Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Development: A Better Set of Approaches for the 21st Century

This paper aims to provide an intellectual basis to think about the relationship between development, intellectual property and innovation; where we currently are and what alternatives are available. For the most part, we are concerned less with the implications of current IP laws for the advanced countries as we are with their impact on developing countries. We focus here not only on the current pathologies of the system and on potential alternative ways to tackle its most egregious excesses; but on a more positive note, on what kind of "system" would best promote development and well-being in the developing world. We are looking for a world with new and better rules for intellectual property. Just as some have begun to think about re-writing the rules of the American economy to ensure a more just and efficient system, the time is ripe for doing the same for the global economy, especially with regard to the IP system

Suicide in the Las Vegas homeless population: Applying Durkheim\u27s theory of suicide

This study is an empirical test of Durkheim\u27s theory of suicide. Durkheim\u27s 1897 theory holds that suicide is caused not by environmental or physiological forces, but by social forces, which either push to the individual to take his or her own life, or fail to prevent suicidal behavior; The population from which the data were gathered for this study was the Las Vegas homeless population. The lack of social bonds and social integration, which Durkheim found to be related to suicide, are generally present in homeless persons. Therefore, it was suspected that factors which contribute to homelessness would be positively related to the chance that an individual would commit suicide, and factors which might mitigate the isolation of the homeless individual would be inversely related to the incidence of suicide primary data gathered by a standardized survey of the Las Vegas homeless population, this study finds that Durkheim\u27s theory is supported. Factors such as living with a significant other, possessing photo identification, being employed, health, and having dependent children that live with the respondent, all decreased (with varying degrees of strength) the likelihood that a homeless individual would commit suicide

Evaluation of Habitat Selection by Nesting Sharp-Tailed Grouse and Survivorship of Hens, Males, and Nests on the Grand River National Grasslands in Northwest South Dakota, USA

Plains sharp-tailed grouse nesting habitat was evaluated on the Grand River National Grasslands (GRNG) in northwest South Dakota, in the spring and summer of 2009 and 2010. Experiment #1 was conducted across the GRNG with hens and males trapped at 11 different lekking sites in 2009 and 2010. Study objectives were to 1) evaluate sharp-tailed grouse nest site selection based on habitat and describe vegetation composition and visual obstruction readings (VOR), 2) compare the use of semi-variance statistics to the commonly used co-efficient of variation to determine patch selection by sharp-tailed grouse, and 3) provide an example of how semi-variance statistical techniques can be used by wildlife scientists to evaluate habitat selection and patch size determination. Experiment #2 was designed to evaluate survivorship of female and male sharp-tailed grouse, and sharp-tailed grouse nests on the GRNG in the spring and summer of 2009 and 2010. Study objectives were to I) estimate nest survival rates of sharp-tailed grouse on the GRNG in northwest South Dakota, 2) evaluate the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on nest survival rates, and 3) estimate survival of male and female grouse during the nesting season. VOR data was collected at 275 random transects (143 in 2009 and 132 in 2010) and 46 used (nests) transects (22 in 2009 and 24 in 2010). Sharp-tailed grouse were trapped and fitted with necklace style transmitters. Over the two year study 163 sharp-tailed grouse were trapped and 100 of these individuals were fitted with radio collars ( 44 males and 56 females). Nests were monitored to determine fate. There was a difference (P:S0.05) in patch selection compared to what was available in 2009, but no difference in 2010. The comparison of semi-variance (SV) analysis to co-efficient of variation (CV) provided a conflicting report as SV showed selection for variability, while the CV showed a selection for low variability and a uniform height distribution of vegetation. Overall 41 of 56 collard hens initiated nests, with 5 hens initiating a second nest following the predation of her first (18 initial nest and 4 re-nests in 2009, and 23 initial nests and 1 re-nest in 2010). Vegetation measurements were taken at 46 nest sites. Overall, nest survival was 30% (29% in 2009 and 31 % in 2010). The best model for nest survival included maximum vegetation height and percent grass canopy cover as vegetation variables most related to nest survival. Nest survival increased with an increase in the maximum vegetation height and with increasing canopy cover of grass. All other models that included other vegetation characteristics as variables were not well supported (i.e., >2 MICc units). The constant survival model had more support than any of the models that included time dependent variables such as linear trend of time, maximum daily temperature, and nest age. The model that included a linear trend of time was the best time dependent model (MICc = 1.21 ). The model that combined a linear trend of time with the best vegetation model, maximum vegetation height plus percent canopy cover of grass, received less support than the vegetation model alone (MICc 0.77). Survival of male and female sharp-tailed grouse was 49% and 65%, respectively. We recommend managers develop strategies to maintain patches of tall dense vegetation structure. Patches of tall grass cover is an important component to sharp-tailed grouse nesting habitat. Thus, we recommend that management of grazing and use of mechanical treatments that leave patches of tall dense stands of grass in grass dominated ecosystems are beneficial to nesting sharp-tailed grouse

The effects of sulfur dioxide upon the chick embryo

M.S.John R. Strang

An economic approach to the study of polygamy: A case study of Mormon polygyny

This is a study of polygamy using economic theory and economic models. The focus of this research is an analysis of the occurrence of polygyny in the early Mormon church, and its effects on the members of the state of Utah, both Mormon and non-Mormon. This study is unique in that its subject, Mormon polygyny, was socially acceptable in Utah, but illegal, and often prosecuted, under Federal law. This combination had multiple negative effects on all aspects of the lives of Utah Mormons, however, the practice continued for approximately 60 years. The ways in which it occurred as well as the reasons for its eventual decline will be analyzed and discussed

Tribological behavior of nanostructured nickel

The present study reports the effects of electroplating parameters on the microstructure, and thus the mechanical and tribological properties, of nanostructured nickel. Electroplating was conducted in a Watt\u27s type bath with a pH of 3.0 carried out using direct current in galvanostatic mode at current densities of 30 mA/cm2 and 15 mA/cm2 in electroplating bath temperatures of 30°C and 50°C. Grain size and distributions were determined from TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope) and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) micrographs. Tribological tests were carried out on a pin-on-disc type tribometer. The same tests were conducted on Ni-200 for the purpose of comparison. Wear rates were calculated for the nickel surfaces using optical profilometry and for the alumina pins using optical microscopy. Nano-indention techniques provided the nanohardness, stiffness, and reduced modulus values for all samples. Microhardness readings were also recorded to further study the surface properties. Results show that electroplating produced thick, dense and uniform nickel deposits with grain size down to 10\u27s of nm and a length/width ratio around 1.8. Lower current densities were found to produce smaller grain sizes while temperature showed a minor effect with higher temperatures producing a broader grain distribution. The grain size and distribution were found to significantly affect hardness and elastic properties with the smallest grain size possessing a hardness that was at least three times higher than that of bulk nickel. Nanostructured nickel showed lower coefficients of friction and wear rates compared to that of bulk nickel and the nanostructured nickel with the smallest grain size exhibited the lowest coefficient of friction and wear rate. These differences were attributed to different wear mechanisms. Bulk nickel showed extensive cracking and evidence of material removal under a wear fatigue mechanism. On the contrary nanostructured nickel exhibited a fine abrasive wear mechanism. This study presents results that suggest a consistent relationship between processing parameters, grain size and distribution, hardness, and wear behavior in electroplated nickel. Understanding of this relationship can be applied to tailor properties and improve behavior of MEMS components

News Goes Native: An Examination of Online Media\u27s Disclosure Practices for Sponsored Content

Online news publishers are increasingly using sponsored content that assumes the format of the host site\u27s editorial content. This has led to concern among some in the journalism industry that readers will be unable to distinguish advertising from news editorial. A content analysis and an experiment examined how publishers are formatting sponsored content and how readers are processing disclosure information for sponsored content. The results suggest that current labeling and disclosure practices may be inadequate in alerting readers to the commercial nature of sponsored content. Adviser: Ming Wan

Backgrounds of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in Catholic Philosophy

The system of representative government heralded in 1776 and conceived in 1787 by the Fathers of our country was never under such universal attack as it is at the present time. The attack is particularly insidious because it is led, not by champions of other tried and established forms of government, but by those who proclaim themselves to be the real saviors of democratic principles. The greatest danger to democracy in America is the woeful lack of interest in, and understanding of, the rights safeguarded for us by the Constitution of the United States of America. The fact that those rights in other ages have been denied, that in other countries they are now being denied, and that right here, unless we guard them zealously they will silently slip from our grasp, is completely ignore