Club Convergence in R&D Expenditure across European Regions

The increasing disparities between European regions constitute a great challenge for sustainable development and require identification of the factors responsible for this process. Given the substantive role of R&D in shaping innovativeness and economic development, understanding its dynamics and spatial patterns can provide new insights into regional growth prospects. Although prior studies have investigated the patterns of innovation convergence, apparently none has attempted to test the convergence club hypothesis in R&D expenditure in the European regional scope. Therefore, the present study aims to fill this gap. The paper aims at examining the convergence path of R&D expenditure across European regions and at identifying the factors conditioning club membership. Data were retrieved from Eurostat’s regional database and Regional Innovation Scoreboard datasets over 2008–2018. Employing a nonlinear time-varying factor model, we reveal that R&D expenditure in the examined regions follows the pattern of club convergence. The results of our research allow to identify five convergence clubs characterised by distinct disparities in the R&D expenditures. We also demonstrate that the emergence of the identified convergence clubs might be attributable to the initial differences in human capital, external knowledge embedded in patents and technological structures across regions as measured by employment in medium-high and high-tech manufacturing and knowledge-intensive services. These results provide policy implications in terms of the formulation and implementation of more tailored innovation policies, based on smart development and specialisation strategies. The presence of business R&D convergence clubs requires shifting EU policy actions towards a more sustainable model promoting both the advantages of the strongest regions and the development opportunities in less-developed ones.

Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina Lepeletier 1836 (Hym.: Vespidae), Venom Obtention Based on an Electric Stimulation Protocol

The yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina Lepeletier 1836 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)) is naturally distributed in China, Southeast Asia, and India; however, recently it has been detected outside of its native area, confirmed as being established in South Korea, Europe, and Japan. Health risks and deaths caused by the invasive Vespa velutina stings have become a public health concern, being the most common cause of anaphylaxis due to hymenopterans in some European regions. This in turn has led to increased demand from medical practitioners and researchers for Vespa velutina venom for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. In this study, a straightforward, quick, and inexpensive method for obtaining Vespa velutina venom by electric stimulation is described. The venom extracts were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR). The availability of Vespa velutina venom will lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic methods, mainly by venom immunotherapy (VIT), in patients allergic to this invasive species.

Episcopus sine ciuitate? La promoción episcopal de centros no urbanos en la Península Ibérica durante la Antigüedad Tardía

The episcopal power in Late Antiquity is generally configured around ciuitas. However, the conciliar legislation of 4th-7th centuries interdicted to set up bishoprics in no urban environment. There are some evidences in different European regions of their existence in minor and rural centres, responding to a diverse casuistic according to the region where are they established. From different examples, we propose a hypothesis to explain the promotion of secondary agglomerations to episcopal centres in Late Antique Hispania. El poder del obispo a lo largo de la Antigüedad Tardía se configuraba, generalmente, alrededor de la ciuitas. No obstante, la legislación conciliar de los siglos IV al VII prohibía el establecimiento de episcopados en entornos no urbanos. En diferentes regiones europeas se documenta su existencia en centros menores y rurales que, siendo una minoría, responden a una casuística diversa según la zona en que se implantan. A partir de unos ejemplos, planteamos una hipótesis que sirva para explicar la promoción de aglomeraciones secundarias a centros episcopales en la Hispania tardoantigua.

Perspectives on Open Science and Scholarly Publishing: a Survey Study Focusing on Early Career Researchers in Europe

Background: The value of Open Science (OS) for the academic community and society has been becoming more evident recently, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, significant challenges regarding its implementation arise that are likely to affect researchers, especially those in early career stages. Hence, monitoring early-career researchers’ views, knowledge, and skills on OS and related policies, is crucial for its advancement. The main aim of this exploratory study was to gain new perspectives regarding the awareness of and attitudes towards OS and related practices having in consideration geographical, economic and research career variables. Methods: The survey was conducted during May-August 2020 as part of a collaboration between Eurodoc and the Open Research Europe project. The data from the survey were analyzed by European region, Gross domestic product, Gross domestic expenditure on research and development as a percentage of gross domestic product, field of study, and career stage. Results: The awareness and positive attitude regarding OS, specifically among early-career researchers, is high in Europe. However, there are significant career stage group differences in views and knowledge about OS. Generally, awareness and positive attitude tend to increase with increasing career seniority. Regarding European regions, we spotted three main groups sharing similar awareness levels and attitudes: researchers in Western Europe - the most informed group towards OS; researchers in northern, central, and southern Europe - a moderately informed group with some minor differences; and researchers in eastern Europe - the least informed group, whose opinions deviate the most. Conclusions: We found that there is an “evolution of needs and focus” regarding scientific publishing: researchers in most European regions are in different stages of transition from the competitive to collaborative levels, while researchers in eastern Europe are largely beginning their transition to the competitive level.

THE REGION OF GASTRONOMY PROGRAM - A FACTOR FOR EMPOWERING LOCAL COMMUNITIES

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the initiatives aimed at raising awareness of local communities on the importance of protecting and promoting distinct goods for sustainable food, culture, arts, and tourism, at EU level, to balance globalized food trends. The study carries out a comparative analysis at the level of three European Regions of Gastronomy: Coimbra Region, Sibiu Region and South Aegean Region. The key areas of the Region of Gastronomy Award program: raising citizen awareness about the food they eat, the value of local products and the need to innovate to protect local products. The benefits of such initiatives and their contribution to empowering local communities and to better quality of life were identified and highlighted.

The role of temperature and the NAO index in the changing snow-related variables in European regions in the period 1900-2010

Snow-related variables are analysed in the present paper in the period 1901‒2010 on the basis of the ERA-20C dataset. Relationships between different snow characteristics, temperature and the NAO index are investigated on monthly, yearly and decadal scales for eight regions within Europe representing different climatic types (i.e. oceanic, continental, polar) to analyse the differences and similarities between them depending on the climatic conditions. According to our results, the ratio of snow (i.e. snowfall compared to total precipitation) can reach 1 in winter in the colder, northern regions, whereas it is about 0.6 in the continental areas of Central Europe, even in the coldest months. During a strong positive phase of NAO more snow falls in the northern regions of Europe due to the large-scale circulation characteristics. When a negative NAO phase occurs, the temperature and snowfall anomalies are the opposite in northern Europe. The highest temperature values generally occurred after 2000, and the snowfall amount was smaller in the first decades of the 21st century compared to the previous decades. The relationship between temperature and snowfall is the strongest in autumn in the colder regions; in spring in the continental areas and in winter in the oceanic climate.