Profile of public laboratories, industrial partnerships and organisation of R & D: the dynamics of industrial relationships in a large research organisation

There is a paucity of papers dealing with the system characteristics of laboratories or, put in another way, the institutional character of research organisations. Neither R & D economics nor the sociology of science, as traditionally conceived, has made much headway in providing insight into sets of R & D laboratories and their evolution. Drawing upon an empirical study in the plant breeding and biochemical industry, this paper presents a typology of public research laboratories which is based on three dimensions: scientific production and visibility, type of funding (public or private) and homogeneity of research themes. Three types of public laboratory emerge: the first, called “research centres for the profession”, is composed essentially of laboratories with close ties with small and medium firms (SMEs) and industry associations. The second, called “designers of generic tools and methods”, is oriented towards basic research and themes of general interest to the industry as a whole. The third type, called “basic and specialised laboratories”, strives to develop its scientific visibility. Contracts between this type of laboratory and industry are mainly bilateral and demonstrate the complementarity between public and private research. Each type of laboratory develops specific types of relationship with private partners. The authors have identified three logics underlying these relationships: proximity, market and club. The main objective of contracts based on a proximity logic is to test a hypothesis, while the knowledge produced is mostly tacit and specific. By contrast, knowledge is entirely coded and specific in the market logic, where the aim of the contract is to implement expertise in order to relieve a scientific bottleneck. In a club logic, the aim of contracts is to produce a technical referent. In each kind of contract, the learning trajectories, modes of co-ordination, role of trust and degree to which contracts are complete or not, are different.

How long is co-operation in genomics sustainable?

Publications on the 16 yeast chromosome sequences group together over 400 different authors from Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA. When research is not organised in networks, it is carried out in large sequencing centres such as the Sanger Centre in Britain, the Helix Institute in Japan or Saint Louis University in the USA. Both cases illustrate the collective nature of knowledge creation. Other examples of co-operation between numerous researchers in various countries, more closely related to innovation, might also be mentioned, such as the development of software for comparing proteins or DNA sequences. Collective publications reveal the collective nature of research, whether it is carried out by major consortia (the case of yeast) or around large research facilities (such as the synchrotron or major genome sequencing centres). This collective nature stems from two factors: (1) the advantages of co-ordinating efforts on major projects (e.g. economies of scale and of collection) and (2) very strong interdependency in the creation and utilisation of knowledge (related to cumulativeness).

Re-discovery of Mesogloea brasiliensis Montagne

No presente trabalho o autor refere o achado de uma planta coletada uma única vez no litoral sul do Brasil. Além de uma nova descrição é também proposta uma nova combinação em conformidade com a moderna nomenclatura ficológica

Les Américains ont-ils accepté les OGM ?: Analyse comparée de la construction des OGM comme problème public en France et aux Etats-Unis

How can one explain that the use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in food and agriculture poses a problem in France, where they are hardly used, yet seems to be taken for granted in the US, where their use is widespread ? Many observers see this as a sign that American consumers have accepted transgenic foods, due to a different attitude to risks, food and nature. The present article rejects that explanation. It presents a comparative analysis of the trajectory of GMOs as a public problem in France and the US, showing that very similar arguments were put forward by opponents to GMOs on both sides of the Atlantic, and that conflicts between opponents and defenders have focussed on the same issues : (i) food labeling ; (ii) the link between the choice of a technique (GMOs) and that of an economic system (intensive agriculture, capitalism) ; and (iii) the appropriate framework for evaluating risks. But whereas in France (and more generally in Europe), opponents’ arguments crystallized during specific key controversies, and contributed towards the definition of the cognitive and normative dimensions of GMOs as a public problem, this did not occur in the US. Three factors seem to explain this difference : (i) very different regulatory choices made in the late 1980s (based on processes in Europe and on products in the US) ; (ii) the fact that the usefulness of transgenic plants is perceived negatively in France whereas their association with the intensive export agriculture project is perceived positively in the US ; and (iii) the growing influence of a broader, “constructive” framework for risk analysis in Europe, whereas in the US regulatory authorities continue to base their legitimacy on the ideology of “sound science

The reproduction of Ochtodes secundiramea (montagne) howe (Gigartinales, Rhizophyllidaceae)

Este trabalho apresenta, pela primeira vez, detalhes de organização do ramo carpogonial de um dos representantes das Rhizophyllidaceae, estrutura essa desconhecida nessa família, bem como detalhes de organização dos ramos de células auxiliares da fecundação e ainda pormenores do desenvolvimento dos espermatângios. Os estudos foram feitos em Ochtodes secundiramea (Mont.) Howe. Deste gênero também são apresentados pela primeira vez os tetrasporângios. Estas estruturas são similares às conhecidas nos gêneros Rhizophyllis e Desmia, os outros dois gêneros da família. Certos detalhes importantes da organização vegetativa são também apresentados. Esta é a primeira referência do gênero e espécie no Atlântico Sul Ocidental.This paper gives informations on the type of carpogonial branches found in a representative of the family Rhizophyllidaceae, as well as details of the auxiliary cell branches in the genus Ochtodes. Details of the development of the spermatangia in this genus are also presented. The tetrasporic plants, not yet known in this genus are described for the first time. The tetrasporangia are produced in nemathecia and have no sterile filaments in between, and in this respect are similar to the ones found in Rhizophyllis and Desmia the only other two genera of the family. Details of certain peculiarities of the vegetative thallus are also given. This is the first report of Ochtodes secundiramea in the American Western South Atlantic

Inelastic X-ray scattering from valence electrons near absorption edges of FeTe and TiSe2_2

We study resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) peaks corresponding to low energy particle-hole excited states of metallic FeTe and semi-metallic TiSe$_2$ for photon incident energy tuned near the $L_{3}$ absorption edge of Fe and Ti respectively. We show that the cross section amplitudes are well described within a renormalization group theory where the effect of the core electrons is captured by effective dielectric functions expressed in terms of the the atomic scattering parameters $f_1$ of Fe and Ti. This method can be used to extract the dynamical structure factor from experimental RIXS spectra in metallic systems.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Travels, Cultural Brokers and Territorial Negotiations over Time. Amaicha del Valle (Tucumán, Argentina), 19-21th Centuries

A lo largo de la historia de la Comunidad Indígena de Amaicha del Valle algunas figuras de autoridad realizaron viajes a distintos lugares con el propósito de representar al colectivo en variados temas; uno de ellos fundamental: «asegurar la tierra». Los viajes de estas figuras no sólo los marcaron y transformaron a título individual sino que también, y por diversos motivos, dejaron huella en el devenir del colectivo. Desde este marco, y a partir de un análisis interdisciplinario y de larga duración, el propósito general de este trabajo es repensar la experiencia del viaje como parte de un repertorio de estrategias constitutivo de la reproducción socio-étnica de la comunidad. A tal fin, analizamos los viajes realizados por cuatro líderes de la comunidad en diferentes contextos históricos: décadas de 1800, 1870, 1990 y 2000. Sin descuidar las particularidades de cada momento, personas y traslados en cuestión, ponemos el foco en aquellos aspectos que nos permiten trazar similitudes entre los viajeros y sus viajes a lo largo del amplio rango temporal de estudio. Consideramos las características y trayectorias de cada una de las figuras de autoridad, el impacto que supuso el viaje en términos de legitimidad y construcción personal de poder, y los recursos materiales y/o simbólicos obtenidos-buscados a partir de esos viajes tanto a nivel comunitario como individual.Throughout the history of the Indigenous Community of Amaicha del Valle some authorities travelled to different places in order to represent the group for several reasons, the most important being «to secure the land». The voyages these leaders made not only marked and transformed them individually but also, and for several reasons, left their mark on the development of the community. From this framework, and through developing an interdisciplinary and long term analysis, the goal of this work is to rethink the travel experience as part of a repertoire of strategies aimed at the socio-ethnic reproduction of the community. For this purpose, we analyze the trips made by four community leaders in different historical contexts: the decades of 1800s, 1870s, 1990s and 2000s. Without neglecting the particularities of each moment, people and travels, we focus on those aspects that allow us to draw similarities between travelers and their trips along the temporal range of study. We consider the characteristics and trajectories of the ethnic leaders, the impact that their voyages had in terms of legitimacy and the personal construction of power, as well as the material and symbolic resources they searched for and obtained from those trips, both at community and individual level