Technological characteristics of 245 tropical and temperate timbers species

Developed by the Cirad's "Mediterranean and Tropical Forest Products Research Unit", the new release of TROPIX software (version 7) presents the main characteristics of 245 tropical or temperate wood species. For each species, TROPIX provides data and information on: the scientific and local names of the species described, their origins (distribution maps) and any commercial restriction according to the CITES regulation; appearance of the log or wood, including pictures of wood and wood utilisations; leading physical and mechanical properties; natural durability against fungi / dry wood borers / termites, and preservation; drying behaviour, including a drying schedule given for information; processing behaviour (sawing, machining, assembling); appearance grading and visual grading for structural applications; actual and potential uses and reaction to fire. Some of this information is displayed in graphical format. TROPIX 7 allows multicriteria search using preselected search terms or similarity to a different species. It also allows graphical species comparisons based on one or two physical or mechanical properties. Multicriteria searches results, graphics and technical sheets can be printed or exported as files. (Résumé d'auteur

SELECTIVE BREEDING, HERITABLE CHARACTERISTICS AND GENETIC-BASED TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE CANADIAN BEEF CATTLE INDUSTRY

The paper presents an examination of genetic-based technological change in the Canadian beef cattle industry. A model of technological change is explicitly developed in characteristics space. Production functions with genetic characteristics as arguments are estimated and two forms of technological change identified. Shadow values for characteristics are then calculated and actual genetic improvements are compared to the improvements suggested by the shadow prices. It is concluded that market forces are sufficient to regulate the process of genetic-based technological change in the Canadian beef cattle industry.Livestock Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

SOME ASPECTS OF GEORADIO LOCATION IN MINERAL RESOURCES SURVEYING ENERGY

Study the possibility of developing the technical and technological justification of georadio location of minerals according the quantity and quality characteristics of the concrete deposits

The location of the Spanish technological centers

The Technological Centers have been created with the aim of being a supplier of different R&D's activities and services for those entreprises with a lack of material and financial resources to develop by themselves an innovation process. In most cases, these enterprises are SME's (Small and Medium Enterprises) placed in the area of influence of each Technological Center. Usually, these Technological Centers are located in strategic areas with specific characteristics like to be closed to the SME's (one of the valued highly characteristics by them), a good access to qualified staff and the existence of a good innovation environment. So, this situation has promoted that many decisions about the creation of the Technological Centers have depended on the distance between these and the SME's-clients. The purpose of this work will be the study about where are stablished the Spanish Technological Centers and it will be analysed if the metropolitan areas have been a key factor in their creation. First, we will analyse the spacial distribution of the possible SME'sclients of the Technological Centers (the Spanish industry). We also study how the Technological Centers are integrated in the national and regional goverment Technological Policy.

SOME ASPECTS OF GEORADIO LOCATION IN MINERAL RESOURCES SURVEYING ENERGY

Study the possibility of developing the technical and technological justification of georadio location of minerals according the quantity and quality characteristics of the concrete deposits

'Chariots of Fire': The Evolution of Tank Technology, 1915-1945

We revisit the notion of technological trajectories by means of a detailed case-study of the evolution of tank technology between 1915 and 1945. We use principal component analysis to analyze the distribution of technological characteristics and how they map into specific service characteristics. We find that, despite the existence of differences in technical leadership, tank designs of different countries show a high degree of overlap and closeness along a common technological trajectory. In the conclusions, we speculate on whether this pattern can be explained by common heuristics that influenced the rate and direction of design activities or by doctrinal viewpoints influencing the development and use of tanks on the battlefield.Technological trajectories, Technological paradigms, Tanks.

Innovation and Technological Development of Industrial Regions Under Social and Economic Insecurity

The article is devoted to the identification of the characteristics and priorities of innovation and technological development in the industrial regions of the Russian Federation in the context of the ongoing global crisis. The authors come from the hypothesis that, in these circumstances, the strategy of innovative development of industrial regions, in order to ensure their sustainability and the creation of conditions for further growth, should be an integral part of their industrial policies and focus primarily on the modernization and improvement of technical and technological level of basic units. On the basis of the analysis of statistical data about the status of the innovation capacity in the Russian Federation, the authors have identified the root causes of the continuing backlog of advanced foreign countries by the level of innovative development (raw-material orientation of the Russian economy that enhances the technological dependence of the developed countries; insufficient financial support for innovation activities by the state; the orientation of innovation in imitation and borrowing). The necessity to take into account in the development and implementation of the socio-economic strategic regions of the Russian Federation and the close relationship between the industrial-technological and innovation component of social development is proved. In order to improve the effectiveness of regional development policies, the classification of Russian regions considering their industrial and technological specialization is proposed, the required elements and characteristics of effective innovation systems for each type of region are allocated. In the article, the proposals on measures of the state support for innovation development of industrial regions, with the aim of improving their sustainability and competitiveness in the face of geopolitical and economic uncertainty are determined. The article is addressed to professionals in the field of theory and practice in the management of innovative processes.The article has been prepared with the support of Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation, project 14–02–00331 Innovative and technological development of a region: assessment, forecasting, and ways of achievement»

Token Finds At Pre-Pottery Neolighic ‘Ain Ghazal, Jordan A Formal And Technological Analysis

‘Ain Ghazal is a Neolithic site located near Amman, Jordan. It was excavated between 1982 and 1998 by an American-Jordanian team directed by Gary O. Rollefson, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wa. and Zeidan Kafafi, the University of Yarmouk at Irbid, Jordan. ‘Ain Ghazal was first settled about 7250 B.C., during the so-called Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period. In a matter of a few centuries the village of stone houses had spread over 30 acres along the Zarqa River. During a prosperous period when the mixed economy increasingly relied on farming, ca. 7250-6000 B.C., ‘Ain Ghazal witnessed what can be termed an explosion of symbolism. The site was abandoned in the Yarmoukian period ca. 5000 BC. The volume deals with the uniquely rich and varied ‘Ain Ghazal assemblage of symbols including tokens of many shapes, animal and human figurines, modeled human skulls, plaster statues and, mural and floor paintings.A collection of 137 clay and stone tokens from the Neolithic site of ‘Ain Ghazal in Jordan was studied in terms of formal and technological characteristics. The assemblage includes spheres, cones, and other shapes that are well known from Near Eastern token collections. A visual technological classification based on surface and fabric characteristics was supplemented by petrographic and XRD studies of smaller samples of artifacts and local clay and stone raw materials. Results show some correlations between shapes and technological processes and close technological similarities among tokens recovered as groups, suggesting single episode production, use and discard.Art and Art Histor