► Geographic distance is indeed an obstructive factor in achieving university–industry collaborations. ► Central Ministries and local governments are two sources of institutional effect. ► The ...vertical and horizontal institutional proximities significantly enhance the probability of collaboration. ► Social proximity and university prestige could also help bring non-local academic and industrial partners together.
Based on Chinese patent data from 1985 to 2004, this study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of formal university–industry collaborations in China, with a specific focus on the compound effect of geographic distance and other predictors. The results show that geographic distance is indeed an obstructive factor in achieving university–industry collaborations, as many previous studies have shown. However, proximities in other dimensions could intervene to attenuate that negative effect. The most salient finding is that central Ministries and local governments are two sources of institutional force that could impose or encourage university–industry collaborations without considering the geographic distance between them. The vertical and horizontal institutional proximities engendered by subordination to the same administrative unit significantly enhance the probability of collaboration, and those effects are more significant when the distance increases. Social proximity and university prestige, as verified by previous studies, could also help bring non-local academic and industrial partners together. However, when confronting with institutional interference that is of overarching importance in the Chinese context, these effects could decrease.
This paper presents an empirical analysis of the impact of adopting energy efficiency measures, labeled “White Certificates”, on the economic performance of companies active in the paper and glass ...sector in Italy. White Certificates, launched in 2005, represent the longest-lasting and effective policy tool to stimulate energy efficiency, in particular for the manufacturing industry.
My analyses exploit financial statements of Italian companies available from the AIDA (Computerized Analysis of Italian Companies) database with the aim to quantify the impact of these measures on the performance of firms in the two industries. The impact of energy efficiency policies is assessed on both productivity and profitability, and the effect is broken down into direct and indirect impacts, obtained by calculating spatial lags of energy efficiency support based on geographical as well social, relational, and technological proximity matrices.
suggest the existence of a positive and significant association between White Certificates and firm performance. This effect is fostered when support also goes to other firms that are relationally, socially, and technologically close to treated firms. Instead, no synergy between social, relational, and technological connectivity and the geographical co-location of firms is found.
•This paper presents an empirical analysis of the impact of White Certificates.•I assess the impact of energy efficiency policies on productivity and profitability.•I find a positive and significant impact of White Certificates on firm performance.•Effects are stronger if relationally and socially proximate firms are supported.
Purpose
There is little known about investigating the importance of all proximity dimensions simultaneously as a result of geographical proximity on university-industry collaborative innovation. This ...paper aims to answer the question of how geographically proximate university and industry influence cognitive, social, organizational, institutional and cultural proximity within university-industry joint laboratories and finally, what is the outcome of these interplays on collaborative innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses an exploratory multiple-case study approach. The results are derived from 53 in-depth, semistructured interviews with laboratory directors and representatives from both the company and the university within 8 joint laboratories of Telecom Italia (TIM). The data collection was carried out in 2014 and 2015. The analysis follows a multi-grounded theory approach and relies on a mix of deductive and inductive reasoning with the final goal of theoretical elaboration.
Findings
This study finds the role of social and cultural proximity at the individual level as a result of geographical proximity as an enabler of collaborative innovation by triggering mutual learning, trust formation and frequent interactions. Cognitive proximity at the interface level could systematically influence collaborative innovation, while organizational and institutional proximity has marginal roles in facilitating collaborative innovation. The qualitative analysis offers a conceptual framework for proximity dimensions and collaborative innovation within university-industry joint laboratories.
Practical implications
The framework not only advances state-of-the-art university-industry collaboration and proximity dimension but also offers guidance for managers in designing collaborative innovation settings between university and industry.
Originality/value
With this study, the paper advances the understanding beyond solely the relationship between proximity and collaboration and shed light on the interplay between geographical proximity and other proximity dimensions in this context, which has received limited scholarly attention.
This article presents a sensor, called a skin-type dual proximity sensor (STPS) that can provide distance information in the form of impedance between a sensor and an approaching object before the ...collision. Meanwhile, a new method regarding the selection of the resonant frequency range for optimizing the measured distance is validated. The sensor adopts the combined sensing principle of inductive-capacitive proximity sensing. STPS can be fabricated with various dimensions and shapes, and easily attached to robot surfaces. Represented by the series of sensors studied with the dimensions of 100 × 100 × 2.75 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> \text{mm}</tex-math></inline-formula>, the proposed sensor can detect an approaching human body up to 300 mm away. In this article, sensor system modeling and simulation are conducted, followed by fabrication and signal processing methods. Finally, the performances of the sensor are experimentally validated, thoroughly analyzed concerning various parameters, and demonstrated with the collaboration between human and robots.
The destructive effects of industries on the environment are the most crucial reason for the need for firms’ proximity to developing innovative activities such as corporate sustainability. However, ...most prior efforts have focused on the role of different types of proximity in cluster performances, not the relationship among them. Therefore, this study intends to go one step back, discuss the inter-relationships between different types of proximity, and propose them in a conceptual model as the antecedents of corporate sustainability. These factors are known as the non-specific dimensions of proximity within local clusters: cognitive, organisational, institutional, and social, which received less attention as a theoretical model. To this end, this study invited all members of the European Cluster Cooperation Platform (ECCP) to participate. Among some 1080 European cluster organisations, 113 organisations participated, of which 99 of them were usable for this research. Contrary to existing conceptual theories, the results revealed no strong evidence for significant interrelations among all dimensions of non-specific proximity. Moreover, organisational proximity does not strongly relate to cognitive and social proximities, and there is no meaningful relationship between institutional and social proximities.
Native application of finite-element method (FEM) to the analysis of skin and proximity effects in multi-turn coils results in large equation systems, whose solution needs long computational time. ...This paper proposes a semi-analytical approach to overcome this problem. For the analysis of the proximity effect, the complex permeability of a round conducting wire immersed in uniform time-harmonic magnetic fields is represented in a closed form. Then, the homogenized complex permeability over the cross section of the multi-turn coil is analytically evaluated using the Ollendorff formula. The magnetoquasistatic problem is thus replaced by the magnetostatic one, in which the multi-turn coil is treated as a uniform material with the homogenized complex permeability. The skin effect is taken into consideration by introducing the corresponding impedance in the circuit equation. The proposed method is shown to give the impedance of multi-turn coils, which is in good agreement with that obtained by the conventional FEM as well as experiments.
This paper studies proximity and knowledge creation and sharing in coworking spaces, which are currently abundant in large metropolitan areas. Physical and non-physical proximities can have a ...positive effect on knowledge sharing, as they facilitate communication and the creation of sense of community, but they can also have a detrimental effect as they might dimmish differences that can make knowledge exchange valuable. To investigate the effect of non-physical (or non-spatial) proximities on knowledge creation and sharing within coworking spaces, a questionnaire was applied to users of those spaces in São Paulo, Brazil, the largest metropolitan area in Latin America. Analysis of 45 responses indicates that users can be classified in three profiles according to their view on the effect of proximities on knowledge sharing, and that for some users, exchange is facilitated by social proximity, but it is actually hindered by cognitive proximity. Individuals that enjoy different points of view are also more available to contact and exchange, and thus, cognitive and social diversity actually favour knowledge sharing.
Graphene-based Josephson junctions provide a novel platform for studying the proximity effect1, 2, 3 due to graphene's unique electronic spectrum and the possibility to tune junction properties by ...gate voltage4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Here we describe graphene junctions with a mean free path of several micrometres, low contact resistance and large supercurrents. Such devices exhibit pronounced Fabry-Pérot oscillations not only in the normal-state resistance but also in the critical current. The proximity effect is mostly suppressed in magnetic fields below 10 mT, showing the conventional Fraunhofer pattern. Unexpectedly, some proximity survives even in fields higher than 1 T. Superconducting states randomly appear and disappear as a function of field and carrier concentration, and each of them exhibits a supercurrent carrying capacity close to the universal quantum limit17, 18. We attribute the high-field Josephson effect to mesoscopic Andreev states that persist near graphene edges. Our work reveals new proximity regimes that can be controlled by quantum confinement and cyclotron motion.
SUMMARY
The cytosol‐facing outer membrane (OM) of organelles communicates with other cellular compartments to exchange proteins, metabolites, and signaling molecules. Cellular surveillance systems ...also target OM‐resident proteins to control organellar homeostasis and ensure cell survival under stress. However, the OM proximity proteomes have never been mapped in plant cells since using traditional approaches to discover OM proteins and identify their dynamically interacting partners remains challenging. In this study, we developed an OM proximity labeling (OMPL) system using biotin ligase‐mediated proximity biotinylation to identify the proximity proteins of the OMs of mitochondria, chloroplasts, and peroxisomes in living Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) cells. Using this approach, we mapped the OM proximity proteome of these three organelles under normal conditions and examined the effects of the ultraviolet‐B (UV‐B) or high light (HL) stress on the abundances of OM proximity proteins. We demonstrate the power of this system with the discovery of cytosolic factors and OM receptor candidates potentially involved in local protein translation and translocation. The candidate proteins that are involved in mitochondrion–peroxisome, mitochondrion–chloroplast, or peroxisome–chloroplast contacts, and in the organellar quality control system are also proposed based on OMPL analysis. OMPL‐generated OM proximity proteomes are valuable sources of candidates for functional validation and suggest directions for further investigation of important questions in cell biology.
Significance Statement
Organelle outer membrane (OM)‐resident proteins and OM‐proximal cytosolic factors engage in many essential processes. However, the OM proximity proteomes have never been mapped in plant cells. Using an outer membrane proximity labeling system, we obtain OM proximity proteomes of mitochondrion, peroxisome, and chloroplast in Arabidopsis, and discover the cytosolic factors and OM receptor candidates in local protein translation. The OM proximity proteomes provide ample ground for further investigation of important questions in plant cell biology
The realization of long-range ferromagnetic order in two-dimensional van der Waals crystals, combined with their rich electronic and optical properties, could lead to new magnetic, magnetoelectric ...and magneto-optic applications. In two-dimensional systems, the long-range magnetic order is strongly suppressed by thermal fluctuations, according to the Mermin-Wagner theorem; however, these thermal fluctuations can be counteracted by magnetic anisotropy. Previous efforts, based on defect and composition engineering, or the proximity effect, introduced magnetic responses only locally or extrinsically. Here we report intrinsic long-range ferromagnetic order in pristine Cr
Ge
Te
atomic layers, as revealed by scanning magneto-optic Kerr microscopy. In this magnetically soft, two-dimensional van der Waals ferromagnet, we achieve unprecedented control of the transition temperature (between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states) using very small fields (smaller than 0.3 tesla). This result is in contrast to the insensitivity of the transition temperature to magnetic fields in the three-dimensional regime. We found that the small applied field leads to an effective anisotropy that is much greater than the near-zero magnetocrystalline anisotropy, opening up a large spin-wave excitation gap. We explain the observed phenomenon using renormalized spin-wave theory and conclude that the unusual field dependence of the transition temperature is a hallmark of soft, two-dimensional ferromagnetic van der Waals crystals. Cr
Ge
Te
is a nearly ideal two-dimensional Heisenberg ferromagnet and so will be useful for studying fundamental spin behaviours, opening the door to exploring new applications such as ultra-compact spintronics.
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