Higher education excellence and local economic development: the case of the Entrepreneurial University of Twente

By tradition or intellectual necessity, universities pursue a main objective: increasing and transferring knowledge that is internationally relevant for the whole of mankind. But new powerful socio-economic forces are demanding universities to be engaged in regional economic development and their knowledge to be relevant in terms of local employment, university spin-offs and growth. These two objectives are traditionally considered as not complementary or even mutually exclusive. Through a case study regarding the Dutch University of Twente, this article shows that local economic relevance and international excellence are not incompatible objectives: they were not at the University of Twente; they can be reached even in a new born and poor endowed university, located in a peripheral, depressed and not industrialized countryside. This article argues that a strong entrepreneurial vision and the adoption of a different concept of knowledge may be the key for other small and peripheral European universities, in order to reach both local economic relevance and international excellence. The article will contribute and enrich the regional studies debate, introducing in it some higher education policy issues and ideas

Il cambiamento nei modelli di governance delle Università: esperienze europee a confronto

Il contributo analizza l'evoluzione dei modelli di governance universitari, con specifico riferimento all'esperienza europea

Assessment of psychological predictors of weight loss: How and what for?

Obesity is a multifactorial disease and the prominent factors playing a role in its pathogenesis are biological, environmental and psychological. There is a growing interest in understanding psychological functioning of obese subjects and the influence of psychological factors on treatment outcome. The aim of the present narrative review is to critically analyze the current literature, in order to point out the most common psychological constructs studied in obesity and to give an overview of the main existing tools investigating psychological features which have been considered significant for the prediction of success in weight loss and maintenance programs in obese patients. In this framework, the most common psychological constructs studied are: self-motivation, self-efficacy, locus of control, health related quality of life, self-esteem, self-control, concerns about body image, outcome expectations, and personality traits. These features have been explored through a wide variety of psychometric instruments. However, as an overall, studies evaluating the association between psychological features and treatment outcome failed to give consistent results. A possible explanation may consist on the fact that many tools widely used to explore psychological features were not specifically designed for obese patients and none of them was comprehensive of all possible psychological features involved. The identification of well-defined sub-groups of patients and the validation of more reliable and comprehensive tools, specifically designed for obese subjects, should be forecasted in order to reach a better knowledge of psychological functioning of obese individuals and to improve the outcome of weight loss programs

Do You Trust Your Device? Open Challenges in IoT Security Analysis

Several critical contexts, such as healthcare, smart cities, drones, transportation, and agriculture, nowadays rely on IoT, or more in general embedded, devices that require comprehensive security analysis to ensure their integrity before deployment. Security concerns are often related to vulnerabilities that result from inadequate coding or undocumented features that may create significant privacy issues for users and companies. Current analysis methods, albeit dependent on complex tools, may lead to superficial assessments due to compatibility issues, while authoritative entities struggle with specifying feasible firmware analysis requests for manufacturers within operational contexts. This paper urges the scientific community to collaborate with stakeholders—manufacturers, vendors, security analysts, and experts—to forge a cooperative model that clarifies manufacturer contributions and aligns analysis demands with operational constraints. Aiming at a modular approach, this paper highlights the crucial need to refine security analysis, ensuring more precise requirements, balanced expectations, and stronger partnerships between vendors and analysts. To achieve this, we propose a threat model based on the feasible interactions of actors involved in the security evaluation of a device, with a particular emphasis on the responsibilities and necessities of all entities involved

Proximity effects on nuclear spin-spin coupling constants. 1. 1J(CH) couplings in the vicinity of an atom bearing lone pairs

Proximity effects on 1J(CH) couplings are studied from a theoretical point of view in the following systems: CH4/FH (A) and H2O/HCN (B) which form dimers by hydrogen-bond interactions. 1J(CH) couplings for different intermolecular distances are calculated for the C - H bond facing the atom bearing lone pairs. While in the former system, this coupling is increased owing to the proximity to the F atom; in the latter this coupling is decreased owing to the proximity to the O atom. These opposite trends are accompanied by slight shortening and lengthening, respectively, of the corresponding C - H bond lengths. As part of this work, measurements of 1J(CH) couplings in 9-(1,3-dioxolan-2-yl)-1,2,3,4-tetrafluorotriptycene (I) and 1-formyl-2-hydroxy-8-fluoronaphthalene (II) and 1J(NH) in o-fluorobenzamide (III), showing proximity effects as those described above are carried out. These results suggest that 1J(XH) couplings are adequate probes to distinguish two different types of X-H⋯Y hydrogen bonds. © 1994 American Chemical Society.Fil:Vizioli, C. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil:De Ruiz Azúa, M.C. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil:Giribet, C.G. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil:Contreras, R.H. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

Prevalence study of mental disorders in an Italian region. Preliminary report

Background Mental disorders are a major public health problem. However, over the last few years, there have been few studies aimed at evaluating their diffusion. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating: the prevalence of the most frequent psychiatric disorders in the general population residing in Tuscany using a clinical scale administered by trainee in psychiatry. Methods The study was carried out on a representative sample of the general population aged > 18 years, randomly extracted from the register of patients in the Tuscany region, adopting a proportional sampling method stratified by gender, age group and Local Health Units (LHU). Each person was contacted by letter followed by a phone call from an operator who makes an appointment with the trainee in psychiatry. The diagnostic interview conducted was the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Point and lifetime prevalence by gender and age group were calculated. Differences and associations were considered statistically significant if their p-values were less than 0.05. Results Of the 408 people involved, 390 people were enrolled (of which 52.6% female). The 28.5% of the sample had been affected by a psychiatric disorder during their lifetime. In their lifetime, the most represented psychiatric disorders were major depressive episode (20.4%), major depressive disorder (17.0%) and panic disorder (10.3%), more frequent in the female than the male group. Current conditions were predominantly major depressive episode (3.1%) and agoraphobia (2.8%). A 5.9% rate of current suicidal ideation was also found. Conclusions In the general population, 28.5% of people reported a psychiatric disorder during their lifetime. This prevalence is considerably higher than that reported in a previous study carried out in central Italy

Prato: The Social Construction of an Industrial City Facing Processes of Cultural Hybridization

This chapter deals with a widely studied case, that is, Prato, a middle-sized city with rooted industrial traditions, in the Centre of Italy. Prato is a textile industrial district embedded in the so-called Third Italy—an area characterized by the presence of small firms spread throughout the territory, linked together in supply and subcontracting relationships—which, in the last twenty years, has undergone a profound transformation as a consequence of the crisis of textile and immigration, leading to the formation of a large Chinese community. The related changes brought with them problems of social cohesion and sustainable development. The authors address these issues by analyzing both academic and public discourses on Prato. Their basic idea is that common stereotypes act as drivers of a public discourse that prevents the city to re-negotiate its identity. The analysis concludes that different forms of hybridization—particularly cultural hybridization—are occurring, which would need further investigations