Parallel Imports Debate: Resource Advantage Theory Perspective

Parallel imports (PI) are goods brought legally into a market without the authorization of the local intellectual property rights (IPR) owner. Whether governments should allow PI liberally or not has been a subject of great debate. In this paper, we argue that full-scale liberalization of PI hurts international competition and should not be allowed. Instead, we argue that national/regional IPR exhaustion within countries or groups of countries with similar demand characteristics, while sustaining price differentiation across groups with different demand characteristics, may be the optimal global policy on PI activities. Our arguments are based on Resource Advantage (R-A) theory

Validating the instrument of web based collaborative learning competences using factor analysis

AbstractThere is no available instrument which determines teacher candidates’ competences of web based collaborative learning. Our study has provided findings about teacher perceptions in Cyprus. This article describes the development, testing and application of a suitable instrument. Research data for the tests of reliability and validity was obtained from a sample of 300 teacher candidates from the education faculty of Near East University in 2010. The final version of Web based collaborative learning competence scale (WBCL - CS) includes dimensions seeking teacher candidates’ feedback on two facets of the web based collaborative learning. Sub-dimensions are defined as,“Using and development of materials” and “Material sharing and communication”. Validity has been established by the use of factor analysis. Internal consistency coefficient and reliability of the scale showed that this instrument can be used for the future studies. According to the results of this research teacher candidates exhibited above medium levels of competence towards web based collaborative learning

Giftedness and Technology

AbstractThe aim of this study is to determine the gifted students’ opinions on the use of technological tools. Furthermore, it seeks to determine the gifted students’ mobile phone usage purposes, use of social networking sites, the hours spent with technological tools, opinions on social media usage, opinions about the place of technology in their lives, opinions on technology usage in education and opinions on technology usage as a communication tool. The descriptive method is applied in this study. The population of the study consists of 105 secondary school students enrolled in Science and Art Center. 45 of them are female and 58 of them are male. “Students’ technological device use habits on their social lives”6 scale is used to collect the data. According to results of the study, gifted students have stated that they cannot imagine a life without technology. Gifted students who have membership in more than 3 social media accounts reported that they feel sad and angry when there is no internet connection. In addition, they indicated that technology plays an important role in their education. Furthermore, they stated that they contact with other students for a short period of time through technology and share their experiences and knowledge with each other

The Evaluation of The Most Used Mobile Devices Applications by Students

AbstractMobile devices and mobile device applications have become an indispensable factor in our daily lives. Recent research shows that the usage of mobile devices is gradually increasing. With the increase use of mobile devices, the use of mobile device applications has been an agenda for the purpose of education. Due to the factors, which mobile devices hold, the applications downloaded for the intention to operate the process of education are increasing day by day. In this study, the applications most used by students on mobile device's will be determined and for these applications to be used in the process of education. Within the scope of this study, a questioner was applied to 72 university students using mobile devices. When the result of the questioners where taken in to account, it has been established that the university students did not use their mobile device applications for educational purposes, but mainly they used them for communication and social networking purposes. If opportunities offered by mobile device applications are used for educational purposes, a more effective education environment could be created

Gray Market for Information Technology (IT) Products: Status, Implications, and Strategies to Address the IT Gray Market Threat

When genuine and branded Information Technology (IT) products flow through unauthorized channels, IT gray markets emerge. Gray markets for IT products represent a grave threat for many IT companies. Monetary losses in profits due to IT gray markets are estimated to be in the billions of dollars. Despite the importance of guidance in addressing the IT gray market threat, the paucity of IS research in gray markets is surprising. In this article, we discuss the IT gray market phenomenon, present the legal status of gray markets in several developed and developing nations, suggest some strategies to address the gray market problem, discuss implications, and call for future IS research in this important area

Opiniones de los estudiantes de educación especial en programas de certificado de educación a distancia

In this study, the opinions of the undergraduate, graduate and PhD students were taken who study in the special education department about the certificate programs opened by distance education for the individuals with physical, visual and hearing impairment. The Qualitative research method was used in the research. In this context, the researchers prepared the interview questions used in the research. 40 volunteer students from the Department of teaching who were mentally handicapped, MA and PHD programs for the special education have attended the research at the Near East University during 2015- 2016-fall semester. The answers given by the students to the questions within the scope of the research were re-examined with the expert opinion and the results were later interpreted by using the induction technique. According to the results of this research, the provided education by distance education method with 24 hour access without time and space limitation gives great advantage to disabled individuals. The distance education certificate programs have also resulted in the employment opportunities for the people with hearing, sight and physical inability as enabling them to continue life without being isolated from the society. Certificate programs about surveyor training, e-marketing and working as an operator in call centers are given for the physically handicapped people. For the visually impaired people certificates are given in order to enable them to work as an operator in call centers, as translators, as online trainers. Lastly, certificates about training for sign language, graphic design, web design and programming are given to the people with hearing impairment.En este estudio, se tomaron las opiniones de los estudiantes de grado, posgrado y doctorado que estudian en el departamento de educación especial sobre los programas de certificación abiertos por la educación a distancia para las personas con discapacidades físicas, visuales y auditivas. Método de investigación cualitativa se utilizó en la investigación. En este contexto, las preguntas de la entrevista utilizadas en la investigación fueron preparadas por los investigadores. 40 estudiantes voluntarios del Departamento de enseñanza para discapacitados mentales, programas de maestría y doctorado para la educación especial han asistido a la investigación en la Universidad de Oriente Próximo durante el semestre de otoño 2015-2016. Las respuestas dadas por los estudiantes a las preguntas dentro del alcance de la investigación fueron reexaminadas con la opinión de expertos y los resultados se interpretaron posteriormente mediante el uso de la técnica de inducción. De acuerdo con los resultados de esta investigación, proporcionar educación a través del método de educación a distancia con acceso las 24 horas sin limitación de tiempo y espacio brinda una gran ventaja a las personas discapacitadas. Los programas de certificación de educación a distancia también han dado como resultado oportunidades de empleo para las personas con audición, vista e incapacidad física que les permiten continuar la vida sin estar aislados de la sociedad. Los programas de certificación sobre capacitación de topógrafos, emarketing y trabajo como operador en centros de llamadas se otorgan a las personas con discapacidades físicas. Para las personas con discapacidad visual, los certificados se otorgan para permitirles trabajar como operadores en centros de llamadas, como traductores como capacitadores en línea. Por último, los certificados de capacitación en lenguaje de señas, diseño gráfico, diseño web y programación se entregan a las personas con discapacidad auditiva

Spectrum-Aware and Energy-Adaptive Reliable Transport for Internet of Sensing Things

© 1967-2012 IEEE. Wireless sensors equipped with cognitive radio, i.e., cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSN), can access the spectrum in an opportunistic manner and coexist with licensed users to mitigate the crowded spectrum problem and provide ubiquitous remote event monitoring and tracking for cyber-physical systems. In this paper, a novel transport layer protocol for CRSN, spectrum-aware energy-adaptive reliable transport protocol is presented to enable energy-adaptive collaborative event sensing in spectrum-scarce cyber-physical systems. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to specifically devise a reliable event transport scheme for CRSN

Systematic Analysis of Multi-Source Inspection Database via Ship Smart Audit System

This study proposes a methodology to deeply analyze the multi-source inspection/audit findings gathered from a ship fleet to promote and implement proactive measures systematically. In addition to the ship audit reports of Company-A operating 16 bulk carriers in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the multi-source inspection database also consists of benchmarking datasets of different fleets. The Ship Smart Audit System (SSAS), including data collection, causation, analysis and prioritization, and implementation phases, is developed to strengthen the maritime regulatory compliance. Particularly, the Marine Systematic Cause Analysis Technique (M-SCAT), Cognitive Mapping (CM), and Pareto analysis are integrated into methodological background of the study. The SSAS is demonstrated with 5,000 findings from the benchmarking dataset and, subsequently, over 1,900 findings from the Company-A. Then, cause priorities, root cause trends, preventive actions, and audit item preferences are identified as an interconnected process of the ship management company. Consequently, the study encourages maritime executives to increase the effectiveness of pre-inspection and internal audit implementations

Secondary Education Teachers’ training needs towards web based collaborative learning in TRNC

AbstractThe aim of this study is to investigate the teacher's education needs towards collaborative learning. The sample of the study consists of 200 teacher from Secondary and High Schools in North Cyprus. “Web based collaborative learning” questionnaire developed by Ozdamli & Bicen (2009) was used to collect data. The first phase of the questionnaire involves 9 demographic questions and second phase involves 20 likert type statements. The result of the study show that the high school teachers in TRNC need to be educated about creating videos, blogging pages, publishing their own studies, applying web based education applications, and using wikis in their courses. Ministry of Education should give in-service training to teachers considering these needs