Domestic patents and developing countries: arguments for their study and data from Brazil (1980–1995)

This paper presents data from Brazilian Patent Office (Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial, INPI) and compares them with data from the United States Patent Office (USPTO). Developing countries have technological activities that are important locally but not significant at international level (imitation, local learning, adaptation of foreign innovations). These activities might be patentable only at national level. Therefore, the study of domestic patents of developing countries provides a broader picture than USPTO patents. This paper compares 8309 INPI patents with 475 USPTO patents (between 1980 and 1995). Domestic patent data show peculiarities in the Brazilian case, possibly shared with other countries in similar technological level: (a) high share of individual patents; (b) foreign-owned firms with important activities; (c) low firm involvement in R&D activities. Some characteristics are shared with developed countries: (a) domestic firms as the major patentees; (b) according to firm size, there is a U-shaped distribution of patents; (c) evidences of multi-technology large firms; (d) a relatively small share of firms have more than one patent in the whole period. The contrast between USPTO and national patenting statistics shows different rankings according to ownership structure, leading firms, industrial sectors, and international patent classification. These differences highlight sources of international competitiveness and point to weaknesses in Brazilian innovative activities. This paper concludes evaluating the contributions (and weaknesses) of this database for the evaluation of the Brazilian National System of Innovation.     

A control problem with structural choices

The case is considered in which, during the operation of an optimal control system, the optimizer, in addition to applying his usual control, may switch structures. Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived and emphasis is placed on the special characteristics of this problem. Continuous and discrete time set-ups are considered and the separation principle is shown not to hold for the linear quadratic case in the presence of noise.     

Evaluating Strategic Approaches to Competitive Displacement: The Case of the U.S. Newspaper Industry

The concept of competitive displacement is central to theories of media evolution, and the threat that the Internet has posed to printed newspapers provides an ongoing case study on the topic. In particular, this situation offers an opportunity to examine the strategic efforts of print newspapers to prevent competitive displacement, as well as the effectiveness of these strategies. This article addresses these issues through an analysis of a unique data set, constructed from 20 years of newspaper circulation data, as well as data on local market characteristics, newspaper staffing and content variety, and state-level Internet penetration. Specifically, this article examines whether, and to what extent, these competitive strategies impacted local print newspaper circulation trends over this 20-year time period. This analysis focuses on the following strategic responses: (a) newspapers’ launching of online versions (a diversification strategy within the language of media evolution literature); and (b) newspapers’ efforts to cover a greater variety of subject areas, as measured by the number of editors and special editorial sections produced. (The authors characterize these as a “mimicking” strategy from media evolution literature, as this strategy essentially represents an effort to simulate the much greater content variety that readers can find online). This article examines the relationships between these circulation, strategic, and Internet penetration variables over a 20-year time period, while also taking into account relevant characteristics of local newspaper markets.     

Group identification in early adolescence: its relation with peer adjustment and its moderator effect on peer influence

This study was conducted to test whether group identification (importance of the group to the individual) covaried with individual-group similarity on problem behavior; and whether group identification moderated peer group influence on the individual's development of delinquent behavior across a 1-year period. The level of reciprocated nominations within the individual's self-nominated group was controlled for in all analyses. Participants were 190 sixth and seventh graders (during the first year of the study) from the north of Italy. Level of reciprocated nominations within the group, but not identification, was found to covary with individual-group behavioral similarity (group behavior interacted with reciprocity of group nominations in predicting individual behavior). Group identification, but not reciprocated nominations, was found to moderate peer group influence on the individual's change in delinquent behavior, across 1 year. The individual's peer status within the classroom, level of reciprocated nominations, and gender all were related to the individual's level of group identification. Results are discussed in terms of understanding peer group influence on the individual.