An asset-based approach of the Romanian research-development and innovation system

The present paper experiments a new model of analysis for the Research-Development and Innovation (RDI) field of research, namely the Asset-Based Development strategy or Appreciative Planning and Action, which unfolds at the community level the same core principle that Appreciative Inquiry Methods at the organizational level: strengths elevating, strengths combining, strengths extending systems. Following the four “D stages” (Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny/ Deliver) pattern, the authors outlined many strengths and achievements of the Romanian RDI system in order to depict the positive trends, structures and mechanism, as well as to map out the main routes towards fulfilling a new vision. Building upon ideas, opinions, studies, interviews of different representatives of the research community (managers, scientists, professors, users etc) expressed in specialised literature, newspapers, journals, or in direct contact and dialogue with them, we intended this approach encompass the appreciative contributions of the main stakeholders: universities, public and private research institutes, the business sector, public policy-makers. In this complex and rather rigid RDI system, whose elements are heterogeneous institutions and communities, that interacting each other in a special environment such as a network structure, effective change is still to be brought by individuals who possess the necessary power to continue transform their mind and attitudes and thus to initiate, diffuse change and, influencing the RDI environment. This might be a viable way to improve, in a positive manner, the RDI system’s efficiency.Asset-Based Development; Appreciative Inquiry; Romanian RDI System; Appreciative evaluation; Appreciative intervention; Summative assessment

Intergenerational Partnership in Research and Development Activity

The emergence, spreading and dissemination of scientific knowledge currently surpasses the capacity of assimilation and processing by one individual, requiring multidisciplinary and multigenerational team research. The need of interaction and networking uptakes more and more in the management of research-development and innovation (RDI) due, on the one hand, to the growth of its complexity in the knowledge-based economy and, on the other hand, to the urgent need of researchers to come up with solutions for the pressing socio-economic issues. International experience proves that high individual professional quality is not enough for a successful research team. It requires collaboration, including an efficient intergenerational partnership acting in a working environment based on responsibilities, merit acknowledgement, risk-taking, kindness, support, good standards, conflict-avoidance (except for conflicts of ideas) as well as on the scientific identity of every researcher, irrespective of their age. Recognition of scientific and managerial complementarities of the research team members and reciprocal respect for personal values ensures the most efficient valorization of researchers potential within the team. The appreciation and recognition given to the collaborative work are important factors for creativity and success, given the positive relationship between these factors and the quality and quantity of the research output. The research and development (R&D) activity performance is greater when decisions, objectives and priorities are collectively established, since research activity is no more an individual effort, but a consequence of team work contribution. The paper presents the research results regarding the way in which the above mentioned aspects are reflected in R&D intergenerational partnership in Romania, revealing its typology and characteristics, the age structure trends of research teams, as well as the factors that stimulate or hinder cooperation between young researchers and the more experienced ones.intergenerational partnership, research-development, efficient teams, scientific complementarity

A VIEW ON THE NATIONAL CAPACITY OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABSORPTION

The concept of the Absorptive Capacity has been approached in numerous theoretical and empirical studies during the last 20 years, covering multiple facets of the relationships between various external sources of knowledge and the capability of a firm, sectors or national economy to identify, assimilate and apply external knowledge in order to increase its economic performance. Absorptive capacity (AC) has been extensively analyzed at the firm level, but significantly less consideration has been given to the AC at the national level. National capacity of absorption is definitely much more than the simple aggregation of the individual companies’ capabilities or of the sectoral capacities, due to many systemic complex factors that may add to, or detract from the national AC: the multiplication and propagation effects, access facilities the stock of national and international knowledge, various synergetic mechanisms, knowledge spillovers etc. Based on the literature available, the authors attempted to design a system of indicators to quantify the relative scientific knowledge absorption capacity of different European countries compared with the EU average and the EU leader. Further on, these indicators will be aggregated, providing a fundament for comparative weighted estimations of the national absorptive capacities for scientific knowledge across EU

Gilt-teller: uma nova ferramenta multimédia ao serviço da divulgação da ciência da conservação

The paper focuses on an innovative bilingual multimedia tool designed within the research project funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) – Gilt-Teller, an interdisciplinary multiscale study of gilding techniques and materials in Portugal, 1500- 1800. The tool was designed with the help of the company Take the Wind Lda. (Coimbra) and is based on an online platform (http://www.gilt-teller.pt). It has different components, from documents of general description of the project, its team and outcomes in terms of publications and conference presentation or workshop organization to the historical background of the project and short characterization of the main stylistic époques considered under study. The three innovative components are: the bilingual glossary on gilding materials and techniques (http://www.gilt-teller.pt/index.php/glossary/index); a movie with the data on laboratory documented reconstructions of gilded composites based on Portuguese recipes (http://www.gilt-teller.pt/index.php/site/historicalReconstructions) and 11 case studies with gilded decoration from the European heritage (http://www.gilt-teller.pt/index.php/site/additionalMaterials) For the first time in Portugal an open access bilingual database including the most representative altarpieces and polychrome sculptures studied within the project was made available to larger and specialized public. For the first time this multimedia tool will bring together knowledge from three different scientific areas, all related with the topic of the project: Art History (with a component of Technical Art History), Conservation and Heritage Science.O presente trabalho apresenta uma ferramenta multimédia inovadora desenvolvida no âmbito do projeto de investigação financiado pela Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT): “GILT-Teller, um estudo interdisciplinar multiescala das técnicas e dos materiais de douramento em Portugal, 1500-1800”. A ferramenta desenvolvida com a contribuição da companhia Take the Wind Lda. (Coimbra) é baseada numa plataforma online (http://www.gilt-teller.pt) e contém vários componentes entre quais se destaca a base de dados constituída por vários casos de estudo do território nacional abrangendo diferentes estilos de talha dourada no período 1500 e 1800. Além dessa base de dados a plataforma online inclui também outras três componentes inovadoras, nomeadamente um glossário bilingue sobre materiais e técnicas de douramento (http://www.gilt-teller.pt/index.php/glossary/index); um filme sobre as reconstruções históricas de provetas douradas realizadas em laboratório com base em receitas portuguesas (http://www.gilt-teller.pt/index.php/site/historicalReconstructions) e 11 casos de estudo de objectos com decoração dourada do património cultural europeu (http://www.gilt-teller.pt/index.php/site/additionalMaterials). Pela primeira vez na história do património religioso português, esta ferramenta reúne o conhecimento de três áreas científicas diferentes: História da Arte (com uma componente de Historia da Arte Técnica) Conservação e Restauro de Talha Dourada e Ciências da Conservação e do Património Cultural

Understanding global model systematic shortwave radiation errors in subtropical marine boundary layer cloud regimes

Global numerical weather prediction and climate models are subject to long‐standing systematic shortwave radiation errors due to deficiencies in the representation of boundary layer clouds over the ocean. In the subtropics, clouds are typically too reflective in the cumulus regime and not reflective enough in the stratocumulus regime. Potential sources of error include cloud cover, liquid water path, effective radius, and subgrid heterogeneity, but diagnosing the absolute contributions of each to the radiation bias is hampered by uncertainties and sometimes contradictory information from different observational products. This paper draws on a set of ship‐based observations of boundary layer clouds obtained during the ARM MAGIC campaign along a northeast Pacific Ocean transect, crossing both stratocumulus and shallow cumulus cloud regimes. The surface‐based observations of cloud properties are compared with various satellite products, taking account of the diurnal cycle, to provide an improved quantitative assessment of the deficiencies in the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts global numerical weather prediction model. A series of off‐line radiation calculations are then performed to assess the impact on the shortwave radiation bias of correcting each of the model's deficiencies in cloud characteristics along the transect. A reduction in the bias is achieved by improving the agreement between modeled and observed in‐cloud liquid water path frequency distributions. In the cumulus regime, this is accomplished primarily by reducing the all‐sky water path, while for the stratocumulus regime, an underestimate of cloud cover and liquid water and an overestimate in effective radius and subgrid heterogeneity all contribute to a lack of reflected shortwave radiation

Um estudo comparativo interdisciplinar das técnicas e materiais de douramento em dois conjuntos de talha dourada barrocos portugueses

The gilded polychrome carved wood in Portugal, (talha dourada) gained its most rich expression during the Baroque epoch with the development of production techniques and the use of of gold leaf. The present paper proposes a complementary and comparative study of two important complexes of talha: one from St. Alberto’s church, integrating the visiting circuit of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Lisbon), and the other from church of Vale de Figueira (Santarém district). Both complexes house talha dourada’s decoration from the 18th century, that were studied through an inter-disciplinary approach, in which analytical data (optical microscopy, fluorescent stain, XRF, SEM-EDX, micro-computerized tomography, FTIR, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry) complement historical data.El arte de la talla dorada en Portugal ganó su más rica expresión durante el período barroco a través del desarrollo de técnicas de producción y el uso de pan de oro. Este trabajo propone un estudio complementario y comparativo de dos grandes complejos de talla, el de la Iglesia de San Alberto, integra el circuito de visita del Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga en Lisboa, y el de la Iglesia de Vale Figueira, en Santarém. Los dos complejos albergan retablos dorados del siglo XVIII, que han sido estudiados a través de una metodología interdisciplinar, en la que los datos analíticos (microscopia óptica, tinción fluorescente, fluorescencia de rayos X, SEM-EDX, micro-tomografía computerizada, FTIR, MALDI-TOF-MS) complementan los datos históricos.A arte da talha dourada em Portugal ganhou a sua mais rica expressão durante a época barroca devido ao desenvolvimento das técnicas de produção e ao uso do ouro em folha. O presente trabalho propõe um estudo complementar e comparativo de dois complexos importantes da talha respectivamente em Lisboa, na Igreja de São Alberto, integrada no circuito de visitas do Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, e no distrito de Santarém, na Igreja de Vale de Figueira. Os dois complexos albergam decoração em talha dourada do século XVIII, estudados através de uma abordagem inter-disciplinar, em que os dados analíticos (microscopia óptica, teste de coloração fluorescente, FRX, MEV-EDX, microtomografia computadorizada, FTIR, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry) complementam os dados históricos

Biodeterioration in Art: a case study of Munch´s paintings.

Biocolonization and biodeterioration phenomena in Cultural Heritage is presently considered a relevant issue when planning conservation strategies and preservation measures in museum collections. Artworks such as easel paintings are source of various ecological niches for microbial communities’ growth due to the presence of several organic resources. Therefore, the identification of proteinaceous materials may play an important role in the evaluation of their conservation status, in the characterisation of the artistic technique, and in the definition of compatible conservation/restoration processes. Another challenge is to understand the microbiota associated to the degradative processes when developing conservation strategies in CH artworks. For this study Edvard Munch paintings belonging to Munch Museum in Oslo presenting surface alterations were analysed to increase the knowledge about the materials used by the painter and try to understand the source and the dynamics of the associated colonising microbiota, helping in devising a conservation intervention plan. Immunoenzymatic assays was carried out in microsamples allowing the detection of casein as the binder used by the artist. The high throughput sequencing approaches allowed us to explore and characterise the microbial communities that colonise these artworks. Bacterial communities found in these artworks were mainly composed by species characterised by proteolytic capacity, an important biodeteriogenic characteristic for these paintings. Simulation assays performed in paint models prepared with casein as binder display signs of degradative action promoted by the proteolytic strains isolated from the damaged areas. This approach can be useful to promote effective intervention processes in E. Munch’s paintings with the same pathologies

Impacts of parameterized orographic drag on the Northern Hemisphere winter circulation

A recent intercomparison exercise proposed by the Working Group for Numerical Experimentation (WGNE) revealed that the parameterized, or unresolved, surface stress in weather forecast models is highly model-dependent, especially over orography. Models of comparable resolution differ over land by as much as 20% in zonal mean total subgrid surface stress (Ttot). The way Ttot is partitioned between the different parameterizations is also model-dependent. In this study, we simulated in a particular model an increase in Ttot comparable with the spread found in the WGNE intercomparison. This increase was simulated in two ways, namely by increasing independently the contributions to Ttot of the turbulent orographic form drag scheme (TOFD) and of the orographic low-level blocking scheme (BLOCK). Increasing the parameterized orographic drag leads to significant changes in surface pressure, zonal wind and temperature in the Northern Hemisphere during winter both in 10 day weather forecasts and in seasonal integrations. However, the magnitude of these changes in circulation strongly depends on which scheme is modified. In 10 day forecasts, stronger changes are found when the TOFD stress is increased, while on seasonal time scales the effects are of comparable magnitude, although different in detail. At these time scales, the BLOCK scheme affects the lower stratosphere winds through changes in the resolved planetary waves which are associated with surface impacts, while the TOFD effects are mostly limited to the lower troposphere. The partitioning of Ttot between the two schemes appears to play an important role at all time scales

Análise comparativa do douramento e policromia de dois retábulos de Évora, Portugal

A dispute among the best five painters-gilders of Evora, for two of the most important contracts regarding the gilding of the altarpieces, gave rise to an extensive and detailed documentation on the technique, materials and prices used in 1729. The rivalry between the master Filipe de Santiago, responsible for the gilding of the whole set of the Church of Mercy (Igreja da Misericórdia de Évora), and the team led by Manuel da Maia, responsible for gilding the main altar of the Convent Church of Scala Coeli’s (Igreja do Convento de Scala Coeli, Cartuxa), forced the commissioners to redraft contracts with unusual rigor since both did not accept the possibility to be examined by the opponent. Physical-chemical characterization of the gilding and polychrome layers of samples from both altarpieces, performed within the GILT-Teller project (www.gilt-teller.uevora.pt), led to a comprehensive approach of the pictorial culture of this period. As it is reported in contracts, the gilded woodcarving was enriched with flesh-coloured tones, “estofado” and “regraxos”. These techniques were both used in the Church of Mercy and in the Church of the Convent of Scala Coeli, of the Carthusian monks of Evora. The documentation and the results of the phsyical-chemical analyses presented in this paper confirm the existence of a common and poorly differentiated artistic culture between the main workshops of Evora.Una disputa entre cinco de los mejores pintores doradores de Évora condujo a la realización de una amplia documentación sobre la técnica, los materiales y los precios vigentes en Évora, en el año 1729. La rivalidad entre el maestro Filipe de Santiago, responsable pela execución del dorado del retablo de la Iglesia de la Misericórdia de Évora, y el equipo dirigido por Manuel da Maia que realizó el dorado del retablo de la capilla principal de la iglesia de la Cartuja, obliga los comitentes a redactaren contratos con un rigor inusual, ya que ambos los maestros no aceptaron la posibilidad de seren examinados por el oponente. La caracterización fisicoquímica del dorado y policromía de los dos altares, que se realizó en el ambito del proyecto Gilt-Teller (www.gilt-teller.uevora.pt), permite acercarnos a la cultura pictórica de la época. Como se informó en los contratos, el dorado se ha enriquecido con tonos de carnacion, estofado y „regraxos“. Estas técnicas se utilizan de la misma manera tanto en la Iglesia de la Misericordia y en la iglesia de Scala Coeli del convento de los monjes cartujos de Évora. La documentación y los resultados de los análisis químicos presentados en este documento confirman la existencia de una cultura artística común y poco diferenciada entre los principales talleres de Évora.Uma disputa entre cinco dos melhores pintores douradores de Évora deu origem à realização de uma extensa documentação sobre a técnica, os materiais e os preços em vigor em Évora, no ano de 1729. A rivalidade entre o mestre Filipe de Santiago, responsável pelo douramento do conjunto de talha da Igreja da Misericórdia, e a equipa liderada por Manuel da Maia que executou o douramento do retábulo da capela-mor da Igreja da Cartuxa, obrigou os comitentes a redigirem os contratos com um rigor inusual, já que ambos os mestres não aceitavam a possibilidade de serem examinados pelo oponente. A caracterização físicoquímica do douramento e das camadas de policromia de ambos os altares, realizada no âmbito do projecto GILT-Teller (www.gilt-teller.uevora.pt), permite-nos uma aproximação à cultura pictórica do período. Como é reportado nos contratos, o douramento da talha dourada foi enriquecido com carnações, estofado e “regraxos”. Estas técnicas foram utilizadas de maneira muito semelhante em ambos os conjunto da Igreja da Misericórdia e no Convento de Scala Coeli dos monges cartuxos de Évora. Os resultados documentais e analíticos dessa investigação confirmam a existência de uma cultura comum e pouco diferenciada entre as principais oficinas de Évora