'Someone to welcome you home' : Infertility, medicines and the Sukuma-Nyamwezi

This study Someone to Welcome you home: Infertility, medicines and the Sukuma-Nyamwezi , looks into the change in the cosmological ideology of the Sukuma-Nyamwezi of Tanzania and into the consequences of this change as expressed through cultural practices connected to female infertility. This analysis is based on 15 months of fieldwork in Isaka, in the Shinyanga area. In this area the birth rate is high and at the same time infertility is a problem for individual women. The attitudes connected to fertility and the attempts to control fertility provide a window onto social and cultural changes in the area. Even though the practices connected to fertility seem to be individualized the problem of individual women - the discourse surrounding fertility is concerned with higher cosmological levels. The traditional cosmology emphasized the centrality of the chief as the source of well-being. He was responsible for rain and the fertility of the land and, thus, for the well-being of the whole society. The holistic cosmology was hierarchical and the ritual practices connected to chiefship which dealt with the whole of the society were recursively applied at the lower levels of hierarchy, in the relationships between individuals. As on consequence of changes in the political system, the chiefship was legally abolished in the early years of Independence. However, the holistic ideology, which was the basis of the chiefship, did not disappear and instead acquired new forms. It is argued that in African societies the common efflorence of diviner-healers and witchcraft can be a consequence of the change in the relationship between the social reality and the cosmological ideology. In the Africanist research the increase in the numbers of diviner-healers and witchcraft is usually seen as a consequence of individualism and modernization. In this research, however, it is seen as an altered form of holism, as a consequence of which the hierarchical relations between women and men have changed. Because of this, the present-day practices connected to reproduction pay special attention to the control of women s sexuality.

Patent Price Dynamics in the Context of Patent Age and Patent Latent Variables

The decision to patent a technology is a difficult one to make for the top management of any organization. The expected value that the patent might deliver in the market is an important factor that impacts this judgement. Earlier researchers have suggested that patent prices are better indicators of value of a patent and that auction prices are the best way of determining value. However, the lack of public data on pricing has prevented research on understanding the dynamics of patent pricing. Our paper uses singleton patent auction price data of Ocean Tomo LLC to study the prices of patents. We describe price characteristics of these patents. The price of these patents was correlated with their age, and a significant correlation was found. A price - age matrix was developed and we describe the price characteristics of patents using four quadrants of the matrix, namely young and old patents with low and high prices. We also found that patents owned by small firms get transacted more often and inventor owned patents attracted a better price than assignee owned patents.

From polarization to convergence: need to mend the broken patent system

For more than two hundred years, the world has discussed the issue of whether to continue the process of patenting or whether to do away with it. Developed countries remain polarized for various reasons but nevertheless the pro patent regime continued. The result was a huge volume of patents. The present article explains the implications of excessive volume of patents and conditions under which prior art search fails. This article highlights the importance and necessity of standardization efforts so as to bring about convergence of views on patenting.

Dynamics between patent latent variables and patent price

This paper focuses on studying the relationship between patent latent variables and patent price. From the existing literature, seven patent latent variables, namely age, generality, originality, foreign filings, technology field, forward citations, and backward citations were identified as having an influence on patent value. We used Ocean Tomo's patent auction price data in this study. We transformed the price and the predictor variables (excluding the dummy variables) to its logarithmic value. The OLS estimates revealed that forward citations and foreign filings were positively correlated to price. Both the variables jointly explained 14.79% of the variance in patent pricing. We did not find sufficient evidence to come up with any definite conclusions on the relationship between price and the variables such as age, technology field, generality, backward citations and originality. The Heckman two-stage sample selection model was used to test for selection bias. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patent intelligence and its implications for patent productivity

The prevailing hypercompetitive environment has made it essential for organizations to gather competitive intelligence from environmental scanning. The knowledge gained leads to organizational learning, which stimulates increased patent productivity. This paper highlights five practices that aid in developing patenting intelligence and empirically verifies to what extent this organizational learning leads to knowledge gains and financial gains realized from consequent higher patent productivity. The model is validated based on the perceptions of professionals with patenting experience from two of the most aggressively patenting sectors in today’s economy, viz., IT and pharmaceutical sectors (n=119). The key finding of our study suggests that although organizational learning from environmental scanning exists, the application of this knowledge for increasing patent productivity lacks due appreciation. This missing link in strategic analysis and strategy implementation has serious implications for managers which are briefly discussed in this paper.

Herbal medicines used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Arunachal Himalaya, northeast, India

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Medicinal plants have played an important role in treating and preventing a variety of diseases throughout the world. Khampti tribal people living in the far-flung Lohit district of the Eastern Arunachal Himalaya, India still depend on medicinal plants and most of them have a general knowledge of medicinal plants which are used for treating a variety of ailments. This survey was undertaken in Lohit district in order to inventory the medicinal plants used in folk medicine to treat diabetes mellitus. Materials and methods: Field investigations were conducted in seventeen remote villages of Lohit district starting from April 2002 to May 2004 through interviews among 251 key informants who were selected randomly during our household survey. To elucidate community domains and determine differences in indigenous traditional knowledge of medicinal plants with anti-diabetic efficacy, we repeated our field survey starting from April 2008 to May 2010 with one hundred traditional healers locally called as ``Chau ya'' in Khampti of Lohit district. ``Chau ya'' traditional healers who know and use medicinal plants for treating diabetes mellitus were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: This study reports an ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh reputed for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Forty-six plant species were identified in the study area to treat diabetes mellitus by the Khamptis ``Chau ya'' traditional healers. Comparative published literature survey analysis of this study with other ethnobotanical surveys of plants used traditionally in treating diabetes mellitus suggests that eleven plant species make claims of new reports on antidiabetic efficacy. These plant species are Begonia roxburghii, Calamus tenuis, Callicarpa arborea, Cuscuta reflexa, Dillenia indica, Diplazium esculentum, Lectuca gracilis, Millingtonia hortensis, Oxalis griffithii, Saccharum spontaneum, and Solanum viarum. Some of the plants reported in this study have an antidiabetic effect on rodent models but none have sufficient clinical evidence of effectiveness. Conclusions: The wide variety of medicinal plants that are used to treat diabetes mellitus in this area supports the importance of plants in the primary healthcare system of the rural people of Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. The finding of new plant uses in the current study reveals the importance of the documentation of such ethnobotanical knowledge. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Standardizing Patent Data Cleaning in a University Technology Transfer Office

There are multiple goals of a technology transfer office (TTO) based in a university system. Whilst commercialization is a critical goal, maintenance and cleaning of the TTO's database needs detailing. Literature in the area is scarce and only some researchers make reference to TTO data cleaning. During an attempt to understand the commercial strategy of a university TTO in Bangalore the challenge of data cleaning was encountered. This paper describes a case study of data cleaning at an Indian university based TTO. 382 patent records were analyzed in the study. The case study first describes the back ground of the university system. Second, the method to clean the data and the experiences encountered are highlighted. Insights drawn indicate that patent data cleaning in a TTO is a specialized area which needs attention. Overlooking this activity can have legal implications and may result in an inability to commercialize the patent. Two levels of patent data cleaning are discussed in this case study. Best practices of data cleaning in academic TTOs are discussed.

Exploring Technology Evolution Using Patent Classification: A Case of Cochlear Implant Technology Patents

Understanding technology evolution through periodic landscaping is an important stage of strategic planning in R&D Management. In fields like that of healthcare, where the initial R&D investment is huge and good medical product serve patients better, these activities become crucial. Approximately five percentage of the world population has hearing disabilities. Current hearing aid products meet less than ten percent of the global needs. Patent data and classifications on cochlear implants from 1977-2010, show the landscapes and evolution in the area of such implant. We attempt to highlight emergence and disappearance of patent classes over period of time showing variations in cochlear implant technologies. A network analysis technique is used to explore and capture technology evolution in patent classes showing what emerged or disappeared over time. Dominant classes are identified. The sporadic influence of university research in cochlear implants is also discussed.

Brazil’s patent reform : innovation towards national competitiveness

Adaptação para a língua inglesa da obra “A revisão da lei de patentes: inovação em prol da competitividade nacional