Is it possible to control and optimize technology transfer process?

Is it possible to control and optimize technology transfer process? Engineers and quality practitioners are often faced with the problem of determining the optimal choice of key factor in the tolerance process evaluation regarding the quality of the process to be monitored. To guarantee a prefixed quality level of the monitored process, lower specification limit (LSL) and upper specification limit (USL) for a certain quality characteristic have been determined. These limits, LSL and USL, could be defined as æ - ds and æ + ds, respectively, where d > 0. Here, the key factor d represents the number of standard deviations at which each specification limit is located from the process mean. This paper shows an innovative use of SPC tools in a different field aspect, one in which they are usually employed. Generally, these instruments are used for the control of the industrial process or service, but they could be used in an innovative way to control and to optimize a particular process: the technology transfer process. When determining the key factor level, it is important to consider a trade-off between costs incurred by the supplier, in terms of technology offer, and the user, in terms of technology request, of the process examined. This paper shows how these costs are quantified and integrated; it also shows how a particular mathematical tool, the Lambert W function, is incorporated into this choice optimization problem by deriving a closed-form solution. This proposed model and solution may be appealing to managers and technology transfer operators since the Lambert function is found in a number of standard optimization software. Experimental results are presented and related to a real data set of technology transfer actions developed by the Technology Transfer Office

Geografic determinism VS urban resilience: an italian scenario analysis

It has been for many years that the analysis of the resilience concept has transversally enriched the scientific debate, both from the technical-scientific view to the socio-humanistic one. In urban areas, particularly, scientific literature offers a consolidated panorama of theories and applications. The present work is animated by the objective of complementing this background with a geographic approach in which the characteristics of urban resilience, synthesized by a wide review of scientific articles, are associated with determinants of geographic type (urban dimension, latitude, and prevalent urban attribute). The proposed analysis introduces methodological elements of evaluation useful for this topic, as well as demonstrates, based on the stratification of real data regarding some main urban variables (Living, Environment, Mobility and Legality), the scenario of Italian cities characterized by high, medium and low resilience actions as a function of their geographical characteristics. It will try to make clearer the question regarding the geographic determinism paradigm respecting the urban frame, analyzing the eventual geographical influence on the processes of urban resilienc

Remote sensing based on time variance control in configurable area partitioning

Abstract. In this paper a sensor data fusion approach for characteristics field monitoring, based on time variance control model, is proposed. Distributed sensing and remote processing are the basic features of the employed architecture. In fact, in order to obtain meaningful information about the temporal and spatial variations, which characterize the field levels of some characteristics (electromagnetic, air pollution, seismic, etc), a distributed network of wireless and mobile smart-sensors has been designed.Starting from the partitioned configuration of a monitored geographic areas, this model allows to take into account the different levels of degradation over time in the sensors' performances associated with the different geographic partitions, progressively increasing the severity of the control. To this end, through the introduction of a reliability curve, a revised traditional control chart for variables is proposed.The proposed approach, further constituting an element of the scientific debate, aims to be a useful operational tool for professionals and managers employed in the environment control

Geographical scattering in Italian inner areas, politics and COVID-19

In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has been fervently considered from the perspective of various disciplines in the scientific community. Many of the proposed approaches are tied to reflections on the imminent and future effects of the pandemic. This contribution begins with a study of the recent past in Italy, analyzing the hurdles in politics that came to light due to the wave of COVID-19 infections worldwide. Particularly, the research considers the criticality of the geographical scale of reference in Italy‘s political actions. COVID-19 induced a need for the government to interact with people locally, especially through small municipalities in geographically central, inner areas, is emphasized. The main aim of this research is to attribute to this specific COVID-19 disaster the instrumental role of turning on the lights on the need to intervene in the inner areas of Italy, often very neglected. So the focus of the work is on inner areas and the probable catalysis of the political management dynamics that concern them, as an effect of the COVID's impacts. The pandemic is, therefore, only the contingent phenomenon which, in this case, can perhaps accelerate political interventions in inner areas. To explain the reason for this, we show how the vulnerability of inner areas, already generally risky, has become one of the weak links in the chain of protection from COVID-19 in terms of a geographical scattering phenomenon

Europe without barriers: accessible tourism between places and projects

In the last few decades, the tourism sector in Europe has been facing growing demands from travellers who want better access in hotels, at holiday destinations and tourist attractions. The number of European travellers in the 55+ age group is increasing and, together with disabled people and their families, these customers are looking for travel options where basic accessibility features are standard. The so-called accessible tourism for all is not about providing separate services for separate targets or niche tourist markets. It aims at full integration or rather the inclusion of people with special needs (age, size, disability) in the tourism sector. Its long-term goal is the creation of a tourist environment in which all tourists can participate actively. Viewed from the perspective of accessible tourism for all, tourism policy in the European Union can be said to unite accessibility targets that are part of the otherwise trade-related aspects of tourism policy and a disability policy that, based on the United Nations\u2019 Standard Rules, support goals and specific measures at various levels that are designed to enhance accessibility in connection with tourism policy. Within this framework, the main purpose of this research is to investigate strategies and actions to which the European Commission is committed to increase accessibility in tourism. Using a qualitative methodology, the paper explores objectives and activities of some initiatives that are helping to make travel and tourism accessible for everyone. Therefore, it offers an overview of some projects and good practices taking place in European countries

The Iconographic Exploitation of the Urban Space for the Amplification of the Symbols of the Camorra. The Case of Spanish Quarters, Naples, Italy

This contribution is inspired by a current scenario regarding the city of Naples, Italy, where a strong popular uprising is underway against local institutions that are destroying the Camorra murals celebrating its “heroes” died in “war”. These events are very interesting to analyse the theme of the iconographic exploitation of urban space by the criminal part of society in order to amplify the identity symbols of a tribal structure such as the Camorra. While on the one hand the analysis aims to show the positive response of civil society and institutions in eradicating these celebra-tory icons of evil, on the other hand the research intends to emphasise the profound and worrying systemic modification of public space according to subjective and nega-tive canons that, however, are also shared by some intellectuals and even an adminis-trative court

Measuring the Regional Dimension of Innovation through an Economic Model Based on Rectifying Technology Audits according to the AICTT-RTA Protocol

The aim of this paper is to give an answer to the question "how to detect the regional dimension of innovation?". So, in this paper, a method to be used as an operational tool that is able to grasp regional specificities in the innovation process, based on the optimization of measurement activity, is proposed. Evidence in the scientific literature shows that data and indicators are able to quantify the contribution of different regions, identify the different technological profiles of the regions and measure the technological performances of regional systems, the innovative performances of firms and the density and quality of systemic interactions between the main institutional actors, but these items are often not developed through an analytical model of measure control cost based on the optimization of certain influencing factors. The proposed approach is based on two main points: 1) Define the opportune methodology to detect the innovation level of a single firm. For this aim it has been considered the AICTT-RTA protocol. Each SME, is considered as innovative or as non-innovative according to the outcome of a Technology Audit (TA) conducted in compliance with the AICTT-RTA protocol. 2) Determine, starting only from some of the SMEs in a certain monitored area, if the entire area is innovative or not, through TA on a optimal sample size of SMEs analyzed. For this second point the approach uses a bayesian analysis of the Deming cost model. This approach considers a wide area, industrial or urban, in which SMEs are present and treats it as a lot of N items. Through the proposed approach, to characterize the regional innovation it's sufficient to characterize just only some SMEs, however detecting the whole regional innovation profile. In this paper this aspect is valorized and set in the form of a useful operational tool for regional institutions, innovation managers, entrepreneurs and researchers. Simulation results complement the proposed theoretical model

From the “Smart City” to the “Smart Metropolis”? Building Resilience in the Urban Periphery

The “smart city” has risen to global prominence over the past two decades as an urban planning and development strategy. As a broad but contested toolkit of technological services and policy interventions aimed at improving the efficacy and efficiency of urban systems, the “smart city” is subject to several pressing critiques. This paper acknowledges these concerns, but recognizes the potential of “urban intelligence” to enhance the resiliency of metropolitan areas. As such, we focus on an under-researched dimension of smart city urbanism: its application in peripheral urban areas. The paper introduces a threefold typology of: (a) geographic (spatial); (b) hard (material); and (c) soft (social) urban peripherality. Second, it reviews the concept of urban resilience and considers how its central characteristics can inform the objectives and implementation of “smart city” infrastructures and planning. Six European smart city plans are assessed via a qualitative content analysis, to identify the target of smart city actions; the characteristics of urban resilience mobilized; and the spatial focus of planned interventions. The comparative analysis reveals a variegated set of smart-city approaches. Notably, “smart” actions aimed at enhancing social innovation are the most common type of intervention, while overall there remains a strong tendency for smart urbanism to focus on the urban core. We conclude by calling for a research agenda addressing smartness in, of, and for, peripheral urban spaces and communities

Sedimentation and time-of-transition techniques for measuring grain-size distributions in lagoonal flats: comparability of results

A comparative study was performed of three instruments used to measure the grain-size distribution of thirty sediment samples from shallow lagoonal flats: the hydrometer, the Sedigraph 5100 and the CIS-1. The hydrometer and Sedigraph are based on sedimentation whereas the CIS-1 uses the time of transition. The percentage of the samples accounted for by the <8 lm fraction was not affected by the technique used, but this was not the case with the clay fraction (<2 lm). Due to its relative independence from the analytical method applied, the <8 lm fraction can be used in ternary diagram classifications. This fraction also has an environmental significance in coastal lagoons in terms of hydrodynamics, organic enrichment and macrozoobenthos assemblages. The linear relationships obtained in this study may provide useful operational indications for similar studies