New working spaces. Policy perspectives before and after the COVID-19 pandemic

This chapter maps the debate of new working spaces (particularly CSs) on the level of European policy making. It explores how new working spaces have been interpreted by the European Commission and how this debate has evolved from its origins up to the recent COVID-19 period. For these purposes, two diferent ideas of CSs will be presented and discussed: CSs as innovation drivers boosting economic development; and as opportunities for territorial regeneration, such as brownfeld redevelopment or local hubs promoting social cohesion. Specifc attention is devoted to identifying the evolution of policies supporting these spaces with a focus on place-based and urban planning measures before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter empirically investigates this debate analyzing EU policy reports and case studies. Finally, remarks and suggestions for policy learning are presented

Industrial districts, urban areas or both? The location behaviour of foreign and domestic firms in an Italian manufacturing region

The present paper aims at exploring the location behaviour of manufacturing firms, according to their ownership: domestic firms (henceforth DOMs) and inward foreign direct investments (henceforth IFDIs). This issue is empirically addressed by using data on manufacturing IFDIs and on DOMs in Veneto (north-east Italy) from the Reprint, AIDA and ISTAT databases. Veneto is an industrial district region, specialized in the Made-in-Italy sectors, hosting a central metropolitan area (Padua) and attracting a high share of IFDIs. Geo-referenced mapping and econometric analysis (counterfactual) are developed to explore the location behaviour of the two groups of firms. In line with previous work, findings show that IFDIs are more likely to be located in areas close to the main urban centres, such as the metropolitan area of Padua, to exploit the advantages of complex environments and higher connectivity. However, they also tend to locate in district areas more often than their DOMs counterfactual, suggesting the objective of acquiring a system of specialized productive knowledge and skills developed within a district ecosystem, and hardly reproducible in other contexts

ESTABILIDADE DE EMULSÕES FRENTE A DIFERENTES TÉCNICAS DE HOMOGENEIZAÇÃO E RESFRIAMENTO.

Na farmácia de manipulação, as emulsões são os veículos ideais para diversas aplicações cosméticas e farmacêuticas, pois reúnem qualidades estéticas e funcionais, como a solubilização de componentes hidro e lipofílicos. As emulsões precisam demonstrar estabilidade física sob as mais variadas condições, como as variações de temperatura e o estresse induzido pelas vibrações durante o transporte. Devem, também, manter a consistência adequada para conseguir boa sensação sobre a pele, espalhar-se e liberar ingredientes ativos. O estudo de estabilidade de produtos cosméticos fornece informações sobre o comportamento do produto, indicando seu grau de estabilidade em determinado intervalo de tempo, frente a condições ambientais a que possa ser submetido, desde a fabricação até o término do prazo de validade. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a estabilidade e os caracteres organolépticos de emulsões, após o preparo das mesmas, utilizando diferentes técnicas de homogeneização e resfriamento. Para a realização dos testes de estabilidade foram utilizadas duas formulações, uma emulsão aniônica, o Creme Lanette® e uma emulsão não iônica, o Creme Polawax®. Após a pesagem das matérias-primas, aquecimento e mistura das fases, a homogeneização foi realizada de quatro maneiras diferentes, quanto à temperatura e velocidade de agitação, até atingir a temperatura de 40ºC. Depois de submetidos a testes de estabilidade, não foram verificadas diferenças significativas nas características dos cremes estudados, mediante as técnicas de homogeneização e resfriamento aplicados

Districts, multinationals and global/digital networks

This paper reflects on what remains of Becattini’s utopia in the new context of a globalized and digital economy. Can one still foresee a global world populated with local societies able to produce value by following their own inspirations and chorally participating in a world-wide division of cognitive labor? It is suggested that the interpretive value of Becattini’s theorizing remains, to the extent that one moves away from the consideration of the classical district model, and adopts his more general way of thinking about the economy, which is only exemplified by the historical circumstance of industrial districts. His view may well apply to a variety of circumstances, not only to industrial districts and it is flexible enough to encompass economic change under different environmental conditions