Quaestiones Geographicae vol. 32 (2), 2013
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Item A new approach to innovation and its application to the countries of the European Union(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Agüeros, Manuel; Casares-Hontañón, Pedro; Coto-Millán, Pablo; Castro, Pablo De; Pesquera, Miguel ÁngelThis research provides a new theoretical approach to innovation. Innovation relies on collaborative relationships between universities, private companies and public administration. This theoretical approach offers an opportunity for scientific discovery in an environment of collaboration. Innovative ideas are not self-contained items; they are more like ecosystems and networks. The article also provides data processed in recent years (2003–2009) for the European Union states, providing relevant empirical evidence on the relationship between human capital, relational capital, technological capital and innovation. In the econometric and statistical modelling, the countries of the Europe of the Fifteen (EU-15) will be considered.Item Competitiveness of countries in the world innovation economy: Central-Eastern Europe and Russia(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Rodionova, IrinaThe positions of countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as Russia are listed in ranking tables by aggregated indices which characterise the readiness of the countries to transfer their economies to innovative development. The connection between the use of information technologies and national economic development based on the innovative economy is established. The author characterises the positions of Russia and the new EU members in terms of international indices, including the Global Competitiveness Index.Item The information society in Europe: Policies to stem the digital divide(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Quintá, Francisco José Armas; Arce, José Carlos MacíaA Digital Agenda for Europe is one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The main objective of this initiative consists of promoting ICT, especially the Internet, as a strategic tool to improve business, healthcare services, transport and social activity in a better global standard-of-living context. The Europe 2020 Strategy recommends broadband access for all European citizens by 2013 and higher Internet speeds (30 Mbps or above) by 2020. Nevertheless, what is the real position in the European regional and urban context? This article attempts to describe and explain the current situation and trends in relation to the Europe 2020 Strategy initiative.Item Core and periphery of information society: Significance of geospatial technologies(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Werner, Piotr A.; Opach, TomaszThe paper attempts to identify important factors significant for global information society development and to determine the significance of geospatial (geo-information) technologies. The starting point is international measures of the development level of information & communication technologies (ICT) and information society (IS). The relevance of the particular factors was defined using the general segmentation of the milieu, taking into account social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal and ethical factors and also estimating the global spatial dimension of ICT and IS development. The diagnosis serves as the context of considerations concerning the contribution of geographers and cartographers to IS.Item Federal revenue sharing, marginalisation and sub-national inter-regional inequality in human capital development in south-eastern and southern Nigeria(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Ingwe, Richard; Ukwayi, Joseph K.; Utam, Edward U.Regional development planning/management responds to needs for preventing inequality among regions within nations characterised by multi-culturality and variation among regions, through the planning/management of appropriate programmes and policies. This paper examines inequality in the development of two of Nigeria’s states in the geographical South-East and the political South-South. Among other issues, historical conflicts among various ethno-cultural groups constituting Nigeria and culminating in violence (e.g. the 1967–1970 civil war fought against the programme of Ibo (a socio-cultural group) seceding from Nigeria’s federation to found Biafra) are reviewed. Despite Nigeria’s tragic civil war, inequality persists. We examine inequality resulting from systematic implementation of policies/programmes of Nigeria’s federal government institutions that marginalise Cross River State. Using the methods of comparative analysis and a descriptive case study, we show the consequences of marginalisation policies implemented by the federal government alone or in collaboration with (i.e. in support of) Akwa Ibom State for the development of human capital in Cross River State. The specific acts of marginalisation referred to here include: the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula – a part of Cross River State – to the Republic of Cameroon in 2005, and more recently (2009) another ceding of 76 oil wells, hitherto the property of Cross River State, to Akwa Ibom State. We argue that, strengthened by marginalising/polarising policies (higher revenue allocation based on derivation principle of oil production), Akwa Ibom’s ongoing implementation of free education policy Brought to you by | Uniwersytet im. A. Mickiewicza Authenticated | 150.254.124.160 Download Date | 7/24/13 9:54 AM 52 Richard Ingwe , Joseph K. Ukwayi , Edward U. Utam promises to facilitate its achievement of millennium development goals in basic education by 2015, beyond which it might reach disproportionately higher levels of tertiary educational attainment by 2024 and after. By contrast, the contrived dwindling of oil revenue accruing to Cross River State deprives it of funding for competitive human capital development programme(s). We recommend that Cross River State employs serious monitoring of marginalising schemes against its people considering recent traumatising experience, and plan/implement human capital development programmes aimed to improve its competitiveness under the context of intra-regional inequality.Item Territorial identity of countryside residents in the suburban areas of Łódź, Poland(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Wójcik, MarcinSocial studies of suburban villages have important implications for modern human geography. To a large extent, they relate to a broader problem, which is a change in the value system of Polish society and the needs met in the countryside environment. It is worth considering how a society with specific needs changes the space of the contemporary suburban village. The knowledge of those processes is necessary to further develop spatial policies and local development of gminas (communes) in Poland, especially in the case of rapidly transforming villages in the vicinity of large cities. The primary objective of this paper is to identify differences in the territorial identity and social perception of rural space expressed by immigrant and local groups of long-term residents.Item Dwelling or living in a block of flats. Towards the Polish geography of home(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Klima, EwaThis article consists of two parts. The first includes a review of Polish and mainly English-language publications in geography related to the theme of home and the flat. The second part presents the results of a study of ‘homes in a block of flats’. It is primarily an attempt to identify opportunities that studying homes offers the contemporary cultural geographer. One of the aims is to pinpoint differences between the Polish and English output in this field, and to prove that such studies in our country are justified. The results clearly indicate the universal character of the notion of home and help to lift the spell of a hostile space off a block of flats. In more general categories related to the geographical understanding of space, it should be added that, as respondents indicate, this is a space which is neither homogeneous nor monotonous.Item The image of Russia and Russians as seen by Polish university students(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Awramiuk-Godun, Alina; Wites, TomaszThe results presented in this study are part of a joint research project undertaken in 2011 by the University of Warsaw and the University of St. Petersburg entitled “The perception of Polish-Russian relations by students in Poland and Russia”. The main purpose of the research conducted in Poland was to investigate the beliefs and attitudes of students at the University of Warsaw toward Russia and Russians. Students are open to the surrounding reality, conscious of the mental and spatial proximity that links Poles and Russians, and aware of the problems that define the present-day Polish-Russian relations. A vast majority of participants are people who possess a fairly extensive knowledge of various aspects of life in Russia and express sympathy for Russia and Russian people. In the opinion of the authors, the results of the above study can be useful to teachers at universities, especially those that deal with European, socio-cultural and geographical subjects.