GSE Student Papers

This study establishes a multi-dimensional macroeconomic framework to quantify the regional and international economic impacts of university-to-industry technology transfer initiatives (Leontief 1986; Roessner et al. 2013). Utilizing Wassily Leontief's Input-Output (I/O) formulations alongside a forward-looking stochastic pipeline model, we estimate the cumulative gross domestic product (GDP) contributions, employment generation, and productivity spillovers resulting from cross-border intellectual property (IP) licensing (AUTM 2024; BIO 2022). Applying this methodology to the active technology portfolios of corporate members within TECH Tokyo's Innovation Exchange, the empirical model projects 37.00 expected agreement executions from a dataset of 252 active candidate technologies (TECH Tokyo 2026). Results indicate a cumulative Japanese GDP contribution of $364.08 million (¥54.61 billion) and direct spillover output of $102.90 million across originating economies (USA, UK, and EU). Enterprise-level microeconomic assessments further reveal substantial transaction cost savings when licensing directly from academic institutions relative to inter-firm asset acquisitions (Williamson 1981).

This article examines the value of Arabic as the language of instruction (LOI) at both the primary and tertiary levels in the Arab World by drawing on recent empirical research on LOI policies and practices within a comparative framework, as well as scholarship on language and bilingual development. It presents a theoretical framework for reading global research on mother-tongue instruction in light of the linguistic particularities of Arabic, where Modern Standard Arabic predominates in academic and formal contexts while spoken dialects predominate in everyday life. Building on this discussion and the theoretical framework, the article explores both the educational value of Modern Standard Arabic, and the role of dialects as linguistic resources that can support language- and content-learning across the curriculum. The article offers a transparent, reasoned analysis in the style of analytic philosophy while grounding its claims in contemporary empirical and theoretical studies. It underscores the importance of taking public attitudes toward Arabic and its use as LOI seriously, as these attitudes shape the broader environment in which language-in-education policies succeed or fail. The article calls for language-in-education policies grounded in both scientific research, plus clarity toward educational aims for individuals and societies through public and transparent deliberation. It also proposes pathways to strengthen student learning of and though Arabic, as well as narrow the gap between Modern Standard Arabic and spoken dialects within the classroom and in society.

The European Union stands at a pivotal moment in its economic trajectory, engaged in a fierce global competition to transition from a resource-intensive industrial model to a dynamic, knowledge-based economy. Central to this transition is the role of the university not merely as a repository of knowledge, but as an active engine of economic creation. While Europe boasts a dense network of prestigious research universities and maintains robust levels of public investment in research and development (R&D), a persistent and systemic gap remains between scientific output and commercial application. This phenomenon, widely characterized in policy literature as the "European Paradox," represents a critical underutilization of university intellectual property (IP) and entrepreneurship programs.

This report, prepared for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, provides an exhaustive policy analysis of this challenge. The client for this analysis is the European Commission, specifically the leadership responsible for the Horizon Europe framework and national innovation system coordination. The analysis proceeds from a clear problem definition: despite world-class research inputs, European universities significantly underperform in generating high-growth spin-outs, licensing revenue, and commercial patents compared to international peers, particularly the United States.

Drawing on comprehensive comparative data from the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and member states of the European Union, this analysis identifies four intertwined root causes of this underutilization: (1) organizational inertia and bureaucratic bottlenecks within Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs); (2) misaligned incentive structures that penalize faculty entrepreneurship and dilute founder equity; (3) deep-seated cultural resistance to commercialization within the academic guild; and (4) the fragmentation of regional innovation ecosystems which prevents the realization of critical mass (Fukugawa, 2025).

The evidence presented is compelling and urgent. In the United Kingdom—a relatively mature market within the European context—university licensing revenue and equity sales represented a mere 2.1% of total research expenditure in 2021-22, according to the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (2023). Furthermore, European universities have historically demanded excessive equity stakes in spin-outs, averaging 15-30% (and often higher), compared to a norm of 2-7% in the United States (Air Street Capital, 2021; Royal Academy of Engineering, 2025). This predatory equity stance creates a "cap table" structure that is often uninvestable for venture capital, strangling promising ventures in the cradle.

This report constructs and evaluates five distinct policy alternatives to address these failures:

1. Status Quo (Baseline): Continuing current fragmented national approaches.
2. Reform and Professionalization of TTOs: A supply-side intervention focusing on capacity building.
3. Incentive Alignment: A demand-side intervention restructuring rewards for faculty and founders.
4. Collaborative Platforms: A structural intervention building regional networks.
5. Enhanced Experiential Entrepreneurship Education: A long-term human capital intervention.

Through a rigorous projection of outcomes based on the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, equity, feasibility, and sustainability, this analysis recommends a comprehensive Systemic Level Reform. This strategy does not rely on a single lever but integrates the professionalization of TTOs, the realignment of faculty incentives through mandated "founder-friendly" policies, and the creation of collaborative regional innovation networks to overcome fragmentation. The projected outcome of this reform is a measurable increase in the velocity and volume of commercialization, transforming Europe’s research excellence into tangible economic sovereignty.

In recent years, cosplay fans gathering at anime conventions and events all over North America have attracted much public attention and media coverage. These fans, who often refer to themselves as otaku, 1 wear elaborate costumes and makeup to embody various anime, manga, and related video game characters (Cooper-Chen, 2010; Eng, 2012a). The essence of cosplay, or costume-play, involves affective labor where fans transform themselves into chosen anime characters by constructing and wearing costumes, learning signature character poses or dialogue, and masquerading at conventions and events (Okabe, 2012). Crossplay is a subset of cosplay; crossplayers similarly participate in costume-play, except they dress up in costumes modeled after characters of the opposite gender. This paper addresses male-to-female (“M2F”) crossplay where, as the name suggests, male cosplayers costume themselves as female anime characters. I contend that M2F crossplay exemplifies the performance of gender and sexuality in cosplay that challenges hegemonic norms, providing insight into an increasingly visible phenomenon in contemporary North American popular culture. When men crossplay as women, they are not merely donning femininity, but hyper-femininity, revealing the socially constructed nature of gender roles yet concomitantly reinforcing them. Yet, despite apparent similarities between crossplay and drag performances, they are fundamentally distinct. Drag Queens in Western culture typically connotes men cross-dressing as an exhibition of self-identity, whereas M2F crossplayers costume as female anime characters to partake in an aesthetic transformation that goes beyond mere self-expression. Thus, this paper aims to provide a preliminary exploration of M2F crossplay through a case study, investigating the motivations behind and process of crossplay performance, its status within the cosplay community, and the implications for broader society in relation to hegemonic gender norms.

In this autobiographical narrative, the author recounts her experiences teaching the novel Always Running with her English classes at a high school in a gang heavy area. When she first started teaching, this teacher struggled to engage students. One particularly disruptive student requested to read Always Running, but the teacher initially resisted teaching the text. However, student interest in the novel endured, and the teacher finally decided to take a risk and teach it. She used the novel in both her freshmen “intervention” and junior English classes. Throughout the resulting lessons, the teacher formed meaningful relationships with her students and both she and they learned valuable lessons about academic content, themselves and humanity. Amidst the unit’s success, the teacher wrote a grant to bring the book’s author, Luis Rodriguez, to speak to the campus. His visit served to deepen the novel’s impact and emphasize the importance of finding personal meaning.

Drawing primarily on interviews with a variety of teachers and other staff at a large urban Title-1 public school in California, Victoria Theisen-Homer paints an ethnographic portrait of how school personnel respond to undesirable changes. Although the school in this study, Skyline High School, had begun to thrive and most of the staff felt their school was “special,” the changes - including increased accountability in preparation for the school’s accreditation audit, turnover and conflicts among school leaders, and crippling budget cuts that removed staff and resources – threatened to compromise the school’s nascent success. While most of the participants in this study complained of the school’s declining culture and attributed this to similar issues, their responses to these factors differed significantly; their differing attempts to improve the situation ultimately served to further divide teachers and leaders in consequential ways. The author concludes with recommendations for educational leaders, policymakers, and teachers who intend to shepherd schools through similar times of change.