Outward FDI from developing countries : a case of Chinese firms in South Africa

Outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from developing countries is increasing. In the research on FDI, it has been considered that only competitive and productive firms can invest in foreign countries. However, since the differences in competitiveness and productivity between multinational enterprises (MNEs) from developed and developing countries have not been explicitly investigated, we cannot say whether MNEs from developing countries can or cannot survive in competition with MNEs from developed countries as well as against competitive and productive indigenous firms in host countries. To examine the activities of MNEs from developing countries, this study investigates Chinese firms in South Africa. It reveals that in order to compensate for the weak brand recognition of Chinese products and to expand sales, Chinese firms have mainly been making products that are sold under the brand names of indigenous South African firms. Chinese firms have expanded their business in South Africa relying on the business resources of indigenous firms in the host country. This indicates that business with indigenous firms is significant for MNEs from developing countries in boosting competitiveness

Usability of multimedia-based technology in situational judgment test: literature review and survey on millennial generation

In predicting and determining people's careers, various instrumentation and tools can be used. Instrumentation with descriptive stories and role plays is suitable to describe the conditions and situations of respondents. Situational Judgment Test (SJTs) is one of the tools that are used to see a person's tendency to act in certain situations. The research topic of SJTs is increased in the last few years. Most of them explore and investigate the validity of SJT such as the scoring method. However, only a few topics discuss the form of SJTs tools and questions. This study investigates the benefit of using a computer-based test and exploration of multimedia-based technology to enhance SJT. This study examines kinds of literature about SJTs topic and discusses related technology in STJs nowadays. This study also analyses what various parameters of digital media like a type of media and device, affection of sounds in the video, the user experience with media, and duration of video are the parameter. This research also collects 209 respondents to find out interaction between millennial generations and multimedia nowadays. The aim of this paper is to improve STJs’ contents using multimediabased technology

Making defeating CAPTCHAs harder for bots

For a number of years, many websites have used CAPTCHAs to filter out interactions by bots. However, attackers have found ways to circumvent CAPTCHAs by programming bots to solve or bypass them, or even relay them for humans to solve. In order to reduce the chances of success of such attacks, CAPTCHAs can be strengthened by the addition of certain safeguards. In this paper, we discuss seven existing safeguards as well as five novel safeguards designed to make circumventing CAPTCHAs harder. These safeguards are not mutually exclusive and can add multiple layers of protection to a CAPTCHA. We further provide a high-level comparison of their effectiveness in addressing the threat posed by CAPTCHA-defeating techniques. In order to focus on safeguards that are usable, we restrict our attention to those which have minimal adverse effect on the user experience

The role of intellectual property in the development of underutilized crops

This research is focused upon the availability and suitability of intellectual property protection for developments in underutilized crop species. It has been suggested that intellectual property protection should be a positive tool for addressing food security concerns, by incentivizing innovation and rewarding breeders. Equally, access and benefit sharing mechanisms, which exist to regulate access to genetic material and redistribute the benefits arising from its use, also play a significant role in the development of new crop species. Thus, this research explores the extent to which states are obliged to provide intellectual property protection for plant-based innovations, and whether these are compatible with developments in underutilized crop species. It also considers the overlap between systems of intellectual property protection and access and benefit sharing regimes. This is explored by examining the relevant international norms pertaining to intellectual property protection (the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and the Conventions of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) and the regulation of access to genetic resources (the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture). This is developed by exploring how the principles derived from these regimes relate to one another and by drawing upon examples developed in distinct jurisdictions. The research considers Malaysia not only as a genetically rich state that is reliant upon external inputs to meet national food security, but one that is host to research and development activities involving underutilized crop species. It is focused upon analysing the models of intellectual property protection and access and benefit sharing that have been implemented in Malaysia and evaluating their utility for innovations in underutilized crops by incorporating the perspectives of stakeholders in underutilized crops and comparing the aspects of the Malaysian approach with alternatives. It concludes by analysing whether in this context, intellectual property protection it is likely to be a useful tool for addressing food security concerns

万博のパヴィリオンに表出されたインドネシア的な建築の探求

Tohoku University五十嵐　太郎課

The role of intellectual property in the development of underutilized crops

This research is focused upon the availability and suitability of intellectual property protection for developments in underutilized crop species. It has been suggested that intellectual property protection should be a positive tool for addressing food security concerns, by incentivizing innovation and rewarding breeders. Equally, access and benefit sharing mechanisms, which exist to regulate access to genetic material and redistribute the benefits arising from its use, also play a significant role in the development of new crop species. Thus, this research explores the extent to which states are obliged to provide intellectual property protection for plant-based innovations, and whether these are compatible with developments in underutilized crop species. It also considers the overlap between systems of intellectual property protection and access and benefit sharing regimes. This is explored by examining the relevant international norms pertaining to intellectual property protection (the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and the Conventions of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) and the regulation of access to genetic resources (the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture). This is developed by exploring how the principles derived from these regimes relate to one another and by drawing upon examples developed in distinct jurisdictions. The research considers Malaysia not only as a genetically rich state that is reliant upon external inputs to meet national food security, but one that is host to research and development activities involving underutilized crop species. It is focused upon analysing the models of intellectual property protection and access and benefit sharing that have been implemented in Malaysia and evaluating their utility for innovations in underutilized crops by incorporating the perspectives of stakeholders in underutilized crops and comparing the aspects of the Malaysian approach with alternatives. It concludes by analysing whether in this context, intellectual property protection it is likely to be a useful tool for addressing food security concerns

China: Rule-taker or Rule-maker in the International Intellectual Property System?

Intellectual property has been a crucial issue for China in the past four decades. Internationally, it was central to China’s fifteen-year negotiation on its accession to the WTO and has been a priority in China-US bilateral relations. Domestically, changes in the regulation and use of intellectual property reflect a larger picture of rapid economic and social transition in China. Initially, China was a rule-taker in intellectual property, experiencing pressure from abroad to do much more on intellectual property. In response, China enacted comprehensive domestic intellectual property laws. From 2001, the Chinese Trademark Office was registering more trademarks than any other office in the world and from 2011, the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) became the world's largest patent office. Today the Chinese government promotes intellectual property protection in its national strategy of “innovation-driven development” and seeks to transform China into the world’s leading intellectual property power. This thesis focuses on whether the large-scale deployment of intellectual property by China in various markets means that it has become a regulatory power in intellectual property, in the sense of being an agenda setter and source of global influence over IP rules. The UK in the nineteenth century and the US in the twentieth were regulatory IP powers in this sense. China’s regulatory and international influence over IP rules is tracked empirically through case studies on geographical indications (Chapter 3), the disclosure obligation (Chapter 4), and intellectual property and standardization (Chapter 5), along with an examination of China’s international IP engagement at the bilateral level (Chapter 6) and plurilateral and multilateral levels (Chapter 7). This thesis also analyses the roles of sub-state actors and non-state actors in China’s international intellectual property engagement (Chapter 8). This thesis argues that China’s role in international intellectual property regulation is more nuanced and complicated than a binary categorization of “rule-maker” or “rule-taker”. China’s international IP engagement is guided by a group of key principles, specifically the principles of IP instrumentalism and a set of foreign policy principles. These principles have been implemented through a process of modeling, while potential conflicts have been minimized through a strategy of balancing. The effects of modeling are compliance and institutional isomorphism which makes the Chinese IP system similar to those of developed countries. Balancing leads to constructed inconsistency and has led China into keeping a low-profile in international policy debates on intellectual property