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ID: 072282

Between the sacred and the secular: indigenous intellectual property, international markets and the modern African state / Ostergard, Robert L; Tubin, Matthew R; Dikirr, Patrick

Ostergard, Robert L	Journal Article
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2006.

Summary/Abstract

In the modern global economy, transnational corporations have become important sources of technology, market access and capital - all of which states seek in propelling economic growth. States themselves provide territory, and establish the 'rules of the game' by which corporations may operate within that territory. However, with the commodification and commercialisation of indigenous cultural and intellectual property, states are bypassed and negotiations emerge between corporations and sub-state actors who claim to represent population segments. May the bypassing of the state further weaken national or state identity among indigenous groups? Such is the case that may be emerging in Africa with groups who claim profits derived from the development and marketing of indigenous cultural and intellectual property. This paper explores the possibility that profit-sharing agreements between transnational corporations and sub-state groups may contribute to the widening of ethnic cleavages in African states by promoting inequalities between groups.

Key Words

Africa ; Intellectual Property ; Transnational Corporations

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ID: 172075

West Africa Ebola outbreak (2014-2016): a health intelligence failure? / Ostergard, Robert L

Ostergard, Robert L	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

The role of health intelligence (HI) has received little assessment in the West African Ebola outbreak (2014-2016). Using newly declassified information on the outbreak, this research finds significant HI problems that hindered an appropriate response to the outbreak. The Guinean government’s low capacity to deal with the crisis, the government’s misleading assessments of the crisis, the US embassy’s failure to contextualize the information properly in terms of the risks the virus posed, and the US embassy’s willingness to accept the Guinean government’s assessment without criticism were contributing factors in the HI failure in the opening months of the Ebola outbreak.

Key Words

West Africa ; Ebola Outbreak ; Health Intelligence Failure

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