EXPLORING STRATEGIC IS PLANNING IN A NETWORK

For three decades of research and practice, Strategic Information Systems Planning and Business Network Strategy Planning live apart together. The view of evaluating SISP effectiveness has matured and the evaluation models are validated and well studied. Networks have been increasing and every large organization is involved in several alliances. But still an important change has been left unattended, that is the introduction of information strategy in networks. Still, many organizations continue to use planning as a way to support their decision-making internally without co-operating with their business partners. The evaluation studies of SISP are mainly quantitative and qualitative studies are rare. This study used the internal dimensions and criteria as basis for conducting a qualitative evaluation of SISP in two case studies in professional organizations, one single organization case and one inter organizational case. The results of the first case confirm that the validated criteria provide a good basis for overall evaluation of SISP internally. In addition to the internal theory based evaluation, also an inter-organizational exploration was done to explore the differences and the new evaluation criteria needed. The result is a conceptual interview framework to be tested in practice. An earlier full version of this paper was accepted and presented at ECIS 2007 in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland

Usefulness Varies by Country: The Utility Requirement of Patent Law in the United States, Europe and Canada

The requirement that an invention have utility is one of the most fundamental of the patent laws. In the United States, for example, the concept of utility is rooted in the Constitution: Article 1, Section 8, gives Congress the power to grant exclusive rights to inventors in order “[t]o promote the progress of Science and useful Arts.” Other jurisdictions recognize utility in the form of inventions that have “industrial applicability” or are “capable of exploitation in industry,” with all of these terms and phrases generally viewed as being synonymous. Historically, nearly every jurisdiction has excluded some type of invention from patentability as lacking utility. A common and enduring utility-based exclusion is the perpetual motion machine, with the justification being scientific: because perpetual motion is not physically possible, an invention which claims such a feature cannot in fact work and therefore fundamentally lacks utility. Jurisdictions also make exclusions on policy grounds. In Europe, for example, methods of treating human and animal bodies are not patentable, but the justification for doing so, which previously was based on lack of industrial applicability, is now expressly linked to public health policy. In an ever-more global economy, inventions are at the heart of commercial transactions that know no geographic boundaries and are increasingly valued for their job and wealth creation. Obtaining patent protection in multiple jurisdictions therefore is increasingly common. At least to reduce costs and increase efficiency, patent owners, policymakers and practitioners alike have sought increased inter jurisdictional cooperation and patent law harmonization in the patent examination and granting process. Recent publications, however, have identified a developing trend in Canada in which Canadian courts and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office are interpreting and applying the historically well-settled and generally harmonized utility requirement in a new and different way, in particular with respect to patents for pharmaceutical products. As a result, applicants for Canadian patents must meet conditions and overcome hurdles not required by other major patent offices. This article will compare Canada’s implementation and treatment of the utility requirement with the implementation and treatment practiced in the United States and Europe—two jurisdictions that represent prevailing approaches to utility and also constitute a major share of the world’s patenting activity. The article will first examine the statutory and judicial situation in each of the jurisdictions, including a review of the major international treaties and agreements to which each is subject. It will then present a case study that looks at the judicial challenges brought against various members of a single patent family in the United States, Europe, and Canada, and compare the results of those challenges. This analysis, we believe, reveals that the recent shift in Canada’s approach to the utility requirement conflicts with international norms and thus presents implications for patentees, patent law harmonization, and international treaty obligations

Usefulness Varies by Country: The Utility Requirement of Patent Law in the United States, Europe and Canada

The requirement that an invention have utility is one of the most fundamental of the patent laws. In the United States, for example, the concept of utility is rooted in the Constitution: Article 1, Section 8, gives Congress the power to grant exclusive rights to inventors in order “[t]o promote the progress of Science and useful Arts.” Other jurisdictions recognize utility in the form of inventions that have “industrial applicability” or are “capable of exploitation in industry,” with all of these terms and phrases generally viewed as being synonymous. Historically, nearly every jurisdiction has excluded some type of invention from patentability as lacking utility. A common and enduring utility-based exclusion is the perpetual motion machine, with the justification being scientific: because perpetual motion is not physically possible, an invention which claims such a feature cannot in fact work and therefore fundamentally lacks utility. Jurisdictions also make exclusions on policy grounds. In Europe, for example, methods of treating human and animal bodies are not patentable, but the justification for doing so, which previously was based on lack of industrial applicability, is now expressly linked to public health policy. In an ever-more global economy, inventions are at the heart of commercial transactions that know no geographic boundaries and are increasingly valued for their job and wealth creation. Obtaining patent protection in multiple jurisdictions therefore is increasingly common. At least to reduce costs and increase efficiency, patent owners, policymakers and practitioners alike have sought increased inter jurisdictional cooperation and patent law harmonization in the patent examination and granting process. Recent publications, however, have identified a developing trend in Canada in which Canadian courts and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office are interpreting and applying the historically well-settled and generally harmonized utility requirement in a new and different way, in particular with respect to patents for pharmaceutical products. As a result, applicants for Canadian patents must meet conditions and overcome hurdles not required by other major patent offices. This article will compare Canada’s implementation and treatment of the utility requirement with the implementation and treatment practiced in the United States and Europe—two jurisdictions that represent prevailing approaches to utility and also constitute a major share of the world’s patenting activity. The article will first examine the statutory and judicial situation in each of the jurisdictions, including a review of the major international treaties and agreements to which each is subject. It will then present a case study that looks at the judicial challenges brought against various members of a single patent family in the United States, Europe, and Canada, and compare the results of those challenges. This analysis, we believe, reveals that the recent shift in Canada’s approach to the utility requirement conflicts with international norms and thus presents implications for patentees, patent law harmonization, and international treaty obligations

Genome-Wide Linkage Analysis of Human Auditory Cortical Activation Suggests Distinct Loci on Chromosomes 2, 3, and 8

Neural processes are explored through macroscopic neuroimaging and microscopic molecular measures, but the two levels remain primarily detached. The identification of direct links between the levels would facilitate use of imaging signals as probes of genetic function and, vice versa, access to molecular correlates of imaging measures. Neuroimaging patterns have been mapped for a few isolated genes, chosen based on their connection with a clinical disorder. Here we propose an approach that allows an unrestricted discovery of the genetic basis of a neuroimaging phenotype in the normal human brain. The essential components are a subject population that is composed of relatives and selection of a neuroimaging phenotype that is reproducible within an individual and similar between relatives but markedly variable across a population. Our present combined magnetoencephalography and genome-wide linkage study in 212 healthy siblings demonstrates that auditory cortical activation strength is highly heritable and, specifically in the right hemisphere, regulated oligogenically with linkages to chromosomes 2q37, 3p12, and 8q24. The identified regions delimit as candidate genes TRAPPC9, operating in neuronal differentiation, and ROBO1, regulating projections of thalamocortical axons. Identification of normal genetic variation underlying neurophysiological phenotypes offers a non-invasive platform for an in-depth, concerted capitalization of molecular and neuroimaging levels in exploring neural function.Peer reviewe

Gendered Pathways Towards STEM Careers : The Incremential Roles of Work Value Profiles Above Academic Task Values

Peer reviewe

Academic well-being and smoking among 14-to 17-year-old schoolchildren in six European cities

It is well established that poor academic performance is related to smoking, but the association between academic well-being and smoking is less known. We measured academic well-being by school burnout and schoolwork engagement and studied their associations with smoking among 14- to 17-year-old schoolchildren in Belgium, Germany, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal. A classroom survey (2013 SILNE survey, N = 11,015) was conducted using the Short School Burnout Inventory and the Schoolwork Engagement Inventory. Logistic regression, generalized linear mixed models, and ANOVA were used. Low schoolwork engagement and high school burnout increased the odds for daily smoking in all countries. Academic performance was correlated with school burnout and schoolwork engagement, and adjusting for it slightly decreased the odds for smoking. Adjusting for socioeconomic factors and school level had little effect. Although high school burnout and low schoolwork engagement correlate with low academic performance, they are mutually independent risk factors for smoking. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.Peer reviewe