Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Property dispute'

Debates over the distinctive economic, political and social affordances of the post-industrial age converge in a constellation of intellectual property alternatives. This project maps four paradigmatic agendas for the production and ownership of immaterial property: Information Privatization, Immaterial Exceptionalism, Network Distribution and Ecological De-colonization. I define these paradigms through a tripartite rubric: their ontological foundations, their normative presuppositions and their institutional topologies. Grounded in these four alternatives for the production and ownership of immaterial property, I turn my investigation to the challenge of political community in a post-industrial age. Each paradigm poses a distinct challenge to traditional understandings of political community, as a theoretical proposition and empirical reality. The question of 'Whose Property?' emerges within the normative framework of Critical International Relations Theory. Within this tradition the challenge of political community is to address how political communities institutionalize and express modes of capitalist development. I pose the question of 'Whose Property?' for the purposes both of diagnosis and prognosis. My diagnosis speaks to the challenge of political community in an age of increasing global interdependency, shaped by the logics of post-industrial capitalism. The prognosis, I want to suggest, is that if we conceive political communities as a mode of collective political action, then the varied agendas for intellectual property may provide a powerful motivational argument underpinning emerging modes of political action. They may also offer institutional alternatives that can provide inroads to support the institutional realization of the emancipatory agenda of Critical International Relations Theory. By way of conclusion, this project leaves us with an overarching challenge. In looking at these approaches to intellectual property through the lens of political community, a key transformation manifests itself – the erosion of the Westphalian 'public' and rising demands for pluralized, distributed and globalized Post-Westphalian 'publics'.

Accessing improved elastomeric composites filled with functionalized graphene sheets (FGSs) requires an understanding of how the FGSs aggregate and how the position of FGSs affects the mechanical properties of the final composite material. In this thesis, I study both effects by devising models for 2-D particles in the 10s of microns scale and comparing my results with experiments. These models enable an understanding of the effect of the particles in a level that is hard to be studied experimentally or by molecular models. In the first part, I present a model for aggregation of 2-D particles and apply it to study the aggregation of FGS in water with varying concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The model produces clusters of similar sizes and structures as a function of SDS concentration in agreement with experiments and predicts the existence of a critical surfactant concentration beyond which thermodynamically stable FGS suspensions form. Around the critical surfactant concentration, particles form dense clusters and rapidly sediment. At surfactant concentrations lower than the critical concentration, a contiguous ramified network of FGS gel forms which also densifies, but at a lower rate, and sediments with time. This densification leads to graphite-like structures. In the second part, I present a model for the prediction of the mechanical properties of elastomers filled with 2-D particles. I apply this model to the Poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-FGS system. For a perfect polymer matrix and when inter-particle forces are ignored the strength of the composite can be increased with the addition of particles but elongation at failure decreases relative to neat PDMS. Maximum load transfer to the particles is achieved when particles are covalently linked to span the whole polymer matrix. Minimum drop in elongation at failure can be achieved by maximizing the distance between the covalently linked particles. When the assumption of a perfect polymer matrix is relaxed, it can be shown that there is a certain particle concentration range for which elongation at failure can be increased as the particles can protect the polymer by redistributing high stresses created by inherent polymer defects that would lead to early failure.

The structure-property relationships of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) were quantified using imaging techniques to characterize the multiscale hierarchical heterogeneities and the mechanical properties. Through image analysis the average size, percent area, nearest neighbor distance, and relative number density of each inclusion type was determined and then used to create Representative Volume Element (RVE) cubes for use in Finite Element (FE) analysis. Three different size scale RVEs at the mesoscale were found to best represent the material: the largest length scale (35 mm side length) included steel fibers, the middle length scale (0.54 mm side length) included large voids and silica sand grains, and the smallest length scale (0.04 mm side length) included small voids and unhydrated cement grains. By using three length scales of mesoscale FE modeling, the bridge of information to the macroscale cementitious material model is more physically based.

In Oklahoma, a young state where the built environment is not as old as in many regions of the country, there is not the long tradition of respecting historic resources often seen in areas with properties dating from the beginning of our country. This, coupled with the demands of contemporary life, makes it all too easy to destroy or compromise the integrity of historic buildings still in existence to provide services for current societal needs. However, there continue to be those who seek out historic properties for both personal and professional reasons. The purpose of this study is to gather information from property owners in nationally registered historic districts across the state about the experience of owning this type of property so that appropriate resources can be developed and supported to facilitate the survival of the state's historic resources. The exploratory nature of this study lends itself to a phenomenological approach to data collection combined with an interpretivist approach to data analysis to investigate the meaning behind the experience of owning property in Oklahoma historic districts.

A sample of 13 historic districts was selected; this sample included residential and commercial districts in both rural and urban areas. For the first phase of data collection, a short demographic survey was mailed to each property owner in the selected districts; the survey provided the opportunity for respondents to participate in a second phase of data collection—focus groups held within each district. The researcher conducted 18 focus groups with 51 participants; data analysis included line-by-line coding of each transcript, with individual comments applied within 30 identified themes.

Seven key findings resulted from analysis and interpretation, and were further organized according to the study's research questions: (a) potential return on investment, (b) place attachment to community and state, (c) appreciation of architectural features, (d) appreciation of historic character, (e) participation in community's history, (f) impact of maintenance and repair, and (g) difficulties with the preservation system. Recommendations address the resulting implications for educators, the interior design and architecture professions, preservation partners, and for community governance.

This dissertation explores the role that intellectual property law plays as it influences the circulation and use of religious goods in contemporary religious organizations in the United States. The coherence of many modern spiritual communities no longer lies in a centralized institution like the church but instead in a shared dedication to sacred texts and other religious media. Thus, intellectual property law has become an effective means to administer the ephemeral beliefs and practices mediated by these texts. I explore a number of cases to demonstrate how intellectual property law can be used to maintain and adjudicate social relations rather than simply determining the proper allocation of ownership over a contested good. This project uses a number of select case studies – the legal battles of the Urantia Foundation and Worldwide Church of God, Scientology’s lawsuits against Internet Service Providers, the practice of sermon-stealing as it relates to the growth of sermon databases – to examine how religious communities ethically justify forms of ownership in religious goods and to highlight the incongruities between theories of authorship, originality and ownership within spiritual communities and those embedded in the law. I conclude that religious property owners construct innovative strategies for knowledge production and distribution as they mobilize IP to organize social and spiritual communities, care for and protect sacred goods, produce new articulations of spiritual identity, and even use the prohibitions of law to enchant material forms.

The purpose of this Paper is twofold: First, to explore the somewhat contradictory, and perhaps convoluted approaches by the Supreme Court and Federal Circuit to patentable subject matter since the early 1970’s to the present; and Second, to investigate two theories of how to fix—if it can be considered to be broken—the current state of the law regarding patent eligibility. In regard to the second aspect, it is the Thesis of this Paper that the only practicable solution to the current quagmire is a legislative approach that will correct the legal definition of patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

In addition, it has become common, since the decision of Alice and others to state “software patents are dead.” This is not even remotely true. What has happened, as will be discussed, is that because of the expansion of the definition of the abstract idea exemption of patentable subject matter, it has become increasingly difficult—sometimes impossible—to get patents awarded for certain technology areas. One reason for this is because so-called abstract idea innovations can be best expressed in terms of algorithms and in software. Consequently, software patents have achieved a negative reputation—sort of a “guilt by association” narrative. The truly unfortunate result—the unintended consequence - is that perhaps many applications for innovations have either not been filed, or have been unfairly rejected and abandoned.

This dissertation examines the recent history of environmental conservation in Texas from three perspectives, and provides an analytic framework for evaluating how political actors and constituents participate in the rule of law. The centerpiece of this analysis examines the use of legal fictions as genres of social action in which evidence and expertise are used to adhere to the rule of law by creating legitimacy through the negotiation of practice. Preliminarily, I examine state environmental politics in the 1990s to understand how wildlife management was construed as a conservation policy for private landowners. I then explore the states legal codes and practices that establish land management practice characterized by property tax law. Finally, I turn to the contemporary practices of Central Texas landowners to understand the consequences of the policy. The focus of this dissertation is the examination of bureaucratic participation and the resulting documents for property tax assessment. Evaluating these different scales of action reveal how landowners, biologists, and state administrators use the bureaucratic policies of tax law to create conservation practices. This work adds to the growing body of literature investigating “actually existing neoliberalism” (Brenner and Theodor 2002; Hilgers 2011; Ong 2007; Wacquant 2012) to reveal how contradictions between legality and practice are mediated across social relationships. As a component of neoliberal governance, conservation on private lands presents a set of contradictions in which the productive and economic value of land diverges from its historical and cultural value. In conclusion I posit a new legal fiction of property, the inherited value, to understand these contradictions.

Realignment, instituted in October 2011, was California’s latest effort at prison reform by realigning responsibility for prisoners labeled nonviolent, non-serious, and non sex-related from the state to counties. Many of these offenders were in state prison upon conviction of property crime offenses. Realignment had a net decarcerative effect on offenders. Simultaneously, California cities’ officer staffing levels shrunk during the great recession. To determine what impact realignment may have had on property crime in small California cities, and to identify effective response strategies, property crime and officer staffing data was analyzed and a survey administered to the chiefs of those cities.

Fifty-six California cities with a population of between 25,000 and 50,000 and their own police departments were studied. This study analyzed data for the full year before and after realignment’s implementation, 2010 compared to 2012. Analysis of these data indicated an overall trend of increase in property crimes reported to the police, and a significant decrease in officer staffing pre-and post-implementation. Many of the 36 chiefs who responded to the survey identified realignment as the primary factor in the increase of property crime, closely followed by overcrowding in their local or county jail. Of the response strategies offered in the survey, most chiefs said they had made progress on increasing partnerships with allied law enforcement agencies. Finally, a majority of the chiefs identified increasing partnerships with allied agencies the most effective strategy followed by the creation or reorienting specialized units to respond to the issue of realigned offenders.

Oligonucleotides, short nucleic acids of ≈ 100 bases and under, are therapeutics of great interest because of their ability to regulate gene expression and improve outcomes in diseases like cancer and atherosclerosis. However, they are vulnerable to degradation by enzymes in the body that can limit their effectiveness. Encapsulating oligonucleotides inside core-corona structures called polyelectrolyte complex micelles can be accomplished by mixing them with a block copolymer containing one neutral, hydrophilic block and one charged block. Using a micelle as a vehicle is a powerful way of protecting oligonucleotides while enabling their targeted delivery to a disease site via the attachment of targeting molecules to the micelle corona. Understanding how oligonucleotides interact with charged polymers, and how the polymers themselves affect micelle shape, size, and internal structure, are of fundamental importance to the process of efficiently and intelligently designing these micelles. By combining multiple physical characterization techniques including optical microscopy, FRET, circular dichroism, and FTIR, we can characterize bulk complexes of oligonucleotides with cationic homopolymers. By combining small-angle X-ray scattering, light scattering, and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) we can characterize structures formed when oligonucleotides complex with oppositely charged block copolymers. These multimodal characterization schemes will increase the rigor of our investigations and our confidence in their results. Our main goals are to characterize bulk complexes of oligonucleotides and peptides to gain insight into the fundamentals of oligonucleotide interactions, and to determine what factors control the shape, size, and internal structure of oligonucleotide-polyelectrolyte complex micelles.

In this study, structure-property relationships in the ironclad beetle (Zopherus nodulosus haldemani) exoskeleton are quantified to develop novel bio-inspired impact resistance technologies. The hierarchical structure of this exoskeleton was observed at various length scales for both the ironclad beetle pronotum and elytron. The exocuticle and endocuticle layers provide the bulk of the structural integrity and consist of chitin-fiber planes arranged in a Bouligand structure. The pronotum consists of a layered structure, while elytron consists of an extra layer with “tunnel-like” voids running along the anteroposterior axis along with smaller interconnecting “tunnel-like” voids in the lateral plane. Energy dispersive X-ray diffraction revealed the existence of minerals such as calcium carbonate, iron oxide, zinc oxide, and manganese oxide. We assert that the strength of this exoskeleton could be attributed to its overall thickness, the epicuticle layer thickness, the existence of various minerals embedded in the exoskeleton, and its structural hierarchy. The thickness of the exoskeleton correlates to a higher number of chitin-fiber planes to increase fracture toughness, while the increased thickness of the epicuticle prevents hydration of the chitin-fiber planes. In previous studies, the existence of minerals in the exoskeleton has been shown to create a tougher material compared to non-mineralized exoskeletons.

Vanadium oxide-fluorides can exhibit properties of piezoelectricity, second harmonic generation (SHG) activity, electrochemical activity, and other phenomena. The first two properties derive from the second-order and Jahn-Teller distortions, respectively, of d⁰ and d¹ vanadium; the electrochemistry derives from the reduction of V^V to V ^IV,III,II.

An examination of the immediate environment of a vanadium cation facilitates an understanding of how a cation influences the structure of a compound and its resulting properties. In the inorganic hydrate CuVOF₄(H ₂O)₇, the CuVOF₄(H₂O)₆ basic-building unit (BBU) has a Λ-shape that compels polar packing in a structure that has SHG properties. The compound is a very rare example of a carbonless, SHG-active molecular crystal. Influences for its packing are reasoned with principles previously used within organic molecular crystallography.

The early transition metals (ETMs) of vanadium, niobium, and molybdenum within compounds of formulae K₁₀(M₂O_nF _11-n)X (M = V^V, Nb^V, n = 2, M = Mo ^VI, n = 4; X = halide) show a related packing motif of Λ-shaped BBUs in different structures. Owing to the absence or presence of Λ-shaped BBUs, these heterotypical structures crystallize decidedly into SHG-inactive or SHG-active forms when M = V^V or M = Nb^V, Mo^VI, respectively. The future use and development of Λ-shaped BBUs within solid-state systems can result in SHG-active materials.

The material CuVOF₄(H₂O)₇ presents an interesting coordination: the late transition metal (LTM, Cu^II) coordinates solely to the oxide anion of the vanadyl cation owing to hard-soft acid-base (HSAB) properties. The materials Na₂[M(H₂O) ₂][V₂O₄F₆] (M^II = Co, Ni, Cu) show the LTM coordinates solely to the oxide anions of the V ^V cation while the alkali cation (Na^I) coordinates solely to the fluoride anions. These HSAB properties were used to generate layers of hard or soft cation/anion rich regions in the electrochemically-active double wolframite AgNa(VO₂F₂)₂.

These structure-property examinations of solid state vanadium oxide-fluorides are presented as principles for (i) fundamental understanding of ETM and BBU crystallographic environments, (ii) materials discovery for fundamental investigations, (iii) materials design, and (iv) materials for use in SHG, piezoelectric, and electrochemical processes.

Voters’ hatred of the property tax has led to the enactment of tax and expenditure limitations (TEL) in most states (Brunori, Bell, Cordes, and Yuan, 2008; Sokolow, 1998). Past research suggests that TELs have consequences for school districts, such as reductions in revenue and expenditures, and that these effects may be felt disproportionately by districts that are less able to adapt, such as poorer districts (Figlio, 1998; Joyce and Mullins, 1996; Downes and Figlio, 1999; Mullins, 2004; Wallin and Zabel, 2011; Della Sala and Knoeppel, 2014; Arsen, DeLuca, Ni, and Bates, 2016; Steinberg and Quinn, 2015). Such disproportionate impacts may increase revenue inequity across districts, further widening the gap between the “haves” and “have nots.”

This dissertation explores the impacts of TELs on school district revenue and equity through analyses of Pennsylvania’s Act 1, a useful case for studying these effects because it was enacted more recently—2006—and is in place in a diverse state with a heavy reliance on property tax revenue that faces ongoing concerns over its allegedly inequitable public education funding system.

In the first study, I use multivariate regression analyses with fixed effects to consider the effects of Act 1 on various revenue sources available to school districts and whether districts that may be less able to adjust to changes in revenue streams felt these effects disproportionately. I find that local revenue and property tax revenue were reduced for school districts subject to Act 1’s tax limits compared to those not subject to them, and that state revenue did not offset these reductions, resulting in reductions in total revenue. My findings do not suggest that these effects were disproportionately felt by districts with greater needs.

In the second study, I consider the characteristics of districts that are able to avoid Act 1’s tax limits. Using logistic regression with year fixed effects, I find that districts with better fiscal conditions were more likely to receive an exception from the state that allowed them to avoid the tax limit. These results raise concerns of potential inequity, albeit with no intent on the part of the districts or Pennsylvania officials.

In the third study, I use both descriptive and multivariate regression analyses to consider the impacts of Act 1’s limits on revenue equity among districts. I find that Act 1’s tax limits appear to have reduced revenue equity among districts, and to have had a differential effect on higher need districts, when using poverty as an indicator of need.

Taken together, the findings suggest that Act 1 may have both reduced funding and revenue equity among districts, and had a differential negative effect on revenue for higher poverty districts. These results therefore suggest that the tax limits may have somewhat widened the divide between the “haves” and “have nots,” and raise concerns that revenue equity among districts has been reduced and that districts better able to adjust to tax limits—those in better fiscal health—may also be those most likely to avoid them.

This Dissertation investigates the relationship between patent quality and company performance for a sample from the US Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry. The methodology devised comprehensively examines patent worth (patent’s references), patent protection (claims and family patents) and patent quality (references, claims and family patents) to determine their implications on firm leverage (SE, TA), profits (ROE, ROA), and market value (B/M, MCap). The selected sample comprises 1,536 companies, and 285,000 patents from 1999 to 2009. The results show that total revenue just responds to changes in R&D; intensity, and patenting intensity. A 10 percent increase in patent value results in a corresponding increase rate on the market capitalization index for the full sample and a 14 percent increase for the chemicals and allied products group (SIC 28). Increases (10%) in patent protection and quality present average increases of 15 percent on market capitalization for the full sample and 8 percent for the chemicals and allied products group (SIC 28). The medical devices group (SIC 38) results suggest that Mcap increases 10 percent by the same increase in patent value index. Patent protection and quality increases (10%) suggest an average 8 percent increase in Mcap. Results suggest that profits, leverage and market indices respond differently to 10 percent increases in patent value, patent protections and patent quality. The aforementioned effects suggest that the qualitative indexes follow company related market activities and business valuations for the chemical and allied products, and medical devices industrial sectors.

Archaeologists increasingly recognize the need for public outreach and education, which many archaeological organizations include in principles and guidelines. First, this thesis summarizes my experience with a multicomponent internship, with Archaeology Southwest, the Learning Center of the American Southwest, and the National Park Service. During my internship I focused on providing the public with access to information about archaeological materials through the internet. Finally, this thesis explores the opportunity of providing deeper understandings, while considering potential implications, when working with the digital medium. During my time with Archaeology Southwest I produced three dimensional digital representations, virtual artifacts, of archaeological ceramic vessels. I designed the virtual artifacts for use by Archaeology Southwest's Virtual Southwest website and the Learning Center of the American Southwest (LCAS) Virtual Museum website. I contributed to the digital repositories of the websites, and subsequently reviewed and analyzed my experience to determine the best use of the virtual artifacts. During my time with the National Park Service (NPS) I helped develop lesson plans and activities of the Sinagua archaeological culture of Wupatki and Walnut Canyon National Monuments, designed primarily for third through fifth grade students visiting the monuments during school trips. Digital media provides the opportunity to preserve archaeological resources while educating the public to provide a deeper understanding of the past. I created 28 three dimensional reconstructions, virtual artifacts, of existing archaeological ceramic vessels provided by the Museum of Northern Arizona and Northern Arizona University. I designed the virtual artifacts for multiple online programs and for the lesson plans that I created for the National Park Service. I critically analyze the use of the products of my internship within the open-source movement, detail the current state of intellectual property rights for indigenous communities, and provide recommendations for my internship organizations. This information provides archaeologists with a reflexive analysis of the current use of intangible digital resources and serves as a guide for future projects.

An increase in the property tax rate of a school district creates an increase in local revenues for the district (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. [MODESE], 2017). The overarching question becomes: Do increases in the local tax levy compare to improved student performance? The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the difference between property tax rates of Missouri public school districts to student performance as viewed through the lens of benefit tax theory (Duff, 2004). Secondary data were obtained via the MODESE which included property tax rates and information from the Annual Performance Reports for public school districts for academic years 2014–2015, 2015–2016, and 2016–2017. The categories examined from the Annual Performance Reports were: academic achievement, subgroup achievement, career and college, attendance, and graduation. Public schools with higher tax rates were found to have the best attendance rates and the highest graduation rates. Overall, public school districts with higher tax rates realized higher Annual Performance Report scores.

The definition of plagiarism that is used in university handbooks is a simple one, and policies along with tiers of disciplinary strategies are used by faculty members in higher education to deter students from committing a plagiarism infraction based on this simple definition. However, plagiarism still occurs on college campuses, and this may be a result of gray areas with regard to different aspects of plagiarism that are not contained in the definition. Because of these misunderstandings, students may commit accidental plagiarism or disagree about what constitutes plagiarism. This qualitative study attempted to discover what aspects of plagiarism are confusing for college students. The data collection method involved personal open-ended interviews with 15 college students of different ages, genders, years in college, and areas of study. The 9 different themes that were brought to the surface as a result of the interviews included findings in the reasons that students justify plagiarism, the levels of acceptability among students, the amount of prior education in plagiarism that students have when they enter college, and specific gray areas such as paraphrasing and common knowledge that the participants discussed as confusing. These findings could be used by faculty and administration in institutions of higher education to aid in formatting new policies and learning activities to help students learn about plagiarism from their own perspective and understand the concepts involved in a better way so that less unintentional plagiarism takes place.

Fractures are often leakage pathways for fluids through low-permeability rocks that otherwise act as geologic barriers to flow. Flow of fluids that are in chemical disequilibrium with the host rock can lead to mineral precipitation, which reduces fracture permeability. When fracture surfaces contain a single mineral phase, mineral precipitation leads to fast permeability reduction and fracture sealing. However, the feedback between precipitation and permeability may be disrupted by mineral heterogeneities that localize precipitation reactions and provide paths of low-reactivity for fluids to persist over relatively long time-scales. In this dissertation, I explore the role of mineral heterogeneity on precipitation-induced permeability reduction in fractures. To do this, I use a combined experimental and numerical approach to test three hypotheses: (1) Mineral heterogeneity prolongs fracture sealing by focusing flow into paths with limited reactive surface area, (2) Precipitation-induced transport alterations at the fracture-scale are controlled by three-dimensional growth dynamics at the grain-scale, and (3) The effects of mineral heterogeneity become more pronounced as mineralogy and surface roughness become autocorrelated over similar length-scales.

Direct measurements of mineral precipitation using transmitted light methods in a transparent analog fracture show that mineral heterogeneity can lead to the progressive focusing of flow into paths with limited reactive surface area, which is in support of (1). In this experiment, flow focusing led to a 72% reduction in the max precipitation rate; measurements of the projected mineralogy show that this was due to focusing of large dissolved ion concentrations into regions that contained 82% less reactive surface area than the fracture-scale average. Results from a newly developed reactive transport model that simulates precipitation-induced fracture surface alterations as a three-dimensional process are in good qualitative agreement with these experimental observations. Comparison of these results with a reactive transport model that represents precipitation as a 1D alteration of the fracture surfaces show that this flow-focusing process is driven by lateral growth of reactive minerals across the fracture-plane, which supports (2). Lastly, results from simulations in fractures that contain varied degrees of heterogeneity show that precipitation leads to a competition between two feedbacks: (i) precipitation-induced reactive surface area enhancement, which increases precipitation rates, and (ii) precipitation-induced permeability reduction, which decreases precipitation rates. When surface roughness and mineral heterogeneity provide persistent paths of limited surface area, the reactive transport becomes very sensitive to local permeability reduction. Simulation results show that this prolongs the fracture-sealing process and can lead to a reduction in fracture-scale precipitation rate, which supports (3). Furthermore, the results presented in this dissertation demonstrate that predictions of fracture sealing by mineral precipitation can be easily misinformed by studies that ignore small-scale mineral heterogeneity and neglect the three-dimensional nature of precipitation-induced fracture surface alterations.

The U.S. electricity industry is being restructured to increase competition. Although existing policies may lead to efficient wholesale institutions, designing policies for the retail level is more complex because of intricate interactions between individuals and quasi-monopolistic institutions. It is argued that Hirshman's ideas of "exit" and "voice" (Hirshman, 1970) provide powerful abstractions for design of retail institutions. While competition is a known mechanism of "exit," a novel design of the "voice" mechanism is demonstrated through an artificial intelligence (AI) based software process model. The process model of "voice" in retail institutions is designed within the economic context of electricity distribution — a common property resource (CPR), characterized by technological uncertainty and path-dependency. First, it is argued that participant feedback (voice) has to be used effectively to manage the CPR. Further, it is noted that the decision process, of using participant feedback (voice) to incrementally manage uncertainty and path-dependencies, is non-monotonic because it requires the decision makers to often retract previously made assumptions and decisions. An AI based process model of "voice" is developed using an assumption-based truth maintenance system. The model can emulate the non-monotonic decision making process and therefore assist in decision support. Such a systematic framework is flexible, consistent, and easily reorganized as assumptions change. It can provide an effective, formal "voice" mechanism to the retail customers and improve institutional performance.

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) can leverage open innovation to increase their economic viability and success in this modern, globalized post-industrial society marked by constant change and intense competition. To date, most open innovation research has focused exclusively on large companies, while neglecting the specific competitive challenges and strategies of SMEs. This dissertation evaluates the open innovation landscape from the vantage point of SMEs because these firms play a significant role in economies around the globe. Innovation is a crucial driver in their ability to survive, compete, and prosper. The dissertation author created three new models to explore the research topic. The first, the Holistic Model of Innovation, is useful to more fully understand the entire innovation landscape (both closed and open innovation as well as product and non-product innovations). This dissertation also presents the author’s SME Competitive Challenges Model , which identifies the main size-related competitive hurdles that SMEs face (i.e., challenges related to a lack of resources, limited dynamic capabilities, and excessive risk exposure). Additionally, the author presents his SME Open Innovation Strategies Model, which evaluates various open innovation strategies for overcoming these competitive challenges. This dissertation presents a series of propositions based on these new conceptual models and tests them by conducting a systematic review, several meta-syntheses, a case study, and multiple statistical meta-analyses with data from 34,676 SMEs across dozens of industries in 27 countries.

Keywords: Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Small Business Strategy, Global Open Innovation, Closed Innovation, Size-Related Competitive Challenges