Patent Related Indicators for Assessing Knowledge-Generating Institutions: Towards a Contextualised Approach

This contribution aims at examining the extent to which patent related indicators are relevant for shedding light on the notion of excellence within knowledge-generating institutions. Traditionally, excellence has been looked upon as the ability to create interesting and valuable new scientific concepts, theories and data. From such a perspective, scientific excellence can be assessed through scientometric measures of publication output and impact. The recent interest in the entrepreneurial phenomenon within knowledge-generating institutes justifies efforts to examine the relevancy of broadening the set of indicators used to assess such institutions into the direction of entrepreneurial excellence. In this paper we will examine the relevancy of using patent data in order to delineate such additional, more entrepreneurial oriented, indicators. The arguments and findings presented in this respect will lead us to a plea for the use of these indicators in a contextualized manner.     

Harvesting experience: A reappraisal of the U.S. Climate Change Action Plan

For mitigating climate change and adapting to whatever impacts we cannot avoid, there are no politically feasible alternatives to improvements in the U.S. Climate Change Action Plan at this time or for the foreseeable future. Yet improvements in the Action Plan have been obstructed by the diversion of attention and other resources to negotiating a binding international agreement, to developing a predictive understanding of global change, and to documenting the failure of the Action Plan to meet its short-term goal for the reduction of aggregate greenhouse gas emissions. Continuous improvements depend upon reallocating attention and other resources to the Action Plan, and more specifically, to the many small-scale policies that have already succeeded by climate change and no regrets criteria under the Action Plan. Sustaining the effort over the long term depends on harvesting experience from these small-scale successes for diffusion and adaptation elsewhere on a voluntary basis.     

McCloskey versus McIntyre: Implications of Contested Elections in a Federal Democracy

The 1984 election in the Eighth Congressional District of Indianaproduced an unclear result. Election night totals gave the victoryto the Democratic incumbent Francis McCloskey. Subsequent recountsby state and local officials gave the victory to RepublicanRichard McIntyre. A further recount by the U.S. House of Representativesreturned the victory to McCloskey by a four-vote margin. Partisanshipwas important in all phases of deciding the outcome of the election,in part, because unclear rules and inconsistent counting procedurescreated ample opportunities for partisan interpretations ofelectoral rules. This contested election raised questions aboutthe legitimacy of the outcomes produced by various countingrules and about the problems of assuring majority rule wherecounting rules are inconsistent. The election also raised questionsabout the propriety of U.S. House intervention into local electoraladministration and about the roles of local, state, and federalofficials in deciding the outcome of a federal contested election.     

Wohnungsvermietung durch GmbH – Liebhaberei

Zur Bewertung eines vom Geschenknehmer mehreren Personen einger?umten Wohnrechts (zwei Geschenkgeber – H?lfteeigentümer – bedingen sich ein lebensl?ngliches Wohnrecht am gesamten Gegenstand der Schenkungen aus).     

Unentgeltliche Überlassung von Mieterinvestitionen an den Vermieter: ausnahmsweise keine Einkünfte aus Vermietung und Verpachtung

Ein Rechtsstreit über eine obligatorisch eingegangene Verpflichtung zur Lastenfreistellung einer mit einem dinglichen Wohnrecht belasteten Liegenschaft f?llt in die Eigenzust?ndigkeit des Bezirksgerichts gem § 49 Abs 2 Z 3 JN.