Markovian assignment rules

We analyze dynamic assignment problems where agents successively receive different objects (positions, offices, etc.). A finite set of n vertically differentiated indivisible objects are assigned to n agents who live n periods. At each period, a new agent enters society, and the oldest agent retires, leaving his object to be reassigned. We define independent assignment rules (where the assignment of an object to an agent is independent of the way other objects are allocated to other agents), efficient assignment rules (where there does not exist another assignment rule with larger expected surplus), and fair assignment rules (where agents experiencing the same circumstances have identical histories in the long run). When agents are homogenous, we characterize efficient, independent and fair rules as generalizations of the seniority rule. When agents draw their types at random, we prove that independence and efficiency are incompatible, and that efficient and fair rules only exist when there are two types of agents. We characterize two simple rules (type-rank and type-seniority) which satisfy both efficiency and fairness criteria in dichotomous settings.dynamic assignment, finite Markov chains, seniority, promotion rules

Vitronectin at sites of cell-substrate contact in cultures of rat myotubes

Affinity-purified antibodies to the serum glycoprotein, vitronectin, were used to study sites of cell-substrate contact in cultures of rat myotubes and fibroblasts. Cells were removed from the substrate by treatment with saponin, leaving fragments of plasma membrane attached to the glass coverslip. When stained for vitronectin by indirect immunofluorescence, large areas of the substrate were brightly labeled. The focal contacts of fibroblasts and the broad adhesion plaques of myotubes appeared black, however, indicating that the antibodies had failed to react with those areas. Contact sites within the adhesion plaque remained unlabeled after saponin-treated samples were extracted with Triton X-100, or after intact cultures were sheared with a stream of fixative. These procedures expose extracellular macromolecules at the cell-substrate interface, which can then be labeled with concanavalin A. In contrast, when samples were sheared and then sonicated to remove all the cellular material from the coverslip, the entire substrate labeled extensively and almost uniformly with anti- vitronectin. Extracellular molecules associated with substrate contacts were also studied after freeze-fracture, using a technique we term "post-release fracture labeling." Platinum replicas of the external membrane were removed from the glass with hydrofluoric acid to expose the extracellular material. Anti-vitronectin, bound to the replicas and visualized by a second antibody conjugated to colloidal gold, labeled the broad areas of close myotube-substrate attachment and the nearby glass equally well. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that vitronectin is present at all sites of cell-substrate contact, but that its antigenic sites are obscured by material deposited by both myotube and fibroblast cells

Australian telephone network subscription and calling demands: evidence from a stated-preference experiment

This paper examines the impact of the subscription-calling rate structure on the demand for residential telephone network subscription and calling. Stated-preference experimental data are used to estimate demand equations. The results indicate that household network subscription and calling demands for the Sydney Metropolitan Area are affected by both rate structure and household socio-demographic variables.Telecommunications demand; Subscription-calling rate structure; Stated-preference experimental analysis; Survey

Alternatives to March-In Rights

The Bayh-Dole Act is an inspired piece of legislation. But its march-in provisions are too often a source of confusion and fear for private-sector companies that want to do business with the US government--despite the fact that the government has never exercised its march-in rights. Are there alternatives to march-in rights that would effectively serve the government\u27s public policy needs while eliminating this perceived threat to private intellectual property rights? This Article describes march-in rights in theory and practice, and then weighs several alternatives to traditional Bayh-Dole march-in rights

Colonizing the Last Frontier

In Aboriginal Rights and Judicial Wrongs: The Colonization of the Last Frontier, I examine a recent sea-change in federal Indian law that has escaped the notice of scholars. In the light of the divestiture of tribal sovereignty characterizing recent Supreme Court decisions, my article interrogates a contemporary case that rejects the property principle underlying all of federal Indian law itself in favor of a conception of aboriginal title never before countenanced in the United States and long discredited elsewhere. My analysis argues that this new conception traduces 175 years of American precedent and violates international law. I also contend that it vitiates the constitutional separation of powers, in which plenary power over the Indian nations is allocated to Congress, and amounts to a legislative decision by the courts to colonize the nation\u27s last frontier, the ocean, through extinguishment of aboriginal interests therein. My article meticulously critiques the case at issue, Native Village of Eyak v. Trawler Diane Marie, Inc., and its interplay with common law aboriginal title, federal supremacy over the ocean, and the international law of sovereign succession. It draws novelly on English law in respect of the territorial sea and aboriginal title in current and former Commonwealth states, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand but also Southern Nigeria and India. The article also situates the matter in the context of indigenous peoples\u27 rights under international law and deploys the political philosophy of James Tully and Will Kymlicka to evoke the broader discourse of group rights and Rawlsian liberalism. Finally, I conclude it with recommendations: that Eyak be overturned as a doctrinally incorrect and politically indefensible intrusion into congressional prerogative and tribal autonomy; that its contemptible vision of aboriginal title be rejected as having no place in a postcolonial world; and that Congress alternatively fulfill its fiduciary duty to the plaintiff Indians by granting a title commensurate to their claim or providing compensation for the judicial taking of their right of occupation

Non-Fungible Tokens: A Solution to the Challenges of Using Blockchain Bills of Lading in the International Sales of Goods

The non-fungible token (NFT) has emerged as a way of authenticating unique digital assets. Thus artists have started selling digital artwork authenticated by NFTs, gaming companies can sell unique in-game products, and athletic leagues have started selling digital “cards” depicting key moments in sporting events. Like cryptocurrencies, NFTs are applications of blockchain technology. A blockchain is a series of cryptographically linked records. The blockchain itself is “public” in the sense that every transaction is visible to all participants. But an encrypted block cannot be changed without altering all prior blocks – and alerting all other users in the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies and NFTs differ in a critical respect. A unit of cryptocurrency is a fungible token, meaning it is identical to any other unit of cryptocurrency. In the same way that one Euro is equal to any other Euro, one Bitcoin has the same value and same characteristics as any other Bitcoin. An NFT, by contrast, is uniquely identified in the blockchain. So while one NFT may have the same market value as another NFT, no two NFTs are the same. This means NFTs are not useful as currency, but are valuable as incorruptible identifiers. NFTs have other useful attributes. For example, they inherently include ownership information. This means that the NFT itself indicates who owns it—when it was created and by whom, who controls it now, and every transaction leading from the original to the current owner—at all times. Also, they are “extensible.” This means that NFTs can be added together or merged in order to create a new NFT in a traceable way. There are, of course, other digital representations of physical assets. Goods already are stamped with bar or QR codes, expensive products typically have serial numbers or other unique identifiers, and software often is accompanied by one- time-only passwords. But none of these are cryptographically secure in the way NFTs are, and none of them combine proof of authenticity and proof of ownership in a single instrument. The bill of lading is a venerable institution in international trade. Evolving over centuries and well developed by the time of the medieval lex mercatoria, the bill of lading is a paper form specifically contemplated and described in the key treaties enabling modern cross-border sales of goods—the Vienna Convention, the Hague- Visby Rules, and the U.S. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act. It indicates ownership of goods in transit, evidences the terms of the contract of carriage, and shows where, when, and to whom the goods were conveyed at every step between origin and ultimate destination. As a paper document, however, the bill of lading (often in multiple counterparts) is a critical bottleneck and source of risk. Proposals to update paper bills of lading with an electronic equivalent have circulated for many years. And with the development of blockchain technology a decade ago, more recent proposals have discussed putting bills of lading on a blockchain. But these proposals are incomplete, because the blockchain is merely a ledger. An NFT on a blockchain, however, is the ideal replacement for bills of lading and other documents reflecting passage of title. Each change of ownership of an NFT is publicly documented in the NFT’s blockchain ledger. Done right, the NFT itself, in each block, contains both an incorruptible copy of the bill of lading and a complete chain of custody. And the fact that NFTs are extensible means a business can verify both components and finished goods. This paper will discuss using NFTs as a substitute for traditional bills of lading

Markovian assignment rules

We analyze dynamic assignment problems where agents successively receive different objects (positions, offices, etc.). A finite set of n vertically differentiated indivisible objects are assigned to n agents who live n periods. At each period, a new agent enters society, and the oldest agent retires, leaving his object to be reassigned. We define independent assignment rules (where the assignment of an object to an agent is independent of the way other objects are allocated to other agents), efficient assignment rules (where there does not exist another assignment rule with larger expected surplus), and fair assignment rules (where agents experiencing the same circumstances have identical histories in the long run). When agents are homogenous, we characterize efficient, independent and fair rules as generalizations of the seniority rule. When agents draw their types at random, we prove that independence and efficiency are incompatible, and that efficient and fair rules only exist when there are two types of agents. We characterize two simple rules (type-rank and type-seniority) which satisfy both efficiency and fairness criteria in dichotomous settings