Knowledge Flows, Patent Citations and the Impact of Science on Technology

Technological innovation depends on knowledge developed by scientific research. The num-ber of citations made in patents to the scientific literature has been suggested as an indicator of this process of transfer of knowledge from science to technology. We provide an intersec-toral insight into this indicator, by breaking down patent citations into a sector-to-sector ma-trix of knowledge flows. We then propose a method to analyze this matrix and construct vari-ous indicators of science intensity of sectors, and the pervasiveness of knowledge flows. Our results indicate that the traditional measure of the number of citations to science literature per patent captures important aspects intersectoral knowledge flows, but that other aspects are not captured. In particular, we show that high science intensity implies that sectors are net suppli-ers of knowledge in the economic sector, but that science intensity does not say much about pervasiveness of either knowledge use or knowledge supply by sectors. We argue that these results are related to the specific and specialized nature of knowledge.Knowledge, Input-Output Analysis, Knowledge Flow Matrices, Science-to-Technology Transfer, Patents

Vibrations of a Complex System with a Viscoelastic Inertial Interlayer

The paper presents an analytical method for solving problems of free and forced vibrations with damping of complex systems whose loaded layers are made of homogeneous elastic inertial materials, and the middle one is made of viscoelastic inertial material. Small lateral vibrations of the complex systems are caused by distributed and movable loads. A dynamic analysis of laminated structures for a wide range of variation of the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of a layer from viscoelastic inertial material was performed.Предложен аналитический метод решения задач о затухании свободных и вынужденных колебаний сложных систем, несущие слои которых выполнены из однородного упругого, а средний - из вязкоупругого инерционного материала. Малые поперечные колебания сложных систем обусловлены распределенной и подвижной нагрузкой. Выполнен динамический анализ слоистых конструкций в широком диапазоне изменения геометрических и механических характеристик слоя из вязкоупругого инерционного материала.Запропоновано аналітичний метод розв’язку задач щодо згасання вільних та вимушених коливань складних систем, несучі шари яких виконано з однорідного пружного, а середній - з в’язкопружного інерційного матеріалу. Малі поперечні коливання складних систем зумовлені розподіленим і рухомим навантаженням. Виконано динамічний аналіз шаруватих конструкцій у широкому діапазоні зміни геометричних і механічних характеристик шару з в’язкопружного інерційного матеріалу

University IPRs and knowledge transfer: is university ownership more efficient?

This paper addresses an issue that has been largely ignored so far in the empirical literature on the role of patents in university-industry knowledge transfer: does it matter who owns the patents on university research? We observe that especially in Europe, many patents in which university researchers are listed as inventors are not owned by the university. From a literature review, we conclude that private ownership of university patents may reduce the efficiency of the knowledge transfer process. This hypothesis is put to an empirical test, using data on patents in six European countries. Specifically, we assess whether university-owned patents (in Europe) are more often applied, and/or more economically valuable, than university-invented (but not-owned) patents. Our results indicate that, after correcting for observable patent characteristics, there are only very small differences between university-owned and university-invented patents in terms of their rate of commercialization or economic value.university patenting, public-private technology transfer, European universities,

Quality of life: a poor and vulnerable people

Well-being is achieved by means of four resources (that is, the four capitals: natural, economic, human and social) of which natural capital is the basis. The previous chapter emphasised the natural capital of the Netherlands and the way this was exploited with the aid of the other capitals. This chapter asks what the outcome of this exploitation was in terms of well-being. What were the most important issues around well-being in the Netherlands at the middle of the nineteenth century? In terms of present-day norms for extreme poverty, around 21% of the population at that time lived in extreme poverty. From a present-day perspective, extreme poverty is among the most important issues in well-being around 1850. A study of newspaper articles between 1830 and 1850 reveals that from a contemporary perspective too, extreme poverty was one of the most important societal issues of the time. The poor led not only a meagre, but also a vulnerable, existence. The latter also applied to a large part of the Dutch population. It had to cope with the elements in their extreme forms: heat waves, bitter cold, violent storms, heavy rains and hailstorms. A component of well-being specific to the Netherlands as a country located in the delta of multiple rivers was the struggle against water. This was waged along three main fronts: the management of inner (fresh) water, the struggle against the sea, and the interminable fight with the rivers. Finally, by present-day lights, in the past all the cities in the Netherlands were filthy and polluted with organic waste, including human and animal faeces. This was in large part responsible for low life-expectancy and poor public health. From a present-day perspective this touched on an important aspect of well-being