The Aftermath of Aftermath: The Impact of Digital Music Distribution on the Recording Industry

[Excerpt] “This article will address the impact the shift from hard-copy recordings to digital music distribution has had on the recording industry. Specifically, it will apply F.B.T. Productions v. Aftermath Records, which correctly held that a label’s relationship with third-party-digital-music-providers is that of licensor-licensee, to the modern music industry. Based on this holding, record labels need to reconsider their relationships with artists, and create new business models that rely on licensing music, rather than the traditional sale-based distribution model. The decision in Aftermath will lead to increased royalties for artists in the Digital Age. This article will analyze the impact of that decision for the modern music industry by advocating for increased artist royalties in this digital music era. By examining other relevant case law, the fundamental purpose of royalty distributions, and the evolution of the recording industry, this article will emphasize the need for the recording industry to adapt to the changing musical landscape and suggest possible business models.

Les droits des usagers de services en santé mentale : Le noeud étroit du pouvoir, de la loi et de l’éthique

Depuis un quart de siècle, au Québec comme ailleurs en Occident, les patients psychiatriques sont devenus des « usagers » ou des « consommateurs », et des mesures législatives et administratives se sont développées présumément pour que ce changement ne soit pas purement symbolique. Cet article suggère que pour les usagers qui en ont le plus besoin, les « droits » restent aussi symboliques que le changement de terminologie. Les droits donnés par la loi sont sans substance si ceux à qui elle les accorde n'ont pas les moyens de les exercer. Une préoccupation pour les droits des usagers doit se pencher inévitablement sur le manque de pouvoir subi par les usagers à l'intérieur du système de santé mentale et du système juridique. Le manque de recherches dans ce domaine est évident. Il est impératif et urgent de se pencher sur la manière dont les droits sont vécus par les usagers.Over the past 25 years, in Québec as in the rest of the western world, "mental patients" have become "users" or "consumers", and laws and procedures have been developed ostensibly to make such change more than merely symbolic. This article suggests that for those users who most need the benefit of "rights", those rights themselves remain as symbolic as the change in terminology. Legal rights are empty gifts if those who receive them do not have the means to exercise them meaningfully. Concern for the legal rights of users must inevitably address the lack of power they experience within the mental health and justice systems. Research is urgently required in order to assess whether and how rights are experienced as concrete and empowering in the lives of users.Desde hace un cuarto de siglo, en el Quebec como en otras partes en occidente, los pacientes siquiâtricos se han vuelto "usuarios" o "consumidores", y medidas legislativas y administrativas se desarrollaron presumidamente para que este cambio no sea purament simbôlico. Este articulo sugiere que para los usuarios que han tenido mas necesidad, los "derechos" has quedado tan simbolicos como el cambio de terminologia. Los derechos acordados por la ley no tienen sustancia si aquellos a quienes se les acuerdan no poseen los medios de ejercelos. Una preocupaciôn por los derechos de los usuarios debe inevitablemente inclinarse hacia la falta de poder que al interior des sistema de salud y des sistema jurîdico, padecen los usuarios. La falta de investigaciones en este campo es évidente. Es imperativo y urgente de ver la manera como los derechos son vividos por los usuarios

Lunar Glovebox Balance with Wireless Technology

The most important equipment required for processing lunar samples is a high-quality mass balance for maintaining accurate weight inventory, security, and scientific study. After careful review, a Curation Office memo by Michael Duke in 1978 chose the Mettler PL200 to be used for sample weight measurements inside the gloveboxes (Fig. 3). These commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) balances did not meet the strict accepted material requirements in the Lunar lab. As a result, each balance housing, weighing pan, and wiring was custom retrofitted to meet Lunar Operating Procedure (LOP) 54 requirements [for material construction restrictions]. The original design drawings for the custom housings, readout support stands, and wiring were done by the JSC engineering directorate. The 1977- 1978 schematics, drawings, and files are now housed in the curation Data Center. Per the design specifications, the housing was fabricated from aluminum grade 6061 T6, seamless welds, and anodized per MIL-A-8625 type I, class I. The balance feet were TFE Teflon and any required joints were sealed with Viton A gaskets. The readout display and support stands outside the glovebox were fabricated from 300 series stainless steel with #4 finish and mounted to the glovebox with welded bolts. Wire harnesses that linked the balance with the outside display and power were encapsulated with TFE Teflon and transported through custom Deutsch wire bulk head pass-through systems from inside to outside the glovebox. These Deutsch connectors were custom fabricated with 316L stainless steel bodies, Viton A O-rings, aluminum 6061 with electroless nickel plating, Teflon (replacing the silicone), and gold crimp connectors (no soldering). Many of the Deutsch connectors may have been used in the Apollo program high vacuum complex in building 37 and date to about 1968 to 1970

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Cluster Analysis: A Preliminary Assessment

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus has been causing major concerns around the world because of its epidemic potential, rapid dissemination, rate of mutations, and the number of fatalities. One way to gain an advantage over this virus is to use existing rapid bioinformatics tools to examine easily and inexpensively generated genetic sequencing data. We have used the protein sequences deposited with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) for data mining to study the relationship among the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 proteins. There are 11 proteins in the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, and analysis of sequences from 65 different locations around the globe has resulted in two major clusters. These clusters illustrate the Pandemic H1N1 2009 virus is already experiencing significant genetic drift and that rapid worldwide travel is affecting the distribution of genetically distinct isolates

The political economy of mental health : power and interests within a complex system

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal

The Acquisition, Containment, and Curation of Mars Samples on Earth

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA Johnson Space Center (henceforth AACO) is responsible for receiving and curating all of NASAs extraterrestrial samples, current and future (as per NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 7100.10E Curation of Extraterrestrial Materials). As such, the AACO coordinates sample capture, containment, and transportation to the curation facility as well as documents, preserves, prepares, and distributes all of the samples within NASAs astromaterial collections for research, education, and public outreach. Since the lunar rock and soil samples returned during the Apollo Program, NASAs first Class V Restricted Earth Return Missions, the AACO curates six other astromaterials collections. Lessons learned from each collection and respective missions (e.g. Apollo, Genesis, Stardust) as well as advancements in science and technology have informed the AACOs plan for acquiring and curating Martian samples. Given the nature of the collection, a mobile and modular facility is recommended. The two broad requirements a Mars sample facility must maintain are: 1) the ability to contain the samples to protect the public from exposure of an unknown unknown biological agent and 2) ensure the scientific integrity of the samples are maintained (while maximizing scientific outcome). Although Apollo samples were eventually deemed safe and released to the scientific community for evaluation, there is no guarantee that this will be the case for Martian samples. Therefore, the facility in which the samples will be contained and investigated must be modular and able to accommodate an array of instrumentation that could be highly variable depending on the initial scientific outcomes. Furthermore, in order to facilitate proper sample capture and containment upon landing as well as sample distribution to other laboratories with proper containment, a mobile facility is a valuable investment

A Wannier-function-based ab initio Hartree-Fock study of polyethylene

In the present letter, we report the extension of our Wannier-function-based ab initio Hartree-Fock approach---meant originally for three-dimensional crystalline insulators---to deal with quasi-one-dimensional periodic systems such as polymers. The system studied is all-transoid polyethylene, and results on optimized lattice parameters, cohesive energy and the band structure utilizing 6-31G** basis sets are presented. Our results are also shown to be in excellent agreement with those obtained with traditional Bloch-orbital-based approaches.Comment: 15 Pages, RevTex, inludes four figures, Chem. Phys. Letts., in press (1998

Mobile/Modular BSL-4 Containment Facilities Integrated into a Curation Receiving Laboratory for Restricted Earth Return Missions

NASA robotic sample return missions designated Category V Restricted Earth Return by the NASA Planetary Protection (PP) Office require sample containment and biohazard testing upon return to Earth. Since the 1960s, sample containment from an unknown extraterrestrial biohazard have been related to the highest containment standards and protocols known to modern science. Today, this is Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 containment. In the U.S., the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories publication authored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health houses the primary recommendations, standards, and design requirements for all BSL labs. Past mission concept studies for constructing a NASA Curation Receiving Laboratory with an integrated BSL-4 quarantine and biohazard testing facility have been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars (USD). As an alternative option, we have conducted a trade study for constructing a mobile and/or modular sample containment laboratory that would meet all BSL-4 and planetary protection standards and protocols at a fraction of the cost. Mobile and modular BSL-2 and 3 facilities have been successfully constructed and deployed world-wide for government testing of pathogens and pharmaceutical production. Our study showed that a modular BSL-4 construction could result in ~ 90% cost reduction when compared to traditional BSL-4 construction methods without compromising the preservation of the samples or Earth. For the design/construction requirements of a mobile/modular BSL-4 containment, we used the established HHS document standards and protocols for manipulation of agents in Class III Biosafety Cabinets (BSC; i.e., negative pressure gloveboxes) that are currently followed in operational BSL-4 facilities in the U.S

Reconstruction et rééquilibrage du lien social: une étude exploratoire sur les rôles de l’inclusion sociale, de l’appropriation du pouvoir d’agir et de l’espoir dans le rétablissement

Le paradigme du rétablissement en santé mentale remet la question de l'inclusion sociale, de l'appropriation du pouvoir d'agir et de l'espoir d'un mieux-être au cœur des approches d'intervention et des services. Dans le présent article, nous présentons les résultats du volet qualitatif (n = 15 participants et participantes) d'une recherche exploratoire réalisée à Québec auprès de personnes aux prises avec la schizophrénie ou des psychoses apparentées, vivant dans la communauté et suivies dans le cadre d'un programme de traitement et de réadaptation fondé sur une approche de rétablissement. Nos résultats fournissent un éclairage particulier sur les dynamiques de reconstruction et de rééquilibrage des liens sociaux dans les cheminements de rétablissement de ces personnes. Ils suggèrent ainsi que la relation entre l'inclusion sociale et l'appropriation du pouvoir d'agir est dialectique: l'inclusion sociale est facilitée par, et contribue à, l'appropriation du pouvoir. De plus, cette dialectique se vit aussi dans un changement du regard porté sur soi et sur son devenir, incluant l'espoir d'être « mieux », d'être « plus » et, surtout, d'être avec. The recovery paradigm in mental health places social inclusion, empowerment and hope at the centre of service delivery. In this article we present results from the qualitative part (n = 15 participants) of an exploratory research project carried out in Quebec City with persons suffering from schizophrenia and related psychotic conditions, who live in the community and are served by a recovery-oriented treatment and rehabilitation centre. Our results cast light on the dynamics of reconstruction and rebalancing of social ties in the participants' recovery pathways. The results also suggest that the relationship between social inclusion and empowerment is dialectical: social inclusion is facilitated by, and contributes to, empowerment. Furthermore, this dialectic is also noted in a shift in participants' perception of self and future, including the hope to become “better,” to “go further,” and, above all, to be with

Water in evolved lunar rocks: Evidence for multiple reservoirs

We have measured the abundance and isotopic composition of water in apatites from several lunar rocks representing Potassium (K), Rare Earth Elements (REE), and Phosphorus (P) − KREEP − rich lithologies, including felsites, quartz monzodiorites (QMDs), a troctolite, and an alkali anorthosite. The H-isotope data from apatite provide evidence for multiple reservoirs in the lunar interior. Apatite measurements from some KREEP-rich intrusive rocks display moderately elevated δD signatures, while other samples show δD signatures similar to the range known for the terrestrial upper mantle. Apatite grains in Apollo 15 quartz monzodiorites have the lowest δD values measured from the Moon so far (as low as −749‰), and could potentially represent a D-depleted reservoir in the lunar interior that had not been identified until now. Apatite in all of these intrusive rocks contains 6500 ppm H2O). Complexities in partitioning of volatiles into apatite make this comparison uncertain, but measurements of residual glass in KREEP basalt fragments in breccia 15358 independently show that the KREEP basaltic magmas were low in water. The source of 15358 contained ∼10 ppm H2O, about an order of magnitude lower than the source of the Apollo 17 pyroclastic glass beads, suggesting potential variations in the distribution of water in the lunar interior