Small firm innovation networks in the Valencia region

This article makes a contribution to the study of the role of regional authorities in the process of regional development by analyzing the case of the Valencia region, a Spanish peripheral region whose economic success was historically dependent upon the maintenance of low labour costs in traditional artisan manufacturing activities. This led to an extreme focus on products of poor quality. In order to overcome this situation, Valencian regional authorities have launched an important number of policies that aim at solving two of the most important weaknesses of the regions: the high dependence on a few manufacturing activities, and the lack of a technology policy that could help to enhance the quality of the Valencian products. The analysis of the measures adopted by the regional authorities in the region of Valencia is expected to be of interest for other peripheral regions characterized by a similar situation—i.e. a traditional lack of interest in technology and innovation.     

Autobiography and women's travel writings in nineteenth‐century France: Journeys through self‐representation

This analysis of nineteenth‐century travel literature by French and francophone women examines the various mechanisms and strategies at play in women's struggle with self‐representation within the genre of travel writing. Through the works of three women travellers, Henriette d'Angeville, Adèle Hommaire de Hell and Carla Serena, four main voices are identified as representing the plurality of self‐images women writers create in their texts: conventional autobiographical voices where they present themselves in a stereotypically feminine manner; conventional ‘neutral’ scientific voices where they take on the traditionally masculine task of science writing, thus erasing the autobiographical; differentiated scientific voices where they valorize a (private) sphere of knowledge dependent upon their personal experiences and valorized as such; and finally, differentiated autobiographical voices which undermine constraining representations of women by placing them in the valued public sphere. As a result, travel writing becomes a most important medium for women: it questions the traditional limits placed upon their writings and ways of being and allows for a complex feminine subject to emerge (often indirectly) from the texts. Such a process leads to the questioning of gender constructions as a whole.     

Effect of organic and inorganic consolidation agents on Tlaltecuhtli monolith

A huge monolithic piece corresponding to the first years of the sixteenth century has been discovered in Mexico City. It represents the earth goddess Tlaltecuhtli. The preservation of such a magnificent piece is imperative. Therefore, the surface has to be characterized and the interaction of consolidants with the rock has to be understood.Some of the consolidation methods are impregnation of the mineral with nopal or silicic acid derivatives. In this work we compare the physico-chemical effects of organic and inorganic consolidants. Original and impregnated samples are characterized with a series of original techniques: X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, nitrogen adsorption and small angle X-ray scattering. Fractal dimension, specific surface area and pore size distribution clearly differentiated the samples. The organic materials, nopal gum or slobber, cover the mineral particles with a smooth layer. The KSE solutions react and lead to microporosity.     

Philosophie de la machine

Sans résumé Ses recherches portent sur les liens entre métaphysique et technique à la Renaissance et, de manière plus récente, sur la philosophie de la machine. Il travaille acutellement à une anthropologie philosophique du recours aux automatismes. Il a notamment publi’e ?Mathématiques, création et humanisme chez Nicolas de Cues ? (Revue d’histoire des sciences, t. 59, n^o 2, 2006); ? L’homme à l’image de Dieu, Ma?tre Eckart, Nicolas de Cues, Descartes ? (dans L’Image, Paris, Vrin, 2007).     

AGING NATIONS AND THE FUTURE OF CITIES*

ABSTRACT We investigate whether an aging population may challenge the supremacy of large working cities. To this end, we develop an economic geography model with two types of individuals (workers and retirees) and two sectors (local services and manufacturing). Workers produce and consume; the elderly consume only. As a result, the mobility decision of workers is driven by both the wage gap and the cost‐of‐living gap, unlike the elderly who react to the differences in the cost of living only. We show that the return of pre‐industrial urban system dominated by rentier cities does not seem to be on the agenda. Quite the opposite, the future of large working cities is still bright, the reason being that today's urban costs act as a strong force that prevents a large share of local services and manufacturing firms from following the rentiers in the elderly cities, while the supply of differentiated b2c services impede their complete separation.     

Cross-Border M&As and the Changing Economic Geography of Europe

This study investigates the patterns of corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) involving firms located in the EU25 as well as in the four EFTA countries between 1998 and 2003. Against the background of a reflection on the concept of the firm in economic geography, it uncovers the cross-border balance of M&As across European states and identifies the factors that may explain the levels and patterns of corporate takeovers across Europe. The results indicate that the traditional motives of access to new and core markets, the effects of geographical proximity, and the internalisation of localised capabilities (proxied by a skilled and innovative labour pool) represent the key drivers of European M&As, while institutional factors, such as European integration or language barriers, appear to be less influential.