Overcoming obstacles encountered on the way to commercialize university IP

While faculty members in universities are inventing and their universities are aggressively marketing the associated intellectual property, many universities have not been pleased with the financial results. Is it due to inadequacy of effort by the universities, or due to objective obstacles? This short article provides insights into some of the real and perceived challenges facing the Technology Transfer Offices of university, and brings relevant observations to the discussion.     

Die argumentative Logik der Tabakmandate des Alten Bern: Eine historische Policy‐Analyse

Zusammenfassung: Die Analyse dynamischer sozialer Phänomene stellt sowohl für die Sozial‐ als auch die Geisteswissenschaften eine Herausforderung dar. Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, einen auf Dunn (2004) aufbauenden Analyseraster auf seine Durchführbarkeit anhand einer Analyse von Policy‐Argumenten in historischen Dokumenten zu testen. Ein Längsschnittvergleich von Struktur und Form der Policy‐Argumente in den Tabakmandaten der Stadt Bern von 1659 bis 1723 zeigt einen Wandel der Tabakpolitik des Alten Berns in der Ortung der gesellschaftlichen Probleme, ihrer Ursachen, den damit festgelegten Massnahmen und derer Legitimation auf. Insgesamt impliziert dieses Resultat, dass unsere Methode für die Analyse historischer Policy‐Argumente geeignet ist.     

Non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia in The Netherlands: Dutch perspectives

During the summer of 1999, twenty-eight interviews with some of the leading authorities on euthanasia policy were conducted in the Netherlands. They were asked about cases of non-voluntary (when patients are incompetent) and involuntary euthanasia (when patients are competent and made no request to die). This study reports the main findings, showing that most respondents are quite complacent with regard to breaches of the guideline that require the patient's consent as a prerequisite to performance of euthanasia.     

Postmortem Concentration and Redistribution of Diazepam,Methadone, and Morphine with Subclavian and Femoral Vein Dissection/Clamping

Postmortem redistribution (PMR) concerns blood drug concentration variations after death, depending on many factors such as sampling site and technique. In our study, we focused on sampling method. 30 cases were sampled, each at cardiac, subclavian, femoral, and popliteal sites. Targeted substances were diazepam, methadone, and morphine. Blind stick and dissection/clamping techniques were concomitantly performed at subclavian and femoral sites. Subclavian and femoral concentrations were compared according to technique used. To assess the influence of sampling technique on PMR, central/peripheral ratios were calculated depending on sampling method. Results show that drug concentrations tend to be lower when drawn from a clamped subclavian or femoral vein whereas ratios including subclavian and/or femoral blood concentration are influenced according to the technique used. In conclusion, clamping a subclavian or femoral vessel before sampling tends to result in lower drug concentrations and may influence ratios, suggesting the importance of isolating vessels from thoraco‐abdominal viscera.     

Perceptions and practices of farmer empowerment in Tanzania

The purpose of this article is to review the implementation of various empowerment interventions in Tanzania. Data for the review are based on field visits to programmes/projects/organisations involved in implementing empowerment interventions in various regions of the country. These visits involved key-informant interviews, sample surveys, and focus-group discussions with farmers. The review highlights the perceptions of empowerment at the levels of project staff and practitioners/beneficiaries, as well as the approaches used by various organisations and projects in implementing empowerment activities. In addition the article discusses the factors perceived to lead to empowerment, as well as its consequences.     

Linking Risk Aversion,Time Preference and Fertiliser Use in Burkina Faso

This paper investigates whether Burkinabe maize farmers’ fertiliser-use decisions are correlated with their risk and time preferences. We conducted a survey and a series of hypothetical experiments on a sample of 1500 farmers. We find that more patient farmers do use more fertiliser, but it is only because they plant more maize (a fertiliser-intensive crop) rather than because they use more fertiliser per hectare of maize planted. Conversely, we find no statistically significant link between risk aversion and fertiliser use. We use a simple two-period model, which suggests that risk aversion may indeed have an ambiguous effect on fertiliser use.