Does urban sprawl increase the costs of providing local public services? Evidence from Spanish municipalities

This paper examines the impact of urban sprawl, a phenomenon of particular interest in Spain, which is currently experiencing this process of rapid, low-density urban expansion. Many adverse consequences are attributed to urban sprawl (e.g., traffic congestion, air pollution and social segregation), though here we are concerned primarily with the rising costs of providing local public services. Our initial aim is to develop an accurate measure of urban sprawl so that we might empirically test its impact on municipal budgets. Then, we undertake an empirical analysis using a cross-sectional data set of 2,500 Spanish municipalities for the year 2003 and a piecewise linear function to account for the potentially nonlinear relationship between sprawl and local costs. The estimations derived from the expenditure equations for both aggregate and six disaggregated spending categories indicate that low-density development patterns lead to greater provision costs of local public services

Effectiveness of regional innovation actions: cases from small, low-innovative regions

This paper attempts to identify the suitability of centrally designed innovation-related regional actions, examining the case of regions that started innovative activities from a low development level. Using the case of two Greek regions, the paper analyses the legacy left to the regional systems by a series of regional innovation programmes implemented during the 1990s and 2000s, whose main priorities were designed centrally without any regional consultation. The findings suggest that these programmes often provide the means for generating the first steps towards the creation of a Regional Innovation System; however often they create a dependency on publicly funded programmes

Metody i przesłanki stojące za wyborem zaawansowanych technologii produkcyjnych jako jednej z inteligentnych specjalizacji w mało innowacyjnym kraju. Studium przypadku - Polska

The paper discusses the methods and rationale for selecting advanced manufacturing technologies as a smart specialisation priority in Poland at a national level. The studies rely on the desk research of relevant national strategic documents. This article might contribute to a discussion if there is a point in domestic AMTs technologies creation and development or it should be just an agreed approach considering these technologies adoption. The chapter underlines the importance of KETs for the EU and provides the related policy context. The author investigates the smart specialisation process that was imposed by EU to define development domains of Members States at national or regional level with focus on diagnosis (with some attention on foresight) and entrepreneurial discovery process. In the author's opinion, the outcome of the national S3 process maintains the country aspiration regarding AMTs creation and development for its future economic development.Artykuł analizuje metody i przesłanki stojące za wyborem zaawansowanych technologii produkcyjnych jako inteligentnej specjalizacji w Polsce na poziomie krajowym. Analiza opiera się na przeglądzie strategicznych dokumentów polityki. Studia te mogą kontrybuować do dyskusji czy jest zasadne tworzenie i rozwój tego typu technologii, czy też powinno się raczej skoncentrować na ich absorpcji. Artykuł podkreśla znaczenie Kluczowych Technologii Wspomagających dla UE i przybliża ich kontekst. Autor prześwietla proces wyłaniania inteligentnych specjalizacji, który został nałożony przez UE na Państwa Członkowskie w celu wyłonienia priorytetów na poziomie krajowym lub regionalnym. Główny nacisk został położony na diagnozę (szczególnie na foresight) oraz proces przedsiębiorczych odkryć. Według opinii autora rezultat procesu na poziomie krajowym potwierdza co najmniej aspiracje kraju do rozwoju tego typu technologii

Effect of shoeing horses with eggbar shoes and shoes with wedge pads on blood flow parameters in the lateral digital artery in the Doppler ultrasound

A sound knowledge of horseshoe impact on blood flow parameters is required for making shoeing decisions and selecting the most appropriate types of shoes. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of horse shoeing with egg bar shoes and shoes with wedge pads on blood flow parameters in the lateral palmar digital artery measured by Doppler ultrasound. The study was conducted on 16 horses divided into two groups. Horses from group 1 were shod with egg bar shoes. Horses from group 2 were shod with shoes with wedge pads. Doppler ultrasound parameters of the lateral palmar digital artery at the level of the metacarpophalangeal joint were evaluated. Doppler tests were performed before and after shoeing within a monthly interval. The results of the study indicate that egg bar shoes have a greater impact on blood circulation in the distal part of the equine limb than shoes with wedge pads. However, the only parameters to have changed substantially after shoeing with egg bar shoes were end-diastolic velocity (EDV) and mean velocity (Vmn) in the lateral palmar digital artery. A low-resistance blood flow pattern was noted before shoeing. After shoeing in group 1, it remained unchanged in 5 horses, whereas a high-resistance pattern was observed in 3 animals. A low-resistance blood flow pattern was noted in all group 2 horses after shoeing. The difference between the analyzed shoeing techniques could be attributed to increased pressure in the heel bulb area in horses shod with egg bar shoes. Wedge pads shift the load away from the heel bulbs, which might reduce the pressure on the palmar digital vessels and exert a smaller influence on the parameters measured in the Doppler ultrasound test

Slope stability and failure hazards in the light of complex geological surveys

Stateczność zbocza i zagrożenie osuwiskowe w świetle kompleksowych badań geologicznych. W artykule przedstawiono studium przypadku oceny stateczności zbocza zlokalizowanego w południowej Polsce, w obszarze o skomplikowanej budowie geologicznej. Zaproponowano wieloetapową metodologię oceny stateczności zbocza. Zastosowane komplementarne techniki badawcze pozwoliły uzyskać dokładną i rzetelną ocenę stateczności analizowanego zbocza, a przedstawiona wieloetapowa procedura analizy uwarunkowań stateczności umożliwiła uwzględnienie różnych cech i mechanizmów destabilizujących stan równowagi, co pozwala na prognozowanie kierunków zagospodarowania przestrzennego.Slope stability and failure hazards in the light of complex geological surveys. The multistage methodology of the slope stability analysis, based on a case study, is presented in the paper. The study area is located in southern Poland, where geological conditions are complex. A numerous complementary research techniques that were applied provided reliable and exact assessment of equilibrium state of the slope. The results have shown that presented multistep procedure takes into account various destabilizing factors and therefore enables the prediction of the future spatial planning