The scientific influence of nations on global scientific and technological development

Determining how scientific achievements influence the subsequent process of knowledge creation is a fundamental step in order to build a unified ecosystem for studying the dynamics of innovation and competitiveness. Relying separately on data about scientific production on one side, through bibliometric indicators, and about technological advancements on the other side, through patents statistics, gives only a limited insight on the key interplay between science and technology which, as a matter of fact, move forward together within the innovation space. In this paper, using citation data of both research papers and patents, we quantify the direct influence of the scientific outputs of nations on further advancements in science and on the introduction of new technologies. Our analysis highlights the presence of geo-cultural clusters of nations with similar innovation system features, and unveils the heterogeneous coupled dynamics of scientific and technological advancements. This study represents a step forward in the buildup of an inclusive framework for knowledge creation and innovation

UV-LED curable acrylic films containing phosphate glass powder: effect of the filler loading on the thermal, optical, mechanical and flame retardant properties

In this work, we thoroughly investigate the effects of the incorporation of a phosphate glass micrometric powder on the morphology, as well as on the thermal, optical, mechanical and flame retardant properties of UV-LED curable acrylic films. To this aim, the filler loading was changed within 10 and 50 wt.%. UV-LED initiated curing was selected as a fast and reliable system, as the standard UV-curing process was not suitable because of the presence of the glass powder that decreased the quantum efficiency during the UV exposure, hence preventing the transformation of the liquid system into a solid network. The glass powder slightly increased the glass transition temperature of the acrylic network, hence showing a limited effect on the chain segments mobility; besides, increasing filler loadings were responsible for a progressive decrease of the transparency of films, irrespective of a marginal effect on their refractive index. Conversely, the presence of increasing amounts of phosphate glass improved the thermal and thermo-oxidative stability of the cured products. Besides, phosphate glass was capable of remarkably enhancing the flame retardance of the acrylic network at 50 wt.% loading, which achieved self-extinction in vertical flame spread tests (and was V-0 rated). This formulation, as assessed by forced-combustion tests, also displayed a remarkable decrease of peak of Heat Release Rate and Total Heat Release (by 44 and 33%, respectively) and of Total Smoke Release and Specific Extinction Area (by 53 and 56%, respectively). Further, the filler promoted an increase of the stiffness and surface hardness of the films, at the expense of a decrease in ductility. All these findings may justify the potential use of these composite films as flame retardant coatings for different flammable substrates

The European Union and an “Indo-Pacific” alignment

Published online: 05 July 2024The European Union (EU) is deepening its political and security engagement in the so-called Indo-Pacific mega-region. Aside from alluring economic drivers, this article argues that growing suspicion vis-à-vis the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been accompanied by a multilayered set of ententes with “like-minded” Asia-Pacific partners, starting with the United States of America (US), all the way to Japan, South Korea, and Australia. This effort has been facilitated and hastened by US policy under the Biden administration and Russia’s war in Ukraine. On the basis of first-hand elite interviews over the course of many years of fieldwork, as well as documentary evidence, including those in the Japanese language, the article argues that the EU and major member states have recalibrated earlier aspirations for effective multilateralism and strategic autonomy to more forcefully align with a concert of Indo-Pacific counterparts, led by the United States. The case of the EU-Japan strategic partnership is indicative of such trends, as it covers traditional and non-traditional security domains

The European Union’s security intervention in the Indo-Pacific : between multilateralism and mercantile interests

Published online: 19 September 2022Is the EU raising its political and security profile in the Indo-Pacific solely because of China’s assertiveness or US–China strategic competition, as often posited? On the basis of official documentation and elite interviews, this article advances a more nuanced view of the rationale behind the EU’s engagement there. Aside from increased European naval involvement the EU and its member states are fostering the capacity building of IndoPacific countries concerned with their maritime safety, maritime security and to uphold the rules-based multilateral order. Yet, this article demonstrates how mercantile goals lie behind the EU and its member states’ politico-security engagement

The scientific impact of nations on scientific and technological development

Determining how scientific achievements influence the subsequent process of knowledge creation is a fundamental step in order to build a unified ecosystem for studying the dynamics of innovation and competitiveness. Yet, relying separately on data about scientific production on one side, through bibliometric indicators, and about technological advancements on the other side, through patents statistics, gives only a limited insight on the key interplay between science and technology which, as a matter of fact, move forward together within the innovation space. In this paper, using citation data of both scientific papers and patents, we quantify the direct impact of the scientific outputs of nations on further advancements in science and on the introduction of new technologies. Our analysis highlights the presence of geo-cultural clusters of nations with similar innovation system features, and unveils the heterogeneous coupled dynamics of scientific and technological success. This study represents a first step in the buildup of a comprehensive framework for knowledge creation and innovation

Japan 2022 : Putin and Abe shocks thwart Kishida’s enjoyment of three golden years despite major defence overhaul

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the assassination of record-setting former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō impacted heavily on Japan’s domestic politics and international relations. Diplomatically, Tokyo forcefully aligned with its Western partners against Russia’s aggression while making progress in enhancing awareness that the European and Indo-Pacific strategic theatres are politically intertwined. In addition to doubling down on its alignment with the more combative approach to China of the United States, Japan continued to diversify its bilateral and mini-lateral strategic partnerships as Tokyo’s Indo-Pacific framing of regional geopolitical dynamics gained even greater global salience. In the future, Japan’s strategic outreach should be backed by a more potent Japanese defence force as Prime Minister Kishida Fumio adopted plans to substantially enhance Japan’s warfighting capabilities in late-2022 after a year-long review of defence settings. Such plans could also put Tokyo on the path to wield the Self-Defense Forces with greater autonomy in the 2030s and, if required, impose substantial military costs on its adversaries. Domestically, Japanese politics was tragically overshadowed by the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō. The political fallout had unanticipated negative consequences for Prime Minister Kishida as issues surrounding Mr. Abe’s state funeral and ruling party connections to the Unification Church destroyed his administration’s popularity in the second half of 2022. By the end of 2022, there was no sign of Kishida’s «three golden years» of domestic political peace as scandals involving cabinet ministers and controversy over tax rises to fund Japan’s defence build-up confounded Mr. Kishida’s ability to exert control over his own party

Unfolding the innovation system for the development of countries: co-evolution of Science, Technology and Production

We show that the space in which scientific, technological and economic developments interplay with each other can be mathematically shaped using pioneering multilayer network and complexity techniques. We build the tri-layered network of human activities (scientific production, patenting, and industrial production) and study the interactions among them, also taking into account the possible time delays. Within this construction we can identify which capabilities and prerequisites are needed to be competitive in a given activity, and even measure how much time is needed to transform, for instance, the technological know-how into economic wealth and scientific innovation, being able to make predictions with a very long time horizon. Quite unexpectedly, we find empirical evidence that the naive knowledge flow from science, to patents, to products is not supported by data, being instead technology the best predictor for industrial and scientific production for the next decades

Italy's embrace of the Belt and Road Initiative : populist foreign policy and political marketing

Published online: 9 May 2022Are populist governments harbingers of foreign policy disruption? The foreign policy of western Europe's first all-out populist coalition government constitutes a good window to address this question. Italy's ‘Yellow–Green’ government's decision to embrace China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2019 has been understood as an important rupture from Italy's traditional Euro-Atlantic foreign policy. On the basis of substantial empirical research, especially elite interviews and official documentation, this article finds instead continuity with previous administrations' overtures to Beijing, including non-opposition from the EU and active engagement by the bureaucratic establishment. This article makes a contribution to the study of populism and foreign policy by positing that political marketing constitutes the key intervening variable that accounts for populist governments' rhetorical differentiation to local electorate and international counterparts alike. The Italian case demonstrates that populist ‘ruptures’ may well be about style and electioneering tactics, over substance and policy strategy. Considering the still growing number of governments that decide to sign into the BRI, most lately that of Argentina, policy-makers and observers ought to assess to what extent these are real commitments, or rather a smokescreen of marketing practices that does not change the relationship between China and the target country in any substantial manner