Idea Generation and New Direction for Exploitation Technologies of Coal-Seam Gas through Recombinative Innovation and Patent Analysis

Coal-seam gas (CSG), as an alternative energy, has the characteristics of resource scarcity and technological exploitation complexity. The generation of ideas is vital to develop more efficient exploitation technologies for CSG. Innovative ideas originate from the recombination of existing knowledge elements according to recombinative innovation. The previous literature has focused on exploring an abundance of combinations, which leads to blindness towards idea generation. For this reason, it is critical to search for more valuable matching patterns among the redundant combinations of elements. In line with this concept, this paper proposes a method that consists of three phases: the collection of knowledge elements, the analysis of knowledge element depth and diversity, and the analysis of knowledge element relationships. In this process, we take the patent document as the carrier of knowledge recombination and identify the optimization method in the reorganization process by means of latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and association rules. This method is expected to assist in sparking better ideas for CSG exploitation technologies.

EQUAL CULPABILITY AND THE SCOPE OF THE WILLFUL IGNORANCE DOCTRINE

ABSTRACTCourts commonly allow willful ignorance to satisfy the knowledge element of a crime. The traditional rationale for this doctrine is that willfully ignorant misconduct is just as culpable as knowing misconduct. But it is not obvious that this “equal culpability thesis” holds across the board. Is it true in all cases of willful ignorance or only some? This is the question I investigate here.Specifically, I argue against several common versions of the equal culpability thesis before defending my own restricted version. First, I argue that the broadest version of the thesis, adopted by many courts, is overinclusive. Then I argue against several restricted versions of the thesis offered by legal theorists including Doug Husak, David Luban, and Deborah Hellman. My own account, by contrast, is premised on a duty of reasonable investigation. If my account is on the right track, the widely employed willful ignorance doctrine stands in need of reform.