In patent prosecution, timely and effective responses to Office Actions (OAs) are crucial for securing patents. However, past automation and artificial intelligence research have largely overlooked this aspect. To bridge this gap, our study introduces the Patent Office Action Response Intelligence System (PARIS) and its advanced version, the Large Language Model (LLM) Enhanced PARIS (LE-PARIS). These systems are designed to enhance the efficiency of patent attorneys in handling OA responses through collaboration with AI. The systems’ key features include the construction (...) of an OA Topics Database, development of Response Templates, and implementation of Recommender Systems and LLM-based Response Generation. To validate the effectiveness of the systems, we have employed a multi-paradigm analysis using the USPTO Office Action database and longitudinal data based on attorney interactions with our systems over six years. Through five studies, we have examined the constructiveness of OA topics (studies 1 and 2) using topic modeling and our proposed Delphi process, the efficacy of our proposed hybrid LLM-based recommender system tailored for OA responses (study 3), the quality of generated responses (study 4), and the systems’ practical value in real-world scenarios through user studies (study 5). The results indicate that both PARIS and LE-PARIS significantly achieve key metrics and have a positive impact on attorney performance. (shrink)

이 논문은 관중 유남상 선생의 역학관에 관한 것이다. 선생은 평생 『주역』과 『정역』을 연구하여 『주·정역경합편』 을 저술하였다. 이 책은 단순히 두 경서를 소개하기 위하여 한 권의 책으로 엮어 만든 것이 아니다. ‘천지역수원리(간지도수원리)’ 와 ‘하락상수원리’ 를 중심으로 역도(천도 위주)를 드러낸 『정역』과 괘효원리를 중심으로 역도(지도․인도 위주)를 표상한 『주역』을 합쳐 묶음으로써 두 경전의 내용이 결국 15성인의 한 말씀으로 천명되는 천의 로서의 선후천역수변화원리 임을 밝힌 것이다. 선생은 이 책에서 역학의 삼대 명제인 「천지역수원리」·「역수성통원리」·「성학즉역학원리」 를 간지도수원리와 도서상수원리, 그리고 괘효원리로써 밝히고, 아울러 역도는 궁극적으로 ‘선후천변화원리’임을 나타내고 있다. 그런데 (...) 이런 내용들은 맹자 이후 2,000여 년 동안 학계에서 논의되지 않았던 것으로서 역학사에 있어서 무척 획기적인 학설이라 할 수 있다. (shrink)

We seek insights into potential benefits for firms adopting strategies to improve business sustainability in a carbon-constrained future. We investigate whether lenders incorporate a firm’s exposure to carbon-related risk into lending decisions through the cost of financing, and if so, importantly whether firms can mitigate the penalty by demonstrating an awareness of their carbon risks. We use a sample of 255 firm-year observations from eight industries over the period 2009–2013. We measure carbon-related risk exposure as the firm’s historical carbon emissions (...) and our primary measure of carbon risk awareness is based on the firm’s willingness to respond to the Carbon Disclosure Project survey. We document a positive association between cost of debt and carbon risk for firms failing to respond to the CDP. Further, this association is economically meaningful, with a one standard deviation increase in carbon risk mapping into between a 38 and 62 basis point increase in the cost of debt. Equally, we find that this penalty is effectively negated for firms exhibiting carbon risk awareness. Our results are robust when we consider alternate measures of carbon awareness—disclosure through alternative medium to the CDP and firms’ annual cash investment in new capital assets using “cleaner” technology. Our results highlight not only the importance of carbon awareness as a business strategy for polluting firms, but also its importance to lenders exposed to their clients’ default and reputational risk. The debt market appears to incorporate historical carbon emissions and forward-looking indicators of carbon performance. (shrink)

Using an innovative fabrication technique, eco-friendly faux leather has been newly developed as a green leather alternative for the Chinese and Korean markets. Value–belief–attitude logic drawn from the heuristic-systemic model :621–642, 1998) and value–belief–norm theory :723–743, 1995) is proposed to explicate the consumer acceptance attitudes toward the EFFL product. The findings from the multi-group structural equation modeling analysis of online data support the relevancy of VBA logic in which utilitarian and hedonic value motivate pro-environmental belief, and the EFFL product attributes (...) significantly mediate belief and positive attitude toward the EFFL product. The discrepancies across two countries and two age cohorts are noteworthy when pro-environmental belief and product-related information lead to different consumer VBA processes in specific market segments. This study presents insights which provide novel opportunities for managerial implementations and theoretical advancements in eco-friendly related subjects and issues. (shrink)

Examining the effect of hedge fund activism on gender diversity, we find that the number of female directors decreases after a firm is targeted by hedge fund activism. Using the employment history data from BoardEx, we find that activist hedge funds are more likely to appoint people with finance backgrounds to the boards of target firms. And the newly appointed finance background directors are almost all male because of the lack of diversity in the finance industry. The lack of gender (...) diversity of the hedge funds’ networks and the lack of qualified female directors in the local area also help explain the impact of hedge fund activism on gender diversity on the board. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie Jahrgang: 64 Heft: 3 Seiten: 410-423.

Einstein's special and general theory of relativity abolished the Newtonian concept of absolute time. Moreover, Einsteinian physics revealed the mutual interdependence of space, time, and matter. Applying general relativity to cosmology leads again to the existence of a preferred time coordinate among the homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models. Einstein referred to this time coordinate as ,,almost absolute time." What is the exact relation between absolute time in relativistic cosmology and absolute time in Newtonian physics? To answer this question firstly we (...) investigate which features are characteristic of Newtonian absolute time. Secondly we show how the preferred time in relativistic cosmology is related to the cosmological principle. After that we compare the two concepts of time. Finally, we consider the concept of time in particular cosmological models like the static Einstein universe, the relation between cosmic time and the evolution of the universe and different possibilities to introduce the time coordinate in oscillating cosmological models. German Die Spezielle und Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie Einsteins räumten mit dem Konzept einer absoluten Zeit, wie es von Newton für seine Physik vorausgesetzt worden war, auf und zeigten die wechselseitige Abhängigkeit von Raum, Zeit und Materie. In Anwendung der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie auf das kosmologische Problem ergibt sich jedoch für die üblicherweise herangezogene Klasse der homogenen und isotropen Weltmodelle die Möglichkeit, eine ausgezeichnete Zeitkoordinate einzuführen, die Einstein als ,,quasi-absolute Zeit bezeichnete. Wie verhält sich die absolute Zeit der relativistischen Kosmologie zur absoluten Zeit Newtons? Diese Frage wird beantwortet, indem die wichtigsten Momente der absoluten Zeit Newtons herausgestellt werden, die auf dem Kosmologischen Prinzip basierende Möglichkeit der Einführung einer ausgezeichneten Zeit in der Kosmologie erörtert wird und anschließend beide Zeitkonzepte konfrontiert werden. Abschließend wird der Begriff der Zeit im Rahmen bestimmter kosmologischer Modelle weiter untersucht, vor allem seine Bedeutung im statischen Einstein-Universum, seine Verknüpfung mit der Evolution des Universums und die verschiedenen Möglichkeiten, die Zeit in oszillierenden bzw. zyklischen Modellen zu definieren. (shrink)

During the late Ming and early Qing period, Jesuit missionaries introduced European science into China, and thereby profoundly influenced the later development of Chinese astronomy. Not only did European astronomy become the official system of the Qing dynasty, but the traditional way to ‘attain up above’ by connecting the study of astronomy and Yi learning gradually fell into disuse. However, the astronomers in this period expressed different views on these two processes. As one of the most important early Qing astronomers, (...) Xue Fengzuo’s case presents a distinctive and important example. Firstly, under the influences of both Chinese tradition and European science, Xue Fengzuo rebuilt the way to ‘attain up above’ based on his three-fold ‘calendrical learning’, i.e. calendrical astronomy, astrology and related pragmatic applications, through which he could realize the highest Confucian ideal. Secondly, he integrated Chinese and Western knowledge for all three aspects of his ‘calendrical learning’, instead of ceding the dominant position to Western methods. From Xue Fengzuo’s example, many of the complex effects of the encounter between different cultures and the process of knowledge transfer can be revealed. (shrink)