological knowledge and its economic exploitation. We suggest some taxonomies of the 'control' and 'state' variables which policies are likely to influence. Beyond the fading away wave of 'market fundamentalism' -we suggest- it is high time to pragmatically re-assess the role of markets as often powerful, but highly imperfect, mechanisms of decentralized search for and adaptation to technological and organizational novelties

Path dependence in technologies and organizations : a concise guide

The note on which an entry for the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management will draw offers a beginner’s guide to path dependency in technologies and organizations. We address the very meaning of the concept and its centrality in various aspects of economic analysis. We outline the various levels of the economic system where it is observable, its sources, consequences and different formal representations of path dependent processes

Soil is a net source of methane in tropical African forests

Research Highlights: Monitoring of soil CH4 fluxes in African tropical forest conducted run for almost two years, contributing to the scant information on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from forests available from this region. Data showed that the forest soil acted as a net yearly source of CH4. Hotspots of CH4 emissions were measured both in upland and lowland areas of the forest, and on an annual basis they overcame the soil CH4 sink during drier periods or in well‐drained areas. Background and Objectives: Atmospheric studies indicate that tropics are a strong CH4 source. Regional budgets attribute the majority of this source to wetland ecosystems and flooded lowland forests, whereas un‐flooded forests are considered net CH4 sinks, although few studies in tropical forests, in particular in Africa, are available. The present work aims to contribute to this knowledge gap. Materials and Methods: Monitoring campaigns were conducted along the year in the tropical forest of the Ankasa National Park, Ghana, in two contrasting environments, uphill and downhill, using close static chambers coupled with gas chromatography. Results: The uphill area was a net weak CH4 sink with mean daily fluxes ranging from −1.29 to 0.44 mg CH4 m−2 d−1. The downhill area was a significant CH4 source with mean daily fluxes ranging from −0.67 to 188.09 mg CH4 m−2 d−1 and with peaks up to 1312 mg CH4 m−2 d−1 in the wet season. Conclusions: The net annual soil CH4 budget for the Ankasa Park, normalizing the proportion of downhill areas over the whole park surface, was a source of about 3.3 kg CH4 ha−1 yr−1. Overlooking such areas might lead to underestimates of the total CH4 source strength of forested areas

Mode Confinement in Photonic Quasi-Crystal Point-Defect Cavities for Particle Accelerators

In this Letter, we present a study of the confinement properties of point-defect resonators in finite-size photonic-bandgap structures composed of aperiodic arrangements of dielectric rods, with special emphasis on their use for the design of cavities for particle accelerators. Specifically, for representative geometries, we study the properties of the fundamental mode (as a function of the filling fraction, structure size, and losses) via 2-D and 3-D full-wave numerical simulations, as well as microwave measurements at room temperature. Results indicate that, for reduced-size structures, aperiodic geometries exhibit superior confinement properties by comparison with periodic ones.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letter

Evaluation of fiber-optic phase-gradient meta-tips for sensing applications

Recently, within the emerging framework of "lab-on-fiber" technologies, we successfully demonstrated the integration of phase-gradient plasmonic metasurfaces on the tip of an optical fiber. The res..

Theoretical status of Bs-mixing and lifetimes of heavy hadrons

We review the theoretical status of the lifetime ratios τB+/τBd, τBs/τBd, τΛb/τBd and τBc and of the mixing quantities ΔMs, ΔΓs and ϕs. ΔMs and ΔΓs suffer from large uncertainties due to the badly known decay constants, while the ratio ΔΓs/ΔMs can be determined with almost no non-perturbative uncertainties, therefore it can be used perfectly to find possible new physics contributions in the mixing parameters. We suggest a very clear method of visualizing the bounds on new physics and demonstrate this by combining the latest experimental numbers on the mixing quantities quantities with theory – one already gets some hints for new physics contributions, but more precise experimental numbers are needed to draw some definite conclusions. We conclude with a ranking list of all the discussed quantities according to their current theoretical uncertainties and point out possible improvements

The main critical issues of the gym environment in an Italian city

BACKGROUND: The lack of a consistent national regulation regarding gym facilities, combined with the growth and transformation of the world of fitness, has led to an uncontrolled situation, where, especially in metropolitan areas, low cost gyms are continuously popping up, often not respecting the structural and hygienic requirements. AIM OF THE STUDY: Objective of this study is to evaluate the results of a monitoring programme about the gym environment, to highlight the main critical issues. METHODS: In 2018 a randomized sample of 90 gyms was inspected in Milan, using a checklist with three sections of inquiry and the resulting data were analysed through a series of multivariate regression models. RESULTS: As per the various aspects analysed, many outcomes with low scores concerned franchised gyms, which have shown to be unsatisfactory in many respects; in addition, the lack of L. pneumophila risk containment procedures has been observed in the facilities without a swimming pool, compared to those with it. CONCLUSIONS: The study results offer a clear picture of the gym environment, identifying many inadequacies for different hygienic and safety aspects; therefore, it has been possible to understand which issues need particular attention in order normalize the situation, which should be checked by future investigative steps