The Singer or the Song? Developments in Performers' Rights from the Perspective of a Cultural Economist

Over the last century, performers gradually acquired statutory protection of their economic and moral rights. These rights are not copyright in the legal sense but neighboring rights and until recently, they were mainly remuneration rights that are collectively administered. With the WPPT (WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty), performers now have individual exclusive rights for digital performances; this leads to the question: what has motivated this change – is it a change in the perception of the value of performer or a change brought about by the changing technology of copying or, indeed, a change that reflects different economic costs and benefits? The paper discusses the role of copyright law as an incentive to performers and asks if the economic role of the performer is so different from that of the author. The conclusion is that a complex interaction of the legal regulations, economic conditions and institutional arrangements for administering these new rights will determine the outcome

Assessing a Collaborative Online Environment for Music Composition

The current pilot study tested the effectiveness of an e-learning environment built to enable students to compose music collaboratively. The participants interacted online by using synchronous and asynchronous resources to develop a project in which they composed a new music piece in collaboration. After the learning sessions, individual semi-structured interviews with the participants were conducted to analyze the participants\u2019 perspectives regarding the e-learning environment\u2019s functionality, the resources of the e-learning platform, and their overall experience with the e-learning process. Qualitative analyses of forum discussions with respect to metacognitive dimensions, and semi-structured interview transcriptions were performed. The findings showed that the participants successfully completed the composition task in the virtual environment, and that they demonstrated the use of metacognitive processes. Moreover, four themes were apparent in the semi-structured interview transcriptions: Teamwork, the platform, face-to-face/online differences, and strengths/weaknesses. Overall, the participants exhibited an awareness of the potential of the online tools, and the task performed. The results are discussed in consideration of metacognitive processes, and the following aspects that rendered virtual activity effective for learning: The learning environment, the platform, the technological resources, the level of challenge, and the nature of the activity. The possible implications of the findings for research on online collaborative composition are also considered

Plant Tour and Meeting with Members of Interface’s Sustainability Team: December 16, 2009

Simply stated, business does not work without the infusion of ethics. While “ethics” can be interpreted in a relative manner, there is no dispute within the scientific community as to the deleterious effects of unrestricted manufacturing processes and the role of environmental factors in generating health crises. The “cradle to grave” designation ― once descriptive of wasteful industrial practices ― is capable of evolving into a “cradle to cradle” approach, triggering a newfound common sense thinking demonstrated by both producers and consumers alike. The Interface experience is demonstrating this evolutionary process

Getting It on Record: Issues and Strategies for Ethnographic Practice in Recording Studios

The recording studio has been somewhat neglected as a site for ethnographic fieldwork in the field of ethno-musicology and, moreover, the majority of published studies tend to overlook the specific concerns faced by the researcher within these contexts. Music recording studios can be places of creativity, artistry, and collaboration, but they often also involve challenging, intimidating, and fractious relations. Given that recording studios are, first and foremost, concerned with documenting musicians’ performances, we discuss the concerns of getting studio interactions “on record” in terms of access, social relations, and methods of data collection. This article reflects on some of the issues we faced when conducting our fieldwork within British music recording facilities and makes suggestions based on strategies that we employed to address these issues

EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES ON COMPETITIVENESS AND RESEARCH IN A KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY. WHERE DOES ROMANIA STAND?

In order to cope with the challenges of globalization Europe will have tofocus on its creative and innovative capacity, creativity and innovation being crucial inmeeting global challenges, this being the more evident given the current economic crisis.Our paper analyzes the EU cohesion policy (as a tool for addressing challenges in thelong run) on regional development, as well as the regions’ role in the economicdevelopment with regard to research and innovation, in order to lead towards astrengthening of competitiveness. We also question to what extent is encouragingresearch-development-innovation a priority for Romania, given the European standpoint.Our study is mainly based on data provided by various communications from theEuropean Commission, EUROSTAT, and the Statistical Yearbook of Romania.economic development, regional policy, R&D, competitiveness, innovation

Knowledge management and innovation: How are they related?

Companies in today’s globalised world must innovate to compete. Many successful companies have found that knowledge management strategies and practices are central to ongoing innovation (Boutellier et al., 1999; David & Foray, 2001; ADLittle, 2001; Tidd et al., 1997). This paper brings together research regarding knowledge management processes and practices that are found in R&D organisations and in other innovative firms. The paper contends that such practices could be employed across a range of firms to enable and enhance the potential for innovation within firms in multiple sectors