A current trend in crisis-laden Europe is de-industrialisation. The European Union has launched ambitious policies and proposed a new research and innovation framework programme, Horizon 2020, to counter this trend and to foster innovation in manufacturing. The paper highlights the key issues related to this upcoming programme. R&D and innovation efforts, however, need to be underpinned by smar...

Smart cities are emerging fast and they introduce new practices and services which highly impact policy making and planning, while they co-exist with urban facilities. It is now needed to understand the smart city’s contribution in the overall urban planning and vice versa, to recognize urban planning offerings to a smart city context. This chapter highlights and measures smart city and urban p...

During the last decade, many European digital cities applied ICT to improve the local public sphere, reinforce local democracy, support local communities and increase social participation. Different policies of a variety of stakeholders led to a wide variation of designs and functionality, content, main actors, aims and philosophy, organization, and use and users. To build a useful and sustaina...

To provide effective support for education and training of U-City manpower, it is necessary to analyze its demand and develop the appropriate education course. Development of education courses requires reviewing the cases of other industries, understanding the demands of each educatees, developing the education courses in detail, and making the standard teaching materials. Therefore, this study...

Hedgehogs are small, nocturnal mammals that become popular in the world and have significant role in transmission of zoonotic agents. Some of the agents are transmitted by ticks and fleas such as rickettsial agents. For these reason, a survey on ectoparasites in European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) carried out between April 2006 and December 2007 from different parts of Urmia city, ...