Priority Of Claims Research Articles

A study in the founding of applied behavior analysis through its publications.

This article reports a study of the founding of applied behavior analysis through its publications. Our methods included hand searches of sources (e.g., journals, reference lists), search terms (i.e., early, applied, behavioral, research, literature), inclusion criteria (e.g., the field's applied dimension), and (d) challenges to their face and content validity. Our results were 36 articles published between 1959 and 1967 that we organized into 4 groups: 12 in 3 programs of research and 24 others. Our discussion addresses (a) limitations in our method (e.g., the completeness of our search), (b) challenges to the validity of our methods and results (e.g., convergent validity), and (c) priority claims about the field's founding. We conclude that the claims are irresolvable because identification of the founding publications depends significantly on methods and because the field's founding was an evolutionary process. We close with suggestions for future research.

Question the Unquestionable Beauty of a Collective Proceeding for All Sovereign Debt Claims

How would the sovereign debt community react to NML Capital Ltd. decision?To date, nearly all literature on sovereign debt issues has focused on deterring holdout behavior in foreign bonds restructuring, from a majority voting system to a stay on enforcement. However, the NML Capital Ltd. decision is likely to shift the attention from holdout behavior to inter-creditor relations, which is considered to be one of the key elements of an effective insolvency law.The status quo of inter-creditor issues presents an ambiguous picture and leaves a number of issues wide open such as the scope of priority claims, the relationship between multilateral, bilateral and commercial creditors, and the status of new financing. Having acknowledged the challenges involved in discussing all open issues about inter-creditor relations at once, the author intends, in this paper, to focus on the relationship between multilateral, bilateral and commercial creditors. The author starts with various proposals touching upon this issue and the different views expressed, ranging from equal treatment to separate treatment to comparable treatment. While studying these different views, the author notices that nearly all proposals envisage a “collective” proceeding that would include “all” sovereign debt claims without explaining any reasons for such a vision, partly because this is the form that all national bankruptcy proceedings take. The main purpose of this paper is to take the unusual route of questioning the unquestionable beauty of a collective proceeding for all sovereign debt claims.

Multiple Regression Analysis between Citation Frequency of Patents and their Quantitative Characteristics

Many bibliometric studies have been conducted to examine the factors that influence citation frequency based on multiple regression analysis, targeting academic papers. As for patents, on the other hand, there are few studies in which citation frequency is explained/predicted as the response variable. This study executed a multiple regression analysis that explains citation frequency of patents with multiple feature values derived from the patent data set as explanatory variables, i.e., the numbers of inventors, classifications, pages, figures, tables, claims, priority claims, countries for priority claims, and classifications associated with backward citations (patents cited in the subject patent). The data on 5,253,614 patent applications were analyzed on the basis of the full text of the official gazette for patent applications published in Japan between 1993 and 2007. The results suggested that the influence of diversity of backward citations on citation frequency is large compared to those of the other factors.

Claiming ownership in the technosciences: Patents, priority and productivity

Intellectual property (IP) in and around the sciences is nowadays a matter of high public as well as historical interest. Here we propose an integrative concept of IP that, drawing upon insights scattered across decades of scholarship, forges from them a framework for a new style of historical research. This expanded concept of IP takes in patents, copyright and other legal instruments (or their surrogates)—IP in a narrow sense—but also other kinds of ownership claims relevant in the sciences—IP in a broad sense. The latter include priority claims and what are here called productivity claims, made when a body of theoretical principles is asserted to underpin useful techniques and technologies. Attention to the interaction of patent, priority and productivity claims promises to lead historians to new questions, answers, and sources, as attested in the papers gathered in this special issue, on three technosciences (electrical science, aeronautics, agricultural botany) in Great Britain in the decades around 1900.

The Seller Against the Secured Creditor of the Purchaser

Analysis of a recent decision dealing with the priority of claims against an owner of property held by the seller and by its secured lender.

Game theoretic analysis of negotiations under bankruptcy

We extend the contingent claims framework for the levered firm in explicitly modelling the resolution of financial distress under formal bankruptcy as a non-cooperative game between claimants under the supervision of the bankruptcy judge. The identity of the class of claimants proposing the first reorganization plan is found to be a key determinant of the time spent under bankruptcy, the likelihood of liquidation and the renegotiated value of claims. Our quantitative results confirm the economic intuition that a bankruptcy design must trade-off the initial priority of claims with the viability of reorganized firms.

A call for disruptive innovation in science publishing with a new open data-sharing platform for the life sciences

Abstract“A disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology. The term is used in business and technology literature to describe innovations that improve a product or service in ways that the market does not expect.” -Wikipedia On April 3rd, 2012 Nature Precedings, Nature Publishing Group’s experiment in free pre-print publishing was shut down and no longer accepts submissions. According to the Nature Precedings website it was created in 2007 as “a place for researchers to share documents, including presentations, posters, white papers, technical papers, supplementary findings, and non-peer-reviewed manuscripts.” It was designed to “provide a rapid means for scientists to share preliminary findings, disseminate emerging results, solicit community feedback, and claim priority over discoveries.” It was designed in a way to “make such material easy to archive, share and cite.” Now that Nature Precedings is no more, a new disruptive open data-sharing platform (ODSP) for the life sciences is needed. Based, in part, by the model Nature Precedings established. Here I propose 5 qualities of an ideal ODSP and outline 10 benefits (see Table 1) to scientists for embracing such a potentially disruptive model.

Echoes from the Anatomic Theatre of Padua: Casserius and Fabricius Antagonism

I n the 16th century, Padua was recognized as a Renaissance international center for sciences in the same fashion that Florence was recognized as the center for art (1). During the enaissance, when Vesalius left Padua in 1544, after 7 years as a rofessor, he had launched an anatomic revolution, which has been amed the “Golden Century of Anatomy” (11). Thanks to the o-called six great Vesalian anatomists of the University of Padua— esalius, Columbus, Fallopius, Fabricius, Casserius, and Spigelius— adua was at the epicenter of the scientific anatomic revolution. In heir article, Bender et al. (2) have brought to readers’ attention ome outstanding figures of the anatomy of that time. Their article as given me the opportunity to glimpse into the fascinating topic of natomy and its relationships with the figurative arts, the scientific ompetitions, and the priority of claims to some discoveries.

Editorial

Editorial

Discovery of the elements with atomic numbers greater than or equal to 113 (IUPAC Technical Report)

The IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party (JWP) on the priority of claims to the discovery of new elements 113–116 and 118 has reviewed the relevant literature pertaining to several claims. In accordance with the criteria for the discovery of elements previously established by the 1992 IUPAC/IUPAP Transfermium Working Group (TWG), and reinforced in subsequent IUPAC/IUPAP JWP discussions, it was determined that the Dubna-Livermore collaborations share in the fulfillment of those criteria both for elements Z = 114 and 116. A synopsis of experiments and related efforts is presented.

Game Theoretic Analysis of Negotiations under Bankruptcy

We extend the contingent claims framework for the levered firm in explicitly modeling the resolution of financial distress under formal bankruptcy as a non-cooperative game between claimants under the supervision of the bankruptcy judge. The identity of the class of claimants proposing the first reorganization plan is found to be a key determinant of the time spent under bankruptcy, the likelihood of liquidation and the renegotiated value of claims. Our quantitative results confirm the economic intuition that a bankruptcy design must trade-off the initial priority of claims with the viability of reorganized firms.

The Icelandic Regulatory Responses to the Financial Crisis

Iceland was hit hard by the financial crisis in 2008, especially by the spill-over effects of its banking failure when all of its three major banks collapsed. This article examines the Icelandic regulatory response to the crisis. The Icelandic case is special as the banks were not only too big to fail but also too big to rescue. Thus, legislation dealt with the failure of the banks and the aftermath of the crisis. First, the most important legislation was the Emergency Act that provided the Financial Supervisory Authority (FME) with emergency authority over banks in danger of becoming insolvent. The role of banks is integral to any economy. In order to ensure normal banking services and the safety of deposits in Iceland, three new banks fully owned by the Icelandic government were established on the basis of the Emergency Act. The most controversial provision of the Emergency Act granted depositors’ claims priority over other unsecured claims in the winding up of the collapsed banks. Now the EFTA Surveillance Authority has concluded that this did not constitute a breach of the EEA Agreement. The Emergency Act made necessary amendments to the Act on Financial Undertakings concerning the reorganisation and winding up of financial undertakings. Second, a Special Investigation Commission was established by law. To enable a search for the truth, the legislation was far-reaching. The primary role of the Commission was to seek the truth. The report of the Commission discloses information that otherwise would not have been disclosed because of bank secrecy laws and sheds a unique light on the practices of the banks. Third, it was considered important that the law would be enforced by all necessary means. Thus, the temporary position of Special Prosecutor was established by law. Fourth, cross-border banking in the EU/EEA is examined in the light of the so-called Icesave dispute between Iceland on the one hand and the UK and the Netherlands on the other. It sheds a light on some of the major flaws of cross-border banking in the EU/EEA already known and criticised long before the crisis. When the Icelandic banks collapsed, the government of Iceland declared that all deposits in domestic banks and branches were guaranteed but not those in foreign branches. This gave rise to the question of whether Iceland could be held liable on the basis of the EU Deposit Guarantee Directive or because of discrimination of depositors based on nationality. In any case, the financial crisis has shown that there is a gap between law and reality. The conclusion of this article is that it is questionable whether the potential economic benefits of full integration in the field of cross-border banking outweigh the dangers and risks that come with it. If not, the price of full integration may be too high.

Priority claims and public disputes in astronomy: E.M. Antoniadi, J. Comas i Solà and the search for authority and social prestige in the early twentieth century

AbstractThe reorganization of the astronomical community during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, due to the rise of astrophysics, was seen by some scientists as an opportunity to join an international community of prestigious researchers. This was the case of astronomers such as Josep Comas i Solà, who publicly argued with Eugène Michel Antoniadi during the first decades of the twentieth century about the veracity of astronomical observations and theoretical conclusions on Mars and Jupiter. Their priority claims and public disputes have to be understood in a new context that provided an exceptional opportunity for amateur and professional astronomers both to play an active role in the most interesting scientific debates of these years and to gain prestige, legitimacy and power.

Case Study: West Point Terminal/Southern Railway

This real world case study investigates how priority of claim interacts with the rules of bankruptcy to preserve the values of securities issued by corporations in the context of one of the most famous reorganizations of all times. (However, many facts have been changed to facilitate classroom use.) The case does not presume prior knowledge of the rules of bankruptcy. It is recommended for a senior-level undergraduate or MBA course in financial management.

A pioneer of urologic surgery from a small town in Ontario, Canada: A tribute to Abraham Groves (1847 - 1935)

Abraham Groves worked as a general practitioner and surgeon in the small town of Fergus, Ontario, Canada. Several priority claims have been attributed to Groves' life in surgery, including aseptic surgery (1874), appendectomy (1883) and the use of surgical gloves (1885). He was also an early practitioner of urological surgery. The purpose of this paper is to describe and objectively assess his contributions as a pioneer in urological surgery. A systematic search of contemporary journals was made for articles by or about Groves. These articles and his 1934 autobiography were reviewed. The information was assessed not only for priority, but also for the development of organized surgical principles and thought. Groves published frequently throughout his career; up to this point, 36 papers have been identified. Groves' claims are verifiable for aseptic surgery, which were the result of logical surgical thought and was practiced throughout his career. Contemporary publications support his early use of suprapubic lithotomy (1875), prostatotomy (1887), bladder repair (1892), urethral repair (1903), renal decapsulation (1905) and prostatectomy (1911). Despite his isolation, Abraham Groves independently developed a full range of surgical techniques and principles relevant to modern-day urology. His impact was reduced by the nature of the environment in which he worked and by the limited circulation of the journals in which he chose to publish.

Agents, Impartiality, and the Priority of Claims over Duties: Diagnosing Why Thomson Still Gets the Trolley Problem Wrong by Appeal to the “Mechanics of Claims”

Judith Jarvis Thomson recently argued that it is impermissible for a bystander to turn a runaway trolley from five onto one. But she also argues that a trolley driver is required to do just that. We believe that her argument is flawed in three important ways. She fails to give proper weight to (a) an agent¹s claims not to be required to act in ways he does not want to, (b) impartiality in the weighing of competing patient-claims, and (c) the role of patient-claims in determining agent-duties. All three of these failures can be understood in terms of what we call the Mechanics of Claims, an approach we develop for identifying and balancing competing claims in determining rights. Using that framework, one can see both why Thomson’s most recent argument is mistaken, and how to think more clearly about deontological choices generally.

William Higgins at the Dublin Society, 1810–20: the loss of a professorship and a claim to the atomic theory

William Higgins is primarily remembered for his claims to have developed the principles of the atomic theory before John Dalton. Why did Higgins, who did not issue a single word in print on the atomic theory for 25 years after his 1789 book A Comparative View , suddenly claim priority in 1814, and then continue to pursue his assertions against Dalton and his supporters with such vitriol? This paper argues that Higgins's delay in sending a sample of the Mooresfort meteorite to the naturalist and illustrator James Sowerby contributed to the Dublin Society's decision to split Higgins's dual professorship of chemistry and mineralogy, which led to the hiring of mineralogist Charles Giesecke. Higgins's subsequent frustrations, including an ongoing competition with Giesecke, indicate that his claims to the atomic theory were attempts to rebuild his diminished status.

Morrice McCrae, Physicians and society: a history of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, John Donald, 2007, pp. 282, illus., £25.00 (hardback 978-0-85976-698-2).

This book promises much. The press release which accompanied its launch described it as a “remarkable social history” and the preface claimed that the founding members resolved to “take the lead” in providing free medical care to the poor of Edinburgh and that the College remained the “chief agency in promoting measures to secure and maintain the health of the people of Scotland” for the two centuries following its foundation in 1681. The volume fails to support these initial claims, despite the author’s mastery of his sources and a deft touch in telling his story. The early chapters eloquently chart the impact upon the College of the political and religious upheavals of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries before turning to more familiar territory, with sections on the emergence of the Edinburgh Faculty of Medicine and the Royal Infirmary. Many of the subsequent chapters are crafted around the contributions of individual physicians, with extended biographies. Chapter 5, for example, examines William Cullen’s contribution to the medical curriculum, and chapter 6 is headed ‘The invention of medical ethics: the legacy of John Gregory’. Chapter 8—‘Certain measures for the public good’—is a detailed account of the deliberations of the six committees set up in 1791 at the instigation of Andrew Duncan to report on inoculation, asylums, apothecary shops, sea bathing, and vapour baths; the focus of the sixth committee is not revealed. The author admits that their recommendations were not implemented because of a lack of good will on the part of a “tiny and corrupt ruling elite” (p. 127). The author pinpoints the plight of the urban poor as the great social problem of the mid-nineteenth century and asserts that the College “played the leading role in ensuring that relevant legislation conformed to the problems as they existed in Scotland” (p. 133). It is clear, however, that the College enjoyed very limited success in its attempts to influence public health measures. McCrae offers no evidence to support his claim that its attempts to improve the medical provisions of the 1845 Poor Law Amendment Act bore fruit (p. 161); one offshoot, the 1852 College report on medical aid in the Highlands and Islands, had no obvious impact, and another sixty years elapsed before the creation of a Highlands and Islands Medical Scheme. A similar outcome befell College attempts to influence the deliberations of the General Board of Health during the 1848 cholera epidemic, medical registration (chapter 12) and mid-nineteenth century legislation dealing with mental health (chapter 14). When the College was involved, it often had equal representation with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The one area where the College did claim priority was in the establishment in 1887 of what is stated to be Britain’s first medical research laboratory. The final sentence of the last chapter—a miscellany which includes accounts of the Scottish triple qualification, the school of medicine of the two Edinburgh colleges, and a perfunctory summary of the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women—asserts that “at the end of the nineteenth century the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was already playing a leading part in preparing for the medicine of the twentieth century” (p. 260). This is a disappointing ending to a book whose cover notes claimed it would provide a social history of the College from the foundation in 1681 until 1918.

Response: Characteristics of IL-17-Producing γδ T Cells

We are pleased to read that our paper (Sutton et al., 2009), as well as that of Martin et al. (2009), has stimulated a debate on the importance of γδ T cells in interleukin-17 (IL-17) production and the signals that may drive this production. We acknowledge the contribution that O'Brien and colleagues have made to our understanding of the role of IL-17 production by γδ T cells in autoimmunity in our manuscript. However, we do not agree with their assertion that we “claim priority” or that we did not acknowledge previous contributions to the discovery that “γδ T cells can produce IL-17 without deliberate stimulation via the T cell receptor.” Indeed we cited the contribution by Shibata et al.

Discovery of the element with atomic number 112 (IUPAC Technical Report)

The IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party (JWP) on the priority of claims to the discovery of new elements has reviewed the relevant literature pertaining to several claims. In accordance with the criteria for the discovery of elements previously established by the 1992 IUPAC/IUPAP Transfermium Working Group (TWG), and reiterated by the 1999 and 2003 IUPAC/IUPAP JWPs, it was determined that the 1996 and 2002 claims by the Hofmann et al. research collaborations for the discovery of the element with atomic number 112 at Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) share in the fulfillment of those criteria. A synopsis of Z = 112 experiments and related efforts is presented. A subsequent report will address identification of higher-Z elements including those of odd atomic number.