Digital Rights Management and Consumer Acceptability: A Multi-Disciplinary Discussion of Consumer Concerns and Expectations

The INDICARE project – the Informed Dialogue about Consumer Acceptability of DRM Solutions in Europe – has been set up to raise awareness about consumer and user issues of Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions. One of the main goals of the INDICARE project is to contribute to the consensus-building among multiple players with heterogeneous interests in the digital environment. To promote this process and to contribute to the creation of a common level of understanding is the aim of the present report. It provides an overview of consumer concerns and expectations regarding DRMs, and discusses the findings from a social, legal, technical and business perspective. A general overview of the existing EC initiatives shows that questions of consumer acceptability of DRM have only recently begun to draw wider attention. A review of the relevant statements, studies and reports confirms that awareness of consumer concerns is still at a low level. Five major categories of concerns have been distinguished so far: (1) fair conditions of use and access to digital content, (2) privacy, (3) interoperability, (4) transparency and (5) various aspects of consumer friendliness. From the legal point of view, many of the identified issues go beyond the scope of copyright law, i.e. the field of law where DRM was traditionally discussed. Often they are a matter of general or sector-specific consumer protection law. Furthermore, it is still unclear to what extent technology and an appropriate design of technical solutions can provide an answer to some of the concerns of consumers. One goal of the technical chapter was exactly to highlight some of these technical possibilities. Finally, it is shown that consumer acceptability of DRM is important for the economic success of different business models based on DRM. Fair and responsive DRM design can be a profitable strategy, however DRM-free alternatives do exist too.Digital Rights Management; consumers; Intellectual property; business models

Digital Rights Management and Consumer Acceptability: A Multi-Disciplinary Discussion of Consumer Concerns and Expectations

The INDICARE project – the Informed Dialogue about Consumer Acceptability of DRM Solutions in Europe – has been set up to raise awareness about consumer and user issues of Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions. One of the main goals of the INDICARE project is to contribute to the consensus-building among multiple players with heterogeneous interests in the digital environment. To promote this process and to contribute to the creation of a common level of understanding is the aim of the present report. It provides an overview of consumer concerns and expectations regarding DRMs, and discusses the findings from a social, legal, technical and business perspective. A general overview of the existing EC initiatives shows that questions of consumer acceptability of DRM have only recently begun to draw wider attention. A review of the relevant statements, studies and reports confirms that awareness of consumer concerns is still at a low level. Five major categories of concerns have been distinguished so far: (1) fair conditions of use and access to digital content, (2) privacy, (3) interoperability, (4) transparency and (5) various aspects of consumer friendliness. From the legal point of view, many of the identified issues go beyond the scope of copyright law, i.e. the field of law where DRM was traditionally discussed. Often they are a matter of general or sector-specific consumer protection law. Furthermore, it is still unclear to what extent technology and an appropriate design of technical solutions can provide an answer to some of the concerns of consumers. One goal of the technical chapter was exactly to highlight some of these technical possibilities. Finally, it is shown that consumer acceptability of DRM is important for the economic success of different business models based on DRM. Fair and responsive DRM design can be a profitable strategy, however DRM-free alternatives do exist too

Ciudad del Flamenco: de choreografie van het proces

In dit boekwerk ‘Ciudad del Flamenco, de choreografie van het proces’, wordt het ruimtelijk ontwerp gepresenteerd, en het proces wat daar toe heeft geleidt, als antwoord op de schaduwprijsvraag ‘Ciudad del Flamenco’, destijds uitgeschreven door de gemeente van Jerez de la Frontera

No effects of in vivo micro-CT radiation on structural parameters and bone marrow cells in proximal tibia in Wistar rats detected after eight weekly scans

Recently developed in vivo animal high-resolution micro-CT scanners offer the possibility to monitor longitudinal changes in bone microstructure of small rodents, but may impose high radiation doses that could damage bone tissue. The goal of this study was to determine the effects on the bone of 8 weeks of in vivo scanning of the proximal tibia in female Wistar rats. Eight weekly CT scans were made of the right proximal tibia of nine female, 30-week-old, retired-breeder, Wistar rats. Two weeks after the last weekly scan, a final scan was made. The left leg was only scanned during first and final measurements and served as a control. A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures was performed on the first and last measurements of left and right tibiae for six bone structural parameters. Bone marrow cells were flushed out and tested for cell viability. No significant difference was found between left and right for any of the bone structural parameters (p > 0.05). Structure model index and trabecular separation significantly changed as a result of aging, while none of the other parameters did. No significant difference was found between left and right in absolute and percentage number of cell viability. We did not find any indication that the applied scanning regime, in combination with the particular settings used, would affect the results of in vivo bone structural measurements in long-term studies using aged, female Wistar rats. However, careful consideration should be made when determining the number of scans, particularly when a different experimental design is use