Amplia Propiedad De Acciones: La Barrera Para El Desarrollo De Los Derechos De Accionistas De Minoria en America Latina

La reforma de gobemaci6n corporativa ha tornado un enfoque primario en America Latina

Broad Stock Ownership: The hurdle For Minority Shareholder Rights Development In latin America

Corporate governance reform has taken center stage in Latin America. Due to weak investor protection laws, Latin America has suffered decreased liquidity in its securities markets and this poses a troubling situation for these economies

Assessing the Efficacy of the Bayh-Dole Act Through the Lens of University Technology Transfer Offices (TTOS)

Universities are unique environments that thrive on the research and curiosity of faculty and students. To disseminate knowledge and potentially derive lucrative sources of funding, universities have aggressively entered the field of technology commercialization and patenting. The passage of the Bayh-Dole Act was instrumental to encourage this activity and the result has been an explosion of university-related patenting. This activity comes at a social cost, however, since patents restrict knowledge transfers and may create deadweight losses. These costs are amplified if technology transfer office (TTO) activities are viewed from a narrow financial or cost-benefit viewpoint. As demonstrated in this study, twenty institutions belong to an elite grouping of leader institutions that have financially sustainable TTO operations. The rest are classified as laggards and consistently operate with losses. This article examines why the leaders excel and why the laggards continue to support TTO activities when they present a financial drain on universities. Transaction cost economics, institutional theory, signaling, and expected value theory can all offer insights related to the organization and maintenance of these offices. These theoretical perspectives help to explain why universities engage in technology transfer. An in-depth examination of the highly successful Taxol case at Florida State University, a laggard institution, sheds light on some of the antecedents for a successful, yet rare, technology transfer event. The case reinforces the view that technology transfer should not be viewed narrowly, even among laggard institutions, but rather it should be viewed as a strategic endeavor that involves signaling, the observance of social conventions and investment for broader technological and economic objectives. Two negative consequences have resulted despite the success of Bayh-Dole. These include the increasingly predatory and commercial behavior of universities and the highly-skewed distribution of value among TTOs. If left unaddressed, these problematic results may result in legislative reforms that could weaken the ability of universities to practice technology transfer

Administrative Patent Levers

This article describes the processes involving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office\u27s (PTO\u27s) implementation of administrative patent levers related to business methods. Administrative patent levers are conceptualized in this article as rules that represent a coordinated policy at the PTO to target a particular technology class, are often motivated by signals sent by actors within all three branches of government, and can be explained by positive political theory. This article presents an account where policymakers in all branches of government reacted strongly to the dangers posed by business method patents. The PTO\u27s behavior is explained under the fire-alarm theory of regulatory change, whereby an administrative agency responds to external institutional pressures and actors. This conceptual analysis of administrative patent levers is then informed by a detailed analysis of business method rules that fall under this category of administrative policymaking at the PTO. A descriptive account is then offered that predicts how the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) would review the PTO\u27s use of administrative patent levers. Ultimately, the CAFC\u27s likely approach is undesirable because it fails to recognize that the PTO engages in policymaking. A normative solution is offered whereby the reviewing courts would apply a hard look review under Section 706(2)(A) of the Administrative Procedure Act. This standard would require that the PTO offer objective evidence that any administrative patent levers are warranted. This standard would also require that the PTO address any valid arguments or evidence against the implementation of such technology-specific and policy-oriented rules. Under this line of analysis, it is proposed that current business method administrative patent levers would fail to meet this standard of review

The magnetic field configuration of a solar prominence inferred from spectropolarimetric observations in the He I 10830 A triplet

Context: The determination of the magnetic field vector in quiescent solar prominences is possible by interpreting the Hanle and Zeeman effects in spectral lines. However, observational measurements are scarce and lack high spatial resolution. Aims: To determine the magnetic field vector configuration along a quiescent solar prominence by interpreting spectropolarimetric measurements in the He I 1083.0 nm triplet obtained with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter installed at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope of the Observatorio del Teide. Methods. The He I 1083.0 nm triplet Stokes profiles are analyzed with an inversion code that takes into account the physics responsible of the polarization signals in this triplet. The results are put into a solar context with the help of extreme ultraviolet observations taken with the Solar Dynamic Observatory and the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory satellites. Results: For the most probable magnetic field vector configuration, the analysis depicts a mean field strength of 7 gauss. We do not find local variations in the field strength except that the field is, in average, lower in the prominence body than in the prominence feet, where the field strength reaches 25 gauss. The averaged magnetic field inclination with respect to the local vertical is 77 degrees. The acute angle of the magnetic field vector with the prominence main axis is 24 degrees for the sinistral chirality case and 58 degrees for the dextral chirality. These inferences are in rough agreement with previous results obtained from the analysis of data acquired with lower spatial resolutions.Comment: Accepted in A&

Photospheric downward plasma motions in the quiet-Sun

We analyze spectropolarimetric data taken with the Hinode spacecraft in quiet solar regions at the disk center. Distorted redshifted Stokes $V$ profiles are found showing a characteristic evolution that always follows the same sequence of phases. We have studied the statistical properties of these events using spectropolarimetric data from Hinode/SP. We also examined the upper photosphere and the low chromosphere using Mg i b2 and Ca ii h data from Hinode. Finally, we have applied the SIRGAUSS inversion code to the polarimetric data in order to infer the atmospheric stratification of the physical parameters. We have also obtained these physical parameters taking into account dynamical terms in the equation of motion. The Stokes V profiles display a bump that evolves in four different time steps, and the total process lasts 108 seconds. The Stokes I shows a strongly bent red wing and the continuum signal exhibits a bright point inside an intergranular lane. This bright point is correlated with a strong redshift in the Mg i b2 line and a bright feature in Ca ii h images. The model obtained from the inversion of the Stokes profiles is hotter than the average quiet-Sun model, with a vertical magnetic field configuration and field strengths in the range of kG values. It also presents a LOS velocity stratification with a Gaussian perturbation whose center is moving to deeper layers with time. We have examined a particular type of event that can be described as a plasmoid of hot plasma that is moving downward from the top of the photosphere, placed over intergranular lanes and always related to strong magnetic field concentrations. We argue that the origin of this plasmoid could be a magnetic reconnection that is taking place in the chromosphere.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figure