The Patent System, Assistive Technologies, and the Developing World

2021 ◽  
pp. 215-229
Author(s):  
Amy L. Landers

Although many assistive devices are created in advanced economies, the developing world has been responsible for numerous creative solutions. Despite this, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the clear majority of patenting activity in this field occurs in developed countries. Developing countries, which generate comparatively few issued patents, engage in significant innovation using forms of creativity that are not rewarded under the Global North’s patent standards. Developing nations can respond to this circumstance through a number of mechanisms. One is to modify the existing patentability standards to capture more types of creative endeavors. Such an approach should be considered thoughtfully, as the patent system has the potential for both positive and negative consequences for developing nations. Alternatively, nations can adopt other forms of incentives (such as grants or other rewards) to encourage the development of new assistive technologies for their domestic creators.

1973 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 234-236
Author(s):  
J. Speed Carroll

I would like to address myself to some of the issues of nationalism which I think are implicit in the developments we have seen not only in the mineral field, but also in industrial and economic fields. We seem to be entering into what might be called a third generation of relationships between developed countries and the developing world. As has been pointed out, the day in which the major commercial interests of the metropolitan powers constituted very much a Taw unto themselves has given way to a transitional period marked by hostility and uncertainties in relations between the representatives of the industrialized and the developing nations. Such times are characterized by mutual suspicion and even now hardly a day passes that we do not read about some threatened or actual takeovers, whether it be foreign insurance companies in India or copper mines in Chile.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 888-889
Author(s):  
Mazlan Othman

Developing countries have their own particular political, economic and cultural circumstances. There are, therefore, no unique solutions. However there are some factors which are common to all or most of them, namely the lack of human and financial resources and in most cases an absence of a political commitment to the advancement of science. Such situations are in a sense not peculiar to developing nations because in some developed countries astronomy has a ‘developing’ status. Even in countries where astronomy is well established, the commitment and allocations required to maintain the status quo need to be continuously addressed. Hence strategies for fighting this “constant battle” are relevant to all astronomers of the world, while being especially vital to those in the developing world.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 815-834
Author(s):  
V.V. Smirnov

Subject. The article considers the symbiosis of Russia with developed countries. Objectives. The purpose is to identify conditions and possibilities for the symbiosis of Russia with advanced economies to establish a process of concentrated internationalization of financial capital for the market economy development completion, formation of full-fledged capitalism with stable dynamics of productive forces. Methods. The study rests on the systems approach, using the methods of descriptive statistics, neural network, nonparametric and cluster analysis. Results. The study reveals favorable conditions for the symbiosis of Russia with developed countries. They appear due to low requirements to the volume and connectivity of attracted high-tech capital. This enables to use the potential of small countries, motivating them to satisfy their ‘resource hunger’. Russia's transition to the said symbiosis is hindered by the policy of smooth devaluation of the national currency, which is used to increase the growth rate of total government expenditure and current GDP, and adversely affects the growth rate of gross national saving. Conclusions. The grounds for emergence of conditions and opportunities for the symbiosis of Russia with developed countries include the high values of financial development and low economic growth in Russia against the declining growth rates of the world economy and weakening of globalization process. The basis of Russia's symbiosis with developed countries is the mutually agreed necessity to internationalize capital in the form of investment financial institutions, which increase its concentration in production for the development of productive forces in conditions of the increasing risk of global recession.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Armin Rosencranz ◽  
Kanika Jamwal

This article argues that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s conception of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC) was never effectively implemented through the Kyoto Protocol. The investments under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism suggest that CBDRRC has been used by developed countries to buy a “right to pollute”, i.e., maintaining or even increasing their greenhouse gas emissions, while investing in clean energy in developing nations, thus defeating the essence of CBDRRC as intended under the UNFCCC. Second, it points out that the Paris Agreement reflects a significant shift in the CBDRRC, both in terms of its textual understanding as well as its implementation. A qualifier, “in the light of national circumstances”, was added to the principle of CBDRRC in the Paris Agreement, allowing a form of voluntary self-differentiation. This qualifier diluted a top-down, objective analysis of States’ commitments. For several scholars, this shift has meant a softening of the principle, making the “differentiation” more dynamic and flexible. In the authors’ opinion, the qualifier is a fundamental modification of the principle to make it politically more palatable. It completely disregards the notion of historical responsibility for climate change, which was the cornerstone of CBDRRC as conceived under the UNFCCC. Therefore, rather than presenting a more flexible understanding of UNFCCC’s conception of CBDRRC, the Paris Agreement marks a total departure from it. Lacking an explicit redefinition of the principle of CBDRRC, it is misleading to contend that the Paris Agreement is still anchored in it.


1981 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-93
Author(s):  
S. K. Date-Bah

The patent system has been claimed to be one of the ways of facilitating the transfer of technology from the industrialised North to the less developed countries of the South. It is by no means the only way in which this can be done. For one thing, not all technology is patented. Also, quite often before a patented process can be successfully worked there is need for the transfer of unpatented know-how along with the technology covered by the patent. Besides, it is not the patent itself which enables the transfer of the technology; rather, by making the title and exclusive rights of the patentee secure, it emboldens him to transfer his technology to others for commercial exploitation. Nevertheless, the patent is an important factor in the technology transfer process. As one United Nations report has put it:


2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 666-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome A Singh ◽  
Busi Nkala ◽  
Eric Amuah ◽  
Nalin Mehta ◽  
Aasim Ahmad

Recruiting nurses from other countries is a long-standing practice. In recent years many countries in the developed world have more frequently recruited nurses from the developing world, causing an imbalance in the health services in often already impoverished countries. Despite guidelines and promises by developed countries that the practice should cease, it has largely failed to do so. A consortium of authors from countries that have experienced significant nurse poaching consider the ethical aspects behind this continuing practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (167) ◽  
pp. 28-33
Author(s):  
S. Burlutska ◽  
D. Krasovsky

At present, the totality of global environmental and economic threats and challenges has put the world economic science in front of the need to find a new way of developing the world economy. The new model of economic growth must satisfy two main criteria: firstly, to find a qualitatively new direction of growth, and secondly, to ensure the preservation and improvement of the quality of the environment for human life, that is, to ensure new economic growth without negative consequences for the environment. Many modern scientists see the solution of these problems in a relatively new direction in the economy, which has existed for just over 30 years - the "green" economy. Their opinion is shared by leading politicians and civil servants of the world's economic powers. The directions of the "green" economy system are considered: introduction of renewable energy sources; improvement of the waste management system; improvement of the water resources management system; development of "clean" transport; organic farming in agriculture; energy efficiency in housing and communal services; conservation and effective management of ecosystems. As a result of the analysis, key ones were identified directions in which the green economy is moving, systematized basic support tools that divided into price and non-price, in more detail characterized by price with the separation of financial tools that experts focus on international organizations for sustainable development. The main elements of the state are defined green growth strategies and analyzed the situation harmonization of the influence of developed countries on the development of "green" economy. An understanding of the essence and description of the goals of "green" technologies is proposed, which implies work not with the consequences, but with the causes of environmental problems. Considered the "green" experience of developed countries and global companies. In conclusion, the author emphasizes that the concept of a "green" economy is an innovative development project, but to achieve sustainability it is necessary to use the experience of other companies. One of the main problems was noticed, this is the use of pseudo environmental friendliness by companies for their own commercial purposes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
SANGHAMITRA CHOUDHURY ◽  
Shailendra Kumar

<p>The relationship between women, technology manifestation, and likely prospects in the developing world is discussed in this manuscript. Using India as a case study, the paper goes on to discuss how ontology and epistemology views utilised in AI (Artificial Intelligence) and robotics will affect women's prospects in developing countries. Women in developing countries, notably in South Asia, are perceived as doing domestic work and are underrepresented in high-level professions. They are disproportionately underemployed and face prejudice in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to determine if the introduction of AI would exacerbate the already precarious situation of women in the developing world or if it would serve as a liberating force. While studies on the impact of AI on women have been undertaken in developed countries, there has been less research in developing countries. This manuscript attempts to fill that need.</p>


Author(s):  
Anthony Akai Acheampong Otoo ◽  
Li Zhiwen ◽  
Charles Oduro Acheampong Otoo ◽  
Maxwell Opuni Antwi

The clear differences between developing nations and developed nations have posed an enormous problem in trying to design a “one-size-fits-all” theory of Electronic Commerce (EC) adoption. Most prior studies have proposed that generalizing findings of developed countries to the context of developing countries are of worry (Rahayu & Day, 2015; J. Tan, Tyler, & Manica, 2007). Table 1 shows the ICT Development Index (benchmarking tools to monitor information society developments worldwide) of some countries that have hosted the earlier literature on EC International Telecommunications Unions (ITU, 2017). These statistics may well indicate that businesses in developed countries and developing countries vary with regard to information technology and EC context<strong>.</strong> The latest ITU report in 2017 on ICT Development Index, ranks Ghana as the 112th country regarding ICT development in 2016, which shows a slight decline in the ranking compared to 111th in 2015 (the IDI value increased from 3.75 in 2015 to 3.99 in 2016). This may suggest that Ghana does not have appropriate infrastructure for effective e-business compared to countries like Singapore, China and USA.


Author(s):  
Perpetua Obi ◽  
Henrietha Nwankwo ◽  
Diaemeta Emofe ◽  
Isreal Adandom ◽  
Michael Kalu

Background: Effective fall prevention practices are essential for reducing falls among older adults. Rehabilitation professionals like physiotherapists are essential members of the fall prevention team, yet little is known about the experiences of physiotherapists practicing fall prevention in developing nations. Objective: To explore the experiences of physiotherapists in Nigeria who practice fall prevention among older adults. Method: We adopted a phenomenological approach to the traditional qualitative design in this study. We purposefully selected and conducted face-to-face interview with twelve physiotherapists who have treated at least one older adult who reported falling two or three times within last six months. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Four themes emerged from our participants: characteristics of recurrent fallers, fall prevention practices, hindrances to fall prevention, and strategies to promote fall prevention practices. In practice, understanding the characteristics (risk factors) of older adults with a history of recurrent falls is important for effective fall prevention practices among physiotherapists. Among other characteristics, our participants believed that older adults who have patronized “traditional bone setters/healer” are at the higher risk of having multiple falls. Conclusion: This study adds to the sparse amount of literature concerning the experience of physiotherapist in fall prevention practices in the developing world. More importantly, the findings of this study will strengthen or stimulate discussion around development of fall prevention strategies specific to the developing world context.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document