Currently, digital music is evolving. In connection with this development new business models are formed, e.g. between majors and mobile operators. In the thesis, I am analysing the current trends and czech and foreign music services in this field. In my own research I am evaluating czech customers preferences in respect to digital music, their music habits and their idea of an ideal music service offered by mobile operator. On basis of music services analysis and the research results, I am suggesting an ideal music service to the biggest mobile operator in the Czech republic.

This thesis attempts to contribute to the discussion over the problem of maritime piracy that poses a threat to maritime transport as well as international trade. The impact of maritime piracy was researched mainly in the context of Somali pirates. Currently the problem concerns other areas, which are the subject of my investigation. The thesis is focused on maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and Southeast Asia, which are the current piracy hotspots. The main goal is to identify the implications of maritime piracy and analyze its impact on international trade in the given regions.

[pt] A proposta desta dissertação é analisar o processo de deslizamento e ressignificação de narrativas empreendido pelo mercado informal de DVDs do Rio de Janeiro. Trata-se de verificar de que modo a apropriação de produtos culturais por esse mercado paralelo suscita alterações na esfera de recepção de obras previamente produzidas para outros circuitos de distribuição. Atualmente, o desenvolvimento das tecnologias informacionais e as possibilidades de apropriação de conteúdos na internet vêm modificando as rotas de circulação dos produtos culturais. A estrutura descentralizada desta nova lógica cultural gera efeitos tanto no universo da recepção dos espectadores quanto no campo da produção dos grandes veículos de comunicação. Não se fazendo notar por produtos próprios, os esquemas de ação do mercado paralelo se caracterizam por suas maneiras inventivas de empregar os produtos já existentes, lançando mão de artimanhas, como reproduzir novas capas e atribuir outros títulos para os DVDs. No recorte desta dissertação, realizado a partir de vasto material reunido em pesquisa de campo, foram selecionados para análise alguns exemplares das séries de filmes, das coletâneas criadas pelos camelôs e dos chamados DVDs montagem, conforme são conhecidos no mercado paralelo os DVDs que nunca saíram oficialmente. / [en] The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the narratives sliding and reframing process launched by the DVD s informal market of Rio de Janeiro. The objective is to verify how the appropriation of cultural goods raise changes in the reception of works previously produced by another distribution system. Nowadays the development of information technologies and the possibilities of content appropriation in the web have been changing the routes of cultural goods. The decentralized structure of this new cultural logic brings effects not only to the universe of the spectator s reception, but also to the line production of major communication corporations. Not pointed out by its own products, the scheme of actions adopted by the parallel market are characterized by the managing of ready made products, making use of tricks such as reproducing new covers and renaming the DVDs with titles different from the original. In this dissertation, among a wide range of data collected in field research, pieces of DVD collections made by hucksters, as well as several DVD mountings (DVDs that have never been officially launched, as known in the parallel market) have been selected for analysis.

In this study, a method is developed for modelling and classifying behaviour of maritime vessels in a piracy situation. Prior knowledge is used to construct a probabilistic graphical model of maritime vessel behaviour. This model is a novel variant of a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN), that extends the switching linear dynamic system (SLDS) to accommodate contextual information. A generative model and a classifier model are developed. The purpose of the generative model is to generate simulated data by modelling the behaviour of fishing vessels, transport vessels and pirate vessels in a maritime piracy situation. The vessels move, interact and perform various activities on a predefined map. A novel methodology for evaluating and optimising the generative model is proposed. This methodology can easily be adapted to other applications. The model is evaluated by comparing simulation results with 2011 pirate attack reports. The classifier model classifies maritime vessels into predefined categories according to their behaviour. The classification is performed by inferring the class of a vessel as a fishing, transport or pirate vessel class. The classification method is evaluated by classifying the data generated by the generative model and comparing it to the true classes of the simulated vessels. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / PhD / Unrestricted

National security of the United States of America is dependent on secure use of the world's oceans. U. S. security interests are bound to international trade which is carried out primarily by ships (80 percent of world trade by volume of which 20 percent is bound to U. S. maritime trade). Vastness of maritime domain brings about many security issues which threaten interests of the United States. Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on 9/11 caused rapid intensification of security measures. These measures have been implemented to deal with maritime related threats such as terrorism, piracy, drug smuggling, human trafficking, arms trade, computer criminality or natural disasters. This work proceeds from widened concept of security pioneered by authors representing the Copenhagen school.

Fildelning av upphovsrättsskyddad egendom har ökat i stor utsträckning efter inträdet av ny media och nya kommunikationskanaler. Målet med denna studie är att undersöka om företag behandlas enligt samma normativa standard som vanliga individer när de utsätts för ett brott. Christies teori om det ideala offret används för att analysera brottsmål rörande fildelning i Sverige mellan 2005 och 2011. Resultatet har, i flera bemärkelser, omformulerat hur offerskapet i sig konstitueras; den individ som är det ideala offret är inte svag och försvarslös utan en person med hög social status och inflytande. Företagen i studien behandlas således som objektiva agenter och deras status som offer ifrågasätts inte av domstolarna. / Piracy in intellectual property has grown extensively by the entrance of new media and communication channels. The aim of the present study is to examine if the companies are treated by the same normative standards as regular individuals when they are exposed to a crime. Christie’s theory of the ideal victim has been used in order to analyze legal the company as a victim cases concerning piracy in Sweden between 2005 and 2011. The findings have, in many respects, reformulated how victimhood itself is constituted; the individual who is the ideal victim is not weak and defenseless but a person who enjoys a high social status and influence. The companies in the study are consequently treated as objective agents and their status as victims is not questioned by the courts.

Modern piracy has escalated outside the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. In order to bring suspected pirates and alleged armed robbers to justice, the European Union has entered into a regional prosecution model with Kenya. In this study I examine if the regional prosecution model between Kenya and the European Union may have any implications on international criminal law by specifically analyzing the Kenyan jurisdiction to try piracy suspects and the right to fair trial in Kenyan criminal proceedings of piracy suspects. By using a legal method, this study offers some clarity regarding Kenya’s jurisdictional basis to prosecute piracy suspects, as well as, to what extent they respect the right to a fair trial in its criminal proceedings of alleged pirates. In addition, the legal analysis demonstrates that international criminal law may be undermined and subjected to mistrust. Furthermore, the legal analysis also offers indications on a normative development of the Security Council in relation to its role in bringing perpetrators of international crimes to justice.

The researcher conducted a critical analysis of the policing of counterfeit crime in South Africa. A pure qualitative research design and approach was adopted. A literature review, interviews and observations were conducted to provide an overview of this problem nationally and internationally. Interview schedules were designed with pre-determined open-ended questions, which allowed participants to explain their perceptions, opinions and viewpoints on the policing of counterfeit in South Africa. Some of the designed questions were mailed to respondents. Questions were posed to members of the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit, members of the South African Police Service’s Crime Prevention Unit, members of the Department of Trade and Industry who deal with counterfeit, prosecutors who normally prosecute counterfeit cases, brand owners/holders/representatives, and attorneys who assist in the policing of counterfeit crime. The findings of this study informed the proposed recommendations for preventative and reactive response mechanisms. These proposed recommendations suggest ways of improving efficiency and effectiveness in policing counterfeit in South Africa. / Criminology and Security Science / Ph. D. (Criminal Justice)

This ethnography examines the processes in which rooted but overlapping forms of cosmopolitan engagements implicate the Tausug imagination of collectivity. It investigates Tausug expression of connection and belonging as they find themselves entangled into global cultural flow and caught up in the state and secessionist politics of attachment. Utilising methodological and theoretical approaches engendered by visual and material anthropology, the ethnography locates rooted cosmopolitan imagination in the works and lives of creative but marginalised and often silenced Tausug cultural agents engaged in street-based production, circulation, and consumption of popular music and dance videos on compact discs. The ethnography follows these cosmopolitan expressions as they are being imagined, embodied, reproduced, and shared by and across Tausug communities in the Zamboanga peninsula, the Sulu archipelago, and beyond through the digital spaces of the internet and cross-border flow of the videos. How the translocality of imaginaries reflected on the videos play out in everyday life and the broader politics of representation are demonstrated here as vital to the understanding of Tausug imagined community as an open, flexible, and dynamically engaging Muslim society despite long-standing political turbulence and economic uncertainty in their midst. Saliently, the thesis argues that Tausug cosmopolitanism cannot be reduced into a phenomenon driven by the expansive currents of Western-led globalisation. Rather, Tausug cosmopolitanism constitutes both continuity of and departure from past forms of translocal connections of Zamboanga and Sulu, which as a region was once integrated to a pre-colonial Southeast Asian emporium and continually through varying ways of connectedness. Old and new global processes come into play in shaping the everyday production of Tausug imaginaries inevitably rendering Tausug identity formation as a trajectory rather than an unchanging fact of being. Drawing from the Tausug ethnographic experience, the thesis contends that rooted cosmopolitanism does not necessarily constitute a singular condition but rather a contested and distinctively multifaceted phenomenon.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Somalia has experienced constant instability and conflict for nearly two decades. With a collapsed state, widespread violence and criminal activity, as well as continued disagreement between warring factions, the prospect of peace seems bleak. The purpose and rationale of this research has been to critically examine root causes and perpetuating factors of the protracted war in Somalia in order to arrive at a comprehensive analysis of the reasons for the intractability of this conflict. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by pointing to some elements which have previously been overlooked in existing research on the topic, especially the impact of the war economy on the fuelling of the conflict. While the thesis first and foremost set out to identify factors which contribute to the intractability of conflict in Somalia, a thorough conceptualisation of relevant theory and a historical overview of the case study were provided as a point of departure. An analysis then followed which tied theory to empirical data. According to my analysis, the most significant internal factors contributing to intractability of conflict in Somalia were the long absence of a central governing authority, the low level of economic development, the role of Islam, as well as particular choices made by the parties to the conflict. Relational factors which are crucial are the similar military strength of the opposing sides, their lack of cooperation, and their different views regarding the country’s law and governance. Finally, external factors were deemed to have had a particularly strong effect on the long war. Ethiopia’s constant meddling; Eritrea’s support of al-Shabaab; the UN’s and the AU’s various missions; as well as the presence of a plethora of humanitarian aid agencies have shaped the conflict throughout its course. The conclusion was drawn that the war economy had the greatest impact on conflict in the first rounds of the civil war, but with the transformation, re-escalation and re-intensification of the conflict that has occurred over the last couple of years, the opportunities for benefiting from war and instability may again have increased. Piracy stands out as a new, prominent pillar of the contemporary war economy. The war economy of today continues to have an influence on the Somali conflict; it adds to its intractability, makes it increasingly difficult to establish a legitimate and stable non-corrupt government, and generally sustains violence in the country. I suggest that further research be undertaken on the topic of state collapse in Somalia, as it is clear that the long absence of a central government is a factor which has had a significant impact on the prolongation of conflict. In addition, as accurate data on the current war economy is rare, I recommend that field research should be conducted in Somalia to gain a more precise understanding of shadowy economic activities and their linkages to conflict. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Somalië beleef vir byna twee dekades konstante onstabiliteit en konflik. Met wydverspreide geweld, kriminele aktiwiteite, voortgesette verskille tussen strydende faksies en die verbrokkeling van die Somaliese staat, lyk die vooruitsig vir vrede in die land onwaarskynlik. Die doel en rasionaal van hierdie navorsing is om krities te ondersoek wat die grondoorsake en verewigings faktore is, van die uitgerekte oorlog in Somalië. Die navoring meen dus, om 'n omvattende ontleding te gee van die redes vir die hardnekkigheid van konflik in die land. Die studie poog ook om 'n gaping in die literatuur te vul deur te wysig op kritiese elemente wat nalatig was in bestaande navorsing en meer fokus te gee aan die impak van die oorlogsekonomie wat konflik in Somalië aanspoor. Alhoewel die proefskrif hoofsaaklik poog om die faktore wat bydra tot die hardnekkigheid van konflik in Somalië te bestudeer, word 'n deeglike begrip van die toepaslike teorie en 'n historiese oorsig van die studie voorsien as die vertrekpunt van die navorsing. Dit word dan opgevolg deur ‘n analise, wat die teorie bind aan empiriese data. Volgens my analise is die belangrikste interne faktore wat bydra tot die hardnekkigheid van konflik in Somalië; die lang afwesigheid van 'n sentrale beherende gesag, die lae vlak van ekonomiese ontwikkeling, die invloed van Islam, sowel as unieke keuse van partye tot die konflik. Relevante faktore wat noodsaaklik is, is die soortgelyke militêre krag van die opponerende kante, die gebrek aan samewerking, en hul teenstrydige standpunte oor die land se wet en bestuur. Laastens is daar gevind dat eksterne faktore 'n besonder sterk invloed gehad het op die langdurigheid van die oorlog. Ethiopië se konstante inmenging, Eritrea se ondersteuning van al-Shabaab, die VN en AU se verskeie misies, asook die teenwoordigheid van 'n oorvloed van humanitêre hulpagentskappe het deel gehad in die formulering van konflik oor tyd. Die gevolgtrekking was dat die oorlogsekonomie die grootste impak gehad het op die konflik in die eerste rondtes van die burgeroorlog, maar met die transformasie-, her-eskalasie en reintensivering van die konflik oor die afgelope paar jaar, is daar weereens ‘n styging in die geleenthede vir individue om te baat uit die onstabiliteit en oorlog. Seerowery staan uit as 'n nuwe, prominente pilaar van die huidige oorlogsekonomie. Die huidige oorlogsekonomie het nog steeds 'n invloed op die Somaliese konflik, dit dra by tot sy hardnekkigheid, maak dit toenemend moeilik om ‘n wettige en stabiele onkorrupte regering te stig en dit fasiliteer die voortduur van geweld in die land. Ek stel voor dat verdere navorsing onderneem word oor die onderwerp van die ineenstorting van die staat in Somalië. Dit is duidelik dat die lang afwesigheid van 'n sentrale regering 'n beduidende faktor is, wat ‘n impak op die verlenging van konflik het. Verder, omdat akkurate data oor die huidige oorlogsekonomie so skaars is, beveel ek aan dat verdere navorsing gedoen moet word om ‘n meer akkurate begrip van donker ekonomiese aktiwiteite in Somalië te kry en hul impak op konflik.