Legal, Economic, and Cultural Aspects of file sharing

This contribution seeks to identify the short- and long-term economic and cultural effects of file sharing on music, films and games, while taking into account the legal context and policy developments. The short-term implications examined concern direct costs and benefits to society, whereas the long-term impact concerns changes in the industry’s business models as well as in cultural diversity and the accessibility of content. It observes that the proliferation of digital distribution networks combined with the availability of digital technology among consumers has broken the entertainment industries’ control over the access to their products. Only part of the decline in music sales can be attributed to file sharing. Despite the losses for the music industry, the increased accessibillity of culture renders the overall welfare effects of file sharing robustly positive. As a consequence the entertainment industries, particularly the music industry, have to explore new models to sustain their busines.filesharing, downloading/uploading, entertainment industry, cultural analysis, economic analysis, legal and policy analysis.

Border blocking effects in collaborative firm innovation: exploring the factors related with scientist' willingness to incorporating external knowledge

Border regions are not often associated with innovation and economic prosperity. Nevertheless, the opening up of borders in Europe has presented new opportunities for firms located in these border regions to co-operate and find necessary resources for their innovation process. Despite the reduction of the importance of borders, firms seeking to access those resources need still ‘cross’ the border and address the various effects it brings. This paper therefore asks the question of how the presence of a border affects the processes by which firms attempt to build up productive co-operations for innovation. We stylise inter-firm innovation across borders as building up through four sequential stages cooperation in four stages, and each of these different stages are susceptible to different kinds of border effects. Using a case study of firms co-operating across the Dutch-Flemish border, we empirically explore these border crossing processes in order to shed further light on how border processes play ou

Digitalisering en dynamiek : over de consequenties van de digitale revolutie voor de media-industrie, in het bijzonder de uitgeverij

Informatie en communicatietechnologie zorgen steevast voor diepgaande maatschappelijke en culturele ontwikkelingen. Dat was het geval bij de introductie van de boekdrukkunst; dat geldt ook voor de opkomst van digitale technologie. In deze oratie worden de ontwikkelingen in informatie- en communicatietechnologie in de bredere discussie over de wijze waarop technologie en samenleving zich tot elkaar verhouden geplaatst. Ondanks de oorsprong van technologische ontwikkeling in maatschappij en menselijk handelen gaat van technologie een vormende kracht op de samenleving die door diezelfde samenleving moeilijk beheerst kan worden. De auteur bespreekt actuele ontwikkelingen in het domein van informatie en media, meer in het bijzonder de ontwikkeling van de uitgeverij en het boek in het digitale tijdperk. In zijn ogen is het lot van het traditionele boek nog lang niet bezegeld. Toch is de technologische vooruitgang ook op dit terrein niet te stuiten en heeft de digitale file het gedrukte woord in sommige domeinen van de uitgeverswereld al verdrongen. De auteur voorziet dat het gedrukte boek door digitalisering niet volledig verdwijnt, zijn rol zal veranderen. Een van de lessen die de boekenindustrie van de muziekindustrie kan leren is dat het onverwachte partijen de doorslag kunnen geven in een innovatietraject. Google Books zou zich kunnen ontwikkelen tot de iTunes van de boekenbranch

The applicability of displacement ventilation for individual control of a microclimate

This paper introduces the desk displacement ventilation concept, which combines displacement ventilation with task conditioning. The experimental setup and results of full-scale steady-state and transient measurements and numerical simulations are described for a typical office configuration. Results are used to evaluate the concept with regard to the micro/macroclimate and thermal comfort. The steady-state results show that the separation between the micro- and macroclimate, which is characteristic of task conditioning, is less pronounced and may require improvement of the concept. This effect is investigated further via transient experiments. Results of the transient study show that the application of the displacement ventilation principle for task conditioning purposes is not suitable for standard office configurations. It should at least be supported by an additional system that introduces the air at higher velocity close to the occupant, of which several system types are already available today.</p

The impact of festivalization on the Dutch live music action field

In the global pop music industries, revenue models have shifted from physical record sales to streaming services and live performances. At the same time, the supply of live music performances has changed as a result of festivalization. This study aims to understand the effects of festivalization on the strategic action field (SAF) of the Dutch live music ecology. This paper is grounded in a qualitative thematic analysis based on in-depth interviews with directors of pop music venues and festivals. Contributing to the scholarly literature on festivalization we approach this concept from inside the strategic action field (SAF) of live music and place it within the context of the rapidly changing music industries. Among other results we emphasize the significant multiple value creation produced by festivals, the strategic advantages of festivals in relation to traditional music venues and the potential co-evolution within the live music action field

Indirect costs of disease; an international comparison

Results of economic evaluations are often strongly influenced by estimates of indirect costs. International comparability of these estimates may contribute to rational decision-making in health care policy. Hence, estimates should be international comparable. Comparability of these results between countries may be hampered due to variation in methodology, data sources, valuation of production losses, and social security arrangements. Furthermore differences in epidemiology, demography and economic environment may cause variation in the level and the distribution by diagnosis of indirect costs. In this study indirect costs of disease for the Netherlands are compared with estimates for Sweden and the United States. We found large differences: both in the share of indirect costs in GDP as in the constituting elements, absence from work, disability and mortality. The level of indirect costs due to absence from work and the distribution according to diagnosis are quite similar for the two European countries. The costs of disability are particularly high for the Netherlands. Comparison of disability costs between the three countries is hampered due to lack of quantitative information on the influence of social insurance arrangements on the level of indirect costs and the distribution by diagnosis. The large number of deaths at young age in the U.S. is responsible for the higher mortality costs compared to the two European countries