Renegotiate the WTO Schedules of Commitments: Technological Development and Treaty Interpretation

The interpretation of schedules has been the subject of several Panel and Appellate Body reports in recent years, and it is anticipated that challenges to schedules related to information and communication technologies before the dispute settlement body will increase. The recent decisions of the Panel and the Appellate Body in EC-IT Products and China-Audiovisual Services may become significant leading cases on the issues of how to interpret schedules of commitments in this rapidly changing digital era. I conclude in this article that the Panel appropriately recognized in EC-IT Products that the Information Technology Agreement is not relevant in determining the object and purpose of the WTO Agreement and therefore the complainants\u27 interpretative approach is overbroad and may compromise the legal certainty and predictability of tariff concessions. However, I argue that the Panel should have elaborated upon the question of how technological development and product evolution should be dealt with in interpreting concessions. I also stress that in China-Audiovisual Services the Appellate Body took a brave but necessary position on the issue of whether the definition of sound recording distribution services is alterable and evolutionary through time. In addition, the Appellate Body clarified that the fact that a service was technically feasible and commercially viable at the time of a member\u27s World Trade Organization accession does not necessarily mean that that member\u27s commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services include that service. As the Appellate Body\u27s view alone is not a satisfactory basis for such an important holding, the final part of this article suggests that the reasoning ought to be supported in light of the principle of technological neutrality

“Private” Cybersecurity Standards? Cyberspace Governance, Multistakeholderism, and the (Ir)relevance of the TBT Regime

We are now living in a hyper-connected world, with a myriad of devices continuously linked to the Internet. Our growing dependence on such devices exposes us to a variety of cybersecurity threats. This ever-increasing connectivity means that vulnerabilities can be introduced at any phase of the software development cycle. Cybersecurity risk management, therefore, is more important than ever to governments at all developmental stages as well as to companies of all sizes and across all sectors. The awareness of cybersecurity threats affects the importance placed on the use of standards and certification as an approach

“Private” Cybersecurity Standards? Cyberspace Governance, Multistakeholderism, and the (Ir)relevance of the TBT Regime

We are now living in a hyper-connected world, with a myriad of devices continuously linked to the Internet. Our growing dependence on such devices exposes us to a variety of cybersecurity threats. This ever-increasing connectivity means that vulnerabilities can be introduced at any phase of the software development cycle. Cybersecurity risk management, therefore, is more important than ever to governments at all developmental stages as well as to companies of all sizes and across all sectors. The awareness of cybersecurity threats affects the importance placed on the use of standards and certification as an approach

"Multiproduct Duopoly with Vertical Differentiation"

The paper investigates a two-stage competition in a vertical differentiated industry, where each firm produces an arbitrary number of similar qualities and sells them to heterogeneous consumers. We show that, when unit costs of quality are increasing and quadratic, each firm has an incentive to provide an interval of qualities. The finding is in sharp contrast to the single-quality outcome when the market coverage is exogenously determined. We also show that allowing for an interval of qualities intensifies competition, lowers the profits of each firm and raises the consumer surplus and the social welfare in comparison to the single-quality duopoly.

Special Issue in Honor of Prof. Ting-Peng Liang’s Lifetime Contribution to the Service Innovation Discipline

This special issue is dedicated to the reminiscences of TP for his significant contributions to the global IS discipline. This PAJAIS special issue solicits research submissions that are related to the Service Innovation discipline, one of TP’s key areas of research. Since service-oriented economy is evolving into experience economy, the research topics regarding how to design products, services, information systems, and mobile services to increase users’ experience value are becoming more and more important. From a service logic perspective, innovative service design focus on how they change customer thinking, participation, and capabilities to co-create value rather than new features in order to enhance user experience. Hence, this special issue focuses on issues related to service innovation, service quality & user experience (UX)

INFLUENCE OF APPROACH SPEED AND DISTANCE ON BIOMECHANICS DURING SINGLE-LEGGED RUNNING VERTICAL JUMP

The purpose of this study was to look into the kinematics, kinetics and EMG of the single legged running vertical jumps in different approach speed and distance. 12 basketball player performed single-legged running vertical jumps with 2 approach speed and 3 distance randomly. Kinematic and Kinetic data were collected by a force and 11 infrared high speed cameras. EMG data were recorded by Delsys surface EMG system. Two-way repeated measures AMOVA (2 speeds x 3 distance) was used for establishing differences (significance level p< .05). The jump height, jumt moment of lower extremity, knee power and the activation of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius were found significantly larger in fast approach speed. We suggested using fast approach speed and 9m approach distance to enhance the single-legged running vertical jump ability

Association between plasma levels of hyaluronic acid and functional outcome in acute stroke patients

BACKGROUND: Activation of hyaluronic acid (HA) and associated enzyme synthesis has been demonstrated in experimental stroke animal models. Our study aimed to investigate the plasma levels of HA in acute stroke patients and the associations between HA levels and functional outcome. METHODS: This was a multicenter case–control study. Acute stroke patients and age- and sex-matched non-stroke controls were recruited. Plasma levels of HA in acute stroke patients were determined at <48 hours and at 48 to 72 hours after stroke onset by standard ELISA. Favorable functional outcome was defined as modified Rankin scale ≤2 at 3 months after stroke. RESULTS: The study included 206 acute stroke patients, including 43 who had intracerebral hemorrhage and 163 who had ischemic stroke, and 159 controls. The plasma levels of HA in the acute stroke patients were significantly higher than those in the controls (219.7 ± 203.4 ng/ml for <48 hours and 343.1 ± 710.3 ng/ml for 48 to 72 hours versus 170.4 ± 127.9 ng/ml in the controls; both P < 0.05). For intracerebral hemorrhage patients, HA ≤500 ng/ml (<48 hours) was an independent favorable outcome predictor (P = 0.016). For ischemic stroke patients, an inverted U-shaped association between plasma HA (48 to 72 hours) and outcome was noted, indicating that ischemic stroke patients with too high or too low plasma HA levels tended to have an unfavorable outcome. CONCLUSION: HA plasma level was elevated in patients with acute stroke, and can predict 3-month functional outcome, particularly for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage