1,770 research outputs found
Amplia Propiedad De Acciones: La Barrera Para El Desarrollo De Los Derechos De Accionistas De Minoria en America Latina
La reforma de gobemaci6n corporativa ha tornado un enfoque primario en America Latina
Broad Stock Ownership: The hurdle For Minority Shareholder Rights Development In latin America
Corporate governance reform has taken center stage in Latin America. Due to weak investor protection laws, Latin America has suffered decreased liquidity in its securities markets and this poses a troubling situation for these economies
Assessing the Efficacy of the Bayh-Dole Act Through the Lens of University Technology Transfer Offices (TTOS)
Universities are unique environments that thrive on the research and curiosity of faculty and students. To disseminate knowledge and potentially derive lucrative sources of funding, universities have aggressively entered the field of technology commercialization and patenting. The passage of the Bayh-Dole Act was instrumental to encourage this activity and the result has been an explosion of university-related patenting. This activity comes at a social cost, however, since patents restrict knowledge transfers and may create deadweight losses. These costs are amplified if technology transfer office (TTO) activities are viewed from a narrow financial or cost-benefit viewpoint. As demonstrated in this study, twenty institutions belong to an elite grouping of leader institutions that have financially sustainable TTO operations. The rest are classified as laggards and consistently operate with losses.
This article examines why the leaders excel and why the laggards continue to support TTO activities when they present a financial drain on universities. Transaction cost economics, institutional theory, signaling, and expected value theory can all offer insights related to the organization and maintenance of these offices. These theoretical perspectives help to explain why universities engage in technology transfer. An in-depth examination of the highly successful Taxol case at Florida State University, a laggard institution, sheds light on some of the antecedents for a successful, yet rare, technology transfer event. The case reinforces the view that technology transfer should not be viewed narrowly, even among laggard institutions, but rather it should be viewed as a strategic endeavor that involves signaling, the observance of social conventions and investment for broader technological and economic objectives.
Two negative consequences have resulted despite the success of Bayh-Dole. These include the increasingly predatory and commercial behavior of universities and the highly-skewed distribution of value among TTOs. If left unaddressed, these problematic results may result in legislative reforms that could weaken the ability of universities to practice technology transfer
Administrative Patent Levers
This article describes the processes involving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office\u27s (PTO\u27s) implementation of administrative patent levers related to business methods. Administrative patent levers are conceptualized in this article as rules that represent a coordinated policy at the PTO to target a particular technology class, are often motivated by signals sent by actors within all three branches of government, and can be explained by positive political theory. This article presents an account where policymakers in all branches of government reacted strongly to the dangers posed by business method patents. The PTO\u27s behavior is explained under the fire-alarm theory of regulatory change, whereby an administrative agency responds to external institutional pressures and actors. This conceptual analysis of administrative patent levers is then informed by a detailed analysis of business method rules that fall under this category of administrative policymaking at the PTO.
A descriptive account is then offered that predicts how the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) would review the PTO\u27s use of administrative patent levers. Ultimately, the CAFC\u27s likely approach is undesirable because it fails to recognize that the PTO engages in policymaking. A normative solution is offered whereby the reviewing courts would apply a hard look review under Section 706(2)(A) of the Administrative Procedure Act. This standard would require that the PTO offer objective evidence that any administrative patent levers are warranted. This standard would also require that the PTO address any valid arguments or evidence against the implementation of such technology-specific and policy-oriented rules. Under this line of analysis, it is proposed that current business method administrative patent levers would fail to meet this standard of review
The magnetic field configuration of a solar prominence inferred from spectropolarimetric observations in the He I 10830 A triplet
Context: The determination of the magnetic field vector in quiescent solar
prominences is possible by interpreting the Hanle and Zeeman effects in
spectral lines. However, observational measurements are scarce and lack high
spatial resolution. Aims: To determine the magnetic field vector configuration
along a quiescent solar prominence by interpreting spectropolarimetric
measurements in the He I 1083.0 nm triplet obtained with the Tenerife Infrared
Polarimeter installed at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope of the Observatorio
del Teide. Methods. The He I 1083.0 nm triplet Stokes profiles are analyzed
with an inversion code that takes into account the physics responsible of the
polarization signals in this triplet. The results are put into a solar context
with the help of extreme ultraviolet observations taken with the Solar Dynamic
Observatory and the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory satellites.
Results: For the most probable magnetic field vector configuration, the
analysis depicts a mean field strength of 7 gauss. We do not find local
variations in the field strength except that the field is, in average, lower in
the prominence body than in the prominence feet, where the field strength
reaches 25 gauss. The averaged magnetic field inclination with respect to the
local vertical is 77 degrees. The acute angle of the magnetic field vector with
the prominence main axis is 24 degrees for the sinistral chirality case and 58
degrees for the dextral chirality. These inferences are in rough agreement with
previous results obtained from the analysis of data acquired with lower spatial
resolutions.Comment: Accepted in A&
Photospheric downward plasma motions in the quiet-Sun
We analyze spectropolarimetric data taken with the Hinode spacecraft in quiet
solar regions at the disk center. Distorted redshifted Stokes profiles are
found showing a characteristic evolution that always follows the same sequence
of phases. We have studied the statistical properties of these events using
spectropolarimetric data from Hinode/SP. We also examined the upper photosphere
and the low chromosphere using Mg i b2 and Ca ii h data from Hinode. Finally,
we have applied the SIRGAUSS inversion code to the polarimetric data in order
to infer the atmospheric stratification of the physical parameters. We have
also obtained these physical parameters taking into account dynamical terms in
the equation of motion.
The Stokes V profiles display a bump that evolves in four different time
steps, and the total process lasts 108 seconds. The Stokes I shows a strongly
bent red wing and the continuum signal exhibits a bright point inside an
intergranular lane. This bright point is correlated with a strong redshift in
the Mg i b2 line and a bright feature in Ca ii h images. The model obtained
from the inversion of the Stokes profiles is hotter than the average quiet-Sun
model, with a vertical magnetic field configuration and field strengths in the
range of kG values. It also presents a LOS velocity stratification with a
Gaussian perturbation whose center is moving to deeper layers with time.
We have examined a particular type of event that can be described as a
plasmoid of hot plasma that is moving downward from the top of the photosphere,
placed over intergranular lanes and always related to strong magnetic field
concentrations. We argue that the origin of this plasmoid could be a magnetic
reconnection that is taking place in the chromosphere.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figure
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