An Economist's Guide to Digital Music

In this guide, we discuss the impact of digitalization on the music industry. We rely on market and survey data at the international level as well as expert statements from the industry. The guide investigates recent developments in legal and technological protection of digital music and describes new business models as well as consumers' attitude towards music downloads. We conclude the guide by a discussion of the evolution of the music industry.Music; Internet; File-sharing; Peer-to-peer; Piracy; Digital Rights Management; Copyright; E-commerce

Peer-to-peer and community-based markets: A comprehensive review

The advent of more proactive consumers, the so-called "prosumers", with production and storage capabilities, is empowering the consumers and bringing new opportunities and challenges to the operation of power systems in a market environment. Recently, a novel proposal for the design and operation of electricity markets has emerged: these so-called peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity markets conceptually allow the prosumers to directly share their electrical energy and investment. Such P2P markets rely on a consumer-centric and bottom-up perspective by giving the opportunity to consumers to freely choose the way they are to source their electric energy. A community can also be formed by prosumers who want to collaborate, or in terms of operational energy management. This paper contributes with an overview of these new P2P markets that starts with the motivation, challenges, market designs moving to the potential future developments in this field, providing recommendations while considering a test-case

Demand Side Load Management for Big Industrial Energy Users under Blockchain-Based Peer-to-Peer Electricity Market

© 2010-2012 IEEE. Blockchain is the key technology of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and it is one of the most exciting technologies changing the world as of late. Targeting at big industrial energy users, this paper first presents a new market structure (i.e., transaction rules) under existing blockchain-based electricity transaction platforms to cover popular types of markets such as contract, day-ahead, adjustment and balancing markets; and then focuses on the optimal load management problem for a particular industrial user. The proof-of-work cost from blockchain is also modeled. A key feature of this load management problem is that the user has direct control on its own load. The obtained load control model is much more accurate than existing approaches in which system operators or demand aggregators cannot control load directly and have to rely on inaccurate estimations. As a case study, the pumping load of a water supply plant is investigated to illustrate how the demand load is managed under this blockchain-based market. From the case study, it is found that 18.9% of total cost can be saved under this new market structure

Master of Environmental Management Needs assessment 2021

To better understand the potential impact of a Master of Environmental Management (MEM) program at Boise State University, Idaho Policy Institute (IPI) was asked to assess peer programs across the nation, as well as employment opportunities for individuals with this skill set. IPI’s analysis included a review of peer program websites, interviews with peer program directors, an online survey of PhD program directors in related fields, analysis of job listings, and both an online survey and interviews with potential employers. Key findings of IPI’s analysis include: Peer programs tend to target working professionals who are interested in advancing their existing careers, thus serving as a terminal degree. MEM students that go on to pursue a PhD are typically self-directed. Programs situated near public policy hubs (e.g., state capitals, industry centers) are well suited to leverage that proximity into program opportunities, such as internships, policy clinics, or project-based activities. Communication skills are highly valued by employers in today’s market. Jobs in the environmental field increasingly call for collaborative approaches that are effective in communicating complicated material to diverse audiences. Peer programs emphasize the importance of diversity, both in course offerings and growing their student base. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in realignments among employers, requiring a flexible workforce that is able to adapt to changing circumstances and assume additional responsibilities. The more an MEM program can prepare students to adjust to these realities, the better off they will be in the job market

Alternative food networks in food system transition—values, motivation, and capacity building among young Swedish market gardeners

This study sheds light on a new generation of Swedish food producers, market gardeners, who are attracting attention in terms of food system sustainability, prompted by increasing consumer awareness about the value of healthy and locally produced food. Market gardening is part of a global agroecological movement opposed to industrialized agriculture and its negative impacts on the environment and rural communities. These food producers challenge the incumbent agri-food regime through the building of alternative food networks. This case-based study involving 14 young vegetable producers showed that young people who engage in market gardening are strongly motivated by dual incentives, namely entrepreneurship and transformation to sustainability. Six main competences were identified as important for market gardeners: practical skills related to growing vegetables, business management, innovation and continuous learning, systems thinking, pioneering, and networking. Individuals develop their skills through continuous experiential learning and gain knowledge through peer-to-peer learning using social media. However, they need to acquire certain skills relating to their daily work in the field and to managing a business. Market gardeners currently face a number of barriers erected by the sociopolitical environment, in particular regarding access to research-based knowledge, extension services, and business support

Collaboration in AEC Design : Web-enabling Applications using Peer-to-Peer Office Communicator

A market analysis conducted by Gartner Dataquest in August 2001 has shown the typical characteristics of the AEC design process. High volatility in membership of AEC design groups and members dispersed over several external offices is the common collaboration scenario. Membership is most times short lived, compared to the overall duration of the process. A technical solution has to take that into account by making joining and leaving a collaborative work group very easy. The modelling of roles of collaboration between group members must be based on a commonly understood principle like the publisher / subscriber model, where the individual that is responsible for the distribution of vital information is clear. Security issues and trust in the confidentiality of the system is a central concern for the acceptance of the system. Therefore, keeping the subset of data that will be published under the absolute control of the publisher is a must. This is not the case with server-based scenarios, sometimes even due to psychological reasons. A loosely bound Peer-to-Peer network offers advantages over a server-based solution, because of less administrative overhead and simple installation procedures. In a peer-to-peer environment, a publish/subscribe role model can be more easily implemented. The publish/subscribe model matches the way AEC processes are modelled in real world scenarios today, where legal proof of information exchange between external offices is of high importance. Workflow management systems for small to midsize companies of the AEC industry may adopt the peer-to-peer approach to collaboration in the future. Further investigations are being made on the research level (WINDS) by integrating the viewer and redlining application Collaborate! into a collaborative environment

An historical solution to the legal challenges posed by peer-to-peer file sharing and digital rights management technology

Author's draft. Final version published in Journal of Computer, Media and Telecommunications LawUS cases concerning Peer-to-Peer technologies (hereafter ‘p2p’) and Digital Rights Management (‘DRM’) mechanisms have placed considerable emphasis upon the financial interests of right holders, in particular the markets for their copyright works. The reason for this is historical – courts have often emphasised the interests of the right holder, and furthermore, assumed the interests of the right holder are synonymous with encouraging new creative copyright works. However, in the context of p2p and DRM, the interests of right holders, authors, and content recipients are in pronounced conflict. For this reason, the historically market orientated approach of the courts ultimately over emphasise the interests of right holders. This paper suggests that an alternative historical approach to copyright infringement in the UK can go some way to restoring the copyright balance