美国专利法的演变-从宽松到限制

美国是世界上最早建立专利制度的国家之一,殖民地时期已有专利授权。自1790年颁布专利成文法至今,审视立法及司法过程,由专利主题、授权标准、专利效力质疑难易、侵权保护强弱等几个维度考察,美国专利法大体上经历了宽松、平衡、扩张、限制的演变过程。成文法与判例法并非完全同步,在某个阶段判例法会对成文法加以修改或完善,修订的成文法则对判例法的理念和规则加以吸收。专利政策的调整与其经济、科技发展状况密切相关。     

论堕胎权的合理限制

生育权作为一项基本人权包含着堕胎权。堕胎权的确认是妇女运动的进步,有利于妇女从性别角色中解放出来。对堕胎权的适当限制可以促进堕胎权的发展,但是不适当限制也有可能加重或者侵犯妇女的合法权益。文章从堕胎权的概念出发,分析了中国有关地区地方性法规对堕胎权限制的不合理性,提出适当的限制堕胎权与中国的计划生育政策一致,但是应当注意比例原则,侧重保护妇女的合法权益,并且应当综合运用多种手段。     

中国古代经略海洋的成就与局限

人们习惯于把中国称之"大陆国家",但此说有失偏颇,而此一偏颇正透露出传统的大陆—农耕文明对海洋、海权的忽略。中国其实是一个负陆面海、陆海兼备的国度,与西方国家大相径庭,中国人对海洋的认识和情感,显示了一种"大陆民族"的特有风格。古代中国素以经营陆疆著称,其实,先民也曾开辟颇具声色的海洋业绩,并在16世纪这个争夺航海优势的时代,有人产生中国式的海洋战略思想,这些思想反映了古人初级的海权诉求,也彰显了中国悠久的卫海、用海传统。     

从几个视觉动词看动态语义学的实质

文章从几个典型的视觉动词入手,通过其特殊的语用行为考察动词语义结构中的动态成分,指出这些成分不仅本身具有动态特性,而且由于特定的语用因素如话语目的的改变,说话人的认知活动赋予动词新的语义成分或取消原有的语用限制,从而使看似不合法的语句合理化。因此,在考察动词语义时,一定要运用动态语义学的视点。     

关于我国《票据法》第十三条的新思考

票据抗辩与票据抗辩限制作为票据法中的重要法律制度,充分体现了法律为了平衡各方面的利益,力求使各方利益达到一个合理的平衡程度,以求社会关系的稳定和发挥社会关系的调节器的作用。两项制度的法条依据正是我国《票据法》第十三条的规定,文章通过剖析两项制度的内涵,坚持票据的无因性理论,对我国《票据法》第十三条进行了解读与思考,并最终提出了对第十三条的立法修改建议。     

空间面板杜宾模型的Bootstrap Wald-COMFAC检验研究

将共同因子约束(COMFAC)的Wald检验问题引入到空间面板模型中,讨论空间面板杜宾模型与空间面板误差模型的识别问题。蒙特卡洛模拟表明:在有限样本下,基于渐近临界值的Wald检验有着良好的检验功效,但存在着较为严重的尺度扭曲。进一步采用残差Bootstrap方法,在不损失检验功效的前提下,能够显著地降低检验的尺度扭曲。因此,残差Bootstrap方法是更为有效的检验方法。     

Quasi-minimax estimation in the partial linear model

This article discusses the minimax estimator in partial linear model y = Zβ + f + ε under ellipsoidal restrictions on the parameter space and quadratic loss function. The superiority of the minimax estimator over the two-step estimator is studied in the mean squared error matrix criterion.     

Weighted Stochastic Restricted Estimation in Linear Measurement Error Models

This article discusses the consistent estimation of the parameters in a linear measurement error model when stochastic linear restrictions on regression coefficients are available. We propose some methodologies to obtain the consistent estimation when either the covariance matrix of the measurement errors or the reliability matrix of independent variables is known. Their finite- and large-sample properties are derived with not necessarily normal errors. A Monte Carlo simulation is carried out to study the the finite properties of the estimators.     

Registration,Residency Restrictions,and Community Notification: A Social Capital Perspective on the Isolation of Registered Sex Offenders in Our Communities

This article highlights the importance of social capital for registered sex offenders who are reintegrating back into their communities. Although not always identified among community corrections, the sex offender registry creates a punitive atmosphere that diminishes the amount of available social capital for all involved—community members, sex offenders, and the government. Lost social capital contributes to recidivism, reentry problems, and mental health issues among registered sex offenders. We argue that deterrent and protective features of the sex offender registry are overemphasized and the goal of reintegration has been undermined. The loss of social capital exacerbates (1) the minimization of trust, (2) low expectations of rehabilitation and reentry, (3) limited contact and information from role models, (4) increased access to criminal capital, (5) formal sanctioning power of the registry, and (6) loss of sanctioning power from family and communities. Through this in-depth analysis, we argue that the current state of the registry system harms the social capital of all involved when a sex offense occurs—not just the offender—and we assess directions for future practices, as well as policy implications.     

Using data envelopment analysis for the assessment of technical efficiency of units with different specialisations: An application to agriculture

In this paper we consider the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the assessment of efficiency of units whose output profiles exhibit specialisation. An example of this is found in agriculture where a large number of different crops may be produced in a particular region, but only a few farms actually produce each particular crop. Because of the large number of outputs, the use of conventional DEA models in such applications results in a poor efficiency discrimination. We overcome this problem by specifying production trade-offs between different outputs, relying on the methodology of Podinovski (J Oper Res Soc 2004;55:1311–22). The main idea of our approach is to relate various outputs to the production of the main output. We illustrate this methodology by an application of DEA involving agricultural farms in different regions of Turkey. An integral part of this application is the elicitation of expert judgements in order to formulate the required production trade-offs. Their use in DEA models results in a significant improvement of the efficiency discrimination. The proposed methodology should also be of interest to other applications of DEA where units may exhibit specialization, such as applications involving hospitals or bank branches.