Do changes in patent policy influence firms’ technology strategy? Evidence from manufacturing in India

India made patent policy changes to comply with TRIPs agreement that increased the rights of patent owners. Considering that such policy changes influence both in-house research and development investments and technology licensing from external sources, the firms have to accordingly devise their technology strategy. This study employs a simple and fixed effects multinomial logit regression models to study the impact of policy changes on the technology strategy of 402 firms operating in Indian manufacturing sector from 1999 to 2014. The results show that changes in patent policy have a significant impact on technology strategy of firms.     

日本漫画翻译技法初探——以特殊表记为中心

如所周知，特殊表记如今已经成为漫画不可或缺的部分。在创作漫画时加入英文表记和外来语表记能够丰富故事内容，使人物形象更为丰满，同时适当使用这些表记能够使漫画更加贴近年轻受众群体。但是在实际翻译漫画时，这些特殊的表记却极易被漫画的译者所忽视。通过从人物对白、特殊用语以及人名三方面入手，从实用角度结合具体案例探讨了日本漫画中英文表记、外来语表记的处理策略，认为应根据特殊表记出现的位置及作用来具体选择翻译方式，不应一概而论。     

工程质量政府监督多层次利益分配与激励协同机制探究

The implementation of the government supervision of the quality of the project is an international practice. The basic form of government supervision of engineering quality is government supervision on the quality behavior of the engineering main bodies and its results by the competent government department entrusted. Its essence is a dual principal-agent process. The frequent accidents of the engineering quality reflect the loss and failure of the government law enforcement supervision of the engineering quality to some extent. Its root lies in the lack of endogenous power in the law enforcement supervision of the project quality government supervisors in the law enforcement supervision. Therefore, the incentive coordination mechanism of the government supervision based on the multi-level interest distribution is worth explored. In views of the multi-level management system which is formed by the government departments, government quality supervision organizations, quality supervision team (or group) for the government supervision of engineering quality. The benefit distribution function between every party is constructed, and the game model of the multi-level incentive and coordination for the government supervision in engineering quality is built. To solve and deduce from the first stage of the cooperative game and the second stage of the non-cooperative game, the cooperative game can obtain the reward coefficient: . The coordination degree of the best effort can be obtained by the non cooperative game. The result shows that:the coordination degree of government engineering quality supervisor is related to the coordination costs, and had nothing to do with fixed costs. The benefit distribution coefficient not only depends on the efforts of the quality government monitors, but also on the efficiency of other parties' efforts. The quality supervisors of the project will also focus on the coordination with other parties when enhancing their management capabilities to improve the overall performance of project quality government supervision. The strategy of the incentive coordination mechanism for the supervision and cooperation of the project quality government is:the government quality supervision team should set up the supervisory team properly, improve the coordination efficiency and reduce the cost of supervision-coordination to maximize the value of self-motivation. Quality supervision team (or group) should establish the partnership to improve the coordination efficiency for achieving the maximization of their own incentive value.The model and conclusion of incentive synergy mechanism based on multi-level benefit allocation mechanism are researched. It can provide theoretical support and practice reference for the market governance and supervision of general public goods.     

Agent‐Based Recovery Model for Seismic Resilience Evaluation of Electrified Communities

In this article, an agent‐based framework to quantify the seismic resilience of an electric power supply system (EPSS) and the community it serves is presented. Within the framework, the loss and restoration of the EPSS power generation and delivery capacity and of the power demand from the served community are used to assess the electric power deficit during the damage absorption and recovery processes. Damage to the components of the EPSS and of the community‐built environment is evaluated using the seismic fragility functions. The restoration of the community electric power demand is evaluated using the seismic recovery functions. However, the postearthquake EPSS recovery process is modeled using an agent‐based model with two agents, the EPSS Operator and the Community Administrator. The resilience of the EPSS–community system is quantified using direct, EPSS‐related, societal, and community‐related indicators. Parametric studies are carried out to quantify the influence of different seismic hazard scenarios, agent characteristics, and power dispatch strategies on the EPSS–community seismic resilience. The use of the agent‐based modeling framework enabled a rational formulation of the postearthquake recovery phase and highlighted the interaction between the EPSS and the community in the recovery process not quantified in resilience models developed to date. Furthermore, it shows that the resilience of different community sectors can be enhanced by different power dispatch strategies. The proposed agent‐based EPSS–community system resilience quantification framework can be used to develop better community and infrastructure system risk governance policies.     

The (non-)application of blockchain technology in the Greek shipping industry

The implementation of blockchain technology (BCT) is gaining traction in supply chain networks, revolutionising the operation of contemporary supply chains and reshaping the potential of business relationships. Empirical studies on blockchain adoption are scant because implementation across networks is in fairly early phase of development, yet evidence from empirical studies is highly desirable. This is one of the first studies of blockchain adoption in the Greek shipping industry, which has not so far been examined by the literature, in direct comparison to early adopters in other European countries such as Norway. The research examined eight Greek shipping companies using workshops with experienced supply chain personnel. Qualitative analysis identified the current position of these organisations in terms of blockchain adoption, by considering possible benefits and inhibitors to implementation. Despite benefits of automated processes and reduced paperwork as a result of smart contracts, findings show a reluctance to adopt BCT. That is, enterprise resource planning (ERP) transformations have left organisations fatigued and disinclined towards further systems development and resistant to subsequent change. Also, the exposure of shared information in the shipping nexus is considered to cause a threat to competitive survival.     

英格兰数理精英教师培养及启示——基于“未来教学学者”计划

英格兰政府针对国内中小学数学和物理等学科专业教师紧缺、学生数理成绩较差的现状，推出了"未来教学学者"（Future Teaching Scholars）精英教师培养计划。这一专项教师培养计划旨在通过严格的选拔标准、系统的培养方案、丰厚的奖学金与助学金以及明确的教师未来职业发展规划，吸引高质量的本科生积极参与，从而提高英格兰数理学科教师的专业水平及学生的数理学科成绩。英格兰政府为改善特定科目和偏远地区学校教师质量而开展的专项教师培养项目为我国相关教师的培养工作提供了积极借鉴：创新教师教育培养模式，提高师范生教学实践能力；充分发挥地方师范院校的主体作用，保障特定地区教师供应；提高师范生选拔标准，促进教师队伍整体质量提升。     

基于消费者效用的生鲜农产品供应链生鲜度激励机制研究

生鲜供应链整体生鲜度的提升对减少浪费、提高供应链整体盈利水平及社会福利有重要意义。本文基于消费者效用理论研究了两供应商和单一零售商组成的供应链系统，构建了单周期下生鲜农产品生鲜度激励模型，模型以供应商为领导者，采用Stackelberg博弈方法求解得到了均衡状态下供应商、零售商的最优定价策略及供应商新鲜度努力选择。研究结果表明，供应商和零售商利润与消费者价格敏感系数呈反向变化，与新鲜度敏感系数呈同向变化。在价格竞争市场，供应商保鲜努力程度和利润与价格替代率呈反向变化；在生鲜度竞争市场，供应商保鲜努力程度和利润与新鲜度替代率呈同向变化。基于研究结论，厂商及政府应当联手引导消费者的消费观念，尽可能减少由于信息不对称引致的道德风险，在市场价格替代率不变甚至降低的情形下，提高生鲜度替代率，使得消费者的意愿支付价格上升，提高自身讨价还价能力，获取更多利润。     

三河古镇空间肌理与情态浅析

以历史文化名镇三河古镇为研究对象，以历史资料与现场调研为依据，从自然历史形成因素出发，对三河古镇空间肌理进行分析，探讨古镇选址与布局、街巷格局、建筑风貌以及人文情态的基本特征，并针对三河古镇当前存在的空间氛围破坏、传统意境流失等问题提出若干对策，为恢复古镇昔日活力，更好地建设和营造现代人居环境提供一定的启发与借鉴。     

“印太”背景下的印日合作

"印太"概念经历了从地缘术语向战略构想的演变,且域内各国基于本国利益塑造"印太"构想的进程尚未结束,这使得相关研究需要不断转换视角并注重动态追踪。莫迪执政后,印度和日本升级两国战略伙伴关系,完善各层级对话机制,共同推动区域连通性与基础设施建设,并提出"亚非增长走廊"愿景。在深化海洋安全合作的基础上,实现军事演习全面覆盖与装备技术合作的纵深发展,注重地区问题的立场协调与强化美印日、美印日澳等多边磋商机制。"印太"发展契机、两国战略目标驱动、制衡中国需求以及美国战略推动构成了印日战略合作的基本动因。得益于双方战略对接的深入和适宜的国内政治环境,印日深化战略合作的势头还将持续,表现在防务合作模式的多元化和加速布局"印太"基建项目的趋势。国内条件限制、"印太"战略差异以及国际局势影响等制约性因素也给两国合作前景带来挑战。