Technology transfer in the Americas: common and divergent practices among major research universities and public sector institutions

The present article presents the results of a qualitative study whose purpose was to compare the structure and operation of the programs for intellectual property management and technology transfer, and the mechanisms through which to foster entrepreneurship, in five high-profile research institutions across the Americas. The institutions of focus included Stanford University and the University of California, Davis in the United States; the Universidad Católica and the Universidad de Concepción in Chile; and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Argentina. The purpose of the study was to elucidate commonalities and differences among these institutions with respect to their technology transfer practices, and to distill methodologies that could be used to establish or refine technology transfer offices in American regions. Research revealed common goals and core activities, shared and implemented in similar ways among all five institutions. However, the analysis also identified divergent areas within the structure and operation of the various technology transfer programs, representing significant differences between the five institutions.     

Francis Fukuyama: Democracy Needs Elites

“Populism exists because institutions are elite‐driven,” but democracies don't work well without elites, says the acclaimed author of The End of History.     

The Evolution of the Foreign Direct Investment Regime in the Americas

The purpose of this article is to describe the international regime governing foreign direct investment in the Americas and assess its implications for regional economic governance. The article develops a novel methodology to map the multi-layered patchwork of investment agreements according to the level of investment protection offered by each agreement. The mapping exercise demonstrates the existence of two distinct legalization projects in the Americas, one which broadly corresponds to the investment protection concerns of the United States, and a second, overlapping regime, which better reflects the interest of many Latin American governments in maintaining their policy autonomy. The article argues that these distinct visions are anchored in a common dispute settlement system based on binding international arbitration, which tends to harmonize the governance effects of the regime.     

Assessing food insecurity in Botswana: the case of Gaborone

The search for appropriate tools to assess food and nutrition insecurity is a major preoccupation for development practitioners. This paper explores the potential of complementing a mainstream measure of food security, the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), with a political ecology approach, using a case study from Gaborone, Botswana. HDDS exposes differential food access, illustrated by varying household dietary diversity scores and commonly accessed food groups, while a political ecology approach helps explains how and why households lack access to certain food groups. HDDS enriched with political ecology analysis will provide more useful conclusions to practitioners and policymakers.

L'évaluation de l'insécurité de l'alimentation au Botswana : le cas de Gaborone

La recherche d'outils appropriés à l'évaluation de l'insécurité de l'alimentation et de la nutrition est pour les praticiens du développement une préoccupation majeure. Moyennant une étude de cas de Gaborone au Botswana cet article examine le potentiel d'une liaison entre une méthode traditionnelle pour mesurer la sécurité de l'alimentation, HDDS (Taux de Diversité de Diététique Familiale) avec une démarche basée sur l'écologie politique. HDDS expose l'accès différentiel à l'alimentation, illustré par les taux variables des diététiques familiales et par la fréquence d'accès aux groupes nutritionnels. Le HDDS, enrichi par une analyse de l'écologie politique, fournira des conclusions plus utiles pour les praticiens et pour les décideurs.

Evaluando la inseguridad alimentaria en Botsuana: el caso de Gaborone

La búsqueda de métodos apropiados para evaluar la inseguridad alimentaria y la nutrición constituye una preocupación importante entre los operadores de desarrollo. A partir de un caso de Gaborone, Botsuana, el presente artículo examina el potencial de complementar la Calificación de Diversidad en la Dieta del Hogar (cddh), medida común de seguridad alimentaria, con un enfoque de ecología política. Mientras la cddh revela la existencia de un acceso diferenciado a los alimentos, lo cual es evidenciado por las distintas calificaciones de diversidad en la dieta y por los grupos de alimentos que comúnmente se adquieren, el enfoque de ecología política ayuda a explicar cómo y por qué los hogares no tienen acceso a ciertos grupos de alimentos. Por lo que, en combinación con un análisis de ecología política, la cddh arrojará conclusiones que resulten de mayor utilidad para los operadores y los formuladores de políticas en este sentido.

Avaliando a insegurança alimentar em Botsuana: o caso de Gaborone

A busca por ferramentas adequadas para avaliar a insegurança alimentar e nutricional é uma grande preocupação para os que atuam da área de desenvolvimento. Este artigo explora o potencial de se complementar uma medida convencional da insegurança alimentar, a Pontuação da Diversidade Alimentar da Família (Household Dietary Diversity Score - HDDS), com uma abordagem de ecologia política, utilizando um estudo de caso de Gaborone, Botsuana. A HDDS mostra um acesso a alimentos diferente, ilustrado por pontuações variáveis da diversidade alimentar da família e grupos de alimentos comumente acessados, enquanto uma abordagem de ecologia política ajuda a explicar como e por que as famílias não têm acesso a certos grupos de alimentos. A HDDS, enriquecida por uma análise de ecologia política, oferecerá conclusões mais úteis para atuantes da área prática e formuladores de políticas.     

International Socialization in Difficult Environments: The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Central Asia

This article explores the potential of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to be an agent of socialization in the five Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In drawing on both rationalist and constructivist approaches to international socialization it is argued that the organization's inability to provide tangible material and political incentives as well as Central Asia's indigenous culture and institutions impede successful socialization dynamics. Moreover, the power-oriented elites consider the bulk of the OSCE activities to be a threat to their grasp on power, not only making socialization almost impossible but also making OSCE–Central Asian cooperation increasingly difficult to sustain. Recommendations to increase the OSCE's influence in the region concentrate on a better understanding of the cost-benefit calculation of Central Asian governments as well as a more responsive attitude to traditional institutions in the OSCE's approach toward the region.     

The Russian mafia: Expulsion of law

The purpose of this paper will be to determine whether the conditions that exist in present‐day Russia are congruent with Foucault's claim that power in modern societies is not ensured by law and punishment but by normalization and control, which go beyond the state and its apparatuses, and that law plays an increasingly subordinate role within contemporary disciplinary society. I will also see what conclusions can be drawn from the Russian‐Soviet case that are relevant to evaluating the paradigms supplied by Foucault in deciphering the modalities of power in the modern world. In what sense can he help us understand how discipline and law in Imperial and Soviet Russia created the necessary conditions for the emergence of the Russian Mafia? Law has been transformed in the hands of the Russian Mafia and has expanded its spheres of influence rather than being displaced. The conditions that exist in present‐day Russia can be applied to Foucault's claim that power in modern societies is not ensured by law and punishment but by normalization and control which go beyond the state and its apparatuses. But it is not the case that law plays an increasingly subordinate role in present‐day Russia. Rather, it is no longer controlled by the sovereign power of the monarchy or by the Soviet state and its apparatuses, but is now predominately controlled by the Russian Mafia.