UK software patents – Get with the program

Computer-implemented inventions feature in almost every field of technology, and although improvements to computer-based devices are routinely made in software, the circumstances in which patent protection is available remains unclear. The patentability of software varies considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Worryingly, there are variations in form, if not in substance, between patent offices working from the same legal source. Against the background of a sea change in the US position, there is the prospect of a clarification of the European Patent Office approach that will provide a platform for consistency in Europe. This paper focuses on the UK position, highlights the tension between the UK and the EPO and considers the key questions before the EPO's Enlarged Board of Appeal.     

The impact of after‐school programs on the routine activities of middle‐school students: Results from a randomized,controlled trial*

Research Summary Unsupervised after‐school time for adolescents is a concern for parents and policymakers alike. Evidence linking unsupervised adolescent socializing to problem behavior outcomes heightens this concern among criminologists. Routine activities theory suggests that, when youth peer groups congregate away from adult authority, both opportunity for and motivation to engage in deviant acts increase. After‐school programs are a possible solution to unsupervised teen socializing during afternoon hours and are much in demand. However, empirical research has yet to test the relationship between the availability of after‐school programs and youth routine activities. This study presents evidence from a multisite, randomized, controlled trial of an after‐school program for middle‐school students in an urban school district. Policy Implications Youth in the treatment group engaged in less unsupervised socializing after school than youth in the control group but not as much less as would be expected if the after‐school program was providing consistent supervision to youth who would otherwise be unsupervised. Additional analyses examined why the influence of the after‐school program was not more pronounced. We found that, although program attendance was related to decreases in unsupervised socializing, the program did not attract many delinquency‐prone youths who were unsupervised, which suggests that the students most in need of the program did not benefit. Furthermore, data obtained from a mid‐year activity survey revealed that youth in the study were highly engaged in a variety of after‐school activities. The addition of the after‐school program into the mixture of available activities had little effect on the frequency with which students participated in organized activities after school.     

Leniency Program: A New Tool in Competition Policy to Deter Cartel Activity in Procurement Auctions

This paper discusses the impact of a leniency program on incentives within cartels. The objective of this program is to encourage a cartel member to confess and implicate his co-conspirators with hard evidence about their collusive agreement. We develop a simple model of cartel behavior under a first-price sealed-bid procurement auction and we show how an effective leniency program can prevent the internal coordination of cartel members.     

Bringing Practitioner Experience into the Classroom: The United Nations Intensive Summer Study Program

Diplomatic practitioners and policy makers represent an important, although frequently neglected, resource for teaching about international relations. The insights and stories provided by practitioners regarding key processes and events are often able to inspire our students to engage complex material and to play a much more active role in their own learning. While it is possible to argue that any type of practitioner contact is beneficial in terms of going beyond the material covered in textbooks, there are definite challenges associated with how to most effectively integrate these experiences with overall student learning. What type of format is most conducive to providing students with an insider's view? What type of preparation is required before contact with practitioners? How can student learning be evaluated in terms of assignments and debriefing activities? And finally, are traditional student feedback mechanisms appropriate for a course that involves a substantial practitioner component? This article investigates each of these challenges in the course of discussing one mechanism for bringing practitioner experience into the classroom, the United Nations Intensive Summer Study Program.     

俄罗斯远东发展生活资料市场的规划和措施

俄罗斯远东的买方市场是在生产能力不足而不是过剩的条件下形成的,许多消费品还依赖进口就是明证。俄罗斯国家和远东地方政府出台了一系列发展生活资料市场的规划和措施,但是远东消费品工业发展滞后的局面难以根本改观。     

论影视生态破坏的解决方案——反思《无极》剧组破坏香格里拉生态环境事件

拍摄影视作品破坏自然保护区生态环境是由自然保护区保护管理资金紧张、对自然保护区的利用缺乏相应的监督造成的。我国现有的法律体系没有对影视生态破坏问题做出合理的规制。建立以环境影响评价为前提的自然保护区社会性收费制度，辅以私人主体作为第三方力量的监督是解决这个问题的根本途径。     

Taking up Responsibility

正Chinese enterprises are slowly acting to have better corporate social responsibility programs in place On May 26,the China National Chemical Corp.(ChemChina),the country's largest chemical product manufacturer,released its corporate social responsibility (CSR) report in Beijing.The report highlighted the company's role as the main sponsor of the Chemical Industry Museum of China.     

注重培育高校大学生信息素养

一些大学生在面对新媒体产生的冗繁复杂的信息时，出现了信息i人知偏差、信息判断失误、信息道德失范等问题，不利于其正确价值观的形成与塑造。作为培养人、塑造人的高校，应从以下几方面加强大学生信息素养的培育：制订科学、有效的信息素养培育方案，建立健全系统的信息素养培育课程体系，探索开展信息素养培育的在线培养模式以及注重培育大学生的信息实践能力。     

Crucial Factors in Implementing Radical Policy Change: A Comparative Longitudinal Study of Nordic Central Agency Relocation Programs

Abstract

Why do public policies succeed or fail? The aim of this article is to contribute to answering this enduring research question in policy research through a comparative study of the variable efforts by Nordic governments to relocate their central agencies from the capital regions over a period of several decades. This was a radical redistributive policy program premised on a policy instrument – coercion – which was very alien to political systems characterized as consensual democracies. Hence, it is no surprise that only two out of seven relocation programs of any substance were successful. The really intriguing research question here is how any relocation program was achievable at all in a policy context where this was very unlikely. A broadly based multi-theoretical analytical framework linking interest groups, institutions, human agency in the form of policy entrepreneurship/design and situational factors is employed to solve this research puzzle. Findings from this study offer important contributions to the following research fields: comparative public policy, radical policy change and most specifically the so-called third generation of public policy implementation research.     

黑龙江省落实中俄两国地区合作《规划纲要》对策研究

中俄两国签订的合作规划纲要对黑龙江省的发展意义重大。一年多来,虽然黑龙江省落实纲要动作积极,但俄罗斯在纲要落实方面所表现出来的不稳定性一直困扰着双方合作的进一步发展。黑龙江省应以落实规划纲要为契机,结合"十二五"规划的战略目标,转变观念,确定思路,在新一轮的中俄区域合作中抢占先机。