Why do we need a theory and metrics of technology upgrading?

This paper discusses why we need theory and metrics of technology upgrading. It critically reviews the existing approaches to technology upgrading and motivates build-up of theoretically relevant but empirically grounded middle level conceptual and statistical framework which could illuminate a type of challenges relevant for economies at different income levels. It conceptualizes technology upgrading as three dimensional processes composed of intensity and different types of technology upgrading through various types of innovation and technology activities; broadening of technology upgrading through different forms of technology and knowledge diversification, and interaction with global economy through knowledge import, adoption and exchange. We consider this to be necessary first step towards theory and metrics of technology upgrading and generation of more relevant composite indicator of technology upgrading

Privatization and State Capacity in Postcommunist Society

Economists have used cross-national regression analysis to argue that postcommunist economic failure is the result of inadequate adherence liberal economic policies. Sociologists have relied on case study data to show that postcommunist economic failure is the outcome of too close adherence to liberal policy recommendations, which has led to an erosion of state effectiveness, and thus produced poor economic performance. The present paper advances a version of this statist theory based on a quantitative analysis of mass privatization programs in the postcommunist world. We argue that rapid large-scale privatization creates severe supply and demand shocks for enterprises, thereby inducing firm failure. The resulting erosion of tax revenues leads to a fiscal crisis for the state, and severely weakens its capacity and bureaucratic character. This, in turn, reacts back on the enterprise sector, as the state can no longer support the institutions necessary for the effective functioning of a modern economy, thus resulting in deindustrialization. Using cross-national regression techniques we find that the implementation of mass privatization programs negatively impacts measures of economic growth, state capacity and the security of property rights.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40192/3/wp806.pd

Effect of folate derivatives on the activity of antifolate drugs used against malaria and cancer

The folate derivatives folic acid (FA) and folinic acid (FNA) decrease the in vivo and in vitro activities of antifolate drugs in Plasmodium falciparum. However, the effects of 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-Me-THF) and tetrahydrofolate (THF), the two dominant circulating folate forms in humans, have not been explored yet. We have investigated the effects of FA, FNA, 5-Me-THF, and THF on the in vitro activity of the antimalarial antifolates pyrimethamine and chlorcycloguanil and the anticancer antifolates methotrexate (MTX), aminopterin, and trimetrexate (TMX), against P. falciparum. The results indicate that these anticancers are potent against P. falciparum, with IC50 < 50 nM. 5-Me-THF does not significantly decrease the activity of all tested drugs, and none of the tested folate derivatives significantly decrease the activity of these anticancers. Thus, malaria folate metabolism has features different from those in human, and the exploitation of this difference could lead to the discovery of new drugs to treat malaria. For instance, the combination of 5-Me-THF with a low dose of TMX could be used to treat malaria. In addition, the safety of a low dose of MTX in the treatment of arthritis indicates that this drug could be used alone to treat malaria

Convergence in international business ethics? A comparative study of ethical philosophies, thinking style, and ethical decision-making between US and Korean managers

This study investigates the relationship among ethical philosophy, thinking style, and managerial ethical decision-making. Based on the premise that business ethics is a function of culture and time, we attempt to explore two important questions as to whether the national differences in managerial ethical philosophies remain over time and whether the relationship between thinking style and ethical decision-making is consistent across different national contexts. We conducted a survey on Korean managers’ ethical decision-making and thinking style and made a cross-cultural, cross-temporal comparison with the results presented by previous studies that surveyed Korean and US managers with the same questionnaire at different points in time. Our analysis revealed that Korean managers have become more reliant on rule utilitarianism for ethical decision-making over the last two decades, which is dominantly used by US managers, corroborating our convergence hypothesis built on social contracts theory. However, as opposed to previous research, we found that managers with a balanced linear and nonlinear thinking style do not necessarily make more ethical decisions compared to those with a predominantly linear or nonlinear thinking style. This study contributes to international business ethics literature by presenting a theoretical framework that may explain the convergence of ethical philosophies employed by managers in different national contexts over time, and that the relationship between thinking style and managerial ethical decision-making may not be universal, but contingent on contextual factors

Pathogenesis of progressive scarring trachoma in Ethiopia and Tanzania and its implications for disease control: two cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: Trachoma causes blindness through a conjunctival scarring process initiated by ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection; however, the rates, drivers and pathophysiological determinants are poorly understood. We investigated progressive scarring and its relationship to conjunctival infection, inflammation and transcript levels of cytokines and fibrogenic factors. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We recruited two cohorts, one each in Ethiopia and Tanzania, of individuals with established trachomatous conjunctival scarring. They were followed six-monthly for two years, with clinical examinations and conjunctival swab sample collection. Progressive scarring cases were identified by comparing baseline and two-year photographs, and compared to individuals without progression. Samples were tested for C. trachomatis by PCR and transcript levels of S100A7, IL1B, IL13, IL17A, CXCL5, CTGF, SPARCL1, CEACAM5, MMP7, MMP9 and CD83 were estimated by quantitative RT-PCR. Progressive scarring was found in 135/585 (23.1%) of Ethiopian participants and 173/577 (30.0%) of Tanzanian participants. There was a strong relationship between progressive scarring and increasing inflammatory episodes (Ethiopia: OR 5.93, 95%CI 3.31-10.6, p<0.0001. Tanzania: OR 5.76, 95%CI 2.60-12.7, p<0.0001). No episodes of C. trachomatis infection were detected in the Ethiopian cohort and only 5 episodes in the Tanzanian cohort. Clinical inflammation, but not scarring progression, was associated with increased expression of S100A7, IL1B, IL17A, CXCL5, CTGF, CEACAM5, MMP7, CD83 and reduced SPARCL1. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Scarring progressed in the absence of detectable C. trachomatis, which raises uncertainty about the primary drivers of late-stage trachoma. Chronic conjunctival inflammation appears to be central and is associated with enriched expression of pro-inflammatory factors and altered expression of extracellular matrix regulators. Host determinants of scarring progression appear more complex and subtle than the features of inflammation. Overall this indicates a potential role for anti-inflammatory interventions to interrupt progression and the need for trichiasis disease surveillance and surgery long after chlamydial infection has been controlled at community level

One-dimensional nuclear dynamics in the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation

The time-dependent Hartree-Fock theory is applied to the large amplitude dynamics of slabs of spin and isospin symmetric nuclear matter. The slabs are translationally invariant in two transverse dimensions, and with the simplified effective interaction used in this work, the problem is reduced to a set of coupled nonlinear equations for time-dependent functions of a single spatial variable. By specification of appropriate initial conditions, large amplitude oscillations of a single slab, the scattering of a slab from an external potential barrier, and collisions of two slabs have been investigated. The results evidence a wide variety of dynamic phenomena, including fusion, compound nucleus formation, dissipation, strongly damped collisions, shock wave propagation, and fragmentation. The microscopic aspects of the dynamics, the relation to fluid mechanics, and the practical and conceptual problems arising from the theory are discussed in detail