The Fate of Napster: Digital Downloading Faces an Uphill Battle

First Diamond Multimedia, then MP3.com, now Napster. The recording industry, in a flurry to protect its copyrighted material, has waged an all-out battle against the dot-coms for the future of copyrighted music on the Internet. Since A&M Records, along with several other labels which comprise the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), filed suit against Napster, emotions have run high in the online community. Some have heralded this technology as a much-needed alternative to the strangling grasp of the major record labels; others view it as blatant theft of property. Students, musicians, computer programmers, trade organizations, and even the US government have voiced their opinions - all perhaps sensing that the outcome of the Napster litigation will have far-reaching consequences. Not only does the current battle over the fate of peer-to-peer technology promise to reshape the face of copyright law, it will also mark the future of the music industry, emerging technologies, and business models for years to come.The following iBrief describes the emergence of Napster\u27s peer-to-peer technology, the legal proceedings to date, and Napster\u27s defensive strategy, as well as the potential technological and cultural ramifications of the Napster cause celebr

The Fate of Napster: Digital Downloading Faces an Uphill Battle

First Diamond Multimedia, then MP3.com, now Napster. The recording industry, in a flurry to protect its copyrighted material, has waged an all-out battle against the dot-coms for the future of copyrighted music on the Internet. Since A&M Records, along with several other labels which comprise the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), filed suit against Napster, emotions have run high in the online community. Some have heralded this technology as a much-needed alternative to the strangling grasp of the major record labels; others view it as blatant theft of property. Students, musicians, computer programmers, trade organizations, and even the US government have voiced their opinions - all perhaps sensing that the outcome of the Napster litigation will have far-reaching consequences. Not only does the current battle over the fate of peer-to-peer technology promise to reshape the face of copyright law, it will also mark the future of the music industry, emerging technologies, and business models for years to come.The following iBrief describes the emergence of Napster\u27s peer-to-peer technology, the legal proceedings to date, and Napster\u27s defensive strategy, as well as the potential technological and cultural ramifications of the Napster cause celebr

Public health advocacy and journalism: Towards a healthy population lessons from Boston University’s Program for Global Health Storytelling

This presentation was given at Lesall College on September 24, 2019. We provided an overview of the Boston University Program for Global Health Storytelling and the graduate class we have been since 2018. We are particularly interested in the intersection where public health and journalism meet and sometimes clash. Collaboration between our fields is vital but not always easy

The Future of Database Protection in U.S. Copyright Law

In the recent British Horseracing Board case, the English High Court signaled a return to the sweat of the brow standard of copyright protection. Although recent attempts have been made in the United States to protect databases under this standard, this iBrief argues that the information economy is wise to continuing protecting this data through trade secret, State misappropriation and contract law until legislation is passed

Rapid ecosystem recovery from diffuse pollution after the Great Irish Famine

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Ecological Applications on September 2010, available at: https://doi.org/10.1890/09-1966.1Remarkably little is known about the effectiveness or rates of recovery of aquatic ecosystems from reductions in human-associated pressures at landscape scales. The retention of anthropogenic contaminants within ecosystems can retard rates of recovery considerably, while the trajectories of recovery processes vary with the extent of disturbance and the resilience of biotic assemblages. The Great Irish Famine of 1845-1850 comprised one of the most significant human disasters of the 19th century, causing the death of approximately one million people and the emigration of a further two million from the country between 1845 and 1855. We found, through analysis of detailed historical census data combined with paleolimnological investigation of sedimentary nutrient concentrations, stable isotope ratios, and diatom assemblages, that the trophic level of Lough Carra, a largely shallow calcareous lake in the west of Ireland with no urban areas or point sources of any significance in its catchment, reduced considerably during and immediately after the Great Famine, shifting to new equilibria within just 2-10 years. Our results demonstrate that the reduction of human pressures from diffuse sources at landscape scales can result in the rapid and monotonie recovery of aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, the recovery of ecosystems from diffuse pollution need not necessarily take longer than recovery from pollution from point sources.S

Mapping ground instability in areas of geotechnical infrastructure using satellite InSAR and Small UAV Surveying: a case study in Northern Ireland

Satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), geological data and Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) surveying was used to enhance our understanding of ground movement at five areas of interest in Northern Ireland. In total 68 ERS-1/2 images 1992–2000 were processed with the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) InSAR technique to derive the baseline ground instability scenario of key areas of interest for five stakeholders: TransportNI, Northern Ireland Railways, Department for the Economy, Arup, and Belfast City Council. These stakeholders require monitoring of ground deformation across either their geotechnical infrastructure (i.e., embankments, cuttings, engineered fills and earth retaining structures) or assessment of subsidence risk as a result of abandoned mine workings, using the most efficient, cost-effective methods, with a view to minimising and managing risk to their businesses. The InSAR results provided an overview of the extent and magnitude of ground deformation for a 3000 km2 region, including the key sites of the disused salt mines in Carrickfergus, the Belfast–Bangor railway line, Throne Bend and Ligoniel Park in Belfast, Straidkilly and Garron Point along the Antrim Coast Road, plus other urbanised areas in and around Belfast. Tailored SUAV campaigns with a X8 airframe and generation of very high resolution ortho-photographs and a 3D surface model via the Structure from Motion (SfM) approach at Maiden Mount salt mine collapse in Carrickfergus in 2016 and 2017 also demonstrate the benefits of very high resolution surveying technologies to detect localised deformation and indicators of ground instabilit

iRsp1095: A genome-scale reconstruction of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides metabolic network

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Rhodobacter sphaeroides </it>is one of the best studied purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacteria and serves as an excellent model for the study of photosynthesis and the metabolic capabilities of this and related facultative organisms. The ability of <it>R. sphaeroides </it>to produce hydrogen (H₂), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) or other hydrocarbons, as well as its ability to utilize atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a carbon source under defined conditions, make it an excellent candidate for use in a wide variety of biotechnological applications. A genome-level understanding of its metabolic capabilities should help realize this biotechnological potential.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we present a genome-scale metabolic network model for <it>R. sphaeroides </it>strain 2.4.1, designated iRsp1095, consisting of 1,095 genes, 796 metabolites and 1158 reactions, including <it>R. sphaeroides</it>-specific biomass reactions developed in this study. Constraint-based analysis showed that iRsp1095 agreed well with experimental observations when modeling growth under respiratory and phototrophic conditions. Genes essential for phototrophic growth were predicted by single gene deletion analysis. During pathway-level analyses of <it>R. sphaeroides </it>metabolism, an alternative route for CO₂assimilation was identified. Evaluation of photoheterotrophic H₂production using iRsp1095 indicated that maximal yield would be obtained from growing cells, with this predicted maximum ~50% higher than that observed experimentally from wild type cells. Competing pathways that might prevent the achievement of this theoretical maximum were identified to guide future genetic studies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>iRsp1095 provides a robust framework for future metabolic engineering efforts to optimize the solar- and nutrient-powered production of biofuels and other valuable products by <it>R. sphaeroides </it>and closely related organisms.</p