Cette thèse se penche sur la gouvernance des politiques régionales de la science en France dans le contexte de l'Espace Européen de la Science. Nous proposons donc une typologie des régions européennes qui vise à offrir un regard différent sur ces espaces de collaborations, en considérant les connectivités locales-globales dans la théorie des Systèmes Régionaux d'Innovation. Puis au travers d'un modèle gravitaire nous mobilisons plusieurs formes de proximités pour expliquer ces collaborations, en introduisant des proximités culturelles à l'échelle régionale. Cette thèse questionne à la fois la place des autorités régionales dans les politiques scientifiques en régions ou des régions, mais aussi la vision de la science de ces régions (à travers de l'analyse des CPER et de comptes Twitter). Nos travaux préconisent une meilleure compréhension des acteurs dans le cadre cognitif où les liens entre Science et Innovation sont trop souvent supposés. Cette dernière approche est également l'occasion de mettre en avant l'insuffisante prise en compte des logiques des différents acteurs de l'innovation (au sens large) et la nécessaire coordination des politiques des différents niveaux impliqués. L'analyse du mode de gouvernance des politiques de soutien aux activités créatives dans l'espace transfrontalier du Rhin Supérieur, permettra d'illustrer ce cadre cognitif nouveau. / This thesis addresses the issue of governance of the regional science policies in France, in the context of the European Science Area. We propose a typology of European regions that offer a new point of view on collaborations spaces (better considerations of local vs global connectivity). Then we go through this issue by proposing a gravity model incorporating diverse forms of proximities to explain scientific collaboration in Europe (detailed analysis on cultural proximity at the regional level). We raise the issue of scientific policies made in regions or by regions in France (context of decentralization) and ask the view of these regions of science (through the analysis of CPER and Twitter). Finally we propose to go ahead with the cognitive framework (expectation on the effectiveness of the links between Science & Innovation) by analyzing the governance of creative industries policies in the Upper-Rhine region (using a failure story). This last approach will again raise the insufficient consideration of each actor’s motivations in the innovation process (in a broad sense) and the need for coordination of economic policies between each level involved.

Being a crucial sector in Europe’s economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) require involvement in innovative activities to perpetuate their competitiveness. Nevertheless, European-wide funding programs that aim to foster innovation at the regional level have been criticized for not being adequately tailored to SMEs’ innovation patterns and dynamics. Against this background, this thesis sheds light on the innovation processes occurring among SMEs by explaining their innovation performance as a function of potential innovation drivers. Mindful of the relevance of geography in innovative activities, this thesis investigates whether SME innovation performance in a European region is subject to spatial dependence.   Firstly, the presence of spatial dependence is determined using Moran’s I to indicate the magnitude and significance of spatial autocorrelation in the level of SME innovation performance. In the second step, a cross-sectional spatial regression analysis examines the drivers of the innovation performance while accounting for spatial autoregressive processes. This analysis follows a bottom-up approach proposed by Elhorst (2010) to specify the suitable model for SME product and business process innovations. Additionally, the Generalized Spatial Two-stage Least Squares (GS2SLS) method accounts for heteroskedasticity of any form in the disturbances. This paper finds evidence for the presence of spatial dependence in the region’s level of SME product and business process innovation performance, implying that regions with high levels of SME innovation performance tend to be surrounded by regions with high levels and vice versa. The results from the regression analysis indicate that SMEs draw from non-R&D activities and collaboration, which offset the disadvantages these firms face. Moreover, while public and private R&D expenditures still play a role in product innovation, at least partly, the involvement in R&D activities is less important for SMEs introducing process innovation. Based on the results obtained, this paper proposes policy adaptations allowing a better environment for SMEs to participate in innovative activities.

Zugl.: Diss. Univ. Duisburg-Essen, 2006.

Recent technological, social, and economic trends and transformations are contributing to the production of what is usually referred to as Big Data. Big Data, which is typically defined by four dimensions -- Volume, Velocity, Veracity, and Variety -- changes the methods and tactics for using, analyzing, and interpreting data, requiring new approaches for data provenance, data processing, data analysis and modeling, and knowledge representation. The use and analysis of Big Data involves several distinct stages from "data acquisition and recording" over "information extraction" and "data integration" to "data modeling and analysis" and "interpretation", each of which introduces challenges that need to be addressed. There also are cross-cutting challenges, which are common challenges that underlie many, sometimes all, of the stages of the data analysis pipeline. These relate to "heterogeneity", "uncertainty", "scale", "timeliness", "privacy" and "human interaction". Using the Big Data analysis pipeline as a guiding framework, this paper examines the challenges arising in the use of Big Data in regional science. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future activities to realize the possibilities and potential for Big Data in regional science. / Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

Abstract The aim of this thesis is to provide an improved understanding of the structural characteristics and the dynamic evolution of regional science-based clusters. The study is based on an in-depth comparison of three non-metropolitan science-based clusters: Oulu in Finland, Luleå in Sweden, and Pisa in Italy. This thesis is the result of a qualitative multiple-case study consisting of in-depth interviews with cluster decision-makers and experts in Finland, Sweden and Italy. The thesis is structured as follows: first the theoretical framework and research method are presented, then the case study regions and clusters are described, and finally, the data from the interviews are collated and discussed. The results of the study suggest that regional science-based clusters are not isolated entities but are increasingly more connected to the external environments and global markets than before although the local cluster activities and the "social glue" between the cluster actors are still relevant. The current structures of the clusters should have more alternatives and allow more flexibility. The data from this case study, based not only on the current status of the case clusters but also on a more longitudinal approach, confirm the life cycle nature of regional science-based clusters, consisting of various stages. The results of the study show that a detailed analysis of the cluster components is more efficient than studying the cluster as an aggregate. Furthermore, the data indicate that critical mass plays an important role especially in the development of regional science-based clusters in non-metropolitan regions. This study suggests an optimal size for the non-metropolitan cluster, i.e. one which reaches the critical size of a cluster but avoids the problems related to metropolitan clusters. The study underlines the importance of cluster features, such as cluster leadership and strategic management. The study identified similarities between the case study clusters in Oulu, Luleå, and Pisa, such as e.g. a strong research community, a high proportion of ICT companies, an insufficient number of growth-oriented enterprises, and some unease about the role of intermediaries of the cluster. Differences were found in e.g. the importance of cluster locomotive companies, the roles of technology parks, and the ability of the cluster actors to commit to joint actions. / Tiivistelmä Tämän väitöstutkimuksen tavoitteena on syventää ymmärtämystä alueellisten tiedepohjaisten klustereiden rakenteesta, toiminnasta ja kehittymisestä. Tutkimuksessa verrataan kolmea pääkaupunkiseutujen ulkopuolista tiedepohjaista klusteria Pohjois-Suomen Oulussa, Pohjois-Ruotsin Luulajassa ja Italian Pisassa. Tämän kvalitatiivisen usean tapauksen tapaustutkimuksen pohjana ovat perusteelliset klustereiden päätöksentekijöiden ja asiantuntijoiden haastattelut Suomessa, Ruotsissa ja Italiassa. Tutkimuksessa esitellään teoreettinen viitekehys ja tutkimusmetodit, minkä jälkeen esitellään tutkimuksen kohdealueet ja klusterit, analysoidaan haastatteluaineisto ja esitetään tutkimuksen loppuarviointi. Väitöstutkimuksen mukaan alueelliset tiedepohjaiset klusterit eivät ole ulkomaailmasta eristäytyneitä yksiköitä, vaan yhä enemmän sidoksissa ulkoiseen ympäristöönsä ja globaaleihin markkinoihin – huolimatta siitä, että paikallisilla klusteritoiminnoilla ja "sosiaalisella liimalla" klusteritoimijoiden välillä on edelleen merkitystä. Tutkimuksessa ehdotetaan klusterirakenteen kuvaamiseen joustavuutta ja vaihtoehtoisia klusterirakenteita. Tutkimusaineisto, joka sisältää nykytilanteen kuvauksen lisäksi pidemmän aikavälin aineistoa, vahvistaa alueellisten tiedepohjaisten klustereiden kehityksen elinkaarimallin eri vaiheineen. Klusterien analysoinnissa on tutkimuksen mukaan pelkkää kokonaistarkastelua tehokkaampaa klusterin komponenttien yksityiskohtainen tarkastelu. Tutkimuksen perusteella kriittisellä massalla on merkittävä vaikutus alueellisten tiedepohjaisten klustereiden kehitykselle etenkin pääkaupunkiseutujen ulkopuolisilla alueilla. Väitöstutkimuksessa esitetään klusterin optimaalisen koon käsite: klusteri saavuttaa kriittisen massan, mutta välttää etenkin metropolialueiden klustereiden tyypilliset ongelmat. Väitöstutkimus korostaa lisäksi mm. klustereiden johtajuuden ja strategisen johtamisen merkitystä. Väitöstutkimuksessa tunnistettiin Oulun, Luulajan ja Pisan klustereiden välillä yhtäläisyyksiä, kuten vahva tutkimusyhteisö, informaatio- ja kommunikaatioteknologian yritysten suuri osuus, kasvuhakuisten yritysten vähäinen määrä ja klusteritoimijoiden osittainen tyytymättömyys välittäjäorganisaatioiden rooliin klustereissa. Eroja klustereiden välillä tunnistettiin mm. veturiyritysten osuudessa, teknologiakylien roolissa ja klusteritoimijoiden yhteistyökyvyssä.

"Region" is nowadays one of the most frequented term in the discourse of the humanities. In the approach of the History, the region is used as a theoretical and methodological concept, whose content has wide range in other social sciences, such as Human Geography and Sociology. This thesis deals with the possibility of the utilization of this term in the historical research applicated on the particular case of the Bohemian- Moravian Highlands. Thesis describes the recent state of the research and the progress in the approach to the term of region. The main concepts which can be used in the case of the Highlands are also shown and described. This particular region was chosen because of its specificity - it's a central periphery, which formed itself into a centralized and institutionalized modern region, the Vysočina Region, during the 20th century. The basic way-out is Anssi Paasi's theory of the shaping of regions. According to it, region can be found in many dimensions in the process of its creation - not just in a physical shape, but also in a symbolic shape, in the making of its identity. Eventually, region has got variable social and economic characteristics. The meaning in which region is percepted and imagined is also changed by these processes of creation - the role of the region is changing...

This dissertation is seen as a contribution to the field of enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) and their application in regional science. The main objective is to demonstrate the possibility of using accounting data of enterprise information systems for regional evaluation, for example, regional statistics, identifying agglomeration and economic analysis of some spatial dependency of economic activities, through a set of accounting data obtained from business entities. The dissertation is divided into two parts - theoretical framework and practical part. The theoretical framework provides a theoretical basis for the definition of information society, ERP, their structure and deployment of ERP in the EU regions, including the use of accounting data from the ERP for the regional evaluation. It also contains a definition of the region and regional relations as part of a regional policy. Regional statistics and the comparison of regional indicators, definitions of economic clusters, enterprise networking and methodology of identification of economic agglomerations are explained in another part dissertation. Interpretation of statistical methods are then used in the practical part of the dissertation. In the practical part is then performed identification of economic agglomerations, derived from accounting data of enterprise resource planning systems, 27 randomly selected enterprises with nationwide coverage in ČR, regardless of the branch structure, followed by an analysis of the spatial dependence of sales and purchases to the distance.

Thesis about regional external economic relations try to resolve a question how subjects in a selected region (Prachatice district) conduct to economic relations with subjects of other territory and how these economic interactions can be describe. The target of the thesis is to characterize these relations on inferior level than the national economy. Literature retrieval cites authors from the field of regional science. Recherché summarises the base methods of research of the matter. The main part of the study describes collecting data about economic activities on two levels external regional relations LAU1 - NUTS1 and LAU1 - LAU1. Data about turnover of goods between 114 entities and subjects from the EU for years from 2004 to 2009 on LAU 1 - NUTS 1 level was obtained from the database Intrastat. Data about interregional exchange on LAU 1 - LAU 1 level were drawn from accounts of three companies from Prachatice district. All data are presented in several ways in tables, charts and maps and commented too. In the thesis is formulated equation which objectifies interregional distances so that responded to its negative effect to size of economic relations between regions. For prediction of the relations can be used reciprocal of the distance (index). The hypothesis on the validity of the formula (index), is statistically tested and confirmed on the end of thesis.

L'importance du tourisme dans l'économie locale renseigne généralement le rôle de l'importation de demande finale dans le développement territorial ; ce rôle est objectivé dans le cadre d'enquêtes et d'outils statistiques permettant d'appréhender et chiffrer les transferts de richesses induits par la consommation des touristes. Pour autant, parmi les consommateurs qui visitent un territoire et y consomment, tous ne sont pas des touristes au sens de l'Insee : ils ne dorment pas sur place, ils rentrent chez eux le soir. Cette consommation non portée par des touristes, que nous nommons « consommation de passage », n'a aujourd'hui que peu de réalité, n'étant ni définie officiellement ni repérée à quelque échelle territoriale que ce soit ; elle est ainsi largement méconnue, dans son ampleur et ses effets sur les transferts de richesses interterritoriaux. Avec la région capitale pour cadre empirique, la thèse privilégie ici un terrain soumis à de multiples mobilités pour soulever deux hypothèses. La consommation de passage des Franciliens en Ile de France serait tout d'abord un vecteur de développement territorial non négligeable au niveau infrarégional. Ensuite, en connectant les territoires, la consommation de passage contribuerait à l'intégration métropolitaine. Afin de tester la validité des deux hypothèses, ce travail adopte une approche circulaire de l'économie, et développe une méthode de suivi des richesses, depuis la dépense initiale jusqu'à la rémunération salariale en bout de course. L'exercice nous conduit in fine à chiffrer les retombées économiques de la consommation de passage et à mesurer l'intensité des liens interterritoriaux qu'elle produit / Tourism gives an overview about the role that imported final demand can play in regional economics in general and, in particular, as an engine to community development. This role can be observed through surveys and statistical tools that enable us to understand and quantify generated money flows. However amongst external consumers some of them are not tourists in a classical sense: they do not stay overnight but instead go back home at night. Contrary to world tourism organization, we are less concerned about the unusual environment criterion to define and observe same-day consumers: any money inflows provided by external consumers spendings contribute to community development, unusual environment or not. Therefore we use the term “passing trade” to talk about all same-day consumers. This thesis is about the economic impacts of passing trade. Empirical analyses took place in Paris Region due to its metropolitan favourable context for mobility activities, in particular shopping trips. The thesis then provides support for two hypothesis. The first one is that passing trade can be a significant factor for community development at subregional levels. By connecting areas, the second hypothesis is that passing trade can contribute to metropolitan integration. In order to test these hypotheses, we adopted a circular economy approach, and developed a method for tracking money flows, from the initial spendings to the final wages. In the end, this study led us to quantify money flows amounts, economic impacts and the intensity of spatial interlinkages generated by passing trade

262 EARLY MEDIEVAL CULTURAL CONTACTS BETWEEN BAVARIA AND BOHEMIA The Ph.D. thesis focusing on the topic of Czech-Bavarian cultural contacts in the Early Middle Ages was assigned in 2010 to develop the author's MA thesis, which was conceived as a probe into sources and a program study699 as well in order to form the first comprehensive monograph of this date of these professionally and regionally fragmented issues. In those times, the assignment of the thesis assumed "to decide whether there is an objective historical significance of this concept, or whether (and how) the meaning of this term has shifted in time, and how should this legacy be treated in the prepared thesis." Furthermore, five material-oriented topics were defined in order to test the overall theoretical concept on parts of otherwise too broadly conceived sources: (i) a study focusing on interpretative possibilities of langsaxes in the context of Early Medieval row- grave cemeteries; (ii) an attempt to narrow the regionalization of the s-shaped temple rings occurrence in connection with the settlement context; (iii) revision of archaeological evidence from the Cheb (Eger) castle; (iv) a chapter focusing on the issue of Early Medieval elites in north-eastern Bavaria; and finally (v) a discussions on the current concepts of toponomastic...