International Initiatives for Regulating Access to Genetic Resources

In light of the various international instruments and international agencies that are actively engaged in resolving the issue of ABS, the present work tries to find an answer to the larger question how far the above agencies have succeeded in regulating access and make sure of benefit sharing. In this process, the work comprehensively analyses the work of different agencies involved in the process. It tries to find out the major obstacles that stand in the way of fulfilment of the benefit sharing objective and proposes the ways and means to tackle them. The study first traces the legal foundations of the concept of property in GRs and associated TK.For this, it starts with analysis of the nature of property and the questions related to ownership in GRs as contained in the CBD as well as in various State legislations. It further examines the notion of property before and after the enactment of the CBD and establishes that the CBD contains strong private property jurisprudence.Based on the theoretical foundation of private property right,Chapter 3 analyses the benefit sharing mechanism of the CBD, i.e. the Nagoya Protocol. It searches for a theoretical convergence of the notion of property as reflected in the two instruments and successfully establishes the same. It makes an appraisal of the Nagoya regime to find out how far it has gone beyond the CBD in ensuring the task of benefit sharing and the impediments in its way.Realizing that the ITPGRFA forms part of the CBD system, Chapter 4 analyses the benefit sharing structure of ITPGRFA as revealed through its multilateral system. This gives the work the benefit of comparing two different benefit sharing models operating on the same philosophy of property. This chapter tries to find out whether there is conceptual coherence in the notion of property when the benefit sharing model changes. It alsocompares the merits and demerits of both the systems and tries to locate the hurdles in achieving benefit sharing. Aware of the legal impediments caused by IPRs in the process of ABS, Chapter 5 tries to explore the linkages between IPRs and GRs and associated TK and assesses why contract-based CBD system fails before the monopoly rights under TRIPS. Chapter 6 analyses the different solutions suggested by the international community at the TRIPS Council as well as the WIPO (World Intellectual property Organisation) and examines their effectiveness. Chapter 7 concludes that considering the inability of the present IP system to understand the grass root realities of the indigenous communities as well as the varying situations of the country of origin, the best possible way to recognise the CBD goals in the TRIPS could be better achieved through linking the two instruments by means of the triple disclosure requirement in Article 29 as suggested by the Disclosure Group during the TRIPS Council deliberations. It also recommends that considering the nature of property in GR, a new section/chapter in the TRIPS dealing with GRs would be another workable solution.

Exceptions and Limitations to Intellectual Property Rights with Special Reference to Patent and Copyright Law

This thesis entitled Exceptions and limitations to intellectual property rights with special reference to patent and copyright law.The study on the limitations and exceptions to copyright and patent was mainly characterized by its diversity and flexibility. The unique feature of limited monopoly appended to intellectual property was always a matter of wide controversy.The historical analysis substantiated this instrumentalist philosophy of intellectual property.the study from a legal space characterized by diversity and flexibility and end up in that legal space being characterized by homogeneity and standardization. The issue of flexibility and restrictiveness in the context of TRIPS is the next challenging task. Before devising flexibility to TST, the question to be answered is whether such a mechanism is desirable in the context of TRIPS.In conclusion it is submitted to reorient the intellectual property framework in the context of the noble public interest objectives.

A study of the cost structure of the cashew industry in kerala, karnataka and tamilnadu

Since the world demand for cashew kernels has been rising steadily for several years in the past, conferring significant price increase the processing of cashew remains a highly profitable lndustry. India being the earliest and largest supplier of cashew kernels in the world market it is our prestigious obligations to reestablish her pristine monopoly. Further the added importance ot the indutry in the Socio economic context of the State of Kerala makes various measures impervative in order to bring back to the industry its pristine glory at the late sixties to give a face lift and to stabilize the industry. This present study adopts a comprehensive frame work of analysis compassing the major issues involved in the cultivation, distribution, import, processing and marketing of cashew undcr the private and public sector, migration of the industry and the financial requirements of the industry.

Marketing orientation of small Firms- a study with reference to Trivandrum district

The small business has attracted very little attention of the historians in the ancient times, or public mind inspite of the fact that its impact on the various civilisations has been phenominal. Even in recent times economists considered the small firms as inappropriate, obselate and anacronistic as it cannot assimilate the full potential of technological change in the production system. But today everybody agrees that the small business has a definite role in shaping the human destiny and enhancing the quality of life in any society. In a developing country like India small firms are necessary to generate employment for millions, high standared of personal choice to consumers, provide competition and act as a check to monopoly power; further the small firms provide an important source of innovation and in turn it paves the way for entrepreneur development in the society. In many countries the small enterprises played a significant role in the growth and development of their economic system. Italy and Japan are quoted as classic examples . In India, too, with the abundance of labour and scarce capital resources small firms have been promoted and protected by the government. But one must say that the small firm owners/managers in India have been shy in developing a market orientation in themeselves. Due to this many firms failed and closed. The alarming rate of sickness among the small firms in India may be attributed to the lack of market driven/customer orientation approach among the owner/managers of small business. So the study on the market oreintation of the small firms has never been in the mind of marketing experts and academicians. Thus, an attempt is made to enquire into them systematically and scientifically. For the study, Trivandrum district in Kerala has been selected. The data for the study has been collected by the help of a schedule which has been prepared after consulting the relevant literature and after consultation with experts in the field, academicians and practising managers.

Conceptualisation Of Model For Studying Consumer Purchase Behaviour Of Passenger Cars

Automobile Industry in India is influenced by the presence of national and multi-national manufacturers. The presence of many manufacturers and brands in the state provides many choices to the customer. The current market for car manufacturers has been transformed from a monopoly of one or two manufacturers in the seventies to oligopoly of many manufacturers in the current marketing scenario. The main objective of the research paper is to explore and conceptualize various parameters and develop a model, which influence the purchase patterns of passenger cars in the State of Kerala. Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to come up with a model, which shall facilitate further study on the consumer purchase behaviour patterns of passenger car owners in the State of Kerala, India. The author intends to undertake further quantitative analysis to verify and validate the model so developed. The main methods used for this paper are secondary research on available material, depth interview of car dealers, car financing agencies and car owners in the city of Cochin, in Kerala State in India. The depth interviews were conducted with the use of prepared questionnaire for car dealers, car customers and car financing agencies. The findings resulted in the identification of the parameters that influence the consumer purchase behaviour of passenger cars and the formulation of the model, which will be the basis for the further research of the author. The paper will be of tremendous value to the existing and new car manufacturers both indigenous and foreign, to formalize and strategies their policies towards an effective marketing strategy, so as to market their models in the State, which is known for its high literacy, consumerism and higher educational penetration

Vertikale Integrationsstrukturen kommunaler Verkehrsunternehmen : eine transaktionskostentheoretische Evaluation

Der Markt für öffentlichen Personennahverkehr (ÖPNV) wird liberalisiert, in die gewachsenen Monopolstrukturen werden Marktmechanismen implementiert. Ziel der neuen ordnungspolitischen Rahmenbedingungen ist die Steigerung der Effizienz des defizitären Verkehrsbereichs, der von kommunalen Verkehrsunternehmen dominiert wird. Diese erbringen als Quasi-Monopolisten traditionell die Verkehrsdurchführung, regelmäßig anfallende Defizite werden von der öffentlichen Hand ausgeglichen. Bedingt durch ihre Leistungsstrukturen sind kommunale Verkehrsunternehmen in einem Wettbewerbsmarkt kaum konkurrenzfähig. Charakteristisch für diesen Unternehmenstyp ist der hohe Grad an vertikal integrierten Wertschöpfungsstufen. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Branchen erbringen kommunale Verkehrsunternehmen die wesentlichen Teile der gesamten ÖPNV-Wertschöpfungskette innerhalb der eigenen Unternehmensgrenzen. An dem hohen vertikalen Integrationsgrad setzt die Untersuchung an. Mit dem von Williamson entwickelten Instrumentarium der Transaktionskostentheorie werden die Leistungsbereiche einer transaktionskostentheoretischen Bewertung unterzogen. Als Alternativen zum institutionellen Arrangement der vertikalen Integration – das als Hierarchie bezeichnet wird – stehen die Arrangements Kooperation und Markt zur Verfügung. Die Bewertung zeigt, welche Leistungsbereiche unter transaktionskostentheoretischen Gesichtspunkten hierarchisch institutionalisiert werden sollten und welche alternativ erbracht werden können. Aus den Ergebnissen werden Strategieempfehlungen abgeleitet, die als Arbeitshypothesen einer anschließenden empirischen Überprüfung unterzogen werden. Die befragten ÖPNV-Experten bewerten somit die Marktfähigkeit der Strategieempfehlungen. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse werden für die Erarbeitung eines alternativen Koordinierungsarrangements für kommunale Verkehrsunternehmen herangezogen. Das Modell basiert auf der Grundlage Strategischer Netzwerke. Kommunale Verkehrsunternehmen nehmen in dem Modell die Rolle des Nukleus ein, der eine Vielzahl von Netzwerkpartnern steuert und für die Erbringung der ÖPNV-Leistungen mit diesen kooperiert.

Continuation and discontinuation of local institution in community based natural resource management

Currently the push toward frontier areas, which until twenty years ago were still largely untouched by commercial agriculture, is taking place on a massive scale. This push is being driven not the least by global economic developments, such as the price increase of agriculture commodities like coffee and cocoa. In most cases the indigenous communities become trapped between the state monopoly in natural resource management and the competition for resources by external actors. In this processes the indigenous communities start to lose their access to resources. Another victim in this process is the environment where the natural resources are imbedded. International and national organizations working to conserve environment have became conscious of the important role that indigenous people could fulfill as partners in this endeavour. This partnership in struggle has produced a new discourse on the relationship between indigenous people and their environment. As a further consequence, programs were set up to develop what became known as Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) with its numerous variations. Based on a case study in a village on the eastern border of the Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi, this study questioned the basic assumption behind the concept of Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). Namely the assumption that communities living at the margin of forest are socially and culturally homogenous, still more or less egalitarian, and basically living in harmony with their natural environment. This study was inspired by the persistent critique – although still a minority – on the basic assumption the CBNRM from academicians and practitioners working through the Entitlement perspective. Another inspiration was the mounting critique toward the participatory approach. In its effort the study explore further the usefulness of certain approaches. One of the approach much relied on in this study was the local history of the community studied, through exerting oral and local written documents on local history, legends and local stories. These sources proofed quite capable in bringing the local history into the light. Another was the actor oriented approach, which later came to be supported by the concept of Social Pool Resources. The latter concept proofed to be useful as analytical instrument to integrate social institutions and the common pool resources, as a field of action for the different actors as human agencies.

How do domestic policies affect the integration of Ethiopian fertiliser markets with world markets?

Frequent shifts in policy on fertiliser markets have occurred in Ethiopia with the aim of facilitating both physical and economic access of farmers to fertiliser. The last shift was the introduction of a monopoly on each stage of the supply chain in 2008. Furthermore, government control of prices and margins as well as stockholding programmes are also present on the markets. This paper evaluates the effect of these policies on the integration of domestic with world markets of fertiliser, using cointegration methods. Time series data of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea prices on world, import and retail markets between 1971 and 2012 are used. The findings show high transmission of price signals from world markets to import prices for both DAP and urea. However, between import and retail prices there is no evidence of cointegration for urea, while for DAP full price transmission is concluded. In the retail market, domestic transaction costs associated with storing large volumes of fertiliser act as a buffer between import and retail prices, especially for urea. Therefore, economic benefits could be achieved by reducing the size of stocks and revising the demand estimation process.

Prices versus exams as strategic instruments for competing universities

In this paper we investigate the optimal choice of prices and/or exams by universities in the presence of credit constraints. We first compare the optimal behavior of a public, welfare maximizing, monopoly and a private, profit maximizing, monopoly. Then we model competition between a public and a private institution and investigate the new role of exams/prices in this environment. We find that, under certain circumstances, the public university may have an interest to raise tuition fees from minimum levels if it cares for global welfare. This will be the case provided that (i) the private institution has higher quality and uses only prices to select applicants, or (ii) the private institution has lower quality and uses also exams to select students. When this is the case, there are efficiency grounds for raising public prices

Las empresas militares privadas y su repercusión en el régimen internacional sobre el uso de la fuerza

En esta monografía de grado se analiza el uso de empresas militares privadas en escenario de conflictos bélicos y su repercusión en el régimen internacional sobre el uso de la fuerza. Las empresas militares privadas son organizaciones que operan hoy en día a escala global y que se especializan en proveer diversas capacidades militares. Desde comienzos de los años noventa y a raíz del nuevo orden mundial posguerra fría, éstas han estado activas en múltiples zonas de conflicto alrededor del mundo. En esta investigación se evidencia que el régimen internacional que regula el uso de la fuerza es limitado, debido a que no responsabiliza a actores privados (no estatales), como lo son las empresas militares privadas. Se trata, entonces, de un análisis de los mecanismos que ha adoptado la comunidad internacional para hacer frente a este fenómeno, teniendo en cuenta que hoy en día, el monopolio del uso de la fuerza no es competencia única de los Estados.

Efecto de la competencia en la escogencia de estándares educativos

En la literatura económica no se ha estudiado como la competencia entre las instituciones educativas afecta específicamente la escogencia de estándares educativos y el valor de matrícula. Usando un modelo teórico analizo como la competencia entre las instituciones educativas afectan la escogencia de estándares académicos, comparando la solución en competencia con la solución eficiente y la solución de monopolio. Los individuos son heterogéneos y se diferencian en su habilidad, las instituciones educativas compiten estableciendo en una primera etapa el estándar educativo, y en una segunda etapa el valor de matrícula. Una vez definidos los estándares y los valores de matrícula, estos son información pública, permitiendo a los individuos escoger entre ingresar o no a una institución educativa o a que institución educativa ingresar de acuerdo a la habilidad innata y al costo asociado al esfuerzo. En los resultados se muestra que el bienestar social aumenta cuando en la economía existe más de una institución educativa con estándares diferentes, y la solución de mercado, en monopolio o en competencia, obliga a los estudiantes a ejercer un mayor esfuerzo para alcanzar el título. Independiente a la relación de costos, el valor de matrícula es siempre mayor para la institución con estándar educativo más alto, y mayor en la solución de mercado. Cuando el costo unitario de la institución con estándar más alto es mayor o igual al costo de la institución con menor estándar, los estándares educativos escogidos por el planificador son mayores y el esfuerzo requerido por los individuos es menor respecto a la solución de mercado.

Las interacciones organizacionales desde la visión ecológica: la depredación

Bajo la investigación “LAS INTERACCIONES ORGANIZACIONALES DESDE LA VISIÓN ECOLOGICA: LA DEPREDACIÓN” que hace parte del trabajo de doctorado de la Señora Ángela Noguera, se encuentra en este documento un avance que describe la relación que se ha encontrado en diversas fuentes en cuanto a la relación entre el concepto biológico de “Depredación” y las organizaciones tal como las conocemos hoy en día. Es un trabajo donde se realizan resúmenes de las investigaciones ya existentes sobre estos temas, es decir un estado del arte.

Economía institucional de la intervención urbanística estatal

La intervención urbanística del Estado es insustituible. En primer lugar porque el capital privado no está dispuesto a asumir el riesgo de depreciación virtual inherente a la provisión de bienes públicos. Tampoco ha alcanzado los  niveles de acumulación previa que de manera individual estén en capacidad de reemplazar los esfuerzos colectivos que se deben movilizar para tal efecto. Es por ello que estratégicamente el capital privado ha seducido al público con la idea de la eficiencia de las alianzas público-privadas y la gobernanza. En segundo lugar porque el mercado inmobiliario residencial formal es un mercado segmentado e imperfecto en el que el poder de mercado de los estructuradores urbanos y metropolitanos alcanza niveles cuasi-monopólicos. Por tanto, y siguiendo a Commons, la regulación y el control de la oferta inmobiliaria residencial incide positivamente en la ampliación de la libertad en la producción y en la elección de localización de las familias que habitan en las metrópolis. Un orden menos segregado que el perseverante se torna posible. Este trabajo se ocupa de analizar, desde una perspectiva teórica pluridisciplinar como la economía institucional urbana, las posibilidades e instrumentos con que se cuenta para alcanzar tal orden.

cultural field of the seventeenth century in Spain and New Granada

The article aims to make visible some nuances of the 17TH century in Spain and the New Granada with emphasis on articulations and tensions that made up this cultural and social space through the analysis of the letrados and its position in the Hispanic cultural field of the 16th and 17TH centuries. This article also discusses the traditional thesis about the cultural isolation and obscurantism in the American colonies before the eighteenth century through the analysis of the circulation of books and knowledge between mainland Spain and its colonies, and the heterogeneous character of the lawyers that affect the symbolic monopoly of the Catholic Church.

Perdurabilidad empresarial: concepto y significados

Los grandes aportes generados por las antiguas civilizaciones y los filósofos más destacados a lo largo del tiempo, permiten entender la procedencia de algunos términos de los que hoy en día se hace uso. Estas contribuciones comienzan a través de la concepción del término tiempo, desde la antigüedad hasta los tiempos modernos, las cuales conllevan a entender que el tiempo es aquel que define la durabilidad de las cosas. De acuerdo a esto, se propone un acercamiento sobre el origen del término perdurabilidad, el cual será la base de la presente investigación. Entender la procedencia del término y el uso que se le da a sí mismo, facilita la aplicación el ámbito empresarial; el cual, a partir de diferentes posturas de autores nacionales e internacionales y basados en los parámetros que ha establecido la Universidad del Rosario, se establece un marco teórico de apoyo para futuras investigaciones dedicadas a la perdurabilidad empresarial. Asimismo, se establecen o se plasman algunos principios o factores de éxito que ayudan a que una empresa logre traspasar fronteras en tiempo y en rentabilidad; es decir que no solo permanezca muchos años en el mercado, sino que además se mantenga en constante crecimiento y rentabilidad.