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The focus of this paper is on cross-region R&D collaboration funded by the 5th EU Framework Programme (FP5). The objective is to measure distance, institutional, language and technological barrier effects that may hamper collaborative activities between European regions. Particular emphasis is laid on measuring discrepancies between two types of collaborative R&D activities, those generating output in terms of scientific publications and those that do not. The study area is composed of 255 NUTS-2 regions that cover the pre-2007 member states of the European Union (excluding Malta and Cyprus) as well as Norway and Switzerland. We employ a negative binomial spatial interaction model specification to address the research question, along with an eigenvector spatial filtering technique suggested by Fischer and Griffith (2008) to account for the presence of network autocorrelation in the origin-destination cooperation data. The study provides evidence that the role of geographic distance as collaborative deterrent is significantly lower if collaborations generate scientific output. Institutional barriers do not play a significant role for collaborations with scientific output. Language and technological barriers are smaller but the estimates indicate no significant discrepancies between the two types of collaborative R&D activities that are in focus of this study. (authors' abstract) / Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

This research paper is submitted to the Department of Geography in fulfillment of the requirements of Geography 4C6. / This study examined the trade area of a Hamilton restaurant in an attempt to determine the relevance of theoretical models in predicting trade areas based on delivery records. Through the use of four trade area models, a comparative study was devise for 'Chicago Style Pizza' restaurant. The findings were based on delivery records. Since delivery records were used, the distance factor that is used in most models is eliminated. The models that were used were a population demand, Market Penetration Model, Intervening Opportunity Model and a Spatial Interaction Model. The use of a Geographical Information System was used to predict surface demands for the Market Penetration Model and the Spatial Interaction Model. It was determined that classical models of trade area analysis had only a slight relevance in delimitating the trade areas of the store in question when compared to the actual trade area of 'Chicago Style' based on delivery records. / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

People relate with one another in space and through imagined and technologically mediated networks. This thesis is concerned with the relationship between these two types of social connections – spatial and network. Spatial connections structure collectives of people in the same place at the same time. Network connections structure relations between people without regard to place or time. Spatial connections are complex, but rigid by nature, while network connections are simple, but flexible. Essential articulations emerge between these two connection types. These articulations create and evolve contemporary socio-spatial systems such as the city, its many places, and groups of people therein. However, the basic human experience of these systems remains largely polarized between spatial and network social practices to the disadvantage of human agency. This thesis proposes a teleodynamic, socio-spatial interaction model for the articulation of these social practices in human agency architecture. The model is a mobile experience design that functions through people with ‘smart’ mobile devices. It connects them with one another in public place and to global information and communication networks simultaneously. Sociological study informs the model’s design – constraints and conditions for the connection extents and integrity of social interaction. The model supports self-organizing circular relationships between human interaction dynamics and their trace structures based on a methodology for emergence in complex systems. It effects the emergence of the aforementioned socio-spatial, human agency architecture, with great flexibility. The model and architecture together serve to better articulate contemporary spatial and network social practices to the benefit of human agency in urban space.

People relate with one another in space and through imagined and technologically mediated networks. This thesis is concerned with the relationship between these two types of social connections – spatial and network. Spatial connections structure collectives of people in the same place at the same time. Network connections structure relations between people without regard to place or time. Spatial connections are complex, but rigid by nature, while network connections are simple, but flexible. Essential articulations emerge between these two connection types. These articulations create and evolve contemporary socio-spatial systems such as the city, its many places, and groups of people therein. However, the basic human experience of these systems remains largely polarized between spatial and network social practices to the disadvantage of human agency. This thesis proposes a teleodynamic, socio-spatial interaction model for the articulation of these social practices in human agency architecture. The model is a mobile experience design that functions through people with ‘smart’ mobile devices. It connects them with one another in public place and to global information and communication networks simultaneously. Sociological study informs the model’s design – constraints and conditions for the connection extents and integrity of social interaction. The model supports self-organizing circular relationships between human interaction dynamics and their trace structures based on a methodology for emergence in complex systems. It effects the emergence of the aforementioned socio-spatial, human agency architecture, with great flexibility. The model and architecture together serve to better articulate contemporary spatial and network social practices to the benefit of human agency in urban space.

In this paper we view learning as an unconstrained non-linear minimization problem in which the objective function is defined by the negative log-likelihood function and the search space by the parameter space of an origin constrained product unit neural spatial interaction model. We consider Alopex based global search, as opposed to local search based upon backpropagation of gradient descents, each in combination with the bootstrapping pairs approach to solve the maximum likelihood learning problem. Interregional telecommunication traffic flow data from Austria are used as test bed for comparing the performance of the two learning procedures. The study illustrates the superiority of Alopex based global search, measured in terms of Kullback and Leibler's information criterion.

人口流動具有各種型態。其中包含了遷移、移動、以及通勤人口。在宏觀模型框架下，空間互動模型(簡稱SIM)對於測量人口流動扮演了重要的角色。距離遞減效應為空間互動模型中重要的因子。該效應描述了人口流動的頻率會隨著移動距離而逐漸下降。然而，從實證上，本研究發現人口流動與移動距離的函數，並非在距離上保有恆定的關係。 在本文中，我們提出了對此非恆定的距離遞減效應之修正方法。本修正法運用了轉折點模型的特點，套入了空間互動模型的距離函數上。本文首先運用了電腦模擬驗證了此方法的穩定性與有效性。接下來，研究將此方法應用在兩個人口流動資料。第一個是從台灣健保資料庫觀察出的民眾就醫地變化。健保資料庫包含了總人口的5%抽樣資料。由於在抽樣上瑕疵不大，因此健保抽樣資料具有了一定的代表性。第二個資料則是英國統計局所提供的人口遷移普查資料。在這兩個資料上，我們發現本研究所提修正法，相較於傳統的空間互動模型具有更好的模型配適表現。此改善程度在非都市地區尤其更為明顯。 / Population movement encompasses various forms, such as migration, mobility, and commuting. Spatial Interaction Model (SIM) serves as an important tool to calibrate these movements in the sense of macro modelling. One of the important features of this model is that the number of migrants often decays with the distance. However, we found that this is not always the case in practice and the decay pattern may change with distance. In this study, we propose a distanced-based modification to the SIM, via applying the techniques of change-point problem to construct distance functional form. Computer simulation is illustrated to validate the method and the empirical analysis of flow data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), and also England & Wales internal migration data also provides sound evidences to support the proposed approach. Note that the flow data from the NHIRD consists of a sample of about one million people and can be treated as a fine sample representative of Taiwan’s whole population (about 23 million people). Our results show that the modified approach is more adequate than the traditional SIM, especially for describing the movements of suburban areas in Taiwan.