Implementation challenge of smart specialisation innovation strategies in catch-up regions: the role of institutions, governance and capacity building

This thesis examines public policy implementation in catch-up regions through the analytical lens of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3). Smart specialisation is a regional innovation strategy, introduced in 2010 as the main European cohesion policy to promote economic convergence. Empirical research shows that catch-up regions encounter major difficulties in putting S3 theory into practice. The need to understand why S3 development cannot be taken for granted, brings into focus the implementation challenge of smart specialisation, which is currently associated with weaknesses in building responsive governance models, thick institutions and strong research capabilities for innovation-driven growth. This study investigates S3 challenges in two European catch-up regions: Crete and Central Macedonia. It builds upon a conceptual framework that brings together elements from regional innovation studies with institutional and capacity building theories, aiming to investigate public policy implementation barriers in two Greek regions which have been in fiscal crisis for over a decade. It suggests that S3 barriers derive from a much wider knowledge gap in regional studies, already existing before the introduction of smart specialisation as a development strategy. This gap rests on the lack of empirical understanding of what governance and institutional change is required in lagging regions to tackle the regional innovation paradox: how change impacts on economic growth, when change must be initiated to be feasible and realistic, and what capabilities are needed to support change for regional renewal and development. To operate the conceptual framework, a qualitative case study approach has been designed, using evidence from academic, public and private local actors with a key role in developing S3. Primary data were collected by means of fifty semstructured interviews; participant observation was also used as a complementary method. Secondary data were gathered from a detailed documentary analysis of official textual sources. The thesis demonstrates the implementation challenge of smart specialisation, extending previous studies which examine S3 development in lagging regions. In contrast to much literature, it shows that S3 barriers are not simply due to weakness of catch-up regions to build research capacities, but also to non-smart specialisation-related barriers, yet highly influential on policy implementation. Such barriers include critical mass accumulation problems, public-sector administrative burden and lack of public-private trust. They are institutional and capacity building-related, and they should not been seen, in conceptual terms, as a precondition to effective S3 implementation. Rather, they are the result of a concurrent existence of weak policy governance models, limited institutional autonomy for regional self-governance and lack of transformative capacities for structural shifts. Two contributions to knowledge are made. Firstly, the research contributes to bottom-up theoretical understanding of regional policy development by showing that S3 debate should no longer be just about improving research capacities, but about how to best understand and address opportunities and challenges emerging from bringing together institutional integration, policy governance advances and capacity building improvements. Particularly, it evidences that S3 challenge needs to be examined and understood through a concurrent analysis of the ways in which governance, institutions and capabilities embedded in the wider environment of a region are related and evolved. Secondly, it contributes to the further advancement of regional studies, by providing a practical understanding of how to best develop S3 in practice. A three-stage policy implementation model is developed to support innovation strategists to search for an S3 implementation mix that best corresponds to their own needs

A Nonlinear Heat Equation Arising from Automated-Vehicle Traffic Flow Models

In this paper, a new nonlinear heat equation is studied that arises as a model of the collective behavior of automated vehicles. The properties of the solutions of this equation are studied by introducing the appropriate notion of a weak solution that requires certain entropy-like conditions. To obtain an approximation of the solution of the nonlinear heat equation, a new conservative first-order finite difference scheme is proposed that respects the corresponding entropy conditions, and certain links between the weak solution and the numerical scheme are provided. Finally, a traffic simulation scenario and a comparison with the Lighthill-Witham-Richards (LWR) model are provided, illustrating the benefits of the use of automated vehicles.Comment: 36 pages, 9 figure

Early Pregnancy Ultrasound Assessment of Multiple Pregnancy

As the frequency of multiple pregnancies is increasing, every obstetrician has to know that the correct, accurate, and timely determination of gestational age, chorionicity, and amnionicity has significant importance in the management of a multiple pregnancy. Surveillance, complications, outcome, morbidity, and mortality are totally different in a monochorionic and a dichorionic pregnancy. In this chapter, we will present the sonographic figures that are visualized in the first trimester in a multiple pregnancy and help us define the gestational age, chorionicity, and amnionicity. We will classify them into two periods: the early first trimester, including the 10 first weeks of gestation and the late first trimester including the period between the 10th and 14th week of gestation. Finally, we will review some interesting, although infrequent, cases from the literature, showing that pitfalls in the determination of both chorionicity and amnionicity exist and highlighting the importance of being aware of their subsistence

Massive Subcutaneus Emphysema following Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography with Sphincterotomy

Although endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is an effective procedure for the diagnosis and treatment of the pancreatic and extrahepatic biliary tract diseases, it is still related with several complications. A female patient who underwent an ERCP with sphincterotomy developed massive subcutaneous emphysema along with pneumomediastinum and pneumoperitoneum. Although mild respiratory distress occurred, based on the absence of intaabdominal leakage of gastrografin, the patient was managed conservatively. In conclusion, the retroperitoneal air collection related to ERCP is well recognized even in the absence of obvious perforation and may spread to adjacent areas, causing serious complications

Capacity-building barriers to S3 implementation: an empirical framework for catch-up regions

In this paper, we investigate the implementation challenge of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) in catch-up regional environments, through the lens of capacity building. We analyse capacity building at two levels: micro-level (individual organisations) and meso-level (regional inter-organisational networks). We use empirical evidence from 50 interviews conducted in the period 2015–2017 from two Greek regions dramatically hit by the economic crisis (Crete and Central Macedonia). We argue that in the Cretan and Central Macedonian context, the difficulty of implementing S3 is directly linked with firms’ lack of adsorptive capability to exploit university-generated knowledge, university knowledge that is too abstract for firm’s to easily acquire, as well as to the capability of regional actors to build inter-organisational networking that fits their strategic needs

Defining the Critical Hurdles in Cancer Immunotherapy

ABSTRACT: Scientific discoveries that provide strong evidence of antitumor effects in preclinical models often encounter significant delays before being tested in patients with cancer. While some of these delays have a scientific basis, others do not. We need to do better. Innovative strategies need to move into early stage clinical trials as quickly as it is safe, and if successful, these therapies should efficiently obtain regulatory approval and widespread clinical application. In late 2009 and 2010 the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), convened an "Immunotherapy Summit" with representatives from immunotherapy organizations representing Europe, Japan, China and North America to discuss collaborations to improve development and delivery of cancer immunotherapy. One of the concepts raised by SITC and defined as critical by all parties was the need to identify hurdles that impede effective translation of cancer immunotherapy. With consensus on these hurdles, international working groups could be developed to make recommendations vetted by the participating organizations. These recommendations could then be considered by regulatory bodies, governmental and private funding agencies, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to facilitate changes necessary to accelerate clinical translation of novel immune-based cancer therapies. The critical hurdles identified by representatives of the collaborating organizations, now organized as the World Immunotherapy Council, are presented and discussed in this report. Some of the identified hurdles impede all investigators, others hinder investigators only in certain regions or institutions or are more relevant to specific types of immunotherapy or first-in-humans studies. Each of these hurdles can significantly delay clinical translation of promising advances in immunotherapy yet be overcome to improve outcomes of patients with cancer

Defining the critical hurdles in cancer immunotherapy

Scientific discoveries that provide strong evidence of antitumor effects in preclinical models often encounter significant delays before being tested in patients with cancer. While some of these delays have a scientific basis, others do not. We need to do better. Innovative strategies need to move into early stage clinical trials as quickly as it is safe, and if successful, these therapies should efficiently obtain regulatory approval and widespread clinical application. In late 2009 and 2010 the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), convened an "Immunotherapy Summit" with representatives from immunotherapy organizations representing Europe, Japan, China and North America to discuss collaborations to improve development and delivery of cancer immunotherapy. One of the concepts raised by SITC and defined as critical by all parties was the need to identify hurdles that impede effective translation of cancer immunotherapy. With consensus on these hurdles, international working groups could be developed to make recommendations vetted by the participating organizations. These recommendations could then be considered by regulatory bodies, governmental and private funding agencies, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to facilitate changes necessary to accelerate clinical translation of novel immune-based cancer therapies. The critical hurdles identified by representatives of the collaborating organizations, now organized as the World Immunotherapy Council, are presented and discussed in this report. Some of the identified hurdles impede all investigators; others hinder investigators only in certain regions or institutions or are more relevant to specific types of immunotherapy or first-in-humans studies. Each of these hurdles can significantly delay clinical translation of promising advances in immunotherapy yet if overcome, have the potential to improve outcomes of patients with cancer

Addressing public policy implementation challenges in lagging regions through the analytical lens of Smart Specialisation

Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) research has contributed to better understanding of that policy framework’s conceptual underpinnings but some European regions still find it difficult to turn S3 theory into policy implementation. A key element of the implementation challenge concerns the enabling or constraining role of local institutions on regional development strategies and, more specifically, the entrepreneurial discovery process (EDP). Such a challenge appears to be particularly acute (and empirically unexplored) in lagging regions, characterised by weaker knowledge bases and innovation capacities. It is often in less advanced settings where weaker institutions are found. This paper addresses these gaps by investigating S3 implementation in lagging regions focusing on the dynamic interdependence between the regional institutional environment and EDP. It evidences how particular features of the regional institutional environment hinder EDP, as well as how institutional change could enable S3 implementation in two Greek regions. Our results reveal mutual interdependence between inadequate institutions and weak administrative and entrepreneurial capacities, creating adverse pre-conditions for S3 implementation. They also suggest that change requires the replacement of existing features of the institutional environment or creation of new ones, rather than gradual institutional adaptation or transformation

terrain segmentation of greece using the spatial and seasonal variation of reference crop evapotranspiration

The study presents a combination of techniques for integrated analysis of reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) in GIS environment. The analysis is performed for Greece and includes the use of (a) ASCE-standardized Penman-Monteith method for the estimation of 50-year mean monthlyETo, (b) cross-correlation and principal components analysis for the analysis of the spatiotemporal variability ofETo, (c)K-means clustering for terrain segmentation to regions with similar temporal variability ofETo, and (d) general linear models for the description ofETobased on clusters attributes. Cross-correlation revealed a negative correlation ofETowith both elevation and latitude and a week positive correlation with longitude. The correlation betweenEToand elevation was maximized during the warm season, while the correlation with latitude was maximized during winter. The first two principal components accounted for the 97.9% of total variance of mean monthlyETo.K-means segmented Greece to 11 regions/clusters. The categorical factor of cluster number together with the parameters of elevation, latitude, and longitude described satisfactorily theETothrough general linear models verifying the robustness of the cluster analysis. This research effort can contribute to hydroclimatic studies and to environmental decision support in relation to water resources management in agriculture