FORMAL INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXTS AS OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS AT UNIVERSITIES — COMPARATIVE DATA FROM SWEDEN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (05) ◽  
pp. 1069-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER LINDELÖF

This paper identifies differences in institutional contexts (legislation) between Sweden and the UK and their effects on technology transfer policies. It then proceeds to examine how such activities are organized by universities. Empirical evidence from surveys conducted with technology transfer managers at eight Swedish universities and eleven UK universities gathered in Sweden and the UK during 2004 is analyzed. It is argued that the historical developments of these systems depend on different institutional contexts, which influence the modes of organization. The UK technology transfer system is based on similar legislation to that of the US, with IPRs being granted to the universities. The Swedish system, however, grants IPRs to the individual researchers, though with some new features — such as science parks and incubators — suggesting a change towards greater agent (university) involvement in encouraging technology transfer. This change indicates a breakthrough for the "entrepreneurial university" in Sweden.

Author(s):  
Gordon Lynch

AbstractThe Introduction sets this book in the wider context of recent studies and public interest in historic child abuse. Noting other international cases of child abuse in the context of public programmes and other institutional contexts, it is argued that children’s suffering usually arose not from an absence of policy and legal protections but a failure to implement these effectively. The assisted migration of unaccompanied children from the United Kingdom to Australia is presented, particularly in the post-war period, as another such example of systemic failures to maintain known standards of child welfare. The focus of the book on policy decisions and administrative systems within the UK Government is explained and the relevance of this study to the historiography of child migration and post-war child welfare is also set out.


Author(s):  
Pete Dale

Numerous claims have been made by a wide range of commentators that punk is somehow “a folk music” of some kind. Doubtless there are several continuities. Indeed, both tend to encourage amateur music-making, both often have affiliations with the Left, and both emerge at least partly from a collective/anti-competitive approach to music-making. However, there are also significant tensions between punk and folk as ideas/ideals and as applied in practice. Most obviously, punk makes claims to a “year zero” creativity (despite inevitably offering re-presentation of at least some existing elements in every instance), whereas folk music is supposed to carry forward a tradition (which, thankfully, is more recognized in recent decades as a subject-to-change “living tradition” than was the case in folk’s more purist periods). Politically, meanwhile, postwar folk has tended more toward a socialist and/or Marxist orientation, both in the US and UK, whereas punk has at least rhetorically claimed to be in favor of “anarchy” (in the UK, in particular). Collective creativity and competitive tendencies also differ between the two (perceived) genre areas. Although the folk scene’s “floor singer” tradition offers a dispersal of expressive opportunity comparable in some ways to the “anyone can do it” idea that gets associated with punk, the creative expectation of the individual within the group differs between the two. Punk has some similarities to folk, then, but there are tensions, too, and these are well worth examining if one is serious about testing out the common claim, in both folk and punk, that “anyone can do it.”


Author(s):  
D.V. Shram ◽  

The article is devoted to the antimonopoly regulation of IT giants` activities. The author presents an overview of the main trends in foreign and Russian legislation in this area. The problems the antimonopoly regulation of digital markets faces are the following: the complexity of determining the criteria for the dominant position of economic entities in the digital economy and the criteria for assessing the economic concentration in the commodity digital markets; the identification and suppression of cartels; the relationship between competition law and intellectual property rights in the digital age. Some aspects of these problems are considered through the prism of the main trends in the antimonopoly policy in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Russia. The investigation findings of the USA House of Representatives Antitrust Subcommittee against Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook are presented. The author justifies the need to separate them, which requires the adoption of appropriate amendments to the antimonopoly legislation. The article analyzes the draft law of the European Commission on the regulation of digital markets – Digital Markets Act, reveals the criteria for classifying IT companies as «gatekeepers», and notes the specific approaches to antimonopoly regulation in the UK and the US. The article describes the concepts «digital platform» and «network effects», presented in the «fifth antimonopoly package of amendments», developed in 2018 by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation, and gives an overview of the comments of the Ministry of Economic Development regarding these concepts wording in the text of the draft law, which formed the basis for the negative conclusion of the regulator. It is concluded that in the context of the digital markets’ globalization, there is a need for the international legal nature antitrust norms formation, since regional legislation obviously cannot cope with the monopolistic activities of IT giants.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 3043-3063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Helfter ◽  
Neil Mullinger ◽  
Massimo Vieno ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
Michel Ramonet ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a mass balance approach to estimate the seasonal and annual budgets of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) of the United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) and the Republic of Ireland from concentration measurements taken on a ferry along the east coast of the United Kingdom over a 3-year period (2015–2017). We estimate the annual emissions of CH4 to be 2.55±0.48 Tg, which is consistent with the combined 2.29 Tg reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by the individual countries. The net CO2 budget (i.e. including all anthropogenic and biogenic sources and sinks of CO2) is estimated at 881.0±125.8 Tg, with a net biogenic contribution of 458.7 Tg (taken as the difference between the estimated net emissions and the inventory value, which accounts for anthropogenic emissions only). The largest emissions for both gases were observed in a broad latitudinal band (52.5–54∘ N), which coincides with densely populated areas. The emissions of both gases were seasonal (maxima in winter and minima in summer), strongly correlated with natural gas usage and, to a lesser extent, also anti-correlated with mean air temperature. Methane emissions exhibited a statistically significant anti-correlation with air temperature at the seasonal timescale in the central region spanning 52.8–54.2∘ N, which hosts a relatively high density of waste treatment facilities. Methane emissions from landfills have been shown to sometimes increase with decreasing air temperature due to changes in the CH4-oxidising potential of the topsoil, and we speculate that the waste sector contributes significantly to the CH4 budget of this central region. This study brings independent verification of the emission budgets estimated using alternative products (e.g. mass balance budgets by aircraft measurements, inverse modelling, inventorying) and offers an opportunity to investigate the seasonality of these emissions, which is usually not possible.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Ishii ◽  
César Palacios-González

In 2015 the United Kingdom (UK) became the first nation to legalize egg and zygotic nuclear transfer procedures using mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRTs) to prevent the maternal transmission of serious mitochondrial DNA diseases to offspring. These techniques are a form of human germline genetic modification and can happen intentionally if female embryos are selected during the MRT clinical process, either through sperm selection or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). In the same year, an MRT was performed by a United States (U.S.)-based physician team. This experiment involved a cross-border effort: the MRT procedure per se was carried out in the US, and the embryo transfer in Mexico. The authors examine the ethics of MRTs from the standpoint of genetic relatedness and gender implications, in places that lack adequate laws and regulation regarding assisted reproduction. Then, we briefly examine whether MRTs can be justified as a reproductive option in the US and Mexico, after reassessing their legalization in the UK. We contend that morally inadequate and ineffective regulations regarding egg donation, PGD, and germline genetic modifications jeopardize the ethical acceptability of the implementation of MRTs, suggesting that MRTs are currently difficult to justify in the US and Mexico. In addition to relevant regulation, the initiation and appropriate use of MRTs in a country require a child-centered follow-up policy and more evidence for its safety.


Subject The transition away from LIBOR. Significance The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) has been relied upon worldwide since 1970 for setting interest rates on syndicated loans, corporate debt, consumer loans, interest rate swaps and other derivatives. Following the 'LIBOR scandal' of 2008, the UK Financial Conduct Authority took over the regulation and administration of the rate, and no manipulation has emerged since 2013. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom and United States are determined to replace LIBOR. Impacts COVID-19 could prompt the US Fed to increase its support to the repo market, exacerbating fears that SOFR is not market determined. The scale and duration of COVID-19-related economic disruptions loom over banking sector profitability. Banks will struggle to balance immediate priorities triggered by COVID-19, and the need to devote staff and funds to the LIBOR transition.


1990 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Haresign ◽  
A. R. Peters ◽  
L. D. Staples

ABSTRACTTwo trials were undertaken to investigate the effects of treating seasonally anoestrous ewes with melatonin implants on date of first oestrus and other aspects of reproductive performance.Trial 1 involved a total of 368 Mule ewes and 79 Scottish Blackface ewes on five farms, approximately half of which were treated with a single subcutaneous implant of melatonin (Regulin®), containing 18 mg melatonin, between 23 July and 6 August 1986 and the remainder acted as untreated controls. Treatment had no significant effect on the date of first oestrus or conception rate in Mule ewes, although it increased the number of Scottish Blackface ewes mating (92% v. 73%) and the number of mated ewes conceiving (69% v. 54%) in a 5-week mating period, resulting in significantly more treated ewes lambing (63% v. 37%; P < 0·01). Litter size was higher in 4/5 flocks, although this only reached statistical significance in one Mule flock and the Scottish Blackface flock.A total of 2116 ewes from 17 commercial flocks were used in trial 2, approximately half of which were Suffolk/Suffolk-cross ewes and the remainder Mule/Mule-cross ewes. Implantation with melatonin occurred between 22 June and 24 July 1987. Flocks with over 100 ewes were divided into three equal-sized groups and treated with either 18 mg melatonin (one implant of Regulin, 36 mg melatonin (two implants of Regulin given at the same time) or acted as untreated controls. Flocks with less than 100 ewes contained only the 18 mg melatonin and untreated control groups. Treatment with melatonin significantly advanced the date of first oestrus in most flocks of both breeds (P < 0·05) but the magnitude of this effect was variable. Significant (P < 0·05 at least) increases in ‘potential’ (from scanning) mean litter size (+0·13 to +0·18) and actual mean litter size (+0·11 to +0·14) resulting from treatment with melatonin were apparent in ewes of both breeds when the data were pooled across all flocks, but only in 4/17 of the individual flocks.These results indicate that treatment with melatonin implants may be a simple and effective way of advancing the breeding season and enhancing litter size of early lambing flocks under commercial farming conditions in the United Kingdom, but treatment must be given >60 days before the start of the natural breeding season for benefits in date of first oestrus to be manifest.


F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Nick Riddiford

Background: Recent articles have presented a bleak view of career prospects in biomedical research in the US. Too many PhDs and postdocs are trained for too few research positions, creating a “holding-tank” of experienced senior postdocs who are unable to get a permanent position. Coupled with relatively low salaries and high levels of pressure to publish in top-tier academic journals, this has created a toxic environment that is perhaps responsible for a recently observed decline in biomedical postdocs in the US, the so-called “postdocalypse”. Methods: To address the gulf of information relating to working habits and attitudes of UK-based academic biomedical researchers, a link to an online survey was included in an article published in the Guardian newspaper. Survey data were collected between 21st March 2016 and 6th November 2016 and analysed to examine discrete profiles for three major career stages: PhD, postdoc and principal investigator. Results: Overall, the data presented here echo trends observed in the US: The 520 UK-based biomedical researchers responding to the survey reported feeling disillusioned with academic research, due to the low chance of getting a permanent position and the long hours required at the bench. Also like the US, large numbers of researchers at each distinct career stage are considering leaving biomedical research altogether. Conclusions: There are several systemic flaws in the academic scientific research machine – for example the continual overproduction of PhDs and the lack of stability in the early-mid stages of a research career - that are slowly being addressed in countries such as the US and Germany. These data suggest that similar flaws also exist in the UK, with a large proportion of respondents concerned about their future in research. To avoid lasting damage to the biomedical research agenda in the UK, addressing such concerns should be a major priority.


Author(s):  
Ann Matheson

Conspectus started in the US where it is used as a means of distributing responsibilities by consensus within a group of research libraries. The main issues are the identification of Primary Collecting Responsibilities (PCRs) for subject areas and the identification of ‘endangered species.’ In the UK the British Library's programme and the Conspectus in Scotland programme have been completed and the National Library of Wales hopes to complete its own programme in 1989. Elsewhere in the UK the reaction to Conspectus has been generally cool. The British Library has created an online Conspectus search system which allows UK Conspectus information to be interrogated via a wide range of access points. Conspectus information may also have potential for identifying priorities for collaborative programmes for preservation and retrospective conversion. The Scottish group is now hoping to examine this area in some detail.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Evans Yeboah ◽  
Yu Jing ◽  
Anning Lucy

Foreign direct investment inflows and outflows, export and import are seen as some of the major factors for transforming a country’s economic growth and development. This paper provides and evaluates literature review on importation and exportation alongside inward and outward FDI in Ghana. By considering some selected countries such as China, India, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom in determining whether there is some sort of connection between Ghana’s trading partners and investing countries in its economy by the use of the quantitative method. The results show that Ghana’s export values have improved rapidly over the past years with a continuous decrease in its imports. The outcome further proves that, at the initial level, export from Ghana to China, India, the US, and the UK were of lower values and with much effort by the Ghana government to control the balance of trade deficit from these major trading partners is in the process of achieving the goal, as the country has been experiencing balance of trade surplus from China and India except in the situation the US, and the UK. It was also revealed that China, India, the US, and the UK are not only major trading partners but also among the top investing nations in Ghana. It is suggested that Ghana should increase its outward FDI and also encourages its multinational companies to embark on cross-border investment.


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