Innovation, Regulation and the Selection Environment

This article focuses on the question of how regulation can be best designed to encourage technological innovation. Most scholarship in this area applies standard economic analysis to evaluate the impact of various forms of regulation on technological innovation. We reject that approach as too narrow, drawing instead upon principles of evolutionary economics. The basic premise of the article is that a firm’s technology choices—and its response to regulation intended to shape those choices—are influenced by other actors (such as suppliers and competitors), by external social and legal institutions (e.g., industry standards and norms) and by the firms\u27 internal structure (such as communication channels.) Regulators seeking to encourage innovation must first understand the industry sector\u27s selection environment; that is, the socio-economic environment created by that network of actors, institutions, and routines. We demonstrate the selection environment approach in a case study of the dry cleaning sector, a leading source of toxic emissions in Southern California. Professional drycleaners have been slow to adopt alternative non-polluting cleaning technologies. Relying upon surveys and interviews we conducted of cleaners, equipment vendors, and regulators, we construct a conceptual model of the sector\u27s selection environment. We then use that model to identify barriers to innovation, and to evaluate several policy tools intended to overcome those barriers. Our analysis is a cautionary tale for those who support broad use of market-based regulation such as economic incentives and information strategies. In the selection environment we studied, traditional command and control regulation is likely to lead to broader diffusion of the new environmentally-beneficial cleaning technologies than market-based approaches, and at less social cost

A DNA-Protein Complex Involved in Bacteriophage phi X174 Particle Formation

A phi X-specific DNA-protein complex has been isolated from phi X-infected cells. This complex contains infective circular single-stranded DNA, the proteins of the genes F, G, H, and J in the same proportions as in the phage particle, and, in addition, the gene D-protein. The D-protein makes up 12-22% of the protein part of the complex. The sedimentation value of the complex is about 140 S. In vitro, the complex can be converted to the normal 114S phage particle (with a concomitant loss of its D-protein) or to an uninfective 70S particle and a small amount of free single-stranded DNA. The fast sedimenting particle is not associated with membranes

Advancing Alternative Analysis: Integration of Decision Science.

Decision analysis-a systematic approach to solving complex problems-offers tools and frameworks to support decision making that are increasingly being applied to environmental challenges. Alternatives analysis is a method used in regulation and product design to identify, compare, and evaluate the safety and viability of potential substitutes for hazardous chemicals.Assess whether decision science may assist the alternatives analysis decision maker in comparing alternatives across a range of metrics.A workshop was convened that included representatives from government, academia, business, and civil society and included experts in toxicology, decision science, alternatives assessment, engineering, and law and policy. Participants were divided into two groups and prompted with targeted questions. Throughout the workshop, the groups periodically came together in plenary sessions to reflect on other groups' findings.We conclude the further incorporation of decision science into alternatives analysis would advance the ability of companies and regulators to select alternatives to harmful ingredients, and would also advance the science of decision analysis.We advance four recommendations: (1) engaging the systematic development and evaluation of decision approaches and tools; (2) using case studies to advance the integration of decision analysis into alternatives analysis; (3) supporting transdisciplinary research; and (4) supporting education and outreach efforts

The Process of Infection with Bacteriophage øX174: XI. Infectivity of the Complementary Strand of the Replicative Form

A hybrid replicative form of bacteriophage øX174 DNA was prepared in which the viral strand contained bromouracil and the complementary strand contained thymine. After brief treatment with deoxyribonuclease, followed by denaturation, the complementary strand was isolated from a density gradient and found to be infective

The Process of Infection with Bacteriophage øX174: XI. Infectivity of the Complementary Strand of the Replicative Form

A hybrid replicative form of bacteriophage øX174 DNA was prepared in which the viral strand contained bromouracil and the complementary strand contained thymine. After brief treatment with deoxyribonuclease, followed by denaturation, the complementary strand was isolated from a density gradient and found to be infective