Regions, Innovation Systems, and the North-South Divide in Italy

Using firm-level data collected by Statistics Italy for 2008, 2011, and 2015, we examine the Triple-Helix synergy among geographical and size distributions of firms, and the NACE codes attributed to these firms, at the different levels of regional and national government. At which levels is innovation-systemness indicated? The contributions of regions to the Italian innovation system have increased, but synergy generation between regions and supra-regionally has remained at almost 45%. As against the statistical classification of Italy into twenty regions or into Northern, Central, and Southern Italy, the greatest synergy is retrieved by considering the country in terms of Northern and Southern Italy as two sub-systems, with Tuscany included as part of Northern Italy. We suggest that separate innovation strategies should be developed for these two parts of the country. The current focus on regions for innovation policies may to some extent be an artifact of the statistics and EU policies. In terms of sectors, both medium- and high-tech manufacturing (MHTM) and knowledge-intensive services (KIS) are proportionally integrated in the various regions

Local food and civic food networks as a real utopias project

For scholars and activists alike, local food is linked to visions of a more equitable, ethical and sustainable agro-food system. Notwithstanding an apparent unity, local food is mobilized for very different aims including environmental sustainability, the revitalization of rural economies, the reconnection of consumers to agriculture and nature and the promotion of land entitlements for marginalized populations. At the same time, local food has become a crucial element in protectionist and neo-ruralist ideologies that support bounded, defensive spatial strategies. These contradictions point to the limited heuristic value of the ‘local food’ concept, particularly when decoupled from an explicit attention to the political and power dimensions of the local. Building upon these considerations, in this article we explicitly focus on the political and transformative dimensions of different local food projects and propose to read local food as a ‘real utopia’ project whose aim is the transformation of the food economy in the direction of sustainability, social emancipation and social justice. Utilizing the framework developed by E.O. Wright, we look at local food as a diagnosis and critique of the present; as the prefiguration of a more sustainable, just and democratic future; and as a set of transformative strategies that aim at changing the system in the desired direction. Our analysis suggests that, differently from the oppositional movements of the Fordist era, the local food movement is characterized by its use of interstitial (“ignore the state”) and symbiotic (“use the state”) strategies. These strategies either seek to establish new economic and social relations at the margins of the neoliberal food economy, or partner with local institutions to consolidate new experiences with food democracy and food justice. By mobilizing non-ruptural strategies in the service of a real utopian project, local food initiatives are opening up new, enlarged spaces for non-capitalist or post-capitalist economies that constitute the basis for social learning and experimentation of a global more sustainable and just food system. A further step ahead could be constituted by the promotion of a reflexive, more democratic, socially empowering system of governance, able to lead the innovative potential of the food movement to its full expression

Regions, innovation systems, and the North-South divide in Italy

Innovation systems are not bound by administrative or political boundaries. Using information theory, we measure innovation-systemness as synergy among size-classes, postal addresses, and technological classes (NACE-codes) of firm-level data collected by Statistics Italy at different scales. Italy is organized in twenty regions, but there is also a traditional divide between the North and the South of the country. At which levels is how much innovation-systemness indicated? The greatest synergy is retrieved by considering the country in terms of Northern and Southern Italy as two sub-systems, with Tuscany included as part of Northern Italy. We suggest that separate innovation strategies could be developed for these two parts of the country. The current focus on regions for innovation policies may to some extent be an artifact of the statistics and EU policies. In terms of sectors, both medium- and high-tech manufacturing (MHTM) and knowledge-intensive services (KIS) are proportionally integrated in the various region

SeaConditions: a web and mobile service for safer professional and recreational activities in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract. Reliable and timely information on the environmental conditions at sea is key to the safety of professional and recreational users as well as to the optimal execution of their activities. The possibility of users obtaining environmental information in due time and with adequate accuracy in the marine and coastal environment is defined as sea situational awareness (SSA). Without adequate information on the environmental meteorological and oceanographic conditions, users have a limited capacity to respond, which has led to loss of lives and to large environmental disasters with enormous consequent damage to the economy, society and ecosystems. Within the framework of the TESSA project, new SSA services for the Mediterranean Sea have been developed. In this paper we present SeaConditions, which is a web and mobile application for the provision of meteorological and oceanographic observation and forecasting products. Model forecasts and satellite products from operational services, such as ECMWF and CMEMS, can be visualized in SeaConditions. In addition, layers of information related to bathymetry, sea level and ocean-colour data (chl a and water transparency) are displayed. Ocean forecasts at high spatial resolutions are included in the version of SeaConditions presented here. SeaConditions provides a user-friendly experience with a fluid zoom capability, facilitating the appropriate display of data with different levels of detail. SeaConditions is a single point of access to interactive maps from different geophysical fields, providing high-quality information based on advanced oceanographic models. The SeaConditions services are available through both web and mobile applications. The web application is available at www.sea-conditions.com and is accessible and compatible with present-day browsers. Interoperability with GIS software is implemented. User feedback has been collected and taken into account in order to improve the service. The SeaConditions iOS and Android apps have been downloaded by more than 105 000 users to date (May 2016), and more than 100 000 users have visited the web version

Capitalist dynamics in a reforming state socialist economy: labour markets, class and inequality in a Chinese high-technology development zone

"This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 29 July 2011"Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics, 2012.Bibliography: p. 254-273.Introduction -- Class location and wage distribution -- A class analysis of benefits distribution -- Job search networks and social class -- Conclusions.Quantitatively-oriented sociological research on inequality and stratification in post-Mao China is mainly concerned with understanding how material rewards and chances for social mobility accrue to individuals endowed with different levels of human, social and political capital. The presence of structural determinants of inequality, when acknowledged, is generally attributed to sectoral, organizational and geographical factors or to institutionally-generated labour market segmentation. The role of social class as a structural determinant of inequality has instead been entirely neglected. -- This thesis addresses the gap in the literature by applying Wright's neo-Marxist class analysis to a case study of employee compensation and job search networks in a Chinese New- and High- Technology Development Zone. The study combines qualitative evidence collected during twelve months of fieldwork in Nanjing with quantitative data gathered through a survey of 98 randomly- selected white collar employees. Employees were assigned to a class location according to their levels of skill and authority. The study then assessed the effect of class location on the distribution of wages and benefits and on the use of job search networks. -- The results show that (a) class location has a significant effect on the distribution of wages and benefits net of individual-level attributes; (b) class location mediates the effect of individuallevel factors such as education and work experience; (c) the mobilization of social networks during the job search process shows clear class patterns. Although the research is based on a single case study, the results suggest that structural determinants of inequality in China cannot be univocally attributed to socialist legacies and market imperfections, but that they derive at least in part from the emergence of capitalist class relations.Mode of access: World Wide Web.1 online resource (ix, 274 p.) map

Local Food as 'real utopia'. A critical perspective

Analysis of local agriculture as expression of 'real utopias', that is attempt at formulating viable institutional designs that embody democratic, egalitarian, emancipatory alternatives

Alternative Agriculture in Italy. Transitions pathways in Southern Italy

Through the analysis of four alternative food networks in Italy patterns of transition in Mediterranean agriculture are analyze