Commercialization of Traditional Knowledge Based Technologies by Small Entrepreneurs: An Exploration of Strategic and Policy Options

The paper is based on the case study of an entrepreneur who has invested his career in developing a new product based on traditional knowledge. Using this case we highlight the issues faced by a small entrepreneur in the commercialization of traditional knowledge based technologies in pharmaceuticals industry. The framework developed by Teece is used to analyze the strategic options available to the entrepreneur in a weak appropriability regime. We also analyze a hypothetical scenario of strategic options available to the entrepreneur if the appropriability regime was strong. Since traditional knowledge based entrepreneurial activities have significant scope in India, it is important to explore the policy and strategic options that are available to us. In the context of the case study, the concluding part of the paper reviews these options and the associated implications for the holders of traditional knowledge.

Isolated Biventricular Noncompaction in an adult with severe pulmonary hypertension : an association reviewed.

Biventricular noncompaction is a recently recognized rare form of cardiomyopathy. It is characterized by altered structure of myocardial wall as a result of intrauterine arrest of compaction of the myocardial fibers in absence of coexisting congenital lesion. Left ventricle is the most affected site for noncompaction, but right ventricular involvement has been reported in a few cases. Diagnosis is made with 2-dimensional echocardiography or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. While major clinical manifestations are heart failure, arrhythmias and embolic events,pulmonary artery hypertension ( PAH)has not been well elaborated in the literature. We present a 13- year old boy who had Biventricular noncompaction complicated by severe pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension may be a consequence of increased pulmonary venous pressures caused by systolic and diastolic left ventricular dysfunction secondary to noncompaction. This article reviews the literature particularly with reference to PAH in the context of this case.peer-reviewe

Symptomatic giant left atrial aneurysm in a child : a rare entity

Isolated left atrial aneurysms are rare entities in clinical practice. Usually the condition is diagnosed in the second to fourth decades of life. The presence of such lesions in the pediatric age group is scantily described. We present a 2 year boy who presented with complaints of excessive irritability, respiratory distress and swelling of the feet. On examination, child was tachypnoeic with irregularly irregular rhythm. Echo showed a huge aneurysmal LA appendage with severe left ventricle dysfunction. The child underwent surgical resection for same. Findings were confirmed intraoperatively but he continued to have low cardiac output state after the surgery, with frequent arrhythmias and expired on day 7 of surgery. The case is reviewed and compared with the available English literature.peer-reviewe

A Survey: Face Recognition by Sparse Representation

Face recognition is very helpful in many applications such as video surveillance, forensic applications criminal investigations, and in many other fields. The most common methods includes PCA approach based Eigenface, Linear Discriminant Analysis(LDA), Hidden Markov Model(HMM),DWT, geometry based and template matching approaches.In this paper we are using sparse representation approach to attain more robustness to variation in lighting, directions and expressions. This survey paper performs analysis on different approaches and factors affecting the face recognition

Improving Graduate Skills through an Innovative Industry-Collaboration Pedagogy:Going beyond the traditional unit-delivery

This paper presents a descriptive case study of a unit embedding an innovative pedagogical approach that incorporates industry-collaboration interventions of different extent to work towards the goal of improving graduate skills and creating industry-ready graduates at the University of Canberra. In collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the largest Cloud providers, the Enterprise and Cloud Computing unit experimented with embedding industry-developed content in one of the units. The approach demonstrates that incorporating education, industry-relevant active learning, and certification will help enhancing student learning experience, improving graduate skills, preparing our students for success in the job market, and increasing employability. It is an example for higher education academics of a transferable approach for designing effective programs for other popular Information Technology (IT) specialisations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science, and disciplines collaborating with industry.</p

A Retrospective Cohort Study Of High Prevalence Of St131 Among Extended Spectrum Β-Lactamase Producing E. Coli Among Inpatients In The Metropolitan Detroit Area

ABSTRACT HIGH PREVALENCE OF ST131 AMONG EXTENDED SPECTRUM Β-LACTAMASE PRODUCING E. COLI AMONG INPATIENTS IN THE METROPOLITAN DETROIT AREA by PANSY AWSTHY 2015 Advisor: Dr. Emily T. Martin Major: Pharmaceutical Sciences Degree: Master of Science Objectives: E.coli ST131 multi-locus sequence type (MLST) has been associated with extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production, conferring antimicrobial resistance, with increased virulence and with healthcare-associated infection. The high prevalence of multidrug antimicrobial resistance in ESBL-producing ST131 E.coli infections creates unique challenges in the studying patient outcomes and analysis are required to study ST131 E.coli amongst a large population of ESBL-producers. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of ST131-type E. coli among previously characterized ESBL-producing isolates obtained from the metropolitan Detroit area and to conduct an epidemiologic analysis of risk factors and illness severity. Methods: 377 ESBL-E.coli isolates were obtained from a previously conducted retrospective study of sequential clinical isolates obtained from the Detroit Medical Center health care system from February 2010 through July 2011. Isolate DNA was extracted and tested for ST131 characterization using a two-target multiplex PCR amplification (trpA and pabB). Patient demographics, medical history, clinical course, and illness severity were collected retrospectively from medical records, and E. coli susceptibility was obtained from the clinical laboratory. Predictors and outcomes of infection due to ST131 ESBL E. coli were compared to non-ST131 ESBL E. coli. Results: 81.9% (n=309) of 377 tested isolates were positive for the ST131-specific pabB allele. Patients with ST131 versus non-ST131 EBSL E.coli were comparable with respect to age, race, and intensive care unit admission. 76.7% (n=283) of the ST131 isolates had CTX-M-15 and 13.8% (n=51) had CTX-M-14 present. However, the presence of CTX-M was not limited to the ST131 group, 63.3% (n = 38) of non-ST131 isolates had CTX-M-15 and 16.7 (n=10) had CTX-M-14 present. Conclusion: we found out the high prevalence of ST131 among patients with E.coli infections. However, we detect no significant clinical difference between the infections caused by ST131 E.coli and non-ST131 E.coli

Do Non-work Practices in MNCs Operating in India Impact Organizational Commitment?

The present paper establishes the concept of Non-work Practices and explores its impact on organizational commitment. Drawing upon research conducted in four multinational corporations operating in India, the paper examines the degree to which non-work practices are accepted by Indian employees and their relationship with organizational commitment.&nbsp; Concurrent mixed methodology was adopted in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Template analysis was carried out to interpret employees’ feelings and experiences, and to identify the emerging trends. Factor analysis was carried out to find factors of non-work practices, and regression analysis was carried out to study relationship between organizational commitment and non-work practices. The article discusses the findings related to non-work practices: how these practices are experienced and perceived by Indian employees and what is their impact on the commitment of employees, which would in turn affect the effectiveness of the organization. It was found that since most of the non-work practices were transplanted from the parent company, they were perceived as alien (except in the Anglo-American MNC).&nbsp; Host country employees showed little enthusiasm in carrying out those practices and hence these had no positive impact on their organizational commitment

A Framework for Evaluating and Improving University-Industry Collaboration

University-Industry Collaboration (UIC) has been a topic of interest for decades and has gained additional attention in recent times as the educational, research, industry, economic, and social benefits of such collaboration are increasingly recognized. While there are continuing efforts both globally and locally within Australia to encourage such collaboration, establishing successful UIC remains a challenge. The poor ranking of Australia against Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) comparators in most business-to-research collaboration indicators confirms that collaboration is an ongoing concern and that there is a lot more work to be done to improve collaborations, particularly in Australia. The research presented in this thesis addresses this problem by developing a framework for evaluation and improvement of UIC. This was achieved using a Design Science Research (DSR) approach. The proposed UIC Framework comprises a set of newly developed tools based on a literature review and initial qualitative research. These tools can be used in conjunction with the Cynefin sense-making framework to understand, evaluate and improve UIC of various types and complexity. The first tool is a UIC Systems Model, which will help users to analyse and gain a better understanding of a UIC. The second tool is a comprehensive UIC Practices Framework that can be used to improve the effectiveness of a UIC. The final tool is a UIC Maturity Model (UICMM), which can be used to assess the UIC maturity of an organisation, and guide improvements. By using this Systems Model, Practices Framework, and Maturity Model in conjunction with the Cynefin sense-making framework, stakeholders will be able to better understand their UIC activities, make improvements through informed decision-making, and evaluate the impact of such improvements. The developed UIC Framework has been evaluated using descriptive and expert evaluations. These evaluations demonstrate the utility and applicability of the framework. A strategy for continuous real-world evaluation and improvement of the framework has also been developed and documented in this thesis. This strategy is being piloted with two industry partners and will be used for future improvement of the UIC Framework

Leveraging Text Mining for Trend Analysis and Comparison of Sustainability Reports: Evidence from Fortune 500 Companies

In the recent upsurge in environmental concerns, business sustainability has become more prominent than ever. Organizations worldwide are expected to function sustainably, causing the least negative impact on the environment and promoting harmony among the firm, environment, and society. Most firms report their actions related to sustainability in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. This research aims to understand and analyze contemporary trends in CSR reports by Fortune 500 companies using text mining. It compares how the focus of sustainability reports varies across countries and industries along key dimensions of sustainability (i.e., environmental, economic, social, and government). Findings from the study suggest variations in the focus of sustainability reports based on various factors, such as country of origin and company size, sector, and tenure, on the Fortune 500 list. Thus, it helps to gain a deeper understanding of the company’s motivations for focusing on various dimensions of corporate sustainability