Technological Discontinuities and the Comparative Strategic Value of New Capabilites: Evidence from the Comparison of Small- and Large-Molecule Targeted Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery

Traditional creative destruction theories distinguish disruptions as competence-destroying or competence-enhancing to incumbents’ capabilities, with the former case resulting in incumbents’ loss of competitive advantage in in-house R&D performance (even if complementary assets aid in retaining final market share). In this paper, I propose that attention to the extent of competence destruction is necessary but not sufficient for analyses of competitive advantage in R&D through a technological discontinuity. A full analysis requires the comparison of the value added and ease of access (i.e., strategic value) of all capabilities, old and new. In other words, an analysis of competition during a transition requires assessment not only of how many of the old capabilities were lost but also what it takes to acquire the new ones. I find evidence for this proposition in qualitative and quantitative data from the transition of anti-cancer drug discovery from standard chemotherapy to targeted therapies. Among targeted therapies, I compare two variants, small- vs. large-molecule drugs, which though equally competence-destroying to chemotherapy-based drug discovery, differ in that large-molecule drugs require one more new capability: expertise in biopharmaceutical technology. By tracing the origin and evolution of biopharmaceutical technology, as well as its comparative value added, I can show a contrast in results: incumbents led in small-molecule targeted drug discovery; but they fell behind biopharmaceutical technology pioneers in large-molecule targeted drug discovery, where one of the new capabilities (i.e., expertise in biopharmaceutical technology) had higher value added and was more difficult to acquire than other new capabilities.R&D capabilities; incumbents; technological disruption; competence enhancing

Introduction: Examined Live – An Epistemological Exchange Between Philosophy and Cultural Psychology on Reflection

Besides the general agreement about the human capability of reflection, there is a large area of disagreement and debate about the nature and value of “reflective scrutiny” and the role of “second-order states” in everyday life. This problem has been discussed in a vast and heterogeneous literature about topics such as epistemic injustice, epistemic norms, agency, understanding, meta-cognition etc. However, there is not yet any extensive and interdisciplinary work, specifically focused on the topic of the epistemic value of reflection. This volume is one of the first attempts aimed at providing an innovative contribution, an exchange between philosophy, epistemology and psychology about the place and value of reflection in everyday life. Our goal in the next sections is not to offer an exhaustive overview of recent work on epistemic reflection, nor to mimic all of the contributions made by the chapters in this volume. We will try to highlight some topics that have motivated a new resumption of this field and, with that, drawing on chapters from this volume where relevant. Two elements defined the scope and content of this volume, on the one hand, the crucial contribution of Ernest Sosa, whose works provide original and thought-provoking contributions to contemporary epistemology in setting a new direction for old dilemmas about the nature and value of knowledge, giving a central place to reflection. On the other hand, the recent developments of cultural psychology, in the version of the “Aalborg approach”, reconsider the object and scope of psychological sciences, stressing that “[h]uman conduct is purposeful”

Computational buckling analysis of cylindrical panels under uniform pressure

En este trabajo se investiga una metodología de energía reducida para calcular el límite inferior de carga de pandeo de paneles cilíndricos rebajados. La formulación de esta nueva metodología está basada en los postulados establecidos en la literatura para el cálculo de límites inferiores de carga de pandeo y se ha implementado en un programa de elementos finitos de aplicaciones múltiples. Se han analizado paneles formados de material isotrópico y caracterizados por tres valores del parámetro de Batdorf. De la comparación de los resultados obtenidos con la metodología propuesta con aquellos obtenidos de análisis no lineales incluyendo diferentes niveles de imperfección geométrica, surge que el modelo de energía reducida aplicado a paneles cilíndricos no conduce a límites inferiores de carga de pandeo. Si bien este nuevo modelo de energía reducida predice cargas de pandeo inferiores a las obtenidas del análisis clásico, éstas son mayores que las obtenidas de análisis no lineales. Sin embargo, la viabilidad de la implementación de una metodología de energía reducida en un programa de elementos finitos de aplicaciones múltiples queda demostrada.Peer Reviewe

S-cone signals invisible to the motion system can improve motion extraction via grouping by color

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Bank Relationships: Effect on the Availability and Marginal Cost of Credit for Firms in Argentina

This paper provides evidence on what affects the marginal cost and availability of bank credit for firms in Argentina. We study in particular how banks use different pieces of private and public information to screen firms and overcome informational asymmetries in the credit market. While some private information, such as balance sheet data, is transferable, private information generated in relationships is not. To capture the closeness of bank relationships, we resort to the concentration of bank credit and the number of credit lines in a bank. We also consider public information available in the Central de Deudores. The cost of credit is measured using overdrafts, the most expensive line of credit, at the bank that charges the highest rate for overdrafts. We find that the cost of credit is smaller for a firm with a close relationship to the marginal bank. Firms with large assets, a high sales/assets ratio, and a low debt/assets ratio pay a lower interest rate at the margin. A good credit history (no debt arrears and no bounced checks) and collateral also reduce the marginal interest rate. The availability of credit is measured by unused credit lines as a proportion of total liabilities with the main bank. The availability of credit depends positively on a close relationship with the main bank. Large assets, a high return on assets, a high sales/assets ratio, a low debt/assets ratio, a good credit history, and collateral lead to higher credit availability. Our measure of unused credit lines is less ambiguous than traditional measures such as leverage, which may indicate financial distress rather than availability of credit.

Populational fluctuation and spatial distribution of Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera; Tenebrionidae) in a poultry house, Cascavel, Parana state, Brazil.

Abstract Knowledge of the population fluctuation and spatial distribution of pests is fundamental for establishing an appropriate control method. The population fluctuation and spatial distribution of the Alphitobius diaperinus in a poultry house in Cascavel, in the state of Parana, Brazil, was studied between October, 2001 and October 2002. Larvae and adults of the lesser mealworm were sampled weekly using Arends tube traps (n = 22) for six consecutive flock grow-outs. The temperature of the litter and of the poultry house was measured at the same locations of the tube traps. Beetle numbers increased continuously throughout all the sampling dates (average 5,137 in the first week and 18,494 insects on the sixth week). Significantly greater numbers of larvae were collected than adults (1 to 20 times in 95% of the sampling points). There was no correlation between temperature and the number of larvae and adults collected, therefore no fluctuation was observed during the sampling period. The population growth was correlated to litter re-use. The highest temperatures were observed in deep litter. The spatial distribution of larvae and adults in the poultry house was heterogeneous during the whole period of evaluation. Results suggest that monitoring in poultry houses is necessary prior to adopting and evaluating control measures due to the great variability of the insect distribution in the poultry house. Keywords: lesser mealworm, poultry house, temperature, population dynamicbitstream/item/78871/1/ID-27879.pd