Dynamic analysis of an institutional conflict within the music industry

Peer-to-peer technology has made massive music piracy possible, which, in turn, has arguably had a significant economic impact on the recording industry. Record labels have responded to online piracy with litigation and are also considering self-help measures. It is currently not obvious whether or not these counter-piracy strategies will ultimately stifle online file sharing in the long term. With this paper we attempt to add to our understanding of the conflict within the institution that is the commercial music industry. We conduct an institutional analysis of the industry in transition and extend the traditional pattern modeling methodology with a formal resource-based model of a representative online music network. The model accounts for complex causal interactions between resources, private provision of common goods, free riding and membership dynamics. The numerical implementation of the model is the basis of a decision support system, which is used in a series of computer experiments that emulate anti-piracy scenarios. We show that a peer-to-peer system may be quite resilient to outside disturbances. The experiments also demonstrate that policies rank differently in their effectiveness based on a selected yardstick.Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks; Online File Sharing; Copyright; Simulation

Getting into sheep an introductory guide to sheep management

Sheep husbandry can be an interesting and rewarding activity but before starting to work with or buy sheep ask yourself if you are prepared to spend the time and effort to care for them. Sheep cannot be placed in a paddock and forgotten. The sheep, along with their water, feed and fences must be inspected regularly. If you do not live on the farm, or visit it only infrequently, make sure there is a responsible person available who is willing to inspect and manage the sheep on your behalf.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1201/thumbnail.jp

From Social Data Mining to Forecasting Socio-Economic Crisis

Socio-economic data mining has a great potential in terms of gaining a better understanding of problems that our economy and society are facing, such as financial instability, shortages of resources, or conflicts. Without large-scale data mining, progress in these areas seems hard or impossible. Therefore, a suitable, distributed data mining infrastructure and research centers should be built in Europe. It also appears appropriate to build a network of Crisis Observatories. They can be imagined as laboratories devoted to the gathering and processing of enormous volumes of data on both natural systems such as the Earth and its ecosystem, as well as on human techno-socio-economic systems, so as to gain early warnings of impending events. Reality mining provides the chance to adapt more quickly and more accurately to changing situations. Further opportunities arise by individually customized services, which however should be provided in a privacy-respecting way. This requires the development of novel ICT (such as a self- organizing Web), but most likely new legal regulations and suitable institutions as well. As long as such regulations are lacking on a world-wide scale, it is in the public interest that scientists explore what can be done with the huge data available. Big data do have the potential to change or even threaten democratic societies. The same applies to sudden and large-scale failures of ICT systems. Therefore, dealing with data must be done with a large degree of responsibility and care. Self-interests of individuals, companies or institutions have limits, where the public interest is affected, and public interest is not a sufficient justification to violate human rights of individuals. Privacy is a high good, as confidentiality is, and damaging it would have serious side effects for society.Comment: 65 pages, 1 figure, Visioneer White Paper, see http://www.visioneer.ethz.c

Understanding internal information systems security policy violations as paradoxes

Abstract: Violation of Information Systems (IS) security policies continue to generate great anxiety amongst many organizations that use information systems, partly because these violations are carried out by internal employees. This article addresses IS security policy violations in organizational settings, conceptualizes and problematizes IS security violations by employees of organizations from a paradox perspective. Background The paradox is that internal employees are increasingly being perceived as more of a threat to the security of organizational systems than outsiders. The notion of paradox is exemplified in four organizational contexts of; belonging paradox, learning paradox, organizing paradox and performing paradox. Methodology A qualitative conceptual framework exemplifying how IS security violations occur as paradoxes in context to these four areas is presented at the end of this article. Contribution The article contributes to IS security management practice and suggests how IS security managers should be positioned to understand violations in light of this paradox perspective. Findings The employee generally in the process of carrying out ordinary activities using computing technology exemplifies unique tensions (or paradoxes in belonging, learning, organizing and performing) and these tensions would generally tend to lead to policy violations when an imbalance occurs

Parallel Narrative: Short-Video Social Media Platforms’ Influences on Contemporary Narrative

Through the study of Kwai, a popular short-video social media platform in China, this thesis investigates the social issues, media class divides and aesthetics specific to Kwai culture. It further proposes a strategy of artistic practice - parallel narrative - an experiment in video art production and editing techniques that explores new possibilities of narrative in video art. Integrating theoretical research on Post-Internet art and object-oriented ontology, this thesis reveals people’s ability to digest multisource information and shows how mobile technologies and open-source materials contribute to the formation of parallel narratives

The Economics of Smoking

While the tobacco industry is among the most substantial and successful economic enterprises, tobacco consumption kills more people than any other product. Economic analysis of tobacco product markets, particularly for cigarettes, has contributed considerable insight to debates about the industry's importance and appropriate public policy roles in grappling with health consequences of tobacco. The most significant example is the rapidly expanding and increasingly sophisticated body of research on the effects of price increases on cigarette consumption. Because excise tax is a component of price, the resultant literature has been prominent in legislative debates about taxation as a tool to discourage smoking, and has contributed theory and empirical evidence to the growing interest in modeling demand for addictive products. This chapter examines the research and several equity and efficiency concerns accompanying cigarette taxation debates. It includes economic analysis of other tobacco control policies, such as advertising restrictions, prominent in tobacco control debates. Research addressing the validity of tobacco-industry arguments that its contributions to employment, tax revenues, and trade balances are vital to economic health in states and nations is also considered, as it is the industry's principal weapon in the battle against policy measures to reduce tobacco consumption.

The Behavioral Roots of Information Systems Security:Exploring Key Factors Related to Unethical IT Use

Unethical information technology (IT) use, related to activities such as hacking, software piracy, phishing, and spoofing, has become a major security concern for individuals, organizations, and society in terms of the threat to information systems (IS) security. While there is a growing body of work on this phenomenon, we notice several gaps, limitations, and inconsistencies in the literature. In order to further understand this complex phenomenon and reconcile past findings, we conduct an exploratory study to uncover the nomological network of key constructs salient to this phenomenon, and the nature of their interrelationships. Using a scenario-based study of young adult participants, and both linear and nonlinear analyses, we uncover key nuances of this phenomenon of unethical IT use. We find that unethical IT use is a complex phenomenon, often characterized by nonlinear and idiosyncratic relationships between the constructs that capture it. Overall, ethical beliefs held by the individuals, along with economic, social, and technological considerations are found to be relevant to this phenomenon. In terms of practical implications, these results suggest that multiple interventions at various levels may be required to combat this growing threat to IS security

ENHANCING USABILITY USING AUTOMATED SECURITY INTERFACE ADAPTATION (ASIA)

2 PUBLISHED CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS PROVIDED IN APPENDIX E.Many users are now significantly dependent upon computer application. Whilst many aspects are now used very successfully, an area in which usability difficulties continue to be encountered is in relation to security. Thus can become particularly acute in situations where users are required to interact and make decisions, and a key context here is typically when they need to respond to security warnings. The current implementation of security warnings can often be considered as an attempt to offer a one size fits all solution. However, it can be argued that many implementations are still lacking the ability to provide meaningful and effective warnings. As such, this research focuses upon achieving a better understanding of the elements that aid end-users in comprehending the warnings, the difficulties with the current approaches, and the resulting requirements in order to improve the design and implementation of such security dialogues. In the early stage of research, a survey was undertaken to investigate perceptions of security dialogues in practice, with a specific focus upon security warnings issued within web browsers. This provided empirical evidence of end-users’ experiences, and revealed notable difficulties in terms of their understanding and interpretation of the security interactions. Building upon this, the follow-up research investigated understanding of application level security warnings in wider contexts, looking firstly at users’ interpretation of what constitutes a security warning and then at their level of comprehension when related warnings occurred. These results confirmed the need to improve the dialogues so that the end-users are able to act appropriately, and consequently promoted the design and prototype implementation of a novel architecture to improve security warnings, which has been titled Automated Security Interface Adaptation (ASIA). The ASIA approach aims to improve security warnings by tailoring the interaction more closely to individual user needs. By automatically adapting the presentation to match each user’s understanding and preferences, security warnings can be modified in ways that enable users to better comprehend them, and thus make more informed security decisions and choices. A comparison of the ASIA-adapted interfaces compared to standard versions of warnings revealed that the modified versions were better understood. As such, the ASIA approach has significant potential to assist (and thereby protect) the end-user community in their future interactions with security.UNIVERSITY SAINS MALAYSIA (USM), MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION MALAYSIA(MOHE