A model of the learning process with local knowledge externalities illustrated with an integrated graphical framework

In this paper we present a theoretical model of the learning process with knowledge externalities to R&D and other learning inputs within a region, a technological district, an industry or a technological cluster with fast rates of accumulation of new technological knowledge. As there are several definitions of localized technological and learning opportunities (according to the technical space, or to the regional space) and of localized technological knowledge, we can therefore find several possible applications to the generic model. The analysis of the learning firm interacting with a specific region in the production of new technological knowledge is just one of them. The analytical model we develop is amenable to a graphical representation. Thus we provide in the first place a unifying graphical framework, consisting of a four-quadrant picture to analyze the process of knowledge accumulation by learning firms located and operating in a specific region or industry, which simultaneously stresses the nature of the basic learning process and the importance of true knowledge spillovers in the generation of new knowledge. We adopt the following approach to the construction of spillover stocks or pools. First, the magnitude of the state of aggregate knowledge in a region or industry is reconstructed through the historic accumulation of flows of knowledge. Thus, the aggregate level of knowledge can always be updated after every learning loop, or at every moment of discrete time, whose unit of measurement we might assume at the outset of our analysis. Secondly, every firm within a region or industry is treated symmetrically regarding spillover effects and magnitudes. Such statement meaning that the amount of aggregate knowledge borrowed from any available source, either the region or industry under analysis or some other distant region or industry, is regarded as the same by every firm. And finally, we model both the loss of appropriation of benefits from innovation and the distance between different technological bases or regional sources in terms of single parameters, or instantaneous rates of growth, weighting respectively the leakage and the absorption intensities of flows and stocks of knowledge. Several theoretical predictions about the direction and magnitude of the knowledge spillovers can therefore be deducted from parametric changes in the leakage and absorption functions of our model arising from, among other things: - Improvements in information technology and falling communication costs observed in the economic system at general. - Improvements in technological communication systems within specific technological districts. - The establishment of explicit cooperative relations and effective access to the pool of collective knowledge, or instead any improvements of the mutuality and trust conditions, within the group of firms located and operating within a specific region. - The increasing of competitive pressures, or the working of any other mechanism for lowering the appropriation of a firm’s gains from innovation, in an array of industrial sectors. One interesting theoretical result is then derived from our full model. With such purpose in mind, we consider first the existence of a relevant competitive situation where appropriation and communication are both dependent upon the number of receiving and sending firms within the region. Whereas the amount of technological leakage per firm increases with the number of firms effectively operating within the region, ceteris paribus; the extent of absorption per firm also increases with the number of firms effectively communicating within the region, ceteris paribus. Apparently, there is a trade-off between such appropriation conditions and communication conditions. In the long-run, the addition of firms eventually exhausts the net positive effects of taking part in an effective network, and so we can establish an equilibrium number of firms operating in the region.

Integrated graphical framework accounting for the nature and the speed of the learning process: an application to MNEs strategies of internationalisation of production and R&D investment

Existing illustrations of the learning phenomenon either stress the relationship between flows and stocks, neglecting the chronological time variable, or the speed of knowledge accumulation along time, neglecting the nature of the underlying learning process. In this paper we present a graphical depiction stressing, in an explicit way, both the nature of interplay between flows and stocks and the intensity of the learning process. The four-quadrant graphs that we develop overcome considerable simplification in literature by deriving, by construction, a measure of dynamic gains of knowledge following the interplay of stock of scientific and technological knowledge and the flow of effort in R&D. This scheme is then applied to study the internationalisation of production and R&D, which are strategies followed by multinational firms. Two types of innovation – process innovation and product innovation – are therefore studied constructing, in each case, an industry performance measure adequately indexed to the cumulated knowledge stock at a given moment in time. In any case, the dynamic efficiency measure adopted naturally takes into account both the absolute changes in the technology indexes and the time delays to reach them, which are properly discounted. Regarding multinationals strategies - internationalisation of production and R&D investment -, we begin with the question of finding a new location for using a now well developed production technology, and then deal with the problem of selecting a region of excellence in research to take gains of concentration advantages and local externalities.Learning; knowledge; technology; R&D; MNEs

A Model of the Learning Process with Local Knowledge Externalities Illustrated with an Integrated Graphical Framework

We present a unified graphical framework accounting for the nature and impact of spillover effects. The dynamics of the learning process with a specific spillover transfer mechanism can be illustrated by recurring to this four-quadrant picture. In particular, a whole cycle of technological learning is explained with help of such a graphical representation of the basic learning process in the presence of knowledge spillovers. We hypothesize two different functional specifications of spillover exchanges among firms within a local innovation system. Each conceivable shape for the knowledge transfer relationship among firms expresses a possible mode and intensity of information processing arising from technology spillovers. A general proposition regarding the relative efficiency of the two alternative formal models with spillovers effects is derived. The basic models with spillover effects are then extended in several relevant directions.Learning; knowledge; technology spillovers; knowledge externalities; local innovation systems

Bactéria açoriana ativa contra mosquitos vetores de infeções

A secção Biologia é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues.As infeções emergentes ou reemergentes são infeções causadas pela entrada de um agente infeccioso num local considerado indemne até então ou pelo reaparecimento desse agente depois de um longo período de ausência. A globalização, ao aumentar significativamente o movimento de pessoas e o intercâmbio de materiais entre continentes, associada às alterações climáticas, tem contribuído para a disseminação de agentes infeciosos, originando-se assim o aparecimento de novas infeções ou o seu reaparecimento em locais onde terão existido antes. Muitos destes agentes infecciosos têm como hospedeiros intermediários artrópodes que funcionam como vetores para a sua transmissão e também disseminação. Exemplos de vetores são os mosquitos que transmitem um grande número de agentes infecciosos humanos e animais, alguns deles altamente patogénicos, como o protozoário causador da malária, a infeção mais letal no mundo, e muitos vírus, entre eles o causador da Dengue. […].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The impact of Corporate Governance on the Cost of Debt: Evidence from Portuguese Listed Companies

Samaran Charles. Le nom donné au Moyen Age à la cour domaniale de la vicomté de Marsan : cour del Cer (ou Ser) et Cour dels Cers (ou Sers). In: Bulletin de la Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France, 1977, 1980. pp. 155-156

A opção da Bélgica e da Dinamarca face ao artigo 5º do regulamento (CE) nº 1606/2002

A opção da Bélgica e da Dinamarca face ao artigo 5º do regulamento (CE) nº 1606/200

Transport-on-Demand (ToD) Planner for MaaS - Resources Management

Trabalho de projeto de mestrado, Engenharia Informática (Engenharia de Software) Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2020This report describes the work developed in the Transport-on-Demand (ToD) Planner for MaaS - Resources Management project, at Card4B - Systems, S.A., whose theme is related to public transport and aims to develop solutions that improve the current features of some products. Nowadays, there are essential attributes that we look for in our daily lives, such as quickness, efficiency and flexibility of options. The mobility industry has adapted to this trend by offering integrated and intelligent services. Over the years, services have adapted to the passengers needs and it was then that the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concept was born. Users have access to a single service that results in the integration of several transport options which, due to the technology advancement, allow them to define their desired origin and destination, previously know the price they will pay for the trip and the duration of it. This project has brought improvements to existing products, such as a web wid get that allows users to consult bus routes and schedules according to the following criteria: career, origin and destination. It is also worth to mention the introduction of a new concept - satellite stop - which acts as a flag for that stop, allowing it to be enabled or disabled. Posteriorly, a screen was developed to allow the drawing of routes that each bus will take, so that later they can be compared to the routes that were executed. Finally, it was necessary to replace a technology that will no longer be supported from 2021, Silverlight. The replacement was made in 2 parts: the first made in Blazor and the second using Javascript and jQuery

Constructing taxonomies using results from portuguese news articles topic distillation

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201

Towards the discovery of temporal patterns in music listening using Last.fm profiles

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201