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Product Description: In the last few years research on regional development has increased dramatically. Real-world concerns have - to a certain extent - driven this scientific concern of interest. The field has been given a big boost in particular by the process of European integration and the attempt to understand how this deeper integration will work at the regional level...read more

Product Description: The pressures of global competition are affecting regions throughout the world and making it increasingly necessary to understand the complex underlying mechanisms and the potential for innovation offered by new technology. Success in economic restructuring depends not only on the technology itself, but the professional and entrepreneurial skills available and the support of provided by institutions and information networks...read more

Product Description: The pressures of global competition are affecting regions throughout the world and making it increasingly necessary to understand the complex underlying mechanisms and the potential for innovation offered by new technology. Success in economic restructuring depends not only on the technology itself, but the professional and entrepreneurial skills available and the support of provided by institutions and information networks...read more

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) provide an enhanced environment for spatial data processing. The ability of geographic information systems to handle and analyse spatially referenced data may be seen as a major characteristic which distinguishes GIS from information systems developed to serve the needs of business data processing as well as from CAD systems or other systems whose primary objective is map production. This book, which contains contributions from a wide-ranging group of international scholars, demonstrates the progress which has been achieved so far at the interface of GIS technology and spatial analysis and planning. The various contributions bring together theoretical and conceptual, technical and applied issues. Topics covered include the design and use of GIS and spatial models, AI tools for spatial modelling in GIS, spatial statistical analysis and GIS, GIS and dynamic modelling, GIS in urban planning and policy making, information systems for policy evaluation, and spatial decision support systems.

This volume covers the topic of innovation in three sections, first demonstrating that processes of innovation and technological change are spatially differentiated, second examining the increasing importance of knowledge creation and diffusion, and third raising key issues related to the systems of innovation approach as a conceptual framwork for regional innovation analysis. Includes enlightening conceptual and empirical work on the issue of how knowledge spills over locally.

In recent years there has been growing scientific interest in the triangular relationship between knowledge. complexity and innovation systems. The concept of'innovation systems' carries the idea that innovations do not originate as isolated discrete phenomena, but are generated through the interaction of a number of actors or agents. This set of actors and interactions possess certain specific characteristics that tend to remain over time. Such characteristics are also shared by national, regional, sectoral and technological interaction systems. They can all be represented as sets of [institutional] actors and interactions, whose ultimate goal is the production and diffusion of knowledge. The major theoretical and policy problem posed by these systems is that knowledge is generated not only by individuals and organisations, but also by the often complex pattern of interaction between them. To understand how organisations create new products, new production techniques and new organisational forms is important. An even more fundamental need is to understand how organisations create new knowledge if this knowledge creation lies in the mobilisation and conversion of tacit knowledge. Although much has been written about the importance of knowledge in management, little attention has been paid to how knowledge is created and how the knowledge­ creation process is managed. The third component of the research triangle concerns complexity. (view table of contents)

This book presents the fmdings of a comparative study of three European metropolitan regions: Vienna, Barcelona and Stockholm. The heart of the work consists of empirical studies carefully designed and developed in order to identify the main actors and mechanisms supporting technological innovation in each of the metropolitan regions. The authors have also highlighted the similarities and differences across regions and countries, investigating how these came to be, and discussing the possible implications. The introductory as well as the concluding Chapter was written by Manfred M. Fischer who, assisted by Attila Varga, was also responsible for Chapter 2 on the Metropolitan Region of Vienna. Javier Revilla Diez contributed Chapter 3 on the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Folke Snickars has provided Chapter 4 which examines the Metropolitan Region of Stockholm and. All authors have reviewed and commented on the whole contents so that the volume represents a collective endeavour which has been rendered as homogeneous as possible. A particular effort has been made to ensure that the study is based on a common conceptual framework. (view table of contents)

Product Description: Geocomputation may be viewed as the application of a computational science paradigm to study a wide range of problems in geographical systems contexts.This volume presents a clear, comprehensive and thoroughly state-of-the-art overview of current research, written by leading figures in the field...read more

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In recent years, spatial analysis has become an increasingly active field, as evidenced by the establishment of educational and research programs at many universities. Its popularity is due mainly to new technologies and the development of spatial data infrastructures. This book illustrates some recent developments in spatial analysis, behavioural modelling, and computational intelligence. World renown spatial analysts explain and demonstrate their new and insightful models and methods. The applications are in areas of societal interest such as the spread of infectious diseases, migration behaviour, and retail and agricultural location strategies. In addition, there is emphasis on the uses of new technologoies for the analysis of spatial data through the application of neural network concepts. (view table of contents)

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