Pierson, Peer Review, and Patent Law

When has a researcher done enough to merit a patent? Should the patent belong to the researcher who first suggests an invention or the one who brings it to fruition? The canonical dispute over a fox in Pierson v. Post is used to illustrate the competing policy considerations in deciding when to award a new property right, including providing efficient incentives, setting forth clear rules to guide future behavior, and respecting natural rights. In patent law, all of these considerations suggest that in practice, many patents are awarded too early, before an applicant has demonstrated that the invention is likely to work. The main problem seems to be not with the substantive standards but with the\u27 Patent Office\u27s institutional competence to enforce these standards. A patent is supposed to teach a researcher of ordinary skill in the field how to make the invention without undue experimentation. Yet it often takes extraordinary skill to recognize when this standard is not met based merely on reading a patent application-expertise that the typical patent examiner lacks. To address this information asymmetry, it is worth experimenting with bringing those of extraordinary skill into the patent examination process through a robust peer review system. So far, opportunities for outside input such as the Peer To Patent. pilot project have focused on providing examiners with additional prior art, but peer review would be far more valuable for evaluating patent disclosures to assess whether applicants have in fact done enough work to merit a patent or whether it remains too early in the chase

Using Videoconferencing to Create Authentic Online Learning for Volunteers

Face-to-face training for Extension volunteers is no longer the only viable delivery mode. In times of rapid technological advances, we are faced with a plethora of options for offering volunteers the training and support they need. Zoom, an online videoconferencing platform, can easily be used to engage volunteers in professional development. Creating interactive virtual sessions with a face-to-face feel can be a win-win situation for both Extension staff and volunteers

Alien Registration- Ouellette, Marie Alma L. (Saint Agatha, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/33260/thumbnail.jp

Factors Related to Motivating Adult Somalis with Refugee Status to Volunteer for 4-H

Focus group interviews were held with adult Somali immigrants to assess their likelihood of volunteering for 4-H in Maine. This qualitative study was undertaken to identify best practices for engaging the growing Somali-Mainer population as a volunteer base. Results of the study demonstrate that Somali immigrant adults are willing to volunteer for 4-H when the outcome will be higher academic achievement for their children and when volunteering matches their cultural expectation of helping others. Additionally, Somali adults reported limitations related to their ability to volunteer, particularly language barriers and child-care commitments

Lagrangian Structure Functions in Turbulence: A Quantitative Comparison between Experiment and Direct Numerical Simulation

A detailed comparison between data from experimental measurements and numerical simulations of Lagrangian velocity structure functions in turbulence is presented. By integrating information from experiments and numerics, a quantitative understanding of the velocity scaling properties over a wide range of time scales and Reynolds numbers is achieved. The local scaling properties of the Lagrangian velocity increments for the experimental and numerical data are in good quantitative agreement for all time lags. The degree of intermittency changes when measured close to the Kolmogorov time scales or at larger time lags. This study resolves apparent disagreements between experiment and numerics.Comment: 13 RevTeX pages (2 columns) + 8 figures include

Path lengths in turbulence

By tracking tracer particles at high speeds and for long times, we study the geometric statistics of Lagrangian trajectories in an intensely turbulent laboratory flow. In particular, we consider the distinction between the displacement of particles from their initial positions and the total distance they travel. The difference of these two quantities shows power-law scaling in the inertial range. By comparing them with simulations of a chaotic but non-turbulent flow and a Lagrangian Stochastic model, we suggest that our results are a signature of turbulence.Comment: accepted for publication in Journal of Statistical Physic

Redefining the Concept of Learning in Cooperative Extension

For Extension educational programs to meet the educational needs of today\u27s youths, families, and communities, Extension needs to expand what counts as learning. The purpose of this article is to define learning in the context of Extension. We summarize key aspects of the educational research literature by comparing two prevailing metaphors for learning: acquisition and participation. On the basis of the two metaphors, we developed a definition of learning, and we discuss the related implications for program and curriculum development, pedagogy, professional development, and assessment of learning