This highly original book represents a major advance in the use of patents to compare countries' technological competitiveness. It tabulates and analyses 280,000 United States patents from countries across the world over a ten year period. Specifically, these patents were granted to 'not-for-profit' entities (mainly universities and research institutes), firms with no more than 500 employees, or to individual inventors. For each of these groups, the book provides statistics and discussion on how long patents are kept in force, the extent to which they are cited, and how far inventions made in different countries are in fact owned in the United States. Inter-country comparisons are provided between groupings of large and small advanced countries and between the sizeable number of countries for which patents are only just beginning to become economically important. The fact that all these patents have been subjected to the same examination process facilitates genuine like-for-like comparisons. Some of the more interesting emergent international differences in inventions are also explored. This book will provide a mine of reliable data for econometric studies of international competitiveness. Believed to be the first ever measurement of the patentable output of universities and research institutes worldwide because it provides the first fully international comparisons, this book will be invaluable to: patent offices and attorneys, university technical transfer offices, national industrial development agencies, as well as economists with an interest in international trade and technology.

This volume brings together an international group of contributors to explore the impacts of structural economic change and technological progress on labor markets. The contributors goal is to present an in-depth comparative study of the ways in which different national economies have adjusted to structural changes like the shift to service-based economies and technological changes brought about by the increasing use of the computer in offices and on the production line. Examining the adjustment process from both a micro and macro perspective, the contributors analyze the flexibility potentials within the different institutional organizations of the labor market in the U.S., France, West Germany, Great Britain, and Sweden.

The study begins with a comprehensive introduction written by the editors which discusses the problem of structural and technological change in economic, social, and political terms. Two subsequent chapters address the economic structures of post-industrial society and the differential characteristics of employment growth in service industries. The contributors then present individual analyses of the labor market situation in the five countries under study as well as two general studies of institutions regulating the labor market and flexibility within the labor market. Throughout, the contributors are concerned with key issues such as which systems seem to adapt best, how skill and educational needs may be met in the changing labor market, and the importance of flexibility in a system characterized by ongoing structural and technological change. Ideal as supplementary reading for advanced courses in labor economics and industrial organization, this volume offers important new insights into labor market flexibility in the face of significant and continuing change.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Information and communication technologies of the 20th century have had a significant impact on our daily lives. They have brought new opportunities as well as new challenges for human development. The Philosopher: Luciano Floridi claims that these new technologies have led to a revolutionary shift in our understanding of humanity's nature and its role in the universe. Florodi's philosophical analysis of new technologies leads to a novel metaphysical framework in which our understanding of the ultimate nature of reality shifts from a materialist one to an informational one. In this world, all entities, be they natural or artificial, are analyzed as informational entities. This book provides critical reflection to this idea, in four different areas: Information Ethics and The Method of Levels of Abstraction The Information Revolution and Alternative Categorizations of Technological Advancements Applications: Education, Internet and Information Science Epistemic and Ontic Aspects of the Philosophy of Information

This book presents the findings of a survey that analyzes a unique set of data in science and technolog and provides a clear and simple synthesis of heterogeneous databases on the gender gap in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) setting, helping readers understand key trends and developments. The need for more women in innovative fields, particularly with regard to STEM-based innovations, has now been broadly recognized. The book provides insights into both the education and employment of women in STEM. It investigates how the gender gap has evolved among STEM graduates and professionals around the world, drawing on specific data from public and private databases. As such, the book provides readers an understanding of how the so-called 'leaky pipeline' operates, and of how more women than men drop out of STEM studies and jobs by geographical area.