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This study investigates the complex interplay among innovation, research and development (R&D), and entrepreneurship within the context of European nations. The focus of the study is also on the contributory role of tertiary educational institutions in nurturing entrepreneurial activities. To deepen the understanding of these multifaceted relationships and their subsequent impact on regional economies, the research introduces a novel metric termed the Innovation Readiness Environment (IRE) index. This index combines various indicators such as R&D expenditure, patenting rates, firm size, and educational levels, thereby providing a framework for evaluating firms' innovative capabilities and entrepreneurial success in a given region. Utilization of this index offers policymakers and stakeholders a nuanced understanding of the regional innovation ecosystem, facilitating the identification of strengths and deficiencies. This, in turn, enables the formulation of targeted policy interventions to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship. One relevant conclusion drawn from this study is the pivotal role of tertiary education in catalyzing entrepreneurial ventures. The findings posit that higher levels of entrepreneurial education significantly supplement an individual's likelihood of entrepreneurial success by imparting the requisite skills and knowledge indispensable in a competitive business milieu. By fostering an environment conducive to innovation, higher education institutions emerge as critical agents in cultivating entrepreneurial acumen and stimulating economic expansion. The study further incorporates a spatial analytical framework to elucidate the regional specificities of innovation at the pan-European scale.

The European Union has set ambitious targets for energy efficiency to promote energy sustainability and decarbonisation of energy systems by introducing performance indicators that can be used in different contexts at international, national or regional level. In particular, the macroeconomic indicator of Electrical Intensity (EI) and Sustainable Electrical Intensity (SEI) can be used to measure energy performance on different scales, to identify the amount of energy used per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thus providing a picture of sustainability in economic and spatial terms. In order to support appropriate urban and territorial policies that can have a positive effect not only on GDP, but more generally on the fair and sustainable well-being of citizens, the complexity of the EI must be addressed by assessing the impacts of energy efficiency interventions and the development of renewable energy installations. The aim of the work is to develop a comparative approach between the spatial distribution the total electricity consumption (EI index) and the total renewable electrical consumption (SEI index) of the Italian Regions - and a dataset of BES indicators - Equitable and Sustainable Well-being - to evaluate of the regional electricity transition.

This study investigates the complex interplay among innovation, research and development (R&D), and entrepreneurship within the context of European nations. The focus of the study is also on the contributory role of tertiary educational institutions in nurturing entrepreneurial activities. To deepen the understanding of these multifaceted relationships and their subsequent impact on regional economies, the research introduces a novel metric termed the Innovation Readiness Environment (IRE) index. This index combines various indicators such as R&D expenditure, patenting rates, firm size, and educational levels, thereby providing a framework for evaluating the innovative capabilities and entrepreneurial success of firms in a given region. Utilization of this index offers policymakers and stakeholders a nuanced understanding of the regional innovation ecosystem, facilitating the identification of both strengths and deficiencies. This, in turn, enables the formulation of targeted policy interventions to enhance both innovation and entrepreneurship. One salient conclusion drawn from this study is the pivotal role of tertiary education in catalysing entrepreneurial ventures. The findings posit that higher levels of entrepreneurial education significantly supplement an individual's likelihood of entrepreneurial success by imparting the requisite skills and knowledge indispensable in a competitive business milieu. Higher education institutions, by fostering an environment conducive to innovation, emerge as critical agents in the cultivation of entrepreneurial acumen and the stimulation of economic expansion. The study further incorporates a spatial analytical framework to elucidate the regional specificities of innovation at the pan-European scale.

Climate has always been studied in cities, where strong relations can be found with urban form and spatial patterns. Temperature variations, heat islands and floods are among the main factors to represent climatic phenomena and related changes over time. The same urban location choices come out from the need to resist adverse events. In general, the urban form can be related to climatic conditions, both to benefit from positive externalities - healthiness, sun exposure, ventilation, water supply - and to reduce negative externalities - thermal stress, heavy rainfall and heat islands. Furthermore, urban development, particularly attributable to land take, put in evidence how the European, and particularly the Italian, urban system presents 56% of population settled in urban areas with a high value of sealed surfaces and limited green areas, so that urban centres are more and more characterizing as climate change hotspots. In this framework the hereby presented research is developed, focused on the observation of the temperature variations in urban areas in time, aimed at capturing the changes occurring also considering the spatial extent and form of the cities more vulnerable to such phenomenon. The research in particular was aimed at exploring possible different ways of aggregating areas to a proper urban dimension: in particular Metropolitan Cities (MC) and Labor Market Area (LMA) in order to identify the most suitable geographical dimension both for the observation of the phenomenon and for the policy targets of climate neutrality. This is done analysing the spatial autocorrelation of climate-related variations in space and time.

The aim of the study was to verify the knowledge on oral cancer and to assess possible differences in awareness and information basing on different demographic and subject-related factors. An anonymous survey was provided to 750 random subjects using online-based questionnaires. Statistical analysis was performed in order to evaluate the influence of demographic variables (gender, age, education) on knowledge of oral cancer and its risk factors. 68.4% of individuals knew about the existence of oral cancer, mostly from media and family/friends. Awareness was significantly influenced by gender and higher education, but not by age. Most participants recognized smoking as a risk factor, but alcohol abuse and sunlight exposure are less known, especially among less educated subjects. On the contrary, our study shows a diffusion of false information: more than 30% of the participants indicated the possible role of amalgam fillings in oral cancer onset, independently of gender, age or education. The results of our study suggest the need for oral cancer awareness campaigns, where school and healthcare professionals should be actively involved in promoting, organizing and finding methods to monitor the medium and long-term efficacy with proper methodological quality.

The image of the Smart City recalls Lynch’s “Image of the City” (1960) and the ways in which urban spaces are perceived by the community and users. The categories presented there hold a physical, tangible component, related to the spatial and material aspects of the city. Talking about Smart Cities, a little formulated and tackled question refers to what the image of the Smart City is, and how it is possible to represent it. The debate on the Smart City regards mainly the digital component and technological aspects, often not visible or perceivable, neglecting the more humanistic aspects and implications. We carry on a reflection on the “image of the smart city”. We propose some possible evolutions of the concept and research directions, in light of the new challenges posed by COVID-19 and the pandemic, as well as the need for a more human-centric approach to planning and managing urban areas and human settlements.