Elvis is returning to the building: understanding a decline in unauthorized file sharing

A set of representative consumer surveys shows that in the Netherlands unauthorized file sharing of music has declined substantially between 2008 and 2012. It decreased slightly for games, but almost doubled for films and TV series. Overall, file sharing dropped from 38% to 27% of the population. The empirical evidence presented supports the hypothesis that adequate legal services for downloading and streaming music helped to reduce file sharing, whereas a lack of good digital audiovisual services made consumers turn to illegal alternatives

Masses and magnetic moments of baryons in a QCD-string model

In this thesis we have explored the baryon wave function obtained from the QCD-Lagrangian by the field correlator method. Using this method, the gluonic degrees of freedom have been integrated out and an effective Lagrangian was obtained. In the lowest order of the approximation scheme, neglecting gluon and meson exchanges, the resulting baryon wave function is given by a product of three independent single-quark orbitals, each satisfying the Dirac-like equation with a nonlocal kernel. This kernel is the nonlocal quark mass operator M(x,y), represented by the QCD string and containing both confinement and CSB. We have used the baryon wave function obtained in this way, to calculate the magnetic moments of the lowest baryon octet and decuplet representation of the SU(3)-flavor group. Reasonable agreement with experimental baryon magnetic moments was obtained for a string tension of while the baryon masses were in the correct region without need for introduction of constituent quark masses. Since the confining nonlocal operator M(x,y) does not involve any spin-dependent interactions, the first stage of the model does not account for the mass splitting between the baryon octet and decuplet. We have subsequently improved this omission by considering in addition perturbative one-gluon and pseudoscalar meson exchanges. For the interaction of the pseudoscalar meson with the quark both the pseudoscalar and the pseudovector coupling have been investigated. The effects of excited single-quark orbitals on the baryon ground state are also considered. The calculation is performed by using all possible combinations of four single-quark orbitals for the u,d-quark and the s-quark to build different three-particle states. The resulting states are used as a basis to diagonalize the Hamiltonian. As a result, the predictions on the mass spectrum and the magnetic moments of the quarks improve. The best overall agreement is found when the string tension is lowered to and a pseudovector coupling of the pseudoscalar meson to the quark is used

Multimodal probe for optical coherence tomography epidetection and micron-scale indentation

We present a multimodal ferrule-top sensor designed to perform the integrated epidetection of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) depth-profiles and micron-scale indentation by all-optical detection. By scanning a sample under the probe, we can obtain structural cross-section images and identify a region-of-interest in a nonhomogeneous sample. Then, with the same probe and setup, we can immediately target that area with a series of spherical-indentation measurements, in which the applied load is known with a μN precision, the indentation depth with sub-μm precision and a maximum contact radius of 100μm. Thanks to the visualization of the internal structure of the sample, we can gain a better insight into the observed mechanical behavior. The ability to impart a small, confined load, and perform OCT A-scans at the same time, could lead to an alternative, high transverse resolution, Optical Coherence Elastography (OCE) sensor

Cultuur naar vermogen: aard, gebruik en toepasbaarheid van generiek instrumentarium voor ondersteuning van de Nederlandse cultuur

Veel instellingen en projecten in de culturele sector worden gesubsidieerd. Daar zijn legitieme redenen voor te geven. Maar nu de sector wordt uitgedaagd alternatieve financieringsbronnen aan te boren, blijken er diverse belemmeringen te bestaan. Subsidies hebben de behoefte aan andere vormen van financiering vaak verdrongen. Ook spreken de culturele en financiële wereld nog onvoldoende elkaars taal. Het bestaande financieringsinstrumentarium van de overheid kent bovendien enkele belemmeringen, waardoor benutting door de culturele sector achterblijft. De creatieve bedrijfstakken zoals de mediasector, architectuur en vormgeving zijn daarbij marktgerichter, maar ook daar valt winst te behalen. Dit onderzoek beoogt meer zicht te verkrijgen op instrumenten die de culturele en creatieve sector kunnen ondersteunen bij het verwerven van financiering. Het richt zich primair op het generieke instrumentarium van de rijksoverheid en heeft betrekking op de verschillende sectoren binnen de culturele en creatieve sector, te weten erfgoed, musea, podiumkunsten, beeldende kunsten, letteren, film, nieuwe media, vormgeving en architectuur

Quantitative measurements of absorption spectra in scattering media by low-coherence spectroscopy

Low-coherence spectroscopy (LCS) is a spectroscopic method that allows for quantitative and localized assessment of absorption spectra by combining reflection spectroscopy with low-coherence interferometry. We describe absorption coefficient (µa) measurements by LCS in tissue simulating phantoms with varying scattering and absorbing properties. We used LCS in the 455–680 nm wavelength range with a spectral resolution of 8 nmto obtain µa spectra with ±0.5 mm−1 accuracy. We conclude that LCS is a promising technique for the in vivo determination of tissue chromophore concentrations

Flexible copyright: the law and economics of introducing an open norm in the Netherlands

This study analyses the law and economics of introducing flexibility in the system of exceptions and limitations in Dutch copyright law. Such flexibility would exist in an open norm, on the basis of which the courts can decide whether certain uses of copyrighted material are permissible or not, instead of explicitly defining this in the law. First, it assesses problem areas where the lack of flexibility creates legal disputes and potential barriers to innovation and commercialisation. Second, it analyses the economic rationale and economic effects of introducing flexibility. The study was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation. Research methods used are literature review and in-depth interviews. The study includes a case study of Israel, where a fair use exception was introduced in the Copyright Act in 2007. Exceptions and limitations in the current copyright system are meant to balance the protection granted to rights owners with the public interest’s need to make certain unauthorized uses. However, this report identified a number of situations that do not fit well within the current set of exceptions and limitations and attributes this to a lack of flexibility. Among these uses are the activities of search engines, the use of works in User Created Content, cloud computing, data mining, distance learning, and transformative uses by, for instance, documentary filmmakers. Several of these problem areas have given rise to court proceedings with varying outcomes. The interpretation given by courts to existing exceptions and limitations - such as the quotation right, the exception for transient and incidental copying, the private copying exception, and the incidental use exception - is usually too narrow to respond to new technological developments, new developments in the creation process, or new commercialisation models. These types of uses generally do not ‘fit’ the narrowly defined exceptions and limitations and therefore lack legal basis. The same is true for things not yet invented. Because the law is not flexible in itself, courts have increasingly found inventive ways to create legal space for uses that are not covered by the exhaustive list of exceptions. In these cases flexibility with specific evaluation criteria could have been more satisfactory from a legal perspective. Flexibility could be obtained by introducing an open norm in the copyright system. This report defines such an open norm for the purpose of analysing the effects of more flexibility in copyright law. The norm has two main properties. First, it would coexist with the exhaustive list of exceptions and limitations in the current Dutch Copyright Act. Second, a use of a work would only benefit from the open norm if it passes the so-called three-step test, which takes the interests of the author or right holder into account. The first category of economic effects of introducing an open norm is that for some known uses that otherwise require licensing, the open norm would allow unlicensed use. Thispotentially reduces the reward to the creator of a work and therefore decreases the incentive to create. By contrast, it is also likely to reduce the creator’s costs of using another work as an input when producing a new work, and therefore to increase the incentive to create. It is difficult to predict which of these two opposing effects ultimately turns the scale in specific markets. Traditional creators generally worry about the negative effect on their reward and seem to believe that the first effect dominates. For businesses that use large numbers of protected works as an input for their services, such as Google, the opposite is true. They emphasise the benefits of reduced input costs and are likely to improve their legal position with an open norm. Collective rights management organisations in turn fear that their bargaining power vis-à-vis users like UCC-platforms, such as YouTube, would suffer from an open norm. However, given the design of the open norm, it is unlikely that rewards for creators are significantly affected. The application of the open norm by the courts tests for adverse effects on the business model of the rights holder (the previously mentioned three-step test). In case of severe adverse effects on the rights holder, the open norm does not apply. The shift in bargaining power from rights holders to user (platforms) is limited to cases that are currently licensed and where parties are sufficiently confident that the use benefits from the open norm. The second category of economic effects of introducing an open norm is that the legal delineation between infringement and permissible use becomes capable of accommodating developments in technology and society. This enables entrepreneurs to develop new products and services that rely on currently unforeseen use of protected material. On the downside, flexibility may reduce legal certainty in the short run, until jurisprudence on the practice of flexible copyright has developed. The countries that have recently introduced an open norm in their copyright laws have not produced any ex-ante or ex-post studies on the magnitude of these economic effects. The case study of fair use in Israel shows that the change may decrease legal certainty in the short run (as case law needs time to develop), but improve legal certainty in the longer run, as the legal position of acts that do not ‘fit’ a rigid system with an exhaustive list of static exceptions is being clarified. In sum, the main effects of introducing an open norm seem to be of a legal nature: it changes the legal position of some businesses and therefore affects the costs these businesses make to comply with copyright. ‘Tomorrow’s inventions’ are likely to be facilitated by an open norm. Since most businesses seem currently not chilled by the lack of flexibility, the effect on products and services available in the market is likely to be secondary to the legal effects