Regulatory Cooperation, Regional Trade Agreements, and World Trade Law: Conflict or Complementarity?

Today, the growing and aging population, and the rise of new global threats on human health puts an increasing demand on the healthcare system and calls for preventive actions. To make existing medical treatments more efficient and widely accessible and to prevent the emergence of new threats such as drug-resistant bacteria, improved diagnostic technologies are needed. Potential solutions to address these medical challenges could come from the development of novel lab-on-chip (LoC) for point-of-care (PoC) diagnostics. At the same time, the increasing demand for sustainable energy calls for the development of novel approaches for energy conversion and storage systems (ECS), to which micro- and nanotechnologies could also contribute. This thesis has for objective to contribute to these developments and presents the results of interdisciplinary research at the crossing of three disciplines of physics and engineering: electrokinetic transport in fluids, manufacturing of micro- and nanofluidic systems, and surface control and modification. By combining knowledge from each of these disciplines, novel solutions and functionalities were developed at the macro-, micro- and nanoscale, towards applications in PoC diagnostics and ECS systems. At the macroscale, electrokinetic transport was applied to the development of a novel PoC sampler for the efficient capture of exhaled breath aerosol onto a microfluidic platform. At the microscale, several methods for polymer micromanufacturing and surface modification were developed. Using direct photolithography in off-stoichiometry thiol-ene (OSTE) polymers, a novel manufacturing method for mold-free rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices was developed. An investigation of the photolithography of OSTE polymers revealed that a novel photopatterning mechanism arises from the off-stoichiometric polymer formulation. Using photografting on OSTE surfaces, a novel surface modification method was developed for the photopatterning of the surface energy. Finally, a novel method was developed for single-step microstructuring and micropatterning of surface energy, using a molecular self-alignment process resulting in spontaneous mimicking, in the replica, of the surface energy of the mold. At the nanoscale, several solutions for the study of electrokinetic transport toward selective biofiltration and energy conversion were developed. A novel, comprehensive model was developed for electrostatic gating of the electrokinetic transport in nanofluidics. A novel method for the manufacturing of electrostatically-gated nanofluidic membranes was developed, using atomic layer deposition (ALD) in deep anodic alumina oxide (AAO) nanopores. Finally, a preliminary investigation of the nanopatterning of OSTE polymers was performed for the manufacturing of polymer nanofluidic devices.QC 20140509RappidNanoGateNorosenso

Disciplining Voluntary Environmental Standards At The WTO - An Indian Legal Viewpoint

This paper looks into the proliferation of privately-formulated environmental product standards and analyses whether Indian industry has a legal recourse under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism if such standards are used as disguised restrictions on trade. The paper highlights some of the issues faced by Indian manufacturers when confronted with voluntary product requirements such as eco-labeling, packaging and recycling requirements in markets of key export interest to them and highlights the role of non-state actors in the formulation of such environmental product standards. Since some of these product standards are capable of being misused as protectionist devices, the paper examines whether the WTO dispute settlement mechanism can be used to resolve an issue which cannot be directly attributed to governmental action (or inaction). In doing so the paper studies the representations made by India and other developing countries at meetings of various WTO Committees; and past decisions of WTO Panels and the Appellate Body to establish the magnitude of the problem and look for possible legal solutions. The paper looks at the issue from a developing country perspective- the assumption being that developing countries are standard-takers, not standard-setters; and are unable to afford the costs of compliance associated with voluntary environmental standards. The analysis focuses predominantly on the use and interpretation of the GATT Agreement and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and discusses a possible legal strategy that may be adopted in any future dispute.India, Environment, Law, Voluntary Environmental Standards

Standards and Costs for Quality Management of E-Learning Services

The proportions of the technological development in the field of communications and information represent an irrefutable premise for significant changes in all the spheres of human life. Corroborated with the advance of the Internet recorded in the last decade, these changes form the perfect recipe for the emergence (ever since the '90s), functioning and development of flexible forms of labour at distance, using the technology of information and communication. Among the first domains where the impact of technology is very strong may be named education, marketing, advertising and commerce; the forms of manifestation are materialized in e-learning, cyber-marketing, online advertising and electronic commerce. But the simple use of technology does not automatically assure the success of the new forms of activity. These transformations of the traditional into digital, of the classic into virtual must be accompanied by the adequate support with respect to the quality of services, standards, platforms and the hardware and software technologies. If we are referring to the educational domain, we have to analyze the e-learning phenomenon or tele-education in its spectacular evolution in such a recent history. Quality represents a landmark of major importance in all the fields of modern society based on knowledge. From the perspective of tele-education, quality assurance must be focalized on three main directions: the quality of the actual educational process (class/course support, platform, technology, etc.); the quality of the instructor (professional training, qualification, specialization, pedagogic ability, teaching method, etc.); the quality of the person undergoing the course/class (training, knowledge thesaurus, involvement, accumulation wish, etc.). Also, like in any activity, quality standard reporting means an economic approach by quality costs. Theat means that the good product or quality services in e-learning are very strongly linked with educational multimedia production and good costs.quality, standards, e-learning, technology, cost

EXPORT QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN A WORLD GLOBAL ECONOMY

Quality became the management imperative of the last two decades and willcontinue to be the key to success in the future. We often see the words quality first , anddemands for quality invade every sphere of activity, from the motor vehicles we drive, to thedomestic appliances we use, the food we eat, the restaurants we dine in, the doctors we visit,and the products we import and export, reminding us that quality is the goal of everybusiness, and that its focus is the customer . Satisfying the requirements of the customer is adynamic activity: both customers and their needs change and the supplier has to recognize this.When it comes to trade, no exporting country can afford to compromise on quality. The currenteconomic climate calls for export marketing and promotion efforts with assurances of superiorand consistent quality in products and services, associated with lower prices and delivery ofthe right product at the right time.quality, management, foreign trade, efficiency

Non-Traditional Patterns of Global Regulation: Is the WTO ‘Missing the Boat’?

Presented at the European University Institute, Florence, 24-25 September 2004, Conference on Legal Patterns of Transnational Social Regulations and Trad

Global Standard-Setting 2.0: How the WTO Spotlights ISO and Impacts the Transnational Standard-Setting Process

Transnational technical standard-setting has grown in prominence in recent years. The World Trade Organization (WTO) requires the use of international standards but adopts a deferential approach towards international standards. However, practice shows that several international standards are promulgated through opaque and exclusionary processes. In line with this observation, in its recent US—Tuna II ruling, the Appellate Body adopted a more critical stance regarding international standards and the processes that lead to their adoption. Against this backdrop, this article focuses on an analysis of the properties and mechanics of international standard-setting processes within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), discussing procedural and substantive guarantees regarding transparency, openness, deliberation and participation. As the WTO becomes the de facto arbiter of the legitimacy of international standards, much needed institutional reform in international standard-setting is bound to occur. Arguably, this is bringing a paradigm shift in standardization practices and introduces “global standard-setting 2.0.” Such trend is in line with emerging demands for a more inclusive global legal order