Entrepreneurial profile of the UK in the light of the global entrepreneurship and development index

In this research summary, we provide a novel look into the entrepreneurial profile of the UK in an international context. We use a new method – the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index GEDI [1] – to identify the entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses of the UK economy, as well as to identify potential bottlenecks that hold back the performance of the UK relative to other advanced economies. We begin by providing an overview of the main findings

Open Access and the First Amendment: A Critique of Comcast Cablevision of Broward County, Inc. v. Broward County

To what extent does the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment bar the adoption of “open access” regulations? Open access (or “net neutrality”) refers to a policy that would require broadband Internet providers, such as cable and phone companies, to allow competitive Internet Service Providers (ISPs) onto their broadband lines at nondiscriminatory rates. A federal district court in Florida recently held Broward County’s open access ordinance unconstitutional on the grounds that it would force speech – in the form of Internet content – on to the local cable company. If the district court’s analysis is correct, then open access regulations are foreclosed by the Free Speech Clause. This article argues that open access regulations are, in fact, thoroughly consistent with the First Amendment. Broadband providers maintain the kind of “bottleneck” control over Internet content that justifies regulations aimed at facilitating the free flow of information. Broadband providers are already using their strategic position to interfere in the e-commerce and video-downloading markets, and they have the power to speed up or slow down the delivery of Web-pages and other Internet applications. By breaking the broadband provider’s bottleneck control over Internet content and applications, open access regulations serve the important government objectives of facilitating robust public discourse and free markets. The First Amendment does not stand in the way of this important policy proposal

Antitrust, Innovation, and Uncertain Property Rights: Some Practical Considerations

The intersection of antitrust and intellectual property circumscribes two century-long debates. The first pertains to questions about how antitrust law and intellectual property law interact, and the second pertains to questions about how parties can exploit property rights, including intellectual property rights, to exclude competitors. This iBrief finesses these questions and turns to practical considerations about how innovation and intellectual property can impinge antitrust enforcement. This iBrief develops two propositions. First, although collaborative research and development has often been and remains unwittingly misunderstood, what is understood about it is consistent with the long- standing observation that antitrust has rarely interfered with collaborative ventures. Second, shifting focus from “intellectual property rights” to “uncertain property rights” makes it easier to understand what innovation and intellectual property imply for enforcement processes. Both intellectual property and tangible assets imply the same processes, but the boundaries of intellectual properties may be uncertain and may, in turn, allow parties to game enforcement processes in ways that would not be feasible in antitrust matters that principally feature tangible assets. Even so, uncertain property rights might not frustrate enforcement processes as the antitrust authorities may yet be able to factor parties’ strategic behaviors into the design of antitrust remedies

Simulation of human movement and behaviour in crowded spaces using gaming software

This paper discusses the development of human movement and behaviour simulation in crowded spaces as part of the AUNT-SUE (Accessibility and User Needs in Transport for Sustainable Urban Environments) research project. The research starts with applying a video observational method to understand human movement and behaviour in crowded spaces in the real world. Six hours of video were recorded at a multi-mode transportation system and almost 19,000 individual human movements and behaviours were analyzed. Six types of behaviour were derived from the three major movements of free, opposite and same direction. Six factors affecting human movement and behaviour were recognized from the video analysis. The DarkBASIC Professional gaming software was used to simulate the human movement and behaviour in the virtual world. The six factors affecting human movement and behaviour were considered as the parameters for the virtual humans. Case studies considering multi-mode transportation systems, bottleneck and non-bottleneck situations were applied to validate the prototype software system

A Review of Traffic Signal Control.

The aim of this paper is to provide a starting point for the future research within the SERC sponsored project "Gating and Traffic Control: The Application of State Space Control Theory". It will provide an introduction to State Space Control Theory, State Space applications in transportation in general, an in-depth review of congestion control (specifically traffic signal control in congested situations), a review of theoretical works, a review of existing systems and will conclude with recommendations for the research to be undertaken within this project

Scaling readiness: Concepts, practices, and implementation.

Scaling Readiness is an approach that can support organizations, projects, and programs in achieving their ambitions to scale innovations and achieve impact. Scaling Readiness encourages critical reflection on how ready innovations are for scaling, and what appropriate actions could accelerate or enhance scaling