An Affective Model for Unauthorized Sharing of Software

Software piracy has been studied by academics, software firms, law enforcement agents and policy makers for many years. Previous research in software piracy either did not differentiate between unauthorized copying and unauthorized sharing, or focused only on unauthorized copying. We believe the motivating factors behind the two behaviors are quite different because beneficiaries of the behaviors are different. In this paper, we consider unauthorized sharing as a kind of helping behavior and draw on relevant literature to see if the motivations behind unauthorized sharing can be better appreciated from an affective perspective. We tested the affective model of unauthorized sharing based on empirical data obtained from a large-scale survey. We found from the survey that both perceived affordability and perceived convenience could arouse sympathy or annoyance with the unauthorized copier, and their effects were mediated by perceived controllability of the need of unauthorized copying. Our results support the strong effects of affective factors on the moral obligation of unauthorized sharing

Risk of Using Pirated Software and its Impact on Software Protection Strategies

The software protection strategy of software developer and the inherent risk to end user in using pirated software are two major factors that affect a user’s decision on whether to purchase or pirate a software product. This paper analyzes the optimal protection strategy for software developer in horizontally and vertically differentiated markets. We find that the implementation cost of software protection constitutes the primary factor for software developers to determine their software protection strategies. However, in a vertically differentiated market, the lower quality product should always adopt a non-protection strategy, regardless of the protection implementation cost. In other cases, protection would only be optimal if the protection implementation cost to the software developer is relatively small. These findings are consistent with anecdotal evidence

The Role of Morality in Digital Piracy: Understanding the Deterrent and Motivational Effects of Moral Reasoning in Different Piracy Contexts

Digital piracy has been a chronic issue in intellectual property protection. With the prevalence of online technologies, digital piracy has become even more rampant, as digital resources can now be accessed and disseminated easily through the Internet. While the antecedents of piracy behaviors have been studied for years, previous studies often focus on a specific type of behavior or pirated content and the findings are far from conclusive. They do not paint a coherent picture of the impacts of antecedents. In this study, we focus on the role of morality by revealing the different levels of moral reasoning that can both deter and motivate users’ piracy intentions. Furthermore, we differentiate between two types of piracy behaviors (unauthorized copying/downloading vs. unauthorized sharing) and two categories of digital products (application software vs. music/movies), so that the differential impacts of the various antecedents can be assessed and articulated more clearly. We empirically evaluated the models in the four piracy contexts using a sample of 3,426 survey participants from a sizable IT-literate society. Our findings indicate the conflicting roles of morality in piracy intention and demonstrate its differential impacts across the two types of piracy behaviors, which can be generalized across the two categories of digital products. Our study sheds new light on end users’ considerations in accessing and disseminating unauthorized digital content. It also informs the design of copyright protection policies and sanction measures with different levels of specificity

Passive CO₂ removal in urban soils:evidence from brownfield sites

Management of urban brownfield land can contribute to significant removal of atmospheric CO2 through the development of soil carbonate minerals. However, the potential magnitude and stability of this carbon sink is poorly quantified as previous studies address a limited range of conditions and short durations. Furthermore, the suitability of carbonate-sequestering soils for construction has not been investigated. To address these issues we measured total inorganic carbon, permeability and ground strength in the top 20 cm of soil at 20 brownfield sites in northern England, between 2015 and 2017. Across all sites accumulation occurred at a rate of 1–16 t C ha−1 yr−1, as calcite (CaCO3), corresponding to removal of approximately 4–59 t CO2 ha−1 yr−1, with the highest rate in the first 15 years after demolition. C and O stable isotope analysis of calcite confirms the atmospheric origin of the measured inorganic carbon. Statistical modelling found that pH and the content of fine materials (combined silt and clay content) were the best predictors of the total inorganic carbon content of the samples. Measurement of permeability shows that sites with carbonated soils possess a similar risk of run-off or flooding to sandy soils. Soil strength, measured as in-situ bearing capacity, increased with carbonation. These results demonstrate that the management of urban brownfield land to retain fine material derived from concrete crushing on site following demolition will promote calcite precipitation in soils, and so offers an additional CO2 removal mechanism, with no detrimental effect on drainage and possible improvements in strength. Given the large area of brownfield land that is available for development, the contribution of this process to CO2 removal by urban soils needs to be recognised in CO2 mitigation policies

Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Link

AbstractThe Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Link will be built across the mouth of the Pearl River Delta linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao in the south of China. The link will comprise of a dual 3-lane with hardshoulder motorway with a total length of approximately 42km, of which approximately 30km will be in mainland territory and approximately 12km will be within Hong Kong territory. The link will comprise of Border Crossing Facilities on reclaimed land in Zhuhai and Hong Kong, approximately 30km of sea-crossing bridges, approximately 5km of immersed tunnel, two artificial islands, approximately 2km of at-grade road and approximately 2km of cut and cover tunnel. The preliminary design of the link on the mainland side has been carried out by a joint venture of HPDI+ARUP+COWI+SHTDI+FHCL and on the Hong Kong side by ARUP alone. The division of work is as follows:•HPDI-Lead•ARUP-Bridges•COWI-Tunnel•SHTDI-Islands•FHCL-Electrical & MechanicalThis paper describes the design of the bridges on the link. The client for the link on the mainland side comprises the governments of the Guangdong Province PRC, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR. The client on the Hong Kong side is the Highways Department of the Hong Kong SAR

Adaptive mouse-replacement interface control functions for users with disabilities

We discuss experiences employing a video-based mouse-replacement interface system, the Camera Mouse, at care facilities for individuals with severe motion impairments and propose adaptations of the system. Traditional approaches to assistive technology are often inflexible, requiring users to adapt their limited motions to the requirements of the system. Such systems may have static or difficult-to-change configurations that make it challenging for multiple users to share the same system or for users whose motion abilities slowly degenerate. As users fatigue, they may experience more limited motion ability or additional unintended motions. To address these challenges, we propose adaptive mouse-control functions to be used in our mouse-replacement system. These functions can be changed to adapt the technology to the needs of the user, rather than making the user adapt to the technology. We present observations of an individual with severe cerebral palsy using our system.National Science Foundation (IIS-0713229, IIS-0855065, IIS-0910908

A Pilot Study Comparing HPV-Positive and HPV-Negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas by Whole Exome Sequencing.

Background. Next-generation sequencing of cancers has identified important therapeutic targets and biomarkers. The goal of this pilot study was to compare the genetic changes in a human papillomavirus- (HPV-)positive and an HPV-negative head and neck tumor. Methods. DNA was extracted from the blood and primary tumor of a patient with an HPV-positive tonsillar cancer and those of a patient with an HPV-negative oral tongue tumor. Exome enrichment was performed using the Agilent SureSelect All Exon Kit, followed by sequencing on the ABI SOLiD platform. Results. Exome sequencing revealed slightly more mutations in the HPV-negative tumor (73) in contrast to the HPV-positive tumor (58). Multiple mutations were noted in zinc finger genes (ZNF3, 10, 229, 470, 543, 616, 664, 638, 716, and 799) and mucin genes (MUC4, 6, 12, and 16). Mutations were noted in MUC12 in both tumors. Conclusions. HPV-positive HNSCC is distinct from HPV-negative disease in terms of evidence of viral infection, p16 status, and frequency of mutations. Next-generation sequencing has the potential to identify novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers in HNSCC